Chapter 22: The Flourishing of Chan Buddhism During the Hongzhi Era (Part 1)

  A wisp of black smoke drifted out from the shattered head of the corpse, flashing towards the zombie horde like lightning. Although this corpse had not been able to cultivate into a Corpse Dan, it could still use the zombie's body to cast the Borrowed Corpse Rebirth spell. After another period of cultivation, its powers would be restored once more. The Sea Dragon knew clearly that the black energy was about to escape, but at this moment, his magical powers had been completely exhausted, and he didn't have the strength to make another move, so he could only watch helplessly as the black energy rushed towards the zombie horde.

  At this moment, a clear Sanskrit chant sounded, "Evil spirits stop running, look at the Dharma treasure." A flash of light, a huge golden alms bowl appeared in front of the black air, and the black air suddenly became violently turbulent, wailing sounds echoed continuously. In the golden light, it disappeared instantly. "The Buddha's law is boundless, turn back to the shore. Go to where you should go." The golden light flashed again, and in the center of the sea dragon and the village, a huge deep pit with a diameter of 10 meters and a depth of 5 meters appeared silently. Those zombies that had been destroyed by the sea dragon and the remaining zombies all rose into the air under the golden light and fell into the big pit one after another. The golden alms bowl shone brightly, and complex Sanskrit characters floated around it. The zombies in the pit lost their original grayish-black color and turned into real corpses. A dazzling flash of light passed, and the ground returned to flatness, everything returned to normal.

  Under the Buddha's light, Hailong felt a continuous wave of comfort spreading throughout his body. The Buddhist power in his mixed magical powers suddenly accelerated, and in just a few breaths, it helped him recover some of his magic. As he watched the golden light disappear, Hailong couldn't help but secretly lick his tongue, such profound Buddhist cultivation was far beyond his own abilities.

  A flash of light, a figure appeared in front of the sea dragon, a white hand reached out and a gentle voice said: "Benefactor, I'll pull you up."

  The dragon king looked up and saw a young monk wearing a kasaya standing in front of him. The monk's face was as white as jade, surrounded by a faint layer of Buddhist light, looking quite young, seemingly about the same age as himself, with a hint of childishness between his eyebrows.

  He grasped the pale hand, and a surge of great strength came, pulling him up from the ground. As Ha Long stood up, he happened to meet the young monk's gaze. The monk was an inch shorter than him, with handsome features that made Ha Long feel a twinge of self-consciousness deep down. Frowning, he asked: "Who are you? Did you extinguish the soul of that corpse?"

  Young monk nodded and said: "Yes! Being destroyed by me, such an evil corpse, how can it be left to harm the world? His soul has been refined by my Buddha bowl, and he will have to go through many hardships before he can be reborn. Benefactor, thank you for your help earlier, you are a good person, if not for you, those ordinary people here would have suffered."

  The dragon hummed and said, "Since you were standing beside me, why didn't you take action earlier? Did you want to see me make a fool of myself? Looking at your monk's attire, are you not from the Mantra Sect?"

  Young monk Yileng said, "What's this 'Fan Xin Zong' I've never heard of it! I wasn't unwilling to make a move earlier, but I just arrived. Originally, I was hundreds of miles away cultivating my Heavenly Eye, when I suddenly saw the evil energy spreading over here, so I rushed over. Luckily, big brother you withstood that corpse ghost!"

  The dragon looked at the young monk with a puzzled expression, thinking to himself: "This guy hasn't even heard of the Mantra Heart Sect, he's obviously a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. But his cultivation is so high, what's going on? I won't let it go, I have to ask clearly." With that thought, he put on a dignified and majestic demeanor and said: "Subduing demons and eliminating evil is our duty as monks. Brother, don't be polite. You don't even know about the Mantra Heart Sect? It's the number one Buddhist sect in the world today. I thought you were from the Mantra Heart Sect since you're a monk. Since you're not from the Mantra Heart Sect, which sect are you cultivating in?"

  Young monk said: "My Buddhist name is Hongzhi, belonging to the Chan sect. The owner may not have heard of it. Our Chan sect has been out of circulation for many years. Moreover, there is only one person left in our Chan sect now. Master, you should be a cultivator of truth, I didn't expect that as soon as I came out of the mountain, I met you, no wonder my master said before, the cultivators of truth and us Buddhists are all on the same level, with the heart of heaven. I followed my master to practice Buddhism when I was very young, and I don't understand much about the world, so please point me in the right direction from now on."

