Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 750 Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other
The fire of karma burns away sins; the deeper the obsession, the brighter it burns!

When the fear reached its peak, the ghost tide finally stopped.

Those originally ferocious and violent demons now cowered on the outer edge of the sea of ​​fire, not daring to take another step. For the first time, fear appeared in their scarlet eyes.

Xu Xuan stood in the middle of the sea of ​​fire, his back view like that of a god or a demon, the karmic fire rising and falling at his feet as if in submission.

Wang Shusheng swallowed hard. Was this a deity, a monk, or a demon?
Xu Xuan turned back and smiled, half his face illuminated by the firelight, the other half hidden in shadow:

"As long as I am here, no ghost can harm you."

Qilicha was overjoyed. Yes, yes.

This is how I imagine the Heavenly Demon King to be: so mighty and domineering, so evil and ruthless, so seemingly benevolent but actually malevolent.

The flames of destruction gradually died down, and the wilderness returned to its deathly silence.

Xu Xuan suppressed his aura, his brows furrowed: "This place harbors extreme hatred for Buddhism; we must keep a low profile from now on..."

He always felt that he had touched a taboo—why would the ghosts of Jambudvipa hate Buddhism so much?
But now is not the time to delve into it.

"Ahem, everyone get ready." Xu Xuan clapped his hands, instantly switching back to reliable captain mode. "We're going to the ghost city to gather intelligence and ask the 'ghost folks' here if they've ever seen a city appear out of thin air."

He paused and added:
"Remember—be low-key and discreet."

One day later.

Swords and spears stirred up trouble, and fires burned down the city walls.

The murderous aura had spread throughout the entire squad.

It's all because the demons and monsters here are too evil.

I thought the ghosts of Kyushu were already troublesome enough, but the ghosts of Jambudvipa are going to raise the difficulty level several notches.

The ghosts here, in terms of blessings, lifespan, and cultivation environment, are indeed inferior to those in other places, and even far inferior to the beings of the Nine Provinces.

But there's one thing—an obsession.

The ghosts of Jambudvipa are deeply obsessed and filled with boundless resentment.

The Buddha once said that although the beings of this continent live in the five defiled worlds, they are more likely to attain enlightenment because of their superior qualities of "courage," "mindfulness," and "pure conduct."

Courageous – those with deep convictions refuse to succumb to despair and dare to defy fate.

Memories of past lives linger, entangled by cause and effect, making the suffering of encountering those one hates even greater.

Brahma-pāramitā – Even if one falls into the realm of ghosts, one still has the desire to seek the Tao, and may even cultivate oneself into a ghost immortal in a ghost body.

“No wonder the Buddha favored this world,” Xu Xuan murmured to himself. “The lotus rises from the mud unsullied, but without the mud, how could the lotus’s purity be revealed?”

Souls burdened with deep attachments in this world often drift to Jambudvipa (the southern continent).

The ghosts here are not ordinary wandering spirits, but "spirit ghosts" with strong obsessions.

Emperor Ghosts – In life, they reigned supreme and dominated; after death, they are unwilling to be reincarnated, fearing they will be reborn as pigs, dogs, or insects. They prefer to remain in the underworld to continue their tyranny and dominance.

The Ghost Generals – valiant generals who died on the battlefield, their lingering obsessions turning them into ghostly soldiers and generals, still practicing battle formations.

A lovelorn ghost—unresolved in a karmic entanglement, lingering on and on, even able to borrow the bodies of the living to continue their bond.

Vengeful spirits—those who died violently, their resentment soaring to the heavens, transforming into vengeful ghosts, vowing revenge.

These ghosts are far more difficult to deal with than ordinary spirits.

This continent also has a perilous place called Iron Enclosure Mountain, a place where yin energy gathers and a breeding ground for "spirits".

Unlike ordinary ghosts, spirits can interact with the fortunes of the human world and can even possess living people to cultivate their own destiny. Some spirits can even manifest in the mortal realm, walking among ordinary people indistinguishable from them.

In short, the ghosts in this place are generally awesome.

On the third day after landing in Jambudvipa, the Justice Squad had already repelled more than a dozen attacks by demons and monsters.

