Chapter 1253: Chapter 545: The Fable of the Great Disaster Chapter 1253: Chapter 545: The Fable of the Great Disaster Gu Han opened his eyes again; no trace of black fog could be seen inside, only the brilliance of golden light.
The two hundred and six Buddhist bones throughout his body were translucent, his Zen heart clear and encircled by an eternal fla of gold, and even his dark, rigid skin, refined by the Evil Qi and the Corpse, faintly exuded an orange light of death returning to life, mysteriously brimming with more vitality.
After this nirvana, the Arahant’s golden body not only gained a kind Buddha’s countenance but also sprouted a fla pattern between the eyebrows and emitted a radiance that extended ten feet above the head.
“Thank you, Master Yanshan, if not for a thread of universal salvation, this old monk might have forever fallen into the demonic path and never achieved liberation.”
With eyes open, Gu Han brought his palms together and bowed deeply to Yanshan, saying respectfully.
When Gu Han fell into the demonic path, Yanshan chanted the Sutra of Serenity, which caused a long light to shine brightly, surrounding him.
Therefore, what the Corpse Monk saw in the boundless darkness was the radiance emanating from Yanshan’s body, not realizing it at the ti, but now with a clear Zen heart, he naturally understood the past clearly and thoroughly.
“Master overstates the matter. That ray of Buddha light simply awakened one’s true nature; if the master did not already have a clear mirror in heart, diligently maintained every day, even thousands of rays would fail to awaken anyone.”
Yanshan said indifferently, “After all, it was the master’s destined Dharma; this young monk rely happened to be there at the right mont.”
The secret teachings of Buddha’s Country are profound and extensive, including the Thirty-Two Auspicious Marks. It is said if one could embody all thirty-two, one would beco the esteed among n and gods, the king of all saints.
However, different Zen schools have different views on how to cultivate these Thirty-Two Marks.
For example, the Jushe Mi Sect states in their scriptures that the Thirty-Two Marks are the characteristics of Buddha, thus practitioners who wish to obtain them must engage in four types of right practice: definite focus without distraction, precise observation, continuous practice without gap, and non-reversal, to eventually attain the Thirty-Two Marks.
In layman’s terms, it ans not only supernatural abilities are not enough but also the corresponding Buddhist principles and Zen heart are required to complete the cultivation of the Thirty-Two Marks.
However, the Southern Zen Sect believes that the Thirty-Two Marks are accumulated through good fortune. Thus, for every hundred blessings cultivated by the Buddha, one feature becos adorned.
But if a Bodhisattva or an Arhat wants to cultivate them, they must endure a hundred great eons, the so-called “hundred blessings adorning,” to achieve these fine features.
In the classic texts of Wuxiang Zen Temple, the leader of Buddha’s Country, disciples are warned not to overly pursue the Thirty-Two Marks.
Compared to the highest Zen powers of the Five Eyes and Six Supernatural Powers, the capabilities of the Thirty-Two Marks are not quite as impressive, and the difficulty of cultivation is just as challenging.
If one becos too obsessed with the adorning features, spending much ti, one would ultimately fall into the lower vehicle.
After all, all is emptiness; even the Thirty-Two Marks eventually are just empty forms.
By maintaining the pure realms of all Buddhas with dedication and unrelenting cultivation of virtuous Dharma, one will surely achieve the Thirty-Two Marks; there is no need for forceful striving.
Just like the Ushnisha Fla between Gu Han’s eyebrows which appeared, ranking second among the Thirty-Two Marks, only preceded by the cranial bump mark.
Even for a Zen master who accomplished the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra Gold Body, it would take a great deal of effort to cultivate it, and the effect would still not be as significant as the Ushnisha Fla and ten-feet radiance that Gu Han manifested.
This fla of the Ushnisha is not just for show, but rather it can eradicate all impurities, and here, the impurities referred to are not dead energy but rather noxious and evil forces.
Death resides within life, not opposing life.
The fools of this world always assu life and death are opposing natures, not realizing that without death, the rationale for life would be aningless.
