Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Right now, in the Divine Lands, a huge commotion was going on.
There was news that spread that the spell bodies of the Virtuous Zen Master and Da Ning Zen Master were crushed not because they were injured by anyone, but because someone broke their zen minds.
The blame was shifted onto the Celestial Sect of Wonders, and more specifically, Lin Feng’s four Immediate Disciples – Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi, Wang Lin and Shi Tianhao.
The rumors propagated that the four of them shook the foundation of the way of karma. This caused the zen minds of the Virtuous Zen Master and Da Ning Zen Master to be hurt and they were on the verge of crushing.
After a period of silence, a greater uproar was created in the Divine Lands again.
10 years after the Great Thunderclap Temple was destroyed, this sacred ground had become the focus of the Divine Lands once again.
To many of the later generation cultivators, the Great Thunderclap Temple was a place that belonged to history. They no longer had any practical use in the current era.
No matter how glorious it once was, it was now nothing.
But for those with higher cultivations, the Great Thunderclap Temple was a significant part of the history of the Divine Lands. It could not be underestimated.
If not for the fact that it was dealt a huge blow by the Hades Emperor 4600 years ago during the War of the Two Worlds, it might still be present in the Divine Lands now.
Although the first Holy Ground of the Divine Lands was the Great Void Sect, in the ordinary world, the scale of the Buddhist believers was the greatest.
The way of karma that it always preached was also recognized in the Divine Lands as a supreme concept to be followed.
However, many also reckoned that it was a difficult path to tread. They believed that no one was capable of transcending it.
Even though the Buddhist collections mentioned that the Buddha had comprehended the past, present and the future, anyone who understood things knew that it was exaggerated.
However, although the Great Void Sect and other powers had their own mantras, no one had actually rocked the foundation of the way of karma ever.
Regardless whether it was the Hades Emperor who cut off the Buddhist fortunes or the War of Buddha Annihilation, whatever that was destroyed were only people and matter. The concept of Buddhism was never once threatened.
Right now, as such a news spread, that the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ disciples had destabilized the foundation of the way of karma, which led to the crushing of the zen minds of the two Golden Form Second Level cultivators, the entire Divine Lands was in shock.
There were those who were stunned, while there were also those who were doubtful. In fact, there were so many types of reactions to what just happened.
Some believed that this was just a sham and that the news was not true. There were also some who thought that Lin Feng found out a loophole in the way of karma. To protect himself, he used his disciples to test what the reaction would be if news spread.
Not long after, more news spread that there were Buddhist disciples that made a trip to Mount Kunlun.
Ever since the War of Buddha Annihilation, the Great Thunderclap Temple fell and many monks escaped. But many of them were also unfortunate, especially those who were of lower cultivations. Right now, they had disappeared from the Divine Lands.
Some of them escaped to Middle Worlds or alternate planes of spaces to hide themselves, whereas some chose to live secretly as they concealed their real names.
But this time, many of the Buddhist disciples who were of lower cultivations had actually come out of their hiding to proceed to Mount Kunlun.
It’s not that they wanted to join the Celestial Sect of Wonders. On the contrary, they wanted to discuss with the Celestial Sect of Wonders, with Wang Lin and the rest about their theory. They wanted to protect the concept of Buddhism.
To the human cultivation world in the Divine Lands, while this matter caused a huge uproar, it did not directly affect their lives.
But to many Buddhist monks, the challenge against the relevance of the way of karma was in a way another War of Buddha Annihilation to them.
Without the temple, they could still cultivate wherever they wanted as long as Buddha was in their hearts. To these helpless monks who could not stop the annihilation of the Great Thunderclap Temple in the past, they still had this last glimmer of hope in their hearts.
If they cultivated properly, there would still be a day that they could rise again.
But whatever that just happened wavered their beliefs. This caused many monks to be lost, which propelled them to proceed towards Mount Kunlun. They needed to find out what was going on.
There were those in the Nascent Soul Stage, Aurous Core Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage and even Qi Cultivation Stage among these monks.
As compared to a small power, their strength was relatively great. But compared to a great power, they paled in comparison. Against the Celestial Sect of Wonders, they were even more insignificant.
But they still went to Mount Kunlun of their own accord. This was like a pilgrimage.
Ever since the Great Thunderclap Temple was destroyed, there were no longer any news about them. After they had separated from one another so long ago, they were finally reuniting at Mount Kunlun.
Seniors and juniors, elders and juniors, grand-elders and grand-juniors. There were even Masters and disciples.
When they met one another, there were no longer any formalities. They greeted one another and continued to move together on the road to Mount Kunlun.
Perhaps out of other considerations, concerns about the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ theory about the way of karma or even pity for the beliefs of this bunch of monks, the various powers in the Divine Lands did not make it difficult for these monks.
Even the powers that took part in the War of Buddha Annihilation did not trouble them. Even the Great Zhou Empire adopted a ‘close one eye’ attitude as they passed through.
