Becoming a god starts from planting a Bodhi tree.

Chapter 276: To study Zen and Buddhism, one must first think about death

The struggle within the Ji family finally came to an end.

Ji Anquan stood expressionlessly on a pavilion, overlooking the ground below. The long-lost sunlight shone through the clouds, illuminating the flying dust in the air.

The noise and strife were briefly isolated from him, but he knew very well that it was only temporary.

Footsteps appeared behind me, and it was Ji Anyu.

The youngest elder of the Ji family came to Ji Anquan and said tiredly:
"Among the four elders who participated in the rebellion, except for the one who died, the other three have already completed the handover to the Federation..."

"Of the sixteen priests, excluding the four who died, two of the remaining twelve preferred to be sent to the Federation's Heavenly Prison, and the remaining ten chose to sign a contract that would bind them to a deeper level."

Ji Anyu looked at this cousin, who is now the head of the Ji family, with a little awe.

The grand masters left in too haste, and the clan's magical weapons were also taken with them.

There was not much time left for Ji Anquan. After confirming that the grand masters had left, several elders of the Ji family convened a clan meeting, and the common struggle for power within the aristocratic family began.

In this game of power, Ji Anquan remained silent, as if he was staying out of it.

When everyone thought that he would be completely sidelined, Ji Anquan had somehow won over the remaining elders and also attracted many priests.

While the rebels were still busy fighting among themselves, he began to fight back, eventually completely suppressing the rebels who had originally had the upper hand and launching a ruthless purge.

Ji Anyu had always been wondering when and how his cousin persuaded and won over the other elders and priests.

"A merciful army is not suitable for commanding troops. Compared with my ancestors, I am still too merciful." Ji Anquan whispered, "Inform Luo Gongsheng that the two celestial priests who left the Ji family should be sent away on the road."

Ji Anyu's expression froze. The "send away" here...means sending on the road.

"Four people have died, and these two won't make a difference." Ji Anquan looked up at the sky, indifferent, "The Federation has been stable for too long, and too few people have died. Some people will inevitably be lucky in the future. I hope this news can make some people feel more confident."

Ji Anyu was silent for a moment, then said, "Are all the four sect disciples really going to be expelled from the clan and have their Ji surnames taken away?"

Ji Anquan said calmly: "The Ji family is different from the other families. We don't lack these few clansmen. Let's also warn the children of the other five families."

Compared with the other major families, the Ji family is considered to be a large family. There are two reasons for this.

One is that Ji Shuai did not leave any offspring.

Ji Shuai was born into a noble family in his early years, but later he betrayed his family and embarked on a life of military service. It was not until the establishment of the Federation that he returned to his family, selected a few good descendants of the same branch, and then personally cut off most of the rotten flesh...

This is the origin of the Ji family today.

As for the second reason, it is even simpler. The first warrior in the Ji family who has learned the [Heaven and Man Chess Sword Diagram] in ten thousand years is Ji Anquan of this generation.

It can be said that the only person who has inherited Ji Shuai’s martial arts legacy in ten thousand years is Ji Anquan.

Ji Anyu did not say anything to persuade him, but just said: "The Dongsanhuang Star has replied that Jingqiu has ended his retreat."

"Oh?" Ji Anquan turned around and seemed to finally be interested.

……

"Hey?"

Ji Jingqiu connected the call with the Ji family, but he didn't expect that the first thing he received was "criticism" from Ji Anquan.

"Brother Ji, I have heard about your heroic deeds in the west, but have you forgotten that you are not only the descendant of the Shizun lineage, but also the descendant of He Shuai. If the two sides are reconciled, no one will be spared."

Ji Anquan's voice was serious.

Ji Jingqiu was stunned. Was he criticized because he was too compassionate?

"Aren't the Celestials very important 'resources' to the Federation?"

Ji Anquan's answer was very cold: "It is better for the Federation to have a few celestial beings die now than to have a few more local tyrants in the future. Brother Ji, do you know why the Federation has not expanded its territory so far?"

"It's related to the system of gods." Ji Jingqiu said in a deep voice.

This was a secret he had only learned not long ago.

The Federation's system of gods is, as Hela said, a "heretical way" that is neither orthodox nor sustainable.

There is a contradiction here.

On the one hand, the population of the Federation is far from enough to support the pantheon of "Twelve Gods and Four Great Gods".

Even if the population increases ten or a hundred times, it will still be "far from enough."

