When Zhao Fu woke up, he found himself lying by the fire. Not far away, two good-looking young men spoke in low voices, and he recognized them as the Daoists who stayed at the inn earlier.
At this time, the Daoist who rescued him looked over coldly, and said softly to the other person, “He’s awake.”
The instant change of attitude was like a split personality.
Jing Yue nodded and cut to the chase. “Why do you guys trigger the self-combustion of the souls? Is it aimed at the Buddha?”
Zhao Fu was startled and propped himself up on the ground. “I, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Jing Yue, “If you don’t understand, I'm sure the Buddha will. If I spread the word…”
Zhao Fu, “No!”
Zhao Fu's mind raced, trying to think of a reason to fool them. Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed against his cheeks, and there was a faint tingling pain on his face.
“Don't think about it.” Yi Wang retracted his hand and warned, “If we really want to harm you, we can just tell the Buddha to follow the dead people to track down the cultivators in the city, and he’ll definitely catch all of you in one fell swoop.”
Zhao Fu's expression changed. Seeing that the two Daoists were so certain, he wondered if there was a spy among them.
Seeing something wrong with his expression, Yi Wang smiled sarcastically. “If there’s a traitor, why would we capture you for questioning?”
Zhao Fu thought that it made sense. After knowing the truth, these two didn’t expose him but also saved him. They must be friends rather than enemies, so he said aggrievedly, “Let me tell you the story.”
Seeing that the two of them were staring at him silently without any unnecessary reaction, he said, “I’m really going to tell you.”
Jing Yue, “…”
Yi Wang, “…” It was right to knock him out. He was really long-winded.
Zhao Fu, “To be honest, I’m a member of the Green Mountain Sect.”
Jing Yue, “Green Mountain Sect?”
Zhao Fu, “Yes, it used to be on Qingcang Mountain. The sect is small with few members, only a hundred or so.”
Although he spoke modestly, his pride was apparent as if this small sect filled him with confidence.
Jing Yue knew that Qingcang Mountain was on the edge of Jingyang City, so he wondered if it was a dispute between Buddhism and Daoism. Although Buddhism and Daoism followed two different paths, the relationship between the two had been harmonious for tens of thousands of years.
“Our Green Mountain Sect has been passed down for more than a thousand years. In the early years, we practiced on the mountain and rarely made contact with outsiders. But the disciples in the sect would occasionally disguise as ordinary people and come down the mountain to help the local people as much as they could.” Zhao Fu spoke slowly, but his voice suddenly dropped. “But more than a hundred years ago, a monk came to Jingyang City. He was very capable and could cure many people's diseases. Gradually, the people don’t need us anymore.”
“The sect people were happy for the people at first, but suddenly one day, the sect leader had a dream.”
That night, the sect leader of Green Mountain Sect suddenly dreamed of an old woman in green robes, who told him that she was the mountain spirit of Qingcang Mountain. Some monks used formations to plunder the longevity of this place and inject life force into the human race. The spirit of Qingcang Mountain suffered greatly from it. If things went on like this, this place will die. Not to mention mountains and rivers, even the creatures living in this land will either leave or die.”
“The sect leader was very worried. He first thought that someone was practicing evil sorcery, so he brought several martial uncles into the city and told all the people what the mountain spirit said.”
Zhao Fu stopped abruptly when he got to this point as if he found it difficult to continue.
Yi Wang, “No one believed him, right?”
Zhao Fu nodded wryly, but Yi Wang looked like he knew it all along.
“Not only did they not believe it, but they also believed that the sect leader and our fellow disciples were trying to deceive them with lies.” Zhao Fu's eyes gradually turned red. “Coupled with the monk's instigation, the people in the city wanted to arrest the sect leader.”
“When the sect leader and the others were besieged, they finally realized that the monk had a very powerful magic weapon, which was a white jade Buddha statue. The reason why the monk secretly gave longevity to the people in the city is that he wants the people to worship him, and raise this Buddha statue with their faith.”
“The sect leader was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while several martial uncles have even lower cultivation bases, so they were soon defeated. The sect leader knew that if they were caught by the monks, all of them would die. In order to let the martial uncles escape, the sect leader was severely injured by the monk's Buddha statue.”
Zhao Fu clenched his fists, his voice trembling. “The monk captured the sect leader, destroyed his spiritual roots, and abolished his practice. In order to deter others and also to deepen the people's trust and dependence on him, the monk did something to make those who had received his favor suffer backlash one after another.”
“But the monk spread the news that because the sect leader disrespected the Buddha, the heavenly Dao got upset and imposed punishment, which also affected the people in the city. He asked the attendants to drag the sect leader through the streets, and the sect leader…” Zhao Fu closed his eyes. “The sect leader was beaten to death by the people in the city.”
