Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

"His Majesty is getting impatient."

This was the first sentence that Buddha Jinjue spoke to the bodhisattvas and arhats after Bodhisattva Jinglian left Dalingyin Temple.

Looking at the Bodhisattvas and Arhats standing on either side, Buddha Jinjue smiled. Now is the time when the Xuanmen is flourishing and the Eastern Heavenly Daoist school is at its peak. The Three Venerables stand side by side, vying with the Heavenly Court. His Buddhist sect can benefit from both sides without spending a penny.

"Spiritual perception".

"The disciple is here."

Lingjue Bodhisattva stepped forward and bowed slightly to the Golden Awakening Buddha atop the Eight Treasures Merit Lotus.

Buddha Jinjue smiled and said, "I would trouble you to go to the Floating Pagoda Realm and ask him to prepare to enter the Three Realms and attend the banquet in the Fragrant Hall."

“Tell him that His Majesty and I have prepared a place for him, a seat reserved for a Buddha, waiting for him.”

Lingjue Bodhisattva put his hands together in prayer: "Disciple receives the Buddha's decree."

After saying this, the Bodhisattva Lingjue left the Great Lingyin Temple and headed straight for the Great Thousand Worlds.

Watching the departing figure of Lingjue Bodhisattva, Jinjue Buddha's smile remained, but he was already pondering the great calamity that would befall Buddhism in the future.

"The three realms of Brahma, Guhyasamaja, and Ratna are incredibly stubborn. Because they are so stubborn, the Lotus Sutra and the True Suchness Sutra are constantly wavering."

"When the great calamity befalls Buddhism, we will inevitably need His Majesty of Heaven to intervene."

Buddha Jinjue had thought it through clearly. He not only wanted to attend the banquet at the Hall of Fragrant Breeze a hundred years later, but he also wanted to stand firmly on the side of the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Emperor of the Golden Palace. Only in this way would His Majesty help to mediate the great calamity of Buddhism in the future.

As for the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School?

Given the current powerful stance and ambitious nature of the Eastern Heavenly Daoist sect, I'd be grateful if they didn't cause trouble during the Buddhist calamity.

After all, the one in charge of the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School now is not the two kind-hearted Qingyan Heavenly Venerable and Mingyang Heavenly Venerable, but the Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable who has just ascended to the True Yang Dao Fruit.

Kaiyuan Tianzun is young and vigorous, with lofty ambitions. With this Tianzun above him, and with the rise of the younger generation of the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School, trouble is inevitable in the future.

Thinking of this, Buddha Jinjue couldn't help but feel envious. The Eastern Heaven Daoist had taken advantage of the Xuanmen Calamity to swallow up all the Xuanmen realms in one fell swoop, and the three Heavenly Venerables stood tall in the Eastern Heaven. When would his painstakingly planned Three World Venerables be realized?

Pure Land, crystal-clear temples, thousands of temples; precious pagodas, pagodas, the heart of Bodhisattva.

Upon entering the Buddhist realm, one sees pure lands of crystal everywhere, with magnificent temples standing tall. Thus, countless families and millions of sentient beings worship the towering Buddhist pagodas and recite the Maitreya Heart Sutra.

Above the pagoda standing in the center of the Buddhist realm, the glazed Buddha light shines in all directions. Countless heavenly flowers can be seen falling, and clusters of white lotuses can be seen swaying. Where the Buddha light shines, evil spirits are destroyed, diseases are eliminated, and wisdom shines like the sun in the sky, blessing all living beings and saving the world from all calamities.

Above that towering pagoda, the magnificent and vast phantom of a Bodhisattva could be faintly seen, sitting cross-legged on a white lotus platform, smiling as he looked down upon the boundless world and all living beings.

The Bodhisattva Lingjue had a clear light shining from the back of his head, a white hair between his eyebrows, and wore a robe of the Lotus Sutra and a crown of a sage. As soon as he entered the world of the Buddha, he was guided by the light of the Buddha and led into the Buddha pagoda.

"Where does the Bodhisattva Lingjue come from?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva sits atop a white lotus throne, smiling amiably. His presence brings peace and tranquility, inspiring awe and a desire to prostrate oneself in reverence.

