Waves of powerful and majestic auras descended from various Pure Lands to the border between the Earthly Buddha Kingdom and the Vacuous Pure Land, accompanied by their respective Eight Classes of Divine Beings, Arhats, Vajra Guardians, and Wisdom Kings and Bodhisattvas. The procession was vast and imposing, with no fewer than seven or eight great supernatural beings of the Creation level among them.
“Mahasthamaprapta, Future Star Buddha, Ancestral Bodhi, Immeasurable Wisdom Buddha…” The thoughts of the Compassionate Path Taoist, seated in the main hall of the Water Moon Nunnery, flowed through the names of these great supernatural beings of Creation. Some were peers from the past, others had attained Buddhahood later, representing both the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and the Bodhi Wisdom Pure Land. In other words, for reasons unknown, the Ancient Bodhi Buddha had temporarily set aside past grievances and was now fully supporting Amitabha Buddha in this matter.
At this moment, aside from the World-Honored King Buddha and the Future Buddha Maitreya—both of whom had reached the pinnacle of Creation—the entire high-tier force of the Buddhist sect had mobilized. They intended to strike the Vacuous Pure Land with the force of a lion pouncing on a rabbit, allowing the Earthly Buddha Kingdom to occupy the former territories of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the very essence of the Real World!
Despite the calamity of Mount Ling, the Buddhist sect’s profound heritage remained intact. In terms of great supernatural beings at the Creation level, they outnumbered the Luo Sect by several times!
“Even if the Old Mother of No-Birth had obtained the Fengshen Bang and moved the Fengtian Platform in the past, relying on these to drastically increase the overall strength of the Luo Sect’s divine envoys, even then, including Zhen Yuanzi, they only had three beings at the Creation level. Faced with the full might of the Buddhist sect, only the Golden Emperor herself could possibly turn the tide,” the Compassionate Path Taoist mused rapidly, analyzing the current situation. “She holds the remains of Tang Sanzang, which she can use to entice and command the Supreme True Buddha. Both share the common goal of opposing the Buddhist sect, so they should have already joined forces without hesitation. But as long as Amitabha and the Ancient Bodhi Buddha do not fall into discord, there is simply no opportunity.”
Amitabha was one of the strongest Nirakaras of the present age and also controlled the Subduing Emperor. The Ancient Bodhi Buddha’s manifestation, the Daoist Zhunti, was at the level of a quasi-Nirakara. Together, even if the Golden Emperor were peerlessly talented, even if she had already formed the embryonic Dao Fruit, even if she had the Supreme True Buddha’s assistance, she would still fall short. One must not overlook the fact that during previous Nirakara confrontations, Amitabha had appeared unremarkable, only revealing his control over the Subduing Emperor, which was terrifying enough. Yet his opponent had been the Moral Heavenly Venerable, who could manifest three pure avatars with a single breath. Even weakened by the End Times, the fact that they fought to a standstill spoke volumes.
“In such circumstances, if the Golden Emperor wishes to preserve the Vacuous Pure Land, she can only hope for external aid. The Sect Master Heavenly Venerable goes without saying, but even the Devil Buddha, Moral Master-Uncle, and the Green Emperor might not wish to see the Buddhist sect grow too powerful to restrain.” The Compassionate Path Taoist sighed inwardly. The outcome of today’s events was beyond her ability to predict.
Just then, she suddenly felt a stirring in her heart and raised her eyes to gaze at the Vacuous Pure Land. There, the divine radiance that had enveloped the entire realm was rapidly receding like a tide. The Luo Sect’s enshrined deities and original missionary envoys were swept away by this eerie “ebb tide,” funneled into a dreamlike Netherworld. Layer upon layer of restrictions surfaced, lifting it into the chaos.
“Has the Luo Sect so easily abandoned their ‘homeland’ within the Real World?” The Compassionate Path Taoist frowned slightly, her eyes widening in astonishment.
Without even engaging in a battle akin to the Fengshen War, the Luo Sect had cleanly conceded, withdrawing from the Real World and retaining only the Netherworld, which had merged with the original Vacuous Pure Land.
This turn of events was utterly beyond her expectations, as well as those of Mahasthamaprapta, the Future Star Buddha, and the other great supernatural beings who had descended. For a moment, they were left stunned, failing to seize the opportunity to occupy the territory.
At the center of the Earthly Buddha Kingdom, Maitreya sat atop a white lotus throne and murmured to himself, “Is this the decision of a Nirakara?”
Seeing that the situation was beyond salvage, that this segment of the future was unalterable, and thus abandoning it without hesitation?
