The beggar stood behind Ensnaring Performance, his eyes bright with curiosity.
Since the Spirit Mountain Holy Land is going to such great lengths to obtain this beggar, there must be something extraordinary about him.
Then, Long Shenwu looked at Gu Hai. Gu Hai is a proactive person who does not do anything that does not benefit him. Does he know what makes this beggar extraordinary?
“He is just an ordinary beggar. Bodhisattva Jie Dong, why the need for such a big commotion? Since he is already a part of Elite Hall, then I ask that Bodhisattva Jie Dong not pursue this,” Long Shenwu said with a smile.
Although Long Shenwu had not figured out the situation, his stance was very clear. He chose to help Gu Hai this time.
Gu Hai gave Long Shenwu a suspicious look. He knew that Long Shenwu was very guarded against him, yet Long Shenwu was helping him now?
“No, no. Joined Elite Hall? That happened later. We found this youth first. Third Crown Prince, on behalf of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, Jie Dong sincerely asks Third Crown Prince to uphold justice for us and fulfill the promise that the Qian Heavenly Emperor made to us. Hand this youth to us.” Bodhisattva Jie Dong persisted through his spokesman.
“Oh?” Long Shenwu narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Bodhisattva Jie Dong.
Even after expressing my stance, Bodhisattva Jie Dong still refuses to give up?
“What if this prince does not want to?” Long Shenwu asked.
“In that case, I can only apologize in advance,” Jie Dong said.
The faces of the surrounding monks sank as they held up their staffs, showing an intention to fight.
Long Shenwu raised his eyebrows, feeling surprised. This beggar is that important?
“Fellow Buddhists, my Buddha is benevolent and made a grand declaration to cleanse the masses. This demon is evil, and we have to bring him back to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land to purify him into kindness. These are the words of our three Buddhas. This is my Buddha’s wish. I sincerely ask everyone to plead with the third crown prince to return this demon to my Buddha to purify!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong suddenly addressed the surrounding citizens through his spokesman.
Since this was one of the heavenly court’s cities, Long Shenwu naturally would not let himself get blackmailed by Bodhisattva Jie Dong. He immediately revealed a cold smile and was about to refuse him.
“I sincerely plead with Prince Shenwu to uphold justice. Return the beggar to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land!”
“Prince Shenwu, this beggar is a demon. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land just wants to purify him!”
“His Holy Eminence already agreed. Prince Shenwu, are you going to go against the decree?”
The surrounding citizens immediately raised a hue and cry. They had listened to the Future Buddha’s lecture recently and had benefited greatly. Now that Bodhisattva Jie Dong pleaded on the Future Buddha’s behalf, countless citizens responded.
It was just a beggar. Most of the citizens did not think much of it. Furthermore, they were all Buddhists. They still brooded over Gu Hai’s shooting Bodhisattva Zi Zhu with the Heaven Blasting Cannon, so they were willing to hand the beggar to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land.
The voice of one citizen would not influence much. However, hundreds—thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands—of citizens pleaded with Prince Shenwu.
This made Long Shenwu, who was about to refuse Bodhisattva Jie Dong, pause with a sullen expression.
Bodhisattva Jie Dong is using the citizens to threaten me?
This was why Long Shenwu did not like the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. They led the citizens astray using superstition. In the end, these were the Qian Nation’s citizens, not the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s followers.
However, Long Shenwu could not ignore the clamor of the citizens. With the Ten Thousand Sages Convention at hand, the impact of all his actions would be amplified. However, he could not just watch as Bodhisattva Jie Dong used the citizens’ stupidity to threaten him.
“Hah! Hahahahaha! Uphold justice?” Long Shenwu revealed a cold smile.
Many of the watching citizens supported Bodhisattva Jie Dong, making him cocky. He believed that Long Shenwu would not dare oppose the citizens’ will.
Long Shenwu started laughing from anger. However, Sima Changkong smiled and said, “Prince, Mister Gu said that the beggar is a member of Elite Hall, but Bodhisattva Jie Dong said that the beggar belongs to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. How about we let the beggar decide himself?”
“Oh? Decide himself?” Long Shenwu’s eyes lit up.
The beggar clearly wanted to follow Ensnaring Performance. If Long Shenwu let him decide, he would definitely follow Gu Hai.
