The First Demon of the Chan Sect-Chapter 295 - 241: Verbal Denunciation and Written Criticism, Buddha Transforms into a Demon

Chapter 295: Chapter 241: Verbal Denunciation and Written Criticism, Buddha Transforms into a Demon

(PS: Meow roar, Buddha was once a demon! Panda kneels to beg for subscriptions! Begs for collections! Thank you!)

At the entrance of the Reincarnation Hell, this young Buddhist monk’s body is ablaze with Buddha Light, and the melodious sound of chanting fills the air, illuminating an area of hundreds of miles!

At this moment, the young monk’s appearance had greatly transformed. He wore a Vihara Crown on his head, draped in Buddha Kasaya, holding a tin staff in his left hand and a purple lotus in his right, sitting atop a Ten-Ranked Merit Golden Lotus.

A cluster of Merit Golden Light descended from the sky, touching the crown of Ksitigarbha’s head.

"Patient and unmoving as the great earth, meditation profound and hidden as the secret! Henceforth, I am Ksitigarbha!" The monk caressed his staff, basked in merit, and a burst of seven-colored radiance suddenly exploded from him, appearing holy and compassionate!

"Boom!"

After receiving this merit, Ksitigarbha’s cultivation began to climb steeply, breaking through straight to the Quasi-Saint Realm of severing humanity’s corruption before it came to a halt. Without waiting for All Saints to react, he went straight to the Earthly Palace, falling right before the Six Paths.

Zhunti looked at Jie Yin, eyes revealing an indescribable smile.

Jie Yin bellowed: "Hahaha, Ksitigarbha is truly a saint of the Buddhist Sect! Today, with Ksitigarbha entering the Earthly Palace and taking on a greater role, he is hereby conferred the title of Great Vow Ksitigarbha King Bodhisattva!"

The Three Pure Ones’ expressions tightened, and their bodies suddenly exploded with peerless authority, in an instant pressuring the Western Two Saints.

Primordial said: "Zhunti, for the interests of your Buddhist Sect, you have disregarded the safety of all beings, using the Reincarnation Place as a threat, to buy time for Ksitigarbha’s stationing in the Earthly Palace—this indeed knows no shame!"

However, upon hearing this, Zhunti burst into hearty laughter: "Heavenly Dao has agreed to Ksitigarbha’s vows, henceforth, Ksitigarbha shall be a Buddha of infinite honor in the Earthly Palace! If you forcibly slay Ksitigarbha, you will set a cause and effect with the Heavenly Dao, and when Heavenly Dao inflicts Divine Punishment, you will surely fall. Now that it is a fait accompli, what can you do to the Buddha? Hahahahaha..."

Houtu’s face looked rather unsightly; although she had abandoned the Good Corpse for the sake of all beings, she had also hoped to find a place for the Witch Tribe to secure a stable future. Now with an informant from the Western Teachings in the Earthly Palace, how could she obtain what she wished for?

"Fellow Daoists, we should still enter the Earthly Palace to see!" Netherworld River was also quite embarrassed. The three had expended much effort to fully construct the Earthly Palace, only to have the Western Teachings slip through a loophole, stealing the fruits. This angered Netherworld River.

In contrast, Li Qingming did not get angry; instead, his face showed endless mockery.

Upon entering the Earthly Palace, All Saints saw Ksitigarbha manifest six avatars, namely Tan Tuo Ksitigarbha, Baozhu Ksitigarbha, Bao Yin Ksitigarbha, Chi Di Ksitigarbha, Sunlight Ksitigarbha; each sat in front of the long bridges of the Six Paths, chanting the Ksitigarbha Birth Scripture.

The evil ghosts within the Earthly Palace, who were naturally kind, had been arranged by the ghost soldiers to be reincarnated and gone. Those left were evil spirits and fierce souls who soon after death, devoured and fought amongst each other, all shrouded in black qi, with twisted faces, baring their teeth and claws.

