The Roots of Buddha and Devil Had Long Been Sown—What Did the Bit of Karma Between Him and Mo Luo Matter?

Zhu Yin had sensed this long ago.

Mount Sumeru had originally been the Devil Ancestor's sacred ground.

Now that his master and senior uncle were establishing their Dao and teaching here, they had naturally formed karma with the Devil Ancestor.

Although he remained wary of Mo Luo's escape, he was not panicked.

The more debts one owed, the less one worried. Since we were bound to face each other sooner or later, I might as well face it calmly.

Zhu Yin comforted himself thus.

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

The Karma of Buddha and Devil: An Ancient Entanglement

In the previous era, Dao teachings flourished, and the Three Thousand Great Daos shone in their greatest glory.

Among them, Jade Capital Mountain in the east and Mount Sumeru in the west were the two most crucial poles of heaven and earth.

Like the two poles of yin and yang, they restrained one another and stood at the pinnacle of heaven and earth, second only to Buzhou Mountain, the pillar of the heavens.

Even the three clans that ruled heaven and earth—the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans—were unwilling to easily provoke the masters behind these two places... the Dao Ancestor and the Devil Ancestor.

Back then, Mount Sumeru was the Devil Ancestor's territory, its might shaking the Primordial Wilderness because of him.

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

Yet few knew that besides the Black Lotus, Mount Sumeru also held two supreme 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, blessed with extraordinary talent and comparable to innate Quasi-Sages.

The Devil Ancestor valued them greatly after discovering them and personally expounded the Dao and transmitted teachings to them.

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

But good times did not last.

The Three Clans War erupted. The spiritual veins of the Western Lands shook, and Mount Sumeru nearly lost its status as a blessed land.

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

The two spiritual roots were deeply grateful and wholeheartedly wished to repay the Devil Ancestor.

While the Devil Ancestor was in seclusion, they cultivated diligently, hoping to take form as soon as possible so they could aid him in the coming Dao-Demon War.

However, after the Devil Ancestor emerged from seclusion, the situation took a sudden turn for the worse.

The Devil Ancestor intended to refine them into his own "external incarnations," using them to strengthen himself 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 Devil Ancestor and had Demon Seeds forcibly planted within them.

Fortunately, the Dao Ancestor suddenly descended with several ancient great powers. A great battle erupted, forcing the Devil Ancestor to divide his attention and fight. Only then were their lives spared.

This battle was more brutal than any that had come before!

The entire Western Lands collapsed. Spiritual energy dried up, earth veins shattered, immortal mountains fell, blessed grottos perished, and hundreds of millions of living beings died unnatural deaths.

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

In the end, the Devil Ancestor failed in Dao Contention and retreated beyond the domains.

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

Over countless ages afterward, they did everything they could to wear away the Demon Seeds within them, thereby repaying the karma of the Devil Ancestor's aid back then.

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

Once the Western Lands gathered its fortune once more, they completely shed their old selves and successfully took form at the beginning of the current era.

They were... Zhunti and Jieyin!

Because they had been born from devilish soil, had often listened to the Devil Ancestor expound the Dao, and had once been contaminated by Demon Seeds, a trace of "devilish intent" had always remained in their Dao hearts.

Even after they wore away the Demon Seeds and rebuilt their Great Dao, that experience continued to profoundly affect them.

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

The devilish Dao was "doing whatever one pleased."

The Buddhist Dao was "arising with the heart."

One was indulgence taken to the extreme; the other, purity taken to the extreme.

They appeared opposed, yet in truth reflected one another.

In the end, through their own cultivation, they traveled the Western Lands, accumulated merit, repaired earth veins, and brought blessings to all living beings, becoming true "Lords of the Western Lands."

Only when the Dao Ancestor became a Sage and began teaching at Purple Cloud Palace did these two ancient great powers finally become known to the world.

Zhu Yin's heart trembled after hearing everything.

He had thought the Buddhist Sect was entangled with the Devil Race because of Mount Sumeru's history. He 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 devil."

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

The opposition between Buddha and devil was, in truth, the conflict within one's own heart.

When a Buddha fell into devilry, "the stirring of the heart brought destruction."

When a devil understood Buddha, "sudden enlightenment brought Sagehood."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yin could not help sinking into thought again. Gazing toward the eastern and western Daos, he quietly contemplated the future paths that the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Sect would take...

Buddha and devil had always been two sides of the same whole, like light and shadow on the same road.

If Buddha and devil represented the yin and yang of the "heart," the distinction between purity and turbidity;

Then the Buddhist Dao and the devilish Dao were the true opposites of heaven and earth... when one advanced, the other retreated; when one flourished, the other hid, each checking the other.

Buddhists cultivated eight hundred paths; Daoists walked three thousand.

Behind these two numbers lay profound truths:

Three threes were boundless, representing infinite changes;

Eight eights were all living beings, symbolizing the myriad states of sentient life.

One was "studying the Dao to comprehend heaven"; the other was "cultivating methods to save the world."

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

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

There was no superiority or inferiority between Buddha and Dao, only different choices.

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

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

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

Seated within Bodhi Hall, his emotions grew increasingly tranquil.

Since the roots of Buddha and devil had long been sown, what did the little bit of karma between himself and Mo Luo matter?

No matter what, Mo Luo was merely a being formed from a wisp of the Devil Ancestor's divine thought and a Black Lotus.

And he was Mount Sumeru's foremost 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 merely 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 escaped.

He had once still harbored some doubts.

Ancestor Zhu Yu had clearly left behind so many treasures. Logically speaking, with his master Zhunti's abilities and status, he should have taken them away 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 Devil Ancestor, used to replenish the source origins of the two Sages in their previous lives.

The two Sages had instead become the ones who had received Ancestor Zhu Yu's favor, so they could not inherit his legacy. Otherwise, their karma would become even more entangled and harder to resolve.

The power of karma was difficult to erase.

Only repayment could bring purity.

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

At this thought, Zhu Yin completely let go of the knot in his heart. The currents of energy within him began to circulate, and a subtle power rose from his body.

Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a glance and smiled.

They were deeply gratified.

After enduring the impact of this "Buddha-devil karma," their disciple had not only remained unshaken, but had become even clearer and more resolute.

Now this was a truly fine seedling!