Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 301-Chapter 400)

Oftentimes, the cause of separation was not overwhelming pressure or obstructions. Instead, it came with various different pursuits. He had his secret to hide and that half a dream that conflicted with the person before him. As a matter of fact, if his marriage fell apart, there might be the miserable fate of being hunted down by his brother-in-law, his father-in-law, and maybe even his future master awaiting him!

Every single thing, every single matter, was enough to bring a person to their wits end, which was why he had only thought about it slightly before deciding to not think about it. Everything would work out in the end. All he had to do was follow his heart and take large strides forward!

Was he supposed to say to Han Qiongzhi, “I think we should focus on studying, no, cultivation, right now, and we shouldn’t have these distractions!”? Unless there was something wrong with his head or he was impotent, he would never say something like that.

Deep into the night, the dharma assembly continued.

The monks knew no exhaustion. They were all serious as they spoke, and their gazes wandered around. They treated the others as their opponents. Right now, they were no longer just contending over the buddhist dharma, but a once-in-a-century genius too.

Without any doubts at all, they believed that Xiao An’s existence could determine the fate of an entire temple or even a sect.

Their discussion about the dharma continued, but it seemed rather half-hearted now.

At this moment, an old man appeared in front of the hall. His beard and hair were grey, draping down his head and face. His arms drooped down beside him, his eyes were dull, and his face was dazed. If it were not for his kasaya, no one would have imagined he was a monk too.

The One Thought master beamed. He lowered his head deeply. “Master!” His urgent message had not gone to waste. Despite being thousands of kilometers away, his master had rushed over so quickly.

The monks all cried out and bowed in a hurry. One Thought’s master? Wasn’t that the Annihilum Light Chan Master? It was rumored that he practised the Great Scripture of Annihilum arduously in the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, and it had already been several decades since he left the temple. Why would he come here?

However, the old monk that the One Thought master called “master” turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to all of it; it was as if he was an imbecile. He directly arrived before Xiao An.

Xiao An raised her head. Their eyes met, and the old monk’s eyes suddenly erupted with resplendent light, completely drowning out the light that the lamps in the hall flickered with. They were like two shrunken suns.

The old monk said in an extremely hoarse voice, “Are you willing to go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga with me to cultivate?”

The monks immediately gave up on their thoughts. The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga was the greatest buddhist sect renowned throughout the Green province. As head monk of the Bodhi courtyard, who could contend against the Annihilum Light Chan Master? And, just who could turn down his invitation?

They had never expected the One Thought monk to make such a decisive move when he struck.

As a matter of fact, even the One Thought master himself had never expected that his master would leave the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga because of this. He had no other choice either. Originally, he planned on taking her to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga to see his master after she had reached Foundation Establishment.

He also never expected that his master would not ask Xiao An anything or give her any tests, directly granting her the highest recognition and inviting her to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga to cultivate.

The hall, or even the entire island, had fallen completely silent as they awaited her reply.

There were no doubts over her reply. The chan monastery would gain another supreme genius, and before long, the influence and power of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga would become even more consolidated, even more unshakeable.





Chapter 338: The Third Layer of the Ox Demon | Legend of the Great Sage




“I refuse!” With a neutral expression, Xiao An replied with her clear but childish voice.

The entire hall seemed to fall even more silent.

Within the niche, the plump, smooth cheeks of the statue of buddha were dyed golden by the altar lamps, smiling in an unfathomable fashion. Its long, slender eyes seemed to take in all the religious believers, yet they also seemed to see nothing at all.

Everyone wondered if they had heard incorrectly. There happened to be a person who had turned down an irresistible invitation.

The One Thought master’s mouth even hung agape. Even his thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Back then, after he had successfully established a foundation, he emerged from the Academy of the Hundred Schools and turned down the invitations of several temples, travelling thousands of kilometers to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga to find a master. He knelt outside the Bodhi hall for three days and three nights, and only then did the Annihilum Light Chan Master accept him into the Bodhi hall. He underwent another three years of testing before finally getting offered a position beneath him as a formal disciple.

He had never regretted this decision. Otherwise, he never would have been able to make it to higher realms of cultivation with his fortune and aptitude.

“Xiao An, you-”

The Annihilum Light Chan Master lifted his hand and silenced what the One Thought master was about to say next. He looked at Xiao An.

Xiao An remained calm, completely unperturbed.

The Annihilum Light Chan Master let out a sigh. “The path of cultivation is vast, and the buddhist dharma is boundless. Why must you stubbornly insist on going your own way with a single will?”

Xiao An bowed. “Thank you for bestowing me with my dharma name, master.” If stubbornly going her own way with a single will was being reluctant to part with him, then she would much rather take this as her dharma name forever.

The Annihilum Light Chan Master smiled first. He took delight in her quick wit, but he subsequently sighed, lamenting over her stubbornness to cling onto what was holding her back. Afterwards, he neither affirmed or denied what she said, drifting away.

The remaining monks all looked at one another speechlessly. The One Thought master walked over with a mixed expression and bowed. “Junior sister One Will.”

Xiao An returned the gesture, “Senior brother One Thought.”

There was no ceremony, but to a chan sect that focused on reflecting on one’s heart and achieving self-actualisation and buddhahood as a result, these mere gestures held no importance in the first place.

The buddha plucked a flower, Mahākā?yapa smiled, and thus both the master and the disciple achieved likemindedness.

TL: A reference to the Flower Sermon, which I believe is about the transmission of wisdom that transcends words. I definitely need to do some more research about the connotation behind this, but you can read a bit about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Sermon

In just a few words, their status to one another had already been determined.

The monks all stood up and bid farewell, declaring the end of the assembly of dharma.

The greatest prodigy of the academy in the past century also happened to be the first to determine her direction for the future, which was the holy land for buddhists across the fifteen thousand kilometers that was the Green province, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.

Xiao An saw off all the monks before requesting permission to be dismissed from her senior brother One Thought.

The One Thought master obviously knew where she wanted to go. He waved his hand helplessly. “Go!” Even their master no longer cared, agreeing to her dharma name of One Will through silence, so why would he still have power over her?

On Cloudwisp island, Li Qingshan fell silent for a moment after hearing how everything had unfolded. He rubbed Xiao An’s head and smiled. “In the future, if you want to go and cultivate in the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, I’ll go become a monk with you. Though, all I can become is a monk who drinks, eats meat, and sleeps around.”