A Pawn's Passage

Statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas had to be consecrated by eminent monks so that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would accept incense offerings from the people and give out their blessings.

If the statues were not consecrated, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas would not make an appearance. Instead, evil spirits would live in these statues. Therefore, many places of worship were not protected by Buddha and Bodhisattvas but were occupied by evil spirits, ghosts, and demons.

It was precisely because of this that the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court cracked down on temples that did not comply with regulations.

The Buddha statues in this temple had never been consecrated.

When Qi Xuansu looked up at the Buddha statue, it came to life and lowered its head to stare back at Qi Xuansu. It even smiled sinisterly, which was very strange.

The moment Qi Xuansu and the statue made eye contact, Zhang Yuelu flew up with her Amorphous Paper Whip and sliced the statue in half.

Qi Xuansu almost got entranced. He was startled and said in dismay, “There is indeed something weird about this place.”

Zhang Yuelu turned the paper whip into a paper umbrella, ready for anything coming their way.

They left the side hall one after the other and went to the main hall unimpeded.

That was when they noticed two figures fighting. One was human, and the other was a Buddha statue that had come to life.

This Buddha statue did not have any Buddhist aura. Instead, it exuded a demonic aura. Its eyes were blood red, and its body was shrouded in a faint, blood-red glow. It sat on the pedestal, but its two arms were extremely dexterous with human-like motions.

The statue’s huge palms brought up a gust of wind with extraordinary power.

The person fighting fiercely with the Buddha statue was a young monk with no weapons, using only his bare hands. Every time the monk touched the Buddha’s palm, there was a thunderous clash.

Before Qi Xuansu could ask what was happening, Zhang Yuelu said, “This monk should be an orthodox Buddhist disciple from the Golden Immortal lineage. He’s already at theGuizhen stage.”

The so-called Golden Immortal was not among the five Daoist Immortals. It was said that the Golden Immortal was equivalent to the Daoist Heavenly Immortal. This title came from a koan in Daoism and Buddhism.

The Jin Dynasty, which came before the Wei Dynasty and the Great Xuan Dynasty, was destroyed when the Golden Horde army invaded the south. Before that, the dispute between Buddhism and Daoism during the Jin Dynasty was particularly fierce.

Elder Shenxiao of the Daoist Quanzhen Sect communicated with Lin Lingsu and other Buddhist monks in a battle of spiritual prowess. Back then, Lin Lingsu advised the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty.

“Buddhism has harmed Daoism. Although it can’t be completely eliminated, some things can be merged. Buddhist temples can become Daoist temples; Sakyamuni can be changed to Immortals; Bodhisattva can be Venerable Masters; Arhats can be Holy Ancestors; and monks can be priests who keep their hair in a crown.”

The Emperor of the Jin Dynasty approved the proposal and issued a decree to replace Buddhism with Daoism. He changed the style of dressing and even the naming conventions. Monasteries were renamed the Daoist Moral Academy, and nuns were known as women of virtue.

However, the Crown Prince contested this decision, instructing Monk Hu and several other monks to engage in a spiritual battle against Lin Lingsu. As a result, the monks suffered a resounding defeat and willingly embraced Daoism. This was how Buddhism and Daoism began to merge during the Jin Dynasty. This was only interrupted when the Golden Horde invaded the South.

When the Wei Dynasty conquered the world, Buddhism and Daoism formed a formal alliance, collectively known as the Daoist Order, to jointly fight against Confucianism. In the end, the Confucian School surrendered to the Daoist Order.

Although the Confucian Great Sages refused to surrender to the Daoist Order’s Great Sages, they declared their allegiance to the Holy Xuan. Therefore, the Holy Xuan had been the de facto co-leader of the Three Religions for some time.

This was also the reason why the Eight Tribes separated from the Daoist Order and became a secret society. The Eight Tribes named themselves after the Eight Legions of Buddhism because, back then, Buddhism was still a part of Daoism.

It was only after the Lord Buddha was born that the Holy Xuan lost control over Buddhism, leading to a war between Daoism and Buddhism in the Western Region.

One of the results of this confluence of Buddhism and Daoism was the naming convention. Although Buddhism remained separate from the Daoist Order, it had not completely erased the traces of Daoism. Some names, like the Buddhist Golden Immortal lineage, stemmed from Daoism.

Discounting Rogue Cultivators, all Daoist lineages were from the Five Immortals of heaven, earth, man, god, and ghost. Buddhism had three major lineages: the Golden Immortal, the Mahayana Bodhisattva, and the Great Arhat.

Just as Banished Immortals was derived from the Heavenly Immortal lineage, Buddhism also had similar names. Buddhaputras came from the lineage of the Golden Immortal; Brahmas were derived from the Mahayana Bodhisattva lineage; and Bhikkhus came from the Great Arhat lineage.

There was an obvious distinction between the Five Immortals lineages in the Daoist Order, with the Banished Immortals taking the lead. The same was true for Buddhism. The strongest of the three major lineages were the Buddhaputras, followed by Brahmas and Bhikkhus.

In addition, Buddhists, influenced by Daoists, also had nine ranks and twelve internal levels.

Buddhist monks were akin to Daoist priests, while nuns were female Daoist priests. The Qishi monk was equivalent to a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master; the Pohuo monk was equivalent to a third-rank Youyi Daoist master; the Jingchi monk corresponded to a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, and the Bumo monk corresponded to a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist master.

