Chapter 114 The Buddha's Compassion

As a successor of the Three Sovereigns Sect, Tian Tui was naturally the first among everyone to locate the current tracks of that evil entity.

The Three Sovereigns are the Heavenly Sovereign, Earthly Sovereign, and Human Sovereign.

They are not only symbols of the primordial era and the ancestors of humanity, but also the three paths of human cultivation, representing Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Among these three paths, the Three Sovereigns Sect possesses the most profound research specifically into the methods of Earth Veins.

Tian Tui is over thirty years old, yet his cultivation has already reached the Life Wheel realm by relying on the augmentation of Earth Veins.

Using the Sect's techniques to listen to the Earth Veins, he can easily detect any anomalies within a radius of a hundred miles.

Although the evil entity is not within a hundred-mile range right now, he can still discern which direction is most likely to lead to its tracks.

Of course, it is not yet time to use the method of probing the Earth Veins.

Because the last place the evil entity appeared was at the border between Huainan Circuit and Henan Circuit, and it seemed to be heading further into Huainan Circuit.

Continuously moving closer to the East Sea region.

Although there is a possibility of it changing course, it is highly probable that it is currently still in Huainan Circuit.

According to those present at the time, it seemed that a cyan humanoid figure flashed by, and then the sun blazed intensely.

The intensity of the heat rose instantly; while it was not enough to kill people by sunstroke, this temperature was sufficient to bake most plants to death.

Therefore, many farmers hurriedly began harvesting their rice before it was even ripe.

They were afraid it would simply ripen to death in the fields.

As the temperature rose, the locust plagues in some areas subsided, as they were all scorched to death.

The Legacy of the Three Sovereigns Sect is remarkable, and due to the nature of their inheritance, they have the most knowledge regarding ancient secrets.

Therefore, he was the first among the group to guess the origin of that evil entity.

However, he did not dare to be certain in his heart, because in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, there are several kinds of evil entities that can cause such a great drought.

As for the specifics, he would have to investigate carefully to know for sure.

That is why Tian Tui did not recklessly go to search for that evil creature.

Instead, he carefully investigated the tracks it had left along the way, but the more he investigated, the more alarmed he became.

Because the more he looked, the more it resembled the worst-case scenario he had guessed in his heart.

Tian Tui gasped: "Hiss! If it is truly as I thought, then something terrible is about to happen!"

"No, I must investigate more carefully. Such a major event must absolutely not be taken lightly!"

Thus, Tian Tui continued to follow the tracks left by the evil entity, heading all the way towards Huainan Circuit.

...

Yu Prefecture.

Jiang Chen and Jianzhen traveled without stopping, arriving here in just two short days.

However, while walking on the streets, they were surprised to find that the situation here seemed to be vastly different from Xu Prefecture.

Although the drought here was even more severe, the common people rarely looked sallow or malnourished.

Although everyone was still filled with sorrow, they did not look like they had been starved to skin and bones as in other places.

Although there were fewer hawking sounds on the road than usual, one could still see some merchants braving the scorching sun, selling dried fruits and candied snacks.

It was just that the prices were many times more expensive.

These were itinerant merchants profiting from the disaster; once they sold their goods here, they would take the money and return to the Capital Circuit.

Of course, there were buyers, and quite a few of them.

Jiang Chen and Jianzhen did not see the tragic scene of people selling their children here.

Most people who sold their children did not do so to survive themselves, but to let their children survive.

When they sold their children, it was mostly to wealthy families to serve as maids or laborers.

"The common people here do not seem to be suffering from a famine," Jianzhen said curiously.

Jiang Chen also nodded; if not for this hot weather and the crops that had withered away patch after patch outside the city,

he would have truly thought this place was as peaceful as usual, as if it were a year of bountiful harvest.

At this moment, a man wearing grey hemp clothing, with tattered shoes sewn from grass and cloth on his feet, came running out from the street.

The man was rushing excitedly, holding a full sack, not knowing what was inside, and ran towards Jiang Chen and Jianzhen.

"There is food, there is food! Wife, wait for me, there will be food soon!"

Along the way, passersby would occasionally cast envious glances at him.

Some even had fierce and greedy expressions, quietly following behind him.

Jiang Chen naturally saw at a glance that the sack contained a sack of millet.

Judging by the weight, it was probably not light, likely weighing thirty or forty catties.

What puzzled Jiang Chen, however, was that judging by this man's clothing and demeanor, he did not seem like someone who could afford to buy so much grain in this year of drought.

This grain would normally be worth about twenty or thirty wen, but in this year of drought, its value could probably reach one string of cash!

Watching the man's retreating figure, Jiang Chen secretly used a Spell to immobilize the few people with ill intentions, and incidentally, inflicted some punishment upon them.

At this time, Jiang Chen and the others saw another woman coming from the other side of the street, clutching a small sack of grain, looking around cautiously, afraid of being robbed.

Things were becoming increasingly strange.

The two found a vendor selling pinwheels; Jiang Chen bought one and then asked.

"I have traveled all the way here and observed that the farmland outside the city has withered from drought, so why is it that inside the city, few people seem to be suffering from hunger?"

"Just now, I saw two people carrying grain walking from the end of the street. Could it be that some benevolent person is opening their granaries to distribute food?"

After Jiang Chen bought the pinwheel, the merchant's expression became much friendlier, and he immediately replied:

"Daoist, you are unaware. Indeed, there is a great benevolent person opening granaries to distribute food, but this benevolent person is not some wealthy squire, but the Qianming Temple in this city!"

"Oh?" Jiang Chen was slightly surprised. So that was it. It seems the Buddhist Sect here truly has a heart of compassion for the world.

"Amitabha, my Buddha is compassionate. This humble monk also wishes to visit this Qianming Temple to see which eminent monk it is." Jianzhen was also moved.

"Yes, indeed!" Seeing that both agreed with his statement, the merchant became even happier.

"Everyone's fields have withered, and no matter how much we plant, nothing will grow. The eminent monks of Qianming Temple kindly accepted these fields and exchanged them for grain for us. Is this not the compassion of my Buddha!"

Jiang Chen admitted that he had spoken too soon; his stereotypical impression of the Buddhist Sect had now been concretized.

Jianzhen also looked embarrassed. He was not ignorant; on the contrary, he was sharp and clear-minded, and he instantly saw through the intentions of Qianming Temple.

"Is this act not simply annexing farmland? If next year comes, won't these common people who have lost their land starve to death?"

The merchant was unhappy.

"Hey, I respect that you are a Daoist, but how can you speak of the eminent monks of the Buddhist Sect like that? These fields cannot grow anything, and selling them to Qianming Temple allows us to exchange them for grain to survive. Is this not the compassion of the Buddha?"

"If the Buddha were compassionate, why does he not simply gift the grain to you directly?" Jiang Chen retorted.

"The Buddha says one must not reap without sowing; if there is to be a harvest, there must be effort!" the merchant said righteously.

"Then what will the common people do when they have no good land to till next year?"

"The eminent monks have already given a suggestion: if we have no land next year, we can still cultivate the land for them, and they will only charge some interest. This is called a Karmic Connection!"

Jiang Chen was almost angered to the point of laughter. What a fine Karmic Connection!

…(End of today's update)