The Buddhas chanted the name of Lingshan Tathagata.
In only a few days, Small Buddha Heaven in the Deeper Layer World had already fallen under Ren Qing's control.
On the surface, however, Small Buddha Heaven had undergone no changes at all and continued to maintain its former state. That was why Great Buddha Heaven had yet to notice anything.
The hundreds of thousands of monks in Small Buddha Heaven had naturally changed their faith. This demonstrated how Fleshly Tathagata could subtly influence living beings without their realizing it.
At the center of each Mahavira Hall stood an idol formed from piled flesh, while the monks knelt on the ground with fanatical expressions.
Great Buddha Heaven was concentrating on the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage and had not gone to Small Buddha Heaven at all. Otherwise, it would certainly have been shocked by the bizarre scenes inside the various temples.
Ren Qing waited with his eyes closed as the day of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage gradually approached.
Suddenly, through Fleshly Tathagata, he sensed slight fluctuations arising in Small Buddha Heaven. They clearly originated from chaotic and disorderly spell arts.
"I thought they simply didn't care about the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage."
Ren Qing's thoughts stirred, and the entirety of Small Buddha Heaven secretly began to move.
Outside a temple called Buddhist Seal Temple, the sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds. The wind howled through the air like the shrieks of wandering souls.
The monks of Buddhist Seal Temple became as tense as if facing a great enemy, but they were soon pacified by the Buddhas.
After receiving Fleshly Tathagata's signal, the Buddhas acted according to the plan. The temple, which housed more than ten thousand people, became orderly and well organized.
The fluctuations of the spell art grew increasingly violent, clearly exceeding the scope of the Heavenly Aberration realm.
Blood suddenly gathered out of thin air, forming a skeleton. Flesh immediately began to grow upon it, and a terrifying aura swept toward them.
Ren Qing was all too familiar with this. A cultivator had clearly ascended into the Deeper Layer World.
It was not only Buddhist Seal Temple. Three or four other temples encountered the same situation at the same time.
Ren Qing narrowed his eyes. He quickly came up with a response. He intended to turn the situation to his advantage and immediately ordered the Buddhas into action.
"Roar!!!"
The cultivator finally descended completely into the Deeper Layer World. Judging from his body, however, his limbs and organs had all undergone varying degrees of mutation.
His flesh and skin were covered in decay, while countless maggots writhed inside the boils.
The maggots were actually densely packed Gu insects. The cultivator had apparently relied on parasitism by Gu insects to ascend into the Deeper Layer World.
The cultivator shook his arms. His swollen head revealed a thoughtful expression, and he muttered, "I am... Daoist Qingxiao..."
There were clearly drawbacks. The Gu insects had caused Daoist Qingxiao's intelligence to become muddled, while both his body and soul had undergone varying degrees of mutation.
Daoist Qingxiao surveyed his surroundings, seemingly trying to recall something.
However, the incompleteness of his memories caused his state of mind to grow increasingly chaotic. He repeatedly smashed his head against the rock wall, splattering blood everywhere.
Daoist Qingxiao mutilated himself for a long time, with the pain stimulating his body and soul.
He therefore recovered part of his rationality, and his eyes greedily turned toward the southwest corner, where Buddhist Seal Temple was located.
"Eat, eat, eat..."
A crack split open across Daoist Qingxiao's chest and abdomen, then formed into a huge mouth. Its long, narrow tongue licked the boils.
The spell art he cultivated was rather peculiar. He could recover from injuries by devouring corpses.
Although little intelligence remained in him now, instinct still drove his spell art, filling Daoist Qingxiao with an indescribable craving for flesh and blood.
Daoist Qingxiao strode toward Buddhist Seal Temple, causing the mountains and forests to shake violently.
As he traveled, maggots continuously fell from his wounds. Under the influence of the Immortal Position's laws, they transformed into individual Buddhas of the Ghost Envoy realm.
The souls of ancient monks had just possessed the bodies of Buddhas and had not even figured out what was happening before Daoist Qingxiao's tongue swept them up and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing them down in great mouthfuls.
