HSSB903: Immortal Court of Daoism, Blessed lands of Buddhism
Yan Zhaoge and Fu Ting exchanged looks as they saw that treasured light that shot into the skies.
While it was clearly full and auspicious, a supreme treasured light, this world here just seemed so unspeakably strange.
Whether it was Yan Zhaoge or Fu Ting, both could tell that this was not some mere prank done by some weak, minor entity.
The concept contained within the treasured light was lofty and refined to the extreme as it was no simple, inferior thing at all.
It had unquestionably received the true legacy of Daoism, yet having a different flag as it was like it had opened a different path outside of the dao tradition of the founders of the Three Purities.
It was just that this path seemed to walk towards the same endpoint as the essence of the scriptures of the Future Buddha and the current Buddhism.
One was Daoism and one was Buddhism, yet both were subtly similar in this respect.
Checking around, Yan Zhaoge and Fu Ting indeed discovered that while the martial practitioners here cultivated in Daoist martial arts, their foundation was the feedback from the power of faith from the treasured light that was formed within their bodies.
Like Buddhist martial practitioners, the most important thing in their cultivation was not their comprehension of martial arts, not their awareness of the principles of the heavens and earth.
Instead, it was their devout hearts that were sincerely devoted to the dao!
Everything else rested atop this foundation.
If their hearts were sincerely devoted to the dao, their wills firm and their faith unshakeable, the treasured light would grow stronger and stronger, accumulating unceasingly.
This treasured light would help them in raising their cultivation bases, increasing their strength. It was really much easier for them than for Daoist disciples like Yan Zhaoge and Fu Ting.
As they did not truly comprehend the principles behind what they were versed in, the average skill of the martial practitioners of this world was lower at the same cultivation level as compared to those of the World beyond Worlds and even the Eight Extremities World and Vast Ocean World.
However, the requirements were lower and results were seen more easily.
In those worlds, the vast majority of people were not talented enough and unlikely to achieve much as they cultivated in martial arts.
In this world, however, even if their talents and levels of comprehension were lower, so long as they had hearts that were devoted to the dao and worshipped the name of the ‘Immeasurable Heavenly Lord’, a considerable portion of them could even see some notable achievements as they cultivated in martial arts.
Yet, such people would be hard pressed to achieve much in martial arts at all in the World beyond Worlds and Eight Extremities World etcetera.
Yan Zhaoge did not know how many people there were in this world and how many similar worlds there were.
However, he vaguely felt that it was not few.
This was a world that was similar to the Buddhist worlds whilst different from the likes of the World beyond Worlds and the Roving Jade Heavens!
He and Fu Ting scoured the area, attempting to learn more about this place.
“Unlike the Buddhist worlds, this place should have experienced the Great Calamity as well as there is a serious disconnect in its martial civilisation.”
After meeting, consolidating the information they had gathered, Yan Zhaoge concluded, “Besides the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, most often mentioned here is the ‘Immortal Court’, in a way similar to the blessed lands of Buddhism.”
The founders of the Three Purities and the numerous heavenly lords of traditional Daoism had been played down with extremely few traces of them remaining as even legends and myths were few and far between.
The Immortal Court had replaced existences like the Heavenly Court’s Divine Palace and the Major Crimson Heavens of the Grand Clear lineage.
“Over with Buddhism, it was the immeasurable merit of the Future Buddha that assisted the myriad lifeforms in avoiding the great tribulation of the heavens and earth.”
“Here, such a great tribulation is not spoken of. Instead, it is that the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord purified the world, cleansing the tainted filth of the heavens and earth and forging creation anew.”
Buddhism was mentioned here as the home of the evil devils, the source of the tainted filth which could again cause the heavens and earth to change.
Those who believed in the Buddha had already had their souls polluted, while those who believed in Daoism should restrict the spread of Buddhism’s tainted filth.
