The people in the collapsing iron gave the immortal ship a small shock from the Holy Lord.

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This is the supreme master of the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli. In addition to being called the Medicine Buddha, he is also known as the Great Physician King Buddha.

Before he attained Buddhahood, when the Medicine Buddha was practicing, he made twelve great vows out of compassion for the suffering of all beings, in order to heal them.

Based on this, the Buddha, who is also regarded in Buddhism as being able to bestow longevity and health, actually shares many similarities with the concept of the God of Abundance.

“You flatter me, Venerable One. My understanding of the Way of Abundance is still somewhat lacking compared to yours. However, if you wish to discuss the Way with me, I am willing.”

Bai Zhi naturally didn't mind chatting with this big shot. Perhaps chatting with this Medicine Buddha would allow her to go deeper on the path of abundance?

Since she had already become the Envoy of Abundance, she might as well give up and not care about anything anymore.

The Medicine Buddha nodded slightly. "True Lord, all beings seek immortality, but have they ever considered that immortality is also a form of suffering?"

Bai Zhi perked up; she knew this question well. It was simply a questioning of the value of eternal life: does life without death still have meaning?

“Venerable One, it is precisely because of his desire for longevity that he has realized that living itself is sweet.”

It is precisely because living itself is a kind of sweetness that life will desperately seek immortality, just as a person in the desert will taste the preciousness of the nectar when sucking the last few mouthfuls of water.

"Where does the sweetness come from?"

The Medicine Buddha was somewhat satisfied, but still asked the question.

"Sweetness lies in what you can't have."

Bai Zhi smiled slightly. The Medicine Buddha's question was actually asking about the source of joy in life.

For people, the things they can't have are the things they miss the most.

“True Lord, the Tathagata said that all dharmas are without self. We observe your path of abundance, so why do you cling more to the appearance of ‘salvation’?”

“Venerable One, when the wind blows through the bamboo forest, it speaks of formlessness, yet the bamboo roots remember the angle at which each gust of wind bends. Rather than more abstract concepts, I prefer this kind of real and profound healing.”

The Medicine Buddha looked satisfied. "What if I grant you the power to eliminate all birth, old age, sickness, and death?"

"I overturned the medicine furnace—without death as a measure, life cannot even take a single step."

This answer greatly surprised the Medicine Buddha.

"True Lord, are you afraid of eternity?"

“No, Venerable One, what I fear is that eternity makes people forget the beauty they see in life, like the bright sun hanging in the sky, or the newly sprouted grass on the ground.”

The answer to this question has long been found in the Immortal Ship: eternal life brings a blurring of time and an increasingly dulled perception of the beautiful things around us.

Immortals do not cherish the sunset.

"Excellent, excellent! Your mastery of this Dao is extraordinary. It is truly an honor to be able to discuss the Dao with you here today."

The Medicine Buddha was somewhat excited, but also somewhat regretful. If this discussion had taken place earlier, he probably would have proposed to take Bai Zhi as his disciple and pass on his Dao completely to her.

Even if other immortals took Bai Zhi as their disciple, he would still be willing to shamelessly ask for Bai Zhi back.

Unfortunately, it was the Supreme Elder who accepted Bai Zhi as his disciple, which effectively ended his desire to take on disciples.

After all, it's not impossible for other deities to have a second master.

But Laozi...

If Bai Zhi were to become a disciple of someone else, could that person bear the pressure of being Bai Zhi's master alongside Laozi?

What is your status? Are you on the same level as Laozi?

Few immortals could come up with a sentence like that.

"It's nothing. I'm already satisfied that I was able to discuss the Dao with the World-Honored One today."

"It is indeed an oversight of the True Lord. The True Lord's visit today must be due to Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, and the others."

The Medicine Buddha performed a Buddhist salute, and although it was a question, it was still delivered with a confident tone.

After all, Bai Zhi had helped the monkey so many times along the way, how could the Buddhas of Mount Ling not know that the two had a close relationship?

"That's right. That monkey has been my friend for many years. From when he became a disciple, to when he went to the Heavenly Court and became the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses, to when His Majesty named him the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and now he is on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures."

