National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Abbot Tonghua slowly extended a hand and gently patted the woman’s head.

In that instant, the woman felt a tingling, numbing sensation spread from the spot on her forehead she had injured by striking it against the ground.

This strange sensation spread quickly, like a gentle tide, washing away the pain bit by bit.

Finally, the woman cautiously reached up and touched her forehead. To her surprise, the pain was completely gone.

At that moment, the woman’s reverence for Abbot Tonghua reached an unprecedented peak.

The other citizens of the White Elephant Empire were also stunned. They stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

Some even wondered if they were dreaming.

Simply killing that rotting Evil Spirit Lizard was still within the realm of what they could accept.

After all, during the White Elephant Empire’s peak, there were quite a few experts as powerful as Abbot Tonghua.

But never before had anyone been able to take a child who was all but certain to die and snatch them back from the brink of death in such a short time.

Moreover, this was more than a simple rescue; it was as if he had forged a completely new body for the child.

Looking at the child’s rosy cheeks and energetic state, he probably hadn’t looked this healthy even at his peak.

”Do you think these are the only miracles the Buddhist Sect is capable of?”

Abbot Tonghua took in all the expressions and reactions of the surrounding citizens of the White Elephant Empire.

’He knew this was the moment he needed to add one last push to completely conquer these people.’

’Only by conquering the people could he take this land of the White Elephant Empire.’

”All phenomena arise from the mind. When the mind is still, phenomena have no place to dwell.

To not dwell on phenomena is to see the emptiness of body, mind, and form.

With a mind that dwells on nothing, liberation is found everywhere. The inner faculties and outer defilements are all dissolved. If the mind is empty of attachments, it dwells nowhere.”

Abbot Tonghua slowly took a few steps, each one seemingly treading upon the long river of time, revealing a transcendent serenity and solemnity.

He once again brought his hands together before his chest, palms joined, the gesture a declaration of supreme peace and compassion to the world.

At this moment, though there was not a breath of wind, his kasaya robe began to sway gently,

rustling with a sound like an ancient call piercing through the dust of ages.

The abbot gently raised his left hand. Between his index and middle fingers, the string of simple Buddha Beads glistened with a warm luster in the sunlight, each bead seemingly containing endless stories and wisdom.

He first raised his fingertips, pointing to the vast, boundless blue sky, then leisurely lowered his hand, as if to touch the solid earth.

This act of pointing to the sky and then the earth seemed to connect the most sacred powers of the universe.

In an instant, an unprecedentedly brilliant golden light erupted from Abbot Tonghua’s body. It was like a ten-thousand-foot golden waterfall crashing down from the nine heavens, its power so immense it seemed capable of tearing space itself apart.

The golden light spread rapidly, dyeing the entire sky a magnificent gold.

Then, before everyone’s astonished eyes, the golden light gradually condensed, forming a colossal and majestic Buddha.

That Buddha sat majestically in the sky, its form so immense it defied all description.

Even the sun, hanging high above and illuminating all things, paled in comparison, losing its usual brilliance.

The Buddha’s face was compassionate and solemn, its eyes slightly closed, as if it could perceive all things in the world, yet also as if it were deep in contemplation of the universe’s infinite mysteries.

The kasaya robe it wore seemed all the more divine and extraordinary under the illumination of the Buddha’s Light.

Every fold seemed to contain infinite Buddhist Dharma and profound wisdom,

so vivid it inspired both awe and reverence in all who beheld it.

Bathed in the Buddha’s Light, the entirety of Bird City seemed to be enveloped in a soft yet solemn radiance.

Every corner, without exception, was bathed in the brilliant glow of the Buddhist Dharma.

In the streets and alleys, whether they were white-haired elders, young children, delicate women, or bustling merchants and pedestrians, everyone was profoundly shaken by this sudden miracle.

They all stopped in their tracks, fell to their knees, pressed their palms together, and piously shouted, ”The Buddha has appeared!”

The cries rose and fell, echoing to the heavens, piercing through layers of clouds to reach the sky itself.

At that moment, all things fell silent. Only the giant Buddha and the city-wide chorus of faith remained, weaving together a breathtaking and magnificent tapestry.

It was a scene that inspired longing, one that would be impossible to forget, as if it had been carved deeply into people’s hearts.

”To know that all dharmas are without self, to achieve this through patient endurance—this is the supreme practice of a bodhisattva. It deeply purifies the field of the mind, allowing one to draw near to the Thus-Come One.”

”The Buddha spoke of the Eight Sufferings of life, all arising from greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. A calm mind allows the spirit to roam far; freedom from attachment is enlightenment itself.”

”The Buddha said: The Buddha told Ananda, you have often heard me, in the Vinaya, proclaim the three definitive aspects of practice. They are: to gather the mind as discipline, from discipline to cultivate concentration, and from concentration to develop wisdom. This is called the Threefold Training.”

The Sanskrit chants drifted like silken threads,

making it impossible to tell whether they came from Abbot Tonghua’s mouth or from the mouth of the giant, golden Buddha.

Then, the earth began to tremble violently.

All the buildings in the ruins that were about to collapse but hadn’t yet were mercilessly swallowed by the earth, vanishing without a trace.

This once-prosperous land was transformed into a flat, open plain in the blink of an eye.

There was no grass, no flowers on the plain—it was perfectly level, as if countless people had spent an eternity meticulously clearing it.

Immediately after, a structure, like a miracle from myth, broke through the ground and rose from the earth.

Auspicious mists filled the sky. Black apes offered fruit, and milu deer carried flowers in their mouths.

Azure luan birds danced, and colorful phoenixes sang. Spirit turtles offered symbols of longevity, and immortal cranes grasped Ganoderma mushrooms.

The sun and moon shone brightly, and fruits ripened in every season.

Rosy clouds of mist drifted about, coming and going at will. Neither cold nor heat could penetrate this place.

Its roof soared high, scraping the heavens, while its foundation was deeply connected to the Sumeru Mountain Range.

Exquisite peaks stood in rows, with strange rocks of all shapes and sizes. Below the cliffs, jade-like grasses and wondrous flowers bloomed. Beside winding paths, purple fungi and fragrant orchids swayed.

Immortal apes plucked fruit in the peach groves, their fur blazing like fiery gold.

White cranes perched on pine branches, as beautiful as jade held aloft by mist.

Pairs of colorful phoenixes danced, and pairs of azure luan birds soared.

When the phoenixes sang toward the sun, auspicious signs filled the world. When the luan birds danced in the wind, they became the rarest treasures on earth.

Then one saw the gleaming golden tiles, layered like the intertwined necks of mandarin ducks, and the bright, patterned bricks paved like shining agate.

To the east and to the west, all was as beautiful as a palace of pistils and pearls.

To the south and to the north, one could never see the end of the magnificent jeweled pavilions and precious towers.

The Hall of the Heavenly Kings radiated rosy light, and the Dharma Protector Hall emanated a purple haze.

Pagodas soared majestically, and the fragrance of udumbara flowers filled the air.

This was a place so wondrous it could be mistaken for a separate heaven, a place where the idle clouds made the days feel long.

At that moment, all the citizens of the White Elephant Empire were utterly and profoundly shocked.

They had just watched, with their very own eyes, as Abbot Tonghua created a miracle.

Under the golden light of the giant Buddha, a temple of immense size had simply materialized out of thin air.

There were no construction workers, no transported materials. Relying on Abbot Tonghua alone, an ethereal, otherworldly temple had been forcefully brought into existence.

On the temple’s enormous plaque,

three large words shone with brilliant light: Great Leiyin Temple!