Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 548 - 441 Small Vehicle, Great Vehicle_1

Chapter 548: Chapter 441 Small Vehicle, Great Vehicle_1

When Li Xuan stepped into the Demon Fenshu at Juyong Pass, he found that many of the buildings here were in ruins, with only broken walls and tiles left. A group of monks, mostly battered, stood facing each other on respective sides.

Off to the side, a bunch of taoists were happily gathered, watching the excitement unfold.

Li Xuan was bewildered and immediately sought the Fumo Xiaowei who was in charge of this venue for information.

The Xiaowei first glanced at the swelling on Li Xuan’s face with odd eyes. Only then did he answer reverently, "It’s a conflict between the monks of Shanji Temple and Jingjue Temple. An argument arose early this morning over a matter.

Both sides were initially restrained; they started with a debate over scriptures, then a fight ensued. Master Yuanmiao of Shanji Temple and Master Lingjie of Jingjue Temple even sparred with magic but there was no clear winner."

Li Xuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He knew that these two temples were large monasteries in the Hebei area; Shanji Temple was a Lesser Vehicle Buddhist temple, belonging to the Abhidharma Sect while Jingjue Temple was a part of the Mahayana Buddhism, and belonged to the Pure Land Sect.

Although both of them belonged to Buddhism, their doctrines were incompatible like water and fire.

Still puzzled, Li Xuan asked, "What exactly happened? Both are highly cultivated clerics, why would they disregard their reputation like this?"

Upon hearing this, the Xiaowei gave a bitter smile, with a hint of helplessness in his voice, "It’s about a businessman surnamed Zhang who lives south of the pass city. His son died last night. Zhang is a disciple of Shanji Temple. When Zhang learned that Master Yuanmiao of Shanji Temple was present, he sought the Master’s help with the deliverance of his son’s soul.

However, Master Yuanmiao believed that Zhang’s son was burdened with sins and quoted a price of 3000 taels of patterned silver. Unfortunately, the monks of Jingjue Temple discovered this. Master Lingjie went to Zhang’s house and proposed that if Zhang converted to the Pure Land Lotus Sect, all they would need would be 200 taels of patterned silver to deliver his son."

Having heard this far, Li Xuan understood the situation, it was a conflict over business after all.

This was related to the teachings of the two temples. The Lesser Vehicle Buddhism believes that one must undergo rigorous cultivation and religious moral cultivation, like the ’Eightfold Path,’ to attain achievement in cultivation and receive Buddhist Niyama. They usually emphasize on personal liberation and hope to transcend life and death, be rid of greed and love, and extinguish body and mind.

Mahayana Buddhism believes that as long as a person has a sincere heart, they can become a Buddha. Followers can also achieve Buddhahood through the so-called ’Six Paramitas’ - donations, observance, endurance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom, thus the cultivation method is simpler.

Among them, the Pure Land Sect is the simplest and most extreme. They believe that all followers need to do is to call out Buddha’s name, chant the name of Amitabha single-mindedly, and they can achieve Buddhaland through rebirth.

They believe that seeking personal liberation alone is not enough. In addition to resolving all their troubles, they should also strive to become a Buddha, establish a Buddhist Kingdom, and help more people escape from suffering.

- What needs to be mentioned here is that the so-called ’Pure Land’ is probably like the ’Underground of Nanjing’, which is maintained by the aspirations of the followers. Every temple has its own Buddhist Kingdom.

Because of the incongruity of the two doctrines, a disparity in the charges for deliverance rituals emerged.

The Lesser Vehicle Buddhism charges high fees, partly because it requires the consumption of considerable Mana-powered items, resulting in high costs; on the other hand, they also believe that only through something of this level can the sincerity of the followers be demonstrated and enable the soul of the deceased to enter the Western Pure Land.

So civilians could not afford their services, they were not even qualified to undergo their deliverance rituals.

The fees for Mahayana Buddhism are much cheaper: the Zen Sect charges a bit more, while the Pure Land Sect is the cheapest, often less than a tenth of what the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism charges.

The Lesser Vehicle Buddhists were not satisfied with this. They believed that although they charged a high price, they were not shortchanging their followers, whereas the Mahayana Buddhists fooled people by claiming that chanting a sutra could deliver them.

On the other hand, the Mahayana Buddhists believed they did deliver, at the very least, they could comfort the followers mentally and soothe the masses.

Most grudge ghosts are born from lingering resentment and refusal to die, right? Were they not doing good by delivering?

Some people have indeed entered the Pure Land after their deliverance rituals, it’s just that the chances of it happening are not high.

Therefore, Mahayana Buddhism is more popular among ordinary people, but because they have the ability to incite the people, they have always been seen as a potential threat and have been vigilantly watched by The Court; especially the Pure Land Lotus Sect, facing repression over thousands of years.

On the other hand, the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism is gradually declining, but in recent years, because of the assistance given to Emperor Taizong by the Black Robed Prime Minister, ’Master Daoyan’, they started to receive support from the Court, gaining momentum.

- At least one-third of the annual ’Monk’ issued by the Senglu Division of the Court is given to the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism.

Li Xuan couldn’t help but sigh, "Summon both masters for me."

Not long after, ’Yuanmiao’ from Shanji Temple and ’Lingjie’ from Jingjue Temple arrived before Li Xuan.

Both were monks dressed in golden robes, clean-shaven, with an imposing air and majestic appearance. Yet now, their faces were black and blue, their lips edged with dried blood.

On seeing this, Li Xuan couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth, thinking, "Well, now we have a trio of bruised and battered faces."

