Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 847 Entering and Breaking the Tribulation
I could only painfully pass by a few famous tourist attractions, without having the chance to leave a mark.

Finally, they arrived at a withered lotus platform.

Bai Suzhen carefully placed the willow leaf on the platform and bowed reverently.

Ruoxu immediately followed suit and prayed.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan dared not be negligent and took out a set of extremely fine tribute items and incense.

A proper, formal greeting isn't enough; we need to be direct and polite. It's never wrong to be overly polite.

I lit the sandalwood incense in my hand and began to silently recite my thoughts, intending to convey them to this great being.

Oh, Bodhisattva, I am Fahai!

I have practiced your "Heart Sutra" and have been recognized by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I am a legitimate Buddhist disciple.

It is said that you are extremely compassionate, and that as long as sentient beings in distress recite your name, "the Bodhisattva will immediately hear their cries" and go to their rescue and liberation.

We're currently facing some difficulties, and we hope you can lend us a hand.

Putting everything else aside, if we really survive this ordeal, we...

He rambled on for a while before finally bowing his head.

Unfortunately, there was no response, and Zen Master Fahai was somewhat disappointed.

At this moment, Ruoxu clasped his hands together, a solemn expression appearing between his brows: "Senior Bai, the secrets of heaven are not revealed here, hidden from the world. Then, this humble monk dares to ask again, what kind of tribulation is it that you are using my junior brother to break through this tribulation?"

He still needs to confirm with the other party involved.

Bai Suzhen stood silently before the lotus platform, her white robes fluttering without wind. She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze seemingly swirling with starlight, only to vanish into stillness in an instant.

"A love tribulation".

The two words were uttered softly, yet they resounded like a thunderclap.

“When I traveled across China and returned to Qingcheng Mountain to cultivate, Guanyin Bodhisattva enlightened me…” She gently stroked the withered lotus petals with her fingertips, paused, and then said, “She said that I still have an emotional tribulation to resolve. If I want to attain immortality, this tribulation may become a hidden danger.”

Xu Xuan noticed that when she said this, the remaining Buddhist light on the lotus platform trembled slightly.

Ruoxu paused, his prayer beads trembling. "Then, senior, do you know why this love tribulation arises?"

Before he began his cultivation, Fahai was just one of the masses; he couldn't possibly have created karma out of thin air.

Bai Suzhen shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. She could see through 99% of the things in the world by using the power of cause and effect and the Heavenly Eye, but some things were just accidents.

The two met through Xiaoqing. When they first met, Xu Xuan was a newly initiated Buddhist cultivator.

Because she was worried that Xiaoqing would make bad friends, she used a willow leaf as a medium to take a look from afar inside Leifeng Pagoda.

That one glance revealed a major problem.

A bright red causal thread pierced through the void like a sharp arrow, binding her and the young man in the blue robe tightly together.

Even more terrifying, as she traced back the cause and effect, she saw countless scenes that shocked and embarrassed her.

Singing, getting married, having children... these are things a snake should be doing.

Just like a sudden gust of wind rippling the surface of a spring pond.

Bai Suzhen admitted that three years ago, there was a moment when she wanted to resolve the calamity in the simplest way possible.

Okay, not just once.

After all, only by fixing one's own flaws can one ascend the ladder to heaven, pass through the heavenly gate, and become a celestial being.

The most difficult tribulation is the one within the Heavenly Tribulation.

But... after each hesitation, I couldn't bring myself to do it, which didn't align with my own beliefs about spiritual practice.

Having cultivated for a thousand years, she knew that true strength should not rely on such methods to escape calamities, but rather to confront and transcend them.

If she were to kill Xu Xuan out of fear of the tribulation of love, it would be a sign of weakness in her Dao heart, and would only deepen her flaws.

But she didn't expect that while she couldn't bring herself to do it, the other person was a shameless sucker who liked to curry favor with powerful figures.

This led to them having more and more contact, which in turn led to their subsequent entanglement.

Bai Suzhen was well aware that, at most, she admired Xu Xuan as a fellow cultivator, and occasionally she would be amused by some of his wild and imaginative ideas.

But this is far from being a "love tribulation".

If that's the case, why is the causal link so strong? Why does the divine revelation show that he is his own calamity?
Regardless of how this ill-fated relationship came about, she simply wanted to sever this karmic connection without harming Xu Xuan.

Only in this way can one break through the void without any worries and fulfill one's pursuit.

Now, she is finally ready.

After hearing this, Xu Xuan sighed: "This day has finally come..."

Other people's Xu Xian marries a beautiful and wealthy woman, becomes the CEO of a medical clinic, and has a son who is a literary star. Although he goes through many hardships, he eventually reaches the pinnacle of life.

Xu Xuan himself was to be treated as a "calamity" and destroyed.

But now that things have come to this, we can only listen to Bai Suzhen's plan. We can't really chop him up like meat on a chopping board, can we?
With a wave of her hand, Bai Suzhen caused a dense array of text, charts, and deductions to appear on the light screen, along with an incredibly detailed risk assessment.

"By combining the strengths of Buddhism and Taoism, we are 90% confident of overcoming this calamity."

Xu Xuan and Ruoxu looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ruoxu hadn't received much cultural training in this area, and only felt that Senior Bai's style of doing things was somewhat un-cultivational.

Xu Xuan felt that this style... was strangely familiar.

Upon closer inspection, wow!
Isn't this exactly the approach I use when writing business plans at Baoan Hall? Even the way of thinking that "first assumes the worst-case scenario" is exactly the same.

He truly deserves to be called a great spiritual practitioner; he keeps up with the times.

