Maitreya's Descent, Dingguang Buddha

"Not enough! Nowhere near enough!"

A voice resonated like thunder throughout the great hall.

Yet, these words did not come from Yang Lianzhenjia.

It was Master Mingguang, whom Zhu Yuanzhang had not seen since entering the hall.

At this moment, the high monk with the youthful face and crane-white hair continued to hold his candle lamp, stepping forward from the entrance toward Minghui, who sat in the center of the hall.

The light from the candle pierced the darkness, carving a path through the gloom of the Mahavira Hall.

"For someone like you, Senior Brother, I fear you have been praying for the Great Yuan dynasty's rule to collapse as soon as possible."

"Nonsense."

After Mingguang entered the Mahavira Hall with his candlestick, the mummified corpse on the lotus throne completely closed its eyes.

Not a sliver of a gap remained.

Yet, the corpse's mouth continued to move: "If word of this reaches the Prince of Anxi, I fear more calamity will befall the temple."

"Calamity has already arrived, Senior Brother. Yesterday, the Chancellor Sangha submitted a petition to the Yuan court to abolish the system of 'one fief, two titles.' His Majesty has already approved Chancellor Sangha's request and issued an edict stripping the Prince of Anxi of his Qin Prince Glazed Seal."

As Master Mingguang spoke, both Minghui and Yang Lianzhenjia wore expressions of utter shock.

"How could this be... Crown Prince Zhenjin can no longer ascend the throne."

Yang Lianzhenjia stepped back two paces, his expression panicked as he asked: "Why would His Majesty still strip the Prince of Anxi of his seal?"

Borjigin Mangala.

The third son of Kublai Khan, a man of great martial achievements, deeply favored by his father.

He was the only prince among all the emperor's sons to hold two titles, wielding both the "Anxi" and "Qin Prince" seals, tasked with guarding the regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, and Tibet.

"The edict was officially promulgated to the world yesterday; it is a settled matter."

Mingguang's tone was indifferent, though his expression shifted with surprise when he caught sight of "Minghe," the guise assumed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Surprised I'm not dead?

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Why is the Qin Prince Glazed Seal so important?"

"The Maitreya Descends Sutra?"

Mingguang raised an eyebrow as he looked at the scripture in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, recognizing the cultivation technique he had switched to.

Master Mingguang then turned his gaze toward Minghui: "You truly know how to squeeze every bit of value out of things, Senior Brother."

Another trap, is it?

Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer surprised.

He had completely resigned himself to this godforsaken world.

Hah! You wretch! Don't even think about shaking my Dao heart again!

Since the secret history is out! I shall not rest until I master it!

Minghui remained silent at these words, while Mingguang, seemingly intent on ruining his plans, wore a mocking smile: "It is a fine scripture, indeed, but I fear it will take a full sixty-year cycle before there is any chance of attaining fruition."

Zhu Yuanzhang maintained his virtuous habit of silence.

He had realized that in front of these century-old schemers, the more he spoke, the more he erred, and the more flaws he revealed.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent, Mingguang did not lose interest in the man who should have been dead ten times over; instead, his interest seemed to grow.

"The Glazed Seal is the seal of the Glazed Dragon. While the Glazed Dragon is a hornless dragon—not a true dragon—it remains one of the greatest omens in history."

"The Qin Prince Glazed Seal is one of the few titles held by a vassal with the potential to contend for the throne. By stripping the Prince of Anxi of his Qin Prince seal, His Majesty has effectively severed his path to the throne."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

He continued to play the part of the cold, detached observer.

But in his heart, he silently committed this knowledge to memory.

"I have always found it unbearable to watch the living suffer in this temple, or to see petty scoundrels mislead disciples and ruin their paths in the Buddha's own sanctuary. Therefore, I shall take this opportunity to bestow upon you a stroke of fate."

As Master Mingguang spoke, the candle in his hand burned ever brighter.

A golden light rose from behind Zhu Yuanzhang. He turned to look and saw yet another ancient Buddha manifesting its true form, breaking through the dim light of the Mahavira Hall.

Because the radiance of the Buddha statue was too intense, Zhu Yuanzhang could not clearly see the true face of the deity within the light.

He could only see a string of characters written in the Slender Gold script, invented by Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song, upon the lotus throne beneath the Buddha.

