Chapter 18

"Zhu Ganglie pays his respects to the Master!"

Zhu Ganglie, with a look of surprise, immediately composed himself and said with a mix of awe and caution.

Seeing Zhu Ganglie's reaction, Liaofan's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction and joy. Liaofan had come this time to guide Zhu Ganglie into the Buddhist path.

Zhu Ganglie was the crown prince of the Qingqiu Kingdom. Once he was guided into the Buddhist path, the merit Liaofan would gain from this would certainly advance his cultivation further, and he could also spread Buddhism throughout the Qingqiu Kingdom.

With such merit, the Second Patriarch of Buddhism would guide him to the Eternal Pure Land for cultivation, thus giving him a chance to achieve the Golden Body.

At this moment, Liaofan displayed two circles of Buddhist light, revealing the two minor Buddhist powers he had cultivated, hoping to attract Zhu Ganglie's attention.

"Please sit, Crown Prince. I have come to discuss Buddhism with you."

As Liaofan spoke, he pointed at the circle of Buddhist light behind his head, and a golden lotus appeared beneath his feet, supporting him as he floated in the air, a truly wondrous sight.

Seeing this, Zhu Ganglie's heart stirred slightly. He had not yet learned the cultivation methods of Buddhism and thought this was a good opportunity to understand them.

He then smiled and said, "Master, your powers are great. I am willing to listen to your teachings on Buddhism."

Seeing Zhu Ganglie's interest, Liaofan was overjoyed and said directly, "In our Buddhist path, the physical body is considered a treasure for crossing over to the other shore. It naturally contains boundless energy and is not dependent on external factors.

Living in the world, one should help others and oneself, be kind to others, and refrain from harming life. Cultivating the spirit and forging a body as strong as vajra, one becomes invulnerable to all methods and achieves sanctity in the physical body.

Moreover, our Buddhist path is open and accessible, unlike the Daoist path, which tests its disciples in various ways, focusing on their character and aptitude, and even many disciples cannot receive the true teachings.

In our Buddhist path, the Two Ancestors, Jieyin and Zhunti, have established the Eternal Pure Land on Mount Sumeru in the West. Anyone who has fully developed the ninth consciousness and has accumulated great merit can enter the Eternal Pure Land, thereby avoiding the cycle of rebirth and enjoying eternal life.

In contrast, the Daoist path only grants eternal life to those who reach the level of True Immortal, which is incomparable to our path."

As Liaofan spoke, he used his tongue consciousness, filling the air with Zen meaning, making one's mind clear and drawing one into it. If not for Zhu Ganglie's cultivation of spiritual energy, he might have already bowed and joined the Buddhist path.

"May I ask, Master, how does one cultivate the nine consciousnesses, and what are their distinctions?"

Zhu Ganglie asked with a smile, genuinely curious about how to cultivate the nine consciousnesses. His clear gaze made Liaofan pause, surprised by Zhu Ganglie's mental fortitude. He continued, "The nine consciousnesses are the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, mind consciousness, manas consciousness, alaya consciousness, and amala consciousness.

Each time one realizes a consciousness, one can understand a minor Buddhist power, or even several. Those with great fortune can even understand major Buddhist powers.

When one realizes the sixth consciousness, the mind consciousness, one can form a sarira, similar to the Daoist golden elixir. At that point, one can invoke the intention of the Buddha in the Eternal Pure Land to empower the sarira, enhancing one's cultivation."

After hearing about the nine consciousnesses, Zhu Ganglie gained some understanding, but he also found it strange. This cultivation seemed to be solitary, while in his previous life, he had heard of Mahayana Buddhism, which emphasizes the salvation of all beings.

Liaofan did not mention this at all, so Zhu Ganglie suppressed his doubts and asked with a smile, "May I ask, Master, does the Buddhist path include Mahayana Buddhism and the idea of saving all beings?"

Liaofan looked at Zhu Ganglie with a hint of curiosity, not understanding why he asked this. He thought for a moment and said, "Buddhism is vast, but there is no specific concept of Mahayana. However, our Buddhist path does not reject any living beings; all can enter and cultivate, thus saving all beings."

Hearing Liaofan's words, Zhu Ganglie still had many doubts but did not want to ask more.

"Crown Prince, I have heard that you wish to cultivate eternal life. Our Buddhist path can fulfill your desire. I am of limited talent, but I have received the teachings of Buddhism and have realized the eye consciousness and tongue consciousness, understanding two major powers.

With your talent, you can certainly realize the nine consciousnesses within your lifetime, enter the Eternal Pure Land, and even achieve the status of a Golden Body Arhat, which is easier than the Daoist path to eternal life."

As Liaofan spoke of his true intentions, he activated his tongue consciousness, and the two circles of Buddhist light behind his head began to rotate, sending waves of Buddhist chants into Zhu Ganglie's mind, making him feel dazed and a deep impulse to immediately bow and join the Buddhist path.

However, Zhu Ganglie's mind was firm and steady, and as a cultivator of the Out-of-Body realm, he quickly regained his composure after a moment of dizziness.

Seeing Zhu Ganglie's eyes clear up, Liaofan became anxious and formed a Buddhist seal with his hand, speaking with a radiant tongue, and the golden light from the lotus beneath him surged toward Zhu Ganglie.

