The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 31 Mastering the Three Treasures

Zhi Zao led Jiang Feng and the others to the Xiu Chan Temple on the mountaintop. Looking at the temple, which was missing many familiar faces, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

When the master first arrived at Tiantai Mountain with his twenty-seven disciples, they established a temple there. Emperor Xuan of the Southern Chen Dynasty named it "Xiuchan Temple". After many years of propagating Buddhism, the temple has grown to include several temples and more than a thousand disciples.

Today, after a catastrophe, half of the monks were wiped out, including many of his own disciples, which intensified his hatred for the culprit.

As the evening drum sounded, the disciples entered the Buddha Hall to worship, and Zhizao brought out the list of monks to check them one by one.

After a moment, he confirmed that all the monks except the deceased disciple were present. He nodded slightly to Jiang Feng and began to speak according to the words Jiang Feng had given him beforehand.

"Today, Master Jiang Feng of Xuyuan Temple came to our Xiuchan Temple to preach at my invitation."

Master Jiang Feng was well-versed in the Tripitaka from a young age, and was especially skilled at hide-and-seek. He was a rare and highly accomplished monk in the world.

Now, let us invite Master Jiang Feng to expound the Dharma for us!

Jiang Feng stepped forward, looked at the five hundred disciples in the main hall, and a kind smile appeared on his face.

"Namo Maitreya Buddha, who will descend to earth in the future! Monks, today I will expound to you the 'Maitreya's Descent Sutra,' which mainly tells the story of Maitreya Bodhisattva's future descent to the human world to become a Buddha and liberate sentient beings."

Jiang Feng took in the expressions of all five hundred monks, but found nothing unusual.

He hadn't expected to be able to find the mastermind behind the scenes so easily, since the person had managed to hide under Zhiyi's nose for so long.

However, after studying and comprehending the "Ten Abodes Mahayana Practice" these past few days, he discovered that as long as he used all his magical power to preach the Maitreya Buddha Dharma, which conflicted with the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, those practicing Mahayana practices would inevitably be exposed.

The simplest truths are often the most profound; sometimes things are just that simple.

As Jiang Feng expended his magical power to chant scriptures, a gentle Buddhist light enveloped the main hall. The monks sitting in the hall gradually became engrossed, yearning for the Pure Land of Maitreya that he described.

Among the crowd, three people stood out from the crowd. One of them, an old monk, stared at Jiang Feng with a deep gaze, seemingly lost in thought.

The other two were young monks, their faces showing pain and struggle, as if they were trying their best to endure it.

After a while, Jiang Feng, who had exhausted too much of his magic power, gradually turned pale. The two young monks could no longer hold back and immediately launched an attack!

"Enough! You demonic monk, how dare you distort the true meaning of Buddha's teachings! You deserve to fall into Avici Hell!"

A monk waved his right hand, and a beam of blood shot straight at Jiang Feng's face.

Cui Ying, who was standing next to Jiang Feng, was prepared. She threw out a yellow talisman, which instantly shone with golden light and formed a shield in front of Jiang Feng.

The blood-red light struck the shield, shattering both of them, and Jiang Feng's chanting was also interrupted.

A commotion erupted among the monks, who spontaneously moved closer to the wall of the main hall, creating a vacuum around the three monks.

The old monk slowly rose, looking at Jiang Feng with a numb expression: "So it was you who ruined my plans. At such a young age, you have actually cultivated unorthodox demonic arts to such a high level. This is truly unexpected."

"When Zhiming suddenly summoned the Mahayana disciples today, I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. I just didn't expect that he would never return, and that he would take all the disciples' lives with him."

Jiang Feng swallowed a pill to replenish his depleted mana and physical strength, while curiously observing the old monk.

"I'm also surprised that you didn't run away. Wasn't it you who gave Zhiming that copy of 'The Ten Stages of Mahayana Practice'?"

"Indeed, Zhiming possesses innate wisdom. I did not want to see him go astray, so I secretly guided him into my Buddhist sect."

The old monk sighed softly, "It's a pity that his karmic connection wasn't strong enough; he can't follow me to become a Buddha."

Jiang Feng sneered: "Don't deceive yourself when you're lying to others. It would be a miracle if you could become a Buddha."

Although Fa Qing was cruel and fell into the demonic path, at first he did it to resist oppression.

And you? Secretly committing evil deeds and taking lives—those eight hundred Bodhisattvas of the Ten Stages alone represent eight thousand innocent lives!

The old monk shook his head slightly: "They are not innocent. Each of them is burdened with sins and has been misled by evil spirits."

I am severing their sins, not their lives. When I attain Buddhahood, the world will be a pure land, and at that time, it will make no difference whether they are in hell or in the human realm.

Looking at the old monk spouting fallacies and heresies, Jiang Feng suddenly felt a sense of crisis and said, "Were you waiting for me here on purpose?"

The old monk's face was resolute: "You are the reincarnation of the Demon King. If you are not eliminated today, you will surely bring chaos to my Buddhist sect in the future."

Yang Jian nodded in agreement: "You're right."

Jiang Feng: "..."

Hey bro, which side are you from? What a load of rubbish!

Jiang Feng glared at him fiercely, then looked at the old monk with some doubt: "All eight hundred disciples of the Mahayana Sect are gone, and now you three think you can kill me? Where do you get your confidence?"

The old monk said, "Exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path is not about numbers. Even if I am the only one here today, I will leave your life here."

Jiang Feng frowned slightly and said, "You old monk are really hopeless. I even suspect that Fa Qing must have turned your brain into mush back then."

A hint of displeasure flashed in the old monk's eyes: "Faqing is but a mortal, how can he be compared to me? I, Fanan, am the true future Buddha!"

Jiang Feng was slightly taken aback: "Your name is Fa Nan? Isn't that Zhi Ming's alias?"

A cryptic smile appeared on Fa Nan's face: "He is Fa Nan, but he is not me. I am Fa Nan, and I am also him; this is the freedom of other-transformation."

Jiang Feng suddenly realized.

The old monk was referring to the Paranirmitavasavartin realm of Mara, who enjoys happiness freely through the blissful realms created by others, without needing to cultivate himself; hence the name Paranirmitavasavartin.

This old monk, using some unknown magic, was able to briefly possess Zhiming's body, which is why Zhiming was influenced by him and called himself a monk.

While Jiang Feng was still pondering, a series of chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded outside.

The monk at the door ran out to check, and soon returned looking panicked, stammering, "So many people! So many people have come outside, I can't count them all, and they're all carrying weapons!"

Jiang Feng's pupils contracted, and he finally understood the source of the sense of crisis in his heart.

A secret elixir crafted without dust!

Fa Nan distributed the secret medicine refined by Wu Chen, and the Mahayana Sect's Demon-Slaying Army has been formed!

Jiang Feng's face darkened as he said, "No wonder you're so confident; it turns out you've already assembled the Demon-Slaying Army."

Fa Nan smiled and said, "I distributed three thousand doses of the madness drug, and all the people who took the drug were ordinary people."

"Now, how will you slaughter those three thousand innocent people as you killed my disciples?"

Jiang Feng's mind raced. He could undo the effects of the madness drug, but three thousand people were far too many. Unless he achieved enlightenment on the spot, he could only treat a hundred or so people even if he worked himself to death.

Jiang Feng suddenly had a flash of inspiration and looked at Cui Ying expectantly: "I remember you have a freezing talisman?"