Chapter 621: The Jade Wall

Tianyin Temple.

One of the three great sects of the righteous path.

In the early days, Tianyin Temple, like the Qingyun Sect and others, was not open to the secular world. After Puhong Shangren succeeded as the abbot, he and three other Divine Monks contemplated Buddhist principles together and made a great vow, saying: "The Buddha is the Buddha of all living beings, not the Buddha of me alone." Thus, they decided to open the mountain gates to receive the common people.

Although opening Tianyin Temple to the secular world was an act of immeasurable merit, monks ultimately require tranquility. Puhong and the others were all people who loved quiet, so they had always lived in a small temple at the summit, commonly referred to as the "Small Tianyin Temple."

The Small Tianyin Temple truly lived up to the word "small," with only three courtyards to pass through, a far cry from the magnificent Tianyin Temple halfway up the mountain. Surrounded by green pines and slender bamboos, forming groves and forests, the mountain breeze blew through, causing the pines to sway and the bamboos to rustle—an indescribable, quiet elegance, a flavor quite different from the bustle below the mountain.

At this moment, Yu Liancheng had already arrived at a quiet meditation room in the Small Tianyin Temple.

The meditation room was furnished simply and without ostentation. The current giant of the righteous path, the abbot of Tianyin Temple, Puhong Shangren, was sitting cross-legged on a meditation bed, holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, quietly listening to Yu Liancheng recount the events of his trip to the Qingyun Sect.

Even this giant of the righteous path could not help but be startled upon hearing that the identity of the man in black was Cangsong Daoren. Finally, he let out a long, soft sigh: "As a pillar of the righteous path, I never imagined Cangsong Daoren would be willing to fall into becoming a demon of the Demon Sect. There may indeed be a shocking conspiracy behind this. We must handle it with caution. Junior brother, you have done well."

Yu Liancheng nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said: "Senior Brother Puhong, I have come this time with one more request."

Puhong wore a smile, compassionate and serene: "Please speak, junior brother."

Yu Liancheng said: "I feel that my own cultivation has reached a bottleneck, so I earnestly request that you allow me to observe the Wordless Jade Wall, in the hope of taking my cultivation to the next level."

Puhong was silent for a moment, then said solemnly: "The Wordless Jade Wall is the foundation of our Tianyin Temple, and it contains great mystery and great profundity; it cannot be understood without great perseverance and great opportunity. The reason I did not let you contemplate the jade wall before was that I was worried you were still young. If you became obsessed with it, I feared you would waste your years. Have you thought this through?"

Yu Liancheng bowed his head slightly: "Please, senior brother, grant this."

"Very well, very well." Puhong Shangren sighed softly.

"Junior brother, your Buddhist dharma is exquisite, and you have cultivated the Great Brahma Prajna to a very deep level. It is time to contemplate the jade wall. With your aptitude, which is not inferior to our sect's founder, perhaps you will have a unique stroke of fortune."

……

A thousand years ago, when the founder of Tianyin Temple was still a wandering monk, he accidentally strayed into the towering mountains and ridges of Mount Sumeru and got lost. He wandered aimlessly through the mountain forests, and perhaps due to his innate Buddhist affinity, he happened to see a smooth, jade-like stone wall. At that time, the founder was famished, thirsty, and exhausted, so he rested beneath this jade wall.

The founder sat beneath the Wordless Jade Wall for three days and three nights. Somehow, he gradually entered a state of meditation from his initial state of hunger and thirst, his heart at peace and his spirit settled, entering the realm of Great Perfection in the Buddhist school. Three days later, he experienced a sudden enlightenment of Buddhist principles beneath this Wordless Jade Wall, and further comprehended the supreme true dharma passed down through generations in Tianyin Temple: the Great Brahma Prajna.

Since the founding of Tianyin Temple, countless high monks have contemplated the jade wall.

Some gained nothing, while others realized Buddhist supernatural powers from the jade wall. It can be said that the entire cultivation system of Tianyin Temple is supported and developed by this jade wall.

