I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Chapter 23: Pray to the Gods at the Lingtai and receive spiritual response

It is said that the Fire Spirit Immortal seized the Tianci Temple and ordered all the monks to remove all the Buddha statues, Dharma bodies, and altars.

He also replaced all the Buddha statues, Dharma bodies, and altars in Tianci Temple and Guangci Prefecture with his own altar, and enjoyed the incense and worship of all the sentient beings in Guangci Prefecture alone.

Moreover, the Fire Spirit Immortal was well versed in Buddhist principles. He preached the scriptures everywhere, subdued evil spirits, and saved the poor. In less than three months, he had attracted most of the believers.

However, resentment was also growing in Guangci Prefecture, simply because the Fire Spirit Immortal had seized the Buddhist temple and detained the monks, which aroused dissatisfaction among the majority of extremely devout Buddhist believers.

As a result, in Guangci Palace, there were quarrels and conflicts between the followers of Fire Spirit Immortal and the followers of Buddhism every day.

Although the monks in Guangci Prefecture were detained, whenever they found a chance they would secretly worship the Buddhas and pray to the Bodhisattvas, appealing the matter and praying to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bestow their magical powers or send Arhats and Vajra to subdue the demons and bring Guangci Prefecture back to the right path.

However, no matter how the monks prayed, none of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Vajras responded. If this happened in other continents, it might be a reasonable explanation, but in Xiniuhe Continent, it was extremely unusual.

In Lingtai Mountain, Zhuang Yan felt something in his heart. When he looked up, he saw the resentment lingering in the sky above Guangci Mansion.

As the main god of all the mountains, rivers and veins in Guangci Prefecture, this abnormal situation naturally attracted Zhuang Yan's attention.

After thinking about it, Zhuang Yan issued a decree to summon the land god of Xiaotian Village to the mountain temple.

"Greetings to the mountain god." The land god of Oda Village emerged from the ground and bowed to Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan waved his hand and asked, "There has been so much resentment in Guangci Mansion lately. What's the reason?"

Upon hearing this, the landowner of Xiaotian Village immediately smiled and said, "Reporting to the mountain god, it was the Fire Spirit Immortal who occupied the Tianci Temple and replaced all the Buddha and Bodhisattva statues in Guangci Palace with his own, snatching the incense from the Buddhist sect. This caused dissatisfaction among the Buddhist believers. There have been many conflicts between the believers on both sides in recent days, which is why there is so much resentment."

Zhuang Yan asked in astonishment, "Where is the origin of that Fire Spirit Immortal? How dare he seize the incense offerings from Buddhist temples?"

The land god of Xiaotian Village said, "I have been the land god of Guangci Prefecture for more than 600 years, and I have heard a little about the Fire Spirit Immortal. She is a spiritual fire in the world, and later she went through hardships and practiced to become an immortal. Although she is proficient in Buddhism, she has not joined the Buddhist sect. It's just that this time she seized the incense of the Buddhist temple, but I don't know why."

Zhuang Yan asked, "This Western Niu He Continent is full of Buddhist countries, and if you look up you can see the Western Paradise. Don't the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas care about that?"

The landowner of Xiaotian Village scratched his head and said, "The affairs of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are not something that I can know."

At this point, the land god of Xiaotian Village glanced at Zhuang Yan and said, "Mountain God, in my opinion, this matter is very strange, and it is a matter within the Buddhist sect. Well, it has nothing to do with us, so you don't need to care about it."

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "I understand. You can go back first."

"Yes, I'll take my leave." The land god of Oda Village bowed, then turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the underground.

Afterwards, Zhuang Yan took out the Jade Book of the Mountain God's Mansion. Since he was promoted to the seventh-rank immortal official and dominated all the mountains, rivers and land veins of Guangci Prefecture, the land gods from all over the country archived the documents in the Jade Book of the Land for the past ten years and submitted them to the Jade Book of the Mountain God.

Zhuang Yan just checked casually and found the cave where the Fire Spirit Immortal had lived before, which was located in Jiyang Mountain.

Zhuang Yan put away the jade book, took out the Thousand Light Cloud Talisman, rode on the cloud light to fly out of Lingtai Mountain, and landed outside the Fire Spirit Cave on Jiyang Mountain an hour later.

At this time, the door of the Fire Spirit Cave was wide open and no one was living there. Zhuang Yan walked straight in and felt that the fire spirit energy inside was very strong and hot.