The two brothers suppressed their doubts and carefully examined the contents. Xu Xuan was so shocked he almost jumped up after reading just the beginning. "First enter the tribulation, then break through it?"?!

Widen your eyes, do you mean we should date first, and then break up and settle things?

Putting aside the fact that this good thing came so suddenly, where did you get your confidence from?
He touched his face again, and realized it wasn't entirely unacceptable...

Bai Suzhen's ears turned slightly red. She could tell what the man was thinking at a glance. She quickly reached out and touched the light screen, signaling the man surnamed Xu to look down!

The light screen scrolled, revealing key details—"Experiencing tribulations in a dream, cultivating truth through illusion."

Then a complex and dazzling magical framework emerged.

“With the image of Guanyin as witness and the Heart Sutra as the guide.” She swept her slender hand across the void, and a string of golden Sanskrit characters fell like a necklace. “Then combine it with the Taoist ‘Yellow Millet Dream Method’ and the Buddhist ‘Lotus Mantra Wheel’.”

Xu Xuan stared at the Buddhist and Taoist runes intertwined on the light screen, his eyes twitching.

This isn't some kind of plan to avert disaster; it's clearly a terrifyingly sophisticated magical array!

“I will write the stories in your dreams,” Bai Suzhen continued. “At that time, I will guide you in your dreams to sever your emotional ties with the ‘Supreme Mysterious Treasure Ascension, Disaster Relief, and Life Protection Scripture’.”

Ruoxu was somewhat worried about his junior brother's level of cultivation and cultural knowledge, so he asked a question: "Senior Bai, isn't this... a bit too convoluted?"

Bai Suzhen sighed softly, "My cultivation level has reached a bottleneck, and my marriage line is exceptionally stubborn, so I can only try a different, more ingenious method."

If I can't kill him, then let Xu Xuan do it. As for the technique, I will teach him in my dream.

The plan sounds simple, but it is actually all-encompassing.

Furthermore, dozens of auxiliary spells are interspersed throughout, along with various rituals for arranging divine objects and magical treasures.

From the "Soul-Suppressing Talisman" to stabilize dreams, to the "Mirror-like Still Water Mantra" to prevent memory confusion, and even the "Nine-Turn Resurrection Array" to deal with emergencies...

It took a full three hours just to explain the steps of casting the spell.

Xu Xuan was indeed dizzy from listening, as he had never even heard of many of the spell names before, even as the "Security Hall Master".

“This is…” he pointed to a complex rune.

"The small designs of the Lishan lineage come from '…', '…', and '…'," Bai Suzhen said calmly. "I have made some improvements."

Although Ruoxu was a genius and had read many scriptures, he was still stumped by a solution of this magnitude.

"Hmm, could we use our Pure Land Buddhism here...?"

“I tried it, but it would conflict with Taoist magic.” Bai Suzhen flipped her hand to show another solution, “In the end, I chose this passage from the Vimalakirti Sutra…”

After finally finding a Buddhist node to try and demonstrate his abilities, he was rejected on the spot.

Xu Xuan stood obediently to the side, watching his upright and honest senior brother suffer a setback, realizing that there were even bigger masters above the big shots, and what a true master of cultivation really was.

My own cobbled-together skills are utterly insignificant in the face of a thousand-year-old tradition.

"Is everything clear?" Bai Suzhen finally confirmed.

In fact, Zen Master Fahai gave up the idea of ​​delving deeper from the beginning; just looking at the terminology and table of contents, one could feel that the plan was ingenious.

Ruoxu nodded on behalf of his junior brother, indicating that there was no problem.

As expected of a great demon who has cultivated for a thousand years, he was able to come up with such a roundabout yet comprehensive method.

Since his senior brother nodded, Xu Xuan nodded in agreement.

Given his habit of disliking being told what to do, he couldn't muster much resistance at this moment.

only……

“Miss Bai, my karma is a mess, and my constitution is special.” Xu Xuan smiled somewhat awkwardly. “No matter how ingenious the design, it may go wrong when it gets to me.”

Bai Suzhen seemed to have anticipated his question. With a flick of her wrist, a phantom image of a Bodhisattva appeared in her palm: "I have already asked the Bodhisattva of Non-Duality to deduce it, and the conclusion is—success."

Good heavens, even a Bodhisattva has been invited to endorse it!
Since things had come to this point, Xu Xuan couldn't say anything more.

Bai Suzhen began setting up the ritual, taking out all sorts of unheard-of treasures one after another:
A jade lotus lantern, seven array flags embroidered with star maps, and even an ancient bronze coin engraved with the words "Yellow Millet"...

Xu Xuan was dazzled by the sights and quietly pulled Ruoxu aside: "Senior brother, I have something to tell you."

He lowered his voice: "If Lady White goes berserk after we wake up, take me away immediately."

Ruoxu frowned: "Didn't Senior Bai say he was 90% confident...?"

What about the remaining 10%?

Thinking of Bai Suzhen's fist, which was powerful enough to shatter mountains, Xu Xuan couldn't help but shrink back.

The brothers finally reached a tacit understanding.

"Sit down properly."

Bai Suzhen's voice suddenly came.

The ritual was completed, and two prayer cushions appeared on the lotus platform.

Xu Xuan took a deep breath, and after countless thoughts flashed through his mind, he finally dismissed them one by one.

Enough, enough, I'll accompany you this time.

Bai Suzhen took her seat first, and with a light tap of her fingertips, tied a red thread to Xu Xuan's wrist and her own wrist respectively.

"Remember, no matter what happens in your dream..."

Willow leaves swirl gently, purple bamboo rustles softly.

"They are all just tribulations."

As the final incantation was completed, the two closed their eyes simultaneously. The lotus platform emitted a dazzling golden light, engulfing them.

(End of this chapter)