Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1098 A Shocking Incident at the Zen Temple, Xuanzang Trapped

"Master, are the beings in my Guanyin Temple really not beings? Are they really inferior to other beings?"

"Master, why are you filled with prejudice, just like those foolish people?"

Zen Master Jinchi sighed, his eyes filled with compassion, pleading, and incomprehension.

He had a clear understanding of himself, but his understanding of the universe and all living beings was not so clear.

In his view, his Buddhist teachings were somewhat profound—but not difficult at all!
All you need to do is give up the pursuit of wealth!

The difficulties and hardships that all living beings in the world talk about are just an excuse.

It's just an excuse for them not to understand the Buddha's teachings.

Why are they unwilling to comprehend the Dharma, and why do they even deliberately act as if they are foolish and unworthy of enlightenment in order to avoid comprehending it?

The reason is also very simple.

Because of their prejudice!
Deep down, they looked down on the 'sentient beings' of Guanyin Temple, and therefore also looked down on the Buddhist teachings of Jinchi Temple, and were unwilling to accept them.

Indeed, in Jin Chi's eyes, no matter how foolish or stubborn the Buddhist monks were, they should all be able to comprehend his Buddhist teachings.

After all, how could anyone possibly give up the pursuit of wealth and other external things?
That's not a difficult thing.

In short, in Zen Master Jinchi's eyes, everything was just due to prejudice.

In the past, when Zen Master Jinchi was still in his prime, he looked down on those who were prejudiced but dared not admit it and could only pretend to be stupid.

Therefore, Jin Chi just watched them pretend and didn't bother to expose them.

But now, Jin Chi was already on the verge of death.

The monk Xuanzang before him had clearly accepted his Buddhist teachings and was fully capable of understanding them.

But he was unwilling to accept the Buddhist teachings of Jinchi, unwilling to stay in Guanyin Temple and guide the beings there.

He was Xuanzang!

Xuanzang is universally recognized as the representative of Buddhism!
How could he be like those foolish and stubborn people, harboring prejudice against all living beings?
In that instant, Zen Master Jinchi's faith was almost shattered.

This collapse wasn't because he doubted himself, but because he doubted all living beings and questioned Buddhism!
What's wrong with all living beings?
What's wrong with Buddhism now?
Why are all living beings filled with prejudice?

How come even the most respected monks in Buddhism are like this, unwilling to convert the beings in this Guanyin Temple?
In the face of such a collapse, terrifying malice suddenly enveloped the Guanyin Temple.

"What if I insist that the Master stay in this monastery?" Zen Master Jinchi looked at Xuanzang with a chilling gaze.

“Zen Master, everyone has their own aspirations; how can we force them?” Xuanzang frowned.

All beings are naturally equal.

The demons and gods in the Zen temple can naturally be converted.

However, matters have varying degrees of importance—this matter concerning the new Buddhist teachings, this matter within the Great Thunderclap Temple, involves the entire Buddhist community and countless sentient beings.

"To not seek both when one can have both is a false approach."

"To insist on having both when one cannot have both is also a false path!"

Xuanzang calmed down.

Clearly, this is a situation where we cannot have both.

No matter what, he was determined to go to the Great Thunder Temple.

In any case, he could not stay in this Guanyin Temple for long and waste his time here.

Therefore, regardless of whether Zen Master Jinchi's request was a heartfelt wish for him to stay or was instigated by others, Xuanzang had to refuse him.

“I believe the Zen Master’s lifespan has not yet come to an end, so why is he in such a hurry to entrust Jinchi Zen Monastery to others?”

Xuanzang looked at the hostile Guanyin Temple and sighed.

"Why don't you let me leave now, Zen Master? After I've rectified the lineage of Buddhism and returned from the Great Thunderclap Temple, I can come back to this Guanyin Zen Temple to replace you."

"Or perhaps, at that time, the Buddhist community was pure and upright, and there were already people who could inherit the lineage of the Zen master, so there was no need for me."

"They're all just excuses!" Zen Master Jinchi sneered at Xuanzang's words, not believing them at all.

“Once you leave, you will be heading to the Western Paradise, where you will sit high on a lotus throne—at that time, how will you still remember the sentient beings of this Guanyin Temple?”

"Besides, the Western Paradise is far away. When will you be able to reach it?"

