Spirit Mountain Holy Land:
Jiang Gautama twisted the facts as he stood on the Nine-Petaled Golden Lotus, portraying the Han Imperial Dynasty as demonic and discussing how to subdue the demons with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples.
“Everyone, do you have any suggestions?” Jiang Gautama looked at his audience.
The Past Buddha had made prior arrangements and was the first to speak.
“Lord Buddha, this disciple has something to say,” the Past Buddha said seriously.
“Oh?”
Everyone looked at the Past Buddha.
“That great demon Gu Hai previously caused trouble for my Spirit Mountain Holy Land, killing countless disciples. He has a strong demonic nature, and we must keep our guard up against him. He has also repeatedly pitted himself against my Spirit Mountain Holy Land, vilifying my Lord Buddha. He is a great evil in the world. However, he has the demonic dynasty, the Han Nation, to protect him. While in his demonic dynasty, he can drive the power of his nation, gaining overwhelming strength. This disciple thinks we must clip his wings to prevent him from flying. After that, we can take our time destroying this great demon,” the Past Buddha said seriously.
“Past Buddha, please elaborate,” Jiang Gautama said.
“Gu Hai can drive the power of his nation while in his demonic dynasty. What if he does not have a nation to use? What if the citizens do not lend him their energy?” The Past Buddha smiled.
“Are you suggesting sending disciples to the demonic Han Nation to purify the citizens, expose Gu Hai, and help them differentiate between good and evil, to convince them to abandon the darkness for the light? The Han Nation’s blessings would crumble after that?” Jiang Gautama questioned.
“Yes. That is what this disciple intends. He has the demonic Han Nation. Although he has gathered many demons within a short time, how can he compare to my Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s accumulations? We have hundreds of billions of Buddhist disciples. We can send our disciples to the various cities of the Han Nation to purify the citizens. That would also help disciples accrue beneficence,” the Past Buddha said.
As though prearranged, a bodhisattva spoke up after the Past Buddha made this suggestion. “Lord Buddha, this disciple is willing to go!”
“Oh?”
“This disciple is untalented, but I have a heart for Buddhism. That demon snatched my Buddhism’s immortal firmament; we must retake it. The citizens of the demonic Han Nation have been misled by demons and are struggling in the sea of bitterness. This disciple is willing to save the masses and bring them into the embrace of Buddhism!” that bodhisattva said gravely.
“This disciple is willing to go!”
“This disciple is willing to go, Lord Buddha!”
“This disciple is willing to purify the suffering citizens of the demonic dynasty!”
Various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats called out, clamoring to go and spread their religion.
Seeing the enthusiastic Buddhist disciples, Jiang Gautama showed a faint smile.
“This buddha will pass on the Divine Purifying Incantation. You can speed up the purification of the citizens by using this incantation and bring them into our folds,” Jiang Gautama said.
“Thank you, Lord Buddha!” everyone said respectfully.
Jiang Gautama slowly chanted a Buddhist incantation.
As he chanted, some bodhisattvas in the crowd started frowning.
The Divine Purifying Incantation? This is an incantation to control a person’s mind, hypnosis? Are we to hypnotize the citizens into obeying us? This will severely damage the citizens’ consciousnesses. Light damage would still result in memory deterioration, while more severe damage would be a disordered consciousness, driving them insane.
Are we really supposed to use this Divine Purifying Incantation on the citizens?
“These are stubborn people who associate themselves with demons. There is no need to go easy on them. Remember: you are saving them, pulling them out of deep waters and fire,” Jiang Gautama said.
“Yes!” many Buddhist disciples cried out excitedly.
However, some continued frowning slightly. Is this really good?
The Past Buddha smiled. “Lord Buddha, once the demonic Han Nation’s blessings crumble, that Gu Hai will have nothing to rely on. The Lord Buddha can eliminate that demon in the blink of an eye and glorify my Buddhist Dao!”
