The title of “buddha nemesis” could not be earned from simply destroying a few temples and killing a few monks. It only went to those who blasphemed the buddhist dharma and destroyed the foundations of buddhism. As a matter of fact, it had nothing to do with strength.
As a result, buddhist nemeses often had an extremely close connection to buddhism, or they were mighty figures of buddhism in the first place, like the White Bone Bodhisattva, like Mahe?vara.
Perhaps it was exactly because of this that even with his limitless powers, the buddha could not destroy them.
That only demonstrated how rare buddha nemeses were, yet two of them had appeared together, and they were both from the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.
Mahe?vara was clearly a god in buddhism, yet there was not a single temple that would enshrine a statue of him. All those who believed in him were denounced as heretics. They would find ways to prohibit those practises completely.
Li Qingshan obviously did not believe in Mahe?vara. The dark image behind him was akin to Prabhūtaratna that the Seven Treasures Monk King conjured. It was not truly the god, but it did possess tremendous power.
However, it took the Seven Treasures Monk King several centuries of persistent praying before he could condense the image of Prabhūtaratna.
He had done so completely based on his senses of the aura, conjuring the demon in a single thought.
He could be certain that neither the Sovereign’s Limit Record of World Prosperity nor the Sovereign’s Limit Record of World Destruction possessed this move. How could those who despaired when they faced the end of the world comprehend the true essence of great destruction and great annihilation? In the end, they all just sank into madness from how twisted it was!
Anyone who possessed even a hint of reverence and belief in Mahe?vara could not manifest his power.
A good while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes, withdrew his aura, and dispersed the image. He still had no idea that he had already been labeled as a buddha nemesis, so he rode over to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga on the space-devouring beast. When the Dauntless monk rebuked him furiously as a buddha nemesis, he scratched his head in bewilderment.
“You monk, don’t tell me you’ve lost your mind? The buddha nemesis is Xiao An, alright? Since when have I opposed the buddha? Don’t tell me it’s supposed to be contagious?”
Li Qingshan even felt slightly wronged. He had always been quite respectful of the buddha. He had beaten up and killed monks before, and he had destroyed temples before. He was even destroying the world now, but he could not be slandered like that.
The warning bells rang out through the monastery. The monks were all fearful as if they faced imminent catastrophe. According to their past experiences, nothing good could come out of any visits from him.
The Dauntless monk no longer wanted to say anything more. He found nothing more sorrowful than that. “If you enter the temple, I’ll throw my life at you!”
“Oh my, look at how foolish you are. I just can’t stand something like that. Let’s see how you’re going to throw your life at me!”
When Li Qingshan had specially paid a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, he had done so out of good intentions, yet he actually had the door slammed in his face, which left him fuming. He made his way up the stairs in a single step, about to force his way in.
“Damned disciple, don’t be so unruly!”
The Unraging monk rushed out in a hurry and blocked Li Qingshan.
“Master, I’ve already been expelled. I’m not even a secular disciple anymore, aren’t I?”
The Unraging monk sighed. He was haggard, such that he even seemed slightly thinner.
Li Qingshan could not bear to harm the Unraging monk any further. “Whatever, whatever. There’s nothing interesting about this monastery anyway. I’ve come with important matters in mind.”
“C’mon, I’ll invite you to a cup.”
The Unraging monk grabbed his arm and stepped out, arriving in a small town beyond the mountain.
The sky was hazy, falling with a slight drizzle. The town was deathly silent.
Li Qingshan asked, “Xiao An?”
The Unraging monk shook his head. “The Hungry Ghost realm.”
The banner for alcohol became soaked in rain very quickly, drooping down. The two of them entered a small tavern covered in dust.
Li Qingshan picked up a bowl; the Unraging monk had already drunk several bowls already. He took a sip, only to discover it was only water.
“Even without the Hungry Ghost realm, this tavern wouldn’t have been able to remain open. This is no longer just diluting alcohol with water. You can’t taste the alcohol at all!”
