Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1089 Seeing the Future Now

A powerful figure from beyond the realm, who had established a Buddhist lineage, sought to seize the power of that ritual.

Those who establish their power outside of Buddhism also seek to seize power from the rituals.

Compared to other things, this ritual is also a tangible 'trophy'.

"Buddhas, sirs," Shakyamuni's voice rang out slowly, as resounding as metal and thunder.

"Xuanzang's rituals at this time were rooted in the foundation and essence of Buddhism."

"And all living beings in the world, whether from outside or inside the realm, want to take this opportunity to interfere with this ritual. Even if they cannot seize the ritual, they can still connect their power to it."

"so that they themselves can also become part of this ritual."

"However, this ritual is the ritual of our Buddhist sect, and it is the foundation of our Buddhist sect's great prosperity."

“If outsiders take away even a fraction of the power of that ritual, it means that the foundation of our Buddhist community has been weakened.”

“Especially Xuanzang, as the core of this ritual, he was involved in the vast majority of the ritual’s power.”

"If he dies a violent death, or at the hands of outsiders."

“Then the foundation upon which my Buddhist sect is flourishing will be largely destroyed and taken away by others.”

"This Buddha knows that because of Xuanzang's presumptuous and innovative words, all Buddhas harbor murderous intent towards Xuanzang."

“On his journey to the west, the Buddhas also set many tests for him.”

……

While Shakyamuni was explaining the crucial points of this calamity to all the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple, and while the Buddha's light in the Great Thunderclap Temple attracted the attention of countless Great Luo Immortals, one of Shakyamuni's incarnations as a Vidyaraja silently stepped into the East Sea.

—To everyone's surprise, this incarnation of the Ming King did not originate from Xiniu Hezhou.

Instead, they came directly from Jin'ao Island!

This is the foundation of these deeply rooted and powerful individuals.

They have traveled to so many places.

They've operated in far too many places.

The traces they left between heaven and earth are truly endless.

Therefore, even if you focus all your attention on these Great Luo Immortals, it is still difficult to see their movements clearly.

Because you can never imagine whether these great immortals who have left countless traces between heaven and earth might have hidden some incarnations in some incredible places.

Take, for example, Shakyamuni at this moment.

They had all broken out of the gate and returned to Buddhism from the Jie Sect.

But who would have thought that this vice leader of the Jie Sect, who broke out of the gate, would leave an incarnation on Jin'ao Island after leaving it?
Who would have thought that the other disciples of the Jie Sect on Jin'ao Island would not have eliminated this incarnation at all?

Similarly, precisely because no one could have imagined this... therefore, when Shakyamuni's incarnation as a Vidyaraja stepped into the East Sea, it completely deceived everyone's eyes and ears.

Even the Dragon King of the East Sea, who ruled the East Sea, was completely unaware of this matter.

In the East Sea, this Ming King easily followed the waves and stepped into the extremely hidden Dragon Abyss.

As he stepped into this place, the illusory figure in the Dragon Abyss, dressed in a cassock and connected to the future, also manifested.

"Fellow Daoist, why have you come to this?" These were the words of the wrathful manifestation of Shakyamuni.

Because he feared it might trigger some unpredictable change, Shakyamuni never called this incarnation by his name, but only addressed him as a fellow practitioner.

"Because of the needs of the situation." Ao Bing's Buddhist incarnation looked at Shakyamuni who had come to his door.

The rumor was naturally spread by him—of course, he never imagined that the source of the rumor could be hidden from Shakyamuni.

After all, there are many people in the world who come into contact with Buddhism, but very few who may have touched upon its essence.

Even Shakyamuni couldn't find any evidence.

But why should he bother looking for any evidence?
He only needs to eliminate all the possibilities and impossibilities one by one, and what remains in the end is the only answer.

That's it.

Therefore, after confirming that the source of the rumor was not him, nor Dipankara Buddha, nor Maitreya Buddha, Shakyamuni realized that the source of the rumor was Ao Bing!

In this incarnation of Ao Bing.

Only this embodiment, which touches upon the very essence of Buddhism, can awaken the very foundation of Buddhism, and with the power of rumors, turn falsehood into truth, transforming the fictitious 'ritual' into a real existence between heaven and earth.

However, Shakyamuni could not understand why Ao Bing would do such a thing.

