Chapter 699: The Buddha Speaks, I Speak

Amidst the towering mountain peaks, there are countless yellow temples, each one magnificent and solemn. There are tens of thousands of monks in these temples, chanting scriptures and praying to the Buddha all day long without engaging in any production, yet they never have to worry about food or clothing, and even enjoy the most luxurious comforts in the world, comparable to the Divine Officials of the Xiling Divine Palace.

This is only because there are millions of farmers in the Tiankeng, driven like livestock by the monks to provide daily offerings to the clergy.

The Tiankeng not only contains miserable serfs but also many nobles as fat as pigs. They wear various gemstone necklaces around their thick necks and hold wine vessels made from silver-inlaid skulls in their hands, occasionally using them to beat cattle, sheep, or female slaves. It is precisely because of the existence of these nobles that the monks can easily manage the millions of serfs.

The numb and cowardly serfs, aside from farming, weaving, and other production, do nothing but kneel and bow toward the mountain peaks. Occasionally, they offer their most precious gold and silver and their most beautiful daughters to the monks, their expressions appearing surprisingly joyful.

There are not many monks at the bottom of the Tiankeng, yet they possess a status unimaginable to the nobles. Their palms either rest lightly on the heads of devout believers or stroke the milk-smooth skin of young girls kneeling beside them; the sounds of chanting and moaning mingle together, holiness and filth coexisting, yet it leaves one with a feeling of nausea and the urge to vomit.

The closer one gets to the cliff face and the further one is from the mountain peak where the Hanging Temple is located, the lower the temperature becomes, the more barren the produce, the heavier the servitude suffered by the serfs, and the more miserable their lives.

One can see many serfs who have suffered cruel torture everywhere; some have had their tongues cut out, some their ears sliced off, some their lower legs shattered, and many corpses lie scattered about, pecked into white bones by vultures before they have even had time to rot.

At this moment, in a meadow less than a hundred zhang from the cliff, a dense crowd of people is kneeling. They are all ragged, gaunt herdsmen, their faces showing an extremely devout expression.

In front of them is a monk draped in a black cassock, with a handsome face and a serene demeanor.

A head of waterfall-like black hair is draped casually over his shoulders; he seems different from ordinary monks or the Living Buddha, yet the compassion and holiness upon him are incomparable to any other monk.

Behind the young monk stands a white-clad beauty of exquisite appearance and noble bearing, like a Heavenly Maiden from a temple mural, incomparably holy. One feels that even a single glance at her is a great blasphemy.

The young monk wears a smile as he speaks of the Pure Land in the Buddhist scriptures.

In the Pure Land, there is no cold, no hunger, and no bullying. Glazed tiles cover the ground, the seasons are like spring, and everyone loves one another, possessing all the most beautiful imaginings of humanity.

Yu Liancheng smiles, his tone calm and steady, lacking the "tongue of lotus flowers" he had at Lanke Temple, yet he speaks eloquently, giving people the feeling of bathing in a spring breeze, making the herdsmen listen in a trance, having long forgotten the fear in reality.

As the sermon ends, the herdsmen kneel and bow in succession.

The black-clad monk lifts a hand slightly, and the crowd stands up involuntarily.

"You do not need to kneel to me," Yu Liancheng says, shaking his head.

An old herdsman says in fear, "You, you are the Living Buddha, the Divine Monk, the messenger sent down from the Divine Mountain; we should kneel to you."

"I am not a messenger sent down from the Divine Mountain, nor am I a Divine Monk, but rather... a Buddha," Yu Liancheng smiles slightly.

Upon hearing these words, the crowd of herdsmen is even more terrified, yet they do not doubt Yu Liancheng's words in the slightest and are about to continue kowtowing, but under an invisible force, they find they cannot kneel down no matter what.

"Do you know why I do not want you to kneel?"

The old herdsman shakes his head; in reality, he is only in his forties, but he is already older than a seventy or eighty-year-old man, and every wrinkle on his face, like a gully, seems to be recounting misfortune and pain.

Yu Liancheng looks at the old herdsman, his expression very gentle, completely devoid of his usual cynical posture: "Have you ever killed anyone?"

The old herdsman hurriedly shakes his head.

"Have you cut off anyone's hands?"

The old herdsman shakes his head again.

"Have you chopped off anyone's head to use as a vessel?"

The old herdsman continues to shake his head.

Yu Liancheng asks a few more questions, and the old herdsman shakes his head to all of them.

"All living beings are Buddha. Since you have not done evil, you are naturally a member of all living beings, and you are also a Buddha. Since you are also a Buddha, there is no need to worship me."

"But, this..."

The old herdsman's expression is full of fear; how could a herdsman as humble as cattle or sheep be mentioned in the same breath as the great Buddha?