In terms of titles, Zen Master corresponded to a Mage; Guru corresponded to a High Mage; Virtuous Scholar corresponded to a Sage; Great Virtuous Scholar corresponded to an Omniscient Sage; Venerable Master corresponded to Great Sage; Mahasattva corresponded to the Deputy Grand Master; and the Lord Buddha corresponded to the Grand Master.

In terms of official position, Chief Teacher corresponded to the Hall Master; Deputy Teacher corresponded to the Deputy Hall Master; Giver corresponded to superintendents; Vicar corresponded to deacons; and Gallant corresponded to the Spirit Guards.

The young monk fighting with the Buddha statue was a Buddhaputra, equivalent to a Banished Immortal.

His attacks were fast and precise, and his body continuously glowed with a golden light.

Qi Xuansu asked Zhang Yuelu, “I’ve only heard of the names Buddhaputra, Brahma, and Bhikkhu. How are they different from our Five Lineages?”

Zhang Yuelu answered, “Aside from Banished immortals and Rogue Cultivators, the other four lineages in the Daoist Order have specializations. For example, Martial Arts Practitioners concentrate on training the body and condensing the acupoints, but they do not cultivate innate qi.

“Qi Refiners concentrate on accumulating innate qi that circulates through the whole body. However, they do not deliberately train physical strength like Martial Arts Practitioners.

“Buddhists are different. They train in every aspect. For example, Brahmas are similar to our Diviners and Shamans, proficient in using spells and incense power. They can also summon Spiritual Statues and train to achieve a golden body. As for Bhikkhus, they are somewhat similar to Martial Arts Practitioners and Qi Refiners, training their bodies and accumulating qi.

“The advantage of the Buddhist Lineages is that they could learn more traits, but they could not be masters of such traits. Buddhaputras are said to be omnipotent, combining both the skills of Brahmas and Bhikkhus. I have heard about them, but I have never seen one before.

“It’s a pity that we have to focus on annihilating an evil cult today. Otherwise, I’d like to learn more about Buddhaputras.”

Qi Xuansu saw how eager Zhang Yuelu was and said, “You once said that the Buddhist Sect colluded and even supported these secret societies behind the scenes. What is the young monk doing here?”

Zhang Yuelu explained, “Secret associations such as the Qingping Society and the Eight Tribes are inextricably linked to the Daoist Order. There are even some Sages and Great Sages secretly supporting these secret societies. But this does not stop the Daoist Order from suppressing them.

“Tian Yuan, you should know that the Daoist and Buddhist communities are massive, so it’s impossible for everyone to have a uniform stance. There will definitely be various opinions and voices. Some of these voices are hostile to each other, so there is no conflict between the Buddhist Sect’s support and suppression of secret societies.

“When the Holy Xuan issued the edict to crack down on secret societies, the Three Religions agreed and discussed suppression measures.”

Zhang Yuelu paused for a moment before she continued, “Furthermore, some things can’t be put out in the open. Secret societies have harmed countless people. Even if the Buddhist Sect wants to use the secret societies to suppress the Daoist Order, they can only do so covertly.

“What’s more, the Buddhist Sect and the secret associations only worked together as a last resort to suppress the Daoist Order. Each of them have their own interests and plans.”

Qi Xuansu remarked, “That sounds like the time the Daoist Order and the Buddhist Sect joined forces to fight against the Confucian School because of their own interests. Once the Confucian School was defeated, the Daoist Order and Buddhist Sect immediately went to war with one another.”

Zhang Yuelu gave him a strange look. Although she did not refute it, she reminded him. “Let’s talk about these things in private. Don’t say these in public, as it’ll be easy for someone with ulterior motives to use them against us.”

Although Zhang Yuelu had great ambitions to reform the Daoist Order, she was not a naive young woman. She had been in the Ancestral Court for a long time, so she was familiar with how politics worked.

Qi Xuansu was familiar with how the real world operated, and Zhang Yuelu was familiar with the Ancestral Court. Thus, they complemented each other in aspects where the other fell short.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu suddenly muttered, “A heroine.”

Zhang Yuelu was startled. “Me?”

She wanted to say that she liked that address, but she did not understand why Qi Xuansu was complimenting her for no reason.

Qi Xuansu shook his head and said, “Behind you.”

Since Zhang Yuelu had her back to this woman, she did not notice the woman. Zhang Yuelu turned around abruptly, finding it weird that she did not sense the woman’s presence and had to rely on her eyes.

On the contrary, Qi Xuansu was facing Zhang Yuelu, so he was able to spot this woman through the corner of his eye.

He saw a woman wearing a bamboo hat and a plain green robe, with a sword hanging from her waist. She had a graceful figure and looked like a typical heroine.

Zhang Yuelu was a little irritated. Although she had previously mentioned that she did not like flattery, there were exceptions to everything.

If Qi Xuansu flattered her, she would not necessarily be happy. But she was upset when she realized that Qi Xuansu was complimenting another woman.

Zhang Yuelu stated, “The term ‘hero’ should only be used to describe one’s actions, not one’s appearance.”

“Huh?” Qi Xuansu was stunned for a moment before he obliged. “Right!”