bookrandom Chapter 125 The Medical Treasury Opens
Chapter 125 The Medical Treasury Opens
The grand banquet lasted for three days, and the most noticeable changes during those three days were among the refugees in the shelter.
The Bodhisattva of Universal Salvation led the refugees... no, now they are all believers, to chant sutras together by the mountainside to deliver the souls of the dead.
The twin dragons that surged through the water claimed countless lives, not just human ones, but all living beings, for which Buddhism offers salvation. The Bodhisattva of Universal Salvation sat at the mine's entrance, before whom there was no one, only endless silence.
The fire dragon burned everything, and the flood swept away all traces of their existence, leaving only a desolate desert ahead.
As far as the eye can see, there is an incredibly flat, white "desert plain" with a faint white tinge. Scattered across the landscape, blown by the gentle breeze, are not only sand and gravel, but also ashes.
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, Amitabha.
After reciting a sutra for saving the world, the Bodhisattva of Universal Salvation slowly rose, bowed to Mount Jisui to show his virtue of protecting life at the base, and then turned and stepped into the yellow sand.
"Bodhisattva!" a believer immediately called out to him from behind, "Bodhisattva, don't go."
"Save me, I have nothing left, save me."
......
The Bodhisattva simply walked with his head down, his bare feet treading on the ground of ashes. To be precise, it wasn't "ashes," but rather extremely finely ground bone, which, for an ordinary person, was no less than stepping on broken glass.
"Those who save themselves will be saved by Heaven."
The first believer followed, stepping onto the earth that had given him birth and nurtured him. Pain surged from the soles of his feet to his heart, but he silently endured it without uttering a word, following the figure of the universal bodhisattva.
Once there's a first, there's a second, a third, and countless more...
At the entrance of Jishuishan Mine, a large number of ordinary people gathered. There was no crying or shouting, only the sound of chanting echoed.
As all the refugees followed the Bodhisattva into the sandy land, a sudden gale arose, whipping up a sky full of yellow sand, as if Death had finally opened its mouth to completely devour these people who were suffering unbearable bitterness.
.....
From his vantage point, General Mu narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised. He tilted his head and asked Yuan Xuzi beside him, "Isn't this guy supposed to be a Buddhist monk with the name 'Pushi'? How did he end up as an ascetic? Don't ascetics believe that suffering in the world is limited, and that if they suffer more, others will suffer less? How come he's leading his followers to suffer as well?"
Walking barefoot in the desert is a form of ascetic practice, but in General Mu's view, it is a typical example of trying to endure hardship without actually suffering.
Are the sufferings in the world limited? Yes and no.
From a social perspective, in the mortal world, more than two hundred tenants, servants, and farmhands support one landlord. This is determined by the productivity of the land, because the land can only produce a limited amount of surplus grain. Just because you say you want everyone to have enough to eat doesn't mean that new grain will suddenly sprout from the land.
If you become a landlord and enjoy happiness, there will definitely be more than two hundred productive laborers to accumulate material things for your enjoyment.
You could say his limitations are... but that's not quite right either.
Putting aside the era of cultivation, don't limit yourself to the suffering of humankind. Broaden your perspective to the suffering of all living beings in the world.
Humans enjoy themselves, while the other creatures do the work.
You, old ox, go plow the fields; you, big donkey, go pull the millstone; you, bee, go make honey...
Even if all races suffer further, the human race will bear the infamy.
The suffering of an ascetic, at least in the eyes of the powerful figures of the Chen Dynasty, means that if you cultivate the land yourself, support yourself, and even have a surplus, then you can be considered to be suffering for others. Like the Bodhisattva Pushi, who mines not only to satisfy his own cultivation needs but also grinds the ore to help others absorb spiritual energy—that's what makes a "very good ascetic."
The cultivation forces under the dynastic system were like this, with a more worldly, more social, and more... landlord-like perspective.
They do not like to entrust the lives of ordinary people to gods and Buddhas.
Flood? Just beat up the Dragon King.
A severe drought? Just beat up the Dragon King and that will solve the problem.
Thunderstorm? Just beat up the Dragon King.
.....
Yuan Xuzi's mood finally improved, and he replied, "The ascetic monks in Mahayana Buddhism, are they planning to convert all these refugees into ascetic monks?"
"Buddhism and Taoism are merely guides for cultivation; those of us who embark on the path to immortality also undergo ascetic practices."
"Yes, yes, General Mu, you're also a hermit today." Yuan Xuzi could praise General Mu without any reservations today, because he had decided...
He didn't want any of the military merit points for capturing and killing the Nascent Soul Realm giant turtle; he gave them all to Yuan Xuzi to manage. Combined with the Demon Slayer Ship, this would be an extremely large amount of military merit points.
"Alright, it's about time to assemble. I used to love attending the award ceremony when I was young." General Mu waved his hand. "You handle this matter; I won't interfere."
Yuan Xuzi accepted the order and immediately had the rallying cry sounded.
A moment later, almost all the cultivators had gathered directly beneath the large circular palace.
Zhong Ming pushed Chen Dahai to the assembly point. In the past few days, besides consolidating his realm, the thing he spent the most energy on was figuring out what exactly the ship captain's pile of cargo was.
All the seriously injured members of the "civilian water patrol team" perished in the small defensive shield erected by the Bodhisattva amidst the raging fire and raging waves. The boat captain and his son are still working in the criminal mine. Zhong Ming made a call, taking money to solve problems for others, and told the mine "prison guards" that they could leave after working for a while.
According to the procedure, this is a crime of possessing a huge amount of property with unexplained sources. The soldiers did not have any evidence that they had killed anyone. Even if they did, the Chen dynasty could not verify it because the person they killed was a smuggler from the north.
Zhong Ming studied the shipment for a long time and finally came to a rudimentary conclusion.
This is a batch of medicinal herbs used by cultivators.
Judging from the fact that even a group of "ordinary people" could intercept the goods and that the quantity of goods was not small, they should be relatively basic alchemical medicines.
Therefore, after the military merit points are distributed, there will inevitably be a shopping trip back to the Sky Outpost, and he plans to take the opportunity to check the value of these medicinal herbs.
Just as he was in a daze, Yuan Xuzi appeared on the high platform, causing a cheer from the crowd.
Today, he was dressed in military uniform, wearing basic standard armor and a red cloak, hovering majestically in the air.
Most extravagantly, a huge, golden key floated in his hand, symbolizing the ticket to unlock the endless treasure vault, and everyone knew what the purpose of this gathering was.
"Gentlemen, it's time to reward those who have contributed!"
A thunderous roar of cheers surged from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit.