My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 432: Pure World Tathagata

"Shiva Village. This is the first lineage of Dharma passed down by Lord Shiva after he came to Middle-earth. Before the dawn of the night, the people here mostly made a living by practicing medicine and curing illnesses."

"Because Lord Shiva controls the two powers of destruction and rebirth, the people here are also more sensitive to these two powers."

"Especially those who have been blessed by Shiva, they can often keenly perceive the flow of life and death in the human body."

"It is said that the Medicine King once passed by this village when he traveled through the secular world and gained insight into the methods used by the villagers to practice medicine and treat illnesses."

“But he just said a little word and left, and never set foot here again.”

"After the night of dawn, Lord Shiva disappeared from the secular world, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva hid himself from the world. When the ghosts and gods fought for power, this village was controlled by King Taiping, and the villagers were forcibly conscripted as military doctors."

"When the war was over, only one in a hundred villagers remained. Those who survived were taken in by King Taiping. Over time, the village fell into ruin."

"Later, people who were fleeing famine came to Shiva Village. Seeing that the buildings here were intact and isolated from the outside world, they decided to stay here. Gradually, they took root and developed into a new village."

"So, the people living here now are no longer the original villagers of Shiva Village, but refugees who have fled from outside."

"They occupied Shiva Village, destroyed the temple and replaced the statue with a new king. They threw the statue of Lord Shiva into the stinking ditch and also excluded outsiders from coming here. They seemed to treat this place as their private property after occupying the magpie's nest."

“The ancestors of Shiva Village once came back to visit their old home, but were nearly beaten to death by the villagers in the village.”

"If a stranger like you comes to the village, you will definitely arouse the hatred of other villagers. They might even beat you to death and throw you into the back hills to feed the wolves."

"But what does it matter? You who have been cursed by the secular world and exiled to the other side will never find peace in this world. Death is like the wind that always accompanies me. This is the true portrayal of your race."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the game text, sucked his teeth, and thought to himself, you should at least act a little, and just told the truth, not caring whether others can bear it or not.

"This is a very dangerous village. Do you still want to go in now, or choose to leave by detour and try your luck somewhere else?"

"There is a fork in the road not far from where you came from. It leads to another place. Although it is a bit dangerous there, it is much better than this village."

The game gives two options, either to enter Shiva Village or to take a detour and go somewhere else.

Jiang Xinghuo would definitely choose to enter the village. Since they had already been approached, there was no way he could retreat.

Besides, the game text also says that you will be targeted no matter where you go. In other words, it doesn't matter where you go, you will be with death anyway, so why not go to a place where there are story missions triggered.

"You chose to enter Shiva Village. Although there are people living in the village, it is still desolate and dilapidated. I wonder if it was caused by the separatist war back then."

"However, in the years before the Forbidden City fell, the secular world was already in chaos, with all kinds of monsters and demons rising up, and corruption had already spread throughout the secular world."

"Look at the buildings in the village. They are very different from traditional ones and full of exotic styles, especially the relief patterns that can be seen everywhere. Even though most of them are in ruins now, you can still see some of their past appearance."

"And in the streets and alleys of the village, you can still see a lot of black shadows passing by. They seem to be some evil beasts out looking for food. They hide in the dark with red eyes, and are only interested in your flesh and internal organs."

"Shiva Village was also within the Buddhist land of the Ten Directions Zen Forest back then. The villagers believed in the concept of equality for all living beings and treated the wild animals in the mountains the same way. Not only would they not harm them, but they would even take out food to feed them."

"Over time, the wild beasts began to understand human nature and were able to coexist peacefully with the villagers of Shiva Village."

"But ever since the disaster victims from outside took over the mountain, they started to hunt in the mountains, killing all the creatures in the mountains without mercy."

"They would even cut off the hands and feet of the kidnapped children and use them as bait to lure out the kind-hearted mountain spirits and wild monsters. They would then use their flesh and blood to offer to the new king, and their fur would be sewn into quilts to be spread on the bed."

"There is resentment lingering in the village, and white beast skeletons are everywhere. You also saw the remains of many fellow exiles. It seems that you are not the first person to come here."

"Even ordinary cats and dogs will transform into evil beasts if they stay in the village for a long time."

