northernbook Chapter 387 The Cold and Pure Human Buddha Child VS The Adorable and Devoted Demon Cat Emperor [63]
Chapter 387 The Cold and Pure Human Buddha Child VS The Adorable and Devoted Demon Cat Emperor [63]
Once the jade Guanyin statue shattered, mortal men could no longer defy the will of Heaven and remain in this world.
Having lost his life force, his body turned into a skeleton in the pigeon demon's arms.
The dove demon was heartbroken and, in despair, chose to destroy herself while holding her husband's corpse.
The two turned into wisps of smoke and dispersed with the wind, and the fog that had shrouded Qicheng finally dissipated.
The Bodhisattva statue disappeared into the forest, and all around was silent. Only the rustling bamboo leaves seemed to echo faintly with the pigeon demon's words of condemnation of Shiga before its self-destruction.
Shiga stood still for a long time, the beads in his palm swaying gently. He clasped his hands together and lowered his head, as if sighing softly.
The chanting of sutras was cold and deep, like the chanting of Buddhist hymns in a temple, soothing people's hearts and giving them a sense of transcendence from the mundane world.
Jiang Xiyu stood quietly beside him, but did not look up at him. After a moment, she simply lowered her eyes with a complicated expression.
Only when the bamboo shadows in the forest covered his robe did Shiga slowly open his eyes.
After he fell silent, his gaze, devoid of sorrow or joy, fixed on Jiang Xiyu.
Jiang Xiyu still harbored resentment about what happened in the illusion.
Even if Shiga's words were not to be taken seriously, he was genuinely worried that Shiga might misunderstand him because of the pigeon demon's words...
But Jiang Xiyu couldn't say for sure, because the person in the illusion wasn't him.
Because at the time of the wedding, the 'bride's' eyes were clearly a blend of the pupils of Yuejia and Shijia. It was only after he regained consciousness that her eyes completely turned into the still, deep color of Shijia's eyes.
He was in a state of confusion and didn't even hear Shiga calling his name twice.
When he came to his senses, he looked up and met Shiga's gaze.
Shiga looked down at him, and only looked away when he came to his senses. He said, "Let's go."
His tone was cold and indifferent, just as usual.
As he turned to leave, his robes fluttered, untouched by a speck of dust.
Jiang Xiyu paused for a moment watching his departing figure, then softly hummed in agreement before following him.
With the Bodhisattva's image gone, the incense that carries the burden of 'greed' naturally also dies out.
In the Demon Emperor's Palace, Yuejia sat upright on a jade platform, her light red gauze sleeves trailing to the ground.
After witnessing what happened in the Bodhisattva Temple, a cryptic smile appeared on his lips.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, a determined look in his red eyes.
In the illusion, Yuejia saw through the eyes of the pigeon demon the dream that Jiang Xiyu's greed had manifested, and naturally saw him marrying Shijia.
This was a truly unexpected gain.
Yuejia never expected that Shijia would be willing to enter the illusion for the sake of the Demon Emperor, and even obediently marry the Demon Emperor in the illusion.
Perhaps the reason why a Buddha like Shiga, who is devoid of emotion and desire, would be willing to do this is simply because he has compassion and love in his heart and does not want to harm the Demon King's nature and bring too much karma.
If Yuejia hadn't seen Shiga protecting the Demon Emperor before, he would have believed in Shiga's compassion without a doubt. But after seeing it, he began to have doubts.
The golden body is a powerful tool to protect all Buddhas from being tainted by worldly affairs. It can bear the merits of the human world and also exempt all Buddhas from all perceptions of all living beings. Only by exempting them from these perceptions can all beings be treated equally in the eyes of the Buddha. Treating all beings as straw dogs, the Buddha can treat all beings equally, love all beings and save all beings.
Shiga has a golden body and has stripped away the moon god who represents 'evil thoughts', so he cannot feel love or human warmth.
Even though he repeatedly intervened to protect humanity, he was fundamentally ruthless and alienated from all living beings.
