"Master!"
Ethan Shu called out nervously and immediately supported the old monk to sit on a nearby stone bench within the courtyard of the ancient temple.
After a brief meditation, the old monk's usual rosy complexion had turned as pale as paper.
His muscular build had deflated rapidly like a deflated balloon, reverting to his previous skinny appearance.
The old monk's breath was faint, his eyes flickering as he said,
"I hailed from the Hanging Temple in Zhongzhou, with the dharma name Huiming. I entered the material world with my master after releasing the Dusty Realm, traveling almost everywhere in Zhongzhou."
"After I attained the Sarira Realm, I left the Hanging Temple to seek the demon who killed my master."
"Master…"
Ethan Shu listened intently to the old monk's reminiscences and his stories.
With this tone and state, Ethan Shu feared the worst, afraid that Huiming, the old monk, might pass away and attain nirvana, meeting the Buddha in the Western Paradise.
"When I was in the Yan Kingdom, I passed by Black Mountain and saw demonic fog rising from the depths of the mountains, so I intended to subdue the demons there."
"But unexpectedly, the Black Mountain Demon's power was terrifying, and I couldn't subdue it directly."
"Therefore, I settled down in this ancient temple to suppress Black Mountain, preventing the powerful Old Demon of Black Mountain from going out to harm others!"
The old monk, compassionate and merciful, folded his hands, his eyelids lowered, his long white eyebrows dragging on the ground, chanting, "Amitabha…"
For a while,
The old monk fell silent.
Ethan Shu nudged the old monk, Huiming.
"Master?"
Ethan Shu's heart skipped a beat, his face changing instantly.
"It's not good! Master has attained nirvana!"
The old monk suddenly awoke, his white eyebrows twitching, his breath erratic as he said, "I… I haven't attained nirvana yet…"
Ethan Shu patted the old monk's face, urgently saying, "Master, you can't fall asleep!"
"If you do, you might never wake up again."
The old monk nodded and once again began to meditate using the "Six Wisdoms Brahma Sutra".
With the sound of Buddhist chanting echoing, dark air rose from the top of the old monk's head, forcing out the demonic power of the Black Mountain Demon. His skinny upper torso faintly glowed with Buddhist light.
The sudden appearance of Buddhist light was one of the characteristics of a Buddhist master approaching the Buddhist Light Realm!
If the old monk hadn't encountered the Black Mountain Demon, perhaps he would have already been a master of the Buddhist Light Realm.
Unfortunately, severely injured, the old monk struggled to even stay alive, let alone ascend to the Buddhist Light Realm.
Ethan Shu feared the old monk might fall asleep, so he kept chatting with him.
"Master, what realm is the Black Mountain Demon in that it's so powerful, even defeating you, a Sarira Realm master?"
The old monk whispered in reply, "The Black Mountain Demon was originally a tree demon, perhaps with only a few hundred years of cultivation."
"But because it grew on a mass grave, absorbing the resentment, malevolence, and demonic nature day and night, its cultivation rivals that of a thousand-year-old demon!"
Demons don't reach maturity like humans, who need a hundred years.
Opening their wisdom is equivalent to the Wisdom Potential Realm or Breathing Practice Realm.
Three hundred years of cultivation is merely the Dusty Realm or Foundation Establishment Realm.
Five hundred years of cultivation rivals the Mirror Realm or Rebirth Realm.
A thousand years of cultivation is akin to the Sarira Realm or Golden Core Realm.
Demons cultivate slowly, yet this very pace allows them to accumulate profound strength, often making them more formidable than humans of the same realm.
The Ancient Demon of Black Mountain had only been a demon for a few hundred years, but due to the Mass Grave Lies, he had aged into a venerable demon whose cultivation rivals that of a thousand-year-old entity.
Even the elderly monk from the Hanging Temple, one of the three ancestral seats of Buddhism, may not have been a match for the Ancient Demon of Black Mountain.
