Chapter 4122: The Groom Turned Out to Be the Great Brahma Heaven
In Baozhu Dizang's unhurried narration, without any surprise, the Sixth Patriarch, Dizang King, and Meng Weiyang met, came to know each other, sat together discussing the Dao, and walked together inquiring about the sword—everything was so beautiful.
Heroes cherished heroes, and the virtuous respected the virtuous.
Afterward, the three of them followed the Garuda Bone Tide together, searching for the legendary Biluo Pass.
"Master never spoke of what they experienced at Biluo Pass, but he told me that that time... he fell in love," Baozhu Dizang said.
Zhang Ruochen, lost in thought, remarked, "For a Buddhist cultivator to fall in love is definitely not a good thing."
"Not necessarily! The Earth Desolate Buddhist cultivators don't forbid lust and desire, do they?" Fan Chen said.
Baozhu Dizang corrected, "It's not about forbidding lust and desire, but about being able to control them. If one cannot control their own lust and desire and is instead controlled by them, then they choose a compromise method—forbidding them. Unity of knowledge and action is the truest nature. These are three different realms!"
Tantuo Dizang said, "Stop interrupting; we still want to hear the story!"
"You are Dizang King's junior disciple; don't you know his past with Gandharva?" Fan Chen asked.
Tantuo Dizang replied, "I... do I know or not? Don't you know?"
"Even I don't know; Master never spoke of his youth to anyone," Baoyin Dizang said in a low voice.
Baozhu Dizang said, "Master only told me about that regretful past when he was dying."
Zhang Ruochen, thinking of something, suddenly realized, "So it was the deceased Dizang King who sent you to Tianhuang?"
Baozhu Dizang nodded slightly and continued, "Meng Weiyang was no ordinary woman. In fact, as long as a woman has exceptional talent and cultivation, she has her own bottom line; their lives are never entirely lived for romantic feelings. Meng Weiyang's bottom line was that she would never marry a monk and would never become Master's consort."
"Master loved her deeply and naturally respected her. If not for the two things that happened later, perhaps there would be no regret spanning a million years between them."
"When leaving Tianhuang, he promised her that he would return to Dihuang, repay the teaching kindness of the Dihuang Buddhist Sect, then leave the monastic life and marry her, asking her to wait for him."
"But entering the monastic life is easy, leaving it is not, especially for a genius like Master. A genius becomes a genius not only through personal excellence and effort but also through external conditions."
"To cultivate Master, the Dihuang Buddhist Sect expended countless rare resources. You must know that Dihuang was already resource-poor, incomparable to the Heavenly Court Universe and the Hell Realm."
"The four great elders of the Dihuang Buddhist Sect placed high hopes on Master, wishing for him to achieve great cultivation in the future, lead the monks of Dihuang back to the Western Buddha Realm, and become the orthodox lineage of the world's Buddhist sects."
"The four great elders used the debt of teaching kindness to coerce Master into fulfilling this grand vision that countless Dihuang Buddhist cultivators had dreamed of for countless millennia."
"If he succeeded, they would let him go." Thus, he and the Sixth Patriarch went from being the best of friends and truest of confidants to becoming the greatest of rivals.
Fan Chen laughed, "Dihuang Buddhist cultivators count as orthodox? What were the four great elders thinking? Fortunately, the Sixth Patriarch won back then; otherwise, if you had taken over the Western Buddha Realm, it would have been a pandemonium of demons and monsters! I'm getting a craving for wine; is there any?"
Baoyin Dizang snorted, "How are Dihuang Buddhist cultivators not orthodox? The founder of the Dihuang Buddhist Path was the Fifth Patriarch's great disciple, Master Hui'an. He was only forced to flee to Dihuang after being schemed against by hypocrites. Otherwise, after the Fifth Patriarch's death, the Buddha Lord of the Western Buddha Realm would surely have been Master Hui'an! We are the orthodox!"
Baozhu Dizang was also somewhat displeased and questioned, "How are Dihuang Buddhist cultivators a pandemonium of demons and monsters? Just because of those two scoundrels?"
Tantuo Dizang couldn't stand it and said, "Who are the scoundrels? Why are you pointing at me? I know nothing; don't bully someone with memory loss. Amitabha!"
