Chapter 684
Although the Dragon Clan was furious this time
According to Buddhist scriptures, the Eight Treasures Merit Pool was paved with this spiritual agate and used to build the pool walls, with an amount of... no less than a thousand cubic meters! That was simply unimaginable luxury and grandeur!
“Spiritual Source Agate... Merit Pool…”
Lin Zhu stroked the fragments in his hand, his eyes gleaming.
"It seems that this is the real big deal! The bottles and jars under the Buddha's seat, and the private collections of Dipankara Buddha and his ilk, are nothing compared to the Pool of Merit!"
Greed... no, it's the sense of responsibility of law enforcement officers that's burning fiercely once again!
He made up his mind almost immediately—to stay! To continue the "treasure hunt"! His target was the legendary Eight Treasures Merit Pool!
This precious land, which gathers the essence of countless years of faith and merit in the entire Western Paradise, is not a place to be "visited" and, incidentally, to "enforce the law and confiscate" some "stolen money." It would be a disservice to my identity as the law enforcement god of the Three Realms, and even more so to the precious time that Dipankara Buddha and others, who are "fighting bloody battles" outside, have gained!
[Ding! The first stage of the opportunity mission 'Exploring the Spirit Mountain', 'Treasure Hunt at the Great Thunder Temple', has been completed.]
[Task Evaluation: Exceeded expectations.]
[Mission Reward. Already obtained during the host's treasure hunt. The system's main function is to guide the host's treasure hunt strategy and provide necessary cover.]
The system notification sounded at the right time, affirming Lin Zhu's previous "work" while also pointing out its auxiliary nature—mainly providing ideas and cover, while the real "harvest" depended on Lin Zhu's own efforts.
Lin Zhu had no complaints about this; on the contrary, he felt more comfortable with the system's "teaching a man to fish" approach.
[The host's strong desire to find treasure has been detected, and the key clue 'Spirit Source Agate Fragment' has been obtained. The second phase of the opportunity mission—'Journey to the Pool of Merit'—is now initiated.]
[Mission Requirements: Infiltrate the 'Eight Treasures Merit Pool,' the core sacred site of the Western Paradise, while remaining as undetected as possible, and successfully obtain a certain amount of merit pool water. The amount obtained depends on the host's ability and level of caution.]
[Task Reward. Based on the quantity and purity of the water obtained from the Merit Pool, you will be rewarded with the method to set up a 'Small Spirit Source Gathering Array'.]
[Special Note: The Merit Pool is located directly behind the Great Thunderclap Temple. You must walk along the 'Eight Thousand Feet Vow Corridor' to reach it. There may be residual restrictions and patrolling monks in the corridor; please be careful and conceal yourself, and follow the navigation.]
Navigation is now enabled.
Please turn left in your current direction, pass through the ruins of the side hall, and you will see the entrance to the long corridor.
The system was as "thoughtful" as ever, not only releasing new tasks but also providing a roadmap and precautions.
"Merit Pool...Spirit Gathering Array..."
Lin Zhu licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement and determination.
This reward will greatly benefit his personal cultivation and future business development!
"Let's do it!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Zhu carefully put away the Spirit Source Agate fragments, and then, following the guidance of the system navigation, his figure once again blended into the shadows, sneaking towards the side hall area behind the Great Thunderclap Temple like a ghost.
As he moved quickly, he kept the battle situation outside in mind, especially the "selfless dedication" of Dipankara Buddha.
"Fellow Daoist Ran Deng, rest assured! You risked your life to buy time for the Western Paradise, and I, Lin Zhu, will never let you down! I will definitely take advantage of this precious opportunity to confiscate all the 'stolen money and goods' from the Western Paradise!"
Even their 'underwear'... oh no, I mean even the water in their merit pool, we'll 'keep' safe for them! You just stay outside and fight the dragon in peace!"
With this complex mix of gratitude and responsibility, Lin Zhu's figure quickly disappeared into the shadows at the entrance to the 8,000-foot-long corridor of gratitude.
Meanwhile, in the sky outside the Great Thunderclap Temple, the fierce battle between the Dragon Clan and the Western Paradise had entered an even more brutal and violent phase!
The Dragon Clan's wrath was ignited by the White Lotus Child's attempt to escape and Amitabha Buddha's intervention, reaching a new peak!
"Amitabha! What else do you have to say?!"
As the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor clashed with Amitabha Buddha, he let out a deafening roar, his voice filled with the fury of being fooled.
"You keep saying you'll hand over the White Lotus and let us do whatever we want with it! But in the blink of an eye, you secretly send a message to arrange for this wicked creature to escape! Is this the integrity of your Western Paradise? Is this the compassion of your Buddhist sect?! I think it's hypocrisy, cunning, and a broken promise!"
The Platinum Dragon Emperor's offensive became even more ferocious, his icy voice like that of a thousand years of frozen ice.
"Hand over the White Lotus Child! Otherwise, today's consequences will not be as simple as the damage to Mount Ling! My Dragon Clan will not hesitate to incur the immense karma of destroying Buddhism! As for whether the Dao Ancestor will blame us, or how Heaven will settle the score—you, the Western Heaven, will bear that karma first!"
