Buddhist Sect

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Buddhist Sect (佛门)
Alias(es)	Buddhism; Buddhist sects
Affiliation	Encompasses major Western Region Buddhist powers, including Great Vehicle Buddhism and Lesser Vehicle Buddhism 224 229
Occupation/Role	Faith-based cultivation tradition and religious power structure centered in the Western Region and later Western Heaven 176 604
Status	Active in Western Heaven under Wutian Buddha's rule 607 650
First Appearance	176

Organization

Institution / Group	Position and function
Great Vehicle Buddhism	Historically the strongest Buddhist power and the Western Region's sole Buddhist holy land; it became dominant after defeating Lesser Vehicle Buddhism in their long-running rivalry 176 229
Lesser Vehicle Buddhism	A peak-level super first-rate force and historical rival of Great Vehicle Buddhism; it retained the Vajra Pestle after the original Buddhist sect divided 224 229
Eighteen Arhats	Great Vehicle Buddhism's public-facing enforcers. They are usually sufficient to deter opponents because they act with a holy land behind them; many possess Eighth Realm cultivation 178
Heavenly Dragon Eight Divisions	Eight non-human races incorporated into the Buddhist Sect: Devas, Dragons, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Karurolas, Kinnaras, and Mahoragas 531
Little Western Heaven	An artificial Buddhist holy site near the Western Sea, jointly built by major Buddhist factions to attract and absorb talented Buddhist cultivators 225
Western Heaven	The Buddhist Sect's sacred core, later transformed into Wutian Buddha's capital-like Buddhist kingdom 546 607

Faith and Practices

The Buddhist Sect's cultivation depends partly on faith. A larger and purer believer base increases the power of faith, accelerating cultivation and strengthening combat power; this is why the sect has historically spread its teachings and built temples extensively 544.

• Buddhist light — Great Vehicle Buddhism's Buddhist light is reputed to bewilder the heart and draw cultivators into devotion; even a Ninth Realm cultivator was said to have been charmed into begging to join after prolonged exposure 224.
• “Affinity” — Monks invoke karmic affinity as grounds for recruiting targets, including claiming that Su Yan, Xiao Ling'er, and her fellow disciples all had affinity with Buddhism 372.
• Population and incense offerings — Buddhist factions compete over territory, believers, incense offerings, and resources, with population regarded as their most valuable resource 224.
• Public image — Outside observers commonly accuse the sect of hypocrisy and using its teachings to justify coercion, while the sect places great importance on preserving its righteous image 176 388 589.
• Faith after Wutian's rise — Under Wutian, the sect is described as more direct about wealth and power, without the former insistence on maintaining a noble façade 650.

History

The Western Region originally possessed a single Buddhist sect. Doctrinal disputes later split it into Great Vehicle Buddhism, whose adherents claimed orthodox status, and Lesser Vehicle Buddhism, whose adherents held that any sufficiently effective Buddhist Dharma could be orthodox. Great Vehicle Buddhism retained the sect-defending Purple Gold Alms Bowl, while Lesser Vehicle Buddhism received the offensive Vajra Pestle. After further conflicts, Great Vehicle Buddhism prevailed and became the Western Region's Buddhist holy land 229.

Great Vehicle Buddhism intervened in the Hidden Soul Hall's assault on Moon Embracing Sect while searching for a personal disciple of Namo Gatling Bodhisattva. Its Eighteen Arhats drove off the Hidden Soul Hall forces, but their attempt to take Su Yan ended in a standoff with Moon Embracing Sect and withdrawal under pressure from the Sky Gazing Mirror 176 177.

The sect's hidden crisis emerged when Lin Fan, disguised as Tang Wu, infiltrated a secret area in the Bodhi Treasure Tree Forest. There he discovered the World-Destroying Black Lotus absorbing the origin of heaven and earth while Bodhi Trees withered around it. Black Buddhas guarded the lotus and treated exposure of the secret as a threat capable of destroying the Buddhist Sect 382.

Tang Wu subsequently exposed that Gatling Bodhisattva had slain seven of the Buddhist Sect's ten Peak Experts during the battle at Little Western Heaven. The revelation triggered a wider confrontation involving holy lands, demonic cultivators, and the Buddhist Sect, whose leaders began killing broadly to nourish the Black Lotus and buy time 386 387.

After the resulting catastrophe, Great Vehicle Buddhism's wealth was divided among the victorious powers, while Moon Embracing Sect preserved a portion of Buddhist cultivation methods and secret arts rather than the institution itself 399 402 568. A later account describes the entire lower-realm Buddhist lineage as having vanished following the World-Destroying Black Lotus disaster 458.

In Western Heaven, the three great Buddhas—Heavenly Heart Buddha, Past Buddha, and Present Buddha—ultimately failed to contain the returned Black Lotus. The entity revealed that it had manipulated Heavenly Dao messages, swallowed the Twelve-Grade Merit Golden Lotus, killed the three Buddhas, and assumed control as Wutian Buddha 604 606 607.

