Chapter 1886 - Set Down the Butcher Knife and Immediately Become a Buddha

The monk was dressed in taupe robes, and he stood on a golden lotus platform condensed out of auspicious clouds. He held one hand upright in front of his chest, and his other hand gripped a black punishment ruler.

Standing atop the lotus platform, he appeared like a solitary mountain, utterly unmovable.

When Su Yi saw the monk in the distance, his eyebrows rose. He sensed a new line of text in the Book of Karma.

“This bald donkey is here for me! He must work for the Dipankara Buddha!!”

Su Yi instantly understood why this monk would block his path. He stopped in his tracks and asked, “Are you Jia Yun?”

Last night, Xi Ning told him that the Dipankara Buddha had sent Temple Guardian Arhat Jia Yun to the Immortal Realm, and that he was an unparalleled figure on par with Luo Tiandu and Gu Yunchan!

The monk inclined his head. “I am indeed.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “Are you here to claim the Book of Karma?”

The monk shook his head. “This humble monk has come to offer you his guidance, Daoist Brother Su.”

“Let’s hear it, then,” Su Yi said with great interest.

The monk’s gaze was as firm as a boulder as he said, “Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. This humble monk has come to resolve the crisis before you. So long as you set down your butcher knife, you can immediately become a Buddha!”

Su Yi’s gaze was strange. He let out a derisive laugh.

Even the Book of Karma was disdainful.

The bald donkeys are as hypocritical as ever!

“Never mind the rest. I’ll just ask you this. They say even a heinous murderer can become a Buddha the moment he sets down his butcher knife, but good men struggle to become Buddhas no matter how hard they work. Why is that?”

The monk’s expression was as stagnant as the waters of an ancient well. “Becoming a Buddha on the spot has nothing to do with the butcher’s knife itself. Letting go of the knife represents letting go of their heinous ways. In doing so, the former villain can awaken their Buddhist nature and draw closer to Buddhahood. That’s the true meaning of the phrase. Daoist Brother, you too must learn how to let go!”

Su Yi laughed noncommittally and asked another question. “Long ago, someone said that the only difference between a Buddha and a demon was that they stood on opposite sides. Buddhas want to redeem all demons and make them into Buddhas. Demons want to redeem all Buddhas and make them into demons. What do you think?”

The monk’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. “Ludicrous. If you’re interested in such things, let go first, and I’ll naturally teach you the sutras and expound on the mysteries therein.”

Su Yi said flatly, “Then I’ll answer instead. Buddhists, Daoists, demonists, Confucians, yao, and aberrant orthodoxies differ only in their chosen Dao. Thus, in my eyes, a Buddha can be a demon, and a demon can be a Buddha. They’re all simply striving for the Grand Dao, heedless of right and wrong, good and evil, and black and white.”

The monk seemed to realize something. He fixed his gaze on Su Yi and said, “In this humble monk’s estimation, this is the ‘butcher’s knife’ in your heart, Daoist Brother. Set it down, and you’re sure to attain enlightenment.”

Su Yi said casually, “Tell me, then. How exactly am I to set it down?”

“Sever your obsessions and cast away your karmic attachments,” said the monk.

Su Yi couldn’t help but jeer. “When Buddhists instruct the masses, they just love their pithy sayings. If I were being generous, I’d say you were encouraging others to think and understand themselves. If I were being blunt, I’d say you’re just putting on airs! What 'obsession?' What 'karmic attachments?' You just want me to give up the Dao of Reincarnation and the Book of Karma!”

The monk fell briefly silent, but he didn’t deny it. “If you let go, you’ll naturally gain enlightenment and become a Buddha. If you refuse, you’ll only plunge yourself into the endless abyss and bring about your own demise.”

Su Yi took a sip of wine and said, “Alas, in my eyes, you’re a demon. You see, you

covet an object

, the Book of Karma, and you fear the karma of reincarnation. Perhaps

you

should let go. If you do, you might well become a true Buddha.”

The Book of Karma wished it had a voice so it could cheer him on.

Wonderful! That’s what you call ‘giving him a taste of his own medicine!’

The monk let out a long sigh. “Daoist Brother, you’re fixated on appearances and overly stubborn. Carry on like this, and you’ll only bring about your own demise.”

Su Yi put away his jug of wine and said, “I’m different from you. There are Daos both great and small, but the only Dao I seek is my own. I’ll destroy anyone who dares block my path, even if I have to kill my way through a sky full of gods and Buddhas!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he took a step forward. A moment later, he appeared in front of the monk and pressed down with his hand.

Bang!

The monk exploded into a rain of light and dissipated. He offered no more resistance than paper window paneling. But a moment later, he reappeared several tens of thousands of feet away, still standing on that golden lotus platform. He gripped his punishment ruler, his expression steely.

“When you house a demon in your heart, all you see are demons. Daoist Brother, if you don’t set down the butcher’s knife soon, you’ll..."

Boom!

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

A streak of sword qi descended from the heavens. The monk exploded once more, shattering into pieces.

But then, his voice resounded from another direction. “Very well. Don’t blame this humble monk for smiting a demon and upholding righteousness!”

Su Yi looked over and saw that the monk had reappeared in the distance, without so much as a hair out of place.

“Ah, so this is a formation.” Su Yi scanned the surrounding area. His eyebrows rose as he realized for the first time that, although the landscape appeared unchanged, he was actually in a different space altogether!

He knew this because of the additional divine, taboo aura filling the surroundings.

