Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1044 A New Game, Adding a Bet

However, while groaning inwardly, the Monkey King felt an even greater sense of excitement!

He was right about the monk Xuanzang!
This guy is definitely more troublesome than even the Monkey King!

It should be noted that since his debut as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, despite his exploits in causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he has never truly faced any Grand Luo Immortal.

—His first direct confrontation with the Great Luo was with Shakyamuni, who suppressed him with a single stroke of his hand.

The second time he faced the Great Luo was not long ago at Yinshan Temple, when he shattered the Buddha's incarnation with a single blow.

This is the limit of his record!

But now...

He had only walked for a short while.

In just a short while, Xuanzang turned around and created a great spectacle of the Buddha's passing away!

Moreover, judging from the situation in the Iron Fork Temple, the passing away of the Buddha of Compassionate Light was not an ordinary demise.

Rather, it was during a discussion with Xuanzang that Xuanzang shattered his resolve to pursue the Dao, ultimately leading to his passing away peacefully.

Throughout history, the number of Great Luo Immortals created between heaven and earth is immeasurable, and their origins are also difficult to fathom—and the number of those powerful figures who have fallen is even more countless.

Those Great Luo Immortals were mixed in among them, and even later generations could not confirm whether the one who fell was a Great Luo Immortal or a Taiyi Immortal.

But, regardless of when it is, and regardless of whether it is Da Luo or Tai Yi...

I have never heard of anyone dying because their Daoist heart was shattered while discussing the Dao with someone.

Not to mention, he died when his Dao heart shattered while discussing the Dao with mortals!
It should be understood that the ultimate expression of mortals' discussions of the Dao was the work of the philosophers of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Their thoughts, even after tens of thousands of years, still shine brightly between heaven and earth—the literati of this world have gone through generation after generation.

Yet, despite their generations of interpretations and transmissions, they have still not fully explored the thoughts of the ancient philosophers.

Even the immortals and gods of heaven and earth, and even those great immortals, still held the most admiring views when they spoke of the thoughts of the philosophers.

When the philosophers wrote down their own thoughts, many great immortals from heaven and earth stepped into the mortal realm to discuss the Dao with them—yet even among such brilliant philosophers, some great immortals were willing to follow them as disciples during their discussions…

Despite such brilliance, there has never been a case of a Great Luo Immortal, or even a Taiyi Immortal, dying from a broken Dao heart while discussing the Dao with the disciples!

And now, perhaps the first instance since the beginning of time of creation of the world, of someone dying because of discussing the Dao, has appeared before the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

Not to mention, the one who died while discussing the Dao was a Great Luo Immortal!
Even the Monkey King wouldn't dare to imagine such a thing.

At this moment, the Monkey King felt a pang of regret.

He regretted leaving Xuanzang so early to go to Moyun Cave.

Otherwise, I might have witnessed Xuanzang causing a Great Luo Immortal to die from a broken Dao heart through his debate on the Dharma!

Although the Moyun Cave was lively and had many familiar faces, compared to the scene of a Great Luo Immortal debating the Dao with a mortal, and dying with their Dao heart shattered, the scene in the Moyun Cave was somewhat less lively.

Thinking about all this, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven immediately apologized to the Bull Demon King in his heart.

Compared to the excitement and restlessness in the heart of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and the faint regret, and compared to the shock felt by the other Great Luo Immortals in the world.

The Buddhist community was left with nothing but unparalleled rage over this matter!

When they peered into the Iron Fork Temple, they clearly saw the scene of Xuanzang discussing the Dharma—and they also clearly saw the reason for the extinction of the Buddha's mind of the Cien Guangwang.

And Xuanzang's decision to seize power in Buddhism and change its course!
After a brief period of grief over the passing of the Buddha of Compassionate Light, most of the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple were filled with nothing but anger.

A mere mortal dared to cause the Buddha Ci'en Guangwang Buddha's spiritual resolve to shatter and die during a debate on the Dharma.

How dare a mere mortal attempt to usurp the right of these Buddhas to interpret scriptures?
How dare a mere mortal try to change the path of Buddhism?

How incredibly arrogant!

"kill him!"

"Kill him now!"

"He must be cast into the deepest hell, never to be reborn!"

Inside the Great Thunderclap Temple, the angry voices of the Buddhas rang out one after another.

