Chapter 1592 - 765:

Chapter 1592: Chapter 765:

The kettle on the tea stove was gurgling, sending out thin wisps of white steam.

As Master Huiming’s voice fell, the guest hall sank into a brief silence.

The old monk picked up the teacup before him; after recounting that heavy history, he used the act of lowering his head to drink tea to calm his surging emotions.

Cheng Jiashu also drew back his expression, no longer as slack as before, and said with genuine admiration:

"The entire temple, everyone including the abbot, all sacrificed themselves just to stop a Demon God from descending—that’s vicious enough..."

Master Huiming set down his teacup and sighed deeply:

"The Buddhist path often speaks of holding compassion in one’s heart; yet when a hundred demons dance in chaos, that compassion becomes an Angry-eyed Vajra, sacrificing body to feed tiger."

Fang Cheng thought for a moment and voiced his understanding:

"Zen Master, you mean that because of this obsession, their heroic spirits refused to disperse? So the key to solving the problem also lies in this obsession?"

"Mr. Fang has deep spiritual roots and extraordinary insight."

Master Huiming nodded slightly in praise, then explained:

"In the Buddhist Vijnaptimatra Sect it is said that all dharmas are only consciousness; the three realms are only mind. When a person’s thoughts are continuously steeped, afflictions manifest, and they will, in the unseen, condense into a Seed of Alaya Consciousness within the Alaya Consciousness."

"The forebears of Gufeng Temple held an equally extreme and intense obsession with suppressing the evil demon; that seed took root deep in their consciousness, and even after two thousand years it could not be worn away."

"At the same time, Jiang Chen trapped them within his own Magic Domain, causing them to fall into the state of ’Intermediate State’."

"In Buddhist studies, this state refers to consciousness leaving the flesh, the previous life already ended, the next life not yet arrived—a transitional phase. The forebears could neither enter reincarnation, nor retreat back to the human world; bound by karmic conditions, they had nowhere to rest."

"It was only when Mr. Fang shattered Jiang Chen’s Magic Domain and destroyed his true form that those Seeds of Alaya Consciousness, shackled for a thousand years, could be released."

At this point, Master Huiming looked toward Fang Cheng, his gaze becoming especially deep and bright:

"Mr. Fang, you just said your Secret Realm is a world where land has already formed; then it must be that within it spirit rain is falling to nourish all things, or there exists some purifying Strength far beyond common understanding, yes?"

Fang Cheng’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly; he frankly admitted:

"There has indeed been a rain that hasn’t stopped for many days."

"Then that fits."

Master Huiming’s white brows relaxed, as though a certain riddle had been solved:

"According to Buddhist theory, that nascent heaven-and-earth you’ve formed has unintentionally converged with the state of ’Pure Dharma Body’, transforming into a budding Paradise."

"Those Seeds of Alaya Consciousness freed from confinement were attracted by your Paradise, and out of a basic instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm, they fell into it of their own accord, like drifting dandelions finding suitable soil and beginning to take root and sprout anew."

"Zen Master."

Hearing this, Cheng Jiashu couldn’t help voicing the doubt in his heart:

"So by your account, the dead monks’ souls took the initiative to run to Fang Cheng’s place to take refuge and seek shelter?"

Master Huiming nodded and replied:

"Not entirely precise, but it can barely be understood that way."

Fang Cheng’s eyes flickered slightly, and he pressed on with his questioning:

"Zen Master, you said the forebears of Gufeng Temple still retained seeds of consciousness after death—doesn’t that mean their Spiritual nature hasn’t vanished?"

"Then why can’t they understand what I say? Why do they just repeat sweeping the floor and chanting scriptures every day?"

"Because they are trapped in the withered meditation of Ignorance, their eyes and ears veiled by the heavy burden of ’shared karma’ and ’Knowledge Barrier’."

Faced with Fang Cheng’s question, Master Huiming already had the answer in his heart and explained patiently:

"In their perception, time still remains two thousand years ago; the grand array is still in operation, the Demon God is about to descend, and the entire Gufeng Temple is actively preparing for battle."

At this point, Master Huiming’s tone carried a bit more reverence:

"Others think they are repeating meaningless actions, but that is not so."

"When they sweep the ground, they are sweeping away karmic hindrances; when they strike the wooden fish, they are striking the Heart Demon—that is their instinctive response over more than two thousand years to resist the erosion of the evil demon."

"It is precisely through this day-after-day labor, continually steeping the Seeds of Alaya Consciousness, that their consciousness has not completely scattered even after more than two millennia."

Fang Cheng had a rough judgment in his heart now, his gaze gradually sharpening:

"Since they are trapped within their own cognition, how should this layer of Knowledge Barrier be broken?"

"The one who tied the bell must untie it."

Master Huiming once again rolled the Sandalwood Rosary in his hand, his expression calm:

"This old monk has two methods: one fierce and swift in effect, the other gentle and slow, depending on how you choose, Mr. Fang."

Fang Cheng immediately sat up straight, listening intently:

"Please, tell me in detail."

Master Huiming then slowly spoke:

"The first method is to directly break the Knowledge Barrier. The forebears of Gufeng Temple never guarded against Jiang Chen; they were always guarding against that Demon God on the other shore."

"Since Mr. Fang wishes to awaken them, you can follow the causal thread Jiang Chen left behind to draw in a projection of the Demon God’s will, and then, within the Spiritual Secret Realm, suppress and defeat it in front of all the forebears."

"Only by seeing with their own eyes the Demon God turned to dust, confirming that the crisis of descent has been resolved, will that shared karma which has persisted for two thousand years naturally collapse; time will resume its flow, and their consciousness will naturally awaken again."

Hearing this, the Buddha Hand Clamp that Cheng Jiashu had been toying with slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a "pa" sound.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and he couldn’t help complaining:

"Are you kidding? Luring the real thing over and then tearing apart a Demon God from the other shore by hand—that difficulty is way too insane."

Fang Cheng sat upright in the chair, his expression unchanged.

Master Huiming glanced at Fang Cheng, nodded slightly, and calmly disclosed: