"Hahaha, I am a mortal. If I give up my seven emotions and six desires, am I still a human being? Monk, your Buddhist sect is not suitable for me. I only like to roam freely in the world, without any constraints."
This debate with Fahai actually cleared Hao Yun's mind. Since obtaining the system, Hao Yun realized that he had become somewhat irritable and thought he was superior to others.
This sentiment is vividly portrayed in Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, where Hao Yun treats Chen Xuanzang and others as mere pawns, solely for his own selfish desires.
In the previous world, Hao Yun was quite cautious at first, but after meeting Yan Chixia, he became arrogant and provoked the tree demon, constantly courting death.
On the surface, Hao Yun was very cautious, but deep down, he couldn't shake off his arrogance.
I'm a man with a system, and I even know how the plot unfolds. How can you bunch of NPCs possibly do anything to me, the protagonist?
Hao Yun couldn't change this mindset in a short time, but after chatting with Fahai for a few minutes, he felt a slight unease and realized the problem.
People's eyes don't lie, and Hao Yun's eyes changed slightly at this moment.
Fahai witnessed this scene and thought to himself, "He is indeed a person with a connection to Buddhism."
“Benefactor, since you do not wish to, I will not force you. If you are interested in worshipping Buddha, you can come to Jinshan Temple to find me.”
Hao Yun shook his head. He didn't want to become a monk. Fahai himself was not pure of heart. If he followed him, he might also become possessed by demons and develop a murderous intent. That would be terrible.
After they parted ways, Hao Yun went to Qiantang County and found an inn to stay in. He had some things he needed to think about carefully.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Hao Yun pondered what he was pursuing: money, power, or something else entirely.
Hao Yun, who has a somewhat cold and indifferent personality, doesn't have much ambition for money or power. As long as he has a place to live, food to eat, and enough money to cover his daily expenses, he's content.
Since obtaining the system, Hao Yun has been able to acquire large sums of money with just a little effort, so money no longer holds much meaning for him.
As for power, Hao Yun only found it troublesome. He didn't want to scheme against people; he'd rather spend that time traveling and enjoying nature.
People always need to have some pursuits, otherwise what's the difference between them and walking corpses? Hao Yun is now lost and doesn't know what he's pursuing.
After sitting in meditation for a day and a night, a glint of light appeared in Hao Yun's eyes, and he exuded an extraordinary aura. Dressed in white, he looked like a deity.
"Haha, why think so much? Just wander through the myriad worlds and see the different customs and cultures. Why be bound by the mindset of the main world?"
Having lived in the main world for over twenty years, the education Hao Yun received unconsciously made him suppress his true thoughts and never dare to reveal his true nature. Living in the secular world, he was destined to be bothered by human relationships and worldly affairs.
No wonder Fahai developed demonic obstacles. He grew up in a Buddhist monastery and had never experienced worldly hardships. It is normal for him to have problems as soon as he came down the mountain.
Suddenly, Hao Yun became interested in Fahai. As for Xu Xian, he figured he would meet him sooner or later as long as he followed Fahai.
After settling the bill, Hao Yun inquired about the location of Jinshan Temple, rented a carriage, and asked the driver to take him there.
Since he had money anyway, Hao Yun was too lazy to walk, even though he could run fast, it was tiring.
The driver was a kind-looking middle-aged man. Hao Yun leaned against the carriage and chatted with him casually.
The scenery along the way was quite beautiful, with birds singing and flowers blooming, and a gentle breeze carrying a faint fragrance.
Hao Yun, with a twig between his teeth, hummed a little tune. The swaying of the carriage made him feel sleepy. He didn't know how much time had passed when a voice woke him up.
"Young master, we have arrived at Jinshan Temple."
Seeing that Hao Yun was asleep, the driver woke him up.
Upon opening his eyes, Hao Yun sighed inwardly, "What a huge temple! Carved beams and painted rafters, so magnificent and expensive!"
Thank you.