“This buddha will do his best to eliminate the demons for the masses!” Jiang Gautama held his palms together.
“Namo Gautama Present Buddha!” all the Buddhist disciples said respectfully with palms held together.
No matter what, all the Buddhist disciples understood that the Spirit Mountain Holy Land wanted to deal with Gu Hai with everything they had. It was over for Gu Hai.
“Humph! Harming the citizens to destroy the Han Nation’s blessings? This disciple is untalented and disdains to partake in this! Goodbye!” Another bodhisattva soared into the sky.
Clearly, Bodhisattva Wen Sheng was not the only monk with a sense of righteousness.
Jiang Gautama’s face sank.
“Bodhisattva Pu De, can you not bear to destroy the demons? Do you not want to become a buddha?” the Past Buddha demanded while glaring.
“What is the difference between such a buddha and a demon? Hahaha! I now understand why Bodhisattva Wen Sheng disdained to partake in this. This disciple initially just endured it. Unexpectedly, you are as violent as before, turning your back on my Buddhism’s teachings of benevolence. All life lives in bitterness; rescuing the masses is the intent of my Buddhism. You choose to resort to all means to achieve your goals, harming the citizens. I will not do such a thing. Goodbye!” Bodhisattva Pu De shouted as he soared into the sky.
“Bodhisattva Pu De, you give excuses for the demons. It looks like you have been misled by the demons too. Everyone has the right to subdue demons. Since you are following the demons, then suffer their fate!” The Past Buddha waved his hand.
Boom!
The Candle Epoch Azure Lamp sent out intense flames again, enveloping the fleeing Bodhisattva Pu De.
“Argh! Past Buddha, instead of thinking of the masses, you think of supremacy. You will die a horrible death! The course of nature goes around; retribution will come. It’s not that there’s no retribution but that it has not yet arrived. You harm the citizens now; the citizens will kill you in the future. You choose to resort to unsavory means to destroy his dynasty’s blessings now. In the future, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings will crumble! Argh! Argh! Argh!” Bodhisattva Pu De roared in pain amid the intense flames.
“How stubborn!” the Past Buddha snorted coldly.
Boom!
The intense flames exploded, completely burning Bodhisattva Pu De to nothing.
“Bodhisattva Pu De was misled by the demons and tried to mislead others with false words. We are destroying the demonic dynasty’s blessings, only to save the masses. What does he know? My Buddhism is about to establish the Sahā World. The Buddhism Dao will exist forever, and my Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings will only flourish even more. We will last as long as the heavens. Who can hurt my Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings? My Spirit Mountain Holy Land has two thousand cities and is established in the world. How can our blessings cloud sea be destroyed? How laughable! How extremely laughable!” the Past Buddha guffawed.
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings will last as long as the heavens, flourishing with the world!” the Buddhist disciples all chorused.
Jiang Gautama looked at the sky in confidence. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings will last as long as the heavens, flourishing with the world! I will rule the world in the future; all sects will obey me. The land beneath the heavens will be in my grasp!
A grand atmosphere filled the plaza outside the Hall of Great Strength; everyone felt excited.
The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings would last as long as the heavens, flourishing with the world?
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud sound came from the blessings cloud sea, startling everyone.
Roar!
A despairing dragon roar came from above the blessings cloud sea.
“What?” Jiang Gautama’s expression changed.
Rumble…!
Vast amounts of blessings suddenly started flowing away rapidly, dissipating.
“What happened? What’s going on? Why are the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings scattering?”
“They are scattering quickly; the loss is so rapid. What’s going on?”
“Bodhisattva Pu De said earlier the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings would crumble?”
“The course of nature goes around; retribution will come. No! That’s impossible! There must be a mistake!”
All the monks at the Hall of Great Strength’s entrance immediately became flustered. Jiang Gautama’s expression changed dramatically.
I haven’t destroyed the Han Nation’s blessings yet. Why is there a problem with my blessings?
“What’s happening? What’s going on?” the Past Buddha exclaimed in horror.
