Chapter Eighty-Three: The Disciple Descends the Mountain

  Mount Xumi's Heart Palace was as majestic and solemn as ever, with Jingyuan and Zhunti sitting in the middle, a group of disciples lined up on both sides, each with a serious expression. Even the rarely seen Queen Mother of the West was seated below Jingyuan.

  "This calamity of the gods is also caused by a disciple of the Xuan teachings provoking Huang Tian, so the people who should be punished are mainly from the three schools of Xuan, Jian and Jie. Originally, our Buddhist school could sit back and watch the outcome, but since the Original Heavenly Master proposed the idea of each relying on their own luck, he was actually planning to sacrifice disciples from other schools to fill the quota, complete the cycle of Zhou Tian, and protect the Xuan teachings. Of course, his main goal is to use Jie school disciples as substitutes, and he also wants to take advantage of the situation to plot against our Buddhist school. His calculations are indeed deep, so it's highly likely that this great calamity will affect us too. We must not be careless!"

  "Besides being a calamity, it's also a rare opportunity. If you can sever the causes and effects in the great calamity, see your original heart clearly, and make great progress on the path of cultivation, then as your master, I hope you can seize this opportunity to improve your cultivation. Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask now."

  "May I ask, Master, which side should we Buddhists stand on?" asked Medicine Master.

  Jie Yin swept a glance around, with a smile at the corner of his mouth "We only stand on our own side." Zhun Ti heard Jie Yin's words and also smiled.

  "What the senior brother said is not wrong, this time the great calamity will definitely take the two teachings of Tian and Jian as two opposing sides, of course, there will also be other forces mixed in. We have only one goal, to weaken the other several sects, and also to properly maintain the balance between them. Only in this way can our Buddhist gate thoroughly occupy the advantageous position after the great calamity. Do you understand?"

  Listening to Ananda's words, it is clear that Ananda has already set his sights on the great calamity after this life. Indeed, he is calculating deeply. Of course, the pressure from the Buddhist community is not great now, so there is no need to worry about the great calamity like in the past.

  "Shibo, Master, are all of us disciples going down the mountain?" Mile also asked.

  "It's not bad, although you can wait for the great calamity to pass in Mount Xumi, but it's actually not beneficial for your own cultivation. The Buddhist door attaches the most importance to the heart and nature. In the great calamity, the red dust and all phenomena are changing unpredictably, which is exactly a good opportunity to refine one's mind."

  Several disciples heard this and also had their own plans. Most of them had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation, and they didn't want to miss this opportunity at all, and were eager to give it a try.

  "You must remember, now that you all have basically reached the level of quasi-saints, it should be fine in theory, but you must also act according to the rules and not give others any excuses. Although the Xuanmen disciples' cultivation is generally lower than yours, they also have many tricks up their sleeves. And just like Yuanshi, it's hard to guarantee that they won't seize on an excuse to bully the weak with the strong. So you must be careful.

  Jieyin knew Yuan Shi's character, so he spoke out to remind these disciples. Although Jieyin and Zhunti were confident in these disciples, there are always exceptions, and it's hard to guarantee that nothing will go wrong. After all, as a saint, if they make up their mind to secretly plot against the Buddhist sect, Jieyin wouldn't dare to guarantee anything either. After all, during the War of the Gods, many Xuanmen disciples were eliminated by saints using underhanded tactics."

  Zhun Ti also spoke up to remind, "What Shixiong said is not wrong, it's not just the Three Purities that might take action, some other powerful beings in the Primordial Chaos may also not be able to refrain from taking action. Compared to some of the old-brand powerful beings, you are still far too inferior, and can't afford to be careless."

  Jie Yin was still the first to truly play chess behind Da Jie, and it's inevitable that he would say a few more words to hand over these disciples, just in case they make any mistakes.

  Several disciples who had been listening to and memorizing the words of the Buddha asked, "May I ask, Master, are we going down the mountain now?"

  "Alright, you all prepare yourselves. If you encounter disciples who are not bad in terms of qualifications and character, it's not a problem to accept them as your own, it's also good for passing on the Buddhist teachings and lineage. Don't be too cautious, my junior brother and I will always be keeping an eye on you."

