# Chapter 3157: Wild Lotus Heart Transformation
Feng Xi let out a faint, wistful laugh, then sighed and shook her head.
Zhang Ruochen revealed a saintly Buddha-like smile and said, "This humble monk also has a story. Would the benefactor be willing to listen?"
"Please, Master, speak."
Zhang Ruochen said, "It is said that in the land of Nanli, there was a woman surnamed Bai. In the mountains, she encountered a patch of wild lotus. Hungry and destitute, she picked the lotus seeds to eat, and thus settled down beside the wild lotus."
"Year after year, each year the wild lotus produced seeds."
"But in the seventh year, the wild lotus only bloomed flowers but bore no seeds. With no lotus seeds to eat, resentment grew in the woman surnamed Bai's heart. She wanted to dig up the lotus roots and eat them."
"The Third Patriarch happened to pass by and saw this. He stopped her and asked why she was resentful."
"The woman surnamed Bai said, 'Every year it bloomed and bore seeds for me to eat, but this year it wants to starve me to death. It changed first, so don't blame me for eating its roots.'"
"The Third Patriarch said, 'The wild lotus has always been here. Where has it changed? The reason it bore no seeds this year is simply because there was too little rain and dew. What does that have to do with it? The wild lotus bore seeds for you to eat and showed you kindness, yet you want to harm its life in return. It is not the lotus that changed—it is your heart that has changed!'"
"The woman surnamed Bai looked at the wild lotus, tears streaming down her face, and suddenly understood. Thus, she bowed and became a disciple of the Third Patriarch, entering the Buddhist path."
"This woman surnamed Bai was none other than the later famous White Monk of Buddhism!"
Putuo Ancient Buddha had already finished reading the *Amile Sutra* and quietly listened to Zhang Ruochen telling Feng Xi the famous "Wild Lotus Heart Transformation" parable.
After hearing it, Feng Xi, like the woman surnamed Bai, was also in tears.
Yes, how similar she was to that woman surnamed Bai.
Zhang Ruochen had always been Zhang Ruochen. Everything he did had never wronged her; on the contrary, he had saved her many times.
From beginning to end, it was her own heart that had changed. It was her self-righteous selfish desire that made her believe she had fallen in love with Qing Pingzi, and that Qing Pingzi must therefore love her in return.
When Qing Pingzi revealed himself to be Zhang Ruochen, she self-righteously believed it was deliberate deception on his part, that everything was his fault.
But from beginning to end, whether Qing Pingzi or Zhang Ruochen, he was that wild lotus, never belonging to her.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The original cause lies with you. He never intentionally deceived you. He was always himself; it was only in your eyes that he became something else. Whether you can let go depends not on him, but on the change within your own heart."
"Master, how can one change their heart? How can one truly let go of attachment?" Feng Xi asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since you cannot let go for now, then choose the good and follow it. One flower, one world; one leaf, one Buddha. Infinite prajna, the mind at ease. In speech and silence, in movement and stillness, follow nature. Therefore, let things take their natural course. Do not cling to what cannot be obtained."
Having said this, Zhang Ruochen took out a wooden box and handed it to Feng Xi. "I give this to the benefactor, hoping you may soon escape the sea of suffering."
Feng Xi opened the wooden box and found inside a white pearl that emitted a peaceful Buddha light.
When she reached out and touched it, her mind immediately became tranquil. Countless distracting thoughts dissipated, as if she had entered a pure and natural Bodhi world.
Putuo Ancient Buddha glanced at the white pearl, his eyes suddenly revealing a flash of surprise. Then he looked at Zhang Ruochen with shock and bowed deeply.
To be able to casually give away such a treasure to a stranger—this was true profound Buddhist practice, transcending nature.
Even the Third Patriarch in his time would have been no more than this.
For a moment, Putuo Ancient Buddha felt that his own hundreds of thousands of years of bitter cultivation had been wasted time. Compared to the Master Uncle, he could not even be considered to have entered the gate of Buddhism.