"They are watching you in secret, but they are afraid of the evil-repelling sachet on your body, so they dare not get close to you. They can only hold the corpses of the exiles in their mouths and chew them wantonly, as if they are filling their stomachs, or as if they are demonstrating to you..."

Jiang Xinghuo frowned as he watched. He had seen many cruel and crazy people in the world, but it was rare to see someone like that in Shiva Village.

"You are strolling around the village and feel that the smell of the village makes you nauseous. Do you want to continue wandering here, or leave as soon as possible while no one sees you?"

Jiang Xinghuo still chose to continue walking around the village. As he said before, he had already come here, and unless the shrine had been used to the limit, he would not give up and leave halfway.

"Alas, your ambition and curiosity drive you to stay here and continue exploring. Your strength is the reason why you dare to take such a risk, but can you really conquer the death and danger in this village and dig out the secrets hidden behind it?"

"Where are you going to explore next?"

"Would you choose to go to the dark and quiet Pure World Buddhist Temple, or to the long-abandoned Uncovered Square near the back mountain, or would you choose to go to the small ditch behind the village?"

This time, the game text gave three options. Jiang Xinghuo looked at these three places carefully, which were the gloomy Buddhist temple, the deserted square, and the small ditch at the back.

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a while. The game didn't give a specific description, so naturally he couldn't tell any difference. But judging from the order, it should be from front to back, first the Buddhist temple, then the square, and finally the ditch. So let's do it in order. These three places are given anyway.

"You choose to explore the dark and quiet Pure World Buddhist Temple first."

"This Buddhist temple is located in a prominent place in the village and is also the largest building in the village. However, since no one has repaired it for many years, its appearance is full of damage and it is a real dangerous building."

"You walked into the temple, and the pungent smell of incense hit you in the face, almost making you pass out."

"You found that the incense in this temple is very strange. It is not like the yellow thin incense sticks used for ordinary worship of gods and Buddhas. It seems that some unclean things are mixed in, such as corpse oil and bone powder."

"Moreover, the reclining Buddha statue standing on the altar is not an ordinary Buddha statue. Although it looks like a compassionate and peaceful reclining Buddha, it feels awkward no matter how you look at it. Instead of feeling peaceful, my heart is filled with uneasiness and a faint fear."

"You have triggered the talent of Tathagatagarbha."

"You have seen through the secrets hidden beneath the compassionate appearance of this Buddha statue." "You have discovered the Dharmakaya of the Pure Land Tathagata."

"Jingshi Tathagata, one of the thirteen ancient masters of the Dao, is known as the Living Buddha, but in the secular Buddhist tradition, he is called a great demon by the monks."

"Legend has it that the Pure Land Tathagata was originally a Buddhist disciple, and a senior brother of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and a disciple of Maitreya Bodhisattva as well."

"But after Maitreya passed away, he passed the position of the master of the Ten Directions Zen Forest to Ksitigarbha, and did not pass it on to his chief disciple, Monk Jingshi."

"The Pure World Monk was angry about Maitreya's injustice, so on the night when Ksitigarbha inherited the throne, he led some of his disciples and the monks who followed him, rebelled against the Buddha land of the Ten Directions Zen Forest, and injured Ksitigarbha."

"The monks of the Law Enforcement Temple of the Ten Directions Zen Forest wanted to enforce the Buddhist law, but they were stopped by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who allowed those monks to rebel against the Ten Directions Zen Forest."

"Later, the monk Jingshi sneaked back to Shifang Zen Monastery and came to the stupa in the Zen Monastery. He found the remains of Maitreya Buddha, dug out the future vision of his right eye, and integrated it into his own eye, thereby peeping into the secret of Buddhahood."

"Venerable Ksitigarbha naturally could not tolerate such an act of betraying his master and ancestors, so he personally tried to capture the Pure World Monk and take him back to receive ordination."

“But the Pure World Monk seemed to have disappeared from the secular world. No matter how hard the eminent monks in the ten directions of Zen looked for him, they could not find any trace of him. It was as if he had disappeared from the secular world.”

"Several years later, when the Pure World Monk reappeared, he had already attained the status of Living Buddha and called himself Pure World Tathagata."

