If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1238 The World-Honored One, Tathagata
"Master, you can't go back on your word!"

Nezha panicked, jumped up, grabbed Taiyi Tianzun by the neck, and shook his slightly bloated body vigorously.

"Over the years, I have gathered a lot of dirt on Li Jing. Once I become the God of Justice, I will be able to handle the case impartially and even punish a close relative for the greater good."

Let's start by targeting him, using him as a sacrificial lamb to exemplify the new Heavenly Laws, so that even the gods of the Three Realms will revere the new laws. Wouldn't that be a great thing for the country and its people?

"Stop fooling around! You're young, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and you have no dignity. You don't usually pay attention to cultivating your Dao heart, so you don't have much pure spiritual energy on you. Instead, you're surrounded by malevolent energy. You're an evil god, not a 'righteous god'."

Taiyi Tianzun struggled incessantly, but was unable to break free from his disciple's embrace.

As he spoke, he turned his head to carefully examine Yang Jian beside him. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became. He said, "Nephew, I see that you are dignified and imposing. You are very suitable to be a 'God of Justice'!"

Nezha, let your brother Yang Er become the God of Justice, and you join the Ministry of Justice to assist him.

"Me?" Yang Jian was stunned for a moment, then waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle-Master, but I really can't do it."

My position was already awkward; if I became a judicial god, I would inevitably become the target of public criticism.

All the immortals and deities who oppose the new law will be watching me closely.

They would observe my every move, looking for my mistakes, making me very uncomfortable.

Nezha hesitated for a moment, then stopped his neck-hugging attack on his master and slowly said, "I would definitely not be convinced by others, but if my second brother becomes the God of Justice, it wouldn't be much different from me becoming the God of Justice."

"Alas, it's a pity we couldn't take this opportunity to cripple that scoundrel Li Jing."

"Li Jing is much more honest than you. If he has any dirt on you, then you have even more."

If you expose him once, he can expose you ten times over. Do you believe it?
Moreover, he always held the exquisite pagoda in his hand.

Even if you become the god of justice, it still harms you. What can you do?

After offering a few perfunctory words of comfort to his disciple, Taiyi Tianzun said to Yang Jian, "Nephew, I must say, you are much stronger than Nezha."

He wasn't blinded or misled by power, and he was able to think so far ahead.

That's right, whoever takes on this role of 'God of Justice' will surely be resented by all the immortals.

The problem is, if you don't become the God of Justice, all the immortals and gods will surely resent the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor is treacherous and ruthless... cough cough, what I mean is, the Jade Emperor is neither male nor female, and there isn't a single flaw in his body.

Finding His faults directly is more difficult than a mortal attaining the Great Luo realm.

If you can't find Him, you can only look to those around Him.

For example, the princesses and princes in Heaven, and the nephews and nieces outside Heaven, which are you and your siblings.

You cannot escape the fate of being closely watched by the gods and immortals of the Three Realms.

Rather than passively waiting for disaster to strike, it is better to proactively seize judicial power.

If you are ruthless and decisive enough, all the gods will eventually tremble with fear, dread you, and even submit to you.

Even if someone close to you commits a crime someday, the power of judgment and sentencing rests entirely in your hands.

You decide how to rule, and that's how you'll rule. There's practically no room for maneuver here.

Taiyi Tianzun pointed at Nezha and said, "For example, this wicked disciple, if he commits a crime in the future and falls into the hands of other judicial gods, he will most likely have to go to the execution platform."

If you were the God of Justice, how many great demons and monsters would you sentence him to kill to atone for his sins?

What was a near-death experience for other prisoners was something he found sweet and comforting.

For example, a quiet friend or relative of yours might commit a crime.

In name, he was suppressed in some famous mountain or river, but in reality, he was allowed to cultivate in seclusion in a blessed land for hundreds of years.

Nezha cried out, "Master, if we arbitrarily bend the law for personal gain, what is the point of issuing new heavenly rules?"

Taiyi Tianzun laughed, "You finally got one thing right—'We can bend the law for personal gain at will.'"

He emphasized "we," and then chuckled, "Only we can live freely and unrestrainedly under the new rules."

This is the purpose of my and your Antarctic senior brother's efforts to secure the position of 'God of Justice'.

The new Heavenly Laws and Rules can bind everyone in the Three Realms, including the Queen Mother and the Heavenly Emperor.

But how can I, a disciple of the Chan Sect, be the same as others?

Nezha looked conflicted and asked, "Does Grandmaster agree?"

"Why doesn't your grandmaster agree to let my disciples of the Chan Sect roam more freely in the Three Realms?" Taiyi Tianzun asked curiously.

"But wasn't our master supposed to be someone who hated evil and despised people who were morally corrupt?" Nezha murmured.

Taiyi Tianzun said in a deep voice, "Disciple, you haven't figured it out yet!"

Our school values ​​one's background and identity, and only accepts those with exceptional innate qualities, outstanding comprehension, great fortune, and profound virtue.

Since you are already disciples of the Chan Sect, and pillars of the Chan Sect valued by the sect leader.

