Chapter 741: Grand Buddhist Event
News of a seven-colored Buddhist light appearing at Daluo Temple spread around immediately.
The first ones to know were the monks of Daluo Temple, of course. Next were the Gra.s.sy Continent citizens who were living at the foot of the mountain.
Those who chose to live near Daluo Temple also believed in Buddhism. They were considered aberrant to others because most of the people in Gra.s.sy Continent believed in the Beast Deity Cult. However, these Buddhist followers weren’t large in number, occupying not even ten percent of the population.
But for Gra.s.sy Continent, Daluo Temple was like a nail. Although small, it was still difficult to remove.
It was no wonder the Beast Deity Cult came to wipe them out. Not only for the sake of robbing the temple’s Immortal Expiation Sutra and plotting against Lin Jin, but also because of their grudge against Daluo Temple.
When the common folk below the mountain saw the seven-colored Buddhist light, they quickly got onto their knees excitedly. News of a ‘profound Buddha’ appearing began to spread like wildfire.
Gra.s.sy Continent and the neighboring continents learned of the news after a few days. Buddhists in particular elaborated it vividly. Many of them hadn’t actually been to Gra.s.sy Continent before, much less Daluo Temple. But they describe it with such vibrancy as if they had witnessed it all.
Green Continent was a tiny continent with only small countries. They didn’t even have intermediate countries and most of the citizens of their small countries were Buddhists. The continent had tons of temples too with many monks.
The high monks of these many temples in Green Continent were now discussing Daluo Temple.
These temples rarely had any interaction with Daluo Temple mainly because they were too far away and Daluo Temple was far too renowned. However, the high monks in Green Continent didn’t think much of Daluo Temple.
In their opinion, Daluo Temple’s reputation was only a facade. They were all Buddhists so there was no hierarchy to speak of. They wouldn’t be like some Buddhist laymen who would go on a pilgrimage to Daluo Temple either.
But this time, things were different.
These high monks couldn’t turn a blind eye to the seven-colored Buddhist light that appeared in Daluo Temple.
In their Buddhist texts, their religion taught equality. But Buddhas were different. Since long ago, these individuals were known as immortals of Buddhism, holding a distinguished status. Those who followed the religion had to pay their respects to such a figure.
It was a rule that no one was to disobey.
Daluo Temple may be reputable, but if they didn’t have a Buddha, monks of other locations need not pay them extra attention. In theory, the abbot of a tiny temple and Daluo Temple were on the same status according to their religion. Even if the two individuals meet, they were to meet as equals with no superiority to speak of.
Even if there was, it would be in their knowledge of Buddhist teachings and character.
But unlike before, a Buddha had appeared in Daluo Temple, and they had to make a move.
Otherwise, it would mean disrespecting Buddha.
And that went against their religion.
“Go and investigate if the rumor is true!” Not only those in Green Continent, but temples of all other places sent their men to verify the validity of the news. A day later, results came back.
It was true.
A seven-colored Buddhist light was indeed s.h.i.+ning from Daluo Temple and it had been for a few days now. One could even see it clearly from hundreds of miles away.
Some even heard Buddhist tunes as they stared at the Buddhist light, finding themselves in a delightful trance.
With this, the abbots and high monks of other temples couldn’t stay put anymore.
Regardless of their will, they had to make a pilgrimage to Daluo Temple. Such was the rule of Buddhism. Even old monks of very high age had to go, no exceptions.
And so, an endless stream of high monks came swarming to Gra.s.sy Continent. This unprecedented grand display probably happens only once in a lifetime.
News of Daluo Temple previously being sealed off by dark clouds and losing many monks was known by many. Rumors went on to say that the supreme appraiser of the United Continent, Lin Jin, had given Daluo Temple his full support, and there was even word that Lin Jin had achieved immortality.
The old monks of Buddhism didn’t care for immortals, but they had to if it was a Buddha.
However, it was also because of Lin Jin’s reputation that everyone further believed that a profound Buddha had truly descended upon Daluo Temple. Perhaps even Lin Jin didn’t expect himself to become a seal of approval for this incident.
Meanwhile, at the Nine Zen Court of Daluo Temple, as he watched Inferno Monk overflowing with Buddhist light, Lin Jin finally couldn’t resist asking, “Venerable One, you’ve been glowing for a few days now. You’ll be making yourself known to the entire world!”
Lin Jin thought that he himself was conspicuous enough, but Inferno Monk was even more conspicuous than him.
Yet, Inferno Monk had responded calmly, saying, “Buddha needs incense while a man needs self-respect. I have no choice but to do this. It’s as you said, Daluo Temple has a shortage of monks. Even if I’m here to protect the temple, we’ll need many high monks to serve as our backbone. How else can I gather more people aside from doing this?”
Lin Jin understood now.
Then, he gave Inferno Monk a thumbs up. The latter’s idea was indeed brilliant. By using his Buddha light to send a signal to the world, he could attract high monks from everywhere.
They could then host a Buddhist preaching session. With Inferno Monk’s knowledge, even if he were to continuously preach for more than ten years, he could do so without repeating any content.
No high monk at the mainlands could compete with Inferno Monk as there was too vast of an age difference between them. No matter how talented a person was, how long could they study Buddhism in their lifetime?
This knowledge required acc.u.mulation and a.s.similation. Hence, Inferno Monk who had been living for thousands of years now couldn’t be compared to.
With this, they could surely attract many high monks to stay in Daluo Temple. Then Daluo Temple could build up the backbone they needed.
That was why Lin Jin gave Inferno Monk a thumbs up. This idea was indeed clever.
Over the past few days, Lin Jin wandered in between Daluo Temple and the Unending Nature Landscape. Shu Xiaolou never contacted him at all. Aside from the clone that previously guided them, Lin Jin never heard from her after that.
She was probably still researching the painting’s core. Judging by how things were, she might be staying there for a few years.
What concerned Lin Jin most was still the Nine Zen Court Shu Xiaolou had painted.
This building was the pa.s.sage that connected the temple to the Unending Nature Landscape. It seemed very stable at present. Even if Inferno Monk was s.h.i.+ning his Buddhist light, he didn’t trigger the immortal devouring beast.
This was a great start and proved that Lin Jin and Shu Xiaolou’s plan worked.
So long as Inferno Monk didn’t step out of the painting realm, he wouldn’t provoke the immortal devouring beast.
Lin Jin had continuously reminded Inferno Monk about this. He feared that Inferno Monk never experienced the immortal devouring beast’s terror before, so he mentioned that the creature could even kill unfettered immortals. Hence, killing a profound immortal like Inferno Monk would only take a second, so he must be careful.
Lin Jin and Inferno Monk may be quite leisured, but everyone else at Daluo Temple wasn’t so lucky.
All the monks, including Zhi Nian, were terribly exhausted over the past few days.
They couldn’t help it as they had too many visitors. All of the monks in the temple have been tasked from morning to night, and their guest dorms were all packed.