Chapter 307: The Voice of the Buddha

Twelfth Madam Luo considered that there was no ritual in place now and that the Body-and-Will Heterodox Sect had no deity-invoking art, so even if Ding Songyan’s peeking really did provoke the incense deity, the worst it could do was another clash of spirits, like when he faced Zhurong’s incense deity. And her own Calm the World and Bow of Virtue both protected the spirit and heart, so she nodded and said, "Okay."

Before Ding Songyan could act, the shopkeeper bowed to the golden Buddha statue in the rear hall amid the coming and going of people and said in a low voice, "We are peeking at the Buddha’s body only to investigate the matter of Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan. We mean no offense. Please forgive us."

Seeing Ding Songyan turn his head to look at her, Twelfth Madam Luo sighed.

"I know the statue can’t hear us, but an apology is still owed, for peace of mind."

Shilin Temple’s incense is fairly thick, but it can’t compare with the Yin-Yang Temple, the Dangkang Temple headquarters, or the Kitchen King Order headquarters. Even if the Buddha’s incense deity does send power down in a moment, it would be at most at the level of someone just entering the Heaven-Man Realm, something Twelfth Madam plus me should be enough to handle... Ding Songyan collected his mind and bowed to the golden Buddha statue too, saying some words about meaning no offense.

Then he entered the Celestial Heart state, and candlelight ignited deep within his double pupils, dotted with stars.

In his eyes, the golden Buddha statue subduing the Heavenly Demon appeared, and he felt a faint, clear, goldish Buddha light wrapped around it.

This had to be the incense curling around the statue.

Deep within the faint Buddha light, a wondrous world faintly appeared, formed of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, amber, and other things. Golden lotuses kept emerging from the ground, rare fragrant heavenly flowers fell from above, accompanied by waves of Sanskrit chanting.

On a high mountain in this world, a golden Buddha sat on a nine-grade lotus platform, His eyes half open and half closed, His right hand holding a flower, His left hanging down, subduing the bluish-black Heavenly Demon of the Paranirmita Heaven.

As if sensing Ding Songyan’s gaze, the golden Buddha suddenly opened his eyes and looked over from afar.

A grand, solemn voice came from His mouth, "Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm, how dare you disturb the proper Dharma of the world?"

The Buddha’s right hand reached out, and endless golden light illuminated the whole heaven and earth and shone upon Ding Songyan.

Within great brilliance lay great solemnity!

Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm? He called me a Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm? He actually called me that? Ding Songyan was first stunned, then shocked and startled.

Then he felt his entire sea of consciousness being illuminated. The darkness that had sealed away his true thoughts quickly dissolved in the Buddha light. Every dark and selfish thought, every little or big sin, stood out in every detail and couldn’t be hidden.

Like a shadow that couldn’t stand against light, his body and mind froze, and he could only watch as the Buddha’s hand, as if cast of pure gold, pressed down on the top of his head.

No. I do have selfishness, desire, delusion, arrogance, and sins of speech, and the evil of deceiving others, but since coming to the Mountains and Seas Realm, if not entirely upright in word and deed, at least I haven’t truly harmed any good person, and I’m not riddled in sins... The thought flashed by, and Ding Songyan suddenly found the courage and conviction to face the Buddha light.

His body and mind quickly recovered, and with a clang he drew his sword and met that Buddha palm.

When the two touched, they stalled in midair, the Buddha palm like a toppling sky, the sword like a pillar holding up heaven.

Just then, faint celestial music drifted in, melodious and gentle, instantly calming the whole Pure Land, leaving no trace of turmoil or anger.

Ding Songyan’s body and mind settled with it, and the golden Buddha statue and the world of seven treasures before his eyes quickly dissolved.

Although the Buddha’s descended power was stronger than that of Zhurong’s incense deity, today Ding Songyan had withstood the great light, drawn his sword in time, and received Twelfth Madam Luo’s help, so he suffered little spiritual drain or injury. His complexion was normal and he wasn’t sweating.

"How was it?" Twelfth Madam Luo turned her head with concern.

Ding Songyan let out a breath.

"I’m fine."

He told her everything he had seen and felt, leaving out only the four words "Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm."

Twelfth Madam Luo had heard his love story from his previous life. What if she really took him for a Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm?

He absolutely couldn’t let her make that connection!

"Under great light, you could still hold your spirit, draw your sword, and face it. That shows you’re without flaw in great matters, and your private virtue isn’t bad either," Twelfth Madam Luo praised.

I’ve turned over a new leaf, starting my new life anew, after all... And I didn’t do anything unforgivable in my previous life either... Ding Songyan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile,

"Twelfth Madam, you must have seen long ago that my name and reality match."

Twelfth Madam Luo looked at him with a half smile.

"If I hadn’t seen that your name and reality match your identity as a Brightnight Sect disciple, and that the Brightnight Sect has an excellent reputation, with your shamelessness I would have thrown rocks at your head long ago, and never allowed you half a step into the shop’s back courtyard."

Ding Songyan steered the conversation back on track.

"Based on the current circumstances, the Buddha’s incense deity really does have an aspect that subdues the Heavenly Demon, but there are no signs of change in the subdued Heavenly Demon of the Paranirmita Heaven for the time being."

"Normal. Even if Tan Guanchan really is doing this, at your realm it would be hard to detect," Twelfth Madam Luo comforted him. "It’s better to leave this to the Body-and-Will Heterodox Sect and the Martial Prohibition Bureau to confirm."

Ding Songyan turned his gaze to the golden Buddha statue again.

"The Buddha’s incense deity seems to have intelligence. Could He see through our disguises?"

He and Twelfth Madam Luo had both changed their names and realities before coming to Shilin Temple, in case something came up today.