Bodhisattva Jie Dong immediately objected, “Third Crown Prince, Ensnaring Performance hoodwinked this beggar. Furthermore, there is a demon in him. He will not be willing to come with us. Otherwise, I would not have asked Third Crown Prince to uphold justice for us.”
“Indeed! Prince Shenwu, this fellow is the reincarnation of a demon. He jinxed all his family to death!”
“Prince Shenwu, just let Bodhisattva Jie Dong bring this demon away!”
The citizens clamored, causing Long Shenwu’s face to sink.
Sima Changkong raised his eyebrows, looking at Gu Hai. Gu Hai did not say anything because he was giving Long Shenwu face. If Long Shenwu supported Bodhisattva Jie Dong, Gu Hai would definitely say something.
“Prince, this beggar has joined Elite Hall, after all. The Ten Thousand Sages Convention is at hand, and we cannot casually use martial force in the heavenly court’s cities. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land is a guest here, after all. How could its people just start fighting here? However, the Qian Nation is not unreasonable, either. Weren’t Ensnaring Performance and five hundred arhats engaging in a music Dao battle for the beggar? How about we let them duel using the music Dao to decide who takes the beggar?” Sima Changkong suggested with a smile.
In Sima Changkong’s opinion, Gu Hai’s music Dao had already reached perfection. He believed that Gu Hai could deal with Bodhisattva Jie Dong.
Gu Hai smiled bitterly. Only he knew that his music Dao was not reliable. If you got him to play Go with me, I would be confident. However, the music Dao? How do I do this? I am not confident of this.
“Alright. We shall use a music Dao duel to decide the matter of the beggar.” Prince Shenwu nodded.
Prince Shenwu felt extremely confident in Gu Hai’s music Dao as well.
“The prince is wise!” Countless citizens immediately nodded.
This is the Qian Nation, after all. We cannot be fighting here. We adore the Future Buddha, but we are also Qian Nation citizens. We have already helped you to this extent. If the Demon Purifying Scripture does not work, then it can’t be helped. Furthermore, the Demon Purifying Scripture defeated Ensnaring Performance earlier. So what if you have to do it again?
Bodhisattva Jie Dong looked at Prince Shenwu and showed a faint smile. Someone at the side said on his behalf, “Many thanks to Third Crown Prince for upholding justice.”
“This prince will make the judgment here for him. If the Spirit Mountain Holy Land wins the music Dao duel, Mister Gu will return the beggar to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land and no longer bring this matter up again. If Mister Gu’s side wins, Spirit Mountain Holy Land will not harp on this issue anymore. The beggar will no longer have anything to do with you,” Prince Shenwu said.
“Alright!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong’s spokesman shouted.
“The prince is wise!” the surrounding citizens immediately called out.
Everyone looked at Gu Hai.
Gu Hai raised his eyebrows, thinking.
“Mister Gu?” Ao Shun prompted, feeling somewhat worried.
“Alright. I’ll try with Ensnaring Performance,” Gu Hai said after taking a deep breath.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor did promise to help them, after all. Even if I snatch the beggar, I will still need to put in a lot of effort to protect him. I might as well try today. If one piece fails, I still have many others. There will be one that works, right?
“One thousand arhats, double-layered Five Hundred Arhats Formation! Double-layered Demon Purifying Scripture!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong’s spokesman said as he held his palms together.
“Yes!” a group of monks answered.
That group of monks immediately sat in two concentric circles around Gu Hai’s flying ship.
“Double-layered Five Hundred Arhats Formation? Bodhisattva Jie Dong is being too cautious this time, right?”
“Ensnaring Performance already could not bear the Five Hundred Arhats Formation earlier.”
“Two Five Hundred Arhats Formations? How is Ensnaring Performance’s music Dao going to deal with this? Humph!”
The citizens did not think much of Gu Hai and Ensnaring Performance. All of them showed either disdain or pity.
Long Shenwu’s fleet of flying ships took to the sky to monitor the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza from above.
Bodhisattva Zi Zhu showed a cold expression. The monks waited in formation, clearly keeping a close eye on the beggar.
“Amitābha! Gu Hai, Ensnaring Performance, we are going to begin,” Bodhisattva Jie Dong’s spokesman said.
The dragons frowned slightly and looked at Ao Shun.
“Crown Prince Ao Shun, this is a grudge between Elite Hall and them. The music Dao duel might be dangerous. How about you bring the dragons away first?” Gu Hai suggested as he looked at Ao Shun.
