Chapter 344: Chapter 257: I Am the Buddha’s Son, Not a Fool

A dead silence still hung over the scene. Everyone realized something terrible had happened.

A Holy Child, the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva, had died during a Zen Master’s dharma assembly. This was a major incident.

But by comparison, the fact that nothing had happened to the Buddha’s Son was a blessing in disguise.

The death of a Holy Child was a sin, and they could not escape the blame.

But if something had happened to the Buddha’s Son, it would have been a grave sin, an offense from which not even ten thousand deaths could absolve them.

In contrast, the Holy Child was dead while the Buddha’s Son was perfectly fine. This, paradoxically, made the situation more acceptable.

Choosing the lesser of two evils. At this thought, everyone began to calm down.

The Holy Child was already dead. All they could do now was clean up the mess.

The countless Scripture Mantras that had just surged forth suddenly vanished. Immediately after, painful expressions appeared on the faces of many in the inner circle.

In their attempt to intervene and save the Buddha’s Son, they had all, to varying degrees, used methods they believed would be effective.

Although they had ultimately done nothing, the price for their actions now erupted all at once.

The inner circle was thrown into chaos.

There was no way the dharma assembly could continue. The Heaven and Earth Mana that had just been gathered instantly dissipated, and the Zen Masters who were lecturing all stopped what they were doing.

"The dharma assembly is over! Send all who have succumbed to their inner demons to the Precepts Institute!"

The Precepts Institute consisted of the ubiquitous black Zen Rooms. It was a place where those who had succumbed to inner demons from the price they paid, or those burdened by Karmic Fire, had to enter. They could only leave after their minds cleared and they had rediscovered their Buddhist heart.

Seeing this, the people in the outer area all scattered, keeping their distance.

The people who had just tried to act were all Abbot-level figures of the Corpse Transformation path.

If the price for their actions made them lose their minds and go on a killing spree, it wouldn’t be safe even with Zen Masters present.

At this moment, seeing the situation, Yang An suddenly dropped to one knee. Dust emanated from his body, releasing a dangerous aura as his face contorted in pain.

He had, after all, just killed Guang Hui. Now, the price was "acting up" in the same way, causing him unbearable pain.

Even though he was the Buddha’s Son, for the safety of others, he too would have to be confined in the Precepts Institute.

...

"Bodhisattva, the Holy Child Guang Hui was attempting to break through to a new Great Realm. He succumbed to his inner demons during the Tribulation Crossing, and in a state of insanity, tried to kill the Buddha’s Son. Instead, he was killed by the Buddha’s Son. That is the long and short of it."

After the dharma assembly ended, the Zen Masters who had conducted it all went to the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall on their own accord to have an audience with Hai Shu Bodhisattva.

They were there to ask for forgiveness.

A Holy Child had died during the dharma assembly. They bore inescapable responsibility.

However, while they were there to ask for forgiveness, their actual strategy was to pin all the blame on the deceased Guang Hui, framing it as him bringing about his own demise. This would minimize their own connection to the incident as much as possible.

The Holy Child went mad and tried to kill the Buddha’s Son, only to be killed in return. It all just happened too fast for them to stop it.

’Who could have expected a Holy Child to try to kill the Buddha’s Son? What does that have to do with us?’

Besides, the incident had happened in front of everyone. They all saw it. It wasn’t like they were lying.

After listening to the full account of what happened at the dharma assembly, Hai Shu Bodhisattva let out a long sigh. He said nothing more and dismissed them all.

Although a Holy Child had died, they had also witnessed the Buddha’s Son’s terrifying Wisdom Root and talent.

Compared to that, the death of one Holy Child was just that—a death. In any case, Great Virtue Temple was not short on Holy Children.

Nevertheless, he still gave an order to arrange a grand exorcism rite for the Holy Child. In reality, this was to see if the Holy Child’s deceased physical body still had any use.

After all, it was the reincarnated body of a Bodhisattva, different from that of an ordinary person.

After the Zen Masters had all left, the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall returned to its usual state, with only Hai Shu standing guard alone.

Hai Shu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’To leap from the Early Stage of Primordial Feeding to the Late Stage of Visceral Stone... such talent truly lives up to the title of a True Buddha Reincarnation. A pity that the world’s Spiritual Turbidity is in such chaos now. Regaining his former power will be difficult.’

It was a pity, but not entirely without hope.

One could say that everyone in Great Virtue Temple, including Bodhisattvas like himself, was striving to become a True Buddha.

’Lamp Burning... Lamp Burning...’

Murmuring the name, Hai Shu fell deep into thought.

...

The Zen Rooms of the Precepts Institute were an endless, bottomless darkness. A Seal of some kind seemed to be placed on the rooms, preventing even one’s perception from penetrating outside.

Yang An stayed inside a Zen Room of the Precepts Institute for a full day before he was released.

Guang’an, as his Attendant Monk, had been waiting for him outside the Zen Room. The two of them returned to Mingxin Zen Courtyard together.

"His Highness the Buddha Prince, Zen Master Qing Nan has already left the Land of Goodness. But before he left, he asked me to give you a message:

If you have free time in the future, you may return to Cyan Lotus State. The Zen Master will surely welcome you with the utmost hospitality."

’Zen Master Qing Nan has left Great Virtue Temple?’

’Why? Could it be because of what happened at the dharma assembly? Was the fallout that significant?’

Yang An was slightly puzzled.

"I heard that the Golden Thread Pavilion sent more people to take advantage of the void. They infiltrated Cyan Lotus State and incited a Demon Fiend uprising. Zen Master Qing Nan needs to return to defend Cyan Lotus State."

Guang’an was quite knowledgeable when it came to such rumors.

Yang An’s interest was immediately piqued.

He only knew that the Golden Thread Pavilion and the Great Virtue Temple were both hegemons of the Treasure Temple Domain, and that the two were as incompatible as fire and water.

One mountain cannot contain two tigers. Sooner or later, a battle would decide which of them was superior.

However, he knew very little about how the two powers usually clashed.

"Lately, the Golden Thread Pavilion has been repeatedly encroaching on the borders of our Great Virtue Temple’s State Territories, even more so than in the past. Besides instigating Demon Fiend uprisings, they’re even trying to turn some of the powers within the states against us. They want to incite internal strife in the border territories so they can conquer our Great Virtue Temple’s lands."

Guang’an explained, though he added that this wasn’t something he had seen with his own eyes. It was all just rumors circulating within the temple.