The World-Honored One
Your Highness----
The light in his eyes faded, Qi Yun paused slightly, his voice indifferent yet carrying an undeniable penetrating force. "Which True Lord is behind you?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince of Southern Yin fell silent instantly.
A moment later, the Crown Prince's voice rang out again, his tone now calm and composed, carrying a hint of relieved ease. "Fellow Daoist—truly astute and insightful."
He didn't directly answer "which True Lord," but his words and his frank attitude revealed everything!
Default!
Behind him, indeed, lies the figure of the True Lord!
As expected, the depth of this pool far exceeded what Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could stir up.
These Arhat, who appear to be "participants," are merely pawns in the grand game played by the True Lord and Bodhisattvas, with heaven and earth as the chessboard and all living beings as the pieces—pawns against their will!
However, before Qi Yun could delve deeper into the identity and specific schemes of the True Lord behind the scenes, another unexpected change occurred!
The scroll of the World-Honored One's Handwritten Scripture, suspended in the Buddha's light within the palm of the Seven-Colored Bodhisattva and constantly "unfolding," emitted boundless golden light that was no longer confined to the square in front of the Little Thunderclap Temple, or even to the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm!
The light, as if possessing life and will, irresistibly spread and permeated in all directions!
It pierced through the layers of Buddhist light that enveloped Spirit Mountain;
It crossed the mountains and rivers of the Southern Yin Buddha Kingdom;
Ignoring the barriers of distance and space, it transformed the powerful Daoist aura of "I am the only one" and "All Minds as One" contained within it into invisible ripples, radiating to the wider world of the Xuanhuang Home Realm in an inconceivable way!
Within the Southern Yin Buddha Kingdom, countless people who were devoutly worshipping and chanting Buddhist mantras suddenly felt a sense of disorientation. They seemed to hear a grand and majestic chanting in their ears, and involuntarily felt a greater urge to concentrate and become more absorbed.
Further afield, in other regions of the Central Plains, some cultivators with keen spiritual senses, regardless of whether they were righteous or demonic, all felt something and looked towards the Southern Region with surprise and uncertainty, as if some indescribable "will" was awakening and spreading.
Even overseas----
As this spreading Daoist energy reached more and more living beings, the scroll of the World-Honored One's Handwritten Scripture itself underwent a heart-stopping change!
It is no longer just a "dead" scripture, but rather—it has come alive!
In the the Unseen, an indescribable aura, more ancient, more vast, and more... self-centered than the pressure of a Bodhisattva, began to emanate from the core of the handwritten inscription, wisp by wisp!
It was as if a figure was about to step out from within!
"He's waking up!"
The Crown Prince of Southern Yin's voice transmission suddenly became urgent, filled with an unprecedented solemnity!
"Guard your mind!"
Before the words had even finished -
"Buzz----!!!"
A deep, resonant sound, seemingly emanating from the very end of time and space, yet clearly echoing in every corner of the present world, reaching the deepest recesses of the Divine Soul of all beings, suddenly erupted!
The scroll of the World-Honored One's Handwritten Scripture suddenly trembled!
The next moment!
The boundless golden light, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, frantically collapsed and condensed inward!
Upon the handwritten inscription, all the strange phenomena and Sanskrit disappeared, transforming into the purest source!
The point of light suddenly expanded!
A figure, emerging from the source of the light, slowly materialized!
It was as if they had always been sitting there.
Only now am I allowed to "see"!
He was dressed in the simplest white monk's robe and was barefoot.
Seated cross-legged on a twelve-petaled golden lotus platform, the platform slowly rotates, each petal seemingly carrying a miniature Buddhist Pure Land, exuding an aura of eternity, perfection, and immortality.
Its face was shrouded in a soft yet impenetrable halo, making it indistinct, only revealing a sense of encompassing the past and the future.
The tranquility and majesty that transcend all laws and heavens are naturally revealed.
His left hand rested naturally on his knee, palm facing upward, as if supporting something invisible.
Raise your right hand, with your index finger pointing to the sky and your thumb and middle finger interlocked, forming an ancient hand seal that seems simple yet can stabilize the universe and distinguish between purity Clarity and Turbidity.
The moment the figure completely solidified—
He slightly raised his head, and the "gaze" shrouded in the halo pierced through Spirit Mountain, through Xuanhuang, and was cast into the boundless void and the depths of the Principle.
With a slight parting of the lips, a voice, carrying an unparalleled will to dominate the present and pervade all, resounded clearly and unquestionably throughout the Xuanhuang Home Realm, reaching the minds and perceptions of all living beings, regardless of their cultivation level, race, or location: "Above and below the heavens—"
"I am the only one who matters!"
"Boom-!!!!!"
An indescribable, vast Buddha light, centered on this figure, erupted a second time, a thousand times stronger, purer, and more domineering than before!
This Buddha's light is not the purest, most intense, or most exclusive gold!
Where the light reaches:
Space has become completely solidified, and the flow of time has become strangely uniform!
All Principle that are not in accordance with the Buddha's teachings or recognized by the World-Honored One are rejected, suppressed, or even forcibly distorted!
The entire Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, no, the entire sky above the Southern Yin Buddha Kingdom, was enveloped by this domineering golden light, making it appear as if it were cast from pure gold!
The light continued to spread outward, attempting to encompass the vast expanse of the Xuanhuang world into this "only me" domain!
In the Xuanhuang Home Realm, countless beings, whether or not they understood the meaning of these eight characters, were shaken to their core in that instant, and in a daze, they seemed to "see" a majestic figure sitting cross-legged on a golden lotus, pointing to the sky and touching the earth.
I felt that absolute authority that was all-powerful and beyond question!
The weak prostrated themselves on the ground, their minds blank; even the strong wavered, filled with utter horror!
Qi Yun lowered his head, pushing the power of his [Primordial True Body] and [Primordial Spirit] to their limits, like a sailor clinging tightly to a rock in a storm, resisting the omnipresent impact of the Dao!
On the ground beneath their feet, paved with seven treasures and now bathed in pure gold light, was clearly reflected the supreme figure seated cross-legged on a twelve-petaled golden lotus, pointing to the heavens and touching the earth!
The lingering resonance emanating from the reflection on the ground alone caused his Purple Mansion to tremble.
"This is—"
"World-Honored One?!"
The Eight-Character Mantra, like the Daoist cry that cleaves the heavens and earth, carries with it an unparalleled will to dominate the present world and be the only one worthy of respect, sweeping across the Xuanhuang and shaking all spirits.
In the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, before the Little Thunderclap Temple, the majestic figure seated cross-legged on a twelve-petaled golden lotus, pointing to the heavens and touching the earth, has become the sole ruler of this world.
However, just as the World-Honored One Honored One's figure was about to reach the pinnacle of power, "Crack! Boom!"
Above the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, the clouds rolled like a tide, and a blazing white lightning bolt, seemingly about to split the heavens and earth, suddenly flashed by.
In that fleeting moment of light, figures of imposing stature, seemingly in harmony with the Dao, stood majestically atop the clouds, their gazes, heavy as pillars of heaven and earth, encompassing the workings of the universe, gazing down upon this place from afar.
"Crack! Boom!!!"
The lingering echo of the lightning seemed to still faintly reverberate in the void.
The intense white light had completely dissipated.
But those towering figures, standing atop the dark clouds and containing the universe within, did not disappear.
They are still there.
Quietly.
Looking down.
The golden light of Buddha below, exuding an aura of supreme power, and the figure of the World-Honored One seated on the lotus throne, created a silent yet awe-inspiring spectacle that shook the heavens.
Standoff.