The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 298: They've Realized It (3k views)

While the people from those few families were still wondering about it, the rest of the families watched with a detached, amused attitude.

In the world of mountain dwellers, being unable to even protect one's own treasure is truly a laughing stock—especially since the ones making a fool of themselves are not just some nobody, but rather those big names from prestigious mountains, making the spectacle even more interesting.

However, among the many hilltops, there was one family whose appearance was particularly different.

This place has more than a thousand guest rooms, and the guests come from all walks of life and have all sorts of backgrounds.

In such situations, differences in social status naturally arise, though these differences are not explicitly stated.

After all, the distinction between big hills, ordinary hills, and small hills is something that people will secretly remember, even if you don't make a conscious effort to differentiate them: the differences may be subtle, but they are never absent.

Therefore, even a temporary resting room contains items that would leave cultivators from all walks of life in the great era speechless with astonishment.

For example, jade coral carved from West Sea Dragon Jade, tables and chairs crafted from the millennia-old cold marrow of Buzhou Mountain, and the rare Yanhua Incense, which can only be obtained once every thousand years, are slowly burning in a top-grade incense burner, with wisps of smoke curling up to the roof beams.

Such an arrangement would be considered excessively extravagant even in the world of cultivation.

You should know that every treasure here should have a more important and crucial purpose, but now they are all treated as ordinary decorations.

There were only three people sitting inside: one was an old man standing silently in the corner, his eyes slightly closed as if he were dozing; another was a young woman of about sixteen or seventeen, resting her chin on her hand and watching the farce outside with great interest; and the last person was a middle-aged man sitting in the main seat, his brows and eyes exuding the dignity of someone who had been in a high position for many years.

At this moment, however, the middle-aged man was drenched in cold sweat, which streamed down his face and soaked through his clothes in no time. His back was slightly hunched, and he looked somewhat weak and powerless.

The old man was the first to notice something was wrong, but without being instructed, he did not rush forward. He simply stood quietly in place, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, trying to find the source of the change.

But after a while, he was filled with doubts and did not notice anything unusual.

The girl also noticed that something was wrong with her father. She immediately stood up, walked quickly to the middle-aged man, and asked him:
"Father? What's wrong? You look terrible!"

The man's throat bobbed laboriously a few times, his face pale. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice:
"My son, do you still remember that great Bodhisattva of Qingzhou?"

The girl frowned slightly, but her tone was firm:

“Of course I remember that great Bodhisattva of Qingzhou. He was the first powerful being to pry open the gates of the Great World, and what’s more, the commotion he caused in Qingzhou back then was so astonishing. How could I forget such a person?”

The man gripped the edge of the cold, bony table beside him with both hands, his knuckles turning white before he managed to steady his shaky mind. He then let out a heavy sigh:
"Then do you know what that great Bodhisattva's identity is, and what level of cultivation he possesses?"

The girl gently shook her head and said:
"That person's identity remains a mystery, but he must have come from beyond the heavens. After all, there are no Buddhists of such power in the Confucian lands after the great calamity."

"As for cultivation level, in my opinion, it's probably around the Equal Enlightenment stage? Or perhaps the Earth Fruit stage?"

Upon hearing this, the man could only manage a bitter smile, and his voice lowered as he spoke:

"I always felt this matter was too far removed from you before, so I didn't dare mention it to you, but now, now I must make it clear to you. That great Bodhisattva is not a Bodhisattva at all; he should be the one who has attained the wondrous state of Buddhahood!"

"The wondrous enlightenment of Buddhahood?!"

The girl's pupils suddenly contracted, her eyes widened instantly, and she even missed a beat of breathing.

In Buddhism, the pursuit of enlightenment is the attainment of Arhatship and Bodhisattvahood. These two types of beings are already at the pinnacle of ordinary cultivators, and it is no exaggeration to call them mountain peak beings and celestial beings. The ultimate Buddhahood is the supreme realm that is only one step away from Buddhahood!

Moreover, according to common sense, even Arhats are hard to find nowadays, since most of their ancestors are trapped in their old realms and cannot get out, let alone the great enlightenment.

For a moment, the girl felt it was utterly absurd, but then she thought: if it wasn't someone like this, how could he have pried open the door to the world ahead of time?
The shock in her heart churned for a while before she could barely find her voice and asked in astonishment:

"Father, why bring this up all of a sudden? That person is clearly in Qingzhou, he should be keeping an eye on the Burial Ground right now, what does he have to do with this capital?"

The girl was intelligent; she immediately realized what she had said and her gaze swept towards the family that had first encountered trouble. She exclaimed in surprise:
"Is it the Diamond Sutra?!"

The Diamond Sutra is a Buddhist treasure. Even if they only have the first half, it is still the real Diamond Sutra!

This treasure has been safe and sound in their hands for many years, so why has it suddenly gone out of control today?

Although the Diamond Sutra did not become as obviously out of control as the Mountain-Catching Seal, how could these people be as blind as those fools outside to the subtle difference between "manifesting power" and "losing control"?

