Chapter 86: Not Yet Seen the True Buddha
Translator: 549690339
Sun Yuan lost his soul and his body fell to the ground, making a rumbling noise similar to a meteorite striking the Nine Provinces, causing the earth to mildly tremble.
Jiang Li handed over the corpse to Yu Yin, leaving its disposal to her, whether she chose to refine it into a puppet or incinerate it in anger, he didn’t care.
Yu Yin gazed at the emotionless Jiang Li, biting her cherry lips, her expression complex.
She had risked her life and put in a lot of effort to finally break through to the
Transcendance Tribulation Stage, yet Jiang Li could easily kill a peak Transcendance Tribulation Stage cultivator, who had no power to resist.
Was the Mahayana Realm truly so powerful?
She, in her contemporary state, possessing the power of the nation and armed with an Immortal Artifact, could she confront Jiang Li for more than a few moves? Maybe five moves, or perhaps eight? Ultimately, Yu Yin couldn’t imagine herself intersecting with Jiang Li for more than ten moves. Jiang Li glanced at Yu Yin, noticing her unsettled state but didn’t say anything.
Unlike the Saintess Pure Heart, he knew Yu Yin’s directive and determination were pure. Having experienced betrayal and failure and recognizing the gap between them had shocked her and caused her hesitance, but he believed a few days of quiet contemplation would enable her to break through this heart barrier.
Jiang Li then returned Ji Kongkong to the Great Zhou, Ji Zhi sensed a chilling terror upon seeing Jiang Li’s expression.
Since becoming the Human Emperor, Ji Zhi had never seen him with such a gloomy and unsightly expression. Though appearing calm on the surface, everyone could sense that beneath this calmness was a devastating fury.
Jiang Li simply set down Ji Kongkong and flew off without uttering a single word, while Ji Zhi didn’t speak either from beginning to end.
Ji Zhi knew, a storm was brewing in the Nine Provinces.
The Buddhist monastery was located in the far west of the Nine Provinces, and the air was permeated with the influence of Buddhist Law. The land even radiated a faint glow, especially noticeable at night.
Right next to the monastery was a country named Le Shan Country. While it didn’t rank amongst the nine major empires, it was quite formidable. Perhaps due to the proximity of the monastery, the inhabitants were poor but content, and often one could see skinny old people with a house full of offsprings, enjoying the pleasure of family life.
Any random person stopped on the road could recite a segment of Buddhist scripture for you or even impart a few teachings, enabling you to understand the most basic concepts of “reincarnation”, “karma”, “universe”, “three thousand worlds” and so on.
Old-timers tell of a legend that underneath the Le Shan Country, a colossal golden “swastika” character is buried, a national treasure of Le Shan Country.
Some people who believed in this legend dug very deep, but found nothing. Eventually, they reached a layer of extremely hard soil that they could no longer dig through, so they reluctantly gave up, declaring failure.
Le Shan Country is like a subsidiary country of the Buddhist Monastery, and the whole country follows Buddhist teachings. Each household has Buddhist images, and people believe in the retribution of good and evil deeds. They believe that suffering in this life is retribution from the previous life, and that
doing good in this life will lead to a peaceful end in the next life.
Ordinary cultivators are unable to comprehend the essence of Buddhism, thus, they can’t comprehend the way Le Shan Country functions. Therefore, there are very few cultivators who travel to Le Shan Country, even the merchant group from the Sky Mechanism Tower is reluctant to come here.
The people here are free from desires, thus no one frequents the Sky Mechanism Tower to buy information.
Jiang Li walks through Le Shan Country, measuring the depth of the influence of Buddhist Law. He sees many people heading in the same direction as him, towards Mount Sumeru.
The difference is that he is walking there, while the citizens of Le Shan Country are crawling there.
With each step they take, they kneel and kowtow towards Mount Sumeru, then rise and take another step, repeating the process over and over again.
Every day, eminent monks give lectures at Mount Sumeru, interpreting the mysteries of Buddhism. Everyone is welcomed to listen, and there are no prerequisites.