The dragons were clearly enraged and were no longer content with merely destroying buildings and killing ordinary Buddhas.
They began to unleash their truly powerful and terrifying innate abilities, derived from their primordial bloodline!
"Roar--!!!"
The Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor suddenly opened its enormous maw, which seemed capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth! An indescribable, terrifying suction force, capable of devouring everything and even chewing up light and laws, suddenly erupted from its mouth! This was no ordinary divine power, but a manifestation of a trace of the "devouring" law contained within the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor's bloodline!
In an instant, all the Buddhist soldiers, Arhats, and even some Bodhisattvas with slightly weaker cultivation who were forming formations or hiding in the nodes of the formations throughout Mount Ling felt as if they were being grabbed by an invisible giant hand. They screamed and struggled, and their Buddhist light and magical artifacts were all sucked into the giant mouth of the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor!
Like a whale sucking in water, the scene was horrifying! With just this one gulp, at least a thousand low- to mid-level cultivators from the Western Paradise were swallowed whole, their fates unknown! Mount Ling was instantly emptied!
"You wicked dragon, how dare you!" Amitabha Buddha's eyes widened in fury. He hurriedly activated the Guiding Lamp, casting down an even more vast Buddhist light in an attempt to stabilize the situation and resist the terrifying devouring power. However, the Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor's innate divine power was activated extremely quickly and over a wide area, still causing heavy losses.
On the other side, the Platinum Dragon Emperor was also truly enraged.
Its massive platinum-gold dragon body arched slightly backward, its chest bulging, as if brewing something. The next moment, it suddenly opened its mouth, spewing not a scorching dragon breath, but a strange, grayish current that seemed capable of annihilating all life and corroding the very essence of all things—the Heaven-Destroying Dragon Breath!
This dragon's breath wasn't fiery; instead, it carried an aura of death and annihilation. Wherever it passed, space silently dissolved, and the Buddhist light dimmed and disintegrated as if encountering its nemesis! The dragon's breath stretched for thousands of miles, heading straight for the core of the Western Heaven camp!
If it weren't for the timely offering of the coffin lamp by the ancient Buddha Dipankara, which cast a light of annihilation and rebirth to block the attack, and Amitabha Buddha simultaneously activating the lotus lamp to defend with all his might, this dragon breath would have completely melted away most of the Buddha's golden body on the spot, and even the true spirit would have been unable to escape!
The most terrifying one is the Mo Bai Dragon Emperor, who has never used his full strength!
Seeing that the two dragon emperors' fierce attacks were barely blocked, its ancient dragon eyes, which seemed to contain chaos and time, finally opened completely! There was no earth-shattering momentum, but the moment it opened its eyes, the laws of heaven and earth seemed to be forcibly altered in the area of ten thousand feet around it! The scenes of day and night began to rapidly alternate and distort!
The yin and yang energies are in chaos and reversed, blurring the boundary between life and death! Even more terrifying is that the flow of time and space in this area has become extremely strange, sometimes freezing like amber, and sometimes accelerating like a stream of light!
This is the extraordinary talent that the Ink White Dragon Emperor inherited from its ancient ancestors—opening its eyes creates day, closing them creates night, and wherever its gaze falls, it reverses yin and yang and freezes time and space! Although the power it displays at this moment is far from the legendary Zhulong's ability to change the primordial world, it is still enough to create a terrifying domain effect on a local battlefield!
Within the area affected by its gaze, several ancient Buddhas from the Western Paradise who were attempting to form an array to attack suddenly became extremely slow in their movements, as if they were stuck in a quagmire, and even their thoughts seemed to come to a standstill!
However, the dragon tail of the Mo Bai Dragon Emperor seemed unaffected, carrying the power of the law of collapse, and struck the golden body of one of the ancient Buddhas at a normal or even faster speed!
"puff--!"
Before the ancient Buddha could even let out a scream, his golden body was instantly covered in cracks, his Buddha light dissipated, and he was sent flying backward like a tattered sack, his fate unknown!
This innate supernatural power is different from the time and space-related supernatural powers that powerful beings like Amitabha Buddha acquire through cultivation and comprehension of the Great Dao. It is innate, originating from the deepest part of one's bloodline, making it more direct, more domineering, and more difficult to defend against! It fully demonstrates the terrifying foundation and bloodline power of the Dragon Clan as a top race in the primordial world!
Faced with the endless stream of powerful and terrifying innate abilities and ferocious attacks of the dragon race, the three thousand Buddhas were speechless with suffering and cried out in despair!
Many of them were not devout Buddhists from the beginning. Some were forcibly converted after the Investiture of the Gods, some came to "work" for the Buddhist sect because of its prosperous fortune and generous treatment, and some were sincerely converted by the power of Buddhism.
But whatever their initial intentions, most of them joined the Western Paradise to gain merit, seek immortality, attain enlightenment, or seek protection. Never did they imagine that one day they would face such a terrifying crisis of annihilation? To be utterly crushed by these terrifying dragons who have lived since ancient times, with the possibility of being completely annihilated at any moment?
