Chapter 195: Breaking Witchcraft

Elder Xianhuan said, "For that couple who obtained the Dizang Fodi, we have already built a Wangsheng Pagoda for them. A few days ago, we held a Mianran Dharma Assembly and delivered the souls of all living beings in the ten directions, but I still had to inform you, Benefactor."

Xu Jia held a fair amount of respect for this Elder Xianhuan. Firstly, the old Biquni respected Xu Jia, which was mutual; secondly, she did not seem as annoying as the stereotypical monks and Biquni; and thirdly, he would soon have a favor to ask of her.

"This Seven Treasures Cold Forest Kasaya was originally passed down by the founding Ancestor of Dizang An. It protects the Dharma master, offers food to hungry ghosts, and prevents one from falling into Hell. Later, the Biquni in the nunnery were harmed by the Longevity Sect. I killed that fake abbot and stripped it from her, but I do not covet this external object," Xu Jia said. "That Miao Ren thought I valued this treasure and refused to give it to her, but it was simply because I felt she lacked virtue and did not have the heart of compassion to provide for the beings in the hungry ghost realm."

"Now that the Elder wants to return it to me, I do not know that this object was never mine to begin with. Besides, I am a Daoist; I have no use for this Kasaya."

"It is useful. Take it. Whether there is affinity or not, this Kasaya will choose its own master. Only compassionate Buddhist Dharma Power can stimulate its power," Elder Xianhuan smiled. "At my age, I no longer care about these external objects; I only care about accumulating merit and dissolving karmic debts."

Hearing this, Xu Jia knew that the old Biquni indeed had reached a certain level of attainment. It is said that the threshold for ascending to the Western Paradise is low; if one cultivates to become an Arhat, one can ascend. If one cannot become an Arhat, one can become a Bhikshu or Biquni. As long as one recites Amitabha, lets go of the human world, and harbors no unwillingness or resentment, one can also be reborn into the Western Paradise. Regardless of her cultivation, this old Biquni's wisdom was absolutely clear.

"This time, I must deal with an Outer Path Dharma King of the Longevity Sect who cultivates Secret Sect Dharma. He has already achieved the Intermediate Yin Body, which is formless in gathering and dispersing, and is extremely difficult to deal with. Last time, I severed his Haimu Vajra Dharma Body, but he resides in the intermediate state; he changes between life and death, and if killed, he will resurrect in another place."

Elder Xianhuan said, "I am aware of such things. It is not the method of our Central Plains' Zhuangzhong Yanhu Pure Land. It has not accepted transformation and belongs to the Outer Path of the four barbarians, running counter to the Dharma, and is close to witchcraft."

"Witchcraft originated from Lingshan, that is, the ten witches of ancient Lingshan. Come to think of it, the location should be directly opposite Lushan in Jiangzhou; the ancient pronunciations of 'Lu' and 'Ling' are similar."

Xu Jia thought to himself: My Lushan also originates from Lushan; could it be that Lushan is Lingshan, which is Shanshan? Oh no, I am a witch, not a Daoist.

However, Lushan is indeed the ancestral Dragon Vein of the Jiangnan West Circuit, winding along the southern one of the three Dragon Veins, governing wealth and literary energy.

"As for the Lingshan witches, except for Wuxian, who preached to the Yellow Emperor, the other great witches were all exiled to the surrounding barbarian lands to spread their witchcraft."

"Since that Dharma King has more witchcraft than Dharma, one can use the method of breaking witchcraft to destroy his Intermediate Yin Body."

Xianhuan said, "If it were the authentic Secret Sect path, it would actually be the Yoga of Precepts, without these methods of summoning Outer Path heavenly demons and yin demons. To cultivate the Intermediate Yin Body this way, one must use the Three Poisons of Greed, Anger, and Ignorance to break it. But the Outer Path does the opposite, borrowing the demons of greed, anger, and ignorance to absorb their own Three Poisons to reach the state of constant residence in the intermediate state. But when their own Three Poisons are insufficient to nourish it, they turn to external seeking. Thus, the Buddha needs gold to cast a Golden Body, needs gemstones as decoration, needs young girls to offer themselves, and needs human intestines, brains, and skin as sacrifices."

