Laughter spread, solitary, domineering, and absolute, akin to a demonic howl from the Nine Nether Abyss—cold and cruel. It shook the vast expanse of Buddha Light, causing it to tremble faintly, and disrupted the continuous chanting of sutras.
Seeing this, Da Xing the Mad Monk quickly spoke up, "Brother Gu, to tell you the truth, among the Eight Buddhist Sects of the Western Heaven, more than half advocate for your eradication. Even if they can't kill you, they plan to seal you here. If sealing fails, they will suppress you here. In short, they will not let you leave!"
"Only my Zen Sect and Esoteric Sect do not wish to imprison you here. We've argued many times with the other major sects over this. Now, their intention is for me to persuade you. If I can convince you to leave and completely sever ties with the mortal world, they will not imprison you. But if you refuse, they will spare no effort to confine you here!"
"Brother Gu, isolation may be lonely, but at least you retain your freedom and won't suffer torment. Yet, if you are imprisoned here, what awaits you will be eternal, unending agony. To eliminate future trouble, they won't seek to enlighten you; instead, they will try every means to 'liberate' you through subjugation!"
"Brother Gu, I know you fear nothing, but that is the Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata! It is the foremost of the Five Great Wisdom Kings, its Buddha Dharma boundless, possessing the supreme divine ability to purify the world! Do not forget how the previous Nine Nethers Emperor was utterly annihilated!"
"The Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata?"
Gu Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Buddha statue with disdain. "Supreme world-purifying divine ability?"
Closing his eyes, he continued, "The Dharma Sect, Tiantai Sect, Huayan Sect, Pure Land Sect, Mantra Sect, Vinaya Sect... plus your Zen Sect and Esoteric Sect. The Western Pure Land, the Eight Buddhist Sects. Good! Very good! I have remembered."
"Brother Gu, you..." Da Xing the Mad Monk tried to speak, but Gu Qingfeng's voice cut him off. "Da Xing, leave. Go back and tell the Zen and Esoteric Sects that I appreciate their sentiment. However, I am a person, and moreover, a worldly man. Asking me to leave the secular world and live in isolation is something I cannot do. As a worldly man, I was born in the secular world, and even in death, I will die within it."
"Brother Gu, you must not do this! You must consider all living beings under heaven..." This time, Da Xing's words were again left unfinished as Gu Qingfeng interrupted him. When Gu Qingfeng opened his eyes, they were no longer silent and calm but had become solitary, domineering, and absolute. His dark eyes flickered with overwhelming killing intent as he stared at Da Xing and roared, "What does the life or death of all living beings under heaven have to do with me?"
"I am not that great, nor that noble. I am a demon, a demon for eternity. I am a sinner, a sinner for all ages. These are the very words your Western Heaven Buddha Lord spoke himself."
"Do you think I don't know what tricks your Western Heaven Buddhist Sect played back then? Openly, you did not deliver judgment, but secretly, how many pits did you dig for me? How many tripwires did you lay? How many traps did you set? How many schemes did you devise? Did you truly think I was blind and unaware?"
"Your Western Heaven Buddhist Sect has long wanted to eradicate me, and not just once. If not for my good fortune, I would have long been imprisoned by your Western Heaven Buddhist Sect in the Desolate Ruins, and long been secretly 'liberated' by you!"
"When it came to eradicating me, each of you was more resolute, more despicable than the last. And now you ask me to abandon causality, prettifying it as being 'for all living beings under heaven'? Hahahaha! The Nine Heavens Immortals are hypocrites, but your Western Heaven Buddhas are even more hypocritical than they are!"
"Brother Gu, even if not for all living beings, think of the people you care about..." Faced with Gu Qingfeng's sudden fury, Da Xing the Mad Monk appeared particularly flustered. He had barely begun speaking when he was interrupted again.
"The people I care about, I will protect personally. That is none of your concern!"
"My Buddha..."
"To hell with your Buddha!"
Gu Qingfeng suddenly raised a hand, sending Da Xing staggering backward. Pointing at him, Gu Qingfeng roared furiously, "Da Xing! Out of respect for the help you once offered me, I have treated you politely. Do not mistake my courtesy for weakness! Push me too far, and today I will flay you alive!"
"Gu! Tian! Lang!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was also enraged. He charged forward, his face flushed red, eyes glaring as he shouted, "Do you truly intend to make an enemy of Western Heaven? Do you truly wish to be imprisoned here for all eternity?"
"It is not that I wish to be enemies with Western Heaven; it is Western Heaven that insists on being my enemy! It is not that I wish to be suppressed here; it is Western Heaven that is determined to imprison me here!"
"If you would only abandon causality and sever ties with the world, Western Heaven would not trouble you! It would certainly not imprison you here!"
Gu Qingfeng looked at him, his voice suddenly turning deathly still. "Da Xing, do you truly believe that if I were to abandon causality and sever ties with the world, your Western Heaven would not trouble me? Would not imprison me here?"
"Yes! I, Da Xing, guarantee it! As long as you abandon causality and sever ties with the world, Western Heaven will absolutely not trouble you!"
"Is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng grabbed Da Xing by the collar, seized his chin, and forced his head upward, pointing toward the sky. "Tell me, what is that?"
In the Heart Buddha World, amidst the vast expanse of Buddha Light, a mass of golden radiance had appeared at the very center. This golden radiance hung in the sky like a great sun. As the great sun bloomed, it released ring after ring of light, enveloping this Heart Buddha World.
Staring at that sun-like radiance and then at the light rings shrouding the entire Heart Buddha World, Da Xing the Mad Monk was instantly dumbfounded, as if unable to believe his eyes. Shocked and horrified, he stammered, "This is... the Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal? How can this be... How can the Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal be here..."
The Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal is one of the Eight Great Buddha Seals of the Buddhist Sect.
The might of the Great Sun subdues demons across heaven and earth.
The boundless Buddha Dharma suppresses all demons and monsters.
It is not only the bane of demons but also hailed as their nightmare, especially when combined with the Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata.
The two complement each other—one suppresses, the other intimidates. When merged into one, they become liberation—the Great Sun Tathagata Liberation Sutra, also known as the Great Sun Tathagata World-Purifying Mantra.
Throughout history, countless ancient demons possessing heaven-defying abilities were ultimately suppressed by the Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal, then liberated by the Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata, perishing completely.
More importantly, once the Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata and the Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal manifest, this world is no longer a Heart Buddha World but belongs to the Liberation World of Great Sun Tathagata. Unless the demon perishes, the liberation will not cease.
"How is this possible... Earlier, there was only the Wrath Incarnation of Great Sun Tathagata, not the Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal at all. How could..."
"The Great Sun Demon-Subduing Seal appeared the moment I broke into the Heart Buddha World."
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, Da Xing the Mad Monk's face instantly turned deathly pale. He finally understood why Gu Qingfeng had said that even if he abandoned causality, Western Heaven would not let him leave.