As both being at the level of upholding the Tao, Lingjue Bodhisattva would not be fooled by Maitreya Bodhisattva's tricks. Lingjue Bodhisattva's eyes were clear and his face was calm. He bowed slightly and said, "By order of the Buddha Jinjue, I have come to invite you to the banquet in the Heavenly Court's Pixiang Hall."

A banquet at the Heavenly Court's Fragrant Hall?
Maitreya Bodhisattva smiled as usual. The banquet in the Heavenly Court's Pixiang Palace a hundred years later had already spread throughout the myriad realms with the will of that Heavenly Emperor. Anyone who could have a seat in the Pixiang Palace was a person of great prestige.

Those who are not only the Dao Masters of any Daoist sect, but also Buddhas of some Pure Land, Great Sages of the Demon Clan, or Great Emperors of the Divine Dao, are all at the forefront of the Fragrant Pavilion. Those behind them are all Great Ascension Emperors, Immortal Lords, or Five Tribulations True Lords. Ordinary Integration or Refinement Realm cultivators are not qualified to enter the pavilion.

It can be said that only those at the Mahayana level and the Five Kalpas level who possess a Heavenly Fruit in the Three Realms and Great Thousand Worlds are allowed to enter the Hall; even those at the Pure Yang level who do not possess a Fruit in the Three Realms and Great Thousand Worlds are extremely rare.

Although I have some reputation and am the master of this vast world, I am not a person of the Three Realms, nor do I have attained the true enlightenment of the Three Realms. Why would His Majesty invite me?
Seeing that Maitreya Bodhisattva remained silent, Lingjue Bodhisattva said, "The World Honored One has already agreed with His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor that among the Five Elders of the Three Realms, there will be one Bodhisattva who attains the fruition of enlightenment."

The positions of the Five Elders uphold the true path and attain enlightenment!

This is something that can bring good fortune and merit to the three realms!

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that the merging of all realms and the reappearance of the ancestral realm is a foregone conclusion; it's just a matter of time.

A great calamity that shook the heavens brought the nine realms of the Xuanmen into the Three Realms. Now the Three Realms are becoming increasingly powerful, and the day of their merger is drawing ever closer. Those with aspirations have already begun to choose a side to join, hoping to share in the future ancestral realm and receive its fortune and merits to protect themselves and their lineage.

Now that the Buddha Jinjue of the Western Paradise has extended an invitation and brought with him the goodwill of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, Maitreya Bodhisattva understands that it must be because the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School is too powerful, making the two Daoist masters feel a sense of urgency.

After a moment of contemplation, Maitreya Bodhisattva asked, "If this old monk were to merge the Buddhist Realm into the Three Realms, what would the Buddha and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor think?"

Lingjue Bodhisattva frankly said, "When this humble monk came, Buddha had already given instructions. If the Bodhisattva is willing to merge the Floating Realm into the Three Realms before the banquet in the Pixiang Hall, Buddha and His Majesty will promise that the Floating Realm will open a separate continent in the Western Heaven, which will be called the Western Floating Continent."

West Futu Island!

Each continent acts as its own ruler, thus forming its own system. Although nominally under the same Western Heaven Great Lingyin Temple, it obeys orders but not proclamations.

Lingjue Bodhisattva continued, "At the same time, the Buddha said that if a great calamity were to occur in Buddhism in the future, as long as the Bodhisattva is willing to exert his strength, the Buddha is willing to help the Bodhisattva ascend to the position of one of the Three Venerable Ones in Buddhism."

Maitreya Bodhisattva's eyelids twitched. The Three Venerables of Buddhism were the Buddha's proposed righteous fruition in contrast to the Three Venerables of the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School. As early as the beginning of the merger of the Three Realms, that Buddha called himself the World Venerable. With the rise of the Great Calamity of the Eastern Xuanmen, the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School strongly promoted Kaiyuan Daojun to ascend to the position of the third Heavenly Venerable. The Great Lingyin Temple in the Western Heaven also began to proclaim the Buddhist doctrine of the Three Venerables of the Past, Present, and Future.

These three Buddhas must have reached the realm of mastering the true Yang.

That Buddha practically said outright that as long as Maitreya Bodhisattva supported him, he would definitely help him achieve the True Yang of the Dao.

However, with so many Bodhisattvas and Arhats in the Great Lingyin Temple in the Western Paradise, and even traces of Bodhisattvas and Arhats in the southern part of the Three Realms, would that World Honored One really be willing to help an outsider like himself achieve the True Yang of the Dao?

