Chapter 227 You want to stir up trouble, but I want to
Chapter 227 You want to stir up trouble, but I want to
There was a massive army approaching outside the temple, but the entire temple remained calm and there was no response.
Looking down from the air, there was not even any sign of monks' activities in the Zen temple courtyard; it looked like an empty city.
Taibai Jinxing took a step forward, took out the golden scroll, unfolded it, and said loudly:
"The Jade Emperor of Heaven and Earth has issued an edict: Great Joyful Bodhisattva, you have been practicing Buddhism and have made up your mind to save the world and accumulate virtue. However, for the past five hundred years, your mind and actions have been inconsistent. You have allowed your disciples to be evil and treacherous, and have not gotten rid of greed and ignorance. Your Bodhi has been covered with dust, your roots and actions have been corrupted, and you have left behind disasters that have spread to the three realms, brought disaster to the Dao sect, and harmed all living beings. I have specially ordered a special envoy to come to the mortal world to tell you your sins according to the severity of your calamity, so that you can strictly abide by the great rules and not act recklessly!"
After all, Maha Joyful Bodhisattva belonged to the Western religion, and the Jade Emperor's decree was just a reprimand for him, without bringing down any substantial divine punishment.
After the imperial edict was read out, there was still no reaction from Huanxi Zen Temple. Chang'er Dingguangxian was like a rabbit that had burrowed into a hole in the ground and dared not show its head. He neither came out to argue nor accepted the imperial edict to apologize.
Taibai Jinxing frowned, and said angrily: "How dare you! Hurry up and welcome the angel and accept the Holy Order of the Emperor of Heaven! Disrespecting the Holy Order of the Jade Emperor is a grave sin that cannot be forgiven!"
After saying that, he waved his whisk, and a stream of pure energy shot towards the Zen temple like a white rainbow piercing the sun, but it was blocked by the golden shield covering the Zen temple and dissipated into countless fine air currents.
The Happy Zen Temple remained closed, and the mountain protection formation showed no signs of closing.
The Bodhisattva of Great Joy is determined to carry out non-violent and non-cooperative confrontation to the end.
Wen Rui could also understand that this was the best choice and the best response.
The evidence is irrefutable and there is nothing to refute.
If he accepts the imperial edict and apologizes, his guilt will be confirmed. The Heavenly Court cannot punish him, but Lingshan will not sit idly by.
The only way to escape this disaster is to remain silent and stay out of the spotlight.
Taibai Jinxing was still furious. He turned to the several guarding generals behind him and said in a hateful voice, "Generals, listen to my orders. Go all out and break the mountain protection formation. I must deliver the Jade Emperor's order today!"
Several heavenly generals who came with Taibai Jinxing took out their magic bows, condensed their divine power into arrows, pulled the bows and shot them towards the Zen temple under the full moon.
The golden arrow shot out, with a flash of golden light, and hit the shield but couldn't go any further, and exploded into pieces upon impact.
The god general attacked with great force. Although he failed to break the shield, the sound of the explosion was heard for thousands of miles, shaking the Fanjing Mountain.
On the top of Fanjing Mountain, a big-bellied monk in a loose robe looked down in the direction of the sound, grinned, patted his belly, and turned away.
All the immortals on the Jinling recognized that it was none other than Maitreya Buddha. Seeing that he paid no attention to the commotion made by the punitive army at the foot of the mountain, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected of the tolerant Maitreya Buddha, he didn't care about the farce at the foot of the mountain gate at all. He just watched the fun and left it alone.
If this great Buddha did not care about the affairs of Maha Joyful Bodhisattva, and did not care about the commotion in Heaven at the gate of his temple disturbing his peace, then no other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas in the Western Religion would meddle in other people's affairs.
It can be seen that a traitor will not be welcomed anywhere.
However, even though Great Joy Bodhisattva was isolated and helpless, the defensive formation supported by the Bodhisattva realm was not so easy to break through.
Several heavenly generals fired fiercely, wasting countless divine powers in vain and causing a huge uproar, but not even a tile of the Huanxi Zen Temple was damaged.
Taibai Jinxing's face became increasingly uglier and his expression became increasingly gloomy.
Wen Rui thought for a moment and guessed the reason.
If the Heavenly Court transmits the Jade Emperor's edict to the Western Church and the latter refuses to accept it, it will greatly damage the prestige of the Heavenly Court.
"This Great Joyful Bodhisattva has completely lost all his dignity and just stays indoors like a coward."
Wen Rui asked tentatively, "After all, this place is the territory of the Western Church. This guy is fearless and relies on his powerful magic to lock the mountain gate. If he wants to send the Jade Emperor's holy edict in, I'm afraid we can't do anything if we rely on ourselves."
"I never expected that the Bodhisattva of Joy would dare to refuse to accept the order."
Taibai Jinxing smiled bitterly and said, "It's nothing more than a reprimand, and there is no real punishment. After accepting this order, this matter will have a result. His attitude is really hateful."
"Haha, the Western religion is clearly setting up its own faction and asserting its sovereignty." Wen Rui muttered in a low voice. Although his voice was small, Taibai Jinxing could hear it clearly.
The Heavenly Court is nominally the orthodox court of the Three Realms and has the authority to govern all living beings in the Three Realms.
In fact, Western religions had already established their own sect. The land gods, mountain gods, and city gods of Xiniu Hezhou were all in name only, just like the land god of Lishan, who was just an informant and had no real power.
