Da Qin: Become stronger and immortal by picking up attributes from the battlefield

Xiniu Hezhou, a sacred and spiritual land.

The once serene and solemn Great Thunder Temple, bathed in Buddhist light, is now shrouded in a depressing atmosphere.

Inside the main hall, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas stood on both sides, but no one spoke.

They all looked down at their noses, their expressions solemn.

On the high lotus platform, for the first time ever, three figures stood side by side.

In the center is the present Buddha, Prabhutaratna Tathagata.

On the left is the Buddha of the past, Dipankara.

On the right is the future Buddha, Maitreya.

The three Buddhas of Buddhism, past, present, and future, have gathered together in one place.

at this time.

A streak of earthy yellow light flashed outside the hall, and Zhen Yuanzi appeared in front of the Great Thunderclap Temple. He looked up at the magnificent Buddhist hall and the three vast and abyss-like auras inside, and then stepped inside.

Zhen Yuanzi entered the main hall, bowed to the three people on the lotus platform, and said calmly, "This humble Taoist greets the three of you."

Maitreya Buddha, still with his usual smiling expression, spoke first: "Fellow Daoist, you have come from afar. You must be tired."

Duobao Tathagata nodded slightly as a greeting: "Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi's presence is an honor to our Buddhist community."

Only Ran Deng merely lifted his eyelids slightly, without uttering a word.

Zhen Yuanzi looked around, stroked his beard, and laughed, "The three of you gathered together is truly a once-in-a-millennium event."

"This journey of mine has been truly worthwhile, truly worthwhile."

His words, seemingly a compliment, actually carried a hint of mockery.

Tathagata Duobao could naturally understand, but he could not retaliate. He could only say, "In this great calamity, we are grateful to you, fellow Daoist, for following the will of Heaven. Our Buddhist community is deeply grateful."

He was referring to Zhen Yuanzi's collaboration with the Buddhist sect in staging the "Great Disturbance at Wuzhuang Temple" drama.

"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind." Zhen Yuanzi waved his hand, then changed the subject, revealing a hint of "curiosity" on his face: "When I arrived just now, I heard the sounds of battle shaking the heavens and the blood energy soaring to the sky at the border of Xiniu Hezhou."

"It seems... that a conflict has broken out between Buddhism and the Blood Sea Asura clan?"

Zhen Yuanzi asked knowingly, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the three Buddhas: "Not only that, I have also heard that the Buddhist sect has gone to great lengths to seize the Styx Ancestor's innate treasure, the Twelve-Petaled Karmic Fire Red Lotus?"

"This matter truly puzzles me. I wonder if the three fellow Daoists could enlighten me?"

This statement came out.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas present all felt a chill run down their spines.

The Buddhist sect's mobilization of a large force to fight a bloody battle to seize the Twelve-Petaled Karmic Fire Red Lotus was inherently unreasonable and constituted a forceful and plundering act.

Now that Zhen Yuanzi has exposed him to his face, he is naturally somewhat embarrassed.

On the lotus platform, the expressions of both the Tathagata Prabhutaratna and the Dipankara Buddha darkened slightly.

Maitreya, on the other hand, remained smiling as if nothing had happened. He spoke before Duobao Tathagata could, saying frankly, "To be honest, this matter is indeed related to our Buddhist sect."

"As you probably know, fellow Daoist, the calamity energy is currently overwhelming. Although our Buddhist sect has the Golden Lotus of Merit to suppress the calamity, it is still inevitable that some disciples will have their minds corrupted by the calamity energy."

"I have heard that the Great Qin has a supreme treasure called the Pure White Lotus, which has the power to purify all evils. It is exactly what our Buddhist sect urgently needs."

"Therefore, we have no choice but to take this desperate measure and obtain the Karmic Fire Lotus in exchange for a chance of survival with the Great Qin."

Maitreya Buddha then recounted the whole story, partly truthfully and partly falsely.

The words portrayed Buddhism as a victim forced to act in order to protect itself.

After listening, Zhen Yuanzi's face showed a look of "sudden realization," and he clapped his hands and said, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is. I was wondering why the Buddhist sect, a place of purity, would make such a deadly enmity with someone for no reason. It turns out it was to obtain the life-saving lotus seeds. I had misunderstood."

Upon hearing this, the expression on the face of the Buddha of Many Treasures softened slightly.

however.

Just then, the silent Dipankara Buddha suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly at Zhen Yuanzi. "Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. However, this humble monk has a question. The Nine-Rank Pure World White Lotus has long since disappeared from the primordial world. Perhaps the one in the hands of the Queen Mother of the West can still be traced. But I wonder... where did the one in your hand, Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, come from?"

It seemed that both Tathagata and Maitreya Buddha were prepared, and their gazes also fell on Zhen Yuanzi at the same time.

The three peak Quasi-Saints instantly locked onto Zhen Yuanzi.

This is their true purpose in inviting Zhen Yuanzi here today.

