Chapter 286

"No, no, this is not the truth."

Siddhartha shook his head. "No, this path leads to any goal. I have tried various paths, but they have all drifted further away from me. You have taught me a great deal, and I am very grateful."

"Damp wood cannot burn."

"You're right."

The green-haired youth smiled slightly and answered in this way.

"But your experience in this Purified Grove has given me a new direction."

In the days that followed, Siddhartha and his Six Schools began to practice asceticism in the Purified Grove, eating only one meal a day, consisting of plants and fallen fruit from the trees.

On this seemingly endless, lonely road, time moves slowly on.

Thus, as if in the blink of an eye, six years have passed.

"Austerity training alone won't work."

The stream in the Purified Grove of Mount Dungeshwari shimmered in the mist, reflecting light behind the lush green leaves. The light danced, the water flowed, and the babbling brook rippled. In this scene, Siddhartha declined the invitations of his Six Schools and turned to leave.

Although the Six Schools have not verbally admitted defeat over the years, they all know in their hearts that Siddhartha has already subdued them.

Siddhartha chose to leave because during his recent ascetic practice, he endured hunger and pain, and accidentally fainted during one of his ascetic practices. He was fortunate enough to be offered Sheep's Milk by a Shepherdess, which restored his Divine Body and made him realize that extreme asceticism could not lead to liberation, and that the practice should be the Middle Way.

He then declined the invitations of the Six Schools and decided to continue his enlightenment journey under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya.

Watching Siddhartha's retreating figure, who was determined to leave, the Six Schools all wore bitter smiles.

"It is our honor to meet this Wheel-Turning King who shares our thoughts in our lifetime."

"Yes, no wonder the Teacher made us all come here."

Let us smooth over the trampled soil, so that the earth, the sky, the Universe, and all things may rejoice in this choice.

So the Six Schools carefully smoothed out the trampled mud, which was completely different from the Dharma Rishi who smeared it on their foreheads.

Then--

The Underworld Realm —no, it's now the Desire Realm.

The original Three Worlds have been transformed into different worlds due to Siddhartha's choices. Although Siddhartha has not yet attained enlightenment, the world has already taken shape. When Siddhartha is fully enlightened, everything will go against Lila's design and everything will be redesigned.

In Buddhism, the Three Worlds are the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the No Form Realm.

The Desire Realm is a world dominated by material things and primarily driven by the pursuit of sensual pleasures, hence its name.

At this very moment, in the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm, the Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations, the beings of this heaven do not need to seek their own pleasures, but love to descend to the mortal world to play and transform, finding their freedom in the pleasures of others; hence the name "Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations."

Kavia gazed at the first flower in the dark, Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations, which was the first Heavenly Demon, the Chief of the Heavenly Demons.

The light reflected off the lush green leaves, as if in resistance, with only a corner containing blue water.

Of course, Kavia knew that it was Mara, Buddha's Enemy.

Of course, it was also Kama himself, the Love God. Not long after Kavia and Siddhartha parted, Kama fell into a coma and his body gradually shrank, turning into a ball of light and leaving. Following this ball of light, Kavia naturally arrived at the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm.

The reason for this is actually quite simple: Kama himself is Mara. From a later perspective, Kama, who Shiva-Obstructing, and Mara, who obstructs Shakyamuni, are defined as beings who 'Obstructer of Ascetics'. Perhaps it can be said that Kama / Mara are gods who simultaneously embody both the good and evil aspects of the concept of love.

However, in the present moment, Mara was born to prevent Siddhartha from causing unforeseen consequences for Lila. He is a powerful being with a high degree of divine and demonic nature, and is also rapidly transforming into the greatest calamity for humanity, the 'Beast'.

Normally, the ratio of Kama to Mara is 6:4. If the ratio is significantly biased towards Mara, this body will awaken into a Beast. This is the current situation. The origin is probably the power of Asura that was obtained in the Underworld Realm.

At this moment, Kama is the Pradyumna of Krishna, the son of Kavia and Mohini, the Growth God who bears the Shiva's Wrath, and the offspring of Brahma. In other words, Krishna's Universe Aspect plus Shiva's wrath that can burn the Universe, along with the concept of Issei, causes Mara, who is inclined towards evil Asura, to also gain equal power.

She became an existence that contained the calamity of 'the Universe overflowing with love and Desire', thus qualifying her to become the larva of a beast that would destroy humanity, which is why she was transformed so quickly.

