I am a fairy in Journey to the West

After settling in at Erlang Temple, Zhuang Yan prepared a study and stored all the Buddhist scriptures that Yan Miaozhen had rescued from Sanhua Nunnery in the room, and then studied them every day.

These Buddhist scriptures are not methods of cultivation, but rather the Buddhist understanding of the principles of heaven and earth and nature. Studying these scriptures is most helpful for improving one's cultivation level.

A year later, Zhuang Yan finally thoroughly studied and understood all of these Buddhist scriptures.

Three years later, Zhuang Yan had fully comprehended the principles contained in the Buddhist scriptures.

Even so, if Zhuang Yan were to become a monk, he still wouldn't be considered a 'high monk,' because although he had fully grasped the principles within these Buddhist scriptures in just three years, he couldn't integrate them with his own cultivation.

Zhuang Yan believed that the reason for this was that he lacked "natural talent".

What is nature? It is the inherent nature that a living being possesses after being born between heaven and earth.

Zhuang Yan was originally a 'golden finger' that transformed into human form and entered the world. He was an innate being who entered the post-natal world and therefore had no innate nature.

However, the Taoist manual "Yuqing Shenxiao Daobao Lu" given to him by Laozi contains a solution: to cultivate the Tao after birth and recreate one's innate nature.

Therefore, although he could not fully comprehend these Buddhist scriptures, Zhuang Yan was not discouraged.

Firstly, his own power is almost unmatched in the Three Realms; secondly, he has enough time and power to cultivate the acquired path and create the innate nature.

Therefore, after Zhuang Yan had fully comprehended all these Buddhist scriptures, he put them away and never looked at them again.

Pushing open the door to the refined room, a ray of sunlight fell on Zhuang Yan, and a gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers blew on his face.

“It’s been three years.” Zhuang Yan looked at the spring-like scenery outside and said slowly, “It’s time to go down the mountain for a walk.”

Zhuang Yan closed the door and walked towards the front yard. Hua Yue Erlang, dressed in a Taoist robe, immediately came to greet Zhuang Yan.

"Great Immortal, you have emerged from seclusion?" Hua Yue Erlang bowed respectfully and asked with a smile.

Zhuang Yan nodded and asked, "Where is your master?"

"Master said he was bored lately, so he went into the mountains to hunt," Hua Yue Erlang said.

Zhuang Yan looked up and saw that the incense in the Erlang Temple was extremely prosperous, and there were many ordinary people going in and out of the temple gate and the main hall, which was very lively.

"Why is it so lively today? So many people are offering incense?" Zhuang Yan asked.

Hua Yue Erlang said, "Great Immortal, you may not know this, but now the calamity in Xiniu Hezhou is rising and the world is in chaos, so more and more mortals are coming to burn incense and worship the gods."

Zhuang Yan said, "What's the use of worshipping gods? The Heavenly Court doesn't interfere with human calamities."

“How could these mortals know anything? They only want the gods to save them,” Hua Yue Erlang said, shaking his head.

As mentioned earlier, the gods of Heaven are headed by the Jade Emperor, who follow the Heavenly Way and govern the Three Realms. In short, these righteous gods are more like incarnations of the laws of Heaven and Earth, undertaking a portion of the functions of Heaven and Earth.

For example, the Earth God governs a region of land. The Mountain God governs a region of mountains and rivers. The Water God governs a region of waterways.

Although the beings under their rule are also under their management, these righteous gods generally do not interfere in human affairs.

Even the Heavenly Laws explicitly stipulate that no celestial deity may arbitrarily interfere in or meddle in human affairs.

The promotion of righteous gods in Heaven depends on merit, not virtue. If it were based on virtue, these gods would be bestowing blessings upon mortals and helping them overcome dangers every few days. Wouldn't it be too easy to accumulate virtue?

Therefore, 'God' is only responsible to heaven and earth, not to living beings.

In every great calamity in the Three Realms, the greatest merit of all the righteous gods is simply to remain firmly in their divine palaces and ensure that the laws of heaven and earth in the areas under their jurisdiction do not become chaotic.

However, there are always exceptions. In some places, the gods are more approachable or kind-hearted and willing to expend energy to protect living beings and resolve their dangers. But this is purely the behavior of individual gods.

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "When your master comes back, tell him that I'm going down the mountain for a walk."

"Yes," Hua Yue Erlang replied, bowing slightly.

Zhuang Yan then walked down the mountain. Along the way, he saw many people coming to burn incense and pray for blessings, which showed that the area down the mountain was indeed in great chaos.

Upon arriving at Erlang Village, Zhuang Yan recalled that three years ago the village was very tidy, with neat houses and clean roads. But now, temporary houses have been erected everywhere, people are lying on the roads, and even beggars and refugees can be seen everywhere.

Upon arriving at the village entrance, Zhuang Yan saw the same old man from three years ago again. He walked up to him, and the old man glanced at him. "Huh? Young man, why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Old man, we chatted at the village entrance three years ago when I first came here, and you even told me about the origin of Erlang Village."