If it is for the sake of purifying Buddhism... then with the cooperation of Shakyamuni and others, the matter of purifying Buddhism is progressing in an extremely efficient manner.

It appears that the Buddhas in the Great Thunder Temple are still seated high.

In reality, the tentacles they extended—whether in Jambudvipa or the Central Plains—that housed numerous temples that upheld their will and passed down their Buddhist teachings, all perished with Xuanzang's westward journey.

From the moment Xuanzang set foot in Jambudvipa, he would always approach temples or cities that revered Buddhism to discuss the Dharma.

Those Buddhist disciples who confronted Xuanzang and debated with him were refuted by him and then "purged from the sect".

Those monks who knew their own Buddhist teachings were inadequate and dared not come forward to debate with Xuanzang were also denounced by Xuanzang as "heretical followers of Mara".

The Buddhist teachings circulating in those city-states were also altered during Xuanzang's preaching and propagation of the Dharma.

This journey to the west is, in name, a journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

But in reality, it was Xuanzang's path of spreading Buddhism.

In this situation, all that's needed is for Xuanzang to travel from Jambudvipa to the Great Thunderclap Temple...

Then, his experience of discussing, debating, and practicing Buddhism will transform into an incredibly powerful force within him.

Through the cause and effect between those many Buddhist temples, and through the cause and effect between those many Buddhist teachings.

This was enough to allow Xuanzang to follow that cause and effect, and in the Great Thunderclap Temple, to have an incredibly exhilarating debate with all the Buddhas—a transformation at the cost of the Buddhas' nirvana.

In this way, the changes in Buddhism and the reform of Buddhist teachings can be announced.

Buddhism, from then on, stepped onto the stage of heaven and earth in a completely new way.

But now... with this rumor pushing things forward...

Admittedly, this greatly increased Xuanzang's chances of attaining enlightenment, but it also made the Buddhas of the Great Thunder Temple more wary of him than ever before.

Xuanzang, an ordinary man who stepped into the Great Thunder Temple.

Xuanzang, a great master of supernatural powers, stepped into the Great Thunderclap Temple.

It's easy to see who is more alarming.

To put it bluntly, under this ritual, the plan to purify Buddhism through Xuanzang could completely collapse.

Even with Shakyamuni Buddha personally suppressing him, as Xuanzang gets closer to the Great Thunderclap Temple, the probability that the Buddhas in the Great Thunderclap Temple will personally take action against Xuanzang will still increase, and eventually, that probability will return to 'one'.

That is to say, it was destined, it was inevitable!
With Xuanzang's death... all the plans of the entire Buddhist community were rendered meaningless!

Looking across the world, it's hard to find another person like Xuanzang, even among Shakyamuni Buddha. "The world has its own grand scheme."

"And Buddhism is just one part of the larger picture of the universe."

Under Shakyamuni's questioning, the monk opposite him, who was an incarnation of Ao Bing—the future Star Lord of Calamity—remained completely calm.

He wasn't worried at all that the Buddha in front of him might turn against him.

They were not worried at all about the failure of the Pure Buddhism plan.

"Brother Dao, are you aware of how many people from outside the Buddhist community there are?"

The future Star Lord still clasped his hands together and looked down at Long Yuan.

Faced with this question, even Shakyamuni, who had come to question him with great force, was momentarily stunned.

He naturally had no idea.

Although he is the current Buddha who leads Buddhism, and is the World Honored One revered by all in Buddhism.

However, he only had a rough understanding and grasp of the situation in Buddhism.

As for further details... the identities of the many Buddhist disciples...

Unless those Buddhist disciples could personally appear before Shakyamuni, even Shakyamuni could not ascertain the origins of those Buddhist disciples who had received the Dharma.

Buddhism, after all, is a great religion of sages; it is too vast, far too vast!
Even a great master like Shakyamuni Buddha appeared insignificant in the face of the scale of this great religion of saints.

"I suppose you are also unaware of where the powerful beings from beyond the realms place their moves within the Buddhist community," Future Star Tribulation Venerable asked again.

Shakyamuni remained silent.

The structure of Buddhism is strict, but the many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also possess a strange kind of autonomy.

—In truth, the structure of Buddhism is much like the structure of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in the human world.

