Chapter 421: I Lost a Sword in the Human World

All conditioned things are impermanent; they arise and cease; when arising and ceasing cease, nirvana is bliss.

Wang Yun had prepared to sacrifice his body for the Buddha, but the teachings of the Dharma Cult had corrupted minds and desecrated the Bodhisattva's golden form, stirring new attachments within him.

His mouth and eyes were sewn shut; the pain to his flesh paled beside the torment in his heart. His death might bring liberation, but what of these believers and these disciples?

"Buddha, I beg you to pity all sentient beings. I, your disciple, am willing to enter the Avīci Hell to bear the karmic retribution for these believers and monks."

Yet miracles are never so plentiful—he was, after all, merely a abbot with meager spiritual power.

In a daze, he saw again the past: decades of grueling training under his master, learning the lineage, constructing a golden body from incense and flesh, writing Buddhist sutras with his own blood, taking human bodies—

Aren't these all heretical paths? Why did I learn these things?

"Brother Bai Yun! Brother Bai Yun!" A familiar voice called at his ear.

Bai Yun opened his eyes; his plain white monk's robe was soaked in sweat. He looked at the monk before him with a straight eyebrow, exhaled deeply, and said: "Huixin, younger brother, did I fall asleep?"

"The Heavenly Buddha has issued an oral decree: any Xin Su or Xin Zhuo encountered may be admitted into our sect." Huixin clasped his hands together, chanting "Amitabha," then added:

"Lately, I wish to go out and seek those pitiful souls, sparing them from persecution by the mad Daoists, the mad Buddhas, and the imperial court. While I am gone, Elder Brother Bai Yun, please watch over these monks who have fallen into delusion."

"The past is not your fault alone." Bai Yun sighed long and deep, rising from his meditation cushion, lips trembling: "We are all mad. We are all guilty."

Bai Yun closed his eyes; two trails of tears traced down his cheeks.

"It is this heaven that is mad," Huixin shook his head and said:

"The Two World Honored Ones have descended to the mortal realm to save all beings. We, blessed by their awakening and taught by their Dharma, must share their burden—our broken, sinful bodies becoming vessels of universal salvation, seeking only to free all sentient beings from the sea of suffering."

Bai Yun nodded slightly, opened his eyes, and walked toward the door: "You are born with the countenance of an Luo Han, and have received from the True Dhyana Tathagata the method to manifest the Taming Tiger Luo Han's golden body. With time, you will surely achieve great things. But your current cultivation is still shallow—why not train further?"

"I plan to enter the Light-Time Pagoda tonight and enter a death-seal." Huixin said: "If I emerge, I may depart tomorrow."

Bai Yun froze, then forced a smile: "Excellent. Excellent."

The two fell silent. Soon, Bai Yun and Huixin reached the temple gate. He looked at the monk guarding the entrance, staff in hand, then scanned the soldiers still watching nearby, and said:

"This is a pure land of the Buddha. If you come to worship during the day, proceed to the front hall. Treat all lay followers with proper respect—do not offend them. If a benefactor encounters a malevolent spirit, only then may you notify the Enforcement Hall to investigate."

"But if someone assaults the Buddhist order…"

Before he finished, a Daoist in red robes, face masked with copper coins, galloped up on horseback and pulled a Jian Tian Si token from his robe.

In the shadows, someone whispered softly.

"Is that man insane? These bald monks can take down dozens of us—he actually wants to ride in?"

"Jian Tian Si always acts like this. Hey, wait till you see him stripped naked."

"Go report to the Colonel. Jian Tian Si has arrived. And prepare a set of clothes."

"Funny—look at the kid's back. Kinda handsome, huh? Hehe, I'll bring him the clothes later."

"Uh"

The sentries in the surrounding houses watched the "Great Lei Yinsi" openly, chatting among themselves, already picturing the red-robed Daoist's fate—fools never read the situation.

??

Why did he just ride straight in?

The monks all stepped aside, letting the Jian Tian Si Daoist ride his horse right through?

How is that fair!?

Haven't we, the military, done nothing to you!?

"Go ask that old man with silver spearhead and white hair sweeping the ground—why can't we enter Lei Yinsi!?"

"Go! He's carrying a vegetable basket at night—still going shopping? Block him!"

"Block him! Hey, he's kinda handsome."

"Wait—why do all the other monks have no hair, but this monk has hair?"

"Who cares! Gather a whole company—block him! I don't believe we can't take him down!"

Moments later.

