Prodigal System in the Flourishing City

Chapter 678: Chapter 676: The Three Manifestations [Fourth Update]

All the monks were terrified!

Master Lu is indeed enormously talented!

A word about the Demon Path, a word about the Buddhist Path!

Both paths were, amazingly, weighed in his hands!

The moment just now when Master Xu Yun glared angrily, it actually indicated that he had already lost.

Because he got angry!

He got angry because of Lu Xiaobu’s statement: ”If I don’t enter Hell, who will?”

He felt Lu Xiaobu was beyond redemption, hopelessly yearning for the Demon Path!

And yet, Lu Xiaobu, vowing not to attain Buddhahood until Hell is empty!

Instantaneously transformed the Demon Path into the supreme Buddhist Path!

Abbot Xu Yun sat on the ground, staring blankly, not knowing what he was thinking.

He lost, truly lost!

Utterly and completely defeated!

”Let’s go.”

Lu Xiaobu stood up, dusting off his clothes, and spoke to Lu father and the others.

Out of the three, apart from a contemplative Lu father, both Lu Hongbin and Lu Wenhao were still dazed, still not having come to their senses.

”Did we win?” Wenhao asked.

”We won.”

Xiaobu shrugged his shoulders.

”How did we win?

Hong Bin was also very puzzled.

”Just won like that.”

Lu Xiaobu spread his hands!

”Pffft!”

Hong Bin and Wenhao almost spewed three litres of blood—Xiaobu, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?

At this moment, Abbot Xu Yun stood up, teeth clenched, and asked: ”I did not become a demon.”

Lu Xiaobu’s eyes narrowed: ”You fell into fixation.”

Xu Yun said again: ”I did not become a demon!”

Lu Xiaobu: ”You fell into fixation.”

Xu Yun’s face turned ugly, his body swayed and he nearly fell: ”I did not become a demon?”

Lu Xiaobu: ”You fell into fixation.”

At this, Xu Yun suddenly laughed and bowed to Lu Xiaobu: ”Thank you, Master, for the guidance. I’ve been fixated!”

At this moment, his face was filled with the essence of Buddha-nature, giving the impression of great enlightenment!

”It’s good that you’ve come to understand,” Lu Xiaobu said with a slight smile and turned to leave.

Watching Lu Xiaobu’s retreating figure, Xu Yun recited a long Buddha’s name: ”Amitabha!”

Then he said to the monks beside him: ”Go, have Master Lu’s words today engraved.”

”Yes!”

The monks nodded, their faces showing utter confusion.

The teachings from earlier they could understand, but the part about Three Manifestations left them as bewildered as ordinary folks!

Insufficient understanding of Buddhist Law!

On the way back, Lu father kept pondering, and, unable to fathom it at last, had to ask Lu Xiaobu: ”Xiaobu, what about the ’Three Manifestations’ at the end?”

Lu Xiaobu, helpless in face of his father’s questioning, had to answer.

”Alright, I’ll explain briefly,” Lu Xiaobu nodded.

Lu father immediately perked up with interest, and both Hong Bin and Wenhao pricked up their ears.

”When he first said he did not become a demon, he meant that I had initially offered to help him become a demon, and I didn’t follow through.”

”When I said he fell into fixation, it meant that he cared too much about winning or losing, and was taking it too seriously!”

”The second time, when he said he did not become a demon, it was a warning bell for his own unstable Buddhist heart!”

”My second mention of fixation was to remind him that there is no constant state in Buddhism, so why obsess? Even Buddhas have the fierce Vajra Form! A Bodhisattva’s compassion with Vajra Methods, sticking to formality, that is the real mistake!”

”The last time, when he questioned if he had become a demon, he was doubting the approach he used to pressure me into Buddhism!”

”And once again I told him about the Three Manifestations, saying, ’The Buddha has no fixed form, the heart is supreme! A heart that persuades others to be kind is the true Buddhist Law! With that said, our debate between Buddhism and the Demon Path is meaningless, and so is the notion of victory and defeat!’”

”That is what they call ’form is emptiness, and emptiness is form!’”

Lu Xiaobu spoke leisurely, explaining the profound meaning he’d just mentioned to his father and the others.

However, other than Lu’s father understanding somewhat, Lu Hongbin and Lu Wenhao just gave a wry smile, still confused.

Damn it, what the heck is he going on about?!

...

Moments later, Lu’s father finally grasped the gist of it, and with a sigh said, ”I never thought you had such a profound understanding of the Buddhist Law? I am now wondering whether I should send you off to the temple!”

”Go ahead! If you’re not afraid of not having a grandson to hold, then send me!”

Lu Xiaobu shrugged his shoulders playfully.

”Eh...”

Upon hearing the word ’grandson,’ Lu’s father instantly started weighing his options!

After a second.

He made his decision!

Right, he wants a grandson!

Let’s put the Buddhist Law on hold for now!

Lu Xiaobu saw his father’s expression and snickered!

In truth, he didn’t know jack about Buddhist Law!

His train of thought was just incredibly fast!

If Master Xu Yun could be compared to a high-quality computer capable of complex calculations,

Then he would be a simple calculator capable of performing billions of basic operations per second!

No matter how difficult or convoluted the problems Xu Yun posed were, as long as I can calculate fast enough, I’ll definitely be able to figure them out in the end!

This is what they call ’overwhelming power with a single move’!

...

And while they hadn’t yet returned, the video of Lu Xiaobu and Abbott Xu Yun in a battle of wits had already been uploaded onto the internet by someone unknowingly.

It was an inevitability; when Lu Xiaobu and Master Xu Yun were sparring, there were always onlookers.

Of course, the video was edited to blur the faces!

However, these abstruse concepts didn’t really draw much attention.

”What the heck is this talking about?!”

”Why is it so cryptic?!”

”It feels like squabbling with children! One says ’I am not demonized,’ and the other ’You are falling into the Three Manifestations!’ It’s like two people arguing, ’You’re a bastard,’ ’No, you’re the bastard!’”

”Pfft! To the person above, accumulate some verbal virtue, will you? It’s clear they’re sparring intellectually; if you don’t understand, don’t smear them!”

”It’s true! You see how at the end that monk was so flustered he could barely stand, clearly because he didn’t have as powerful a voice as the other!”

”Hahaha, now that you mention it, it does seem that way!”

”...”

Yet, this baffling video began to spread rapidly among Buddhist enthusiasts and eminent monks!

To put it dramatically, it rocked the entire Buddhist World!

”Great wisdom, great virtue!”

”The Buddhist Law is boundless!”

”I’ve watched it ten times and still only grasp the surface!”

”Alas! I didn’t expect that there could be someone in the world with such great wisdom!”

”Does anyone know who this mage is? I’d like to pay him a visit!”

”Unknown! But, I would advise you to abandon that idea! How can one easily visit such an eminent figure?!”

”True!”

”Is there any eminent monk who can give an interpretation?”

”I don’t understand much myself, but I’m willing to try. If I’m wrong, let’s discuss it together!”

”Right, let’s discuss it together. I’m particularly moved by the phrase ’If I don’t enter Hell, who will?’ I can share my feelings about it with everyone!”

”...”

These speakers were all prominent figures in the Buddhist World, sought after by countless Buddhist enthusiasts, yet unattainable!

But now in front of this video, they were like elementary school students, focused and studious, afraid of distorting the profound Buddhist Law within!