His spell art operated on its own, causing his injuries to recover considerably. His pace grew faster and faster, and he reached Buddhist Seal Temple in only a moment.
What deeply surprised Daoist Qingxiao was that Buddhist Seal Temple was actually completely peaceful.
The sound of monks chanting sutras could be heard. Yet the streets and alleys were utterly deserted, as if all the monks had been gathered inside the Mahavira Hall.
Daoist Qingxiao did not hesitate in the slightest. He smashed through the city wall and charged into the city.
Countless buildings collapsed. In an instant, Buddhist Seal Temple had already become a ruin, yet he could not find the slightest trace of any monks.
Daoist Qingxiao vented his fury without restraint, nearly destroying the entire town.
Finally, when he stepped into the Mahavira Hall, all he saw were only several dozen monks, sparsely scattered about and striking wooden fish.
The monks were not afraid of Daoist Qingxiao. To them, even if they died because of this, they could still go to the Western Paradise.
Daoist Qingxiao was stunned for a moment. How could a temple of more than ten thousand people have fewer than a hundred left?
A gust of wind swept through the hall, causing the candle flames to flicker as the shadows continuously twisted.
Daoist Qingxiao's tongue immediately stabbed toward the monks, but at that moment, the shadows wrapped around all the monks, and they disappeared without a trace.
Ghost Shadow silently emerged from the Mahavira Hall, causing Daoist Qingxiao to miss completely.
Enraged and humiliated, Daoist Qingxiao swung his limbs and destroyed the Mahavira Hall, then lashed out with his tongue at the statue of Lingshan Tathagata.
At that moment, the aura of living people appeared outside the city.
He charged madly toward the monks, completely unaware that he was heading straight toward Great Buddha Heaven.
Ren Qing divided all the cultivators who ascended into the Deeper Layer World into two categories. Those who had lost their intelligence could be used freely, while those who retained their intelligence were mainly useful for delaying matters.
When the cultivators arrived at the temples of Small Buddha Heaven, they would discover that there was not a single person inside.
In reality, Ren Qing had taken the opportunity to collect the hundreds of thousands of people in Small Buddha Heaven into the Western Buddhist Realm, while encouraging some of the cultivators to head toward Great Buddha Heaven.
Daoist Qingxiao's figure was quickly discovered by Great Buddha Heaven. Several Bodhisattvas immediately moved to suppress him. No matter how desperately he struggled, the Buddha Qi eventually reduced him to a withered skeleton.
Great Buddha Heaven immediately noticed the abnormality in Small Buddha Heaven. Without exception, the temples contained no monks.
Although only a small number of temples had been destroyed, they would never associate this with Lingshan Tathagata. They could only assume that extraterrestrial demons were responsible.
The cultivators who retained their intelligence realized that they had been used as pawns by someone else, but they knew that no matter how much they explained, the Buddhas would never believe them.
They had no choice but to swallow this bitter loss.
Thus, the first five cultivators to ascend were easily sacrificed by Ren Qing.
Great Buddha Heaven became rife with hidden currents. The loss of hundreds of thousands of people was no trivial matter. It could even shake the foundations of Buddhism.
Ren Qing's true body lay flat in the Dragon Blood Sea Region, while his clone lay flat in Great Buddha Heaven.
Without even meaning to, he had stirred up the winds and clouds of the Deeper Layer World. He took all the benefits for himself, while the blame was left for the ascending cultivators to bear.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he began planning the Western Buddhist Realm. He posted missions in Dream City to refine large-scale temple artifacts.
Ren Qing brought the Buddhas into the Western Buddhist Realm. As a result, their bodies, lacking the support of the Immortal Position's laws, transformed into ordinary aberrant entities.
The souls of the ancient monks, meanwhile, were expelled from the bodies and became wandering spirits and ghosts.
Ren Qing took the souls of the ancient monks to the Yellow Springs of the Underworld. He watched them throw themselves into the spring water and gradually transform into Nether Souls.
Unexpectedly, the souls of the ancient monks were indeed somewhat special. Even after being washed by deathly aura, they could still retain a trace of clarity.
