Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 327 Sincerely
Ajita Bodhisattva finally revealed his ultimate purpose in coming to find Zhao Yifu.

He said, "Lord of Dreams, the reason I have come to visit you is not only to make friends with such a distinguished person as you, but also to invite you to reside in our Western Paradise."

Zhao Yifu chuckled and said, "Bodhisattva, you've gone a bit too far with what you said. It would be better to explain it more clearly to avoid any misunderstandings."

Ayiduo had intended to be vague, but since Zhao Yifu had spoken up, he had no choice but to clarify.

After all, how could Zhao Yifu not know about his background if others didn't?
So he said, "My intention is to invite the Lord of Dreams to jointly manage the Paradise through the Dream Realm."

Zhao Yifu was slightly taken aback, then suddenly understood something.

This is because he, or the Taoist sect behind him, is worried that during the great calamity, they will cause trouble through the dream world, making the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss a tragic place.

He felt that this was an overreaction, judging others by one's own petty standards.

But seeing Ayidoo's apologetic expression, he realized that this was probably not what he meant.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "In that case, I can let you manage the dreams of all living beings in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

"how?"

Ayidoo perked up and said, "In that case, thank you very much, Lord of Dreams."

Zhao Yifu waved his hand, then revealed some things: "If I hadn't taken control of the Dream Realm, you wouldn't have needed to worry about this at all."

"On the other hand, it's actually me who has caused you some trouble."

How polite!

Ayido felt that being with Zhao Yifu was like a gentle breeze. He could understand things without Ayido having to say them, and Zhao Yifu never made things difficult for him.

In fact, Zhao Yifu's decision to allow the Buddhist sect to control the dream world of the Pure Land was probably just Ayiduo's bottom line for this trip, but at this moment he felt that it was already good enough to achieve this bottom line, and there was no need to strive for anything more.

So he dropped the matter and instead chatted with Zhao Yifu about everything under the sun.

Zhao Yifu, on the other hand, was somewhat unsure. After rambling on for a while, he said, "I wonder how Buddhism deals with hell?"

Ayi sighed and said, "The Taoist sect is preparing to abandon the Heavenly Court, and our Buddhist sect will also have to give up some things."

Zhao Yifu understood upon hearing this.

Originally, hell was a tentacle extended by Buddhism into the Three Realms, intended for spreading its teachings. However, it now seems that this will become Buddhism's Achilles' heel during the great calamity.

Therefore, in such a situation, one has no choice but to make a drastic decision.

As for the one who sits in the underworld, what should be done about him?

Zhao Yifu no longer cared so much.

Within the dream world, a dark and gloomy place silently emerged.

Hell is originally a place where the souls of the dead reside, so the Dream Realm can completely replace Hell when needed!

At this point, the two could no longer continue their conversation.

Ayido chanted a Buddhist prayer and then took his leave.

Zhao Yifu watched them leave before stepping down from the ink-wash pavilion that stretched out from the mountainside.

Before they had walked more than a few steps, they saw that Master Xuandu had actually been sitting on a hillside all along.

He stepped forward and said, "Grandmaster, did you hear everything?"

The Tai Chi diagram above the head of Grandmaster Xuandu is being put away, and the mysterious and profound Bagua energy is gradually disappearing.

Then the patriarch said very kindly, "Hmm, this Ajita is indeed worthy of being the future Buddha; he knows how to get things done."

"Dealing with Buddhists always involves worrying that they will take advantage of you and ask for more, which is always very frustrating. Ajita, on the other hand, knows when to advance and when to retreat."

Zhao Yifu asked in surprise, "The Future Buddha? Isn't that Maitreya Buddha?"

Xuandu said irritably, "Nonsense, Maitreya has always been the name of a Bodhisattva, he hasn't become a Buddha yet."

Zhao Yifu then realized that the so-called 'future Buddha' could only become a Buddha after the 'future' arrived.

Through this conversation, Zhao Yifu vaguely sensed something and asked, "Grandmaster, could it be that when the great calamity descends, it will be the time when Ajita officially becomes the Buddha?"

