Longzang

Chapter 1124: The Peak
The King of Chu felt a chill run through his body and wanted to flee back to the palace. But even though he was only a step away from the palace gate, he couldn't turn back no matter what he did.

The King of Chu broke out in a cold sweat. He suddenly remembered that when he was a child, his Consort Yuan had repeatedly told him never to stray too far from the palace. If he encountered danger outside the palace, he must stay where he was and not move an inch.

The King of Chu was filled with indescribable horror. How could he have forgotten the assassination attempts he had faced as a child? How could he have forgotten his mother's words of advice?

He had previously sneaked out of the palace many times to travel incognito without ever getting into trouble, and gradually he forgot about it.

The young monk smiled and said, "Since Your Highness is here, why not have a cup of tea with me and play a game of chess?"

When the King of Chu turned around again, he saw Consort Yuan appear at the side gate of the palace. There seemed to be an invisible barrier in front of her, and no matter how hard she pounded or screamed, she could not take a single step out of the palace.

The young monk gestured and said, "Your Highness, please."

The King of Chu, having seen much of the world, forced himself to remain calm, knowing that there was no way to resist, and thus walked in the direction the little monk had indicated.

With that step, the world instantly transformed; the royal city and palace vanished, replaced by a bamboo forest. Within the forest lay a clear pool, beside which stood a stone table and chairs. On the table sat a chessboard, and beside each chessboard was a cup of tea.

The King of Chu was filled with unbearable regret. He now understood that if he had remained resolute and refused to listen to the little monk, the stalemate would have continued.

As the crown prince of the Western Jin Dynasty, and located in the capital city, just a step away from the palace, he knew that reinforcements would arrive as soon as he could buy some time.

Unfortunately, the King of Chu was not resolute and his mind was captivated by the young monk. He subconsciously took that step and followed the monk's wishes, instantly being teleported to an unknown location.

The King of Chu suddenly remembered something. It was one thing that his real father was bad enough, but his mother was of illustrious birth and well-informed. However, why had she never trained him to be persevering and decisive from childhood to adulthood?
If he had received a proper education from a young age, the King of Chu felt that even if he wasn't of steel, he would never have been intimidated and followed the other party's orders, thus ending up in this predicament.

But regret was useless now, so the King of Chu had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down at the stone table. The little monk casually picked up a piece and placed it in the center of the chessboard, saying, "Since we have nothing else to do, let's play a game. You have a deep affinity with Buddhism, so there's no need to worry. I just want to ask you a few questions. You can answer them if you want, or if you can't, that's fine too. You can think about them slowly."

It didn't sound like they were going to kill him immediately... The King of Chu finally calmed down, made a move, and then said, "Master, please ask."

The young monk smiled and said, "You have a deep affinity with Buddhism, benefactor. I am not worthy of being called a master in your presence. However, I have some questions and hope you can provide some answers."

"Please speak, Master." The King of Chu subconsciously still used a respectful title.

The young monk moved his pieces swiftly, quickly gaining a clear advantage. He then said slowly, "King Chu has such a deep affinity with Buddhism, he must have innate wisdom, he is a chosen one destined for this calamity. With such great talent, why hasn't he received the proper training? Forgive my bluntness, but with our innate wisdom, if we don't reach Yujing by now, we'll be too late."

The King of Chu's heart skipped a beat; this was a question that had lingered in his mind for a long time. He clearly had an exceptional talent for Buddhist techniques, mastering them quickly and becoming proficient in them, yet his mother insisted that he learn Taoist techniques, and not even the top-tier ones.

Later, by chance, the young King of Chu heard the rumor, which shocked him but also filled him with joy. In the Western Jin Dynasty, Wei Yuan's prestige was at its zenith, and no one dared to utter a word of criticism. If it weren't for the legitimacy of the Great Tang Dynasty, even if Wei Yuan wanted the King of Jin to abdicate, few would be surprised.

Therefore, when the young King of Chu heard this news, he was more delighted than shocked.

He never expected that, even though the Prince of Jin was nearing the end of his life, Wei Yuan would extend his life, not just once, but three or four times, and who knows how many more times.

Therefore, the King of Chu had no answer to this question. The young monk did not press further, but instead asked a second question: "The King of Jin is old and senile, and his time is already up. His death is only a matter of one or two years. Why then is he so vigorous and energetic, and has resumed personal rule?"

This is a thorn in the heart of the King of Chu, and it is still bleeding.

The King of Chu asked himself, whether in governing the country and bringing peace to the people, or in military strategy and martial prowess, he was in no way inferior to the old King of Jin. His only shortcoming was that he had only reached the perfection of the Dao Foundation. However, he was confident that if he switched to Buddhist cultivation methods, he would soon be able to achieve the Dharma Aspect, and he could continue to make progress even while on the throne.

But it was precisely at this moment that Wei Yuan presented Prince Jin with a longevity elixir. If it had only happened once, he could have tolerated it. But this time, even though Prince Jin had already handed over the reins of government to him for two or three months, and he had just become familiar with the affairs of state and begun to enjoy the sudden awe in the eyes of his ministers, Prince Jin had suddenly returned to the throne.

When the ministers looked at the King of Chu again, their gazes held less awe and more subtle scrutiny, amusement, and even schadenfreude.

The King of Chu finally realized that what his ministers revered was the position itself, not any particular person. Even if a dog were chained to the throne, the ministers would still shout "Long live the King!"

During his brief reign of only a few months, the King of Chu felt that he had governed effectively and resolved many long-standing and intractable problems. He believed that if he were given a little more time, he could surely restore a powerful Western Jin Dynasty to the world.

Both sides made their moves with lightning speed, but the King of Chu was distracted and suffered a crushing defeat, failing to secure even a single piece of territory.

The young monk smiled, raised his hand and pointed, and the chess piece that was originally in the center of the sky flew into the King of Chu's brow and disappeared.

The young monk said, “Your affinity with Buddhism is even stronger than mine. If one day you feel that your fate is unfair and wish to defy destiny and reach the summit, you only need to think of me in your heart.”

The King of Chu was shocked: "Reach the summit? I... I will one day ascend the throne?"

The little monk laughed and said, "What kind of supreme ruler is the ruler of nine kingdoms? The so-called supreme ruler is over there."

The young monk pointed to the top of his head and said, "Above the celestial heavens and in the pure land of Buddha, there are great attainments waiting for us, immortal and indestructible for countless ages. This is the ultimate."

The King of Chu was startled and exclaimed, "Me??"

The young monk smiled and said, “Don’t you understand how great your innate wisdom and destiny are? We actually knew this when you were born, but at that time you had another great destiny. Your parents were both people with great destiny, and you should know which one I’m referring to. Until recently, a great calamity is approaching, and the world is about to undergo drastic changes. Seeing that your destiny is about to pass, I couldn’t help but come out to see you and give you another option.”

"For no other reason than that this humble monk cannot bear to see the supreme Buddhahood vacant. Having missed this opportunity with you, benefactor, who knows when I will be reborn in the next life? At this time, external demons are gathering in droves, and the Buddhahood is also in turmoil. Therefore, this humble monk hopes to receive your strong support to sweep away the demons and together attain enlightenment."

The scene was so grand that the King of Chu was at a loss for words and felt his heart surging with emotion.

The young monk said, "Alright, I've said all I need to say. You may do as you see fit."

The King of Chu was both surprised and delighted: "I...I can leave now?"

The young monk said, "Of course you may leave, benefactor. I look forward to fighting alongside you against the demons beyond the heavens! Besides, Buddha is merciful; how could he harm us without cause?"

(End of this chapter)