Chapter 86: Cangyuan The Lesser Bodhisattva
With this thought, I no longer hesitated.
Using the people around me as mud, what I want to achieve is how not to be assimilated in this mud and grow lotus flowers.
As the saying goes, born from mud without stain, washed by clear ripples without seduction.
In the blink of an eye, another ten years passed. Under continuous hard cultivation, my spiritual power has reached the point where I can break through the prison, big brother.
Looking back at these pitiable people, they were both hateful and pathetic, scheming for a hundred years, and living their lives like beasts.
Sometimes cunning like foxes, sometimes slaughtered like cattle and sheep, and sometimes bullying others like dogs.
Fortunately, big brother realized this early.
“Thoughts are not me, my heart is Buddha. Awakened and aware, aware without attachment. Thoughts follow the heart, the sword breaks all demons. The Great Dao is limitless, unspoken. Om Mani Padme Hum!”
This time, I once again performed the Escape Spell for Nirvana. However, unlike the last time, I did not transfer my spiritual sense, that is, this thought and memory, but kept it.
A colossal golden Buddha phantom broke through the void and descended into the Heavenly Prison, “Amitabha!”
Amidst the echoing Sanskrit chants, the giant Buddha extended its hands and slowly lifted me up.
Seeing this, everyone showed expressions of astonishment. They stood there dumbfounded.
Before long, someone secretly ran to inform the guards, wanting to keep me here.
And some pleaded desperately, wanting me to take them with me.
Among them were the two who had previously harbored wicked intentions and deceived me.
“Brother Chan, hahaha, Brother Chan, I knew you were extraordinary, and you would get out of here sooner or later, haha. Brother Chan, do you remember what your brother told you before? I’ll follow you when you get better.”
“Yes, Brother Xin, and me too. Brother Xin, take me with you. You’ll be my big brother from now on. I’ll go through fire and water for you, Brother Xin! Brother Xin, please take me with you.”
Hearing this, I just smiled and said faintly, “The root of everything lies in the heart. The heart is the beginning and the end of everything.”
After speaking, I ran away without looking back.
It’s not that I was in a hurry; I was afraid the hospital director, that old bastard, would cause more trouble if he came, so I ran first.
In fact, I really didn’t want to bother with them, but I knew that often they were not in control of themselves, so out of compassion, I left them a sliver of hope.
After escaping from the dark and endless torment and suffering of the Heavenly Prison, I, big brother, like a falling leaf, slowly landed in a strange corner of the Heavenly Realm.
Here, mountains overlapped, lush and vibrant; streams flowed, clear to the bottom; birds chirped merrily, their songs melodious and long; flowers bloomed in abundance, their fragrance filling the air.
It was like being in a magnificent and beautiful painting, intoxicating and captivating.
The air was filled with an unusually rich and fragrant aroma, which, like a wisp of smoke, gently swirled around, refreshing the heart and mind, making one feel relaxed and joyful. This subtle fragrance seemed to contain the purest and most beautiful power in heaven and earth, making every breath a pleasure and providing great relief and relaxation to the weary body and mind.
“Ha…”
I let out a long sigh, feeling everything here.
“Damn it! Freedom is so good!”
After coming out, I didn’t rush to the lower realm. Instead, I found a cave nearby to cultivate and used the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Realm to nourish the hidden injuries I had sustained in the Heavenly Prison.
If I didn’t recuperate in time, these impure energies, contaminated by past bad habits, would affect big brother’s foundation over time.
Time in the Heavenly Realm passed exceptionally slowly, the opposite of the Heavenly Prison.
One can understand it this way: one day in heaven is one year in the mortal world, and one year in the mortal world is a hundred years in the underworld. The Heavenly Prison, however, is different from these three worlds. In the Heavenly Prison, one cannot feel the flow of real time; decades to the outside world are but a blink of an eye.
In other words, although it seemed like I spent a hundred years in the Heavenly Prison, only a few minutes had passed outside.
Reflecting on the experiences in the prison, it was like a dream, and I almost lost myself in it.
However, this was not necessarily a bad thing, because during these hundred years, my realm had significantly improved. Although externally I still appeared to be in the Earth Immortal realm, my true strength was already incomparable to what it was before.
I have already mastered the method of spiritual jumping and can ensure that I do not lose my memories.
