Lingshan Temple shot into the sky, flying toward Xiangxiang from above the clouds.
Huang Ming pretended to sweep the open space before the temple gates, but in reality, he was observing the situation and calming his extremely tense emotions.
When he saw the farmers cultivating fertile fields on the mountainside and the children playing around, he felt as if Lingshan Temple truly possessed the benevolence of Buddhism.
Yet the bones buried throughout the forests proved that the path it had traveled was stained with blood.
Huang Ming simply could not let go of the despair of watching his clansmen die. The guilt tormented his body and soul over and over, making it impossible for him to sleep peacefully day or night.
The temple suddenly shook. It was caused by a rapid, steep descent.
Huang Ming snapped back to his senses and dropped the broom before hurrying into the temple to avoid being affected. As for the common people living on the mountainside, they could only leave their fate to heaven.
He could sense that Lingshan Temple was deliberately avoiding danger, yet the outside world was clearly peaceful and tranquil, with hardly any wild beasts in sight.
Under the watchful eyes of the monks, Huang Ming steeled himself and knelt before the statue.
The other monks' prayers were filled with fanaticism, while Huang Ming barely maintained a calm and unreadable demeanor.
Time passed. After wandering across tens of thousands of miles, nearly two years passed before they finally approached their destination.
Huang Ming felt somewhat guilty. While living within Lingshan Temple, he had deliberately minimized his presence and mostly played the role of a listener.
The heart-rending howl of the Fortune Virtue Earth Immortal echoed through the outside world.
Liaoshan's expression changed drastically. The speed of Lingshan Temple's flight dropped again and again, and its altitude pressed close to the ground, afraid of being caught in the aftermath.
Suspicion inevitably arose in his heart. Why would Sitting-Deer Arhat's destination be in a place like this?
At the thought, Liaoshan cast a covert glance at Huang Ming, wondering whether he had somehow deceived the Buddhist qi.
"Abbot..."
A novice monk rushed into the temple in panic, causing Liaoshan to stand up instinctively.
He noticed that a large number of monks had gathered outside. They stood in silence, staring into the distance. Liaoshan immediately walked into the open space.
Huang Ming followed behind him, but when they saw the unimaginable golden radiance, their pupils couldn't help but contract.
All the trees within a hundred-mile radius had transformed into a glazed crystal-like state, while faint Buddhist qi permeated the area.
At the center of Xiangxiang, dozens of statues could be seen surrounding something, making the scenery seem utterly unbelievable.
The monks nearly went mad with excitement. Since such pure Buddhist qi existed here, it meant there was a living Buddha nearby.
What they did not know was that the Buddhist qi covering a hundred-mile radius had mostly been fabricated through illusions created by Zhili Technique, while a small portion had been collected from the monks imprisoned within the Mirror World.
Lingshan Temple hovered in the air as the monks recited sutras in unison.
Ren Qing cooperatively continued using Zhili Technique. The Buddhist qi transformed the clouds into Buddha images, seemingly acknowledging their devotion.
Only after the chanting concluded did Lingshan Temple slowly descend to the ground.
One monk after another stepped down from the mountain.
The moment they felt the breeze brush against their faces, obsessive disease seeds had already burrowed into their Mud Pellet Palaces.
The obsessive disease seeds made them extremely difficult to shake once they accepted a particular belief.
After the monks left Lingshan Temple, the common people followed. To prevent anyone from escaping and causing trouble, iron chains were directly driven through their ankles, linking them together.
Standing atop a mountain peak, Ren Qing watched the tens of thousands of civilians shuffle forward like prisoners.
He felt not the slightest pity for Song Zongwu's fellow disciples.
Some people remained beyond salvation even after their personalities had been altered by Zhili Technique.
With a thought, subtle changes appeared throughout Liuli Mountain Forest, guiding the monks toward the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
The monks' mental states gradually fell out of balance. Even Yang God realm cultivators could not resist.
With Zhili Technique strengthened by the Heavenly Dao Crack, resistance from Yang God realm cultivators was impossible. Even the abbot, who possessed the highest cultivation level, only remained clear-headed for a little over half an hour before succumbing.
Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi showed no signs of erupting. Ren Qing had no idea what methods the Nameless Ascetic had employed.
The monks had already forgotten their original purpose for coming to Xiangxiang.
They advanced while performing three kneelings and nine kowtows, as if the road beneath their feet were a shortcut to Buddhahood.