They need to find out exactly where Wuzhuang Temple has come from with the Qin Dynasty!
Is it just a simple transaction, or... has it already completely submitted?
Faced with pressure that would break any quasi-saint's spirit, Zhen Yuanzi still wore that calm and collected smile. He sighed softly, a look of heartache on his face: "Alas, to be honest, fellow Daoists, I am ashamed to say this."

"I have also paid a heavy price."

talking.

Zhen Yuanzi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I exchanged the next ten harvests of ginseng fruit from my Wuzhuang Temple with Qin Ting for this Pure World White Lotus."

"A thousand-year-old ginseng fruit..."

He clicked his tongue, looking distressed: "If it weren't for protecting the millions of lives in my temple, why would I do such a losing business?"

A thousand-year-old ginseng fruit!

Upon hearing this answer, the pupils of the three Buddhas on the lotus platform all contracted.

The ginseng fruit is a spiritual root of heaven and earth, blooming once every three thousand years, bearing fruit once every three thousand years, and taking another three thousand years to mature.

Its value is self-evident.

Using the harvest of ten harvests to exchange for a single ninth-grade lotus platform—this price, though enormous, is still reasonable.

Most importantly, this means that the relationship between Zhen Yuanzi and the Qin Dynasty is still at the level of "transaction" and has not completely sided with the other side.

Thinking of this, both Tathagata and Maitreya breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as Wuzhuang Temple remains neutral, there is still room for maneuver.

The tense atmosphere inside the hall quietly eased.

Randeng looked deeply at Zhen Yuanzi, and finally slowly closed his eyes, remaining silent, which was considered an acceptance of the statement.

Just as the Buddha was about to speak and say a few polite words to let the matter drop, the Buddha was about to openly discuss the matter.

at this time.

Outside the hall, a golden light rushed in at an almost frenzied speed and knelt down directly in the center of the hall.

It was the Jiedi God who had been ordered to monitor the westward-bound group outside Wuzhuang Temple. His face was pale, his expression panicked, and his voice trembled as he said, "Reporting...reporting to the World Honored One! The calamity of Wuzhuang Temple...has...has gone wrong!"

The Buddha of Many Treasures frowned and asked, "What is the matter that has caused such a panic?"

The Jiedi deity swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "The Qin monk and his disciples did not knock down the ginseng fruit tree! They...they ate the fruit and left!"

The expression on Duobao Tathagata's face froze instantly: "What?"

Didn't you knock down the ginseng fruit tree?
Did they leave after eating the fruit?
how can that be!

Inside the main hall, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were stunned.

Everyone looked at each other.

The Buddhist sect, through painstaking efforts and in collaboration with Zhen Yuanzi, orchestrated this calamity to force Sun Wukong to knock down the Ginseng Fruit Tree, thereby binding the fate of this ancestor of earthly immortals even more deeply with that of the Buddhist sect.

But now, Xuanzang and his disciples have simply left?

On the lotus platform, the smile on Maitreya Buddha's face vanished without a trace.

The eyes of Dipankara Buddha, which had just closed, snapped open again. Prabhutaratna Buddha took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened? Explain everything clearly!"

The Jiedi deity dared not conceal anything and quickly recounted everything he had seen outside the Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi warmly welcomed them and presented them with ginseng fruit.

The monks and their disciples from Qin readily accepted the meal and ate with great relish.

And finally.

The master and his disciples dusted themselves off and swaggered away. From beginning to end, there was no conflict whatsoever, not even a harsh word was uttered.

The whole process was as calm as a regular visit to a friend.

After hearing this, the entire Great Thunderclap Temple fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to the only outsider in the hall—Zhen Yuanzi.

Zhen Yuanzi shrugged, his face displaying just the right amount of innocence: "Fellow Daoists, this is not my fault."

"As agreed, I left under an excuse, leaving them, master and disciple, ample room and time to make mistakes."

Immediately, Zhen Yuanzi looked at the messenger god Jiedi and asked, "That mischievous monkey Sun Wukong, did he really not cause any trouble?"

"Back...back to the Great Immortal."

The Jiedi God was overwhelmed by the aura of the three Buddhas and Zhen Yuanzi, and stammered, "That Great Sage Sun... not only did not cause trouble, but also treated the disciples in the temple with great courtesy. After eating the fruit, he set off with Qin Seng."

Zhen Yuanzi turned to look at the three people on the lotus platform, spread his hands, and said with an innocent expression, "Fellow Daoists, this... this is really strange."

"In order to cooperate with the Buddhist sect in performing this play, before I came here, I specifically instructed my disciples to provoke Sun Wukong as much as possible in their words, and to make sure to anger him."

"Who would have thought that this mischievous monkey would change its nature so drastically."

Zhen Yuanzi shook his head, let out a long sigh, his tone full of regret, and said, "This is the first time I've ever seen someone who is so unconventional, yet has not a single ounce of greed for the ginseng fruit."