Caught off guard, Zhu Ganglie's expression became dazed again, and a faint golden Buddhist light appeared in his soul, making his eyes hazy.

Just as Zhu Ganglie was about to submit, the Heavenly Cicada Spirit Leaf in his third eye trembled slightly, absorbing all the Buddhist light.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie looked at Liaofan with a hint of anger. This monk had tried to forcibly guide him. He coldly said, "Hehe, Master Liaofan, your Buddhist teachings are vast, but I am determined to seek the Dao. I fear I am not destined for the Buddhist path."

At the same time, in a room at the Great Buddha Temple, a Daoist listened and laughed, "What a resolute young man. Once you reach the Divine Lightning Dao, I will take you as my disciple."

"Crown Prince, do not hastily refuse. I have a Heavenly Dragon Descending God Spell. Recite it often, and once you realize the Buddhist consciousness, you can summon the Eight Heavenly Dragons from the Eternal Pure Land to protect you and repel enemies."

Liaofan was still unwilling to give up. He pointed his finger, and a simple spell was imprinted in Zhu Ganglie's mind.

"Ice Soul Daoist, how dare you hide in this Buddhist temple, shameless!"

At this moment, a thunderous roar echoed in the air, and a beam of light shot toward the room where Ice Soul Daoist was.

"You guys, why don't you chase that Zhan Huo, that scoundrel?"

Ice Soul Daoist, enraged, rushed out of the Great Buddha Temple, transforming into a beam of light and heading toward the Ying Shui River.

In all directions, countless beams of light appeared, chasing him relentlessly. The one who had discovered Ice Soul Daoist's whereabouts mocked, "Zhan Huo has cultivated the Yin-Yang Fire Cloud Spirit, is extremely fierce, and has even summoned the Yin-Yang Taiji Bell, the treasure of the Yin-Yang Sect, killing three Spirit Daoists. Who dares to provoke him?

Who told you to have no protective treasures and steal the most powerful Nine-Dragon Ice Pot?"

As the mocker spoke, he did not pursue but sat cross-legged in the clouds, holding a small black and white bell, watching the conflict below with a mocking smile.

"Zhan Huo, you thief, be careful, I will destroy your Yin-Yang Fire Cloud Spirit next time."

Suddenly, a large area of the Ying Shui River froze, and a massive sword light cut through the surging river.

A voice of anger echoed, growing louder and then disappearing.

This series of events shocked the people at the Great Buddha Temple. Liaofan, no longer concerned with Zhu Ganglie, immediately went to the main hall to protect the temple.

Zhu Ganglie, shocked, used an invisibility spell and fled.

At dawn, Zhu Ganglie saw a huge iceberg floating on the Ying Shui River. In the iceberg were the severed limbs and broken magical tools of cultivators.

Seeing these, Zhu Ganglie was delighted. These cultivators were all great cultivators, and their severed limbs contained boundless spiritual energy, which could enhance the power of the White Bone Yin Lock Tower. The broken magical tools, though damaged, still had valuable materials.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ganglie used a spirit-summoning talisman, transforming into the appearance of Zuo Fang.

He then held the White Bone Yin Lock Tower, leaped onto the iceberg, and saw a half-dead Daoist. The White Bone Yin Lock Tower emitted a black light, sweeping the ice and collecting the half-dead body.

He leaped to another spot and continued collecting treasures, quickly gathering nine half-dead bodies and seven broken magical tools.

Although Zhu Ganglie did not know the cultivation levels of these people, he knew that the spiritual energy in these bodies was abundant, and he ignored those with weaker spiritual energy.

"Boy from the Hundred Demons Mountain, don't overstep your bounds."

Just as Zhu Ganglie was about to leap to another part of the iceberg to collect more bodies, an elderly voice called out.

Zhu Ganglie glanced and saw an old man in a gray Daoist robe directing three copper zombies to collect the bodies with abundant spiritual energy.

Beside the old man was an iron zombie covered in black fur, like armor.

Seeing the old man, Zhu Ganglie knew he was an expert in corpse cultivation.

According to the scriptures he had obtained from Zuo Fang, corpse cultivation was divided into corpse, copper zombie, iron zombie, silver zombie, and golden zombie, corresponding to the Out-of-Body, Manifestation, Possession, Unification, and Golden Elixir realms, respectively. However, they were slightly weaker than their counterparts.

After all, cultivators had many spells and magical tools, while these zombies relied on their powerful physical bodies.

However, Zhu Ganglie did not dare to underestimate the old man. The iron zombie alone was two realms above him, comparable to the head and two elders of the True Qi Sect.

Moreover, the old man, who had cultivated three copper zombies and one iron zombie, was considered a top expert among independent cultivators.

Zhu Ganglie then began to collect the bodies with slightly weaker spiritual energy.

At this moment, many cultivators also rushed over to take advantage of the situation. Zhu Ganglie did not want to interact with them and had already collected enough.

He moved and left the iceberg, heading toward the riverbank.

"Boy from the Hundred Demons Mountain, wait for me!"

As Zhu Ganglie was leaving, the old man suddenly called out, chasing after him.