"Master, I have not done any evil either; am I also a Buddha?"

A little girl wearing a dirty, foul-smelling leather garment asks.

The little girl's mother, hearing such remarks, is nearly frightened into fainting.

"Of course," Yu Liancheng squats down, picks up the child, and pinches her little cheek: "As long as you haven't done evil, everyone is a Buddha."

The little girl claps her hands, laughing very happily.

Although her skin is dark, she smiles brilliantly, her teeth white enough to dazzle the eyes, and she points at Lu Chenjia behind him: "Is this sister a Bodhisattva or a Heavenly Maiden?"

"No," Yu Liancheng shakes his head and laughs: "She is a Demoness from hell who still needs to be well-educated and reformed before she can possibly become a Buddha in the future."

Hmm, she needs to be educated severely with a Subduing Demon Pestle.

Lu Chenjia hums, her expression turning slightly cold.

The little girl asks: "Master, where is the Pure Land you speak of?"

Yu Liancheng points his hand toward the mountain peak shrouded in clouds and mist, which seems to be floating in mid-air.

The little girl shows a look of longing, then turns dejected, likely feeling that someone like her, even if she became a Buddha, would only be the lowest kind of base Buddha, never able to set foot in the legendary Pure Land.

"The Pure Land is right there, but those living in the Pure Land are not Buddhas or their descendants, but a group of Heavenly Demons," Yu Liancheng says, holding the little girl: "Demons pose as monks, corrupting my Dao, wearing secular clothes, delighting in fine cassocks, five-colored robes, drinking wine and eating meat, killing living things and craving flavors, having no compassion, hating and envying one another..."

The little girl blinks, completely unable to understand the Master's words.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

Just at this moment, a burst of rapid hoofbeats comes from the side of the meadow.

More than ten mighty and robust men gallop over on horseback, each with a ferocious and cruel smile on their faces.

The leading noble, wearing leather clothes and a gemstone necklace, waves the leather whip in his hand, loudly scolding this group of base people, demanding they disperse.

The herdsmen are terrified and want to flee, but they are worried that the Master they had worked so hard to invite to the tribe might be struck by the whip, so they wave their hands in fear, wanting to explain, but before they can speak, they are already struck on the shoulders by the noble's whip, their flesh mangled. The men following the noble draw the sabers from their saddles, loudly cursing and threatening the herdsmen with their blades.

"A bunch of stupid base people, the Living Buddha said he is an evil person from a foreign religion, not a Divine Monk at all."

The noble knows he cannot make himself understood to these base people, so he raises his horse whip and says to Yu Liancheng: "Tie this man up, the Living Buddha has spoken, he is to be burned to death."

The group of men responds in unison, spurring their horses toward Yu Liancheng, their blades reflecting the sunlight, appearing extremely sharp, and the herdsmen are frightened into fleeing in all directions.

Seeing that Yu Liancheng is about to be surrounded, the noble's eyes become exceptionally cruel, and a ferocious smile spreads across the corners of his mouth.

The Living Buddha did indeed say to capture the evil person and burn him to death, but this evil person dared to incite the base people to rebel, causing him a lot of trouble. So before burning him to death, he must make him suffer some pain; first, cut off his ears, then chop off his two arms and two legs, and finally throw him into the raging fire.

Then the noble sees Lu Chenjia, and his eyes light up, revealing a lecherous look.

What a beauty; if he presents this beauty to the Living Buddha, the Living Buddha will at least reward him with ten miles of land. Of course, before rewarding her to the Living Buddha, he can enjoy her himself first.

"The Buddha says, whoever intends to harm others shall be harmed by others."

Yu Liancheng watches the group of men rushing toward him, his lips parting slightly, and then he reaches out to gently cover the little girl's eyes, saying softly: "Be good, don't look."

Those men suddenly felt their blades were no longer under their control; in astonishment and terror, they hacked at the companions beside them. Every strike was heavy and relentless, far more ferocious than they usually were. The blade-wielding men fought crazily together, blood and limbs scattering amidst cries of sorrow and howling.

Even if someone had their blade-wielding hand severed, their body still remained beyond their control; they used their mouths to bite, their feet to kick, their heads to ram... Everyone desperately tried to kill their opponent, sparing no cost, fighting until death.

They had lost control over their bodies, yet each of them was perfectly clear-headed. Intense pain arrived incessantly, and their entire beings were completely shrouded in fear.

In but a moment's time, a field of strong men had already fallen to the ground, blood flowing like a river. Many were not yet dead and were convulsing, but their bodies had suffered grievous wounds and blood was gushing out; they were not far from death, and living was merely suffering.

