The Origins of Buddha and Demon Were Sown Long Ago; What Did the Little Karma Between Me and Mo Luo Amount To?

Zhu Yin had long anticipated this.

Mount Sumeru had originally been the Demon Ancestor's Dao Field.

Now that his master and martial uncle were establishing their Dao and teaching here, it was only natural that they had formed karma with the Demon Ancestor.

Though he remained wary of Mo Luo's escape, he was not flustered.

Debts never trouble those who have too many. Since we're bound to face each other sooner or later, I might as well face it calmly.

Zhu Yin consoled himself inwardly.

Seeing that he had already been drawn into the vortex, Zhunti no longer concealed anything and laid out all the old grudges.

In the previous era, the Dao flourished, and the three thousand Great Daos shone at their brightest.

Among them, Jade Capital Mountain in the Eastern Lands and Mount Sumeru in the Western Lands were the two most central poles of heaven and earth.

Like the opposing poles of yin and yang, they restrained one another and stood at the pinnacle of heaven and earth, second only to Buzhou Mountain, the Heavenly Pillars.

Even the three clans that ruled heaven and earth—the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins—were unwilling to lightly provoke the masters behind those two places... the Dao Ancestor and the Demon Ancestor.

At that time, Mount Sumeru was the Demon Ancestor's territory, its prestige shaking the Primordial Wilderness because of him.

The World-Destroying Black Lotus under his control possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Yet no one knew that aside from the black lotus, Mount Sumeru also had two top-grade innate spiritual roots:

One was the Bodhi Tree.

One was the White Lotus.

These two spiritual roots had been born together in the previous era. Their talents were extraordinarily high, comparable to innate Quasi-Sages.

When the Demon Ancestor discovered them, he valued them greatly and personally expounded the Dao and transmitted his teachings to them.

The two spiritual roots also lived up to his expectations. With their exceptional comprehension, they rapidly grew through the opportunity of hearing the Demon Ancestor's teachings.

But good times did not last.

The Three Clans War erupted, the Western Spiritual Vein was thrown into turmoil, and Mount Sumeru nearly lost its rank as a blessed land.

To preserve the blessed land, the Demon Ancestor acted. He captured and killed Ancestor Zhu Yu, refining him into a spiritual pill to replenish the vitality of the two spiritual roots.

Filled with gratitude, the two spiritual roots wholeheartedly wished to repay the Demon Ancestor.

During the Demon Ancestor's seclusion, they cultivated diligently, hoping to reach the Transformation Stage soon so they could assist him in the coming Dao-Demon War.

Yet after the Demon Ancestor emerged from seclusion, the situation took a sharp turn.

The Demon Ancestor intended to refine them into his "external incarnations," using them to increase his strength and contend against the Dao Ancestor!

The two spiritual roots immediately realized they had been used. They rose up in resistance, but they were no match for the Demon Ancestor and had Demon Seeds forcibly planted within them.

Fortunately, the Dao Ancestor suddenly descended with several ancient mighty cultivators. A great battle erupted, forcing the Demon Ancestor to divide his attention to fight them. Only then were the two spiritual roots spared.

This battle was more brutal than any before it!

The entire Western Lands collapsed. Spiritual energy dried up, earth veins snapped, immortal mountains fell, grotto-heavens perished, and countless living beings died unnatural deaths.

Even Mount Sumeru's rank was knocked down, and it nearly became a wasteland.

In the end, the Demon Ancestor failed in his struggle for the Dao and withdrew beyond the domains.

Though the two spiritual roots were gravely weakened, they survived.

Over countless years afterward, they did everything they could to erase the Demon Seeds within them, repaying the karma of the Demon Ancestor's aid from those years.

Relying on their remaining source power, they gradually restored the earth veins and revitalized Mount Sumeru.

When the Western Lands gathered its fortune once more, they were completely reborn and successfully reached the Transformation Stage at the beginning of the current era.

They were... Zhunti and Jieyin!

Because they had been born from demonic soil, often heard the Demon Ancestor's teachings, and had once been contaminated by Demon Seeds, a trace of "demonic intent" had always remained in their Dao Hearts.

Even after erasing the Demon Seeds and rebuilding their Great Dao, that experience continued to influence them deeply.

