In the remnants of the Xuanming dwelling, Li Qingshan planted the Heaven Climbing Vine and conveniently used the abilities of the qilin. A verdant, sturdy vine quickly grew, extending with a series of tendrils that curled upwards like ivy. However, it did not hang off anything at all, rising up above the plants.
When its tip reached the limits of the sky, who knew how many thousand metres tall, it suddenly pierced through space and continued growing.
“You can go now.” Li Qingshan patted his hands as if he had just finished off a small but annoying task, brushing off some non-existent dust from his hands.
However, princess Qin refused to budge. She grumbled, “You said you would send me back.”
“Yeah. Right up there is the Heaven realm!”
“Who knows? What if it’s the Hungry Ghost realm? Or the Demon domain? And you still glare at me. Even if it’s the Heaven realm, I might fall into the hands of someone wicked again as a feeble woman. I’ll be out of the frying pan, only to end up in the fire.”
As she said that, tears began to trickle down princess Qin’s face.
“If you don’t want to part with me, you can just say so.”
Li Qingshan crossed his arms and curled his lip. No matter what, this little girly had a cultivation at the fifth heavenly tribulation. She was not a feeble woman at all.
“I don’t want to part with you!” Princess Qin held onto Li Qingshan’s arm firmly as if she would burst into tears if he refused to accompany her to the Heaven realm.
“Sir, if you really refuse, I won’t force you. If I encounter any wicked demons, I swear I would rather die than sleep with another, to protect your honour.”
Protect my honour? Girl, do I know you?
“Sigh, how troublesome. I’ll accompany you then!”
Actually, Li Qingshan was slightly curious about what kind of place the Heaven realm was as well. Among the six realms of sa?sāra, the Heaven realm was the only place he had not been to. With his current cultivation, surely popping in and taking a look would not cause too many problems.
A smile broke through princess Qin’s tears. “Thank you, sir.”
Li Qingshan brought his arm around her waist again, and they stepped into the Heaven Climbing Vine together, following the twisted tunnel up until they reached the boundary of the Human realm.
Suddenly, endless cold light bloomed before their eyes. Flowers rained from above and golden lotuses surged forth from the ground, shining gloriously.
The vague sound of hymns and chanting rang out from the endless light. Even a ki?nara like princess Qin was enchanted by it.
Looking from the ocean, the Heaven Climbing Vine had been dyed a pure-gold from up to down before shattering and disintegrating inch by inch, scattering as golden powder.
“This light… I think I’ve seen it before.”
In a daze, he saw Nüwa mending the heavens, the qilin running about, the phoenix soaring, the golden clouds of auspiciousness, and the buddha smiling…
“Shatter!”
He gritted his teeth, and the divine eye on his forehead opened up. All of the illusions dispersed.
The golden light became much dimmer, but it did not disperse. All he saw around him was a flourishing forest, filled with golden-leaved bodhi trees. The ground beneath him was paved with golden tiles. The sun shone above his head, reflecting off the ground, making it glisten.
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“Is this… the Heaven realm?”
Li Qingshan stepped around on the golden tiles and gazed at the sky. For some reason, it gave off a sense of familiarity and belonging.
In the beginning, he thought he was chosen by the heavens of the Heaven realm, which was why he felt this. After all, he possessed three bloodlines, so there was nothing strange about having the will of the heavens on his side.
However, upon closer consideration, that did not seem to be all…
“Sir, are we here?” Princess Qin rubbed her eyes and asked in a confused manner.
“Who’re you asking?” Li Qingshan said in exasperation.
For some reason, he could no longer sense the Heaven Climbing Vine anymore, which meant his path of retreat was gone. If it were not for the fact that he sensed no threats or animosity, he basically would have suspected this to be a trap.
“My mistake.”
Princess Qin smiled apologetically. Her smile was warm and elegant, and the worry between her brows suddenly vanished.
The two of them strolled through the forest while princess Qin held onto Li Qingshan’s arm. At first glance, they seemed like a pair of lovers on a date here.
