Chapter 705
Darkness and Oppression
The Buddha lowered his head, and the last glimmer of light in the depths of his eyes seemed to have dimmed, leaving only boundless darkness and oppression.
He took a deep breath, suppressing all his turbulent emotions, and his voice became hollow and submissive.
"Disciple... receives the decree. I will certainly do my utmost to resume the Journey to the West as soon as possible."
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and panicked shouts suddenly came from outside the hall.
An Arhat responsible for clearing the perimeter rushed in, his face ashen, his voice trembling with sobs. He knelt before the powerful figures in the hall and gave an urgent, incoherent report.
"Report! Report to Buddha! Ancient Buddha! Something terrible has happened! The eight thousand zhang... the eight thousand zhang Vow Corridor... a major incident has occurred!"
"What's the matter? Speak slowly!"
Dipankara Buddha frowned, his ominous premonition growing stronger.
Although the Vow Corridor is not a core battle area, it is an important landscape and symbol of Lingshan, gathering the wishes and precious materials of countless believers.
The Arhat was panting heavily, his face filled with horror.
"The corridor...the corridor has been...it's been stolen!"
"Stolen? What do you mean?"
Dipankara Buddha was momentarily stunned.
"It's...it's the entire corridor, from the entrance to the exit, all the colorful glazed crystal bricks paving the floor, the supporting star-shaped purple-gold beams and ten-thousand-year-old warm jade pillars, the sandalwood jade Buddha statues and the icy marrow Bodhisattva statues, the artificial mountains and spiritual stones, the spiritual liquid streams, the glazed lamps on the corridor ceiling, and the pearls and gems inlaid on the walls..."
Everything…everything valuable, everything imbued with spiritual energy, everything that could be moved…everything was gone! Only bare, pitted foundations and a few dried-up ditches remained! It was as if…as if the most greedy locusts had swept through, scraping the land bare, leaving not a single blade of grass behind!!
Luohan's words were like another heavy hammer blow, slamming into everyone's already fragile defenses!
The 8,000-zhang long corridor of thanksgiving is a luxurious landscape built with countless years of incense offerings and rare and precious materials from the Western Paradise. It is a direct display of the wealth and influence of the Western Paradise!
While its value may not be as personally targeted or strategically significant as the private treasures of the Buddhas within the Great Thunderclap Temple, the sheer volume and staggering cost far exceed any personal collection! And now… the entire corridor has been emptied?!
Dipankara Buddha swayed, feeling a wave of darkness wash over him.
He could imagine the horrific scene, perhaps even more shocking than the dismantling of seats at the Great Thunderclap Temple! What a massive undertaking, what deep hatred, what intense…greed!
Amitabha Buddha's expression also instantly turned extremely ugly.
However, the Arhat seemed to have more to say. He knelt there, his body trembling like a leaf, his lips trembling, his eyes filled with fear, and he dared not say any more.
Amitabha Buddha keenly grasped this point. His heart skipped a beat, and an even more terrifying thought sprang up like a venomous snake, causing his emotions, which had just calmed down after dealing with Tathagata, to surge into a raging storm once again! He stared intently at the Arhat, his voice trembling without even realizing it, and asked, word by word.
"What else is there? Speak! The Merit Pool... what happened to the Merit Pool?!"
Merit! That is a fundamental resource that even sages value highly!
It is the foundation for the Western Paradise to absorb faith, cultivate Buddhist disciples, and display many great supernatural powers! In comparison, the Dharma treasures of the Great Thunderclap Temple and the treasures of the Long Corridor, although precious, are more of "material possessions" and "face," while the Merit Pool is the "foundation" and "substance"! When he heard about the incident in the Long Corridor, the first thing he thought of was the Merit Pool, which is also located behind Mount Ling!
The Arhat was so terrified by Amitabha Buddha's almost tangible pressure and sharp gaze that he answered tremblingly.
"Merit Pool... the pool... it seems... it seems to still be there..."
Upon hearing this, Amitabha Buddha felt a slight relaxation in the extremely tense tension within his heart. As long as the main body of the Merit Pool remained intact and the divine water of merit within it was not lost, the damage was still within a controllable range, and the foundation of the Western Paradise had not yet been shaken.
He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But then the Arhat added in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, almost inaudible.
"...But...but...the pool water...it seems...a lot of the pool water has been stolen...and...the bottom of the pool...the spiritual agate at the bottom of the pool...it seems...it seems a lot of it has also been dug away...This humble monk...this humble monk dares not get close to take a closer look, but I can only glimpse from afar that the pool water level has dropped significantly, and the poolside...the poolside seems to be much emptier..."