Hao Yun tossed a gold ingot to the coachman and stepped onto the steps, entering the gate of Jinshan Temple.
Jinshan Temple is nestled against the mountain and beside the water, with buildings standing side by side. Upon entering, one is immediately struck by a sense of sublimity and solemnity, which inspires awe.
As Hao Yun entered the mountain gate, a young novice monk came to greet him.
"Are you here to offer incense or to worship Buddha?"
Hao Yun glanced at the little novice monk; he had red lips and white teeth, and a round, bald head that was quite adorable.
"I'm looking for Fahai, could you please inform him?"
Chapter 43 The Great Heavenly Dragon
Upon hearing that they were looking for Abbot Fahai, the young novice led Hao Yun into the main hall.
"Please wait a moment, benefactor, I will go and inform them immediately."
After speaking, the young novice monk left, leaving Hao Yun alone in the main hall.
Inside the hall, several old monks were chanting sutras, while a group of young monks were cleaning. Hao Yun roughly observed that there were at least a hundred monks in Jinshan Temple.
Supporting so many people is no easy task. This place is home to gods, Buddhas, demons, and monsters. The fact that Jinshan Temple has stood firm shows its profound cultural heritage.
As Hao Yun was observing the Buddha statue inside the hall, wondering how much gold he could melt down, Fahai walked over.
“Benefactor, we meet again.”
"I'd like to study Buddhist scriptures, is that alright?"
Hao Yun came here this time just to look at Buddhist scriptures and learn a few moves from Fahai. It would be even better if he could learn the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Technique. As for the fact that Taoist and Buddhist techniques cannot be practiced together, Hao Yun never considered it.
Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, the ultimate goal is to achieve sainthood. It's like choosing a class in a game; whether you're a mage or a warrior, it's all about leveling up.
“Of course, since you are interested in Buddhist scriptures, I will take you there now.”
Fahai smiled slightly. He didn't believe Hao Yun could leave after arriving. A person with deep Buddhist affinity would become a monk sooner or later.
The two walked side by side. Along the way, Fahai introduced the temple's architecture to Hao Yun. After walking for more than ten minutes, they finally arrived at the Sutra Repository.
Standing at the entrance of the Sutra Repository, Hao Yun thought of the Sweeping Monk and curiously peeked inside.
The library was completely empty; there was no sweeping monk at all, or more accurately, there wasn't a single person there.
"What are you looking for, benefactor?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing."
Hao Yun gave an awkward smile and followed Fahai into the Sutra Repository.
With Fahai's introduction, Hao Yun began to look through the Buddhist scriptures, but after only a short while, he became restless and agitated; he genuinely couldn't concentrate on them.
Fahai, who was standing beside him, also found it strange to see Hao Yun like this. Could he have seen wrong? No way, this person was clearly radiating Buddhist golden light. Even if he wasn't a reincarnation of a great Buddhist master, he was still someone with deep Buddhist affinity. How could he not even be able to understand Buddhist scriptures?
Putting the Buddhist scriptures back in their original place, Hao Yun took out the Buddhist scriptures that Yan Chixia had given him from his bosom.
"This is a Buddhist scripture I came across by chance. I can't understand the text. Master Fahai, could you please translate it for me?"
Upon receiving the Buddhist scripture from Hao Yun, Fahai's heart stirred. This scripture emanated a Buddhist light, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary item.
"The Ksitigarbha Sutra?"
Fahai was taken aback. He had seen this scripture before, but the contents of this scripture were very different from the one he had seen.
Comparing the two scriptures, the one Hao Yun brought out looked more like the original, while the one in the scripture pavilion looked like a pirated copy.
"Benefactor, where did you obtain this scripture?"
"Found by chance in a dilapidated temple, could this scripture be something powerful?"
Hao Yun's eyes lit up. Back when he fought the tree demon, he used this scripture as a brick, smashing it until the tree demon screamed. It was clearly no ordinary book.
