Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The sudden change in the area of Mount Kunlun attracted the attention from elsewhere.
After all, as the current heavyweights of the Divine Lands, any slight movement from the Celestial Sect of Wonders was enough to attract everyone’s attention.
At this stage, the Celestial Sect of Wonder was capable of shaking the Divine Lands even with the slightest of movements.
Furthermore, whatever that just happened was no small matter.
The spell bodies of two Golden Form monks were crushed and they fell back to the Golden Form First Level. This was no small matter.
In an instant, everyone’s attention was drawn to the Mount Kunlun region. Many great powers were trying to investigate what was going on.
The figure of the Virtuous Zen Master disappeared into the depths of Mount Kunlun. The rest of the powers were afraid of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, thus they were not really in the position to investigate things. Thus, they put all their attention to the other person who escaped.
After a few rounds of investigation, everyone was shocked to find out that that person they were looking for was actually the First Disciple of the Tripitaka Pavilion of the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Da Ning Zen Master, who was initially in the Golden Form Second Level.
It was obvious that he went to a pay a visit to his senior in the past, but for some reason, his Amitabha Spell Body was crushed.
At this point, rumors were rife about what was going on.
Some said that the Virtuous Zen and Da Ning Zen Master had clashed, which caused both to suffer heavy injuries.
There were also those who propagated that the Celestial Sect of Wonders punished the Da Ning Zen Master for being crude towards them. To protect his junior, the Virtuous Zen Master’s spell body was also crushed in the process.
There were even those who linked this to the War of Buddha Annihilation, guessing that there might be some insider information.
Just like the aforementioned guesses, different other types of guesses caused an uproar in the Divine Lands.
As different conceptions were proposed, they were refuted by those who were more cultivated. Whereas among the lower-level cultivators, there was a ridiculous amount of rumors being spread.
In the area of the Hengduan Mountains, southeast of Mount Kunlun, void space broke open and a human figure descended down. He landed on a mountain and crushed it.
The tall mountain was turned into a deep valley in an instant. At the bottom of the valley, there was an old monk who looked lost and seemed to be struggling.
This old monk was flashing with a layer of golden light. His entire person was like a live, golden Buddha statue.
It’s just that on the surface of his flashing golden appearance, there were several cracks, which resembled spider webs.
This was not a result of him falling from the sky and crashing on the mountain. Rather, it was because his zen mind was hurt and his Golden Form had cracked.
This old monk was the Da Ning Zen Master. His eyes were filled with torment, “There must be something wrong…Something, somewhere must be wrong…”
If he was only just an ordinary monk or Buddhist believer, he wouldn’t be in so much pain. But as a cultivator who had formed the Golden Form, he was filled with confusion and struggle now.
In an instant, the Da Ning Zen Master could only feel that his entire world had turned false and his own cultivation in the Golden Form had become unreal. He even felt that his existence had become an illusion.
“Senior Da Ning, what exactly happened?” A middle-aged monk broke through void space and came in front of the Da Ning Zen Master.
The Da Ning Zen Master looked up to him, “Junior…Junior Da Kong?”
It was Monk Da Kong. His normally calm face was filled with surprise now.
Everyone else had to keep on guessing, but as a highly skilled monk in the Golden Form Second Level, witnessing this scene for himself enabled him to deduce that he was not harmed by anyone. Rather, his zen mind had wavered and crushed.
The Da Ning Zen Master struggled to stand up and shook his head, “Da Kong, do you believe that there’s no cause and effect in this world?”
Monk Da Kong opened his eyes wide, “What are you saying?!”
As he was in his state of shock, the Da Ning Zen Master opened up his palm and revealed a small Buddha statue. This Buddha statue was flashing with radiance. This radiance covered the Da Ning Zen Master before dissipating soon after.
Monk Da Kong regained his awareness and looked at the Da Ning Zen Master, “Did Lin Feng tell you something? He questioned the way of karma and broke your zen mind?”
The Da Ning Zen Master shook his head in torment, “I have not seen him. I did not even see his disciples. I only saw Senior Virtuous Zen. After that, both our zen minds were crushed…”
“It’s the disciples of Lin Feng – Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi, Wang Lin and Shi Tianhao. It’s them…no! Everything originates and ends with karma, they must be wrong. The Celestial Sect of Wonders must be wrong! However…where are they wrong at…I don’t get it, I don’t get it…”
Monk Da Kong said in a deep voice, “Senior, return to the Great Zhou with me. There are the Golden Forms of Buddhist disciples there. Let us analyze things and seek the truth. We shall prove the Celestial Sect of Wonders wrong and you will have the chance to re-create the Vairocana Sutra!”
The Da Ning Zen Master clasped his palms with difficulty, “No, I have to think things through carefully on my own, I need to understand…the way of karma, blasphemy…there’s not cause and effect…how are all these possible?!”
Following his deep and painful muttering of words, the Da Ning Zen Master’s figure disappeared along with the Buddhist lights.
