Chapter 991: Guanyin

Tuozheli Di was a Rank 4 Demonic Lord.

Now he was dying.

Another madman of Rank 4 was chasing him, and he couldn't even defeat him!

This madman suddenly appeared from a city he controlled; he must have suddenly broken through from Rank 5 to Rank 4. Generally, such a character would become his meal.

Tuozheli Di was a formidable Rank 4. Logically, very few wild Rank 4s could withstand a single move from him. Even among Rank 4s from the great Dao Orthodoxy, at most one or two out of ten could fight him to a draw.

However, when he unleashed his Divine Ability, he was caught off guard by his opponent.

He couldn't win!

How the hell could this happen? A wild Rank 4, who had just broken through, was chasing him down?

What's going on? Is this some Great Power reincarnated?

But no matter what Tuozheli Di thought, the Rank 4 in front of him was clearly very powerful, having chased him all the way to another City of Dreams.

However, when Tuozheli Di arrived here, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Here, there was a Rank 3 overseeing things. No matter how strong a Rank 4 was, they couldn't possibly defeat a Rank 3, right? There was once a Genius known as the Demonic Prince, but that was many, many billions of years ago.

It was said that he dominated all heavens as a Rank 4; no Rank 4 could defeat him, not even by ganging up on him.

But even such a person couldn't contend with a Rank 3.

The higher the rank, the greater the disparity.

The gap between Rank 3 and Rank 4 was greater than the gap between Rank 4 and Rank 9.

Tuozheli Di relaxed.

Indeed, the Rank 3 made a move. This Rank 3 here… he remembered was from the Five Aggregates Devil lineage, directly under the Yin Demon, named Fuzang.

Fuzang made his move, demonic shadows surged, and the surrounding world began to tremble. Countless 'whispers' began to appear in the ears of all living beings.

He uttered hundreds of thousands of billions of nayuta asankhya words, namely: disagreeable words, unwholesome Dharma words, unpleasant words, unlovely words, unkind words, unholy wisdom words, unholy corresponding words, unholy intimate words, deeply repulsive words, unbearable words, by which he reviled and insulted.

However, at this moment, a Dharma Protector God suddenly descended.

His body was black and blue, in a squatting posture, trampling a demon. He had two faces, one with two arms embracing a staff, and the other with a right hand holding an axe and a left hand holding a kapala bowl.

This attire was Mahakala.

Fuzang immediately turned and fled.

Mahakala was a Dharma Protector God, and his destructive power among Rank 3s was immense; ordinary Rank 3s found it difficult to resist.

This City of Dreams also perished along with him.

Tuozheli Di was also instantly annihilated.

At this moment, the shadow of the Yin Demon appeared in the sky.

Mahakala immediately prepared to flee, just like Fuzang.

However, Li Qi's Dharma Body also appeared here.

Thus, the Yin Demon merely glanced, then also left. He was not prepared to confront Li Qi directly, at least not now.

The matter ended just like that; a large City of Dreams overseen by a Rank 3 was thus destroyed.

Mahakala then bowed to Li Qi and said, “Greetings, Ordained Invoker.”

Li Qi looked at Mahakala before him, feeling a touch of emotion.

It was not just the difference in status, but also the difference in his impression of Mahakala.

The Mahakala he had seen before was a fierce Dharma Protector God, powerful, ferocious, and domineering. Furthermore, Li Qi had once obtained demonic blood from him, establishing a connection with him.

But after the Buddha's Nirvana…

A long, long time ago, in the days immediately following the Buddha's Nirvana, when the enemy forces were about to attack the monastery protected by Mahakala, all the pandits and Monks fled in fear, and Mahakala also fled into the deep forest with a sugarcane staff slung over his shoulder.

At that time, a Monk asked: “Dharma Protector, you were appointed by Vajradhara, and the monastic community constantly offers you reverence. You are a Dharma Protector God who protects the Buddha-Dharma and punishes those who destroy it. How can you flee so frantically in such a great matter now?”

Mahakala then replied: “Karma has ripened, and I have no choice. When the time is ripe, I will naturally avenge you.”

After saying that, he ran away.

Li Qi heard that not long after, Mahakala took action and killed the General who had burned down the Buddhist temple, personally ending the life of the one who had burned down Nalanda Monastery, and threw his body before the pandits, saying: “Flay their skin and make a statue exactly like me. This statue is no different from me.”