Zhang Ruochen knew that the Fifth Patriarch was the one who created the "Divine Demon Lion's Roar," a figure who was both righteous and evil, never bound by trivialities, so it was possible for him to teach any kind of disciple.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you want to argue about doctrine and orthodoxy, do it later. I still want to hear the story! Based on my understanding of the Sixth Patriarch, since he was a good friend of Dizang King and Meng Weiyang, he would surely choose to help them."
"Help them? Hand over the Western Buddha Realm? Impossible, absolutely impossible." As a Buddhist cultivator leaning toward the Western Buddha Realm, Fan Chen also had his stubborn side.
Doctrine and orthodoxy were sacred and inviolable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You don't understand the Sixth Patriarch. In his heart, there is no rigid right or wrong, no rules or boundaries—only the rolling mortal world. If he could truly help Dizang King and Meng Weiyang, he would definitely do so. He would also be at ease handing over the Western Buddha Realm to Dizang King."
If the Fifth Patriarch was the wrathful Vajra with the lion's roar, the Sixth Patriarch was the laughing Maitreya playing in the mortal world.
Fan Chen pondered Zhang Ruochen's words and said, "But at that time, the Sixth Patriarch didn't have the authority to decide the fate of the Western Buddha Realm; they were still too young."
Baozhu Dizang said, "No! From the very beginning, Yunqing Ancient Buddha agreed to the four great elders' proposal, letting the young Sixth Patriarch and Dizang King decide the ownership of the Western Buddha Realm. Whoever won would be the future master of the Western Buddha Realm."
"This matter was of great importance—a dispute over doctrine. Master knew clearly that as long as he spoke, even if the Sixth Patriarch didn't agree, his state of mind would certainly be affected."
"In a duel between experts, any slight advantage becomes the key to victory. How could Master use such a tactic? And how could he put his friend in a difficult position?"
"So Dizang King didn't tell the Sixth Patriarch?" Zhang Ruochen frowned, able to feel the pain in Dizang King's heart at that time. On one side was the beloved he had promised, on the other were the elders who had taught him with kindness, and on the third was the friend he had to defeat.
Carrying such a heavy burden, how could he enter the battle lightly? In terms of state of mind, Dizang King had already lost before the fight began.
Baozhu Dizang nodded slightly and said, "The Sixth Patriarch only knew that he and Master were rivals, deciding the fate of the Western Buddha Realm, but he didn't know about the agreements between Master and Meng Weiyang, or between Master and the four great elders."
"Master and the Sixth Patriarch fought countless times, always evenly matched. Thus, many autumns passed, and instead of forming enmity, their bond grew deeper."
"Until the news of Meng Weiyang's marriage arrived!"
"Of course, the Sixth Patriarch knew that both Master and Meng Weiyang had fallen in love, but he thought they had focused on cultivation and cut off their emotions. However, when they both received Meng Weiyang's wedding invitation, and Master dared not go to Tianhuang, the Sixth Patriarch realized that some tribulations had never passed—they were always there."
"How could Master dare to go to Tianhuang?"
"His promise from years ago to leave the monastic life had never been fulfilled. How could he face Meng Weiyang? Tell her that he had to defeat the Sixth Patriarch before he could leave the monastic life? With Meng Weiyang's personality, if she knew the truth, she would surely seek help from the Sixth Patriarch."
"Or, when facing Meng Weiyang, say nothing? No explanation at all would be even more hurtful."
Fan Chen sighed deeply, "Indeed, it was a dilemma—too difficult!"
Baozhu Dizang continued, "But what Master didn't know was that although he never went to Tianhuang again, Meng Weiyang was braver than him. She had already gone to Dihuang and met the four great elders, learning the conditions for Dihuang Buddhist Sect to let him leave the monastic life."
"So she never disturbed Master and waited in the Meng family."
"She had full confidence in Master and believed that one day, he would take off his kasaya, wear a black hair cap, and come to Wanliu Realm to fetch her—that would be the most beautiful reunion."
Everyone was immersed in the story. Fan Chen asked, "If that's the case, why did Meng Weiyang marry someone else?"
"I know! It must have been to force Dizang King to go all out and defeat the Sixth Patriarch. Burn the boats—this was the move. A cultivator's potential is limitless; it needs external forces to be stimulated," Tantuo Dizang said.
"It's not like that."
Baozhu Dizang said, "It was coercion from the Meng family head, a mysterious arranged marriage."
