Chapter 35

Am I A Demon?

“This is the lost Zen method of Tathagata from Leiyin Temple. How did you know this?”

“Only the Ninth Level of the Dhyana of the Present would be able to create the form of Tathagata. How are you be able to do it?”

“That’s it, you possess a medium caliber Buddhist instrument that belongs to the Leiyin Temple, not to mention that you have cultivated Zen to such a level. You must have experienced a fateful meeting that involved Leiyin Temple and received enlightenment from the ancient Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from our temple, and in the process took the Buddhist instrument that has always been at their sides.”

“Although… You’re just an Imperial Prince who had only studied scriptures for two years. What right or blessings do you have to possess all of this?”

“According to destiny, you are nothing but a mortal Imperial Prince who should have gotten an early death, an Imperial Prince who should have been recorded in history to have died in battle at the city walls. What right do you have to receive such power and delay your destiny?”

The abbot sat shocked on the snowy ground. He was trembling all over and after he had experienced the initial shock. His surprise had now turned to anger because he had suddenly realized that this power and inheritance that was supposed to belong to Leiyin Temple had now become the possession of the Imperial Prince.

How else to explain all that had happened?

During this short time, Xia Ji had seen all the different states and thoughts of living beings on the face of the abbot. He asked, “Why don’t you think that I’m the reincarnation of the Lord Buddha?”

The abbot snapped, “You’re not. You’re definitely not!”

Xia Ji asked, “Why is that?”

The abbot insisted determinedly, “According to destiny, you are neither deity nor Buddha. You’re just a man who should have died in accordance with the catastrophe you are destined to face. Even though you are alive right now, it is just an anomaly. The heavens may be unpredictable, but it has never tolerated anomalies.”

“What sort of destiny have you seen?”

“I will never tell you!”

“You will.”

“Do you think I’m afraid of death or torture?” The abbot suddenly laughed out loud. There was a vague look of fear in his eyes, but it also showed a shred of determination. What did he fear and what was he determined to achieve?

Xia Ji grabbed the abbot. Since he was unwilling to answer, then Xia Ji would torture him.

However, the abbot was no weakling. He gave a sudden shout, “Hah!”

A layer of golden glow shone from his palm while he was lifting his hand. The golden glow quickly encompassed it like metal liquid, covering the lines and pores of his palm entirely, and was shaped into a big hand made of a block of pure gold.

“Demon Subduing Vajrapani!”

The abbot suddenly flew into the air, like an arrow that had been suddenly shot into the air. His energy was just like a sharp arrow slicing through as he brought down the big golden hand of pure gold down toward Xia Ji. In the process, a circle of leaves appeared within the golden glow. They were the leaves of the Datura flowers.

The Datura was considered an energy core in certain religions and teachings. It represented the manifestation of real Vientiane Senlie of the Universe, a Zen circle that circulated and introspected.

This abbot of the Leiyin Temple was not fully enlightened about the Zen circle, nor was he able to fully unleash the extreme power of the Demon Subduing Vajrapani, which was an intention that could only happen to one in a million. Otherwise, the Datura flower would have bloomed in his palms, emerged from his mouth, grew on his belly, and bloomed after every step he took.

Even though the circle of leaves was not able to manifest into a divine form, it still held the form of a skill that could truly subdue a demon. It transformed from a light glow into a majestic one and by the time it appeared in front of Xia Ji, it had already formed into a giant hand of Vajrapani that shone with glaring brightness.

Xia Ji reached out a finger and blocked this hand of Vajrapani.

Abbot, “…”

Xia Ji said, “Destiny is, after all, but an illusion. What are you afraid of?”

“Tell me and your destiny shall continue. If you don’t say a thing, today will be the end of your destiny.”

The abbot did not reply, he circulated more and more of his inner vitality over and over as he tried his best to hammer past that finger. However, the finger was like the gigantic sun hanging majestically in the vast skies, it had an abundance of highly pure inner strength.

Every push the abbot made would only encourage the strength of the finger to escalate in retaliation. Even after burning up every ounce of spirituality and blood within him, to the point of using reserves of inner vitality he had never tapped into before, the strength of the finger would still rise every time, just to the point of barely being enough to outdo him.

The abbot finally understood that the Imperial Prince standing right in front of him did not use his full strength. No matter what the abbot did, it was no more than an act of an overconfident buffoon being way over his head.

It was too late for him to make an escape now. The fight between both inner strengths was like two armies charging toward one another. Once they engaged, there was no easy way to retreat or it would end with the army’s defeat, like toppling a mountain.

That was why the abbot suddenly sighed and said, “Seventh Imperial Prince, I have a suggestion.”

“Tell me.”

“If you are unwilling to be a monk, why don’t you just be the abbot of Leiyin Temple. You have been enlightened by the ancient Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. By doing so, you would be bearing the responsibility of your karma and the rebuilding of Leiyin Temple to its former glory.”

“Once you become a monk, you will no longer belong to any home and the man, Xia Ji, would no longer exist in this world. That way, the destiny and sins of Xia Ji would disappear. You would be able to guarantee a life of peace and security.”

