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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
An omnipresent Buddha aura shone brilliantly and illuminated the entire sky. The land where the sun and moon hung high above the magnificent scenery was permeated with the majestic aura. In addition, there were innumerable Pagodas and Temples located on every Life Star. Many monks could also be seen either cultivating diligently, comprehending and meditating, or chanting scriptures at various locations.
This was a country strongly tied to Buddha, and the boundless Power of Faith saturated every corner of the land. Even the demonic cultivators with savage and ferocious appearances became merciful and gentle in this country. They would exhibit a compassionate disposition, almost as though they had been transformed into veteran monks with calm and profound temperaments.
“Ever since King Bodhi established Buddhist Kingdom, this land became a world where outsiders were unwilling to enter. After all, even True Immortals could be corrupted by the Buddhata and converted into part of Buddhist Kingdom if they stayed here for too long. King Bodhi must have inherited the legacy of the peerless Dao of Buddha, which existed before the Forbidden Epoch. In the past, he once fought an Immortal King and easily won against his opponent…”
Queen Lunar provided an explanation while guiding Gu Changge to the universe where King Bodhi was located.
She was actually very afraid of King Bodhi. That was because he existed as an enigma to her. Not only did his inheritance come from an unknown source, but the profundity of the Dharmic Power he mastered could even affect Immortal Kings. In fact, she once encountered King Bodhi in person and became affected by his Dharmic Power during their meeting. Her mentality was nearly shaken as a result. It was for this reason that she remained terrified of King Bodhi even though he had not appeared in the world for a long time.
Due to her fears, she had refused to interfere in the affairs of Buddhist Kingdom and rarely questioned any matters in Buddhist Kingdom.
On the surface, only two Immortal Kings had existed in the Southern Immortal Domain over the recent years. Be that as it may, the other Immortal Domains never attempted to invade the Southern Immortal Domain to compete for opportunities. King Bodhi was also indifferent to the affairs of the world.
“The Six Paths of Reincarnation is gone, but the Dao of Buddha remains deeply rooted,” Gu Changge said.
Standing at the edge of the universe, he observed the scene within Buddhist Kingdom from a distance. He had planned to see if he could subjugate a few suitable Immortal Kings as his subordinates before the half-month period ended.
Queen Lunar standing in front of him was cautious by nature. As a female Immortal King, she did not have much interest in striving for the top and generally placed her personal interests above everything else. Although she was not considered very powerful among the Immortal Kings, she had just enough strength for him to exploit. It was thanks to her that he learned about the Immortal King in Buddhist Kingdom known as King Bodhi, who established Buddhist Kingdom and later isolated himself from the world.
However, he immediately became a little regretful when he arrived outside the territory of Buddhist Kingdom. Shaking his head slightly, he slowly continued, “King Bodhi you speak of has long since disappeared from this world. The aura you sense is nothing more than the remains left behind after his death.”
His statement stunned Queen Lunar to the core. It was difficult for her to believe his words. [King Bodhi died a long time ago!?]
The Immortal Kings had always believed that King Bodhi was simply living somewhere deep in Buddhist Kingdom, ignoring worldly affairs and comprehending Dharmic Power in isolation. In fact, they speculated that his True Body might have reached the highest cultivation realm.
In any case, Queen Lunar did not dare to doubt anything since Gu Changge was the one who made the statement. It was just that King Bodhi’s Dao of Buddha lingered in the world even after his death, causing many Immortal Kings to believe that he was still alive.
[That must be a mystical property of the Dharmic Power.] In the end, Queen Lunar could only make such a guess. The Dao she cultivated might contradict the Dharmic Power, but both Daos simply led to the same goal just through different means.
Gu Changge did not say anything else. Striding forward, he stepped foot into Buddhist Kingdom and headed straight toward a Buddhist Mountain located in the deepest part of the country. It was a place where clouds and mist lingered in the air.
Numerous Pagodas could be found on the Buddhist Mountain, creating a solemn and majestic scenery. Furthermore, the mountain surged with an eye-catching Buddha aura and the entire surroundings were flooded with a silvery Power of Faith that resembled a strongly undulating Sun.
At the top of the Buddhist Mountain was a resplendent temple that gave off a grand and dignified air.
“The Leiyin Temple?”
The slightly familiar-sounding name surprised Gu Changge.
Considering that the name belonged to a legendary Buddhist Kingdom temple, it was not strange to come across the name again after such a long time. It was just that a person had to be willing to bear the Karmic consequences if they dared to use the name ‘Leiyin Temple’. Hence, it was not surprising that the current Buddhist Kingdom had fallen into such dire straits.
Queen Lunar followed Gu Changge and came to the same place. It was her first time coming to Buddhist Kingdom. After all, the Immortal Kings had always ruled their own respective universes. They would not step into another’s territory for any reason.
