Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
If Lin Feng did not exist in the Grand Celestial World, then Emperor Ru (or the Cosmic Marble Buddha) could transcend this world.
However, because of Lin Feng’s existence, he was stuck in the Grand Celestial World.
Unlike Lin Feng’s aid to the Virtuous Zen Master, Emperor Ru’s problem did not lie in the problems of destiny and Fate. Instead, it had something to do with the Buddhist teachings fundamentally.
From a certain perspective, if Lin Feng could help Emperor Ru break from this dilemma, it would mean that he would transcend the Grand Celestial World first.
However, if he could transcend the Grand Celestial World, then Emperor Ru’s problem would not even exist.
This was a problem that confronted all Buddhist cultivators, including the Virtuous Zen Master, and not just Emperor Ru. However, as the cultivation level of the rest was much lower, they did not see that their path ahead was effectively a dead-end.
Only by surpassing the various other obstacles in their paths would these Buddhist cultivators face these problems.
However, no one knew how many Buddhist cultivators could reach that level. Right now, the only one who realized the problem was the Buddha himself.
This was not something that mere debates, like the Karmic Theory Debate, could resolve. Instead, this issue threatened Buddhism itself.
Earlier, the many sword sects whose powers were derived from the Saintly Celestial Sword would not be able to break free from its limitations had the Saintly Celestial Cataclysm not happened.
Buddhism, at this moment, faced a similar, awkward situation. However, this problem could not be attributed to any person, but instead, it was caused by the Greater World.
The Medicine Buddha who was supposed to come was replaced by the Cosmic Marble Buddha. This was only one manifestation of this problem.
There were two paths available to the Buddhist cultivators right now.
Firstly, they could kill Lin Feng and remove his existence, which should not even be present in the first place.
Secondly, they could wait for Lin Feng to transcend the Grand Celestial World before attempting to progress.
“He… wait, it appears that if the Buddha wants to transcend, he not only has to know everything in the past and future, but he must also transcend all humans.” Lin Feng’s mouth twitched. “If I can transcend, then I can bring allow some Buddhist cultivators to transcend with me. However, the Buddha’s path forward will still be blocked…”
“I am not sure if he has realized this. If he has yet to realize it, as long as he does not realize it and I’m strong enough, he won’t view me as his enemy. Instead, he’ll continue to wait patiently. If he does sense it, then the situation is a little more tricky.”
As he thought about it, Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed into slits. He looked at the Cosmic Marble Buddha, who was battling with Yan Nanlai and the Imperial Palace of Emperor Tai, and a complex look crossed his face.
The Cosmic Marble Buddha appeared to have sensed this and he looked over.
Everything about Lin Feng appeared a mystery to him.
Just as Lin Feng had predicted, his existence blocked the progress of the Buddha. The Buddha could not circumvent him. He could either barge through or wait for it to disappear naturally.
During the ceremony just now, both the Amitabha Buddha and the Shakyamuni Buddha had sensed something was wrong before the final incarnation of the Buddha came. This arcane and mystic ceremony was somehow disrupted and could not be completed properly. Hence, the Buddha that came was not the Medicine Buddha but instead, the Cosmic Marble Buddha.
From the moment Lin Feng came to this world, a conflict between the two sides was unavoidable. The only solution would be for the Buddha to give way to Lin Feng. If not, a fight would surely take place.
However, before that happened, Lin Feng still performed meritorious deeds for Buddhism.
Regardless whether it was helping to return the sariras, or helping the Virtuous Zen Master to further complete his understanding of the Karma, they were all meritorious deeds that necessitated compensations.
Lin Feng looked at the Cosmic Marble Buddha and suddenly, he smiled, “I am blocking your way but you are not blocking mine. The person who should be concerned is not me, but you. It’s up to you whether you want to be my friend or foe.”
“However, while I treat my friends with kindness, I show my enemies my wrath. You have to be mentally prepared. If you want to fight me, you should be mentally prepared.”
Lin Feng smiled and shook his head. He did not attack but instead, he continued to absorb the remaining spiritual energy in the sea of purple light.
Before his ‘vile deed’ of blocking the way of the Buddha, the Great Void Sect, the Great Zhou Empire and the other powers had done more vile deeds to Buddhism. Everyone knew about them.
Hence, the Great Void Sect and the Great Zhou Empire could not see the resurgence of Buddhism. They still had much to fight about.
Lin Feng could choose to help the Cosmic Marble Buddha and do another meritorious deed for him. He could choose to continue helping Buddhism, doing more and more meritorious deeds along the way. Hence, if the Buddha wanted to do harm to him, there were many meritorious deeds of Lin Feng that he had to consider.
