Clues from Minghe

Gao Bin shook his head, his fingers flicking the white prayer beads made of bodhi seeds.

"Cannot be spoken... cannot be spoken."

Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that when Gao Bin answered his question, he deliberately closed his eyes, avoiding the sight of the clay statues on the lotus pedestals within Imperial Awakening Temple, as if intentionally shunning something.

"The Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra was a personal gift from me, and the Jiazi fortune was left behind by Yinglong Temple... Today, all debts are settled. I ask that you, Junior Brother, descend the mountain with haste."

Watching Gao Bin shake his head like a rattle, a flicker of doubt arose in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

The Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra was a personal gift from Gao Bin?

Does that mean Gao Bin himself truly has some connection to Minghe?

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered.

He did not believe he possessed such immense charm that Gao Bin, whom he had only met a handful of times, would gift him a divine technique.

Gao Bin certainly knew something.

But unfortunately, for various reasons, he was unwilling to tell Zhu Yuanzhang the truth.

Zhu Yuanzhang could only suppress his doubts, taking the blank ordination certificate from his bosom.

"After tomorrow, Imperial Awakening Temple will disperse its monks."

Gao Bin placed the completed ordination certificate back into Zhu Yuanzhang's hands, recited an "Amitabha," and then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a profound gaze.

"Four years from now, Imperial Awakening Temple will open its gates once more. If you have the time, Junior Brother, you might as well return to take a look."

Another one of these "prophecy-like" things.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.

In the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang left Imperial Awakening Temple to wander at the end of the fourth year of Zhizheng (1344) and returned to Hao Prefecture at the end of the eighth year of Zhizheng (1348).

The duration of his travels was exactly four years, no more, no less.

Is it a coincidence... or...

"I certainly will."

Zhu Yuanzhang replied calmly. After cupping his hands in thanks, he scavenged the remaining valuables from the Incense Army, tore off his monk's robe to tie into a makeshift bundle, and set off down the mountain path, heading straight for Hao Prefecture.

"According to the map, these are actually the various branch strongholds of the White Lotus Sect in Henan-Jiangbei Province."

In a guest room on the third floor of Laifu Inn, Hao Prefecture.

Zhu Yuanzhang closed the window, shutting out the shouts of the escorts preparing to depart from the Hao Prefecture Escort Agency outside.

He then rolled up the human-skin map from his thigh, placed it into his bundle, and sat cross-legged on the bed, contemplating the current situation.

Ever since descending the mountain, Zhu Yuanzhang had used the silver he scavenged from the corpses of the Incense Army to rent a room, and began planning his journey (or flight) based on the map he had taken from Zhao Zhen.

He had not expected to discover such a secret.

Through several days of observation, Zhu Yuanzhang was certain that the Hao Prefecture Escort Agency across from the inn was a branch stronghold of the White Lotus Sect.

The reason, naturally, was the Maitreya Descends Sutra.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had not cultivated it, he could at least recite the Maitreya Descends Sutra fluently.

With the aid of the Great Wisdom Zen Technique, it was easy for him to pierce through the illusions and discern the true background of those escorts.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat still, staring at the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire before his forehead, and took a deep breath.

Among the disciples who entered the temple in the third year of Zhizheng, he was the only one still alive.

This fact could not be hidden for long; soon, those interested would know what had transpired at Imperial Awakening Temple.

This meant that as the remnants of the Incense Army retreated eastward, he would soon be hunted by "Peng Yingyu," the man the Great Yuan court called the Demon Monk, and his disciples.

Though he did not know exactly how strong Peng Yingyu was.

It was clear he was not comparable to Zhao Zhen or the White-Robed Monk.

And from the extremely humble tone Zhao Zhen used when speaking to Peng Yingyu, it was not hard to deduce that Peng Yingyu's strength far exceeded Zhao Zhen's.

Actually, there is one point about the chaos at Imperial Awakening Temple that remains unclear... and that is who exactly refined Monk Zhao into a "Shadow Walker."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not believe there were such coincidences in the world.

Gao Bin cultivated the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra, and Monk Zhao, who entered the temple in the third year of Zhizheng, just happened to be a genius in this regard, mastering the divine technique in a single year.

