Sitting and forgetting longevity

Chapter 2001 Taiming Buddhist Realm
Azure Heaven - Taiming Realm
As the only orthodox Buddhist lineage among the five great halls that hold power in the Azure Heaven, the Tai Ming Realm can be said to be the supreme holy land in the hearts of all Buddhist monks in the Three Thousand Realms.

Upon entering this place, one is immediately enveloped by the omnipresent, gentle Buddhist power, mingled with the ever-present sandalwood incense and chanting, cleansing one's mind and soul.

Looking up, the continuous Buddhist mountains stretch across the sea of ​​clouds, and gilded pagodas rise up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, piercing the sky.
The solemn and majestic palaces rise one after another along the mountainside, their eaves and brackets reflecting the sunlight, like nine lotus platforms blooming one after another in a sea of ​​clouds. They are piled up layer upon layer, stretching as far as the eye can see, truly magnificent and ever-changing.

Liu Qinghuan stood before the gate, her robes fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze.

This was not his first time stepping into the Taiming Realm. Years ago, he was accidentally planted with a demonic seed by Shang Yi and had no choice but to cut off his own arm. He then traveled thousands of miles to the Taiming Realm, where Master Huiming took action to completely remove the demonic seed.

Even though he had returned to the same place, the magnificent Buddhist landscape before him still filled him with an indescribable sense of awe.

It's no wonder that Taiming Realm has become a place that Buddhist disciples admire day and night and yearn for, traveling thousands of miles to reach. The Buddhist atmosphere here is extremely rich, and every inch of the land is soaked in Buddhist power accumulated over the years.

Walking on the long bluestone steps, even if your heart is filled with worldly clamor, it will be slowly soothed by this ubiquitous piety and tranquility.

Most of the people coming and going were monks. Some of the monks from this area lowered their eyes and walked slowly with prayer beads in their hands. The scriptures they chanted turned into specks of golden light that scattered into the wind.
Even more so were the ascetic monks who had trekked from countless remote and small realms, their clothes worn tattered by wind and frost, their hands and feet covered with thick calluses, and their foreheads bearing red marks from their prostrations. Yet their eyes remained clear and firm, and they knelt devoutly in worship toward the holy land in their hearts, taking one step and bowing one head at a time.

"Fellow Daoist Taiwei, we've been waiting for you!"

A gentle yet loud voice came from ahead, interrupting Liu Qinghuan's thoughts.

He looked up and saw Master Huiming, dressed in a moon-white monk's robe, with compassionate eyes and a genuine, warm smile on his face, leading a group of young novices to come quickly to greet him.

"Master." Liu Qinghuan composed herself, nodded slightly, and returned a respectful Taoist greeting. Then she turned to look behind her.

Yueyan was prepared. She reached out and pulled Huitian, who was hiding behind her, out of the way. Holding the little monkey by the scruff of its neck, like a cub that had done something wrong, she whispered a warning in its ear:
"What did your master tell you before leaving? Do you know what you should and shouldn't say later?"

Hui Tian was lifted up with his limbs dangling in the air, and he twisted a couple of times unwillingly, but was immediately deflated by Yue Yan's sharp glare.

It stood obediently on the ground, straightened its crooked clothes, bowed deeply to Huiming, and spoke in a crisp voice, but its words sent chills down one's spine.

"Squeak! I was wrong! I shouldn't have sneaked into your library to steal the Buddha statue. I should have just asked you for it..."

Liu Qinghuan's forehead twitched, and he immediately raised his hand to his forehead, bowing apologetically to Huiming: "My little pet is unruly and speaks without restraint. I hope Master will forgive him."

To everyone's surprise, Huiming was not angry at all upon hearing this. Instead, he burst into laughter, his eyes full of kindness.

"What it said is not wrong. There may not be many other things in my Taiming Realm, but when it comes to Buddha statues, none in the Three Thousand Realms can compare. If you, little monkey, really like them, it's not a big deal to bring back a few that you like later."

