Chapter 638 - 61: Meeting Buddha Again, Visiting the Supreme, Lu Xuan’s Showdown

Chapter 638: Chapter 61: Meeting Buddha Again, Visiting the Supreme, Lu Xuan’s Showdown

Sakyamuni Buddha stared at the Decree that had drifted up from across the Years. He narrowed his eyes and pondered for a long moment before finally deciding to comply.

"Lamp."

He presented the Decree and said softly,

"From this day forward, the position of Past Buddha shall be held by the Jade Pool Non-Birth Golden Buddha. Lamp, you shall abdicate."

Ancient Lamp Buddha raised his head, his face full of sorrow. He nodded slightly, gave the Immortal Mother—who had abandoned the Dao for Buddhism—a deep look, and slowly rose, yielding the Buddha’s throne.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas looked at each other, all remaining silent.

Once the Immortal Mother was seated solemnly on the Past Buddha’s Lotus Platform, and once the great title of "Jade Pool Non-Birth Golden Buddha" was proclaimed throughout the Buddha Country and beyond,

Sakyamuni Buddha placed his palms together and received the second Bodhi Decree that descended from across the Years.

The brilliant golden Decree expanded, suffusing the area with supreme Buddha light that illuminated the entire Great Leiyin Temple!

Upon it, the characters for "Buddha Lord" were written in a powerful and vigorous script. Within each stroke, it was as if Infinite Buddha Lands rose and fell, as if countless Buddhas were chanting scriptures within!

"Proclaim!"

The voice of Ancient Bodhi Buddha boomed forth from the Decree.

"The Buddha Country shall flourish, and the Buddhist Path shall prosper. Sakyamuni Buddha shall be the First Venerable of the Buddha Country. The Jade Pool Non-Birth Golden Buddha, Ah Nan, and Kasyapa shall be the secondary Venerables."

"Under Shakyamuni’s authority, the Golden Buddha, Ah Nan, and Kasyapa shall each hold the East, South, and North territories, respectively. They will co-govern the Buddha Country, share in the great fortune of the Buddhist Path, and be blessed with great power within the Buddha Country and upon the Buddha Land!"

"All matters shall be decided jointly by the four Venerables."

As the great Decree was delivered, the Immortal Mother smiled. Ah Nan and Kasyapa respectfully accepted the order, the great fortune of the Buddhist Path descending upon them, making them shine brilliantly!

Lu Xuan’s expression didn’t change, his face still full of compassion, but in his heart, he understood. ’Bodhi still doesn’t fully trust me...’

Feeling more than half of the Buddhist Path’s fortune being stripped away from this body, he lowered his eyelids slightly. After the Decree dissipated,

Lu Xuan, in the guise of Sakyamuni Buddha, sighed "Amitabha Buddha" and, without explanation, strode out of the Great Leiyin Temple.

He led the two Great Venerables, Ah Nan and Kasyapa, down Spirit Mountain. As they strolled through the Buddha Country and passed by one of the Yuntian Fields, Lu Xuan pointed.

"A farmer works from sunrise to sunset, day after day. It is a dull and tedious life, with no rest all year round. In a whole lifetime, it is difficult for him to ever leave this field and home. If he has children, they too must go off to cultivate their own plot of land once they are grown, and they can rarely see each other... Is this not suffering?"

Ah Nan and Kasyapa exchanged a look of surprise. The former thought for a moment, then followed Lu Xuan’s line of reasoning.

"Toiling in the fields every day with no rest all year, straining one’s muscles and bones, damaging one’s body—this is naturally considered suffering."

Lu Xuan nodded lightly and asked again,

"Where does this suffering come from?"

Venerable Kasyapa answered matter-of-factly,

"It must come from the labor itself."

"Then why does he labor?" Lu Xuan asked again.

Ah Nan and Kasyapa looked at each other. After a moment’s hesitation, the former answered decisively,

"To survive."

"That’s not it, that’s not it at all..."

Lu Xuan placed his palms together and sighed softly.

"The beings of the Buddha Country can abstain from food by chanting scriptures and gain long life by reciting my name. They should possess lifespans surpassing even True Immortals and be able to exist forever without eating or toiling. Why must they still endure such suffering?"

Ah Nan and Kasyapa looked at each other, then bowed in unison.

"We ask the World Honored One to enlighten us!"

They were both originally disciples of Shakyamuni. Although they held the Arhat Fruit Position, it was the rank of Great Arhat.

Both of them were Daluo-level Venerables, standing at the apex of the entire Spirit Mountain Buddha Country. Otherwise, they would not have been appointed as the secondary Venerables of the Buddha Country.

Lu Xuan raised his eyelids, gazing at the middle-aged farmer who was hard at work, and said calmly,

"To accumulate Virtue and cultivate for the next life. This is why he toils his entire existence. The farmer cultivates the Yuntian Fields, planting Buddha Grains as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

These farmers have been virtuous people for at least ten lifetimes. They nourish the fields with their own fate and destiny. A single grain of millet can give birth to a Buddha, and one Buddha can increase the fortune of the Buddhist Path by a fraction..."

Ah Nan mused thoughtfully,

"Planting Buddhas, accumulating Virtue, cultivating for the next life..."

