Deep-Layer Jingzhou had become increasingly chaotic.
At some point, several terrifying Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons had infiltrated Great Buddha Heaven. Their strength was comparable to that of Bodhisattvas, throwing the entire Buddhist realm into chaos.
Even after the Four Great Bodhisattvas intervened, they could only heavily injure the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons.
As for Small Buddha Heaven, although there were no Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons from the outside world, the existence of Fleshly Tathagata had left everyone in a state of panic.
Jinmen Temple had completely become a place nobody cared about. Through rumors and hearsay among many monks, it had even been thoroughly demonized.
At first, nearby temples still had Buddhas go to Jinmen Temple to investigate the situation.
But several Buddhas in succession suddenly disappeared without a trace. Jinmen Temple seemed to be shrouded in gloom, and no one knew what was happening inside.
The rumors surrounding Fleshly Tathagata became increasingly bizarre. With its mountain-like body of flesh and blood, the reputation of the Mountain Buddha spread throughout Small Buddha Heaven.
Even several attacks by Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons in Great Buddha Heaven were somehow connected to it.
It was said that the monks who failed to escape Jinmen Temple had ultimately been left without even their bones, transformed into food within Fleshly Tathagata's belly.
As for Fleshly Tathagata's appearance, there were countless different accounts.
According to the initial descriptions from Jinmen Temple, Fleshly Tathagata was a monster formed from piled-up flesh and blood. Yet some monks swore that the Mountain Buddha possessed tens of thousands of faces.
The Mountain Buddha seemed capable of devouring the souls of mortals, and would not even spare Buddhas.
However, after more than half a year, the rumors suddenly came to an abrupt end because several Buddhas who had gone to Jinmen Temple and disappeared safely escaped from within.
Mortals had no idea what had happened, and Jinmen Temple became a forbidden land overnight.
Boom, boom, boom...
Heavy footsteps approached from afar. Faint Buddha light seemed to dispel the gloom.
Five Insect Buddhas traveled along the official road toward Jinmen Temple. Although their pace was not fast, every step crossed nearly a thousand meters.
The Insect Buddha leading them had an extremely bizarre appearance. Thousands of arms grew from every part of his body. His appearance seemed neither male nor female, and carried a hint of Zen.
He called himself Thousand-Armed Buddha, and his cultivation had already reached the Heavenly Aberration realm, making him an Arhat.
Even among Arhat Buddhas, Thousand-Armed Buddha could be considered one of the strongest. He was already not far from becoming a Bodhisattva and would be able to break through his bottleneck within fifty years at most.
The four Insect Buddhas following Thousand-Armed Buddha were all ordinary Buddhas of the Yang Spirit realm, with extremely obvious beast-like characteristics.
"Amitabha."
"Venerable Thousand-Armed, do you think the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons in Great Buddha Heaven are real or not?"
The speaker was Monkey-Faced Buddha. It was obvious that the strange creature constituting his body came from a beast-transformation technique. His skin was covered in long black fur, making him resemble Tu Di.
Thousand-Armed Buddha glanced at Monkey-Faced Buddha and said calmly, "Even if Heavenly Demons truly exist in this world, they certainly have no necessary connection with the existence of Jinmen Temple."
The other Insect Buddhas remained silent. With their status, they simply had no access to such secrets.
They had mainly come for the believers. Thousand-Armed Buddha had promised that after investigating Jinmen Temple, he would reward them with five thousand strong young monks if the matter was successfully resolved.
Thousand-Armed Buddha's expression remained calm. He pressed his palms together and silently recited several passages of scripture. Then he quickened his pace and headed toward Jinmen Temple.
If one observed carefully, one could discover that when he mentioned Fleshly Tathagata, his eyes revealed the slightest ripple of emotion.
Monkey-Faced Buddha took a deep breath and swept his gaze across the bloodstained official road. There were traces of numerous corpses left scattered around.
After tens of thousands of monks had fled Jinmen Temple, the Insect Buddhas stationed at the surrounding temples had fought openly and covertly over the population, resulting in many additional casualties.