How to put it… Li Qi found it a bit hard to keep a straight face.

When encountering an opponent stronger than him, Mahakala fled in panic, but when the time was ripe, he would fiercely take revenge on Mortals, which was truly unseemly.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the existence of such Dharma Protector Gods, such Arhats, and even great Bodhisattvas, that the World Honored One Tathagata ultimately chose the Buddha's Nirvana.

“Then, let’s continue.” Li Qi nodded slightly and said to Mahakala.

Even with all that said, Mahakala was indeed specialized in demon extermination, so using him now was not a problem.

Besides Mahakala, Qi Palace was also operating normally.

The person who had broken through to Rank 4 and chased Tuozheli Di earlier was from Qi Palace.

After that City of Dreams was destroyed, a large number of people emerged from the Void Realm. These were the personnel Li Qi had gathered, and they immediately began their work, systematically carrying out rescue efforts.

In addition, in other parts of the Universe, the 'Buddha-Dharma' was continuously being re-propagated.

However, these Buddha-Dharma were screened. Li Qi had no intention of rebuilding Buddhism; that would be meaningless. What he propagated were techniques, cultivation methods, and incantations to resist demonic thoughts. As for the philosophical ideas of Buddhism, not a single word was mentioned.

The resources of Qi Palace were demonstrated to their fullest at this moment.

A large amount of manpower, each carrying abundant resources, slowly began to eliminate the traces of Demonic Dao Dream Cities in this Universe according to Li Qi's arrangements.

The demon extermination operation was slowly proceeding, and it was likely that the Demonic Dao's reaction time would be soon.

But Li Qi had also prepared himself.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon about fifteen years had gone by.

Fifteen years was indeed a very short period, almost fleeting for a Rank 2.

And after this short time, Maudgalyāyana also brought good news to Li Qi.

He had contacted Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Amitabha's attendant Bodhisattva.

And Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva had agreed to meet with Li Qi.

This made Li Qi extremely happy. He almost immediately put down what he was doing and rushed over.

On the way, he continuously learned about Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva so that he could communicate well with her, hoping to reach an agreement for demon extermination.

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, for what Destiny is she named Guanshiyin?

If there are immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of sentient beings suffering various hardships and afflictions, upon hearing of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and single-mindedly chanting her name, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva immediately perceives their sounds and they all attain liberation, hence the name 'Guanshiyin'.

This was her great Divine Ability, Guanshiyin, capable of perceiving and hearing all directions, perfectly clear, pervading all ten directions.

The Buddhist verse says: Wonderful sound Guanshiyin, Brahma sound, ocean tide sound, surpassing all worldly sounds, therefore one must constantly chant.

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva also belonged to the Divine Ability lineage, specializing in using great Divine Ability to save the world, which is why people often chant her name, because she can hear every recitation.

The Greatly Compassionate Bodhisattva, suffering sentient beings only need to chant her name, and the Bodhisattva immediately perceives their sounds and goes to save and liberate them.

This is because Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva once made a great vow: if any sentient being suffers various pains and terrors, if they can recall her and chant the name of Guanshiyin, she will immediately relieve them of such pains and afflictions.

Therefore, Amitabha and Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva are the most famous 'Buddha names'; Monks like to chant them casually, and even Mortals like to chant them.

Like Amitabha, people chant her name simply to seek her protection.

Monks liked the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Divine Ability lineage the most, because they could gain benefits just by chanting their names, so their names were widely praised.

But was this… truly what the World Honored One Tathagata wanted?

The more Li Qi understood Buddhism, the more he felt the predicament faced by the World Honored One Tathagata.

Imagine…

When a person says 'Buddha', is he thinking of the World Honored One Tathagata, or 'himself'?

If, when he says 'Buddha', he thinks of the World Honored One Tathagata, then Buddha-Dharma would no longer be Buddha-Dharma, and all the Buddha-Dharma obtained by the World Honored One Tathagata would become worldly shackles.

Buddha-Dharma is not Divine Ability.

Buddha-Dharma pursues 'enlightenment', and 'Buddha' means an enlightened one.

Why can't an enlightened one be oneself, but must be a Great Power?

When all sentient beings believe that others are enlightened, that others are 'Buddha', then… indeed, it should be the Buddha's Nirvana.

Li Qi pondered these thoughts as he finally arrived at Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva's current Dao Orthodoxy.

