Subduing Demons While Preaching the Dharma

Qiu Yan remained calm and replied telepathically, "The calamity you spoke of, is it the propagation of the Buddhist Sect?"

The voice then said, "Although Buddhist Sect has some unorthodox practices, they are merely minor ailments. The calamity I speak of does not belong to this sect."

"A minor ailment?" Upon hearing the answer, Qiu Yan was moved. He knew that when he fought that monk, he had to use his true form. This was because the will that descended from the Void was too powerful. Even though it was just a projection and could not unleash its true strength, it was still terrifying. This showed the extent of the Buddhist Sect's power.

Such Buddhist Sect, in that voice's words, was merely a minor ailment, which made Qiu Yan wary.

"I know you have doubts in your heart, and you still have lingering fears about that descending Buddha," the owner of the voice guessed Qiu Yan's thoughts and chuckled, "You are overthinking it. That descending Buddha also appeared deep in the Five Marshes, causing quite a stir, but I also discovered some clues."

She suddenly stopped talking at this point, as if to whet Qiu Yan's Qiu Yan and wait for him to ask before slowly revealing the rest, thus taking the initiative.

However, Qiu Yan had already made up his mind and grasped his thoughts. Without hesitation, he severed the connection with the gentle voice. Then, he looked down with his Divine Eye, sweeping over Fenglin Stockade. Divine power surged from his mouth, conveying a grand will to appease the villagers.

The villagers were naturally very excited, and the Votive Thoughts rising from them grew even stronger.

Then, Qiu Yan reached out and grabbed the monk's withered body, which then turned into light and merged into the clay sculpture, disappearing without a trace.

After all, they are deities. If they float in the air and remain motionless for a long time, it will inevitably cause believers to have unnecessary thoughts. After Qiu Yan left, the village remained quiet, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

After a long while, there were sounds, but they were mostly chanting the names of deities. Tonight, the villagers couldn't even sleep peacefully. A few days later, they all invited statues of the gods into their houses and worshipped them morning and evening. This also changed the taste of the dishes in their homes, which caused another round of amazement. But that's a story for later.

Meanwhile, Qiu Yan merged with the divine statue, used the Domain of Law to leave, and returned to Stove Mountain in the blink of an eye, sitting directly on the rock chair at the top of the mountain. He closed his eyes and remained silent.

After a long while, a Seven-Colored Divine Sense finally arrived, carrying a Divine Sense voice. "Your behavior is truly impolite. We were talking. Why did you suddenly leave?" The words were gentle, like a young girl's coquettish reproach, and wherever the voice reached, Zhang Bo angry face could be conjured in one's mind.

But Qiu Yan remained unmoved, calmly transmitting his thoughts. "You came to me not because I begged you. You've said so much, nothing more than to drag me into this mess and make me share the burden of your misfortune. Every persuader starts by exaggerating the trivial and making alarmist claims, but your deliberate mystification hardly shows sincerity. If you're truly interested, you might as well explain things clearly."

"I know you're just putting on an act; you really want to know the truth about the Buddhist Sect," the voice replied, seemingly seeing through Qiu Yan's thoughts. But then it changed its tone, "However, I am sincere this time, so it's alright to tell you the truth."

The two were exchanging words, seemingly simple, but actually quite profound. If one of them were to lose the initiative in the conversation, and if there were any opportunities to connect in the future, they would inevitably be led by the nose by the other.

Qiu Yan had already pondered the arrival of this unknown deity on his return journey.

This god is related to the Marshfolk. Ever since their last encounter, Qiu Yan has speculated that this Marshfolk god might be imprisoned by some kind of force.

Not only this god, but in Qiu Yan's view, the Five Marshes region itself is very strange. Despite the existence of gods, it remains chaotic, and even the changes in sacrificial rites between tribes are not subject to much restraint. At most, Ancestral Spirits can only intervene instinctively through blood ties.

The gods do not have much control over this land.

This time, the unknown deity reappeared, and her words were filled with calamity. She also proposed to join forces, saying that Qiu Yan and she were on the same side. On the surface, this seemed abrupt, but Qiu Yan, combining what she knew with the fact that the Divine Path of Jiannan Circuit was inactive, guessed that the other party was probably not exaggerating.

The voice chuckled softly, and the seven-colored light condensed, turning into a shimmering ball.

"All the things I know about the Buddhist Sect are contained within this thought. I just don't know if you have the courage to take them?"

Qiu Yan glanced at it, raised his hand, and grabbed the ball of Divine Sense. He squeezed it tightly, shattering the Divine Sense, and the information within flowed out, rushing towards him.

Buddha... True Words... Refuge... Empowerment... Instant Buddhahood...

The content, though not enormous, is extremely complex enough to overwhelm an ordinary person's mind, but for the gods, it can be calmed with a mere change of mind.

Contrary to Qiu Yan's expectations, the information did not involve the doctrines or teachings of Buddhism in this world. At most, it mentioned that this religion came from Zhutuolan in the west and had multiple branches, with only one branch entering Five Marshes.

In addition, this Divine Sense detailed some of the Divine Ability of the Buddhist Sect, which also made Qiu Yan understand why the unknown deity said that the spread of the Buddhist Sect in the Five Marshes was just a minor ailment.

