Chapter 468: Show of Sincerity
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
When the bunch of elders wrestled, the disc holding the Hades’ Dark Mantra was destroyed. The people above the disc who were at the Holy Fire sacrificial rites contracted bad luck as a result.
Long Ye and the Sirius Grand Sage were still fine. With the essence of the Cloud Forest Tree, they could protect themselves.
Whereas the bunch of elders were in deep trouble. Their essences were razed by the Holy Fire and their Immortal Souls were almost destroyed.
Even if they were left on their own, if no one came to their rescue, they could have succumbed by themselves. With such a huge calamity in destroying the disc, the result was even worse.
Lin Feng witnessed the situation from the side. When the others were fighting for the Hades’ Dark Mantra, he acted decisively and saved the Virtuous Zen Master, Prince Anliang and the Stellar Holy Man.
Guanchong Swordmaster was also saved by the leader of the Mount Shu Sword Sect, Xin Longsheng.
But saving them was useless. They were in a very precarious state, and were about to perish.
Lin Feng supported their Immortal Souls temporarily using the Purple Clouds, thus they did not die yet.
He came in front of the Virtuous Zen Master first. The old monk sat on his knees, revealing a calm and peaceful expression. His skin surfaced a layer of dim golden color, as if he was a Buddha statue. But it was just that he was filled with injuries and could collapse soon.
The Virtuous Zen Master opened his eyes and saw Lin Feng, smiling, "Buddha is merciful. You must be the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. It must be destiny for me to see you today."
Lin Feng looked at him and asked, "From your tone of voice, it seems like you know me before today?"
The Virtuous Zen Master laughed while saying, "You are very reputable in the Divine Lands now. Although I don’t mix with the world much, I have heard of you before. But as you said, before you became famous, I have heard of you before."
Lin Feng revealed a smiling intent on his face, "I have had the opportunity to meet two of the Great Thunderclap Temples disciples. One is called Hui Kong and the other is called Hui Ku. How are they related to you?"
The Virtuous Zen Master nodded his head, "I have met Hui Kong before and he mentioned your name."
"Hui Kong is still finding the sarira?" Lin Feng asked. The Virtuous Zen Master replied, "That is right. He is a sincere person and he never gives up."
Lin Feng’s expression did not change and he asked, "If I can contact him, I will tell him that the 24 sariras that Hui Ku was finding previously has been found by me. I have sent it back to the Forest of Stupas behind the Great Thunderclap Temple to be buried."
The calm and peaceful Virtuous Zen Master was stunned and revealed a shocked look on his face. He looked at Lin Feng and Lin Feng nodded his head, saying, "Not only the 24 sariras, I have also sent the sarira that a highly-skilled monk who cultivated the Acalanatha Tathagata Mantra lost back to the Great Thunderclap Temple. It landed in the hands of the Heaven Lake Sect cultivators, but I found it."
He opened his palms and placed 16 pieces of sarira, "The 16 pieces of sarira that you were chasing are also here. I planned to return it to the Great Thunderclap Temple too."
"It has reached." As he spoke, Mount Yujing flew out of space and Lin Feng used his mana to bring the Virtuous Zen Master to the mountains where the Great Thunderclap Temple used to be.
The Virtuous Zen Master looked at the remains of the desolated Great Thunderclap Temple and the sarira in Lin Feng’s palms, but did not speak.
Lin Feng dragged the sarira and looked at the Virtuous Zen Master, saying, "To prevent the mana vibration of the sarira, I have sealed it using my own powers. Since you are here, I will not deal with it further. I shall leave it to you."
The Virtuous Zen Master clasped his palms and said in a deep voice, "Buddha is merciful. For the sarira to return, it is all thanks to the fortune of the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. I should not be the one dealing with it. I hope that you can finish this job."
Lin Feng smiled and waved his hand. A weird hole opened on the ground and Lin Feng put the sarira inside it. There was a system message ringing.
"The 16 sariras have returned to the Nirvana Land with your help. The completed fraction is 16/1988. You have obtained a Buddhist sutra as a reward."
Lin Feng was stunned, "Is it because it was so hard to accomplish something like this? As long as a portion of the sariras were returned, then there will be a reward?"
Regardless, to have obtained a reward, Lin Feng was pleased. He opened the gift and saw a volume of the <>.
"Oh, it is a volume of Buddhist sutra. This is around the level of the Ksitigarbha Sutra and the Art of Acalanatha, but beneath that of the Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass." Lin Feng scanned it and knew that this is part of the Buddhist collection of the Great Thunderclap Temple in the past.
Among them all, the Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass was the best. Besides that, there were also other Buddhist collections. The Art of Acalanatha and the Bodhisattva Sutra were one of the best.
To Lin Feng, the effect of the Bodhisattva Sutra was not that great. Buddhist mantras could bring him help and provide references for him. Only the Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass and collections like the Bodhisattva Sutra could be used to supplement the Pavilion of Books.
But what Lin Feng noticed was that this volume of Bodhisattva Sutra was the complete book. From the outline to the sutra, even the abhijnas were present.
