According to Arati, the most powerful person in the Jade Buddha Temple was probably his master, Shidragupta.
No wonder he had used his master's name to invite me to Thailand.
While we were talking, we arrived at the entrance of the Jade Buddha Temple. The scripture preaching ceremony was over, but many tourists were still lingering around.
Ala Ti could only lead me through the crowd and into the Jade Buddha Hall.
The monks from earlier were still sitting in the temple. When they saw us, they stood up and clasped their palms together to greet Ala Ti. Ala Ti returned the greeting and took me through the Jade Buddha Temple. We arrived at a courtyard.
The layout of the courtyard was similar to that of Chinese tradition. The flowers, shrubs, and rockery were arranged in a certain way. Geomancy was hidden everywhere. I couldn't help but look around.
Ala Ti saw my movements and smiled. "All the courtyards in this Jade Buddha Temple were built by a Chinese geomancy master. Speaking of which, it has something to do with the Metaphysics Society that I belong to."
I was bewildered. Then, I got it. The last time I met him, I represented the Metaphysics Society.
A few years had passed, and the situation had changed. However, I didn't want to talk about my personal matters, so I smiled and acquiesced.
We continued to walk for around five or six minutes until we reached a door with red ribbons hanging from it.
He finally stopped and gestured for me to calm down. Then, he walked forward and stood in front of the door. He bowed and shouted, "Master, the Holy Son is here."
It was interesting that when he talked to Shiva, he didn't use Thai but Chinese. Could it be that Shiva was Chinese?
As I was thinking about this, I heard a reply from the other side of the door. Shiva gestured for us to enter.
Ala Ti pushed the door open and bowed, inviting me to enter.
I didn't refuse. When we entered the room, I saw a monk in a red robe sitting on a lotus pedestal with his back to us.
This scene surprised me. It wasn't because of Shiva's style.
It was because he wasn't sitting on a Buddhist futon but on a lotus pedestal.
As far as I knew, only monks like Bodhisattvas could sit on a lotus pedestal. Even arhats in Buddhism couldn't sit on a lotus pedestal.
Obviously, it was impossible for Sirambhava to be enlightened and become a Buddha. This was probably due to the difference in customs between the Buddhism of Thailand and the Buddhism of the Central Earth.
At this moment, Ala Ti walked forward and bowed respectfully to Shiromanpa's back. He then said, "Master, the Holy Son is here."
Shiva didn't move at first. After a few seconds, he stood up and turned around. He didn't say anything, but his dim yellow eyes scanned me from head to toe.
He looked to be in his fifties or sixties and looked hale and hearty. There was a string of Buddhist beads engraved with complicated Sanskrit on his chest.
After glancing at the Sanskrit characters, I felt strange.
Recently, I've had a lot of dealings with the Buddhist sects, so I've also studied the Buddhist sects.
As far as I know, Thai Buddhism is Theravada Buddhism, also known as Southern Buddhism and Pali Buddhism.
Of course, their scriptures were written in Pali, so why was Shiva's prayer beads written in Sanskrit?
It was said that the Sanskrit language was created by the guardian deity of Buddhism, Brahma.
Sanskrit was a language of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian language family of the Indo-European language family. It was one of the oldest languages in the Indo-European language family.
Although Thailand and India weren't far from each other, and it was understandable that Buddhism could influence each other, the scriptures they wrote were completely different.
I recalled the scene I'd seen in the courtyard, the conversation between Ala Ti and Shiva in Chinese, and the Sanskrit prayer beads. It was obvious that Shiva had a deep relationship with the Buddhism in this country.
While I was thinking, Shiva finally spoke. He bowed to me respectfully and said, "Mister, please have a seat."
His Chinese was perfect and fluent. It seemed to confirm my previous guess.
The way he addressed me was also unique. He didn't call me Holy Son or Benefactor, but he called me 'mister.' It was new to me.
I nodded and stooped to check. There was only a futon in front of him. I sat down cross-legged.
After I sat down, Shiva asked Ala Ti to serve me tea. His gesture didn't look like an otherworldly Buddhist, but he had the etiquette of the secular world.
I didn't mind. I took the tea from Ala Ti and tasted it.
Then, Shiva continued, "A few years ago, I heard from Ala Ti that he met someone who was recognized by the power of the nine spirits in Shenzhen, China.
Today, I can see that you're really extraordinary. "
His polite words were beautiful, so I didn't mind. I cupped my fists and smiled. "That day, Ala Ti and I agreed to visit your temple one year later.
However, I was busy with secular affairs and missed the appointed time.
