The Eight Sufferings Formation, a formation used by senior monks of the Buddhist sect for enlightenment. After passing through this formation, one would be freed from worries and gain a mind dedicated to Buddhism.
From then on, they would devote themselves to the Buddhist path, achieving profound understanding of the Dharma.
Conversely, they would be eternally trapped within the eight sufferings, their primordial spirit collapsing.
Of course, every monk who entered the Eight Sufferings Formation to temper their Buddhist heart would receive the attention of an Arhat or Bodhisattva, to ensure the stability of their primordial spirit.
In short, the Eight Sufferings Formation was actually a part of Buddhism’s “the four desires are emptiness.”
If al-Asura was still al-Asura, still that Asura prince who had taken refuge in the Buddha’s grace, then he would have nothing to fear from the Eight Sufferings Formation.
Seeing that al-Asura did not enter the formation for some time, Arhat Du’e said calmly,
“Amitabha, al-Asura, what are you hesitating about?”
The voice passed through the dharma vessel and into the Buddhist realm inside the golden alms bowl.
Al-Asura replied calmly,
“I was just recalling events of past lives, those matters that have long turned to dust and smoke.”
With that, he hesitated no longer and stepped into the Eight Sufferings Formation.
Arhat Du’e narrowed his eyes slightly and scrutinised al-Asura within the formation. He saw that this Asura Prince, ugly of appearance yet extraordinarily valiant, walked forward slowly but with exceptional resolve as he traversed the Eight Sufferings Formation.
Throughout the process, his expression remained calm.
After walking through the Eight Sufferings Formation, al-Asura did not pause and ascended the steps. Before long, he reached the ancient temple at the mountaintop.
Atop the temple stood a large bronze bell.
al-Asura climbed the tower at a slow pace, brought his hands together in front of the bronze bell and began to recite the Buddha’s name.
“Clang!”
He pushed the bell striker, ringing the bell for the first time.
The bronze ancient bell resounded with a long, far-reaching tone, along with ripple-like golden light.
“Clang, clang, clang…”
The continual ringing of the bell sent wave after wave of golden light sweeping over al-Asura’s body. First, golden light shone from his brow, then his body was gradually suffused with a faint golden radiance, clear and translucent.
After ringing it eighty-one times, al-Asura released the bell striker, put his palms together and bowed his head.
Arhat Du’e smiled with a flower in his hand:
“The Buddha heart is without stain. We shall report to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. In recent days, yao qi on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains has soared skyward. The wildfire of the southern yao’s restoration has been simmering for five hundred years. Now it wants to set the entire mountain range ablaze.
“We are under orders to guard the Southern Marches. We must not be negligent.”
Al-Asura nodded,
“Naturally.”
…
The Southern Marches.
Outside the courtyard, Lina munched on a sweet potato. Glancing at the little figure beside her, she explained helplessly,
“Honestly, I didn’t eat the mouse.”
Little Pea held her own sweet potato, silently gnawing at it, her tiny back and the back of her head facing her master, making it look as though their bond had been completely severed.
Lina pondered for a moment, then pushed Xu Lingyin’s shoulder. Xu Lingyin twisted away, refusing to let Lina touch her.
“Come on, you can have my sweet potato, alright?”
The white-skinned Lina said.
Xu Lingyin spun around, her eyes shining as she stared at her master. “Really?”
Lina looked longingly at the sweet potato, which she had just taken a bite from. She nodded with pain in her heart and handed it over.
Xu Lingyin happily snatched it, hugging it tightly.
“Not angry any more?”
“Mm!”
And with that, the two made up.
Lina beamed and said,
“If you have something nice, shouldn’t you share it with your master? Give me a piece of your sweet potato.”
Little Pea broke out in a grin. She bowed her head and spat on the sweet potato twice, “ptoo, ptoo.”
Lina: ”…”
…
Inside the room, Xu Qi’an came out from the stupa tower. Turning to look around, he did not see Luo Yuheng.
There lingered in the air the faint fragrance of the National Teacher, along with the smell of proteins.
The bed was a complete mess.
