Chapter 61: Heaven and Earth

Zhang Fusheng stared at the edge of the fragmented scene,

Within the scene was a fruit, looking like a baby, vividly lifelike.

"Five Mansions Temple..." Zhang Fusheng murmured to himself, fixing his gaze on the edge of the fragmented scene.

Ginseng Fruit, most likely it was Five Mansions Temple,

With a small chance of being the Sandalwood Merit Buddha holding the Nine-Ring Scepter, attending some grand banquet featuring Ginseng Fruit.

However, Zhang Fusheng felt it couldn’t be such a coincidence, almost certain it was indeed Five Mansions Temple!

If I choose to anchor Five Mansions Temple, wouldn’t my Divine Realm then have a Ginseng Fruit Tree?

But that’s fake.

It’s a spiritual illusion.

Yet I can let the Divine Realm briefly manifest in reality!

Zhang Fusheng pondered in his heart, if this Divine Realm briefly manifests in reality, would the Ginseng Fruit Tree become real or not?

If it becomes real, how profound a Spiritual Will would be required to achieve it?

"The position of Five Mansions Temple is certainly not low."

Zhang Fusheng scanned the three hundred and sixty-five scenes in contemplation, wondering if there’s one surpassing the Five Mansions Temple.

According to Shi Zhengyuan, the Nine-Ring Scepter would randomly reflect three hundred and sixty-five related scenes, and at this moment, they were all here.

As he viewed scene after scene, he suddenly felt awakened.

In a corner of a fragmented illusion, he saw a half-slanted plaque, not fully visible but distinctly showing the characters for Leiyin!

Beneath the plaque, although the scene was fragmented, one can still see within the hall, a fortuitously observable half of a Buddha’s head!

Such good fortune! Among the randomly selected three hundred and sixty-five scenes related to the Nine-Ring Scepter, did it indeed reveal Leiyin Temple?!

Wait.

No.

Zhang Fusheng’s old face drooped.

He eyed the barely visible Buddha’s head, why are the eyebrows yellowish?

Oh.

Is it the Little Thunder Sound Temple of the Yellow Brows Great King?

"Can the impostors just get lost!"

Zhang Fusheng clutched his chest, thankful that this fragmented scene included half a Buddha’s head; if it only showed the word Leiyin...

Then I would have been thoroughly deceived.

He once more examined the three hundred and sixty-five scenes, most of which were impossible to identify; in this situation, the safest choice was still the Five Mansions Temple.

"You’re the one then!"

Zhang Fusheng reached out and gently touched the fragmented scene with the infant-like Immortal Fruit, letting his Spiritual Will permeate it through his fingers.

The Nine-Ring Scepter resonated thirty-six times, breaking through the Divine Realm and soaring skyward.

At the same instant,

Zhang Fusheng felt a cataclysmic change occurring within his Divine Realm!

The Divine Realm, once subject to his whims and transformations, suddenly included an irreplaceable entity—a mountain!

As the Divine Realm vanished, he found himself back in the conference room of the Peace Hotel.

Shi Zhengyuan, standing beside him, softly recited the Buddha’s Name, nervously asking,

"Living Buddha, what scene did you anchor?"

Zhang Fusheng waved his hand, the Divine Realm unfurled:

"See for yourself!"

The wilderness stretched open, enveloping both him and Shi Zhengyuan,

And in the center of the wilderness, there appeared a majestic, inconceivable mountain!

It was an Immortal Mountain of Danxia, with cloud seas surrounding it, a ’palace’ asymmetrically situated at the summit,

The ’palace’ followed the mountain’s contours, harmoniously arranged, the ’palace gates’ were not forged of bronze or iron, but formed by two ancient intertwined pines.

Beneath the trees was an uncarved natural Giant Stone, upon which were inscribed the characters [Five Mansions Temple], flanked by a couplet.

It read, Eternal Abode of Immortals, As Long as Heaven Lives, Abode of Daoists.

At a thought, Zhang Fusheng and Shi Zhengyuan appeared simultaneously before the couplet.

He could feel that within the Divine Realm, apart from this Immortal Mountain, everything else could still change according to his mental projections,

But this mountain, and the Taoist Temple upon it, had become immutable.

It’s as if, in his private Spiritual World, a foreign object was inserted seemingly without cause,

The Spiritual World naturally alters according to Zhang Fusheng’s imaginings, yet the foreign object remains unaffected by his imagination or thoughts.

"As long as Heaven lives, Abode of Daoists, Five Mansions Temple..." Shi Zhengyuan uttered, mystified: "Why does this look like a Taoist Temple?"

