794: Chapter 794 Lu Xueqi and Biyao (173)

Su Han was silent.

At that time, he just wanted to survive, wanted to climb higher, and hadn't thought about so much at all.

"Your benevolent thoughts are real, your wisdom roots are real, and your perseverance is also real." The Old Monk stood up and walked toward the center of the platform, the green lamp right under his feet. "The three trials have been passed; you may go see the Buddha now."

Su Han stood up, feeling that his body had mostly recovered, with the remnants of Buddha Power still flowing gently through his Meridians.

He followed the Old Monk to the center of the platform and only then discovered that at the end of the platform was a door—a very ordinary wooden door, not even painted, just the color of raw wood. A wind chime hung on the door frame, emitting a crisp tinkling sound when the wind blew.

"Push open this door, and you will be at the Great Leiyin Temple," the Old Monk said. "The Buddha is waiting for you inside."

Su Han took a deep breath and reached out to push the wooden door open.

On the other side of the door was a massive temple.

The temple's golden roof shone brilliantly under the radiance of the Buddha Light, and the square in front of the hall was paved with white jade bricks, with moss growing in the crevices, feeling soft underfoot.

On both sides of the square stood two rows of monks, their heads bowed and eyes lowered, hands pressed together in prayer, as if they were holding a Dharma assembly.

As Su Han walked past them, he could hear low chanting, surging toward him and receding like the tide.

The doors of the main hall were wide open, and inside, thousands of eternal lamps were lit. Amidst the flickering lamplight, a massive golden Buddha statue sat upon a lotus throne.

The Buddha statue's face was compassionate and solemn, its eyes half-closed, a faint, ethereal smile playing on its lips.

But when Su Han looked closely, he discovered that what was sitting on the lotus throne was not a stone statue, but a living person.

A bald, middle-aged monk, wearing a simple gray kasaya, sat cross-legged on the lotus throne, with a wooden fish placed in front of him.

"You have come," the middle-aged monk opened his eyes, looking at Su Han, his voice as peaceful as flowing water in a mountain stream. "Coming from the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, crossing the West Heavenly Gate, traversing the Lingshan stone steps, and breaking through the three trials. You have worked hard."

Su Han knelt on one knee and cupped his hands, saying, "Lingxiao Immortal Sect Disciple Su Han pays respects to the Buddha."

"This Disciple has presumptuously come to seek the Purifying Buddha Light, only because an evil entity is about to awaken in the Human Realm, and the Buddha Light is needed to completely eradicate it."

"I implore the Buddha to show mercy and bestow upon this Disciple the Purifying Buddha Light, to save the people of the Human Realm from dire straits."

The Buddha did not speak.

He picked up the wooden fish mallet and tapped the wooden fish lightly.

With a 'dong' sound, the tone was crisp and distant, like a pebble dropped into water, ripples expanding in circles, permeating the entire hall.

Su Han felt the sound penetrate his body, echoing in every corner of his Sea of Consciousness, as if it were asking something.

"Su Han," the Buddha spoke, "the Purifying Buddha Light is not an object."

Su Han looked up, his face full of confusion.

"The Purifying Buddha Light is a state," the Buddha said, "it is the light emitted after a heart has become completely pure."

"It cannot be 'taken away'; it can only be 'realized'."

"I cannot give it to you, but I can let you see it."

The Buddha extended a finger and tapped lightly in the air.

A golden light shot out from his fingertip and entered the center of Su Han's brow.

Su Han's vision went black, and when it brightened again, he found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar place.

There was no golden sky of the Buddhist Realm here, no sandalwood scent of Lingshan, nothing at all—only an endless white Void Realm.

He stood there, as if in the middle of a vast snowy plain, with white in every direction, unable to distinguish up from down or left from right.

Then he saw a person.

An old woman wearing coarse cloth clothes, carrying a bundle of firewood, walking step by step through the snow.

The firewood was heavy, bending her waist like a shrimp, and she had to catch her breath with every step.

Su Han wanted to step forward to help her, but found that his body could not move; he was merely an observer, a shadow trapped in this Void Realm.

The old woman walked for a long time, finally arriving in front of a thatched cottage.

She unloaded the firewood and pushed open the door of the cottage; from inside came a fit of coughing.

A gaunt youth lay on the bed, his complexion sallow, his lips cracked.

The old woman walked over, touched the youth's forehead, sighed, and turned to go to the stove to light a fire and decoct medicine.

Su Han watched this scene, understanding in his heart that this was an illusion the Buddha was letting him see.

But he did not understand what this had to do with the Purifying Buddha Light.

The scene shifted.

The old woman's firewood was gone, so she went to a more distant mountain to cut more.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the wind cut at her face like knives.

She fell, her knee hitting a rock, blood seeping out to stain her pant leg red.

She crawled up, brushed the snow off her body, and continued walking.

She walked for three days and three nights, cut a bundle of firewood larger than herself, and stumbled back to the thatched cottage.

The youth sat up, his complexion slightly better, took the hot soup she handed him, and called out, "Mother."

The old woman smiled.

On that face, roughened and cracked by the wind and snow, a smile blossomed.

At that moment, Su Han saw the center of her brow light up, a trace of extremely faint golden light flashing and then disappearing.

The scene shifted again.

The youth grew up, carrying a pack to go far away for his studies.

The old woman stood at the door of the cottage, seeing him all the way to the entrance of the village.

The youth turned back and said, "Mother, once I achieve success in my studies, I will come back to pick you up."

The old woman nodded, waving her hand and saying, "Go, go."

The youth walked far away, and the old woman stood alone under the big locust tree at the village entrance for a long time.

The setting sun stretched her shadow long, and the center of her brow lit up again; this time, the golden light was a bit brighter than the last.

The scene shifted again.

The youth did not return.

The villagers said he had become a high official in the capital, married the prime minister's daughter, and had long forgotten his old mother in the countryside.

Upon hearing this, the old woman did not cry; she just continued to cut firewood, cook meals, and sew clothes for other children in the village.

Some people felt it was unfair for her, but she smiled and said, "He has his path to walk, and I will just walk my own path."

The golden light at the center of her brow became brighter and brighter, so bright that even across the illusion, Su Han found it dazzling.

On the final day, the old woman was old, unable to walk, and lay on the bed.

The villagers gathered around the bed, and someone asked her if she had any remaining wishes.

She thought for a moment and said, "I want to see that locust tree at the village entrance one more time."

The villagers carried her to the locust tree, and she sat leaning against the trunk, looking into the distance, where there was a road leading to the capital.

She did not wait for anyone, but she smiled.

She smiled and closed her eyes.

The moment she closed her eyes, that golden light from the center of her brow shot up into the sky, transforming into a golden lotus flower that bloomed in the Void Realm, illuminating the entire snowy plain.

Su Han snapped back to reality from the illusion, discovering that he was still kneeling in the main hall of the Great Leiyin Temple, the Buddha was still sitting on the lotus throne, and the wooden fish was still being tapped lightly.

But Su Han's face was covered in tears.

"What did you see?" the Buddha asked.

Su Han wiped his face with his sleeve, his voice choked up, "I saw an old woman."

"In her entire life, she never recited a single Buddhist scripture, never once worshipped the Buddha, but the golden light at the center of her brow... was brighter than any Buddha Light I have ever seen." (End of chapter)