“It’s always been alcohol. I’ve given up drinking.”
“Tsk, then why are you drinking away so heartily?” Li Qingshan placed down the bowl and said solemnly, “The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga cannot remain in the nine provinces anymore.”
“Buddha nemesis, what are you trying to do?”
Before the Unraging monk could say anything, the Dauntless monk’s furious roar rang out from outside, shaking up all of the dust in the tavern.
“If you call me buddha nemesis again, I’ll actually act like one for once!”
Li Qingshan leapt to his feet. Actually, he did not have any particularly strong feelings towards the term “buddha nemesis”. It was like calling a cat a dog and calling an ox a horse. It merely left him with a bad taste in his mouth.
“Senior brother, why do you call Qingshan a buddha nemesis?” The Unraging monk was perplexed too.
“I personally say the embodiment of Mahe?vara behind him!”
“The lord of the māra, Mahe?vara!”
The Unraing monk was stunned. The lord of the māra, Mahe?vara, was unlike the other supernatural beings. Even those “heretics” who worshiped Mahe?vara could not condense an embodiment of him!
“What the fuck does Mahe?vara have to do with me?”
Only now did Li Qingshan confirm the name of that image, but he did not revere him at all. Their paths merely happened to coincide, and he merely happened to develop a connection. Simply as that, he had been written off as a buddha nemesis. It was an absolute injustice. However, he did forget about something. If he coincided with Mahe?vara’s path, then what was he if he was not a buddha nemesis? He was only half a monk, but his background was basically even greater than Xiao An’s.
The Dauntless monk pointed at Li Qingshan furiously. “Yes, this is exactly what it is, this attitude of complete disrespect! You are clearly a buddha nemesis!”
Li Qingshan was speechless. This was like how someone who said there was nothing wrong with them definitely had something wrong with them. It was basically impossible to continue this discussion.
“Whatever! If I’m a buddha nemesis, then I’m a buddha nemesis! I’m not going to bicker with you. The Green province is almost done for, so you better move away quickly.”
As if it was to verify his words, the earth shook again, and the water in the bowl rippled.
The Dauntless monk roared furiously, “It’s you!”
Li Qingshan shrugged. “It’s me.”
“Do you know what kind of a sin it is to destroy the world and plunge the people into misery?”
“This is war. The innocent, the weak are always going to be the unlucky ones first. However, I didn’t start this war.”
Li Qingshan was calm. Since he had made up his mind, there was no point in acting all sympathetic to the misfortunate. Leaving the fate of his women and children to the enemy’s benevolence was not something a man should do. No matter how many innocent people he killed, no matter how many sins he burdened, he would not be changing his mind.
The Dauntless monk was so furious that he was left speechless. The Unraging monk wanted to say something, but he faltered, only sighing in the end.
Li Qingshan pointed at the bowl of water and said slowly, “Forty eight thousand insects in a buddhist temple’s bowl of water.”
The poem basically described that there were countless tiny organisms invisible to the naked eye in the water. Even drinking water was committing the sin of taking life and required chanting scriptures and expiation.
“Are the living creatures all equal, or are they not?”
Li Qingshan seemed to be posing a question, yet he also seemed like he was talking to himself. If they were equal, then killing insects was no different from killing people. Right from birth, they had committed heinous sins. If they were not equal, then the difference between mortals and gods and buddhas was probably even larger than the difference between insects and mortals. As a result, massacring life would be as ordinary as drinking water.
The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk both possessed great wisdom. They immediately understood what he was trying to say. They glanced at each other, but there were only two words in their eyes. “Buddha nemesis!”
This was questioning the buddhist dharma and slandering the buddhist dharma from its very core.
Li Qingshan drank all the water in the bowl in a single bowl and smiled. “I’ll call you master one more time, and that’s the end of our relationship as master and disciple.”
