Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 350 Xu Xuan Offers Incense
Above is an image of Ksitigarbha Buddha.

His face was kind, and his eyes revealed boundless compassion and wisdom. He wore an earth-yellow robe, bearing witness to all the suffering of sentient beings. He held a jewel in his left hand and a staff in his right, seated serenely on a thousand-petaled blue lotus.

Below is a demonic monk from the underworld.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes revealed endless rage and demonic power. He wore a long black robe, bearing witness to the darkness of the world. His left hand was empty, his right hand was empty, only a pair of iron fists remained, and he stood on a crimson lotus of fire.

The Buddha and the man gaze at each other.

The atmosphere was very somber.

Standing calmly in place, Xu Xuan was merely looking up at a pioneering enlightened being.

The human world is also hell. It seems there will be no response.

While I was feeling sentimental, I suddenly realized that there was no one behind me, so I turned around.

Huh?
What's the meaning of none of you coming in?
Xu Xuan admitted that he was in a bad mood, and that no one would feel good if someone died.

So I lost control a little bit at the doorway and seemed to scare the other ghosts a bit.

Seeing that the Bodhisattva statue was intact, the Ghost General said nothing more, indicating that as an evil ghost, it was inconvenient for him to go inside.

After all, we have different identities. You are the Demon Monk, so please continue.

Everyone knows that monks are often mysterious and eccentric, and who knows, they might even have some kind of enlightenment.

Zhu Yingtai, Zhang Hua, and Zhang San, on the other hand, were preparing to go inside.

Zhang San?

The Ghost General was stunned. Did the Black Mountain Army have such a brave general?

He reached out and stopped him—was he out of his mind?!
Is this a place a normal ghost can enter?
Just follow me closely, and you'll rise to great heights.

Zhang San successfully climbed the ladder of advancement with his unconventional bravery.

Inside the Ksitigarbha Hall, Xu Xuan allowed Zhu Yingtai and Zhang Hua to move freely, hoping they might encounter some further opportunities.

He silently recited the Ksitigarbha Sutra in his heart.

I didn't feel anything when I was in the mortal world, but when I got to the underworld, I realized how much of a connection I had with this place.

Zhang Hua, Zhang San, and Lu Pan.

These are all the fruits of his labor along the way.

This first volume of the Mahayana Mahasamnipata Ksitigarbha Ten Wheels Sutra is the highest grade of the true Dharma in the human realm.

The reason why Xu Xuan's Pure Land can achieve so many miraculous feats and accommodate the body of a karmic ghost is also due to the power of the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

From the moment I arrived at the City of the Wrongfully Dead, a sense of unseen guidance began to reside in my heart.

The guiding force became even more pronounced when Zhang San mentioned the Ksitigarbha Hall.

On a whim?

Although his physical body was dead, his soul could still feel that inexplicable pull. This was not the first time Xu had encountered such a causal pull.

Therefore, Plan A is to break through the Black Mountain Army's residence, bypass the Ghost General's obstruction, and successfully reach this place to obtain the opportunity.

As for the disappearance of gods and Buddhas, if even the Dragon Subduer could leave behind a body, there's no reason why Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva couldn't leave something behind.

Now, let's see what the Bodhisattva left behind!

Although he often falls into demonic possession, although he doesn't respect Buddhism, although he frequently breaks precepts, although he bears divine retribution, and although he is entangled in karma.

But I am a good monk!

“Even if one were to praise their merits for a hundred kalpas, it would still be insufficient; therefore, they should all be made offerings to.”

Standing in the main hall, I finished reciting the first volume.

got windy.
A cold wind came from beyond the sky, stirring up the ashes that had fallen to the ground. The eternal flame flickered a few times before returning to stillness.

Nothing.

The holy monk sighed, realizing his perception had been flawed. Sure enough, his cultivation technique had malfunctioned after he arrived in the underworld.

Looks like we'll have to use Plan B, but that would be a big problem.