However, while this vile deed was far away, it was a fundamental issue. Compared to the vile deeds done by the Great Void Sect and the Great Zhou Empire, the nature of this vile deed was different. No amount of meritorious deeds could erase it. Kindness would be repaid with kindness, and evil would be repaid with evil.
While other Buddhist cultivators could not differentiate, the Buddha himself could.
This did not mean that he had to strike Lin Feng first. At this level, many times it was about preserving his own autonomy. Only he should decide what he could do, not anyone else.
Improving himself was the way to go.
Furthermore, Lin Feng looked at the Cosmic Marble Buddha and many thoughts swirled through his mind. “Keeping Buddhism around means that I am leaving a major enemy for the Great Void Sect and the Great Zhou Empire. This may be beneficial to my transcendence in the future? Of course, it could prove to be a problem too in the future. Even so, the benefits outweigh the costs.”
As Lin Feng thought, thoughts swirled through the mind of the Cosmic Marble Buddha too.
When the gazes of both parties met, it appeared as if the other party was smiling. Looking at it carefully, both parties were actually emotionless.
Afterward, the Cosmic Marble Buddha retracted his gaze. He no longer looked at Lin Feng but instead, devoted all his attention to Yan Nanlai and Liang Pan.
His two hands formed another symbol. His index and middle fingers pointed upward like a sword. His index finger rested on top of his middle finger.
Before he even punched out, fear struck both Yan Nanlai and Liang Pan. Lin Feng, who was observing the battle from the side, could feel that the entire black hole was about to be torn apart. The entire Greater World was trembling.
This was the final move of the Vairocana Zen Palm, the Vajra-Freedom Print!
The target of this punch was not just Liang Pan and the Imperial Palace of Emperor Tai. This punch too was to show off the power of Buddhism to the whole world. The punch turned to bright light and filled the entire black hole. As light shone out of the black hole, it illuminated the entire Greater World.
The entire black hole felt as if it was about to shatter.
The power from the punch was present everywhere, engulfing the Imperial Palace and Yan Nanlai. In that moment, they both felt that the entire world had been turned into the hand of the Buddha. In the palm, a swastika covered the sky and shrouded everything!
A vast, powerful energy spread from it. It appeared to be in control of the heaven and earth!
The past could not be changed and no one could predict the future. Hence, seize the present and control everything!
“Good, good, I shall traverse through the millions of Buddhist land and six paths of reincarnation without obstacle!” As he recited Buddhist incantations, the Cosmic Marble Buddha carried the Heavenly Stupa and walked forward. While he did not appear to be rushing, he already managed to leave the black hole and was back in the Greater World.
An unlimited amount of Buddhist light shone from the sky above the former location of the Great Thunderclap Temple, shaking the entire Divine Lands. Buddhists everywhere prostrated to him.
As the Cosmic Marble Buddha headed east, a green lotus appeared underneath his feet with every step he took and rose into the heavens.
This was the powerful teleportation spell of Buddhism, the Lotus Flower March.
Yan Nanlai and Liang Pan, who were trapped by his Vajra-Freedom Print just now, wanted to pursue him. However, the green lotuses stopped them.
While he did not appear far away, as the Cosmic Marble Buddha walked further and further away, the green lotuses started to spread apart. Soon, they turned into a boundless sea of lotuses, sealing off the void and preventing pursuit.
Yan Nanlai and Liang Pan were able to break through the lotuses. However, by then, the Cosmic Marble Buddha was already far away.
In terms of power, no one knew if the Cosmic Marble Buddha could win if he had chosen to stay and fight. However, if he wanted to leave, then no one could stop him.
The only person who could do that was Lin Feng. However, Lin Feng placed his hands behind his back and stood there calmly. He had no intention of leaving the black hole.
Yan Nanlai and Liang Pan’s faces were heavy. However, when they saw that Lin Feng had no intention to fight, they were not really disappointed with what just happened.
Liang Pan stood in the Imperial Palace and looked at Lin Feng with a complex emotion on his face.
Yan Nanlai too looked at Lin Feng and sighed, “No one knows what changes would happen with the coming of the Cosmic Marble Buddha, do you really have so much faith that you can control the future, Master Lin?”
Lin Feng looked in the direction of the Cosmic Marble Buddha and his gaze became heavy. “No one has complete control over the future. Your sect cannot do it, Daoist Liang cannot do it, and even Emperor Ru cannot do it. It’s the same for me.”
“All we can do is to plan for the future. Our abilities shall dictate what happens next.”