ATPnovel Chapter 134 The Era of Great Infrastructure Construction in the Three Realms, Version 2.0!
Chapter 134 The Era of Great Infrastructure Construction in the Three Realms, Version 2.0!
Update released! Book lovers, go read Cola Novels!
Upon hearing Zhao Gongming's words, Subhuti was also stunned.
How can the Buddhist community possibly agree to these two conditions?
Kong Xuan is the son of the Phoenix Mother, and is known as the number one person below the Sage.
I went to great lengths to subdue it, and was even struck by the Five-Colored Divine Light in public, losing my noodles in the process.
As for karma in the underworld, it is all borne by Buddhism. This is a sacred place called the underworld, and karma is not something that can be easily tainted.
If Zhao Gongming hadn't exposed it, the Buddhist sect could have continued to deceive themselves and ignore it.
Now that Zhao Gongming has revealed the truth, as the Emperor of Fengdu, his words carry the weight of the law. The karma of Buddhist disciples in the underworld will be attributed to Buddhism. Such karma may not be apparent in ordinary times, but once the great calamity descends, Buddhism's situation will likely be on par with the Jie Sect during the Investiture of the Gods.
After all, the essence of a great calamity is to end the great calamity in the primordial world. It is reasonable that the Buddhist sect has the most karma, and the three religions jointly attack the Buddhist sect, right?
However, abandoning Ksitigarbha is naturally impossible.
Thinking of this, Subhuti looked at Zhao Gongming and said, "What Your Majesty has said is something that our Buddhist sect cannot do."
Kong Xuan was devoted to Buddhism and became the mount of a sage, thus attaining enlightenment early on. How could there be any limitation on his primordial spirit?
As for our Buddhist sect taking over the underworld, this humble monk knows nothing about it, nor has our Buddhist sect ever done so!
We hope Your Majesty will lift the restrictions on Ksitigarbha!
Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming sneered even more, "What a fine example of being devoted to Buddhism!"
Since that's the case, you, Ksitigarbha of Buddhism, are also wholeheartedly devoted to my Underworld. Since you have made a great vow to maintain order in the Underworld and have gained the approval of the Heavenly Dao, then you are a person of my Underworld!
"If Subhuti releases him without authorization, he will be violating the order of the underworld and the way of Heaven. Even without my intervention, the way of Heaven will not forgive you!"
Zhao Gongming naturally knew Subhuti's ulterior motives and nipped his idea of rescuing Ksitigarbha in the bud.
After confronting Subhuti, Zhao Gongming, seeing no hope of rescuing Kong Xuan, ignored him and immediately sat down in his Nine Dragons Incense Chariot, disappearing from the spot.
Subhuti was still somewhat bewildered, as this was the second time he had experienced the Ziwei Emperor's complete lack of persuasion.
Ironically, he really didn't dare to rescue Ksitigarbha.
As Zhao Gongming said, Ksitigarbha made a great vow: he would not become a Buddha until hell was empty. If he forcibly took him out of the underworld...
That would not only go against Ksitigarbha's wishes, but also against the will of Heaven.
Such karma, let alone his saintly, benevolent corpse, even the saint himself would probably be in serious trouble.
After thinking for a while, Subhuti could only leave dejectedly. This time, the Buddhist sect had suffered a great loss.
Meanwhile, Ksitigarbha, who had arrived in the Nine Netherworld, also successfully met Dipankara.
"May I ask the ancient Buddha, beneath this hell of karmic fire, is there another hell?"
Dipankara, enduring the torment of karmic fire, saw Ksitigarbha and thought he had come to rescue him, which moved him deeply.
Who would have thought that this person, just like himself, would also be trapped here.
He said weakly, "The Hell of Karmic Fire is located below the eighteenth level of hell."
But beneath the fiery hell lies the Nine Nether Hells, where time and light are absent, and perhaps only the spirits of the Nine Netherworlds still exist there today.
"May I ask the ancient Buddha, what are those three things: 聻, 希, and 夷?"
Ksitigarbha clearly hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem and continued to ask questions.
