Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"The Buddha is inherently without form, inherently without mind; one must not have a discriminating mind, one must not have a proud mind, one must not have a domineering mind..."

"Shut up! Anyway, you made this choice, so don't come looking for me if anything goes wrong!"

Faced with this incessant chatter, which sounded like the buzzing of mosquitoes, Nezha covered his ears with his hands and fled the scene with a pained expression.

Watching his guardian deity flee in disarray, the Sandalwood Merit Buddha, still standing there, smacked his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction. As if he had thought of something, he smiled and turned to look at the visitors who had come to his door.

"Esteemed benefactors..."

"Stop, go through the door first!"

Samael, equally terrified, quickly raised his hand to interrupt the spellcasting, grabbed the Buddhist master without a word, and rushed towards the meditation room at almost breakneck speed.

The others, whose eyes were already starting to feel sleepy, suddenly woke up as if from a dream and quickly followed.

Finally, guided by the Sandalwood Merit Buddha, the group passed through the back door and successfully entered Nalanda Monastery.

The ruins of Nalanda Monastery are vast; the remaining walls alone are as high as two or three stories. Among them are neatly arranged monks' quarters, numerous temples, stupas, and other structures, which once housed over ten thousand monks.

As the highest institution of learning in ancient India, it was actually a large Buddhist academy with a huge building area. The excavated site alone covers an area of ​​about 14 hectares, which is only about one-tenth of the area recorded in Xuanzang's "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions".

And now that it has been rebuilt, it is naturally no less impressive in terms of scale.

The group was in the most secluded meditation room in the back courtyard of Nalanda Monastery. Due to the government's blockade, there was basically no one coming and going, making it even more quiet.

Looking out through the wooden window lattice into the courtyard, the scene before me has a certain elegance reminiscent of the poem "A winding path leads to a secluded spot, where a Zen room is surrounded by flowers and trees."

"Gentlemen, please have some tea."

Dressed in black robes with long hair flowing down his shoulders, the Sandalwood Buddha emerged from the inner room, knelt on a prayer mat, and served tea to the guests.

Yang Yuhuan took the tea and secretly looked the legendary Tang Dynasty monk, Sanzang, up and down. Unable to contain her curiosity, she looked up and asked.

"Master, why are you a girl?"

"Buddha has no form."

Samael took a sip of tea and offered to explain to the curious little girl beside him.

"According to the principles of Buddhism, when all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas attain Bodhi, they are neither male nor female. This neither-male-nor-female form is not the hermaphrodite in the common medical concept, but rather transcends the limitations of male and female forms, is not attached to either side, and can manifest completely freely, that is, 'both male and female,' appearing according to circumstances, with infinite transformations, such as the well-known compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva in China, whose original form was a man, but in later generations appeared as a woman."

"Oh……"

Holding her teacup, Yang Yuhuan nodded as if she understood, then looked at the monk Sanzang in front of her and spoke innocently.

"However, she's definitely not as pretty as Sister Sanzang!"

Hearing that childlike praise, everyone couldn't help but chuckle, and the atmosphere in the meditation room suddenly became much more cheerful.

After a few brief pleasantries, Samael got straight to the point, explaining the purpose of his group's visit. He then looked at the silent Sanzang monk opposite him and asked in a deep voice.

"Since the Holy Covenant War, Mount Ling has been nowhere to be found. Could it be that the three thousand disciples of Leiyin Temple have also disappeared...?"

"As you think, the Buddha has transcended the mundane world and led the monks of Leiyin Temple to travel to the boundless realms."

Sanzang nodded slightly and clasped his hands together in silent worship.

Although he was mentally prepared, Samael was still somewhat disappointed to hear a definite answer from the Buddha's second disciple.

"why?"

He didn't understand.

That Buddha appeared even during the Covenant War, fighting alongside the nine divine generations against the descending predatory star Wilpa.

Unlike the first group of Kunlun Celestials to set out, he should have been well aware of the threats facing Earth.

How can he just leave like this, betraying his teachings of saving all people?

Sanzang, sitting on the futon, pursed his lips, his gaze somber.

"Do you know the story of Maudgalyayana, a disciple of the Buddha?"

Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Samael frowned and shook his head.

Sanzang sighed and, with a sorrowful expression, began to recount the events.

“The Buddha once had a disciple named Maudgalyayana.”

Among the Buddha's disciples, no one could compare to Venerable Maudgalyayana in terms of supernatural powers, and he believed that there was nothing he could not accomplish by using supernatural powers.

