Chapter 654: Transcendence and Bonfire
Xie Que slowly took a few steps back, his voice echoing in the air:
"If this fire finally dies down, will you be free?"
The silence was as deep and long as the night, and even the air seemed to be frozen by it.
After a moment of silence, finally, the shadow monk's voice was as thin as a gossamer, but the words were clear, revealing an indescribable weakness:
"That's it...when the flame goes out, it will be the time when my broken body returns to dust and my soul passes away."
"Nirvana? Is this what you call liberation?"
Xie Que's brows furrowed slightly, doubts flashing in his eyes.
The monk nodded slightly, with a touch of indescribable sadness in his voice:
"The poor monk wanders in this endless darkness, and the years are countless."
"For me, passing away is the relief for a poor monk whose life is worse than death."
Xie Que raised his hand unconsciously, and his fingertips lightly brushed his lips.
All his feelings were definitely not as simple as what the monk said.
Xie Que thought for a while and asked, "Are you in pain?"
The monk nodded slowly, his invisible eyes seeming to penetrate the shadow and look directly at Xie Que:
"After we become shadows, we are no longer a complete being. We have lost our five senses and all our desires."
"In this endless nothingness, every extra day of survival is a cruel torture to the will and soul."
"Since you are in so much pain, why can't you commit suicide?" Xie Que was confused.
The shadow monk shook his head: "Believers of **** are no longer in the past. We have no present and no future. Only pain will last forever."
Xie Que opened his lips again and said with confusion: "Since the Buddha has reached transcendence in the past, why haven't you forgotten it?"
"It seems that the Buddhas of the past, no matter how long they live, don't remember him."
The shadow monk's voice was low and distant, and he said slowly: "Actually, it's because the Buddha in the past led us to transcendence together."
As soon as these words came out, Xie Que's heart trembled suddenly, as if he was hit by an invisible force, and his thoughts were racing.
"Become transcendent together... What do you mean by this?" Xie Que was secretly surprised.
After transcendence, does it mean falling into this endless darkness and becoming a shadow like the monk in front of me?
Without the drive of desire, without the experience of the five senses, is there only endless emptiness and pain?
What is the meaning of such detachment?
Is this the ultimate pursuit of life, or a desperate joke?
Seeing that Xie was deep in thought and silent for a long time, the shadow monk did not urge him, but just waited quietly.
The rosary beads in his hand began to rotate slowly, and he muttered an unknown scripture in his mouth.
Xie Que's eyes were fixed on the bonfire, as if there were endless secrets hidden in the faint firelight, which attracted endless reveries.
The flickering light of the fire dyed everything around it a warm orange-yellow color.
Under the illumination of the bonfire, Xie Que's shadow was clearly projected on the wall.
However, in this tranquility, Xie Que's expression suddenly became confused.
Gradually, he fell into deep thought, his eyes were empty, as if his soul had drifted away from his body.
Suddenly, the Dragon-Snake Ring World Scripture in Xie Que's body started to operate quietly without him noticing.
As the shining cosmic light surged, the huge candle dragon head slowly emerged behind Xie Que,
Those deep dragon eyes shone with light, as if they could see through everything in the world.
Under the gaze of the candle dragon's eyes, a trace of black mist was suddenly drawn out of Xie Que's soul and disappeared without a trace in an instant.
At the same time, Xie Que suddenly woke up from his dazed state, as if he had returned to reality from a long dream.
"This...what exactly is going on?"
Xie Que felt an indescribable horror in his heart. His forehead was covered with beads of sweat and his face was as pale as paper.
He clearly remembered that he was just staring at the bonfire quietly without taking any action, but why did he fall into such a strange state?
At this moment, Xie Que's heart was filled with doubts and uneasiness.
He realized that this seemingly ordinary bonfire,
Perhaps there were more secrets than he imagined.
He calmed down for a moment, but his heart was as cold as ice, and there were waves of panic.