If I were to be captured again, I would still be able to escape at any time. I am afraid of being subjected to other restrictions or being influenced by people around me. If I were to get lost again, it would require great effort to get out, so it’s better not to go in.
During my recuperation, my primordial spirit went down to check on my brothers and godfather. Now, those brothers are cultivating in the underworld. Normally speaking, even though the flow of time in the underworld is different from the mortal world, progress is difficult due to the scarcity of spiritual energy.
It just so happened that godfather obtained an ancient scroll and used spirit stones to construct a spirit-gathering place. The spiritual energy there is several times more abundant than in the mortal world. Although it’s not comparable to the Heavenly Realm, it’s still a great opportunity that ordinary mortal cultivators cannot possess.
I also went to look for Third Uncle, but for some reason, after being kicked away, Third Uncle never returned, and I don’t know where he was kicked to.
The three brothers also comforted me, saying:
“Quack quack, big brother, don’t worry. With our Third Uncle’s personality, how could he get lost in the tiny Three Realms?”
“Exactly, Old Ghost. You should recuperate in the Heavenly Realm first. Our Third Uncle will surely be fine. That old man has lived for so many years, he must be alright. He might just come back on his own one day.”
“That’s right, big brother. Don’t worry for now. When I go out collecting scrap, I’ll ask around carefully. If I get any news about Third Uncle, I’ll inform you immediately.”
Hearing these words, no matter how worried I, big brother, was about Third Uncle, I had to put the matter aside for the time being.
If Third Uncle doesn’t show up, then when my realm improves further, big brother will go out and look for him at worst.
By all rights, that old bastard shouldn’t get lost, let alone be kicked to death. I, a human, took so many kicks, and he’s thick-skinned; he definitely couldn’t have been kicked away.
According to mortal time, half a month passed. On this day, someone arrived at the entrance of the cave where I was cultivating.
Originally, I thought perhaps someone from the Cultivation Academy had come to arrest me.
However, from what he said to me, it was not difficult to guess that this fellow was just asking for directions.
“Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask if this is the Heavenly Realm?”
“Who are you?”
“I am a cultivator from Cangyuan in the lower realm. I have just reached the Bodhisattva realm, so I wanted to come to the Heavenly Realm to see how it differs from the lower realm.”
Hearing this, I was extremely pleased.
Let’s say this can be considered a fellow countryman from the lower realm who has cultivated his way up! As the saying goes, when old friends meet, tears stream down their faces.
Seeing that this fellow’s personality suited me very well, we chatted happily, and it felt as if we had known each other for a long time. Thus, I directly invited him to my cave to drink.
As we gradually became familiar with each other, I, big brother, asked him for his Daoist name, as cultivators do not use their given names but refer to each other by their Daoist names. Or rather, the Daoist name is the cultivator’s name.
When I asked him this, he was a bit confused and said he cultivated through self-enlightenment and had no Daoist name.
Upon hearing this, I thought, “How can that be? How can a cultivator not have a Daoist name? How will I address him in the future?”
Would I call him, “Hey! That human?” Wouldn’t that be too presumptuous?
Seeing that he had already cultivated to the Bodhisattva realm, as a friend, I directly gave him a Daoist name. I named him Cangyuan Lesser Bodhisattva!
I originally wanted to call him Great Bodhisattva, but this fellow was a bit low-key, so I changed it to “Lesser.”
Speaking of fate, it is indeed strange. Some people know each other for decades and are like strangers, while others meet for the first time and feel like old friends reunited.
After meeting me, this fellow didn’t leave. We contemplated the Dao together. When we were bored, we would catch spiritual creatures to barbecue, talk about everything, and exchange our cultivation insights.
To my surprise, I thought I, big brother, was already incredibly powerful, but I didn’t expect that many of his insights would also impress me greatly.
For example, after this fellow devoured the chicken leg I had just roasted, he took another one and then said to me with a smile:
“Chicken legs pass through my intestines, the Buddha remains in my heart, hahaha. Fellow Daoist, I’m taking this chicken leg to practice, alright?”
I was amazed that this fellow actually knew that eating anything didn’t affect cultivation, and instead, he used eating to cultivate.
Seeing this, I gave him a big eye roll and quickly snatched his favorite chicken buttock and stuffed it into my mouth. Damn it. I also said to him, “Well said, well said. The chicken buttock passes through my mouth, and it tastes incredibly good! Cough cough cough.”