  Hailong said, "The better you don't understand." Zen? I've never heard of it, but looking at his cultivation, it shouldn't be bad. You don't know the ways of the world? That's easy to handle. "My name is Hailong, and I'm a fifth-generation disciple of the Lianyun Sect. The Lianyun Sect is one of the top seven righteous sects in the current era. Just now, I was careless for a moment and almost let that corpse spirit escape. It's truly embarrassing!"

  Hong Zhi smiled slightly and said: "People have slips of the hand, horses have slips of the hoof. The donor doesn't need to pay too much attention to gains and losses. May I ask, how long has the donor been cultivating?"

  Hai Long Dao said, "It's been over four years, almost five. I was originally planning to return to the mountain and close myself off for cultivation, but I encountered a corpse ghost here and got delayed. And you? Your Buddhist skills are not weak, how many years have you been cultivating?"

  Hong Zhi listened to Hai Long Dao's words and slightly froze, muttering, "Four or five years? You're already this strong in just four or five years? When I was refining that corpse ghost's soul earlier, I clearly felt a surge of immortal energy entering its soul. If one can use immortal energy to attack the enemy, doesn't that mean your cultivation has reached the equivalent of my Buddhist sect's Great Perfection realm? I'm truly astonished. I've cultivated for over a thousand years and only just barely achieved Small Perfection. I don't know how long it'll take to reach your level... From now on, please guide me often, Master."

  Even with his thick skin, Hai Long couldn't help but blush slightly. He knew that the "divine spirit" Hong Zhi was referring to came entirely from the Inverted Heaven Mirror and had nothing to do with him. However, being praised by this Buddhist master in front of him made him feel a little lightheaded. "I don't understand what 'Great Perfection' is. I'm not as formidable as you say. But if you have any questions in the future, I can help clarify them for you. You said you've been cultivating for a thousand years, but you don't look like it! Don't call me Master anymore, my name is Hai Long, just call me by my name."

  Hong Zhi let out a soft sigh and said, "Shi... Ah, no, Hai Long brother, I followed my master into the mountains to cultivate at the age of seven. Most of the time, I was in closed-door cultivation and studying Buddhist scriptures. It has been over 1,200 years now. Since I was eighteen, my appearance hasn't changed. My master had high hopes for me, saying that I have a pre-heavenly Buddha body, making it much easier for me to cultivate Buddhism than others. He hoped that I could transcend the Buddhist kalpa in the future. However, until now, I still don't know what the Buddhist kalpa is. After cultivating for such a long time, I am still far from achieving the state of Great Perfection."

  Hai Long smiled and said, "It's just over a thousand years, I know many seniors who have cultivated for several thousand years. Cultivation can't be rushed, once you get impatient, there's a risk of going crazy. How about this, I know the current number one Buddhist sect, the Brahma Heart Sect, its sect master is probably the most formidable cultivator in the world right now, if you have the chance, let him guide you."

  Hongzhi was deeply indoctrinated by his master for many years and was extremely obsessed with cultivation. After hearing Hailong's words, he was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "Thank you, thank you, Brother Hailong! From now on, if I achieve anything, it will all be thanks to your kindness. My master passed away not long after I left the temple, and before he died, he instructed me that after reaching the Small Round Fulfillment realm, I should go out into the world to gain experience. Now, I don't know where to go, so how about this: from now on, I'll follow you, okay? With Brother Hailong's guidance, it will definitely be very beneficial for my cultivation."

  Hai Long secretly rejoiced, having such a skilled Buddhist cultivator following him. Even if the Mo Sect people came chasing after, he wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. On the surface, however, he furrowed his brow and said: "This isn't very good, is it? I need to return to Lian Yun Sect for cultivation, and we don't have any relationship between us either. Bringing you back with me will probably make my sect's seniors unhappy."

  Hong Zhi blinked his eyes and said, "What can I do? I really want to follow Brother Hai Long on his travels, please fulfill my wish." He had just left the mountain, and his mind was still in a state of childhood. After meeting Hai Long, his intuition from practicing Buddhism told him that this person was completely trustworthy, like grabbing onto a floating log in a raging torrent. Now he didn't want to leave Hai Long at all.

  Hailong suppressed the excitement in his heart and said slowly, "Alright, you acknowledge me as your elder brother. As long as you become my younger brother, when we arrive at Lianyun Sect, our seniors won't say anything about it either. What do you think?"