"Really?!" Hui Tian's eyes lit up instantly, as if they were filled with starlight. He looked up and was about to lean forward when he was hit hard on the back of the head by Liu Qinghuan's flick of the finger.

"Shut up, you traitorous bastard." Liu Qinghuan withdrew her hand and reprimanded in a low voice without expression, "Apologize properly to the master."

Hui Tian covered the back of his head, shrank back pitifully, and had no choice but to lower his head again, adopting a docile and obedient demeanor, and recited word by word in a completely emotionless tone:
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have stolen your Buddha statue, and I shouldn't have trespassed. I'll never do it again."

"Haha, alright, alright, don't make things difficult for it."

Huiming smiled and waved his hand, then stepped aside to make a gesture of invitation, "Come on, come on, fellow Daoist, you've come from afar and must be tired. Let's go inside the hall and talk in detail."

Huiming enthusiastically led Liu Qinghuan toward the main hall of the temple. The two walked side by side up the long steps, heading up the mountain step by step.

The stone walls on both sides of the steps are engraved with Jataka tales and mantras of the Buddhas. When you run your fingertips over them, you can feel the faint flow of Buddhist power.

"It's a pity, really," Huiming said with a smile as she walked.
"I heard that you, Fellow Daoist, shone brightly on the Nine Heavens Battle Stage at the recent sect conference, overpowering all the heroes and becoming famous throughout the Three Thousand Realms. Unfortunately, I left the venue with my disciples early and was unable to witness your unparalleled prowess. To this day, it remains a regret."

"Since you've arrived today, fellow Daoist, you must tell this humble monk in detail what a spectacular scene unfolded on the battle stage that day!"

Liu Qinghuan smiled upon hearing this, her tone humble: "Master is too kind. I am truly ashamed of what you say. It is only because you people from the Five Great Halls, such as Fellow Daoist Taiqing, disdain to compete that I have the opportunity to make a fool of myself."

"Fellow Daoist is too modest." Huiming smiled and shook his head, his tone full of genuine praise.

“My senior brother Yuanming told me years ago that Fellow Daoist Taiwei not only possesses unfathomable strength, but also has a steadfast Dao heart. He has always upheld righteousness and the Dao, and has a kind heart. This is truly rare in this turbid world.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Liu Qinghuan's eyes, and she paused slightly in her steps.

"Since the battle in the Golden Heaven Demon Realm, I haven't seen Master Yuanming again, and quite a few years have passed. I wonder if Master Yuanming is well these days?"

Upon hearing this, Huiming first put his hands together and murmured "Amitabha." The smile on his face faded slightly, replaced by a touch of emotion. "Thank you for your concern, fellow Daoist. In recent years, my senior brother has spent most of his time either in seclusion or as a wandering monk, traveling and experiencing the mortal world. He rarely stays in the temple, and even I don't see him often."

Liu Qinghuan nodded slowly. Back in the Golden Heaven Demon Realm, Yuanming died in battle, but fortunately, he was a Nine-Turn Buddha Child, so he did not truly perish.

"Oh, right." He remembered something and asked, "Is Jingjue still at your temple? I haven't seen him for a long time."

“Junior Brother Jingjue left for a while recently, but he has returned and is now practicing in the temple.”

Huiming smiled and replied, turning his head to look at him: "Should I have someone call him over so he can meet you, fellow Daoist?"

"No need," Liu Qinghuan shook her head. "Don't disturb him; let him cultivate."

The two chatted idly along the way, and before they knew it, they had walked up hundreds of steps and stood steadily in front of the main hall.

The temple doors opened wide, and what greeted us was the majestic golden statue of Buddha inside. Its countenance was solemn and dignified, its eyes compassionate, and its body was surrounded by a gentle, warm Buddhist light, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.

Although Liu Qinghuan was a Taoist cultivator, he knew the principle of adapting to local customs. He respectfully performed a Taoist kowtow to the Buddha statue before following Huiming to a side hall to take his seat.

The young novice monk, who was standing by, served tea, then bowed and withdrew, closing the temple door behind him.

