Chapter 393: Wonderful Dharma is Born

After the old monk Foyin finished ringing the bell, he returned to the tree where he had previously discussed the Dao with Ji Yuan. He saw that the eminent monks of Daliang Temple, who possessed Buddhist teachings, had also re-gathered, while Ji Yuan was looking at the tree in the courtyard.

The tree stood nearly twenty meters tall, appearing exceptionally towering given the generally low height of the surrounding buildings.

None of the surrounding monks spoke; they merely bowed to the old monk Foyin. Ji Yuan, however, suddenly asked a question.

"Is this a Bodhi tree?"

Ji Yuan found the tree somewhat familiar. This large arborescent plant, resembling a banyan, made him wonder if it was the Bodhi tree from his previous life.

"Bodhi tree?"

The old monk Foyin repeated, confused, and looked at the tree again.

"This tree should be called 'Rongsang.' Why would it be named Bodhi?"

Ji Yuan immediately realized that the culture and many aspects of knowledge here were similar to his previous life, but the Buddhist sect in this place clearly knew nothing of the story of Sakyamuni.

Ji Yuan nodded, saying, "So it's a Rongsang," and said no more.

"Mister Ji, what does 'Bodhi' mean? The pronunciation sounds somewhat familiar."

Ji Yuan looked at the old monk Foyin, then, recalling some information from his previous life, replied:

"Bodhi is a transliteration from a distant dialect, meaning enlightenment or wisdom."

"I see!"

The old monk Foyin said no more. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he smiled, then bid farewell to Ji Yuan and the monks of Daliang Temple, returning directly to Lanzhou in the Western Regions.

At Fanhua Manor, a maid who had been out purchasing supplies excitedly ran from the front courtyard to the back.

"Your Royal Highness, the Eldest Princess! Your Royal Highness!"

She shouted excitedly as she ran.

"What's all this shouting about? What's made you so happy?"

Outside a room in the back courtyard, designed in the style of a monk's hall, the female official frowned and sternly questioned the scurrying maid. Behind her, inside the room, Princess Chu Ruyan also emerged.

"What is it?"

"Your Royal Highness, Daliang Temple is reopening tomorrow! I heard that many people heard the temple bell at dawn today, and many in the market are saying they'll go to burn incense tomorrow!"

The princess's face showed pleasant surprise.

"Really?"

"Absolutely true! After hearing the news, I searched around the market and found some Daliang Temple monks who were out buying supplies. They confirmed it themselves: Daliang Temple will reopen tomorrow to welcome pilgrims!"

*Clap*

Chu Ruyan clapped her hands sharply.

"Excellent! Prepare the carriage immediately; we're going to Daliang Temple right now!"

"But, Your Royal Highness, isn't Daliang Temple opening only tomorrow?"

The princess smiled and waved her hand at the maid.

"That's for ordinary people. If Daliang Temple can open tomorrow, then it must be fine today; they just need to prepare to receive pilgrims again. There'll be no problem if we go today! Quickly, tell someone to prepare the carriage."

The maid smiled and promptly said, "Yes," accepting the order.

Only after the maid had left did the female official turn to the princess and ask.

"Your Highness, isn't it a bit rushed to go now?"

"It's fine. If it's truly inconvenient, we can always just come back. Besides, His Majesty is very concerned about Daliang Temple. He already sent a letter asking about it and told me to pay close attention. I'm just easing his worries!"

Chu Ruyan and the female official had not spread news of what they saw at Daliang Temple last time. However, her younger brother, the Emperor, had suddenly become very interested in the temple. He specifically sent a swift letter asking about its situation, so she took the opportunity to describe her "everyone was drunk but I was sober" experience.

The Emperor then became even more invested, asking his sister to pay more attention to Daliang Temple.

The maid could only smile; the princess's reason was sufficiently grand.

Preparing the carriage took less than fifteen minutes. Not only was the carriage cleaned, but everything from the coachman and attendants to the fruits, pastries, sandalwood, and other items to be carried were all prepared. They even brought two pots of fine wine.

However, just because the carriage was ready didn't mean they could leave immediately. Princess Chu Ruyan also needed to meticulously change her makeup, which took another full hour.

After the princess had finished her makeup and put on suitable pearl hairpins in front of the mirror, the two maids who had assisted her stepped back. The princess then turned to the female official and asked.

"How do I look? Is it pretty?"

"Very pretty, very pretty, very pretty! Let's go quickly!"

The female official replied perfunctorily. In truth, she couldn't tell any difference between the princess's previous makeup and her current one, apart from the added pearl hairpins and accessories.

A total of two carriages drove out of the manor, then headed straight for the west city gate, accompanied by several riders, including the female official.

In just over fifteen minutes, the carriages arrived at the still-empty market outside Daliang Temple, then reached the temple itself, whose heavy gates had already been opened.

The wooden sign indicating the temple's closure and the imperial golden plaque had both been removed. Monks were sweeping a large open area in front of the temple gates, clearing away wind-blown leaves and other debris, as many parts of the temple hadn't been cleaned for over a month.

Upon seeing the approaching carriages, and recognizing the familiar vehicles, a monk immediately ran back into the temple to report. Just as the carriages came to a stop, Monk Huitong emerged to greet them.

"Praise to the Great Ming King Buddha! I, the humble monk Huitong, respectfully welcome Your Royal Highness, the Eldest Princess!"

Monk Huitong performed a Buddhist bow, slightly inclining towards the carriage. The princess, directly lifting the carriage curtain, smiled at Huitong.

"Master Huitong, may I enter the temple today?"

Monk Huitong replied very forthrightly.