"By the time you return, won't this Guanyin Temple have already been reduced to ruins?"

"Excuse!"

"They're all just excuses!"

"You say there's a problem with Buddhism—I think there really is a problem with Buddhism."

"However, the problem doesn't lie with Mount Ling, but with you, the monk who distinguishes between the superior and inferior beings!"

Zen Master Jinchi flew into a rage.

"This Guanyin Temple, Master, you have no choice but to keep it, whether you want to or not!"

Before he finished speaking, Zen Master Jinchi had already stood up and raised his hand to press down.

In the main hall of the Zen temple, the compassionate Guanyin statue seemed to come alive.

An incredibly terrifying, destructive aura burst forth from those demon gods, instantly engulfing the entire Guanyin Temple.

Under that aura of destruction, everything in the Guanyin Temple collapsed.

Even those various 'paths' were squeezed out by that aura of destruction.

Inside the Zen temple, the Monkey King had just raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) when he was suddenly struck by a dizzying spinning motion.

When his vision cleared, he was already outside the Guanyin Temple.

Before their eyes, the Guanyin Temple was already covered upside down by a pitch-black lotus flower.

At that moment, almost without hesitation, he raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) and stabbed it into the dark lotus.

However, this inverted, jet-black lotus is quite different.

This kind of majesty is not the kind that appears after resisting the power of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Rather, it is a majestic presence with boundless inclusiveness.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven could clearly sense that his power, along with the golden cudgel, had penetrated deep into the lotus flower.

But this jet-black lotus completely contained its own power.

"Above Taiyi!"

In an instant, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven confirmed the true nature of the jet-black lotus.

Whether it is a Great Luo or not, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven cannot guarantee—but it is definitely a power above the Taiyi level!
Even at the Taiyi level, when a Taiyi activates an innate spiritual treasure, it is impossible to have such a vastness that encompasses all power, forming a self-contained whole, completely unaffected, just like the entire world.

“It’s broken, it’s broken!”

At that moment, immense regret welled up in the heart of the Monkey King. In that moment of foreshadowing, he shouldn't have hesitated; he should have directly led the monk Xuanzang out of the Guanyin Temple.

But then, his old habit kicked in, and his curiosity got the better of him.

He wanted to see what kind of origins those numerous demon gods in the Guanyin Temple, who even he sensed as dangerous, were, and what their true nature and methods were...

Therefore, he deliberately gave them the opportunity to make a move.

But who would have thought... that those demon gods actually made their move.

But he didn't fight the Monkey King.

Instead, it directly used its unfathomable power to divide the Guanyin Temple into two parts, transforming it into a nearly independent world, and then 'expelled' the Great Sage Equaling Heaven from this world.

In an instant, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven transformed into golden light, circling the inverted black lotus again and again.

He employed a variety of different methods.

However, no matter what method is used, it is meaningless in the face of this upside-down, pitch-black lotus.

No matter how he anchors his position, or how he determines his direction, once he enters the lotus, he will inevitably emerge from another part of it.

"Guanyin Temple... Guanyin Temple!"

"By the way, since this Zen temple enshrines Guanyin Bodhisattva, then Zen Master Jinchi must be a monk from the lineage of Guanyin Bodhisattva."

The Monkey King remembered the name of the Zen temple and the Guanyin statue inside, adorned with gold, jade, and seven treasures.

And, when Zen Master Jinchi fought with those demons and gods, the Guanyin statue stood up directly from the lotus platform.

"Master, wait here! I, Old Sun, will go and demand an explanation from Guanyin Bodhisattva!" The Great Sage Equaling Heaven didn't care whether Master Xuanzang in the Zen temple could hear him or not. He simply shouted into the temple and then leaped away.

However, as soon as he somersaulted, a beam of clear light appeared before the Guanyin Temple.

Immediately afterwards, the figure of the Monkey King landed again.

—A figure appeared in the clear light.

Who else could it be but Guanyin Bodhisattva?

"Yeah!"

Upon seeing the manifested Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven leaped forward, pointing his Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) with it.

"This Guanyin Temple is indeed in cahoots with you!"

"The moment Master Xuanzang was captured, you, the Great Bodhisattva Guanyin, arrived."

