The Battle in Journey to the West-Chapter 71 - 0 The Scholar Has the Master to Set the

Although Confucius was a sage, he could not know the events of future generations. Wukong, having transcended the Heavenly Dao, saw clearly. Although he did not know the future, he glimpsed a trace from the Heavenly Dao. Confucianism in the future would turn toxic, with great Confucian scholars practicing Inner Learning, abandoning external kingship, and a selection of decadent scholars emerged, furthering the complete collapse of Confucianism. Buddhism played the role of a catalyst in this, not only causing the destruction of Confucianism but also stalling technological progress. However, he also saw that the spread of Buddhism in the Eastern Land was indeed in accordance with the Heavenly Dao; the struggle between Buddhism and Daoism was inevitable.

Ancestor Chen Tuan then said, “Old Master Kong, this is the grievance between my Daoist sect and the Buddhist sect, why have you come?”

Confucius said, “Your actions stirring the dragon vein could harm the national fortune, and when the time comes, a great karmic retribution will be upon you, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Everyone present was slightly startled; if the dragon vein was indeed damaged, then the Heavenly killing intent would spare no one. This was a matter of great importance, great karma, great sin!

The Imperial City was precisely located where the dragon’s eye of the dragon vein was. This group of Daluo Golden Immortals, at minimum Taiyi golden immortals, were battling here, a chaotic fight that even shook the dragon’s eye continuously. Confucius originally did not want to get involved, but he had no choice but to intervene, it was a matter of necessity. Everyone thought Confucius had long died, but in reality, he had always been alive. As the guardian of the dragon vein of the Eastern Land, with each new dynasty, he would enter the underground of the capital city to protect the dragon’s eye, to ensure the stability of the realm.

Although Confucius did not practice Taoist arts or Buddhist law, he had carved a new path through Confucianism, and all the scholars in the world venerated his image, with plentiful incense power and wishes.

Chen Tuan had injured the Elder Shan Wuwei and had already gained an advantage and saved face. Now with Confucius coming out to admonish, he certainly would not strike again, not wanting to disrespect the old master. Though outwardly he seemed a gentle old man, if truly angered, perhaps all present combined would not match him, after all, he was the Patriarch of Confucianism, who knew to what extent his power had reached? Maybe with a sweep of his brush, a single article written could erase all present.

It’s said that a scholar is useless in all but reading, but a Confucian patriarch like Kong, having enjoyed years of incense power and wishes, and with such high scholarly attainment, naturally couldn’t be judged by common sense. It was not easy for a great Confucian to achieve immortality. Dong Zhongshu was also a great Confucian but had still died. However, his spirit was preserved in his writings. Daoist Equal to Heaven cited those writings and immediately dealt a heavy blow to King Bodhisattva, turning defeat into victory, showing that Confucianism should not be underestimated.

That Confucianism could stand out from among the Hundred Schools of Thought, uniquely honored by the Martial Emperor, naturally had its remarkable aspects. More importantly, Confucianism further solidified the emperor’s authority.

Daoist Equal to Heaven bowed his hands and said, “Since Old Master Kong has spoken, we would not dare to disregard his words.”

Confucius also bowed his hands to the Daoist Equal to Heaven. He was a kind-hearted person, reluctant to engage in conflicts.

Shan Wuwei, however, was not afraid of Confucius and said, “Chen Tuan has injured me, how can I let this go lightly? You ask us to respect you, but who is respecting me?”

Having said this, Shan Wuwei acted immediately, raising his Vajra Pestle to strike Chen Tuan. However, Chen Tuan did not move an inch; this person spoke too rashly, directly offending Confucius, clearly ignorant of proprieties. There was no need for him to take action himself, as Confucius would naturally take care of him.

Indeed, Confucius frowned slightly and gently wrote a large character in the air, which those present couldn’t recognize.

“Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal? The script from the Xia Dynasty era, rumored to possess a peculiar power, who would have thought Old Master Kong, a scholar of immense learning, could comprehend the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal,” Yang Jian, never lacking in knowledge, recognized the origin of the character, a product from the Xia Dynasty era.

Future scholars argued that the earliest script appeared during the Shang Dynasty, in Oracle Bone Script. But actually, there was a much broader civilization before that, which was erased due to carnage, unknown to outsiders.

In the Xia Dynasty, some scripts were imprinted on the “Swallowing Dragon Stele.” Thus, these specific scripts were also known as Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal, but many people could not comprehend them, could not understand them, yet Confucius was a greatly learned person, the patriarch of Confucianism, truly a scholar of immense learning.

Shan Wuwei’s expression also changed, but Confucius had already thrown the character at him, striking Shan Wuwei’s crown and causing Shan Wuwei to stagger and fall from the sky.