They did not notice in the slightest that the number of civilians around them was steadily decreasing.
Ren Qing transferred the civilians into Stomach World. Discovering that they originated from more than a dozen different regions, he settled them across various locations.
Whether they would prosper afterward had nothing to do with him. He simply wanted to enrich the ecosystem.
"Buddha's Light!!!"
Liaoshan completely lost the dignity of an abbot and shouted wildly before sprinting toward the group of statues.
The other monks scrambled after him.
Only Huang Ming remained standing in place for some reason.
From Huang Ming's perspective, he saw nothing more than an ordinary dried-up well. Yet the other monks saw a guiding Buddha light from the Western Paradise.
The monks jumped into the dried-up well one after another. Before long, Huang Ming was the only person left nearby.
Soon after, Liuli Mountain Forest gradually returned to ordinary vegetation. The Buddhist qi disappeared completely, and the sounds of birds and beasts once more filled the air.
Click. Click. Click. Click...
Huang Ming's body stiffened.
The statues seated around the dried-up well had actually begun moving. Their bizarre expressions were enough to send chills down one's spine.
The statues slowly turned their heads while muttering in strange tones.
Then, in extremely awkward postures, they all crawled into the dried-up well.
Several sparrows flew past and even paused by the edge of the well for a moment.
Huang Ming subconsciously retreated several steps, only to see Ren Qing's smiling face.
Ren Qing tossed Huang Ming into Wuwei City within Stomach World.
As for how Huang Ming would survive in the city, that depended on his own abilities. At the very least, starvation was not a concern.
Wuwei City was filled with teahouses, taverns, theaters, and more. Even beggars could live without worrying about food or clothing.
Ren Qing, meanwhile, flashed into the Longevity Forbidden Zone and stood atop the Little Thunderclap Temple, watching the monks approach the Buddhist temple as if attending a performance.
The Little Thunderclap Temple he had built was far grander than the one described in Journey to the West.
Endless golden bricks covered the sea of clouds. Looking upward, one could gaze directly upon the blazing sun.
In the distance, the Little Thunderclap Temple emitted boundless seven-colored radiance.
Rows of Arhat statues over a hundred meters tall stood on either side, rigidly reciting passages from the Great Compassion Maitreya Sutra.
The monks, including Liaoshan, had already been dazzled by the Little Thunderclap Temple.
None of them noticed that as the devotion in their hearts intensified, the Buddhist qi within their bodies was gradually being stripped away.
The Buddhist qi within the monks belonged to Sitting-Deer Arhat and contained a vast number of remnant souls.
Ren Qing used Dreamflower to gather the Buddhist qi and could sense that Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi seemed to have lost its intelligence entirely, offering no resistance to his sealing methods.
Just as the monks arrived before the gates of the Little Thunderclap Temple, a deep voice resounded.
"Human life is filled with eight sufferings: the suffering of birth, the suffering of aging, the suffering of sickness, the suffering of death, the suffering of meeting those one hates, the suffering of separation from those one loves, the suffering of failing to obtain what one seeks, and the suffering arising from the blazing of the five aggregates."
"Only by emptying both body and mind can one separate from calamity, separate calamity from the body, and turn all disasters into dust."
"Are you willing to become Buddhas?"
The gates opened.
A thousand-meter-tall Buddha sat cross-legged within the hall. Hundreds of Bodhisattvas lined both sides, as if listening to the Tathagata expound the Dharma.
"Buddha, I am willing!"
Liaoshan no longer cared about anything else. Greed had completely overwhelmed him.
He hurriedly knelt before the false Tathagata, and most of the Buddhist qi within him poured out.
His aged face was filled with longing.
After all, he had less than a century left before reaching the end of his lifespan.
One monk after another knelt down.
Yet several Yang God realm cultivators sensed that something was wrong. Enduring their fear, they stubbornly remained standing.
Controlling Ghost Shadow, Ren Qing sent a life-extending pill into Liaoshan's stomach.
Liaoshan's old face turned red. An unbearable itch spread across his entire body.
He scratched himself until flesh and blood were torn apart, while new skin continuously grew in their place.
His eyebrows changed from gray-white to jet black, and the wrinkles on his face vanished as though he had become decades younger.
Several more monks could not resist the temptation and dropped to their knees.
The scattered Buddhist qi flowed toward Dreamflower, mixed with countless souls.
