"Huixin, if you please. Make it quick."
Ji Yanzhi spoke the last four words with a commanding tone that brooked no argument.
Huixin’s smile remained unchanged as he nodded slightly. "Amitabha. Rest assured, Benefactor Ji. This poor monk shall do his utmost."
With the wager set, the atmosphere shifted abruptly.
Li Nanzhu took a deep breath, her small face filled with seriousness. She raised her hand to gently pat Suisui, the little bone spirit who had been perched on her head and was now wriggling uneasily. She whispered, "Be good, Suisui. Go to Fifth Senior Sister for now. Don't disturb me."
Suisui let out a soft click, appearing somewhat reluctant, but it still obediently hopped off Li Nanzhu's head. Transforming into a streak of white light, it landed precisely in the hands Feng Qingping had already extended.
Feng Qingping cradled Suisui, gently stroking its cold bone ridges, while her gaze quickly exchanged silent signals with Zhu Yinxi, Rong Yuying, and the others.
Understanding her intent, the group subtly adjusted their positions. On the surface, it looked like they were clearing a space for the debate in the center, but in reality, they were faintly shielding Feng Qingping and Suisui in a relatively central location.
The two sides moved back in unison, clearing a wide area at the narrow entrance of the valley.
A disciple from the Wuji Sect expressionlessly took out a stick of incense. With a flick of spiritual energy from his fingertip, the tip ignited, and curls of green smoke began to rise. He then planted the incense into the ground.
When the incense burned out, the debate would conclude.
Li Nanzhu and Huixin stood opposite each other and sat down cross-legged.
"Amitabha," Huixin was the first to speak. His tone was peaceful, as if he were just having a casual chat, picking up the topic that had been interrupted earlier. "Benefactor Li asked just now why our sect does not proactively distribute points to accumulate greater merit. It is an excellent question. However, what you may not know is that in the Buddha's teachings, giving emphasizes the 'Emptiness of the Three Wheels'—where the giver, the receiver, and the gift are all empty and tranquil, free from attachment. If one is attached to the act of giving and seeks the reward of merit, it is a lesser form of giving, not a true one."
"As for advising you all to let go, that is an inverse application of giving. It helps you detach from material wealth, which is also a form of merit. The two seem contradictory, but they are actually two sides of the same coin, both being skillful means for salvation. One must not be biased toward either side."
To Li Nanzhu’s secret surprise, although Huixin was somewhat hypocritical, his Buddhist foundation was indeed solid. Furthermore, he didn't just use profound Buddhist verses to suppress her during the debate. Instead, he preferred to explain principles in a relatively easy-to-understand way before throwing the more difficult questions back at her.
This actually made the debate seem fairer and more likely to confuse onlookers.
Li Nanzhu listened seriously and nodded, her face showing a look of realization. Then, she pivoted sharply. "What you say sounds very profound, Master. However, I still don't quite understand. You mentioned the Emptiness of the Three Wheels and not being attached to the act of giving. In that case, isn't your desperate struggle for points right now a form of attachment to resources and the image of the Mingguang Sect? Since everything should be empty and tranquil, why not empty your heart of the desire to compete as well? Instead, why must we, the receivers, be the ones to first empty our attachment to the points? Isn't this a case of... the officials being allowed to set fires, while the commoners aren't allowed to light a lamp?"
She blinked her large eyes, her tone innocent yet striking at the core of the issue. "Furthermore, you say that advising us to let go is an inverse application of giving and is a form of merit. But the beneficiary of this merit seems to be mainly your sect. We lose the points, and your sect gains them. This inverse giving... the more I look at it, the more it looks like a one-way collection of wealth."
"When the Buddha cut his own flesh to feed the eagle back then, he took the loss while the sentient beings benefited. With your inverse giving, why is it that the sentient beings suffer the loss while your sect reaps the benefit? This seems a bit different from the Buddha's way, doesn't it?"
