Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 707 Acting on Behalf of Buddha

"Buddha's blessing is for those suffering in the sea of ​​misery, helping them to overcome their calamities. I wonder how long he can keep the Wei Kingdom under control after his descent into the world..."

Holding a cup of hot tea, Qingwan couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, mixed feelings).

The Wei Dynasty was too large; even if it wanted to establish Mahayana Buddhism as the orthodox Buddhist doctrine, it would not be something that could be accomplished in a short time.

Recently, the demons and monsters within the territory of Wei may have fallen silent due to the prestige of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but if they are not thoroughly cleaned up, they will surely resurface.

Yun Xiao, standing nearby, said leisurely, "Nothing is easy. I estimate it will take at least three to five years to see any results."

Qingwan clicked her tongue and said, "Three to five years? That's slow enough..."

Qingwan thought to herself that in three to five years, they would have traveled the world and done a lot of things.

If we give them another three to five years, the entire northern region will probably become a peaceful land.

Qingwan rested her chin on her hand and muttered, "Such a large dynasty, with officials as numerous as hairs on a cow, not only have they failed to make the land prosperous, but they've also been dragging everything down, tsk tsk..."

"Dynasties rise and fall one after another, but they are all just different names for the same thing. The world has not changed much for thousands or tens of thousands of years. It's really..."

Qingwan shook her head, looking annoyed at her lack of ambition.

Lu Zheng said softly, "Using bronze as a mirror, one can straighten one's clothes; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of dynasties; using people as a mirror, one can understand gains and losses... Many people understand these principles, but it is very difficult to put them into practice."

"The rise and fall of dynasties is no different from going in circles. Someone has to come out to break this cycle so that the world can enter a new world."

Gongyang Ming stroked his beard and nodded, finding Lu Zheng's words to be very reasonable.

Looking back at the historical development of past dynasties, the countries of the world today are following the same old path and have not broken away from it.

It's like everyone knows there's a pit ahead, but no one thinks they'll fall in, and as a result, dynasty after dynasty keeps repeating the same mistakes...

Thinking about all this, Gongyang Mingyue felt that choosing to explore the truth in the Northern Region was the most correct choice.

Yun Xiao's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he said in a low voice, "This matter is even more difficult than becoming a saint..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "So we need more people to work together to make it possible."

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Lu Zheng changed the subject and said, "I'm going into seclusion to cultivate for a while. You two can continue your conversation."

After saying that, Lu Zheng got up and left for his own house.

Yun Xiao glanced at him and muttered, "Seclusion? Could it be that he's gained some kind of enlightenment? Is this how you Confucian scholars achieve enlightenment?"

Yun Xiao looked at Gongyang Ming beside him.

Gongyang Ming couldn't help but say, "He's different... I don't know anything about his cultivation method."

Gongyang Ming couldn't detect any Confucian or Taoist aura emanating from Lu Zheng, nor did he seem to have any sudden enlightenment.

He had discovered earlier that Lu Zheng was not only following the path of Confucianism and Taoism, but now even he did not know what Lu Zheng was cultivating.

At this moment, Lu Zheng disappeared from the room and entered the small world.

With a wave of his hand, the Code of Peace appeared before his eyes.

The entire legal code was understated, but a colorful lotus flower mark on it shone brightly.

The next moment, a splash of color flew out from the mark and disappeared into Lu Zheng's brow.

In a moment of confusion, Lu Zheng sensed something unusual.

The scene around him had changed completely; it seemed that the entire Garan was under his gaze.

He saw monks and believers discussing Buddhist scriptures in the mountains, he saw eminent monks preaching Buddhist precepts, and he saw Yuan Tao busy at work...

Even the Wei emperor, who was worshipping Buddha in a Buddhist temple, was under his observation.

Lu Zheng quickly realized that the Buddha's true intention had shared his perception with him, allowing him to see some things that were difficult to see.

A profound and mysterious feeling welled up from the depths of my heart.

In that instant, Lu Zheng found that his understanding of this place had become much clearer.

He even sensed that many people were emanating a strange aura, which transformed into invisible threads that connected them to him.

The power of cause and effect... Lu Zhengxin had an epiphany.

In addition, Lu Zheng can now distinguish other things and various invisible forces more clearly.

Those who cultivate themselves practice the Tao in order to attain sainthood.

If ordinary Saint Realm experts accumulate power and obtain a powerful force of heaven and earth, the power of "Dao", they become top experts.