The White Hao Golden Fla did not harm anyone, yet it could infuse all things that had been burned with vitality, and even more importantly, it could resolve Gu Han’s most pressing issue: Spirit Qualification of the flesh body.
The Corpse Monk, whose body was composed entirely of Buddha bones, had in fact already completed the process of spiritualizing his internal organs and skeleton; it was the skin and flesh, which common cultivators found easiest to refine, that had stalled his progress.
Now with the White Hao Golden Fla, becoming a true Zen master was only a matter of ti, which was why he felt such gratitude towards Yanshan.
Although the other did not take credit, Gu Han still rembered this deep kindness, understanding the nature of Zen cultivation, he kept this sentint in his heart.
“Master Yanshan has co this ti for the Evil Qi over Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy, hasn’t he?”
“Indeed, the people of Chaochang are in turmoil, chaos is erupting, and such thick Corpse Qi could inadvertently lead to an epidemic that spreads across the whole territory. Should that happen, hundreds or even millions of civilians could die from corpse poison. As a monk who has witnessed this, I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
Although Yanshan’s realm wasn’t high, his ability in the prophecy was beyond the reach of ordinary people. At first glance at the poisonous cloud of Corpse Qi over South City, he foresaw an epidemic that would afflict the entire territory.
This was also the reason he had set aside the important tasks of quelling chaos and ca here to eradicate the epidemic at its source.
“There might be so misunderstanding here.”
Upon hearing Yanshan’s words, Gu Han frowned slightly. The Arhat Golden Body turned and with a palm strike, tore off the trial ground’s wall plaster, revealing the array of Evil Qi Corpse Refiners inside, and explained: “Although I was born in Blood Tower, I have not forgotten the teachings of my sect, nor would I commit the sin of inflicting such harm on a community.”
“With my current abilities, if I were truly slaughtering to refine corpses, I would have already beco a demon causing harm everywhere, how could I maintain a pure Zen Heart?”
“The Tianyuan Corpse Refining was rely a coincidence. With the corpses scattered all over amid the chaos of Chaochang, if we allow the bodies to be exposed in the city, and the death Qi triggers, perhaps it would truly lead to the plague as the master said. But I, as an old monk, have gathered these bodies, extracted all the Corpse Qi for refining, and it’s not just for strengthening my own body.”
“The path of Corpse Refining may be dark and insidious, but it’s not wholly without rit. In such chaotic places, if there are a few hundred Corpse Refiners to absorb the death Qi, an epidemic is hard to form. How then could it beco a catastrophe that affects the whole territory of Chaochang?”
The Corpse Monk made his case logically, and Yanshan was nearly swayed, but the visions granted by his prophecy were so vividly real.
Therefore, the future epidemic afflicting the entire territory had several possible origins: one was that the source of the plague was not here, but from elsewhere.
The second possibility was that Gu Han would change his mind due to so event, releasing all the toxic evil death Qi gathered within the refined corpses.
Since ancient tis, those Zen practitioners who developed the prophecy ability often t with terrible ends; it was because wherever they went, they foresaw disasters akin to natural calamities.
No matter if it ant going against their Zen Heart, they didn’t know where to begin to intervene, just as Gu Han was currently saying with striking conviction. His prophecy ability allowed him to clearly judge that this man spoke nothing but the truth.
Yet the prophecy’s warning was clear and unmistakable. Should he trust his supernatural ability’s judgnt?
Trust in people, or trust in supernatural abilities?
This wasn’t the first ti Yanshan faced such a decision, and his course of action had never changed!
“I would like to ask for the master’s help.”
Yanshan brought his hands together, bowed deeply to Gu Han, and said, “The prophecy foretold a plague that will spread across the whole territory of Chaochang. I would like to request the master’s assistance in investigating with the experts outside the academy to find the source of this plague!”
When an anomaly occurred at Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy, the thirty-three killers Gu Han had brought with him had already returned here, except they knew their place and did not enter.
Because they were confident that no matter who it was inside, none would be a match for the Corpse Monk. They only needed to stand guard and intercept outside.
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