Xuandu nodded and said, "That is the theory. It is said that the Buddha will fall during the calamity, and Maitreya Bodhisattva will take over the Buddhist sect after the calamity."

"However, it is still unknown what the situation will be after the calamity. I am afraid that the future Buddha's future will never come."

Zhao Yifu listened with slight confusion and said, "But I think the Buddhist sect's measures to deal with the great calamity are quite conservative. At least they can preserve their lineage, right?"

Xuandu said, "That's hard to say. After the Investiture of the Gods, Buddhism went all out for development, and it did indeed grow rapidly and become very powerful. However, they have developed countless followers, and if more and more followers suffer during the calamity, Buddhism, as the protector, will also have to bear a share of the karma..."

"When a great calamity truly arrives, their first consideration will probably be how to bear so much karma."

"Yes, now the Buddha passed away peacefully during the Kalpa of Rebirth. This is probably what they did... What a pity."

Zhao Yifu was even more confused upon hearing this. He asked, "If that's the case, why is the Buddhist community's response so passive? Shouldn't they be more aggressive, or simply take a gamble and go all in?"

He felt that if he were in that situation, he would definitely fight tooth and nail. At the very least, he would try to figure out how to get as many pieces of the Netherworld Boss's 'Holy Remains' as possible…

However, Xuan Du's words transported him to another dimension.

"The Buddhist sect has indeed gone all out; haven't you noticed?"

Zhao Yifu was bewildered. He asked, "Where did this 'go all out' idea come from?"

He genuinely didn't notice.

Then, as if struck by a thought, he asked in return, "The Pure Land of Bliss?"

To everyone's surprise, Xuandu nodded emphatically and said, "It is the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

"This great calamity in the three realms and the desolation of the earth are proof of the meaning of 'extinction' in Buddhism. The gamble that Buddhism is on is that they can preserve the spark of life in the midst of extinction and then guide new life."

"This aligns perfectly with Buddhist teachings, allowing Buddhism to flourish again in the new century after the catastrophe."

Zhao Yifu was momentarily dazed, but then he understood the cause and effect.

Good heavens, this seemingly conservative strategy of Buddhism is actually aimed at continuing its prosperity.

He then realized that if his own Taoist sect's design was followed, everyone would undoubtedly suffer from the five hardships and seven losses, making the tribulation extremely difficult and resulting in heavy losses.

Although everyone suffered a loss, under the same circumstances, it completely interrupted the great momentum of Buddhism, and from then on, it was probably a case of reaching the peak and then declining.

Therefore, their plan is to simply put the world into a state of annihilation, and then annihilate and be reborn!

In this way, it is not a case of decline after reaching its peak, but rather a continuation of glory.

Even in this situation, the abandonment of Hell was probably not a last resort, but a deliberate act to push the world into annihilation.

Zhao Yifu asked, puzzled, "But if that's the case, what method does Buddhism have to persuade us Taoists not to repeat this tragedy?"

Xuan Du clearly knew more secrets. He looked at Zhao Yifu and said, "You have already reached this level, so it is enough for you to know these things."

"Don't make it sound so easy to recreate the past; it's never an easy thing."

"No one knows whether life can be born in the new world after the rebirth..."

"If this move fails, it will be equivalent to the complete end of the Three Realms. Neither the Taoist nor the Buddhist sects will have anything to rely on, and the two groups will be left speechless in the wasteland."

Zhao Yifu understood that this was ultimately related to the number of true spirits remaining in the world.

He also learned that the so-called 'last resort' was actually just the world's last gamble.

Before that, all living beings in the world had already lost.

Zhao Yifu sighed, "That's true. In that case, even if the sages and patriarchs knew about Buddhism's little scheme, they wouldn't care."

"I wonder if our Daoist sages have any countermeasures?"

Xuandu shook his head and said, "I don't know about that, but I suppose everyone has their own methods. After all, a sage can protect some people."

