However, just as the present-day Indra looked at him and saw only an ordinary monk, the strength that this Genjo displayed was highly likely to be nothing more than a disguise as well.
No! Not highly likely! It was certain!
Because the strength of that level could never possibly have seen through his true identity, and that contradiction itself was the greatest inconsistency.
Together with the sentence Genjo had said earlier, the dust of former days has already ended, old shadows are as empty as the void, and this body is only Genjo, which further confirms his judgment.
Just like him and Madara Uchiha, the young monk before him was also merely showing the world a borrowed layer of skin at this moment.
Thus, Isshiki Otsutsuki chose to step down along the staircase that this mysterious young monk had extended to him.
How many thoughts had flashed through Isshiki Otsutsuki's mind in that brief instant? No one knew.
And while Genjo and Ichisun were speaking, Madara Uchiha remained as a cold observer from beginning to end.
From the moment Genjo seemed to reveal Ichisun's identity, he had keenly sensed that this mysterious monk Ichisun had already been prepared to make a move at that instant.
That actually made Madara Uchiha feel a trace of anticipation.
A monk whose depths could not be seen through, and a young monk whose depths could not be seen through, if those two were to fight, then he would be able to probe a bit of their true faces.
Unfortunately, in the end, this monk, Ichisun, still chose, out of concern or wariness, to gently step down the staircase offered by the young monk.
But then again, that made sense.
Faced with someone who seemed able to see through every last detail about you, anyone with even a little scheming mind would never fall out lightly, especially when their own condition was poor.
Of course, Madara Uchiha himself was the exception.
If not for the fact that this monk, Ichisun, was also present, even though his condition was terrible right now, he would certainly have made a move.
There had only ever been him standing before others and showing off; there had never been someone who could stand before him like this, calm and composed, as if they had seen through everything about him.
If he forced a move, he might only allow the third person present to reap the fisherman's profit. Hence, Madara Uchiha also temporarily suppressed his thoughts and watched coldly, waiting for the next change in the situation.
Though it sounds long when described, in truth, the time was extremely short.
In that brief instant, all three people in the ruined temple were harboring their own thoughts, yet not one of them revealed even the slightest abnormality on their faces.
After stepping down along the offered staircase, Isshiki lifted his eyes again. His expression had already returned to its earlier gentle composure, and he then spoke once more: "Junior Brother Genjo possesses the eye of wisdom and can wondrously observe karmic affinities. Although this poor monk and the other monk each have our own origins, Junior Brother exposed us both with a single sentence."
"It is truly shameful to say it. Though this foolish monk has lived in muddled fashion for many years and read countless scriptures, I am still but a mortal with fleshly eyes, not even one ten-thousandth of Junior Brother's insight."
"I boast of having seen many people in my life, yet I cannot see through Junior Brother in the slightest. May I ask what Dharma Junior Brother inherits, what school you follow, where your sacred mountain lies, and where you cultivate?"
Isshiki had also thought it through. Since Genjo, before him, did not intend to act, or rather, did not intend to act for the time being, then he might as well use this opportunity to probe the other party's background, so that he could make more preparations for taking action later.
At first, he had suspected that this young monk was Kaguya's eldest son, but now he was no longer certain.
Even the Sage of Six Paths from those days, after becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, could not possibly have seen through all his details at a glance, much less pointed out his present state with such precision.
Nor should he be Kaguya's second son.
In that case, Genjo's true identity was simply far too mysterious.
For a moment, the world through which he had walked for a thousand years suddenly began to feel somewhat unfamiliar.
Genjo smiled faintly, pressed his palms together, and replied unhurriedly, "Excellent. Since Senior Brother asks, this young monk will answer truthfully. This young monk has idled away thirteen years of my life this year. Since childhood, I have had no father or mother, nor any worldly elder or teacher."
"I take only the World-Honored One as the teacher in my heart, and the sutras and vinaya as the path of cultivation. The past is like a dream, old shadows like dust; I neither remember them nor do they return. In this life, in this body, I am only a humble abbot of the Consciousness-Only School."
"The Consciousness-Only School?"
Isshiki was slightly startled, then softly said, "It is shameful to say it. I have walked the world for many years, entering temples whenever I see them, bowing whenever I see a Buddha, and reading whenever I come across scriptures. I dare say I know at least a little about the various Buddhist schools, yet I have never heard of the Consciousness-Only School that Junior Brother speaks of. May I ask where the Consciousness-Only School is located, and where its mountain gate lies?"
Genjo's smile remained as gentle as a spring breeze. "It is only natural that Senior Brother has not heard of it. Since the Consciousness-Only School was founded, only a few days have passed, so it is perfectly natural that others do not yet know of it."
"As for where the Consciousness-Only School is located..."
At this point, Genjo paused for a moment, then recited, "Mount Fangcun of the Lingtai platform, the cave of the slanting moon and three stars."
Hearing this, Isshiki pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "I see. This foolish monk understands now."
At the side, Madara Uchiha remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was utterly baffled.
No, what exactly do you understand?
So, where exactly is this Consciousness-Only School of the young monk?
And what in the world are Mount Fangcun of the Lingtai platform and the cave of the slanting moon and three stars?
Isshiki fell silent for a moment, then once again pressed his palms together. "Junior Brother is still so young, yet your cultivation is already so profound, and you are even able to find a school and establish your own Dharma gate. I'm far from being able to compare. May I ask, Junior Brother, what doctrine does the Consciousness-Only School take as its guiding principle?"
"All Dharmas are consciousness-only."
Genjo slowly uttered those four words, his calm gaze fixed on the curtain of rain outside the temple gate that was gradually subsiding. "All Dharmas in the world are transformations of consciousness. The three realms are mind-only; all Dharmas are consciousness-only. People of the world all cling to external phenomena as real, unaware that the myriad appearances are merely shadows of the mind."
"If one knows that all Dharmas are empty, why seek outside oneself? If one understands the principle of consciousness-only, then one knows that this very body is the bodhimaṇḍa. Therefore, this school takes the three natures of consciousness-only as its framework, and the transformation of consciousness into wisdom as the essential point of cultivation."