Amid the devouring of ten thousand ghosts, Lu Feng comprehended the immovable mind. Not only that, he also used this abandoned mandala to subdue six malevolent ghosts.
The malevolent ghosts of six eminent monks turned into six kinds of ritual implements.
They held a prayer wheel, a vajra bell, a vajra, a Dharma Conch, a Damaru, and the vessel of an ever-burning butter lamp.
Only the prayer wheel was in his hand.
The other objects all hung from his waist, legs, and back.
They gave off a faint, eerie resonance.
But waves of compassionate resonance rippled from Lu Feng, completely suppressing those eerie resonances.
With all this done.
Lu Feng could finally have a little peace.
He looked up at the stars and moon, knowing there was still some time before dawn.
A cold wind blew past, yet he felt no chill at all.
At this moment, fierce flames burned inside Lu Feng.
That was the primal power of the great liberation power within his body.
It was a mighty power the human body inherently possessed, but which had yet to be developed.
Lu Feng let out a long breath, finally looking a little like a great monk. He touched the Thangka before him to his Ancient Scroll, for no particular reason, just to see whether the Ancient Scroll had any other functions.
It did not.
Nothing changed when the Ancient Scroll and the Thangka touched. Lu Feng sat cross-legged on the cushion, worked the Kapala rosary with both hands, and began examining the Thangka without going after the black sheep.
In the Secret Dharma Region, many animals had their own unique meanings.
This black sheep did not necessarily signify auspiciousness or wishes fulfilled.
If he considered the inauspicious possibilities, this black sheep might carry the meaning of the "three poisons and five desires," of mortals and the unenlightened-that was, the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion.
The five desires were wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep.
These were all things detrimental to great liberation. To sink into them was to remain sunk within them.
If that was what this black sheep meant, then even at the Endless White Pagoda Temple, even on the mountain behind the temple, Lu Feng might never return if he chased after it, running off to who knew where.
Lu Feng had not forgotten that countless malevolent ghosts were still stirring restlessly within the Endless White Pagoda Temple's white pagoda grove.
The Secret Dharma Region was even more dangerous than he had imagined.
Not a single place was safe.
Silently reciting the mantra, Lu Feng opened the Thangka. It was a Dharma Mandala, containing a "seed syllable" and a surrounding mandala, but no Yidam. It was difficult to visualize, and difficult to "emulate."
Could he only study this seed syllable?
Lu Feng frowned and considered it for a long while, but ultimately tucked it into his robes and resumed reciting the mantra.
He did not study it.
That could wait until he had learned more.
Without a Yidam Lama, he did not know how he should make offerings to this deity or buddha. If something went wrong, he would drag himself into it too. He could indeed have a Yidam, a secret Yidam, and other Yidams as well, but many great monks could not draw close to even one Yidam in their entire lives. All their energy went into a single Yidam, yet they still could not approach it.
Let alone any other secret Yidams. Lu Feng knew very well that what he wanted to learn was the King Mingzhu Dharma Protector Mantra. His Yidam would very likely be King Mingzhu. Master Zhuogedunzhu had said that with the immovable mind of the Sixth-Stage Order, it was very difficult to safeguard one's true mind while visualizing King Mingzhu.
But Lu Feng had the Ancient Scroll, and now he had the Compassionate Mind as well.
The outcome was no longer certain.
He wondered whether the immovable mind of the sixth stage of the gradual path that he had comprehended this time, combined with his Compassionate Mind, could subdue the Great Terror within his heart.
But it seemed everything was moving in a good direction.
Yet Lu Feng knew these things had only just begun. He could not even see the shadow of their end.
Waiting for dawn.
Lu Feng sat quietly in the ancient hall, waiting for the sun to rise.
Although only one Single Lotus Petal of his lotus had opened, compassionate resonance was already emanating from it. He could be called a monk of the sixth stage of the gradual path, or a great monk, a lama. Within the meridian of his navel was a double-petaled lotus, with a total of one hundred and eight petals from the outside inward.
But there were only eight petals on the outermost layer.
The farther inward, the more petals there were, but the smaller they became. When the lotus bloomed, Lu Feng might reach a barely satisfactory level in his Compassionate Mind and compassionate resonance.
Just barely satisfying.
"The subdued Dharma Protectors don't count toward the Ancient Scroll. The Ancient Scroll still provides no additional blessings."
Subduing Dharma Protectors this way would not work.
He had to subdue Dharma Protectors the way Master Zhuogedunzhu did.
Break through their arts with force.
Perhaps they also had to be malevolent ghosts with no karmic connection to him.
Lu Feng continued reciting the mantra and thinking.
Ordinarily, a monk who was a Kalyāṇamitra of the Sixth-Stage Order would still need considerable time before adding the title of great monk, but Lu Feng had already claimed that title when he obtained the "Kalyāṇamitra" degree.
He even had six subdued Dharma Protectors.
The six ritual implements were right beside him. He shook the prayer wheel, and the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra gradually appeared on it, growing deeper with each movement.
As for the ever-burning butter lamp, after Lu Feng lit it on the nearby candle stand.
An indescribable aura appeared within the ancient hall.
A ghastly green aura appeared around Lu Feng, shrouding the entire hall. Lu Feng could tell that using this object could keep people from being attacked by malevolent ghosts. Ordinary malevolent ghosts would not see through this lamplight.
The Damaru could soothe malevolent ghosts.
The Dharma Conch could transmit sound.
Every ritual implement had its own special function, though he did not know what level of malevolent ghost they could deal with-as a Sutra Student Monk before, everything he encountered had been a "malevolent ghost," a natural disaster. Sutra Student Monks were not qualified to know this information.
But now, he was very different.
He was a great monk of the sixth stage of the gradual path. He was qualified to know a little information about the Secret Dharma Region.
At this thought, Lu Feng looked outside again. Outside the ancient hall, the black sheep stared coldly at it.
Neither hurried nor flustered, neither impatient nor agitated, Lu Feng looked at the black sheep as well. Sheep appeared in many sacrificial rites, serving as sacrificial victims. Sheep could also serve as one of a bodhisattva's four mounts, but this black sheep was clearly out of the ordinary.
Lu Feng did not know what was going on with this sheep. It watched him for a long time, the two facing off until the first ray of sunlight appeared. Only when golden sunlight spread over inch by inch did the black sheep gradually leave, vanishing into the darkness.
A monk came running toward the hall, his feet swift as flight. When he saw Lu Feng sitting inside, perfectly unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Zhasa... no, Yongzhen, were you all right last night?"
Zhiyun asked.
Lu Feng stood and returned his greeting. "In answer to you, Lama, all was well. Last night passed safely and without incident."
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