Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1099 The Source of Destructive Power
The aura of destruction that enveloped the Guanyin Temple was a remnant of the Great Luo, an existence that surpassed the Taiyi realm.

However, Guanyin Bodhisattva is naturally not an ordinary Taiyi.

He is a 'great bodhisattva' who can be compared to an ordinary Buddha.

Furthermore, this Guanyin Temple also houses a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The statue was imbued with a spirit, and thus, in some mysterious way, it became connected with Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Moreover, this Guanyin Temple is ultimately still within Pantian—although the black lotus divides the space, it cannot escape the confines of Pantian no matter what.

Outside the Guanyin Temple, the Great Bodhisattva Guanyin activated the dark lotus flower, and then a thought descended and merged into it.

Inside the Zen temple, the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva opened its eyes and took the thoughts that Guanyin Bodhisattva had sent down, transforming them into its manifestation.

Immediately, the connection between the manifested body and the true body was established.

A mysterious and unpredictable path manifests between the manifested form and the true form of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Because of the black lotus, communication began between the inside and outside of the Zen temple.

—And that aura of destruction was indeed a legacy of the Great Luo.

The moment the flaw that appeared due to the manifestation of Guanyin Bodhisattva manifested, the inverted black lotus began to pulsate, attempting to completely destroy the connection between Guanyin Bodhisattva's manifestation and true form.

That power, which surpassed the limits of Taiyi, was merely a rhythm, a single turn of the black lotus.

The connection between the manifested form of Guanyin Bodhisattva and her true form has been completely severed.

The passage that had just appeared immediately began to close.

But at that moment, the Monkey King, who was waiting nearby, also made his move.

As soon as the opening appeared, the moment the lotus flower swayed, the Monkey King's Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic cudgel) thrust directly at that opening.

In that instant, it seemed as if the illusory and the real, the time and space, had been pierced through.

The swaying black lotus then came to a standstill.

Within the inverted lotus, an aura of endless destruction, like a dragon or a snake, twisted and coiled around the Sea-Stabilizing Needle.

But no matter how the power was twisted, it could not leave any mark on the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Even as time and space collapsed and the past and future became disordered, the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) remained firmly stationed there, unmoved.

At first glance, this scene appears as a chaotic spectacle, as if the world had been created anew.

The Heavenly Pillar stands tall and majestic, suppressing heaven and earth.

Around the Heavenly Pillar, spacetime is in disarray, but the presence of the Heavenly Pillar prevents it from becoming completely confused.

Seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Beneath the black lotus, his actions of enlightening his incarnations were fraught with immense danger.

Once the connection between his manifested form and his true form is severed by the black lotus, his manifested form is then corrupted by the black lotus.

—At that time, another 'Black Guanyin' will appear between heaven and earth.

This "Black Guanyin" is two sides of the same coin as Guanyin Bodhisattva, originating from the same source, but they are not the same person.

Thus, as long as the 'Black Guanyin' exists, the essence of Guanyin Bodhisattva will flow uncontrollably toward this 'Black Guanyin'.

In this way, the existence of Guanyin Bodhisattva would become 'incomplete'.

His path to Rome will also come to an abrupt end.

On the contrary, that 'Black Guanyin' might devour the essence of Guanyin Bodhisattva, usurp everything of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and then make up for the deficiencies, achieve perfection... and reach the Great Luo realm.

The risks involved in such an action are self-evident.

"Fortunately, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is still reliable when it matters most." Guanyin Bodhisattva felt the faint but never completely severed connection between herself and the incarnation, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Great Sage, now we can go and bring Master Xuanzang out."

Guanyin Bodhisattva glanced at the Zen temple.

Although the passageway has been opened, the interior of the Zen temple remains pitch black, and time and space are shrouded in ignorance and chaos.

Even if she could still sense the presence of the emanation body, Guanyin Bodhisattva had no idea what the situation was inside the Zen temple.

"Won't the Bodhisattva come in with me?" the Great Sage Equaling Heaven asked, hesitating for a moment, a rare occurrence.

