Ch. 348 - Is This What Makes You A Buddha?

As the bone spikes struck again, Luminous Master had no time to dodge.

He could only take the punch head-on. The bone spikes were incredibly sharp, piercing straight through his protective Buddha light and stabbing into his flesh.

The Evil Ancestor laughed wildly.

Seeing this, Luminous Master frowned slightly.

The holy light around him surged even more intensely.

Behind him, his true fate manifested, a vague Buddha statue slowly appeared.

This Buddha represented all beings and was not limited to a single form.

When you looked at it, it was like looking into a mirror.

Who you were determined what you saw.

The moment this universal Buddha statue appeared, there was a loud "boom."

Buddha light wrapped around the Evil Ancestor completely.

The Buddha reached out and slowly grasped the Evil Ancestor in its palm.

With immense power, it squeezed.

Boom!

Just as the Evil Ancestor was about to be crushed, a surge of black energy erupted.

That energy broke through the Buddha light’s seal and allowed the Evil Ancestor to escape in a battered state.

“Damn it, insect, you dare injure me!” the Evil Ancestor roared in fury.

As his voice fell, evil energy erupted from his body.

His own true fate appeared behind him, a massive figure standing upon heaven and earth.

When this figure appeared, it brought with it whispers from ancient times.

Filthy, corrupt energy flooded the sky.

Everyone looked closely, it was an outright monster.

Its horns were blood red, and its flesh was fused with its skin.

Its mouth had two sharp fangs like a vampire’s.

Both fingers and toes ended in long, claw-like nails.

When this creature appeared, waves of terrifying power surged.

The Evil Ancestor was now truly enraged and didn’t want to play around anymore.

He let out a furious roar, and the monster behind him slashed toward the Buddha.

The Buddha responded, raising a massive palm filled with overwhelming power.

Boom!

The explosion shook the entire sky.

The Buddha staggered back a step, while the monster didn’t move at all.

“I’ll tear you apart piece by piece,” the Evil Ancestor howled.

His monstrous true fate lunged forward, claws slashing and fangs biting.

Immortal power roared across the heavens.

Winds surged, clouds rolled, and the sky trembled.

The battle raged on.

By now, the Buddha was looking worse for wear.

The Buddha light around him had dimmed significantly, and his body was covered in countless wounds.

Seeing this, many in the Buddha Realm were in tears.

“Ancestor, go! Don’t worry about us!” Supreme Buddha shouted, dragging his severely wounded body.

He knew that while Luminous Master might not be able to defeat the Evil Ancestor, escaping would not be a problem.

...

After another fierce clash, Luminous Master was barely hanging on.

His body was on the verge of collapse, yet his expression remained calm and detached, as if he felt no pain at all.

“I’ll tear your ancestor apart in front of all of you,” the Evil Ancestor laughed wildly.

“This feeling is wonderful!”

Looking down at the disciples of the Buddha Realm, Luminous Master said calmly,

“Take them and go. I’ll hold him off.”

“Ancestor!” the disciples shouted, shaking their heads in desperation.

“This is an order,” Luminous Master said after a brief pause. “Once you return, close the gates of the mountain and never appear again.”

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

“I hate myself for not being strong enough,” Supreme Buddha shouted in grief, punching the ground.

“Lord, what do we do?” a nearby elder asked.

“We return,” Supreme Buddha said after a moment.

“But the Ancestor-” the elder hesitated.

“You want his sacrifice to be for nothing?” Supreme Buddha asked back.

“When we return, I will resign. From this day forward, we will live in seclusion and never come out again.”

The battle above ended in an instant. Luminous Master’s body was shattered.

With another attack from the Evil Ancestor,

Crack!

His golden Buddha form completely broke apart.

He slowly looked up, his expression still calm, without fear of death.

...

The people of the Buddha Realm supported each other as they walked toward the temple gates.

Before leaving, they gave one final, deep look at their ancestor.

Wu Qianjun stood aside and stopped those disciples who wanted to chase after them.

As the people of the Buddha Realm reached the temple gates, they suddenly heard a noisy and excited commotion from outside.

“Is this the place?”

“Yeah, I heard the sages were fighting right here in Martial Magnificence Temple.”

“Let’s go look! Maybe we can help them.”

“Right! Even if the enemy’s strong, there’s power in numbers!”

...

As the voices rose, Martial Magnificence Temple’s gates opened.

A large group of ordinary people flooded into the temple.

As soon as they entered, they saw Supreme Buddha and his group at the gate.

“Over here! The sages are here!” someone shouted.

Soon, the group of commoners surrounded Supreme Buddha and the others.

“Sage, how’s the battle going?”

“Are you all okay?”

...

“These are our followers?” Supreme Buddha asked the elder beside him.

“Yes, Sage. We’re all followers of the Buddha Realm, we came to help you,” a commoner shouted.

“I’m sorry, everyone,” Supreme Buddha said calmly. “We’ve lost. From today onward, the Buddha Realm will close its gates and live in seclusion. The Buddhas you’ve worshiped can no longer help anyone. All I ask is that you continue to do good in your lives. Even without Buddha, I believe you can still live righteously.”

“Sage, we’re just ordinary people. We don’t have the strength to help you,” someone cried.

“In the past, we prayed to Buddha statues, hoping the sages would help us. Every time we faced hardship, the sages would appear. This time, we’re not praying for ourselves. We’re praying for the sages, praying that you survive.”

At that moment, tens of thousands of followers across the hills all knelt down.

With hands clasped, they looked to the sky, praying sincerely for the battle above.

...

What is a Buddha?

Is it building a temple?

Wearing a kasaya?

Shaving your head?

Saying “Amitabha” once?

There are too many false Buddhas in this world.

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