"Poor monk Jieyin..."
"Poor Daoist Zhunti."
"My junior brother and I are establishing the Western Teachings today. If I attain supreme bodhi and achieve perfect enlightenment..."
Gu Zongchen spoke while Lu Bei watched. To keep himself from falling too deep into the pit, the latter kept his mouth shut, bobbing his head and pretending to understand. In truth, he did not even recite the sort of nonsense lines like "12345" used to fool ghosts.
At the same time, the Great Brightness Buddha of the past vanished and fled.
Buddhist chants rolled on, incense drifted dreamily, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth, supporting Gu Zongchen and Lu Bei. They seemed intended to brush away dust and keep them from falling into the mortal world.
The Little Monk could indeed keep himself from falling into the mortal world. As for the one beside him who was merely making up the numbers...
All one could say was that, setting aside the facts, he was still capable.
Buddhist teachings rang out like thunder. The Twelve-petal Golden Lotus and Bodhi Ancient Tree rose into the air. The Heavenly Dao stirred, rippling the void, and high above, a vortex-like solitary eye opened, slowly watching the Little Monk babbling below.
"May this merit adorn the Buddha's Pure Land and extend to all of us and all sentient beings..."
"With the Twelve-petal Golden Lotus and Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree as the foundation for establishing the sect, suppressing its fortune, they shall be the treasures of the Western Teachings."
"The Western Teachings—established!"
As the words fell, the solitary eye of the Heavenly Dao suddenly widened. Thunderclouds manifested the Four Spirits and Five Phases, and purple pillars of lightning came crashing down.
The golden lotus and ancient tree bathed in lightning, shedding the dust from their surfaces and revealing