The fire of ignorance originating from the Buddha almost set the entire Great Thunderclap Temple ablaze.

The vast and mighty Buddhist light seemed poised to emanate directly from Xiniu Hezhou at that very moment, colliding directly with the human realm.

"Amitabha, well said, well said."

Amidst that terrifying rage, Shakyamuni's voice rang out, silencing the cacophony of voices from all the other Buddhas.

“I already know the intention of all the Buddhas.”

“Xuanzang is indeed guilty of a capital offense.”

"But at present, there are still two dilemmas to be resolved."

Shakyamuni's face was also burning with immense anger.

"Please, World Honored One, speak plainly." Seeing the anger on Shakyamuni's face, the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple also clasped their hands in prayer.

Everyone had already turned their attention away from the Moyun Cave.

"The first difficulty is that he usurped the right to interpret Buddhist scriptures and changed the path of Buddhism. Was this Xuanzang's own arrogance, or the will of the Emperor?"

Shakyamuni spoke slowly.

These words were like a basin of divine water falling from the sky, pouring directly onto the heads of all the Buddhas, instantly extinguishing all their anger.

All the Buddhas, without their own involuntary actions, followed the thoughts of Shakyamuni.

Indeed, this is a question that everyone should ponder.

Was the reform of Buddhism Xuanzang's idea, or the Emperor's?

If it was only Xuanzang's intention—even if he was the Emperor's envoy, the Buddha in the Great Thunderclap Temple could easily kill Xuanzang and send a new envoy to the Emperor. But what if it was the Emperor's intention?

The Buddhas communicated rapidly among themselves, and the turmoil in their hearts was extremely intense. Their mental turmoil caused the land of gods, the human realm, and the vast ocean of emotions and desires to violently tremble. It was as if the ocean was about to overcome the obstacles of the human realm and spread directly into the world.

Under such circumstances, the gods who were still watching the spectacle, as well as the gods of humanity, hurriedly aligned themselves with their authority, connected with the mysteries of the immortal path, and soothed and guided the turbulent waves in the vast ocean of emotions and desires.

Soon, the Buddhas in the Great Thunder Temple reached a conclusion.

Xuanzang's ideas on reforming Buddhism mostly seem to have originated from the emperor's instructions.

Otherwise, how could Xuanzang, a mere mortal, dare to harbor such arrogant thoughts?

Otherwise, upon sensing Xuanzang's thoughts, the Buddha of Compassionate Light would have already attacked and killed him directly. Why would he need to shatter his own Dao heart and perish?
The reason why his Dao heart collapsed was because of despair.

The reason they were in despair was because they realized that this was the malice of the Human Emperor, and in their desperation, they could not find a way to break the deadlock.
In this mortal realm, apart from the Human Emperor, who else could force a Great Luo Immortal to shatter their Dao heart?

After this matter was 'confirmed', an eerie silence fell over the entire Great Thunderclap Temple.

The Human Emperor, though merely a mortal, is one of the most revered beings in the world—his influence in the world surpasses that of any other Great Luo Immortal!
They can even be compared to sages!
The flourishing of Buddhism is the result of the hard work and accumulation of Buddhist monks over the years.

But what truly ignited this potential, enabling Buddhism to overcome the invisible blockade and truly flourish, was the decision of the Human Emperor!
As is well known, the political situation in the world has always been characterized by "a new emperor, a new court".

The decisions of this generation of emperors do not represent the decisions of the next generation of emperors—in fact, some newly enthroned emperors, in order to demonstrate their strength and to show the power they wield, will deliberately change or even overturn the decisions of the previous emperor.

Therefore, for Buddhism, the existence of this generation's human emperor can be described as 'something that can be encountered but not sought'.

The Great Dragon God Chengtian Bingyi of yesteryear was able to ruthlessly kill a Human Emperor—so with the current strength of Buddhism, what difficulty would it be to kill a Human Emperor?
At most, it would only cost the Buddhist community a few more Great Luo Immortals to pay for this.

Is the Buddhist sect unable to afford the price paid for these several Great Immortals?
How can it be!

However, Buddhism can afford the price of becoming a Great Luo Immortal, but it cannot afford the price of the Human Emperor's demise!
They had no way of guaranteeing that after the fall of this emperor, the next emperor would maintain the decisions of this emperor. It was at this moment that the Buddhas realized that the most important pivot in the great prosperity of Buddhism did not actually rest on the shoulders of the Buddhas themselves.

