Civilisation

"You traitors to humanity! You were born human, yet you betrayed humanity and regarded yourselves as superior beings!"

A voice rippled through these consciousnesses. It contained power that touched the very foundation of one's awareness. If someone's will was flawed, this power would invade the cracks in their mind, pry open the guilt within their heart, and ultimately infect their entire soul.

To turn them into his believers or Avatars, for Zhong Sangtan, meant turning them into one of his personalities.

"Those bald monks' methods... They've all gone extinct. I never thought someone here would still be using them," one Player's consciousness said calmly.

Buddhism had been a form of cultivation in the previous era. It advocated that everyone possessed Buddha-nature within their hearts and could become a Buddha. They discovered the power within the human heart, guiding it to a higher level and freeing it from humanity's various inherent flaws.

They subdued all kinds of monsters, calling them the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons. They shaped benevolent thoughts into Buddhas. In those days, people even believed that beneath the Buddha's protection, the human world would become a pure land.

Then Buddhism perished. Those who cultivated Buddhist teachings had spiritual perception that was too elevated. Though Buddhist teachings allowed them to maintain their hearts and restrain—or even subdue—various Mythical Creatures, when they faced beings beyond the comprehension of humans and even Buddhas, they went completely mad, their thoughts transforming into demons.

The so-called Buddha was merely one path by which humanity sought to transcend itself—a path that had failed.

Of course, although that path had failed, there was still much worth learning from it. In this era, humanity excavated ancient ruins and obtained vast amounts of research material. Zhong Sangtan's ability was personality assimilation.

Anyone's soul could be assimilated by