Though the little white fox was still a cub, she was shrewd enough. Her round, black eyes rolled as she looked at the bed, and said angrily,
“I’ll tell Sister Yeji! You breed with other women behind her back.”
Such crude words, the yao are always so vulgar… Xu Qi’an shot her a sideways glance and said grumpily,
“How do you know I was with another woman? Do you have any evidence?”
The little white fox raised her paw, thumped it on the table and, with an adorably fierce tone, said,
“Every time you sleep with Sister Yeji, the bed is always this messy. I even saw you bumping into her bum…”
Xu Qi’an rewarded her with a knock on the head and scolded,
“What does a little brat like you know? Hurry up and summon Her Highness, I have business with her.”
Fearing Silver Gong Xu’s threatening aura, Baiji gave in, curling up on the table with her tail over her body. After a moment, a powerful will awoke within her.
The little fox, two palms tall, stood tall. A clear light shone from her left eye as her alluring, melodious voice sighed,
“Our dignity has been declining with each passing day. Now, it seems, we are someone you can summon at a whim?”
Enough nonsense. There’s urgent business… Xu Qi’an frowned and said,
“Today, I reviewed the entire battle against al-Asura and realised that he did not fight with all his strength that day.”
“You only just noticed?” The Nine-Tailed Fox said with a charming smile.
You little bitch, you’d seen it all along. Xu Qi’an replied expressionlessly,
“Your Highness, if you’re like this, you’ll lose my friendship.”
The Nine-Tailed Fox gave a soft “hmph,” then sat obediently, her voice soft and magnetic:
“There are two possibilities. First, al-Asura, for some reason, intentionally let you take away Shenshu’s severed limb without leaving any traces. He wishes to advance even further.
Xu Qi’an frowned, “What do you mean?”
“Al-Asura was reincarnated and started cultivating anew. After five hundred years, he returned, but he is still the Asura Prince, al-Asura. Where is his reincarnated body? If the reincarnated body had reached fourth rank and fulfilled his great vow, then once his vow was complete, he could attain the Bodhisattva position.
“So, I suspect that his vow is likely related to the yao, or rather, to winning the Southern Marches for the Buddhist sect. But the Southern Marches is already under Buddhist control.”
Xu Qi’an stroked his chin, “So he has to lose it once and win it back?”
“Second, this was all a plot by the Buddhist sect to set up the Yao race. If we attack ‘Southern Contry city’, we may directly encounter Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. I am sure I could escape easily, but as for the rest of you… that’s not so certain.”
Xu Qi’an looked thoughtful,
“You seem to have a counter-measure?”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox gave a cunning smile,
“If al-Asura wanted to attain the Bodhisattva phala, we could just play along. If the Buddhist sect intended to trap our Yao race, we would still play along.”
Xu Qi’an asked directly,
“What do you plan to do?”
The little white fox sat obediently and said with a grin,
“How about attacking Ananda, to see what state the Buddha is really in, and check whether the statue of the Confucian Sage had been destroyed?
“When I helped you deal with Xu Pingfeng that day, I obtained a few teleportation artefacts from the Jianzheng, and then secretly had people send stone discs engraved with the corresponding formations to the Western Regions. As long as we shattered the teleportation artefacts, we could be sent to the location of the stone disc. It is only thirty li from Ananda.
“If Samantabhadra dared to leave Ananda, we could teleport there directly, snatch back Shenshu’s head, and allow him to be fully revived.”
Xu Qi’an said irritably, “Will Samantabhadra Bodhisattva let us teleport over there?”
As for the underhand dealings between the Jianzheng and the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, he was unsurprised. For the former, this was business as usual. For the latter, plotting for five hundred years, if she couldn’t manage even this, she might as well give up her ambitions, marry early, raise children and live a quiet life.
“That’s nothing you need worry about. I have my ways.”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox’s tone was very certain.
Xu Qi’an nodded and said,
“If the Yao race’s restoration proceeds smoothly this time, I want your help in capturing Arhat Du’e, so he can remove the last Demon-sealing Nail from my body.”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox smiled,
“I’ll also tell you where to find hell silkworm thread.”
Xu Qi’an’s heart pounded twice in excitement, and he asked hurriedly,
“You know where the hell silkworm thread is?”