Looking at Ksitigarbha before him, Dipankara was somewhat impressed. "You know nothing, yet you dare to make such a grand vow?"
After a brief silence, Randeng finally spoke: "When a person dies, they become a ghost; when a ghost dies, they become a '聻'; when a '聻' dies, they become a '希'; and when a '希' dies, they become a '夷'."
After Yi died, his true spirit dissipated and vanished completely from the long river of primordial time. Even a saint could not revive him.
Within it, there is nothing that is silent, nothing that is formless; it cannot be seen, it cannot be heard!
Upon hearing Dipankara's words, Ksitigarbha realized that he had indeed acted rashly this time.
Converting ghosts is relatively easy.
That hope is silent and formless; to convert him, one would probably have to resort to the Buddhist supernatural power of telepathy.
However, using supernatural powers consumes an astonishing amount of energy, and even replenishing one's energy is difficult here.
This is an intractable problem!
Looking at the trembling Ksitigarbha before him, Randeng sighed and said, "This matter is not impossible to accomplish. You should convert Xi Yi!"
Although the grand aspirations of Heaven have limitations, as long as one guides others, one will naturally accumulate merit. You can then use this merit to replenish your magical power, and so on in a continuous cycle.
However, there is one thing I need to tell you.
That is the Nine Netherworld. The souls of the dead are not static, but replenished. Those who have passed through the eighteen levels of hell and still do not repent, or whose karmic obstacles are too heavy, will be thrown into this Hell of Karmic Fire. If they still do not repent in this Hell of Karmic Fire, they will be sent to the hell below. In the ten thousand years since I came here, countless souls have been thrown into this place...
Ultimately, there were simply too many creatures in the primordial world. Even if those who refused to repent only made up a tiny fraction, they still amounted to an astronomical number.
Even if Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva were to deliver the souls of the dead, compared to the endless stream of souls being thrown into hell, it would probably be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Ksitigarbha remained silent upon hearing this, only able to sigh in quiet contemplation, "This poor monk is suffering greatly." He then silently buried his head and began to guide the souls of the dead in the underworld.
No one knew of Ksitigarbha's anguish, and naturally, no one cared.
Everyone is very busy.
Especially the sage Nuwa.
After Zhao Gongming left Nuwa Palace, she came to the Earthly Immortal Realm and activated the Demon-Summoning Banner in her hand to gather all the demons in the Earthly Immortal Realm.
Nuwa's efficiency is beyond question. After discussing with the myriad demons, a clear cry arrived outside Ziwei Huan.
"Emperor Ziwei, Her Majesty requests your presence!"
The golden phoenix spoke in a clear, melodious voice, which shocked many of the star lords and righteous gods in the Ziwei Huan.
In the Three Realms, who doesn't know that the Golden Phoenix is the mount of the Sage Nuwa? Right now, the Sage Nuwa has sent her mount to invite her own Emperor Ziwei. What a prestigious position this is!
Even a Heavenly Saint probably wouldn't receive such treatment.
Upon seeing Jin Feng arrive, Zhao Gongming naturally understood what it was about.
After Jian Dan recounted to Jin Feng the unsuccessful attempt to exchange Ksitigarbha for Kong Xuan in the underworld, the two arrived at Nuwa's Palace.
Upon seeing the sage Nuwa, Zhao Gongming went straight to the point: "Your Majesty, has the matter from before been resolved?"
Nuwa said, "Yes, I have already discussed with the prehistoric demon race. The matter of the demon race joining the Shangqing Sect and repairing the earth vein nodes has been settled!"
"Since you've already decided on your arrangements, I'll inform the demon race that you may decide where in the Immortal Realm you'll meet them!"
The so-called consultation between the sage Nuwa and the demon race was actually just a pretext.
She is a Heavenly Saint, and possesses a Demon-Summoning Banner, which ordinary demons cannot disobey.
The main targets of her inquiries were those Great Luo Golden Immortals and even Demon Saints at the Quasi-Saint level. This time, she also prepared a considerable surprise for Zhao Gongming.