An extremely high proportion of the Nether Souls they formed retained their intelligence.
Their potential could not yet be seen, but Ren Qing believed that once the number of Nether Souls increased, it would not take long to create a complete cultivation system for soul cultivators.
The ecosystem of the Underworld would also become richer.
He settled hundreds of thousands of monks in the Western Buddhist Realm and established temple after temple around Fleshly Tathagata. The incense offerings were extremely prosperous.
A handful of monks had already acquired a certain degree of Buddhist cultivation under the erosion of Fleshly Tathagata's Buddha Qi, barely reaching the Martial Practitioner realm.
Only after a monk reached the Ghost Envoy realm could they establish themselves in Lingshan.
From this, it was clear that in a certain sense, Fleshly Tathagata was somewhat similar to a Buddha of the Tathagata Fruit Position. The monks were like the Buddha-children of Fleshly Tathagata and could help refine its Buddha Qi.
Hundreds of thousands of monks purified Fleshly Tathagata's Buddha Qi. They even provided varying degrees of assistance in digesting Karmic Fire.
It was difficult to imagine what kind of divine abilities Fleshly Tathagata would develop after reaching the Earth Immortal realm. Could it really enlighten living beings and turn them into Buddhas?
However, Fleshly Tathagata was still far from the Earth Immortal realm. How it would advance was still a problem.
Although the Immortal Position's laws of Jingzhou could create large numbers of pseudo-Buddhas, using them to break through to the Heavenly Aberration realm was already extraordinarily difficult. To advance any further, he could only set his sights on Buddhas of the Fruit Position.
Ren Qing felt somewhat troubled. Every Buddha who had reached the Bodhisattva Fruit Position was more difficult to deal with than the last. Even finding their whereabouts was no easy task.
Just as he was planning the Western Buddhist Realm, another dozen or so Bodhisattvas of the Heavenly Aberration realm set out.
The main reason was the impending Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage. They would absolutely not allow extraterrestrial demons to interfere with the ritual, so they intended to wipe them all out in one sweep.
The newly ascended extraterrestrial demons had completely become targets for everyone in the Deeper Layer World.
They hated the cultivators who had plotted against Small Buddha Heaven so much that their teeth itched. If they had known who was responsible, they would have already found a way to kill that person.
If they remained in Small Buddha Heaven and continued delaying, there was no chance of obtaining any opportunity.
Lady White Bone and the other cultivators chose not to intervene. After all, having fewer competitors could only benefit them.
Ren Qing began increasing the number of cultivators dispatched into the Inner Layer World. More than a hundred Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators descended and secretly hunted for Gu insects.
Gu Immortal was the most frenzied of them all. He could catch more than a dozen Gu insects every day.
He knew very well that there was not much time left. If he could not obtain enough resources before the Heavenly Court withdrew, his future path of cultivation would become extremely difficult.
However, Gu Immortal had already received Li Yaoyang's verbal acknowledgment. If nothing unexpected happened, he should follow Li Yaoyang in cultivating Gu refinement techniques.
Ren Qing had no energy to pay attention to the Inner Layer World because the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage was about to begin.
The temples of Great Buddha Heaven instructed the monks participating in the ritual to make their preparations. The number of accompanying Buddhas, however, had decreased by one-third, with almost all of them hunting extraterrestrial demons in Small Buddha Heaven.
When Fude Tathagata began preaching the Dharma, the procession had already gathered in the open space outside the Mahavira Hall.
There were only a hundred monks in the procession. They wore fine robes and kasayas and adorned themselves with gold, silver, and jade. Every one of them was broad and stout.
As the culprit behind everything, Ren Qing casually mixed into the procession, still dressed like an ordinary Daoist priest.
Pig Daoist was somewhat helpless and even felt a profound sense of absurdity.
Including Daoist Mu Snake, they had all changed into kasayas, afraid that the Buddhas would notice anything strange. Yet Ren Qing had deliberately done the opposite.
In the Mahavira Hall, which was packed with monks, there was actually a Daoist priest mixed among them. Just how confident was the Lord of the North Pole Star to dare act like this?
