One person above Qing Huang Ting

Chapter 869 The Buddha's Fall
Beyond the sacred mountain, the sun and moon are hidden, the sky is cloudless, and the wind has ceased, yet the sky remains bright and peaceful, as if bathed in a spring breeze.

Because there are two Great Immortals who shine even brighter than the sun and moon, illuminating the earth in their place.

The collapse of the Three Thousand Buddha Kingdoms caused spacetime to spiral out of control, and spatial turbulence covered Mount Ling, also blocking the steps of the Great Luo Golden Immortals.

The Jade Emperor and Laozi, one who holds the mandate of heaven and governs all things to stabilize space, and the other who controls the innate Yin and Yang Taiji, sorting out Yin and Yang, and adjusting the orientation to determine the location of the three thousand sacred mountains.

This is still a rather troublesome method. If Hu Xiuwu had not removed the divine positions of the Lord of Mount Tai and the Four Rivers, the Jade Emperor could have violently opened up a passage by relying on the power of the mountain and water deities.

The two Great Golden Immortals shared a common and clear goal: to enter the interior of Mount Ling as soon as possible and save Mount Ling, which had been fiercely attacked by the Heavenly Court the previous year, with the Heavenly Court attempting to destroy its gates and lineage, as well as the Buddha Tathagata.

The world is ever-changing and unpredictable.

With the combined cultivation of the Jade Emperor and Laozi, it didn't take much effort to sort out the spatial structure of the Three Thousand Spirit Mountains and open up a passage to the Great Thunderclap Temple.

When the spatial turbulence ceased, and the two Great Luo Golden Immortals stormed into Mount Ling, only silence remained.

Dead silence, only dead silence.

Most of the Bodhisattvas and Arhats in Mount Ling have already passed away, but strangely, there are no scars on their bodies, only white hair and wrinkles.

Like an old person nearing the end of their life in the mortal world.

The once sacred Great Thunder Temple, the foremost Buddhist site, is now eerily quiet. Even the sacred flowers and fragrant trees planted within have withered and died.

The Jade Emperor frowned. He recognized this distinctive manner of death. Seeing that there was no one else around, and that Laozi already knew about the stolen stars, the Jade Emperor spoke frankly:

"The five signs of decay in the celestial realm! All these people from Mount Ling have died from the death-inflicting light of the Seven Stars of the Supreme Mysterious Spirit in the Central Heaven."

"That wretched creature actually used the Zhou Tian Star Formation to wipe out the entire Ling Shan sect."

"That Tathagata..."

The Jade Emperor did not say another word, and the fate of Tathagata was self-evident.

If Buddha were still alive or in good condition, he would never have allowed Hu Xiuwu to wreak havoc on Mount Ling.

The Jade Emperor was both pleased and furious about this outcome.

I am glad that the Vulture Peak, which has stood against Him for a thousand years, and the troublesome Buddha Tathagata are no longer in the Three Realms.

He was furious that the Buddha was so incompetent as to fail to capture Hu Xiuwu, allowing the Three Realms to have an even more troublesome Hu Xiuwu.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Laozi understood the entire situation of Mount Ling, as if a tornado had swept across the entire mountain:
"It's impossible for Hu Xiuwu to have smuggled a group of star officials into Mount Ling and formed an array right under the Buddha's nose."

“When facing the Buddha, He would not have the energy to deal with the Bodhisattvas of Mount Ling.”

The Jade Emperor reacted quickly, understanding the implied meaning in Laozi's words, and seemed to be deep in thought:
"Does Laozi mean that these people were harmed by Buddha? Could it be karma?"

The Jade Emperor and Buddha have never fought, so he is indeed unaware of the true nature of Buddha's law of cause and effect.

Only through indirect confrontations did we come across fleeting traces of causality.

But even this alone made the Jade Emperor realize how troublesome the law of cause and effect is.

Lao Tzu remained noncommittal: “There is still a survivor; perhaps we should go and ask her.”

The Jade Emperor, of course, also noticed:

"Why was she the one who survived? Neither she nor Hu Xiuwu had ever met her."

······
"So, Guanyin Bodhisattva, how did you manage to survive?"

