Chapter 641: Buddha-nature
Translator: Panda_Penn Editor: Chrissy
An autumn morning was chilly, not for warriors, though, because they wouldn't feel cold even when it's snowing.
The City of Buddha became lively at dawn. It was the day for the auction which would be held at Mount Buddha. It was just announced that because of the sheer number of people—the Great Buddhist Temple had decided to hold the auction at the outdoor plaza on Mount Buddha. Any warrior who had reached the Eternal Realm with no questionable identity could go up there and observe the auction at will.
The news excited the entire City of Buddha. After all, not many had the intention to participate in the auction. They didn't even have access to the auction. Now that they could observe for free, no wonder they felt delighted.
Many warriors went to the Kong Family, the representative of the Great Buddhist Temple to apply for going up Mount Buddha. Kong Family arranged for anyone that had passed clearance and had reached the Eternal Realm to go up Mount Buddha.
It was late in the morning now. The sun of an autumn day was warm. It was not windy and was a nice day.
Lu Li was not in a hurry. To participate in the auction, they would put down deposit. The larger the amount was, the better their spots would be. Lu Li had enough Xuan Crystals to secure a good spot.
A patriarch was sent to discuss with the Kong Family. An hour before the auction, the patriarch came in and said, "Done. I got a private room. It can seat three people."
"Let's go now!"
They had an hour and it was time to go to Mount Buddha. Lu Li signaled to Gu Min and the patriarch. The three of them walked out.
They went to the Kong Family and were led to Mount Buddha on foot. Lu Li was not qualified enough to fly up Mount Buddha. If he dared to do anything ill-considered, he would be killed in midair.
A staircase meandered from the foot of Mount Buddha to high above. It was like the winding mountain road at the Tomb of Dragon King. The winding stone staircase circled around the mountain and reached for the sky.
Two monks were guarding at the stairs. They were in brown frocks, standing there with grave faces and both were at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm. The Great Buddhist Temple was strict of this auction.
A steward of the Kong Family led Lu Li, Gu Min and the patriarch up. The number of stairs was great but given that they were all capable, they ascended to the peak in the time for one incense stick to burn.
The peak was spacious. First thing they saw was a huge magnificent nine-floored tower. The temple was at the north of Mount Buddha, one with a width of at least two miles. It was by far the largest temple Lu Li had ever seen.
In addition to the temple on the north, there were many other temples scattered in various spots. Apart from temples, there weren't any other sorts of buildings.
"So many people!"
Lu Li took a glance and saw at least 10,000 people were seated in the plaza. It was boisterous like a bazaar.
Lu Li looked at the private rooms in a half circle up front. The so-called private rooms were actually randomly built cabins. There were curtains hung at the door but people could see through using psychic powers easily.
Of course…
Anyone that could go to the private rooms were with distinguished identities. Some private rooms might have Human Sovereign Realm warriors. Who dared to probe with psychic power at will?
On the two sides of the plaza stood rows of monks in brown flocks with dark wood clubs in their hands. They all had bronze skin tones and had stern facial expressions. Needless to say, they were arhats of the Great Buddhist Temple. These monks were warriors to protect the order of the auction.
"All of them are at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm!"
Lu Li nodded to himself. There must be at least hundreds of monks out there and they were all at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm. The Great Buddhist Temple was powerful and the 12 Royal Families really lived up to their reputations.
"Royal family?"
A question sprang to Lu Li's mind. He murmured to Gu Min with confusion, "Monks don't have offspring for families, right? Which one is the royal family of the Great Buddhist Temple?"
"Actually, it is the Kong Family!"
Observing the surroundings, Gu Min said in a low voice, "Monks of the Great Buddhist Temple can resume secular life as they wish. There is no rule of becoming a monk or a nun or going back to secular life. For the past 10 generations of abbot, they are all from the Kong Family. Naturally, the Kong Family is the Royal Family."
"I see!"
Lu Li understood. Becoming a monk or a nun and going back to secular life were easy. Then there was no difference between the two lifestyles. If they wanted to start a family, they could resume secular life. When they had many children and grandchildren, they could go back to be a monk…
Lu Li took few glances and saw many nuns. He winked at Gu Min who said in a low voice, "Actually, more than a dozen families form the Great Buddhist Temple. The young masters and young ladies of those families will join the Great Buddhist Temple, both girls and boys. When they are at the right age to get married, they can do so and resume secular life. Of course, there are other warriors from outside of those families joining as well. The Great Buddhist Temple has no rules about gender. If you have a Buddha-nature, you don't have to refrain from eating meat or drinking…"
"Okay."
Lu Li's understanding damped his feeling toward the Great Buddhist Temple. If one had the sincere intention to pursue truth from Buddhism, then the secular world should be forgotten. The Great Buddhist Temple shouldn't have sought a position to be one of the 12 most powerful forces.
When the Cyan Phoenix Race and the Mammoth Race were being hunted down by the six forces, Great Buddhist Temple was among them. Therefore, the monks and nuns were no different from disciples of major families and forces. The only difference was that they hid under the disguise of being a Buddhist.
The plaza was too packed so the arrangement was simple. At the south side there were more than 10,000 cushions where regular warriors would sit. More than half of the spaces were occupied.
On the other three sides were simple wooden cabins as private rooms. There were five or six hundred of them. Lu Li didn't know how the distribution worked. After all, there were quite a number of families coming.
Someone from the Kong Family led Lu Li to a small private room. Gu Family, based on the status, was fortunate enough to secure a private room after the patriarch made a deposit of 10 billion Xuan Crystals to the Kong Family or else Lu Li would have to join the crowd on the cushions.
The private room was small. There was only one small table and three chairs. On the table was a pot of tea and some fruit. Not even one maid was here to serve tea.
Time moved on. A moment later, a monk in a white frock walked over. As his ring glistened, one white lotus-like seat flew to the sky and suspended above the private rooms.
"What are those?"
Lu Li had never seen those things before so he didn't know their use. Gu Min explained in low voice, "Those are lotus seats. They can fly and there are inhibition formations. I think they are for distinguished guests."
"No wonder!"
Lu Li knew now. He was wondering how so many young masters and young ladies would seat in the limited number of private rooms. The hundreds of floating lotus seats gave him the answer.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
From the temples on the east and west side came some warriors flying up to the lotus seats. Then with a glare from the lotus seats, a white shield rose up and enveloped those inside.
Lu Li tried to see with psychic power but it was blocked. He pouted, saying to himself that the young masters and young ladies from rich families were so pretentious. What could go wrong to just let people have a look?
"Ji Mengtian, Yang Xuan, Lu Suan, Lu Ni, Die Feiyu, Ye Luo…"
When some young masters and young ladies flew up from the west, Lu Li was taken aback. He saw many familiar faces among more strange faces. He saw some handsome and graceful young masters in this ground along with seven or eight fairy-like young ladies.
"The best young masters and young ladies from the 12 Royal Families are here."
Lu Li curled his lips as he thought of a beautiful girl with red dress and amorous eyes.
Jiang Family was one of the Royal Families but Jiang Qiling were not here. She must still be restrained at the Demon-slaying Hall to cultivate.
"Qiling, how are you?"
Lu Li sighed. He could not hide the frustration and longing for her on his face. Like a wind in autumn under the warm sun, still the hunting chilliness was nowhere to hide…
…