"There really are ghosts who would try to kill me just because I glanced at them a little longer..." Xiaoqing shook the black blood off her twin swords, speechless.

She is the dignified Water Goddess of Taihu Lake, her whole body radiating precious light. Ordinary demons and ghosts would be terrified and their souls would be scattered just by getting close to her.

Not to mention the terrifying power of the demonic sword in his hand; a single strike would shatter one's soul.

But the ghosts here are not only unafraid, they even dare to bar their teeth and rush up, which is truly remarkable.

You Feng's costume was completely stained dark red, not with dye, but with ghost blood.

She was already deeply malevolent, and now her killing intent surged even higher. With a flick of her long sleeves, she shredded three ferocious ghosts that lunged at her. But the ghosts continued to attack, as if her slaughter only fueled their ferocity.

Wang Shunsheng huddled in the middle of the group, his face deathly pale. He had a naturally "easy-to-bully" appearance, and in this godforsaken place, he was practically a walking piece of fat meat, almost always the first one targeted.

In just three days, he has experienced all sorts of terrifying encounters, and now he looks at everything with trepidation.

If one were to describe it, this place has been completely assimilated by the people of Guobei.

The only two people in the group who remained relatively calm were Xu Xuan and Zhang Hua.

Zhang Hua's presence was so faint that even ghosts could easily overlook him. Several times, ghosts passed by him without even noticing that there was a ghost standing there. This might be a special talent of the "driver" profession.

Xu Xuan, on the other hand, relied on the power of the White Lotus.

He doesn't need to lift a finger; he can simply stand still, and the pure white lotus energy around him will drive the nearby ghosts into a frenzy.

They will fight each other for the right to "devour Xu Xuan", and eventually turn to ashes in the karmic fire.

This is a supernatural skill that requires much less effort than punching or wielding a sword.

In just a few days, they have already "exorcised" seven ghost towns.

Despite being secretly investigating intelligence, conflicts always arise, fights break out every time, and the conflict escalates every time.

Xu Xuan stood before the burning city gate, gazing at the towering flames, his expression indifferent.

He wasn't some merciful saint; ever since the battle in Guobei County, he had entered a new world, showing no mercy to the evil spirits of the city. He had no psychological burden, no moral baggage.

Killing demons? No, this is called purification.

Unfortunately, the Pure Land School does not recognize such an efficient method of "deliverance".

According to orthodox Buddhist teachings, the salvation of the deceased requires compassion, chanting scriptures and reciting Buddha's name to guide the soul to rebirth in the Pure Land. Xu Xuan's practice of "directly causing the ghost's soul to physically dissipate" clearly does not conform to orthodox doctrine.

“If the Pure Land School accepts my approach, given the number of ghosts I have helped to be liberated, I should have already achieved perfect merit and ascended to heaven on the spot.”

Fahai's regret was that this doctrine was not convenient to promote.

As they walked around, thanks to the increasingly open methods of someone, they actually managed to glean some information, though they didn't know if it was true or false.

However, the sudden appearance of a city was enough to change the direction of their advance. As long as You Feng could confirm that it was the Yin-Yang Dharma Realm, then the subsequent task of recruiting people would be simple.

However, the more Xu Xuan learned about Jambudvipa, the more his heart sank.

There are too many traces of Buddhism here.

Temples, Buddhist artifacts, statues, and remnants of various religious ceremonies are scattered throughout the wilderness and the capital, suggesting that this place must have once been a center of Buddhism.

just
Looking around, collapsed temples, broken Buddha statues, and overgrown pagodas... This place is clearly in the south, yet it inexplicably reminds one of the "end of Dharma" at the foot of Mount Ling—a legend that when Buddhism declines, demons run rampant and Buddhas retreat.

Xu Xuan, having withdrawn the karmic fire, said:
"Amitabha."

"Although this place is in the south, it has the same chaotic scene as the foot of Mount Ling, and is not as peaceful as our Central Plains."

Just as the Pure Land School aspires to purify Yunmengze to elevate the Dharma.

It's clear that the Buddhist community really wanted to perform a ritual here to improve their fortune, but unfortunately, they failed.