With a kind and benevolent expression, Laozi held his whisk and asked cautiously.

It seems they were afraid that this question would offend Guanyin Bodhisattva.

But Guanyin Bodhisattva knew in her heart that she had to speak up.

Guanyin Bodhisattva sighed, gazing at the bodies of Samantabhadra and Manjushri beside her. A single tear rolled down her dignified and graceful face.
"Every drink and every bite is preordained. We rise because of this mountain, and we also perish because of this mountain."

Laozi immediately understood: "It was the Buddha who did it. He used the law of cause and effect to transfer the Death-Binding Light onto you." "It seems that Guanyin's Buddhist practice is indeed thorough, she is not involved in cause and effect, and does not get involved in the mortal world."

Guanyin was able to survive, and appeared to be unharmed, clearly because she had repaid all the karmic debts owed to the Buddha.

I owe nothing to Lingshan, and I have lived in the Purple Bamboo Forest of the South China Sea for a long time, so I am safe and sound.

After listening, the Jade Emperor suddenly spoke up: "Would Guanyin Bodhisattva be willing to come to the Heavenly Court for a temporary rest?"

The Jade Emperor extended an invitation to Guanyin Bodhisattva.

It's not because of Guanyin's appearance.

Rather, it is because of Guanyin's unique supernatural powers, which are almost unparalleled at present.

The fact that Guanyin Bodhisattva was able to clear away karmic debts proves that she is well-versed in the law of cause and effect and has a certain level of understanding of the principles of cause and effect.

This is exactly the kind of talent the Heavenly Court needs.

The Jade Emperor was not good at the principles of cause and effect, but he wanted to understand their mysteries. If Guanyin Bodhisattva was willing to come to the Heavenly Court, he could learn the wonders of cause and effect from her.

Guanyin Bodhisattva remained silent for a while before asking, "I beg Your Majesty the Jade Emperor to ascertain the whereabouts of the Buddha. If the Buddha has met with misfortune, Guanyin will have no choice but to request the Heavenly Court to take him in."

"good"

The Jade Emperor nodded, granting Guanyin's request. He was pleased to receive the Mirror of Cause and Effect, but he did not show much joy. He remained solemn and dignified.

However, Guanyin is ultimately just a Bodhisattva, and there's nothing for her to be overly excited about.

Moreover, He was even more concerned about the life and death of the Buddha. If Hu Xiuwu killed the Buddha, the Jade Emperor and Laozi would raise Hu Xiuwu's threat level to a higher level.

While the Jade Emperor was recruiting Guanyin, Laozi had already created countless clones to thoroughly investigate the entire Mount Ling. Finally, in the Great Thunderclap Temple, which had been ravaged by the Four Swords of Zhuxian and was left with little remains, he discovered a trace of the opening of the void gate.

Hu Xiuwu and the Buddha finally engaged in a final battle in the void.

Even though the Jade Emperor and Laozi had already arrived at Mount Ling, the Buddha Tathagata had not yet appeared.

Lao Tzu commented, "The Buddha is in grave danger."

The Jade Emperor stood silently atop Mount Ling, awaiting the final outcome.

Guanyin Bodhisattva stood by, silently reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra, to help the Bodhisattvas and Arhats of Mount Ling to be reborn in a better realm.

As for whether the Buddha himself was among those who performed the rituals for the deceased, only she herself knows.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sky was torn apart once again.

The Jade Emperor and Laozi looked up.

No one came out; instead, a surge of spiritual energy, so dense it could be described as a vast ocean, gushed forth from the crack.

The waters of the sky flow on, yet do not reach the sea.

Instead, it transforms into a gentle, drizzling rain imbued with spiritual energy; the rainwater possesses a spirit, and it doesn't fall randomly.

The spiritual rain will bend and seep into the house, falling on every believer in Xiniu Hezhou.

To repay the debt owed by the Buddha in accordance with cause and effect.

The law of cause and effect is mysterious and unpredictable; debts cannot be erased simply by death.

The Jade Emperor and Laozi personally confirmed the news of the Buddha's death.

From today onwards,

They will never meet with Hu Xiuwu alone again.

(End of this chapter)