He had already seen the demon god in that Zen temple.

Almost every one of those demon gods posed a considerable threat to him—the strength and killing power of those demon gods were unimaginable.

If he were to step into the Guanyin Temple alone and be attacked by those demons and gods... he himself would be fine.

But Xuanzang's life was most likely to be lost in the aftermath of that struggle.

After all, the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) had transformed into a bridge connecting both sides, making it difficult to remove easily.

Without the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff), even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven would find it difficult to unleash his full power.

"Rest assured, my manifestation will protect Xuanzang." Guanyin Bodhisattva seemed to have sensed the thoughts of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

Guanyin Bodhisattva raised her hand, holding the jade bottle in one hand and making a hand seal with the other.

Then he pointed to what was in front of him.

"Besides, the entrances and exits of this Zen temple also need to be guarded."

“Otherwise, if someone sets a trap here, Great Sage, you might bring Xuanzang out, only to have him snatched away by someone else the very next moment. That would be terrible.”

Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke patiently.

Of course, there was an even more important reason that he never mentioned to the Monkey King.

That is the inverted black lotus itself.

This is the destructive power manifested in the form of a black lotus.

The moment Guanyin Bodhisattva saw the black lotus, she was absolutely certain that the death calamity that the Great Dragon God Chengtian Bingyi had mentioned in the East Sea should be here!
This is a black lotus of unknown origin, formed from the power of destruction.

This power completely transcends the Taiyi level.

That is why, ever since then, Guanyin Bodhisattva has been analyzing the power of the black lotus, comprehending its essence, and searching for its origin.

It seems that the power of the black lotus is completely opposite to the power of Buddhism.

Upon first glance at the black lotus, Guanyin Bodhisattva had a feeling that the origin of this black lotus could be traced back to Buddhism.

The manifestation of this destructive power must be related to the existence of Buddhism.

While Guanyin Bodhisattva was deliberating, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven did not step into the Zen temple, but continued to look at Guanyin Bodhisattva.

His gaze fell on the hands of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

To be precise, it's on the jade vase held by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The bottle had a delicate texture and a rounded shape with an extremely perfect curve.

The bottle's neck, however, was slender and smooth, exuding an exceptionally tactile quality. It made one irresistibly want to take the bottle, grasp its neck, and use it as a hammer, or a ruyi scepter, to smash it on one's head.

Seeing the monkey's gaze, Guanyin Bodhisattva's heart skipped a beat. Then, she lowered her hand from the mudra and let it fall naturally, thus protecting the jade bottle.

The Jade Purification Bottle is a very mysterious innate spiritual treasure.

Its mystery lies not in the bottle itself.

The bottle contained the Three Lights Divine Water.

—Given the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's temperament, if this jade bottle were to fall into his hands, regardless of the bottle's quality itself...

However, the incomparably precious Three Lights Divine Water inside the bottle will surely be completely ruined by him.

"Stingy." Looking at the movements of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven muttered a word, then leaped into the Guanyin Temple following the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

At this moment, Guanyin Bodhisattva finally focused her mind completely on the black lotus.

As he pondered the origin of the black lotus, a thought suddenly stirred within Guanyin Bodhisattva: a desire to verify it arose in his mind.

Then he silently recited the scriptures.

The essence of Buddhism was also subtly stirred by him, transforming into the aura within his magical power, which then slowly emanated.

With this movement, the power of the black lotus was instantly stirred by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

……

"Buddhism?"

When Guanyin Bodhisattva verified the source of that destructive power, Ao Bing on the Execution Platform was also moved.

When his attention fell upon the Guanyin Temple, upon the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Great Bodhisattva Guanyin gathered together, the 'information' there, whether it was what they were talking about or what they were thinking, appeared before Ao Bing's eyes amidst the shifting of time and space.

"The power of destruction gathers on that world-destroying millstone."

"Although I cannot be certain which saint possesses this treasure, I am certain that it is not a Buddhist saint!"