"If Master Xuanzang is not released quickly, I, Old Sun, will have to take this case all the way to the Great Thunder Temple."

The Monkey King was furious.

“Great Sage, if you continue to act unreasonably, then Master Xuanzang will truly be gone,” said Guanyin Bodhisattva helplessly.

He never expected that, despite rushing to the Guanyin Temple under the pressure of that sense of crisis, he would still be a step too late.

The monk Xuanzang was trapped inside the Guanyin Temple.

“Great Sage, the changes within the Guanyin Temple, though touching upon the mysteries of time and space, transcend the Taiyi realm.”

"But your Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) has the power to suppress heaven and earth."

"Back then, when the Ruyi Jingu Bang was pressing down on the East Sea, countless powerful dragons were unable to do anything about it."

"With this Ruyi Jingu Bang in hand, how could you have allowed Guanyin Temple and Xuanzang to be moved together?" Guanyin Bodhisattva asked anxiously, wanting to know what exactly happened in Guanyin Temple.

How could the monk Xuanzang be captured so easily?

Hearing Guanyin Bodhisattva's question, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven couldn't help but shrink back.

what's the situation?
Of course, it was because he was careless and failed to unleash the power of the Ruyi Jingu Bang immediately.

Have you not seen that even he himself has been moved out of this Zen temple?
But there's no need to tell Guanyin Bodhisattva about such things.

So, the Monkey King immediately pulled.

"Forget it, what's the point of pursuing this?"

"Judging from the Bodhisattva's words, the matter of Guanyin Temple was not orchestrated by you."

"In that case, Bodhisattva, you should quickly think of a way to get Master Xuanzang out of here."

"With Master Xuanzang's masterpiece preceding us, I, Old Sun, have no desire to go to the Great Thunder Temple with others."

"Don't rush, don't rush." ​​Guanyin Bodhisattva raised her hand and pressed it onto the dark lotus flower.

Unlike the Great Sage Equaling Heaven whose power was unlimitedly contained by the black lotus, when Guanyin Bodhisattva's finger landed on the lotus, the inverted black lotus showed great repulsion towards Guanyin Bodhisattva's presence.

"Thank goodness." Feeling the repulsive force, Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Great Sage, I have been enshrined in that Guanyin Temple for a long time.”

"Although I have never manifested my divine power in this Zen temple, my statue in the temple still has some connection with me."

"Under that influence, the misty atmosphere in the Zen temple was not a problem for me."

Guanyin Bodhisattva withdrew her finger, and the urgency on her face also subsided somewhat.

“In that case, I will first follow my intuition and descend into the monastery in my manifested form.” As Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke, she took a leaf from the willow branch in her jade vase.

“This thing has a natural affinity with me.”

"After I descended into the temple, the Great Sage used the power of his Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff) to follow the guidance of the willow leaf and pierce through the Guanyin Temple."

"Yes, this Ruyi Jingu Bang, which can suppress heaven and earth and anchor time and space, can transform into a golden bridge, piercing through reality and connecting the inside and outside of the Zen temple."

“In this way, Xuanzang will be able to escape from this Zen temple,” said Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"This is so troublesome," the Monkey King complained, then pressed for more information, his attitude suddenly becoming enthusiastic.

"Bodhisattva, what exactly is this black lotus?"

"We can deal with the matter of the black lotus later."

"The most urgent task is to rescue Master Xuanzang first, and then prevent any further complications from arising," Guanyin Bodhisattva advised.

—Although he traveled extensively throughout the world as a Buddhist, having progressed from Taoism to Brahma and from Brahma to Buddhism, his breadth of knowledge was among the most extensive in the world.

Even so, he still couldn't discern the details or origin of this black lotus.

But there is one thing.

Before returning to Guanyin Temple, he believed that his calamity lay with Xuanzang—that he might perish because of Xuanzang.

Upon arriving at the Guanyin Temple and seeing the black lotus within, Guanyin Bodhisattva instantly realized that her calamity lay not with Xuanzang, but with the black lotus.

"Then let's listen to the Bodhisattva, save people first, save people first." The Great Sage Equaling Heaven also chuckled as he accepted the willow leaf handed over by Guanyin Bodhisattva... Clearly, he also realized that his curious nature had inappropriately resurfaced.

(End of this chapter)