The Ancestor of All Demons

Shi Feiyang told Ye Bin: "That Heart Lamp is Fellow Daoist Xie's heart. Whether it is good or bad, bright or dim, it will naturally always stay with him."

Ye Bin still wanted to ask about the Conch Leaf Talisman and the Seven Treasures Golden Banner, but Master You Tan stopped him: "Thank Shi Daoist for cleansing our Buddhist sect, removing a Great Demon who was a Buddha-attached Heretic."

The Buddhist people left first, departing as a group, with Master Fen Tuo inviting everyone to Yitian Cliff Dragon Elephant Temple.

After the affair with Xin Ru, they all prepared for rebirth into Nirvana.

However, they still faced a problem, which was the issue of the transmission of the Buddhist Dharma lineage.

If they all left, the righteous skill of the Buddhist sect in this world would be cut off, and other Buddha-attached Heretics would continue to emerge under the guise of Buddhism, swiftly stigmatizing the Buddhist Law and ultimately causing it to completely disappear, ushering the Buddhist Law into a Dharma Destruction Era in this world.

Master Fen Tuo has a disciple, Yang Jin, as a Dharma heir, but Yang Jin, always being a family member with hair, does not count as a "Monk Treasure" and by rights is not qualified to transmit the Dharma.

She has another heir, Hua Wuxie, who is not even as good as Yang Jin.

Master You Tan's heir was initially Su Yin, but Su Yin was beaten so badly that her soul scattered. Although Master You Tan gathered her remnant soul and saved her, her foundation was damaged and was of no great use.

Qi Xia'er is also cultivating with hair.

Only Ye Bin has already shaved his head and become a monk, with the Dharma name Yiyin, but his past karma is too heavy, and his power is limited, unable to bear the lineage of Tathagata.

Master Fen Tuo, Master You Tan, Zen Master Kong Tuo, and Zen Master Wu Ming, one of them must stay.

However, they cannot stay actively, as that would be considered clinging. Someone must invite the Dharma.

Shakyamuni, upon enlightenment, was to enter Nirvana. It is said that Brahma and others invited the Dharma to stay in the world, asking him not to leave, saying that the world's sentient beings need him, and to remain to preach the Dharma to help everyone break delusion and awaken, preventing continued ignorance and confusion. Because of this karmic connection, Shakyamuni did not enter extinction but remained in the human world to expound the awakening path.

The principle of Buddhism is that this world's sentient beings have Buddhahood; they will appear here. If sentient beings have no Buddhahood, when the Dharma is exhausted, they will all attain extinction.

These two monks and two nuns have reached a very high realm in the Dharma and cannot forcefully cling, actively staying to preach, as someone must invite the Dharma.

So the four of them went to different cities, alms begging, to see if anyone would invite the Dharma to remain in the world.

The Zhu imperial family has always had a connection with the Immortal Path, which can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang, reaching its peak during the era from the Yongle Great Emperor to Jiajing.

The current young emperor is actually Geng Kun, the reincarnation of the Taoist Yi, who has admired Shi Feiyang since childhood. In the last incident when Chi You invaded southwards, a national-wide extraordinary duel, the young emperor was even more thrilled.

Especially since Shi Feiyang also bestowed him a Mo Long Immortal Sword. The young emperor gathered many cultivators, comparing their Flying Swords with the Mo Long Immortal Sword. All of them seemed like mere scrap iron in comparison, making him even more grateful.

He once again issued a decree, nationwide, forbidding any other idols, be it Daoism's The Three Pure Ones, Buddhism's Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or any other Immortals. All temples must either be demolished or entirely converted into Yuan Yang Palaces.

Numerous ministers were terrified, repeatedly advising, even calling upon the Taoists from both Qingcheng and Snow Mountain factions within the court to persuade him.

After several compromises back and forth, the young emperor finally made limited concessions.

Within Hebei province, it is strictly enforced that there shall be no other divine venues. Whether it be Buddhist temples or Daoist temples, all shall be converted into Yuan Yang Palaces. In these palaces, aside from Shi Feiyang, only statues of emperors from Emperor Wanli onwards, including his own, are allowed, at most adding two generals, Red Snake and Xuan Turtle, as well as Shi Feiyang's disciples and subordinates.

In this jurisdiction, venues for other sects can exist but the Main God must be Master Yuan Yang!

To continue their livelihood, temples and shrines across the land had no choice but to rebuild, designating their largest courtyards to worship Shi Feiyang.

Songshan Shaolin Temple, with Master Fang Zheng having to move aside the Three Buddhas of the Horizontal Three Worlds, namely Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Medicine King Buddha, along with the Eighteen Arhats and the Bodhisattva Guanyin, placing Yuan Yang Emperor on the main altar along with his disciples, while placing emperors such as Wanli in the side halls.

At Hunan Wudang Mountain, Lingling Zi also moved the True Martial Great Emperor to another courtyard, converting their best courtyard into a Yuan Yang Palace, dedicated to Master Yuan Yang...

Originally, in this world, everyone had mountain-moving and sea-turning mana, and could choose whether to heed the mortal emperor's decree.

But the emperor is also cultivating and has precisely crafted an excellent mountain and sea garden, gathering a large number of cultivators and requiring them to contribute their cultivation techniques, establishing a Scripture Pavilion for everyone to study together.

Among the entire civil and military court of ministers, many practice swordsmanship and Qi Refinement. Furthermore, with the strong support of the two major factions, Qingcheng and Snow Mountain, their combined strength is not small.

More critically, if the emperor is honoring Shi Feiyang, it might well be Shi Feiyang's own wish...

