The Strange Tales of Tokyo Monk

After a long time, his right hand was emitting a faint Buddha light, and a lotus flower formed from the palm of his hand.

The whole body is transparent, with a faint golden Buddha light.

Pinggong Qianye tried to make the lotus swirl and grow in his palm, and then pushed the lotus towards a black jar on the windowsill.

The lotus was not moving very fast, and golden light was rippling slightly around it, as if it was walking on a pool of water.

When the lotus leaf touched the jar, it blossomed and sucked the jar in. Only a lotus flower was left spinning slowly in its place.

One lotus turns into one world?

Pinggong Qianye had some realization in his heart. He raised his right hand lightly, summoned the lotus flower back, and suspended it above his palm.

When the lotus lost its power and dispersed, the jar fell safely into Pinggong Qianye's palm.

What kind of magical power is this?

Put Mount Sumeru into a mustard seed?

It doesn't seem that powerful.

Pinggong Qianye tried it several more times, and after gradually becoming proficient, he found that the lotus he condensed could only hold an object the size of a head at most.

If the limit is exceeded, the lotus will split.

I wonder if it would be effective if used to contain demons and monsters?

Pinggong Qianye thought for a while in the room, then went out to wash up and went to have vegetarian meal.

In the afternoon, Pinggong Qianye had nothing to do, so he took a good walk around Toshodaiji Temple and paid homage to Master Jianzhen's tomb.

Many believers come here to mourn Master Jianzhen, both old and young, and there are also some tourists from foreign countries.

……

Late at night, Taiji Hall at the ruins of Heijokyo.

The surging black ghost energy erupted violently with the Tai Chi Hall as the center.

The bronze bell hanging in front of the gate was constantly impacted, and cracks began to appear, and finally it exploded.

The eerie and terrifying ghostly aura rushed out of the Taiji Hall, disappeared into the sky, and stirred up the wind and clouds.

The moon's light was completely obscured by the dark clouds, not even a ray of light could be shed.

Outside the Taiji Hall, a hundred monks still held a lotus lantern each, and arranged themselves into the swastika shape according to the previous formation.

Lotus lanterns lit up one after another, and the powerful barrier formed by the Hundred Lantern Ring once again enveloped the Tai Chi Hall.

However, the light emitted by the hundreds of lotus lanterns was not as bright and overwhelming as last time.

In the four directions of the swastika formation are Toshodaiji Temple, Todaiji Temple, Saidaiji Temple and a high monk who came from Horyuji Temple to provide support.

Among them, the abbot of Toshodaiji Temple offered a lotus lantern in front of him, the monk of Todaiji Temple offered a bronze bell, and the other two monks used a Dharma bowl and a wooden fish as their ritual instruments respectively.

In the center of the Tai Chi Hall, two terrifying ghosts filled with eerie ghostly aura appeared faintly.

Looks like a man and a woman.

The two ghosts sometimes separated and sometimes merged into one, rolling up terrifying ghost energy that covered the sky and constantly collided with the Buddha light barrier formed by the Hundred Lamps Ring.

After every heavy collision, a lotus lamp would go out.

Watching from a distance, the scene is shocking.

Pinggong Qianye, who was standing next to the abbot of civil administration, quietly felt the tense and almost frozen atmosphere here for a while, and then walked towards the direction of Taiji Hall.

"Master Liansheng..."

The host wanted to say something, but in the end he let Pinggong Qianye act alone.

Maybe Master Liansheng has already discovered some opportunity to win.

Pinggong Qianye, who was walking slowly towards the Taiji Hall, was actually a little confused. Was such a big battle just to deal with two ghosts with a danger value of about 30?

Don’t you think it’s a bit wasteful?

Moreover, these two ghosts have been suppressed for so many years. Why not choose to solve them completely, but instead use this method to seal and suppress them?

Do you want to convert these two ghosts to lay down their butcher knives and become Buddhas on the spot?

I can't figure it out.

Pinggong Qianye walked closer to the Taiji Hall step by step, and the images of the two ghosts became clearer and clearer in his eyes.

Chapter 121 Lotus Brand Merit and Vow Converter?

