Mutated Tao

“Benefactor Li, I will explain what will happen later since you don’t practice the teachings of the Buddha. My disciples, you, and I will conduct the Samgharama Ceremony in the Thousand Buddha Hall. At the same time, my senior, Abbot Xin Hui, will lead the Great Equal Assembly in the other four halls.”

Chan Du, wearing his robes, walked in front of Li Huowang. As he did, he held a purple alms bowl that seemed to be an artifact.

“Great Equal Assembly?” Li Huowang felt disgusted. “Birds of a feather really do flock together. Never thought one needed to do one to gain the attention of the Buddhas.”[1]

“Benefactor Li, the Great Equal Assembly is a ceremony that allows everyone to participate. It doesn't matter if someone is a noble, criminal, monk, civilian, kind, evil, smart, or stupid—everyone is treated equally during the assembly.”

“Oh? It looks like I was overthinking. No need to explain it to me. I just need your help to meet the Five Dhyani Buddhas.” Li Huowang suddenly felt that he was seeing the RIghteous Monastery in a very negative light. He had thought it was another kind of ceremony.

But when he passed by the halls, he saw rows upon rows of monks praying with their hands clasped together. They had their back against the wall, and they were completely naked except for the prayer beads on their neck. They were hitting the wooden fish rhythmically. Li Huowang realized that Chan Du hadn’t explicitly denied what he had implied just now.

He got closer and heard them chanting. “Deeply practicing the perfection of wisdom, for a long time he saw clearly that the five aggregates are all empty. Bodhisattva, relying on the perfection of wisdom, thus proclaimed the mantra of great knowledge: Gone, gone, gone beyond. Hail to the Bodhisattva!”

Under Chan Du and the other monk’s guidance, Li Huowang changed into a clean robe as he entered the Thousand Buddha Hall.

The hall was filled with lit incense, obscuring Li Huowang's view of the Buddha's head while still revealing the rest of their body.

In addition to the Buddha statue in the middle, the surroundings were adorned with many other Buddha statues, each depicting different gestures. Some were lying down, while others were seated.

Li Huowang wasn’t sure if there were really a thousand Buddhas in the hall, but he was certain that the hall was much more important than the others because all of the statues here were coated in gold.

Li Huowang sat on the cushion and closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. The Buddha statues around him had completely changed. The sound of drums, bells, and gongs from outside filled the hall.

The Buddhas, both large and small, had turned into the disgusting form that Li Huowang had once seen before.

Despite being coated in gold, they still seemed perverse and disgusting.

The giant heap of flesh sat on the altar like a mound of clay. Its bumpy back was covered in thick blood vessels and goo.

Several strange and twisted reproductive organs rhythmically extended and retracted, moving in sync with the pumping of blood. They also swayed in the air as the body pulsated.

The disgusting being was covered in naked monks and large incense sticks roughly a meter long.

The monks eagerly inhaled the white smoke as they excitedly used their own bodies to plug in every hole they could find in the “Buddha’s” fleshy body. They pulsated and moved in sync with the rhythm.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Leaving Li Sui outside was the right call.

As the loud tolling of the bell spread throughout the Righteous Monastery, Chan Du led his disciples and sat around Li Huowang.

“Benefactor Li, if you wish to see Buddha, you must be virtuous. Only then will Buddha notice you. If not, you will fail to meet Buddha.”

“I understand. You can start now.”

Chan Du took a long incense stick and hit it lightly on his alms bowl. Dang~

The monks surrounding Li Huowang started doing each other while the “Buddhas” sitting around the hall looked at them with merciful eyes through the openings in their bodies.

Simultaneously, the monks fervently prayed, their prayers blending with the vile sounds of bodies colliding and perverse utterances.

The sounds of the wooden fish, chants, and flesh on flesh entered Li Huowang’s ears. His body started trembling uncontrollably as he felt his senses melding together.

Li Huowang focused on himself and attempted to discard all stray thoughts. He kept praying earnestly to Buddha.

It might be difficult for the others to pray earnestly without any stray thoughts, but it was easy for Li Huowang. Cultivating the “Truth” required the same requisite. If he had stray thoughts while he cultivated, he would’ve accidentally materialized them too.

Li Huowang wasn’t sure how long he had been praying for, but he realized that everything was quiet around him. So quiet that he could hear a pin dropping.

He opened his eyes warily and saw an astonishingly bizarre entity floating just in front of him. He saw it! The five Dhyani Buddhas from the five worlds had merged.

They were half-male and half-female, with their reproductive organs inserted into each other. They pleasured each other and themselves at the same time.

But the scene didn’t last long. Li Huowang barely made out any other details when his eyes exploded. A mortal body couldn’t view the Five Dhyani Buddhas directly.

Despite that, he could still perceive the Five Dhyani Buddhas with other senses—touch, smell, and hearing.

A Siming was a special being. Li Huowang could feel their existence even without his eyes.

However, Li Huowang couldn’t last long. His organs were quickly dissolving as his brain started expanding rapidly.

Li Huowang shouted with all his breath, “I’m here to help you! No matter who you are facing! If Xuan Pin could do it, so can I! Tell me what to do! Tell me what I should do to help you!” His voice spread far and wide, but there was no reply.

Li Huowang endured the pain of his organs dissolving and moved closer.

But he sensed something was wrong when he got close. His body was being assimilated by the Heavenly Dao of the Five Dhyani Buddhas!

His body shifted wildly like a child playing clay. There was not much he could do other than relying on his cultivation of “Truth” to maintain his body.

1. The Chinese raw 无遮大会 is quite literally translated as uncensored or exposed conference. He thought it was a ceremony where everyone gets naked. ☜