Huixin's expression remained unchanged as he replied with a smile, "You are caught up in appearances, Benefactor. The heart of gain and loss is also an illusion. Our sect gains points to better carry out our great vows; you all lose points to more quickly leave behind attachments. It seems there is gain and loss, but in reality, we are realizing Bodhi together. If our sect were to forcibly grant you resources, it would be like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, ruining the foundation of your cultivation. Wouldn't that be a sin? That is not merit, but a karmic hindrance."
Li Nanzhu cursed him for his cunning in her heart, but her face showed a thoughtful expression. "Oh? According to you, Master, these points and resources depend on whether someone is worthy?"
"Precisely," Huixin nodded with a smile.
"Then may I ask the Master," Li Nanzhu blinked her innocent eyes, "how can one be considered worthy? Is it like you and Senior Brother Ji, where if your cultivation is high enough and your fists are hard enough to snatch them, you are considered worthy?"
Her question was blunt, even sharp, directly equating 'strength' with 'qualification,' subtly pointing out the nature of the law of the jungle.
Huixin's smile didn't falter as he responded calmly, "Strength is, of course, one of the foundations. However, character, wisdom, and even fortune are all indispensable. That our sect can obtain these resources is also the will of heaven and a matter of serendipity."
"The will of heaven? Serendipity?" Li Nanzhu tilted her head and pressed further. "Then do the will of heaven and serendipity stand on the side of those who snatch things from others, or on the side of those who are being snatched from? Does the Buddha protect those who succeed in snatching things, or those who can remain calm even after being robbed?"
This question was even more tricky, almost questioning the basic logic of good and evil having their rewards.
Huixin’s brow twitched imperceptibly. "Amitabha. The cycle of cause and effect is unerring. Today's result must have yesterday's cause. The struggle in the secret realm is also a stage for the manifestation of cause and effect..."
He skillfully steered the problem toward the abstract theory of karma, beginning his familiar habit of talking in circles.
As the two went back and forth, the debate gradually deepened.
Meanwhile, the side of the Five Elements Dao Sect and the Hehuan Sect was not entirely passive.
Suisui, in Feng Qingping's arms, seemed extremely restless. Its small bony body trembled slightly, and from time to time, one or two tiny, dimly glowing bone spurs or fragments would 'accidentally' fall from it, landing on Feng Qingping's lapel or at her feet.
Feng Qingping, without showing any emotion, took the opportunity while smoothing her lapel or shifting her feet to quietly kick these seemingly useless bone fragments into the shadows or use a tiny bit of spiritual energy to embed them into inconspicuous cracks in the ground.
Her movements were extremely discreet, and her spiritual energy fluctuations were minimal. Hidden by the ongoing debate and the tense atmosphere, almost no one noticed.
Although the disciples of the Wuji Sect and the Mingguang Sect still maintained the encirclement, many were drawn to this strange debate, their eyes frequently darting toward the two in the center as they discussed in low voices.
After all, the idea of deciding the ownership of a huge amount of points through a battle of wits was unheard of in previous secret realm competitions.
On the other side, Duan Xianxing had somehow managed to edge closer to a Foundation Establishment disciple from the Wuji Sect who was nearest to them.
The disciple was initially wary, but Duan Xianxing put on a sighing expression of shared suffering and lowered his voice. "Sigh, brother, what kind of situation is this? A perfectly good secret realm treasure hunt has turned into listening to a monk chant sutras... Your Senior Brother Ji is something else too; wouldn't it be easier just to start the fight and grab them? How much more straightforward!"
The Wuji Sect disciple was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously glanced at the two debating in the center, then at the expressionless but cold-eyed Ji Yanzhi, not daring to respond.
Liu Qingyang followed suit, approaching another little monk from the Mingguang Sect. "Little Master, is your Senior Brother Huixin always this talkative? Is it especially easy to fall asleep while listening to him lecture on the scriptures?"
The little monk's face flushed red. He uttered a Buddhist name and lowered his head, not daring to reply.
The other disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect and the Hehuan Sect also shifted their positions intentionally or otherwise. They looked scattered, but they were subtly forming a formation that was more conducive to mutual support in the event of a sudden emergency.
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