"The teachings they preached were completely opposite to those of the Ten Directions Zen Monastery. The disciples of the Pure World Tathagata believed that everything in the world was dirty, and that only by joining the Pure World Tathagata's school could they cleanse themselves of these filth and dirt."

"At dawn, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva appeared in the Forbidden City and fought a great battle with Pure World Tathagata. At the cost of being seriously injured, he forcibly gouged out the right eye of Pure World Tathagata and took back the Buddha's eye that Maitreya Bodhisattva had lost."

"Since then, the Pure Land Tathagata has rarely appeared in the secular world, but temples dedicated to him have sprung up like mushrooms after rain."

"Moreover, the postures of the Buddha statues enshrined in those temples are also different. Some are preaching, some are conquering demons, some are reclining, some are holding a flower, and even worse, there are statues with a happy posture."

"These Buddha statues have different postures, but the two most powerful in faith are the reclining Buddha and the flower-holding Buddha."

"It is said that as long as you bow down sincerely in front of the Dharmakaya statue of the Pure World Tathagata, you can receive the blessing and protection of the Pure World Tathagata. Do you want to bow down to the reclining Buddha statue on the altar?"

Jiang Xinghuo would certainly not choose to kowtow. This Pure World Tathagata was obviously an evil Buddha. If he really became his disciple, his life and death would be under his control.

Jiang Xinghuo thought of four ways to build landmarks.

The path that Pure Land Tathagata took should be a combination of the three paths: passing on Buddhism with his own teachings, building faith with his own temples, and establishing legends with his own stories.

Of course, maybe she gave birth to a lot of sons in secret. After all, there is also a tradition of joyful Zen in Buddhism.

"You refused to kowtow to the statue of the Pure Land Buddha. When you came to your senses from your stupor, you found yourself bending down without knowing when, and were about to kneel on the cushion."

"You can't help but feel a nameless anger in your heart, and you consider whether to smash the Dharmakaya statue immediately. If you smash the Dharmakaya statue, it will definitely attract the attention of the Pure World Tathagata and will also invite revenge from the villagers."

"But if you just leave this Buddha statue here, you will feel unhappy about what happened just now, and your thoughts will be a little bit depressed. What are you going to do? Let this Buddha statue go, or smash it?"

Two choices: smash the Buddha statue or leave the temple.

Jiang Xinghuo took a deep breath and without hesitating for too long, he chose the former and smashed the Buddha statue.

Jiang Xinghuo thought to himself, how dare you let me kowtow to you? Don’t bother with your big bitch, I’ll just let you go this time.

"You intend to raise the Dharmakaya statue of the Pure World Tathagata and start to activate the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Scroll in your body, condense the Yin Thunder Qi in your palm, and store it in the pores of the Dharmakaya statue."

"The Yin Thunder Qi will slowly destroy the internal structure of the Dharmakaya statue until all its constituent molecules are destroyed, and the statue will turn into a pile of dust-like gravel."

"When the time comes, as long as a slight breeze blows, this Buddha statue will be as recorded in the Buddhist scriptures, and will no longer be bound by appearances."

"After you finished all this, you left this temple and prepared to explore other places."

"Please choose the place you want to go, the long-abandoned uncovered square, or the small ditch behind the village."

This time, the game only gave two choices, and there was no option for the Pure Land Buddhist Temple.

"You chose to go to the long-abandoned Uncovered Square."

"You walked through a dark and damp alley, trying to take a shortcut to the abandoned square."

"I didn't expect to hear a strange noise next to my ear. A sleepy villager suddenly opened the door and walked out. It seemed that he wanted to get up to urinate at night."

"This villager also noticed your presence. He was stunned for a moment, but then he immediately reacted and wanted to call for help."

"At the critical moment, you picked up the brick next to you and hit it. Unexpectedly, you hit it too hard and knocked it to pieces on the spot."

"You killed a villager from Shiva Village, x1."

"You have obtained, Incense +100."

"What are you going to do with this body?"

"You took advantage of the fact that no one was around to see you and lifted the body and threw it into the house. Fortunately, this man was a widower and he was the only one at home, so he didn't have to worry about being discovered."

"After dealing with the body, you locked the door from the outside, making it look like you were out and about. There won't be any problems in the short term."

"You continue walking towards the square..."

Two more updates. I'm going to eat first. I'm hungry.
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(End of this chapter)