Feng Xi did not recognize the white pearl, only thinking it was an ordinary Buddhist auspicious object. She put it away, satisfied, thanked him, and left.
Only then did Putuo Ancient Buddha sigh deeply, "Everyone in the world who knows characters knows the word 'give and take.' But among ten people, perhaps only one or two truly understand its meaning. Yet among ten thousand, there is barely one who can truly practice giving and taking. Seeing the Master Uncle is like seeing the Third Patriarch. This disciple has gained much insight today."
Zhang Ruochen smiled without speaking.
What he had given to Feng Xi was none other than one of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism—the Arhat White Pearl, left behind by the White Monk, the only disciple of the Third Patriarch, after his nirvana.
By telling her the "Wild Lotus Heart Transformation" parable, he used the White Monk's story to dissolve the resentment in her heart.
Given Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation level, there was naturally no need to continue controlling Yu Longxian. He had already buried her in Xinghuantian. After extracting the Arhat White Pearl from her body, Zhang Ruochen had no great use for it himself. If it could resolve this karmic entanglement with Feng Xi, it would be putting it to good use and truly reflecting its value.
The only difficult person to explain this to was Jue Miao.
That Zhang Ruochen could go this far was also because of Feng Yan.
Zhang Ruochen greatly valued this sworn second brother and did not want this matter to put Feng Yan in a difficult position, caught in the middle. Because of Wu Yue's matter, he wondered if Feng Yan held any resentment toward him.
After taking leave of Putuo Ancient Buddha, Zhang Ruochen entered the *Sixth Patriarch's Zen Illustration Diagram* and released the imprisoned Mo Fei Great God from within the Bodhi tree.
Mo Fei Great God's cultivation was too high, always a hidden danger.
But to completely refine a Tai Xu realm Great God to death would require a great deal of time.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen employed the god-killing great weapon—the Earth Cauldron.
"Boom!"
With one strike of the cauldron, Mo Fei Great God exploded directly into a vast expanse of source particles, his consciousness completely extinguished.
Under Zhang Ruochen's urging, he gathered all these source particles into the Earth Cauldron. Within the cauldron, chaos swirled, firelight flickered, and sounds of thunder and lightning echoed.
Gradually, the source particles condensed into divine pills.
The divine pills shone with different lights, five colors and six hues, each with its own wondrous use, like primordial chaotic spiritual objects.
The particles of divine substance condensed into divine pills that enhanced physical constitution (tizhi).
The particles of divine soul condensed into divine pills that enhanced the divine soul.
The particles of spiritual power condensed into divine pills that enhanced spiritual power.
...
Of course, these divine pills could not compare to true divine pills. They had no divine patterns and no pill spirits. But they were extremely pure, even easier to absorb than true divine pills.
Without a doubt, the Earth Cauldron was the number one divine pill-cauldron in the world. It could transform all things into source matter and use source power to refine all things into pills.
"One who obtains the Nine Cauldrons can command the world beneath. Truly extraordinary. I must continue to explore the wondrous uses of the Earth Cauldron."
Zhang Ruochen sighed and began sorting and storing the divine pills one by one.
...
Feng Xi held the white pearl, carefully sensing it. Her entire being was calm and peaceful, her resentful thoughts seemingly scattered beyond the nine heavens. She happened to encounter Jing Xiu and Chi Yao walking toward her.
Seeing the object in Feng Xi's hand, Chi Yao's eyes narrowed slightly. She recognized it instantly and sighed inwardly. Zhang Ruochen truly had no attachment to the treasures of this world, casually giving away another one.
This wasteful habit needed to be corrected.
But what kind of relationship did he have with Feng Xi to be this deep?
"The Arhat White Pearl!"
Jing Xiu's eyes revealed shock. She quickly walked up to Feng Xi.
Such a treasure—no Buddhist cultivator could remain calm upon seeing it.
Feng Xi was startled. She held up the white pearl and said, "Master Jing Xiu, are you saying this is the Arhat White Pearl, one of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism?"
