It would have been better if Ba Jie hadn't been so focused on the painting. However, as soon as he did, Ba Jie's expression immediately became a little strange. His eyes gradually glazed over as he stared at the painting, unable to take his eyes off it. It was as though he had entered some sort of trance.
After a while, Miao Yi called out, "Ol 'Second!"
However, Ba Jie didn't respond at all. Miao Yi craned his neck to take a look and was shocked to see that Ba Jie was silently weeping. Tears were flowing out from his eyes and down his cheeks. Miao Yi looked in the direction Ba Jie was looking at and roughly understood what was going on. Ba Jie was probably in the same trance he had experienced before.
After that experience, Miao Yi knew that Ba Jie would be fine, so he didn't disturb Ba Jie. He also hoped that Ba Jie would be able to figure out something from this. However, he was a little curious as to what Ba Jie was looking at to make him cry like this. Ba Jie's eyes were filled with tears. Miao Yi didn't know which painting Ba Jie was looking at either. He had experienced it before, so he felt a little conflicted when he recalled it. He didn't want to enter that trance again.
After waiting for a long time, Ba Jie finally shook his head and sighed. There were even a few sniffles mixed in between.
Miao Yi knew that Ba Jie had regained his senses. He asked, "Ol 'Second, is it as I said? Did you see something?"
Ba Jie didn't seem to want to talk about what he saw in the painting. He shook his head and said, "Big Brother, I think I understand something. Let me take another look." Wiping away his tears with his sleeves, Ba Jie turned around and looked at another painting.
Hearing that Ba Jie seemed to understand something, Miao Yi immediately fell silent. He didn't want to disturb Ba Jie anymore.
However, Ba Jie's condition gave Miao Yi goosebumps. Sometimes, Ba Jie would be silent. Sometimes, he would be laughing maniacally. Sometimes, he would be crying. Sometimes, he would be chuckling mischievously. Sometimes, he would be looking at Ba Jie with a look of disdain.
All in all? The man's condition was a little strange. Miao Yi was afraid that he would be implicated if he went berserk, so he quickly got down from the nine-tiered lotus throne and distanced himself from the man.
Several days later, Miao Yi suddenly heard a deep sigh coming from the lotus throne. It seemed to be filled with all sorts of complicated emotions. Miao Yi lifted his head and saw Ba Jie closing his eyes and clasping his hands together as he chanted, "Neither the Devil nor the Tribulation, neither abiding nor emptiness, neither dust nor filth, neither fear nor obey, neither anger nor love, it is difficult to begin and difficult to end. Plucking a flower from my hand, all is but a dream …" He chanted these words over and over again, as though clearing his mind.
Miao Yi knew that Ba Jie had already regained his senses. He then dashed towards the lotus throne, but Ba Jie still hadn't stopped chanting.
Ba Jie repeated those words over a dozen times. Suddenly, he invoked his art and said, "Amitabha!" After finishing, he slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and bright, and his face was filled with holiness.
However, as he invoked his art and chanted, the sound reverberated endlessly within the treasury.
At first, it was Ba Jie's' Amitabha 'that reverberated in the air. But after a few echoes, the tone of the' Amitabha 'actually changed. As the echoes reverberated, it vaguely became' Namo Amitabha '.
"Namo Amitabha … Namo Amitabha … Namo Amitabha …"
In that instant, it was as though thousands of deities and buddhas were chanting the Buddha's name in unison. Miao Yi looked around in amazement, and he felt like he could hear the three towering Buddha statues chanting the same Buddha's name. The difference in the intensity of the chants seemed to be an ethereal voice from the past and the future. It was as though the voices of thousands of deities and buddhas from the past, present, and future had transcended time and space to converge here, filling this massive treasury with a solemn and holy aura.
Now that he was suddenly in such an environment, Miao Yi felt as though he was truly experiencing the majesty, solemnity, loftiness, and vastness of the Buddhist teachings. He felt as though he was a tiny speck of dust amidst the boundless universe. His status as a Netherworld's Domain Chief was insignificant to him.
Ba Jie had a calm expression on his face. He seemed to be listening to the past, and also listening to the future. It was as though he was listening to the past, and at the same time, it was as though he was listening to the future. It gave off an extremely mysterious feeling.
After repeating it for an unknown number of times, the echoes gradually faded away, and the treasury regained its tranquility.
"Phew!" Miao Yi let out a long sigh. He felt as though he had gone through a baptism that touched his very soul. He almost wanted to kneel down and worship Ba Jie. He turned to Ba Jie and asked, "Ba Jie, did you comprehend this commotion?"
The holy aura on Ba Jie's face had already dissipated. He chuckled and said, "Big Brother, you think too highly of me. Just now, I was simply influenced by the emotions in the painting. Even after I cleared my mind with great difficulty, I still found it hard to extricate myself. So I decisively chanted the name of Buddha and severed that thread of attachment. It was an unintentional move, and I didn't think it would cause such a commotion … It seems like the Nanwu School has put in a lot of effort to build this treasury! It seems like this treasury is indeed beneficial to cultivation. "
Miao Yi understood as soon as he heard that. He looked at his surroundings, and from the echoing effect, he could tell that the unique structure of this treasury was indeed miraculous. Indeed, it took a lot of effort to build it. Who knew how much effort the Nameless School had put into building this treasury?