The cave was filled with stone tables, stone benches and a stone couch, and nothing else.

Zhuang Yan looked around the cave, then issued a divine command to summon the local land god.

As soon as the land god appeared, he saw Zhuang Yan and immediately bowed, saying, "I am the land god of Jiyang Mountain. I pay my respects to the mountain god."

Zhuang Yan asked, "Land God, do you know where this is?" The land god of Jiyang Mountain said, "Mountain God, this is the Fire Spirit Cave, the cave where the Fire Spirit Immortal practiced in seclusion before."

Zhuang Yan asked again: "Then do you know where she went?"

"I know." The Jiyang Mountain land god replied, "The Fire Spirit Immortal has occupied the Tianci Temple and is now receiving incense in the temple."

Zhuang Yan asked, "How much do you know about this Fire Spirit Immortal? What is his personality like?"

The Jiyang Mountain Land God said, "Mountain God, I am quite familiar with this Fire Spirit Immortal. Although she is at the Earthly Immortal level, the 'Xuan Yang True Fire' she cultivates is extremely powerful. Even ordinary Xuan Immortals are no match for her. Moreover, she has studied Buddhism deeply, has a kind heart, treats people politely, and often helps others in need. Haha. I am ashamed. I have been helped by Fire Spirit Immortal many times. But she came down the mountain this time to seize the incense of the Buddhist temple. I don't know the reason."

After listening to the Jiyang Mountain God's story, Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. You can go back first."

The Jiyang Mountain God immediately bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."

After Zhuang Yan came out of the Fire Spirit Cave, he once again looked up at the lingering resentment in the sky, then rode on the clouds and returned to Lingtai Mountain.

Back in the mountain temple, Zhuang Yan fell into deep thought. From the stories told by the land gods of Xiaotian Village and Jiyang Mountain, it seemed that this Fire Spirit Fairy was not an evil person. On the contrary, she had profound knowledge of Buddhism and was kind-hearted.

But why did they suddenly seize the Buddhist temple and seize the incense offerings from the believers? There must be a hidden reason.

But no matter what hatred the two families have, or what hidden stories are behind them, as the Lingtai Mountain God who dominates the mountains, rivers and land of Guangci Prefecture, Zhuang Yan will definitely not allow any trouble to happen under his nose.

...

At the same time, in the backyard of Tianci Temple, Elder Guangde, who was still the abbot of Tianci Temple, finally received a response from Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva after praying devoutly day and night.

He felt something in his heart and opened his eyes suddenly, and saw a breeze blowing the leaves outside the house.

The leaves fluttered down and formed eight large characters on the ground in the courtyard. Elder Guangde looked at them hastily and saw that the eight characters were:

"If you pray to the gods at the altar, they will respond."

After a moment, another gust of wind blew, ruffling the leaves and erasing the words.

Elder Guangde's anxious and sad face finally calmed down. He put his hands together and murmured, "Buddha, have mercy on me."

As for why the Bodhisattvas did not care about the affairs of Guangci Mansion, Elder Guangde knew it clearly in his mind. Even though the Fire Spirit Immortal occupied the temple, detained the monks, and enjoyed the incense of Guangci Mansion alone, the truth was on the Fire Spirit Immortal's side.

As long as the Fire Spirit Immortal does not kill Buddhist disciples with his own hands and does not commit crimes and harm living beings, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and Vajras have no reason to stop the Fire Spirit Immortal.

The source of this matter lies in the promise that Samantabhadra Bodhisattva made to the Fire Spirit Immortal. As long as this promise exists and as long as the Fire Spirit Immortal does no evil, the Bodhisattvas will not be able to do anything.

In a word, Buddhism had made a promise to the Fire Spirit Immortal first, so Buddhism is not right in this matter.

But Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva showed Elder Guangde a clear way. Although the Buddhist saints were unable to bring themselves to take care of the matter due to their promises, the Heavenly Court had not made any promises to the Fire Spirit Immortal.

"It seems that Avalokitesvara wants me to report to the Human World Department and ask the Demon-Subduing Immortal of the Human World Department to come down and subdue the Fire Spirit Immortal." Elder Guangde thought to himself.

It just so happened that he had friendships with all the land gods within a thousand miles of Tianci Temple. All he had to do was send a message to them and ask them to report to the human world on his behalf!

After figuring it out, Elder Guangde immediately began to write a petition requesting the gods to subdue the demons, and tried to find a way to pass it to the land gods.

(End of this chapter)