The current gods are completely relying on their past deeds to survive, so their end is inevitable. If they are not careful, they may even become the same as the Supreme Buddha.

On the other hand, the population of the Federation can no longer expand indefinitely, because the more people there are, the more of a burden it will be for the gods who sit in the Abyss and protect the people of the Federation, which will accelerate the deterioration of their situation.

This contradiction has led the Federation to intentionally control the federal population and maintain it within a certain limit.

Ji Anquan said slowly:

"The population size is indeed closely related to the god system, but the territory size is more related to the stability of the regime."

"The current federal territory is the safety value calculated by our ancestors. Once it exceeds this range, the federal government may not be able to remain stable for ten thousand years without change."

"Especially now that the Grandmaster is not around, Grandmaster warriors have the quality of being 'omnipresent'. Spatial distance doesn't mean much to them. There is no difference between the interstellar era and the planetary era for them."

“But for the celestial beings, whether they use the void or the ocean of the mind to cross the star field, it still takes a long time.”

"Brother Ji, the real trouble is coming. It all started with the change in the Heavenly Road. Thanks to the Heavenly Road, the universe has generally maintained 'stability' for ten thousand years. With the change in the Heavenly Road, the main forces of various civilizations and empires will be temporarily freed from the Heavenly Road."

"Next, defending the Heavenly Road will become meaningless, because the universe will begin to actively accept warriors from the Three Thousand Jambuvipas."

"In the future, many forces from the Three Thousand Jambuvipa will begin to march into the universe. In order to gain a foothold at the beginning, they will need the support and early protection of local forces."

"Brother Ji, if in the future you are in a martial arts family in the West 7th District of the Federation's border area, and you welcome a representative of the various worlds, make a solemn promise, and conclude an alliance..."

"Do you think this martial arts family would be willing to secretly help the other party gain a foothold?"

"And by the time the authorities notice, we don't know when it will be. The 28th time zone of the Federation, can you keep an eye on it? If we don't kill them now, it will be too late to kill them later."

Ji Anquan's murderous words fell.

Ji Jingqiu rubbed his eyebrows.

Before heading west, he heard about the unrest on the frontier of the Sky Road.

The most direct change was to withdraw many warriors from the Federation.

In the intelligence from the War Control Department that he had read earlier, there was a specific mention that the official hoped that Ji Jingqiu could come forward as soon as possible. If he could restrain one or two of the Baimai warriors, that would be great.

But after listening to Ji Anquan's words, he realized that the changes in the Sky Road would affect not only the Federation, but also other civilizations in the universe.

Ji Jingqiu asked directly: "Where are our enemies?"

"Internally, it was also ten thousand years ago." Ji Anquan said, "Ten thousand years ago, the Seven Marshals were rampant. Although they had many supporters, they also made countless enemies. The Federation was confined to a small corner, and they also had this consideration."

"Fortunately, the Saint King has begun the Eastern Expedition. This will help us attract the attention of many civilizations in the universe, and we still have time to rectify our internal affairs."

Ji Jingqiu was a little surprised. It sounded like Chi Ji's expedition to the east was to help them attract firepower?
He thought for a moment and said, "Once the Grandmaster warriors who are holding the fort left, the other civilizations will also be in chaos, right?"

"Yes, so we still have time to integrate internally and contact those potential allies. I will handle this aspect." Ji Anquan said in a deep voice.

Ji Jingqiu asked doubtfully, "Then what is there to worry about? Give me some more time. When I enter the realm of heaven, who in the world can be my enemy?"

Ji Anquan chuckled and said:

"Don't underestimate the heritage of other top civilizations. The number of their celestial beings is far greater than ours, and they must have retained warriors who have reached the level of perfect celestial being, waiting for them to break through to the Grandmaster level first after the rules change, so as to seize the initiative."

"You can crush those of the same level, but what about a hundred or a thousand celestial beings? A thousand celestial beings march into the Federation. They only need to separate some of them to contain you, and the remaining celestial beings can wreak havoc on the Federation."

"In addition, among the warriors who will enter the realm first, there will also be divine forbidden beings. According to the calculations of our ancestors, there will be many 'Children of Destiny' in this three thousand Jambuvipa."

Ji Jingqiu frowned. This was indeed a problem.

Celestial warriors are indeed extremely precious. The proof of a first-rate force in the Federation is that they have a celestial being in charge.

But if we expand it to the entire federation, the various dojos, families, groups... especially the six major families.

In such a large federation, we can still provide more than two hundred celestial beings.