For that very reason, they chose a path of cultivation that was "mutually generating and mutually restraining" with the Demonic Dao:

The Demonic Dao was "doing whatever one pleased."

The Buddhist Dao was "arising in accordance with the heart."

One pursued indulgence to the extreme, while the other pursued purity to the extreme.

They seemed opposed, yet in truth reflected one another.

In the end, through their own cultivation, they traveled throughout the Western Lands, accumulated Merit, repaired earth veins, and benefited all living beings, becoming the true "lords of the Western Lands."

Only after the Dao Ancestor attained sainthood and began lecturing at Purple Cloud Palace did these two ancient mighty cultivators finally become known to the world.

After hearing all this, Zhu Yin was deeply shaken.

He had thought that the Buddhist Sect had become entangled with the Demon Clan because of Mount Sumeru's history. He had never expected that this karma had been planted countless ages ago!

No wonder people often said:

"One thought makes a Buddha; one thought makes a demon."

Buddha and demon were originally two sides of the same whole, the yin-yang poles of the Heart-Mind Dao.

The opposition between Buddha and demon was, in truth, a confrontation within one's own heart.

When a Buddha fell into demonhood, it was "when the heart stirred, destruction followed."

When a demon comprehended Buddha, it was "a sudden awakening into sainthood."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yin could not help but fall into thought once more. Gazing toward the great Daos of east and west, he silently contemplated the different paths the Buddhist Sect and Daoist Sect would take in the future...

Buddha and demon were originally two sides of the same whole, like light and shadow upon the same road.

If Buddha and demon represented the yin and yang, purity and impurity, of the "heart";

Then the Buddhist Dao and Demonic Dao were the true opposition of heaven and earth... when one advanced, the other retreated; when one flourished, the other concealed itself, each restraining the other.

Buddhists cultivated eight hundred, while Daoists walked three thousand.

Behind these two numbers lay profoundly deep principles:

Three times three represented infinite transformations;

Eight times eight symbolized the countless forms of living beings.

One was "comprehending the Dao and realizing heaven," while the other was "cultivating methods and saving the world."

Though the two walked different paths, they ultimately led to the same destination...

All techniques originated from the Great Dao, and all divine abilities returned to the principles of Dharma.

There was never any superiority or inferiority between Buddha and Dao, only different choices.

At that moment, Zhu Yin's heart suddenly opened.

He finally understood the true relationship between Buddha, demon, and Dao.

They were like the three powers of heaven, earth, and man—restraining and intertwining with one another. They seemed distinct, yet could never truly be separated.

Sitting within Bodhi Hall, his emotions gradually calmed.

Since the origins of Buddha and demon had been sown long ago, what did the little karma between himself and Mo Luo amount to?

After all, Mo Luo was merely an existence formed from a wisp of the Demon Ancestor's divine sense and a black lotus.

And he was Mount Sumeru's chief disciple, the foremost figure of the Western Teaching. There was nothing improper about facing him head-on.

In the end, his encounter with Mo Luo was simply an inevitability driven by fate.

Even if he had remained hidden on Spirit Platform Mountain and never left, Mo Luo would eventually have come looking for him.

This tribulation could not be avoided.

He had once harbored some doubts.

Ancestor Zhu Yu had clearly left behind so many treasures. By all reason, with his master Zhunti's abilities and status, he should have taken them long ago.

But now he finally understood. It was not that Zhunti did not want to act, but that he could not.

Ancestor Zhu Yu's true body had been refined into a pill by the Demon Ancestor, used to replenish the source power of the two saints in their previous lives.

The two saints had instead become the beneficiaries of Ancestor Zhu Yu's sacrifice, so they could not inherit his legacy. Otherwise, their karmic entanglement would only become harder to resolve.

The power of karma was difficult to erase.

Only repayment could bring purity.

Unless the great calamity ended and heaven and earth underwent a complete reshuffling, these old debts would be recorded by "time" and settled sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yin completely let go of the knot in his heart. The flow of energy within him circulated, and a subtle power rose from his body.

Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a glance and smiled.

They were greatly pleased.

After enduring the impact of this "Buddha-demon karma," their disciple's heart had not been thrown into disorder. Instead, it had become even clearer and more resolute.

Now that was truly promising material!