Hell silkworm thread was one of the primary materials for forging the Soul-summoning Banner.
The Soul-summoning Banner was necessary for resurrecting Wei Yuan.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox said,
“No hurry. We’ll talk about all that after the Yao kingdom is restored.”
…
Dongling City.
Xu Pingfeng sat before a bronze pill furnace, holding a banana leaf fan and gently fanning the azure flames.
“Should I return to the Southern Marches?”
He turned his head, looking towards Bodhisattva Agaruka, who was sitting cross-legged at a slant across from him.
“If I return, it’s exactly what the Jianzheng wants.” Bodhisattva Agaruka replied calmly.
“Quite so. Teacher had long colluded with the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox.”
Xu Pingfeng nodded. “Using the Yao of the Southern Marches to pin down the Buddhist sect, that was his plan all along, and he simply used my eldest son as the agent. Let’s stay in Qingzhou and await news.”
Bodhisattva Agaruka closed his eyes and said,
“Too clever are ye with all your scheming.”[^1]
He did not finish the second half of his sentence.
After hearing it, Xu Pingfeng’s smile suddenly turned eerie.
…
Mount Jing City.
Sarun Agu stood at the peak of the desolate mountain, gazing south.
“After the battle at Shanhai Pass, all the fortune now lies in the southwest.”
The cloaked old man murmured softly.
“Great Warlock, do you think the southern Yao can restore their nation?”
Asked Uda Batu, one of the only two Masters of Wisdom of the Church of the Warlock God.
“The strength of the Yao alone is insufficient, but don’t forget about Xu Qi’an.” Sarun Agu smiled.
“I wonder what level of strength he has reached. If the southern Yao win this battle, it will truly shake all Jiuzhou.” Uda Batu frowned,
“Much like the buddhist sixty-year extermination of the yao, stunning the whole world.”
He paused and muttered, “What’s taking Irbu so long to deliver the Sounding Stone?”
Sarun Agu said placidly,
“The time hasn’t come.”
…
The Capital.
Stargazing Tower, Bagua Platform.
Zhao Shou stood at the edge of the towering platform high amidst the clouds, overlooking the city below.
“The capital remains prosperous, but in my eyes its radiance has faded, and its fortune has grown turbid.”
He stroked his beard and sighed.
He then turned to look at the Jianzheng,
“Your power is seriously depleted, you can’t even break two of Agaruka’s dharma aspects. If this continues long term, does the Great Feng still have any chance of victory?”
The Jianzheng replied calmly,
“All things reach their zenith and then decline, it’s Heaven’s will. From Zhende, to Xu Pingfeng, to Xu Qi’an, all are people born in response to the times, each one a great calamity for the Central Plains and the human race.”
Zhao Shou frowned slightly, “The human race?”
Not the Great Feng!
The Jianzheng smiled, “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed. I peer into Heaven’s secrets and know Heaven’s mandate, so I too am one who meets calamity. Zhao Shou, do you know why I’ve suppressed the Confucians for two hundred years?”
Zhao Shou replied lightly, “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”
The Jianzheng nodded, “A quick learner.”
Zhao Shou gave a dry laugh, turned southward, and said,
“Whether the Buddhist sect can be pinned down will depend on this battle. Hopefully he won’t let us down.”
The Jianzheng smiled and retorted,
“When has he ever let us down?”
He raised his cup and took a sip, saying,
“Did you come to the capital just to chat idly with me this time?”
Zhao Shou gave an “oh” as if remembering, and said,
“Yang Gong sent me a memorial, saying the shaman clans are willing to ally with the Great Feng and help fight the Yunzhou rebels. He asked me to pass it to the young emperor. If I’m to enter the palace, I need your permission.”
Even the fastest express from eight hundred li away could not match the speed of the Confucian sect’s teleportation technique.
The Jianzheng nodded,
“Go on then. The situation in Qingzhou is urgent, and both the young emperor and the cabinet are wracking their brains. It wouldn’t hurt to put their minds at ease.”
[^2] …that milord may scheme his own life away. Quote from Dream of the Red Chamber.
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