Chapter 883: Nirvana

"Yes." Yu Sichen nodded slightly and said, "Master, I don't understand. Actually, I already know that I don't belong to him, but why am I still unable to stop thinking about him?"

"If you cannot stop thinking of something, there will surely be an echo. The Buddha says: Life is created by oneself, and one's appearance is born from the heart. All things in the world are but manifestations; if the heart does not move, all things do not move; if the heart does not change, all things do not change."

"The world never belonged to you in the first place, so there is no need for you to abandon it. What you must abandon is all attachment. All things can be used by me, but they do not belong to me. Do you understand now that I have said this?" Huizhao said.

"I seem to understand, yet I also seem not to." Yu Sichen furrowed her brows, savoring the meaning in Huizhao's words.

"Hehe, you will understand in the future." A trace of a smile appeared on Huizhao's wrinkled face. She lifted the Buddhist Beads in her hand, and suddenly, with a slight 'click', the string of beads scattered completely. Dozens of beads rolled down the steps before them.

"Master, this is?" Yu Sichen was startled. This string of Buddhist Beads had been with Huizhao for nearly sixty years, but now it had broken. This was not a good omen.

"Si Chen, I am going." Huizhao smiled slightly, her face devoid of any sorrow.

"Master?" Yu Sichen was shocked; she did not know what was about to happen.

"Living is not necessarily something to rejoice over, and death need not be mourned. The only thing I cannot let go of is you." Huizhao sighed slightly and said, "If there were more time, I could have completely delivered you from the Demon in your heart. It is a pity that I do not have much time left."

"In the days to come, you must realize the truth yourself. You must remember: one thought of ignorance and Prajna is severed; one thought of wisdom and Prajna is born. All appearances are illusory; if you see that all appearances are not appearances, then you see the Tathagata."

"Master..." Yu Sichen's eyes reddened. She knelt on the ground, tears streaming down: "I cannot bear to part with you. What on earth is happening? I will go call Senior Sister; Master, you will definitely be fine."

"Foolish child." Huizhao smiled. "A Yisheng cannot heal those whose life has reached its end; the Buddha cannot deliver those without affinity. Life involves birth, aging, sickness, and death; this is fate, and it is also Karma. No one can change it."

Huizhao stroked Yu Sichen's head and said calmly: "You must remember: if you have walked a path for a long time and still see no hope, then change your direction. If you have been troubled by a matter for a long time, then choose to let it go."

"Many things are not achievable just because you want them to be. Many things are not obtainable just because you desire them. The thing life fears most is calculating everything yet grasping nothing. Releasing attachments and following fate is the best way to live."

Yu Sichen wept, nodding with a half-understanding. What she worried about more in her heart was what had happened to Huizhao. Was she leaving?

Just at this moment, a figure flashed, and an old man appeared on the steps at the top of the mountain. The old man's movements were light, moving like Qingfeng; one could tell at a glance he was a supreme expert.

This old man was none other than Duan Ziqi.

"Si Chen, you leave." Huizhao's expression remained as usual as she raised her head to look at the old man before her.

"Master..." Yu Sichen looked at Duan Ziqi, feeling a slight tremor of fear.

"Listen to your Master." Huizhao said: "The Ancestral Ghost in the depths of your heart still exists. As long as there is an opportunity, it will not miss the chance to appear. Therefore, no matter what happens, you must not let it come out again. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Yu Sichen nodded, slowly rose, and walked toward the back mountain.

"Hehe, my target is this woman. You had better not meddle in other people's business, Shitai," Duan Ziqi said sinisterly.

"For this benefactor to have reached the pinnacle of Cultivation is truly not easy. Why do you engage in such base acts?" Huizhao smiled slightly. "Benefactor, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot."

"Hehe, old nun, I see you are just an ordinary person, and at this age, one foot is already in the coffin." Duan Ziqi sneered. "Instead of enjoying your twilight years and chanting your scriptures, you run over to interfere in the affairs of my Tiance Sword Mansion. Do you think the Buddha will approve of this?"

"Emptiness is all-encompassing; all Dharmas are unimpeded. If you are like this, Benefactor, how can you enter the Primordial Qi Realm? How can you become a Dharma Cultivator?" Huizhao said with a chuckle.

"You talk too much." Seeing Yu Sichen's figure disappear, Duan Ziqi sneered. He spread the five fingers of his right hand and, with a deep shout, attacked Huizhao.

In his view, Huizhao was just a nun who only knew how to chant scriptures. She was old, and if he ran a bit faster, a gust of wind from his body would probably blow her over. Thus, this palm strike of his was merely a casual blow.

Huizhao stood on the spot, not moving an inch. She wore a smile, allowing Duan Ziqi's palm strike to descend upon her.

A touch of Buddha Light surged from her body; vaguely, it was as if the Buddha were present in the world. Duan Ziqi's palm strike landed on her like a breeze brushing against her face, causing her absolutely no harm at all.

"So you are a high-level expert; I have underestimated you. I wonder which Buddhist Dharma you practice, Shitai? Great Compassion Vajra? Or Demon Subduing Body?" Duan Ziqi was startled, only then regarding Huizhao with seriousness.

There are not many Buddhist Cultivators in this world, and they all practice the most rigid and upright methods. But this nun looked like an ordinary person; how could she have Buddha Light on her?

"This old nun is not a practitioner; I am just an ordinary person who has chanted Buddhist scriptures for a lifetime and delivered people for a lifetime. Benefactor, the sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and the shore is near." Huizhao smiled slightly.

"Hehe, no matter what your background is, you cannot stop me today. The people my Tiance Sword Mansion wants to take have never escaped." Duan Ziqi sneered; it seemed he would have to use his full strength today.

With a 'xiu' sound, a short sword appeared in his hand. He gave a light shout, guided the short sword in his hand, and in an instant, several strands of Sword Qi formed.

The Tiance Sword Mansion proves the Dao through the sword, and their Sword Qi is sharp. This strike was executed with his full strength. For a time, the sky was covered in dark clouds, and a sharp murderous aura enveloped the entire mountaintop.

Huizhao smiled slightly. She slowly closed her eyes, pressed her palms together, and softly chanted Buddhist scriptures. Yet, this sword strike was enough to take her life.

But just at this moment, countless shrill sounds rose from the mountain ravine. Clusters of black mist surged out, and these black mists formed a wall, blocking the path in front of Huizhao.

These were the countless lonely ghosts and wild spirits gathered around Jizhao Temple.

Jizhao Temple had spent these years delivering the souls of the dead, so countless lonely ghosts who could not enter Reincarnation gathered in the vicinity. They transformed into clusters of black mist, desperately surging toward Duan Ziqi in mid-air. Even if they were swept by the Sword Qi and turned to dust, or scorched by the sunlight and had their souls scattered, they felt no fear.

They threw themselves at Duan Ziqi like moths to a flame, their only goal to save Huizhao Shitai.

"Where did these lonely ghosts and wild spirits come from?" Duan Ziqi roared, and the Sword Light in his hand swept out, covering the sky and earth. Countless more lonely ghosts became souls under his sword.

"Everyone... life and death have their fate; disperse now." Huizhao looked up at the sky, watching the countless spirits acting like moths to a flame, a smile appearing on her face: "All things are empty appearances in a mirror; in the end, all appearances are non-appearances. This is cause, and it is also affinity."