Chapter 964: Chapter 958: Lotus Ferry Nunnery
“Li Kuanghua, Bodhisattva Li, we meet again.”
Amidst the compassionate sounds echoing through Lotus Ferry Nunnery, Abbess Dairou, her eyes and brow softening, called out gently to Li Kuanghua, her expression filled with admiration.
The Azure Cloud Li Clan had produced exceptional heroines who gathered in Shadowfell Prefecture.
General Li’s martial reputation was illustrious, but the one who had made a name for herself in the Western Border even earlier than Li Tianyue was this Li Kuanghua.
In years past, when Li Kuanghua fought great battles against the Wu Race in the Western Border, she had united Buddhist disciples and the fiendish cultivators of Shadowfell Prefecture into a single vanguard.
The Buddhist sects called Li Kuanghua a “Bodhisattva,” while those of the demonic path revered her as a “Holy Maiden,” bringing about a rare, magnificent spectacle of harmony between Buddhists and demons.
At that time, Abbess Dairou had already admired Li Kuanghua to the utmost.
However, this girl hailed from the Azure Cloud Li Clan and had the backing of the Immortal Suppression Department; thus, the nunnery’s repeated attempts to accept her as a disciple had all been in vain.
“Greetings, Abbess.”
Li Kuanghua voiced her agreement, suppressing the anger within her heart.
The events of the Western Border were already clear to her.
She wished nothing more than to slaughter every last one of these deserters who had abandoned the army, too cowardly to face the enemy.
Yet, she did not know how she had fallen into the hands of Abbess Dairou, and the circumstances left her at a disadvantage.
She immediately feigned ignorance, “I wonder why the Abbess was not on the battlefield, but instead brought His Highness and me into Lotus Ferry Nunnery?”
Abbess Dairou’s face filled with shame.
“Alas, the Western Border has been breached. We… fought a bitter battle and were defeated.”
The breach had occurred only a few days prior, yet in Abbess Dairou’s mouth, the battle of the Western Border had become a “bitter defeat.”
Her words painted a vivid picture, to the point of claiming she had personally fought against the Nirvana Sage Elder, and only after seeing that the situation was hopeless did she accept Marshal Bi Shihu’s dying request to protect the Crown Prince.
Abbess Dairou’s face was filled with shame.
“The Western Border has already fallen into the demonic clutches of the Wu Race.
They are searching everywhere; it is an inescapable trap.
You and the Crown Prince cannot escape, and neither can our Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
You and the Crown Prince should simply cultivate quietly within my Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
Once the reinforcements fight their way back, that will be the day we see the light of day again.”
“What?!!”
Li Kuanghua instantly lost her wits, sitting on the ground with a vacant gaze. She did not even need to put on an act.
The grief of her aunt’s death had been weighing heavily upon her. She had kept it hidden from others, solely focused on fleeing with Fei Heng.
At this moment, Li Kuanghua’s eyes truly turned red. Her face wet with tears, she stared blankly at Abbess Dairou.
She and her aunt had stayed at the Shadowfell Prefecture border pass for over a hundred years, and the time she herself had spent at the border was even longer.
Yet, what kind of people were these around them?!!
Deserters, liars, cowards!
If it were not for their family possessing the Ancestral Space, allowing the Old Ancestor to send a transmission, would she have believed it upon seeing Abbess Dairou speak these words with such sincerity?
“Alas, there is destiny in this world, and it is entirely out of human hands.
General Li was unwilling to retreat a single step, even unto death, losing her life alongside her Army of 320,000 amidst the Wu Race forces.
Bodhisattva Li, set your mind at ease. There is karma in this world.
One day, we will fight our way back against the Wu Race, and from top to bottom, our Lotus Ferry Nunnery will surely protect the lives of you two.”
With these words, she had Daoist nun Hongzhen take Li Kuanghua away to rest.
Not long after, Daoist nun Hongzhen returned.
This Master Hongzhen was actually an old woman. Uncomprehending, she asked the Abbess, “Abbess, why do we not leave the Western Border?”
“Leave the Western Border? How could we possibly leave the Western Border?”
Abbess Dairou said in a somber voice,
“The people of the world are ignorant. I fear the title of ‘deserters’ has already been pinned upon the head of our Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
The Immortal Suppression Department and the various major factions will treat us as fish and meat on the chopping block.”
“This…” The wrinkles on Hongzhen’s aged face tightened.
Originally, Lotus Ferry Nunnery’s Grotto-Heaven was already situated in the borderlands, meant to act as a surprise force.
But once that Nirvana Holy Elder appeared, his heavenly flames raging, the Abbess had performed a divination, only to state that all was lost.
Now, carefully pondering such consequences, Daoist nun Hongzhen’s heart sank.
“In this chaotic world, human hearts are no longer as they were in ancient times.
A transgression like the fall of the Western Border—who can bear such responsibility?
The people of the world all say that those with great Spiritual power stand indomitable, holding up the heavens and supporting the earth.
The blame for this battle will inevitably fall upon our heads.”