"Along the way, I've watched him transform from a wild monkey into the pilgrim he is today. Now, I guess he'll soon become a Buddha."

"Such an important moment naturally deserves to be witnessed."

“I understand your thoughts, True Lord. In that case, please come with me to the Great Thunder Temple. Tang Sanzang and his disciples will arrive shortly.”

"I am a member of a sect. Is it really alright for me to be in this situation?"

"It's alright, it's alright. The True Lord has a Buddha-nature, and the World-Honored One Tathagata will surely welcome him."

"Speaking of the World-Honored One, in the past, I killed those three demons..."

Bai Zhi paused, her meaning clear: after all, there was still a Buddha uncle among them.

The Medicine Buddha smiled and said, "True Lord, there is no need to worry. Although the Golden-Winged Roc is the World Honored One's uncle in terms of seniority, he is quite ferocious. In the past, the World Honored One said that he would surely face a calamity."

"But the Golden-Winged Roc did not heed his words and remained as ferocious as ever; this is the cycle of nature."

"As for those two demons, they were bewitched by the Golden-Winged Roc and went down to the mortal realm to harm mortals. This is a manifestation of their lack of understanding of Buddhist nature. They are destined for such a calamity, so how can you blame the True Lord?"

The Medicine Buddha said in a very friendly manner.

But it's just a mount, we can find another one, there's no need to cause trouble with Bai Zhi over something like this.

Moreover, they deserved what they got for their crimes.

"In that case, thank you for leading the way, Medicine Buddha."

……

"Oh, Monkey King, Master, we've finally arrived at Mount Ling. That must be the Great Thunder Temple up ahead. I wonder how many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas we'll see inside, besides the Buddha himself."

"You idiot, weren't you the Grand Marshal before? How come you're so rustic?"

The monkey mocked Pigsy.

"What you're saying is that the past is the past, and the present is the present. I'm not like you, who still has the title of Great Sage and can still get compliments when you go to people's places. I'm just a monster now. The more Bodhisattvas and Buddhas come here, the more important we are, isn't that?"

"Don't you want to see many Bodhisattvas?"

"I don't want to..."

"Hehe, I know, you monkey, you must be thinking of seeing True Lord Baizhi, but this is Mount Ling, it's impossible."

Chapter 954 Did you add Bai Zhi to your Great Thunderclap Temple?

"Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty is hereby summoned to an audience!"

The sound, like a resounding bell, carried outside.

"Please come in, gentlemen. The Buddha and the Bodhisattvas are already waiting for you."

Outside the Great Thunderclap Temple, the person in charge of guiding the group spoke calmly to them.

Tang Sanzang looked around, reflecting on his journey over the years, and sighed, "We've finally arrived. Wukong, Bajie, straighten your clothes and be mindful of etiquette."

"Okay, okay, Master, let's go."

The monkey waved his hand dismissively. He had been to this place many times before, so it wasn't anything new to him.

"Please lead the way, Venerable Ones."

After thanking the two monks who had led the way, Tang Sanzang pushed open the door and went inside, along with the monkey, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the white dragon horse.

As soon as they entered, Tang Sanzang bowed deeply, and the rest of the group followed suit.

Seeing this scene, Bai Zhi, who was standing next to Guanyin Bodhisattva, couldn't help but smile.

It's really quite interesting to feel like you're part of the story and participate in an important scene.

After bowing, Tang Sanzang and the others raised their heads. "Disciple Xuanzang, by the decree of the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, has come to this precious temple to seek the true scriptures."

After saying that, Tang Sanzang and the others had a spare moment to look at the other people near the Buddha.

"noob?!"

"True Lord Baizhi??"

They were not surprised to see Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva, after all, this was the Great Thunder Temple of Mount Ling, a place where all Buddhas gathered.

But among these Buddhas, isn't there a strange person?

Seeing the surprised looks on the others' faces, Bai Zhi quietly made a shushing gesture to the monkey.

I'm just here to observe the ceremony; since this is Buddha's territory, I shouldn't say anything more.

The Buddha turned his gaze slightly to Bai Zhi. Seeing that she did not make any other move, he continued, "Your Great Tang in the East is rich in resources but sparsely populated. It is full of deceit and fraud, disloyal and unfilial, unkind and unjust, and has committed boundless sins."