“Hahaha! Dangerous? Since when has my dragon race feared danger? Don’t worry. We will just wait at the side. When Ensnaring Performance dueled them earlier, someone tried to break the rules and assassinate him. We will protect you now. Let’s see who dares to do such sneaky things again?” Ao Shun immediately shook his head.
Naturally, the dragons followed Ao Shun’s lead. No one objected after that.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!” The nearby Bodhisattva Zi Zhu started coughing again from anger.
“Demon Purifying Scripture, begin!” Bodhisattva Jie Dong’s spokesman shouted.
“Demons and evildoers, the purifying light of Buddha purifies all evil. The Lord Buddha above bestowed on us the holy scriptures, to purify all lives…”
“Demons and evildoers, the purifying light of Buddha purifies all evil. The Lord Buddha above bestowed on us the holy scriptures, to purify all lives…”
Two sets of the Five Hundred Arhats Formation immediately chanted the Demon Purifying Scripture and even progressed to the second half.
Buzz!
Countless swastikas came from the one thousand arhats’ mouths and formed a huge swastika overhead. As it spun, it released a bright light into the sky, illuminating the entire Heavenly Mao City.
The chanting of the Demon Purifying Scripture filled the entire city, sounding grand and vast. This immediately attracted all the citizens in the city, causing them to look towards the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza in shock.
Countless Buddhists pressed their palms together in Heavenly Mao City, paying reverence to the Buddhist Dao.
“Purify the demon! Purify the demon! Purify the demon!” Countless citizens looked at the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza.
Long Shenwu showed a sullen expression, appearing somewhat worried.
“A dog biting another dog would just end up with a mouthful of fur.” Long Aotian made a disdainful face.
[TL Note: A dog biting another dog would just end up with a mouthful of fur is an expression that refers to an unjustifiable dispute.]
Surging golden light gathered at the Hearing Buddha Hall’s plaza, forming a golden fog. Then, Demon Subduing Guardians condensed in the fog, their fierce glares projecting ferocity. Some raised hammers and others, maces as they charged at Gu Hai.
One…ten…one hundred…five hundred…
The Demon Subduing Guardians showed ferocious expressions, wanting to purify and destroy everyone.
“Hall Master, I…I feel that this sound is attacking my mind and influencing it.” Mu Chenfeng and the other Elite Hall disciples appeared worried.
“After the Demon Purifying Scripture purifies one, one would do their bidding. While it is called the Demon Purifying Scripture, it is actually a demonic tune that controls the mind,” Ao Shun said with a frown.
“Master, what should we do now? I have used your ‘Sonata Pathétique’ and ‘March of the General,’ but they were not effective.” Ensnaring Performance played “Sonata Pathétique” and manifested a warrior.
Boom!
The warrior charged out, and a Demon Subduing Guardian knocked him back. Then, another Demon Subduing Guardian sent him flying. He was not even worth a strike before the Demon Subduing Guardians.
Several pieces immediately occurred to Gu Hai. He happened to know of a few Buddhist scriptures. Since he started cultivating, his memories became clearer; he could remember anything he had heard when he was young. Among them was a song that would be playing whenever one went to a certain temple back on Earth. Hence, he was very familiar with it.
“I’ll teach you the ‘Great Compassion Mantra.’ Memorize it. We can try using Buddhism against Buddhism,” Gu Hai said.
[TL Note: The Great Compassion Mantra is a scripture that is written and read in Sanskrit. It is used in Hinduism and Buddhism and references many bodhisattvas. Here is a Wikipedia link about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%ABlaka%E1%B9%87%E1%B9%ADha_Dh%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87%C4%AB#In_Buddhist_practice. Below is an essay written about the Great Compassion Mantra with an English translation in Appendix A. The translations of the Great Compassion Mantra in this novel will be adapted from this. https://bwflc0.tripod.com/CKWong2009-B.pdf.]
After speaking, he placed his hand on Ensnaring Performance’s back, telepathically passing the song to his heaven-grade zither.
“Use Buddhism against Buddhism? Mister Gu, isn’t that making things too difficult for you? You intend to use a Buddhist scripture against a Buddhist scripture? Are you going to create a Buddhist scripture on the spot?” Ao Shun asked in shock.
Far away, Bodhisattva Jie Dong revealed a cold smile. Buddhism against Buddhism? What a joke!