The complexion of the nobleman who had originally been watching the show from the side turned deathly pale, his body trembling incessantly.

This... what kind of sorcery is this?

Even a Living Buddha could not achieve this step, could he?

But this nobleman was worthy of someone who lived in such a harsh environment; he actually braced his softening body, pulled the reins, and rode his horse toward his own tribe.

He dared not speak any harsh words.

Because he knew that when in a position of weakness, saying such things had no meaning other than potentially enraging the other party.

But he could be certain that he would definitely return to take revenge, to slaughter everyone here, leaving not a single one behind.

"Halt!"

A voice suddenly sounded from behind.

The steed that had just leaped out a few steps, its front hooves still in the air, suddenly stopped dead in its tracks, motionless, as if it were a clay sculpture or stone carving. And the nobleman on the horse's back, caught off guard, fell heavily to the ground.

"I know, before you burned me to death, you wanted to cut off my ears and sever my hands and feet."

The voice, which had been as gentle as a spring breeze when speaking to the Herdsmen, now carried a faint chill that made one's hair stand on end.

"The Buddha says, those who inflict cruel punishments upon others shall surely be finished by others with cruel punishments."

This sentence seemed to transform into a tangible sharp blade and long saber, instantly severing the nobleman's ears, and then his limbs were chopped off. Amidst his miserable wails, blood gushed from the wounds. This blood rapidly rose in temperature and then transformed into a mass of flames that began to burn. The nobleman's clothes and flesh were scorched by the bloody flames; his screams grew even more intense, extremely shrill, and before long he turned into ashes, disappearing completely.

Lu Chenjia knitted her delicate brows, though not because of the cruel scenes before her eyes, and asked in confusion: "I am well-versed in Buddhist Scripture, why have I never seen the two sentences you spoke?"

"I am the Buddha, so what I say is what the Buddha says." Yu Liancheng chuckled, his expression indifferent.

The Herdsmen who had scattered in flight gradually walked back, looking at the dozen or so corpses with dazed eyes. In this cruel Underground World, they had seen many bloody scenes, and had even experienced them personally. But they had never imagined that the nobleman master and his powerful butchers would one day be killed by someone using such cruel methods.

They looked toward Yu Liancheng.

When this Master, whose smile remained as warm as a spring breeze, swept his gaze across their faces, they fearfully wanted to kneel.

One old Herdsman recalled the suffering he had endured over the years because of the nobleman master; his deep wrinkles were filled with tears of gratification mixed with pain. He said in a shrill voice: "Master, please leave quickly. You will surely be able to become a powerful Master in the future, or even a Living Buddha, but it is not enough now. As for us lowly people who are like ants, please do not worry."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "Do you believe it? I am more powerful than you imagine."

The old Herdsman said tremblingly: "Even if you, Master, can kill all the nobleman master's warriors, or even defeat a Living Buddha, that would enrage the Buddha on the Divine Mountain..."

"The Buddha on the Divine Mountain?"

Yu Liancheng looked at that extremely tall mountain peak and chuckled: "I am quite looking forward to the appearance of the Buddha, so I can beat him until his head is covered in bumps. A thing like him is not fit to be called a Buddha or an ancestor at all..."

Far from the terrified Herdsmen, Yu Liancheng and Lu Chenjia arrived at a green meadow.

Yu Liancheng flipped his palm and took out the Buddha's Chessboard.

As his thoughts shifted, twenty or so figures appeared out of thin air on the meadow, each with a powerful aura. The person in the lead had dark skin and was none other than Xiao Heizi, Zhuo Er.

"Greetings, Mr. Yu," Zhuo Er said with a bow.

"How has this group been trained?" Yu Liancheng looked at the twenty or so figures behind Zhuo Er.

Zhuo Er said: "Reporting to you, sir, their natural talent is not bad. After this period of bitter cultivation, they all possess thirty percent of my strength."

"That is enough."

Yu Liancheng nodded and pointed his finger toward the tents in the distance: "Tonight, go and capture the noble master and the so-called Living Buddha there, then gather all the Herdsmen."

"Yes."

Zhuo Er left with the twenty or so figures.

Those twenty or so figures were all talented men Yu Liancheng had selected; their former selves were mostly lackeys of the nobles, whose memories had been wiped, turning them into puppets, and then they were thrown into the Chessboard World for Zhuo Er to train.

Yu Liancheng looked at the chessboard in his hand, as if murmuring to himself: "I know you can hear me. This Buddha Kingdom you created should not exist. From today on, I am going to overturn it. When the Buddha Kingdom is destroyed, I wonder if you will still be able to hide and skulk, but I can be certain that these Buddha Sons and grandsons of yours will all be sent away by me."

"Sent to reincarnation, sent to hell, sent to be ornaments!"