Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 523: Buddhist Cultivation

"Buddhist Cultivation?"

Lü Yang frowned. Xiao Mountain continued, "Yes, Buddhist Cultivation in the literal sense. That Demon Monk was holding a broken Buddha Statue in his hands."

"He said that anyone who could help him repair the Buddha Statue would be rewarded. You could receive anything from Spiritual Treasures to Spiritual Materials, Magic, and even Abilities. There were no Cultivation restrictions. Foundation-Stage Cultivators could try, Qi Refiners could try, and even mortals with no Cultivation could try."

"At the time, the Border Guards had strong willpower, so nothing happened at first."

"But some soldiers grew greedy and wanted to gamble for this so-called opportunity. As a result, just for mending a corner of the Buddha Statue, one of them experienced Ascension in broad daylight!"

A look of shock appeared in Xiao Mountain’s eyes as he whispered,

"It was true Ascension in broad daylight. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, everyone saw a common soldier who was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining instantly become a Foundation-Stage Cultivator!"

The scene instantly erupted into a frenzy.

Repairing a Buddha Statue could turn a Qi Refiner into a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the blink of an eye... not even the Dao Court was that extravagant! Even granting a Foundation Establishment Official Position had certain Cultivation requirements!

The situation quickly spiraled out of control.

"Mortals, Qi Refiners, and even some Foundation Establishment cultivators who hadn’t been promoted for a long time... more and more people joined in, helping that Demon Monk with his Buddhist Cultivation..."

Hearing this, Lü Yang cut him off.

"And now? What’s the situation now?"

Xiao Mountain’s expression turned vacant. He then lowered his voice and said, "Just half an Hour ago, the news from the border was that the crisis was extremely urgent..."

"...But as for now, everything is fine."

At these words, Lü Yang’s expression darkened. Xiao Mountain took out a Jade Scroll. "This is the last image that was transmitted."

Lü Yang immediately pointed a finger at it.

In the next second, he saw a scene that was physically sickening—a vast, pale sea of flesh.

At first, he thought it was a herd of breeding pigs.

Only as the view zoomed in did he realize it was a crowd of people.

They were piled together, a dense mass of men and women, completely naked, all wearing smiles of profound compassion.

In the center, surrounded by them all, stood a broken Buddha Statue. Its face was damaged and its limbs were shattered. Its chest was just a gaping hole, and its insides had been hollowed out. The Lotus Platform it sat on was missing petals here and there. It was a miracle the statue hadn’t collapsed already.

Then, the people around it began to move.

Resolutely and without hesitation, they climbed onto the Buddha Statue, using their own flesh and blood to fill all of its gaps.

Some crawled into the Lotus Platform, propping up the great Buddha with their bodies.

Some burrowed into the statue, becoming its internal organs.

Some climbed onto its face, becoming its facial features.

"Heavens..." Xiao Mountain couldn’t help but shut his eyes. Lü Yang and Minor Metal also frowned deeply.

The piled-up flesh intertwined, creating an incredibly shocking image. What was even more terrifying... was that it actually began to take shape.

"Amitabha!"

A solemn Buddha’s Name was chanted. The lips and teeth of the statue, formed from countless people, slowly parted, and the voice that emerged sounded like millions of people speaking in unison.

In the next second, the flesh began to melt.

The bizarre, grotesque scene vanished. All the people who had filled the statue simply merged into it, yet the statue itself remained just as broken as before.

Only then did Lü Yang see who was standing below the statue: a Little Novice Monk with rosy lips and pearly teeth. His face was that of Guang Ming, familiar to Lü Yang, but unlike in his Previous Life, this Guang Ming bore no trace of his former self. His words and actions were those of a completely different person.

"Still not enough..."

A faint sigh echoed from the image before it abruptly cut off, revealing Xiao Mountain’s undisguised look of terror. "Your Majesty, please make a decision quickly."

"More and more places are losing contact."

"All ten border cities are the same. First, they send an urgent military report requesting reinforcements. Then, they report that nothing is wrong. We have many more similar clips..."

After speaking, Xiao Mountain sighed helplessly again.

"The news has already spread within Celestial Wu City. Many traitors are saying that Your Majesty is an incarnation of the Bhagavat, and that this is a coordinated attack from within and without to destroy the entire East..."

