Chapter 97

Zhu Ganglie sat cross-legged, holding his breath and concentrating, facing the transformation by the thousands of monks of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple. However, among these monks were several who had achieved the state of relics, and the others had all attained enlightenment. The power of their collective chanting was almost too much for Zhu Ganglie to withstand.

But Zhu Ganglie knew that if he let his mind wander and allowed the Buddhist chants to invade his spirit, his cultivation would be damaged, and his divine soul would be implanted with the light of Buddhism. At that time, to pursue immortality, he would have no choice but to cultivate Buddhism; otherwise, the Buddhist light and chants implanted in his soul would become a bottleneck in his cultivation.

The actions of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple filled Zhu Ganglie with rage. This Zen Master Zhisheng was actually trying to forcibly transform him, disregarding the foundation of his immortality. This was already a matter of life and death. As he felt the anger, he was also extremely helpless. Zen Master Zhisheng was an Arhat, equivalent to a Daoist Immortal. In front of him, Zhu Ganglie had no chance of retaliation, let alone the countless monks in the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.

To resist the life-threatening chants, Zhu Ganglie's brain emitted rays of Buddhist light, and the Qingyang Ancient Lamp hung above his head, revealing the ten thousand living beings. Five huge skulls circled around his body.

The Fengshen Pagoda also projected milky white light, illuminating him.

But even with all these treasures, he could only weaken the chants, with no real effect.

Just as Zhu Ganglie was fully resisting the Buddhist light, in a dilapidated small temple, an old monk with a compassionate look on his face suddenly showed a slight shock. A circle of light appeared behind his head.

In this light, various living beings appeared, identical to those revealed by the flame of the Qingyang Ancient Lamp. At the center of this circle of Buddhist light, Zhu Ganglie was seen sitting cross-legged, resisting the Buddhist chants.

At this moment, the Qingyang Ancient Lamp above Zhu Ganglie's head suddenly burst with golden light, and Venerable Zhenkong appeared, saying to Zhu Ganglie, "Junior Brother Shifang, why are you in such a predicament!"

"Senior Brother Zhenkong? You have already attained enlightenment and achieved the golden body, how is that possible?"

Hearing these words, Zhu Ganglie sensed it and was greatly alarmed. Venerable Zhenkong had already attained the eighth consciousness of Buddhism and achieved his golden body.

"I must thank Junior Brother for the method of the Ten Thousand Living Beings and the Buddha. I had already attained the state of relics, but without the blessing of a great monk, I could not break through. With the method of the Ten Thousand Living Beings, feeling the incense of the people and being blessed by their power, it far surpasses the blessing of a great monk. Therefore, I was able to achieve the golden body in just a few decades. But I wonder why Junior Brother is in such a situation?"

After hearing Venerable Zhenkong's words, Zhu Ganglie felt a mix of emotions and joy, and then explained the entire situation.

After hearing Zhu Ganglie's story, Venerable Zhenkong sighed, "Zen Master Zhisheng has taken a wrong path. The merit he seeks is not worth it. In the space where Junior Brother is, countless demons are imprisoned, and they are filled with resentment. It seems that Zen Master Zhisheng has gone to great lengths to gain Buddhist merit. If he cannot attain enlightenment, he will not be guided by the Buddha. Moreover, once the karma rebounds, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple will be in danger."

"Senior Brother Zhenkong, don't lament, is there a way to save me!"

Zhu Ganglie did not want to hear this. If he waited any longer, his mind would be damaged.

Hearing Zhu Ganglie's urgent words, Venerable Zhenkong said, "Borrow the Qingyang Ancient Lamp from Junior Brother!"

Saying this, he formed a demon-subduing seal and shouted, "Heng!"

Instantly, the wick of the Qingyang Ancient Lamp above his head swayed, transforming into an ancient Buddha, as small as a bean but emitting boundless power.

At the same time, the millions of believers of Venerable Zhenkong felt a resonance and chanted the scriptures together, and the ancient Buddha from the wick guided them to Zhu Ganglie's side.

Instantly, the entire space was filled with golden light, and the chants spread throughout the space, shaking it.

"Bad!"

Zen Master Zhisheng, who was meditating, suddenly focused his gaze and shouted, sensing the abnormality of the reclining Buddha.