Zhang Ruochen knew that among the people Gandharva hated most were the men of the Meng family, perhaps referring to that former Meng family head.
"Why a mysterious arranged marriage?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Baozhu Dizang said, "Because before the wedding, apart from the family head himself, no one knew who Meng Weiyang's husband would be."
"Waiting on Love Mountain for a million years, still unwilling to cross the Gray Sea." Zhang Ruochen said, "Looking back now, that husband must have been from the Eight Divisions Followers."
Fan Chen sighed, "Perhaps that Meng family head was also forced! Facing the Eight Divisions Followers, or even the Nether Ancestor himself, how could he resist?"
Zhang Ruochen agreed with Fan Chen's view.
Because at that point in time, the Nether Ancestor was indeed making many moves in the universe that would affect later generations. This included forcing the previous head of the Yama Clan to bring Bone Yama back to the Yama Clan.
The Nether Ancestor faction's ability to rival the God Realm was no accident; it was the result of the Nether Ancestor's step-by-step planning, long scheming for today's situation.
Meng Weiyang, the Sixth Patriarch, and Dizang King were all extraordinary geniuses destined for greatness, and Meng Weiyang was the most critical piece—how could the Nether Ancestor not plan for her in advance?
Perhaps when the three of them went to Biluo Pass, they had already been targeted by the Nether Ancestor.
Even if the Nether Ancestor wasn't directly involved, how could the Eight Divisions Followers not have laid plans for the Meng family? The Meng family's influence over Tianhuang was irreplaceable.
Baozhu Dizang continued, "Upon receiving the wedding invitation, the Sixth Patriarch went to Tianhuang alone. But he couldn't stop Meng Weiyang from marrying, and on the way back, he intercepted Master, who was about to rush to Tianhuang. Master had ultimately regretted it and decided to go without hesitation."
"Good! Dizang King truly lives up to his name—he has some backbone!" Fan Chen couldn't help but applaud.
Zhang Ruochen held a different view, "Regretting at this point is a bit late, isn't it? In my opinion, Dizang King was too sentimental. If he had even a tenth of Baozhu Dizang's true nature, how could such regret have occurred?"
When Zhang Ruochen was young in the Hell Realm, he also faced many helpless situations, bearing burdens that shouldn't have been his at that age. But when the God of Fortune and Honor, Yan Wushen, and Bore were getting married, he acted without hesitation, killing Yan Wushen midway.
If one lacked even that much courage and blood, what was the point of cultivation?
"Perhaps Dizang King knew his own character flaws, which is why he could teach a disciple like Baozhu Dizang," Fan Chen said.
Tantuo Dizang asked in confusion, "Why did the Sixth Patriarch intercept Dizang King, who was about to rush to Tianhuang?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I guess the Sixth Patriarch had already met the hidden existence behind it all and knew where Meng Weiyang was to be married and to whom. Think about it—if Dizang King had charged into the Gray Sea at that time, he would have been walking to his death. Stopping him was saving him."
Everyone's eyes turned to Baozhu Dizang.
They waited for her to reveal the answer.
"What the Sixth Patriarch experienced in Tianhuang, Master also didn't know."
Baozhu Dizang continued, "On the Santu River, the Sixth Patriarch made a bet with Master: if he lost, he would lead the Western Buddha Realm's Buddhist cultivators away and hand over the orthodox holy land. If Master lost, he would never leave Dihuang."
"Master didn't know why the Sixth Patriarch did this, but how could he agree? How could he waste time there? He had to go to Tianhuang, to see Meng Weiyang—he had to go. His heart was already in turmoil, unable to calm down."
"But the Sixth Patriarch refused to let him pass and even attacked first, forcing Master to agree to the bet. The two fought on the Santu River. Unsurprisingly, with his mind in chaos, Master suffered a crushing defeat, losing again and again, all the way back to Dihuang."
Fan Chen said, "But Meng Ershiba said the bet was proposed by Dizang King?"
Baozhu Dizang snorted coldly, "People only believe what they want to believe. That battle was known only to the Sixth Patriarch and Master. Outsiders merely heard rumors. Who would believe that the Sixth Patriarch would imprison someone? The Sixth Patriarch was never one to bully the weak, but that time, he played the villain."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Did Dizang King really obey the Sixth Patriarch and never leave Dihuang again?"