But this situation cannot be brought to the table and made public. The many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Western religions must at least do a good job on the surface and nominally respect the Jade Emperor. The move by the Bodhisattva of Joy is to publicly offend the Jade Emperor and further intensify the conflict between Western religions and the Heavenly Court.
Even if the Heavenly Court is right, this is Xiniu Hezhou after all, the sphere of influence of Lingshan, and it is not the turn of the Heavenly Court to manage the Bodhisattvas of the Western religion.
If Tathagata is unwilling to come forward to protect him, Heaven will send the Heavenly Army to attack in order to maintain its dignity, which will break the tacit understanding between Heaven and Lingshan and will sooner or later trigger a backlash from Lingshan.
At that time, the focus of the conflict will not be the sins of Great Joy Bodhisattva, but that the Heavenly Court should not interfere in the internal religious affairs of the Western Church.
Taibai Jinxing's face became even uglier, and his expression became conflicted and awkward.
Wen Rui lost no time in adding fuel to the fire: "Brother Chang Geng, the Bodhisattva of Joy is so rebellious and relies on the protection of the Western Religion to despise the Heavenly Court. If we let it go like this, how will you explain to the Jade Emperor when you return?"
The Bodhisattva of Great Joy is not a good person. He wants to cause confrontation between Western religion and heaven so as to fish in troubled waters and escape responsibility.
Wen Rui is not a good guy either. The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. If the Western Religion is in harmony with the Heavenly Court and they are in solidarity, he really has no chance to benefit from it and create the right time for the rise of the Jie Religion.
Taibai Jinxing frowned and said, "It doesn't make sense. It's just a reprimand from the Holy Spirit. Why would Great Joy Bodhisattva risk the world's disapproval and refuse to follow the order and go through the formalities?"
Wen Rui smiled secretly in his heart, knowing that Taibai Jinxing had encountered a blind spot in his cognition and was trying to guess the Bodhisattva's mind with the heart of an immortal official.
Can I just accept this decree casually?
The reason why Bodhisattvas are Bodhisattvas is because they have developed Bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is a kind of great aspiration and vow. If one fulfills the vow and completes the merit, one can obtain the great way dedication.
For example, the Bodhicitta vowed by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva: I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty.
Only with this great aspiration and vow can one occupy a place in the earth, gain the power to rule over hell, and continuously obtain the merits of salvation.
If you break your promise or oath, you will suffer a severe backlash and all your previous efforts will be wasted.
The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Western religions develop bodhicitta and make great aspirations to attain enlightenment, which consumes very few resources and is one of their greatest advantages.
Because of this, there are so many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas in Western religions, giving people the illusion that great achievements can be easily achieved by believing in Western religions.
But in fact, achieving the status of Buddha or Bodhisattva also requires paying a price. If you do not cultivate virtue, the golden lotus under your seat can pierce your thigh with knives, the sun behind you can spew out flames and burn your body, and the golden hoop on your head can tighten and crack your skull.
Merit and fruit are not only a symbol of achievement, but also the embodiment of the shackles of heaven and the rules of precepts.
Immortals can be sanctimonious, but Buddhas and Bodhisattvas must not go against their original nature.
Wen Rui raised his eyebrows and said sinisterly, "Brother Chang Geng, the mountain formation held up by the Bodhisattva cannot be broken by a few guards from the Heavenly Court. Simply disobeying the order is a grave crime that cannot be redeemed. Please submit a petition to the Jade Emperor and ask for permission to send troops to suppress the rebellion and kill the lunatic who defied the Heaven."
"This..." Taibai Jinxing hesitated and said, "This matter is of great importance. If I ask for permission to suppress the rebellion, and a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals come to Xiniu Hezhou, how will Lingshan react? If a conflict is caused, the world will be in turmoil and a great disaster will surely occur."
"Brother, why do you think so much and so far? If you want to think, think about how to do your job well."
Wen Rui lowered his voice and said, "Think about it. If you go back in disgrace, it will bring shame to the dignity of the Heavenly Court. The responsibility for failing to convey the imperial edict will fall on you alone."
"The decree was not delivered and ultimately nothing was done. It was your incompetence alone, not the disrespect of the Great Joyful Bodhisattva to the Jade Emperor."
"Afterwards, he can just find a random excuse, saying that he was in seclusion and didn't hear anything outside, and you are so weak that you can't even break through his mountain gate formation, so he can't receive the order even if he wants to."
"When the Western religious leaders come out to mediate, the Bodhisattva of Joy can come out and apologize casually, admit his fault, and say that it was all a misunderstanding, and then it will be resolved."
"And you, who have taken on such a huge blame all by yourself, have left the Jade Emperor and the immortals with the impression that you are incompetent, timid, and a disgrace to the Heavenly Court. Do you still have a future?"
The devil is whispering.
Taibai Jinxing was also moved when he heard Rui's reminder.
The more he thought about Wen Rui's words, the more they made sense. Even if the worst-case scenario occurred and the Heavenly Court and the Western Religion went to war, what did it have to do with him, Taibai Jinxing?
He was a civil official and did not need to lead troops to the battlefield.
The blame for the unsuccessful war would never fall on him.
Just do your job well. If the sky falls, there will be a group of celestial beings and emperors to support it. Why would it be his turn as a mere star god to worry about it?
(End of this chapter)