Shockingly, he hadn’t sensed it at all earlier. It had silently transported him to an identical, alternate space. It was immediately obvious how wondrous the formation was.

“That baldy’s the biggest hypocrite of them all. Since he dared wait here for you, I’m sure he’s dug a pit for you, and he’s just waiting for you to fall in!” The Book of Karma couldn’t watch this any longer. Jia Yun’s behavior was just too detestable!

Off in the distance, Jia Yun said calmly, “Bodhisattvas watch with compassion, while arhats slay demons and uphold righteousness. This formation is called the Three Thousand Pure Realms, and it’s manifested from a divine treasure the Dipankara Buddha refined personally, the Sumeru Lamp. Within the bounds of this formation, you’re effectively trapped in three thousand worlds. If you don’t come quietly, you’ll inevitably be suppressed. The Buddha is compassionate. I hope you’ll reconsider.”

Su Yi disregarded him. He couldn’t even be bothered to look at Jia Yun. He just walked forward.

Boom!

Heaven and earth swayed beneath his feet. The surrounding ten thousand miles collapsed with a bang. Even the sky caved in. But when dazzling Buddhist light surged forth, the devastated landscape was instantly good as new, entirely undamaged.

Su Yi disregarded this too. He just continued ahead, unperturbed and circulating his qi. Imposing, forceful sword intent emanated from him.

As he advanced, the mountains and rivers were overturned. The sky collapsed, and the ground split. And then everything returned to normal, as if the landscape were indestructible. Su Yi advanced, step by step, the landscape destroyed and reborn around him. It was a wondrous, unbelievable sight.

It was as if, no matter where Su Yi went, he couldn’t destroy these mountains and waters. Struggle as he might, he was trapped.

But it wasn’t like he didn’t figure anything out in the process.

A divine formation was, as the name implied, no more than a formation imbued with divine power.

The so-called “Three Thousand Pure Realms” was manifested of the Dipankara Buddha’s Sumeru Lamp. It might well be able to contain just about anyone of the present day, but to Su Yi... it wasn't all that.

Kaboom!

Heaven and earth were overturned. The sky was thrown into disarray.

Su Yi’s gait looked unhurried, but in truth, it was extraordinarily quick. He was gauging the mysteries and power of the formation.

“The Buddha said, if I do not enter hell, who will?”

Suddenly, ethereal chanting rang out, and the entire stretch of heaven and earth changed dramatically. It was instantly as firm as could be. Buddhist light rose from the landscape, blazing like fire and sweeping through the nine heavens and ten earths.

A ten-thousand-foot Buddha condensed out of the immeasurable radiance. He stood atop a lotus platform, gripping a punishment ruler.

Upon closer inspection, the giant Buddha was actually Jia Yun!

Except that now, he was no longer a skinny monk, but a ruler presiding over three thousand worlds. His majesty was terrifying to behold. Buddhist light surged around him, like a river of stars flowing with taboo power.

Jia Yun bellowed in a voice like the ringing of a morning bell or the beating of an evening drum. The sound reverberated throughout heaven and earth.

Countless dazzlingly bright lotuses bloomed in midair, all of them over ten feet tall. Buddhist flames billowed from their stamens. This power could have burned just about any Great Profound expert of the present day with ease!

In the face of this impending threat, Su Yi’s skin went taut, but his eyes shone with derision.

You finally can’t take it anymore, huh?

Boom!

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Yi took to the sky. A ten-thousand-foot-wide curtain of light formed around him, mysterious visions of the Six Paths of Reincarnation reflected upon it. When he swung his palm, the cycle of reincarnation revolved, and the grand, boundlessly vas Sea of Bitterness surged forth, blotting out the sun.

The Sea of Bitterness collapsed the sky, throwing the entire stretch of heaven and earth into upheaval. Everything seemed as if it was about to fall. The dazzling Buddhist flames instantly went out, and countless ten-foot lotuses fell apart amidst the Sea of Bitterness’s turbid waters.

Jia Yun’s pupils constricted. The ten-thousand-foot Buddha bellowed, “A domain of light, a lamp of Buddhist fire!”

Boom!

The entire formation transformed. Layered worlds arose, each full of endless Buddhist flames. It was indistinct, but the sound of chanting filled the air. Countless illusory Buddhas appeared amidst it all.

The force and momentum were terrifying beyond measure!

Su Yi couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

He quickly recalled his recent Great Realm Grand Tribulation. Illusory gods had appeared then, too, including a gaunt monk. The scene was highly similar to what he was seeing now.

That gaunt monk had stood atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He’d had three heads and six arms, and he held a grand and holy Buddhist kingdom aloft in the palm of his hand!

Something suddenly occurred to Su Yi.

Don’t tell me that was the Dipankara Buddha?

According to Xi Ning, not long ago, several gods had been stirred into action. They’d sent terrifyingly powerful divine children into the Immortal Realm. For example, the Dipankara Buddha had sent the Temple Guardian Arhat, Jia Yun.

Su Yi was starting to understand. The gods had most likely been stirred into action by his Great Realm Grand Tribulation! After all, while undergoing tribulation, Su Yi had seen a group of gods, including the one he suspected to be the Dipankara Buddha, from across an endless expanse of time and space.

His mind buzzed, but there was no time to give the matter any further thought. The layered worlds and countless illusory Buddhas swathed in flame were already upon him. Their auras were so terrifying that Su Yi sensed an impending lethal threat. Chills coursed through his entire body.

All the while, Jia Yun watched coldly from afar.