"Having agreed to it, would he go back on his word after losing? If Dizang King were such a Buddhist cultivator, he would never have achieved what he did today," Fan Chen said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly, feeling that what Baozhu Dizang told was not the whole truth.
Perhaps Dizang King had hidden it from her, or she had hidden it from them, or even Dizang King himself didn't know the full truth.
Cihang Venerable, who had been listening quietly, said, "Perhaps I can help everyone complete the final piece of this story."
Everyone's gaze turned to him.
Including the new-generation Heavenly Venerable of the Meng family, who was in the distant Brahma Fire, dissolving the curse while eavesdropping.
Cihang Venerable said, "I learned that ancient secret while organizing the Sixth Patriarch's notes in the Yellow Sutra Cave. The person Meng Weiyang was to marry was the eldest son of the Tian family of the Eight Divisions Followers, the Great Brahma Heaven."
"The Sixth Patriarch didn't stop Meng Weiyang from marrying, nor did he stop Dizang King from going to Tianhuang. But he did what a friend should do—he took the then-seventeen-year-old Great Brahma Heaven back to the Western Buddha Realm."
The Great Brahma Heaven was once the Buddha Lord of the Western Buddha Realm and one of the Twenty Heavens of the Heavenly Court—who didn't know his name?
Fan Chen laughed heartily, completely forgetting his craving for wine, "The Sixth Patriarch's actions are too outrageous, aren't they? Can't stop the arranged marriage, so he kidnaps the groom to become a monk? Is that how you help a friend? Daoist, don't you think the Sixth Patriarch was quite unscrupulous?"
"That was extremely unscrupulous." Zhang Ruochen said meaningfully.
Only Cihang Venerable present could understand what Zhang Ruochen meant.
Fan Chen always felt that Zhang Ruochen's eyes at that moment were very strange.
What did he mean?
Even if he had made some slight criticism of the Sixth Patriarch, it wasn't a big deal, was it?
This matter—the Sixth Patriarch had indeed acted a bit too damagingly.
Fan Chen said, "Daoist Shengsi thinks I shouldn't have said that? Blaspheming the Sixth Patriarch?"
"No, no, you absolutely have the right to say that," Zhang Ruochen said.
Cihang Venerable, worried that Zhang Ruochen might let something slip, continued, "The Great Brahma Heaven was already a believer in Buddhism, deeply obsessed with Buddhist teachings. At seventeen, he was still dull and foolish. The Sixth Patriarch only mentioned that the Western Buddha Realm was the holy land of Buddhism, and he happily followed along!"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Fan Chen and said, "I've heard that the Great Brahma Heaven has always been slow-witted. After cultivating for six eons, with his lifespan nearly exhausted, he still couldn't break through to the Infinite Realm. In contrast, Seventh Miss has already reached the Heavenly Venerable level at this age!"
"But I believe this is not the real reason Dizang King was confined to Dihuang. With the groom gone, could he feel at ease not going to see Meng Weiyang?"
The surroundings fell silent, as if everyone was lost in thought.
Perhaps because this story was too tortuous, full of life's helplessness, it made them think of a certain period in their own lives. Clearly, they were absolutely hostile to Gandharva, clearly Gandharva's cultivation far surpassed theirs, clearly they were the prisoners, but they couldn't help feeling a trace of sympathy for Gandharva.
If Dizang King had defeated the Sixth Patriarch early on and successfully left the monastic life.
If there had been no dispute over orthodoxy between the Dihuang Buddhist Sect and the Western Buddha Realm's Buddhist sects.
Perhaps everything would have been different. Perhaps there would be no Gandharva. Perhaps Meng Weiyang would have been a respectable senior. Perhaps there would have been a legend of Dizang King and Meng Weiyang as a divine couple.
Born in this era, no matter how high one's cultivation, one is ultimately not in control of one's own fate, full of tragedy and helplessness.
"Is Gandharva listening all along? Can she forgive Dizang King?" Fan Chen murmured.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head.
A million years of waiting, draining away youth and beauty, unwilling to cross the Gray Sea to the Tian family, yet unable to wait for the one she loved.
Could a mere disciple's words from Dizang King earn Gandharva's forgiveness?
Then her million years of disappointment and hatred would be too cheap.
