However, the meal ended as the stars and moon filled the sky. Taoist Ran Chen drank three bowls of sour plum soup before leaving, then staggered to his feet, scanned everyone, bowed to Simon, turned halfway, took a step, and disappeared into the darkness a mile away.
"What a brilliant technique, is it Shrinking the Ground to an Inch?" Wang Ping'an narrowed his eyes. Bai Zimo shook his head, "When martial arts reach such a level, it's not an exaggeration to call them divine abilities."
Taiwu Xixi yawned, plucked an epiphyllum from the Pure Land for the little Miss Mo, and the beautiful flower with golden edges and a blue base flew into her brow, flashing a "Virtuous" character before disappearing.
"Haha, you are indeed of the Virtuous Path," Taiwu Xixi said, satisfied, as she playfully tapped Miss Mo's small nose, then turned to Simon, "Buddha Child, let's go to other Sword Tombs tomorrow. It's already dark."
Even though everyone present was a master unafraid of heat or cold, day or night, once night was mentioned, they still instinctively regarded this time as a dedicated period for rest. The habit of working at sunrise and resting at sunset was deeply ingrained.
Simon was indeed not in a hurry. He was constantly deducing future possibilities, and theoretically, he was very idle until a result emerged.
People on the Divine Land were continuously bringing materials into the Pure Land, and as the True Pure Land expanded, the scroll world would become increasingly illusory. Eventually, only an empty shell would remain, its interior completely replaced by the Pure Land.
This process would take a considerable amount of time.
Therefore, Simon was in no hurry at all.
That night, everyone packed up the tables and chairs and returned to the Pure Land to rest. Simon did not go with them; instead, he went to the Evil Path Pure Land.
Compared to the lively scene of the Virtuous Path Pure Land, this place was exceptionally desolate.
Hardly anyone came here; they were afraid of being ambushed.
There were no houses, nor any other buildings.
Everywhere was bleak, with only some strange and ugly statues and inscriptions. As for phrases like "So-and-so was here," they were certainly not lacking. It was strange that Journey to the West had not yet occurred in this world, yet such famous sayings seemed to be branded into people's bones—a need to display one's existence.
Simon pondered for a moment. They say practice makes perfect, so he decided to experiment with the people of the Evil Path Pure Land for his future Era Reincarnation plan.
After destroying the world, he would collect the wisdom of the people in the Pure Land—using the Zheng Yuan Kou to gather everyone into a tightly knit whole.
To join the Zheng Yuan Kou, generally, one needed to sense the manifested body of Lu Yuan Bodhisattva. Afterward, one had to let go of self-attachment, realizing that one's existence was a microcosm of all things in the world, and the world was merely an amplification of one's own existence.
The unity of heaven and humanity, or rather, the unity of Brahman and self.
Simon had initially proposed the conjecture of three bodies, meaning everyone had a manifested body, and everyone was a Bodhisattva.
He was right, but also wrong.
During his deep experience in superior affinity, he encountered manifested bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, but compared to his own, they were too weak, incomparable, and even if excavated, they would be meaningless, at most adding some spiritual wisdom to cultivators.
The Zheng Yuan Kou was a process of assimilation. What was truly assimilated was everyone's manifested body. If this process were likened to online gaming, it would be easier to understand.
Assimilation is not necessarily a good thing, nor is it necessarily a bad thing.
With the example of the Fourteen Venerables, Simon had an idea of the changes this process would bring. In the end, it would actually create an existence similar to Xiangxu.
Xiangxu condensed from the evil of human nature; Simon condensed from the change of human nature.
Xiangxu used avatars as anchors in the world; Simon used the Pure Land as a medium for world usurpation.
If the world was a game of chess, then Simon had already secured victory.
The only remaining concern was the people of the world.
If Simon were to merge with the Great Dao, where would they go?
With a thought, all the people of the Evil Taoist were forcibly summoned into the Pure Land.
Some were still disheveled, some were still eating and drinking. Everyone looked at each other's disheveled appearances, and for a moment, there was chaos.
Simon did not wait for them to say more—he did not want to hear meaningless words—and with a wave of his hand, a gentle breeze blew, knocking them all unconscious. Their dazed souls rose one by one, and Simon used this as an Pull to summon their manifested bodies.
Zheng Yuan Kou!
In an instant, chaotic thoughts surged into the sky, like a backflow Waterfall. A black vortex of evil thoughts hung inverted like a dragon. In superior affinity, the magnificent Bodhisattva manifested body gently extended its hand, and countless firefly-like mundane manifested bodies flew into his palm, blooming into a black epiphyllum.