Pig Daoist became even more curious about the cultivation technique practiced by the Lord of the North Pole Star. It could actually alter other people's perceptions. Its upper limit was probably at least Dao Gives Birth to One.
The Heavenly Court should have inherited quite a few cultivation techniques. What had been revealed so far was merely the tip of the iceberg.
He could not help shivering. The Heavenly Court's arrival in the deep Jingzhou was certainly not for some cultivation opportunity. Their actual plan was terrifying to contemplate.
Ren Qing turned his head and asked Tang Sheng, "Tang Sheng, are you sure you want to travel with us?"
Tang Sheng nodded firmly. He still cherished the opportunity to broaden his horizons, and besides, staying inside the temple was not necessarily safe.
He had been in Great Buddha Heaven for only a few months, but his cultivation had already reached the bottleneck of Spirit Release. Presumably, once he approached Fude Tathagata, the efficiency of cultivating the Vajra Body would increase even further.
Ren Qing nodded and had Ghost Shadow separate part of its body to possess Tang Sheng. If danger arose, he could pull Tang Sheng into the Stomach World.
Of course, regardless of whether Tang Sheng was willing, once they got close to Fude Tathagata, Ren Qing would have him leave the Deeper Layer World.
For Tang Sheng, being in Great Buddha Heaven was actually a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.
It would not take long for him to reach Spirit Release of the Yin Difference realm, meaning he was only a hair's breadth away from the Yang Spirit realm.
Naturally, Ren Qing hoped that more of the new generation of Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators could break through to the Yang Spirit realm and lay the foundation for the future Heavenly Aberration realm.
Pig Daoist did not dare voice any objection and obediently stood to one side.
Daoist Mu Snake was completely businesslike. Although he had learned from Pig Daoist about the opportunities in Jingzhou, all he wanted was to understand his memories from before death and master the Ba She Rhapsody and Snake Shedding Method.
The atmosphere was somewhat silent until the Buddha guarding the temple opened his eyes.
The Buddha was named Bodhisattva Baizhi. His most distinctive physical characteristic was his extremely long neck, which was covered in organs resembling human brains, making him look extraordinarily grotesque and terrifying.
Even among Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators, Bodhisattva Baizhi was considered exceptional. He could rival a Dao Gives Birth to One at the Heavenly Aberration realm, and his strength far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.
Pig Daoist's heart pounded wildly as he kept watching Ren Qing from the corner of his eye.
Although Ren Qing appeared completely calm, actually facing Bodhisattva Baizhi still caused Pig Daoist to panic instinctively.
However, what he expected did not happen. After sweeping his gaze over the hundred monks, Bodhisattva Baizhi ignored Ren Qing, who was dressed in a Daoist robe.
"Amitabha."
"You may now set out to pay respects to Fude Tathagata."
Bodhisattva Baizhi wore a compassionate expression. He then released a cloud of mist from his palm, lifting the monks into the air before rising to accept the people's worship.
The monks loudly chanted sutras and bowed down on the ground.
Pig Daoist subconsciously wanted to kneel, but Ren Qing reached out and stopped him.
"Old Pig, just pretend Bodhisattva Baizhi doesn't exist."
Tang Sheng and Daoist Mu Snake looked at Pig Daoist strangely. Pig Daoist could not help coughing several times.
"Uh, Old Pig has simply gotten used to it. I've been staying in the temple for nearly half a year. Every day it's just vegetarian meals and Buddhist chanting."
"Pig Daoist, you really do have a connection with Buddhism."
Pig Daoist shuddered when he heard this, recalling the scene when he had first encountered Fleshly Tathagata.
He was just about to explain, but Ren Qing chose to sit cross-legged. Tang Sheng also hurriedly cultivated the Vajra Body, while Daoist Mu Snake completely ignored Pig Daoist.
Pig Daoist smiled awkwardly and hurriedly began guarding the three of them.
Bang, bang, bang...
Bodhisattva Baizhi stepped outside the temple grounds and followed the official road deep into Great Buddha Heaven, occasionally looking up at Fude Tathagata.