"No, it's just that this scripture is different from the Ksitigarbha Sutra in the Sutra Repository."
After saying this, Fahai walked to a bookshelf and casually pulled out the Ksitigarbha Sutra.
“Please take a look, benefactor. The records in these places in your Sanskrit Ksitigarbha Sutra are somewhat different from those in our temple’s Ksitigarbha Sutra.”
Hao Yun couldn't understand Sanskrit either, so even if Fa Hai pointed it out, he wouldn't know the difference. Furthermore, since this scripture wasn't a cultivation manual, Hao Yun had even less interest in studying it.
"I have no use for this Buddhist scripture, so I'll give it to Master Fahai."
Since the Buddhist scriptures weren't very useful anyway, Hao Yun simply gave them to Fahai, since he had tricked Yan Chixia into giving them to him.
Fahai hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the Buddhist scriptures.
"Thank you, benefactor. You are free to browse the scriptures in the library. Your meals will be served to you."
"OK."
Hao Yun went into the library and began searching for books that would be useful to him. On the second floor of the library, Hao Yun found a cultivation technique.
They're all trash, like Arhat Fist or Flower-Picking Finger, which are only for strengthening the body. This is a world of immortals and Buddhas, what good is practicing martial arts here?
Hao Yun urgently needs a powerful cultivation technique, and the Shangqing Inner Martial Arts Manual is suitable for laying a foundation. In this world of immortals and Buddhas, Hao Yun's skills are probably not even enough to defeat that spider demon.
Like the tree demon in A Chinese Ghost Story, if placed in this world, it wouldn't even be considered a small fry. Let alone Fahai, even Xiaoqing could easily defeat it.
After searching the entire cultivation technique area, Hao Yun still couldn't find any powerful techniques. This made Hao Yun somewhat discouraged. He realized that he had been too naive. Of course, good things would be hidden away. What powerful techniques could this library, which was open to everyone, possibly have?
Climbing on the ladder, Hao Yun picked up a book and started flipping through it. The book was about the classification of cultivation levels.
Mortal stage: Refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, refining emptiness into the Dao.
Upon reaching the final stage of cultivation and achieving mastery, one transcends tribulation to become an immortal, the lowest level of Earth Immortal. Even an Earth Immortal can move mountains and seas, transcending the mortal body.
After Earth Immortals come Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, Mysterious Immortals, Golden Immortals, Taiyi Golden Immortals, Daluo Golden Immortals, Quasi-Saints, and Saints.
After flipping through the book a few times, Hao Yun put it back. He knew that the realm division was useless, and he didn't have any cultivation methods for himself. He was still in the stage of refining essence into qi, the lowest level of cultivator.
The young novice monk who was delivering the meal arrived. Hao Yun ate a simple vegetarian meal, got up, left the scripture pavilion, and began to stroll around the temple.
The monks in the temple ignored Hao Yun as he wandered around, each busy with their own tasks, and few approached to greet him.
After wandering around for a while, Hao Yun unknowingly arrived at the Heavenly King's Palace.
Fahai was cultivating inside the hall when he sensed someone entering. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door.
"What brings you here, benefactor?"
"Nothing, just out for a stroll out of boredom. Is Master Fahai cultivating?"
Fahai quickly realized Hao Yun's thoughts and replied.
"Want to learn? If you join Jinshan Temple and become my disciple, I will teach you."
[Option 1: Become an apprentice of Fahai (Reward: Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Technique)]
[Option Two: Refuse to become a disciple and leave Jinshan Temple (Reward: Ten years of cultivation)]
Option 3: Beat up Fahai and make him become your disciple (Reward: Buddha Kingdom in the Palm of Your Hand)
When the system options appeared, Hao Yun's mind stirred. Becoming a disciple of Fahai would allow him to learn the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Technique, which was acceptable. As for the ten years of cultivation offered for refusing to become a disciple, Hao Yun was somewhat dismissive of it.