Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 192 The Demonic Thoughts Within the Kasaya
In the dimly lit forest of sword grass.

Black Wind King's round ears stood up, his eyes gleamed, and his honest-looking hairy face wore a half-smile.

It wears a golden headband, a kasaya, and carries a water and fire staff. It looks comical, yet it exudes a mysterious Zen-like quality.

"Wow~"

A breeze blew, and the grass and trees swayed and made a sound.

"Of course!"

Liu Sheng nodded without hesitation, meeting its deep gaze, and said in a deep voice:

"But I'm more afraid of...your previous state."

As he spoke, he pointed to himself and said quietly:
"I don't have a golden headband on my head, nor an image of Guanyin Bodhisattva on my body, so I can't suppress this cassock. In the end, I'll be neither a demon nor a monster..."

It would have been better not to do it in the first place.

"Neither demon nor monster...neither demon nor monster..."

The Black Wind King paused, muttering the same phrase repeatedly, before finally giving Liu Sheng a surprised look:

"Your wisdom is so profound that you were able to resist the alluring light of greed on the brocade robe with your true heart!"

At this point, it sighed with regret:

"If our elders were still alive, they would surely have taken you as their disciple and passed on their mantle. What a pity..."

This Black Wind King really did escape from some temple!

Liu Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, confirming his earlier guess.

The bear demon in front of them was so human-like in every move it made.

It must have lived in a human settlement for a long time and been deeply influenced by it, to the point that it was out of place with other monsters.

"This robe is an extraordinary Buddhist treasure, originally belonging to a wandering ascetic monk."

Later, the monk stayed at a Zen monastery and inadvertently revealed a treasure, which aroused the greed of the monastery's abbot..."

The Black Wind King glanced down at the brocade cassock he wore, his eyes darting around:
"That night, flames soared into the sky and burned all night long. The huge Zen temple was reduced to white, and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats enshrined there were all turned to ashes."

The abbot, monks, novices, and hundreds of others in the temple all perished in the fire.

Only this robe, draped over the ruins, shone as brightly as new, spotless, its radiant glow tempting those with greed.

This story... sounds so familiar!

You don't happen to have a relative who guards the bamboo forest in the South China Sea, do you?
Liu Sheng felt a strong sense of déjà vu and couldn't help but mutter a complaint, but then he quickly grasped the key point:
"Where is that ascetic monk?"

The story only mentions the Zen monastery and the fate of the monks, but what about the fate of the ascetic monk who came to stay?
As the owner of the brocade robe, this person must know the robe's demonic nature, its ability to tempt people to greed, cause them to lose their reason, and give rise to delusions.

If that's the case, why bring such a thing to the Zen temple?
Even assuming he had no intention of harming anyone, why would the robe be lost after he brought it to the monastery, and why would the abbot happen to see it?

A careless slip of the tongue can only appease ordinary people.

It doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

"An ascetic monk?"

The Black Wind King was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with confusion. He scratched his ears vigorously and muttered to himself:
"Yes, where did that ascetic monk go? Did he also die in that fire? But the elder didn't say anything back then!"

The bear demon scratched its ears and cheeks for a while, and its robe moved without wind, inexplicably shimmering with a layer of light.

Bright red, like fire, like blood.

Its eyes gleamed crimson as it stared at Liu Sheng, its tone becoming strange, its words hesitant and difficult to utter:

"Brother Bai, what do you think happened to that ascetic monk in the end?"

How would I know!

But something's wrong with this guy. What happened to him?

Liu Sheng's pupils contracted, feeling that the brocade cassock in front of him was exceptionally beautiful. Greed took root in his heart and grew wildly like weeds.

He desperately wanted to kill the bear demon and take the cassock for himself. "Clang!"

Just then, the sound of a blade echoed in his mind.

The innate talent "Blade Heart" is activated, instantly extinguishing all distracting thoughts in the mind.

This restored his senses.

"hold head high!"

Immediately afterwards, the innate talent "Prison Suppression" was activated, suppressing the mind and preventing external influences.

At this moment, when he looked at the brocade robe again, although it was a rare and precious treasure, he no longer had any desire to possess it.

"Tell me, where did that ascetic monk go? Where did he go? Where did he go?"

Suddenly, the Black Wind King let out a low roar, his fur stood on end, his eyes turned bloodshot, and a fierce wind arose around him.

"How the hell should I know? Has this guy been possessed by the demonic thoughts in the cassock again?"

Liu Sheng looked around and found that black winds had suddenly formed around them, and he and the bear demon were in the eye of the storm.

Once you leave the eye of the storm, you'll be swept away by the whirlwind and blown off to who knows where.

It was even torn to shreds by the terrifying wind!
"Where did he go? Where did that person go?!"

"Tell me, where did that person go?"

"Tell me quickly, where is he hiding? The entire monastery kindly took him in, yet he murdered everyone there. How could he bear to do that?"

Black Wind King pressed forward relentlessly, his body enveloped in wisps of black mist, his form expanding continuously until he finally reverted to his original shape, resembling a mountain of flesh, his roar like thunder.

"Tell me quickly, where did that person go?"

Seeing that the bear demon was about to lose control, Liu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine. He gritted his teeth and spat out two words:
"Lingshan!"

"Lingshan?"

The Black Wind King was taken aback, clearly surprised by the answer. His massive bear head slowly lowered, his breath coming in soft, labored gasps.
"You're saying... he eventually went to Mount Ling? The Mount Ling where Buddha and Bodhisattvas reside?"

"Yes."

"But... what would he do on Mount Ling? He has harmed so many people and is full of sins. How could Buddha allow him to go to Mount Ling?"

I made this up, how would I know?!
Liu Sheng's eyes darted around, and he decided to go all in, saying in a deep voice:

"Not only did he ascend to Mount Ling, but he also eventually became a Buddha."

"Whirring whirring……"

The Black Wind King exhaled, creating a gust of wind. The black mist around him grew even thicker, and whirlwinds howled around him, sweeping away thousands of sword grasses and pulverizing them in an instant.

It stared with its bloodshot eyes, and approached Liu Sheng cautiously:
"why?"

"Because he is the reincarnation of the Buddha's chief disciple, all the causes and conditions, all the hardships and tribulations, were preordained to help him become a Buddha."

Liu Sheng chuckled softly, looking at the black bear demon's bloodshot, unwilling eyes, and said quietly:
"You think the entire Zen temple is innocent, but in the eyes of the Bodhisattva, it is because they failed to uphold their original intentions and were tempted by greed that they brought about their own demise."

He needs to cultivate himself for several more lifetimes, doing good deeds and accumulating merit, before he can be liberated.

As for whether the test of this robe exceeds the limits of ordinary people, that's none of the Bodhisattva's business.

Haven't you heard the saying, "If you're bad at something, practice more"?

By reincarnating many times and accumulating more merit, one can accumulate enough to qualify for the ticket to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

If we don't exploit you cattle and horses for several lifetimes, how can the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Mount Ling sit and discuss the Tao, recite scriptures and debate Zen, and watch the flying apsaras sing and dance in peace every day?
Liu Sheng glanced at the dull-looking cassock and had a guess in his mind.

"If you're bad at it, just practice more? Reincarnate a few more times, accumulate more merit, and you'll have enough for a ticket to the Pure Land?"

Black Wind King slumped to the ground, utterly dejected, muttering to himself:

"But that's not what the Bodhisattva said. This robe, this robe..."

(End of this chapter)