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Bōluónímì Bùjiāo Lètiān, Huíyàn Great Snow Mountain Southwest Preparation, Fierce Lion Rock Golden Bamboo! Cave

Several snow-white parrots chirped and tumbled their way around a towering emerald peak, joyfully vying for a single, crystalline fruit that resembled a piece of red coral—a Ginseng Fruit. Ahead, the view suddenly opened up: beneath a majestic, imposing cliff face that stood like a screen, a vast expanse of shimmering golden bamboo stretched out, covering an area of easily two thousand li.

The Golden Bamboo here was an exotic species native only to Bōluónímì Bùjiāo Lètiān. Even the thinnest stalks were as thick as hundred-year-old giant pines in the mortal realm. The largest were several zhang in girth and over two hundred zhang tall, their leaves large enough to tailor clothing for a person.

The surface of all the Golden Bamboo was smooth and lustrous, capable of reflecting an image perfectly. The wood itself was incredibly dense and strong; one could forge flying swords directly from it—relics whose power rivaled those cast from Supreme Taiyi Gold Essence. Notably, the Golden Bamboo possessed an affinity perfectly suited to Buddhist Zen properties; when refined into Buddhist implements, their power increased tenfold. This is why the Golden Bamboo Cave held such renown throughout Bōluónímì Bùjiāo Lètiān.

The Golden Bamboo Cave was a premier Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land in this celestial realm. Rich geomantic spiritual energy surged up from the earth, transforming into wisps of purple aura that coiled everywhere, nourishing the Golden Bamboo until their branches and leaves grew extraordinarily dense. Here, it was spring year-round. The surrounding cliffs harbored rare and exotic treasures, emitting light day and night, keeping the area bright enough to see by at all hours. Fine rain clouds perpetually drifted overhead, sprinkling a soft drizzle that further enriched the soil, making the productivity of this forest immense.

Thousands of years ago, the Fierce Lion Rock Golden Bamboo Cave was merely a mountain forest where several secluded, aging Buddhist monks practiced their austerities. However, during a great demonic tribulation back then, the Nine Nether Dao slaughtered those unfortunate old monks and all their disciples. Now, the Golden Bamboo Cave was occupied by two itinerant monks who had arrived from elsewhere.

These two itinerant monks called themselves Prajñā and Mahā. No one knew where they came from, nor which lineage of Buddhist Dharma they had inherited. Yet, over the millennia, they occasionally engaged in sparring and exchange with the monastics of Huíyàn Great Snow Mountain. While the two brothers knew little of classic Buddhist sutras, the Buddhist techniques they practiced were overwhelmingly powerful, earning them considerable fame on Huíyàn Great Snow Mountain.

Especially the younger brother, Mahā, who loved stirring up trouble. Over a thousand years, he had amassed countless disciples, accepting anyone regardless of their disposition or origin. Whether it was a headsman who executed people, a butcher who slaughtered pigs, a widow whose husbands had all died of illness, a general who sacked cities, a king who brought ruin to his nation, or even prostitutes, beggars, bandits, brigands, swindlers, or thieves—over the years, he had enrolled at least two or three million people into his fold.

These monks and nuns, under the banner of the Golden Bamboo Cave, were first made to swear a life-oath that they would obey only Prajñā and Mahā for their entire lives, along with countless other vicious restrictive oaths. Only after Mahā bound their primordial spirits with Soul Imprisonment Tokens were they taught Zen techniques and spells.

Other Buddhist monks emphasized strict adherence to precepts, but the monks of the Golden Bamboo Cave were drilled using military law. All monastics were organized into military units, structured from the top down with Eight Great Marshals, various Generals, Forty-eight Auxiliary Generals, and so on. Aside from military orders issued by Mahā, all other precepts were disregarded.

The monks of the Golden Bamboo Cave were permitted to marry freely, to take wives and have children. It was common to see fierce nuns with three wives, or even nuns who had taken four or five husbands. They could eat meat to their hearts' content, and if words failed, they could immediately resort to killing.

Aside from the few internal rules—no internal insurrection, no infighting, no framing of fellow disciples, no disobeying masters and elders—what knowledge did this band of vicious monks and wicked nuns possess of the Buddhist Five Precepts, Eight Precepts, or the myriad other regulations?

All day long, the Golden Bamboo Cave was consumed by drilling troops and practicing various devastatingly powerful Buddhist Zen techniques. A proper Buddhist Zen retreat had been twisted by Mahā into nothing more than a massive military barracks. From time to time, the monks and nuns of the Golden Bamboo Cave would use "sparring practice" as an excuse to stir up trouble everywhere, relentlessly harassing the meditating monks cultivating in nearby cloisters and blessed caves.

Just as these snow-white parrots finished flying past a few stalks of Golden Bamboo, a high, piercing, unrestrained laugh suddenly echoed from ahead. "Hahahaha! Little Master Pure Sound, why the rush to leave? Ah, since we've finally met, we should find a quiet spot to discuss the Dharma!"

Accompanied by the loud laughter, a young novice nun—with a graceful figure and beautiful features, looking as terrified as a fawn chased by hunters—shot out from the bamboo grove on a gust of clear wind. Behind her, Mahā, bare-chested and belly exposed, holding a large wine jar, pursued her with a cackling screech, treading upon a white cloud.

