Chapter 94 The Statue That statue looks so much like me, it must have something to do with me...
The other person said, “There’s nothing wrong with saying this, it’s just that I’m afraid you won’t believe it. Our elders didn’t really believe in Buddhism. It was only by chance that we met a master who came down the mountain to spread the Dharma. After listening to those masters preach a few times, we started to believe in Buddhism.”
"Ever since we started practicing Buddhism, we've always felt that something is off about our surroundings, especially the people in our town. They've all become very strange, but we can't quite put our finger on what's strange about them. Anyway... the reason we came to the meditation community is because of my in-laws, my husband's parents. They originally didn't believe in gods or Buddhas, but suddenly one day, like many people in the town, they started worshipping a deity."
"Ever since they started worshipping the gods, my husband's family has indeed become very wealthy, but my in-laws have become increasingly strange, even... even one night, when I woke up, I found my in-laws each holding a kitchen knife, standing by our bed. At that moment... at that moment, I screamed in fright, waking my husband as well. When my in-laws saw that we were both awake, they said they wanted to make us a midnight snack..."
The man nodded in agreement and continued, "I felt there was something wrong with that statue and wanted to throw it away, but my parents... my parents wouldn't let me touch it. When I insisted on touching it, during the argument, my father took a knife and chopped off four of my fingers..."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve. Only one finger remained on that hand, and although the wound had healed, it still looked shocking.
Li Chenjin was slightly taken aback. "Is that statue a woman?"
The two nodded. "But we've never seen such a deity before, and for some reason... sigh?"
As they were talking, they suddenly stopped, looked at Li Chenjin, and said with surprise, "That statue... doesn't it look a bit like a lay Buddhist?"
Li Chen sighed, "Don't worry, you two, that statue is definitely not me. It's probably just a coincidence."
The two men nodded and said, "Of course, of course. It's just that the faces are somewhat similar, but you, sir, are like a gentle breeze, while that statue sends chills down our spines. If we hadn't found something strange about that statue, we wouldn't have come here."
The woman said, “I also brought my parents to the meditation center. They didn’t want to come at first, but after seeing my parents-in-law cut off my husband’s hand, they began to feel that something was wrong with the people in town and agreed to come to the meditation center with us to avoid trouble.”
"But my parents are too old to travel with us, so we have to settle them in a nearby temple first before coming here."
"Besides seeking protection, we also want to ask the monks of Wufo Temple to come to our town and take a look. Also... we've heard that Zen Master Mingcun can see everything in the world, so we wanted to ask if that statue is a true deity? If not a deity, then what is it? But we didn't expect that we still lack the necessary affinity with Zen Master Mingcun..."
As soon as she finished speaking, another person nodded and said, "We have also heard of the name of the lay Buddhist. We wonder if the lay Buddhist knows about him?"
Li Chen smiled slightly, “Take the example of seeking wealth that you two just mentioned. ‘The Buddha said: Wealth and lust are to people like a child. The sweetness of honey on a knife’s edge is not enough for a meal, but there is the danger of cutting off one’s tongue (1)’. Whether it is the Buddha or the gods, if they teach people to indulge their desires and be greedy for wealth and lust, it is naturally not a ‘correct’ view.”
The two men exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands together in Li Chenjin's direction and said, "Thank you, layman, we have learned a lot."
After the young monk led the two people in different directions, the smile on Li Chenjin's face slowly faded.
She glanced sideways at Shen Zhengyuan, who had been listening for a long time and only walked over slowly after everyone had left. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The old monk Mingcun asked us to stay here and also let me temporarily take over the position of abbot. He must have done this so that you and I could hear about these things. And the old monk must know all about what you did."
"However, I know that old monk. He is not someone who cannot see through life and death. He wants me to stay and let me hear these things, so he must need my help. After all, I have thought about it, and that statue looks so much like me. It is probably related to me in some way."
Shen Zhengyuan looked at her and said, "That statue appeared more than seven hundred years ago."
Li Chen let out a long "Oh," and murmured, "I wasn't even born then, so it seems it has nothing to do with me. They probably just need my help..."
That old monk Mingcun is really something. At such an advanced age, he still likes to create riddles for people to guess. If she were a little less intelligent, how could she possibly figure these things out?
My head hurts, it really hurts...
Next, we will be greeted by the entire cultivation world.
However, this cultivation world is the smallest in terms of territory and population among all cultivation worlds. All the cultivators in all the sects combined number only about a hundred.
Upon seeing those people from the body cultivation world, Li Chen exclaimed "Ah!" as if he had suddenly realized something.
No wonder someone told her that before the Venerable Master Mingcun left, he said that the various halls of Wufo Temple needed repairs and asked her to arrange manpower as soon as possible.
She had previously found it troublesome because not only had the Venerable Master Mingcun left, but he had also taken most of the monks from Wufo Temple with him, and they had gone off to some unknown place to practice asceticism. Naturally, the remaining manpower was insufficient.
