The abbot of Hongan-ji Temple looked displeased. "You say that only because you have never practiced it yourself. Most of us practice this way, and every abbot throughout the generations has been reborn in the Pure Land. How could there be a problem?
"You have these doubts simply because your understanding is still lacking. The Buddhist scriptures do not lie; you just have yet to set foot on the path to Buddhahood!
"And what standing do you have to question the teachings handed down by the Buddha? This is a grave disrespect to the Buddha. You will be cast into Avici Hell for all eternity!"
Bai Sui was indeed displeased. "Heh, what a serious accusation. You say I'll be cast into Avici Hell for all eternity, and so I will?
"Those who enter Avici are people guilty of the five grave offenses. When have I ever committed these so-called five grave offenses? Is it the conduct of a monk to run his mouth like this and curse someone to descend into hell?"
The abbot's expression grew very unpleasant. "This old monk spoke out of turn. You slander the True Dharma and deserve to enter Samjiva Hell!"
Bai Sui laughed. "Hahaha, well said! Those who slander the True Dharma deserve to enter Samjiva Hell! The Contemplation Sutra says: 'There are sentient beings who commit evil deeds, the five grave offenses and the ten evils, and every kind of wrongdoing. Such foolish people, because of their evil deeds, should fall into the evil realms.'
"Does the abbot still remember the Eighteenth of the Forty-Eight Vows? 'If, when I attain Buddhahood, sentient beings in the ten directions sincerely and joyfully believe, wish to be born in my land, and even recite my name ten times, yet are not born there, may I not attain perfect enlightenment. The only exceptions are those who commit the five grave offenses or slander the True Dharma.'
"Yes, the Buddhist scriptures clearly say that those guilty of the five grave offenses cannot enter the Pure Land. So what was it you said earlier, Abbot? That the Buddha is merciful, and anyone who recites Amitabha Buddha's name aloud—even those guilty of the five grave offenses and the ten evils—will go to the Pure Land if their heart is sincere. Isn't that slander of the True Dharma? Doesn't that mean you, Abbot, are the one who'll go to Samjiva Hell?"
The abbot spoke in a rush. "You're talking nonsense! The Buddha is merciful and gives every lost soul a chance. As long as they sincerely bow their heads and recite the Buddha's true name, the Buddha will guide them to the Pure Land! This is the Buddha's mercy, the kindness Amitabha Buddha bestows upon us believers!" By the end, the abbot was practically roaring.
"Heh, that doesn't sound right." Bai Sui didn't care about the other man's attitude. After all, he couldn't beat him anyway. "Wasn't it Amitabha Buddha who made the great vows? And what I just mentioned was the Eighteenth Vow, wasn't it?
"If Dharmakara broke his great vow, how could he become a Buddha? And if he didn't become a Buddha, how could he guide you into the Pure Land? Or perhaps the Buddha didn't break his vow and did not guide those guilty of the five grave offenses. In that case, you're the one lying, which means you're the one who'll go to hell! I wonder which it is?"
"Lies! You're slandering the Buddha! This is a grave disrespect! Guards! Monks, seize him!" At the end, the abbot shouted toward the door, apparently no longer willing to debate with Bai Sui.
Since the other side was resorting to force, Bai Sui knew they didn't want to reason with him anymore. He felt rather bored. Back in his previous life, when he chatted with the senior monks, even when they disagreed, they never lost their tempers and drove him away. It could only mean that this abbot's cultivation was still lacking.
Bai Sui wasn't the type to take a beating without fighting back. Since the other side had made the first move, he wouldn't hold back.
Unexpectedly, this temple had some real tricks. Though the abbot before him was just an ordinary person, there were quite a few skilled fighters among the warrior monks he had recruited.
There were twelve in the formation. Each had chakra within their body, and together they formed a battle array in the courtyard.
"Wisdom Illumination: Immeasurable Light" × 12
The twelve monks linked their chakra with one another, condensing it into a giant Amitabha Buddha made of chakra.
The Buddha stood five meters tall, its entire body radiating light.
Feeling the chakra contained within the Buddha, Bai Sui's expression grew solemn.
While Bai Sui had been ignoring him, the abbot had already run behind the warrior monks. Once he was sure he was safe, he started making noise again.
"See? This is the power Amitabha Buddha has bestowed upon us! You who slander the True Buddha, repent beneath the Buddha's wisdom-light! If you mend your ways and sincerely worship Amitabha Buddha in your heart, the Buddha will let you be reborn in the Pure Land and understand his merciful heart!"
It was rare for someone of the abbot's advanced age to have such a loud voice. Paired with the Buddha before them, he might almost have sounded convincing—if only!
Bai Sui knew where chakra came from. How could the abbot fool him? Some of the believers who had come to worship at the temple were already kneeling, but how could this chakra construct make Bai Sui submit?
"What nonsense. This Buddha is just condensed chakra, nothing more than an unconventional ninjutsu. Oh, I get it. No wonder you kept talking—the light radiating from this Buddha is a genjutsu." Bai Sui had sensed a spiritual fluctuation within the light shining on him and realized that it was probably a genjutsu.
But Bai Sui had already embarked on the path of an Earth Immortal. The Inner Landscape could not be disturbed by the Outer Landscape, so this kind of genjutsu could not affect him in the slightest. That was why he hadn't noticed anything amiss at first.
Seeing that the genjutsu had no effect, the abbot stopped talking and hurriedly ran farther back, clearly trying to get away from the battlefield so he wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
Bai Sui didn't care whether an ordinary man like him ran away or not. Besides, he needed to give the people kneeling on the ground time to clear out, so he simply let the abbot go.
Perhaps the Buddha felt it had gotten far enough away. It began to move. The five-meter height was only its seated height; now that it was moving, even the air stirred up by its motion made the cheeks of those nearby sting.
Looking at the enormous fist, nearly a meter across, Bai Sui released his spiritual sense and drew the qi around him into a dense mass.
Six or seven meters in front of him, a wall of earth rose from the ground, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
It was reinforced with a large amount of metal-aspect qi, giving the whole wall a metallic luster.
What was more, once the enormous Buddha hand entered Bai Sui's domain, his spiritual sense quickly began analyzing and engaging with it.
Though the Buddha hand before him brimmed with chakra, its structure was extremely loose. To Bai Sui, it was like a clump of willow fluff: it looked like a big mass, but was mostly full of gaps.
So Bai Sui immediately tore it apart and broke it down, turning the Buddha hand into countless bits of chakra and dispersing them throughout his domain.
Feeling the loss of so much chakra, the twelve monks maintaining the formation stared in shock. Clearly, they hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
The abbot in the distance looked even more bitter. He had already sensed that Bai Sui wasn't an ordinary man and must have had some tricks up his sleeve, but he hadn't expected anything like this to happen.
Seeing how utterly outmatched the other side was, Bai Sui even withdrew the earthen wall before him.