Just as everyone was at a loss, reports poured in.
“I have a report! I have a report! Urgent report from Spirit Mountain City. Spirit Mountain City is in great chaos. Rioting citizens beat the city lord to death!”
“I have a report! I have a report! Urgent report from Golden Mountain City. The city broke out in violence. Rioting citizens barged into and destroyed the Golden Mountain Temple, the Golden Cloud Temple, and the Golden Water Temple. They had even smashed the statue of the Lord Buddha. Emergency signals are going up everywhere!”
“I have a report! I have a report! Urgent report from Spirit Cloud City…”
“I have a report…”
Countless horrified Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples suddenly rushed to the Hall of Great Strength’s entrance, bringing reports of the shocking situation in the surrounding cities.
“Roar!”
The golden dragon in the blessings cloud sea roared miserably. The blessings flowed away increasingly faster.
“How can this be? Something happened in Spirit Mountain City?”
“That’s impossible! When I came to Major Leiyin Temple, my Golden Mountain Temple was still fine. How could there be rioting citizens breaking in?”
“Rioting citizens? What rioting citizens?”
The expressions of all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats in the plaza outside the Hall of Great Strength changed. Most of these people were abbots from the two thousand cities. Before they came, the temples they ran were doing fine. Why did their temples get smashed all of a sudden?
Jiang Gautama’s expression changed.
Bodhisattva Pu De said earlier that I chose to resort to unsavory means to destroy the Han Imperial Dynasty’s blessings now, and in the future, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings would crumble!
This came true in such a short time?
This is impossible! This is impossible!
“Go investigate what’s going on. Are the demons running rampant? Are enemies attacking? Quickly!” Jiang Gautama said while glaring.
Countless reports of cities falling into chaos continued to arrive. The two thousand cities used the zither puppets to send the messages. The vast influx of reports startled and shocked everyone.
Anarchy! Riots! Mayhem! The two thousand cities had fallen into utter chaos. All the citizens had gone mad.
A disciple ran over. “Lord Buddha, this disciple just checked with my senior brother in Spirit Mountain City. He said there were no enemies or demons, only that everyone in the city went mad. Someone scammed the rioting citizens and pinned the blame on the Eastern Forest Temple, the city lord, and my Spirit Mountain Holy Land.”
“What? They got scammed of their money? It is just money. Are they crazy? Is everyone in the city crazy? What do you mean by everyone in the city? How many people are there?” Jiang Gautama said coldly.
That disciple brought a zither puppet over. The zither puppet transmitted Jiang Gautama’s voice and quickly replied.
“Reporting to the Lord Buddha. It is at least ninety percent of the citizens. Ninety percent! Ah! No! It has nothing to do with me! I did not take your money! Save me! Save me! Lord Buddha, save me….” Miserable cries came from the zither puppet.
The Buddhist disciples who objected to Jiang Gautama’s methods in their hearts recalled Bodhisattva Pu De’s earlier words.
“Instead of thinking of the masses, you think of supremacy. You will die a horrible death! The course of nature goes around; retribution will come. It’s not that there’s no retribution but that it has not yet arrived. You harm the citizens now; the citizens will kill you in the future. You choose to resort to unsavory means to destroy his dynasty’s blessings now. In the future, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings will crumble!”
Bodhisattva Pu De’s words were still fresh in their minds. The dissipating blessings in the sky already said everything. The course of nature goes around; retribution will come. It’s not that there’s no retribution but that it has not yet arrived.
Retribution is here?
Countless Buddhist disciples appeared shocked.
However, Jiang Gautama showed a sullen expression. “This buddha does not believe in the course of nature and retribution. If they existed, the Six Paths Immortal would not have replaced the previous Heaven!”
After speaking, Jiang Gautama looked at the cities near the Spirit Mountain Holy Land.
At this moment, thick smoke billowed from the various large cities. Emergency flares lit up everywhere as citizens rampaged.