As the elderly monk was speaking with Ethan Shu, his white eyebrows began to tremble violently.
"It was bad. The Ancient Demon of Black Mountain, with his relentless intentions, might have been coming to test our defenses!"
"He had just been repelled, and he's still coming?" Ethan Shu furrowed his brow.
The elderly monk explained, "The Buddhist path focuses on cultivating the mind. Reaching the Mirror Realm allows one to polish the dusty Mirror Realm within the heart, granting a powerful intuition, or the sixth sense."
"When my intuition manifested, it was very prescient."
He urged, "Hsuan Kong, quickly bring out the water tank from the side hall!"
Faced with life and death, Ethan Shu did not hesitate and ran into the side hall.
The water tank in the side hall was enormous, nearly as tall as a person, responsible for the daily eating, drinking, and washing needs of the elderly monk and Ethan Shu.
Ethan Shu had just filled the tank to the brim that day.
Together with the water, it weighed over a thousand kg.
But for Ethan Shu, who had practiced the Sutra of Strengthening Sinews and Bones to its third level, this was no problem.
Ethan Shu stretched his arms like an ape, opening them to their fullest extent, and then gripped the tank tightly, roaring lowly, "Up!"
The heavy tank rose in response.
The clear water in the tank was gently sloshing and emitting a soothing, rustling sound.
Ethan Shu took strides, carrying the thousand-kg tank with ease, and placed it before the elderly monk.
The elderly monk stood up and suddenly cut his left palm, letting his blood flow into the tank.
The clear water in the tank quickly turned red.
Ethan Shu was shocked and hastily tried to stop him, saying in anger and confusion, "Master, what are you doing?"
The elderly monk pushed Ethan Shu aside with one hand and continued to let his blood flow, explaining,
"I was nearing the Buddha Light Realm. Although my flesh had not yet emitted fragrance, my blood was Buddhist, possessing Buddhist power."
"Later, I would teach you the Great Buddha Shurangama Mantra (thea Buddhist scripture). You only needed to memorize it; don't worry about understanding it yet."
"Then, using my cassock dipped in the water mixed with Buddhist blood, write the Shurangama Mantra on the walls, beams, and steps of the ancient temple. Write as much as you can!"
"There would be a deadly calamity that night. If we survived, we both lived; if not, we were doomed!"
The elderly monk's tone was solemn, and Ethan Shu knew that this calamity was dire, with slim chances of survival!
After finishing letting his blood, the elderly monk's breath weakened, and he could barely stand, almost falling to the ground.
Fortunately, Ethan Shu caught him in time and helped him sit in the lotus position before beginning to teach the Shurangama Mantra.
The elderly monk was too injured, and his chapped lips could only move slightly, making his voice too low.
Ethan Shu had to lean close to the elderly monk's mouth to listen and memorize intently.
"Thus cause me quickly to attain supreme enlightenment, Thus cause me quickly to attain supreme enlightenment, and sit within the bodhimandas of the tenfold realms, and sit within the bodhimandas of the tenfold realms, and sit within the bodhimandas of the tenfold realms..."
"…At that time the World Honored One from the flesh mound at the crown of His head released a hundred jeweled light and a thousand petalled rare lotus arose from the midst of the light. Seated within the precious flower was a transformation body of the Thus Come One, whose crown in turn emitted ten rays of the hundred-jeweled effulgence…"
The profound and difficult Sanskrit sounds filled Ethan Shu's ears.
They transformed into golden Sanskrit letters hovering in Ethan Shu's mind.
After reciting once, the elderly monk stopped and asked, "Did you memorize the first recitation?"
"I know it's hard. I also took three days and nights, reciting and copying, to memorize it."
"But time was pressing. Once it was night, the Black Mountain Demon would surely launch a probing attack. You didn't have much time to memorize, so you must!"
"I'll recite it once more for you..."
"No need, Master. I've memorized it," said Ethan Shu, who had already gone through the Shurangama Mantra in his mind.
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