Just as the Buddha was about to speak, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva preemptively said, "Namo Amitabha! If I don't go to hell, who will? This humble monk will henceforth liberate the wandering souls of the world on this Yin Mountain and eliminate the resentment in their hearts!" Liaozhen immediately replied, "That's fine too. With Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva assisting the six great Venerable Ones of Rebirth, the Underworld should be peaceful." After saying this, everyone on Penglai Island laughed.
Although he didn't quite understand why the disciples of Penglai Island were laughing, Ksitigarbha, accompanied by his divine beast Di Ting, flew to the top of Yinshan Mountain, clasped his hands together, and chanted: "Ong, Song, Ba, Ni, Song, Ba, Ha, Re, Zha, Re, Ma, Ha, Ba!" This was the "Thirteen-Character Ksitigarbha Mantra" that the Great Vow Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had realized after the many changes that day! Ksitigarbha left, and Tathagata sighed, glancing at the Styx Ancestor. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the Styx Ancestor walk up to Lady Pingxin and ask her, "Your Majesty, how have you been lately?"
Pingxin glanced at Styx. Although he was displeased, he couldn't say anything at the moment and said indifferently, "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Ancestor."
Styx pretended not to notice and continued to laugh, "This place is quite clean, and the air is nice too. It's quite good."
The words of the Styx Ancestor made everyone around him turn black with disbelief. How could there be such a shameless person? He clearly didn't want to give Tathagata a chance to speak. The masters of the prehistoric era were indeed different.
Even Lady Pingxin didn't know how to answer. Did the Styx Ancestor not care about shocking people with his words? Pingxin didn't know how to respond.
After finishing his speech, the Styx Ancestor realized that he had just stirred up trouble for no reason, and for a moment he didn't know what to say next.
Buddha interjected at the opportune moment: "Your Majesty, regarding my teachings to the Netherworld Sect..."
Pingxin waved his hand to interrupt Tathagata's words, saying, "Buddha should know that when Houtu transformed into the Six Paths, it was built on the Netherworld Blood Sea. Therefore, this Blood Sea can also be considered a part of the Six Paths. Among the Six Paths are the Heavenly Path, the Human Path, the Asura Path, the Animal Path, the Hungry Ghost Path, and the Hell Path. The Asura Path consists of the Asuras in the Blood Sea. If Buddha were to forcibly convert these Asuras, it would disrupt the operation of the Heavenly Path."
The Buddha was speechless. He hadn't gained anything from the previous incident, and the Underworld had already stopped interfering. Now, he couldn't interfere with the Styx River's affairs either. The Heavenly Dao, with a single sentence about the operation of the Heavenly Dao, had ruined the whole thing.
The Buddha clasped his hands together and said, "What Your Majesty says makes sense, but..."
Liao Zhen laughed and said, "Great Buddha, since the Buddha has already agreed to this matter, how about we settle the matter of the Underworld?"
Buddha was extremely anxious. Damn it, they all humiliated him. He glared at the people from the Underworld, feeling helpless. Their strength was no less than his own. Four Quasi-Saints had come from Penglai Island, plus the Styx Ancestor and Lady Pingxin. The Buddhist sect really couldn't hold them off.
Seeing that the matter was about to end, Buddha was unwilling, but he could only think of other ways.
The Buddha said, "In that case, this humble monk will return to Mount Ling. I hope to learn from you another day." With that, he waved his hand and left with the Buddhist monks.
Seeing that the Buddha had left, Huixin said to Pingxin, "Your Majesty, the matter here is settled. We must return to the island to report back. Please forgive us."
Pingxin smiled and said, "You can go back now. Nothing serious is happening in the underworld."
Huixin and the others accepted the order, apologized to the Styx Ancestor, and then left.
When the Styx Ancestor saw that Huixin and the others had left, he was also eager to return to the Blood Sea to reorganize. In the previous battle with the Buddhist sect, the Netherworld Sect had suffered heavy losses, with more than half of its members killed or wounded, and it was almost wiped out.
“In that case, I have some matters to attend to in the Blood Sea, so I must take my leave. Please forgive me, Your Majesty,” said the Styx Ancestor, bowing to Pingxin.
Pingxin said calmly, "The Ancestor can make the arrangements himself." Back then, the Styx Ancestor played a very important role in the war between the Lich and the Demons. Although the Lich's demise was a foregone conclusion, it was ultimately the Styx Ancestor who initiated it. It would be strange if Pingxin gave him a pleasant look.
The Styx Ancestor didn't take it to heart, and simply led the Netherworld Cult members away.
However, it is said that Huixin and the others returned to Penglai Island, met with Xuantian, and then reported what had happened to him.
Huixin said, "We disciples failed to drive Ksitigarbha out of the underworld. Please forgive us, Master."
Xuan Tian laughed and said, "It's alright. It's Heaven's will that Ksitigarbha is in Yinshan. It's only right that he enters the Underworld. You've done enough. We'll settle things with them when the next great calamity arrives."
After a pause, Xuan Tian continued, "The rise of Buddhism is ordained by Heaven. I wasn't planning on causing them any trouble, but who knew they would come looking for trouble first? Hmph, did they really back down so easily?"
The disciples below were somewhat confused, but Cangjie's expression showed a clear understanding.
Xuan Tian laughed and said, "Cang Jie."
"Disciple is here." Cangjie quickly responded when Xuantian called him.
Xuan Tian laughed and said, "Last time, I asked you to accompany Laozi to transform into a Buddha outside Hangu Pass. What did you gain from that?"
Cangjie nodded and said, "My teacher once said that when the Dao Ancestor Hongjun transformed into the Heavenly Dao, he said, 'There are three thousand Great Daos, and each one can lead to the ultimate state.' Then, under the guidance of their respective opportunities to attain the Dao, Laozi taught 'purity and non-action,' Yuanshi Tianzun taught 'spreading and glorifying,' Tongtian Jiaozhu taught 'destruction and then construction,' and Jieyin and Zhunti taught 'Western Paradise.' As disciples of the Dao Ancestor, the five saints naturally expressed their own views on the Heavenly Dao."
He paused, then continued, “Yuanshi Tianzun’s Chan Sect ‘spreads and glorifies’ follows the Heavenly Way in everything, but has no original insights; Tongtian Jiaozhu’s Jie Sect ‘destroys and then establishes,’ aiming to cut off the slightest gap in the operation of the Heavenly Way, but inevitably goes to extremes; Jieyin and Zhunti’s Western Buddhism, ‘Western Paradise,’ is self-enclosed, how can it flourish in the world? Taishang Laojun, as the first disciple of Daozu Hongjun, has the merit of ‘one breath transforming into three pure ones,’ and is closest to Daozu’s Heavenly Way. Dao is ‘pure and inactive,’ but in reality, it acknowledges the laws of development under the Heavenly Way, ‘survival of the fittest,’ and maintains the continuous operation of the Heavenly Way. However, everyone is born different. If we allow ‘the strong to prey on the weak,’ wouldn’t that negate the efforts of all living beings after birth?”
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