The sage who opened up the path of cultivation was one who created a clearer method of cultivation in the world and shared it so that others could more easily cultivate and obtain powerful strength.

Lu Zheng's current state is that, under the guidance of the Buddha's true intentions, he is trying to comprehend some of the mysteries of Buddhism and Taoism, which is helpful for his cultivation.

If we compare Buddhism and Taoism to a fully equipped high-rise building, then Buddhists are the ones living inside. As for how much benefit they can enjoy, that depends on their own abilities.

Lu Zheng is someone who wants to build a new high-rise building. He needs to understand the whole thing thoroughly so that he can have the experience to build his own building.

In a state of profound enlightenment, Lu Zheng even forgot about time.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe it was just a moment.

Lu Zheng's senses focused on a Bodhisattva statue in the Garan Temple.

A thought existed within that stone statue.

In a daze, through that wisp of thought, my senses reached another unfamiliar place.

……

Thousands of miles north of Garan, in a certain state of Wei, lies a place of spiritual beauty.

It was cold and snowing at the time, and the Buddhist temples and monasteries in the mountains were covered with a thick layer of white snow.

In a dimly lit, quiet room within the temple, a group of monks dressed in magnificent robes gathered, their faces ashen.

They already knew that the sacred Buddhist sites had seen the manifestation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and that some eminent Buddhist monks had even been exterminated.

Initially, they were quite happy to hear that the Buddha had manifested.

But hearing that some eminent monks were directly killed in order to establish the orthodoxy of Buddhism was like throwing cold water on them.

You know your own situation well. You know what kind of people your sects and temples are, and how many sins you have committed.

Even their own clansmen were exterminated; what good could they possibly expect?

"What is the best course of action for us now?"

A monk spoke softly, his face quite grim.

"We absolutely cannot go to the Buddhist temple. The court is now using this as an excuse to suppress Buddhism. I'm afraid we won't even be able to protect ourselves..."

"Why don't we leave Wei for now and avoid the storm?"

"Go out? I'm afraid this trip won't be a quick return."

"Where should I go? The world is so big, but there aren't many good places to go!"

The monks were discussing amongst themselves, all with solemn expressions.

They are Buddhists, and they are not well received in other major countries.

To the west lies a desolate land, and to the east and south are several great kingdoms that also suppressed Buddhism.

Now that the orthodox Buddhist order has emerged, escaped monks like them would certainly be even less welcome there. It's estimated that no one would be willing to accept them, lest they tarnish their reputation.

Someone suggested, "It seems we have no choice but to go to the Northern Region. Although the Northern Region is chaotic and filled with demonic energy with no spiritual mountains or treasure lands, with our status and power, we can still be respected when we go to those demon kingdoms..." "Once we get there, we might be able to develop our followers as before. The Wei Kingdom's court can't interfere there."

"What Buddha... even his hand couldn't reach that far, could it?"

They outwardly practice Buddhism and revere Buddha, but they all know perfectly well that Buddhism is nothing more than a tool to bring them benefits.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the heavens can be respected in public, and that's enough.

Those ancient ideas exist, but they are not truly all-powerful, knowledgeable about all things, or able to govern the entire world.

If they truly possessed such great abilities, Buddhism wouldn't have experienced so many rises and falls, and why were there no signs of Buddhas appearing for hundreds of years.

After some discussion, the group concluded that there was nowhere else to go in the Northern Regions.

After all, the temples where they practice now are sacred and blessed places.

Going to the Northern Region is no different from changing from a grand mansion in a large city to a thatched hut in the countryside.

Even if they could become honored guests of certain demonic kingdoms, could their foundation compare to that of a great dynasty?

Some people simply find it hard to give up everything they have now.

But asking them to negotiate with the Wei court and the orthodox Buddhist order is simply beyond their capabilities.

"Why do I feel so uneasy? It's like something bad is about to happen..."

Suddenly, an old monk spoke up.

The group, who had been discussing the matter, immediately fell silent and became wary.

"Master, why do you say that? Do you perhaps have a premonition of something?"

"We are so far from the Buddhist temple, even if the Buddhist sect and the imperial court take any action, it won't happen this quickly."

Some people tried to investigate the situation outside, but found nothing unusual.

The old monk, however, felt increasingly uneasy.

He had never experienced this feeling in all his years of cultivation.

He quickly stood up and said, "This old monk will take his leave now. As for your choices, good luck to you all..."