Zhao Yifu nodded in understanding, but he felt that the Taoist saints might not really care about such things.

Xuandu then said, "By the way, your actions to shake the foundation of the Heavenly Court have already begun to show results."

"Well done." Zhao Yifu said in surprise, "So fast?"

He felt that he hadn't even had time to do anything further; the planned "Splitting the World" had only just begun and hadn't been implemented at all...

Xuandu said, "Didn't you previously pull those eight righteous gods into the dream of the Investiture of the Gods?"

"When the dream ended, none of the eight righteous gods who were disciples of the Jie Sect had any motivation to continue serving the Heavenly Court. They were now working sporadically in the heavens, and the Heavenly Court's power had fallen to a low point."

Zhao Yifu was dumbfounded... Good heavens, did he really do this?
Judging from the cause and the result, it seems to be true. But he only tried it once, and the effect was so good?
On the contrary, he was somewhat unsure.

Xuandu smiled and said, "Actually, this is all thanks to that persistent sage in the West."

"He originally wanted to get involved to maintain the conflict between my two senior uncles, but he didn't expect to be tricked by you, kid."

"As a result, the saint experienced countless dreams in the labyrinth you created, and with each dream he experienced, the spirituality of the consciousness within that dream increased."

"Furthermore, with the two senior uncles arguing there, it's as if those disciples of the Jie Sect are once again facing the might of a sage..."

"When they finally awoke from their dream, they had regained most of their will from their previous life."

"The Sage of Tongtian was overjoyed for quite some time because of this."

Zhao Yifu was quite surprised to hear this.

Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Grandmaster, will doing this incur karma?"

Xuandu said, "Cause and effect? ​​You're just making people dream, how can that have any cause and effect?"

"Moreover, the dreams you wove for them originated from their own memories, without any alteration."

"If there is any cause and effect, it is a good cause."

"As for the consequences of destabilizing the Heavenly Court...aren't there three sages causing trouble?"

Zhao Yifu instantly understood that no matter how big a mistake he made, the three sages would have to take the blame.

He asked curiously, "If that's the case, how will the Heavenly Court respond?"

Xuandu said with a laugh, "There's still no good solution. These past two days, Li Changgeng was so anxious that he went to the Tushita Palace to look for his teacher, but unexpectedly, his teacher just told him to go with the flow and sent him away."

"Look, Venus has been looking for me again these past two days, and I couldn't stand it anymore, so I came here to find some peace and quiet..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an old man with white hair and a youthful face appeared in the sky, riding a cloud as if he were running, and arrived near Baiyun Mountain in a flash.

Zhao Yifu turned to look at Xuandu and said, "Grandmaster, this isn't here to see you, is it?"

Xuandu immediately raised a Taiji diagram above his head and said, "Of course not, don't expose me..." As he spoke, he sneakily scurried into a corner.

The picture freezes.

Zhao Yifu has become accustomed to capturing the 'beauty' in life.

A quick sketch instantly formed from within his sleeve.

Then Zhao Yifu felt his sleeve suddenly go empty, and the painting disappeared...

Good guy!
Zhao Yifu blinked. Wasn't he supposed to have gone to Taiqing Heaven for seclusion?!

Sure enough, seclusion is just an excuse to slack off!

Zhao Yifu felt that he had seen through some of the tricks.

So, halfway up the mountain, he once again took out his paintbrush and splashed ink, easily outlining a water-wash path that stretched all the way to the feet of Venus.

The process of this extension was extremely fast. When Venus accidentally stepped onto the path, the situation before him suddenly changed drastically.

He had already entered a world constructed from ink wash painting.

In this monotonous yet uniquely tranquil world, only one road winds its way forward toward a distant mountain.

Before this high mountain, a man sat leisurely by the roadside, waiting for him to arrive.

Venus walked over and breathed a sigh of relief.

Because what awaited him by the roadside was the destination of his journey.

Zhao Yifu asked, "Grandmaster Uncle, is there any important matter that brings you here today?"