He saw countless precious lights, extending far into the dust motes of the ten directions.

Forests, trees, ponds, and swamps all expounded the Dharma sound, with intertwining lights like a net of precious threads. All these great multitudes gained what they had never had before, and everyone universally attained the Vajra Samadhi. Immediately, the heavens rained down hundreds of precious Lotus flowers, blue, yellow, red, and white, intermingled and scattered. The Void Realm in the ten directions became the color of seven treasures, and one only saw the dust mote lands of the ten directions merge into a single realm, with Buddhist chants and songs.

Li Qi looked around, then saw Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva before him.

She sat in the Lotus position, with a full and dignified appearance, a gentle and graceful demeanor, wearing a jeweled heavenly crown, draped in heavenly garments, seated on a mat of rush leaves and a Lotus pistil. Her two hands were clasped before her chest, with twenty hands raised on each of her left and right sides. In the forty raised hands, she held Spiritual Tools such as the sun, moon, pure vase, vajra scepter, and Qiankun belt.

Li Qi carefully examined Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva before him.

Then, he sighed, “So… the Bodhisattva is also like this.”

He sighed like this because Li Qi clearly saw Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva's infinite 'response bodies'.

The Guanshiyin above manifests through the Samadhi of Universal Appearance, displaying thirty-three bodies.

Also known as 'Thirty-three Guanyin'.

The Thirty-three Guanyin are not transformations into various forms, but rather different manifestations of Guanyin Bodhisattva herself. Thirty-three is actually a nominal classification; there are far more than thirty-three bodies.

Moreover, these 'bodies' also vary. Simply counting, there are the Sravaka body, Brahma King body, Ishvara body, General body, Vaishravana body, Minor King body, Elder body, Upasaka body, Upasika body, Child body, Maiden body, Deva body, Dragon body, Yaksha body, Gandharva body, Asura body, Garuda body, Kinnara body, Mahoraga body, Vajra-wielding God body, Animal body, and so on.

This was not a transformation technique, but truly existing 'bodies'. These different bodies were actually 'independent'.

Completely independent, all their minds existed separately, with no main body to speak of; all their appearances were her main body.

This was actually very similar to Li Qi's form.

Li Qi was also like this now.

His countless fragments, just like Guanshiyin's 'Thirty-three Bodies', existed independently, and even when combined, they remained independent.

How to put it… Mortals would probably find it difficult to understand.

For Mortals, if a person's physical body is a unified whole, then the soul should also be unified.

However, for Great Powers like Li Qi and Guanshiyin, their minds and souls have never been unified, and may not even share 'commonality'.

Mortals often view the world and themselves through the colored glasses of very naive, simplistic, and deceptive formulas, especially when observing themselves.

But in reality, even Mortals are not like this.

Because on the surface, all people seem to have an innate, necessary need to imagine themselves as a whole so that they can maintain their consistent existence and not experience doubts like 'I am I'.

Although this fanaticism is often greatly impacted and shaken, it always recovers as before.

It's like when a person stands with a companion on a sky tower, staring directly into the abyss below. At a certain moment, deep within their heart, they discover they have the feelings, capabilities, and possibilities of a murderer.

They might want to push their companion down, or jump down themselves.

But this thought only appears for an instant; the feeling of fragmentation lasts only a moment. They quickly become a whole again, a rational person, turning back into their own shell and controlling their actions.

Mortals rarely realize that they are actually a combination of multiple natures; they find it difficult to escape the illusion of singularity.

They are unable to perceive that they are actually composed of many selves.

If their consciousness sensed this separation, they might be locked up and diagnosed with schizophrenia to prevent them from doing harm.

But no one is a pure singular entity, not even the most naive person. Every “I” is a very complex world, a small starry sky, a Chaos kingdom composed of countless chaotic forms, stages, and conditions, inheritances and possibilities.

Everyone strives to see this chaotic kingdom as a singular whole, speaking of the self in a tone that gives the illusion that the self is simple, unchanging, and clearly defined.

However, when one acknowledges that consciousness and the Universe itself are Chaos…

For example, Li Qi and Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, they have recognized the complexity of themselves, and even the entire Universe.

The Universe is never simple; it cannot be described by a single thing, just as they themselves are not.

“I never thought that Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva would actually possess the nature of Taiyi.” Li Qi observed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and said.

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva also responded, “Shaman… believing the world is contradictory is also very rare.”