He was bewildered.

Nine-Ring Scepter, oh Living Buddha!

How did it come to anchor on a Taoist temple of those Evil Cultists??

Zhang Fusheng exhaled a breath, calmly speaking:

"Although I haven’t awakened the Buddha Wisdom you speak of from past lives, I occasionally seem capable of seeing things, perceiving objects, with incomplete memories naturally surfacing in my mind."

He turned to Shi Zhengyuan and asked,

"Let me ask you, what is Buddha, and what is Tao?"

Though puzzled, Shi Zhengyuan contemplated earnestly for a moment before responding:

"My sect, though condemned as an Evil Cult, is essentially a rightful religion, whereas Tao is unequivocally and unreservedly an Evil Cult."

After a pause, he continued with an assertive demeanor:

"My sect cultivates future blessings, helping others; the Evil Tao seeks this life’s ease, helping oneself; My sect’s compassion extends outward, wishing for all beings’ thoughts to become clear, while the Evil Tao’s compassion turns inward, only wishing oneself to be clear in thought; My sect..."

"Stop." Zhang Fusheng, with a headache, halted Shi Zhengyuan’s words, resisting the urge to retort.

Your helping others, is it about forcibly drawing others’ souls into your own Divine Realm?

He shook his head, coughing once, appearing profoundly mysterious:

"Once, within a fragmented memory, I observed a truth."

"Please grant me your wisdom, Living Buddha." Shi Zhengyuan respectfully requested.

Zhang Fusheng stated with utmost seriousness:

"Buddha and Tao share the same origin."

Shi Zhengyuan was almost jumping:

"Share origins with those Evil Cultists? This is simply..."

Zhang Fusheng stopped him with a gesture, adopting a contemplative manner, narrating softly:

"In that memory, the Buddha once transformed into a Celestial Venerate, the Bodhisattva into a Mahasattva, the Arhat into a Venerate, the Monk titled as Deshi, and the Buddha’s Pure Land turned into a palace..."

He spoke truthfully, as such an occurrence indeed transpired within the history of his previous life.

"Let me ask, nowadays, in our sect, is there such a term as Mahasattva for [Bodhisattva]?"

Shi Zhengyuan opened his mouth, somewhat weakly affirming:

"Indeed there is."

Zhang Fusheng solemnly nodded:

"Then it is as such. As you say, our sect seeks the afterlife, Taoism seeks the present life; isn’t such unity exactly this life and afterlife, afterlife and this life?"

Shi Zhengyuan felt something was amiss, yet in presence of the Living Buddha, the words of the Living Buddha were inherently correct.

He awkwardly asked:

"What about past lives then?"

"This Buddha does not know." Zhang Fusheng solemnly shook his head.

"Living Buddha, you haven’t endured the nine difficulties, so you can’t yet call yourself a Buddha..."

"Is that so? This Buddha understands."

Zhang Fusheng coughed once, ceased joking, and pointed with a finger.

The two of them moved into the Five Mansions Temple.

Their eyes were dazzled.

They saw in the front courtyard, the ground paved with bluestone, with a massive Yin-Yang symbol inlaid in the center. Shi Zhengyuan pointed at it:

"This is the black-and-white double-eyed evil symbol of Taoism!"

Zhang Fusheng’s eyelid twitched.

He couldn’t be bothered with this bearded, glaring old man and swept his thoughts, encompassing the entire Five Mansions Temple.

After all, this was his spiritual world.

"It seems passable." It was Shi Zhengyuan, who was touring around, speaking. He furrowed his brows:

"This hall is constructed with natural giant stones and ancient wood, supplemented by green tiles, yellow brass, and glazed tiles..."

While he was studying the Taoist Temple, Zhang Fusheng had already understood the layout of the Five Mansions Temple.

A main hall, eighty-one rooms, a courtyard, and a towering tree.

He couldn’t help but swallow.

Ginseng Fruit Tree.

It’s a pity there were no Ginseng Fruits on the tree, otherwise, even if they were fake, he would have to taste one!

At this moment, Shi Zhengyuan was already standing before the main hall, sighing lightly:

"Living Buddha, this temple, regardless of whether it belongs to Buddha or Tao, seems to hold a rather ordinary position, perhaps, perhaps..."

He lamented:

"Perhaps, it’s not even half as grand as the mountain range on the back of the lion I used to know, the size is much smaller, let alone the position..."

As he spoke, Shi Zhengyuan had already pushed open the main hall doors.