"May this humble monk have a look?" Jing Xiu said.
Feng Xi felt a sense of trepidation and handed the white pearl to Jing Xiu.
Jing Xiu held the white pearl, carefully sensing it, then became ecstatic. "This is indeed the lost Buddhist treasure, the Arhat White Pearl! Benefactor Feng has such a great karmic connection with Buddhism. May I ask where you obtained it?"
"It was given to me by Master Yuan Chen."
Feng Xi's heart was shocked, but her eyes gradually brightened, as if she had achieved sudden enlightenment.
Master Yuan Chen first told the parable of "Wild Lotus Heart Transformation" and then gave her the Arhat White Pearl. Was he not enlightening her to follow the example of the woman surnamed Bai and take refuge in Buddhism?
Yes, it must be so.
For Buddhist cultivators, all four elements are empty. One can naturally cut off emotional ties and let go of attachments.
...
Zhang Ruochen swallowed a divine pill that strengthened the divine soul and was refining it.
"Whoosh!"
Xuan Yuan Qing, like a white light, descended beneath the Bodhi tree.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, his monk's robe spreading like a white lotus blooming on the ground. Seeing Xuan Yuan Qing's rather displeased expression, he asked, "What's wrong? Still angry? I won't address you that way anymore."
"Jia Tianxia is not a member of the Quantity Organization," Xuan Yuan Qing said.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "How is that possible?"
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "My elder brother personally investigated his divine realm world and divine body. There was no discovery."
"Zhang Ruochen, you were wrong from the very beginning. If Jia Tianxia were a member of the Quantity Organization, when Er Jia Blood Ancestor was captured, he would have known that his identity was already exposed. How could he have remained at ease in the Heavenly Court and come to fight on the Starry Sky Battlefield? I trusted you too much, and it almost led to a major mistake."
Zhang Ruochen stood up and tried to calm Xuan Yuan Qing's emotions. "Almost led to a major mistake? Meaning this matter hasn't caused too much of a storm?"
Xuan Yuan Qing glared at Zhang Ruochen and snorted, "I think you just wanted to cause chaos within the Heavenly Court."
"Absolutely not!"
Zhang Ruochen also came to his senses, realizing the irrationality in his thinking. "I underestimated the Quantity Organization and let my old grudge with Jia Tianxia cloud my judgment. I'm sorry."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen humble enough to apologize, Xuan Yuan Qing's expression softened slightly. "Fortunately, my elder brother was wise. He used a probing method to pin the crime of attempting to assassinate Chi Yao on Jia Tianxia, making that old fellow tremble with fear. So later, he didn't resist and let my elder brother investigate."
"Otherwise, if Jia Tianxia had really rallied the gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction to make a scene, on the Number One Fragment front, the Heavenly Court would surely have suffered a great defeat at the hands of Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a long time. "Er Jia Blood Ancestor could not have been directly chosen by the Quantity Organization. The one who chose him must have been a cultivator who had influence over him since childhood. Even if this person is not Jia Tianxia, he must be connected to Jia Tianxia."
"As soon as the Boundless One marched north, Jia Tianxia couldn't wait to make a move against Chi Yao. Someone must have instigated this from behind. This matter is inseparable from the Quantity Organization."
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "My elder brother thinks the same way. That's why he hasn't pursued Jia Tianxia's guilt for now. Instead, he told him that after the Giant Spirit Divine Temple dispute is resolved, the matter will be dealt with. In truth, he wants to use bait to fish."
"We can't guess who the Quantity Organization member is, but Jia Tianxia should have already guessed."
Just then, a voice came from outside: "Disciple Feng Xi requests an audience with Master Yuan Chen."
Xuan Yuan Qing stared at Zhang Ruochen, the whites of her eyes gradually showing more. She really didn't know how to describe this fellow. How had he gotten involved with Feng Xi again?
Zhang Ruochen shrugged helplessly.