I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 210: Chapter 202 Ascending to Ultimate Bliss

ten thousand buddhas temple.

the forbidden area behind the mountain.

tens of thousands of martial monks strictly guarded the place, any outsider approaching would commit the sin of blaspheming the buddha.

in the laws of the buddha continent, blasphemy was the gravest sin, with the principal offender being burned by fierce fire until their soul scattered, their relatives demoted to criminals, unable to turn over a new leaf for three generations.

the status of a criminal in buddha continent was akin to pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep, unprotected by law; other classes could humiliate them at will, their lives less valuable than a monk's shoes, like rotting flesh in hell.

without even waiting for three generations to pass, these criminals would die amidst extreme agony, which was even worse than the punishment of the nine clans.

under such terrifying oppression, nobody in the buddha continent dared not to revere the buddha.

the ten thousand buddhas temple was the manifestation of the land of ultimate bliss on earth; even believers approaching had to crawl on their knees, let alone anyone daring to charge into the forbidden area.

the martial monks were not guarding against civilians, but monks from other buddhist lands, for what was sealed within the forbidden area was the supreme treasure of buddhism, the bodhi treasure wheel. if any other temple obtained it, the ten thousand buddhas temple would lose its foundation to suppress all, no longer able to dominate the buddha continent!

after all, the buddhist community was not monolithic, with the zen school, vinaya school, esoteric school, and so on.

before the decline of the dharma, the old ancestors suppressed the other schools, who obediently complied. now that everyone was a mortal, by what right did the ten thousand buddhas temple consider itself superior?

a few days ago.

many high monks came to the temple, and before getting down to the main business, they held several debates on buddhist doctrines.

in buddhist debates, there were verbal and combat debates; if one could not outtalk the other, they would settle it by hand, and whoever had the bigger fist was right!

with the profound inheritance of the ten thousand buddhas temple, even if the monks from various temples secretly joined forces to encircle and suppress it, the temple still stood slightly superior.

"a hundred years ago, the ten thousand buddhas temple suppressed the heroes; fifty years ago, it occupied the top position alone; now, it is barely considered first!"

"thank you for the reminder, uncle; disciple will not fail the inheritance of the sages," ben kong said with a sorrowful expression, leading the high monks from various temples into the bodhi cave, descending along the bluestone steps.

inside and outside the cave were worlds apart, as though stepping from the scorching heat of summer into an ice cellar, the chill wind penetrating the monks' robes, and even ben kong, who was ranked as a martial arts grandmaster, could not help shivering.

the cold reached into their bones; yin sha crept into their souls.

whale oil lamps that burned continuously lined both sides of the corridor, and by the light's brilliance, one could see slimy, dripping moss on the stone walls, droplets condensing at the ceiling falling onto the back of their necks, sending a shiver down their spines like being bitten by a venomous snake.

"amitabha!"

the high monk from the vinaya school frowned and questioned, "how can the place holding the supreme treasure of buddhism be so gloomy and defiled? has no one from the ten thousand buddhas temple taken care of it?"

ben kong replied quietly, "would you like master pu ji's disciples to take care of it?"

pu ji pursed his lips, changing his tone, "we could have those lowly people take care of it, seal them directly inside the cave, and at least maintain appearances. if people discover such conditions, wouldn't they doubt our buddha's immortality?"

"doubt is better than accidents happening."

"the supreme treasure only has the intelligence of a three-to-five-year-old child. if those resentful lowly ones are allowed to coax it into recognizing them as its master and transform into a great demon, we don't have a daoist lord to suppress it now!" ben kong added, as the monks around him nodded in agreement.

pu ji lowered his gaze, eventually nodding along as well.

until they reached the bottom of the cave and saw an altar.

the altar was one zhang and six chi high, its surface engraved with mysterious patterns, and its top resembled a blooming lotus.

the supreme treasure, the bodhi treasure wheel, lay quietly at the center of the altar, not emanating any mystical aura.

stone figures of buddhas with various postures were carved into the surrounding walls, each with their eyes wide open, staring at the central altar, roughly numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands.

this was the origin of the ten thousand buddhas temple, and its protective formation was the ten thousand buddhas facing the ancestral temple. even now, without spiritual energy to sustain the prohibitions, the mere convergence of aura from tens of thousands of buddha statues could generate a sense of awe and suppressive power!