Love can be unwavering unto death, and hate is equally unforgettable.
Zhang Ruochen felt pity for Dizang King and Meng Weiyang, but he wouldn't forget his own situation or the enemy's terror because of it. Because Gandharva was not Meng Weiyang—she was a woman reshaped and twisted by hatred, stubbornness, and anger, someone who wanted his life.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen noticed another issue: Baozhu Dizang's actions and words had at least two flaws.
Why was that?
He could clearly feel that what Baozhu Dizang said was true.
Gandharva had naturally been listening all along. Her doppelganger stood outside the Ghost One Residence on the second floor of Love Mountain Inn, her face showing no emotion, but who knew what she was thinking?
At the foot of the mountain, a deep voice sounded: "Waiting on Love Mountain for a million years, still unwilling to cross the Gray Sea. Such heavy resentment!"
Another voice said, "People only see the resentment, but not the deep love within. If not for deep love, why wait here for a million years? If not for true love, why refuse to cross the Gray Sea? There is still hope in her heart! Crossing the Gray Sea means marrying into the Tian family. Not crossing means it doesn't count."
The deep voice agreed with this view, "You're right! If not for deep love, how could such a magnificent Love Mountain have formed? This love is so strong that even the Nether Ancestor's gray mist cannot violate it."
The two voices conversed as they climbed the stone steps up the mountain.
When they reached outside the inn, there were not two people.
There were three.
The deep voice just now naturally belonged to Shang Tian.
Walking in front of Shang Tian and Sanying Tian was a middle-aged Confucian scholar, with sideburns reaching his chest, exuding a refined yet awe-inspiring heroic spirit. His bright eyes held the spiritual power to perceive all the secrets of the universe.
The middle-aged scholar glanced at the blood-stained stone mill and stepped forward to knock on the door.
Soon, the inn's door opened automatically.
"Come in!"
From inside, Gandharva's indifferent voice sounded.
The middle-aged scholar was the first to step inside, observing the layout carefully, just as Zhang Ruochen had when he first entered Love Mountain Inn. He looked up at Gandharva standing on the second floor and asked, "Are there any rooms available? I want to stay."
Gandharva snorted coldly, "Save that act, Xuan Yuan Taihao. You're quite capable to have made it here. What about Erjun Tian, Jiushou Quan, and the others? All defeated?"
Zhang Ruochen and the others in the Ghost One Residence didn't know what was happening outside.
But the love soup in the Six Desire Divine Furnace had already been brewed, emitting a strange fragrance. Even though everyone present had formidable cultivation, they were all tempted by the aroma and wanted to taste it.
"Whoosh!"
Meng Huang'e flew out from the Brahma Fire, smiling, "The soup is ready. Baoyin Dizang, go fetch two bowls. I'm quite curious now whether the love soup brewed in the Six Desire Divine Furnace can truly affect the emotions and will of these two?"
Zhang Ruochen wasn't concerned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fan Chen nod slightly to him, and he understood. He laughed, "I was originally resistant, but if Seventh Miss can personally feed me, I'll gladly drink it."
"Daoist, you certainly have a good mindset. How could I not oblige you?"
Meng Huang'e took the bowl handed over by Baoyin Dizang, walked up to Zhang Ruochen, and said, "For a moment, I thought how wonderful it would be if the love soup I gave you was brewed with my blood."
"No conflict! Such fragrant soup—I wouldn't mind drinking another bowl. A senior once said, loving one person is love, loving two people is also love."
Zhang Ruochen saw that Fan Chen and Baoyin Dizang had yet to act, and with the bowl at his lips, fearing Meng Huang'e might sense something amiss, he had no choice but to open his mouth.
Meng Huang'e kept her eyes fixed on the soup in the bowl, making sure Zhang Ruochen had truly drunk it. At this moment of her focus, it was precisely the best opportunity for Fan Chen and Baoyin Dizang to strike.
They were waiting for this moment.
Fan Chen believed that a mere bowl of soup couldn't affect Zhang Ruochen.
Huang Tian, who was controlling Baoyin Dizang, didn't care whether Shengsi Daoist would be affected by the love soup. What he cared about was that they only had one chance to act.
They had to capture Meng Huang'e as quickly as possible.
Once Gandharva joined in, all their efforts would be in vain, and there would be no second chance—this place would become their grave.