So why would this Buddhist treasure suddenly act strangely?

Connecting this to her father's earlier words, the girl's expression changed drastically, but before she could speak, she suppressed her panic and forced a rebuttal:

"But it might not really be what you think, right? After all, there are always many variables in things that happen on the mountain."

On and off the mountain, there is no shortage of variables.

The middle-aged man staggered back against the chair made of ancient, cold marrow. The icy touch did not calm him down; instead, he shook his head repeatedly and dropped an even more shocking bombshell: "We actually secretly got involved in Qingzhou as well. Though inconspicuous, we've penetrated very deeply. Before we realized things were hopeless and quietly retreated, we obtained some incredible news from a mountain stronghold."

He paused, then looked at the girl with a complicated expression and said:
"Do you know who this Buddhist monk was ordaining in Qingzhou?"

The girl shook her head decisively: "I don't know."

The man sighed softly, his voice filled with helplessness:

"The seal that this Buddha gave to the Pinglan Mountain God is 'Imperial Edict to Guard the Earth'! You saw it just now, the moment the Mountain-Driving Seal appeared, it was so frightened that it almost broke free from the seal of the high cultivators! Tell me, who is in this capital city right now, right before our eyes?"

Upon hearing this, not only was the young girl stunned into a daze, but even the old man who had been standing silently in the corner suddenly turned pale.

It would be one thing if the Buddha himself came, but the problem is that this is Confucian territory. Is such a large Buddha really just here to watch the spectacle?
Will these people be accidentally drawn into this situation and ultimately crushed like ants?

The middle-aged man's face was full of sorrow, and his voice was hoarse:
"Let's go, let's leave Kyoto for now. Anyway, with so many mountains crammed here, it's hard to achieve anything significant."

But before she could finish speaking, the girl suddenly frowned and added, "Father, are you sure... that's really the only one here?"

The man was taken aback by the question, as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water. The next second, he jumped up in horror, his voice trembling:

"Right, since the Buddha is here, what about the Taoist priest? Could the Taoist priest be here as well?"

The deities of the three religions have always acted independently, but when such high-ranking beings are involved, is it really possible that only one of them is present?
The middle-aged man's expression shifted between light and shadow for a long time before he finally gritted his teeth and said to the old man in a deep voice:

"Go and fetch the old man's Celestial Master's Seal!"

The old man's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade him:

"Patriarch! Our ancestor is still healing in the Divine Source! Wouldn't it be inappropriate to disturb him by asking him to request the Celestial Master's Seal?"

"I didn't tell you to disturb the old man!" the middle-aged man suddenly shouted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I told you to bring the Celestial Master's Seal directly here!"

The old man dared not say another word, hurriedly bowed, and turned to leave quickly. After the old man left, the middle-aged man spoke to the young woman in a deep voice:
"You wait here for now, I'll be right back!"

The girl was completely puzzled, but she could only obediently stay where she was.

Before long, she saw her father return, but he stood there blankly, his face full of loss. He didn't even notice her approaching and stood there frozen for a while.

The girl felt uneasy and softly called out, "Father?"

It was only this word "father" that brought the middle-aged man back to his senses.

He paused for a moment, then said to the girl in a hoarse voice:
"The people of the Blessed Land of Flowers have disappeared."

"Disappeared?" the girl exclaimed in astonishment. "Father, they just took a few Sword Cleansing Stones from us, how could they suddenly disappear?"

“Yes, it shouldn’t have been like that,” the middle-aged man sighed, his eyes filled with regret. “That’s why I wanted to go to their room and ask if they had the core of the Vermilion Fruit left behind by Granny Yihua.”

The old woman who moved flowers once received a red fruit as a gift, and she kept the fruit pit, which she treasured very much.

Because it wasn't just her opportunity, but also her 'connections'!
And now, the Blessed Land of Transformation next door is completely deserted?!
Why they disappeared, and what they discovered? It seems like a mystery, yet it also seems not to be.

It's just that both the man and the girl still want to deceive themselves.

This stroke of luck came just as the old man, accompanied by another old woman, entered the room, sweating profusely and carrying a trembling box.

Before they could even answer, the last vestiges of hope in the father and daughter's hearts were instantly shattered.

"Oh no! Both of these gentlemen are here!"

The girl's face turned extremely pale; if she originally had a face as smooth as jade, now she was sickly pale.

Because she thought more than her father:

"Father, did the senior of the Yin-Yang School really say that those who injured our ancestor and the other seniors in the Great Void cannot act freely in the mortal world?"

The man was startled:
"You suspect that this is the one who did it?"

The man glanced around quickly. Although he didn't feel like anyone was watching him, who would recognize someone like him?
After swallowing hard, he comforted her:
"My son, don't panic. That senior said that only those in the Great Void can move around so freely."

Before he could finish speaking, the man's lips twitched as he revealed the key point: it wasn't about whether or not he could act that way, but about doing whatever he pleased!
(End of this chapter)