Contesting Dharmas

Several days later, feeling fully prepared, Wei Yuan set out to enter the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Before his departure, only Xu Henshui and Feng Chutang were there to see him off, acting simultaneously as dharma protectors against unforeseen mishaps—even though the wooden Buddha had already been moved into Qingming, so theoretically, little could go awry. At that moment, the wooden Buddha sat at the center of a grand formation. Empowered by the formation's might, Wei Yuan transformed into a speck of radiance and flew into the wooden Buddha. The Heaven of Joy and Bliss within blazed with dazzling light, swallowing Wei Yuan whole before vanishing. Yet the very instant Wei Yuan's figure disappeared, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, which had previously held the aura of only a single Bodhisattva, suddenly trembled. Within it, two formidable auras surged to life: another Bodhisattva and an Arhat! Xu Henshui was startled and broke out into furious cursing on the spot. "Damn baldies! Devious bastards! No, I'm going in too to lend him a hand!" But by then the light had faded, and the Heaven of Joy and Bliss had already receded into the void, its entrance completely sealed. With Xu Henshui's current cultivation, he was not yet capable of forcibly prying open a passage. He turned to Feng Chutang. "Brother Chutang, lend me a hand!" Feng Chutang made no move, merely saying, "Calm yourself. Even if someone were to enter and contest dharmas, you wouldn't be the best choice. Moreover, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss is a Buddhist Pure Land governed by its own Great Dao rules; ordinary methods of battle will not work. To contest dharmas inside, one must abide by the rules of the Pure Land. You can't do it." Xu Henshui had a sudden realization. "Right, I was too hasty. But you're correct—when it comes to contesting dharmas, I really am not the best choice. Besides, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss is far away, and we can't send too many people over. Wait for me, I'll go fetch Feng Tingyu and Ji Liuli... Huh, why didn't they come?" Feng Chutang coughed softly. "The Realm Lord recently acquired a treasure called the Spirit Herd Ring. They were curious, so they are probably inside playing around right now..." Xu Henshui had one realization, followed by another, and then yet another, before finally piecing it together. With a bizarre expression, he asked, "Is it... just the two of them?" "Probably more." Xu Henshui said wistfully, "Then how come I didn't know?" "Probably afraid the baldies would notice something amiss." Inside the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, a youth had been crouching beside a brook, clearing floating fallen leaves from the water. His body suddenly froze. In the blink of an eye, the light in his eyes shifted through countless permutations as innumerable Great Dao rules flooded into him, transforming his expression in an instant. "This body is adequate enough..." The youth stood up and looked around. This youth was Wei Yuan. His true body remained outside the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, having projected down a strand of divine sense to take control of a youth within the realm, and he began contemplating the world. This was not merely a contest of arts, but a clash of doctrines. The Heaven of Joy and Bliss was a Buddhist Pure Land, normally hidden within the Heavens Beyond, entirely impossible to pinpoint from the mortal realm. The rules of this world were self-contained, its spiritual essence self-sustaining, and its realm boundaries firm and unyielding, exceptionally difficult to destroy. The Pure Land's invitation to duel meant both sides would employ their respective methods to contest the living beings and believers within the realm, thereby determining the ownership of this Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. This bore similarities to struggles between immortals over grotto-heavens, but differed in that a Buddhist paradise was one with its believers; the scriptures and doctrines they adhered to dictated the style and trajectory of the entire realm. The Pure Land's intention was for Wei Yuan to preach here to see how many believers he could convert, thereby pitting the merits of their doctrines against each other. Wei Yuan had gladly accepted the challenge. If he refused, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss would conceal itself, and who knew when it could ever be found again. If he could seize this Heaven of Joy and Bliss—which ranked even a tier above a golden grotto-heaven—it would deal a severe blow to the Pure Land, while his own strength would surge substantially. Naturally, beyond preaching, there were other means to achieve a similar objective—for instance, slaughtering every believer who refused to convert. So long as a single believer who had converted to Wei Yuan remained alive, the entire Heaven of Joy and Bliss would belong to him. However, these believers were the realm's most valuable asset. If they were all killed, the grotto-heaven would lose all spiritual vitality, leaving behind less than a tenth of its worth. Such a short-sighted act of killing the goose that laid golden eggs was out