In the flash of lightning just now, he clearly felt that the vitality and spirit in his body had inexplicably weakened a bit.
It was as if there was an invisible force secretly stealing his life force.
From the corner of his eye, he inadvertently caught the shadow reflected by the bonfire on the wall.
The shadow actually made completely different movements from his own, as if another independent life was moving.
I saw that the shadow was squirming in a strange way at the moment, as if it was chewing something.
That posture and movement were completely different from his own.
Xie Que instantly thought of his lost vitality and soul power.
When the shadow noticed Xie Que's gaze, it turned around strangely and met Xie Que's eyes in the air for a moment.
Those eyes, although they were just illusions of shadows, seemed to contain something indescribable, which made Xie Que's heart suddenly tighten.
When Xie Que completely turned around to face the shadow, everything returned to normal.
The shadow once again became consistent with his own movements, as if the terrifying scene just now was just an illusion.
It's a fragment from a dream, an illusion created by the brain.
But Xie Que knew that with his own power and strength, it was impossible for him to have any illusions.
"What the hell?"
This sudden change made him feel confused about the seemingly ordinary bonfire.
As well as his own shadow that did not seem to be completely under his control, he had deep fears and doubts.
Xie Que involuntarily stretched out his hand and grabbed the strange shadow.
And the shadow was like a mirror image, perfectly replicating his every move.
There was no deviation or hesitation, and every detail of his actions was faithfully displayed on the wall.
This scene was no different from the ordinary shadows he saw every day.
Xie Que quickly took a few steps back and reached a position near the main hall.
As he moved, the wall that originally clearly reflected his figure gradually dimmed.
In the end, his figure completely disappeared outside the reflection of the bonfire.
It was only at this moment that Xie Que's tense heartstrings finally relaxed, and the sudden heart palpitations also dissipated.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his slightly erratic breathing.
He didn't expect that there was nothing in the main hall.
But he got such a big "surprise" in the backyard.
The weirdness contained in it simply goes beyond what words can describe.
You must know that Xie Que, as the Heavenly Lord of the other side, has the strength that even if he cannot be said to be invincible in the world,
It is also enough to dominate the endless void, even surpassing the way of heaven in a small world.
However, in front of this strange bonfire, Xie Que felt powerless as never before.
He found that he was unable to launch any effective counterattack against the bonfire.
It seemed as if it was above all laws, making all Xie Que's methods useless.
And he couldn't even pry out what secrets were hidden in this bonfire.
When Xie Que once again stared at the bonfire from a distance of ten meters, he found that the flames of the bonfire had restrained a lot, no longer rising and burning as fiercely as before.
However, compared with the first time I saw this bonfire, it seemed to have a slight change that was not easy to detect at this moment.
Although this change is minimal, under Xie Que's keen perception that has reached the level of the other side,
But it is as clear and distinct as day and night.
"What's going on..."
Xie Que's brows furrowed. He couldn't help but think of the trace of blood and soul he had lost.
Even though it was just a tiny bit, it would only take three months for him to fully recover.
Three months seems like a long time, but for the other side, which one’s cultivation level doesn’t start with a billion years?
Even the lost part can be restored instantly with just a ray of light.
After swallowing up Xie Que's meager strength,
The light of the bonfire did become a little brighter inadvertently,
Although the change is so subtle that it's almost imperceptible.
Standing under the eaves of the back door of the main hall, Xie Que's eyes were fixed on the bonfire.
Let’s see what this bonfire is, and what it has to do with the “transcendence” the monks call it, and what it has to do with the Buddhas of the past.
Just as Xie Que took steps towards the bonfire, the voice of the shadow monk suddenly sounded in his ears:
"If you have no intention of extinguishing this fire, maybe it's better not to move forward."
Hearing this, Xie Que couldn't help but look down at his feet, and then looked around, but he didn't detect the presence of the shadow monk from any shadow.
He couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart, and asked: "Where are you? Why didn't I see you from the shadow?"
"If I don't put out the fire, why can't I move forward?"
After a long period of silence, the shadow finally appeared when Xie Que was about to run out of patience.
The voice came out again, with a hint of apology and helplessness in it:
"Please forgive me, there is a huge difference in time flow between the world where the poor monk lives and the Buddhist world, which makes you wait for so long."
"Actually, I am in this bonfire..."
"This is the world after transcendence, a world that does not belong to the void and is not bound by time and space."
"If you don't want to put out the fire... then this shadow will follow you around, constantly devouring your soul and vitality... until you completely fall into silence."
Before he finished speaking, Xie Que noticed that the vitality in his body was indeed passing away quietly.
Although it was only a small and insignificant part, the feeling of being deprived made his heart tighten.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his breathing that was slightly disturbed by shock.
At this moment, he deeply realized that he was facing a dilemma that completely exceeded his ability to understand and handle.
This bonfire, this shadow, this world after transcendence...
Everything seemed so strange and weird.
Although Xie Que did not sense any strange fluctuations from the shadow monk's words, the loss of vitality in his body was an indisputable fact.
This sudden change made him doubtful.
If we stay away from this place, can we get rid of this weirdness?
As soon as this thought emerged, Xie Que stopped thinking about it.
He decisively ignored the shadow monk's subsequent words and strode out of the small temple.
Speeding towards the direction calling him.
However, no matter how long Xie Que was gone, he could never get rid of the feeling of life passing away.
He tried to sense everything around him, trying to find the source of the loss of life.
But everything seemed to be normal, nothing out of the ordinary. .
At this moment, Xie Que even came up with the idea of directly opening the river of time and leaving the Buddhist world.
He knew very well that he had a plan to judge death, and he did not need to be afraid even when faced with death.
But when he thought that this might be his only chance to reveal the mystery of the Transcendent, he hesitated.
After all, such an opportunity is too rare for a being like him.
After careful consideration, Xie Que decided to return to the starting point.
He vowed to first completely solve the problem of bonfires and shadow monks in the small temple that had troubled him for a long time, and then plan the follow-up actions.
He didn't know what Kaccanyana Buddha was thinking when he brought him and Yang Zhiyuan here.
But within the Buddha Realm, it must have been during the millions of years that he disappeared.
What happened that I didn't know about, and it turned out like this?
Xie Que also sighed: "It seems that the Buddhist world in the past has become like a purgatory on earth..."
After returning to the small temple, Xie Que asked directly: "What the hell are these shadows and bonfires?"
Faced with Xie Que's question, the shadow monk did not answer immediately.
He was silent for a long time, as if he was weighing something, and finally spoke slowly:
"Your shadow has turned into fire..."
"It will spread fire to any creature that has crossed paths with your shadow..."
Xie Que's brows furrowed, he couldn't understand,
Why can just a shadow convey such strange power?
He confirmed to the shadow monk again: "You mean...my shadow has become a fire that transmits flames?"
The shadow monk nodded gently: "Yes, when your strength is absorbed by this fire little by little until it dries up,
You will be like me, imprisoned between this bonfire, unable to escape. "
When Xie Que heard this, he immediately took a deep breath and knew the origin of this shadow monk.
This bonfire... is the monk... or in other words, this bonfire is what burned out the monk's power.
The monk continued: "But you don't need to be too desperate, because under the devouring of this flame, you will also gain eternal transcendence and have endless life..."
When Xie Que heard this, he couldn't help but feel strong disgust in his heart. After all, what kind of "eternal detachment" and "endless life" is this?
The monk seemed to have anticipated Xie Que's reaction. He said calmly: "If you really don't want to 'transcend', then the only way out is to put out the fire."
Xie Que took a deep breath, and after calming down his mind, asked: "How to put out the fire?"
The monk said: "Contact it with your body...absorb it..." (End of Chapter)