Chapter 45: Chapter 45: What a joy it is to have friends coming from afar!
“Wu Zhi, Monk of Wisdom, it’s been a long time. Are you also heading to the Dao Sect?”
“King Change, I am attending the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Convention to broaden my perspectives.”
The small monk and scholar greeted each other, obviously having known each other for a long time.
Upon hearing this, the burly men lost all their desires for revenge, even the onlooking passengers unconsciously straightened their attitudes, not wanting to appear too casual in front of these two.
It is said that Wu Zhi is a reincarnation of the Buddha. Right after his birth, he transformed a small town into a Buddhist land. Even his parents paid homage and took refuge in Buddhism. After hearing this, the old Buddha Sumi came immediately and took Wu Zhi as his closed-door disciple, declaring him as the Buddha’s Son.
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Because he is the reincarnation of the Buddha, his cultivation speed is exceptional. By fourteen, he already became a Nascent Soul Cultivator, breaking the youngest age record for a Nascent Soul.
Jiang Li hadn’t even traversed over at the age of fourteen.
Scholar King Change is a Confucian preacher. Despite his young age, he is already the State Preceptor of seven small countries. Due to his teachings of Confucianism, these countries transformed into lands of gentlemen, where people don’t lock doors at night, and lost items are not picked up from the street.
Even scholars of the Divinity Transformation Stage would seek advice from him on Confucianism.
“Is Monk Wu Zhi genuinely the reincarnation of the Buddha?” Saint Pure Heart asked curiously. She had heard the legends about Monk Wu Zhi, and even directly asked Old Buddha Sumi, but the old monk just smiled, not uttering a word.
Usually, he would at least brush her off with “The Buddha says it cannot be spoken” !
If she could beat him, she would have forced the words out!
The title of Buddha isn’t easily given to any Buddhist who ascends to the West Paradise; only those with significant achievements in Buddhist Law, owning a Buddhist land in the Immortal Realm, are qualified to be called Buddha. Jiang Li had a strange expression, “Is that what you’re concerned about?” “What else should I worry about?” Saint Pure Heart was confused.
“He could be your grandmaster.”
“Your master, the Daoist Pure Desires, is fond of him. Didn’t you know?”
Seeing that Saint Pure Heart had a hard time accepting this news, Jiang Li seriously answered her question.
“I don’t know, I am not familiar with reincarnation.”
Jiang Li indeed didn’t understand reincarnation. He had lived for five hundred years and still couldn’t figure out whether he time-traveled or awakened memories of his past life.
“However, Old Buddha Sumi said that Monk Wu Zhi’s Buddha nature is even better than his, and he intends to make Wu Zhi a candidate for the Human Emperor also to compete for the throne.”
“And whether or not he’s the reincarnation of a Buddha, I can confirm that this little monk had an incredibly powerful past life.”
Jiang Li squinted his eyes at Monk Wu Zhi.
“What did you see?”
Saint Pure Heart knew that Jiang Li was very insightful about souls. “A soul that doesn’t match the age.”
In Jiang Li’s eyes, Monk Wu Zhi’s soul was unusually strong and resilient. Although it was still a soul at the Nascent Soul Stage, his soul bore the signs of surviving innumerable calamities. This was something a fourteen-year-old monk should not have.
Ordinary people reincarnate, and all traces of their souls will vanish, making them clean and new individuals. Jiang Li couldn’t even tell who their past lives were.
Yet, Monk Wu Zhi’s soul was strong enough that even reincarnation couldn’t erase its traces. It could only mean that his previous life was too powerful, thus influencing his present life.
As for whether his past life was a Buddha, who knows?
“We are about to pass through the White Marsh Empire, so everyone be careful!”
The captain shouted loudly, warning the guards on the Flying Boat to stay vigilant.
Actually, Jiang Li understood that the ship captain was usually speaking to the guards, but now on the Flying Boat, there were Buddhist disciples and Confucian scholars. Clearly, he was saying this for these two to hear.
Before he could finish speaking, an eagle’s cry echoed from beneath the Flying Boat, making the ship’s passengers shudder with fear.
The most powerful guard on the Flying Boat was a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core Stage. Upon hearing the eagle cry, his hair stood on end!
A Nascent Soul Stage eagle demon!