However, Li Qingshan only noticed the peculiarities of this place even more. The profound and wondrous sensation was like the growth of vegetation. There was no discomfort at all. Instead, it was extremely comfortable, leisurely, and carefree, free of any worries.
This definitely was not the trichiliocosm. It was impossible for a regular world to support the existence of a Daemon God. However, it did not resemble the six realms of sa?sāra either. The laws of the world were very deeply hidden as well, so deep that they were almost unobservable, like they had been obscured by a certain power. Despite that, he was unable to determine the quality and source of this power.
Perhaps that meant this world was on a level even higher than the Human realm, Daemonic Beast realm, or so on, or perhaps it was just a special characteristic of the Heaven realm, like the Hell realm.
“Sir, this doesn’t seem to be the Heaven realm.”
Princess Qin bit her lip as if she was in disbelief. Her eyes were filled with unimaginable joy.
“Hmm? Are you certain?”
“This seems to be… Sukhāvatī.”
Li Qingshan trembled all over as if he had just received a bombshell. “What did you say!?”
“It can’t be wrong. It can’t be wrong. This is the Western Paradise Sukhāvatī. Fantastic! Fantastic!”
Princess Qin was so excited that she trembled all over. A gentle breeze blew over, and she let go of Li Qingshan’s arm. With a gentle leap, she flew up, actually soaring and dancing between the bodhi trees. She let out a chime-like laugh, having the time of her life.
However, Li Qingshan was dumbstruck. He stood there blankly. “I’m in the afterlife!?”
He was alive and kicking just now, so how had he ended up in the afterlife all of a sudden?
TL: Sometimes, the threat of “sending someone to the afterlife” in Chinese literally means sending them to the buddhist paradise, the western pure land.
Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen the golden light before. He had seen it during the battle of Black Cloud city. The Upraised Light abbot’s stirring sacrifice resulted in a beam of light from the sky, taking away his soul. The light seemed to be called the receiving light of the buddha!
“Sir, encountering you was the greatest fortune in my life.”
Prinecss Qin returned to his side and bowed elegantly. She was as happy as a little girl. “I’m basically far too fortunate. How does that daoist saying go? Curses and blessings come hand in hand, where one often turns into the other!”
“You’re not returning to the Heaven realm anymore?”
“The Heaven realm? How can the Heaven realm compare to Sukhāvatī?”
The deva all believed in buddhism. Their greatest wish often was not to survive the tribulations and become immortals, but to enter the Western Paradise Sukhāvatī.
As the buddha said, Why is this land called paradise? The people of this land are free from suffering, yet they still have joys, thus it is called paradise.
By entering Sukhāvatī, they were completely freed from the impurities of the world, without any need to suffer from the roots of suffering, freed from the circumstances of celestial decay.
This pure land was imbued with the buddha’s power of great benevolent belief, free from any wicked demons externally and devoid of suffering internally. They enjoyed endless lifespans, just like the buddha.
By paradise, it was definitely no exaggeration.
“Are you certain this is Sukhāvatī?” However, Li Qingshan refused to believe there was something as great as that in the world.
Princess Qin smiled. “Listen closely, sir.”
As a result, Li Qingshan listened closely. The wind blew through the golden-leaved bodhi trees, but it did not emit the regular sound of rustling trees. Instead, there was a strange rhythm and a metallic timbre. Combined with the strange bird cries, it formed a wondrous tune, both enchanting and calming.
As the buddha said, The sounds heard by people of this land all resemble study of the buddha, the dharma, and the sangha.
“It was the wondrous sound that I heard that made me dance in the air uncontrollably.”
“Perhaps we’ve only accidentally entered a certain holy land of buddhism,” Li Qingshan continued to refute her stubbornly, even more certain that he had fallen into a trap.
Princess Qin smiled and prodded his chest gently with her slender finger. “I was originally quite dissatisfied with you sir, both with how you took my chaste and how you refused to treasure me, but in consideration of the fact that you saved me, I could not help but depend on you, wanting you to become my cultivation partner. That was why I tempted you to enter the Heaven realm, in hopes that you could change your mind. I really did suffer great agonies of the mind.”