The irony was that although Fleshly Tathagata's evil reputation had spread far and wide, not a single monk had died because of it.
Monkey-Faced Buddha could not understand it at all. If the Mountain Buddha was the source of the calamity, why was Thousand-Armed Buddha's attitude so ambiguous?
"Venerable Thousand-Armed, we're almost there."
Lion-Body Buddha reminded him softly, greed appearing involuntarily in the depths of his eyes.
He noticed marks where the nearby trees had been cut down, indicating that a considerable number of monks might be living in the mountains.
They had probably accidentally wandered deep into the mountains while fleeing.
To Thousand-Armed Buddha, who was in the Heavenly Aberration realm, tens of thousands of people were barely worth mentioning. Yet he did not want to miss the benefits that were right within reach.
Lion-Body Buddha twitched his nose, trying to smell the scent of living people.
Instead, he discovered that the survivors seemed to be living inside Jinmen Temple itself. It did not look nearly as terrifying as the rumors described.
Lion-Body Buddha discreetly glanced toward Thousand-Armed Buddha in the distance. The latter should have noticed the anomaly as well, yet he showed no reaction whatsoever.
Lion-Body Buddha could not help feeling uneasy, but he still walked toward Jinmen Temple.
As the Insect Buddhas approached Jinmen Temple, many unusual details emerged from the environment, making their scalps prickle with fear.
Temples built by Buddhas were constructed from glazed stone. Even after thousands of years, they would not undergo the slightest change.
Yet no one knew what Jinmen Temple had experienced. It was actually covered in thick moss.
The smell of decay rushed toward them, mixed with a dense stench of blood and rot, as if they were heading straight toward hell on earth.
Monkey-Faced Buddha could not help releasing some Buddha Qi, but Thousand-Armed Buddha immediately stopped him.
"Do not make noise when entering Jinmen Temple. It is best to be cautious about everything."
The other Insect Buddhas looked at Thousand-Armed Buddha warily. His attitude had been strange from beginning to end.
Thousand-Armed Buddha suppressed the excitement in his voice. He closed his eyes and said solemnly, "Amitabha. Junior Brothers, do not alert the snake."
He chose to walk at the front, dispelling some of Monkey-Faced Buddha's doubts.
Before long, the Insect Buddhas had entered the territory of Jinmen Temple. Thousand-Armed Buddha became even more cautious, lowering his head slightly.
Monkey-Faced Buddha swallowed hard and could not help feeling the urge to retreat.
Thousand-Armed Buddha's behavior looked far too much like that of a believer coming to worship. It was as though what they were about to face was Fude Tathagata.
"Something is wrong..."
Lion-Body Buddha muttered before signaling Monkey-Faced Buddha to look toward the street.
The entire architectural complex of Jinmen Temple had already been leveled, leaving only vast stretches of streets. Prison cells were scattered across the open ground.
"What the hell?!"
Thorn Buddha, whose body was composed of vegetation, let out an incredulous cry. His legs began trembling uncontrollably.
Inside the cages were countless emaciated Buddhas.
All the Buddha Qi within their bodies had been completely drained. Their flesh had withered away, while their minds endlessly repeated bizarre scriptures.
Even when the Insect Buddhas arrived, they did not raise their eyes to look. They completely ignored the sudden appearance of several strangers.
What terrified Monkey-Faced Buddha was that, judging by the number of prisoners, there were at least seven or eight thousand Buddhas being held captive. This was simply unheard of.
What exactly was the Mountain Buddha? Even Great Buddha Heaven was probably nothing more than this, right?
The situation was simply bizarre beyond comprehension. There were clearly no believers anywhere in the city, yet they could still sense the Buddha Qi of the imprisoned Insect Buddhas recovering.
If not for the crude environment and the complete absence of Buddha Qi's protection, it could almost be called Great Buddha Heaven.
One had to know that only Fude Tathagata could emit Buddha Qi to nourish the Buddhas beneath him without the presence of believers.
Jinmen Temple was far too strange. It was as though they had arrived at the boundary between hell and the Buddhist realm, where everything was filled with things that overturned their understanding.
