The Eastern Emperor of all Heavens did not wish to become a Buddha.

Chapter 49 Bodhi Tree and Tathagata's Palm
The sky was dark and devoid of sunlight. The pitch-black cracks in the surrounding void resembled giant, all-consuming maws, carving out winding paths.

Zhong Xu and the others walked up the seemingly endless road, with strong winds blowing all around them, feeling like steel knives scraping their bones.

Fortunately, everyone was a martial artist at the Enlightenment stage, so they were not greatly affected.

Walking through this eerie and desolate sacred mountain, a mysterious aura enveloped his mind, and Zhong Xu's consciousness suddenly fell into a state of calm, as if he had transcended his body, experiencing this Buddhist pure land without sorrow or joy.

Within Zhong Xu's vast inner world, the Sacred Body of Mars is meditating and cultivating.

At this moment, the aura of this Great Accomplished Holy Body was compassionate and vast, and the golden radiance around it also carried a sense of peace, just like a golden Buddha.

More importantly, this Great Accomplished Holy Body's divine sense now carries a sense of solidity, as if it is slowly transforming from the ethereal into the real, undergoing a nirvana rebirth.

Just then, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the golden Buddha statue in the very center.

'This is.'

The golden Buddha has one hand pointing to the sky and the other touching the ground; it is infinitely large and infinitely noble.

Suddenly, a seven-colored Buddhist light, carrying the meaning of Nirvana and purity, appeared and directly merged into the Bodhi seed in the golden Buddha's hand.

Buzz

Boundless wisdom shines forth, illuminating all realms and directions.

A phantom image of a Bodhi tree branch shimmering with seven-colored light appeared in the hand of the golden Buddha. It was crystal clear, with only the core Bodhi seed being real.

The illusory branches of the Bodhi tree have nine branches, some withered and some flourishing, some illusory and some real, full of the meaning of great purity, great wisdom, great light, great freedom and great bliss.

Just seeing the phantom of this Bodhi tree branch gave the Martian Saint Body a feeling of spiritual cleansing, a sense of indescribable purity.

As the phantom of the Bodhi tree branch appeared, the aura of the golden Buddha also underwent a transformation and adjustment, surrounded by various solemn Buddhist charms, perfect and flawless, neither born nor dying, neither defiled nor pure.

Nine phantom images of Buddhas appeared behind Him, each forming a different mudra, as if they were evolving different Buddhist teachings.

Looking at the golden Buddhas, each forming a different mudra, the Martian Saint Body's mind went into a daze, as if he saw nine paths leading straight to the end of the Great Dao.

Is this the true secret of this immortal cultivation tradition?

'It seems you've obtained the 'key' to unlock this legacy.'

With this thought in mind, the Martian Saint Body sat cross-legged, clasped his hands together, and immersed himself in the Buddha's new transformation, his aura becoming increasingly solid.

As Zhong Xu walked, the energy within his body began to slowly change, becoming increasingly compatible with this Buddhist sanctuary.

His mind was completely immersed in the surrounding world, in this pure land of Buddhism, and he vaguely sensed something.

Meng Qi and the others were startled as they sensed the change in the aura of the white-robed monk in front of them. However, before they could speak, a dense demonic aura suddenly erupted from in front of them, even stronger than the powerful demons from the outer realms they had encountered before, such as Benboerba. They were shocked.

The group immediately stopped and looked at a burly, dark-faced man at the fork in the road ahead.

'A powerful outdoor demon comparable to a top-tier master'

Before the thought had fully settled in their minds, everyone was taken aback when they saw the appearance of the dark-faced giant.

Beneath the dense demonic aura, the black-faced giant's body was covered in rotting flesh, his eyes were empty and hollow, the eyeballs long since dissolved, and stiff black hair grew on his body, making him exceptionally eerie.

'Zombie.'

A chill ran through everyone. Mount Ling was a Buddhist pure land, not a place where yin energy gathered. It was one thing for a demon to die here, but why had it become such a bizarre place?
Did the Battle of Lingshan alter the laws governing this place?

But neither Buddhism nor the demon race are evil spirits, so how could the battle between the two sides have turned the sacred land of Mount Ling into such a sinister and deadly place?

Various questions arose in their minds, and everyone gripped their weapons tightly.

Buzz

Just as everyone was about to make their move, Zhong Xu felt a strange sensation and his hands naturally formed a Buddhist mudra.

A dazzling Buddhist light enveloped the heavens and earth, and a pale golden Buddha's palm descended towards the dark-faced giant in front.

A solemn and sacred Buddhist chant faintly enveloped the heavens and earth, making the originally lifeless Buddhist Pure Land seem to have undergone a slight change.