Shakyamuni is the World Honored One, revered by all Buddhas—he was the Zhou Dynasty emperor.

Besides Shakyamuni, those different Buddhas were like the princes of the human world.

Their Buddha, their temples, their lineage—these are their land, their 'private property.'

Shakyamuni's understanding and control over these Buddhas stopped at the level of Bodhisattvas—below the Bodhisattvas, the limit of Shakyamuni's understanding was that of a few scattered Arhats.

In this situation, if we were to ask Shakyamuni Buddha how many incarnations of powerful beings from beyond the realm exist within Buddhism, and how many pawns those powerful beings from beyond the realm have left behind within Buddhism.

That's really asking too much of anyone!

"Therefore, this situation has arisen," said Future Star Lord Calamity calmly.

Xuanzang's ritual was a very powerful one.

But just how powerful is this ritual?

Those outside of Buddhism have absolutely no concrete concept of it.

—Within the Buddhist community, whether they are Buddhas, incarnations of powerful beings from beyond the realm, or pawns of those powerful beings, they all have a clear understanding of the power of this ritual.

At the same time, the Buddhist community will be divided into two parts.

One part of them is the Pantian Clan.

The other part consists of the incarnations of powerful beings from beyond the realm.

The latter's fear of Shakyamuni was far less than that of the former.

The teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha held little weight before the latter.

After all, they have overseas as a fallback option.

Even if Shakyamuni were to find them one day, they would simply abandon this incarnation and return to the outer realms.

Therefore, this group of 'Buddhist disciples' is the group that least respects Shakyamuni's teachings and the overall Buddhist community.

This means that even after Shakyamuni issued a decree forbidding all Buddhas and Buddhist disciples from plotting against Xuanzang before he arrived at the Great Thunder Temple, these 'Buddhist disciples' would still disregard this and plot against Xuanzang, trying to seize the rituals and blessings bestowed upon him.

The sage secretly issued a decree instructing Ao Bing to capture alive an incarnation of a Great Luo from beyond the realm.

—So Ao Bing had no choice but to go through a net and sift through the Buddhist community in this way.

From within Buddhism, select those who might be incarnations from beyond this realm.

Then, a second screening will be conducted on these Buddhist disciples who may be incarnations of powerful beings from beyond the realm.

In this way, Ao Bing can lock onto the incarnations of those extraterrestrial Great Luo Immortals in the most efficient manner.

Then, they would seek to capture them alive... or even try to make them 'walk into the trap willingly'.

However, there was no need to discuss such considerations with Shakyamuni.

“Shakyamuni, regarding Xuanzang’s matter, you have your difficulties, and I have my considerations.”

"You believe that this matter has affected the overall situation of Buddhism."

"But in my view, it is more important to use this matter to first identify those in the world who may be involved with people from outside the realm before Xuanzang purifies Buddhism."

"Whether it's a struggle or a game of chess, it all comes down to knowing yourself and your enemy."

"But now, we know ourselves but not our enemies, when it comes to those beyond our borders."

“We don’t even know where they are.”

"That's not a good thing."

"Shakyamuni, Buddhism is an important force in the universe."

"But as the Buddha, you should look beyond the framework of Buddhism."

"Buddhism is only a part of the universe."

Ao Bing advised.

"So you spread that rumor, using it to transform the essence of Buddhism into rituals."

Shakyamuni quickly figured out the cause and effect.

As a chessboard, the Southern Continent is far too vast.

Many powerful beings from beyond the realm mingled in the Southern Continent, spying on Pantian and hiding themselves within its walls.

Finding them within this entire chessboard of the Southern Continent is extremely difficult!
Given their deliberate concealment, it's virtually impossible to find them.

Thus, in this deadly game of chess, Ao Bing placed an even heavier bait on Xuanzang, who was already attracting a lot of attention!
A ritual encompassing several great immortals, and even those with great supernatural powers.

As long as one can gain something from this ritual, then the Great Luo is within easy reach, and a great supernatural being is also within sight.

This was enough to be considered the closest to the 'ultimate' opportunity in the midst of the killing calamity, drawing out those powerful beings from beyond the realm.

Even those powerful individuals who only seek the ultimate destiny and pay no attention to anything else but peacefully accumulate strength and wait for the final moment will find their hearts stirred by this.

(End of this chapter)