The old monk inexplicably felt that this place had become a place of trouble, and that leaving as soon as possible was the right choice.

Meanwhile, in a magnificent Buddhist temple not far away.

A tall, golden Bodhisattva statue suddenly glared, and a terrifying aura emanated from it, instantly enveloping the meditation room where the monks were.

The monks quickly sensed something was wrong and began to use their magic to try and escape.

However, when they flew out of the quiet room and came outside, they found that the world had changed.

Above them, the sun and moon seemed to be orbiting in the sky, while below lay a desolate wasteland.

Looking around, everything in the distance was hazy and invisible.

Even if they used their divine senses, they could not clearly perceive the details of their surroundings.

"Fahui! Could it be that you're colluding with the imperial court to deliberately lure us into this trap?!"

Some people who witnessed this scene couldn't help but exclaim in shock and anger, thinking they had fallen into some kind of trap.

Upon hearing this, the monk known as Fahui turned pale and said, "I didn't, I didn't do it, I don't know where this place is, who did it..."

The group was filled with surprise and doubt. They had gathered in the temple to discuss matters, and before coming, they had carefully investigated the situation. They never expected to be caught off guard and had no idea who was behind it.

"Oh no, my magic is disappearing..."

One of the monks was greatly alarmed and realized that something was wrong with him.

The other monks also changed their expressions and began to circulate their internal energy, trying to stop the loss of their power.

However, the more they practiced the method, the faster their own power was drained away, seemingly unstoppable.

Some people were horrified and uneasy, wondering, "What on earth is going on?"

"This place seems to be someone's inner world, suppressing us..."

A knowledgeable monk, through his experience, discovered the unusual nature of this place.

"How is this possible? Who could be so powerful as to bring all of us in at once? Could it be someone who has reached the level of a near-saint?"

They may not be the top experts in Buddhism, but they are at least at the Tongxuan realm.

So many people were instantly pulled into another world without even realizing it, which made it hard for them to imagine how terrifying their opponent was.

Some even thought it was really the work of experts from the Great Wei Dynasty and Buddhist monks who had defected to the court.

Just then, a figure appeared in everyone's sight.

Lu Zheng stood suspended in mid-air, holding the Taiping Codex in one hand, looking at the group of Buddhist monks with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.

Lu Zheng never expected that the Buddha's true intention could use a wisp of a Bodhisattva's thought to allow him to perceive the situation of a temple thousands of miles away, and even use it to perform some supernatural powers to imprison these people.

The monks were on high alert when they saw a young man appear.

They wouldn't underestimate Lu Zheng just because of his youthful appearance; after all, some experts have the secret to preserving their youthful looks.

They might be surprised to learn that the person in front of them was an old monster, older and more powerful than they were.

A monk said in a low voice, "May I ask who you are and why you brought us here?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Me?"

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "Just consider me a follower of Buddhism."

Upon hearing this, everyone reacted with varying expressions, their minds filled with all sorts of thoughts.

They'd heard of acting on behalf of Heaven, but acting on behalf of Buddha...

Feeling their own magical power draining away uncontrollably, someone couldn't help but say, "Why don't you explain yourself more clearly? Have we offended you in any way?"

Lu Zheng calmly said, "I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me if I said it was according to the Buddha's will."

Normally, these Buddhist monks might not have believed these words.

But now, faced with this somewhat strange situation, and with his Buddhist power disappearing invisibly, it's hard not to believe.

Some people felt fear and turned to fly in the opposite direction from Lu Zheng, wanting to escape this unknown world.

However, in the next instant, the power within his body became even more chaotic, causing his body and soul to tremble as if struck by lightning.

In the sky, a pure white aura transformed into a slender sword aura, slashing straight down.

This is an extraordinary sword energy, containing not only the righteous energy of heaven and earth, but also the power of cause and effect.

The cause and effect involved are directly intertwined with the monks.

This is because Lu Zheng comprehended the Buddhist principles of cause and effect, which added more special characteristics to the power of the Taiping Code.

A sword strike is inevitable.

The sword energy instantly shone brilliantly, and the monk's figure was instantly engulfed by the light.

The next instant, the monk vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a trace of Buddhist power that slowly dissipated into the world.

Lu Zheng remained calm and said leisurely, "The evil deeds of the past bring evil consequences today. This is Buddhist retribution, the cycle of cause and effect..." (End of this chapter)