Chapter 162: The final step
“Hahaha, in the end it was all useless… How could a ghost choose to guide? You have lost after all.” The formation continued, and as the black chains of Master Hongren broke, the lord of Xincheng let out a loud laugh, mocking my master.
Grandmaster didn’t look at him, but instead glanced at Xiao Chengqian in his usual posture of his hands behind his back. The formation began to operate, and Xiao Chengqian had already begun to cast spells, using the power of the formation.
The lord of the new city naturally saw my master’s casual movement, and his expression suddenly changed. Of course, he wasn’t scared, but he put on the same smiling expression he had when he saw the ferryman, looking extraordinarily amiable and trusting.
This expression made me feel familiar again. Unlike when I was practicing the “Tianti Yubu” (a martial art), I couldn’t think. This time, I could think desperately, but I still couldn’t remember where I had seen it before.
While I was thinking, the lord of the new city was discussing with my master: “You have spent a long time setting up this trap, and you don’t want to try to turn into a stream of water, do you?”
The master looked at the new city lord with a faint smile and said, “Hmm?” as if he had agreed.
“The natural formation of the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts was deliberately created by Heaven and Earth. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a great formation of Heaven and Earth, and it cannot be destroyed. If it is destroyed, it is not simply against Heaven, but becomes an enemy of Heaven and Earth.” The eyes of the Lord of the New City became more sincere.
The master didn’t respond, but instead looked in another direction. It was Hui Gen, who was supporting the ferryman, who looked like a bloody man. The ferryman had just woken up from his coma, his eyes open, but his eyes were a bit confused.
Looking at the eyes of the master looking at him, the ferryman’s eyes regained a trace of clarity, but he seemed to be avoiding the master’s gaze and avoided it.
Like a mime, the master didn’t say anything, withdrew his gaze, and looked at the lord of the new city with a meaningful look. The lord of the new city said, “Since you know that the great formation of heaven and earth cannot be destroyed, then this great formation will continue to attract ghosts! Your formation is powerful, it can be called a great formation that defies heaven and earth, but how does it compare to the great formation of heaven and earth? When the ghosts reach a certain level, they are afraid that they can’t suppress them anymore! Moreover, I have been deliberately using these years to repair the unfavorable loopholes in the outer defense array, releasing a batch of ghosts…”
I have to admit that the new city lord is very eloquent, and in a few words, he made the situation sound extremely serious. But after careful consideration, the truth is indeed so.
When I thought about this, I showed a little worry in my eyes. Over there, Master Hongren had already completely broken free from his shackles and floated towards us, and I hadn’t noticed.
Facing the words of the new city lord, the master of the sect pondered for a moment, then stared at it, and there was clearly a hint of teasing in his eyes. The master of the sect said, “Continue?”
“I believe you must have a way to imprison my magic power, my spiritual power. Let me out, I will recall the ghosts I released and help suppress the ghosts here. I can do it. In addition, there are almost all vengeful ghosts here, all of them are madmen, and it is not possible without a powerful presence to suppress them. In those days, it was also the case that a ghost king was allowed to develop among the vengeful ghosts. At least the ghost king exists, and he can negotiate with people. People don’t have to face a chaotic ghost lake, right? I have accumulated a lot of prestige over the years, and I think I…” The lord of the new city went on and on, and the master had not yet expressed any opinions.
But at this moment, a faint voice came from over there: “Don’t believe him.”
This voice was that of the ferryman! The Master, who had been indifferent to the words of the Lord of the New City, suddenly turned his head and looked at the ferryman and said, “Do you want it dead or alive?”
At this moment, Master Hongren also floated over and stood next to the ferryman.
The ferryman looked at Master Hongren, his eyes a little red, and did not answer the master’s question at first, but just called out to Master Hongren, “Master Hongren.”
“Well, at this point, why not call me brother?” Master Hongren said indifferently.
“They say that the six roots of Buddhism are pure. Why do you have to go to such lengths for me? You’re still the same as you were when we were young. You always do things in a way that makes people think that you’re my brother first, and then a monk. But, brother, our brotherly bond in this life is about to end.” The ferryman said bitterly.
