Tides Rise at Glazed Mountain Temple

The gates of Glazed Mountain Temple finally opened slowly after several breaths.

A moment later.

In the main hall, the demon monk Monkey Mind strolled about at an unhurried pace, carefully examining the majestic temple's portraits of the Tathagatas throughout the ages.

At last, Monkey Mind stopped before a brand-new portrait of a Tathagata. Standing with his hands behind his back, he studied it for several breaths before turning to look at the sorrowful old monk behind him.

"Abbot.

The ancient scriptures say: 'The Buddha expounds the Dharma with one sound, and all beings understand according to their kind.'

The Buddhist Dharma is vast as clouds. Today, this humble monk has come knocking at your mountain gate. Whether courtesy first and force after, I do not mean to make things difficult for you, Master. I merely seek the true Dharma of our Buddhist faith."

At those words, the abbot of Glazed Mountain Temple pressed his palms together, and the grief on his face deepened.

"Amitabha—

The one who can expound the Dharma with one sound is the Buddha, not this old monk.

If you seek the true Dharma of the Buddha, you should seek it in the Buddhist scriptures preserved by the various mountain temples, among the pearl-like words scattered through old pages—not from this old monk's mouth.

Yet you have come knocking at Glazed Mountain Temple's gate. Is that not abandoning what is near to seek what is far?"

As the old monk's voice fell, the demon monk grinned. Strangely enough, when he smiled, none of a demon's savage terror could be seen. Instead, the innocent splendor and purity of all living things seemed to bloom in an instant.

There was even a trace of embarrassed shyness mixed in.

"How could this humble monk fail to understand what you say, Master? But the scriptures of Bodhi Mountain Temple and Cloud Meditation Mountain Temple have nearly been thumbed to pieces by me.

I know every single character, yet when they are strung together, not one sentence makes sense in my heart.

Before the golden images of the Tathagatas, we monks do not speak falsehoods. Let me speak an honest truth.

In the end, I am a demon, a beast. I cannot comprehend such vast and boundless principles.

And precisely because of that, among the sacred lands and great sects of the Five Regions today, aside from the scum of the Southern Border's demonic sects, with their dark schemes and sinister tricks, the remaining sects have rarely been invaded by my kind—only those sects founded upon the human race's cultural heritage, morality, and teachings.

So, Master, you think I am casting aside the root to chase the branches, abandoning what is near to seek what is far. But seen from the other side, perhaps you do not realize that this humble monk is walking his own proper path."

When his words ended, the abbot of Glazed Mountain Temple merely kept his palms pressed together, his lips moving ceaselessly as though chanting the Buddha's name again and again.

Then Monkey Mind tilted his head and glanced once more at the new golden image of the Tathagata before him.

The innocence of living things was gone from his voice.

"Two thousand years ago, Wisdom Sword Tathagata attained the Dao and, by himself, dazzled an entire age.

It is said that before his enlightenment, he cultivated at Glazed Mountain Temple for a long time. It is also said that Wisdom Sword Tathagata's path to enlightenment once received guidance from the abbot of Glazed Mountain Temple in that generation.

Today, this humble monk stands here. Perhaps then and there was just like here and now.

Since the abbot has opened the mountain gate, you must ultimately speak a few truths to this humble monk.

Otherwise, not only Cloud Meditation Mountain Temple, but Bodhi Mountain Temple as well—and every sinful cultivator of the Buddhist Deliverance Lineage temples conquered by my ape race—will have their body and soul extinguished, their Dharma lineages severed, all because of you, Abbot!"

At this, the sorrow on the abbot's face reached its utmost depth.

"Amitabha—since you have already entered the monastic path, those who leave the secular world should cherish compassion..."

But before the abbot could continue, the demon monk flicked his sleeve.

"This humble monk read in the ancient scriptures that those who leave the secular world must not only speak of compassion, but also of karma.

Then the karma is this: when Two Realms Mountain still stood, among the sects of the Five Regions, only the Buddhist Deliverance Lineage gathered there generation after generation, forcibly ferrying how many tribes and bloodlines of my race into the Western Regions as slaves and servants. They lived lives worse than death, only to have their bones cracked and marrow sucked dry in the end.

Yet they prettified it as rebirth in paradise, saying that in the next life they would have an affinity with Buddha...

Since my race has already breached Two Realms Mountain, then the past was the cause, and all that they must suffer today is the karmic fruit they deserve!