"A bunch of fools." Su Lin brushed his hands dismissively and ordered: "Send them to Lei Feng Pagoda. No, waste of food—strip them naked and dump them outside the military camp. Their clothes go to aid displaced refugees."

In ancient times, there was no nightlife at night—you couldn't even find a place to buy vegetables.

The monks: "We obey the Heavenly Buddha's decree."

"This string of prayer beads… it's really you," Li Huowang grabbed Meng Qi's right wrist, studying the beads on his arm: "Does Su Ge have one too?"

"How do you know?" Su Lin rolled up his sleeve; he was turning the beads in his hands, faint glimmers of light flowing across them.

"We're currently at Lingshan Road's Big Electric KTV—what room? The Suffering Realm? Coming, coming!" Li Huowang laughed: "Oh! Everyone's singing!"

"What's this Big Electric KTV?" Su Lin was baffled.

He noticed Li Huowang's expression was strange—his pupils seemed to dilate, his mind wandering far away.

"Su Ge, you danced to the limit!"

"Brother Meng just went full show!"

Su Lin and Meng Qi exchanged glances. Su Lin pointed to his own head, then to Li Huowang.

Meng Qi shrugged, spreading his hands to show he had no idea what was going on.

Why has his condition worsened after just a short time?

After a while

"Brothers Su and Meng, you're having a blast in the modern world," Li Huowang grinned: "Teaching medicine by day, nightclubs and KTV by night?"

"What? Huowang, don't scare me!" Su Lin touched his forehead: "No fever… what nonsense is he talking?"

Meng Qi shook his head, strangely: "How could a monk like me go to such places? If my wife found out, what would happen? I am a married man."

"What?" Li Huowang was stunned: "You… wait, I need to use the restroom."

While Su Lin and Meng Qi debated whether to give Li Huowang calming and spirit-soothing pills, Li Huowang finally returned to himself.

"Can't you link your projections?" Li Huowang looked at the two monks radiating divine light and asked: "You've got your own projections in the modern world, haven't you?"

Su Lin's expression turned as strange as Meng Qi's: "You didn't mistake the person, did you?"

"Su Tianfu, Meng Zhending—both have a string of these prayer beads, picked up after Fifth Sister lost them."

Li Huowang pointed at the prayer beads on their hands: "They even invited Yang Na and me to sing karaoke tonight."

Su Lin: "Karaoke? Are you two even adults?"

"Is that the point?" Meng Qi looked at Li Huowang and asked:

"These prayer beads do have some connection to the Five Wisdom Tathagatas, and they contain a small amount of Dao."

"But you're saying the modern world influenced by Bai Yujing has projections of both of us?"

That was strange—they weren't Confused Siming of this world, so why did projections of themselves appear in the modern world? And yet, there was no sensation of connection between the projections and their originals.

"Su Tianfu?" Su Lin murmured the name, then asked Li Huowang: "Tell us in detail—when did this person appear?"

"Right after you first came to this world, on the other side—"

After Li Huowang's explanation, the two roughly understood the identity of the projections on the other side, and learned that these two projections had been invited as visiting experts to the City People's Hospital.

"What are they doing right now? Go take a look," Su Lin said.

Li Huowang's eyes gradually glazed over; after fifteen seconds, he said: "Playing fist games, drinking till drunk, now they're playing a game where the loser takes off clothes. Na Na, why don't you order some grilled skewers? The air here is stifling."

"Ugh," Su Lin felt his teeth ache again, as if after a long absence: "Huowang, go slap him hard—wake him up."

Meng Qi rested his chin on his hand and smiled: "Don't rush—it might not be our own projections at all. Maybe they're just local people manifested by the world?"

No need to lose your composure like this.

"They've started picking songs. Meng Zhending picked one called 'I Lost a Sword in the Human World.'"

"Huowang."

"What?"

"Did you bring a knife? Go slice his vocal cords."

Meng Qi said, half-joking, voice trembling.

Okay, that's a bit extreme.

But if these really are projections connected to us, then this matter deserves serious thought.

"I remember I wanted to come here to gather the entire Dao," Su Lin thought for a moment and analyzed:

"Confused Siming moves forward without pause. If we become Confused Siming in this world someday, our projections may have already appeared in its history."

"Not yet at the right time point, so like Ji Zai, they haven't returned?"

"I think it's possible this thing is influencing them," Meng Qi removed the prayer beads from his hand, frowning in thought. "Thinking about this now is meaningless."

If he and Su Lin each controlled a Dao right now, the truth would surely come to light.