"If it were His original self, He certainly would, but just now it was only a little power and consciousness." Twelfth Madam Luo turned and walked toward the rear hall door.

Ding Songyan followed beside her and thought of something.

"What’s the source of the Buddha’s incense deity’s martial arts and divine abilities?

"I know about Zhurong’s and Dangkang’s incense deities. They don’t go beyond the traits recorded in the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, but Buddhism came later, and the Buddha isn’t in the Secret Classic."

"They come from the incense itself, which is to say from the believers’ understanding, and the believers’ understanding comes from the various Buddhist sects," Twelfth Madam Luo said with a smile. "So the Buddha’s incense deity combines the martial arts and traits of every Buddhist sect without conflict. It’s quite formidable."

The shopkeeper added, "But it’s also limited by the heaven-earth severance, so it’s not as though Buddhist law is supreme and beyond imagining."

So the Buddha’s incense deity must also hold the arts of the Dizang Sect, one of Buddhism’s seven sects, which touch on the underworld. Does He really know something about transmigration, hence calling me a Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm? Come to think of it, Buddhism itself was founded by Dao’an, a suspected transmigrator, so it’s not impossible for the Buddha’s incense deity to know a bit of the transmigration secret... If Tan Guanchan really tried to use the Heavenly Demon, did the Buddha’s incense deity scold him as a Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm too? Ding Songyan fell into thought.

He had originally come today to investigate Third Old Master Xie’s matter and Divine Monk Dazhi’s problem, then it turned into probing Tan Guanchan’s real scheme, and now what mattered more had become figuring out why the Buddha’s incense deity called him a Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm.

After leaving the rear hall and walking a while toward the exit of Shilin Temple, Ding Songyan asked cautiously, "Twelfth Madam, when you interrupted the clash of spirits between the Buddha’s incense deity and me, did you see His Pure Land?"

If she’d seen it, she might have heard it too.

Twelfth Madam Luo turned her head, a bright smile on her face.

"I did, Heavenly Demon from beyond the realm."

"..." Ding Songyan froze.

Countless explanations rushed to his lips and were swallowed back.

Twelfth Madam Luo looked ahead and said leisurely, "I trust my own Way of Name and Reality and the Buddhist Great Light method more.

"Tell me when you feel like it."

Phew, thank goodness Twelfth Madam takes the middle ground, righteous but not extreme... And lucky she brought it up herself, or I’d have looked like a clown trying to hide this from her later... Ding Songyan let out a long sigh.

"There are things I want to find out the truth about myself."

Twelfth Madam Luo didn’t continue the topic and said instead, "In a day or two I’ll find a chance to tell Divine Monk Dazhi, Monk Fumo, and the Martial Prohibition Bureau your guesses."

...

Back in the side courtyard of the Prince’s estate, Ding Songyan went into his room and thought over the events of the recent days.

I stayed in the Flame Capital to try to sabotage Tan Guanchan’s and Jiang Weichen’s schemes, but right now I have no leads...

The Accumulated Evil Way, the Returning Abyss Order, and the Shamanism Order have at least shown a bit of their hands, but I have no idea what the Sage-Severing Way and the Yellow Heaven Way are up to. Next time I’ll probe Little Sister...

I don’t know whether the Fang family is involved too, and there’s the Capsized Vessel School that wanted to send people to the Flame Capital earlier. A parade of demons and ghouls, a tangled mess...

And the Orchid Grace Examination is in about ten days. After the examination and before the New Year, the candidate consorts will be vetted, and I still don’t have a single valuable lead...

While Ding Songyan had a headache, Li Baima knocked on his door.

"Brother Ding, you have a letter, delivered by some Tianyang Hall."

Oh, Miss Xiao Qing’s reply has finally come... Last time I asked her about this Luo Mingyin, but now I know exactly who Twelfth Madam is, even her general history, yet that’s when the letter only comes... Ding Songyan thanked Li Baima with a laugh, took the letter, unfolded it, and read.

"Ding Songyan,

"I’m coming to the Flame Capital to have fun!"

Huh, Miss Xiao Qing is coming to the Flame Capital to join the excitement? Ding Songyan was instantly a little worried.

The Flame Capital was already like a storm about to break.

Otherwise he would have been glad to meet Miss Xiao Qing in the jianghu again, and since the effect of Banishing Demons and Warding Off Evil could be suppressed by the Way of Name and Reality, he could tell stories to her in person and show her around.

Ding Songyan read on, and suddenly his spirits lifted.

Miss Xiao Qing was not only coming herself, but she was also bringing her father and mother, and her father was a Supreme Master!

Besides Twelfth Madam, could I have another Heaven-Man ally? He might not help me, but there’s a bit of old connection, and he knows I’ve eaten the Chaos remains, so he’d be easier to deal with than other Supreme Masters... Ding Songyan’s thoughts turned as he quickly read through the rest of the letter.

It talked about Ditai matters and speculations about Twelfth Madam Luo’s identity, which he no longer needed.

Thinking about Miss Xiao Qing arriving in the coming days, Ding Songyan spread out paper and began a letter, planning to let his senior sister know in advance and have everything fully prepared.

...

"Heh heh, Ding Songyan would never guess that I personally delivered the letter to the Prince’s estate!" Su Qingli, who had turned into an ordinary girl, said proudly to her maid Yuyao.

After her persistent coaxing and pestering, the family of three plus two maids had arrived in the Flame Capital more than a month earlier than planned, before the New Year.

Yuyao glanced at her young lady, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

Su Qingli suddenly turned depressed.

"It’s a pity I can’t see Ding Songyan. I haven’t reached the Dharma Realm yet."

Before her maid could console her, she put the smile back on.

"Never mind. First let’s go see who this Twelfth Madam Luo is!"

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