As his words fell, the World Honored One's aura immediately began to spread. At this moment, everyone was within the Purple Firmament Palace, the Immortal Pivot of the Ancient Divine Continent.
Here, all living beings could be offered in a grand sacrifice.
By the same token, all living beings could be saved!
In an instant, the entire Ancient Divine Continent was suffused with the fragrance of pure flowers. Centered on the Purple Firmament Palace, the World Honored One's voice echoed throughout the Divine Continent, within and without.
For a time, among the countless living beings, everyone beneath the Dao Lords—regardless of gender, cultivation, temperament, or whatever evil deeds and good fruits they had accumulated—felt something stir within their hearts. They looked up and saw a towering sacred image standing tall, with eighteen arms, twenty-four heads, and draped in boundless Precious Light.
The sacred image parted its lips, and its thunderous Dharma voice resounded:
"Should I attain Buddhahood, if there are hells, hungry ghosts, or beasts in my land, I shall not attain perfect enlightenment."
"Should I attain Buddhahood, if heavenly beings in my land, after their lives end, return once more to the three evil paths, I shall not attain perfect enlightenment."
"Should I attain Buddhahood—"
The World Honored One, an enlightened one whose cultivation had been utterly inconspicuous among the Dao Ancestors, now possessed a solemn and majestic treasure-form. One great vow after another was carried into the void.
His voice grew ever grander, ever more distant.
In the end, it even transcended the [present], tracing causes back to their effects as it spread toward the [past] and [future], echoing through the entire torrent of time.
Wherever his voice passed, some people might initially have been bewildered. Yet gradually, more and more seemed moved by its call. Reverence arose