Pig Daoist grunted as he likewise stared at Fude Tathagata.
He seemed to notice something and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Fude Tathagata was shrouded in Buddha Qi. Its entire body was covered with amber-like insect eggs, and thousands upon thousands of Buddhas were imprisoned inside the amber.
"Something's wrong. Why does it feel as if Buddhism is sealing Fude Tathagata..."
Pig Daoist was about to wake Ren Qing, but Ren Qing suddenly opened his eyes, glanced at Fude Tathagata, and closed them again.
He had expected this from Fude Tathagata. As expected, it had been forcibly transformed into a Buddha and was constantly on the verge of erupting.
Pig Daoist wisely remained silent.
Each step Bodhisattva Baizhi took covered nearly a thousand meters. His speed was extremely fast, and within only a few minutes, the temple was no longer visible.
In theory, Great Buddha Heaven possessed absolute safety, since it was controlled by Buddhism.
However, because of the extraterrestrial demons, who knew how many cultivators were hiding in the wilderness? The Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage would certainly attract them.
Pig Daoist thought the cultivators would at least show some restraint. Instead, once Bodhisattva Baizhi moved away from the temple, cultivators began observing them from the shadows.
The cultivators made no attempt to conceal their surveillance. They did not care about Bodhisattva Baizhi at all, and it was impossible to tell what their purpose was.
Under the constant provocation, Bodhisattva Baizhi gradually lost his composure.
"A bunch of heretical demons."
Bodhisattva Baizhi stopped the mist in midair, then released Buddha Qi that illuminated the surrounding ten li. Yet he could not find even the slightest trace of the cultivators.
Clearly, the cultivators had ulterior motives and had made extensive preparations along the route they were certain to take.
Pig Daoist was somewhat nervous. He only wanted to reach the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage safely. If he became involved in a conflict between Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators, he would inevitably be forced to intervene.
But things did not develop as he wished. The number of cultivators hiding in the shadows continued to increase.
At first there had only been Yang Spirit realm cultivators. Later, even Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators occasionally appeared. It was obvious that multiple forces were cooperating with one another.
Bodhisattva Baizhi also became somewhat anxious and began increasing his pace.
Ren Qing awakened, and Pig Daoist hurriedly asked, "Lord of the North Pole, why don't we leave Bodhisattva Baizhi?"
He had been trembling with fear for several days. The closer they came to the location of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage, the more frightened he became.
"Not yet. I want to see what they can do."
Pig Daoist's face flushed red. Judging from the scale of the cultivators revealed so far, there might very well be four or five Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators attacking Bodhisattva Baizhi.
He did not want to be inexplicably dragged into it and end up dying without even knowing how.
Daoist Mu Snake frowned and said, "There are four Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators, including Lady White Bone. Continuing to follow Bodhisattva Baizhi is indeed quite dangerous."
He had dealt with Lady White Bone before and understood how troublesome she was.
Lady White Bone was not only ruthless, but also willing to use any means necessary to achieve her goals. This operation was very likely organized by her.
The Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators were waiting specifically for the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage. Quite a few Buddhas would probably be attacked.
Ren Qing's actions in Small Buddha Heaven had dispersed some of Great Buddha Heaven's available forces. For the various other factions, this was unquestionably beneficial and brought no disadvantages.
"It's too late."
Ren Qing stared at the mountain ridge not far away. He could sense the aura of a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator, while the surrounding cultivators were simultaneously retreating inward.
Pig Daoist and Daoist Mu Snake became as tense as if facing a great enemy, both taking out artifacts to protect themselves.
Only Tang Sheng continued cultivating the Vajra Body. He paid no attention to what was happening outside and seized every moment to prepare to break through to Spirit Release.
It was not that he had failed to notice something was wrong. The bottleneck of Spirit Release was right before his eyes.
"Amitabha..."
Bodhisattva Baizhi clasped his hands together, and the Buddha Qi throughout his body surged violently.
"Extraterrestrial demons must be destroyed by everyone."
Bodhisattva Baizhi once again raised the mist into the air before charging forward. The more than one hundred brains covering his neck bulged with blue veins.