Without the restraint of the ghost soldiers, these fierce souls could not possibly move about in the Earthly Palace.

Ksitigarbha’s Zen Chant was not loud, but that voice seemed to pierce through layers of spatial barriers, directly appearing in the ears of the fierce souls several miles away.

Upon hearing this sound, these fierce souls first felt excruciating headaches and then suddenly lashed out, breaking free from the ghost soldiers’ bindings, flocking towards the avatars of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.

Ksitigarbha sat steadily on the lotus dais, reciting the Ksitigarbha Birth Scripture. Instantly, mesmerizing golden Buddha lights spilled out from Ksitigarbha’s body. Those ghosts that were enveloped by the golden light saw the black qi on their faces dissipate, revealing their true countenances.

With malevolence removed from their faces, under the golden light, those fierce souls revealed expressions of liberation, gathering around Ksitigarbha, calmly listening to his preaching, not even glancing at the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The yin sha energy on them also grew less and less until it finally transformed into Infinite Buddha Light.

Meanwhile, influenced by Ksitigarbha’s chanting, other ghosts from all around the Earthly Palace started to approach him one after another.

These initial fierce souls, upon practicing the Buddhist teachings passed down by Ksitigarbha, found that they could also help convert Evil Ghosts; and for each conversion, they gained some merit, hence they helped attract more souls to Ksitigarbha.

However, as more and more fierce souls were converted and began to practice the supreme Buddhist teachings bestowed by Ksitigarbha, their names began to gradually vanish from the Book of Life and Death. Some even condensed into tangible forms, cultivating a Buddhist golden body.

Jie Yin and Zhunti wore smiles on their faces as they looked at Ksitigarbha, their eyes unable to hide their triumph.

Li Qingming paid no attention to those shameless Western Saints and went forward, saying: "Fellow Daoist, is your action in accordance with Heaven’s Will?"

Ksitigarbha looked up at Li Qingming, and immediately got a shock, Li Qingming’s Tongtian-swallowing Divine Ability still imprinted in his mind. Immediately, he greeted Li Qingming with a Buddha bow, saying: "Amitabha Buddha! With the compassionate heart of Buddhism, this humble monk guides and transforms the fierce souls and spirits. Naturally, it is in accordance with the Heavenly Dao!"

Hearing Ksitigarbha’s words, Li Qingming was stunned, then coldly chuckled and said: "You have transformed all the souls of living beings into disciples of Buddhism. Wouldn’t all beings be able, then, to reincarnate without basing it on their past deeds as recorded in the Book of Life and Death? At that time, the deeds of beings will become pointless, and the distinction between good and evil will cease to exist. On what basis will my Earthly Palace determine the fates of beings in their next lives? With the confusion of good and evil, won’t the living beings be in complete disarray? Do you really think that you are acting in accordance with the Heavenly Dao?"

Ksitigarbha’s face turned deathly pale upon hearing this, his body surrounded by surging golden Buddha light, on the verge of breaking apart at any moment.

The Western Two Saints, upon hearing this, cursed inwardly. Zhunti was furious, his face turning red with rage: "Qingmingzi spouts nonsense! Our Buddhist Sect naturally has its scales when guiding all beings. It’s none of your business to point fingers in front of Buddhism!"

Li Qingming glanced at Zhunti and said indifferently to Ksitigarbha: "Do you know what place this Hell is? Hell is the place where countless souls of the Three Realms come to rest after death. Only when Heaven and Earth bestow Infinite Tribulations, and Primordial returns to Chaos, or when every person in the world becomes immortal and avoids the path of Dao, will Hell be empty!"

Ksitigarbha opened his mouth, feeling a coldness throughout his body, his hands suddenly weak. The ambition he had just built up collapsed at that moment.

Li Qingming, seeing his reaction, did not care for him but continued: "This Earthly Palace’s Six Paths of Reincarnation is an essential part of the operation of the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao will never allow this reincarnation place, which holds all the lonely ghosts and spirits of the world, to become empty. In other words, you Ksitigarbha will never be able to empty Hell, not only will your cultivation make no progress, but you will also never become a Buddha."

