Outside the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion in the Buddhist City, the discussions were like a tidal wave, one wave higher than the next.
"Smell it! The air is sweet! It's the sweet dew nourished by the Buddha's light!" A young cultivator with a fanatical expression took a deep breath, as if inhaling some supreme magic. "The holy land of Buddhism is truly different; even the air carries compassion. Just one breath can purify your inner demons!"
Su She, standing on the outskirts of the crowd, couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this, and cursed inwardly, "Good grief."
The air is sweet? Why does he only smell sandalwood mixed with the smell of everyday life?
Such blind praise is far removed from his understanding of "seeking the Way" and is purely a result of being blinded by faith.
Arguing with this kind of person? Su She shook his head—it's useless. Just like those few Buddhist practitioners in the southern mountain village who believed that "those who don't believe in Buddhism are not worth saving," once prejudice takes root, it's hard to shake.
He shouldered his book box and turned to leave Wanfo Tower. It was rumored that Wanfo Mountain in the western part of the Western Regions was the true foundation of Buddhism, and the Great Thunder Temple on the mountain was a sacred place in the hearts of Buddhist practitioners.
To explore the truth of Buddhism and Taoism, one must go to Wanfo Mountain.
Wanfo Mountain truly lives up to its name.
The entire mountain was shrouded in a faint golden light, within which were faint shadows of Buddha. The chanting of Buddhist hymns came from the mountaintop, ethereal and otherworldly, as if it could cleanse one's soul.
At the foot of the mountain, a winding stone staircase leads straight to the top, with pilgrims kneeling on both sides of the staircase.
They kowtowed every three steps and knelt every five, their foreheads striking the hard stone steps, bleeding but they didn't care, chanting incantations, their eyes filled with fanaticism and piety.
Su She carried his book box and walked slowly up the stone steps.
He did not kneel or chant scriptures, but simply walked calmly, his blue robe standing out conspicuously in the golden light.
Compared to the prostrate believers around him, he was an outcast, an uninvited guest who had intruded into the holy land.
"stop!"
Halfway up the mountain, two young monks in yellow robes stopped him. They looked at Su She with wary eyes, a hint of displeasure at being offended: "Esteemed benefactor, one must be sincere to ascend the mountain, bowing with each step to show respect to Buddha. Your swaggering manner begs the question: is your heart not sincere?"
Su She raised his eyes and looked at the two monks whose cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage, and said calmly, "I came here to seek the Dao, not to make a pilgrimage. Whether one is sincere or not is not a matter of form."
"Nonsense!" the monk on the left roared. "How dare you, a madman, act so presumptuously in this sacred Buddhist land? Not paying homage to Buddha is disrespectful; you are not allowed to ascend the mountain!"
Su She ignored them and turned to walk around them.
The two monks exchanged a glance, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes.
They could sense that the scholar in the blue robe before them, though seemingly ordinary, possessed an aura of righteousness and unfathomable cultivation—daring to venture into Ten Thousand Buddha Mountain alone with such composure, he was no ordinary person.
They are just low-ranking disciples guarding the gate; if they were to actually fight, they would likely come out worse off.
"You...you are an intruder!" the monk on the right shouted, his voice trembling with fear, as he secretly crushed a communication talisman. "We have already sent a message to the elder. If you take any further steps, don't blame us for being impolite!"
Su She did not stop walking, as if she had not heard, and continued to climb the steps.
He could sense that the communication talisman's energy had already spread, and that even stronger Buddhist cultivators would likely arrive soon. But he didn't care.
He came here to see the true face of this Buddhist holy site, to see if those high and mighty Buddhists were truly as compassionate as the legends said, and whether they also believed that "those who do not believe in Buddhism are not worth dying for."
The two monks watched Su She walk further and further away, their faces flushed with anger, but they ultimately dared not give chase—they were afraid that their cultivation was no match for him. They could only watch helplessly as the figure in green robes, amidst the golden light and the prostrating believers, walked step by step toward the mountain peak.
The stone steps were very long, seemingly without end.
Su She walked slowly, stepping on the center of the stone steps with each step, avoiding the prostrate believers. He listened to the chanting and worship around him, and the ethereal Buddhist chants coming from the mountaintop, and felt a sense of peace in his heart.
He didn't know what awaited him—a compassionate high monk or a cold, hypocritical Buddha.
But he knew he had to keep going.
Because his Way is in the world, in what one sees with one's own eyes, and in what one feels with one's own body.
Even if this road is full of thorns, even if the truth may hurt people.
The stone steps of Wanfo Mountain become steeper as you go up, and the golden light becomes more intense, almost solidifying into a tangible form.
The chanting in the air became clearer, each syllable seemingly carrying a soothing power, but to Sushe's ears, it sounded somewhat deliberate.
He had just climbed a thousand stone steps when dozens of figures suddenly appeared on the platform in front of him.
Wearing identical yellow robes and holding prayer beads or a staff, they are Buddhist practitioners at Wanfo Mountain.
The leader was a middle-aged monk with a square face and a cinnabar mark between his eyebrows. His aura had reached the late stage of the Integration Realm. The monks following behind him were all at least at the Nascent Soul Realm, clearly the elite of the temple.
They spread out in a fan shape, surrounding Su She in the center of the platform. They slammed their staffs on the ground, making a dull "thud" sound, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure.
“Benefactor, please return.” The middle-aged monk spoke, his voice calm yet authoritative. “Wanfo Mountain is not a place for ordinary people to venture into. Further ahead lies the forbidden area of the Great Thunderclap Temple. Do not jeopardize your own safety.”
Su She stopped, his blue robe fluttering gently in the golden light. He glanced at the Buddhist cultivators around him; though their eyes held wariness, there was also a hint of barely perceptible panic, as if his arrival had disturbed something.
"Return?" Su She's lips curled into a faint smile, his tone calm yet penetrating. "I came here only to seek the Dao and to see the true face of Buddhism. If you have no guilty conscience, if you are worthy of heaven and earth and all living beings, if you are worthy of the word 'compassion' you speak of, why are you stopping me?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every Buddhist practitioner, causing them to tighten their grip on their prayer beads.
"That's just sophistry!" The middle-aged monk's face darkened. "How can a sacred Buddhist site tolerate such insolence from someone of unknown origin? If you insist on trespassing, don't blame us for disregarding our shared faith!"
"Fellow traveler?" Su She shook his head. "You don't even have the courage to let me see the 'Dao,' so how can you talk about being fellow travelers?"
He took a step forward, seemingly slowly, but with an indomitable momentum, directly approaching the edge of the encirclement.
"court death!"
A fierce glint flashed in the middle-aged monk's eyes, and he suddenly raised his hand: "Take him down!"
Dozens of Buddhist practitioners joined forces!
A surge of Buddhist light erupted, the prayer beads transformed into streams of light, and the staff whistled through the air as countless Buddhist seals, imbued with the meanings of "subduing demons" and "suppressing evil," surged toward Su She like a tidal wave! They were clearly enraged; this attack was enough to severely injure an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator!
The golden light on the platform was stirred, and the chanting became more urgent, as if cheering on the conflict.
Su She remained standing in place, showing no sign of panic.
He slowly raised his hand, took out the Tao Te Ching from his bosom, and gently opened it.
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