Of course, the India 'Lila' chose her not only because she was qualified, but also because of her close relationship with Kavia. Kavia's own characteristics made her the best choice to prevent Siddhartha's enlightenment... After all, Siddhartha, under Kavia's guidance, had never married or had children.

No, no.

Kavia gazed at the Demon King emerging from the darkness of the Sixth Heaven and spoke softly, though it was unclear whether she was speaking to Mara or something else.

"An being that blends the elements of Love God and Heavenly Demon, is an extremely powerful being of high status, possessing unparalleled strength. Both deeply love humanity, yet this makes salvation impossible."

Mara was born to save the world, but this salvation meant restoring the world to its original state and preventing Siddhartha from attaining enlightenment.

"Human rejection is inevitable. Those who are not human, who cannot understand human existence, yet want to save the world, are absurd from the very beginning."

Having existed somewhere for an unknown amount of time, the dark and murky blue colors on the flame-like flower gradually faded. It was there, silently waiting for its moment.

Gradually, the flower bud turned into petals, enveloping the human figure's body. Soon, even the petals were slowly pushed aside, and from the center of the petals, the tiny flower revealed its true form. Its dark and murky blue colors merged with the human figure, transforming into Mara, stretching out its body.

"I grant all mankind infinite depravity. I grant all mankind eternal satisfaction. And the Universe will be filled with my love—"

Kavia stared at Mara, whose smile seemed to have completely transformed his personality, and remained silent, lost in thought.

"Oh my, isn't this my Lord Aspected God, my child, my father, Kavia? You actually managed to find this place, amazing!"

"You were chosen by Fate to come to this long-closed place. You are the only one who can possess the love of the Universe..."

The stunningly beautiful young woman spoke with a voice as clear as a nightingale's song, spreading her arms wide as she spoke.

"If I don't conquer you, the Himalayas will be loved by the world. So I must conquer you first, and fill you with my love, so that the world can be filled with love."

"..."

Kavia was speechless.

The leader of the Heavenly Demon seemed to take his silence as acquiescence; her cheeks flushed, and she said excitedly:

"In that case, let's begin."

"No."

"Really? It won't work then. Well, let's start here... uh, wait a minute?"

Mara blinked, stunned.

"Huh... did I hear that right? You were just about to be conquered by me, weren't you? You're not mistaken, are you?"

"No."

Why?!

"Why don't you put on some clothes first?"

"No! No, I don't want to..."

"If you are safe and sound, then I can leave."

Without watching the unreasonable Mara any longer, Kavia turned and looked towards the distant Bodh Gaya.

"Hey? Wait, where are you going? That's where I'm supposed to be, don't go there--"

"Have you forgotten? I have a name that only you know."

Kavia turned to look at Mara and smiled gently.

"Besides, I'm still the Proxy God of Love, aren't I? You should just become the true Demon King. After all, Mara, you haven't experienced the sorrows of life and death, how can you see the true nature of humanity? Let me go, that's enough."

Kama himself is Mara, and Love God is inherently Heavenly Demon. While Kavia's love for humanity differs from Love God's, it is remarkably similar. Therefore, Kavia, who once Proxy God of Love, possesses Universe Aspect, carries Shiva's Wrath, and, given his deep connection with Kama, can also become a representative of Heavenly Demon.

Beneath the Bodhi Tree, on a bed of auspicious grass, Gautama Siddhartha, seated in the lotus position, was undergoing his final enlightenment.

Then, in an instant, the surroundings turned into a thick, blood-red mist, enveloping Siddhartha like Sea of Blood. Suddenly, a strong wind swept in, causing his silver-white hair to dance in the Sea of Blood, while the fresh fragrance of new green lingered around his entire body.

Sensing this change, the green-haired youth slowly opened his eyes:

"It's been a long time, Teacher, the Teacher of the Six Schools, the teacher of enlightenment."

Memories are as beautiful as gold, and that's precisely why I've come here.

Using the conceptualization of Kavia Chief of the Heavenly Demons, he narrowed his eyes and a smile appeared on his lips.

"The Seven Emotions and Six Desires, Pride, Wrath, vanity, Greed, and illusions—all belong to me."

"Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations Papiyas."

Mara JPG.

Chapter 340 The Savior.

"The Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations... Papiyas."

Siddhartha repeated the phrase softly.

The Teacher before him was none other than Papiyas, the Teacher of the Six Schools. Although somewhat surprised, it was not an unacceptable fact.

Just like people facing the loess soil and being scorched by the blazing sun, in fact, people have done nothing wrong, yet they have become victims. They all have things they want to Protection, various memories, and expectations for the future.

