Buddhist Sect's Secret

"Mr. Xuanming, I have a few more questions for you."

"I've noticed some characters that aren't in the Great Zhou Ten Thousand Character Classic, but the components of these characters are within it. Are these characters written incorrectly, or are they not recorded in the Great Zhou Ten Thousand Character Classic?"

Shi Yi continued to ask, this time presenting characters from the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra.

All of them were characters he didn't recognize. These characters actually looked familiar because their components were all present in the Great Zhou Ten Thousand Character Classic, but when combined, they formed characters not found within it.

This was only a portion; Shi Yi intended to ask his questions gradually.

Shi Yi had heard Lou Xuanming mention that the characters in this world all held special meanings. Some characters were created by revered Sages, while others were combinations based on the work of predecessors, each with a specific significance.

Therefore, understanding the meaning of these characters was very important to Shi Yi.

He could understand most of the characters in the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra, but he didn't recognize some in the middle and couldn't grasp their meanings, which would ultimately lead to problems in his understanding.

This had a significant impact on his Daoist Magic cultivation.

A single character difference could lead to an entirely different meaning. Cultivating based on a misunderstanding could easily result in Deviant Cultivation.

Daoist Magic cultivation was more complex than Martial Path cultivation because it involved a person's soul.

If the physical body was injured, it could be healed through treatment. However, the soul was not a physical entity, and if it were injured, it would be very difficult to heal through conventional means.

If Soul Annihilation occurred, the physical body would become a soulless husk, a state more severe than being in a vegetative state.

"Have you encountered Buddhist scriptures?"

Upon seeing the characters Shi Yi wanted to inquire about, Lou Xuanming's eyes flashed with divine light as he asked.

The characters Shi Yi provided were written separately, seemingly unrelated, yet they possessed extremely distinct characteristics.

Shi Yi might not have realized this, but anyone who had come into contact with Buddhist texts would be very familiar with them.

"I've been studying various characters recently. I happened to obtain a few scriptures that claim to purify the mind and increase wisdom upon reading them, so I decided to take a look. However, I found that I couldn't understand much of the content."

Shi Yi had considered various possibilities, so he was able to respond easily.

However, he hadn't expected Lou Xuanming to recognize them as Buddhist scriptures at a glance; this was something Shi Yi hadn't anticipated.

"Sir, is there something wrong with Buddhist scriptures?"

Shi Yi quickly asked.

He had visited every place in Anyuan Town and had never seen any trace of a temple, which he found somewhat strange.

Seeing Lou Xuanming's expression now, it was clear he knew something.

"There's nothing wrong with Buddhist scriptures themselves; it's Buddhism that has issues."

"A hundred years ago, there was a major Buddhist power, Great Putuo Temple, which was a Holy Land on par with Jixia Academy and the Zhengyi Immortal Dao. Ancient temples were everywhere, and believers were widespread. At that time, Buddhism was flourishing, and its prestige was almost surpassing that of the imperial power. Our Anyuan Town also had Buddhist temples."

"However, a hundred years ago, Great Putuo Temple underwent a great upheaval due to internal strife, and Great Putuo Temple subsequently perished."

"The various dynasties also took action, prohibiting the propagation of Buddhism, nearly causing Buddhism to be completely wiped out."

"Seeing this, the remaining people of Buddhism eventually retreated into the Western Desert and rarely appeared. To this day, you can hardly find anyone from Buddhism in the Great Zhou and other major dynasties!"

"Buddhist scriptures have also become rare."

Lou Xuanming looked at Shi Yi and slowly recounted the secrets of Buddhism.

In just a few words, he explained everything!

"Do you mean that Buddhist scriptures are currently forbidden in the Great Zhou and other dynasties?"

Shi Yi realized and continued to ask.

He had never heard of such secrets, or rather, because there was no Buddhism, no one would mention it.

"It's not exactly like that. Some people do read Buddhist scriptures in private, but if anyone dares to openly preach Buddhism, they will be arrested by the Divine Constable Bureau and imprisoned in Changping Prison."

"A hundred years have passed, and this situation has not changed within the Great Zhou Dynasty,"

Lou Xuanming said, shaking his head with a knowing look.

Buddhist scriptures were still books; one could read them in private, but not preach them.

"Then, sir, can you teach me these characters?"

Shi Yi looked at Lou Xuanming and continued to ask.

He hadn't expected this outcome when he asked about the characters in the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra.

However, now that the conversation had reached this point, it was better to ask Lou Xuanming than anyone else.

Since Lou Xuanming could recognize them at a glance, he must have also read Buddhist scriptures.

"This is simple enough, but I will only teach you to recognize the characters, and nothing else."

Lou Xuanming nodded and said solemnly.

Teaching Shi Yi to recognize characters was his duty as a teacher, so he did not refuse.

As for anything more, he would not teach it in depth.

"You can look at the books, but it's best not to show them to others, nor to read too many."

"It's better to read the Four Books and Five Classics than those books; they can clarify meaning."

Mr. Xuanming continued speaking.

"This character is pronounced 'Fan.' Its original meaning refers to lush vegetation, but in scriptures, it can be understood as..."

Lou Xuanming spoke earnestly and in great detail.

Shi Yi copied the characters from the book, and he answered each one.

"If there are any other characters, ask them all now. In a while, I need to prepare for the Autumn Provincial Examination and won't have time to teach you elementary studies!"

Lou Xuanming looked at Shi Yi and said.

"There are still over a dozen characters on this page. Please guide me, sir."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yi flipped to a specific page in the book he was copying.

He had originally intended to ask questions multiple times and take his time, but hearing Lou Xuanming's words now, he had to ask them all at once!

The number of characters he was asking about wasn't large, and it was impossible to deduce the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra from them. Shi Yi could tell this just from the characters that made up the words.

The complete Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra had eighteen thousand seven hundred and thirty-five characters; it couldn't possibly be deduced from just a few dozen.

"This character is pronounced..."

Lou Xuanming continued his earnest explanation.

After he explained it once, Shi Yi generally didn't ask again, clearly having memorized it!

This made Lou Xuanming think even more highly of Shi Yi.

It was evident that Shi Yi's learning ability was even greater than he had shown. Of course, Shi Yi was intentionally holding back, so Lou Xuanming didn't press him further.

Time trickled by until noon, when Shi Yi and the others studying elementary subjects emerged from Lou Xuanming's courtyard.

"The Great Putuo Temple was once a Holy Land on par with Jixia Academy. This Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra must be even more precious than I initially thought. No wonder the Divine Constable Bureau didn't know the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra was hidden within the main bead of the Vajra Bodhi bracelet; they had to expend so much effort searching for it."

"The Bodhi seed is not simple; the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra is even less so."

"It seems I cannot let anyone know about my future cultivation of the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra."

"Within the Great Zhou Dynasty, revealing the cultivation of Buddhist cultivation methods might cause trouble. Cultivating the Great Vehicle Tathagata Sutra will bring even greater trouble."

Shi Yi walked on, thinking silently.