Xu Xuan's gaze fell on the Buddha head that had rolled to the corner of the wall.

The Buddha's face was compassionate, with a smile on its lips, but its half-closed eyes seemed to be gazing at everyone with an eerie sense of pity.

"Is this... the Bodhisattva of Sunlight?"

My heart shuddered.

That's a terrible answer.

The Bodhisattva of Sunlight is an attendant of the Medicine Buddha, symbolizing wisdom and light. Yet now, His head has been forcibly torn off His lotus throne and left in the ruins.

They even dared to destroy the statues of Bodhisattvas; the ghosts here have gone completely mad.

To see the whole leopard from a single spot, even the temples of Buddhism and Taoism in the eighteen levels of hell have not suffered such damage.

“Although this place is Jambudvipa, it is more evil than the eighteen levels of hell.” Xu Xuan frowned and said, “At least the evil ghosts in hell know to respect gods and Buddhas, but the ghosts here… are fearless, ignorant, and lawless.”

Xiaoqing took out a fresh tortoise shell, and after it was ignited by a raging fire, she said, "This place is extremely ominous! All directions are ominous."

They then took out all sorts of strange and unusual props and started fiddling with them, concluding that all four directions were dead zones.

The deputy captain wondered if they could speed things up a bit or use more force in this situation; she was a little scared.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer." The righteous captain decisively adopted the suggestion, "Find the Yin-Yang Realm as soon as possible, and if we can't find it... then go directly to the Avici Hell."

His calm and composed tone suggested he had everything under control, and even Wang Shusheng was moved by his confidence and nodded in agreement.

In reality, Xu Xuan was extremely panicked.

The strangeness of this place far exceeded his expectations, and he certainly didn't want to inexplicably trigger some epic dungeon like "The Mystery of the Bodhisattva's Fall".

After all, this prelude is rather unusual.
As they passed by an abandoned Ksitigarbha Temple, Xiaoqing killed the corpse puppet abbot who was entrenched there with a single sword strike—it was a mummified corpse wearing a kasaya with rotting Buddhist beads around its neck.

The group decided to take a short rest. Wang Shunsheng was already exhausted; his soul strength was far inferior to that of Zhu Yingtai, a "ruthless person whose heart was so big even after death." If they continued to struggle, he might be annihilated.

"As always, we burn incense at temples." Xu Xuan took out an incense stick, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner.

As a result, this burning caused an accident.

The Ksitigarbha Sutra, which he held in his arms as a protective mirror, suddenly trembled violently, as if it had resonated with some kind of being.

Xu Xuan silently took out the scripture, and the golden characters on the scripture lit up one by one, emitting a soft yet undeniable light.

The scroll of scripture that Guangmu gave him back then is now resonating with Jambudvipa (the southern continent).

Xu Xuan took a deep breath, knowing that he had been enlightened by the Bodhisattva, and quickly made arrangements:
"Zhang Hua placed the examination office in an open space, ready to take off at any time."

"Keep an eye on You Feng and Wang Shunsheng, don't let them run around."

"Xiaoqing, you protect me. If things go wrong, pick me up and run."

He paused and added:
"If you can't escape, head a thousand miles south and throw me straight into the deepest hell, then have your sister come and get me."

Xiaoqing's lips twitched: "You've arranged everything so clearly..."

The Holy Father sighed: "There are many blessings, but also many calamities. Who knows if this is an opportunity or a death sentence? But as long as we don't die completely, there is always a chance to turn things around."

He had a premonition that this was an unavoidable cause and effect.

Instead of continuing to hide, let's see what we can gain.

So, under Xiaoqing's wary gaze, the Ksitigarbha Sutra was slowly unfurled.

In an instant, it moved without any wind.

The scriptures floated in the air, transforming into golden streams of light that swirled around Xu Xuan like a galaxy. Just as he was about to examine them more closely, a tremendous force struck him from behind, as if someone had shoved him hard—

"boom!"

Xu Xuan was thrown into the scriptures, golden light burst forth before his eyes, and his figure disappeared instantly.

"Xu Xuan?!" Xiao Qing was shocked and reached out to grab him, but only managed to catch a wisp of dissipating Buddhist light.

(End of this chapter)