Offending the emperor is one thing but offending Shi Feiyang is courting death.

Any Sword Immortal with a bit of power knows that Shi Feiyang is now the leader of the Ten Thousand Immortals. Famous Earth Immortals and Independent Immortals from around the world all come to the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain to worship. Just a flick of a finger from Shi Feiyang, and a sect may be wiped out—its people, its mountains, and even its temples…

Even in the main hall of Suzhou's Upper Mountain Jingbo Temple, where Zen Master Wu Ming resides, Shi Feiyang is now being venerated.

The faith in Yuan Yang spreads widely, with common folk holding deep belief in the State Preceptor. They say their faith is highly effective, whether for their sons attending school, finding lost items, dealing with family possessions, or encountering demons on mountain trails. All they need do is chant the name of Master Yuan Yang and call for help three times to see immediate results. If there is no effect, it was due to the individual's past misdeeds and Yuan Yang's unwillingness to grant aid, in which case, one must sincerely repent at Yuan Yang Palace.

In fact, it is not entirely false. Among demons and evils, Master Yuan Yang's name genuinely holds power, and many demons also believe in Yuan Yang, acknowledging him as the progenitor of their kind. The Outer Heaven Divine Mountain is the Nirvana of the demons, with Great Demons leading the way and little demons learning by ear and word of mouth, naturally spreading the grand tales of Yuan Yang.

Some Demons and Evil Ghosts are in a similar situation. When the Giant Wood God went to Taishan and began using the power of the Grand Saint of Nine Spirits to gather all the spiritual bodies under heaven there, no more ghostly disturbances or evil deeds occurred in the world. If there were, it was either people pretending or their own imaginations breeding fear. Chanting the name of Master Yuan Yang proved naturally "effective."

In all these circumstances, Yuan Yang Palace thrived with incense offerings. This was particularly true in Hebei, where even in the Capital, every person worshipped Yuan Yang.

There emerged a number of items surrounding Yuan Yang. His likeness, whether in painting or sculpture, always depicted as a young man in green, was brought into homes and placed on altars for veneration.

Additionally, there was a type of small black dragon sculpture, some ferocious and others adorably naive. These were carved from black iron or Xuan Yu, representing Master Yuan Yang's true form—the Chaos Black Dragon, Creator Dragon God. Carrying one could ensure protection from calamity, keep evils at bay, attract good fortune, invite wealth from all sides, and ensure a long and prosperous life.

Master Fentuo roughly knew the situation in the Capital but felt she must come. In the Buddhist Four Great Vows, there's mention of repaying the four kinds of gratitude—the gratitude of parents, teachers, the land, and all sentient beings.

The gratitude to parents refers to the people who gave birth to and raised oneself, the bond being the closest.

The gratitude to teachers refers to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, who teach awakening from delusion and achieving Buddhahood.

Gratitude towards one's country places at third, with the capital being of utmost significance. What is worshipped here carries great weight.

Carrying a bowl, she entered the city to seek alms, and soon a group of people surrounded her. "You old nun, where did you come from? We haven't seen a bald-headed monk or nun in Hebei for many years."

Master Fentuo replied, "I come from where I came."

The others laughed derisively, "You folks love these pointless koans. Next, you'll be saying you're going where you must go."

Another asked, "Old nun, what are you doing in the Capital? Are you here to preach?"

Master Fentuo sighed, "This humble nun is here to seek alms."

The group laughed again, "What do you mean by seeking alms? Isn't it just begging? Just like those beggars. We haven't seen beggars in Hebei for years! But today we see you, old nun."

"I am here to seek alms, not to beg."

"Seeking alms is begging! Begging is seeking alms! What's the difference?" The person pointed to the distant Drunken Immortal Tavern. "You say you're here to beg; I'll have the head chef make you a good meal."

Master Fentuo insisted, "I'm only seeking alms, not begging."

The person laughed, waving his hand, "There's no alms here for you, only food. If you want, then eat; if not, then leave!"

Upon hearing him say there's "no alms," Master Fentuo knew her time here was over. She sighed, waved her sleeve, and a golden light rose from her feet as she broke through the sky.

"This old nun has some skill!" The onlookers gazed up at the sky, exclaiming in admiration.

However, within the Capital, the sight of Sword Immortals traversing the sky is quite common, not particularly rare. They couldn't tell the difference between this Buddhist escape skill and a Sword Immortal's sword control, so after some discussion, they dispersed.

Master Fentuo did not obtain alms, and it was much the same for Zen Masters Kong Tuo and Wu Ming.

Zen Master Kong Tuo, having practiced in the mountains for years, had completely severed ties with the outer world, waiting only for ascension.

Though Zen Master Wu Ming was in a human temple, he lived so anonymously that even his name remained unknown. When he did receive a bowl of rice, he spoke a few words of Buddhist teaching to his benefactor, but they were uninterested, waving him away to eat quickly and leave, completely seeing him as just another begging pauper.

Only Master You Tan, who had the broadest connection with the outer world, traveled to a small southern village where she met a kind old woman who went out of her way to make her a new vegetarian meal.

It happened that the Princess of Stone God, due to her cultivation of the Demonic Destruction Treasure Record, found her Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword growing increasingly spiritual over the years. It became highly resistant to her Buddhist cultivation; the Buddha Light was excruciating for the Sword Spirit. Taking advantage of the Princess's inattention, it secretly escaped.

The Princess of Stone God went to search for the sword, scanning the ground from the sky, and happened to see Master You Tan, immediately sensing her intent.

With a pinch of her fingers, she calculated that the old woman had a son working in the fields, and landed at the edge of the field.