Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

Shen Lian’s hand was still burning. The coffin has slowly opened, revealing nothing but a never-ending accretion of resentment, releasing a ceaseless amount of thick miasma.

It was as if many years ago, this coffin laid an extraordinary person.

After that person disappeared, the coffin was stained with his remaining resentment. Left due to his enclosure in the coffin. It was enough to destroy all souls of all mortal beings in the mortal realm.

The green light looked like a bean. Suddenly it violently ignited, taking Shen Lian’s Qi of vitality as fuel, making its flame burn stronger and brighter. The resentful aura that appeared rushed outward and into burst into blazing flames.

The fire roared for a brief moment, given only an enclosed space, it also gave off a feeling of limitless.

Under the impact of the flames, Shen Lian’s Primordial Spirit became fragile and fragmented, his memory blurred. The memories of this body’s past owner became clearer and clearer, so was his memories as a traveller.

The clean, unsullied sea of the heart, swept at once by the two memories, became a murky sea of uncertainty.

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In the deepest part of his memory, Shen Lian saw a man whose back was facing him that looked incredibly familiar, yet foreign, at the same time. This man has never appeared before, yet this seemed to have etched deep in his soul, giving him an indescribable sense of closeness.

Layers upon layers of images appeared, entangling with each other. Even dreams he had dreamt before appeared in his memory. What was real or fake was indiscernible. Maybe everything was real. Maybe everything was fake. There was no way of comprehending.

The images resembled a monk’s ragged robes, pieced together randomly and without order, which led to his confusion.

Or perhaps it was an ignorant child who wandered out to the street, surrounded by an enormous crowd, and the opulent clothes he wore, complemented by his handsome face, revealed an aloof temperament that does not belong to this mortal realm.

A lady cradling a basket appeared in front of him. She was young and beautiful, dressed in white with long flowing hair, with a gaze that looked like she was about to shed tears. He looked up at her and felt a sense of familiarity. She resembled a lady called Qi Siu, but he could not remember who this Qi Siu is.

He did not lose his memory, rather he felt that his thoughts were obscured.

He could not help but question her identity, at the same time questioning his.

The thoughts were instantly dismissed as he smelled hints of floral scent, his wits returned to him. Apparently she had kept a five-stemmed lotus flower in the basket she was carrying.

Lotus flowers were not rare in general, but a five-stemmed lotus flower is incredibly uncommon. One may not find one even after searching through thousands of them.

Knowing how precious the flower is, Shen Lian stopped the beautiful young lady, and said softly: “I will buy your flower.”

The lady stopped in her tracks. A gentle voice that elevated her attractiveness even more left her mouth, able to tug on the heartstrings and causing one’s heart and soul to swoon.

“My flower is not for sale.”

Shen Lian did not stop but continued: “What would it take for you to give me that flower?”

The lady’s beautiful eyes revealed a strange hint of colour. Eyes scrutinizing him for a long time, and softly, she said “Promise that you will never forget me, and I will give you this flower.”

In his heart, Shen Lian thought it a simple task, and so he said “I will.”

“Don’t you regret this”, the lady put down her flower basket and looked deeply in his eyes, as he caught whiffs of her unique scent again, as she disappeared into the crowd, as if she had never appeared at all.

Shen Lian carried the basket, his body that of a young child. Such a unique scene that proved to be. A child dressed in beautiful clothes, wandering around aimlessly with a flower basket in hand, attracting the attention of gesticulating pedestrians.

These people seemed nice, they were just surprised, none had the evil intentions of snatching this lovely child away.

Absentmindedly, he found he had wandered into a temple, the temple was located in the bustling city, but there were no worshippers milling about, what is more visitors. In the main hall sat a quiet Buddha, his features skinny as if he had shriveled up.

Shen Lian suddenly thought: “Poor Buddha, no worshippers, that’s why he is so thin.”

He walked towards the Buddha with the basket, offering the precious five-stemmed lotus flower to the Buddha.

Upon receiving the offering, the Buddha smiled, his smile made him looked sad, but it could be his face that is too dry. He said: “Kind child, you will definitely become a Buddha in your afterlife.”

Hearing the Buddha’s words, Shen Lian was very upset. Why would he look forward to the afterlife when he was living a good life right now. Besides, he did not want to become a Buddha, there was no reason to it. Perhaps he has no inclination to be a Buddha since his birth.

Because deep in his consciousness he thought, he would be greater than even a Buddha.

An overwhelmingly confident thought, but he did not think there was anything wrong.

Shen Lian wanted to refuse, but suddenly something terrible happened. Uncontrollably, his body knelt down against his will. The Buddha, smiling, extended a finger as if trying to grant him vyakarana.

Shen Lian absolutely loathed such an action, but resistance was futile.

In that moment of powerlessness, a sound rang clearly from the recesses of his heart. Unknown was the source of the sound, but it manifested into a state that seemed to have an interlinking connection between flesh and blood. He does not know why, but an inexplicable power emanated from his body, enabling him to slowly break away from the shackles that bound him. Shen Lian looked at the Buddha and casually said: “I will only live this lifetime, there would be no afterlife, I will not be a Buddha.”

The smile disappeared from the Buddha’s face and his face twisted up. With a tone as cold and as eerie as hell, he said: “Do you know what you are doing?”

The five-stemmed lotus flower grew and grew, the Buddha flew to his lotus seat with Shen Lian below it, who seemed as small as an ant.

Shen Lian spread open his palms, revealing a long shape with a hollow space inside filled with lamp oil, flames burned from it, exuding an ineffable atmosphere.

Tranquil light filled the entire Buddha palace, but did not escape to the outside of the complex.

Light enveloped the Buddha. Spots and speckles appeared on his skinny body, revealing a copper green colour that was frighteningly disgusting.

Shen Lian lets out a laugh. It seemed that his body was rapidly growing, reverting to his original adult appearance. “Even if you are a true Buddha, you could not force me into becoming one, let alone making me in my afterlife”, he said.

“I am Buddha, I am the Dipankara ancient Buddha. You have been disrespectful towards a Buddha, you will be condemned to the eighteenth floors of hell, beyond redemption.”, great and sturdy Buddha voice resonated. The unyielding light resonated in response.

“You are not.” Shen Lian said, slowly and calmly.

From that sound, he had found himself again. the sound came from the magical sword. The link between them saved him. The lamp could not be easily seen as the trickiness of it was beyond his expectations. He did not have a choice. If the light went out, how would he be able to repel the evil forces, and how would he able to see the light of the heart.

Although this person is not Dipankara Buddha, he is, on some level, still related to the Dipankara Buddha that had once guided Buddha to the path of enlightenment. But this was not the Lotus Lantern Buddha who could not escape the fact that he enlightened the Buddha.

Therefore, he will not overstep his boundaries, for he would be guaranteed to fail.