"You?!"
No matter how foolish Tathagata was, he could still hear that Bi Xiao was mocking him. He immediately flew into a fit of embarrassed anger.
"Do you really think Buddhism is easy to bully?"
"Isn't it?"
Bi Xiao shrugged nonchalantly. "What's left of the Buddhism you keep talking about, besides those two Saints? Just you defeated stragglers?"
"Y-you insolent brat!"
As soon as Bi Xiao finished speaking, Tathagata wasn't the only one who couldn't take it. Even Ancient Buddha Dipankara, who had been watching from the sidelines, was getting angry.
"Bi Xiao, even Daoist Tongtian has to show me some respect. How dare a little girl like you insult me so!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Before Bi Xiao could reply, a faint sigh drifted over from the distance. "Daoist, I showed you some respect back then because you and I shared the fate of listening to the Dao together in Zixiao Palace."
"But I never expected you to debase yourself so!"
Before he had even finished speaking, Journey to the West Tongtian appeared before them. Facing Dipankara's astonished expression, he said with a look of deep regret:
"Think about it. You're clearly of the same generation as us, yet you took Yuanshi as your master?"
"Never mind that!"
"Senior Brother Yuanshi saw that you were of considerable seniority and made you Deputy Sect Leader, second only to him and above tens of thousands of others."
"But what did you do?"
"You gave up a perfectly good position as Deputy Sect Leader and ran off to the West to take those two as your masters. You even willingly became a Buddha of the Past?"
"Do you not understand what a Buddha of the Past is? They're humiliating you, saying you're an old has-been!"
"And yet you're still happy with it, calling yourselves 'Buddhism' this and 'Buddhism' that?"
"Even I feel embarrassed for you..."
"Pfft!"
Before Journey to the West Tongtian could finish, Dipankara, his face flushed red, spat out a mouthful of blood. He seemed to have aged thousands of years in an instant.
What did he care about most in his life?
This!
Back then, in hopes of glimpsing the path to sainthood, he had lowered himself to take his Daoist elder brother, Yuanshi Tianzun, as his master.
But who could have guessed that the path to sainthood would be so difficult?
With no other choice, when Jieyin and Zhunti promised to hand Buddhism over to him, he gritted his teeth, betrayed Chanjiao, and joined Buddhism.
He simply hadn't expected Saints to go back on their word, too.
Because Daoist Duobao's identity was special, and because they wanted to win over the Interception Sect's Senior Brother as well as placate their own disciples, Jieyin and Zhunti had gone so far as to invent the concepts of the Buddha of the Past, the Buddha of the Present, and the Buddha of the Future.
He had opposed it, too.
Unfortunately, by then the Investiture of the Gods Calamity had passed, and Buddhism's rise was just around the corner. He was already dispensable to Buddhism.
Meanwhile, having betrayed Chanjiao, he could no longer leave Buddhism.
Even though he was deeply unwilling, he could only remain in Buddhism as a Buddha of the Past and wait for his chance.
That was why he considered the whole experience a disgrace. Anyone who brought it up would die!
But...
Looking up at Tongtian, whose face showed deep regret but whose eyes brimmed with mockery, Ancient Buddha Dipankara held back his urge to explode and asked with a forced smile:
"Daoist Tongtian, surely the Two Saints didn't defeat you, and now you're taking your anger out on me?"
"Hahaha... Them?"
Journey to the West Tongtian threw his head back and laughed, his tone full of contempt. "Even if they trained for another twenty thousand years, they'd still be defeated by me!"
"Heh..."
Dipankara smiled without committing either way. "Daoist Tongtian, are you trying to say you defeated the Two Saints in such a short time?"
"Of course not!"
Journey to the West Tongtian honestly shook his head. "Someone else is keeping them occupied. I came here to deliver a message."
"What message?"
"Buddhism has been destroyed!"
"???"
Dipankara was so stunned that a row of question marks seemed to appear over his head. He wanted to ask Tongtian if he knew what he was talking about.
Buddhism had been destroyed?
How could that be possible?
Did he think that killing Buddhism's Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and even them would mean Buddhism was destroyed?
Ridiculous!
So what if Spirit Mountain had been razed?
As long as the tens of thousands of Buddhist temples across the Great Wilderness remained, and as long as the hundreds of millions of Buddhist monks were still there...
Buddhism would never be destroyed!
Just as Dipankara was thinking this, streaks of light came from the distance and stopped beside them.
"Reporting to Sect Leader: all 2,813 Buddhist temples in Dongsheng Shenzhou have been destroyed, and all the monks who refused to leave the faith have been slaughtered!"
"Reporting to Sect Leader: all 3,628 Buddhist temples in Xiniu Hezhou have been destroyed..."
"Reporting to Sect Leader: all 2,928 Buddhist temples in Nanzhanbuzhou..."
"Reporting to Sect Leader: Beiju Luzhou..."
"..."
As the Interception Sect disciples who had been sent out returned one by one, their reports chilled the four Buddhas to the bone.
It seemed, perhaps, maybe...
The Buddhism that Heaven's Will had destined to prosper really had been destroyed by these remnants of the Interception Sect?
"No, that's impossible! It can't be!"
Not only could Dipankara, the Buddha of the Past, not accept it; Tathagata, the Buddha of the Present, was so devastated that his face turned pale.
"You—you can't do this! You're defying Heaven's Will and the Dao Ancestor's decree!"
Looking up at his former master, Tathagata wore an expression of despair, his entire being close to madness.
Why had he betrayed the Interception Sect and joined Buddhism?
For advancement?
To become a Saint?
Neither!
He had simply lost hope for the Interception Sect.
After all, with Taishang Laojun and Yuanshi Tianzun leading the way and two Saints, Jieyin and Zhunti, backing them, even the Interception Sect, once revered by tens of thousands of immortals, couldn't possibly survive their oppression.
So,
When Sect Leader Tongtian was besieged by the Four Saints, and the Interception Sect disciples fell one after another, he had opened the formation gate and joined Buddhism to save his own life.
But now?
The Buddhism that should have risen to glory had been reduced to this by the fallen Interception Sect—they had utterly uprooted it, root and branch?
Was this some kind of joke?
If he'd known this would happen, he would've held on a little longer back then. At worst, he could've ended up on the Investiture of the Gods...
Wait!
Staring at his former fellow disciples whose names were on the list, Tathagata froze. When he came to his senses, he grew even more agitated.
"You—you people! You Saints are utterly, utterly shameless!"
"Oh?"
Sect Leader Tongtian raised an eyebrow and looked at Tathagata curiously. "You betrayed your sect, and you still have the nerve to call the Saints shameless?"
"That's right! You are shameless!"
Tathagata's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Yunxiao and the others. Through gritted teeth, he said, "What nonsense about the Three Pure Ones being at odds? What nonsense about the Four Saints besieging him? It was all just a trick to toy with the Two Saints of the West!"
"Your target was never the Interception Sect!"
"You came for Buddhism!"
"Too bad Jieyin and Zhunti were fools, played like puppets by the Three Pure Ones. They still haven't figured it out!"
Before you continue