"Dingguang Buddha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang recited the identity of the Buddha.

Clearly, this was the source of the lineage of Master Mingguang.

Dingguang Buddha, also known as the "Lamp-Lighting Buddha" or "Light-Radiating Tathagata," known in Sanskrit as "Dipankara."

Its faith rose during the two Song dynasties, receiving five consecutive imperial edicts of canonization over two hundred years.

It was granted the title "Dingguang, the Round-Responding, Universally Merciful, All-Holy Buddha."

It was revered by the high-ranking aristocratic families of the two Song dynasties, such as literati like Su Shi and Huang Tingjian, and its faith flourished for a time.

But this was not the most important thing.

The most important thing was this.

"The Dingguang Buddha actually has a prototype."

"The Dingguang Buddha in history... to be precise, was not a Buddha... but a man."

"His name was Zheng Ziyan. His family served as officials throughout the Tang Dynasty. At eleven, he became a monk at Jianxing Temple, studying under Master Qiyuan..."

Looking at the Buddha before him, bathed in golden divine light with his true face obscured.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a chill run through his entire body.

At first, he had only assumed that the gods and Buddhas of this world were some kind of existence that transcended humanity.

Humans could utilize their power, but they themselves likely had no close connection to the mortal world.

But now it seemed, regardless of what the origins of this Dingguang Buddha truly were.

He was certainly not one of those "gods and Buddhas" from Cthulhu-esque myths, who knew nothing of life or death and remained oblivious to the affairs of the human world.

Zhu Yuanzhang calmed his heart.

No matter what the gods and Buddhas of this world actually were.

They were still too far removed from his current reality.

He could feel that as he watched the figure of Mingguang, two gazes were fixed upon him from behind, not blinking for even a second.

One was from the mummified Minghui, who had not risen from his lotus throne since Zhu Yuanzhang entered the temple.

The other was from Mingguang, whose expression was calm, yet his eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Clearly, both sides were waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's choice.

Whether to continue practicing the Maitreya Descent Sutra.

Or to turn and embrace the arms of the Dingguang Buddha.

On the surface, Minghui's strength is clearly superior.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought back to the scene before the fate-reading, where Mingguang could not even step into the Mahavira Hall.

But... what does that have to do with me?

Zhu Yuanzhang reached out and grabbed the Dingguang Demon-Subduing Scroll from the lotus throne of the Dingguang Buddha.

If I die this time, I'll just restart next time.

But whenever there's a chance, I must get the skill book!

The moment Zhu Yuanzhang's hand touched the Dingguang Demon-Subduing Scroll.

The two gazes behind him vanished instantly.

One of those gazes turned icy cold just before it disappeared.

It clearly came from the monk Minghui, whom Zhu Yuanzhang had resolutely abandoned.

"The night is deep. Benefactors, please move to the meditation quarters in the back mountain. The monks have already prepared vegetarian meals and hot water. Tomorrow morning, the monks of the temple will open an altar in the Mahavira Hall to pray for blessings for our Great Yuan."

Minghui's voice came from behind.

But unlike Mingguang, the monk Minghui did not offer any warnings about "being wary of the Dingguang Buddha's orthodoxy."

Almost the instant Minghui's voice rose, a cold, bone-chilling gust of sinister wind swept in from the main entrance. The Buddha light of the Dingguang Buddha flickered a few times in the wind before dimming once more, becoming blurred and indistinct.

Zhu Yuanzhang clutched the Dingguang Demon-Subduing Scroll tightly in his hand.

But to his surprise.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up in astonishment; the radiance of the Dingguang Buddha was gone, leaving only a blurred shadow of a Buddha under the dim, yellow light.

He was still alive; Minghui had not killed him.

"Why?"

"Could it be because of Mingguang? No, he is injured and can no longer suppress the hundred Buddhas in the temple."

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly understood the current situation.

He followed Yang Lianzhenjia and the monk Mingguang closely as they walked out of the Mahavira Hall together.

In an instant, a sense of joy welled up in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, as if the heavens themselves were celebrating his success.

On the system panel, the status [Person Facing Death] vanished.

Only [Ill-Fated] remained.

He had passed!

Zhu Yuanzhang watched the black, flowing ink characters flash before his eyes, his heart filled with joy.

[Mission Accomplished: Survive the Night]

[Reward: Permanently Lock One Skill]