Monk Da Kong stood where he was expressionless and did not stop the Da Ning Zen Master from leaving.
He could see that his senior’s zen mind was on the brink of collapse. Previously, there were those from other powers that tried to stop the Da Ning Zen Master and he had already expended a lot of his energy. If he had to deal with more, his life might be in more danger.
“What did Senior Da Ning see? What’s there in this world that has nothing to do with karma?” Monk Da Kong’s gaze became unstable.
While he committed to the Great Zhou Empire, it did not mean that he had betrayed his own Buddhist background. What happened to the Great Thunderclap Temple was because he believed that his own sect had walked the devil’s path and betrayed the teachings of the Buddha. And what he did was to make things right again.
As a disciple that was highly rated, Monk Da Kong’s current cultivation was not inferior to that of the Da Ning Zen Master or the Virtuous Zen Master.
But as he heard the words of the Da Ning Zen Master, he felt that it was very ridiculous.
Because he did not witness the light projection projected with the mana of the Virtuous Zen Master like the Da Ning Zen Master, Monk Da Kong was both furious and confused at this point.
“Celestial Sect of Wonders…Lin Feng…Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi, Wang Lin, Shi Tianhao…all of you are trying to shake the foundation of Buddhism? What right do you all have? Based on your little understandings of Buddhist mantras of the Great Thunderclap Temple?”
After being hurt by Zhu Yi and the rest in the Ying Sea, which almost cut off any hopes of progress in the future, Monk Da Kong was never as triggered as today.
But as he calmed himself down, a different type of emotion was spawned in his heart.
It was of…fear?
Monk Da Kong was stunned by this. He had never felt such an emotion in a long time.
This emotion originated from the Da Ning Zen Master and the Virtuous Zen Master. With regards to these two seniors of his, Monk Da Kong had a deep understanding of them. He knew that their zen minds were very stable.
But the zen minds of the two of them were hurt now. Their spell bodies were also crushed!
If there was nothing serious, it would not have caused a reaction.
This left Monk Da Kong curious, “What did Wang Lin, Zhu Yi and the others discover and what did they prove?”
“Whatever it is, there must be some mistake.” The gaze of Monk Da Kong became determined slowly, “Senior Virtuous Zen and Da Ning must have been misguided. But they will learn the truth soon. This is also a form of karma.”
“Previously, the Great Void Sect once questioned the Buddhist mantras of our temple before. But it turned out to be nothing in the end.”
The Virtuous Zen Master clasped his palms, “I’m not here, you’re not here, he is not here, but the way of karma still remains. Karma still exists. People may not understand karma, but it’s not because it is non-existent.”
He returned to the Great Zhou Empire and reported everything to Liang Pan. After that, he retreated and did not speak for many days.
When Monk Da Kong awoke from his meditation, he lifted a Buddhist pearl and this pearl flashed with light, revealing a human figure. It was that of the Da Ning Zen Master.
The Da Ning Zen Master looked even more lethargic than before. Monk Da Kong looked at him and said, “Senior Da Ning, what did you see exactly that day. Please tell me. I will also like to test the mettle of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. I will like to see what they have to say about the way of karma.”
The Da Ning Zen Master had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, amidst the confusion and struggle he felt.
He did not wish to believe that the way of karma was false. But he could not argue against Wang Lin’s evidence. In the depths of his heart, he wished that others would also refute what he saw and prove the other party wrong.
A light ball was passed to the Buddhist pearl of Monk Da Kong from Da Ning Zen Master’s own pearl.
As the light projection disappeared and connection was cut, Monk Da Kong looked at the Buddhist pearl in front of him quietly. He extended a finger and pointed.
“There have been many powerful cultivators from the Great Thunderclap Temple in our history. Whatever that we have learnt has been passed down since time immemorial. In the Grand Celestial World, we are considered quite exceptional too. No one has ever shaken the foundation of the way of karma, but now, it’s being questioned by a few juniors? Ridiculous!”
At this point, someone appeared in the chamber that he was retreating in and stopped him.
“Your Majesty?” Monk Da Kong was shocked as he looked at Liang Pan. Liang Pan shook his head towards him, “With due respect, Zen Master, please stop what you are doing now.”
Monk Da Kong remained calm, “The empire is trying to get in touch with the Celestial Sect of Wonders. I understand that and I will respect your wishes.”
“However, are you worried that I will become like my seniors Virtuous Zen and Da Ning? Do you also believe that the ridiculous theory of the Celestial Sect of Wonders will rock the foundation of the way of karma?”
When it came to such matters, even in the face of Liang Pan, Monk Da Kong would not step back easily.
Liang Pan shook his head easily, “With regards to your cultivation, I will not interfere. But if you want to go to Mount Kunlun to discuss things with the Celestial Sect of Wonders, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Monk Da Kong looked at Liang Pan and Liang Pan continued saying, “Over these few days that you have retreated, a heated discussion has ensued in the Divine Lands. A huge uproar has been caused.”