Countless eyes flickered vaguely between the petals; it was Xiangxu, all evil thoughts were in his grasp.
"You... little monk, still well..." A faint whisper replaced the rustling of petals.
The Bodhisattva manifested body exhaled, and all eyes shattered. Xiangxu cried out in pain, "Roar! You are so rude! When my true body manifests in the world, I will surely make your humble avatar fall into the endless abyss forever!"
Hell belongs to the Buddha. What are you?
The epiphyllum withered, leaving behind a fruit, which was the essence of wisdom, unafraid of the flow of superior affinity, and capable of moving with the world.
"There is good only when there is evil, but one cannot generalize." Simon made up his mind that there was no need to forcibly eliminate the wicked, for kindness was not afraid of suffering and tempering. Superficial great kindness was always vulnerable, and demonic obstacles were also a natural law.
Their souls returned, and the people of the Evil Taoist slowly woke up, finding themselves having unknowingly fallen asleep. Although they had no memory of being summoned into the Pure Land before, looking around, even though the environment had not changed, they felt a sense of loss in their hearts. Something, very important, they knew it had always been there, but now, it was gone.
The change was not just this.
The manifested body gently caressed the evil thought epiphyllum fruit in its hand. The fruit split open, and a small black Buddha statue jumped out. It was shaped like an infant, but its face was eerie, its hands formed a demonic mudra, and black energy surrounded its body like a ghostly mist.
The Evil Buddha stepped on the palm of the manifested body, reciting a gatha with each step.
"Good and evil are one, the heavenly heart twists with evil intent. Look at me as I truly am, the Supreme Karma Buddha Venerable."
The Evil Buddha turned and knelt, respectfully shouting, "Little Buddha Duanye, greetings to the Immeasurable Merit Lu Yuan Bodhisattva."
The manifested body seemed to nod gently, its face still hidden in the intense golden light, but a gentle thought emanated from it.
"From now on, you shall be the first demon in the world, leading the Evil Taoist, and tempering kind hearts. When Xiangxu is subdued, you shall be the end of the era."
Duanye Evil Buddha was overjoyed, repeatedly kowtowing and praising, flattery and adulation flowing endlessly.
"Go forth."
The manifested body gently tossed, and the Evil Buddha rolled into the tide of superior affinity, disappearing from sight.
At this moment, the people of the Evil Taoist, who were already unsettled, collectively fell into an illusion once again.
They instantly found themselves in a dark and vast expanse. Looking up, there was boundless Buddha light in the sky, and countless worlds appeared and disappeared.
Looking at themselves, they had no substantial form, but were merely transparent souls. So these evil people thought they had died, and frantically cried out for the Bodhisattva's mercy, saying they would definitely reform.
A cold snort, like thunder, boomed and swept over, and the evil ones, like startled quails, dared not speak.
Only to see in the boundless Buddha light in the sky, an evil demon appeared, clad in a human-skin kasaya, holding a rosary made of skulls. Behind him, countless demonic creatures rolled, each holding banners of human skin, drums of human skin, bowls of human bone, and wooden fish made of human heads, and other evil magical artifacts. Blood light flickered, black energy surged into the sky, making people shiver with fear.
As soon as these demons and ghosts appeared, even the boundless Buddha light could not conceal them. Immediately, those countless worlds all fell into hell, and countless beings suffered and wailed.
"I am the first Buddha in the world, but that Lu Yuan regrettably usurped my position. Now I wish to reclaim the Spirit Mountain. Are you willing to be my followers?" The evil demon leader, sitting high on a cloud, spoke with an imposing and overbearing killing intent, full of confidence like a victorious monarch.
The evil ones, seeing this, grumbled to themselves, "What first Buddha? First demon is more like it."
A few arrogant and rebellious individuals brazenly declared their unwillingness to submit. Before their words could finish, they were pierced to death by bone forks thrown from the sky, their souls sinking into the earth, only to reappear in the endless hell in the sky, suffering boundless torment.
The terror of Duanye Evil Buddha made the people of the Evil Taoist extremely fearful. They couldn't help but miss the gentle and benevolent Lu Yuan Bodhisattva, and for a moment, their hearts were filled with incomparable sadness.
Circumstances were stronger than people, and the evil ones all surrendered, falling prostrate like reeds in the wind.
The Evil Buddha burst into laughter, and the boundless evil ghosts also laughed, as a chilling wind and ghostly howls filled heaven and earth.
"Duanye Old Buddha, boundless in power, capturing Lu Yuan with his hands, exalting my demonic might!"
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