Yan Zhaoge exhaled, “In other words, this place seems to often have interactions with the Buddhist worlds. It is just that they are not on good terms at all as they even seem to be frequently warring, rejecting each other as devilspawn.”
The world that the two were currently in should be close to where Daoism and Buddhism clashed, thus being antagonistic towards Buddhism.
While Yan Zhaoge had been to the Concealed Way World of Buddhism before, it might have been closer to the backlines of this conflict. Thus, there had been little news regarding the worlds of the Immortal Court there.
Yan Zhaoge muttered to himself, “Both sides occupy quite a number of worlds.”
When he had first been to the Obscured Way World, he had guessed that a ‘wall’ existed there which separated the worlds of Daoism and the worlds of Buddhism.
Back then, he had also wondered whether there were any more divisions along that ‘wall’.
He had not thought that this was really true, and there were really not just two sides.
With Yan Zhaoge’s current cultivation base, this ‘wall’ was not so easy to break through.
However, the disturbances caused by the Profound Sky Purple Gold Furnace back then as well as the forceful dissolution of the restrictions left behind by the Brocade Emperor by Mars Halberd this time had both been powerful indeed.
The resultant chaotic flows of space had let to Yan Zhaoge drifting to a domain outside of the worlds of Daoism.
Still, this world that was governed by the Immortal Court truly surpassed Yan Zhaoge’s expectations.
He had already known of the existence of Buddhism before having viewed the Obscured Way World.
Buddhism had already existed before the Great Calamity, having been a competitor of Daoism then.
Yan Zhaoge had also known that the Gautama Buddha had Transcended, the Future Buddha taking helm over the central Whirling World.
Yet, Yan Zhaoge could say with full confidence that this so-called Immeasurable Heavenly Lord and Immortal Court had definitely not existed in pre-Great Calamity times.
They had only appeared following the Great Calamity.
Frankly speaking, Yan Zhaoge was currently feeling rather puzzled as he was at a loss for once.
It would be fine if this was just some minor power, but it actually seemed like they were able to compete on level terms with Buddhism that was controlled by the Future Buddha.
Who was the Future Buddha?
He was a figure who had stood at the peak of the heavens and earth in pre-Great Calamity times, the lord of the central Whirling World, Sahā-lokadhātu, after the Gautama Buddha. He had been able to protect so many Buddhist worlds in tiding through the Great Calamity.
How would the Immortal Court that was able to contend with this be weak and inconsequential?
But herein lay the problem…
“Where exactly did they appear from?” Yan Zhaoge smacked his lips as Fu Ting was similarly unable to get her head around this.
Besides these doubts, Fu Ting felt rather worried as well as she looked at Yan Zhaoge, “Young Master Yan, do you feel any uncomfortable as you are thinking of or voicing the name of that Immeasurable Heavenly Lord?”
“No,” Yan Zhaoge frowned, “Could it be that those like you and I will also birth treasured light and worship that Immeasurable Heavenly Lord as soon as we speak of or think of him?”
Fu Ting shook his head, “No treasured light has been birthed within my body. Still, I feel that a strange connection has been made somehow, like something is different.”
Yan Zhaoge’s gaze was somewhat deep and distant, “Because we are intrinsically also of Daoism?”
Many thoughts flashed through Yan Zhaoge’s mind the next instant.
Some previous experiences came to mind.
As he pondered, the spiritual qi of the heavens and earth before them suddenly rippled intensely.
A few powerful auras were rapidly approaching in the distance.
These auras were colliding unceasingly as some people seemed to be in the midst of clashing.
Yan Zhaoge and Fu Ting exchanged looks before retracting their auras and hiding themselves away.
Soon, several figures entered their eyes. A person was fleeing while being pursued by many others who were launching attacks towards him.
One of the pursuers yelled loudly, “Yang Chong, you have fallen into an external dao. Let alone not knowing repentance, you even dare to defame the Heavenly Lord, blasphemous indeed! Hurry and give yourself in, or do not blame us for not showing you any mercy as your fellow disciples!”