“My brother made a mistake, and I came to make amends. This is also part of the cycle of cause and effect. If I don’t bear it, I’m afraid it will affect more people. This is what I do as your brother… and this is what I should do as a monk to help this little hell. The two things are not contradictory, and they are both good things. I have always thought this way since I was young. In private, I have forgiven you since I entered the little hell. If you measure it with a fair heart, you have already made up for your mistakes and even paid more, which is already a good deed for yourself. So, in the next life, we can still be brothers.” Master Hongren still had that unpretentious, compassionate look, but when he looked at the ferryman, there was a hint of humanity. At this time, I could feel that Master Hongren was not yet a Buddha, but a human soul, with a hint of intimacy.
The ferryman’s tears slowly flowed, and then he looked at my master and said, “I’ve figured it out. After all these years of friendship, I can’t bear to see it scatter to the four winds. I’ve always held on to the fantasy that it can be suppressed. Now that I’ve heard it say those words to you, I know that it is already obsessed and will never repent. Master Li, take it back.”
Grandmaster looked at the ferryman: “Hongye, are you really sure?”
Master Hongren’s words had originally only made the ferryman shed tears, but Master Hongye’s words made the ferryman’s whole body tremble with excitement. He looked up at the sky and said, “I never thought that I would be able to hear Master Li call out my Dharma name one day. It was worth dying for!” After a pause, he looked at my master and said firmly, “I have already figured it out.”
“Well, that’s good.” The master’s expression was still indifferent, but I was shocked. A monk was called by a Taoist, why was he so excited? It wasn’t like a high monk in the Buddhist sect had recognized him! But he was even more excited than if he had been recognized by a high monk in the Buddhist sect.
Grandmaster, what kind of status does he have in the entire circle?
“No, Master Li, you are a Taoist, you can’t listen to that ignorant monk. Don’t you care about the big picture?” Faced with the ferryman’s argument, the lord of the new city finally showed a hint of anxiety. It shouted wildly, and it seemed that it even wanted to struggle. However, the confinement of star power, in this world, I’m afraid that only the existence of Jenny, the leader of the gang, can break it with one force. How can it work?
But to be honest, I really want to ask my master about Jenny, but it’s not the right time yet.
In addition, the situation here is so bad, why is Jenny the leader of the group, or the king of the wind that she showed me, not willing to help?
Is there something else going on?
Over there, Grandmaster suddenly smiled in the face of the New City Lord’s ranting. It was just a faint smile. He said, “I have carefully set up a plan to solve the problem of the little hell. How could I not have anticipated the situation you described? I have said before that this is not just my own effort. The spiritual power you saw was the spiritual power of thousands of people who sealed their own spiritual power and sent it to the boundary stone when they passed away. Do you think that in the face of such a critical situation here, the Buddhists would not contribute? The net has already been cast, you just don’t know it.”
After saying this, the master looked at Master Hongren with a complex expression.
Master Hongren walked up to the ferryman, performed a Buddhist ritual, and said lightly, “Hongye, our brotherhood has come to an end in this life.”
The ferryman wiped his tears away and said calmly, “It is said that the six senses of a Buddhist are pure, so I am not sad, nor do I need to be sad. With the Master’s compassion, after completing this task, there will always be good results. I still have some things to tell my disciple, so I will let the Master go first.”
Master Hongren smiled faintly and nodded, then walked over to Jueyuan and looked him over carefully.
“The so-called power of thought must be used to bless the ghosts with a human body. This is the basic common sense of this world! Unless the Buddha of the Western Paradise intervenes, no one can break this principle.” Master Hongren suddenly spoke to Jueyuan.
Jueyuan seemed to have anticipated something, his expression sad, he sang a Buddhist chant and said, “I know, giving people the power of good thoughts can be superimposed on sins, blessing ghosts, it is the compassion of the Buddha, giving people a chance to practice and accumulate virtue, it can even be said to be a shortcut.”
“It’s good that you understand. I am a spirit, so I can’t do the next thing. I will pass on my life’s accumulation to you, so that your power of thought can barely move this last step. But I also have to explain that everything has a price. There is nothing in the world that can be obtained for free. The accumulation that I pass on to you will not only be exhausted after this matter, but will also weaken your soul for a year. Are you willing?” Master Hongren said seriously.
“I am already overjoyed at being able to do such a great deed of merit. I am willing,” said Jueyuan seriously.
The face of the new city lord completely changed, and this time he was truly afraid.