“But after arriving in Sukhāvatī, I was suddenly freed from my emotions. I felt no more resentment or bitterness. Instead, I was filled with gratitude. I felt like this was a heaven-sent opportunity, so I might as well go with the flow. Why place so much emphasis on what I’ve gained and lost, persisting over this measly affair? I no longer hoped to spend all of our time together, only hoping that you can always be well. If this isn’t Sukhāvatī, what other place is so wondrous?”
Li Qingshan looked over with squinted eyes. Princess Qin was filled with sincerity, without any attempt at deception at all. It should have touched him and caused him a sense of guilt, but it only made him feel cold inside.
He could not help but examine himself. He discovered the ox demon, the tiger demon, the ape demon, and his many demonic thoughts were declining.
Letting go of his stubbornness, diluting his wrath, and no longer deluding himself. Was that a good thing?
He could not help but admit that he really did feel very happy and very comfortable. He had basically never felt so at ease in his life, but it also frightened him for some reason.
With his cultivation as a Daemon God and identity as a successor of the devaputra-māra, this world could actually influence his will without him knowing. Apart from the legendary Sukhāvatī, what other place could this be?
Before the buddha’s power of great benevolent belief, what was a measly Daemon God’s beliefs supposed to be?
Li Qingshan said firmly, “No, I can’t stay here!”
“Why?” Princess Qin was extremely surprised, almost tempted to ask, Are you stupid?
“I promised to take you back to the Heaven realm. This isn’t the Heaven realm. And don’t forget, we snuck our way in here. Perhaps someone will be here to chase us away very soon. Who knows, they might not even come peacefully?”
“Sir, you promised me a fancy cart, a pulling cart, yet now, I’ve received a great cart pulled by a white ox instead. I can’t even celebrate enough! Let alone me, even the buddha won’t blame you. You might as well say that is what the buddha has done.”
“You’re completely underestimating Sukhāvatī, actually comparing it to the Heaven realm. The deva are all proud and self-conceited, reserved, and stingy. Meanwhile, the buddha is benevolent and magnanimous, so why would someone chase us away, much less violently? Those who are not destined can go through thousands of lives without ever setting foot here, while those who are destined can do so in a single step. You’re here means that you’re here. You have the destiny means you have the destiny.”
Princess Qin smiled and sighed, shaking her head. She seemed enchanted, like she had just been enlightened. Her words were filled with a buddhist truth, having drawn a clear line separating herself from those lowly deva already.
Li Qingshan cringed. The beacon of liberal democracy had basically captured her, and she had even run into it willingly.
What he was most worried about right now was whether there was a scheme involved, just in case the buddha suddenly appeared and crushed him then and there with his palm.
“Then, princess Qin, why do you think we’ve been brought here? Has your sincerity touched the buddha?”
“Of course. I’ve never done anything, so why would I be received by the buddha’s light? Sir, do you have a bound duty?”
“Writing novels?” He remembered that he was a disciple of the school of Novels, so his bound duty should have been writing novels.
“No, I’m talking about a bound duty allocated to you by the heavenly palace.”
“I’ve only just undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation recently. I don’t have any connections either, so why would I be given a duty?”
“There you go. I think you’ve been chosen as a sangharama guardian.”
Li Qingshan had heard of that phrase before. So-called sangharama god were both “guardian gods” of buddhism, as well as another path and system beyond the heavenly palace. It was a path taken by monks.
Then he remembered how Mahe?vara was one of the devatà and could also be classified as a part of buddhism. Devaputra-māra were also a form of god.
And a very, very long time ago, he was once a secular disciple of buddhism.
Motherfucker, so it really is the study of the buddha, the dharma, the sangha!
“Sir, you have a destiny with the buddha!”
As a result, he remembered it all. Every single monk he encountered in his life seemed to say that exact phrase.
He had always treated that phrase as a joke. Even when the Upraised Light abbot tried to convince him otherwise, he could not shake his will.
Never did he think it would be a prophecy come true, ending up in Sukhāvatī and becoming some sangharama guardian when he momentarily dropped his guard.
“It’s a cursed destiny!”