The little nun Qingyin's delicate face twisted into a grimace, a mist of moisture welling in her eyes, threatening to spill over. She stammered out, "Mas—Master Mahā, this humble nun is under orders to gather herbs and dare not delay. Please return, please return!"

Mahā’s eyes gleamed, and in one stride, he was behind the young nun

The air around Prajna was as tranquil as still water, faintly veiled in a soft white glow. She pressed her palms together, letting out a soft sigh. "One is you, but who is the other?" The strange man smiled, his voice a mere whisper.

"There is another, someone you could never even dream of." He paused, then continued casually, "Enough talk. Aren't you going to invite me in for some meat and wine? I have observed you for millennia, waited this long.

Now, your cultivation is finally worthy of studying the true esoteric secrets of the Buddha Path." With a wave of his hand, the strange man silenced Maha, who was about to retort with scorn. He spoke with detachment, "I know the Victorious Fighting Buddha taught you some essential Buddhist doctrines. But what he taught focused on physical combat, the techniques of the Adamantine Vajra subdue the devils.

What I intend to impart to you are the secret methods of achieving sainthood shared by the Twin Sages of Buddhism." Prajna and Maha were instantly shaken, their expressions tightening. They both stepped forward in unison, demanding fiercely, "Who exactly are you?" They both pointed toward the direction of the Return to Solitude Great Snow Mountain, shouting sternly, "Did you come from the Abyss of No Return?" The strange man froze in surprise. After a long moment, he let out a cold laugh.

"Oh? And who told you that? That bald donkey Moonlight, or those two fools Dragon Subduer and Tiger Tamer?

Or perhaps it was Xuandu? Or Yunzhongzi? Or Zhao Gongming?" Prajna and Maha exchanged a look of profound dread.

How could this enigmatic figure know everything? After a shared glance, Prajna and Maha bowed in unison, ushering the strange man into the Golden Bamboo Forest. Three months later, the strange man erupted from the Golden Bamboo Forest with a long laugh, followed by a trailing wisp of fragrant air.

He swaggered away with grand indifference. Prajna and Maha, accompanied by a contingent of trusted followers, saw him off. Both were now adorned in glittering treasures; their entire wardrobe had been replaced, clearly signifying they possessed countless exotic Buddhist artifacts.

Watching the receding figure of the strange man, Prajna suddenly asked in a cold voice, "Who do you think he was?" After a long silence, Maha whispered conspiratorially, "Surely it couldn't be that old immortal, could it? Could he really be that benevolent?" Maha frowned slightly after a brief pause. "However, judging by his utterly unrestrained appetite for meat and drink, he really does resemble him!

Over these past three months, I sent more than two hundred of the top courtesans from back then to seduce him, but he welcomed them all, taking every single one to bed. Is that the behavior of a genuine Buddhist practitioner?" Prajna fell silent, Maha also lapsed into silence, the two staring at each other without words. Suddenly, a rush of foul wind swept down from above.

A demon with a grotesque, snarling face plummeted from the sky, babbling hurriedly, "Are you the venerable Prajna and Maha? Our King Guihua has run into a bit of trouble and sent us small fry to deliver a message requesting aid from the two Buddhas!" Spitting a gob of bloody saliva heavily onto the ground, the demon chuckled dryly, "Why are the two Buddhas residing in the Pālānibhamisumiranātha-svarga? We had three thousand of us rush in to bring the news, but—uh—we were annihilated along the way by countless great and small bald donkeys, and only this one managed to escape." Prajna and Maha stared blankly.

Maha roared furiously, "Disciples! Guard the mountain gate! Your elder brother and I have urgent business!" Guohua possessed considerable cultivation, and furthermore, was protected by three or five Innate Supreme Treasures gifted by Gu Xiechen.

He also harbored the peerless, terrifying being Hanba within his body. The fact that he was forced to dispatch his subordinate demons on a risky venture into the heart of the Buddhist stronghold, Pālānibhamisumiranātha-svarga, to deliver a message showed the extreme urgency of the situation. It was so dire that even Guohua’s emergency warning signal could not be sent out.

Prajna and Maha dared not delay. They hurriedly gathered their personal magical artifacts, pills, and other necessities, instructed their retainers and disciples to seal the entrances, and deployed the Heaven and Earth Net Great Array, locking the entire Golden Bamboo Cave down tight. Then, they rushed out with nearly a hundred of their most deeply cultivated confidantes, following the demon toward the Chakra Hell.

Along the way, the brothers spared no effort, draining their magical power to speed their journey. Just as their power was nearly exhausted, they finally reached the vicinity of Guohua's main base in Chakra Hell. Ahead, demonic flames blazed toward the heavens, forty-two demonic banners waved in the air, and countless tormented souls were being slowly drawn into the banners.

Guohua, drenched in blood, was whirling and dancing through the air, protecting a delicate, fragile young maiden, yet they were constantly tossed and thrown about in disarray by the ceaseless torrent of demonic flames and chaotic energy. A sharp, piercing laugh made the surrounding earth tremble violently. "Yaksha Demon King, release that woman and be my household slave, and I might spare you!" Guohua’s response was utterly in character; he retaliated against the voice with extreme venom.

"When I was with your old mother that one night, I really should have worn a condom."