It was tied to that short-lived emperor!
If this emperor were to pass away before Buddhism flourishes, then the momentum of Buddhism's rise could very well collapse.

Therefore, under such circumstances, no Buddha in the Great Thunderclap Temple could possibly attack the Human Emperor. Not only could they not attack the Human Emperor, they also had to do their utmost to protect his existence, ensure that he could die peacefully of old age, and ensure that his rule over the human world could last until the moment when Buddhism flourished.

Therefore, even at this moment, the Buddhas on Mount Ling sensed the Human Emperor's ill intentions, but they could only endure it—enduring until their Buddhist sect flourished before taking action!

"Venerable Sir, are we to do nothing now?"

A moment later, the voice of the Buddha rang out.

He seemed to have seen through the current situation, but he was still extremely unwilling.

"Of course not." Shakyamuni put down the rosary in his hand.

"Human hearts are greedy; if I retreat an inch, they will advance a foot."

"If the matter of the Iron Fork Temple is not addressed, in a few days, the Emperor may not want to reform Buddhism, but rather to sit on this lotus platform himself."

Shakyamuni spoke calmly, but everyone on Mount Ling clearly sensed his anger.

"May I ask the World Honored One, what should we do?"

The Buddha, who had asked the question earlier, asked it again.

“Naturally, it is still Xuanzang.” Shakyamuni raised his head slightly, his gaze seemingly bypassing all the Buddhas on Mount Ling and landing directly on Xuanzang in the Iron Fork Temple.

"Although the Emperor intends to reform Buddhism and has the ambition to seize control of it, there is also some good news."

"That is, it is also subject to limitations. It dares not do things too openly, nor does it dare to fight to the death with my Buddhist sect."

"He dared not speak openly to my Buddhist community, saying that since Buddhism was flourishing, it was necessary to reform it."

"Therefore, we still have a chance to fight against them!"

“Xuanzang was an envoy chosen by the Emperor.”

"What it carries is the will of the human emperor."

"At the same time, Xuanzang was also a disciple of Buddhism, and he carried the will of Buddhism."

"Now, the will of Buddhism and the will of the Human Emperor are intertwined with him, and also with his journey to obtain the scriptures."

"His journey to obtain the scriptures was a path of unwavering will—a path in which the will of our Buddhist sect and the will of the human emperor clashed within him."

"When he returned with the true scriptures, his thoughts were the thoughts of the Buddhist community on earth—and also the thoughts of all the Buddhas of the Great Thunder Temple."

"Therefore, what all Buddhas need to do now is to spread the Dharma and create numerous tribulations along their journey to obtain the scriptures."

"In this way, Xuanzang came to know the vastness and grandeur of Buddhism."

"In this way, he will know that only by following the path of Buddhism can he complete this journey to obtain the scriptures, reach the Great Thunderclap Temple, and obtain the true scriptures from the Great Thunderclap Temple."

"Therefore, this pilgrim who is carrying out the will of the Human Emperor and acting in accordance with the will of our Buddhist sect—unless the Human Emperor is willing to break his promise to all living beings in the world, he will have no choice but to concede defeat in this game!"

“Buddhas, the great flourishing of the Dharma is bound to go through countless hardships and tribulations.”

"And clearly, this human emperor who personally promised to bring Buddhism into the human world and triggered the great rise of Buddhism was the most crucial calamity for the great rise of Buddhism!"

“All Buddhas, we should abandon our prejudices and join hands to overcome this calamity.”

"May I ask the World Honored One, what should be done to test Xuanzang?" After another period of silence, the figure of Dipankara Buddha appeared in the Great Thunderclap Temple.

"Under the rules of Heaven, anything is permissible."

As Shakyamuni spoke, he looked up at the sky.

Above the heavens, on the Execution Platform, Ao Bing's gaze also fell upon the Buddha. While exchanging glances with Shakyamuni across the void, he also swept all the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple into his eyes.

Immediately, Ao Bing raised his hand and made a pinch in the void.

The laws of Heaven converge at the Execution Platform.

Humanitarian power also converges among them.

Finally, a jet-black arrow, seemingly capable of eroding everything, appeared in Ao Bing's hand.

(End of this chapter)