Chapter 412: Never Disappointing When It Comes to Disappointing

Si Jiu Yi Ling Outer Gate.

Between the layered mountain ranges, statues of Buddhas sat or lay, some compassionate, some ferocious, standing tall across the mountains and plains.

This is Qianfo Mountain, a holy site of Buddhism in the Si Jiu Yi Ling Outer Gate.

And at this moment, deep within Qianfo Mountain.

An ordinary wooden hut stands among the thousand Buddhas of the mountains.

An orange-red flame burns quietly in the center of the hearth, the firelight flickering, illuminating the low table and cushions on the right.

On the low table, a milky-white jade spring vase with a slender neck and round belly exudes an intoxicating aroma of wine.

Beside the jade vase, two delicate little wine cups; one is half-full, while the other is empty.

Su Nian sits upright before the half-full wine cup, lifts it, and takes a sip.

"I don't know what flavor you like, so I didn't pour you any wine."

Su Nian stretches out a finger to point at the cushion across the low table from him, signaling the visitor to take a seat.

"If you don't like Monkey Wine, you can choose another drink, before we have a disagreement."

Hearing this, the visitor remains silent for a moment, then puts his hands together and softly recites a Buddhist chant.

"Amitabha."

"Since Patron Su has so kindly invited me, this Little Monk shall not decline."

He says this, slowly steps forward, kneels before the low table, and straightens his back.

Su Nian sips the sweet Monkey Wine, which carries a rich fruity fragrance, and squints at the other person.

The visitor has aged features, his eyes are chaotic and dim, and his appearance is like that of an old man nearing the end of his life; the incense scars on his head are even covered by dark skin, making them somewhat difficult to see.

After sitting upright, Puxian lifts the wine cup with both hands and says.

"A cup of water will suffice for me."

"Fine then, it's a pity for this Monkey Wine I specifically asked Hou Jie for."

Su Nian shakes the wine cup with a hint of regret, reaches out, and with a wave, a wisp of water vapor swirls into the cup, forming a pool of clear spring water.

"You really don't know how to read the atmosphere at all; don't you know that a guest should follow the host's lead?"

Su Nian cannot help but complain.

Puxian takes a small sip, then lets out a long sigh.

"What difference does it make whether it is water or wine? All in the world is empty; why seek trouble for oneself?"

"Don't give me those grand principles; I have no interest in them whatsoever."

Su Nian waves his hand in disgust, a look of disdain appearing on his face.

"I invited you here today just to ask you a few things."

"Do you think there is any difference between Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism?"

The hand Puxian uses to hold the cup trembles slightly, as if he understands what kind of question Su Nian wants to ask him.

"If I remember correctly, before the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood, the 'Buddha' at that time was not yet a 'God and Buddha', right?"

Su Nian sighs, speaking with a touch of regret.

As the direct disciple of the Buddha, no one knows the difference between a 'Buddha' and a 'God and Buddha' better than he does.

Or rather, the evolution from 'Buddha' to 'God and Buddha' was something they intentionally pushed for.

A 'Buddha' is a person with Enlightenment, a transcendence of the self, while a 'God and Buddha' is a god cast from a Golden Body.

The original Buddhism had no such thing as Hinayana and Mahayana; Mahayana was determined by them, the later generations.

Puxian seems to understand Su Nian's true purpose and, somewhat dejectedly, drains the water in his cup in one gulp.

"I knew very early on that the World-Honored One did not care for fame or wealth, nor did He care for so-called Authority, or even the Universal Truth."

"What He cared about was suffering, and Nirvana, the liberation of the self and even all sentient beings."

"It is laughable to say, but the World-Honored One did not care about 'saving all sentient beings'; the rhetoric of saving all sentient beings to lead others to transcendence was determined by us disciples and Bodhisattvas."

"He was very willing to guide us toward that path of transcendence; every time we asked, He would teach us tirelessly, and He never even hid those secrets that only existed at their level."

"But... is that really something we can achieve?"

At this point, Puxian looks at Su Nian with a puzzled expression, as if he is also looking at the World-Honored One.

"To transcend like the World-Honored One, or even to attain the Dao like other Universal Truths? Or even to become an omnipotent One-digit?"

He is like a lost traveler; clearly, there are paths ahead, but he cannot step onto a single one.

Clearly, those paths can be seen and heard, and he can even speak eloquently about the road conditions and how to walk them, even what the key points are.

But he cannot take a single step onto them.

"Tsk, you can fool others, but don't fool yourself."

Su Nian looks at the numb Puxian, rolls his eyes, and says coldly.

"Aren't you all walking on this very path?"

"In this Little Garden, what is impossible?"

Little Garden is a sublime world that turns the false into the real and makes the impossible possible; even Orpheus, who was once a mere mortal, has now attained the Dao and become a Universal Truth.

Even the Puxian Bodhisattva before me, before being taken as a disciple by Sakyamuni, wasn't he also a mortal who was indistinguishable from the masses?

What does this Spirit Status system of Little Garden bring to all life in Little Garden? It is that most important thing: possibility.

Just like observing the Godslayer World—can it really bring such a serious impact to Little Garden? Can it really allow Athena to become a sublime Trinity queen?