Because the jade wall is of great importance and requires profound cultivation to support it, although high monks of past generations have contemplated it, they were almost all over a hundred years old.

Yet now, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old monk in white sat quietly before the jade wall.

Originally, Puhong Shangren and the other high monks of the 'Pu' generation believed that although Puzhen's talent and cultivation were already top-tier in the world, he was ultimately too young, and even if he gained some insight, it would likely take a very long time.

Yet, unexpectedly, that evening, dark clouds suddenly rolled in, the world grew dim, and a thunderclap from the nine heavens resounded across the horizon.

Winds and clouds rolled in from all directions, and on the Wordless Jade Wall, from top to bottom, as if deeply engraved, a row of large characters appeared: Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.

Besides this, countless golden, ancient, and difficult-to-understand characters emerged, dazzling the eyes.

——Heavenly Tome Volume Four.

After Yu Liancheng's gaze swept over the golden characters, all the text vanished, as if it had never appeared at all.

A flash of inspiration struck Yu Liancheng's mind. This Heavenly Tome Volume Four was as if a cultivator who had mastered creation and studied the heavens was recounting their own understanding of the heaven, earth, universe, and the mysteries of the world. It was plain and straightforward, using the simplest and most rustic language to tell of the most profound and unfathomable principles and rules, thought-provoking.

Yu Liancheng integrated the principles from the Heavenly Tome with his own insights. The layers of mist covering his spirit were slowly pushed aside, giving him the feeling of parting the clouds to see the sun and suddenly seeing the light.

At the same time, his sealed memories surged forth like a tide.

"So... I also have a volume of the Heavenly Weeping Scripture."

Yu Liancheng's heart stirred, and an ancient character emerged from between his brows, blooming with obscure and profound light, shrouding the stone wall.

In an instant, the scenes of high monks sitting cross-legged before the Wordless Jade Wall appeared in his mind. And their insights regarding the Wordless Jade Wall flowed into Yu Liancheng's heart as well.

"With such vast Buddhist insights, perhaps I can create a cultivation art not inferior to the Great Brahma Prajna to leave behind in Tianyin Temple."

……

The lingering morning bells and the deep evening drums; Mount Sumeru was always bathed in ethereal clouds.

From the rising sun to the evening's residual glow, the winds and clouds in the sky changed, white clouds and grey dogs rolled by, and time flowed on without ceasing, never stopping for anyone.

At this time, it was the morning lesson; the wooden fish and drums of Mount Sumeru sounded, and the Buddhist chants were faint and ethereal.

"Three years have passed."

The abbot of Tianyin Temple, Puhong, and two other high monks of the 'Pu' generation came to the cliff, looking down with lowered eyes at the monk's robes of their junior brother Puzhen fluttering in the wind.

Three years had passed, and this junior brother remained unstained by dust, as if descending from the clouds of the nine heavens. Compared to three years ago, his appearance had lost some childishness and gained some maturity, yet he remained peerlessly handsome, his whole person like the bright moon held in one's arms, his features clear and bright. Occasionally, he would emit a trace of grand energy, making one feel an urge to prostrate and worship.

"Junior Brother Puzhen has been in seclusion for three years. This Wordless Jade Wall, which no one but our sect's founder has ever truly been able to break through, must have long since had its mysteries peered into by him. This energy around his body grows stronger day by day; perhaps he is already the number one person in our Buddhist school."

"It is only a pity that Junior Brother Puzhi cannot see this scene. Sigh..."

And just at this moment, Yu Liancheng opened his eyes, deep and unfathomable.

And the entire Back Mountain was, in an instant, as if shrouded in a layer of sacred, solemn golden light. Heavenly flowers fell in disorder, and golden lotuses sprang from the ground. Bursts of Sanskrit chants rang out, like a Buddha's Dao Field.

At the same time, a vast Dharma Image rose from the ground behind Yu Liancheng.

……