Chapter 1026: Zen Void Temple (1/2)

Chapter 1026: Zen Void Temple

After passing the Buddhist gate, Li Qiye saw green bricks and white tiles on both sides of the temple. It was full of swaying trees with leaves gently fluttering down. This place was peaceful and quiet, separated from the chaotic mundane realm.

A quiet rustling sound came about with a certain rhythm to it. Wo Longxuan noticed that there was a monk taking his time to sweep away the fallen leaves.

This monk was around twenty years old and had a handsome face. It was apparent that before becoming a monk, he was definitely a lady killer.

“Hai Kuotian—” She was surprised to see this man and murmured: “He, he actually became a Buddhist.”

Of course she recognized this man in front of her. He was once a brilliant genius of the northern sea from the same generation as her. He was definitely incredible, but he disappeared later on.

“This is only training. He has yet to cross over completely. The eighteen temples’ requirement for crossing over is very high. He needs many years of training before he can succeed. Only then would he be considered a real monk, a disciple of Nalanda.” Li Qiye explained.

Wo Longxuan watched the man sweep away the leaves with great shock. She wanted to call out to him because the two of them had met several times before. They could even be considered friends.

The man lifted his head and saw Wo Longxuan and Li Qiye. He only greeted them with a Buddhist gesture before continuing his duty.

After seeing his expression, she knew that he still recognized her. However, he had severed all mundane ties, so even if they were friends in the past, they were only strangers now.

The two continued on. She finally noticed monks meditating on the left and right sides of the pagodas. These meditating monks were completely different from Hai Kuotian. They emitted Buddhist lights while hymns emanating from their bodies. It seemed that their flesh had become that of Buddha. Those with weaker dao hearts would instantly prostrate on the ground before their presence.

“They are different.” She commented after seeing them.

“They could be called high monks with powerful dharma. However, this level of dharma is still only the beginning, it can’t reach the apex.”

“Why do you say that?” She asked curiously.

Li Qiye chuckled and answered: “Look carefully, you will find something interesting about them. It’s just that your intuition is telling you differently, just look again.”

She took a closer look and was astounded. She had to take a step back from disbelief while looking back at Li Qiye to ask: “They, they… are they dead or alive?”

He smiled: “This depends on your definition of what is dead and what is alive.”

The shocked Wo Longxuan exclaimed: “Their blood energy has already withered. With their depleted lifespan and life force, how can they still be living?”

These meditating monks were brimming with a Buddhist radiance and sacred air. However, they had no blood energy, no life.

Even though some ancestors had dried-up blood energies and depleted lifespans, there was still some life force inside them. At the very least, they could still struggle to live for a while longer.

However, these monks had absolutely no life force. In other words, they were dead! Their appearance with their bright holy lights belied their true state.

“How can one become a Buddha without giving up on their bag of skin?” Li Qiye said dismissively.

“Then all the monks under Nalanda are moving corpses? They are all existences without life?” She shuddered at this thought. Although she knew quite a bit about Spirit Mountain, knowing and seeing were two different things.

Li Qiye leisurely said: “Why do people come to the Buddhist Funeral Plateau and Spirit Mountain? Mortals look for a home, but why do cultivators convert themselves as well? Especially those invincible Godkings, they give up everything to join this Spirit Mountain, even starting as a nameless monk. All of this for what?”

“Eternal life, right?” She murmured. She had heard people discuss this topic before.

“Yes, eternal life.” Li Qiye flatly said: “Giving up the physical body to enter the Buddhist faith — this is eternal life. From the very start, the majority of both Godkings and Emperor Candidates would come for eternal life and train in this Buddhist area. Eventually, they were converted and let go of their mundane ways and their fleshly bodies to become real high monks and achieve everlastingness.”

“Eternal life exists in this world?” She spoke with great uncertainty.

Eternal life was a profound and heavy subject. For millions of years, many peerless existences had researched this topic, but no one had heard of a successful attempt.