Logically speaking, disciples of the Daoist sects and Xuanmen should have a chance to come into contact with this destructive power.

However, Buddhist disciples would never be able to come into contact with it.

But now... this destructive power is manifesting in the Guanyin Temple.

This is the destructive force that is the opposite of the power of Buddhism.

And, hidden within the Guanyin Temple, is that 'innate saint' of the destruction side.

"Buddhism? How could it be Buddhism?"

Ao Bing was completely puzzled.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration appeared in Ao Bing's mind.

Although the world-destroying millstone was not controlled by a Buddhist saint.

Although Buddhists, fundamentally, cannot access the power of destruction.

However, it is entirely possible for Buddhism to develop destructive power!

No, to be precise, it was not Buddhism that gave rise to the destructive power.

Rather, it refers to the earlier Brahmanical tradition.

Brahmaism arose from the merger of the Vedas after they were swallowed up by Pandita.

This was a 'stopgap measure' presented to allow Pantheon to better absorb the origin of the Vedas.

When the origin of the Vedas could no longer stir up any waves in the heavens, the guiding saints of Brahma also vanished.

Buddhist teachings were transformed into Buddhism.

Countless Brahma beings fell from their lotus thrones and returned to the cycle of reincarnation.

Even today, the influence of 'Brahman' still exists immensely within Buddhism.

However, compared to the former Brahma religion, Buddhism today is much, much better.

However, Buddhism is a sect that grew out of the remains of Brahmanism, and it inherited the vast majority of Brahmanism's power and essence.

One part of the essence of Brahmanism is the creation of the world by the fallen Vedas, and that part was integrated into the origin of Pandita.

The creator of the Vedas had several faces.

One of its features is...

That is the pinnacle of destructive power in the Vedas—comparable to, or even surpassing, the Great Millstone of Annihilation in Pantian.

In Brahmanism, whether in the Vedas or after Pandita, they worship the Vedas and their representations—which naturally include the destructive aspect of the Vedas, [Veda-Shiva].

After the extinction of Brahmaism and its conversion into Buddhism, most of the things worshipped by Brahmaism were destroyed.

Much of the tradition and heritage of Buddhism has been destroyed.

However, the influence of Buddhism was never completely eliminated.

If, even today, there is still a hidden veneration of [Veda-Shiva] within Buddhism.

Therefore, it is only natural that the origin of Buddhism was guided by this destructive aspect that created the world, and then merged with it, ultimately manifesting the power of destruction.

Moreover, because the essence of [Veda-Shiva] is extremely high, the destructive power derived from it as a guide is naturally also unimaginably high in nature.

Under such circumstances, the achievement of a Destroyer-side Great Luo who concealed his existence from everyone's perception would be perfectly reasonable.

"However, the Great Luo is perfectly integrated and without hindrance, and is complete in itself—even the Great Luo of the Destruction side is still a kind of perfection, without any flaws or omissions."

"Since it is perfect, how did this Great Luo of the Destruction side manage to lose a part of his own aura and even his origin, and then manifest a Primordial Saint of the Destruction side with the characteristics of a Great Luo in this world?"

"It can't be that he did it on purpose, but what would he gain from it?"

"Could it be that he's so bored that he wants to evolve a completely new being from his own origin to compete with him for the origin, just for fun?"

As soon as the thought arose, Ao Bing immediately suppressed it.

He himself thought the idea was too outrageous.

"Never mind, let's wait and see."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the innate deity of the destruction side should be hiding in this Guanyin Temple—the aura of those demon gods tainted by the aura of the destruction side is a part of that innate deity of the destruction side."

"An indestructible Monkey King, and the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) that can anchor and suppress time and space."

"In addition, there is Guanyin, who is powerful and has mysterious methods."

"And Xuanzang, who was deeply versed in Buddhism and could use Buddhism to invoke the destructive power."

"If the three of them work together, they should be able to find and suppress that innate deity on the side of destruction."

Ao Bing continued to observe the development within the Guanyin Temple.

(End of this chapter)