Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree

The old monk had left behind a scripture that recorded this scene, a sign that the great apocalypse was approaching.

It turned its head towards the exterior of the temple, muttering to itself:

"Could it be that the great apocalypse is about to commence..."

On this very day, it decided to set out to seek Buddha and Dao Asking, to cross over itself in the face of the great apocalypse.

It shed its monk's robe and stepped into the midst of Floating Mountain, seeing Ten Thousand Temples standing magnificently, all Buddhas shining brightly, it was so overjoyed that it danced with glee, feeling as though salvation was at hand.

It rushed eagerly to the peak of each mountain, only to see that in Floating Thousand Temples, the lamps were bright, all Buddhas bowed low, none spoke of Buddhist principles, of causality and emptiness, of Zen; they spoke only of eliminating evil karma.

They said—

Evil karma is the root of all, and to eliminate evil karma, one must make offerings, honor Buddha, donate to the Sangha, give away money, land, and even one's self, so-called wealth for calamity, loss for blessings...

Floating Thousand Temples, every single one glittering with wealth, deeming themselves as "Holy Land."

The old monkey traversed one mountain after another, passed by one temple after another, but its expression grew increasingly vacant.

It worshipped tens of thousands of Buddha statues, yet no Buddha was willing to help it cross over.

Or perhaps, it had not found the true Buddha?

Gradually, it began to doubt, Buddha doesn't help people cross; people must cross on their own, so what use is a Buddha?

In the end, it returned to its starting point, that dilapidated temple nestled in the mountains, silent and wordless, keeping company with the ancient Green Lamp, feeling perhaps it had misread the Buddhist teachings.

It read the Buddhist teachings again, flipping through the scripture that it had already worn thin.

It read on, through countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters.

Until one day, this small dilapidated temple hidden deep in the mountains also welcomed visitors, devotees of Buddhism, and even those seeking refuge.

The old monkey took them in, providing them with mountain fruits and stream water, listening to them describe the outside world. It turned out the great apocalypse had begun, powerful forces within the realm rising up and clashing with each other, coupled with the invasion of beings from beyond the skies, leaving the world in ruins, the mortal realm turned Purgatory, with countless gods and Buddhas fallen...

Listening to their accounts, the old monkey's face showed shock, and it pursued with questions:

"Floating Thousand Buddhas? Have they not stepped forward to protect the world?"

Floating Thousand Buddhas?

Someone replied with bitterness, Floating Thousand Temples, they too, are one of the countless "powerful forces" in the world, waging wars against another "Buddha Land" for the path of the future, how could they care for those who do not honor Buddha? Even for those who do, if they have no "Merit" to their name, they receive no protection, and are merely "provisions."

At that moment, the old monkey's expression was stunned, dazedly making its way outside the temple.

It couldn't see the tragic state of the world, but it saw the Bodhi tree that it had long watered not improving, but withering even more.

As if like the mortal world.

At this moment, it finally came to realization, murmuring to itself: "So this is the true Infinite Calamity."

Where does the great calamity begin?

From beyond the heavens, from within the heavens, from human hearts, from the air, not a single place is without calamity!

It left the temple to the devotees, and descended the mountain again, to witness the true Infinite Calamity.

This time, as it traveled through countless places, through its eyes, Ji Jingqiu saw the true Infinite Calamity, not as a doomsday scene where worlds numbered as the sands of the Ganges are utterly destroyed, but before calamity arises.

Invasion of the Spirit Ocean, the most horrifying thing was not the Void Disaster, but countless "demons of Outer Path" arriving as "vanguards," invading and overthrowing numerous civilizations, reaping the souls of All Realms!

In that torrential epochal calamity, Group Stars extinguished, All Realms collapsed, and Emperor Heaven Universe moved towards oblivion.

The old monkey traveled everywhere, in silence saving those it could, sending them to take refuge in the forests where the broken temple was located.

Yet one day, people from Floating Thousand Temples came knocking, smashing its temple, wrecking its gates, chopping down its Bodhi, slandering it for plundering the subjects of Ten Thousand Temples, and then forcefully took away all the refugees, sending them into "Buddha Land" to serve as the foundation of the Buddha Country.

On that day, it seemed to laugh and cry, its expressions alternately filled with compassion, solemnity, and wrath.

It stood amid the ruined temple, looking back, its gaze as though it could see Ji Jingqiu standing behind, murmuring softly.

The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly resonated in Ji Jingqiu's ear:

"I dare to ask the Buddha, today there are demons that take the name of false Buddhas, commit the acts of demons, defile our Buddha Land, corrupt our Buddhist teachings, twist our scriptures, destroy our precepts, delude the believers...

What should be done?"

It wasn't until this moment that Ji Jingqiu felt as if he awoke from a great dream.

He looked up and in the temple, previously devoid of Buddha and Bodhisattva, there was now a clay Buddha statue, with the body of a monkey, yet with the fierce expression of Vajra, refusing to bow low.

That was the Buddha in the hearts of the people.

Legends say that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas atop the temples all bow their heads and do not look at the sentient beings, for upon seeing the suffering of the beings, they cannot help but want to save the world, and by entering the world, by saving the world, they too will enter calamity, to cross through the calamity.

At this moment, Ji Jingqiu seemed to understand a bit of the Mental Realm that Marshal Mu had experienced in the past.

Western Heaven is too distant, temples are too quiet, only in the hearts of sentient beings is where causality arises and ceases, it's also where my heart finds peace.

If that is the case, what use are temples?

The four-cornered prison, trapping my heart, the hearts of all beings.

Buddha does not bow low, I bow low.

It seemed as if he perceived across time a part of Marshal Mu's past Mental Realm, a deep feeling suddenly surged within him.

He heard the old monkey's murmurs again—

[I dare to ask the Buddha, as the great apocalypse approaches, with demons wielding the path, what shall be done?]

Of course—

"Suppression of Demons!"

The next moment.

That cut-off Withered and Flourishing Bodhi tree outside the temple was glowing brightly unknowingly!

The old monkey took off its robe, turned it inside out, and put it back on, striding out of the temple into the mountains, its face fierce like that of a Wrathful King, Vajra's fierce expression.

A ray of Buddha light blossomed behind its head, revealing itself amidst the mountains, resplendent like waterfalls reversing its flow upwards, piercing the sky, dispelling the great darkness, becoming brighter and brighter, manifesting as true Infinite Light, tinting this side of the night sky, a pure and spotless White Lotus emerging beneath its feet.

The White Lotus bloomed with thirty-two petals, nurturing the Supreme Dharma Form of the War Buddha.

Vajra's fierce expression, boundless compassion.

And then came the resounding thunderous roars through the mountains, echoing through Heaven and Earth:

"Suppression of Demons!"

"Suppression of Demons!"

"Suppression of Demons!"

That night.

Floating Thousand Temples were nothing compared to a single temple.