And as luck would have it, he died violently during the chaos at Imperial Awakening Temple, and even more coincidentally, became a Shadow Walker immune to the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra.

Furthermore, Zhu Yuanzhang had seen absolutely no arrangements made by the monks of Yinglong Temple during this upheaval.

Considering that "Minghui," "Mingguang," and "Mingshan" were all ruthless individuals who had cultivated a true technique to perfection.

Having just slaughtered the Incense Army at Imperial Awakening Temple, he knew that if he stood before them, he would only be kicked to death.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a chill run down his spine.

Even if he were to use the Great Wisdom Zen Technique to minimize the side effects of the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique to the limit, and allow the Mountain-Shrinking Fist to reshape his body.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if he were to find a deep pool in some remote mountain forest and soak himself in it, hiding away for two sixty-year cycles would not be a problem at all.

This was even more true for these high monks of Yinglong Temple.

"Forget it, I can't figure it out... I might as well take a look at the Bodhi Fruit that Gao Bin gave me."

Zhu Yuanzhang took out the two Bodhi Fruits gifted to him by Gao Bin of Imperial Awakening Temple and placed them into a wooden basin filled with clear water.

He got off the bed, lit a candle, and began to pace around the basin.

Through the refraction of light and shadow from different angles, layers of text emerged upon the surface of the water.

What met his eyes was the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra.

"Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was dwelling on Mount Rajagriha Gridhrakuta with a great assembly of bhikshus..."

"At that time, the King of a difficult country, named Boliuli, sent an envoy to the Buddha's presence to pay homage at the Buddha's feet..."

"...My country is small and on the border, plagued by frequent raids, high prices for grain, the spread of disease, and the suffering of the people."

"I am never able to sleep in peace. The Dharma Treasury of the Tathagata is vast and profound. I am burdened by worries and cannot practice."

"I only pray that the World-Honored One will show compassion and bestow upon me an essential method, so that I may practice day and night with ease and, in future lives, be far removed from all suffering."

Without a doubt, this was once again background information that had nothing to do with specific cultivation steps.

Zhu Yuanzhang relied on his own understanding to roughly translate the meaning of the scripture before him.

It seemed that some minor king in India had asked the Buddha, "Is there a method that is neither arduous, nor time-consuming, nor expensive, yet allows one to cultivate all the way to Buddhahood?"

If it were Zhu Yuanzhang facing such a shameless request, he probably would not have been able to resist kicking this King Boliuli to death.

But the Buddha compassionately replied, "Yes, my friend, there is."

"The Buddha told the King: If you wish to eliminate the obstacles of afflictions and karmic retribution, you should string together one hundred and eight soapberry seeds."

"Keep them with you always, whether walking, sitting, or lying down. With a focused mind and without distraction, recite the names of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, then pass one soapberry seed. Continue in this manner, passing the seeds one by one..."

"...If you can complete one million recitations, you shall sever the one hundred and eight karmic bonds, begin to turn your back on the flow of birth and death, head toward Nirvana, permanently sever the roots of affliction, and attain the supreme fruit."

In other words—

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two Bodhi Fruits in the basin.

These Bodhi Fruits were not only the carriers of the scripture but also an essential step for the cultivation itself.

The "soapberry seeds" mentioned in the scripture were simply another name for the fruit of the Bodhi Tree.

"Plant the Bodhi, attain the Buddha-fruit..."

After memorizing the contents of the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra, Zhu Yuanzhang fished the Bodhi seeds out of the water.

"Compared to the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique, which consumes one's lifespan, and the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, which transforms a person into some kind of marine creature, this is a fairly safe technique."

"But unfortunately, on one hand, the cultivation cycle is too long, and on the other, once the Bodhi Tree is planted, one cannot stray too far from it."

"Otherwise, there is the danger of emptiness and death."

Upon seeing the price required to cultivate this technique, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

He abandoned the idea of continuing to study the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra.

He then cast his gaze back into the water.

At this moment, as the candlelight shifted and the Buddha Speaks of the Soapberry Sutra faded, a map suddenly appeared on the water surface above the Bodhi Fruit left behind by Minghe.

"This is... Tibet?"

Seeing the contents of the map, Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils constricted.

Minghe had actually transferred sixty years of Yinglong Temple's destiny to Tibet!