Admittedly, the use of supernatural powers is indeed convenient for guiding sentient beings, but it is also a fact that supernatural powers cannot violate the law of cause and effect, cannot overcome karmic retribution, and cannot liberate one from the suffering of birth and death.

Once, Kapilavastu, the Buddha's homeland, was invaded by King Virudhaka of Samila. Initially, the Buddha was moved by his patriotic fervor and wanted to help his country. He sat on the road three times to block Virudhaka's army. However, when Virudhaka encountered the Buddha, although he turned his army away each time, his hatred for revenge and invasion never subsided. The Buddha knew the principle of cause and effect and karma, and that he should put an end to it. After fulfilling his patriotic wish, the Buddha could only let it go.

However, Venerable Maudgalyayana's supernatural powers were not enough to comprehend the endless karmic retribution. After learning that King Virudhaka's army had besieged Kapilavastu, he excitedly reported to the Buddha, "Buddha! Kapilavastu has been invaded by King Virudhaka. In order to rescue the people of the city, we should do our best to help."

The Buddha gazed at Maudgalyayana for a moment, then replied in a compassionate tone, “Maudgalyayana! The Shakya clan suffers the consequences of their past sins; this is the result of collective karma, and you cannot bear it for them! They do not repent of their sins, but remain arrogant and do not change their ways. Like a decaying house, they will eventually collapse!”

After hearing the Buddha's words, Venerable Maudgalyayana knew it was true, but he also thought of his supernatural powers and wanted to use them to rescue the people in the city.

King Virudhaka besieged Kapilavastu with a million-strong army, making it completely impassable. Only Maudgalyayana was able to use his supernatural powers to fly into the city.

Maudgalyayana entered the city and found five hundred outstanding people from the Shakya clan. He took to the air, filled his bowl with their contents, and then flew away.

After leaving the city and reaching a safe area, Maudgalyayana opened the bowl he was holding, intending to release five hundred members of the Shakya clan. However, upon looking inside, Maudgalyayana was horrified to find that all five hundred people hidden in the bowl had turned into blood...

It was only at this point that Venerable Maudgalyayana fully realized that the law of cause and effect taught by the Buddha cannot be violated, and that even with supernatural powers, one cannot defy destiny.

In the end, Maudgalyayana, burdened by karma, also died at the hands of heretics…

As Sanzang revealed this secret, the meditation room fell silent.

Samael remained silent for a long time, then finally murmured to himself thoughtfully.

"It's not that they don't want to, but that they can't?"

I see……

Chapter Twenty-Three: You're a really nice person.

Even so, Samael couldn't help but feel a little emotional after seeing the result before him. He pursed his lips, chuckled, and shook his head.

"If I remember correctly, Buddhism advocates universal salvation, but now it has abandoned all living beings. It seems that the so-called 'universal salvation' is nothing more than this."

"Buddhism also emphasizes the importance of timing in guiding people. If the time is not right, even if you do guide them, it will be ineffective. Even if Venerable Maudgalyayana had supernatural powers, it was all in vain."

Sanzang gently shook his head, explained in a deep voice, and then looked at the bustling street and the everyday life on the other side of the wall, a smile appearing in his eyes.

"However, I believe that one day, all beings will reach the state of enlightenment and transcend this boundless sea of ​​suffering."

"Come on, even Mount Ling is gone..."

Samael picked up his teacup, rolled his eyes at Sanzang who was making empty promises to him, and complained irritably.

"The Buddha is not far away on Mount Ling, for Mount Ling resides only in your heart. Everyone has a pagoda on Mount Ling, so cultivate yourself beneath it."

Tripitaka didn't take it to heart, and recited a verse with a smile, his eyes clear and profound.

"Before the Buddha attained enlightenment, he was merely an ordinary person of the Shakya clan. Only after seeing his true nature and realizing his mind, and attaining Bodhi, was he liberated from the boundless afflictions of the world, thus roaming the infinite with the finite. Why can't all sentient beings do the same?"

Samael paused slightly, a realization dawning on his eyes, and murmured something to himself.

"A Buddha is an enlightened being; a person is an unenlightened Buddha..."

If Heaven does not help people, then the only option is to help themselves.

The ancient snake's somewhat dejected face regained a look of excitement.

Sanzang clasped his hands together and smiled with satisfaction.

“Amitabha, it seems that you have already attained enlightenment.”

