System crash? I prove it with my control panel!

The Vajra of Hidden Mind wears a crimson Buddhist armor bestowed by the Bodhisattva, and the Buddha's light around him is restrained and not dazzling.

As they traveled to the core area, everyone they encountered ignored them.

Even the strange creatures that evil spirits transformed into were no exception.

The Vajra of Hidden Mind recalls the message given to him by the Bodhisattva.

In the era when the Buddha traveled the world, a similar evil trend once swept through the land.

It was only after the entire nation mobilized that the matter was quelled.

It is precisely because the final blow was delivered by the Buddha that the Buddha's power was able to restrain it.

But every cause has its effect, and every effect has its consequence.

Therefore, the Buddhist realm is the one that this evil tide hates the most.

Its return to the Buddhist realm this time is for revenge.

Chi Shi had actually anticipated this.

And Yuan Shi must have made some preparations as well.

However, this wave of evil has come on strong, and the speed, scope, and depth of its erosion and assimilation have far exceeded expectations.

His mission was not to obtain the relics, but to investigate what had happened to Yuan Shi and why the evil tide had erupted so rapidly.

However, when he stepped onto the top floor of the pagoda, his pupils suddenly contracted.

At the top of the pagoda, a figure of an ancient Buddha sat solemnly.

He felt a stinging pain in his eyes and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look directly at them, and respectfully said:

"Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk Cangxin greets the Buddha!"

However, the next moment, he suddenly realized that if the person in front of him was the Immaculate Ancient Buddha, then what were the countless relics in the sky?

He immediately took a few steps back and silently recited the "Silent Illumination and Mind-Clearing Palm Leaf Sutra".

Once your mind has regained its clarity and calm, then look up again.

The man's robes hung down, his appearance was solemn and dignified, and his eyes were compassionate. From a distance, he looked like an ancient Buddha who still sat there, never sacrificing himself for the world.

But those eyes lacked even a trace of Buddhist clarity.

His eyes held the world's distorted and chaotic laws.

Thousands of lonely eyes opened and closed deeply in the depths of his pupils.

Furthermore, the stinging sensation from before was no longer felt.

Therefore, this is not an ancient Buddha, but an evil spirit!

However... the records given by the Bodhisattva do not mention that evil spirits can transform into humans!

Moreover, this indicates that it has already developed intelligence.

This is... utterly unbelievable!

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: the records said that this evil spirit was born with heaven and earth, and was two sides of the same coin.

If He possessed sentience, wouldn't He also be subject to the will of Heaven?!

He immediately activated his supernatural powers, intending to send the message back to Chi Shi.

"Foolish Buddha, what brings you to seek the ancient Buddha?"

When the person spoke, their voice sounded like an ancient Buddha chanting scriptures, yet their words were shrouded in a black mist that disrupted cause and effect.

The eighty-one pagodas trembled layer by layer. Each of the eight sides of the pagoda has a Buddha statue.

Now, each of these Buddha statues slowly opened their eyes. Although their gazes were directed outwards, Zangxin Vajra felt that their gazes ultimately fell upon him.

The Vajra of Hidden Heart felt a chill run down his spine and summoned his natal magic weapon, the Seven Treasures Vajra.

He swung it out with a roar!

A blinding beam of Buddha light crashed down and struck:

"Demon, prepare to die!"

He dared to swing his pestle at this evil spirit entirely because he was able to be resurrected.

However, those sinister eyes seemed to pierce through his heart, and a wicked smile appeared on his face.

Before the golden light could even touch its opponent's body, it melted away instantly, like ice and snow thrown into a furnace.

He simply raised one hand slowly.

The boundless, obscure truths flow like water along the vajra, seeping into the Vajra armor of the Buddha within the heart.

The Buddhist light flowing around him silently seeped into his limbs and bones.

"You...don't even think about it!!!"

The Vajra of Hidden Heart opened its eyes wide, frantically urging the power of its natal Buddha to try and expel the corruption.

However, the principles of spiritual practice upon which he relied for his existence were like bubbles in the face of this principle.

His Buddhist relics began to turn black, his Daoist heart was gradually rewritten, and his original sanity, like a candle flame, was slowly extinguished by a gale...

After a short while, its struggling movements gradually ceased, and the anger and loyalty to Buddha in its eyes faded.

Instead, there was a cold, dim light.

He knelt on one knee, bowing his head before the evil spirit's manifestation.

Become his first general!

Hidden Heart Demon Buddha!

His evil aura was overwhelming, several times stronger than before!

"Now, it's your turn!"

The evil spirit slowly raised its eyes, its gaze piercing through the many obstacles and landing on the True Lords.

"not good!"

The expressions of the many True Lords changed.

As that gaze pierced through them, they simultaneously felt a sense of threat.

In an instant, they realized that the evil spirit had gained sentience and was deliberately showing weakness under the Buddha's light.