Obviously, that is impossible; the power that the Little Athena could bring to Athena is something the Little Garden Athena could accumulate in a single breath.

What is important is that it brought further possibilities.

Endless possibilities, and the Miracle of turning possibilities into reality—this is what is truly sublime about Little Garden.

In Little Garden, nothing is impossible.

"Do you really think that with your current Enlightenment, it is possible for you to become a Buddha? Or perhaps a Bodhisattva?"

Su Nian asked in return, his words like sharp knives, slicing open the deepest thoughts hidden within Puxian's heart.

"This Spirit Status of yours as Puxian Bodhisattva, isn't it just something forcibly piled up by relying on the Merit of Little Garden, and the Miracle of Little Garden that turns the impossible into the possible?"

"While you are here, stop putting on that profound act."

Regarding Puxian, and regarding the current Buddhism, Su Nian holds them in contempt.

To be honest, if you want to scrape for Merit, then scrape for Merit; if you want to pursue faith, then pursue faith, right?

But what is the meaning of this behavior where you want both Merit and faith, yet also covet the immense wealth of others and the golden splendor of others?

Su Nian raised his eyes to glance at the Qianfo Mountain outside; how many corpses are buried beneath the feet of these Buddha statues covering the mountains and plains? By now, it is already uncountable.

But if this were built by a Community of Four-digit or Five-digit experts in architecture and creation, perhaps the expenses would be a bit higher, but the sacrifices would definitely be pitifully few.

As for the extra expenses, any single Golden Body Buddha statue in one of the temples on this mountain would be enough to cover it.

"Saving all living beings? I think it's more like you want all living beings to save you."

Su Nian sneered; he now felt that the Puxian before him was hypocritical to the point of nausea.

He now somewhat regretted calling Puxian out for a conversation.

Upon hearing this, Puxian was taken aback, then smiled, and with a relaxed expression, said to Su Nian.

"Haha, Benefactor Su speaks well, but if one uses all living beings as a boat to save oneself, are you not also one who crosses with me?"

"Oh, and then what?"

Su Nian rolled his eyes; he could naturally see what Puxian meant.

"And then, you can lump me in with you?"

"Let's not; we are not the same. I am a dragon, but you are not necessarily a Buddha."

"In this Little Garden where one is either human or god, you and I are the same; we are both gods."

Puxian said with an indifferent expression.

"Besides, you don't actually think that by solving me and solving the Xianshou Sect, you can change Buddhism, do you?"

"It is true that the people of Buddhism have gone to participate in the competition for the Last King Buddha, but once the God Slayer War ends, everything will return to the starting point."

Speaking of this, Puxian paused, a hint of a smile appearing on his face as he said.

"You can do nothing, even if you add Yang Jian to the mix."

"Just like the World-Honored One who was placed on the altar back then, unable to move."

"You cannot stop us; this is the human heart, and it is human nature! It is even more so Buddhism!"

"Oh?"

Su Nian curled his lips, raised his wine cup, and squinted his eyes as he said.

"Then what if I step on the gas pedal for you all?"

Upon hearing this, Puxian paused, stunned, and asked.

"What do you want to do?"

Su Nian laughed wantonly upon hearing this.

"What do I want to do?"

"Naturally, to let Buddhism rot completely, and then burn Buddhism down with a single fire."

"What do you mean?"

Puxian's face revealed terror; he was somewhat unable to understand Su Nian's words.

Let Buddhism rot completely? Is there any room for the current Buddhism to rot further? The current state of Buddhism was pushed by them; how could they not understand?

His path of truth is 【Saving all living beings, rebirth in the Pure Land】; only when all living beings suffer will they yearn for the Pure Land he speaks of.

In order to complete his Pure Land, living beings must suffer.

If living beings are not suffering enough, how can they talk about yearning for the Pure Land? And how then could he transcend?

"It means nothing."

Su Nian revealed a brilliant smile; he patted Puxian on the shoulder and said.

"It means exactly what it says; I think the current Buddhism could be even more rotten."

"For example, how about letting Buddhism become the Demon Gate? How about letting someone else sit on that lotus throne in the Mahavira Hall?"

"You..."

Puxian widened his eyes, looking at Su Nian with a livid complexion, even unable to help but shout at Su Nian.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Didn't I say? Stepping on the gas pedal for Buddhism."

Su Nian poured a cup of wine for Puxian with a smile, then said.

Then, in the identity of the Last King, go to Spirit Mountain as a Savior to purge the demons.

"Hahaha, stepping on the gas pedal, what a great 'stepping on the gas pedal'!!"

Puxian could not help but laugh out loud.

"Indeed, the difference between the current Buddhism and the Demon Gate is merely a difference in name."

However, as he laughed, tears began to stream down his face.

"We were wrong, we were all wrong! We have all gone down the wrong path, and there is no turning back now."

Su Nian looked at the regretful Puxian, shook his head, swirled the wine cup in his hand, and sighed lightly.

As expected, Buddhism never fails to disappoint when it comes to being disappointing.

He had actually thought that Puxian, as a direct disciple of the Buddha, was different from the other guys in Buddhism.

(End of chapter)