Actually, My Name Is Chen Yi

The Five Declines of the Celestials.

Soiled clothing, withered flowers upon the head, sweating armpits, a foul-smelling body, and discontent with one's seat.

The Buddhist Sutras said that when celestial beings approached the end of their lives, these five signs of decline would appear. Though Asuras were not celestial beings, they resembled them, and so the signs of the Five Declines of the Celestials would appear on them as well.

Moreover, compared with celestial beings, Asuras met a far more tragic end after their decline and death. Because of their belligerence and sins in life, the vast majority fell into the Ghost Path and became ghost kings who brought calamity upon a region.

As for how Chen Yi knew all this Buddhist lore, it was simple: from the game encyclopedia for Beyond the Heavens.

To build a realistic world, Beyond the Heavens had researched and verified a wealth of material. Its scope extended beyond the three teachings and nine schools to Zoroastrianism and the Church of the East in the Western Regions, the Six Masters of the Outer Dao in India, Dangun of the Three Han, and the Eastern Shinto Pure Land. All the relevant information had been included in its oceanically vast game encyclopedia.

After clearing the game for the first time, Chen Yi had begun reading the encyclopedia's sprawling assortment of entries in preparation for a new save. He had read the material concerning the early game especially closely, going through it two or three times.

He still remembered marveling after reading the encyclopedia that its contents were so detailed, it was as though such a world really existed.

And now, everything he had once read could be put to perfect use.

Chen Yi took a light step and gently pressed Yin Weiying's shoulder, signaling that he wanted to go forward.

Yin Weiying looked at him in alarm and uncertainty, hastily caught his sleeve, and shook her head repeatedly.

Chen Yi did not want to explain much to her. He merely cast Min Ning a look.

Min Ning understood and stepped forward to hold Yin Weiying back, forcing her to let go, while Chen Yi faced the Asura bearing the five signs of decline head-on.

The Asura's lusterless eyes stared straight at him.

An indescribable, deathly chill permeated the alley.

"You look... like you're in pain."

Chen Yi spoke slowly.

The Asura remained utterly still, as though he had not reacted.

Chen Yi said evenly:

"You aren't a celestial being, yet you must suffer their five declines. That is why you're in pain."

The Asura's eyes shifted slightly, a trace of anger surfacing within them. The surrounding cold Baleful Intent grew heavier, and Yin Weiying's breathing almost stopped.

His three faces twitched slightly as he stared fixedly at Chen Yi.

"Mortal, why... do you say that? How could you tell?"

Chen Yi merely said:

"How I could tell doesn't matter. What matters is that I know the root of your suffering."

As his words fell, the surroundings grew colder still, like a ghostly domain in the netherworld. An invisible, crushing pressure erupted in the alley. Yin Weiying and Min Ning both broke out in cold sweat, soaking their backs.

It seemed that in the very next moment, their heads would fall.

Yet Chen Yi seemed to have expected this and did not move.

"Your suffering lies in... the avidya within your heart."

The Asura stiffened, his gaze pausing. As though seeking confirmation, he asked:

"What is... avidya?"

Chen Yi smiled faintly.

"What is called avidya is this: no sooner has one thought perished than another arises. You are an Asura. You know of the six paths of reincarnation, yet you fear your own decline and death. You cling endlessly to life, unwilling to enter the six paths of reincarnation, unable to fathom the principle of arising and ending through causes and conditions. This desire to live is precisely avidya."

"There is avidya in your heart, so you cannot find liberation. The less you wish to suffer, the more you suffer. The more you wish to escape the sea of suffering, the deeper you sink into it."

The Asura froze. The lips on all three heads trembled at once, opening and closing as he repeated like a madman:

"Avidya, avidya, avidya..."

Seeing this, Yin Weiying keenly recognized a turning point, and her heart eased a little.

Yet in the next instant, an abrupt change sent her heart leaping again, goosebumps rising over her skin.

The Asura's six arms suddenly thrust forward. Two seized Chen Yi's wrists, two seized his ankles, and the last two clamped tightly around his neck as he demanded with the fury of the dying:

"Tell me, tell me, how do I escape the sea of suffering? How do I escape the sea of suffering?!"

Chen Yi's face alternated between blue and white. His throat was close to being crushed, his breathing broken and fitful. Seeing this, Min Ning suppressed her fear and drew her saber an inch.

Enduring the pain, Chen Yi forced out the words:

"Indra... the Three Refuges."

The Asura froze in astonishment for a moment, and his hands around Chen Yi's throat loosened slightly. Chen Yi caught his breath. Though the Asura still held him fast, being able to speak was enough.

