Both of them ceased their actions, quietly awaiting the Faceless Buddha Statue's answer.
"Beneath it is suppressed... a Buddha."
A deep voice tinged with disbelief rang out from within the Faceless Buddha Statue.
Xu Jin's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this, his expression seemingly incredulous.
The golden light in the young monk's eyes surged upward, as though transforming into flames that had already begun to spill from his gaze.
The Faceless Buddha Statue's visage turned directly toward Xu Jin as it hastily continued:
"But that Buddha is wreathed in blood qi, grotesque and bizarre. Countless chains bind him motionless, and the surging karmic power exists solely to suppress his divine sea and Buddha Kingdom!"
Xu Jin's brow eased, and he immediately called out in a clear voice: "Recall your spiritual consciousness at once."
The young monk said nothing, merely raising his hand slightly. The Nine Dragon Staff that had been hurled forth transformed into a streak of golden rainbow light and returned to his grasp.
The barrier shielding Zhengyin Dharma Temple also dissipated.
Without another word, the young monk gripped the Nine Dragon Staff tightly. Ignoring Xu Jin, whose sword point was aimed directly at him, he raised the staff and smashed it fiercely toward Yuan Kong before the great Buddha.
At this point, further words were useless.
As the young monk brought the Nine Dragon Staff crashing down, several golden dragons carrying the mighty power of Buddhism surged forth, streaking toward Yuan Kong as if threading through space.
Xu Jin was about to provide support. Since Yuan Kong had witnessed everything firsthand, it was only natural to assist him—after all, more detailed intelligence would surely come from Yuan Kong himself.
"There is no need to worry about me."
The voice of the Faceless Great Buddha resonated out. Immediately after, a resplendent Buddha Kingdom materialized behind the great Buddha—but it was not golden Buddhist light. Rather, it was woven from countless threads of karmic power.
The Buddha Kingdom behind the Faceless Great Buddha did not contain serene-eyed Buddhas and compassionate Bodhisattvas either.
Instead, there were Arhats with faces twisted by greed, Bodhisattvas with cunning and eerie expressions, and Buddhas whose smiles hovered between benevolence and treachery, their faces brimming with temptation.
Each wore a different expression, yet every one exuded the air of seduction and deceit.
The Faceless Great Buddha raised its head. Its somewhat faded Buddha hand lifted, and the Arhats from the Buddha Kingdom behind it surged forward, charging toward the incoming golden dragons.
The Arhats, their faces consumed by greed, gazed at the golden dragons with unmistakable delight. One struck with a fist, then immediately bit down, as though devouring a delicacy.
The young monk frowned at this sight. The golden dragons were formless constructs—even if they couldn't prevail, they shouldn't be treated as food.
But he couldn't dwell on it further, because Xu Jin's vast sword light had already arrived before him.
The staff in the young monk's hand burst with dazzling golden light. He made no counterattack, only defended, shouting sternly:
"With merely this level of skill? That Faceless Buddha Statue is no longer being controlled by the Buddha Child at this moment. Your Buddha Child has already fallen into a trap! If you don't deal with the great Buddha first, that Buddha Child will become nourishment in mere moments. Subdue the great Buddha first, lest he escapes!"
Xu Jin's assault did not pause. It was as if all his reservations had vanished. Cold light pierced the heavens without ceasing, each strike more ruthless than the last. Sword light flickered across the entire sky, forcing the young monk into a rather wretched state. Yet Xu Jin's voice remained calm as he replied:
"His escape is a matter for you to resolve. My purpose is solely to determine what he truly is—and what your Buddhist sect intends to do!"
The young monk's gaze sharpened. A phantom Buddha manifested behind him, raising a palm that carried rolling Sanskrit chants, crashing down toward Xu Jin with thunderous force. He answered coldly:
"What does the Buddhist sect intend to do? You've seen it with your own eyes—it is naturally the suppression of an evil entity!"
A thread of azure light streaked through, and the Buddha palm dissolved into shimmering motes.
Xu Jin drew his sword and surged forward. The spirit treasure sword in his hand blazed with renewed light, and in the next instant it descended like a rainbow, smashing the young monk out of the sky and into the ground.
The immense force drove the young monk straight into the earth, carving out a massive crater. The terrifying residual power was absorbed by the ground, sending shockwaves outward like an earthquake.
