Chapter 10: If there is Buddha in the heart, even a demon is a Buddha

"The Buddha in my heart."

In an instant, Ksitigarbha fell into a state of confusion.

The doctrines of the Buddhist sect emphasize the salvation of all living beings, yet according to what the Shopkeeper said, Tathagata, Guanyin, and the others are all acting for their own sake.

How then can one speak of saving all living beings?

Then who is the Buddha in his heart, and where is he?

What has he been doing all this time, purifying the evil souls of the underworld?

"Senior, Ksitigarbha does not know," Ksitigarbha said, shaking his head.

"Ksitigarbha, if there is Buddha in the heart, even a demon is a Buddha; if there is no Buddha in the heart, even a Buddha is a demon," Wu Feng said, offering a Zen riddle.

Naturally, the facts are indeed so.

Even the two Sages of the West who originally created Buddhism—did they ever truly think of saving all living beings?

That would truly be a joke.

During the war between the Wu Clan and the Demon Race, they forcibly converted the living beings of the Primordial World to join the Western Sect.

During the Investiture of the Gods, they even joined forces to deal with the Jie Sect of Tongtian Jiaozhu. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====

And even the subsequent establishment of the Buddhist sect.

There were reasons for all of it.

On one hand, Jieyin and Zhunti had made vows to become Saints, and they needed to fulfill those vows bit by bit.

On the other hand, even Saints have pursuits regarding the merit and fortune of heaven and earth.

Otherwise, how could the Investiture of the Gods have come to pass?

The Chan Sect, the Ren Sect, and the Jie Sect all had their own pursuits.

"If there is Buddha in the heart, a demon is a Buddha; if there is no Buddha in the heart, a Buddha is just a demon," Ksitigarbha muttered to himself, his eyes flickering with light.

Gradually, this glimmer of light became increasingly firm.

Ksitigarbha had known some of these things originally, but no one had been able to remind him.

Now, Wu Feng had unveiled the truth before Ksitigarbha, letting him understand that the Buddhist sect was not him, and he was not guarding the underworld for the sake of the Buddhist sect.

But for the sake of Buddha.

A moment later.

Ksitigarbha slowly returned to his senses and bowed respectfully to Wu Feng, "Thank you, Senior."

"No need for thanks. You may take a look around my grocery store; perhaps there is something you need inside," Wu Feng said with a smile.

By offering such guidance to Ksitigarbha, Wu Feng intended to make Ksitigarbha spend well.

Letting the other party leave empty-handed did not align with Wu Feng's initial thoughts.

"Something I want?" Ksitigarbha was stunned for a moment, scanning the cabinets before him, which held all sorts of items.

There were innate spiritual treasures, elixirs, and books.

But Ksitigarbha still could not discern the true nature of these items.

This was because these spiritual items were all shrouded in a strange power.

Only by spending exchange points would the treasures reveal their true radiance.

Walking past several cabinets, Ksitigarbha stopped in front of a book, for he saw the title of this book was *Seeking the Demon*.

*Seeking the Demon*.

This was somewhat similar to the thoughts currently in his heart.

"I..." With a trace of longing, Ksitigarbha placed his hand on the book.

"..." Soon, Ksitigarbha felt embarrassed, because he could not pick up the book from the cabinet.

"Ksitigarbha, to pick up items from the cabinet, you need to spend exchange points. Ten exchange points will suffice," Wu Feng said with a smile. "And you can obtain exchange points by trading your own cultivation techniques or treasures to me."

"Oh, so that is how it is," Ksitigarbha realized.

Soon, Ksitigarbha gathered ten points and opened the book *Seeking the Demon*.

Before he had read even a few pages, just as he was immersed in the text, the book disappeared from before his eyes and returned to the cabinet.

"This..." Ksitigarbha was somewhat bewildered.

"That was just a preview. If you want to continue reading, you need more points," Wu Feng revealed a smile like a wolf in grandmother's clothing.

"Very well..." Ksitigarbha nodded.

Compared to Sun Wukong, although Ksitigarbha was also somewhat poor, he still had many ways to obtain exchange points.

After all, he knew far more cultivation techniques than Sun Wukong.

He also possessed quite a few innate spiritual treasures.

After all, Ksitigarbha was a powerhouse at the Quasi-Saint level.

In the end, Ksitigarbha exchanged the treasures and techniques in his possession for a full two thousand points—a large sum.

Immediately after, Ksitigarbha picked up *Seeking the Demon* once more and began to read.

He had an intuition that this book would help him understand where his path truly lay.

Meanwhile.

Taibai Jinxing arrived at the land of Mount Huaguo.

"Old Daoist, who are you? This is where our Great King resides," a monkey blocked Taibai Jinxing.

"I am Taibai Jinxing from the Heavenly Court, here specifically to request an audience with your Great King," Taibai Jinxing said hurriedly.

This time he was here to offer amnesty, so naturally, he could not let Sun Wukong have any negative impressions.

"The Heavenly Court." The monkey's gaze held a hint of awe.

To these demons, the Heavenly Court was always an unreachable existence.

"I understand. Old Daoist, wait here; I will go request an audience with the Great King now," the monkey said.

"Good, good, the old Daoist will wait right here," Taibai Jinxing said with a smile.

Inside the Water Curtain Cave.

"Great King, Great King, it's bad! Someone from the Heavenly Court has come!" a monkey shouted loudly.

"Someone from the Heavenly Court has come?" Sun Wukong, sitting on a stone chair eating a banana, had eyes that glowed with light.

Not long ago, he remembered that there was such a scene in *Journey to the West*.

"Is that person from the Heavenly Court named Taibai Jinxing?" Sun Wukong asked.

"Eh? Great King, how did you know?" The monkey was stunned for a moment. "That old Daoist is indeed called Taibai Jinxing."

"Hmm, let Taibai Jinxing wait outside for a while; I have matters to attend to first," Sun Wukong instructed.

"Yes, Great King, I will tell that old Daoist right away," the monkey nodded.

And so, Taibai Jinxing waited outside for quite a while before finally being brought to where Sun Wukong was.

"Sun Wukong, I am Taibai Jinxing of the Heavenly Court. Acting on the Jade Emperor's decree, I am here to invite you to the Heavenly Court to serve as an official," Taibai Jinxing said hurriedly.

"Serve as an official in the Heavenly Court? What kind of official?" Sun Wukong asked with interest.

Sun Wukong already knew what kind of official he would become.

Rather than an official, it was more like a minor clerk.

If things were normal, Sun Wukong would not waste words and would directly drive Taibai Jinxing out; making him a minor clerk was an insult to him.

However, the current Sun Wukong had other ideas.

To read books at the Shopkeeper's place, one needed exchange points.

As for the origin of exchange points, heavenly treasures were the most direct source.

The Heavenly Court possessed many treasures, and that was Sun Wukong's goal. ===== CHAPTER 20 =====