"Oh, right, right, right." The old man slapped his forehead, then looked Zhuang Yan carefully and said, "Hey, young man, three years have passed, and you haven't changed at all."

"Aren't you the same? You look so energetic." Zhuang Yan said with a smile.

The old man shook his head, sighed, and pointed to the beggars and refugees around him, saying, "In just three short years, the world has become like this. Alas, God is blind. I am an old man of eighty-seven, and I am about to be buried. These last few years have not been peaceful for me."

At this point, the old man pulled Zhuang Yan aside and complained, "Young man, do you think all these gods and Buddhas are blind? Can't they see all the suffering in the world?"

Zhuang Yan remained silent, but a beggar beside him spoke up, "The gods and Buddhas aren't blind, they're just struggling to protect themselves."

The old man turned to look at the beggar and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The beggar, his face covered in mud, gave a bitter smile and said, “You should go down the mountain and see for yourself. Those temples and shrines have been reduced to ruins, and there are demons and monsters everywhere. Those who can survive in the world down the mountain now are all capable people.”

Upon hearing this, the old man stood there stunned, muttering, "How could this be?"

Seeing the old man sitting there in a daze, Zhuang Yan didn't disturb him, but turned around and went down the mountain.

The area down the mountain was indeed in complete chaos. In the past three years, first, demons such as Asuras, Rakshasa demons, and Yakshas under the Buddha's command continuously invaded various Buddhist kingdoms, confusing the monks and disrupting order. Then, people from the Brahma sect followed suit and entered various Buddhist kingdoms to spread the Dharma.

Beset by internal and external troubles, many Buddhist temples collapsed. Monks either converted to Buddhism or became followers of demons, or retreated to the mountains to avoid the world and disaster.

Some monks could only travel in groups, preparing to leave West Niuhezhou and head to South Jambudvipa.

In these three years, the peaceful scene of Jambudvipa has spread to Aparagodaniya. Maitreya Buddha and Merit Buddha have clearly transformed Jambudvipa into a Buddhist Pure Land.

The present-day Xiniu Hezhou is no longer the holy land of Buddhism it once was. Buddhism has collapsed, demons are everywhere, and monks have either rebelled, fled, died, or gone into hiding, making Xiniu Hezhou a land of calamity.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Mount Ling could only watch helplessly as Buddhism collapsed in the human world.

They can withstand the attacks of Buddha, demons, and Brahma, but they are powerless against the decline of Buddhism and monks in the human world. This is not something that can be changed by individual power; it is the decline of the entire Buddhist tradition in the human world.

From the moment hundreds of years ago, when the Buddha and the demon descended into the world, and the omens of the great calamity between them began, and countless holy monks and virtuous masters perished in Xiniu Hezhou, today's outcome was already predetermined.

After those holy monks and eminent monks who attained immortality passed away, the Buddhist disciples who followed could only embark on the evil path of tampering with Buddhist scriptures.

They had no choice but to do this; otherwise, with their shallow understanding of Buddhism, they would not be able to maintain their authority and status.

Modifying Buddhist scriptures would inevitably lead to chaos in Buddhist thought throughout Xiniu Hezhou, because each school has its own reasoning, and the Buddhist scriptures modified by each school will always be different.

As the chaos of revising Buddhist scriptures intensified, the entire Buddhist community in Xiniu Hezhou eventually fell into disarray, with members unable to communicate with each other, and ultimately embarked on a path of depravity and destruction.

After descending the mountain, Zhuang Yan went directly to Fengxian County. Three years had passed, and Fengxian County had become quite dilapidated, especially the Liu residence, which was deserted and no longer had the bustling scene of three years ago.

As soon as Zhuang Yan arrived outside the Liu residence, he saw a three-year-old child running and playing in the street with a windmill, followed by a group of servants and maids.

The child was having so much fun that he didn't see Zhuang Yan in front of him or hear the servants behind him shouting "Young master, be careful!" He bumped his head into Zhuang Yan's knee.

The impact sent the toddler sprawling to the ground with a thud. He cried out and looked up to see Zhuang Yan. He then pouted and was about to cry.

At this moment, Zhuang Yan laughed and called out, "Liu Yanchang, don't cry."

The child immediately stopped crying and looked at Zhuang Yan with curiosity, wondering why this stranger knew his name.

Zhuang Yan said nothing, but took out a Xiuyan jade sachet from his sleeve and placed it in Liu Yanchang's hand, and said with a smile: "I'm giving you this sachet. You must take good care of it. The fragrance of flowers will attract good butterflies, and the fragrance of a person will attract beautiful women."

After saying that, Zhuang Yan reached out and patted Liu Yanchang on the head, then turned and left.

By the time the servants reached Liu Yanchang's side, Zhuang Yan had already disappeared around the corner. (End of Chapter)