Abbess Dairou let out a long breath.
Seeing Hongzhen at a complete loss, she smiled and said,
“Do not fear. Such circumstances are equally a fortuitous encounter for us.
For tens of thousands of years, our Lotus Ferry Nunnery has not dared to claim the title of Buddha.
Now, with the souls of the dead littering the Western Border, it is precisely the time for our Lotus Ferry Nunnery to bring salvation to all living beings, and harvest the immense merit of this world.”
“Go and fetch the Buddhist relics of Lotus Ferry Nunnery’s past generations.
Today, our Lotus Ferry Nunnery shall shatter the Dao and return to Buddhism.
Once I find a fortuitous encounter to break through Dao Comprehension and achieve Dao Integration, seeking a glimpse into the Mahayana Realm, who in this world would dare to pin unwarranted crimes upon our Lotus Ferry Nunnery?!”
Lotus Ferry Nunnery had been suppressed for tens of thousands of years; they had long wanted to cast off these Daoist robes and continue cultivating the Buddhist Dharma.
Now that the Yidian Holy Monk was being hunted by the Immortal Suppression Department, and the fall of the Western Border had plunged the world into chaos, what was there left to fear?
The Buddhist Dharma was the true path of Lotus Ferry Nunnery!
Daoist nun Hongzhen was overjoyed. “Yes, Abbess!”
Abbess Dairou’s gaze pierced through the walls, observing Crown Prince Fei Heng, who had been taken away to rest, her face devoid of expression.
“It seems the fortuitous encounter lies with you.
How can the defeat at the Western Border be blamed on me?
If anyone is to blame, it is you, this Tyrannical Crown Prince who could not bear loneliness.
What a pity that I have become the sinner reviled by all.”
[Special Event — Aligning with the “Buddha”]
[Your descendant Li Kuanghua, along with Crown Prince Fei Heng, has been placed under house arrest by Lotus Ferry Nunnery.]
Within Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
Li Kuanghua sat in her room; Crown Prince Fei Heng had already been settled in another.
In just two short days, Li Kuanghua had already become quite familiar with Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
This massive Daoist sect felt more like a Buddhist temple.
The Daoist nuns of Lotus Ferry Nunnery could be seen gradually replacing the Daoist trigrams in the shrines with Buddha statues.
The sounds of worship filled the air, and the Buddha statues were Bodhisattvas cast by the nuns using their Spiritual power.
Li Kuanghua frowned slightly.
She recognized this Buddha statue; it was none other than “Abbess Dairou.”
Among the more than two hundred thousand disciples in Lotus Ferry Nunnery, Li Kuanghua casually grabbed one and asked, “Do you know which Bodhisattva this is?”
The little nun bowed respectfully toward the Buddha statue.
“This is the Great Merciful and Compassionate Savior of Suffering, the Lotus Ferry Bodhisattva.”
Li Kuanghua fell silent for a moment, then inquired further about the events of the Western Border.
What made Li Kuanghua frown incessantly was that the accounts of these nuns barely differed from Abbess Dairou’s, as if they had truly been there in person.
“Our Lotus Ferry Nunnery originally had over eight hundred thousand fellow disciples, yet more than half lost their lives in that great battle.”
The little nun wiped her tears, showing not the slightest hint of pretending.
Li Kuanghua was confident that with this little nun’s bone age being less than a hundred years, even the most microscopic change in her expression could not escape her perception.
She soon went to ask the other little nuns, only to receive the exact same response.
Li Kuanghua paused for a moment before the statue of the “Lotus Ferry Bodhisattva.”
Surprisingly, she sensed from the Buddha statue and the incense smoke wafting before it that these things were slowly, bit by bit, influencing people’s minds.
“Dong!”
The bell of Lotus Ferry Nunnery tolled, sending a tremor through one’s very soul.
Immediately after, Li Kuanghua knitted her delicate brows and returned to her room.
“Old Ancestor, your child has been placed under house arrest.
The Buddhist Dharma permeates Lotus Ferry Nunnery; my soul is unable to probe beyond the Grotto-Heaven.”
Holding the ancestral spirit tablet, Li Kuanghua was incredibly thankful she hadn’t forgotten the “calmness” her family had always advised.
Otherwise, she feared the deceitful Abbess Dairou would have already killed her to silence her, forcing the Old Ancestor to descend in person.
The ancestral spirit tablet flickered slightly.
Even within this enemy camp, the sight brought Li Kuanghua a profound sense of reassurance.
“That old hag won’t kill me. There is something bizarre about this Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
The Buddha statues, the incense, and the tolling of the bell are subtly manipulating people’s minds.
There are no fluctuations of Spiritual power, yet they are gradually eroding the divine soul.
She wants to control Fei Heng and me.
I must uncover the true location of her sect from within this Lotus Ferry Nunnery.”
The ancestral spirit tablet flickered once more; right at this moment, Daoist nun Hongzhen’s voice rang out from outside the room.
Li Kuanghua put away the spirit tablet and headed outside.