With the solemn and sacred Buddhist chants echoing in their ears, Meng Qi and the others felt a sense of self-enlightenment and as if they had seen the Buddha.

boom

The moment the Buddha's palm landed on the dark-faced giant, the deathly and demonic aura surrounding him vanished as quickly as ice and snow melting away.

A tear suddenly streamed from the previously empty eyes of the burly, dark-faced man, a hint of relief on his face, as his body rapidly decayed and he collapsed to the ground. 'This'

Meng Qi and the others stared at this scene in astonishment, momentarily speechless.

Although this burly, dark-faced man has been transformed into a zombie and is no longer at his peak, he is still comparable to a powerful demon in outdoor scenes.

Zen Master Fahai defeated his opponent with a single palm strike, making it even easier than dealing with those powerful demons from the outer realms.

It seems that Buddhist practitioners are indeed adept at dealing with evil spirits like zombies.

'Buddha's Palm!'

Sensing the Buddhist aura contained within that palm strike, Meng Qi became even more convinced that his senior brother Fahai possessed the supreme lineage of Buddhism.

After freeing the burly, dark-faced man, Zhong Xu's mind entered a state of clarity, and he vaguely felt as if he had grasped the true meaning of Buddhism. Subconsciously, he continued forward.

Meng Qi and the others quickly followed, and at that moment they also noticed that Zen Master Fahai's state was different.

'Is this the true genius of Buddhism? He attained enlightenment simply by arriving at this pure land of Buddhism?'

A sense of awe arose in everyone's hearts. They dared not disturb him, but carefully guarded their surroundings to prevent Zen Master Fahai from being disturbed.

As they continued their journey, one after another, monsters of the Outer Realm level appeared ahead of them.

However, like the black-faced giants before them, these monsters were all rotting flesh, with a bizarre appearance of both death and demonic energy. This made Meng Qi and the others even more wary of this sacred mountain that seemed to have truly become a place of yin and evil.

These monsters that had turned into zombies all followed in the footsteps of that black-faced giant, their deathly aura dispelled by the pale gold Buddha's palm, thus gaining liberation.

With each strike, Zhong Xu's understanding deepened, as if he had grasped something crucial.

After an unknown amount of time, the group arrived at a Buddhist temple that had mostly collapsed, with only the main hall still standing.

boom

Before anyone could react, an incredibly terrifying aura suddenly emanated from the main hall.

This aura was like the sun descending, the moon falling from the sky, and mountains pressing down, causing the space around the entire Mahavira Hall to shake violently.

Everyone felt as if a giant mountain had suddenly pressed down on them, causing their minds to tremble violently. They couldn't even move their bodies, and their thoughts seemed to slow down.

An unbelievable thought arose in everyone's mind.

Dharmakaya!

How can it be?

They were just a group of awakened martial artists. How could there be enemies at the Dharma Body level in the reincarnation mission?

To the disbelief of Meng Qi and the others, a monk wearing a tattered robe walked out of the main hall step by step.

The monk's body was a dark gold color, very similar to how Meng Qi used his Golden Bell Shield at full power.

However, the monk's face was withered, his eyes were dull, and his body had many cracks, clearly indicating that he was a Dharma Body level Arhat whose remains had been transformed into a corpse.

Even in his zombie form, every step he took was accompanied by golden lotuses, radiating a Buddhist aura of freedom from birth and suffering, and the cessation of all afflictions.

However, this sense of Zen was not accompanied by Buddhist chants, but by a wisp of decaying, deathly aura and pitch-black demonic energy.

Arhat!

A thought popped into the minds of Meng Qi and the others, causing them to show expressions of astonishment.

What exactly happened at this sacred mountain?
How come even Arhats who have eradicated all afflictions and attained purity have turned into corpses?
Everyone wanted to retreat quickly, but under the pressure of the Arhat, their legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and they couldn't move at all.

The power of the Dharma Body is terrifying!
The Arhat's eyes were cold, regarding everything as lifeless, and he slowly walked towards the group of people who were radiating an aura of life, intending to extinguish it.

As the transformed corpse-like Arhat drew ever closer, everyone's hearts pounded faster, and a sense of despair crept into their hearts.

Just then, a faint light appeared in the main hall, the dim lamplight warm and peaceful.

Reflected in his eyes was the warm and tranquil firelight, and a fire seemed to ignite in Zhong Xu's heart as well, illuminating everything around him.

All the insights gained along the way converged at this moment. The true meaning of the "Buddha's Palm" inherited from the ocean of his mind suddenly shone brightly, and countless swastikas flowed in Zhong Xu's mind, transforming into a supreme divine power that pointed directly to the origin of the Great Dao.

The first move of the Tathagata Palm: I am the only one who reigns supreme!

(End of this chapter)