The false Tathagata began reciting sutras again.
Although Ren Qing understood nothing of Buddhist doctrine, he had absorbed quite a bit through constant exposure to Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva.
To ensure the false Tathagata possessed pressure surpassing the Yang God realm, he had specially refined it using the corpse of Meat and Wine Taoist, imbuing it with traces of Heavenly Aberration realm aura.
The refinement progress of Meat and Wine Taoist was currently only barely adequate.
The entire scene relied heavily on the Buddhist qi emitted by Dreamflower to maintain appearances.
Still, it was more than enough to fool people.
Very quickly, all the monks of Lingshan Temple fell under the influence of the false Tathagata seated within the Little Thunderclap Temple.
Filled with reverence, they sat on meditation cushions in the corners and listened to the Dharma.
While their bodies and souls relaxed, Ren Qing was able to extract Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
The Little Thunderclap Temple proved even more effective than expected.
The monks could have had every secret stripped from them and still wouldn't have noticed. They remained immersed in the nonsense being preached by the false Tathagata.
A wooden box appeared in Ren Qing's hand.
Inside was the vast majority of the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
He then left the Longevity Forbidden Zone.
He did not want an eruption of Buddhist qi to damage the forbidden zone, especially since an Immortal Position was buried there.
Stomach World was an even less suitable place to house Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
After considering his options, examining the Fruit Position in the outside world carried the least risk.
Ren Qing continued descending another thousand meters, stopping only after reaching roughly three thousand meters underground.
Ghost Shadow dug out a cave dwelling of more than ten square meters.
Dreamflowers covered every corner, preventing even the slightest leakage of Buddhist qi that might attract the attention of those True Immortals.
Ren Qing projected his consciousness into the wooden box.
What he saw was an endless ocean of Buddhist qi.
Yet its state was somewhat strange.
It burned like flames, its color constantly shifting between dark gold and fiery red.
After merely watching for a few breaths, the flames formed a cylindrical shape.
An immeasurable number of souls floated up and down within it, melting like candles before their three souls and seven spirits reformed in the blink of an eye.
Pain shot through Ren Qing's eyes, and he immediately withdrew his consciousness.
"A candle?"
Ren Qing recalled the Dipankara Buddha he had accidentally glimpsed.
That figure had resembled a half-melted candle, likely another form of "Heavenly Dao Transformation."
His brows furrowed tightly.
The Nameless Ascetic was definitely trying to use this to convey some hidden secret.
Ren Qing carefully inspected the wooden box and confirmed it was merely an ordinary magical artifact, albeit a somewhat sturdier one.
There was no way it could seal Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
This meant the Nameless Ascetic's method had likely been applied directly to the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi itself.
He opened his mouth and expelled dense yin qi.
His Heavenly Aberration realm cultivation was revealed without concealment, completely sealing off the cave dwelling without leaving any gaps.
The wooden box opened slightly.
The Buddhist qi remained completely calm, still burning in the shape of flames.
Using Dreamflower, Ren Qing extracted a thread of Buddhist qi.
It indeed bore traces unique to Heavenly Dao Transformation.
The moment the Buddhist qi left the wooden box, it became like a spark cast from a fire and quickly showed signs of disintegrating.
Ren Qing gathered the Buddhist qi together.
The blood-red candle flame drifted through the cave dwelling, attempting to move toward the outside world blocked by yin qi.
He tested the scarlet flame through various methods.
Anything touched by the turbid flame would begin inexplicably melting.
Ren Qing brought the Great Compassion Buddhist qi he had previously collected near the turbid flame.
The candle flame immediately merged into it, causing the Buddhist qi itself to ignite.
When he manipulated Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi again, the candle flame no longer reacted.
The Buddhist Fruit Position seemed to possess an extremely special ability.
It transferred Heavenly Dao Transformation upward to higher-ranking Buddhas, ultimately concentrating all Heavenly Dao Transformation within Dipankara Buddha.
More accurately, the Buddhist Fruit Positions were probably interconnected with one another.
Then could Fruit Positions be replicated?
Some method employed by the Nameless Ascetic had prevented Sitting-Deer Arhat from transferring away Heavenly Dao Transformation.
The madness was borne by the souls, while the Buddhist qi itself fell dormant.
As long as Ren Qing carefully separated the Buddhist qi piece by piece, Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi posed virtually no threat.