Xu Jin raised his sword and descended, arriving before the great crater in the blink of an eye. His spiritual consciousness swiftly locked onto the young monk within the billowing dust.
So what if a Mahayana Buddhist cultivator was possessing him?
If Xu Jin couldn't surpass his own master, could he not surpass a second-rate Buddha?
Moreover, the most this Buddha could control was early Body Integration strength. And with a divine descent technique from such a great distance, there were bound to be negative side effects—it was uncertain whether it could even mobilize the full spiritual power of early Body Integration.
At this moment, falling into a disadvantage should never have been Xu Jin's fate.
The situation was strange. Bai Xuanling's side probably needed to start applying pressure too. First, deal with this troublesome monk, then determine exactly what was going on with the Faceless Buddha Statue.
The spirit treasure sword in Xu Jin's hand transformed into rainbow light. A single strike shattered mountain and sundered earth. The overwhelming might blasted the scattered dust completely clean, and he brought his sword crashing down toward the young monk who had just risen to his feet.
"Alas..."
The young monk let out a soft sigh. Time itself seemed to stretch ever so slightly. Golden light swirled in his eyes. His body didn't move, but a golden hand manifested behind him, catching the full brunt of Xu Jin's devastating strike.
BOOM!
Two forces of spiritual power collided, and the aftershock washed outward in all directions.
Xu Jin's expression remained calm, but a sense of unease stirred within him. The golden hand that had appeared from nowhere behind the young monk... brought him a feeling of immense pressure.
The young monk lifted his gaze. "Beneath Zhengyin Dharma Temple is suppressed a Buddha who strayed onto a heretical path. His nature is vicious and evil. He excels at twisting the orthodox Dharma, beguiling and deceiving numerous Arhats and Bodhisattvas. There was even a Buddhist cultivator on the verge of attaining Buddhahood who heeded his words and together descended into the Hell of No Respite. This being has committed countless atrocities, slaughtering innumerable living souls. He was jointly suppressed here by the combined power of our Buddhist sect."
"That Evil Buddha held a lofty position, and after altering the Buddhist Dharma and spreading it widely, he lured many Buddhist cultivators into his heretical doctrines."
"What should have been a place of pure and peaceful cultivation for the Buddhist sect became foul and chaotic in an instant. Fortunately, the various Buddhas discovered the heresy early on. A debate of the Dharma was held at the Great Thunder Sound Temple, and the Evil Buddha lost. Consumed by rage, he attempted to commit mass murder at the Great Thunder Sound Temple, seeking to subjugate what he called the true path."
"In our boundless compassion, we merely joined forces to suppress the Evil Buddha within Zhengyin Dharma Temple, so that he might reflect and awaken to true goodness, shedding his murderous nature and wickedness."
"The newly arisen Buddha who was beguiled by this Evil Buddha also chose to remain here voluntarily, standing guard over the Evil Buddha, seeking only to atone for his sins."
"This matter is the absolute secret of the Buddhist sect and an internal affair. I believe there is no need to make it public, nor any need for you to pass judgment upon it, wouldn't you agree?"
As he spoke, the golden hand showed not the slightest retreat against the divine ability of Xu Jin's sword.
The young monk's gaze sharpened as he continued: "This Evil Buddha has been suppressed for nearly a thousand years. Do you think that Buddha Kingdom belongs to proper monks?"
"If this Evil Buddha escapes this place and spreads his heretical Dharma once more, how many living souls will perish? How many more will be led down the evil path?"
"I have held back against you both numerous times. We have also protected the Buddha Child. Must you truly, for reasons unknown, bring evil upon this world?"
"You understand how difficult it is to apprehend a Buddha. At this moment, for the greater good, you should help me contain this Evil Buddha first."
Xu Jin's gaze remained calm, and the force behind his long sword did not diminish. "An Evil Buddha? What Dharma did this Evil Buddha preach, that made the entire Buddhist sect treat it so seriously?"
Seeing that Xu Jin seemed to be softening, the young monk hastily spoke:
"That Evil Buddha twisted the teachings of Buddhism, preaching attachment to external things, and even had the audacity to name his so-called doctrine—the Mahayana Buddhist Dharma."
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