I stole divine power in Daxia

Chapter 690 The Best Good
Although the second senior brother's words were rough, his reasoning was sound.

Shengshan looked thoughtful.

Their pilgrimage team aims to eliminate the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance in the human world. Now, they have clear directions to resolve anger and ignorance, but they see no clue about the poison of greed. It truly deserves to be called the foremost of the three poisons.

While pondering, he took out the copy of "Journey to the West" that Qi Renchan had given him and began to read it.

This volume of "Journey to the West" manifested extraordinary phenomena when it was in the Vermilion Bird Palace, capable of shielding the sea of ​​mortals. Sheng Shan has studied it diligently for many years, but he still can't figure it out.

When Jian Shengshan took out a book, the second senior brother leaned over to take a look. After recognizing that the chapters inside were from "Journey to the West," he muttered, "Junior brother, for mortals taking the imperial examination, last-minute cramming is still useful. We've been on the journey to the West for forty years. What use is a copy of 'Journey to the West' to you?"

"I wouldn't say I know the contents of the book by heart, but I do know them by heart. Pigsy was lazy from beginning to end, but he never got rid of his greed!"

Shengshan held the book and looked at his second senior brother, "This book came from Liangjie Village."

The second senior brother's expression changed from disdain to seriousness.

Shengshan continued, "Qi Renchan gave me this book back then, and it helped me resist the worldly desires of the Vermilion Bird Palace."

The second senior brother's eyes became burning, and he reached out to take the book.

Shengshan sighed again, "I asked around, and this book was given to me by the storyteller of Liangjie Mountain. That storyteller is the Master of Taixu Illusion."

The second senior brother's fingers had just touched the pages when he heard Sheng Shan say that this was something given by the Lord of Illusion, and he immediately withdrew them as if he had encountered a poisonous snake.

He complained loudly, "Junior brother, are you deliberately making fun of me?!"

He wiped his hands with his sleeve in frustration. Although the Lord of Illusion was no longer the evil god despised by the Great Xia Dynasty, the Heavenly Venerable had granted titles to the Phoenix Ancestor and the Thunder God over the years, but had never bestowed a title upon the Lord of Illusion!
Everyone understood what the Celestial Venerable meant: the Lord of the Great Void Illusion had not offered a pledge of allegiance, so even though he was an ancient deity, he was now a faction under suppression.

The ancient deity who gave away a copy of "Journey to the West" must have had countless schemes within it; getting involved with it would definitely bring no benefit!
Shengshan looked at his second senior brother. His second senior brother's actions just now had vividly demonstrated the greed of the human world.

This greed is not just about seeking pleasure, but more importantly, about failing to recognize one's responsibilities.

He recalled Zhou Tieyi's works that had been widely circulated over the years.

Long ago, Zhou Tieyi proposed a theory that was one of his earliest struggles with Confucianism.

That is, he did not believe that human desires were the reason for the obstruction of the world's development.

The 'asceticism' practiced by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism is inherently contrary to human ethics, so it can never truly succeed.

After the Lotus World appeared, the society envisioned by Zhou Tieyi truly appeared in the real world, bringing about a completely different cultural development and injecting new vitality into the world.

Therefore, based on the 'theory of asceticism', there is a better theory of the unity of rights and obligations.

Human desires should be satisfied, provided that the person pays a price commensurate with their desires.

The second brother wants to become a Buddha and a patriarch, but he doesn't want to take any responsibility. Therefore, his greed is different from that of Zhu Bajie in "Journey to the West".

“I have studied this book for twenty years. I originally thought that the purpose of the Lord of Illusion was me, but today it seems that this book is a gift from Him to you.”

After saying that, Shengshan, without waiting for his second senior brother's agreement, stuffed the "Journey to the West" into his arms.

The second senior brother shouted, "Junior brother, you're trying to get me killed!"

Although he said that, he did not throw the copy of "Journey to the West" away.

With his quick wit, after the initial panic, he began to grasp the essence of the matter.

If the Lord of Illusion were truly intent on causing trouble, given the current power of the Heavenly Venerable, who reigns supreme above all under heaven and earth, he would have already suppressed it. He wouldn't have allowed Sheng Shan to hand over this book to him right under the nose of the City God.

So there must be a reason in this book.

Is this a collaboration between the Celestial Venerable and the Lord of Illusion?
Did the Master of the Great Illusion submit some kind of pledge of allegiance through this book, accomplish something, and then gain the acceptance of the Heavenly Venerable?

The second senior brother then thought of the records about the Master of Illusion in the "Tonggu".

Ultimate good and ultimate evil. The Lord of Illusion is originally a symbol of the dreams of all living beings.

Dreams, however, are neither good nor evil.

The simplest example.

Even the most virtuous person can have erotic fantasies. Some of these fantasies are certainly immoral and even illegal, but no one in the world will be arrested for having an immoral erotic dream.

Therefore, evil in dreams is not necessarily real evil; it is merely a manifestation of human nature.

The second senior brother held the book in his hand, his thoughts churning.

The next few days passed peacefully.

However, the day before the four of them were to continue their journey, the second senior brother entered a dream while meditating.

He first saw the magnificent and resplendent city of Miaoshan.

Miaoshan City is no longer the same city it once was.

Because the Celestial Venerable allowed Buddhism to spread south, Western Buddhism combined its own Twenty-Four Devas with the City of Wonderful Goodness.

Therefore, although this is only one city, it is actually twenty-four magnificent Buddhist kingdoms, which together form the Dharma altar.

One by one, the Buddhas sat serenely on their altars, and at the center of those altars, the Maitreya Buddha, who was currently enjoying great popularity, was smiling and expounding the Dharma.

Within the Buddha's teachings lies the supreme perfection and wondrous goodness.

This Buddhist kingdom was exceptionally peaceful, with flowers falling from the sky, golden lotuses springing from the ground, Bodhi trees taking root, and the eight treasures flourishing.

The second senior brother initially thought it was good; as he listened to the Buddhist teachings, he unconsciously moved closer.

Seeing monks sitting in the Bodhi Garden, he followed suit and sat down as well.

Halfway through the Buddhist teachings, the second disciple felt a bit bored. He patted the monk in front of him on the shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Master, how much longer will the Buddha continue his sermon? I'm a little hungry and would like some vegetarian food."

The monk who was patted on the shoulder slowly turned around, like a mechanical device that had lost its parts.

A gentle smile graced his fair face, as perfect as a clay sculpture in a temple.

Then he reached out, dug up a handful of soil from the ground, and enthusiastically handed it to his second senior brother, saying, "So you're hungry, then eat more."

The second senior brother looked at the handful of soil held in the monk's hands. This was unlike those mountain spirits and monsters that used maggots, toads, and other evil creatures to turn into food.

It's just an ordinary handful of soil dug from the ground.

But he felt a chill than ever before, because when the monk dug dirt for him to eat, dust fell from his clay-sculpted face and landed in his hand, which he then handed to his second senior brother, and the two were identical.

He suddenly remembered something he had heard.

That is the way Maitreya of Western Buddhism preaches the method of saving the world, eating dirt as if it were meat.

However, if you eat too much dirt, you will naturally turn into dirt.

This is not just making him eat dirt, it's making him eat people!
He couldn't even tell whether eating this dirt counted as eating a person!

This is the most terrifying thing.

The Buddhas preached the Dharma of ultimate goodness, telling people to stop killing and even to stop being vegetarian, and that they could eat dirt instead.

But they are doing the most evil things, because they are eating people!

They even went so far as to elevate cannibalism to the status of a virtuous act.

(End of this chapter)