Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

The golden statue of Vairocana Buddha slowly opened its eyes.

Those eyes fell on Shen Jue, filled not with anger, but with endless pity.

"Benefactor," the golden statue spoke, its voice booming like a great bell, shaking the heavens.

"The sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore."

Before he finished speaking, the golden statue raised its right hand and formed a mudra.

In an instant, auspicious clouds gathered in the sky and transformed into eight heavenly dragons that coiled and danced.

On the ground, withered flowers and grasses bloom again, and broken trees sprout new buds.

Even the wounded monks of Cihang Temple are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This is the true power of Buddhism, without the slightest falsehood.

"This old monk has cultivated for a thousand years and gone through nine lifetimes of reincarnation before finally attaining the golden body of the Great Sun Tathagata." The golden body's voice echoed between heaven and earth, each word transforming into golden Sanskrit characters that drifted down from the void.

"You say I am a demon, but is my Buddhist practice also a form of demonic magic?"

The kneeling believers trembled with excitement upon hearing this.

Yes, this is clearly a manifestation of Buddha, how could it be a demon?

Although that red-robed monk possessed great magical powers, who knows if he wasn't a heretic or evil spirit trying to destroy Buddhism and slander the Dharma?

The old scholar in his Confucian robes was also in tears, his voice trembling as he said, "I have lived to be seventy-three, and today I have seen the true form of the Buddha. I can die without regret!"

Listening to the surrounding discussions and looking at the magnificent golden Buddha statue before him, Shen Jue suddenly grinned.

"Are you done talking?"

He twisted his neck, and his joints cracked.

"Hehe, this is the first time I've ever seen a golden statue of a deity on a fantasy film set."

"I wonder how it feels to use?"

Yan Chixia looked up at the golden statue of the Great Sun Tathagata, which shone with boundless golden light. Beneath his bushy beard, on his weathered and rugged face, a restrained look of horror appeared.

"A six-zhang golden body?" Yan Chixia's voice was a little dry, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"If this thousand-year-old centipede demon truly cultivated into a six-zhang golden body of Buddhism."

"Those Buddhist monks, haven't they all lived to see the end?"

His thick beard trembled almost imperceptibly.

Even Yan Chixia himself found these words absurd after they were spoken.

A thousand-year-old centipede demon, such a wicked creature, actually cultivated the six-zhang golden body of the Great Sun Tathagata.

What's the logic behind this?

There's no such logic in the world.

Yan Chixia's voice deepened as he spoke slowly and deliberately, "This prodigy's Buddhist cultivation is probably among the best in the world today."

There are precedents for demons practicing Buddhism, but demonic energy and Buddhist light are inherently incompatible. When demons cultivate Buddhism, they often achieve little despite their efforts, and may not even attain the magical power of Buddhist cultivators even after death.

But this centipede demon not only succeeded in its cultivation, it also cultivated a golden body that was six zhang tall.

What does this mean?

This means that it must either have extraordinary comprehension or extraordinary opportunities.

Both represent a terror beyond the ordinary.

Shen Jue's smile appeared particularly dazzling under the glow of the Buddha's light.

He said no more, but simply bent his waist slightly and clenched his fists.

Of the nine golden dragons coiled around it, two suddenly broke away from the formation and let out a low and long dragon roar.

The two golden dragons swooped down and wrapped around his arms.

From his fist to his shoulder blade, the golden dragon's body slowly rotated, its head resting on the back of his fist, its eyes burning with the same light as Shen Jue's.

Shen Jue transformed into a crimson-gold meteor, crashing straight into the six-zhang-tall golden statue seated atop the ninth-grade lotus platform.

Shen Jue swung his arm! A punch landed squarely on his head!

The golden statue of Vairocana Buddha still bears that compassionate expression, with his right hand forming a mudra.

Layers of shimmering Buddhist light surged forth, condensing into barriers before him, each barrier inscribed with Sanskrit mantras.

Click.

The barrier shattered instantly, like a glass mirror struck by a hammer.

The force of the punches did not diminish in the slightest, and they struck the second and third barriers.

The cracking sounds were continuous, as dense as a torrential downpour hitting banana leaves.

The fist, coiled with golden dragons, was like a red-hot iron rod inserted into solidified grease, unstoppable and unstoppable.

In the eyes of the golden statue of Vairocana Buddha, which contained the sun and moon, the first crack finally appeared in the expression of compassion.

That's unbelievable.

boom!!!

Shen Jue's punch landed squarely on the face of the golden statue's solemn and compassionate countenance.

The world suddenly fell silent for a moment.

Then, a fine crack appeared from between the golden statue's eyebrows.

The cracks spread rapidly, from the chest to every inch of the six-zhang-tall golden body's glassy skin.

Boom!!!

The six-zhang-tall golden body exploded with a deafening roar!

Golden fragments rained down like a storm, each one reflecting the sun's brilliance, making the entire Cihang Temple seem as if a dazzling golden rain was falling.

The majestic and imposing image of Vairocana Buddha was now completely shattered, with not even a palm-sized fragment remaining.

Shen Jue landed in the air below, the two golden dragons still coiled around his arms, swimming slowly.

He shook his wrist.

Just now, he tried his best to restrain his power, fearing that he might accidentally wipe the centipede demon along with this imperial city from the human world.

Then Shen Jue raised his head, looked at the golden fragments falling in the air, and let out an undisguised and unrestrained laugh.

"A six-zhang-tall golden body? That's all?"

Shen Jue turned his head and looked at Yan Chixia, who was standing not far away, holding the Xuanyuan Divine Sword and with his mouth slightly open. He had an expression on his face that made Yan Chixia want to punch him but dare not.

"I think those Buddhist monks really did live their lives in vain."

His laughter echoed through the ruins, reaching the ears of every believer kneeling on the ground.

Those officials, monks, and pilgrims who had been bowing and worshipping just moments before now fell into an eerie silence.

They watched helplessly as their revered Buddha was blasted to pieces by a single punch from this seemingly heretical monk.

Sometimes, a single punch can shatter faith.

Yan Chixia's hand holding the sword finally stopped trembling, but the horror on his face did not subside; instead, it intensified.

He had lived for so many years and had seen monsters wreak havoc, but he had never seen anyone shatter a six-zhang golden statue of a Buddhist monk with a single punch using pure power.

Shen Jue clearly did not use magic or internal energy.

That's because he's incredibly strong.

Yan Chixia swallowed hard, suddenly realizing that the ancestral Xuanyuan Divine Sword on his back might just be a handy fire poker in the eyes of this monk.

However, Shen Jue's laughter did not last long.

The golden fragments that were floating in the air suddenly stopped falling.