It's stalling for time!

Now, it's ready!

However, before the True Lords could make a move...

An overwhelming black wave erupted from the eighty-one-story Buddhist pagoda, engulfing the entire Yuan Shi Purgatory.

All the strange and wondrous things within it obeyed its will.

The bizarrely corrupted Buddha statues, mutated Vajra, deformed monsters, strange buildings, evil trees, mountains... and even the corpses of mortals, all awaken.

A mighty force launched a fierce counterattack against the outer defenses!

The three Purple Mansion True Persons from Xuanmen, Qingming, and Chishi, who were previously fighting each other within Yuanshi territory, suddenly faced an overwhelming tidal wave.

The scene is hard to describe in a short time; it's like ink being poured into a bucket of white paint that's being stirred.

Everything was thrown into chaos in an instant!

The current situation within Yuan Shi is no longer a battle, but a one-sided assimilation.

The spells collapsed, the treasures decayed, the golden bodies melted away, and countless dantians were swallowed up by the distorted principles before they could even escape.

Sword flashes, Buddhist fire, supernatural powers... everything is utterly powerless before this bizarre principle that sweeps across the world.

The sounds of fighting quickly subsided into deathly silence.

A few individuals who had reached the pinnacle of their Purple Mansion realm or held high positions exhausted their innate divine powers, burning their celestial caves and tearing apart the void, barely escaping the Yuan Shi border with their lives.

Each of them exuded evil aura, their caves were damaged, their expressions were horrified, and they still felt lingering fear!

Looking at the ever-expanding, dark territory behind me, a sense of relief rose in my heart.

Death is not scary.

What's terrifying is living a life worse than death!

At this moment, all the Purple Mansion True People of the three sects were assimilated and instead became an aid to the evil tide.

The defenses set up by the True Lords crumbled instantly, and they suffered a series of defeats.

Even a True Immortal of the Purple Mansion, faced with such a situation, would only have one word: escape!

Run for your life!

Get as far away as possible!

They were all like stray dogs, utterly pathetic and disheveled...

Chen Wen was no exception; he desperately wanted to escape.

However, he faced a more difficult situation than others.

Because he is still sitting in the same spot.

Swallow a relic, and the pure and ancient Buddha will appear.

A sense of tranquility arose within the practice.

This moment of tranquility caused Chen Wen to devote half of his mortal mind to this serene ancient Buddha.

At this moment, Chen Wen suddenly remembered, "That's right, there are two ancient Buddhas in Yuan Shi."

One had just passed away, while the other had already been reincarnated.

The three sects of Chishi, Qingming, and Xuanmen all sent countless people to search for his reincarnated child, but all to no avail.

But now it has suddenly appeared, and in such a shocking way.

Whether it was shocking or not, Chen Wen didn't know, but he felt it was quite terrifying.

Even more terrifying was that before he could control Chang Fan's mind to speak, he heard a voice coming from within his mind.

"Young friend, do not panic. This old monk is now nothing more than a wisp of remnant spirit."

After absorbing all the relics, the pure energy gradually solidified into an old monk, who looked kind and benevolent.

However, out of respect for the strong, awe of the unknown, and a preconceived notion of Yuan Shi, Chen Wen obediently performed the salute.

"Paying homage to the ancient Buddha~"

There was no thought of resistance whatsoever.

If the other party wants it, they will get it; resistance only adds to their amusement.

Therefore, even if the other party is just a wisp of remnant will, it depends on whose remnant will it is.

The serene ancient Buddha glanced at Chen Wen, his unremarkable gaze falling upon him, yet he felt his own existence tremble under the Buddha's gaze.

It's like a programmer opening the source code of a software.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind: [Knowledge of Destiny] or [Divine Eye]?

"Neither, yet both."

The serene ancient Buddha smiled slightly.

Chen Wen paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and asked directly:

"May I ask the ancient Buddha..."

"It is naturally a matter of fate that I am with you, young friend."

The ancient Buddha smiled and said:

"Of all the Buddhist connections I have made, only you, young friend, are most suited to be the Buddha's son."

"..."

"Now that you have achieved that, there is no need for further words."

Chen Wen said helplessly, "Why would the ancient Buddha scare me like that?"

"Hahaha~ Young friend, you are indeed exceptionally wise."

The ancient Buddha didn't act aloof at all; instead, he was like a playful old man teasing children.

He said with a smile, "Actually, I'm trying to find a path for Yuan Shi. Heaven's will is hard to defy, but human will can overcome heaven, can't it?"

Chen Wen was stunned upon hearing this.

That one sentence enlightened him.

News of the reincarnation of the Pure Ancient Buddha spread—but in reality, He did not reincarnate; instead, He relinquished His Buddhahood and chose death.

After death, they naturally cannot be found by the world.

People then believed that He must still be alive in the world.

But He is truly dead, existing only in the obsessions of the world.