Many Buddhas had already begun to consider retreating, even secretly cursing the White Lotus Child and the decision-makers for their foolishness, which had implicated the entire Western Paradise. However, they were now locked onto by the dragon's might and caught up in the great battle, making escape difficult.
Meanwhile, those saints who truly controlled the game of the Three Realms high above the heavens—the Three Pure Ones, Goddess Nuwa, and some reclusive Chaos Gods and ancient beings—all remained tacitly silent and did not intervene.
The reason is simple: although the dragons are enraged and seem to be wreaking havoc, they are actually very "well-behaved".
Their primary targets were Amitabha Buddha, Tathagata Buddha, Dipankara Buddha, and other high-ranking figures in the Western Paradise, as well as the Buddhist followers who formed an array to resist. The damage to Mount Ling itself was actually kept within a certain range.
While their innate supernatural powers were terrifying, they were more about deterrence and causing damage, and they did not use any truly "world-destroying" forbidden killing moves that could shake the foundations of the Three Realms.
In the eyes of the sage, this was more like the dragon clan "establishing its authority," "collecting debts," and venting its anger at being offended. It was a "controllable" local conflict.
The final result will be nothing more than the death of some Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Western Paradise, and Mount Ling being left in ruins, disgraced, and severely weakened. But as long as Amitabha Buddha, the embodiment of sainthood, remains, and as long as the fundamental foundation of faith in the Western Paradise is not completely destroyed, the Western Paradise will not fall.
The vacant places left by the deceased Buddhists will naturally be filled by new believers and enlightened beings. The damage to Mount Ling can also be repaired in a relatively short time, thanks to the power of countless believers' vows and the profound resources of the Western Paradise.
Amitabha Buddha was clearly aware of this as well.
Therefore, even though the situation was so unfavorable, his face was solemn, but he did not show any real panic or despair.
He maintained the humility and composure befitting a saint, fending off the dragons' relentless attacks while simultaneously attempting to persuade them.
"Amitabha... Fellow Daoists Zijin, Baijin, and Mobai, please calm your anger. The White Lotus Child's sins are grave, and his death is not a pity. However, he has ultimately reached the Quasi-Saint realm, and killing him would have far-reaching karmic consequences, potentially harming the future fortune of the Dragon Clan. This humble monk is truly thinking of the Dragon Clan and does not wish to see you fellow Daoists sow the seeds of profound evil due to momentary anger. Lay down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Our Western Heaven is willing to make amends with the utmost sincerity, to deliver my nephew Ao Lie from this calamity, and to resolve this calamity. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
His words still carried a condescending attitude of "thinking of you," attempting to intimidate the dragon race with "cause and effect" and "future fortune," and once again placing the Western Paradise on a moral high ground.
However, would the dragons fall for that?
"Pah! You hypocritical bald monk!"
The Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor cursed angrily.
"Concerned for my dragon clan? Then why don't you kill the White Lotus Child, or make him commit suicide to atone for his sins! All talk and no action, empty promises! Monks don't lie, but you're quite good at spouting lies!"
Upon hearing this, Amitabha Buddha's compassionate expression remained unchanged, but he inwardly scoffed and said nothing more, instead silently strengthening his defenses.
He had his own plans.
Mount Ling has already been partially destroyed, and we've already lost face. Handing over the White Lotus Boy would only further weaken our forces and damage the Sage's reputation, offering no real benefit. Although the White Lotus Boy is foolish and troublesome, he is, after all, a disciple of the Sage, and thus...
They were considered "obedient," and keeping them around might still be useful. As long as the foundation remains unshaken and the Pool of Merit is intact, the Western Paradise won't suffer any fundamental damage. As for the deaths and injuries of these Buddhas... we can only say that this was their fate, that their cultivation was insufficient, or that they were simply unlucky.
He chose to tough it out, to resist in silence. He was betting that the dragons wouldn't dare to truly use their methods to destroy the sect, and that this war to "establish authority" would ultimately end in negotiation and reparations.
However, despite all his calculations, Amitabha Buddha failed to anticipate one crucial point—
Just as he was fully engaged in dealing with the dragons' frontal offensive, pondering how to mitigate losses and negotiate, a pair of "devilish claws" that he had overlooked or even failed to notice had silently bypassed the main battlefield, thanks to the system's navigation and the perfect concealment of the Heaven-Covering Talisman.
Having traversed the eight-thousand-foot-long, silent, and deserted corridor of vows, it slowly and steadfastly... stretches towards one of the true foundations and lifelines of the Western Paradise, that which gathers immeasurable faith and merit, symbolizing the source of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss—
Eight Treasures Merit Pool!
Using the perfect concealment effect of the Heaven-Covering Talisman, Lin Zhu moved like a ghost, silently traversing the ruins of the dilapidated side hall behind the Great Thunderclap Temple, following the route guided by the system. He quickly arrived at the entrance to what was less a "long corridor" and more a "luxurious art gallery." (End of Chapter)