The Teacher is the same at this moment; otherwise, why would there be dust particles shimmering like those from that night within this seemingly blood-red and ugly crimson mist?

The surrounding crimson mist looked so new that Siddhartha's eyes were almost unable to open due to its density, but everything within the crimson mist was shimmering.

As if it had been waiting, the clear blue sky and the reddish-brown horizon stretched endlessly to the end.

A chilly wind swept down from the mountaintop, and the clouds drifted across the sky. Smoke rose from the dilapidated Hut, carrying the aroma of poorly cooked food. The sweltering heat of the day slowly melted into the long, trailing skirt of the sunset, singing a hymn of praise. This is how many people relax after a busy day.

Then, Siddhartha, whose mind was no longer filled with doubt and confusion, said to Kavia, who called himself Papiyas:

"Thoughts have an end; I will enter the realm of immortality."

"You can't go in now. Your cultivation has reached its limit; you can't surpass it."

"You cannot bind me; you will be banished, Papiyas."

"Yeah."

Kavia laughed. "Pride, Wrath, vanity, Greed, and illusion are all my weapons. How will you deal with me?"

"No, fighting these things will only drag me deeper into this illusory cycle of reincarnation. I will break free from this Karmic Reincarnation."

Siddhartha paused, then continued calmly.

"No desire can touch me, no illusion can confine me, no love can bind me, no anger can entangle me."

"Love-Lust, Pleasure-Lust, and Greed-Lust are all my children."

In the Buddhism system, Papiyas always tries to hinder practitioners from cultivating the path through methods such as temptation and coercion. When Siddhartha was about to attain enlightenment, he sent three Heavenly Demon Daughters Love-Lust, Pleasure-Lust, and Greed-Lust to flatter him, intending to influence Siddhartha's enlightenment, but of course, they failed.

However, due to the connection between various concepts at this moment, Mara, the Mara Demon King of the Sixth Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations, Papiyas be regarded as two equals. Kavia did not intend to use such a method, but rather another one.

Therefore, he looked at the serene Siddhartha and said:

Even if you attain enlightenment and learn the true Dharma, allowing the world to see through the light, there will still be a day of passing away. What will you do then?

"True law cannot be destroyed by any force."

"The light will endure forever, and darkness will never perish. Even now and in the future, not everyone will believe in you, but there are many who Faith me. After your Parinirvana, fewer and fewer people will Faith you, and more and more people will Faith me."

"True Dharma will illuminate all existence; it is a universal light that shines upon both the good and the evil."

"The Saint has no fixed mind; he takes the mind of the people as his own. Papiyas also has no fixed mind; he takes the mind of the people as his own. In conforming to human nature, you cannot compare to me. You have strict precepts and strongly emphasize the harm of Greed-Lust, teaching people to stay away from Greed-Lust, while I conform to the Desire of the people and satisfy their Desire."

Kavia said, enunciating each word clearly.

"If sentient beings had no Greed-Lust, where would Papiyas be?"

I will leave behind written teachings to guide future generations.

Upon hearing this, the silver-haired youth gently shook his head:

"Words are inanimate; to educate and enlighten people, someone needs to explain them."

"I will leave behind treasures for the world."

"New people should come to enlighten the world. Those Faith in me will come to you, and you will not refuse them."

"Won't."

Just then, Kavia raised the corners of his mouth in a provocative manner.

"When you Parinirvana, during the Dharma’s End Period, I will send my disciples and grand-disciples to infiltrate the treasures you left behind, wear your Ascetic Robe, and undermine your Dharma. They will distort your scriptures and break your precepts to achieve goals that force cannot."

Siddhartha fell silent, and tears streamed down his face without a word.

A fiery red hue gradually enveloped Siddhartha's surroundings; it was a solemn and incomparably powerful force, and countless red flashes, like a meteor shower, rained down from a crimson sky.

The light is as tiny as raindrops, each drop carrying the heat to melt a Planet.

However, at this very moment, in this scene, not only was there a 'tyrannical' red light, but also a rain of flowers falling from the clouds, spreading a rich fragrance, making the Bodhi Tree behind Siddhartha stand majestically, the warm sunlight revealing a benevolent face in the wind, the green mountains smiling, and the little river singing joyfully.

Birds brought fragrant branches, beasts gathered exotic fruits, and fresh flowers were offered to Siddhartha.

Birds soar in the sky, beasts frolic on the ground; sentient and insentient beings alike celebrate good fortune.