Lu Xuan, still in his guise as Sakyamuni Buddha, sighed once more.

"Do you two know what kind of afterlife they cultivate for themselves?"

Hearing this, Ah Nan and Kasyapa subconsciously looked at the farmers. As Daluo, they could peer through the past and future of the Years, and they immediately understood.

These people, virtuous for ten, even a hundred lifetimes, used their own fortune and destiny to cultivate the Yuntian Fields and plant the Buddha Grains.

After exhausting their fortune and destiny, their Virtue would be at Perfection, and in the next life...

They would become a Buddha grown from a single grain of millet.

"To become a Buddha in a single step, their Virtue reaching Perfection." Ah Nan smiled and said, "My Buddha is compassionate!"

Lu Xuan glanced at him.

"Not so, not so!"

He paused, a look of sorrow on his face, and lowered his eyelids.

"The Buddhas grown from the rice grains do not enter Spirit Mountain, nor do they sit upon a Lotus Platform. They exist to bolster the fortune of our Buddhist Path, and to serve as generals and soldiers in future wars. They are all... pawns."

The color drained from Ah Nan’s and Kasyapa’s faces. This was something they truly did not know; it was a secret. Now, looking at the farmers again and perceiving parts of their fates, they found it was just as he said.

After practicing good deeds for a hundred lifetimes, they exhaust all their fate and destiny to cultivate the Yuntian Fields, the Buddha fields. After finally achieving Perfection in Virtue, they are reborn in the next life as... cannon-fodder Buddhas.

"Why is it like this?!"

Kasyapa looked over, shocked and enraged.

"World Honored One, why?! This practice, this practice..."

Ah Nan, his expression grim, finished the sentence,

"Such an act is anything but compassionate!"

Lu Xuan spoke in a low voice,

"Indeed, it is anything but compassionate..."

"Then, World Honored One, why... why is this happening? Who decreed it?"

After a moment of silence, Lu Xuan didn’t answer, only stating faintly,

"One cultivates Buddhism to deliver all living beings from suffering. But before that, one must first resolve their own tribulations."

A look of confusion appeared on Kasyapa’s face, but he didn’t ask, merely listening quietly.

Lu Xuan continued,

"There is a Supreme Being who, in order to resolve his own tribulations, has passed the calamities he was meant to endure... onto all living beings."

Ah Nan’s and Kasyapa’s expressions changed in unison. ’Passing his own tribulations to all living beings?’

Their minds raced, and they immediately understood.

The suffering these farmers endured... was the suffering of the Supreme Being the World Honored One spoke of!

For every Buddha a farmer grows, the Buddhist Sect’s fortune increases by a fraction. Those who bear the Buddhist Sect’s fortune thus become a fraction stronger... And upon careful consideration, they themselves were all beneficiaries.

The short-tempered Ah Nan immediately demanded,

"World Honored One, who... who are you talking about?"

Lu Xuan gave a silent smile and sighed.

"Compassion, compassion!"

He paid no more attention to Ah Nan and Kasyapa, simply walking toward the farmland. The two great Venerables of the Buddhist Sect stood rooted to the spot in silence.

Sakyamuni Buddha, the First Venerable of the Buddhist Sect. Above him... there were only those three.

The two placed their palms together, looks of sorrow appearing on their faces, and remained speechless for a long time.

Lu Xuan’s last words drifted back to them.

"Buddha was meant to deliver all living beings, but now, it is all living beings who deliver Buddha."

"The path has gone astray."

Ah Nan’s and Kasyapa’s minds were violently shaken.

At this point, Lu Xuan fell completely silent, saying no more, letting them think for themselves. ’These two little guys have truly compassionate hearts.’

Lu Xuan had personally pierced the illusion of the current Buddhist Sect for them, planting a seed. As for whether that seed would sprout...

’That remains to be seen.’

Lost in thought, he slowly walked up to a middle-aged farmer who was tilling a field and placed his palms together.

"Senior, it has been a while."

The [Buddha] wiped the sweat from his brow, put down his hoe, and gave an honest, simple smile.

"I already know why you have come."

.........

「Meanwhile, in the Supreme Celestial Realm.」

Lu Xuan’s true body stood outside Douluo Palace for a long while before finally knocking on the palace gate and walking in.

"Grandpa Lu!"

Lu Jianxue ran forward with a joyful cry. Supreme Laojun, who had been meditating, glanced over with a smile.

"I saw you standing outside the palace for a long time. Did you run into some trouble? Feel free to speak."

Lu Xuan ruffled Lu Jianxue’s hair and, under the reverent gazes of the Golden Horned and Silver Horned brothers, walked over to Supreme Laojun and sat down cross-legged.

He gathered his thoughts, deliberating for a moment longer.

Lu Xuan coughed twice.

"Master, you’d better brace yourself. I have many things to tell you, and for the first thing... you’d better brace yourself a little more!"

Supreme Laojun frowned slightly.

"Xiaoxuan, just say it. I’m here for you."

He thought his disciple had encountered some earth-shattering trouble and even placed a hand on the Eight Trigrams Furnace, ready to lift the lid!

Lu Xuan took a deep breath. ’Better to rip the band-aid off.’ He decided to just lay his cards on the table.

"In the past, your disciple also studied under other masters."