"The Emperor of Liang heard about your situation and wants to recruit you."

Li Huowang began speaking of serious matters:

"By the way, why create a grand Lei Yinsi? And the monks at the gate—they give me a strange feeling."

"The dice haven't moved at all. During this time, Zuowang Dao has gone as silent as a dead engine. Though he came to me recently to help the young Emperor of Liang kill someone, something about it feels off—I can't quite say what."

Li Huowang felt many things had changed. He could still arrange things in advance, but the effects he might achieve now required careful consideration.

Yet, as Zhuge Yuan had analyzed for him, following the established path grants foresight—but that advantage can only be used once. Facing the dice, the Confused Siming, and enemies from outside worlds, any single act beyond normal logic would trigger a different chain reaction.

If so, why not shift from covert to overt, from passive to active, and seize control of the situation's rhythm? He had a chat group allowing travel to other worlds—just that alone could produce countless novel tricks to overwhelm his opponents.

Moreover, he had invited a Sanqing and a God—though he couldn't fathom why the two had gone halfway to become Buddhas. Surely, they had their own profound reasons.

"By chance, many of these monks were former Fa Jiao believers, now converted to Buddhism—considered a meritorious deed."

Meng Qi said.

"Fa Jiao believers? Those brainwashed fools can convert to Buddhism? Oh, I get it."

Li Huowang saw Meng Qi pointing at Su Lin and instantly understood.

"It's not true conversion—I merely taught them some Buddhist teachings. Their true spirits remain intact, just trapped within the Dharma and unable to escape," Su Lin explained, insisting he had not used brainwashing techniques:

"After multiple tests, using the Tianshi Wu Xiang Body as a skill tree, then adding the influence traits of mythic beings and applying the Eternal Authority, even a dust-like dosage allows these brainwashed cultists to perceive the beauty of the Dharma. If they achieve true awakening, their chaotic true spirits will revive and replace the current Dharma."

"It's giving them a chance."

"The Buddha is compassionate, boundless in love."

Though those who could achieve this generally wouldn't be fooled into believing in Fa Jiao.

"Replace the current Dharma?" Li Huowang blinked. "What does that mean?"

He understood every word, but together, it made no sense.

Zhuge Yuan reminded him from the side: "Combining this with what we just saw—it likely means… those monks are, in fact, living Dharma."

Living… Dharma.

Li Huowang felt this skill was unsettling—he'd seen crazy scientists like this on TV as a child.

But since Su Lin was on his side, he felt somewhat reassured—it wasn't being used against him.

Like Amon too—since they're all on our side, why worry? It's not like it's happening to him.

It's oddly comforting when villains become teammates.

Wait— isn't Su Ge not even a villain?

"As for the Confused Siming side, we'll take it one step at a time," Li Huowang told Su Lin and Meng Qi:

"Tomorrow, I'll petition the Emperor to reclaim Zhuge's Spine Sword. Then, Qingwang can monitor me through that sword—we won't meet in person anymore. Anything important, we'll discuss in the group."

Zhuge Yuan was Sanqing's Heart Peach—meaning the Confused Siming's past self. The Sanqing on Bai Yujing could naturally observe Li Huowang's every move through their past self.

Su Lin nodded and said to Li Huowang:

"Stay here tonight, have a late snack. By tomorrow noon, the hybrid rice—easily harvestable every two and a half months—will be fully mature. Take the seeds back and give them to the current Emperor of Liang. But remember to tell her this isn't Buddhist in origin—it's the work of some ordinary mortal."

He and Meng Qi had merely added a few things to it, granting it the ability to absorb minor evil forces to grow. There's still plenty of land in Liang suitable for cultivation—just low yield. As long as the Dragon Vein remains, the grain shortage should be solvable.

Li Huowang was moved; these two still cared about the fate of all living beings in this world.

"Wait a moment, I'll be right back." Su Lin pulled out a cross-realm talisman and opened a portal.

Moments later.

Su Lin handed Li Huowang a rune: "From Song Shuhang. It's a technique that projects images into the mind. Learn it."

Li Huowang placed the rune against his third eye; after learning it, he frowned: "And then?"

"Broadcast those two guys later," Meng Qi leaned in. "Find out what's really going on with them!"

Su Lin drew the Skyblue Jade Xuanyuan Sword and placed it in Li Huowang's hands: "You can bring things back to the modern era, right? If things go wrong—"

Li Huowang's eyes widened.

What? Those are you two yourselves!

(End of Chapter)