At the end of the Nara period, there was a ghost legend circulating about Prince Sawara, the younger brother of Emperor Kōmu at the time.

Because Prince Sawara's mother was of poor origin, he became a monk at Todaiji Temple at a young age.

Later, after Emperor Kanmu ascended the throne, Prince Sawara returned to secular life and was made crown prince.

At this time, Emperor Kanmu already had an heir who could inherit the throne.

Later, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, who was highly valued by Emperor Kanmu, was murdered and someone framed Prince Sawara. Emperor Kanmu imprisoned Prince Sawara without giving him any explanation and then exiled him.

In order to prove his innocence, Prince Sawara went on a hunger strike on the way to exile and starved to death a few days later.

Prince Sawara, who died with deep resentment, returned to the capital as an evil ghost.

Not long after, Fujiwara no Momokawa's widow died suddenly of illness, Emperor Kanmu's biological mother and empress died one after another, and his son Prince Anden also fell seriously ill and was bedridden.

At this time, long-term droughts, famines, floods and other natural disasters began to occur inside and outside Heijokyo. Bandits swarmed, people were living in misery, and it was a complete hell on earth.

As a result, more and more people believed that this was the ghost of Prince Sawara who died with his eyes open.

Later in the story, in the 19th year of the Enryaku period, Emperor Kanmu posthumously bestowed the title of "Emperor Sudō" on Prince Sawara and built the Sudō Shrine to worship Prince Sawara.

From then on, Prince Sawara's ghost disappeared.

This version of the legend is the most widely circulated to date.

Pinggong Chiye learned another story that was somewhat different from this one from the host of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.

After Prince Sawara was appointed Crown Prince, Emperor Kanmu deliberately took advantage of Fujiwara no Tanetsugu's death to maliciously frame Prince Sawara in order to pave the way for his own biological heir.

Perhaps Emperor Kanmu still had a little affection for Prince Sawara in his heart, so he simply exiled Prince Sawara.

Unexpectedly, in order to prove his innocence, Prince Sawara chose to protest by fasting and eventually died.

When the ghost of Prince Sawara, filled with anger, grievance and unwillingness, was born, he did return to Heijokyo.

But at that time, Heijokyo and its surrounding areas had begun to suffer from long-term droughts, famines, floods and other natural disasters. Bandits swarmed, and people were living in misery. It was a complete hell on earth.

The instigator of all this was the Empress of Emperor Kōmu.

She is a powerful female ghost who has achieved great success in spiritual practice, and all disasters are caused by her.

Although he hated his brother Emperor Kanmu and became a monk in Todaiji Temple since childhood, Prince Sawara, who was kind-hearted, chose to let go of his hatred and have a fierce battle with the female demon queen of Emperor Kanmu.

In the end, both of them fell into a deep sleep in the Taiji Hall, and this catastrophe at the end of the Nara period came to an end.

Later, out of guilt and the need to suppress the female ghost, Emperor Kanmu named Prince Sawara "Emperor Sudō" and established the Sudō Shrine, where Emperor Sudō was always worshipped.

When Heimiya Chiye finished hearing this legend, he felt sorry for the fate of Prince Sawara, who had been immersed in Buddhism since childhood.

Emperor Kanmu might have been bewitched by the female ghost, but it was also true that he wanted to frame Prince Sawara. The so-called brotherhood had long been as thin as paper.

This is a story about a man framing his own brother in order to pave the way for his own offspring to ascend to the throne.

The so-called female ghost of the empress might have just been put forward to bear the infamy for Emperor Kanmu.

"Is this the Empress of Prince Sawara and Emperor Kanmu?"

Pinggong Qianye stood outside the Taiji Hall, looking up slightly at the two huge ghosts that were suppressed in the golden Buddha light barrier.

Even through the Tai Chi Temple, one could faintly hear the two ghosts' soul-stirring cries.

"Hate it!"

“Angry!”

"Damn it!"

They hate the former Emperor Kanmu madly.

As the power of the two ghosts continued to impact, the entire Tai Chi Hall was shaking, as if it was about to burst.

The Buddha's light formed by the Hundred Lamps Precepts was gradually dimming. If it were not for the support of four eminent monks including Master Wen Zheng, the Hundred Lamps Precepts would have been broken long ago.