Later, he himself caused a calamity, plunging the Hongyu Continent into chaos.

The three Supreme Beings are currently locked in a fierce battle with the will of Heaven, and have no reason to care about those in the world suffering from calamities.

So... He also wanted to transform the false into the true, but he wanted to break free from the will of Heaven.

The phrase "breaking free from divine will" sounds simple, but in reality, it's as difficult as ascending to heaven.

You need to have enough weight to get rid of it.

Or... weaken it!

Chen Wen felt a strange sense of dread. Could it be that everything he had done before was influenced by this?

At this moment, the serene ancient Buddha's smile vanished, and he solemnly said:

"Young friend, there's no need to worry. Everything you've done is entirely in your own heart; I'm merely taking advantage of the situation."

Chen Wen faintly detected a hint of disdain in the words of the Pure Ancient Buddha; this was the second emotion he sensed from the Buddha.

But he had no answer.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Wen finally spoke:

"The ancient Buddha just told me this like that, isn't he afraid of it being leaked?"

Then he added:

"Of course, I won't reveal this to anyone, but sometimes... I have no choice."

"It's alright."

The serene ancient Buddha waved his hand and smiled:

"Fifty laws are complete, forty-nine follow the trends of the world."

One aspect is the concealment of illusion, which is not within the scope of creation's calculations.

"Now, young friend, you are my one, and I have become your one, right, young friend Chen Jingwen?"

Chen Wen nodded, then suddenly looked up and met the old monk's gaze, his face filled with astonishment.

"you......"

The serene ancient Buddha nodded. "That's right."

Chen Wen remained silent.

The Pure Ancient Buddha spoke again:

"Amitabha Buddha~ This old monk does not wish to pry into your mind, young friend, but your strength still has much room for improvement. One glance is enough to know your thoughts."

......

Earlier, in his astonishment, a thought popped into Chen Wen's mind;

The Pure Ancient Buddha's earlier statement about spreading countless Buddhist connections actually referred to the "Supreme Purity Sutra" he obtained, not the relic.

That's right. Those relics were scattered by the Immaculate Buddha. It's just that it was my first time seeing the Buddha, and I was a little overwhelmed, so I overlooked the matter.

Afterwards, while still remaining silent, I received an answer.

Chen Wen had only one thought in his mind: how to hide his thoughts?

After receiving the answer, Chen Wen gave up resisting.

High emotional intelligence: There is still a lot of room for improvement.

Low emotional intelligence: Kid, you still need to practice!

Therefore, it wasn't that the Pure Ancient Buddha wanted to pry into my mind, but rather that I was too weak to hide my thoughts, and his eyes saw right through me.

Knowing he was powerless to resist, Chen Wen gave up on hiding his intentions.

After restoration, his loyal old companion—the [Mysterious Yellow Heart Refining Technique]—has been rebuilt and is now operating again, enveloping and crushing his distracting thoughts.

However, at this moment, the Pure Ancient Buddha frowned:

"Young friend, where did you get this martial art from?"

"...A friend gave it to me. Is there anything wrong with this technique?"

Chen Wen immediately became serious.

It should be noted that this skill has been with him from his humble beginnings until now, and it has never failed him.

But now that the ancient Buddha has suddenly said this, it is quite unsettling.

The serene ancient Buddha frowned, pondered for a moment, and finally said only:

"If I am not mistaken, this is the Heart Refining Technique. But why is it being refined by it, and not by you?"

"What is it made from...?"

Chen Wen was about to speak when he suddenly paused.

Yes.

The key to the "Mysterious Yellow Heart Refining Technique" lies in the word "refining".

But why should it be the one that cleansed my distracting thoughts?

Shouldn't I be the one refining my own mind and spirit?

This might sound a bit confusing.

This can be understood by referring to the preceding text.

He had always taken it for granted that he would stuff all his distracting thoughts into the millstone of the Xuanhuang Refining Heart Technique, let it grind them up, and then let it give back to him.

But just because it's always been this way, does that mean it's right?

Could it be that the problem lies in the very foundation of this practice?

"We should also appeal to the ancient Buddhist tradition..."

He immediately knelt down... but didn't actually kneel.

The Pure Ancient Buddha raised his hand and froze them in place, saying:

"Young friend, I have never encountered this technique before, so I cannot teach it to you."

Chen Wen felt it was a pity.

Perhaps my attempt to curry favor with someone powerful was a bit too rude.

Next time, we should take a more roundabout approach.

But the ancient Buddha also said:

"However, this method is quite ingenious. Even if you are tricked by someone, that person cannot easily change it. You might as well try the 'Reverse' technique."

Chen Wen was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.

Pure and Ancient Buddhist Path:

"This method is a commonly used technique from the ancient times. Orthodox cultivation is the norm, while reverse cultivation is the extraordinary. The extraordinary and the orthodox complement each other, and its wonderful uses are endless."

......