Samael snapped out of his daze, nodded slightly, and then looked at the long, black hair draped over the black robe opposite him, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"And what about you, Master?"

Sanzang lifted his untrimmed three thousand strands of hair from his shoulder, shook his head, and chuckled softly.

"I am dull-witted and have not yet attained enlightenment, so it is naturally difficult for me to sever worldly ties..."

"Is it because you never did, or because you were unwilling?"

Samael gazed at the legendary second disciple of Buddha before him, a meaningful expression appearing on his face.

Tripitaka smiled slightly, bowed his head and chanted Buddhist mantras, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The ancient serpent took a deep look at the figure in front of it, and vaguely saw another familiar outline in the sandalwood merit Buddha.

I just saw that person on Kunlun Mountain.

Whether they were celestial beings or Buddhas, some ultimately chose to stay, resolutely heading towards the same fate as this world.

The two sat facing each other on the prayer cushions, exchanged a smile, and a sense of mutual appreciation arose in their hearts.

"Oh, right!"

In an instant, Sanzang seemed to remember something, slapped his forehead, turned around and took out a brocade box from the lotus seat of the Buddha shrine in the meditation room, and handed it to Samael.

Before the Buddha left, he left behind something that you might find useful in the future.

The ancient serpent opened the box, revealing an oval object inside that resembled gold and jade, radiating a warm luster.

While bathing in it, one can faintly hear peaceful Buddhist chants.

Just as Samael was carefully examining the contents of the box, Nezha, who had been roaming around the courtyard, rushed into the house, his brows furrowed in anger.

"Hey, you've gone mad! You actually gave away the Buddha's relics to outsiders!"

Buddha's bone relics?

At this moment, Samael finally understood where Nezha's previous wariness and hostility towards them came from.

The "thing" she was referring to was clearly the Buddhist relics stored at Nalanda University.

After all that, this third prince thought they had come specifically to steal treasure?

Having figured out the key to it, Samael was both amused and exasperated.

However, he intended to return the items to avoid any misunderstanding, but Sanzang firmly shook his head.

“Although the Buddha’s relics belong to Vulture Peak, I have yet to fully comprehend their mysteries. You possess great wisdom, perseverance, and supernatural powers; if I am not mistaken, you are the one the Buddha has chosen for us. Now the time is ripe, and this relic should be returned to its rightful owner and put to its proper use.”

"What's the use of this thing?"

"I don't know either; I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out for yourself."

"So, I hate you guys who like to use cryptic language the most. You say everything, yet you don't say anything at all, and in the end, it seems like any explanation is correct."

Faced with yet another additional puzzle, Samael was at his wit's end and couldn't help but complain with a dark expression.

In the end, however, he accepted the Buddha's relic and prepared to go back and slowly study its mysteries.

Nezha watched helplessly as the Buddha's relic changed hands, repeatedly trying to speak but then stopping himself.

Only after Samael threw the brocade box into the magic circle did the guardian deity, realizing the deed was done, reluctantly withdraw his gaze.

After carefully storing the Buddhist relics, the ancient snake seemed to sense something, looked up, and smiled at Nezha, who was secretly stomping his feet beside it, asking curiously.

"Speaking of the Third Prince, as a guardian deity, why did you choose to stay here instead of following Mount Ling?"

"Anyone who wants to go up to Mount Ling will be under that old geezer's control!"

As he spoke, Nezha curled his lip, a look of vengeful pleasure and self-satisfaction on his face.

Whether it's the Indian deities Nana and Vaishravana, or the Chinese deities Nezha and Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, both origins share a common characteristic.

That means the father and son were at odds. The story of returning bones to the father and flesh to the mother actually happened.

Therefore, this unruly and rebellious third prince naturally refused to associate with his "dog father" and obey his orders and discipline.

This is probably the main reason why Nezha chose to stay in the mortal world.

There was no compassion or sympathy, no sense of mission or ambition, just the simplest and purest personal likes and dislikes.

However, these are also the people who are easiest to please and get along with.

The ancient snake took out a brocade box containing Buddha's relics from the magic array, waved it in front of Nezha, and smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Don't look at me with such fierce eyes. Actually, for you, me taking the Buddha's relics is also doing a good deed."

"Do good things?"

Nezha had a look on his face that said, "You're kidding me," his face full of suspicion. His eyes followed the box's movement unconsciously, and his darting eyes hinted at something malicious, as if he was ready to snatch the box back at any moment.

Samael didn't seem to care and spoke with a smile.