of the question—not only would the Pure Land never accept it, but even if they did, he could not afford to do it; it would bring down endless karmic debt, severely hampering his future Dao path. Just then, Bodhisattva Shanle's colossal golden body appeared in the sky of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, declaring, "Since the benefactor has arrived, why not come to Mount Qingyu for a discussion? Let us open an altar to preach the dharma, so that the eight hundred thousand believers of this Pure Land may have the chance to comprehend the benefactor's profound teachings." Both sides would open an altar to expound the dharma, competing for believers through their respective doctrines; whoever converted more would win. This was the method of contesting dharmas devised by the Pure Land, as well as the traditional form of doctrinal debate between different factions within the Buddhist faith. Buddhist doctrinal debate was not gentle in the slightest. In ancient times, when mortals debated scripture, losers were at best forced to observe vows of silence, and at worst had their tongues or flesh carved away; not a few were even driven to martyr themselves. In this debate within the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, losing might seem to cost Wei Yuan nothing on the surface, but the greatest loss would be that Wei Yuan's doctrine had lost—or at least, that would be the perception to the outside world. The youth embodying Wei Yuan looked toward the center of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Aside from Bodhisattva Shanle's aura, the auras of another Bodhisattva and an Arhat suddenly surged forth! There was an ambush after all... Cursing the bald bandits in his heart for their lack of faith, Wei Yuan remarked, "My learning is shallow and my Buddhist cultivation meager. Isn't having two Great Bodhisattvas take the field together a bit excessive?" Bodhisattva Shanle smiled. "This is Bodhisattva Baoxing, and over there is the Arhat before her, Nan Shiguang. Bodhisattva Baoxing has merely come to observe; the benefactor need not overthink it. The dharma altar is now prepared. The benefactor may ascend." A giant jade hand descended from the sky, lifting the youth embodying Wei Yuan. The next instant, Wei Yuan found himself at the center of the dharma altar. Below stood a vast, dense sea of varied living beings. Wei Yuan showed no panic, merely saying, "If we are to expound the dharma, it must be preached to sentient beings capable of enlightenment. The living beings in your Heaven of Joy and Bliss have already been fully converted; to me, they are no different from stones. Even when playing a lute to a cow, the cow is at least a living creature, isn't it? One can hardly be expected to convert inanimate rocks." Bodhisattva Shanle smiled. "Had the benefactor not mentioned it, I would have forgotten. I shall grant the benefactor convenience at once." He waved his great hand gently. A breeze brushed past, and all beings within the realm momentarily froze before resuming their movements. The Buddhist radiance that had filled their souls and seas of consciousness vanished entirely, returning them to the ranks of primordial, faithless beings. "Is the benefactor satisfied now?" Bodhisattva Shanle pointed toward the opposite mountain peak. "My dharma altar is over there. We shall each preach, speaking for a full nine-times-nine, eighty-one days, and see in the end which side wins more adherents to the Dao. Regardless of who wins or loses, it will be a grand occasion." Wei Yuan replied, "Every living being in this Heaven of Joy and Bliss once attained great joy and great ease, living carefree and following their desires. What is termed ultimate bliss is nothing more than this. Had they never experienced ultimate bliss, it would be one thing. But having once tasted it and now lost it, they will inevitably seek to realize it once more. How do I stand a chance?" Bodhisattva Shanle chuckled. "The benefactor is attached to appearances. In this doctrinal debate, whether you win or I win, the beings of this realm are the true victors. If that is so, why be so concerned with victory or defeat?" Wei Yuan clasped his hands. "The Bodhisattva makes an excellent point! If that is so, why doesn't the Bodhisattva concede right now? I will take good care of the beings in this realm on your behalf." Shanle was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, light flashed in the eyes of the ten-zhang Arhat with a bronze-hued dharma body. Reaching out a massive hand, he grabbed toward the crown of Wei Yuan's head, shouting, "Better that the benefactor concedes first!" Wei Yuan offered no resistance whatsoever, letting himself be caught in the Arhat's grip. The Arhat's golden body glared in fury, exuding boundless majesty, while the youth Wei Yuan possessed merely sneered. "It seems you still wish to contest dharmas after all. Then let us each use our own means!" With that, the youth's head slumped sideways, his breath extinguished, and a wisp of black qi settled onto the Arhat! Nan Shiguang stared in shock. *I didn't even use force!