"What--?!!"
"puff--!!!"
The breath that Amitabha Buddha had just released instantly transformed into a surge of blood and qi! His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints, his golden body trembled violently, and the Buddhist light around him flickered wildly like a candle in the wind!
An indescribable aura of terror, a mixture of extreme shock, rage, heartache, and a hint of despair, erupted from him like a volcanic eruption!
The Merit Pool water was stolen! The Spiritual Source Agate was dug up! This…this is a thousand times, ten thousand times worse than the demolition of the Great Thunderclap Temple and the emptying of the long corridor! This is truly digging up the very lifeblood of the Western Paradise! It is shaking the very foundation of the Sage's Dao! "Lin—Zhu—!!!"
A nearly shrill roar, completely unlike the sound of a Buddha's voice, suddenly erupted from Amitabha Buddha's mouth, shaking the entire dilapidated Great Thunderclap Temple and sending tiles and rubble flying! The compassion and peace on his face had vanished, leaving only a twisted ferocity and boundless killing intent! Blood vessels were faintly visible in his golden Buddha eyes, making them appear as if they were ruptured!
It's all over! Everything's over! Our house was robbed, our roads were torn up, and now even the Merit Pool, our biggest money box and granary, has been pried open and emptied!
Amitabha Buddha felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and boundless despair, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed him, almost flowing backwards to overwhelm his undisturbed Dao heart, which had remained calm for countless eons since he became a saint!
"The Pool of Merit—!!!"
Amitabha Buddha's almost shrill roar, like the final lament of a dying beast, instantly shattered the defenses of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who were still shocked by the theft of the Great Thunder Temple and the emptying of its corridors.
The Pool of Merit! That is something far more fundamental and important than the personal magical treasures within the Great Thunderclap Temple, or the ornate decorations of the long corridor! It is the true essence of the Western Paradise, an ocean of the accumulated power of countless faiths and merits!
At this moment, Amitabha Buddha no longer cared about maintaining the demeanor of a saintly incarnation, nor did he bother to continue reprimanding Tathagata. With a flicker, he transformed into a dazzling yet anxious golden Buddha light, rushing towards the back of Mount Ling and the location of the Merit Pool at top speed! He still held onto a last sliver of hope—perhaps…perhaps the Arhat was mistaken? Perhaps Lin Zhu had only taken a portion and hadn't truly touched the root?
After all, the Merit Pool is vast, containing nearly five million units of merit water! Even if Lin Zhu is greedy, how much could he take away in a short time? Moreover, the Merit Pool is personally guarded by Amoghasiddhi Buddha, a mid-level Quasi-Saint! He is a powerful being who personally set up restrictions and locked in the pool. It would be extremely difficult for an ordinary Quasi-Saint to steal a large amount of pool water silently under his nose!
As long as the main body of the pool remains and the foundation of Lingyuan Agate is untouched, there is still room for recovery!
The three thousand Buddhas suddenly realized what was happening, their faces drained of color, and they cried out in terror like cats whose tails had been stepped on. They no longer cared about cleaning up the mess at the Great Thunderclap Temple, and instead rode on their Buddha lights and lotus platforms, rushing to follow Amitabha Buddha's direction!
Their anxiety was even greater than that of Amitabha Buddha! Because the Merit Pool was not only related to the foundation of the Western Paradise, but also directly related to their own "wallets"!
Although the Western Paradise is vast and contains numerous Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, not everyone can have an independent practice center and abundant offerings like the Tathagata and Dipankara. The "salaries," cultivation resources, and even the merit and vows required for some of the supernatural powers of most lower-level Buddhas, Arhats, and Bodhisattvas come directly or indirectly from the periodic allocation of the merit pool!
The nearly five million units of merit-based divine water in the Merit Pool are a vital guarantee for maintaining the operation of the entire Western Paradise system! If there is a major problem with this pool, not only will future cultivation and advancement be impossible, but even maintaining their daily physical body and performing basic Buddhist rituals will be a problem! That would be like cutting off their "immortal food" and "salary"!
Thinking of this terrible consequence, all the Buddhas felt their hands and feet turn cold. They no longer cared about their demeanor and only wished that their parents had given them two more legs. They desperately chased after Amitabha Buddha's elusive light.
When this large group of panicked Buddhist masters, like startled birds, rushed through the ruins of Mount Ling, still permeated with the stench of blood and acridity, and arrived at the Merit Pool area that should have been bathed in gentle, pure Buddhist light, radiating auspicious energy and dazzling brilliance—
Everyone froze in place.