Before he could react, a loud sound echoed, and golden light enveloped the entire reclining Buddha. The Qingyang Ancient Lamp above Zhu Ganglie's head rose.

"How is this possible? Your Buddhist artifact has become a treasure, forming an ancient Buddha, and you have achieved the golden body through an external object!"

Zen Master Zhisheng's eyes were filled with disbelief, staring at the Qingyang Ancient Lamp. After a moment, he suddenly realized, "No, someone is helping you. Even so, it's just a golden body. I will show you the power of the ninth consciousness of the Arhat realm in Buddhism!"

Zen Master Zhisheng suddenly assumed a fierce posture, his body radiating Buddhist light, and a huge golden body rose and combined with him, transforming into a giant Arhat and smashing towards the Qingyang Ancient Lamp.

"Junior Brother, don't engage with him, leave quickly!"

Feeling the power of Zen Master Zhisheng, Venerable Zhenkong shouted from a distance. At this moment, Zhu Ganglie did not dare to stay, using the power of the Qingyang Ancient Lamp to break through Zen Master Zhisheng's golden palm and prepare to leave.

"Bald monk, you have imprisoned us for so long, today is your retribution!"

Suddenly, three terrifying demonic auras emerged in the space of the reclining Buddha, quickly forming demonic shadows.

Behind these demonic shadows were countless imprisoned demons and scattered cultivators.

"Demons that have cultivated demonic auras!"

Zhu Ganglie shouted, his eyes coldly staring at the three great demons, and he was about to leave. However, he saw all the demons and monsters slaughtering the monks of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.

The monks who had achieved relics and enlightenment were also entangled by the demons and scattered cultivators, and Zen Master Zhisheng was trapped by the three great demons.

Although the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple was powerful, the number of imprisoned demons and monsters was too great, overwhelming them.

"Junior Brother Shifang, please, for the sake of the Buddhist lineage, help them!"

Venerable Zhenkong, unable to bear the slaughter of the monks, pleaded. Zhu Ganglie originally did not want to get involved, as these monks had destroyed others' foundations and forcibly transformed them for their own merit. If not for Venerable Zhenkong, his foundation for immortality would have been destroyed, and he would not have survived this calamity.

However, since Venerable Zhenkong had asked, he did not want to refuse. He stretched out his hand, and the ancient Buddha on the Qingyang Ancient Lamp extended its palm, killing several powerful demons.

"Return quickly!"

After doing this, he held the Qingyang Ancient Lamp, enveloping the countless monks in Buddhist light to protect them.

For a moment, the thousands of monks of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple were protected by the Buddhist light, and Zhu Ganglie also experienced the power equivalent to the level of a spirit.

While Zhu Ganglie was gathering all the monks, Zen Master Zhisheng was being forced back by the three great demons, and the entire Ten Thousand Buddha Temple was in ruins.

"Zhisheng, your Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is destroyed. See how arrogant you are now. This is the result of your unjust imprisonment and forced transformation of us! The restrictions in the reclining Buddha are broken, and we will go find our elder brother. From now on, we will no longer be under your control! Ha ha!"

The three great demons laughed wildly and flew away into the sky.

Seeing the惨状 of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Zhisheng's face turned red, and he roared to the sky, "Buddha, I have devoted my life to Buddhism, practicing for thousands of years, and even created the Vajra Demon Subduing Dharma, opening a new lineage in Buddhism. Why do you not guide me? Why do you not bestow merit upon me? Why do you not protect me?"

At this moment, Zhisheng looked like a mad tiger, losing all the composure of a great monk.

Seeing Zhisheng's state, Zhu Ganglie flashed away, but the ancient Buddha in the Qingyang Ancient Lamp transformed into Venerable Zhenkong and walked to Zhisheng.

"Buddhism is compassionate and treats all living beings equally. But Senior Brother, for the sake of merit and to enter the Pure Land, you imprisoned living beings and transformed them by force, not through the Dharma but through power. This is a manifestation of greed and delusion. Now, you have not repented and have committed the sin of anger. The destruction of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is the result of your past evil deeds. Please reflect on yourself!"

After Venerable Zhenkong finished speaking, Zhisheng's madness gradually subsided, his gaze slowly calming. Looking at the devastated Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, his eyes filled with regret.

Seeing Zhisheng's state, Zhu Ganglie did not want to stay and left.

However, before he had flown a few miles, Zhisheng blocked his path again.