"When Indra, the king of Trayastrimsha Heaven, faced the Five Declines of the Celestials, he was filled with anxiety. Thus, he sought an audience with the Buddha and took refuge in the true Dharma. At that very moment of death, he was about to fall into the animal realm. But when he bowed his head, bowed his head to take the Three Refuges, then raised it again, he had regained his original celestial form and attained Buddhahood."

Chen Yi spoke each word distinctly.

"When Indra encountered the sea of suffering, he had the Buddha, but where is my Buddha?! I, too, once took refuge in the Dharma! I, too, recited the Buddhist Sutras and served as a guardian deity for the Buddha, yet the Buddha never saw me!"

After hearing this, the Asura laughed in utter rage. He was belligerent and wrathful by nature, and now his six arms kept tightening, intent on tearing the man apart as though with five horses, all by his own strength.

"But how do you know I'm not a Buddha?"

The man delivered a blow straight to his head.

"How do you know I'm not ferrying you across the sea of suffering?!"

The Asura bearing the five signs of decline froze at once. His grip gradually loosened as he murmured to himself:

"You are... a Buddha... ferrying me across the sea of suffering... you know the root of my suffering, so you are a Buddha... ferrying me across the sea of suffering..."

Yin Weiying watched in astonishment, then understood that Chen Yi's words were like the sudden blows and shouts spoken of in Buddhism. Meanwhile, Buddhist light gradually began to flicker over the Asura who had still borne the five signs of decline, brightening and dimming.

At that moment, Buddhist light soared into the sky from the narrow alley, sweeping away the sinister, ghostly Baleful Intent in an instant!

Once the Buddhist light passed, the Asura had vanished without a trace. Only a single red-gold sarira remained on the ground where he had stood, gleaming with a mysterious luster in the dark night.

Chen Yi's eyes lit up. He bent down and tucked the sarira into his pouch.

The Red-Gold Sarira was one of the best rewards in the Prayer Daoist Grounds instance, ranking among the top five in the entire instance. In the early game, it was a powerful weapon for subduing demons; in the late game, it was a key to attaining the Dao.

Turning back, he met the two women's astonished gazes. Min Ning was relatively composed; though surprised, she was mostly bewildered. The white-robed Daoist woman, however, looked utterly shocked, her hands trembling as though she had been struck by lightning.

An Asura that even an accomplished True Person of Mount Taihua would struggle to subdue had actually been dealt with so easily...

"Heavenly Eye, you... you really have Heavenly Eye?!"

Yin Weiying exclaimed.

Both Daoism and Buddhism had records of the divine abilities of immortals and Buddhas. Among them were five great divine abilities: Heavenly Eye, Divine Feet, Divine Ear, Mind Reading, and Knowledge of Past Lives.

And if someone was born possessing any one of these five, then... they were born destined to become an immortal or a Buddha.

Looking at Yin Weiying, who was immersed in shock, Chen Yi scratched his temple.

Heavenly Eye... I don't have any Heavenly Eye...

But... I can't exactly say I read a walkthrough, can I?

"I'm... not sure either. I just... saw his suffering in that instant."

Chen Yi answered vaguely.

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Yin Weiying composed her expression slightly, countless thoughts running through her mind.

Saw... suffering. It should... really be Heavenly Eye.

Mount Taihua had been established for a thousand years. Every sixty years, it selected a Golden Lad and Jade Maiden to ascend the mountain and cultivate, seeking longevity and attainment of the Dao. Throughout the ages, however, the Golden Lad had been a foil to the Jade Maiden, assisting her cultivation.

Though the Golden Lad and Jade Maiden were a pair, the Jade Maiden inherited the legacy of the Divine Maiden of Taihua. Her aptitude, comprehension, and other qualities would far surpass the Golden Lad's. Thus, there were often tales of Jade Maidens living on undying while Golden Lads passed away in seated meditation after only a few sixty-year cycles.

Some heretical sects would also make much of this, slandering Mount Taihua for using its Golden Lads as cultivation furnaces.

Yet after witnessing this incident, Yin Weiying vaguely felt that this tradition might be broken.

Heavenly Eye, born destined to become an immortal or a Buddha...

Having someone like this as a dao companion wasn't his fated opportunity, but... hers!

Earlier, she had truly been too rash, too... disdainful of others. Thinking of her proud, self-important manner then, Yin Weiying's pretty face kept flushing faintly. She quickly stilled the lake of her heart and asked with a calm smile:

"Min Yuechi, would you be willing to become my dao companion? Those offensive remarks... I won't hold any of them against you..."

"Sorry,

"Actually... my name is Chen Yi."