At this point, the Netherworld had become an independent realm, merged with the Vacuous Pure Land, effectively part of the Old Mother of No-Birth’s domain. No great supernatural being could shake it in the slightest.
A looming war between gods and buddhas quietly dissolved into nothingness, with the countless living beings of the Real World remaining blissfully unaware that they had just narrowly escaped calamity.
“However, given the extremism of the Luo Sect’s followers, unless forcibly converted by Buddhist light, there will surely be great slaughter and sin…” The Compassionate Path Taoist snapped back to reality, suddenly realizing, “Is this the true meaning behind the Sect Master Heavenly Venerable’s command for me to descend and save the suffering?”
…
Within the Vacuous Pure Land.
The pure white Buddha suddenly erupted with boundless, immeasurable light—so pure it tolerated no impurities, so radiant that even great supernatural beings of Creation could not look directly at it. In a low voice, it spoke: “Why did you not allow me to act?”
“Why yield to those false buddhas?”
Deep within the boundless Vacuous Pure Land, a flawless, luminous moon hung perpetually in the void, casting serene light as a cold, detached voice echoed: “The full moon wanes.”
The Supreme True Buddha was not a mad, chaotic entity like the Heavenly Dao Monstrosity, merely extreme and unyielding. Upon hearing this, countless thoughts flashed through its mind, roughly grasping the Golden Emperor’s meaning. If they were to wage war against the Buddhist sect now, the Moral Heavenly Venerable, the Green Emperor, and the Devil Buddha would likely not intervene immediately. Instead, they would wait for the Luo Sect to be crippled before stepping in to curb the Buddhist sect’s expansion. By voluntarily withdrawing now, the Luo Sect allowed the Earthly Buddha Kingdom to unify the former Great Zhou territories, reaching its zenith. After a few years of consolidation, Maitreya’s great vow would be more than halfway fulfilled, granting him sufficient momentum to ascend to Nirakara.
By then, if the other Nirakaras wished to prevent the Buddhist sect from becoming too powerful to control, or to stop Amitabha from nearing the Dao Fruit, it would be the Moral Heavenly Venerable and the Devil Buddha who would “plead” for the Golden Emperor’s intervention—a complete reversal of roles from today.
“Then we shall wait patiently.” The Supreme True Buddha’s heart burned like a boiling cauldron at the thought of devouring most of the false buddhas in a single battle within a few years.
The flawless moon showed not the slightest ripple as an ethereal voice descended:
“Merely waiting is not enough.”
As the words echoed, a surge of profound yellow glazed pure light rose from the depths of the Vacuous Pure Land, accompanied by the resonant chants of Buddhist hymns, revealing the indistinct golden form of a Buddha.
At this sight, the Supreme True Buddha’s pure, untainted radiance trembled violently, causing the Vacuous Pure Land to flicker between light and darkness.
“What else do you intend to do?” it asked, barely containing its excitement.
That was the remains of the Sandalwood Merit Buddha—the golden body of Tang Sanzang!
The moon suddenly sharpened into clarity, faintly revealing the silhouette of the Golden Emperor. Calmly, she said, “Every Nirakara knows I possess Tang Sanzang’s remains and can use them to manipulate you. This is an open move, lacking the element of surprise.”
“Today, I shall give them to you directly. Let us see what changes occur once you devour them and achieve perfection.”
“The union of the two products left behind by the Dao Fruit should yield variables beyond even the foresight of the Nirakaras.”
“I await with anticipation.”
The golden body flew forth, hurtling toward the Supreme True Buddha. Instantly, the pure, untainted light blazed brilliantly, resonating with the ecstasy of supreme bliss.
…
At the heart of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, Amitabha sat upon a twelve-petaled blue lotus throne, his golden body standing sixteen feet tall, his Buddha light flawless.
Below the lotus throne, facing Amitabha, stood an ethereal maiden in a white dress, her beauty exquisite beyond compare, her aura transcendent and hauntingly enchanting. A meaningful smile played on her lips, revealing faint, charming dimples.
With a playful clasp of her hands, she said, “My husband sent me to listen to the Dharma.”
Amitabha’s eyes remained half-lidded as he began expounding the profound Buddhist mysteries of neither perception nor non-perception without preamble.
…
Beyond the azure heavens, in the realm of divine wandering, Han Guang, clad in wide sleeves, transformed into a streak of light, traversing the boundless darkness.
Through Lu Ya, he had reconnected with the Devil Buddha, temporarily shaking off the despair instilled by the Golden Emperor. Following the clues, he now journeyed to seek the world where he had once dreamed for forty years—the fragment of time cleaved by the Blade of Chronos!
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