activa-t Chapter 80 What is Secret?
Chapter 80 What is Secret?
The rain continued, and leaden clouds covered the sky.
Ripples occasionally spread across the muddy puddles, and the rippling waves reflected the rolling thunder in the clouds, making it shine brightly.
Rainwater mingled with the roof tiles, its tinkling and pattering sounds blending together.
*Snap...*
Water droplets trickled down through the gaps into the bucket inside the tiled roof, and the splashes landed right on Luo Ji's forehead.
"Your Excellency, how is this person...?"
"Since you have not practiced the various methods of the Secret Treasury, you need not address me as Venerable One... Just call me by my Dharma name as before; that is your affinity with the path..."
Fang Hongxuan muttered to himself upon hearing this.
"I never thought of converting to Buddhism and becoming a monk."
As if he could see through Fang Hongxuan's thoughts, Daoyuan smiled calmly and then spoke up to answer Fang Hongxuan's question.
"The precepts are for better spiritual practice. The saying 'Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart' is no different."
As Dao Yuan talked, he examined Luo Ji's body, skillfully tracing the various acupoints on Luo Ji's body.
"This person's eerie aura suggests he has been entangled with evil spirits for a long time, which is why he was able to extinguish the three flames on his body..."
"Strange, it actually took this long for the balance of yin and yang to become unbalanced..."
"Could it be that the demon has some connection with him? Otherwise, why would he have been spared until now?"
Fang Hongxuan seemed to have thought of something again, and his gaze fixed on the entrance of the village.
"Tonight we'll know what kind of demons and evil spirits they are..."
"Venerable Daoyuan, could you please enlighten me on a few matters?"
Unable to contain himself any longer, Fang Hongxuan finally asked the question he had been pondering for a long time. After all, it concerned his life and fortune, so he naturally had to get to the bottom of it.
"According to old records from the Demon Suppression Bureau, the Wansheng Dynasty defined Esoteric Buddhism as an unpardonable heretical sect. Why was that?"
"Is it because it is improper that it is kept secret?"
Dao Yuan chuckled, showing no sign of anger. He stared intently at Fang Hongxuan.
"If everyone follows the crowd and goes with the tide, they will not obtain the true Dharma, nor will they see the true Vairocana Buddha..."
"The level of realization attained through practice is known only to the practitioner; just as the Buddha has countless forms, so too do people. Therefore, the level of attainment in practice varies from person to person."
"Not to mention the Secret Realm, even among the cultivators of the Wansheng Dynasty, countless people have died due to various unorthodox problems."
The Dharma should never be publicly or lightly transmitted; this is the origin of the word "secret."
"According to the teachings of this school, there are 'sixteen secrets,' but it is not convenient to go into detail about them here."
One reason is that I am influenced by the "Chapatha Dhisattva's Vow Mantra" and cannot easily transmit various Dharma teachings to outsiders;
Secondly, since you haven't practiced the three channels and seven chakras, the more we discuss it, the easier it will be for you to misunderstand, making it difficult for you to understand the essence of various tantric mantras later on.
Dao Yuan sighed softly, and the beads he was spinning in his hand came to a stop. He remained silent for a long while before explaining the most basic reason.
"As for why Wansheng Dynasty defined the Secret Realm as a place teeming with evil spirits and ghosts, the fundamental reason can only be left for you to experience for yourself in the future."
"Master Daoyuan, I never said I would dabble in the Secret Realm."
Fang Hongxuan, who had initially lowered his guard, became alert again.
Dao Yuan smiled without saying a word, but a deep and unfathomable smile appeared on his compassionate face.
Even the beads she was moving in her hand moved a little faster.
...
The unexpected events of the past two days left a distraught Luo Licheng wandering aimlessly among the crowds.
His eyes were vacant as he stared blankly at the ancestral hall filled with memorial tablets and the elders outside the door who seemed to have found their pillars of support.
"It's all my fault... It's all my fault... If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have bothered trying to get any official position..."
...
Luo Licheng's biological father was named Luo Zhengze. He was a gambler who was addicted to gambling. Whenever there was any surplus food left in the house, he would take it as gambling money.
He even borrowed money from all the villagers in Shiliang Village, and while he was determined to recoup his losses, he became increasingly entangled in debt.
His already precarious life became even more difficult under the pressure of gambling debts. Even after having his hands chopped off, Luo Zhengze still couldn't break his gambling addiction.
One day
Under pressure from his creditors, Luo Zhengze chose to end his life by jumping off a cliff.
His departure brought immense suffering to Luo Licheng and his mother, and even Luo Nanying was deeply affected. The three of them were treated like rats in the street, subjected to wanton insults and beatings by the villagers.
Luo Licheng wanted to follow Luo Zhengze's example, but he did not die after falling off the cliff. Instead, he was caught by tree branches at the bottom of the cliff.
The place where Luo Licheng fell was right around the Great Immortal Cave, where the master of the Great Ruo Temple had recently broken and sealed it.
However, no one expected that the Great Immortal Cave did not only have seven orifices, but a total of nine!
The remaining two orifices were connected in one place, transforming into a cave entrance after the seven orifices.
The cave entrance was hidden away, completely covered by dense vines. Only a small opening offered a glimpse into the cave's depths.
A chilling wind howled, and a biting cold emanated from the rock face. Faint sounds could be heard emanating from the pitch-black darkness.
Disheartened, Luo Licheng stumbled and rolled inside. The deep cave entrance resembled a demon ready to devour its prey.
...
When Luo Licheng woke up, he found that his surroundings were already covered with scarlet pupils.
The three pairs formed a group, completely enveloping Luo Licheng.
The heart-wrenching cries echoed across the fields, yet no one knew.
Luo Licheng, whose body was completely unscathed, stood blankly at the cave entrance. Once he was out of the darkness, the dense vines completely blocked the entrance.
He no longer remembered how he escaped; only fragments of memory in his mind showed this set of images.
...
"If I bring you out of here, will you be able to rise above others and pass the imperial examinations?"
...
No one answered, and no one knew the outcome. Only Luo Licheng stepped forward.
Luo Licheng, who was originally timid and had a wide range of abilities, seemed to have become a different person.
He could now recite the Four Books and Five Classics, which he once couldn't even read thoroughly, backwards. Even when he took the exam twice, he consistently came in last place, just barely making the list.
As a result, the three people who had been treated coldly in Shiliang Village received better treatment because of Luo Licheng's rise.
No one mentioned the gambling debts anymore, and people would send various kinds of food during holidays.
Luo Licheng's mother, whose back had been bent for decades, finally straightened up.
After all, no village doesn't hope to produce a top scholar who will be famous throughout the world.
His mother's surprise, his uncle's satisfaction, his teacher's affection, and his classmates' envy made Luo Licheng increasingly arrogant.
It was as if this was his true appearance, and he had completely forgotten about the demon that resided within his body.
It wasn't until Luo Ji broke his leg, and Luo Song and his wife, along with Luo Yixiang and his son, all went missing, that the incident at Daxian Cave finally woke him up.
"What should we do...?"
"Boom!"
A sudden clap of thunder illuminated the ancestral hall as bright as day; a fierce wind swept through, making the ancestral tablets on the altar clang loudly.
In a deserted corner, the shadow behind Luo Licheng was covered with spider shadows, and from a distance it looked like a human figure made of spiders.
...