Nascent Soul Cultivators indeed could not fly, but avian demons were an exception!
The guard cursed in his heart. On normal days, it was just a few Foundation Establishment small eagles causing a mess at most, and at worst, Golden Core eagle demons. But why now? Was it because this little monk was too alluring, luring the eagle demon over?
“The White Marsh Emperor’s Dynasty, also known as the Bandit Dynasty, truly lives up to its name. Today, I have witnessed it with my own eyes.”
Even the Pure Heart Holy Maiden, who seldom dabbled in the Red Dust, had heard about the nickname of the White Marsh Emperor’s Dynasty.
“No choice, the White Marsh Emperor tried her best, and the fact that the kingdom has not disintegrated shows her capability. What can we do when she is a mixed-blood marsh kylin and could not suppress the eight great kings?” Jiang Li was equally helpless about the nickname of the White Marsh Emperor’s dynasty.
The current White Marsh Emperor was a hybrid of a Marsh and a Kylin, looking like a white Kylin. This was simply a joke for the White Marsh Emperor’s Dynasty. Were they supposed to accept a White Marsh Emperor who had the appearance of a Kylin?
“Demons only recognize lineage. If the lineage is impure, they will not recognize the White Marsh Emperor, and as a result, the Emperor cannot use the Dynasty’s luck.”
Jiang Li had seen the White Marsh Emperor before and thought that the white Kylin was handsome and could not really understand the demons’ thoughts.
“The White Marsh Emperor is only in the Body Integration Realm, and the eight Demon Kings are also in the Body Integration Realm. She is not me, capable of taking on eight at the same time. The eight Demon Kings refuse to acknowledge the White Marsh Emperor, each carving out a piece of land, acting upon her orders and edicts entirely based on their mood.”
“The White Marsh Emperor’s Dynasty is formed from beasts, thus being the utmost chaotic, with the current eight kings forming their governments, falling into a bandit den is not surprising. ”
However, it was precisely because of the chaotic order of these beasts that human cultivators often went to the White Marsh Emperor’s Dynasty for training, hunting beasts without any guilt.
The eagle demon appeared, its wings spread out to a length of nine feet, and the edges were faintly gold, showing its noble lineage. It dived toward the pile of Spirit Stones serving as fuel.
This stack of Spirit Stones was even more expensive than the Flying Boat itself!
Wu Zhi, the Buddhist disciple, and Wang Bian, the Confucian scholar, took action at the same time, repelling the eagle demon. If it weren’t for the eagle demon’s ability to fly, it would have been captured by the two already!
“Eagle, lay down your butcher’s knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Please stop. ”
“Eagle, burning, killing, and looting are not what a gentleman should do.”
The eagle demon ignored the two’s advice and even wanted to spit phlegm on them.
The two sighed at the same time. Their teaching only worked for those under the Golden Core Stage, and it was utterly useless for this Nascent Soul eagle demon.
The little monk pulled out the precious Buddhist artifact – Brahma Pagoda from his bosom and fiercely smashed it towards the eagle demon.
This purple Brahma Pagoda was only about palm-sized, but it was as heavy as the sun and the moon. The eagle demon was slightly grazed by it and immediately spat out blood. It could not even flap its wings without strength and fell directly to the ground.
Wang Bian threw out a written notice, marked with a “still” word. As soon as it touched the eagle demon, the demon was immobilized, led honestly back to the Flying Boat under the guidance of the note.
The eagle demon was confused by this sudden turn of events and was captured before it could even react.
“Using force is not beneficial for maintaining peace of mind.” Wang Bian said some words hesitantly, making the eagle demon want to cry but had no tears. Well, you should not use force then!
Wu Zhi, the little monk, was equally hesitated: “Yeah, yeah. But if the other party doesn’t listen, what can we do?” “Should we persuade him again?”
“Good.’
So the two placed the immobilized eagle demon in front of them, one beside chanting Buddhist scriptures, and one preaching about benevolence and righteousness.
Buddhist scriptures went into the eagle’s left ear and came out from the right, only to be blocked by the teachings of benevolence and righteousness going into the right ear.
The eagle demon’s mind was now filled with “the gentleman says Prajna Paramita” and “having friends come from far away is a joyful thing.”
It was filled with regret, deep regret..