It turns out that, like that monk, summoning the will of the Void to Will Descent and condense a golden giant, which they called "Buddha," was not a simple matter; in fact, it was extremely difficult.

In fact, this branch of the Buddhist Sect that spread in the Five Marshes has many rules. The most important one is that the transmission must be done through initiation. The process is complicated and tedious, requiring the setting up of an altar, offerings, and chanting of True Words. Most importantly, there must be a teacher, who is called "Acharya" and the one who receives the transmission is called "Lama".

Lamas with lineages are the backbone of Marshland Buddhism. They are not only well-versed in Buddhist teachings but also highly accomplished in their practice. They are pioneers in spreading Buddhism and expanding the Buddhist Sect. In addition, the key to being a lama is that he or she can collect "True Words".

The term "True Words" has its own Buddhist Sect interpretation, but it is not specifically described in this Divine Sense. Instead, it is analyzed from the Subordinate Deity. In the eyes of that unknown deity, this "True Words" is the Buddhist incense Votive Thoughts, which arise from the enlightenment of living beings and can also be extracted from the soul. It is the foundation of Buddhist Divine Ability.

Normally, when lamas use their supernatural Divine Ability, they need to consume True Words to unleash power far beyond their own level. The method of invoking the Void Will and Instant Buddhahood also requires the consumption of True Words, and in huge quantities, often until they are completely exhausted.

This Instant Buddhahood is the trump card of Marshland Buddhism. Lamas can fight against ordinary opponents with True Words, but when facing deities, they need to use this method to invoke the Void Will and summon the Buddha.

However, this method has many limitations. Not only does it consume Qi and Blood and essence, but it also shortens lifespan. In addition, the golden Buddha formed by the summoned Void thoughts is limited by the lama's own Buddhist teachings and requires the lama's own soul as nourishment.

The longer the golden Buddha lasts, the more the summoner is overdrawn. It not only depletes their vital Qi and Blood, but also their soul, life, willpower, and even their wisdom!

Of course, it will also exhaust all the "True Words" that you've painstakingly accumulated!

This is not surprising. After the light goes out, the Marshfolk will vanish into thin air, while the lama monk will be shriveled up. If it weren't for his special Cultivation Method, he probably wouldn't even have left a corpse.

Now, Qiu Yan brought the corpse, and after examining it, he found that it was an empty shell, like a mummy, but there were still strange things in the bones.

Speaking of which, the spread of the Buddhist Sect in this Marshlands is quite peculiar. When it spreads to a tribe, lamas will preach and teach Buddhism, inspiring the Buddha-Nature of the tribe members. Therefore, the speed of expansion is limited. Similarly, once a tribe is infected, it will not be long before everyone in the tribe will change. From behavior to life and even cognition, everything will be different from before.

"From the perspective of the speed of spread, it is indeed not a great threat. However, those lamas, who preach the Dharma while exorcising demons, proceed Demon Subduing by step and steadily, and who lead by example, establish a faith that is not easy to shake. In comparison, my ritual propagation is much simpler, and since I do everything myself, it has its limitations."

Thinking of this, several figures flashed through Qiu Yan's mind, including the Marshfolk Prince Geluolan and Yuan Shoufang of Fenglin Stockade.

"I wonder what the difference is between these believers?"

At this moment, Qiu Yan's heart stirred, and the Humanistic Fire Seed ignited, sending a small portion of the Stove Fire to extinguish the foreign Divine Sense.

The message from the unknown deity, while detailing the Buddhist Sect in the Marshlands, also contained a hidden trick that Qiu Yan saw through.

Having eliminated this potential threat, Qiu Yan acted as if nothing had happened, and asked telepathically, "Is the calamity you mentioned earlier related to the Circuit City God of Jiannan Circuit?"

Upon hearing this, the soft, alluring voice did not answer immediately. After a moment, it said, "Did you guess, or did you already know?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan felt reassured, knowing that his guess was correct.

The Circuit City God of Jiannan Circuit is none other than Lü Liang. He has been in heaven for a long time and has not returned. But this is relative to the concept of time of mortals. For gods, a few months or years are but a moment in the long years. A hundred years in a dream, the vicissitudes of life, are all commonplace.

"If Lü Liang returns, my carefree days Divine Spirit Body will be over. The most urgent task is to convert all my accumulated power into strength."

With this thought in mind, Qiu Yan then transmitted his thoughts again. "Since you are willing to join forces, you might as well explain your origins first, and the division of believers should also be made clear."

The two deities communicated through telepathy, and after several secret struggles, Qiu Yan has now gained the upper hand in the conversation.

The soft, alluring voice fell silent again, and after about two or three breaths, it spoke, "You will soon know my identity. When the time comes, it will be impossible to hide it. But I cannot reveal it now, not because I am being deliberately mysterious, but Karma it concerns cause and effect. As you can guess, we gods of the Five Marshes face many inconveniences in our actions. A single Divine Name involves many things, as well as the division of believers..."

"You should have already noticed that some people in this world don't believe in ghosts and gods at all, while others have no reverence for them and even try to deceive and manipulate them, and still others worship gods when they see them and seek help from ghosts when they encounter them..."

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