Hearing this, Jing Yue frowned, and looked at Yi Wang subconsciously, but saw a sneer on the corner of Yi Wang's mouth. When Yi Wang noticed his gaze, he quickly pursed his lips and pretended to be listening carefully.
Jing Yue, “…”
Zhao Fu didn't pay attention to the two of them, all immersed in memories.
“It was too late when the people in the sect heard the news. Later, the martial uncles dispersed the sect, disguised as ordinary people, and sneaked into the city. They have been accumulating strength over these years,” Zhao Fu said. “My father was a disciple of the Green Mountain Sect back then. New disciples like us have not actually experienced those things. What I said just now was also relayed by my father, but anyone who heard it cannot help but hate.”
Jing Yue realized. “So, you’re now seeking revenge on the Buddha?”
However, Zhao Fu shook his head. “My father told me that the sect leader often said that the way of heaven is constant and has its own laws. If a grudge is repaid with vengeance, it’ll only increase karma. We want to save them.”
Yi Wang suddenly asked, “Save the people in the city?”
Zhao Fu heard the sarcasm in Yi Wang's tone, and explained, “They’re not bad, just ignorant. They have been deceived.”
Yi Wang, “Stupidity is more terrible than evil.”
Zhao Fu, “…”
Jing Yue glared at Yi Wang, and Yi Wang stopped talking.
Zhao Fu, “I-It’s not just about saving people. We just regard the people in the city as one of the creatures on this land, a part of this land. Green Mountain Sect is born on Qingcang Mountain. Since we live on this land, drink the water, eat the food grown, and receive its favor, we should protect it and repay it. It would be a merit if we could save this land with our deaths.”
Yi Wang, “Merit? This method of yours will only deter others from believing the Buddha easily, but they still don't know the truth, and don't believe the truth, let alone the ‘sacrifice’ made by your Green Mountain Sect.”
Zhao Fu said nonchalantly, “Even if they don't know about it, we know what we're doing and why we're doing it.”
Yi Wang, “…Is it worth it?”
Zhao Fu was startled but nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
The three of them fell silent. After a while, Jing Yue said, “If what you said is true, I have a way to make you achieve your goal.”
Zhao Fu blinked in a daze.
The next day, many people in the city suddenly fell ill with a strange disease, and their skin turned crimson like those who had spontaneously combusted before. Although there was no discomfort, everyone was terribly frightened. Many people cried and begged the Buddha for help.
But strangely, those who begged the Buddha would grow blisters on their bodies, and those who have not would get better day by day.
As a result, everyone believed the rumors in the city that the Buddha was trying to capture the souls of devout believers to serve him.
Therefore, except for a few fanatic people who were willing to sacrifice for the Buddha, others dared not believe in the Buddha anymore, and many people even felt resentful.
When the power of faith turned into resentment, the backlash followed quickly.
In just a few months, the ‘God’ that everyone in this city believed in stepped down from the altar. Without the power of faith, the Buddha was unable to use his magic weapon, and his cultivation was affected. Even his attendants left him one after another.
Soon, the Buddha was killed by a group of Daoist priests from the Green Mountain Sect in his residence.
Even before his death, the Buddha didn't understand why these people betrayed him in a blink of an eye even though he had benefited the people here for more than a hundred years. They even regarded him as a demon? He was clearly their god!
But the true God must have seen through the selfishness of human nature and knew that some people like Green Mountain Sect might be stupid or even fanatical, but they had great love in their hearts.
…
On the lake, a small boat rocked gently.
Jing Yue put away a map, which the disciples of the Green Mountain Sect found on the Buddha after his death.
Before this, after verifying what they said, Jing Yue and Yi Wang gave them a powder called Seven Flame Poison and the corresponding antidote. This poison used to be extremely lethal, but it was simplified and improved by Jing Yue and was now a very mild fire poison.
The Daoists sprinkled the powder into the well water. Once the people drank from the well, their skin would turn red and blisters would appear soon.
If anyone no longer believed in the Buddha, the disciples of Green Mountain Sect would quietly give them the antidote, which resulted in the subsequent events.
In order to repay Jing Yue, the disciples of the Green Mountain Sect gave Jing Yue the formation map and the cracked white jade Buddha statue. Jing Yue also learned from them that the monk had obtained these two treasures by chance. Among them, the formation map could turn the longevity of the land into one’s use, while the white jade Buddha statue could absorb the power of faith and finally grow into a treasured weapon.