However, few cultivators who appreciate Buddhism attend, as they find it dry and difficult to understand, feeling that they can’t increase their cultivational base even after listening, thus considering it a waste of time.
Jiang Li ascends Mount Sumeru one step at a time, without using any mana, intending to walk up all one hundred thousand steps of Mount Sumeru.
The steps of Mount Sumeru are special, if one uses mana, the ascent is easy, but if one doesn’t use mana and relies only on physical strength, each step feels like carrying a mountain. By the time one finishes climbing all one hundred thousand steps, it’s akin to carrying one hundred thousand mountains!
Legend has it that this is a test left behind by the Buddha. One who walks up all one hundred thousand steps using only physical strength will be able to meet the real Buddha!
Some Buddhists have tried, but none have managed to climb more than three thousand steps.
Jiang Li used to not believe in this legend, but today he wants to give it a shot.
He reveals his real face, startling all the high monks who are comprehending the Buddhist law. They leave their own temples one after another. They are not sure what the current Human Emperor intends to do, so they want to see for themselves.
One thousand, two thousand, three thousand… Jiang Li easily broke through the three-thousand-steps barrier that obstructed countless people. He ascended each step stably, but also lightly, showing no signs of the resistance Mount Sumeru was imposing on him.
Five thousand, ten thousand, fifteen thousand, twenty thousand… The high monks look at each other, seeing shock in each other’s eyes. The current Human Emperor found no difficulty in ascending twenty thousand steps.
The high monks no longer maintain their usual posture of deep meditation, and start discussing among themselves. What does the current Human
Emperor want to do? Does he have any doubts and seeks answers from the real
Buddha?
The real Buddha has nothing to do with the ascended Immortals.
Real Buddha refers to those who are enlightened, those who, apart from opening their six senses, also open their seventh and eighth senses, the manas and ?laya. They remain indestructible, like a diamond, always showing their nature of pure and nirvana true suchness.
That’s why most cultivators don’t want to listen to Buddhist teachings.
It’s too hard to understand.
However, even if cultivators don’t have a deep understanding of the Buddhist system, they know that there’s a current real Buddha and a future real Buddha in Buddhism.
The current real Buddha is the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru . His almost ten-thousand-year lifespan makes him the oldest existence in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, and his mastery over the Dao of Space is unparalleled throughout the Nine Provinces. He has often stepped in to assist during the battles against the Heavenly Demons.
The future real Buddha is Wu Zhi, who possesses profound wisdom, making even the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru feel inferior.
Thirty thousand, forty thousand, fifty thousand… the number of steps seems meaningless to Jiang Li as he ascends each step emotionlessly.
Eighty thousand!
Ninety thousand!
One hundred thousand!
Jiang Li mounted Mount Sumeru using only physical strength, accomplishing an unprecedented feat. But he didn’t feel any joy.
The legend is false. Even after ascending one hundred thousand steps, one can’t see the real Buddha.
“Furthermore, Subhuti, if a virtuous man or woman receives, upholds, reads, and recites this sutra, and is despised by others, this person’s negative karma from previous lives that would cause him to fall into the bad paths have been eradicated. Despised by people in this life, his previous negative karma is thus eradicated and he will attain Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi…”
The Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru is tall, with thick lips, long ear lobes, and an aged but radiant face. His muscular body and the bulge on his head are symbolic of the 32 marks of a Buddha.
He sits barefoot and topless on a golden lotus, the thumb and forefinger of each hand touching each other in a circle, as he imparts the Buddhist Law to his disciples.
The disciples listen with rapt attention until the voice of Old Buddha suddenly stops.
“Good indeed, as Master Jiang Li, what matter perturbs you so much that you appear on the verge of shedding tears?”
The disciples look on in wonder to see the contemporary Human Emperor, his face twisted as if he has just seen a respected figure commit an unforgivable crime and he must kill them himself.
“Old Buddha, tell me, how did you become an Immortal?”
Jiang Li climbed to the top of Mount Sumeru, not seeing the real Buddha, but an Immortal who fed on humans..