"However, I did manage to comprehend something from it." Ba Jie suddenly added as he looked at his surroundings with a complicated expression on his face. He lowered his head to look at the lotus throne beneath his feet and said, "I think I roughly understand why this lotus throne was placed in this position."
Miao Yi asked, "What do you mean?"
Ba Jie let out a rare sigh, then sat down cross-legged and continued, "Before this, I had no idea what was going on. But now that I do, I realize that it's actually quite simple. The paintings carved on the surrounding walls represent the various forms of the world. Sitting on this high platform in the center, you can see all of the paintings carved on the walls. No matter which side you face, you will be able to see the various forms of the world. The so-called past, present, and future are all contained within the various forms of the world. Nothing in the world can escape from these paintings. When you sit here, you will actually be facing the past, present, and future. Indeed, it means that the past, present, and future are all fused into one. Being able to see the various forms of the world without stepping out of the house is indeed beneficial to the cultivation of a Buddhist disciple. Now that I think about it, this treasury of the Nanwu School might really be related to the Jie School cultivation technique I'm cultivating. "
Miao Yi asked in surprise, "Are you sure?"
Ba Jie was silent for a moment. Then, he said in a deep voice, "The Art of Great Clarity and Great Enlightenment that I cultivate is all about deep enlightenment. What I cultivate is the heart, and this painting is the best supplement for my cultivation technique. It can help me gain deep enlightenment. Also, the opening of the heart sutra on the seal is the best proof of this. I'm just curious. How did the cultivation technique of the Nanwu School end up in the Lesser Realm and become the cultivation technique of our Jie School? Why have we never heard of this before? "
As he listened to Ba Jie's explanation, Miao Yi finally understood why that person would choose this place as the final location of the treasury, and the reason why he lured Ba Jie and his disciple to the sealed grounds. He wanted Miao Yi to lure the members of the Jie School here.
As he thought about this, Miao Yi once again fell into deep thought. Since he wanted Miao Yi to lure the members of the Jie School here, why didn't that person just do it himself? Why did he have to take this roundabout route instead? What was his motive for luring the members of the Jie School to the sealed grounds?
As he thought about it, Miao Yi's thoughts gradually cleared up. Suddenly, a look of realization appeared on his face, as though he understood something. He stared at Ba Jie in a daze for a while.
"Now I believe that there was nothing else here to begin with. The only treasures worthy of the Nanwu School's collection are the carvings on this wall." Ba Jie slowly stood up and looked around at the carvings on the wall. "These carvings are probably the culmination of the blood and sweat of the generations of senior monks of the Nanwu School. They are definitely not something that a single generation could have created. These are the true priceless treasures of the Nanwu School!"
Miao Yi was a little unaccustomed to Ba Jie's sudden change in attitude. He asked, "How can you be sure that these are the work of the senior monks of the Nanwu School?"
Ba Jie spread his arms wide and said, "A single painting is only the size of a palm, and there are only a few pages to a story. How many pages are there in such a huge space? How many stories of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy are there? Although the lifespan of a cultivator is long, living a long life also means that the time spent on cultivation is also longer. I'm afraid that a cultivator's lifetime experience may not be much more than an ordinary mortal's. May I ask Big Brother, in your long life, have you seen even one or two of the stories in this world? "
Miao Yi swept his gaze across his surroundings. He estimated that there were probably hundreds of thousands, or even millions of stories here. Even a fraction of a thousandth of the stories he had seen would be more than a thousand. He had lived for so long, but he had never seen so many stories in this world before. Most of his time had been spent meditating and cultivating.
He shook his head and said, "I haven't!"
Ba Jie didn't say anything else. He pointed to the corner of the wall diagonally to his right and said, "There is still a large blank space there. I believe the Nanwu School was already destroyed before they could fill in the gaps with the stories. If this is truly a story that was prepared long ago, then considering how long the Nanwu School has been around for, it should have been very easy for them to finish their work. From this, we can see that the stories in these paintings are very well organized. I don't think they were fabricated."
Miao Yi wasn't concerned about this. He asked, "Do you think these paintings have anything to do with the so-called boundless Buddhist teachings hidden within the Nanwu School?"
Ba Jie nodded his head in silence. "The joys, sorrows, joys, sorrows, sorrows, and joy of the world are all here. These paintings can indeed be considered to have encompassed all sentient beings. If one can truly cultivate to the realm depicted here, then perhaps one can truly cultivate the boundless Buddhist teachings that encompass the past, present, and future. However, I'm afraid no one will be able to successfully cultivate it."
Miao Yi asked in surprise, "Why not?"
Ba Jie suddenly chuckled and said, "Big Brother, haven't you already experienced what it's like to enter these paintings? If someone really wants to comprehend all the painting realms here, not to mention all of them, even if they can comprehend ten or twenty percent of them, with so many emotions gathered on one person, think about what the consequences will be. I reckon that person will definitely go crazy. It's very likely that once they enter these painting realms, they will never be able to come out again. It's very difficult to achieve enlightenment! "
Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air. Thinking about it, he realized that Ba Jie's words made sense. He couldn't help asking, "How is Grandmaster Qi Jie's realm of enlightenment compared to cultivating this Buddhist teachings?"
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