However, his expression was as cold as iron, and his eyes were sharp as knives, "All losses incurred by the Liudao Division here must be compensated by both of you, each bearing half."

Both Yuanmiao and Lingjie had no objections, they knew they were in the wrong. They had fought and damaged property on someone else’s territory, compensation was expected.

Li Xuan then turned to ’Master Lingjie’ of Jingjue Temple, "Regarding the matter today, you of Jingjue Temple were in the wrong. You have no right to intervene in matters concerning Mr. Zhang. Any expenses for the medication in Shanji Temple must be borne by Jingjue Temple."

Upon hearing this, ’Master Lingjie’ knitted his brows and showed a look of dissatisfaction.

Upon seeing this, Li Xuan fixed them with a sharp gaze: "I don’t care how you usually fight for followers, but this is a crucial time for war. Why is your Pure Land Lotus Sect picking quarrels and provoking trouble now?"

Master Lingjie’s aura faltered momentarily, and then he fell silent.

He noticed that Li Xuan had his hand on his waist blade, a chilling aura enveloping him from afar. Luo Yan, standing next to him, was also looking over with cold eyes.

The rage on Master Lingjie’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of apprehension in his eyes: "Amitabha! If this is Master Li’s wishes, I will abide."

He recognized these two, they were the now renowned ’Tianji Dihe Yang-Yang Divine Swords’ that had been making waves recently!

−− That’s right! It’s ’Yang’, not ’Yin and Yang’. A pair of twin blades merged into one could slay Wu Zhiqi and Yangtang Divine Saber of Chang Ze.

Especially this Master Li, it was rumoured that he had clashed head-on with Xiangyue for hours on end.

While Lingjie could not understand how a third-door Wu cultivator could achieve this, considering that at his young age he had become a Fumo Zhonglangjiang and had been titled a Marquis, there must be some truth to it.

Having subdued Lingjie, Li Xuan then scanned the messy crowd of monks and Taoists: "Listen here, I don’t care which school of Taoist lineage or Buddhist sect you are from. Now that you’re under my command, if you’re a dragon, curl up, if you’re a tiger; lie down!

Whoever dares to cause trouble or disobey orders, I will enforce military law. Mark my words now, do not say later that you weren’t warned!"

Almost everyone in the crowd bowed their heads and avoided his gaze.

Only an old Taoist with fully white hair and beard did not shrink from his gaze. He smiled as he bowed to Li Xuan: "I am Master Chongyou of the Changchun Temple, greetings to Zhonglangjiang!"

Master Chongyou then praised with admiration: "I’ve long heard of your fame, Zhonglangjiang, and today I am fortunate to meet you in person. Indeed, you are extraordinary and have a magnificent aura. We, the Changchun Temple, are willing to follow you."

Li Xuan nodded back at him amiably. He had heard of Chongyou. The Changchun Temple in the eastern part of the capital was also one of the important Taoist temples in the Quanzhen lineage.

※※※※

The first thing Li Xuan did after settling down in Juyong Pass was to organize his troops.

In terms of establishment, Li Xuan did not need to worry. The placement of over three hundred people under the Shenyi Department, and the four hundred demon slayers under the jurisdiction of the Qinglong Hall, all had already established protocols.

The four hundred warrior monks and three hundred Taoists were also simple, to be divided into three regiments each led by Master Yuanmiao, Master Lingjie, and Master Chongyou.

These warrior monks and Taoists had their own systems, and Li Xuan was not foolish enough to disrupt them.

Speaking of which, considering the formations and overall combat power of these monks and Taoists of the temples and Taoist temples, they were even stronger than the people from the Liudao Division.

The Liudao Division staff were busy dealing with cases, running around different places to subdue demons, how could they have time to train in formation positions? But these warrior monks and Taoists had plenty of time to practice troop formations as they had nothing to do.

When it comes to coordinating in small scale military formations, they even surpassed the Forbidden Army.

However, there were problems with their armor and weapons.

The Great Jin Dynasty did not allow civilians to hold weapons, and armor was even more strictly prohibited. Therefore, these warrior monks and Taoists at most carried a blunt sword or an iron stick, along with a few magical instruments.

Li Xuan had no choice but to use the connection with Shenqi Union to temporarily equip these people with iron armor and weapons, and even provided them with a Dragon Colt.

This left all the monks and Taoists puzzled, as they had originally come for the sole purpose of helping the spirits of the dead who had died in battle transcend.

But at the same time, these monks and Taoists were indeed grateful. When confronting these evil spirits and hell soldiers, the iron armor and weapons would still be quite useful.

While Li Xuan was equipping them, he also took the opportunity to understand the composition of his troops and assess their combat power.

Knowing your enemy and yourself, you can win every battle. How can you expect to emerge victorious in the battlefield if you don’t even understand your own troops correctly?

This was Li Xuan’s way of preparation. Even though the primary mission of the Liudao Division was to subdue demons, according to the intention of Fumo Venerable Old Zhu, if the battle situation changes, the troops of the Liudao Division would also have to enter the battlefield.

After this, Li Xuan then turned his attention to the battlefront to the north.

The Liudao Division’s branches in Xuanfu and Huailai, every two hours, would send a signal symbol to the Liudao Division’s main hall in the capital, transmitting the various military intelligence they had collected.

And these signal symbols would all be relayed through the mail station at Juyong Pass.

Li Xuan asked for Yue Qianqian to station someone there to copy every signal symbol coming in. Then, using this collected information by Yue Qianqian, analyze the situation in the northern battles.

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