“Scram!”

This time, everyone clearly saw the character written by Confucius, which was “Scram.” As the character landed, it struck Shan Wuwei’s body, immediately launching him into the air, turning him into a gourd, rolling and flying far away, disappearing in an instant.

“It’s not right for Old Master Kong to bully our Buddhist sect’s disciples like this, is it?” suddenly someone said. The speaker was none other than the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, whom Daoist Equal to Heaven had met in the War God Secret Realm.

The Buddhist disciples present hurriedly greeted the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, who simply waved his hand indifferently and looked toward Old Master Kong.

This Buddha of Immeasurable Life was somehow related to the “remnants of the Various Heavens” mentioned by Wusheng. Daoist Equal to Heaven also did not know whether these “Various Heavens” were associated with Buddhism’s Twenty Heavens in any way? Perhaps the link was not significant, or even nonexistent, considering that the Twenty Heavens of Buddhism were merely twenty protectors and nothing more, which wouldn’t be enough to warrant Wusheng’s grave attention, especially considering its connection to a great war of the Middle Ancient Times.

Confucius said, “Oh! It turns out to be the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. Your Buddhist disciples spoke out of line, and I merely disciplined them on your behalf.”

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The Buddha of Immeasurable Life responded, “But that’s not for you to discipline, is it?”

Confucius then chuckled, “Why say such things, Buddha? You have been hiding in the shadows all along, why come out only now?”

The Buddha of Immeasurable Life retorted, “Monks do not lie; I have just arrived. Old Master Kong, don’t speak carelessly.”

Confucius said, “This is an internal matter within Buddhism, I did not want to interfere. But if you really want to kill the spirit of my Confucian School or insult me, then I have no choice.”

The Buddha of Immeasurable Life replied with a chuckle, “You joke, Old Master, but I must still seek justice for this situation.”

Confucius smirked and without saying more, wrote another character in the air, still using the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal, unintelligible to those watching. Yet, this character transformed into a divine sword. People speculated whether this might be the character for “Sword.” Indeed, as the sword shot forth, bursting with sharp qi and cutting fiercely, it slashed dozens of small tears into Buddha of Immeasurable Life’s Kasaya in an instant, leaving him in tatters.

“Who would have thought Old Master Kong had mastered the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal to such a formidable degree!” exclaimed the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, his expression changing as he uttered a Dharma spell, ready to take action.

“Scram!” Confucius wrote the character again and shouted lightly, swiping his brush, and the Buddha of Immeasurable Life immediately fell, dirtied and disgraced, rolling out of the Imperial City just like Shan Wuwei had.

…

Everyone present was wide-eyed, not expecting a Buddha from Western Heaven to be so easily dealt with by Confucius. Just a couple of characters written by him resolved the situation, truly leaving them flabbergasted.

Old Master Kong was easy-going, as long as you weren’t deliberately making things difficult for him or trying to insult him, he was quite willing to step back. But just now, Shan Wuwei was aggressively challenging him, intending to fight Chen Tuan in his presence, which was akin to a direct insult. Naturally, Confucius could not tolerate it! As for the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, who also seemed relentless in interfering, Confucius naturally would not agree, settling them with just a couple of strokes.

“The Human Emperor’s Brush…” Yang Jian murmured, “Does Old Master Kong hold Emperor Gongsun Xuanyuan’s imperial brush in his hand?”

Confucius nodded, saying, “True Lord Erlang speaks correctly; this brush is indeed Emperor Xuanyuan’s imperial brush.”

Daoist Equal to Heaven envied how Confucius easily resolved his foes with just a few written characters, wondering when he himself would be able to cultivate Confucian principles to such an extent? Perhaps even if Tathagata came, a few big characters from him would leave him disheveled.

“Now that this matter is resolved, do not come to the Imperial City to fight again, lest you disturb the Dragon Vein and disrupt the celestial design!” Confucius told everyone, bowing politely, still appearing amiable.

Bodhidharma and others felt bitter; such a formidable Buddha as the Buddha of Immeasurable Life had come, yet he had been disposed of by this Confucian sage so effortlessly. It was truly frightening. For now, they could only drop the matter, especially since Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang, had already agreed to establish temples to propagate their teachings.

The people of the Buddhist sect sighed silently, saying no more, only feeling that they had lost too much face this time. Not only was Shan Wuwei defeated, but more importantly, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life too! The Buddha of Immeasurable Life was no trivial figure; being one of the three thousand foremost Buddhas, truly boundless in mana, yet Confucius had driven him away with just a couple of strokes.

The people from the Daoist sect felt extremely refreshed, as if enjoying a cold watermelon on a sweltering summer’s day.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the next episode.