The Buddha said, "Although the ancient one was revered as the Demon Lord by the demon race, he was not like some demons who improved their cultivation by raping and harming Taoist cultivators and Buddhist cultivators because of his profound magical power."
Chu Nian swallowed back the words, "Yes, Lin Jingting woke up this time without harming anyone, yet he was hailed as the Demon Lord." She was afraid that if she said it, Kong Yuan would go looking for trouble with Lin Jingting again.
However, Chu Nian was quite surprised to hear that Tathagata was an old acquaintance of the ancients and had even given the ancients a token to enter and exit Mount Ling.
The last time she saw Lin Jingting, although he said he often came to Mount Ling, he didn't mention having any connection with Buddha. But now she finally understood why that demon lord would be running around Mount Ling all the time.
Kong Yuan felt a little sad upon hearing Tathagata's words and said, "That doesn't change his essential nature as a demon!"
The Buddha smiled and said, "Whether it's a demon or a Buddha, it's just a matter of a single thought."
Kong Yuan disagreed, saying, "Buddha, a Buddha is a Buddha, and a demon is a demon. If your ideas spread beyond Mount Ling and into the Demon Realm, they will only embolden the demons and make them even more arrogant."
The surrounding monks all stared at her as if she were a monster: How dare this little Emei nun come to Mount Ling to confront the Buddha? Ha!
Tathagata clearly did not want to argue with her, and instead said to Chu Nian, "Your token, although the technique shows that it was made by me, is not one that I have made before. Could you take a closer look at it?"
"Why not?" Chu Nian said with a smile, handing the token to the young monk serving Tathagata, who then passed it on to Tathagata.
The Buddha examined it carefully, turning it over and over, and after a long while said, "I have been thinking about what kind of token I should make for my brother. The token I give him must allow him to come and go freely in all parts of Mount Ling, so as to show his closeness to me; but it cannot be used to do whatever he wants. Now that I see this token, I finally have some understanding."
Chu Nian nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, this token allows the holder to freely enter and exit Mount Ling, but if the holder harbors murderous intent towards the monks or believers of Mount Ling, it will suppress that intent. It is indeed suitable for your brother, Buddha."
Hearing her words, Tathagata was slightly surprised. Because the person who could say such things must not only know a lot about this token, but also about his Spirit Mountain Grand Formation.
He chuckled and said to the others present, "May we all temporarily leave the hall? I would like to speak with this Buddhist friend Wu Nian alone."
The numerous Bodhisattvas and Arhats present were all shocked, but they always revered the Buddha, so they immediately bowed and withdrew. Only Kongyuan was somewhat bewildered by the Buddha's order and was very worried that the Buddha might harm his disciple, so he stood still.
A young monk came forward and bowed, saying, "Master Kongyuan, please allow us to leave for a moment."
Kong Yuan said, "I'm sorry, but with my disciple here, how can I leave on my own?"
Chu Nian advised, "Master, please wait outside the hall for now. I will come to find you after I finish talking with Buddha."
Kong Yuan said, "Wunian, I wonder what the Buddha's intention is in leaving you here alone..."
The young monk beside her angrily rebuked, "How dare you, nun, speak disrespectfully to my Buddha!"
"Oh, it's alright," Buddha said hastily, then smiled at Kongyuan and said, "Master, we have both entered the Buddhist order, so why would you think that I, a monk, would be of any harm to your disciple?"
Kong Yuan couldn't answer, but she was still worried.
The Buddha then said, “I observe that while your Taoist skills are profound, your state of mind is not very good. You must not be too attached to people and things, otherwise it will affect your Taoist heart!”
Kong Yuan, enraged, retorted, "This humble nun is merely concerned for her own disciple. What attachment is there? Does the Buddha not care even a little for his own disciple?"
The Buddha said: "Each person has their own destiny and their own path to follow, while I have my own path to follow. I don't really care much about them."
"You..." Kong Yuan was about to argue with him when Chu Nian interrupted her impatiently: "Master, Buddha just has some things to say to me privately."
Kong Yuan: "What does a monk like him need to say to a woman like you in private?"
Chu Nian: "He is a monk, and so am I. Master, please don't overthink things. Let's wait outside the hall for now."
Kong Yuan: "What if he does something bad to you..."
Chu Nian: "Master, rest assured. Since I can come to Mount Ling without any hindrance, I can naturally go there without any hindrance. No one can harm me."
The young monk in charge of greeting guests scoffed at her words, but after being glared at by the Buddha, he immediately put on a respectful expression again.
Kong Yuan walked away with a deeply troubled expression. Watching her retreating figure, Chu Nian shook her head helplessly.
After the main hall doors closed, Buddha said, "Your master is so attached to you that he may develop inner demons in the future."
Chu Nian said helplessly, "What's the point of talking about the future? I think she's already quite troubled by inner demons."
Buddha beckoned to her and pointed to the seat next to him, where his disciple had previously sat. He told Chu Nian to sit there.
Chu Nian then walked over and sat down.
Tathagata handed the token back to Chu Nian and said, "Now that there is no one else around, I will tell you the truth. In fact, I did refine one of these tokens before."
Chu Nian was slightly surprised and said, "Judging from what you just said, I thought you had never practiced it before."
The Buddha said, “In the past, I regarded the Peacock King as my mother and made such a token for her. A thousand years ago, she gave birth to an egg and went down to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations. Because I was afraid that she would encounter danger in the mortal realm, I never mentioned this token to anyone.”
What does this mean? The Peacock King possesses this token, and she happened to be reincarnated in the mortal realm, so the Buddha believes…
Chu Nian quickly said, "I'm not some Peacock King."
The Buddha chuckled and said, "This token is definitely genuine. Moreover, there are very few people in this world whose soul aura I cannot detect, nor whose past, future, or present I cannot discern."
Chu Nian said, "I think you've really misunderstood."
The Buddha said, "There's no need to dwell on misunderstandings. This token has already explained our connection, and I will forge another one to give to that egg."
Chu Nian had no choice but to give up the idea of continuing the argument.
The Buddha said, "Your master came to Mount Ling a few days ago. You must have been here for quite some time now. How are you? How is your visit?"
Chu Nian's lips twitched. Seeing his "I can show you around some more" attitude, she could only say, "I just want to read the Buddhist scriptures of Lingshan. I have no other intentions."
Buddha: "It seems you've read quite a few Buddhist scriptures these past few days. Have you gained any insights?"
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