You must have exceptional talent, comprehension, and moral character.

Since your moral character is so outstanding, why bother restraining you?
Cultivating immortality is about pursuing non-action, naturalness, and carefree freedom.

You should follow your natural inclinations to achieve a state of emptiness, tranquility, and clarity of mind.

Nezha rationally felt that his master's words were a misunderstanding of cause and effect.

But when he thought about his master's past actions and his own, he immediately felt relieved (PS).

This is just the style of their Chan sect!
The Heavenly Court's reforms are a major event that will affect the future of the Three Realms.

At this time, apart from those who were unaware of the matter, many powerful figures were quietly discussing it.

For example, the Western sacred mountain.

Inside the main hall, the Buddha sits at the head of the table.

Guanyin Bodhisattva stood below and recounted the detailed process and final result of today's Heavenly Court meeting.

After listening, Buddha remained expressionless, pondered for a long time, and then slowly said, "The Heavenly Court only granted Buddhism ten divine positions, which is too few."

They are all guardian deities, too low-level, and have no influence in China.

With just these ten 'Western gods,' even if my Vulture Peak were to remain here for ten thousand years, I would never be able to bring Buddhism to the Central Plains.

Guanyin sighed and said, "Only ten guardian positions are already the result of the Jade Emperor's best efforts to secure them for us."

The World Honored One also understood the attitude of the Xuanmen Immortals towards Mount Ling.

They are taking precautions against any potential problems and do not want any Buddhist disciples to enter the "Heavenly Court" of the Xuanmen (Taoist sect).

Not even one.

They deeply resented and could not tolerate the spread of Buddhism in China.

It wasn't just the celestial immortals of the Xuanmen sect; the entire Xuanmen sect was rejecting Mount Ling.

For example, when I left Nantianmen, I met the Great Qin Celestial Master.

He had not yet become an immortal, and he was helping Yu Fengxian sell the Huai River God's position. I offered twice the price he asked for.

As a result, when Taibai Xingjun arrived, that Xuanmen cultivator who had not yet become an immortal dared to directly refuse the price I offered first.

He didn't even know the price offered by Taibai Xingjun before hastily rejecting me and the Buddhist sect." A look of regret flashed in Tathagata's eyes, "The position of the Dragon King of the Huai River is a good opportunity!"
The Huai River is slightly off from the Central Plains and is not as prominent as the Ji River or the Yellow River, but it has great potential.

If one could place one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons in the Huai River, it would be enough to establish a bridgehead for the eastward transmission of Buddhism.

What a pity, what a pity, what a pity.

What price did the Bodhisattva ask for? Twice the price isn't much, ten times would be reasonable too.

Guanyin said, "Two hundred places for 'Heavenly Beings'."

The Buddhist disciples around them let out low gasps of amazement.

Another Arhat whispered, "Two hundred 'Heavenly Beings' are only worth twice the value of a mere River God's position? That can't be right, I think it's more than two hundred times!"

"I thought there were only two hundred spots to enter the Pure Land, but I didn't expect there to be two hundred 'heavenly beings'. It's simply unbelievable."

Faced with the Buddha's and Arhats' incomprehension and doubt, Tathagata explained on behalf of the Bodhisattva: "You are all disciples of the Buddha, therefore you understand the greatness of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and know how supreme and noble the 'heavenly beings' of the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons are."

Unfortunately, the people of the Central Plains do not understand Buddhism and know nothing about Buddhist matters.

They had no idea that the difficulty of ascending to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss far exceeded the difficulty of being enshrined as a ghost or deity in the underworld after death.

They couldn't understand that the "Heavenly Beings" of the Eight Heavenly Dragons could be far more noble than the "Heavenly Kings" of the Heavenly Court, and could command countless gods and govern countless minor and middle worlds.

Alas, they are unwilling to understand Buddhism, so how could they know how precious the price offered by Guanyin was?
And this is precisely why we must spread Buddhism eastward.

If the people of the Central Plains are not allowed to worship the Buddha, how can the Buddha's property—the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss—appreciate in value?
If Lingshan's stock price doesn't appreciate, how can I, as the major shareholder, cash out and leave?

The Buddha looked around at the hundreds of Buddhist disciples in the hall and said in a voice like thunder: "In this world, even the people of the West regard 'being reborn as a citizen of the Central Plains in the next life' as the main purpose of cultivating virtue and accumulating merit in this life."

We must strive harder to make "ascending to the Western Paradise" the sole goal of the people of the Central Plains, and even the most noble among them, in their spiritual cultivation in this lifetime.

The Buddhist disciples and Arhats showed joy and longing on their faces, and exclaimed "Great good!"

"Subduing Dragons and Tigers, you shall select ten Arhats who are skilled in battle and go to the Heavenly Court to serve the Jade Emperor."

The Buddha entrusted the task of selecting the gods to two Arhats, and after giving a few words of encouragement to the Buddhist disciples, he invited Guanyin Bodhisattva to leave the Mahavira Hall and go to the Bamboo Grove Hermitage in the backyard.