Unfortunately, the Buddha statue had been destroyed by the backlash of the faith.
Jing Yue handed the formation map and Buddha statue to Yi Wang. “You keep them.”
Yi Wang naturally kept them in his Qiankun ring. Over the years, he had become used to Jing Yue giving him any good things he found. Anyway, in his opinion, everything he owned belonged to Jing Yue.
Yi Wang, “Now that the monk is dead and we have taken away the formation map, what about the lost longevity of the Qingcang Mountain?”
Jing Yue, “If all the living creatures there can love the land, the land will gradually recover.”
Yi Wang, “Can they?”
Jing Yue, “I think so. As I’ve always said, the human heart can produce evil and also good. There are not many people like the disciples of Green Mountain Sect, but there are not few either, so there’s no need to fear.”
Yi Wang fell silent. He looked at the surface of the lake disturbed by the breeze, and said after a long time, “I want to go back to Zhebei City.”
Jing Yue was taken aback. By now, he knew that Zhebei City was the town that Yi Wang had fled from, and where Yi Wang had a hated memory there.
His heart beat faster and he had a guess, but he still asked with uncertainty, “Why go back there? Do you want revenge?”
Yi Wang shook his head, “I just want to take a look.”
Jing Yue smiled. “Okay, let's go back.”
One year later, they returned to Zhebei City.
When Yi Wang walked through his old haunt, he saw that those who hurt him were either old or dead.
And he suddenly found that there was no hatred in his heart. After all, his great path was very long, but these people would turn into a pile of dry bones in just a few decades at most, no obstacle to his life at all.
Yi Wang recalled the life and death he had seen along the way, the good and evil he had experienced, and he felt unprecedentedly at ease in his heart.
This vast land was infinitely beautiful and gentle, and there was such a person by his side to accompany him.
The center of his eyebrows loosened suddenly, a warm feeling appeared in the dantian, and a surging force flowed through his whole body.
Yi Wang had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
When Yi Wang finally calmed down the surging spiritual power in his body, his first reaction was to look at Jing Yue.
“I…”
But he only said one word when Jing Yue's figure gradually blurred, just like many years ago.
Yi Wang rushed over in a panic, trying to catch Jing Yue, but he heard the other party say, “Go to Frostcloud Sect. I'll wait for you.”
The autumn wind was strong, and only nothingness remained in his hands.
When Zhao Fu woke up, he found himself lying by the fire. Not far away, two good-looking young men spoke in low voices, and he recognized them as the Daoists who stayed at the inn earlier.
At this time, the Daoist who rescued him looked over coldly, and said softly to the other person, “He’s awake.”
The instant change of attitude was like a split personality.
Jing Yue nodded and cut to the chase. “Why do you guys trigger the self-combustion of the souls? Is it aimed at the Buddha?”
Zhao Fu was startled and propped himself up on the ground. “I, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Jing Yue, “If you don’t understand, I'm sure the Buddha will. If I spread the word…”
Zhao Fu, “No!”
Zhao Fu's mind raced, trying to think of a reason to fool them. Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed against his cheeks, and there was a faint tingling pain on his face.
“Don't think about it.” Yi Wang retracted his hand and warned, “If we really want to harm you, we can just tell the Buddha to follow the dead people to track down the cultivators in the city, and he’ll definitely catch all of you in one fell swoop.”
Zhao Fu's expression changed. Seeing that the two Daoists were so certain, he wondered if there was a spy among them.
Seeing something wrong with his expression, Yi Wang smiled sarcastically. “If there’s a traitor, why would we capture you for questioning?”
Zhao Fu thought that it made sense. After knowing the truth, these two didn’t expose him but also saved him. They must be friends rather than enemies, so he said aggrievedly, “Let me tell you the story.”
Seeing that the two of them were staring at him silently without any unnecessary reaction, he said, “I’m really going to tell you.”
Jing Yue, “…”
Yi Wang, “…” It was right to knock him out. He was really long-winded.
Zhao Fu, “To be honest, I’m a member of the Green Mountain Sect.”
Jing Yue, “Green Mountain Sect?”
Zhao Fu, “Yes, it used to be on Qingcang Mountain. The sect is small with few members, only a hundred or so.”
Although he spoke modestly, his pride was apparent as if this small sect filled him with confidence.
Jing Yue knew that Qingcang Mountain was on the edge of Jingyang City, so he wondered if it was a dispute between Buddhism and Daoism. Although Buddhism and Daoism followed two different paths, the relationship between the two had been harmonious for tens of thousands of years.