After pondering for a moment, Maitreya Bodhisattva still smiled and said, "Please ask Lingjue Bodhisattva to report to the World Honored One that I will lead the Buddhist world into the Three Realms and enhance the fortune of our Buddhist sect."

The Bodhisattva Lingjue departed satisfied.

As the Bodhisattva Lingjue departed, a host of Venerable Ones and Heavenly Kings appeared inside the pagoda, including Venerable Huangmei, who had briefly appeared in the Nine Provinces Realm.

"Bodhisattva, will that World-Honored One truly help you ascend to the position of the Three Jewels?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva smiled and nodded, then shook his head: "He didn't really want to help me; he had no other choice."

"The fortune of Buddhism is not exclusively possessed by the Hengsha lineage. The Bright Light Bodhisattva of the Lesser Light Realm has already sent a letter stating that the Lesser Light Realm will enter the Three Realms, be under the rule of the Heavenly Court, and settle in the South."

"His Majesty has offered two of the five elder positions to the Shao Guang Realm."

"The unification of all realms is a predetermined outcome that cannot be changed. The earlier we make arrangements, the more composure we will have and the better prepared we will be."

"Whether that person helps me or not, once I enter the Three Realms, I will rule over a continent and become one of the Five Elders. I will have a share of the fortune and merit of the Three Realms. When the Buddhist calamity comes, based on my fortune and merit, the only ones who can compete with me are those two from the Lesser Light Realm."

"But those two from the Lesser Light Realm have followed the Heavenly Court, and the distinction between close and distant relationships has been established. If the Buddhist fortune doesn't support me, then who else can it support?"

As he spoke, Maitreya Bodhisattva looked at Venerable Yellow Eyebrows: "Yellow Eyebrows, you once entered the Nine Provinces Realm and witnessed the Great Calamity of the Xuanmen with your own eyes, and know the cruelty of the calamity."

"In your opinion, can any of the other major realms of Buddhism withstand that Buddha from the Great Lingyin Temple?"

All the venerable ones and heavenly kings looked at Venerable Yellow Eyebrows.

Venerable Yellow Eyebrow stepped forward, first bowing respectfully, and then said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Bodhisattva, the Buddhist community cannot stop the Great Lingyin Temple, even with us added."

"The merging of all realms is a predetermined outcome, as is the flourishing of immortals, gods, and Buddhas."

"The great calamity of the Xuanmen: the Five Realms and Seven Sects attempted to stop the momentum of the Eastern Heaven. The two Heavenly Venerables never made a move from beginning to end, but the Five Realms and Seven Sects were still no match for the Eastern Heaven Daoists, resulting in the extinction of their lineage and the destruction of their sects."

"The Chixiao Dao Sect of Cangwu Realm and Yaochi Holy Land of Kunlun Realm have followed the Eastern Heaven Daoist School and have not only gained the fortune and merit of the Xuanmen Great Prosperity, but have also gained a foothold in the Three Realms." "Now it is said in all realms that among the batch of Heaven and Earth Fruits born in the Three Realms this time, the two Dao Lords of Cangwu Realm and Kunlun Realm will each obtain one."

Maitreya Bodhisattva nodded in satisfaction: "Yes, Chixiao and Jinmu followed the Eastern Heavenly Daoist sect and gained fortune and merit by contributing their efforts, thus obtaining the status of Heaven and Earth."

“If I do not comply, when the great calamity of Buddhism comes, that World Honored One will secretly intervene, and I fear I will not be able to escape my fate of death.”

"Enter the Three Realms. You'll be merged into them sooner or later anyway. The sooner and more proactive you are, the better you'll get and more benefits."

The same exchange also occurred in the Lesser Light Realm.

Looking at Venerable Lanxin before him, Bodhisattva Mingguang smiled and said, "The Heavenly Court has offered a good price; we cannot be ungrateful."

"One Western Buddhist master and one Southern Buddhist master are enough for me and Jinglian."

"If we are located in the south in the future, and sway a little more towards the west, the lineage of our Shaoguang Realm can be preserved."

After saying that, Bodhisattva Mingguang suddenly asked, "Does Baihe still have connections with Lingyuan in the Eastern Heaven?"