“Junior brother, the eastward transmission of Buddhism cannot be delayed any longer. The passage to the western world is very unstable. I fear that a great demon will enter within ten thousand years,” Tathagata said softly.

Guanyin frowned and said, "All things have their rise and fall. I can understand that the Buddhism of Mount Ling will eventually come to an end."

But Buddhism had not yet flourished at this time. Without flourishing, how could there have been a great catastrophe?

"Who says Buddhism didn't flourish? Back then, the West was barren and desolate. Within the vast Western religion, there were only two leaders, and the rest of the disciples were all misfits."

Don't say that your Chan Sect leader looks down on us. My Jie Sect advocates education for all, regardless of aptitude, and we would never accept such people as disciples.

Looking at today, countless elites from the East are coming to the West.

We will also reorganize the 'Western Religion' into 'Buddhism.' Buddhism is now flourishing!" said the Buddha.

"This is the rise of 'Western religions,' not the rise of 'Buddhism.' When Buddhism has completed its eastward transmission, that will be the time when Buddhism reaches its peak and begins to decline. Since Buddhism has not yet spread eastward, we do not need to worry about the 'Great Destruction,'" the Bodhisattva said.

The Buddha sighed, “Even so, we should still spread the Dharma to the East as soon as possible, so as to at least ensure that my fellow disciples and I can ‘return’ to the East. The West is not only barren, but also extremely dangerous, and we cannot stay there for long.”

The Bodhisattva said, "The transmission of the Dharma to the East cannot be rushed, and rushing it will be of no use."

The Buddha asked, "Bodhisattva, on your journey to the East, did you meet Yu Fengxian?"

“I observed her from afar outside Xianyang City for a period of time,” the Bodhisattva said.

The Buddha then asked, "She is also a disciple of my Buddhist school. What level has her Buddhist cultivation reached?"

The Bodhisattva said, “She has strayed from the right path and fallen into the ‘demonic path,’ which is not the same as our Mahayana Buddhism, nor is it the same as Theravada Buddhism.”

It's somewhat like taking a different path from the original Buddhism.

If she establishes a foothold on Mount Ling, she might just create a new faction.

The Buddha said, "There are many sects on Mount Ling, we don't need her. The key is that she is a disciple of my Buddhist sect! Shouldn't she have surpassed the Arhat level by now?"

The Bodhisattva said, "Her level of understanding is very strange. At such a young age and with such limited knowledge, she dares to practice Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism."

After all this repairs, it's still nothing.

If we're talking about spiritual attainment, he's slightly better than an Arhat, but far inferior to the Buddha.

I'll probably never attain Buddhahood in my lifetime. Like me, I'll only ever be a Bodhisattva.

The Buddha waved his hand and said, "You've already treated her as a new 'sect leader,' so why bother about which path she takes to attain enlightenment?"

We only look at her level of understanding.

Since she has surpassed the Arhat in terms of spiritual attainment, she should be given a corresponding 'rank'.

The Bodhisattva understood the Buddha's thoughts.

Whether Yu Fengxian will survive until the end of this great calamity remains to be seen.

Based on their past experience, Yu Fengxian probably won't have a good ending.

At least for now, Grand Tutor Yu's power shakes the land and overshadows the three realms.

With a single thought, she can depose or establish a great god in China.

With just a word from her, she could accomplish something that even Lingshan couldn't achieve with great difficulty, and do it with ease.

She is still a Buddhist disciple in theory.

If she were willing to fully cooperate with Lingshan, Buddhism could be introduced to the East now.

What enormous benefits and temptations this is!

It is perfectly normal for the Buddha to have such thoughts.

But the Bodhisattva also understood Yu Fengxian and knew what kind of person she was.

She even dared to bully, coerce, and insult the Heavenly Emperor.

How much weight did the words of the Buddha of Lingshan carry in her heart?

One should have self-awareness.

"Whatever arrangements the World Honored One has for Yu Fengxian, it's useless to discuss them with me. You need to go find Teacher Randeng," the Bodhisattva said.

"Burning Lamp. Ancient Buddha".

After hesitating for a moment, the Buddha said, "Please ask the Bodhisattva to make a trip to Vulture Peak and persuade Dipankara Buddha to prioritize the greater good."

The Bodhisattva stared at the Tathagata without moving.

After much deliberation, Buddha Tathagata said, "No matter what realm or sect Yu Fengxian belongs to, as long as she is willing to cooperate, she will at least be given a Buddha position in the future."

The Bodhisattva remained still and did not speak.

The Buddha promised benefits again, saying, "When Buddhism spreads eastward, Hinayana Buddhism will also be allowed to enter China."

The Bodhisattva sighed, “The World-Honored One said this because he believed that Mahayana Buddhism must surpass Hinayana Buddhism.”

Teacher Ran Deng disagreed. The Buddha's promise held no value for him, and therefore held no allure.

The Buddha said calmly, "Yu Fengxian hasn't done anything yet!"
"We'll talk again when the ancient Buddha has truly persuaded her, and when she has truly made a great contribution to Mount Ling."

(End of this chapter)