The names of the Mud Sect's three great Ghost-Person Bodhisattvas were, without exception, the sect's most closely guarded secrets.
In truth, even the sect's innermost core members might not know the three Bodhisattvas' "true names." It was said that the three Ghost-Person Bodhisattvas studied the Mud Sect's deepest and most profound mystical principles alongside the Buddha Mother, a doctrine known as "opening the wondrous key to the Heavenly Lotus Great Dao."
Legend had it that once one delved deeply into its principles, one could obtain thirty-six keys. By guiding the mortal beings of the world to comprehend the supreme mysteries within those thirty-six keys, one could "reach upward to Heaven and open Hell below; those who reach Heaven understand celestial patterns, while those who open Hell comprehend terrestrial principles"; "Heavenly gods gain transformation, Hell's lords all transcend rebirth; the bitter karma of all beings is exhausted, and all six paths are freed from birth"...
Yet this most profound doctrine had already touched upon the very foundation of Heavenly Dao and violated the taboos of Heaven and Earth. For that reason, even the true names of the Buddha Mother and the three great Ghost-Person Bodhisattvas had been affected.
Any believer of the Mud Sect—or any ordinary mortal in the world—who spoke the names of these venerable figures would invite misfortune.
That was the belief passed down within the Mud Sect, though whether it was true remained doubtful. As for the title of Mingdi Bodhisattva, "Ni Mingdi," He Ping had heard it from the Emperor You.
According to the Emperor You, Ni Mingdi, Xuanyuan Jiao, and the last Ghost-Person Bodhisattva all had exceedingly mysterious origins.
The three great Ghost-Person Bodhisattvas were ancient cultivators who specialized in the path of ghost immortals—or rather, extremely ancient ghost cultivators. No one knew where they came