Venerable Lanxin was startled, but still had to reply, "Reporting to the Bodhisattva, Bai He."

Bodhisattva Mingguang smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright."

"Keeping in touch is never a bad thing."

Venerable Lanxin was puzzled. Hadn't they already decided to submit to the Heavenly Court? Why did they still need to...
Bodhisattva Mingguang smiled and said, "The Buddha of the West and the Buddha of the South are destined to be the place where one of us, Jinglian and I, will live in the West for a long time."

"His Majesty's intention is not only to have us submit to the Heavenly Court, but also to have us share in the fortune of the West."

"Since we both belong to the Buddhist sect, if we lose contact with the West, how will our fortunes be divided? And how will we mend any future conflicts between the Heavenly Court and the West?"

"Being affiliated with the Heavenly Court does not mean severing ties with the West. The Heavenly Court and the West must always have a channel of communication, whether openly or secretly."

"Similarly, just because we belong to the Buddhist sect and are affiliated with the Heavenly Court does not mean that we should be at odds with the Eastern Heavenly Taoism. There are three Heavenly Venerables in the East."

As he spoke, Bodhisattva Mingguang said with some apprehension, “The Eastern Heavenly Daoist School is currently enjoying great fortune, and the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) is flourishing. It would be a bad deal for us to be at odds with the East.”

"Even if the Taoism of gods and Buddhas prospers in the future, will the Taoism of the Eastern Heaven decline?"

"With the three Celestial Venerables overseeing things, how weak can the fortune be?"

"We can't afford to have another great war between immortals, gods, and Buddhas, which would destroy the ancestral realm that we've finally managed to unify, right?"

"So, keeping in touch is not a bad thing, and that Lingyuan has extraordinary luck and will surely become a pillar of the Eastern Heaven Daoist School in the future."

Venerable Lanxin probed, “But Bodhisattva, I have heard that this time, the Heavenly Venerable Kaiyuan spread the Daoist teachings widely in the Heavenly River Realm of Tongtian and bestowed them upon ten thousand immortals. However, the Penglai Spirit Abyss did not receive much benefit and did not even obtain a Heavenly Fruit position.”

Bodhisattva Mingguang shook his head: "Don't judge things by appearances."

"Everyone receives a reward, but one person does not; this is a unique form of treatment."

“Look at how Penglai Lingyuan behaved during the Xuanmen Calamity. Did he ever flinch from battle? Did he ever disobey orders? Did he ever cause trouble? Did he ever affect the overall situation?”

Seeing Venerable Lanxin shake her head, Bodhisattva Mingguang said, "That is it."

"His performance was outstanding, and he was a true disciple of Penglai, favored by all the Dao Lords of Penglai. Even Qingyan Tianzun of Penglai helped him openly and secretly. So why did Kaiyuan Tianzun refuse to grant him a Heavenly Fruit Position?"

"Could it be that Kaiyuan Tianzun has attained the Dao of True Yang and is about to separate from Penglai and Qinghua?"

"If that's the case, would the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School still be led by Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable, with Qingyan Heavenly Venerable and Mingyang Heavenly Venerable retiring behind the scenes?"

Venerable Lanxin suddenly realized that she had vaguely felt something was wrong before, but she was not quite sure. Now that Bodhisattva Mingguang said this, Venerable Lanxin immediately understood: "Bodhisattva, Lingyuan is someone that Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable deliberately ignored. Lingyuan is of great use to Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable."

Bodhisattva Mingguang shook his head again: "It's not just Kaiyuan Tianzun, but also Qingyan Tianzun, and possibly even Mingyang Tianzun."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that a large number of Fifth Tribulation True Monarchs of the Eastern Heaven Daoist School have obtained the Heaven and Earth Fruits and have the possibility of breaking through to Pure Yang. That's just a smokescreen."

"Success is certainly a cause for celebration, but failure is not a big deal."

"After all, the true pure Yang seedlings of the Eastern Heaven Daoist School haven't made a move yet."

Venerable Lanxin was taken aback. She had considered Jiang Sheng's importance and thought that given his abilities, he would surely hold a prominent position in the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School. However, she never expected that even Bodhisattva Mingguang would value Jiang Sheng so highly.

A true pure yang seedling?
The Three Realms and the Vast Thousand Worlds.

Dongshan Haizhou.

