970 The Bodhisattva (1/2)

A white bone projected from the dark water. It looked quite queer and horrible. Behind the white bone, a huge dark shadow sent forth infinite power and might.

The water was separated as the white bone moved ahead, and then two bones appeared below it. These two bones had no joints. They were very smooth and sharp, looking like two spears.

The thick and long white bone that had appeared first wasn't a whip at all, but an extremely long nose. Flesh, blood and thick skin on it were melted and only a ghastful bone left.

Only an elephant's nose could be that long, and the two sharp white bones were the tusks. Ning Que looked at the huge figure in the dark river and slowly grasped the cutlass' handle.

A huge elephant was at the bottom of the river. It was hundreds of meters tall, as huge as a mountain. In comparison, the sunken boat was quite tiny. The elephant's flesh had eroded, leaving only scary and white bone behind.

The skeletal elephant slowly moved toward the sunken boat. The front end of the trunk was made up of countless small and thin white bones. It curled around the Vermillion Bird, which had stopped struggling. It was close to dying.

As the huge skeletal elephant walked, a Buddhist breath full of stateliness and eeriness pressed against the front of the boat. Ning Que stiffened, thinking that an elephant's trunk shouldn't have bones.

This was a hellish river bottom in the Buddha's world of Nirvana. The elephant's trunk had bones, while wraiths lingered everywhere. There was no logic to be spoken of.

If it was unfair, so they could only fight. However, after seeing the monk sitting on the back of the skeletal elephant and sensing the powerful Buddhist strength of his opponent, he didn't dare to act brashly.

The monk wore a Buddhist crown with ten precious diamond on it and a kasaya with ten-thousand miles of golden thread. He held up a nine-looped golden scepter. It rang as river water passed through it.

The monk sat on the back of the skeletal elephant. He seemed insignificant but also huge. His expression was merciful and resolute. River water passed in front of his eyes, but he still looked calm, presenting an unfathomable atmosphere.

In this world, Ning Que had met many Buddhas, such as the Face-hidden Buddha transformed by the Monk of Green Plates and the Dipamakara on the street. Some were powerful, while some were weak. But no matter how strong a Buddha was, one couldn't stand on for a long while before he and Sangsang started working together.

Now, he saw the skeletal elephant and the monk, and he knew that he and Sangsang were facing a truly powerful enemy. He even felt terrified.

The skeletal elephant walked slowly to the sunken boat. The water was much clearer.

Looking at the monk, Ning Que shouted, ”Which Buddha are you?”

The monk said, ”I'm not a Buddha, but a Bodhisattva.”

Surprised, Ning Que said, ”I've met countless Buddhas in Nirvana, but no one was stronger than you. Why don't you become a Buddha?”

”I will not transform until Hell is empty,” the monk answered calmly.

The eight simple words made Ning Que silent for a long while. Troubled, he asked, ”Ksitigarbha?”

The monk looked resolute with mercy in his eyes. The diamonds in his Buddhist crown shone, and the gold threads on the kasaya released radiated, illuminating the river bottom. Even the whole ten-thousand-mile river was getting clearer and brighter.

Those skeletons hidden between the dark river water and the mud, as well as those wandering ghosts, were all revealed. They didn't fear the Light of the Buddha. On the contrary, they were soothed. They kneeled down and bowed to the monk. Countless skeletons and wandering ghosts all worshipped him. Scrapes could be heard from the bottom of the river. It was the sound of bone rubbing against bone. The bone shrapnel that Ning Que had smashed apart floated up.

The huge river, as dark as Hell, was purified by infinite mercy, which was the state of the Ksitigarbha. Although he was at the position of Bodhisattva, the Buddha's Light he emitted was even stronger than all those other Buddhas combined.

A Buddhist believer would be touched and cry out at the scene. He would probably bow continuously towards the monk on the back of the skeletal elephant. At that moment, even Ning Que was a bit shaken. He'd just composed himself faster than the others.

Only pious Buddhist believer's consciousness would come to the Chessboard and entered Nirvana after the death. Where did the wraiths, goblins and skeletons under the river come from?

The Ksitigarbha seemed to know what he was thinking and said slowly, ”As long as they believed in the Buddha, all would come to this Pure Land after death, even the sinners.”

”Heaven is Hell as well.” Ning Que understood quickly. Looking at Ksitigarbha, he asked, ”All those sinners were guided to the Chessboard after death and then suppressed to suffer under the river. How can they be emptied out?”

Ksitigarbha gazed at the ghosts under the river and said with mercy, ”As long as they piously converted to Buddhism and cultivated via beneficence to achieve the good results, all will be forgiven in the end.”

After he said that, the countless ghosts bowed and cried out. Confessions filled the river.

Looking at Ksitigarbha, Ning Que said ”You spout nonsense, just like the Buddhas.”

After he said that, the countless ghosts rose up. Anger filled the river.

Ksitigarbha didn't get angry. He put his palms together in prayer and said, ”Please enlighten me.”

Ning Que pointed at those wandering skeletons in the water and said, ”Good will and thoughts are easily spoken of, but there are Buddhas everywhere in this world. Where do they do the good things? And if they were sinful before their death, they should be restricted in Hell forever, instead of being freed solely by sutra chanting. How would their victims feel?”