"For sending 16 sariras back, the system rewarded me with one of the Bodhisattva Sutra. If I return 160 sariras, what will be my reward? Will I get a volume of Tathagatha Mantra?"
Lin Feng pondered in his heart, "Or is there an even better reward once I reach a certain quota?"
As he was thinking, Lin Feng turned his head to look at the Virtuous Zen Master. He conjured a spell and cultivated a Cloud Forest Tree, converting it into a dense white light. Lin Feng drew a huge amount of spiritual energy from this white light and injected it into the Virtuous Zen Master’s body.
The Virtuous Zen Master was shocked and did not speak. He shut his eyes and accepted Lin Feng’s good will, cultivating the huge amount of spiritual energy with all his focus.
His injuries started to heal quickly and the golden light on his body became brighter and brighter. Eventually, he reverted to his look as a golden Buddha, releasing unlimited light.
Lin Feng looked at the golden Buddha in front of him and only saw that he was being lifted by 8 peacocks. His right hand was carrying lotus while his left hand carried a bell. He was expressionless and his entire body shone brightly. He looked extremely imposing.
"Is this the Golden-Plated Buddha that is cultivated from the Immortal Soul that was formed from the Forever-Bright Tathagata Mantra?" Lin Feng’s gaze flashed and he looked quietly at the golden Buddha. The light on his body was slowly changing. The golden color was slowly dimming and what was left was only the pure light.
Just by looking at the Golden Buddha and feeling the power concept within, followed by referencing to the Supreme Light Mantra that he controlled of the Forever-Bright Tathagata Mantra, Lin Feng could feel that he was slowly figuring out the true meaning of Buddhism in the outline of the Forever-Bright Tathagata Mantra, the Amitabha Sutra.
After a while, the Virtuous Zen Master shed the golden Buddha look and returned to his original self. He looked better but was still weak.
He did not obtain the entire Cloud Forest Tree like Long Ye or the Sirius Grand Sage, but the essence that he got was enough to stabilize his Immortal Soul and prevent it from collapsing.
"Thank you for your helping hand." The Virtuous Zen Master clasped his palms and thanked Lin Feng sincerely, "I will also like to thank you for helping to return the sariras of my elders to the Nirvana Land."
Lin Feng replied, "Please do not stand on ceremony. In the Nirvana Lands, those who have already sought peace should not be disturbed. Previously, I visited the wasted stupa and had a revelation. I decided to find the missing sariras and return to the Great Thunderclap Temple."
"If I have further findings, I will send it to the Great Thunderclap Temple."
After the Virtuous Zen Master heard this, he nodded his head repeatedly, "You have done a lot of good deeds. I am eternally grateful towards you."
He looked around and saw the wasted temple, sighing, "As people die and the light is extinguished, it breeds a new cycle. But it is all just a part of Buddhism. All we see is just the appearance of it."
"I have always opened myself through this. But as I think about how the elder’s sariras were blasphemed by others, I have always felt unbearable about it. My cultivation is still lacking."
Lin Feng laughed, "Once you look into your heart, you can find out who you are really are. A bladder can be empty or full."
The Virtuous Zen Master revealed a light smile, "What you say is true. I have learnt much from you."
Lin Feng asked, "What are your plans in the future?"
"I have a request." The Virtuous Zen Master hesitated for a while, before clasping his palms, bowing towards Lin Feng. "I hope to follow you to find the sariras and send them back to the Nirvana Land."
"The Great Thunderclap Temple has been destroyed. Everything is fixed in place. I have never thought that it will be rebuilt again either. So, I hope to commit myself to you and do my best for the Celestial Sect of Wonders, to repay you. I hope that you will grant me this wish."
After he finished saying, the Virtuous Zen Master bowed again towards Lin Feng.
Lin Feng looked at him and laughed, "Master, you are too kind. You don’t have to commit to me. If you want, you can be a guest over here."
"The Great Thunderclap Temple has experienced a disaster, and I have not felt good about it. But I don’t wish that you detach from Buddhism. I have some fate with Buddhism. Since this is the case, we can let fate bring us further."
The Virtuous Zen Master nodded his head, "You are very magnanimous. I am grateful towards you."
Lin Feng smiled. Keeping the Virtuous Zen Master was a double-edged sword. The Great Thunderclap Temple experienced what it did because of some reason.
Besides being enemies with the Great Zhou Empire, the Great Void Sect and the Mount Shu Sword Sect entered the war to end Buddhism too. From what Lin Feng knew, it wasn’t just about profits.
To accept a disciple of Buddhism now might cause problems in the future.
But there were benefits to it too. Besides having another Immortal Soul Stage Elder in the sect, which would increase the powers of the sect, Lin Feng could also obtain the Forever-Bright Tathagata Mantra.
This was a show of sincerity on Lin Feng’s part, as he wanted to reap the benefits. After the Great Thunderclap Temple was destroyed, it was not only the Virtuous Zen Master who escaped. Although they were all separated, the combination of their powers was a strong show of strength. Lin Feng believed that Virtuous Zen Master and the rest would contact each other soon.
As for any future problems, Lin Feng had an idea, "If I can handle things well, not only will there be no disadvantages, there may even be unexpected rewards."