Chapter 685 - 504: Heart Sutra

"Mr. Lin, you didn’t even inform us before coming. Guangmiao could have gone to receive you in advance." Guangmiao spoke with extreme respect, bringing his hands together in front of Lin Miao, his eyes openly displaying a sense of "reverence."

"Guangmiao, do I need to inform you in advance when I come?"

"No, of course not, listen to you. You can come whenever you want." Guangmiao hurriedly replied, sounding a bit awkward.

"Where’s your master?"

"In the meditation room."

"Alright, I’ll go find him myself. Prepare a vegetarian meal for me. I’ll stay for lunch." Lin Miao instructed.

In Shanglin Temple, who doesn’t give him some respect? Fahai is the monk with the highest cultivation in Shanglin Temple, second only to the old abbot in status.

Moreover, Fahai is appointed by the imperial court, an honor many other temples do not possess.

Additionally, in this Dongshan City, he is the only Heaven’s Origin.

With Fahai presiding over Dongshan City, those martial world people who usually commit crimes do not dare to cause trouble lightly anymore.

If they were subdued by Fahai’s demon subduing methods, it would be terrible for them.

Fahai, being a Heaven’s Origin, knew when Lin Miao arrived at the temple, so there was no need for Guangmiao to report it.

"My meditation room is never locked. Please come in, Mr. Lin."

Hearing this, Lin Miao pushed the door open and entered directly.

They hadn’t seen each other for nearly two months, and Fahai’s cultivation had progressed rapidly. Lin Miao could not quite gauge his depths now.

When he first broke through to upgrade his level, Lin Miao could still sense his aura, but now, he was like an old sage, unfathomable.

"Mr. Lin, you are well-read in Buddhist scriptures and deeply comprehend the Buddhist Dharma. Though you do not practice, you are a fellow traveler in the way. Calling you junior brother is already presumptuous of me."

"Stop flattering me. Coming from you, it gives me goosebumps." Lin Miao quickly said, "I brought you two jars of fine wine brewed by the Su Family. Others dare not bring it in, but seeing it was me, they turned a blind eye."

Though Fahai is a monk, he drinks wine and eats meat. In martial arts training, merely eating vegetables simply wouldn’t be enough. Martial monks can eat meat but cannot kill themselves. In this world’s Buddhism, although there are rules, they are not that strict, and in terms of food, they are a bit more tolerant.

The cultivation ultimately is about cultivating the heart, and most people in the mundane world can’t resist the pleasures of the palate, which is why fasting from enticing foods is a thing.

In reality, abstaining from enticing foods is only the most basic level. True high monks don’t care about such things. After reaching another realm, they can totally disregard these.

As the saying goes: "Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha resides in the heart."

Jigong, who drank wine and ate meat, who dared to say he wasn’t a great virtue of Buddhism?

"I brought wine but no roast chicken due to the city ban in Dongshan City, so you can’t buy it. However, I did bring you some pig head meat and peanuts, so save some for yourself..."

"Don’t worry. How long has it been since you drank? " Before Lin Miao could set it down, the wine jar flew into Fahai’s hand, and he swiftly tore off the mud seal, chugging a large mouthful directly.

"Good wine. Only the wine you bring has this potency. What they serve in the capital, what a thing! My mouth has gone as bland as water!"

Fahai, after drinking half a jar, wiped his mouth and said.

"Could you help with another task?" Lin Miao asked as he approached Fahai, sitting down slowly and unhurriedly.

"I just came back, and you’re sending me out again? The abbot brother will surely speak to me." Fahai said, tossing a large chunk of pig head meat into his mouth.

"It’s not for nothing."

"Haha, that’s not what I meant. You are my good brother. Your business is my business. Tell me, where to?"

"The capital, escort the Crown Prince back to the capital."

"Didn’t he just come to Dongshan? Why does he need to go back again?" Fahai was taken aback.

"Something happened in the capital, and the Crown Prince needs to be escorted back immediately." Lin Miao nodded, explaining briefly.

"Alright, since you’ve spoken, I will go again anyway. After all, the food and drink along the way are managed, so it’s not so bad. Staying at Shanglin Temple, even for a drink, one has to do it on the sly."

"You can drink, but don’t mess up the mission."

"Rest assured, I won’t. In fact, I fight better when drunk!"

"Have you had a match with Shen Yidao of the Green Blade Sect?"

"Yes, his cultivation is not weak. He should have achieved Heaven’s Origin long ago. The first time at Cloud-Riding Ridge, I didn’t even recognize him. It seems that two months ago, he was already a Heaven’s Origin, and had solidified his cultivation long before, quite comparable to me." Speaking of Shen Yidao, Fahai’s expression became serious.

"Are you saying he achieved Heaven’s Origin long ago?"

"Yes, being able to fight against me and not fall behind indicates that he broke through to upgrade at least six months ago."

"Why did he claim externally to be in seclusion for a breakthrough if he reached Heaven’s Origin half a year ago?" Lin Miao asked, "Monk, could there be some unspeakable purpose behind it?"

"Don’t ask me. I’m not skilled at solving cases."

"This is for you."

"The Heart Sutra, where did this come from?" Fahai took it and curiously opened it, unable to help but read aloud the content: "When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva perceives that all five aggregates are empty, one is liberated from all suffering and distress. Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness. The characteristics of the aspects of emptiness are not born, not extinguished, not defiled, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing. In emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness. No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind. No field of vision until no field of consciousness..."

Reading it once, a multitude of insights flashed through Fahai’s mind, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.