Xu Jin ignored Yuan Kong's slightly resentful expression and raised his gaze toward the faceless Buddha statue.
This investigation into the Buddhist Sect was a joint operation between the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect and the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
It had to be said that with Chu Xingchen serving as the intermediary and strengthening the connection between them, the two sects had, for the first time, set aside their grievances to work together on a mission requiring this level of secrecy.
This also showed that Chu Xingchen's recognition wasn't limited to the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect—he was equally acknowledged by the Heavenly Derivation Sect. It wasn't just Bai Xuanling's personal approval; at the very least, the Heavenly Derivation Sect's Sect Master Lu Xuan also recognized him.
Otherwise, based on Bai Xuanling alone, she probably couldn't have mobilized the Heavenly Derivation Sect to such an extent.
But even with the two factions and their eighteen Immortal Sects united, investigating the Buddhist Sect without being caught was no easy feat.
At the very least, this operation had been planned for a long time.
"This faceless Buddha statue is likely also an Ephemeral Buddha Body. However, a faceless Buddha body doesn't belong to any single Buddha—which means anyone can use it."
Xu Jin turned to look at Yuan Kong. "Though your cultivation is lowly, you are still a Child of Buddha."
"As long as you occupy this Ephemeral Buddha Body, no other Buddha can displace you."
Yuan Kong spread his hands. "And how do I occupy this Ephemeral Buddha Body?"
Xu Jin looked at Yuan Kong's innocent expression, momentarily unsure whether this man was being sarcastic. Was something this simple really worth asking?
Still, he answered. "Naturally, by sending your divine consciousness out of your body and merging it into this Buddha statue."
Yuan Kong's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled the words of a certain senior disciple:
"Out of the body again?! And you claim you're not Chu Xingchen!"
"Hm? Did Chu Xingchen also have you send your divine consciousness out of your body?"
Yuan Kong looked up at Xu Jin's curious gaze, then answered quietly:
"His head disciple said so."
Fortunately, the present Yuan Kong was no longer the Qi Refining Yuan Kong of the past. With Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could manage a brief out-of-body divine consciousness.
And this out-of-body experience wasn't a one-way trip, either.
But recalling certain events, Yuan Kong still said with a completely serious expression:
"I'll do it myself. You don't need to help."
Xu Jin saw the lingering fear in Yuan Kong's expression and, for some reason... he had a pretty good guess about what Chu Xingchen had done back then.
"I'm not him. Don't worry," Xu Jin replied.
Yuan Kong breathed a small sigh of relief, stepped forward, and sat down on the meditation cushion beneath the faceless Buddha statue. He closed his eyes.
His divine consciousness extended outward, approaching the faceless Buddha statue.
There was no imagined difficulty in making contact, nor any sense of resistance.
Yuan Kong's divine consciousness easily penetrated the faceless Buddha statue. What his divine consciousness saw next was a boundless world, like an ocean of willpower.
Impure, murky willpower formed this realm.
The deeper he went, the denser the willpower became, nearly solid.
But the willpower here did not obstruct Yuan Kong. On the contrary, it seemed to follow him. With a mere raise of his hand, the vast willpower nearly bowed, obeying his command.
Yuan Kong stepped forward, and the willpower around him churned like a sea. In what seemed like an instant, it parted to create a path for him.
The next moment, that willpower seemed to assist him, shrinking the distance beneath his feet—shrinking the earth to inches. A single step covered half the distance.
Like an eager servant, it rose to help without being prompted—highly proactive yet utterly obedient.
At the center of the willpower was a lotus platform formed from willpower itself. It was empty, but Yuan Kong roughly understood how to operate this faceless Buddha statue.
Yuan Kong took another step and arrived before the lotus platform.
——————
Inside the hall.
Xu Jin's spirit treasure longsword was already in his hand. He stood alone behind Yuan Kong, his gaze alert, his divine consciousness extended but contained within the Great Hero Treasure Hall.
If Yuan Kong failed his attempt, he would be responsible for executing the original plan.
Time trickled by. Xu Jin estimated the elapsed time.
Suddenly, Xu Jin raised his head, his gaze fixed on the faceless Great Buddha.
The Great Buddha's head slowly lowered, then twisted its body slightly. A deep, resonant voice came from its direction.
"What is this... I can't see anything, I can only use divine consciousness to perceive."
Hearing this, Xu Jin knew Yuan Kong had succeeded. He quickly spoke:
"Stop using divine consciousness to perceive useless things. Go see what's beneath the Great Buddha—follow those chains downward."
The faceless Great Buddha paused at his words, then fell silent.
But only a moment later, Xu Jin suddenly turned around, his gaze fixed beyond the Great Hero Treasure Hall.
In the night, a bald young monk wearing ordinary monastic robes and draped in the simplest kasaya looked at Xu Jin with a gentle smile.
Golden light flickered repeatedly through the young monk's eyes. He pressed his palms together and spoke in a low voice that was both a question and a challenge:
"May I ask, benefactor, why do you visit in the dead of night without knocking?"
Xu Jin's expression was solemn. However, he wasn't particularly surprised by the sudden arrival of a monk whose cultivation was anything but low—he'd had predictions and contingency plans from the start.
What was strange was that this monk ignored the anomaly of the faceless Great Buddha behind him, asking only why he hadn't knocked...
Was he stalling for time too?
"Because knocking wouldn't get me in," Xu Jin shot back without courtesy.
The young monk looked puzzled. "How do you know you can't get in if you haven't tried knocking?"
Xu Jin's gaze sharpened, and a cold gleam flickered from the spirit treasure longsword in his hand:
"No need to play dumb. If I had knocked, I wouldn't have been able to come in even if I wanted to."
The young monk's gaze drifted past Xu Jin to the faceless Great Buddha, whose head was bowed as if in contemplation. The gentle smile never left his face:
"Does the benefactor wish to know what lies beneath the Great Buddha?"
Xu Jin didn't answer. He simply stepped forward, his crushing presence bearing down on the young monk—expressing his stance clearly: one more step forward, and you die!
The young monk's figure rose slightly into the air. His eyes half-closed, he looked down at Xu Jin like a Buddha in a temple:
"I can tell the benefactor that beneath the Buddha lies the Buddha Heart."
A scornful smile tugged at Xu Jin's lips.
"A heart of greed? Or a selfish heart that sacrifices others for its own sake?"
"A righteous and open Buddha Heart!"
The young monk's voice rang like a great bell. Golden Buddhist light surged with his thunderous shout, shaking across the entire Righteous Sound Dharma Temple.
He looked at Xu Jin as golden light gradually wound around his kasaya. In mere moments, a golden Buddha-robe and kasaya forged from Buddhist power draped over his body. He raised his arm slightly, revealing a golden forearm, and formed a Buddhist seal with a reverse hand motion.
The young monk seemed utterly transformed, instantly exuding an overwhelming sense of supremacy. His eyes had become purely golden, seemingly devoid of emotion, staring directly at Xu Jin.
"Benefactor, what you see may not be the truth. You must understand cause and effect before you can distinguish true from false."
Xu Jin sneered, and the longsword in his hand flew forth without hesitation.
Countless sword lights flashed in an instant, enveloping the entire Righteous Sound Dharma Temple and the young monk.
"If it's true, why dare you not reveal it to the world?" Xu Jin's voice carried a hint of fury.
"How many years has the world been at peace? You wish to sit upon the golden lotus, and you'd have the masses pay with their lives?"
"A righteous and open Buddha Heart? Today I'll see just how righteous and open your Buddha Heart truly is!"
[
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