She was also considering whether to borrow some people from the Dharma cultivation community from Shen Zhengyuan to repair Wufo Temple, and at the same time repair all the temples in the Zen cultivation community.
But after thinking it over, she worried that the people in the cultivation world might not have the physical strength to keep up and might collapse from exhaustion halfway through the repairs, which would require her to trouble the physician. Now that the people in the physical cultivation world have arrived, wouldn't this problem be easily solved?
Although the techniques of the body cultivators may not appear as elegant as those of the sword cultivators or as effortless as those of the magic cultivators, their advantage lies in their strong physique, great strength, and invulnerability to weapons.
After all, the basic skills that people in the body cultivation world practice every day are even more tiring than those in the sword cultivation world. Even if disciples from the sword cultivation world went there, they would only collapse from exhaustion. Therefore, few people are willing to endure that hardship, and there have always been very few talents in the body cultivation world.
But though they are few in number, the people in the physical cultivation community are capable of doing the work of ten people. Aren't they the best people to repair temples in various places in the meditation community?
Thinking this, Li Chenjin's smile became even more gentle, which made Shen Zhengyuan take a few more glances at the group of people opposite him.
People in this body cultivation world are all incredibly hardworking. They cultivate year-round, regardless of the cold winter or the scorching summer, rain or shine. As a result, they all appear strong and muscular, with deep bronze skin.
Just by looking at the bulging muscles on the leader's arms, one could tell how strong he was; he could easily kill three or four people with a single punch.
Consider the people in the sword cultivation world. Although their physiques differ from those in the body cultivation world, both are places where strength is paramount. Furthermore, since people in the body cultivation world are interested in sword practice, and people in the sword cultivation world are also interested in body training, people from the two worlds often interact.
Li Chen had clearly been very interested in body cultivation in the past, but he had never had time to go to the body cultivation world, so...
Shen Zhengyuan's gaze swept over the people from the body cultivation world several times before he silently took a few steps back without making a sound.
People in the Dharma Cultivation Realm are only good at long-range attacks, even the most powerful Dharma Cultivation Realm cultivators are no exception. Although he would not kill people on the territory of the Zen Cultivation Realm, it would not be difficult for him to send people to the desert thousands of miles away.
Aren't people in the body cultivation world able to walk?
Let's see if we can make it out of the desert alive. If we can...
It's not too late to kill them later.
At this moment, Li Chen was only thinking about how to deceive people, and did not notice Shen Zhengyuan, who had retreated ten steps away. He simply bowed to the group in front of him and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I have long admired the reputation of the body cultivation world, but I have never had the chance to meet you. I never thought that I would have the honor of meeting you all today. It is truly an honor!"
The leader was the head of the Body Cultivation Sect. Hearing Li Chenjin's words, he waved his hand and said, "Hey. Layman, there's no need for such formalities. We don't like hearing them! We in the Body Cultivation Sect have always been straightforward. Let's just state our purpose directly: we would like to temporarily borrow the land of the Zen Cultivation Sect for a while."
"But don't worry, we're not staying here for free. If your meditation community needs our help in anything, just ask, and we certainly won't refuse! However, we prefer physical labor; we're good at anything that requires strength. But if you want us to go with you to spread the Dharma, then we can't say yes."
Li Chenjin cupped his hands again and said, "Then I will thank you all on behalf of my master. You are all cultivators, and you have your own methods to cultivate. The Zen cultivation community will not force you to cultivate with the disciples of the Zen cultivation community. Later, I will have someone designate a quiet place in the Zen cultivation community for you to cultivate in peace."
The man nodded in satisfaction. "Good! I like talking to smart people like you. Simple and to the point!"
Li Chen smiled and asked, "May I ask you all why you left the Body Cultivation Realm and came to stay temporarily in the Meditation Realm? Is there some problem with the Body Cultivation Realm? Do you need the Meditation Realm's assistance?"
The man sighed, "Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that some demons have appeared near the Body Cultivation Realm. Those demons don't speak, and they bite and kill anyone they see."
“We are invulnerable to swords and spears, so naturally we are not afraid of those demons. We can kill one with a single punch. But the people in our area are not so lucky. They are bitten to death with a single bite. Each of us only has two fists and two legs, so we simply cannot save so many people. Therefore, even though we eventually killed all the demons, many people still lost their lives.”
"But those demons keep coming back after a batch dies, and they keep causing trouble every few days. We had no choice but to bring the remaining civilians. But don't worry, although those civilians are just ordinary people and can't do any heavy work, we have plenty of strength! So you don't need to make those civilians do any work. If there's any work, let us do it for them!"
Li Chen frowned. "The demon race? Why would the demon race suddenly appear and hurt people? Besides, weren't the demon race driven away from the human world by the Sword God a long time ago? They are now living in the demon realm, which is not far from the Zen cultivation world. Why would they suddenly go to the body cultivation world, which is far away from the Zen cultivation world, to cause trouble and kill people?"
The author's note: (1) From the "Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters Spoken by the Buddha".
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