  All the disciples were overjoyed to hear that they could also accept apprentices, and when they heard that Jie Yin would always be behind them as a support, they couldn't help but feel at ease. They had an unwavering trust in their master.

  The Jade Emperor turned his head towards the Queen Mother of the West and said, "Queen Mother, in this great calamity, I'm afraid the outer sect disciples will suffer again."

  "The saint doesn't have to be like this, besides, it's inevitable to tidy up a bit, everything depends on the master's decision."

  After entrusting everything, Jie Yin sent all the other disciples away and left only Hou Yi and Da Shi Zhi behind. Jie Yin thought that although Hou Yi's current combat power was comparable to that of a quasi-sage who could slay two corpses, his primordial spirit was still at the level of the Great Luo boundary, which was not entirely safe. Da Shi Zhi did not have any magical treasures to protect himself, and although his cultivation was high, he might still suffer losses. Therefore, Jie Yin left Hou Yi and Da Shi Zhi behind and bestowed upon Hou Yi the Qing Lian Treasure Color Flag. The Qing Lian Treasure Color Flag was not only a defensive treasure but also, like the Wu Ji Xing Huang Flag, could protect one's soul and ensure that their primordial spirit would not be lost, which could just make up for Hou Yi's inadequacies.

  Hou Yi took over the precious colored flag, which was a treasure given by the Taoist ancestor to his teacher. He was extremely moved and hastily thanked his teacher. Jie Yin had never given Da Shizhi a treasure before, not because Jie Yin was biased, but because Da Shizhi had devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Sarira Dharma and had attained enlightenment in his dreams. If he were to divide his attention to treasures, it would affect his progress.

  He handed over two pieces of treasure to Da Shi Zhi, a sword and a small mirror. "This sword is called Wisdom Sword, and this mirror is called Red Dust Treasure Mirror. Although both treasures are not as good as the Pre-Heavenly ones, they are still rare and precious. The Wisdom Sword was forged from the hearts of countless living beings in the Western Pure Land who were devoted to Buddhism, making it extremely solid and helpful for cultivators to stabilize their minds. The Red Dust Treasure Mirror was created by my master, imitating the Red Dust Golden Bridge, containing countless illusions, an excellent treasure that can trap people, also prepared by my master for you."

  Dà Shì knew that these two treasures, although not as good as the Pre-Heaven ones, were still invaluable due to the master's painstaking efforts. Moreover, for himself, they might be even better than the Pre-Heaven treasures, after all, his own path was not one of cutting corpses. He respectfully received the treasures with both hands and bowed to thank his master.

  After arranging for the two disciples, Jie Yin did not idle around. Now that the great calamity has begun, both mortals and cultivators have a surge of yin evil energy rising up. Although it won't overly disrupt the lives of living beings, this evil energy causes all living beings to produce anxious and troubled breath from the bottom of their hearts. This breath envelops the Hongyuan world.

  The original collected the red dust of the world, and now these troubles are also rare objects, just need to know how to use them. The introduction relies on the great way of cause and effect to collect and utilize these troubles. The introduction rides on a colorful cloud, high above the nine heavens, and the troubles gather together in large numbers. The introduction closes its hands, strikes out threads of cause and effect, instantly forming a large net, lightly scooping up countless troubles. The introduction collects the gathered trouble threads together, cleverly weaving them together.

  The originally intangible worries, in the hands of the guide, gradually gathered and became strands of snow-white silk as thin as hair. These worry threads are not innate objects, but they seem to be innate, born out of nothing, making them extremely resilient. Even if they are destroyed, they can quickly recover and continue to collect worries, strengthening themselves. Once someone comes into contact with them, they can obscure the Taoist heart, causing the person to fall into endless suffering, unable to extricate themselves, and may even summon heart demons, leading to spiritual death.

  After returning to the Mysterious Mountain, he took out his own Clear Bamboo, tied the threads of trouble to one end, and it looked a bit like a mop. The guide struck out a green light, quickly shrinking and transforming into a duster. With a gentle wave, the guide revealed endless elegance, looking like an immortal with a refined demeanor. This duster's power was much improved compared to the Clear Bamboo, adding new abilities, and even saints below would find it hard to escape its might.

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  It's New Year's Eve, so I'm asking for recommendations and collections. There will be another chapter later, fellow Taoists, give little Tao some encouragement, it's like a red envelope!