Radiant Buddha aura could be seen from outside the Leiyin Temple, and the sound of various voices chanting the scriptures resonated throughout the place. Additionally, the surroundings were saturated with an astonishing sense of Buddhata that could not only dispel the savagery and Demonic Energy in Demons who came here, but also convert them to Buddhism.
At that moment, many Bodhisattvas and Arhats appeared in front of the Leiyin Temple. Some were smiling, some were sorrowful, some were angry, and some were happy. There were many different appearances and expressions, but all of them gave off the same air of dignity and benevolence.
“If you have approached Buddhism, then why do you not offer your devotion?” All of a sudden, a sonorous voice could be heard booming from within the temple. Like the ringing of an ancient bell, the voice burst out in the hearts of the listeners.
Even though Queen Lunar’s cultivation was by no means low, she was nevertheless still slightly affected by the voice. Her gaze glazed over for a moment before she quickly returned to her senses in horror.
“Is that something King Bodhi left behind?”
She couldn’t help feeling scared. It was said that King Bodhi was dead, so this place was merely the cultivation ground left behind after his death. Be that as it may, a mere cultivation ground contained such a powerful Buddha voice. The bright and upright Buddha voice could even affect an Immortal King.
[If King Bodhi is still alive, then what level would his cultivation have reached by now?] The very thought left her feeling incredulous.
In the current era, the strongest cultivators in the Immortal Domain were only in the Immortal King Realm. It was very difficult for them to advance any further. However, King Bodhi seemed to have touched the threshold of a higher realm!
Having an acute sense of self-awareness, she knew her own strength. It was impossible for her to compete with King Bodhi on equal terms.
Compared to Queen Lunar’s astonishment, Gu Changge was not surprised. In fact, his expression did not change in the slightest. The Buddha’s voice did not affect him, much less cause any emotional fluctuation in him.
“It looks like we are too late. He is indeed much stronger than the average Immortal King. Unfortunately, he has a long way to go before he can break free from the shackles of the Immortal King Realm. The current Immortal Domain does not allow the birth of an existence above the Immortal King Realm,” Gu Changge murmured with a slight shake of his head. His gaze was very calm.
Standing at the peak of the Buddhist Mountain, he could indeed see the glorious and prosperous scene in the distance. Countless Pagodas and Temples dotted the land, and various Spirit Mountains extended throughout the country. Innumerable people walking along the path of the Dao of Buddha also seemed to be thriving and flourishing everywhere.
In the next moment, he gave a flick of his sleeves. The entire Buddhist Kingdom suddenly changed as though blown away by the wind, and the dazzling resplendence dissipated into nothing. The magnificent Pagodas and Temples from before were gone. They were replaced by the dilapidated remnants of various ruins buried under the vegetation and mud. Even Leiyin Temple, which was illuminated by the Buddha aura and surrounded by various Bodhisattvas and Arhats, appeared rundown and decrepit.
The mountain was desolate, and some areas appeared to have been scorched black. In addition, the previous Temple had long since collapsed. Broken tiles were strewn across the ground, and wild grass grew tall among the ruins.
“What…” Such a scene caused Queen Lunar to widen her eyes in disbelief.
[Is this Buddhist Kingdom’s true appearance? Was the prosperous scene I saw earlier nothing more than an illusion? But, how is it that even an Immortal King like myself was fooled? I didn’t even notice any abnormalities here.]
In actuality, she was not the only one who was deceived. The rest of the Immortal Kings in the Immortal Domain were also unaware of Buddhist Kingdom’s current situation. Even if they came here in their True Bodies, they would not have realised that everything in front of them was fake.
“These are the manifestations of King Bodhi’s obsession. Everything you see is but an illusion…” Gu Changge picked up a dirt-yellow relic that was the size of a small pebble from the ruins of the dilapidated and decayed temple before him. The clarity of the Buddha aura that radiated from within the relic was slightly dull.
Following his action of picking up the dirt-yellow relic, the Power of Faith that previously saturated the world immediately surged and gathered in his direction. The infinite Power of Faith accumulated by King Bodhi before his death was devoured by the relic in an instant. More accurately, it was as though all the Power of Faith that previously filled the world had come from this single relic.
Gu Changge might not have managed to meet King Bodhi, but he obtained the relic left behind after King Bodhi’s death in exchange. For him, this trip was not completely without gain.
After Gu Changge departed from Buddhist Kingdom, the universe rapidly declined at a speed visible to the naked eye. The universe quickly became dilapidated and fragmented, collapsing and disintegrating into dust at a steady pace. It seemed as though the universe had aged countless years in the blink of an eye. When all the vitality vanished, the universe was flooded with cosmic Chaos Qi that crushed all the stars to pieces.
Experts in the surrounding universes immediately sensed the anomaly. Not knowing the truth, they instantly became extremely frightened.
“Buddhist Kingdom has been destroyed. It has been reduced to a dead land that no longer contains any voice nor vitality…,” somebody said in a trembling voice.
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