Before his words could fade, Lü Yang had already flicked his sleeves and risen to his feet.

"Let’s go take a look."

He had to admit, the Bhagavat had acted faster than he’d imagined. How long had it been since the phenomenon appeared in the East? Less than an Hour!

’From another perspective, this shows the Bhagavat is getting anxious...’

But not anxious enough.

If he were truly desperate, he wouldn’t have sent his Buddha’s Son. Instead, just like during the Fruit of Rampart Earth incident in his Previous Life, the Bhagavat would have descended by possessing someone directly.

’This shows that the secret of the five-thousand-year taboo isn’t important enough to the Bhagavat. Or rather, someone knowing it is merely a variable, not enough to truly shake his foundations. It’s just that the Bhagavat is shameless and extremely cautious, so he refuses to allow any variables to exist.’

Regardless, this could not be allowed to continue.

’Whatever the scheme behind this so-called "Buddhist Cultivation," it must be stopped. This is also a good opportunity to see what other cards he has up his sleeve.’

Besides, his opponent had charged into the East all by himself. It would be a disgrace to his advanced studies in the Saint Sect across several past lives if he didn’t gang up on him.

Thinking this, Lü Yang immediately looked to Minor Metal beside him. "Daoist, are you willing to come with me?"

Minor Metal nodded. "It is only right."

In the next instant, the two of them summoned their Flying Lights and rode the winds, streaking across the sky. They soon arrived at the desolate wilderness on the border of the East.

What they saw was a truly bizarre spectacle.

At the very front walked Guang Ming, in the guise of a novice monk. He wore a kasaya, held a Nine-Ring Zen Staff in one hand, and fiddled with a string of jade-white Buddha Beads with the other.

Behind him followed the broken Buddha Statue from the video. Looking at it now, however, they could see it had been repaired slightly compared to before. The lotus it sat upon was now mostly complete, its petals translucent and crystalline, shimmering with a clear, golden light in the sun.

Suddenly, Guang Ming looked up.

He broke into a grin, his white teeth gleaming brightly in the sun. As he opened his mouth, his voice traveled up from below, echoing through the clouds:

"Benefactors, why do you stand in the clouds and watch from afar?"

"This humble monk is open and has nothing to hide. If you two truly wish to see, you need only come closer. This humble monk is not a petty person."

Lü Yang was momentarily speechless. ’Not a petty person?’

Who in the world didn’t know that the Bhagavat of the West was infamous for being shameless? Of the four Masters of Dao, he was the pettiest, always stooping to involve himself with Lower Cultivators!

But since he had been discovered, Lü Yang no longer concealed himself.

Descending from his Flying Light, Lü Yang landed directly in front of Buddha’s Son Guang Ming and said in a grave voice, "Daoist, you have come a long way. Rivers of blood have followed in your wake."

Buddha’s Son Guang Ming feigned a look of surprise. "Is that so?"

"This humble monk came to the East only for Buddhist Cultivation. All those I met were kind, hospitable people who offered their help willingly. I never thought there would be evildoers causing such atrocities!"

Lü Yang was stunned by his response. Damn, who said the Bhagavat had never been to the Sword Pavilion? This sanctimonious, innocent act was a perfect imitation of a Sword Species. But since this man had entered the East, ten cities had been emptied. Even if these were sparsely populated borderlands, the total number of people was in the millions!

Of course, Lü Yang wasn’t particularly concerned about the deaths themselves.

The important thing was... when the Dao Court’s officials died, their Official Positions didn’t return! It would have been one thing if Buddha’s Son Guang Ming had merely swallowed them, but he had swallowed their Official Positions as well!

This was a very serious problem.

"At this point, Daoist, why bother with such self-deception?"

From the side, Minor Metal sneered. "Killing is killing. Why don’t you dare to admit it? There’s no point in being all secretive like the Sword Pavilion."

At these words, the expression of Buddha’s Son Guang Ming changed dramatically.

"Absurd!"

"This humble monk has come to the East for Buddhist Cultivation, walking the grand and Righteous Dao. How could I possibly harm living creatures? Jiangbei Demon, do not spout such nonsense and slander my True Skill!"