Tang Sanzang lowered his head and recited, "Amitabha."

Bai Zhi curled her lip; she had seen this tactic of first suppressing and then elevating far too many times.

While the people of the Tang Dynasty lived in peace and prosperity, the closer one got to Mount Ling, the Western Paradise, the more demons and monsters appeared.

She couldn't say for sure who needed these scriptures more.

“I have the Tripitaka, consisting of 53 parts and 15,144 volumes, which are the scriptures for cultivating truth and the gateway to righteousness.”

"I beseech the Buddha to have mercy and bestow upon me the Tripitaka scriptures to bring blessings to the people of the Tang Dynasty."

The Buddha nodded slightly. "Ananda, Kasyapa, lead the four of them to the Treasure Pavilion, first serve them a vegetarian meal, and then transmit the scriptures."

"Thank you, Buddha! Your disciple bows in gratitude!"

Tang Sanzang knelt down again.

"Oh my, I never expected that True Monarch Baizhi would also come to Mount Ling. That's really amazing, Brother Monkey. I feel that the best thing you ever did in your life was to make True Monarch Baizhi your friend."

"Moreover, it seems that the True Lord is quite popular in Mount Ling."

In the corridor of the Great Thunderclap Temple, Pigsy shouted loudly.

"Marshal, you flatter me. I am here to discuss the Dao with the Medicine Buddha. Venerable Ananda and Venerable Kasyapa, I would also appreciate it if you could lead my friend here."

Upon seeing Bai Zhi at the end of the corridor, Anao and Jia Ye quickly stepped forward. "No trouble at all. Since you are a friend of the True Lord, we will naturally treat you well."

"That's what we say, but we still need to be polite. These small gifts are for you two. My friend Wukong has had a long journey, so it's time for him to have something good to eat."

Bai Zhi stretched out her hand, and four golden pills appeared on it.

Those were four 7-turn golden pills.

This made Ananda and Jiaye even more enthusiastic. "Gentlemen, the room ahead is where we'll be entertaining you. Please come in first, and Ananda and I will go and prepare some good food."

"Now I understand why the True Lord is so popular in Mount Ling..."

Watching Ananda and Kasyapa walk away with cheerful steps, Pigsy said with a hint of sourness.

With this elixir paving the way, not only in the barren West, but even in the Heavenly Court, it would be invincible.

Bai Zhi shook her head, then took out two more level 8 golden pills and stuffed them into the monkey's hand. "You'll need these things later, so don't be stingy. There's not much I can do to help you."

"Need to use it? Xiaobai, what do you mean?"

The monkey held the two pills with some confusion. It had already arrived at Mount Ling. Did it really need to use medicine to cure diseases and save people?

"You'll find out soon enough. I can't say more than that."

Bai Zhi didn't reveal anything, after all, this was Lingshan, the main base of Buddhism, and besides, the eighty-one tribulations were not yet complete. If they didn't go through this tribulation, there would be more to come later.

"Xiao Bai, aren't you going to eat with us?"

"I am a carnivore, and I don't like eating a pure vegetarian diet. It would stunt my growth. Besides, I'm used to all kinds of delicious food in Heaven, so I don't need any more. This is my first time visiting Mount Ling, and I want to explore it."

Bai Zhi waved her hand, didn't chat with the monkey any longer, and walked away.

A moment later, Ananda and Kasyapa returned carrying many things.

"Gentlemen, these are precious celestial fruits treasured by our Buddhist sect. If it weren't for the elixirs of True Monarch Baizhi, there would be absolutely no way we could bring them out."

Ananda, Jiaye opened the lid, revealing the celestial fruit shimmering with a faint light.

"It is indeed a top-quality celestial fruit. When I, Old Pig, attended the Peach Banquet in Heaven, apart from the peaches, the other celestial fruits were of this quality."

Pigsy's mouth was practically watering as he looked at the celestial fruits.

"Haha, you really know your stuff! Come on, everyone, please have some."

Ananda, Kasyapa generously pointed to those celestial fruits.

"Then I, Old Pig, won't stand on ceremony."