* Bodhisattva Shanle's expression shifted slightly. "The outer fiend is cunning indeed, refusing to open an altar and preach no matter what. In that case, we can only ask Bodhisattva Baoxing to act." Baoxing nodded. With a flick of her finger, seven points of starlight manifested in the air, revealing Wei Yuan's figure, who wore an evident look of shock and fury. Baoxing smiled faintly. "I have pinned him down and locked karma. Without deciding a victor here, he cannot leave." Bodhisattva Shanle clasped his hands. "Virtuous." Outside the realm, Wei Yuan's colossal true body opened his eyes to see chains woven from starlight wrapped around him, binding him tightly. The other end of the chains connected straight to the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Wei Yuan was amused. "They really don't want me to leave..." These chains possessed an exceptionally high tier. In terms of standing within heaven and earth, they even surpassed the two Immortal Monarchs, Yanshi and Zhu Yan. Many Bodhisattvas of the Pure Land were not adept at slaughter and combat, but when it came to conceptual tier and imagery, they outdid one another in height. With her very first move, Bodhisattva Baoxing had locked Wei Yuan fast; only by deciding victory or defeat within the Heaven of Joy and Bliss could he break free. Yet Wei Yuan felt no panic, taking time to ponder his strategy. One could not simply fight in the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. The sentient beings here had awakened spirituality and were cloaked in merit; killing one was equivalent to slaughtering thousands outside. Causing severe damage to the environment meant destroying spiritual realms and treasure lands, incurring heaven and earth's wrath and saddling oneself with immense karmic debt. Damaging a single mu of land here was like ruining ten thousand mu in the outside world. In short, stepping into the Heaven of Joy and Bliss was like walking into an antique porcelain shop: break the slightest item, and you would be saddled with a crushing debt you'd spend the rest of your life repaying. Thus, opening an altar to preach and convert sentient beings was indeed the most direct and fundamental method to contest the realm; on that point, Bodhisattva Shanle had not lied. The issue was that the believers in the Heaven of Joy and Bliss were individuals who had completed their cultivation before being received into this paradise, their natures long since set. Unless the Buddhist radiance filling their souls and seas of consciousness was cleared away, Wei Yuan could never convert them in a million years. Yet only after Wei Yuan pointed it out did Shanle withdraw the Buddhist radiance, returning the beings to a convertible state. Had Wei Yuan lacked even a fraction of experience and begun preaching immediately, he would have talked until he was blue in the face without swaying a single living soul, losing down to his breeches. At the thought, Wei Yuan shook his head. That Shanle was no decent sort either. Now, even though the Buddhist radiance had been withdrawn and the beings could be converted, Wei Yuan still had no intention of opening an altar to preach. The more the two Bodhisattvas urged him to expound the dharma, the less he would do so. Whatever schemes the Pure Land harbored, Wei Yuan had no desire to play by their prescribed rules. Another reason was that the Three Realms Ruyi Sutra was nowhere near finished, still lacking greatly in doctrinal structure. In an open debate, it would be riddled with vulnerabilities ripe for attack. Thus Wei Yuan believed that Great Dao scriptures were meant to be proven through realization, not debated with words—and certainly not because he couldn't win an argument! "In short, baldies are treacherous and utterly untrustworthy! Fortunately, I had the foresight not to fall into their trap. Alas, the world is harsh, and being a good man is hard!" Even as he sighed and cursed the bald bandits for their deceit, Wei Yuan pointed toward the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Inside, another youth wore a dazed expression before clearing his mind, now an avatar of Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan surveyed the heavens and earth. "Isn't it just about making the realm recognize an owner? Hmph, so you think that just because I can't win over your eight hundred thousand pious men and faithful women, I'm out of options?" A ring of shadow rippled outward with Wei Yuan at its center, after which a small temple materialized out of thin air. Wei Yuan dropped the Pure Land Grotto-Heaven directly into the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Then, cultivator after cultivator stepped out of the temple, led by Jun Weizhi, Han Li, Lei Ling, and others, followed by a continuous stream of cultivators. Next, the youth embodying Wei Yuan rubbed his finger, upon which an immortal ring materialized out of thin air: the Spirit Herd Ring! Though he could not convert those eight hundred thousand believers, Wei Yuan had already devised his countermove: simply turn those eight hundred thousand into a minority. At the center of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, the smile on Bodhisattva Shanle's face had completely vanished. Bodhisattva Baoxing sighed softly. "I told you long ago that the Palace of Grand Beginning is treacherous, yet you never believed me. As..." Bodhisattva Shanle blurted out an expletive.