I hope you won't blame me for taking the liberty to come here. "
He smiled and shook his head. "I have the power of the nine spirits, so you don't need to be so polite. I can come to the Jade Buddha Temple at any time."
Since Shiva was so understanding, I didn't stand on ceremony anymore.
Then, we chatted casually. Most of the time, we asked about the situation of the cultivators in this country.
Of course, there was nothing to hide. Ala Ti had been to China before, so he had a general understanding of the situation.
I took the chance to ask him why he knew so much about China and the pedestal of the lotus flower.
Shiva still wore a faint smile and answered my questions one by one.
According to him, when he was still Azan, he had traveled all over China and had exchanges with many famous monks about the Dharma.
During his travels, he came in contact with Chinese metaphysics. He was very interested in it. While exchanging Buddhist teachings with the local Buddhist monks, he studied Chinese metaphysics.
Soon, he was fascinated.
After that, he stayed in China for ten years before returning to the Jade Buddha Temple.
Now that he was almost seventy years old, he often recalled some things that happened in the past. That was why he kept asking me about China.
It was similar to my speculation. I nodded and didn't mind it.
As for the pedestal, it was a tradition of the Jade Buddha Temple.
The Golden Lotus was the national flower of Thailand. It was often used in large-scale ceremonies and celebrations, such as building cities. When the army went to war, they would put the Golden Chain Flower on the military flag to symbolize victory. Thai people also liked to plant the Golden Chain Flower around their houses. In Thai culture, the Golden Chain Flower was a symbol of good luck.
As the highest temple in Thailand, the Jade Buddha Temple naturally had to enjoy the highest treatment.
That was why when the Jade Buddha Temple was first built, the King had given the pedestal of the Golden Lotus to the first abbot of the temple and asked him to inherit his legacy.
In other temples in Thailand, monks weren't allowed to enjoy the pedestal of the Golden Lotus. Moreover, they had to follow the lead of the Jade Buddha Temple.
That was why the pedestal of the Golden Lotus in the Jade Buddha Temple wasn't only a symbol of status, but also a symbol of power.
After listening to this, I understood that Thai Buddhism was different from Chinese Buddhism. From a certain point of view, Thai Buddhism was mixed with the secular world. It wasn't just about faith, but also politics.
It was understandable. However, with my current cultivation base, I was no longer in the secular world, so I didn't really care about this kind of thing.
In fact, my only purpose for coming here was the Tai Sui, which was to increase my cultivation base and reach the Yang God Realm as soon as possible.
However, since this place was Lord Shiva's territory, I didn't know how to bring it up. After all, the power of the nine spirits was the most precious treasure of the Jade Buddha Temple. I had to think of a better way to get it.
Lord Shiva saw that I didn't say anything, and he seemed to know what I was thinking. He smiled and asked, "Are you here to observe the power of the nine spirits?"
I was thrilled. "I came here because I've encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation. I want to see if I can comprehend something while observing the power of the nine spirits."
After listening to me, Lord Shiva didn't answer me immediately. He gazed at me as if he wanted to see my power.
After a while, his face became indifferent. He asked, "Your Excellency, I can't see through your power. I guess you're going to advance to the Dragon Rank soon."
Before I could answer, Ala Ti spoke first. He looked at Lord Shiva and said, "Master, you asked me to go to Wulong Biman Palace to investigate the situation. It was the Holy Son who was fighting with the people of Jinshan Temple. The Holy Son almost killed Dragon Matron Kui."
Wet Dragon Granny didn't feel surprised when he heard this. Perhaps he also knew how powerful Dragon Granny Kui was.
Since he couldn't see through my cultivation base, it wasn't strange that Dragon Matron Kui was defeated by me.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly said that he had asked Ala Ti to investigate the situation because he had sensed the aura of the Dao Qi.
However, he didn't expect that I would be the one who emitted the aura of the Dao Qi.
Since I had been recognized by the power of the nine spirits, why would I still use the Dao Qi?
Since Lord Shiva had stayed in China for ten years, he must have known that the cultivators of China all practiced the Dao Qi.
He knew that I could use the power of the nine spirits because Ala Ti had seen it in the exchange competition in Shenzhen.
However, at that time, I had only used the black bead that Goldie had given me and hadn't really practiced the sorcery energy.
Therefore, he didn't know that I could practice two kinds of energy at the same time.
This matter had already spread in the country, so there was no need to hide it.
Since he was so curious, I told him the reason.
I didn't expect that after Lord Shiva heard that I had two kinds of spiritual energy in my body and that I could practice at the same time, he looked very surprised.
Not only that, but his whole body was trembling. I didn't know whether it was because of excitement or fear.