"These are not what the Buddha needs; they are all rules they set specifically to reflect their own Three Poisons and to show they are different from ordinary people."

Xu Jia heard this and felt a sense of realization, but he still could not think of any specific way to break it.

But this Elder Xianhuan was also a riddle-maker; having said this much, she stopped speaking.

Because once she spoke it out loud, the Dharma Realm would surely ripple, and that Dharma King would know there was a nemesis in the world who knew his fatal weakness and would inevitably come to eliminate her.

If Elder Xianhuan's Buddhist cultivation was definitely higher than that of the Outer Path Dharma King, she would not have the advantage in a fight at ninety years old. Xu Jia put away the Seven Treasures Cold Forest Kasaya and bid farewell to Elder Xianhuan.

Elder Xianhuan watched Xu Jia go up the mountain, then returned to Jinshan Temple, telling the Biquni in the temple to close the mountain gates, not to go out, and to gather in the Da Xiong Baodian to meditate for seven days. During this period, they were to eat only one meal a day, consisting of only a bowl of thin porridge, and were not allowed to eat more. They had to meditate for more than seven hours each day to regulate their bodies and minds, enter deep meditation, and increase their wisdom.

This is actually a method of practice for yogis, belonging to the Secret Sect, which helps to ignite the "Clumsy Fire."

Of course, many would faint from hunger. If they could not reach the state of true stillness and true silence, like a tortoise hibernating, it would lead to great consumption, and a bowl of thin porridge would not be enough to sustain them.

Elder Xianhuan's state had already reached the point where she did not need to eat rice for seven days, drinking only some water. In Taoism, this is called "Bigu," which is a prerequisite for "those who eat Qi are divine and long-lived."

Xu Jia walked step by step, and soon the spirit snakes of the Snake God Temple came to greet him. These spirit snakes were all summoned by Chang Yu, Chang Yu'e, and Chang Yuying. They were all old and had become spirits, possessing intelligence, though their cultivation was insufficient; they could still be considered minor demons.

Most of these spirit snakes were venomous, but there were also two or three non-venomous snakes of enormous size, such as the king rat snake. This kind of snake has no size limit and can continue to grow as long as its lifespan is sufficient. The saying "a snake grows into a hui, a hui grows into a python, and a python grows into a Flood Dragon" is most appropriate for them.

Seeing these spirit snakes, Xu Jia thought of the three underground Flood Dragons of gold, silver, and copper. He remembered the three large pythons, Chang Yu and the others, who all cultivated the Earth Method, the appearance of the soaring snake, and the path of the Earth Dragon. At the time, they wanted to use an earthquake to drill into the underground Dragon Vein and hibernate and coexist with the Dragon Vein, hoping to survive the Five Hundred Year Earth Immortal Tribulation and completely transform into Flood Dragons.

Now, the three Flood Dragons under Dexing could also be matched one by one. If they wanted to use gold to generate water and flood into Poyang, then it would be a case of water coming and earth covering it; they would be restrained by Chang Yu and the others. Moreover, among the Five Elements, earth is the mother of gold, which could just happen to capture and subdue them.

However, these were just ideas; how to implement them specifically would still require concrete judgment.

From the Spirit Snake Temple to Shanju Guan, the layout of the temple had changed, and the various Daoists were busy, all for the sake of Xu Jia's altar-building.

The Scripture Master, the warehouse Daoist, and the accountant Daoist were arguing: "Forty-nine pairs of Jade Rings, that is ninety-eight pieces; we really cannot scrape them together. We originally had some jade material here, but the superior jade was long ago used for ingestion, and the rest was used for carving. Firstly, the material is not good enough, and secondly, there is not enough time."

"Not enough Jade Rings?" Xu Jia said, "Jade is just beautiful stone; it doesn't have to be jade in the true sense. Anything that looks like jade will do."

The Scripture Master was between laughter and tears: "That won't do, how can we deceive the gods? I will think of another way!"

"Not enough money?" Xu Jia said again, "The Golden Toad under my seat has money; you can go to him to take it."

(End of chapter)