Chapter 201 — Freeloading
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Right Protector Envoy planted her hands on her hips and laughed coldly at the sky: "Bald donkeys! If you've got the nerve, don't you dare leave!
I can curse you for three days and three nights without ever repeating myself!
" A bodhisattva sneered: "Xue Bi'e, all that's left of you is that mouth!
" "Pay them no heed. " From Sumeru Mountain, the Old Tathagata said: "If we trade curses with them, I fear it could go on for half a year. We have fought for centuries and cursed for centuries; there is no need to be hasty at this moment.
Let us first go and stop this battle.
" The monks covering the mountain did not pause; the phantom of Sumeru Mountain drifted toward the battlefield. Imperial Teacher Jingping was still locked in fierce combat with Qiong Fuzi and the others, striving to do away with these powerhouses before the phantom arrived. Just then, the Old Tathagata's voice drifted over, unhurried: "Imperial Teacher Jingping, all you fellow cultivators—might you grant me a favor? " Imperial Teacher Jingping let his sword qi disperse, eluded the pursuit of Qiong Fuzi and the bronze-masked man, and said with a smile: "Tathagata, please speak.
" "Very well. Fellow cultivators, please stay your hands," the Old Tathagata said in a deep voice.
Qiong Fuzi and the others had been about to strike; hearing this, they hesitated a moment, then each came to a halt.
Tian Zhenjun could not stop coughing blood; his heart and lungs had been wounded by Imperial Teacher Jingping's sword qi.
In a shrill voice he cried: "Old Tathagata, do you intend to join forces with us and rid the world of this fiend? " The Old Tathagata shook his head.
Li Sanren's face changed slightly, and he sneered: "Could the Great Thunderclap Temple also have become a lackey of the Jingping Kingdom, like the Youmo Cult?
" The Old Tathagata shook his head again. Qiong Fuzi said flatly: "Elder Daoist brother, no more riddles—speak plainly.
" The Old Tathagata laughed: "I have come to form a bond of good affinity with you all and to settle this affair.
All of you are cultivators; if you continue to fight, who knows how many heroes will fall, how many lineages be severed.
Why not, this very day, beat swords into plowshares and, in peace and goodwill, bring your mutual karma to an end? " Imperial Teacher Jingping's eyes flickered, but he remained silent. The Old Tathagata looked at him and laughed: "Imperial Teacher Jingping is a good man. Once you came to my Great Thunderclap Temple, and I spoke with you of the Dharma, expounded the Mahayana, and formed a good affinity.
Would Imperial Teacher Jingping be willing to return this affinity to this old monk?
" Imperial Teacher Jingping said solemnly: "In those years I was still young, traveling and studying across the world. When I reached the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Tathagata, with no sectarian prejudice, guided my cultivation. I count myself half a disciple of the Great Thunderclap Temple, and it is fitting that I return this affinity.
Yet how am I to know this is not releasing a tiger back into the mountains? These men are the foremost bandit chieftains of the world—how could they be willing to stop here? If they rise again in days to come, living beings will be plunged into misery again. The Tathagata, compassionate at heart, should understand my concern. " The Old Tathagata laughed: "This old monk will have them take refuge in the Great Thunderclap Temple and no longer meddle in worldly affairs. What does Imperial Teacher Jingping say to that?
" Imperial Teacher Jingping neither assented nor objected. The Old Tathagata smiled and looked at Qiong Fuzi and the others: "Each of you was a hero in your day, peerless in grace, imperious through all your lives, radiant through all your years.
Are you now willing to lay down your arms and take refuge in the Buddhist faith?