In the other three directions, the high monks of Todaiji Temple, Saidaiji Temple, and Horyuji Temple all cast their gazes in attention.

They didn't understand why the abbot of Toshodaiji Temple would allow such a young monk to go to the Taiji Hall.

Doesn’t the civil servant know that Taiji Hall is the most dangerous place at this moment?

The two vicious ghosts inside are about to break the seal and come out. Once they get close to the Tai Chi Hall, their lives will be in danger.

But they had no time to care about that at the moment. They needed to concentrate on maintaining the Hundred Lights Ring and hold on until the next morning when the sun rose.

Pinggong Qianye stood outside the Taiji Hall and watched for a while before he stepped into the range of the Hundred Lamps Ring and pushed open the door of the Taiji Hall.

As soon as they entered the door, the two ghosts seemed to have found a breakthrough, and rushed towards the door with a cold and gloomy ghost aura!

The black ghost energy seemed to condense into substance. The two ghosts behind him had hideous faces and swollen bodies. Their upper bodies were somewhat human-like, while their lower bodies were a mass of black air currents that gathered like a whirlpool.

With a creaking sound, Pinggong Qianye closed the door of Taiji Hall again.

Faced with the terrifying ghost energy coming towards him, he just calmly pushed out his right hand, and the golden Buddha light turned into a wall, easily blocking the two ghosts.

"Do not worry."

Pinggong Qianye spoke calmly, the golden Buddha wall in his palm stood tall and majestic, allowing the ghost energy to attack him crazily without wavering in the slightest.

"Monk?"

The male ghost seemed to be in a trance for a moment.

"Bald donkey!"

The female ghost let out a sharp scream, carrying with it a huge resentment that had been dormant for many years, and transformed into countless ghost heads with long tails, which continuously attacked the golden Buddha wall formed in Pinggong Qianye's palm.

"Are you prejudiced against monks?"

Pinggong Chiye tried to talk to the female ghost, but never got a response. It seemed that she was left with only the instinct of resentment, without much self-awareness.

Seeing this, Pinggong Qianye raised his left hand and reached out from the golden Buddha wall. The female ghost saw this and came to bite him madly.

A lotus with golden light blossomed and slowly flew out from Pinggong Qianye's fingertips.

The lotus rotates gently, continuously absorbing the surrounding ghost energy into the lotus.

The black and almost sticky ghost energy entered the lotus. At first, black veins dyed the lotus black, but after just a few breaths, the black veins were completely eliminated.

The lotus gradually grew larger, and the Buddha's light emanating from its body became increasingly dazzling, and the ghostly energy it could absorb became more and more, and spread wider and wider.

The female ghost, who had originally come with great momentum, was instead attracted by the power emanating from the lotus, and could hardly move forward or retreat, as if she were stuck in mud.

During this process, Heimiya Chiye could feel the dedication of merits and vows more clearly than usual.

In the past, he needed to liberate the ghosts before he could dedicate some of his merits and vows to them. But now, the lotus flower could convert some of its merits and vows into merits and vows just by absorbing the evil power of ghosts.

Probably equivalent to a merit and wish converter?

While Pinggong Qianye was thinking, the male ghost suddenly rushed over and completely merged with the female ghost. His strength increased greatly and he shook the lotus, showing signs of trying to break free.

The danger level has soared from about 30 to over 45, but is still less than 50.

Pinggong Qianye's mind moved, and the lotus flower split into two, two became four, four became eight...soon the entire Tai Chi Hall was filled with densely packed lotus flowers.

When there were 128 lotuses filling the Tai Chi Hall at the same time, it was as if a compressed version of the Hundred Lights Ring was formed, absorbing all the ghostly energy.

The male and female ghosts were also forced to separate and were pinned down in the corners on both sides, unable to move.

"Are you prejudiced against monks?"

Pinggong Chiye came to the female ghost again and asked the same question as before.

When the thick ghost aura on the female ghost dissipated, an extremely beautiful face was revealed, and her eyes were full of resentment and unwillingness.

"Haha, am I prejudiced against monks?"

The female ghost sneered, as if she was mocking herself, or as if she was mocking the powerful monk in front of her.