Venus was taken aback. He suddenly saw that the immortal mountain in front of him was the only place with color in this black and white world, as if it symbolized the place where his soul belonged.

The road he is walking on symbolizes the difficulties he is facing at this moment.

What does it mean that Zhao Yifu met him halfway through his difficult journey?

Venus suddenly realized: This is a turning point.

He paused for a moment, then clasped his hands and said, "This humble god, Taibai Jinxing, greets the Heavenly King of Prisons."

Zhao Yifu's expression remained unchanged. He simply asked calmly, "Grandmaster Uncle, are you aware that the Heavenly Court may not be able to survive the great calamity?"

Venus smiled and said, "Your Majesty is joking. How could a lowly deity not know of such an important matter?"

Zhao Yifu's expression turned solemn, and he said earnestly, "Grandmaster Uncle is truly virtuous."

At that moment, he understood Venus's thoughts. What he was upholding was not the Heavenly Court before him, but the Heavenly Dao that was fair to the vast majority of beings in the Three Realms.

Or perhaps what he wanted to do was to prolong the time of this Heavenly Dao as much as possible.

Venus's smile turned bitter as he said, "Your Majesty, please don't make fun of this humble god. The Heavenly Court is currently facing a crisis that none of you can resolve."

Zhao Yifu sighed, "Grandmaster Uncle, there's nothing I can do to change anything. The changes in the Heavenly Court today are beyond my control."

He can't bear the blame for a saint's actions.

Venus, with a bitter expression, said, "I know, I know, but the Heavenly King always has a way, after all, the Heavenly King is the direct descendant of the Supreme Purity..."

Zhao Yifu raised his hand to stop Taibai Jinxing from continuing, saying, "Precisely because I am a member of the Taiqing Sect, I would not trouble the Ancestral Master with such a matter at this time."

Venus said, "But this concerns all living beings in the Three Realms..."

Zhao Yifu said, "That's true, but if we're looking at the long term..."

Venus interrupted, saying, "Heavenly King, I am but a lowly deity and can only see what is right now!"

Zhao Yifu seemed to be touched, but when he recalled his own actions, how could they not be for the sake of the common people?
So he said, "Grandmaster Uncle, do you know that the climate in the mortal world is becoming increasingly harsh, and there is less and less land suitable for cultivation?"

Venus said, "I know."

Zhao Yifu asked, "Does Grandmaster Uncle have a solution?"

Venus solemnly said, "If all the gods return to their positions and perform their duties, and use the power of the stars to illuminate the earth, this trend can be slowed down or even reversed in a short time!"

Zhao Yifu then understood that Venus had indeed seriously considered this matter.

He thought about it carefully for a moment, then said, "I wonder if my uncle has considered that while the gods in heaven can indeed coordinate and protect the earth, what if they were to be sent down to the mortal realm when all else fails? Perhaps that would have a miraculous effect?"

Venus was taken aback; he clearly hadn't expected Zhao Yifu to have such a reverse operation.

He said, "But if we do that, won't the Heavenly Court be without anyone?"

Zhao Yifu said, "The Heavenly Court has enough heavenly soldiers and generals."

"Moreover, even if the Heavenly Court collapses under such circumstances, the gods who have scattered to the mortal realm can still use their divine power to protect the region. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Venus was momentarily confused, and when she looked at Zhao Yifu again, she felt as if she were looking at some great demon king.

He felt he was being persuaded... but if he really pushed for it, wouldn't that be the same as him personally dismantling the Heavenly Court?

Zhao Yifu then smiled and said, "Grandmaster Uncle can go back and think about it carefully. After all, there are still at least four hundred years left, aren't there?"

These words were like the voice of a demon, instantly penetrating the depths of Venus's heart.

He gave a wry smile, then turned and stumbled back the way he came.

The ink-wash road had vanished without a trace. He turned back in shock, only to find the mist-shrouded Baiyun Mountain still before him. He had previously only thought the mist on Baiyun Mountain resembled a fairyland, but now, it felt as if it were a painting by Zhao Yifu…

(End of this chapter)