Xia Ji said, “Did destiny tell you this?”

The abbot shook his head. Then he pressed, “Once you turn to a life in the temple, you will naturally wash away the karma upon you.”

Xia Ji said, “If an abbot’s karma would be washed clean, why would you choose to be a loyal lapdog of the new emperor and help him guard his door here?”

The abbot replied, “I have never been loyal to anyone. I’m just following the call of heaven’s will.”

Xia Ji remained stoic. The tip of his finger suddenly glowed bright like a blazing sun in summer rising amidst the cold, dark winter night. The inner vitality of the burning flames escalated in an instant as it pressed once more against the big, golden hand.

The golden earth welcomed a falling star.

Crack.

Crack, crack…

The ground cracked and the circle of Datura leaves shattered.

The inner vitality of the Leiyin Temple’s abbot was completely obliterated at this point. His palm was now invaded by a searing burn from inner vitality, as if raging flames were being born within his body. It was boiling his internal organs, nerves, and blood veins.

His body was the city wall.

His internal organs were the people.

His inner vitality were the soldiers.

The city wall was brought down and the soldiers were exterminated. The next step, was to slaughter the city.

However, Xia Ji paused. When the abbot was clinging to a shred of consciousness, he asked, “Will you talk now?”

“If I… If I talk now, I won’t be able to… able to attain spiritual enlightenment in the next life,” the abbot grunted, his face turning purple from the effort. With that, the light in his eyes vanished.

He had committed suicide!

Xia Ji did not pull back his inner vitality of the Nine Suns.

It was not long before a boiling mist of blood vaporized from all orifices of the abbot’s body.

With that, Xia Ji finally lifted his finger and did not even give the dead abbot another glance. Instead, he turned toward a little novice monk and said gently, “Bring me to ‘The Secret of Tathagata’.”

The little novice monk trembled. He had seen how the Imperial Prince defeated so many of his masters and seniors with his own eyes. He knelt to the ground in fright and could not stop shivering from fear. He could only pray silently in his heart to the deities in heaven to open their eyes and exterminate this demon immediately.

Xia Ji saw the novice monk had kept silent, so he smiled and said, “The abbot had instructed you to take me to the book. A monk should not speak falsely. If karma is at stake, the abbot will be the one bearing it and not you.”

His words resolved the struggle within the little novice monk. The little novice monk cursed the Imperial Prince in his heart, but the words from his mouth trembled as he said, “Your Highness, follow… follow me.”

This time, the little novice monk held a lamp and lead the Imperial Prince through several turnings while in a despondent state and finally came to a hidden little loft. He placed the lamp next to a wall and fiddled around with a mechanism. He pushed the mechanism from outside and within the library loft and soon, under the shining lamp, three Seven Treasures Secret Boxes could be seen placed horizontally in a row. “Your Highness, ‘The Secret of Tathagata’ is placed in the box on the left.”

Right at that moment, rapid footsteps could be heard coming from the mountain trail outside the loft.

Many monks in yellow robes were holding a Disciplinary Bronze Rod in each of their hands as they surrounded the place on the snowy ground. The leader had thick eyebrows and eyes like a leopard. He held a torch in his hand, which lightened up the world of falling white snow with its bright radiance.

Xia Ji walked toward the end of the little loft and opened the box. With the help of the light from the lamp, he found an ancient book lying within. The pages of the book were old and a scent of history wafted from it. The writings on the front page looked new as it bore the words ‘The Secret of Tathagata’. It had the bearings of a great master.

Xia Ji tore off the front page with ease and crumpled it into a ball as he threw it to the side.

The footsteps outside drew closer.

All the monks in yellow had grim expressions. They quickly got into formation outside the little loft. Eighteen of them formed the Bronze Men Formation, eighteen of eighteen was known as the Arhat Formation. Demon suppressing was used to subdue the spirituality while the Arhat Formation was used to subdue demons with physical manifestations.

Only a temple with such profound heritage would possess these two major formations. Even though a long time had passed and each use would mean one less for the future, they have decided to go on with it in the end.

Xia Ji flipped the first page open.

“Thus I have heard, once one has lost everything, there will no longer be repeated troubles and your heart will be carefree. One will be released from one’s heart, one will be released when wisdom is gained…”

As he was reading the book aloud, the glow of fire could be seen coming from the door cracks of the little loft.

The legs of the little novice monk, whose name was Yuan Zhi, could not stop shaking.

Xia Ji suddenly asked him, “Little master, are you afraid of demons?”

“Seek Zen… with sincerity, be hard at work… wiping the altars clean… I’m not afraid…”

“Am I a demon?”

“Your… Your Highness, N…No…”

Xia Ji tore off the first page of the book and threw the page out casually. The paper flew out suddenly and sliced through the air, immediately slitting Yuan Zhi, who was standing at the door, at the throat. Before the little novice monk could react, death had already come calling to him.

Just before he lost complete consciousness, Xia Ji could be heard saying softly, “Run after the abbot. He should not be far off on the road to the netherworld.”