“Our Green Mountain Sect has been passed down for more than a thousand years. In the early years, we practiced on the mountain and rarely made contact with outsiders. But the disciples in the sect would occasionally disguise as ordinary people and come down the mountain to help the local people as much as they could.” Zhao Fu spoke slowly, but his voice suddenly dropped. “But more than a hundred years ago, a monk came to Jingyang City. He was very capable and could cure many people's diseases. Gradually, the people don’t need us anymore.”
“The sect people were happy for the people at first, but suddenly one day, the sect leader had a dream.”
That night, the sect leader of Green Mountain Sect suddenly dreamed of an old woman in green robes, who told him that she was the mountain spirit of Qingcang Mountain. Some monks used formations to plunder the longevity of this place and inject life force into the human race. The spirit of Qingcang Mountain suffered greatly from it. If things went on like this, this place will die. Not to mention mountains and rivers, even the creatures living in this land will either leave or die.”
“The sect leader was very worried. He first thought that someone was practicing evil sorcery, so he brought several martial uncles into the city and told all the people what the mountain spirit said.”
Zhao Fu stopped abruptly when he got to this point as if he found it difficult to continue.
Yi Wang, “No one believed him, right?”
Zhao Fu nodded wryly, but Yi Wang looked like he knew it all along.
“Not only did they not believe it, but they also believed that the sect leader and our fellow disciples were trying to deceive them with lies.” Zhao Fu's eyes gradually turned red. “Coupled with the monk's instigation, the people in the city wanted to arrest the sect leader.”
“When the sect leader and the others were besieged, they finally realized that the monk had a very powerful magic weapon, which was a white jade Buddha statue. The reason why the monk secretly gave longevity to the people in the city is that he wants the people to worship him, and raise this Buddha statue with their faith.”
“The sect leader was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while several martial uncles have even lower cultivation bases, so they were soon defeated. The sect leader knew that if they were caught by the monks, all of them would die. In order to let the martial uncles escape, the sect leader was severely injured by the monk's Buddha statue.”
Zhao Fu clenched his fists, his voice trembling. “The monk captured the sect leader, destroyed his spiritual roots, and abolished his practice. In order to deter others and also to deepen the people's trust and dependence on him, the monk did something to make those who had received his favor suffer backlash one after another.”
“But the monk spread the news that because the sect leader disrespected the Buddha, the heavenly Dao got upset and imposed punishment, which also affected the people in the city. He asked the attendants to drag the sect leader through the streets, and the sect leader…” Zhao Fu closed his eyes. “The sect leader was beaten to death by the people in the city.”
Hearing this, Jing Yue frowned, and looked at Yi Wang subconsciously, but saw a sneer on the corner of Yi Wang's mouth. When Yi Wang noticed his gaze, he quickly pursed his lips and pretended to be listening carefully.
Jing Yue, “…”
Zhao Fu didn't pay attention to the two of them, all immersed in memories.
“It was too late when the people in the sect heard the news. Later, the martial uncles dispersed the sect, disguised as ordinary people, and sneaked into the city. They have been accumulating strength over these years,” Zhao Fu said. “My father was a disciple of the Green Mountain Sect back then. New disciples like us have not actually experienced those things. What I said just now was also relayed by my father, but anyone who heard it cannot help but hate.”
Jing Yue realized. “So, you’re now seeking revenge on the Buddha?”
However, Zhao Fu shook his head. “My father told me that the sect leader often said that the way of heaven is constant and has its own laws. If a grudge is repaid with vengeance, it’ll only increase karma. We want to save them.”
Yi Wang suddenly asked, “Save the people in the city?”
Zhao Fu heard the sarcasm in Yi Wang's tone, and explained, “They’re not bad, just ignorant. They have been deceived.”
Yi Wang, “Stupidity is more terrible than evil.”
Zhao Fu, “…”
Jing Yue glared at Yi Wang, and Yi Wang stopped talking.
Zhao Fu, “I-It’s not just about saving people. We just regard the people in the city as one of the creatures on this land, a part of this land. Green Mountain Sect is born on Qingcang Mountain. Since we live on this land, drink the water, eat the food grown, and receive its favor, we should protect it and repay it. It would be a merit if we could save this land with our deaths.”
Yi Wang, “Merit? This method of yours will only deter others from believing the Buddha easily, but they still don't know the truth, and don't believe the truth, let alone the ‘sacrifice’ made by your Green Mountain Sect.”
Zhao Fu said nonchalantly, “Even if they don't know about it, we know what we're doing and why we're doing it.”
Yi Wang, “…Is it worth it?”
Zhao Fu was startled but nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
The three of them fell silent. After a while, Jing Yue said, “If what you said is true, I have a way to make you achieve your goal.”
