This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 299 The Mystery of the Disappearance of Flower Fruit Mountain

During the journey of the nine treasure ships, the cultivators of the True Path Sect left in batches. However, not all of them left. Instead, some elders from each sect led their disciples away, while a few sect leaders remained on the treasure ships.

They then quickly left the Taihang Mountains area.

Although this operation was thrilling for Zhuang Lin and his group, it was carried out swiftly and with the best possible efforts to eliminate any traces. In addition, the turbulent changes in the fate of the human dynasty also contributed to the fact that no trace of their presence was leaked in the Taihang area.

Not to mention the demons and cultivators hidden in the Taihang Mountains, even the few cultivators who stayed behind at the Yanzhen Sect, who were already paying attention to the changes in the fortunes of the Taihang Mountains, did not notice anything unusual.

It wasn't until an elder from the sect led a large number of fellow disciples back to the Yanzhen Sect's mountain gate that the expectant disciples looked surprised, wondering if something had changed and why they had all returned so quickly.

The disciples of all the sects had already left where the nine treasure ships were located. Now, the only remaining figures were the leaders of the True Dao Sect, such as Chang Ruoyu, the leader of the Yanzhen Sect, Dao Yanzi, and the elders.

The cultivators from the True Dao Sect who came to assist this time, along with those from the Yanzhen Sect, make up a total of four sects and three factions. These people were intentionally left behind by Zhuang Lin and will travel to the Hidden Immortal Valley with the treasure ship.

The secret of Hidden Immortal Valley is too great to be known by all cultivators of the True Path, but it cannot be kept secret forever, because later, a large amount of materials for building "Mount Buzhou" will need to be transported to the modern world.

These supplies all require usable spiritual objects and rare natural treasures. It is absolutely unrealistic to rely on the Hidden Immortal Valley and the slowly rising spiritual energy of modern times to cultivate them. The only option is to transport them from the relatively resource-rich ancient times to the modern era.

To achieve these goals, more assistance is naturally needed.

Although the members of the True Path should all obey Zhuang Lin's arrangements, it's better to let a small number of experts know the details rather than leaving everyone in the dark, so that the objective is clearer.
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About a day after the nine treasure ships left, the Taihang Mountains remained as they were, but the turbulent fate of the war that destroyed the two Yan states had not diminished in the slightest.

A streak of light came from the horizon and landed precisely at the location of the dilapidated temple in the Taihang Mountains that concealed the secret realm of the Five-Colored Divine Peak.

Before the Shaman King could even realize it, the Buddha's disciple had already arrived.

Above the clouds, the figure in the Buddha's light looked down, but could see nothing at all. It seemed to be just mountains, rivers, flowers, trees, and grass. The collapsed temple was nowhere to be seen, as if the scenery below was all natural, without any man-made structures.

The monk in the Buddha's light frowned slightly before realizing that it must be a method left behind by the Shamen Heavenly King, making it impossible for people to sense the entrance to the Five-Colored Divine Peak.

Thinking this, the monk descended and searched for a while but found nothing. It was just like a normal landscape, with nothing special about it and no resistance. Then he returned to the sky and chanted special Buddhist scriptures. Only then did the faint golden pagoda appear.

However, at this point, the monk could only see the outline of the pagoda but had no way to open it. Even though his cultivation was definitely not bad, he could not open the pagoda or even touch it, which also proved the power of the Shamen Heavenly King.

The monk stood in mid-air, lost in thought.

The commotion has been made, yet the Heavenly King has not appeared. It is also the eve of the Ullambana Festival. It seems that the Heavenly King has taken this opportunity to collect incense offerings from various places.

This could be considered dereliction of duty by leaving one's post, but that would be too harsh. Guarding this place is not an easy job to begin with, and it's rare to be able to use this relatively ambiguous period of time to gather incense offerings.
Therefore, the monk did not immediately return to report, but instead made some calculations and went to find the Shamen Heavenly King first.

As the monks departed, the pale golden pagoda gradually disappeared once more.

About three days later, the monk and the Heavenly King returned to the place together. As the Buddha's light arrived from the horizon, the pale golden pagoda appeared automatically.

"Look, the pagoda in my hand is a rare treasure, how could it possibly be damaged? I was ordered to guard this place, and I have been diligent and without error. During the Ullambana Festival, I took it out to collect incense offerings to aid my practice, yet the World-Honored One still blames me. Alas!"

He dared not express his dissatisfaction too much, but the helplessness in the words of the Shamen Heavenly King was quite obvious, and the monks beside him comforted him.

“We cannot reach the wisdom of the World-Honored One. How could the Heavenly King not know that he has a Buddha-heart? However, the decree has been issued and we dare not disobey. We should go and see for ourselves. Perhaps the World-Honored One has sensed something.”

"What you said is absolutely true!"

Without saying anything more, Shamen Tianwang reached out and beckoned, and the pale golden pagoda phantom seemed to materialize at that moment before flying back into his hand.

But as soon as the pagoda left, the scene that appeared below took them both by surprise.

"Huh? This temple?"