At first, Yuejia thought that Shijia treated the Demon Emperor as a spirit pet, like other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Supreme Buddha Realm, keeping him by his side to convert him. But ever since that night, when he saw the string of Buddhist beads on the Demon Emperor's wrist, he keenly sensed that something was wrong.
That string of prayer beads was formed from the tears that Shigatse shed out of compassion for all living beings when he attained enlightenment. It held extraordinary significance for Shigatse.
Now that he has given the Buddhist beads to the Demon Emperor, it proves that the Demon Emperor treats him differently from other beings.
Although he has been separated from Shiga for thousands of years, he is still a part of Shiga.
At a certain moment, because of the close proximity, the empathy was uncontrollably restored for a fleeting instant.
Yuejia knew it was different.
So he was willing to sacrifice the pigeon demon, the bait that had been buried for so long, to prove something.
After bewitching the Demon Queen with his eyes in the bridal chamber, he indeed took away Shiga's right to control his body.
He wanted to use his intimacy with the Demon Emperor to test Shiga.
Although the kiss didn't happen in the end, Shiga avoided it.
However, Yuejia had achieved half of his goal, especially since he saw in the illusion that, just as he was about to leave, Shijia turned back and his gaze fell into the red tent...
For some reason, Yuejia felt a sudden surge of pleasure when she thought of this.
This exhilaration stemmed from the feeling that, in all the millennia of competition, he had finally, for once, defeated Shiga…
Moreover, it's absolutely impossible for us to lose.
Recalling those gentle, spring-like moments, Yuejia's red eyes seemed to narrow with pleasure.
"Husband..."
This title, at this moment, is truly incredibly pleasing.
……
Once the Jade Guanyin was destroyed, the life force of the living beings stored within it returned to the corpses of the people of Qicheng, and the disciples of the immortal cultivation sects who were not yet completely dead gradually awoke.
Shiga restored Qicheng to its original state and stayed there to perform rituals for several days.
To help so many deceased souls be reborn in the Pure Land, it requires continuous chanting of scriptures day and night, and may also involve acts of charity such as releasing animals and making offerings. These good deeds are essential for their salvation.
The disciples of the cultivation sect volunteered to take on the task of releasing animals and making offerings.
However, since Qicheng was deserted, they had no choice but to go elsewhere to do more good deeds. When this matter was reported back to the Immortal Cultivation Sect, the sect had been ineffective in protecting the human race and had repeatedly asked Shijia to come out of the mountains. Now that they heard that they could be of use, they naturally wanted to prove themselves and leave a good impression in front of the Grand Master, so that other people would not think that they were mediocre.
The sect leader sent a message to Qicheng, saying that he had personally dispatched many disciples down the mountain, who were willing to go to the city to make offerings and do good deeds on behalf of the master.
After reading it, Shiga let the message drift away like a strand of hair in the wind.
He stood atop the city wall, his robes fluttering in the wind.
The disciples of the cultivation sect, who were waiting for Shiga's permission to return and report, couldn't help but show their admiration and excitement.
Shiga looked at the leading disciple and nodded slightly, as if giving his approval.
After exchanging greetings, the disciples all flew away on their swords.
Countless prayer flags have been erected throughout the city. When the wind blows, the prayer flags flutter and rustle, as if shattering the deathly silence of this empty city.
Jiang Xiyu sat at the highest point of the city tower, staring blankly at Shijia's back.
His silhouette was like a pine tree, giving Jiang Xiyu a feeling of extreme loneliness and desolation, as if he were the only person in the world.
No one was with him; it was always like this, all alone.
Since that day, no one has mentioned the events in the illusion again. However, Jiang Xiyu still remembers the indifferent look Shiga gave him after he left the illusion.
He hasn't been spending much time with Shiga these past few days.
On the one hand, she felt guilty and wanted to avoid it; on the other hand, she didn't want to disturb him while he was performing the ritual.
But at this moment, seeing him standing alone on the city wall, Jiang Xiyu couldn't help but transform back into her original form and walk to his side...