"What is this?"

He murmured, looking into the depths of the hall alongside Zhang Fusheng.

It was empty, except for a meditation mat, an incense burner, and a massive shrine.

In the shrine, there were no Buddha, Tao, gods, or immortals enshrined,

Only two words.

Heaven and Earth.

Zhang Fusheng didn’t feel much,

but Shi Zhengyuan, who was lamenting, trembled three times, as if witnessing something irresistible and ineffable, stumbling, bowing in front of the words "Heaven and Earth"!

"What did you see?"

Zhang Fusheng asked in surprise.

The bowing monk exclaimed:

"Heaven and Earth! Heaven and Earth!"

He struggled to stand up,

but even an existence at least a Flawless Grandmaster couldn’t stand up, couldn’t even move,

he could only prostrate in front of the shrine, facing the words "Heaven and Earth"!

Zhang Fusheng watched this scene, lost in thought, his eyes flowing over the immense, indescribable shrine.

The former master of this Taoist temple, whose shoulders stood alongside The Three Pristine Ones and positions matched that of the Buddha, whose gods and immortals were all his juniors, only worshipped "Heaven and Earth", and only bowed to "Heaven and Earth".

Shaking his head, Zhang Fusheng quietly withdrew from the Divine Realm, and the scene around them returned to a spacious conference room.

Only then did the old man manage to get up, still trembling and awed, mumbling the words "Heaven and Earth" for a long time.

"You anchored this scene, perhaps it’s not ordinary... it must be extraordinary!"

Zhang Fusheng did not answer, directly skipping over the topic, his eyes bright as he asked:

"I’ve heard that when spiritual cultivation reaches true perfection, the Divine Realm can briefly manifest in reality and become real."

"So would my Five Mansions Temple, and your lion-back mountain range, be the same?"

Shi Zhengyuan calmed his emotions:

"No, at least I can’t, but I have heard that when our Ling Mountain lineage was still flourishing, the elders and venerates could make their anchored scenes come true, wielding infinite power!"

Zhang Fusheng’s breath quickened slightly.

He asked again in confusion:

"Then, if two people anchored the same scene, and both reached the level of elders or venerates..."

Before he finished speaking,

Shi Zhengyuan had already understood Zhang Fusheng’s intention and shook his head earnestly:

"The scene each person anchors is different."

Zhang Fusheng was taken aback:

"Absolutely different?"

The old monk replied:

"Absolutely different!"

Zhang Fusheng fell silent again, meaning as long as he progresses to a certain level in the future, this Five Mansions Temple can become real, and will remain the only one.

Then he...

Wouldn’t he become the master of the Five Mansions Temple?

But, what about the real master of the Five Mansions Temple?

What about the beings in the different dimension?

He still had many questions in his mind that he wanted to ask Shi Zhengyuan, but the other suddenly raised his eyebrows and sighed.

"Living Buddha Fusheng."

"The Buddha... uh, I’m here."

Shi Zhengyuan smiled:

"Your first trial may have arrived."

He pointed, and spiritual thoughts reflected reality, casting a spiritual illusion of four small teams in black clothes rapidly approaching the Peace Hotel.

Zhang Fusheng frowned, instantly realizing that this was what was happening outside the Peace Hotel.

"Are they coming for me?"

He stroked his chin, unwilling to risk himself:

"Zhengyuan, can you help me deal with them? Don’t kill them all, leave one alive."

Shi Zhengyuan gave Zhang Fusheng a strange look:

"Living Buddha, this is a trial you must face. Without going through the nine trials, how can you return to the Buddha seat?"

Zhang Fusheng’s eyes widened:

"You want to stand by and watch?"

Shi Zhengyuan replied as if it was only natural:

"No, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist intervening, so I will simply leave."

"What if I get beaten to death?"

Shi Zhengyuan sighed:

"Then you will reincarnate again, though I do not know if I will have the fate to find you again..."

"Four teams, all with Ten Refinements, Living Buddha, you’ve just formed the Divine Realm, and you’re only at Minor Perfection... you should escape."

He chanted the Buddha’s name and suddenly disappeared—not through light manipulation but, as Zhang Fusheng perceived, truly instantly teleported away!

At the same instant.

It was as if the pause button on the Peace Hotel was lifted,

The noise and clamor surged forth,

The conference room door opened, and Lu Mingzhu entered with a large bag of Star Beast meat, limping.

She saw the fourth boss standing by the window, observing the night scene outside.

Outside the window, it was raining.