"How did it collapse?"

The two exclaimed in surprise and immediately flew down, landing beside the collapsed temple. The Shamen Heavenly King stared wide-eyed and paced back and forth.

"What about the secret realm?"

The two quickly found the mural amidst the ruins. Of course, the mural was now broken, and Shamen Tianwang sensed it but couldn't detect any aura of the secret realm. "Tianwang, I can't detect any aura of the secret realm. Can you still go in?"

"I was completely unaware of it. Logically speaking, even if the murals were destroyed, the secret realm itself should still be able to be sensed, and one should be able to find another way to enter. But now..."

The two searched for a long time, trying various methods, but still couldn't find anything. After a long while, they stood there looking at each other.

The monk who had been ordered to come was astonished, while the Shamen Heavenly King was terrified.

"Where has Flower Fruit Mountain disappeared?"

"What should I do? How can I explain this to the World-Honored One?"

The Shamen Heavenly King was clearly flustered, unable to maintain his usual solemn demeanor. Although Buddhism is compassionate to outsiders, it can also be strict. The incident involving Mahagateti was still fresh in his mind.

If Mahagateti could be stripped of his golden body and magical powers and banished to the mortal realm by the World-Honored One for causing trouble, wouldn't he be doomed to perish in his own body and soul in what happened today?

Even if Mahagateti can return in the future, will the Mahagateti who returns be the same Mahagateti as before?
It's likely that it was an incarnation from somewhere that came here to take its place.

And what I did today, I'm afraid...
"Heavenly King, do not be anxious. The most urgent matter is to report to the World Honored One. Please lower the pagoda again to cover this place and return with me to Mount Ling to see the World Honored One. Perhaps the World Honored One sent me here because he foresaw the destruction of Flower Fruit Mountain, after all, so many years have passed."

The monk's words interrupted the Heavenly King Shramana's rambling thoughts.

"Ah, yes, that's how it should be."

The Heavenly King Shamen was somewhat flustered, fearful yet daring not to disobey. He reached out and threw the pagoda again, covering the ruins of the dilapidated temple once more. Then, he and the monks beside him transformed into a rainbow of light and vanished.
Just half a day later, at the foot of that mountain radiating Buddhist light, the giant golden Buddha saw the two of them and learned about what had happened in the Taihang Mountains.

At this moment, the monk and the Heavenly King of the Shramana stood quietly in front of the golden Buddha, one silent and the other trembling with fear.

The giant Buddha sat there with its eyes lowered, seemingly taking a short nap after hearing the news, without any further reaction. However, the two people below dared not make any other moves and simply waited quietly.

After a long while, the giant Buddha slowly opened its eyes.

"Of those seventy-two demon kings from the caves, have any of them come out?"

Shamen Tianwang's heart skipped a beat. Although he was afraid, he could only speak frankly.

"Your Majesty, last time that one-horned demon king caused some trouble because of his gluttony. Seeing that their demonic nature is difficult to tame, I feared that there might be further complications this time. Therefore, I used the Exquisite Pagoda to suppress them, which is equivalent to suppressing the brushstrokes. Without me removing the pagoda, they cannot escape."

"Yes, it has indeed perished."

The giant Buddha slowly raised its head and looked into the distance, as if it could see the Flower Fruit Mountain of the past through the infinite distance and the barrier of the secret realm. Then it looked down and met two curious and apprehensive faces. Although it still had some doubts in its heart, the giant Buddha still spoke with a smile.

"After five hundred years of stubborn obstinacy, perhaps this day has come. The Flower Fruit Mountain secret realm should be destroyed. The fact that the seventy-two demon kings could not escape is also the will of Heaven. May they be reborn as humans in their next life."

The two below breathed a sigh of relief, especially Shamen Tianwang, and then they put their hands together in prayer.

"My Buddha is compassionate!"

Whether the demon king who perished along with the secret realm might still have a primordial spirit that could re-enter the cycle of spiritual energy in the world was not something they were considering.

"Go down. Shamen Tianwang can return to his position today. You have rendered meritorious service in guarding Huaguo Mountain, and you will be rewarded at the Ullambana Festival!"

"Thank you for your mercy, World Honored One!" "This disciple takes his leave!"

The two left together, while the remaining giant Buddha fell into deep thought after they left, during which time it frowned slightly.

Was it really because the evil energy of Flower Fruit Mountain was too fierce, causing the secret realm to reach its limit and perish? Or are there other variables?

Of course, there is one thing the Buddha probably understood: the passing of Flower Fruit Mountain was mostly due to internal causes. If it were due to external causes, the Six-Syllable Mantra would have been lost, or even taken away. Who could remain unmoved by such a treasure?
But clearly the Six-Syllable Mantra has never left the secret realm; otherwise, if it were to appear in the mortal world, the Buddha would surely have sensed it, a point he was absolutely confident of.

Regardless, the destruction of Flower Fruit Mountain, on the bright side, can be seen as eliminating a potential threat. It's just a pity that the six-character mantra was posted there; it's likely it was also destroyed along with it.
(End of this chapter)