Jiang Sheng, whom the Bodhisattva Mingguang called a true pure Yang seedling, is traveling on this brand-new continent, or rather, revisiting his homeland.

Dongshan Haizhou is a vast and boundless continent formed by merging the Mountain and Sea Realm as the main body, supplemented by the Spiritual Flower Realm and the Wilderness Realm. Located in the east, its boundless spiritual energy surges and rises, forming a spiritual energy shield that covers the entire continent. On the continent, countless creatures live and thrive.

In the present-day Dongshan Haizhou, the Immortal Path has replaced the Ghost and God Path, but the Ghost and God Path has not completely disappeared. Instead, it has attached itself to the Immortal Path and become one of its branches, the Immortal Path.

The system of immortal registers proposed by Kaiyuan Tianzun was first tested in Dongshan Haizhou.

Currently, in Dongshan Haizhou, people revere immortals and value Taoism, proclaim the laws of heaven and earth, and promote the Eastern Heavenly Taoist tradition. Everyone aims to cultivate immortality and obtain a talisman. There are also many immortals who guard various mountains, rivers, and lakes, acting as guardians for the immortal disciples, allowing the immortals to live freely and cultivate in peace.

The immortals can also be nourished by the power of the earth's veins and water veins, and obtain the proper duties of heaven and earth to achieve longevity. The minor daily affairs are handled by the officials below, so the immortals don't need to worry. The immortals can enjoy incense offerings, accumulate merits and be promoted.

In addition to the Celestial Immortal Path and the Divine Immortal Path, Dongshan Haizhou also deduced a complete system of guardian deities based on a series of temporary measures taken by Jiang Sheng in the Shanhai Realm in the past. If a disciple of the Celestial Path suffers damage to his foundation, he can transfer to the Divine Immortal Path to continue his cultivation. The system of guardian deities in the Divine Immortal Path is a path opened up for those immortals who do not want to be confined to one place for a long time.

The immortals can choose a disciple to become their guardian deity, and travel and cultivate together with that disciple, sharing both glory and loss.

With the help of the guardian deities, the disciples of the immortal path have an extra layer of protection and an additional trump card.

Today, throughout Dongshan Haizhou, one can see immortal disciples training with guardian deities, and one can also see deities acting as mountain gods, city gods, land gods, and river gods. After hundreds of thousands of years of decline and decay in the depths of chaos, Dongshan Haizhou has turned the tide and is now showing a vibrant state of life where all things are thriving.

"Only now does Dongshan Haizhou resemble the Xuanmen Great Realm."

Jiang Sheng spoke softly, with a touch of emotion and admiration.

Beside Jiang Sheng, Shen Yao also said with a hint of pride, "It is thanks to Master's planning and arrangements that we have the prosperous world of Shan Hai today."

"The Jinhua Mountain lineage is increasingly favored by fortune. The Seven Xuanqing Masters of yesteryear are now all capable of ruling over their respective regions. Even Zhao Yanling has attained a divine position, becoming the guardian goddess of Jinhua Mountain."

As he spoke, Shen Yao felt somewhat ashamed: "Now all the disciples have attained their positions, but Master has not."

Jiang Sheng waved his hand: "I don't care about those things. Cultivation is all about being carefree and at ease. I haven't done anything for you. Your success today is due to your own good fortune and merits."

"As for me, I will have my own path to walk in the future."

After saying that, Jiang Sheng picked up the nine-tailed cat Jiu Xue and looked at Zhang Xiao Jiu, who was following behind him obediently: "Back in the Desolate Realm, I couldn't pass on much knowledge. Now that we've arrived in the Three Realms, Xiao Jiu has entered Little Penglai and is cultivating with your fellow disciples."

“Shen Yao, you are different from Xiao Jiu. The Jinhua Mountain lineage cannot be abandoned. I was the former master of Jinhua Mountain, and you are the current master. I have already reported to the sect's founder that within Dongshan Haizhou, Jinhua Mountain has established its own lineage, known as the Jinhua Sect, which is subordinate to Penglai.”

"Whether it is the Immortal Path or the Guardian Deity lineage, they all originate from Jinhua Mountain. Jinhua Mountain has great fortune and great merit. This fortune and merit belong to me and to you."

"You must be a good master of Jinhua Mountain; this fortune and merit will naturally propel you upwards in the future." (End of Chapter)