She actually knew quite a bit about this Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
It was a secluded faction that had emerged over the last few centuries.
The world was vast; where could Lotus Ferry Nunnery not have chosen to enter society? Yet, they had deliberately sought out the endlessly war-torn Shadowfell Prefecture.
Within the nunnery, aside from the Body Integration Realm mighty figure, Abbess Dairou, there were three masters of the “Hong” generation who all possessed Void Refinement cultivation: Hong Zhen, Hong Dan, and Hong Jie.
Master Hong Zhen wore an expression of profound kindness and benevolence.
“The Abbess feared that Bodhisattva Li might grow weary, and knowing that Bodhisattva Li is deeply versed in the Buddhist Dharma, she has sent over our Lotus Ferry Nunnery’s Buddhist scriptures.
If Bodhisattva Li requires anything else, you are more than welcome to visit our Lotus Ferry Nunnery’s Scripture Pavilion.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Li Kuanghua nodded and accepted the Buddhist scripture.
Upon returning to her room to cultivate, it was only after Master Hong Zhen saw that Li Kuanghua was genuinely chanting the Buddhist mantras inside that she finally departed.
“True Buddha Sound of Ferrying, a secret method of the Buddhist path.”
Li Kuanghua only practiced it once, yet she felt her mind become perfectly clear, with waves of Buddhist light radiating around her body.
However, she suddenly thought of the little nuns she had encountered within Lotus Ferry Nunnery.
“This method… if cultivated to the extreme, I fear one would truly come to worship the ‘True Buddha’.
From then on, whatever it says would become the truth of the world, and that ‘True Buddha’ is that old hag!”
Sensing that someone within Lotus Ferry Nunnery was spying on her cultivation, she was not alarmed but instead rejoiced.
“If I do not cultivate it, I fear I won’t be able to gain the trust of these monsters. You want me to cultivate it? Fine! Then I will let you know that while the Dao rises one foot, the Demonic rises ten!”
She immediately began to chant the Buddhist Dharma!
Looking inward, within her Primordial Spirit, the Buddha-Demon Disc sat suppressing her Soul Sea.
Left and right, black and white, one Buddha and one Demon.
As she chanted the Buddhist Dharma, the Buddhist light grew even more intense.
However, from the demonic path within the Buddha-Demon Disc, traces of flesh and blood suddenly seeped out.
That was the flesh and blood of the Zhao Clan members, along with the flesh and blood her family had obtained during their journey to the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, containing the resentful thoughts of living beings!
The Buddhist and demonic radiances clashed within her Soul Sea.
All this time, Li Kuanghua had never dared to utilize this flesh and blood.
The Buddha-Demon Disc was indeed powerful, containing the power of “Buddha and Demon.”
Yet, as the two forces contended against each other, if either side gained the upper hand, it would affect her state of mind.
Therefore, for many years, she had constantly been gathering members of the Buddhist sects, personally sitting upon that Buddha statue to allow the Buddhist power to suppress her demonic arts.
Now, with the abundant Buddhist nature within Lotus Ferry Nunnery, she could refine the massive amount of flesh and blood stored within the Buddha-Demon Disc!
“You harmed my aunt, and now you come to bewitch me.”
Veins bulged all over Li Kuanghua’s body. That was the flesh and blood of the Buddha-Demon Disc forging her physique.
“On the day my cultivation is complete, I will smash every single one of you to pieces!”
As the Buddhist and Demonic powers clashed within Li Kuanghua’s Soul Sea, the phantoms of a black-robed demonic monk and a female Bodhisattva faintly emerged.
They exchanged a glance, and both revealed faint smiles, waving their hands to allow the power of the flesh and blood within the Buddha-Demon Disc to flood Li Kuanghua’s bloodline.
Within the high tower of Lotus Ferry Nunnery, a trace of shock flashed through the bright eyes of the cultivating Abbess Dairou.
For many years, Lotus Ferry Nunnery wore Daoist robes while cultivating the Buddhist Dharma.
The nunnery was filled with Buddhist path Spiritual power, which permeated every corner of the Grotto-Heaven.
This was the Buddhist Spiritual power accumulated over tens of thousands of years.
She no longer needed to cultivate this path, leaving it for future generations. Yet, with no more than a few dozen capable individuals within Lotus Ferry Nunnery to absorb it, the Buddhist Spiritual power only continued to overflow.
However, today, this Buddhist Spiritual power had actually transformed into Buddhist light and surged toward the place where Li Kuanghua was cultivating, leaving Abbess Dairou feeling profoundly astonished.
“No wonder… no wonder this girl was called a Bodhisattva back then. She truly has an affinity with our Buddhist sect.
Good, good, good! In the future, her Dharma name shall be ‘Hong Kuang’, and she will assist me…”
“In forging the path to the Mahayana Realm, in attaining the Mahayana Dharma!”
As her voice faded.
The Buddha statue before her shimmered with Buddhist light, accompanied by the ethereal echoes of Buddhist chants, as if a True Buddha were residing within the statue, reciting Buddhist scriptures.
—
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