Zhen Yuanzi's words were watertight, exonerating himself completely and making him seem like an innocent victim who had tried his best but failed to accomplish anything.

Inside the main hall, the Buddhist monks looked at each other in bewilderment.

Well-educated and well-mannered?

Following the rules and regulations?

Are you sure this is used to describe Xuanzang and his disciples?

Who in the Three Realms doesn't know what kind of person Sun Wukong is?
That guy was fearless and dared to cause trouble at the slightest provocation.

How arrogant and domineering they were when they wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace!

Now, faced with the ginseng fruit, a rare and precious natural resource, and the "squeezing out" by the disciples of Wuzhuang Temple, he actually held back.

This is unreasonable!
This is completely inconsistent with the Buddhist analysis of his personality!

On the lotus platform, the faces of the three Buddhas—Dabukdalpa, Maitreya, and Prabhutaratna—were all extremely grim.

The script is completely messed up.

Everything they had meticulously planned turned out to be a joke.

In his heart, Zhen Yuanzi sneered repeatedly.

Cooperate?

I cooperated with your act, and then watched helplessly as you completely bound me, the ancestor of earth immortals, to the Buddhist chariot.
Go dream!

The Qin monk Xuanzang was an envoy of the Qin Dynasty.

Sun Wukong was a warrior personally mentored by His Highness the Crown Prince.

Sha Wujing had already submitted to the Qin Dynasty.

Of the five members of this westward journey group, apart from Pigsy, who was still wavering due to his background in Taoism, the core members were already people of Qin.

This great calamity of the Journey to the West, from the very beginning, was not the eastward transmission of Buddhism, but rather the westward conquest of the laws of the Qin Dynasty!
This is just the beginning.

Later, the Buddhist community will discover that none of the eighty-one tribulations they arranged will follow their script.

Only then will they truly realize what a terrifying opponent they are facing.

Zhen Yuanzi quickly recalled the sad things and tried hard not to laugh out loud.

Duobao Tathagata stared intently at Zhen Yuanzi, his heart burning with rage.

He knew he had been tricked!

That old fellow Zhen Yuanzi never intended to truly cooperate with Buddhism from the very beginning!

However, he couldn't bring himself to retaliate.

Since Zhen Yuanzi did indeed "leave" according to the script, and it was Qin Seng and his disciples who were not "cooperating," how could he hold them accountable?
Duobao Tathagata also knew that it was pointless to dwell on the matter of Wuzhuang Temple, so he simply changed the subject and said, "Fellow Daoist, let's not talk about the matter of Wuzhuang Temple for now."

"Fellow Daoist, you were once a guest of Zixiao Palace, and your insight is extraordinary. Regarding this great calamity that has swept across the entire primordial world, I wonder... what are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing this question, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas held their breath.

Even Randeng and Maitreya refocused their attention on Zhen Yuanzi.

Zhen Yuanzi, facing everyone's gaze, stroked his long beard and then said, "The way of Heaven is cyclical; what is prosperous must decline."

"This great calamity is not accidental, but a thorough reckoning of the accumulated karma of countless eons."

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the dome of Mount Ling, looking towards the endless chaotic void.

"The great calamity is a selection process."

"To select the strong who can adapt to the new world, and to select the lineages that can lead the next era."

"And when the reshaping of the rules of the Heavenly Dao reaches its peak... the Sage will return."

boom!
The four words "The Sage is about to return" exploded in the minds of all the powerful figures in the Great Thunderclap Temple like four bolts of chaotic divine thunder!

saint!

That is a supreme being who stands above all living beings, holds the power of Heaven, whose words become law, and is indestructible through countless eons!
After the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, Hongjun issued a decree that all the sages would retreat into the chaos and never set foot in the primordial world again.

Countless ages have passed, and people have long since become accustomed to an era without sages.

But now, Zhen Yuanzi, this ancient immortal who has existed since the time of Zixiao Palace, says that the sage is coming back!
On the lotus platform, the expressions of the three Buddhas changed instantly.

The solemnity on the faces of the Buddhas of Many Treasures and Dipankara was hard to conceal.

The sage has returned!

This is definitely not good news for them!

Why is their Buddhist community so prosperous today?

Isn't it because the Three Pure Ones of Taoism have been secluded in the chaos for many years, detached from worldly affairs?

Once the Three Pure Ones return, Taoism will surely flourish, and Buddhism will suffer the most direct impact!
not to mention.

Duobao Tathagata was the senior disciple of the Jie Sect and a direct disciple of Tongtian Jiaozhu.

In the Investiture of the Gods, the Jie Sect was destroyed, and he was captured by Laozi. He converted from barbarian to Buddhist, and eventually became the Buddha we know today.

Is the sage about to return?

Is his master, the Tongtian Sect Leader, also coming back?
Is the master who was imprisoned in Zixiao Palace and never allowed to step out again going to return?
Is this good or bad for him?
Will they return to their master's sect, or... face each other with swords?
...(End of chapter)