Chapter 72: The Dharma Assembly

“Thus have I heard:At one time, the Buddha was in the country of Magadha, in the Bodhimaṇḍa of the Aranyaka Dharma, having just attained perfect enlightenment. The ground was firm, made of vajra; adorned with supreme jeweled wheels, various jeweled flowers, and pure mani gems; the ocean of various forms manifested boundlessly; mani gems served as banners, constantly emitting bright light and wonderful sounds, with nets of various jewels, and garlands of wonderful fragrant flowers…”

The grand sound of chanting echoed through the Xia family mansion.
The voices of all the monks merged into one, forming a thick field of aura that immediately suppressed the ominous energy in the mansion.

“This is the Avatamsaka Sutra. Master Yanming is guiding the aura through the monks’ chanting to suppress the evil spirits. To achieve such a synchronized level of tacit understanding, these monks must surely chant together every day. Even if they were to leave the temple individually, they should be able to hold their own,” Yi Zhiqiu commented.

I deeply agreed, because I could directly see the change in the aura.
Such a solid and dazzling aura was stronger than any I had seen from any family or Dharma artifact.
Under this powerful aura, the resentment of the victims on the altar quickly dissipated.

“Miss Xia, please step forward to offer the first incense stick. Pray that the victims can all dispel their resentment and pass on to the Pure Land,” a monk presiding over the ceremony walked over, handed me a bundle of incense, and asked me to go up and burn the first stick.

I took the incense, lit it, and walked towards the altar.
A small cauldron for burning incense had already been placed there.
Behind the cauldron were the nameplates and black-and-white photos of each victim.

First, of course, were Xia Yubing’s parents.
I once again bowed respectfully and offered incense to them, then put my palms together and prayed silently, ‘I will definitely build a shrine for you both in the future and make offerings daily. I hope you two will not make things difficult for me anymore.’

Amidst the sound of chanting, I felt myself become very light.
The last bit of ominous aura truly dissipated completely.
And this wasn’t just a simple purification; it was a feeling of complete liberation.
Could this be what they call settling karma?

It really worked! My heart leaped with joy.
I came to the second position.
Here were placed my real parents.
Although our relationship was poor when they were alive, I still silently put my palms together and bowed to them three times, praying in my heart, ‘Father, Mother, I have already avenged you. Please rest in peace.’

Sure enough, I felt as if another layer of shackles, or karma, had been unlocked from my body.
I felt even lighter.
This ceremony was indeed effective.

Next were the hooligans who had once bullied me.
Walking to the front, I felt even more conflicted.
When I first said I wanted to hold a ceremony for everyone, it was just to cover up my intention of holding a ceremony for my own parents on the side.
But now that I knew the ceremony could truly dispel resentment, the situation was different.

After thinking for a moment, I also offered them a stick of incense and bowed to them, praying silently in my heart, ‘Thank you for luring the Painted Skin Ghost away for me and saving my life. I wish you can be reincarnated as good people.’

Finally, I even earnestly paid my respects to the Xia family’s servants and the other victims whom the police had identified but had no relation to me, expressing my sympathy and blessings to them.

With that, the final layer of karma entangling me also disappeared.
Reconciling with these victims who were killed by the Painted Skin Ghost made me feel completely unburdened.
Even the resentment on the deceased’s belongings dissipated.

I bowed deeply to all the deceased again before turning to step down.
The monk in charge of the ceremony nodded and said, “Miss Xia has a compassionate heart, dispelling hatred and resentment. Good deeds will surely be rewarded.”

Did they see something? My heart skipped a beat, but I walked down without showing any emotion.
Next, it was the other family members’ turn to come up and pay their respects and offer incense.

They were truly here to mourn.
Many of them had known their family members were missing a few days ago and had only received news of their deaths today.
They couldn’t help but cry in front of the altar.

Emotions are easily contagious.
The first person’s tears quickly triggered the sorrow of others.
Soon, the entire assembly was filled with crying.
Many people were wailing and weeping inconsolably.

Amidst this dreary cloud of sorrowful cries, the monks of Mingwang Temple remained unmoved, continuing to chant.
The crisp sound of the wooden fish and the heavy toll of the Buddhist bell were still clearly audible above the sound of crying, distinct and separate.

Under the guidance of Master Yanming’s striking of the ‘seng qing’, these Buddhist sounds formed a special aura that enveloped the grieving families, calming their emotions and preventing them from becoming too overwhelmed with grief and crying to the point of fainting.

Yi Zhiqiu had said before that the ‘seng qing’, a Buddhist Dharma artifact, was best at calming the mind and concentrating the spirit.
Now I had experienced it firsthand.
Indeed, amidst these overlapping Buddhist sounds, even I felt a sense of inner peace.

The Xia family relatives also went up to the altar one by one to offer incense, but I couldn’t see much sadness in them.
Only three or five of them shed a few tears, and that was due to the influence of the surrounding environment.
Most of the people who had rushed over didn’t really have any feelings for Xia Yubing’s parents.

The ceremony continued.
The next step was to offer sacrifices for the deceased to consume, commonly known as ‘releasing the flaming mouth’.
The monks were already prepared.
Several monks placed five-colored glutinous rice, wine, fruits, and other items on the altar.
It looked far more professional than my simplified ritual yesterday.

During the ‘releasing the flaming mouth’, the families of the other victims also came to burn paper money.
A continuous stream of hell money was thrown into the flames in the copper basin in front of the altar.

During this process, I noticed the police carrying a lot of furniture out of the mansion and placing it behind the altar.
This furniture was covered in a thick ominous aura; much of it had been stained with blood when the Xia family was massacred.

According to Mo Qingyan’s classification of Dharma artifacts, this furniture filled with ominous aura could already be called Cursed Artifacts.
But they were still somewhat different from the red pencil in Senior Sister Mo’s hand.

The ominous aura in Senior Sister Mo’s red pencil was solidified and restrained.
If you didn’t hold it in your hand, you could hardly see any ominous aura drifting out.
But the ominous aura on this furniture was erratic, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

And that was indeed the case.
When the police placed this furniture behind the altar, facing the aura generated by dozens of monks chanting in unison, the ominous aura was almost instantly defeated and purified.
The Cursed Artifacts also reverted to ordinary furniture.

My guess was that these Cursed Artifacts had only just formed.
The ominous aura had not completely merged with them, and they hadn’t even had time to cause any trouble before encountering the powerful aura formed by the Dharma assembly.
As a result, they were easily purified.

If a Cursed Artifact had been used or placed for a certain period of time, the ominous aura might have completely fused with it, making it impossible to separate again.
At that stage, the Cursed Artifact could no longer be purified and could only be destroyed.

As the ceremony proceeded, the monks also performed steps such as ‘requesting pardon‘, ‘offering a bath’, and ‘sending off the saints’.
During these rituals, Mo Qingyan had thoughtfully prepared red envelopes for the monks, handing out several for each ritual.

Even the other family members, including the Xia family relatives, had prepared red envelopes for the monks.
It seemed to be an established custom.
Only I, being ignorant, had not prepared any.
It was Xiao Qing who thoughtfully prepared a few for me, saving me from embarrassment.