Liuli left Li Molin, completely unaware of the dangers they encountered. She began searching for Shi Chan's whereabouts throughout the Central Plains. Strangely, although she usually encountered Shi Chan without deliberately searching, she could not find him no matter how hard she tried.
According to Liuli's assumption, Shichan must still be traveling somewhere in the Central Plains. However, what she didn't know was that Shichan and several other direct disciples of the Great Ming Zen Master had already been summoned back to the mountain gate. This was because their master, the Great Ming Zen Master, had reached a critical point in his cultivation. If he could advance one more step, he could ascend to the Western Paradise. If he could not advance any further, he would pass away, and his soul would return to the cycle of reincarnation.
In a small wooden cabin atop Pure Land Mountain, seven disciples of Zen Master Daming, including Shi Ning, Shi Fan, and Shi Chan, sat upright on futons, surrounding Zen Master Daming on the bed.
At that time, Zen Master Daming was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his hands forming the meditation mudra, in deep meditation. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows and eyes were gentle, and a smile was on his lips.
The disciples were gathered in the small wooden hut, almost filling all the open space. The atmosphere inside was extremely tense, with seven pairs of eyes fixed intently on Zen Master Daming, their expressions tense.
Days passed one by one. The seven disciples, including Shi Chan, neither ate, drank, slept, nor even moved, but simply watched as the golden light emanating from Zen Master Daming grew stronger and stronger.
Suddenly, faint, melodious music rang out from the wooden house, accompanied by the unsettling voices of the seven disciples, including Shi Chan. Wisps of black energy slowly coiled around the body of Zen Master Daming, rivaling the golden light surrounding him and refusing to yield an inch.
Seeing this scene, the seven disciples, including Shi Chan, changed their expressions, their worries deepening.
If a cultivator wishes to ascend to the Heavenly Realm, the Demon Realm, or the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, those who practice Taoism or the Demon Realm must undergo Heavenly Tribulation, while Buddhist disciples must undergo Heavenly Demon Tribulation.
When Buddhist disciples reach the pinnacle of their cultivation, their bodies swell with Buddhist power, almost transforming them into a humanoid aggregate of spiritual energy. At this point, the disciples begin to attempt to separate their souls from their bodies, using the abundant Buddhist power to reshape their golden bodies. During this process, extraterrestrial demons, sensing a tempting opportunity, exploit the various obsessions within the disciples' hearts. They may seduce, intimidate, forcibly seize, or bewitch them. In short, these demons are determined to cause the disciples to fail in reshaping their golden bodies. As their souls separate from their bodies, they devour their souls, thereby seizing the abundant Buddhist power to increase their own strength.
The number of demonic forces in a Buddhist disciple's heart when experiencing the tribulation of heavenly demons is determined by the number of attachments they have planted in their hearts during their past cultivation.
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Liuli traveled tirelessly throughout the Central Plains, but after more than ten days she still could not find any trace of Shichan, and she was extremely anxious.
Meanwhile, Zen Master Shi was still in the small wooden hut on the top of Pure Land Mountain, looking nervously at Zen Master Daming, who was sitting cross-legged.
At this moment, Zen Master Daming was surrounded by dazzling golden light, which seemed to emanate from every pore of his body, making his cross-legged figure appear solemn and dignified, like a Buddha.
Time passed day by day, and more than a month had gone by since Shi Chan and the other disciples of the Great Ming Zen Master returned to Bodhi Temple. At this time, more than ten days had passed since Liu Li left Li Molin and the others to begin searching for Shi Chan.
This day was the ninth day of the tenth month, early winter.
It was noon.
Over the course of more than a month, the golden light surrounding Zen Master Daming gradually intensified, while the black light gradually weakened, until it was almost completely gone. The faint, melodious music that had been playing in the wooden house also gradually diminished until it disappeared entirely.
Bathed in golden light, a smile slowly spread across the lips of the Great Ming Zen Master. This smile contained a variety of emotions, including freedom, gentleness, joy, happiness, and compassion. Perhaps this is what the legendary Buddha's smile when he held up a flower looked like.
Not long after, Zen Master Daming slowly opened his eyes. At this moment, even his eyes emitted a faint golden light, which reflected wisdom and insight into the world.
The moment he opened his eyes, his body suddenly dissipated, turning into specks of golden light that vanished and instantly filled the entire wooden house.
The seven disciples, including Shi Chan, experienced a moment of dizziness. When they looked again, they saw that Zen Master Daming was still sitting cross-legged in the same spot, without moving an inch. Golden body fragments were still floating around him.
Shi Chan and the others knew that this sight signified that Zen Master Daming had successfully reconstructed his golden body. What sat before them now was the soul of Zen Master Daming, while what was drifting and dispersing was his mortal body.
The seven disciples, including Shi Chan, exchanged glances and all saw the excitement and surprise in each other's eyes.
Zen Master Daming looked around at his seven personally taught disciples, his expression gentle, and nodded slightly.
"Namo Amitabha!" Zen Master Daming chanted the Buddha's name and said with a smile, "I am fortunate to have survived the Heavenly Demon Tribulation and will soon ascend to the Western Paradise. Before I leave, I have a few words to tell you."
"Yes!" The seven nodded with their palms together and said in unison, "We disciples will respectfully listen to Master's teachings."
The Great Master first looked at Shi Ning and said gently, "After I ascend to heaven, Shi Ning, you should take over the position of abbot of Bodhi Temple and lead Bodhi Temple to develop and grow, so that when the war between good and evil breaks out in the future, you can do your part for the people of the Central Plains."
Shi Ning knelt down respectfully and said, "Disciple obeys the order. From this day forward, disciple will devote all his energy to developing and expanding Bodhi Temple, and lead the disciples in the temple to spread the Buddha's light across the earth and save suffering beings."
"Alright." Zen Master Daming gestured slightly and said gently, "You may rise, Shi Ning."
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