On the other hand, Zhang Hua obediently bowed to the Bodhisattva, rambling on about his sins and repentance.

This is standard behavior of ghosts in the underworld; basically, no one who comes to the Ksitigarbha Temple fails to repent.

Zhu Yingtai seemed to be looking for something, which piqued Xu Xuan's curiosity. "Looking for incense, huh? Who goes into a temple and doesn't burn incense?"

That's true, you're the most normal one among us.

He turned and walked out of the temple to ask the Ghost General for some incense.

Would you like to offer incense to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

The increasingly outrageous actions silenced the ghosts. "Didn't you betray Buddhism?"

"I have never betrayed the sect; I have simply embarked on a path I had not chosen."

This statement was made with such conviction that everyone initially thought it made a lot of sense.

"Besides, burning incense is to commemorate the ancestors, it's a matter of courtesy."

Is it alright to hold a memorial service?
The Ghost General found the monk's demonic nature increasingly terrifying; a sane madman was truly not to be trifled with.

So he immediately ordered his men to fetch some incense from the general's palace, and he made a point of emphasizing that.

"Remember, you have to get the high-quality goods from Fengdu."

"That's awesome."

Ghosts don't have many things to eat, and incense is one of the few good things. As a prominent figure in the Black Mountain Army, she would be considered a strong person even in the eighteenth level of hell.

It's perfectly normal to have some private collections.

When it was delivered, Xu Xuan took a look and exclaimed, "Wow, it really is a high-end product!"

It turned out to be an authentic item from the temple, a precious item blessed by monks. The rich incense smoke and subtle Buddhist aura were immediately noticeable as soon as it was taken out.

The cover also reads – Temple of the Protector of the Nation.

"In the past, it would have been really hard to find such high-end goods."

"Thanks to the intervention of a powerful figure in the mortal realm, the barrier between Yin and Yang seems to have been weakened."

"The two realms are now much closer, with many more small passageways."

The Ghost General inadvertently revealed another piece of information.

Xu Xuan's heart pounded; could that important figure be himself?
"Ahem, I see."

"I'll go burn incense for the Bodhisattva first, and we'll talk later."

They hurriedly returned to the Ksitigarbha Hall and began to offer incense.

When it was Xu Xuan's turn, he hesitated. He thought that with his karma, offering incense to anyone wouldn't be a good thing.

On second thought, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's great vow is to never empty the hells, so the karmic consequences he has incurred with the underworld are even more severe than his own.

We're all people who like to make grand ambitions, so everything will be fine.

Besides, we're already here.

With a gentle flick of the fingers, the karmic fire ignited a fragrant aroma.

The resentment of the violent death merged with the incense in his hand at this moment, and the fragrant smoke, drifting in the air, surrounded the Buddha statue with the power of the nameless force.

"Even after countless eons, hell will not be empty. Is it that you are incapable of becoming a Buddha, or that you do not wish to become one?"

As soon as the words were spoken, time began to slow down.

The wind from the back of Yinshan Mountain stopped in mid-air, along with the nameless ashes.

Zhu Yingtai beside him remained bowing, Zhang Hua continued to look around, and the Black Mountain Army commanders behind him, including the Ghost General, maintained curious expressions.

It was as if the entire world had been frozen in that moment by the great power.

Xu Xuan understood that this was simply a matter of his thought process being stretched out indefinitely. He had been dragged into an unknown place.

A gentle and quiet female voice came from the head of the room.

"Even the Buddha could not save sentient beings, so it's natural that a Bodhisattva who makes a great vow does not want to become a Buddha."

Looking up, the figure above was no longer the deity wearing a Vairocana crown, dressed in an earth-colored robe, and holding a jeweled staff.

Instead, she was a woman dressed in simple clothes, with a kind face, holding prayer beads and scriptures.

Guangmu? One of the four fundamental causes of Ksitigarbha's karma?

(End of this chapter)