Yet Thousand-Armed Buddha showed no surprise at all, as though he had long since become accustomed to it.
Monkey-Faced Buddha could not help asking, "Venerable Thousand-Armed, have you been to Jinmen Temple before?"
A smile appeared on Thousand-Armed Buddha's face. He continued walking forward without stopping. Then the palms covering his entire body suddenly split open, and mouths opened one after another, tongues extending from within.
"I once guarded Jinmen Temple myself. It was all thanks to the radiance of my Buddha, the Tathagata..."
"My Buddha, the Tathagata, enabled me to become an Arhat."
"If you are willing to become Buddhas beneath the true Tathagata, you will have a chance to reach the Arhat realm in the future, and perhaps even become Bodhisattvas."
Thousand-Armed Buddha looked at them threateningly and raised his head.
"The Tathagata in Great Buddha Heaven is a false Tathagata. Once you have seen my Buddha, you should understand that there is only one Tathagata in this world."
Thousand-Armed Buddha... no, Many-Tongued Buddha's face twisted hideously. Then a burst of Buddha Qi erupted.
Countless arms drilled out of the ground. The arms then joined together, actually forming a broad wall that completely surrounded the four Insect Buddhas.
"Not good. We need to scatter and escape."
Monkey-Faced Buddha knew very well that they were no match for Many-Tongued Buddha. He hurriedly signaled the other Buddhas to flee, only to discover that they were standing motionless in stunned disbelief.
Many-Tongued Buddha had already fallen to his knees, devoutly chanting the two words, "Tathagata."
Monkey-Faced Buddha stiffly turned his head. He saw more than a dozen Buddha statues carrying a mountain of flesh as they slowly approached.
An almost tangible pressure surged outward. They were completely unable to move.
"Having seen the Tathagata, why do you not kneel?"
A vast voice rang out. Profound patterns appeared across the surface of Fleshly Tathagata, while bronze-gold Buddha Qi spread throughout the entire city.
Many-Tongued Buddha praised Fleshly Tathagata by name, calling it the "Lingshan Tathagata."
The thousands of Insect Buddhas imprisoned within Jinmen Temple opened their eyes one after another. They screamed frantically, praising the Lingshan Tathagata.
They were merely at the Yang Spirit realm. How could they withstand the residual might of the Heavenly Aberration realm?
Even though Fleshly Tathagata had no means of attacking at all, its Buddha Qi alone could suppress those in the Yang Spirit realm, easily imprisoning them within the cages.
"You did well, Many-Tongued Buddha."
"Tathagata, I will surely make even more Buddhas bow beneath you..."
Fleshly Tathagata began to writhe. A statue identical to Many-Tongued Buddha emerged from its body and extended an arm, placing its index finger against Many-Tongued Buddha's brow.
Immediately afterward, Buddha Qi was infused into Many-Tongued Buddha's body, causing his cultivation to rise slightly.
"Thank you, Tathagata. Thank you, Tathagata."
Many-Tongued Buddha did not stay for long either. He still had to seek out more Buddhas for Fleshly Tathagata.
Ren Qing watched Many-Tongued Buddha's departing back. Fleshly Tathagata could control the thoughts of the Insect Buddhas and could even replenish their Buddha Qi.
At present, Fleshly Tathagata was still at the perfected Yang Spirit realm, yet it could create Insect Buddhas of the Heavenly Aberration realm.
Ren Qing had scattered five Insect Buddhas throughout the outside world. They had gradually begun closing the net, and it would not take long before he could completely control Small Buddha Heaven.
He was rather curious about the situation in Great Buddha Heaven.
Lady White Bone and the other Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators had gone all the way into the heart of the Deeper Layer World. Even a remote place like Jinmen Temple could hear the reputation of their Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons. Just what kind of chaos had they caused?
Ren Qing intended to take advantage of Great Buddha Heaven's diverted attention to first conquer Small Buddha Heaven, then use the small to devour the large.
Thinking of this, he could not help looking toward Daoist Zhu, who was hiding inside the Mahavira Hall.
Daoist Zhu was trembling all over.