Not to mention the top forces in the universe.

The Federation is not inferior to first-class civilizations in terms of top grandmasters, but it is far inferior in terms of the number of celestial beings. This is determined by the population base and resources. Ji Jingqiu asked Ji Anquan.

What if the worst situation really happens?
Ji Anquan's answer was simple: "Escape, and then wait for an opportunity to retaliate. Just as you said, once you step into the realm of heaven, with the divine soldiers in place, even a single heavenly being will not be your opponent. The next thing to be afraid of is them."

Ji Jingqiu was silent for a while, then asked the Federation again how long it would take.

"With the Saint King's lineage attracting firepower, time will be further relaxed, but relaxed time is not necessarily a good thing. In more than two years, the universe will usher in the first loosening of rules. At that time, perhaps some warriors who remain at the level of Heaven and Man Perfection will try to break through to the Grandmaster level."

Ji Jingqiu asked Hila in his heart whether he could hope to break through to the Grandmaster level within two years.

Hila said bluntly: “Do you think this field is easy to get? Do you know what it takes for a celestial being to break through to the celestial king level? The time and accumulation involved have already exceeded the scope of what talent can make up for!”

In fact, Ji Jingqiu also felt that it was too outrageous, so he changed the way he asked the question:
"If I break through to the Heavenly Man level within two years, will I be able to compete with the Grandmaster?"

"Even with divine soldiers, it is still as difficult as ascending to heaven."

Ji Jingqiu nodded secretly. This time the answer was not completely impossible.

In addition, thinking on the bright side, if a master really comes out in two years, it is impossible for him to come directly to their Yanhuang Federation. What's more, there is Chi Ji in front, so there is still plenty of time.

Unexpectedly, this conversation with Ji Anquan made Ji Jingqiu a little "anxious".

But fortunately there is still good news.

As the head of the six major families, the stability of the Ji family will inevitably push the federation as a whole towards a better direction.

In addition, Ji Shuai almost single-handedly controlled the Federation in the past and survived the most difficult period. Now Ji Anquan, who inherited Ji Shuai's legacy, is born. Hmm...

This guy should be of some use, right?

Ji Jingqiu said secretly after ending the call.

"A picture of heaven and man playing chess with swords?"

Hearing Ji Jingqiu's question about Ji Shuai's inheritance, Hela said calmly,

"Stay away from this guy in the future. If he really needs to sacrifice you, he will show no mercy. Ji Tianxing was such a person in the past."

Ji Jingqiu frowned, then thought of something and gradually relaxed.

He began to sort out the troubles he would face next.

What Ji Anquan described today was roughly the situation after the turmoil in the rules of heaven and earth two years later.

Before that, the first thing he had to face was the four demon believers that the divine soldier Kuzhou had mentioned.

These people have most likely infiltrated the Federation, and their target is the Four Guardian Stars.

Ji Jingqiu was not sure how many of their followers there were within the Federation.

The most recent trouble is his practice.

If he wants to stand at the boundary between heaven and man, he must achieve the unity of mind and body.

Given his physical and mental strength, this would have been an extremely slow process.

Because his body and mind are so strong, the difficulty of integrating the two increases.

But now, he was able to travel through the various realms with the [Formless Heavenly Demon Method], which allowed him to find a channel. But it was obvious that he was not always so lucky. As soon as he entered the various realms, he was "invited" into a fragment of cosmic light.

"I wonder how many people are looking for Tian Qiuzi of Tiansheng Lake now..."

Ji Jingqiu muttered to himself.

It must be said that the Formless Heavenly Demon Technique is indeed very useful. Not to mention the appearance, even the aura, mental fluctuations and so on can all be concealed, so there is no need to worry about being exposed.

"How did you get this Heavenly Demon's life-definition method?"

Ji Jingqiu tried to explore.

“It’s the life-definition method from the past.” Hila corrected, “It’s not as difficult to get started as you think, but it is indeed difficult to practice. It seems that it really suits you.”

"Are you ready to enter again? I think you can try to infiltrate a certain sect or dojo."

"Of course, you have to change your identity. If you continue to be Tian Qiuzi, after you become my disciple, you will most likely be received by a powerful person of the Heavenly Venerable level, or even the eyes of a Dao Ancestor or a True Saint."

"With your current cultivation, even if you have the Formless Heavenly Demon Technique, it is impossible for you to evade their deduction of fate in front of you."