  Hong Zhi doubted the way: "Recognize you as a big brother? However, I am over 1,000 years old and much older than you. Isn't this inappropriate?"

  "Those who are enlightened are revered, you've been practicing Buddhism for many years, yet you can't even see through this trivial worldly thought. No wonder you can't attain the state of great perfection. This is also one of my tests for your cultivation, you not only have to acknowledge me as your elder brother but also must obey all my arrangements, be respectful to me, and not be arrogant just because you're older and more experienced in cultivation. This is the best way to temper your mind. Do you understand?"

  After hearing Hailong's words, Hongzhi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and muttered: "Yes! How could I still not see through the worldly things? Brother Hailong, no, big brother Hailong, thank you for your guidance. From now on, Hongzhi is your younger brother. No matter what happens, he will follow your orders." As he spoke, he joined his hands together and bowed to Hailong.

  Hai Long was surprised to see the sixteen tonsure scars on Hong Zhi's head, whereas ordinary monks usually had nine. With such a strong and obedient little brother, he wouldn't have to worry about being bullied even if he returned to Lian Yun Sect. Thinking of this exciting prospect, his mouth involuntarily curled into a faint smile as he said, "Then I'll call you Xiao Zhi from now on." After saying this, Hai Long himself couldn't help but find it amusing - 'Xiao Zhi' somehow sounded like 'hemorrhoids'. Never mind, anyway his own Daoist name was Tan Mu Er, so having a hemorrhoid little brother was quite normal.

  At this time, the villagers finally realized that things outside had ended. Some of the braver ones tentatively crawled out of their tents and when they saw that all the zombies had disappeared, they cheered involuntarily. In a short while, the entire tribe suddenly became a sea of joy. They removed the fence and hundreds of people ran towards Hailong and Hongzhi together.

  Hong Zhi looked at the crowd rushing over like a mountain collapse and was suddenly frightened. He said, "Hai Long big brother, what are they doing?"

  Hailong smiled and said: "We've eliminated the corpse demons and zombies, so they're naturally here to thank us. When they come over, don't make a sound, I'll take care of everything."

  Hong Zhi was most afraid of interacting with people, and when Hai Long warmly welcomed him, he immediately felt grateful and said: "Big brother, it's great to follow you. If in the future I can help you share some burdens, just let me know."

  The villagers finally rushed to the front of Hailong, and without anyone's command, they all knelt down on the ground, saying: "Thank you, sir, for saving our tribe." Before that, they only saw Hailong's move and ran back to their tents to hide, not knowing that the most important work was done by Hongzhi.

  "The dragon king said with a flutter: 'Everyone, hurry up and get up. Exorcising demons and guarding the way is our duty, there's no need to thank us. May I ask, which one of you is the chief?"

  The villagers remained kneeling, their eyes filled with heartfelt gratitude. The first one, an old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, said: "I am the chief, sir. Please give us your orders."

  Looking at the crowd kneeling down in front of him, Hailong gradually felt a bit uncomfortable, and he dodged to one side, saying: "Chieftain, you'd better let everyone get up quickly, otherwise, I'll leave immediately."

  The chief hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, before reluctantly ordering everyone to stand up. Hailong asked, "Chief, do you know someone named Sha Si?"

  The chief's whole body shook, and he said: "Recognize, of course recognize, that is my good brother! He was really miserable, his whole family was harmed by zombies. Sir, do you know him?"

  Recalling the appearance of Sha Ce before, Hai Long couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. He told them how he met Sha Ce and what happened afterwards: "...After listening to his story, I was really angry that someone would cultivate an undead ghost so cruelly. So I rushed over quickly. That undead ghost was indeed formidable, but with the joint efforts of me and my brother Hong Zhi, we finally eliminated all of them. You can rest assured that there won't be any more undead ghosts disturbing your tribe from now on. To be honest, if it's said, Sha Ce should be the one who saved you guys. I've already buried him in a place dozens of miles east from here, where there is a very obvious mound. I hope you can set up a tombstone for him. Since his body had undead poison, let him rest in peace there." Hai Long's eyes reddened slightly as he lowered his head gloomily. Behind him, Hong Zhi nodded silently, thinking to himself: This newly acknowledged big brother is really a good person. From then on, he followed Hai Long wholeheartedly and became his most loyal younger brother.

  Today has arrived, haha. Welcome everyone to cast your votes.