"Of course you may. Although our temple is officially welcoming pilgrims again tomorrow, there's nothing particularly special about the temple today, apart from requiring a bit more cleaning."

Hearing this, a maid had already descended from the carriage behind and placed a step-stool in front of the princess's carriage. Chu Ruyan then gracefully stepped down from the carriage.

"Take the carriages to the back courtyard. Master Huitong and I will walk in today."

After receiving their orders, the servants withdrew, leaving only the female official beside the princess. Huitong gestured towards the temple gate.

"This way, Princess."

"Master Huitong, please."

Huitong walked half a step ahead, with the two others walking alongside behind him. They entered Daliang Temple step by step. Their gaze swept over the scene, noting many monks cleaning. As they passed some grand halls, they also saw a considerable number of monks carrying out mats, bedding, and other items.

They walked through the plaza and main halls, which usually saw the most pilgrims, with Monk Huitong. Afterward, the two continued towards the inner courtyard.

"By the way, Master Huitong, have Mister Ji and that old monk left?"

Huitong first uttered a Buddhist chant.

"Praise to the Great Ming King Buddha! The Venerable One departed after ringing the bell, but Mister Ji has not yet left. He is currently engrossed in writing in the restricted area of the inner courtyard!"

"Restricted area?"

Chu Ruyan looked at Monk Huitong with curiosity.

"Is there any place in Daliang Temple I haven't visited? How has a restricted area suddenly appeared?"

Huitong did not conceal the truth.

"To answer Your Royal Highness, our Daliang Temple previously had no restricted areas. However, since the temple's closure, a small courtyard in the inner precinct has become a restricted area. It's not an absolutely forbidden place, but rather a 'pure land,' meaning it's free from noise and impurity!"

"Oh! Can I go see it?"

Huitong knew the princess would ask this and smiled.

"At any other time, if Your Royal Highness wished to go, I would personally lead you. But not now; no one can disturb Mister Ji at this moment."

"Oh, Master, you speak with great confidence! Not even the Eldest Princess is allowed? Does that mean you'd stop His Majesty himself if he came?"

The female official said, half-joking and half-serious, but saw Huitong turn to her with a serious expression and reply.

"Officer Lu is correct. Even if His Majesty himself were to arrive at this moment, he could not enter the restricted area."

This left both the female official and the princess speechless. The former had been about to retort, "Daliang Temple is quite daring," but as if seeing through her thoughts, Monk Huitong immediately explained.

"You two have previously witnessed the Venerable One's Dharma, and you must know that Mister Ji is an extraordinary person. Not to mention outsiders, even any monk of this temple is currently forbidden from entering or exiting the restricted area. How can mere mortals like us disturb a sage!"

The princess, seeing Huitong's serious demeanor, instinctively asked a question.

"If ordinary people cannot, then Master, you cannot either?"

Chu Ruyan admired Monk Huitong. She had long known he possessed genuine Buddhist Dharma, and this time, her understanding of "genuine Buddhist Dharma" had deepened, moving beyond her previous notion of merely chanting scriptures for blessings and warding off disasters.

"Heh, people say that Huitong of Daliang Temple is an eminent monk of this era, but that is excessive praise. To enlightened beings like the Venerable One and Mister Ji, this humble monk is but an ordinary person! Come, if Your Royal Highness wishes to see, I can at least guide you past the periphery of the restricted area."

The three walked slowly and quietly, entering the inner courtyard. After a short while, Huitong stopped, pointing to a lush, large tree in a distant courtyard.

"The small courtyard beneath that tree is our temple's restricted area. We can only stop here to observe."

The princess instinctively stood on her tiptoes. This position was not at the entrance of the so-called restricted area at all, but at least two courtyard walls away. From here, she couldn't even see the archway of the restricted area, let alone any people.

At this very moment, beneath that large tree, a desk was set up, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. Ji Yuan sat alone, bent over the desk, writing and deriving the wondrous laws of heaven and earth.

After the previous discussion, Ji Yuan's thoughts flowed like a spring. All the complex problems for which he previously knew the general direction now found effortless solutions.

Furthermore, Ji Yuan considered adding some protective measures: each time he derived a major section, the leading principles would be written in a special arcane script, to prevent those outside the lineage or with ill intentions from obtaining this method.

As the characters were written, the various ethereal phenomena that had been dissipated by the bell tolling subtly reappeared around him. However, this time they did not manifest widely across Daliang Temple, but only shimmered around Ji Yuan.

As the brush touched the paper, divine presences accompanied it, and ethereal phenomena drifted and weaved continuously across the paper's surface. Ji Yuan's wolf-hair brush could even, at times, directly touch these phenomena, inscribing them onto the paper along with the ink from the brush tip.

In just one day, Ji Yuan had written over three thousand small characters on a scroll of Xuan paper. He used not only the methods of Heavenly Talisman Script and spiritual conveyance but also imitated the textual essence he had learned from the small character spirits during this time. With ethereal phenomena constantly swirling around and occasionally captured within the writing, every character of the entire book was truly a pearl of wisdom.

This was not merely the transmission of the Cloud Mountain Observation method; Ji Yuan also regarded it as the foundation of his own cultivation.

As the final character was written, the first and most crucial part of "The Wondrous Laws of Heaven and Earth," titled "Heaven and Earth Creation," was thus born.

"Rumble..."

Suddenly, thunder boomed in the clear sky, and large, dark clouds rapidly gathered over Daliang Temple.

"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh..."

"Rumble..."

Fierce winds howled, sweeping up fallen leaves. The surroundings transformed with shifting winds and clouds. After a flash of lightning, the sky rapidly darkened...