Chapter 16

After having completed the recruiting in the west sea, Ran Deng returned to mount Sumeru.

He had a feeling that someone would arrive there to meet him soon. At their stage of power, every move towards them, every cause and effect, and even just every mention of their name is enough to give them a feeling.

This is why the scheming of Louhou against the three tribes later on was so very successful – no one expected they would be schemed against at their stage. Naturally the calamity energy between heaven and earth didn't ease the situation.

…

This time, he was faster since he didn't have to calculate the secrets of heaven along the way and adjust his movement. After all, he hadn't known the exact position of the octopus clan, he had to somehow walk in the right direction at that time.

When he arrived at mount Sumeru, he barely had a short decade of sorting the hall, spreading buddha light, adjusting his three mind manipu- his three divine tools, when he felt a shaking of the ground.

It wasn't an earthquake, it was the earths' welcoming of an entity that was loved by it.

Ran Deng smiled, knowing instantly who it was. At this point in time, there is only one being loved by the earth this much.

He hovered around the foot of the mountain, waiting.

A few moments later, it was indeed as he had anticipated, the first qilin, Shi Qilin, arrived.

'Simple names, simple names… Zulong means ancestral dragon, Yuan Feng means original male phoenix, together with his Yuan Huang, the original female phoenix, they form a pair… and Shi Qilin really just means first qilin. The great dao really didn't bother coming up with great names… but when complicated things return to simplicity, they are superior after all.'

Shi Qilin wasn't a giant like one would expect, instead, he was the size of an average innate divine body. He walked forward with his two horns rising majestically behind him, his mane swaying in the wind and tail commanding the wind around him.

"I greet the holy divine spirit, the first qilin, Shi Qilin!" Ran Deng smiled politely. The qilin in front of him was already a mid-stage primordial golden immortal. If it wasn't because his buddhist sect had three people, he wouldn't have the power to face him eye to eye.

After all, with each higher stage, the difference between minor realms would become more serios. Naturally the gap isn't so big that he can fight against three people at once, the buddhist sect even has a small advantage here.

Shi Qilin smiled and greeted "I greet you, Origin of Buddhahood. Your name reaches far and wide, your buddhist sect was acknowledged and gained even more recognition than when we three tribes established our clans.

It seems the tradition of sects isn't less than any of our tribes!" Although he said this, he didn't think their tribes were inferior. After all, they strived for supremacy to a part, while the other parts only wanted to enlighten others. No matter how strong they were, they wouldn't compete fully with them, as long as they had their own independence.

Ran Deng knew what the other party was thinking and said humbly "The great dao loves all life."

Seeing that the other party didn't understand this sentence, Ran Deng knew it would take a bit of convincing, but he was happy he wasn't rejected directly. Then, he invited the other party into the main hall and directly brought him to the third floor.

For Shi Qilin, these tests didn't mean much, but it still gave him a look into the future of the buddhist sect, and he was more willing to work together with them. After all, he had come because of a certain feeling, naturally he didn't want to just talk.

The third hall was the hall of inheritance where all Buddha's would leave their own buddha light. Currently, there were only three statues, but this was enough to light up the room majorly. There were many side rooms for different things, and one was specially to receive guests.

After all, showing off one's power when receiving guests is the norm at this stage in the world. Only when you show how strong you are, will the other party be more willing.

The two sat down, Ran Deng waved his hand and fruits, and tea were served. Seeing that Shi Qilin looked at him curiously, Ran Deng explained "Enlightening others means putting everyone on the same stage.

There is no distinction between servant and master, there is only one between those who gained enlightenment and those who will, a distinction of teacher and student.

Enlightening others only to make them serve is worse than not enlightening them. One day when I take disciples, they will naturally be willing to help with trivial things, but after all, this is their volunteering action to show piety, not because it's their responsibility.

The buddhist only have three responsibilities: saving those that suffer, teaching those who are sincere and reaching their own enlightenment."

He said so much just to open Shi Qilin's eyes to the buddhist teaching. They wouldn't treat any of their students as lesser or higher, as long as they were buddhist monks, they would truthfully be monks with the same treatment as all others.

After all, Ran Deng knew the biggest flaw of sects. That is, the restriction of freedom. If the restrictions are to help those in need, regardless of method, to teach others, even teaching one's own descendants or passing on the mantle, and to be successful in their cultivation, then these restrictions would be welcomed with open arms by everyone. Only by creating illusory restrictions can they convince others to join wholeheartedly.

If they did it like the immortal sects, then there would be no end for the trouble. It is precisely because the immortal sects have their own restrictions that they fail. The one immortal sect, the unrighteous one, Jie sect founded by Sage Tongtian, was destroyed in the end because those he taught didn't follow his path, going against the greater goals of the immortal sect and creating karma.

The way of killing is part of saving the suffering, but it only works when one kills the suffering and the one that causes suffering. This is why their buddhist sect could kill without getting stained with karma, while the only sect in the immortal sect that can avoid karma is the Human Sect founded by Sage Taiqing, who follows the path of inaction.

Even Sage Yuanshi's Chan sect, which takes cause and effect as their technique and the heavenly way as their path, gathered numerous karma and finally lost their taoist heritage at the end of the Conferring God tribulation.

It can only be said that Hongjun creating pitfalls for their sects everywhere. 

While thinking of this Ran Deng couldn't help cursing Hongjun a few times in his heart. If he learned the path of curses, he was sure to have buried Hongjun half in the grave by now.

'I would really like to learn that path… unfortunately the cost is as high as the damage, it's not worth it for someone who doesn't have special talent and the innate treasures of this path.'