Ksitigarbha collapsed to the ground, his face withered, muttering to himself: "Impossible, how could this be? The Master clearly told me, as long as I follow the method taught by the Master and make a vow to the Heavenly Dao. When Hell is empty, that’s when I become a Buddha! How could this be, you’re lying to me, aren’t you? You’re lying!"

Li Qingming looked at the Western Two Saints, gave a chilling smile, and then threw another bombshell: "Even if you are lucky and Hell is emptied by you, what awaits you is probably not a reward of merit from the Heavenly Dao, but Divine Punishment! An unprecedented Divine Punishment!"

Jie Yin and Zhunti, hearing this, instantly turned pale, and somewhat weakly retorted: "Qingmingzi, how can you speculate on the operations of the Heavenly Dao? Stop bewildering our disciple. Otherwise, don’t blame me, Buddha, for being ruthless!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Ksitigarbha went completely mad, shouting loudly, with his crown chakra fully opened, Buddha light surging from the Heavenly Spirit, a golden Buddha with sixty-two arms sat on the golden light above, his mouth continuously chanting the Ksitigarbha’s Original Vows. Numerous souls surrounded him, rushing ferociously towards his golden body. With a smile, the golden body Buddha instantly devoured thousands of souls.

The golden body Buddha gradually emitted a bizarre light, the originally bright golden radiance began to turn dark from the head.

The thick, nearly unchangeable dark light grew more intense until it spread to every inch of skin and every bone of the sixty-foot golden body. Even Ksitigarbha, who had collapsed to the ground, was engulfed by the dark light. In an instant, all light was gone from the Earthly Palace, and darkness took over everything!

"Boom!"

The darkness cleared, and the moonlight once again shone upon the earth. There was no more sixty-foot Buddha Golden Body, no more Ksitigarbha.

Under the silver moonlight, a figure about ten feet tall stood abruptly, with a majestic atmosphere soaring to the sky. His head was enveloped in a mass of black qi, his upper body bare, revealing a robust physique, with a complex Tao Rune scroll covering most of the exposed skin. The color of that skin was black, as rich as ink.

Jie Yin’s expression drastically changed, looking at the thoroughly dark figure exuding an overwhelming Demonic Qi, he shouted in hatred: "Luo Hou? You again! What exactly have you done to Ksitigarbha?"

The figure then waved away the black mist from his face, revealing a face almost identical to Ksitigarbha, and said with an evil smile: "Luo Hou? No, Master! Your disciple is still Ksitigarbha, the Great Vow Ksitigarbha King Bodhisattva!"

Zhunti’s face changed dramatically, he yelled: "You are not Ksitigarbha, who are you?"

Ksitigarbha laughed self-deprecatingly, saying: "Master, oh Master! Your disciple, born in Kutuo Country of the West, was intelligent from a young age, but was ridiculed by my tribe for leaving the territory! The Master wandered the West, took pity on the disciple’s sorrowful life, and taught me deeply for thousands of years..."

Li Qingming watched Ksitigarbha who was talking to himself with some surprise, vaguely understanding that this person might have been invaded by Demonic Qi and fallen into madness.

The Demonic Qi mentioned here does not refer to that which comes from the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou.

In the initial judgment of Primordial Chaos, boundless Spiritual Energy existed between Heaven and Earth. Xuan Qi, Buddha Energy, Demonic Qi, Demon Qi... various kinds of Spiritual Energy were abundant. At that time, the bodies of Chaotic Demon Gods were strong, and they mastered the power of their innate laws, usually merely drawing external Spiritual Energy for attacks.

It was after the Pan Gu God created Heaven and Earth that external drawing was replaced by internal absorption, the pervasive gathering of the world’s Spiritual Energy into an energy suitable for living beings to absorb.

At this moment, the situation with Ksitigarbha is that he has absorbed Demonic Qi, turning Buddha into Demon! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)