Wisps of green smoke slowly rose from the brains, allowing him to control his Buddha Qi with astonishing precision.
He released a strand of Buddha Qi, instantly causing the souls of several Yang Spirit realm cultivators to be annihilated. He then turned sideways and dodged a spell art from a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator.
With so many brains, Bodhisattva Baizhi would never make the slightest unnecessary movement.
The cry of an elephant rang out. A hole burst open in the stone wall, and the head of a Corpse Elephant hundreds of meters long emerged, its hard tusks ramming toward Bodhisattva Baizhi.
The Corpse Elephant's body was already complete, allowing it to display strength at the Heavenly Aberration realm.
"As expected of a bald-headed Buddhist monk. Impressive."
The Elephant Lord held a stone pillar artifact. He leaped from the mountaintop, entered within a hundred meters of Bodhisattva Baizhi, and swung the stone pillar down.
His coordination with the Corpse Elephant was extremely seamless. For a time, they actually suppressed Bodhisattva Baizhi.
However, Bodhisattva Baizhi was merely somewhat disheveled on the surface. The Elephant Lord's attacks could not affect his foundation at all, leaving behind only shallow wounds of flesh and skin.
Two more Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators intervened. One was a cultivator composed of rock, while the other was a half-human cultivator whose lower body was covered in tentacles.
They had clearly made preparations in advance specifically to ambush the Buddha, and their coordination was extraordinarily seamless.
Bodhisattva Baizhi could only barely fight them to a draw. Most of their attacks were blocked by the Corpse Elephant, causing its flesh and bones to collapse.
Pig Daoist's state of mind gradually settled because none of the cultivators had noticed them.
Watching Ren Qing calmly enjoying the battle, he genuinely felt afraid. If he offended the Heavenly Court, he would probably have no path other than death.
The battle continued for several hours, and the resulting commotion caused the mountains to collapse.
The situation appeared evenly matched, but Bodhisattva Baizhi's Buddha Qi was almost inexhaustible, while the Corpse Elephant had already been reduced to a bloody mess.
"If this continues, even if they don't die at Bodhisattva Baizhi's hands, they'll attract the other Buddhas."
Pig Daoist was not optimistic about the cultivators such as the Elephant Lord. Even if Lady White Bone did not intervene, adding another Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator would not be enough to change the outcome.
Daoist Mu Snake said warily, "You underestimate Lady White Bone."
Ren Qing stood up and tossed Tang Sheng to Pig Daoist to carry.
"Let's go. In a little while, Bodhisattva Baizhi will be dead."
"Huh?"
Pig Daoist did not understand. Before he could ask why, Ren Qing had already leaped down from the mist.
He hurriedly followed. The four of them openly passed through the forest. Not far away were the various Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators, whose tempers were gradually flaring as the battle intensified.
Pig Daoist looked toward Bodhisattva Baizhi and suddenly noticed that something seemed to be writhing beneath his skin.
Daoist Mu Snake explained, "Those are Lady White Bone's bones."
"They're taking advantage of their close-range contact with Bodhisattva Baizhi to drive one bone after another into his flesh. The skeleton is almost complete."
For Bodhisattva Baizhi's body, which was more than a thousand meters tall, a bone the size of a palm piercing into his flesh was little different from an insect bite.
Pig Daoist's mouth fell open. Bodhisattva Baizhi's movements had clearly slowed considerably, showing that Lady White Bone was affecting him.
Lady White Bone was very likely planning to possess Bodhisattva Baizhi and use this Buddha's body to participate in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Lady White Bone's head let out a strange laugh as she traveled from Bodhisattva Baizhi's mouth and nose into his body.
Excited, she could not help staring toward where Ren Qing was. A familiar aura seemed to flash past for an instant.
Lady White Bone paid it no attention and focused on controlling Bodhisattva Baizhi.
Ren Qing had already gone far away. To prevent accidents, he released two Buddhist Sect Dream Flowers, causing them to land on the brows of Daoist Mu Snake and Tang Sheng.
The Dreamflowers radiated Buddha Qi, making the two of them even more difficult to detect.