Ji Jingqiu said thoughtfully: "Actually, even if it is exposed, it's okay. Of course, we have to be extra cautious. I will think about it again."

"Also, I won't be going to the various realms for now. I need to sort out what I've gained this time and try to continue improving my [Heart Flame Universal Lamp]."

Hela was also a little curious. Was this guy planning to rely on luck again?
In the following time, Ji Jingqiu not only maintained the state of merging heaven and earth, but also immersed himself in the exploration of the [Heart Flame Universal Lamp].

On the way, Ji Jingqiu also asked Hela for the Great Dream Technique that she had mentioned before.

I don't know what the mentality is.

Perhaps he wanted to see the limits of Ji Jingqiu's so-called amazing wisdom;
Or maybe he wanted to see what tricks Ji Jingqiu could come up with.

Hila taught Ji Jingqiu her own life-defining method, "The Great Dream of Thousands of Years".

Whether it is "The Great Dream of Thousands of Years" or "The Great Method of the Formless Heavenly Demon", they are the innate methods of her and the Heavenly Demon before they shed their old bodies.

When it comes to its miraculous uses and supernatural powers, it is naturally comparable to any supreme method in this world.

However, the word 'supreme' also represents the recognition and blessing of the great Dao of heaven and earth, and means the "fruit of the Dao" within this realm. Compared with this realm, their methods can only be regarded as [outside ways], and naturally cannot bear the word 'supreme'.

Hila really wanted to see how long it would take Ji Jingqiu to digest her life-saving technique, or even integrate it into his magical powers.

During the boring period when Ji Jingqiu was settling down, Hela had nothing to do and wandered around Ji Jingqiu's inner world.

She glanced at Fat Tiger, who was working hard to sharpen his knife after finally finding a job, and then glanced at the dead fish in the pond, which was still peaceful and happy.

An invisible wind blew past her ears, swirled around, lifted a few strands of her hair, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

As for the Bodhi tree, it was rustling and its bright light was undimmed.

This guy is obviously far inferior to Mu Shitian's, but he is closer to immortality, or has a more solid foundation.

Hela observed for a long time and finally confirmed the reason, which was that Ji Jingqiu's Bodhi tree was irrigated with the water from the Sea of ​​Bitterness!
If a tree wants to grow tall and then break through the sky, then the foundation must be very solid.

Hela narrowed her eyes, wanting to travel through time to see if this Bodhi tree could last two more seconds if it encountered the same problem that Mu Shitian encountered in the past.

She leisurely came to the edge of the Pure Land. The two statues had become the guardian gods of Ji Jingqiu's alternative Dharma body, and they were still practicing hard in the water of the sea of ​​suffering.

However, the "copycat Wuwang Mountain" in the distance, she didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that the fog on it seemed to be thinner.

Hila has always felt that Mu Shitian was quite shameless, or rather, those people in the Federation were quite shameless.

The Buddha's lineage has a saying called "Chan Zen", which all living beings can practice.

What is Zen?
This thing is just like the teachings of the gods of all parties. How to interpret it is up to you. In a sense, the lineage of the World Honored One and the lineage of the Holy King are both semi-divine.

The so-called semi-shinto means to first reach the stage of transcendence and then turn to the path of believing in Shinto halfway.

But no matter which path or which god, in Hela's eyes, none of them can brag as much as Mu Shitian.

That person's interpretation of Zen is an important way to get from this world to the other world.

Tsk.

What a big tone.

For all the strong people who have advanced to the eighth realm and stepped one foot into the long river of destiny, transcendence means reaching the other world from this world.

Hela thought that after Ji Jingqiu finished his retreat, she would ask him, as the descendant of the Buddha's lineage, have you understood Zen and found the way to the other shore?

At the end of everything, when it was the most boring, Hela turned her attention to the Four Guardian Stars, not only her, but also Him who was in the Four Guardian Stars.

She really wanted to know what was hidden under the temple of the Four Gods. Could it be the Eye of the Sea of ​​Bitterness?
Is the Buddha who once told her, "To practice Zen and learn Buddhism, one must first think about death," and then said, "Although the light is extinguished, the lamp still remains," really dead now?
After seven days of retreat.

Ji Jingqiu woke up slowly, as if he had had countless big dreams. A ray of light in his heart sprouted like a lotus, blooming and falling, swaying gracefully.

Hela stared at the light on his fingertips and suddenly sighed:

"Ji Jingqiu, do you really want to become a Buddha?"

(End of this chapter)