Forces and Techniques

Heavenly Dragon Eight Divisions

The Eight Divisions are the Buddhist Sect's non-human constituent races. Though nominally part of the sect, they are treated as outsiders and must compete for recognition and benefits within its hierarchy 531.

• Each division dispatched ten thousand members during the campaign against Moon Embracing Sect 531.
• The expedition's weakest members were Eleventh Realm cultivators; Twelfth and Thirteenth Realm members formed the majority, while a smaller number reached the Fourteenth Realm 531.
• Each division's leader possessed Fifteenth Realm cultivation 531.
• The force was sent to recover the sealed Great Peng King, suppress Moon Embracing Sect, and assert Buddhist Sect authority 531 533.

Eighteen Arhats

The Eighteen Arhats act as elite enforcers for Great Vehicle Buddhism rather than its highest-ranking combatants 178.

• They overwhelmed Hidden Soul Hall Protectors during the assault on Moon Embracing Sect 176 178.
• Tiger Subduing Arhat alone forced Hidden Soul Hall personnel into flight 176 178.
• Their political value is amplified by their connection to Great Vehicle Buddhism: even opponents capable of defeating them often hesitate to fight a holy land's representatives 178.

Buddha Kingdom in Palm

Buddha Kingdom in Palm is the Buddhist Sect's signature high-level technique, recognizable across many cultivation planes 569.

• Delivers formidable offensive force capable of overturning targets 569.
• Carries a sealing effect in addition to its direct attack power 569.
• The technique was used against Moon Embracing Sect and later during the campaign against Jietian Sect 541 569.

Black Buddha Transformation

A Ninth Realm Buddhist Sect cultivator can draw upon resentment and foul qi to transform into a Black Buddha 389.

• The transformation was used during an assault on Moon Embracing Sect 389.
• Black Buddhas also served as guardians of the World-Destroying Black Lotus in the Bodhi Treasure Tree Forest 382.

Known Treasures

• Purple Gold Alms Bowl — Great Vehicle Buddhism's sect-defending Immortal Artifact, retained after the historical split with Lesser Vehicle Buddhism 229.
• Vajra Pestle — Lesser Vehicle Buddhism's offensive artifact, received during the same division 229.
• Twelve-Grade Merit Golden Lotus — A refuge used by Heavenly Heart Buddha, Past Buddha, and Present Buddha after their failed attack on the World-Destroying Black Lotus; Wutian later swallowed it along with the three Buddhas 606 607.

Relations

• Moon Embracing Sect — Hostile relationship arising from Great Vehicle Buddhism's attempt to recruit Su Yan, the persecution of Tang Wu, and the later campaign to recover the Great Peng King 177 372 531 533.
• Su Yan — Considered a target for recruitment because Great Vehicle Buddhism claimed he had karmic affinity with Buddhism; he refused to leave Moon Embracing Sect 177 372.
• Tang Wu — Pursued relentlessly after uncovering the World-Destroying Black Lotus secret and exposing the loss of seven Peak Experts 382 386.
• Gatling Bodhisattva — A Great Vehicle Buddhism Bodhisattva whose battle at Little Western Heaven killed seven Peak Experts before he ascended 386.
• Great Peng King — A Buddhist Sect affiliate whose sealing prompted the Heavenly Dragon Eight Divisions' attack on Moon Embracing Sect 531 533.
• Immortal Hall — Cooperated with the Buddhist Sect in the assault on Jietian Sect 568 570.
• World-Destroying Black Lotus / Wutian Buddha — The Black Lotus secretly fed upon the Buddhist Sect's world-origin resources before overthrowing its three great Buddhas and taking control of Western Heaven 382 607.

Major Arcs

Arc	Role
Hidden Soul Hall assault	Great Vehicle Buddhism arrives at Moon Embracing Sect, defeats Hidden Soul Hall forces, and attempts to take Su Yan for Namo Gatling Bodhisattva 176 177
Little Western Heaven incident	Gatling Bodhisattva's battle kills seven of ten Buddhist Sect Peak Experts, severely weakening Great Vehicle Buddhism's high-end combat power 386
World-Destroying Black Lotus exposure	The Buddhist Sect attempts to conceal the Black Lotus within the Bodhi Treasure Tree Forest; Tang Wu's disclosure helps ignite a war involving the holy lands 382 386 387
War against Moon Embracing Sect	The sect dispatches the Heavenly Dragon Eight Divisions and three Buddhas to retrieve the Great Peng King, then faces intervention by the Willow Deity and the Endless Long Wall 531 533 544 545
Western Heaven takeover	Wutian Buddha destroys the three great Buddhas, absorbs their Origin Power, and remakes Western Heaven into his own Buddhist kingdom 604 607
Jietian Sect campaign	The Buddhist Sect allies with Immortal Hall in an attack on Jietian Sect, using its Immortal King-level forces and signature methods 568 569 570

Notable Quotes

“The Buddha saves those with affinity, after all~” 650