Zhao Fu blinked in a daze.
The next day, many people in the city suddenly fell ill with a strange disease, and their skin turned crimson like those who had spontaneously combusted before. Although there was no discomfort, everyone was terribly frightened. Many people cried and begged the Buddha for help.
But strangely, those who begged the Buddha would grow blisters on their bodies, and those who have not would get better day by day.
As a result, everyone believed the rumors in the city that the Buddha was trying to capture the souls of devout believers to serve him.
Therefore, except for a few fanatic people who were willing to sacrifice for the Buddha, others dared not believe in the Buddha anymore, and many people even felt resentful.
When the power of faith turned into resentment, the backlash followed quickly.
In just a few months, the ‘God’ that everyone in this city believed in stepped down from the altar. Without the power of faith, the Buddha was unable to use his magic weapon, and his cultivation was affected. Even his attendants left him one after another.
Soon, the Buddha was killed by a group of Daoist priests from the Green Mountain Sect in his residence.
Even before his death, the Buddha didn't understand why these people betrayed him in a blink of an eye even though he had benefited the people here for more than a hundred years. They even regarded him as a demon? He was clearly their god!
But the true God must have seen through the selfishness of human nature and knew that some people like Green Mountain Sect might be stupid or even fanatical, but they had great love in their hearts.
…
On the lake, a small boat rocked gently.
Jing Yue put away a map, which the disciples of the Green Mountain Sect found on the Buddha after his death.
Before this, after verifying what they said, Jing Yue and Yi Wang gave them a powder called Seven Flame Poison and the corresponding antidote. This poison used to be extremely lethal, but it was simplified and improved by Jing Yue and was now a very mild fire poison.
The Daoists sprinkled the powder into the well water. Once the people drank from the well, their skin would turn red and blisters would appear soon.
If anyone no longer believed in the Buddha, the disciples of Green Mountain Sect would quietly give them the antidote, which resulted in the subsequent events.
In order to repay Jing Yue, the disciples of the Green Mountain Sect gave Jing Yue the formation map and the cracked white jade Buddha statue. Jing Yue also learned from them that the monk had obtained these two treasures by chance. Among them, the formation map could turn the longevity of the land into one’s use, while the white jade Buddha statue could absorb the power of faith and finally grow into a treasured weapon.
Unfortunately, the Buddha statue had been destroyed by the backlash of the faith.
Jing Yue handed the formation map and Buddha statue to Yi Wang. “You keep them.”
Yi Wang naturally kept them in his Qiankun ring. Over the years, he had become used to Jing Yue giving him any good things he found. Anyway, in his opinion, everything he owned belonged to Jing Yue.
Yi Wang, “Now that the monk is dead and we have taken away the formation map, what about the lost longevity of the Qingcang Mountain?”
Jing Yue, “If all the living creatures there can love the land, the land will gradually recover.”
Yi Wang, “Can they?”
Jing Yue, “I think so. As I’ve always said, the human heart can produce evil and also good. There are not many people like the disciples of Green Mountain Sect, but there are not few either, so there’s no need to fear.”
Yi Wang fell silent. He looked at the surface of the lake disturbed by the breeze, and said after a long time, “I want to go back to Zhebei City.”
Jing Yue was taken aback. By now, he knew that Zhebei City was the town that Yi Wang had fled from, and where Yi Wang had a hated memory there.
His heart beat faster and he had a guess, but he still asked with uncertainty, “Why go back there? Do you want revenge?”
Yi Wang shook his head, “I just want to take a look.”
Jing Yue smiled. “Okay, let's go back.”
One year later, they returned to Zhebei City.
When Yi Wang walked through his old haunt, he saw that those who hurt him were either old or dead.
And he suddenly found that there was no hatred in his heart. After all, his great path was very long, but these people would turn into a pile of dry bones in just a few decades at most, no obstacle to his life at all.
Yi Wang recalled the life and death he had seen along the way, the good and evil he had experienced, and he felt unprecedentedly at ease in his heart.
This vast land was infinitely beautiful and gentle, and there was such a person by his side to accompany him.
The center of his eyebrows loosened suddenly, a warm feeling appeared in the dantian, and a surging force flowed through his whole body.
Yi Wang had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
When Yi Wang finally calmed down the surging spiritual power in his body, his first reaction was to look at Jing Yue.
“I…”
But he only said one word when Jing Yue's figure gradually blurred, just like many years ago.
Yi Wang rushed over in a panic, trying to catch Jing Yue, but he heard the other party say, “Go to Frostcloud Sect. I'll wait for you.”
The autumn wind was strong, and only nothingness remained in his hands.