Liu Qinghuan raised her eyes, glanced at Huitian who was obediently huddled in the corner, pretending to count his prayer beads, then looked away and finally spoke, asking about the real reason for her visit, her tone becoming more serious.

"Master, what is the current situation of the Thousand Buddha Temple in your territory?"

Huiming paused slightly in his teacup, the smile on his face slowly faded, and he let out a long sigh, a heavy look settling between his brows.

“Now that you have arrived, fellow Daoist, I will not hide anything from you.” He put down his teacup and said in a low voice, “This Thousand Buddha Temple in my realm has been gradually showing strange signs for hundreds of years. At first, it was just that demons that were suppressed under the temple would occasionally break through the restrictions and escape.”

"At first, we all thought that the magic array at the bottom of the temple was old and in disrepair and had a problem. We immediately gathered people to check it inside and out, and sure enough, we found that the magic array had been eroded by demonic energy in many places and had been damaged."

We immediately devoted a great deal of effort and rare materials to completely repair and reinforce the magic array, thinking that the matter was now closed.

Huiming paused, his tone filled with even more helplessness: "But who would have thought that even after the magic array was repaired, demons would still keep escaping from the bottom of the temple."

After much effort and a thorough investigation lasting several months, we finally discovered the root cause—most of the Buddha statues in the lower levels of the Thousand Buddha Temple, used to suppress demons, had developed cracks and were damaged, and the Buddhist power they carried was almost completely depleted.

"With no other option, we had to urgently replace a large number of Buddha statues that had been blessed by high monks with chanting, and replace those damaged statues. Only then could we barely stabilize the situation and prevent any more demons from escaping on a large scale."

He looked up at Liu Qinghuan and shook his head: "But over the years, even though our entire temple has tried its best to maintain it, constantly replenishing Buddhist power and replacing Buddha statues, this Thousand Buddha Temple has inevitably become more and more dilapidated day by day, and its suppressing power has also weakened day by day."

"Unavoidable?" Liu Qinghuan gently stroked the rim of the teacup with her fingertips, her brows furrowing slightly. "Is it because suppressing demons consumes too much Buddhist power, resulting in a deficit?"

“That’s just one reason.” Huiming nodded and added, “The more important reason is that in recent years, demons have revived, especially after the large-scale invasion of the demon race. More and more areas in the three thousand realms have been polluted by demonic energy, which has also given birth to more new demons.”

"We Buddhist disciples travel throughout the three thousand worlds year-round, subduing demons and monsters, and saving all sentient beings. Those demons we capture who are heinous and have committed countless crimes will be annihilated on the spot with the wrathful power of Vajra, so as to prevent future troubles."

The rest were mostly taken back to the Tai Ming Realm and suppressed beneath the Thousand Buddha Temple. Over time, the burden on the Thousand Buddha Temple grew heavier and heavier, until it was already beyond its capacity.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qinghuan was speechless.

He naturally understood the Buddhist precept of "not killing," but should even these demons born with malevolence be included in the category of "sentient beings"?

Perhaps seeing through Liu Qinghuan's thoughts, Huiming sighed softly and explained, "Our Buddha is compassionate and does not abandon any sentient being, but there are also methods to subdue evil spirits with the wrath of Vajra. We will never show mercy to those great demons who commit numerous evils and are bloodthirsty."

"But many minor demons and monsters have not committed any great evils. They are just ignorant by nature, unaware of good and evil, and are led astray by their violent nature."

His tone was full of compassion: "It would be such a pity to kill them directly. As long as we can purify their viciousness, patiently teach them, and guide them to the right path, they can also lay down their butcher's knives, turn away from evil and do good. This is the true meaning of saving all living beings."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qinghuan remained silent for a moment.

He couldn't fully agree with the Buddhist philosophy, but he respected their path and didn't want to criticize it further.

Looking up at Huiming, he asked bluntly, "In that case, what does your temple need me to do this time? I can indeed help the souls of the dead, but most of the demons suppressed in the temple are still living beings, aren't they?"

If we really want him to perform the ritual, then we can only ask for the Xuanyuan Sword and send them to reincarnation.