Only Monk Da Kong and a few monks under the Great Zhou Empire did not proceed towards Mount Kunlun, as they were restricted by the Great Zhou Empire.
But they were still suppressed emotionally. They discussed heatedly and reflected on the way of karma.
Regardless whether it was the Buddhist disciples in the Great Zhou Empire or the ones who went to Mount Kunlun, they were adamant about the accuracy of the way of karma. But they still felt a tinge of fear in their hearts.
The Virtuous Zen Master and Da Ning Zen Master ran amok at the same time and their zen minds were affected. This was something that could no longer be explained by coincidence.
Did the way of karma really possess a loophole, or was there an inherent problem with it?
This thought rose in the minds of all the Buddhist disciples. They swept it off their minds, but this thought returned again.
Monk Da Kong did not go to Mount Kunlun himself and stopped his own disciples too. But he went into retreat again with news from the Da Ning Zen Master.
He wanted to find out what discovery the Celestial Sect of Wonders made. After that, he wanted to debunk whatever they theorized. Although he couldn’t go to Mount Kunlun now, there would be a day that he would clarify things with Wang Lin and the others.
On Mount Baiyun, a lady in green stood at the bottom of the mountain and looked at the bunch of monks. She said softly, “Reverend Yuan Xin, are you really going to go?”
In front of her, there was a middle-aged monk. He was in the Nascent Soul Stage and behind him, there were a bunch of monks who varied in their cultivations. But they all looked very serious now.
The middle-aged man who was called Yuan Xin nodded his head, “This is related to my Buddhist mantras. We have no choice but to do this. We need to see what ridiculous reasoning the Celestial Sect has come up with!”
The monks behind him clasped their palms together and chanted a Buddhist scripture.
Yan Mingyue looked at the disappearing back figures of the bunch of monks and looked worried, “Senior, I feel that the Celestial Sect of Wonders is not spouting nonsense.
A youth appeared beside her. He was Lin Daohan.
Right now, Lin Daohan looked as ordinary as ever. But he gave off a weird feeling, as if he was more charming than before.
And this change seemed to be occurring all the time. Every instant, he was changing, although the change every instant was very minor.
“If this is the act of Lin Feng, I fear that this may be true. But if this came from his disciples, I’m am a little unclear.” Lin Daohan replied, “But for the zen minds of the two monks to be crushed, I believe that a loophole must have been discovered. But whether there’s a mistake, there’s still a need to verify.”
Yan Mingyue sighed, “Our ancestors once did the same thing with the Great Thunderclap Temple, but nothing was changed. Right now, the Celestial Sect of Wonders…”
Lin Daohan’s gaze flashed, “In reality, studying the Buddhist scriptures have also increased my doubts slowly. But like the elders, my doubts remain as doubts. I have had no practical progress.”
“From what I sense, this time, it may really be another round of Buddha annihilation.”
He said gradually, “And to the Celestial Sect of Wonders, if they don’t handle this well, the impact of it will be far-reaching. It’s not just about Buddhism.”
Yan Mingyue nodded her head, “Today, they can destroy the way of karma. Tomorrow, they can do the same to the others too. In the long-run, they may be isolated. Even those who are friendly with them may start to keep their distance.”
“Not to even mention about profits or the fear of their powers, this matter concerns the foundation of every sect. It’s enough to make the various powers develop a fear towards the intentions of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.”
In fact, many of the great powers were keeping tabs on the progress of these bunch of monks.
Logically speaking, they hoped that the Celestial Sect of Wonders had gotten it wrong. Whether the Celestial Sect of Wonders lost its face was unimportant. The key thing was that this form of pressure by the Celestial Sect of Wonders towards the mantras of others undoubtedly led to the development of fear towards the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
The way of karma was already an outstanding concept in the Divine Lands. Even the Great Void Sect could do nothing about it for so many years.
Inside the imperial palace in Xiling City of the Great Qin Empire, Prince Gunyang snorted, “If Lin Feng was the one who suggested everything, it’s still fine. But his disciples won’t have much understanding about the great Dao even if they are exceptional. How dare they try to refute a concept that has been around for years?”
Prince Nanming shook his head, “Maybe it’s all because of Lin Feng. But it’s just that he wants to protect himself, thus he implicated his disciples, so that he will have an alternate route to take if things go south.”
Prince Anliang then added on hesitantly, “But even the Virtuous Zen Master and Da Ning Zen Master were…”
Prince Gunyang said, “While their cultivations are considered impeccable, they are only in the Golden Form Second Level. They are not representative of the highest level of Buddhism! Not to even mention if the Buddha is still around, even if only one of his ten disciples are around, he will be able to refute the ridiculous theory by the Celestial Sect of Wonders!”
“Even for the Great Thunderclap Temple before it was annihilated, they possessed Golden Form Third Level cultivators that can stand their ground against the Celestial Sect.”
Prince Jingfang spoke suddenly, after remaining quiet for so long, “What if Lin Feng was the one who advised them?”
The entire palace went quiet.