Today, this karma has fallen upon your shoulders, Abbot."

After several attempts to speak that ended in silence, the abbot's body suddenly trembled again and again. At last, as though he had thought everything through, he spoke.

"Then... may I ask what kind of true Buddhist Dharma Master Monkey Mind seeks from this old monk?"

At last, a radiant smile bloomed once more across Monkey Mind's face.

How utterly delighted and exhilarated he looked.

His clear, unruly laughter instantly echoed through the great hall of Glazed Mountain Temple.

But after several breaths, that laughter stopped abruptly.

The demon monk faced the old monk once again.

Though through the wide-open hall doors, one could clearly see the demon qi and bloody light filling the skies beyond Glazed Mountain Temple, Monkey Mind nevertheless did not hesitate. Following the ancient rites of Zen once more, he dropped to his knees with a thunderous crash and bowed in full prostration to the old monk.

Yet upon receiving such a grand salute, the old monk's face became sorrowful to the extreme.

He had just addressed Monkey Mind as "Master," but when Monkey Mind spoke, he said,

"Master, the true Buddhist Dharma your disciple seeks is the Bodhi Golden Body Path."

The old monk had evaded the matter in every way before, but at this moment, he seemed to enter another state.

"Amitabha. The Bodhi Golden Body Path is the supreme orthodox Dharma of our Buddhist Golden Body Lineage. Though it is called a golden body art, it is a method of jointly refining life and nature, cycling through the Three Elements to attain freedom from leakage within and without.

Upon first entering the path, one uses all manner of precious ores, metal qi, and treasure radiance to temper the flesh, condensing the body's metallic essence. This is the grand and righteous path of the Metal Element.

At a deeper stage, one uses the body's metallic essence to generate boundless Buddhist light and Dharma power, letting it course through the heavenly circuit and enter the blood throughout the body, refining it into red gold and achieving a state where metallic essence balances hardness and softness. This is Metal generating Water, the mutual generation of two elements.

But when the technique is truly cultivated to profound heights, metallic essence passes from form into spirit. Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, and a Bodhi Heart Tree is transformed into being. Thus wisdom ever abides, and body and soul are both wondrous."

Hearing this, Monkey Mind pressed his palms together.

"Master, this is the grand and righteous cultivation path of the Bodhi Golden Body Dharma. Yet every step within it is fraught with hardship. Without spiritual roots and enlightenment, awakening is difficult.

Your disciple asks Master to bestow a shortcut."

The old monk sighed. How could he not know that this was the demon monk's true purpose in coming to knock upon the mountain gate?

"If you seek... if you seek a shortcut, then you must go to the Eastern Lands and find the Hundred Origin Alchemy Sect. Aside from its public Pill Dao methods, this sect possesses another secret alchemical art, the <Pill Origin Celestial Venerable's Wondrous Scripture of the Three Mysteries Turning the Profound Elixir Cauldron>.

This alchemical art likewise cycles through the Three Elements. Unlike the public Pill Dao methods, which use fire to refine heavenly materials and earthly treasures, pairing sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy ingredients, it draws upon all sorts of Metal Element precious ores, as well as spiritual dew and true essence from heaven and earth. It uses the natural growth and vitality of spiritual plants to harmonize lead and mercury, condensing wondrous Elixir Fruit.

It begins with metallic essence and ends with the Wood Element. This alchemical scripture secretly accords with the principles of our Buddhist Bodhi Golden Body Dharma. If one obtains this sect's cultivation method, one may infer other matters from a single example, making it a shortcut to the Golden Body Dharma."

Yet Monkey Mind still shook his head.

"Master, leaving aside the fact that the Hundred Origin Alchemy Sect is also a sacred land and great sect, standing tall in the Eastern Lands and untouched by my race, its alchemical art bears the heading 'Pill Origin Celestial Venerable' and marks its rank as a 'Wondrous Scripture.'

Such a lofty and mysterious scripture—even if your disciple managed to obtain it—since I cannot understand the Buddhist orthodox Dharma, perhaps I would be unable to understand such an alchemical scripture either.

May I ask, Master, is there a shortcut to this shortcut, one that makes entering the path easier?"

The old monk sighed again, as though the sorrows of an entire lifetime had been compressed into this single day.

"Alas... there is...

If you wish to use a shortcut to comprehend the secret alchemical art, then you must seek the inheritance of the Ghost Vine Lineage from the former Demon Refining Mystic Sect..."