It was as if I had been hit by the most powerful immobilization spell.
The expression on his face quickly changed from initial fear and hope to extreme bewilderment and astonishment, and then to... an endless, blank stare and despair as if he were witnessing the end of the world.
Where was the Eight Treasures Merit Pool with its myriad rays of light, ethereal mist, blooming lotuses, and gleaming treasures?
It was a huge, barren, uneven basin with strange, multicolored hues! The shape of the basin still vaguely resembled the outline of what was once a "pool," but it was empty inside, with only a few pale golden water stains remaining at the bottom and edges, as well as some messy traces that looked as if it had been frantically dug out by the claws of a giant beast.
The pavilions and towers built of seven treasures by the pond? Gone! Only broken foundations and scattered debris remain. The golden lotuses of merit and the white lotuses of purification in the pond, each as large as a cartwheel and radiating light? Not even the roots remain! The thick layer of golden sand of merit at the bottom of the pond? Only mottled traces of being stirred up remain.
The air was filled only with the faint, lingering scent of merit and lotus fragrance, and a chilling sense of emptiness and desolation left behind after the house had been completely emptied.
"This...this is...the Eight Treasures Merit Pool?"
The Buddha was the first to snap out of his daze. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, looked around at his surroundings, gestured a few times, and looked as if he had gone to the wrong place.
"Wait a minute... The location is correct, but... but where's the pool? Where are those treasure pavilions? Where are the lotus flowers? Could it be... could it be that the aftershocks of the dragon battle were too strong and destroyed this place? Or, are we under some kind of illusion?"
He preferred to believe that the dragons had destroyed the place, or that he was seeing things, rather than believe the most terrifying truth.
"You bastard!!!"
Amitabha Buddha's roar was like thunder from the heavens, exploding in the empty "pond" ground, making the Tathagata and all the Buddhas' eardrums ache, and completely shattering their last unrealistic illusions.
"This is the Eight Treasures Merit Pool!! The pool... the pool has been emptied out by that damned thief! Empty out!!"
Amitabha Buddha pointed at the huge, empty depression in front of him, trembling with anger. His golden body flashed intensely, and he clutched his chest tightly with one hand, gasping for breath as if he might faint at any moment.
If his avatar had not been formed from the power of a saint, making it incredibly resilient, he would probably have already been driven to the brink of collapse by the relentless, increasingly devastating blows, causing his golden body to shatter!
Upon hearing this, the Buddha was struck as if by lightning, staggered back three steps, and his face instantly turned ashen.
He extended a finger, trembling as he pointed to the open space, his lips quivering, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He finally understood why this place looked so "clean" and so "empty"—it hadn't been destroyed, but rather...moved away! Even several layers of the ground had been scraped off!
The three thousand Buddhas finally understood what the scene before them meant. In an instant, an indescribable despair, like the coldest frost, swept over everyone.
They stared blankly at the huge crater that once represented the endless wealth and glory of the Western Paradise, but was now just an empty shell, feeling as if their souls had been emptied out.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
With a series of muffled thuds, several Arhats with shallower cultivation and severely damaged minds, and even some Buddhas with less resilient willpower, could not withstand the successive devastating blows. Their vision went black, and they fell backward, foaming at the mouth, and went into shock on the spot! Their Buddhist hearts shattered completely at this moment.
Many others looked ashen-faced, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost all life. The Merit Pool… nearly five million units of merit-based divine water… all gone… That was not only the foundation of the Western Paradise, but also the source of their cultivation and “salary”! How would they survive from now on? Were they to cultivate by breathing in the northwest wind?
At this moment, Amitabha Buddha was more anxious and heartbroken than anyone else! Because he knew that the merit water in this merit pool was not just a number, but a "hard currency" that needed to be "distributed" regularly to people at all levels within the Western Paradise system!
This is the "working capital" that keeps the entire Western Paradise running! Now that this huge amount of "working capital" has been taken away, how will the "salaries" be paid? What will happen to the disciples who rely on merit to cultivate and use supernatural powers?
Are we to expect this saintly incarnation, or the original forms of Jieyin and Zhunti far beyond the chaos, to personally pay for this enormous hole? How long would that take? The Journey to the West was already incredibly expensive; now, without the continuous supply from this pool of merit, how can we proceed with our plans? Is it really all going to end in vain?
The thought of the terrible consequences made Amitabha Buddha feel as if his heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain almost suffocating him. The immense pressure threatened to crush his very being! (End of Chapter)