Chapter 96: Chapter 89: Seeing the Tathagata, Why Not Kneel!_2

Tathagata’s Dharma Aspect had not yet spoken when a Divine Dragon lowered its head and with a vicious open mouth came within ten meters of Master Yuanci, issuing a scolding sound.

Saliva and the stench even struck Master Yuanci’s body directly.

Master Yuanci prepared to kneel but then suddenly stopped.

At this moment, the experiences and insights of his lifetime flashed through his mind.

The appearances of himself as a youth, an adult, and an elder each surfaced.

Master Yuanci suddenly realized.

Ignoring the scolding of the Divine Dragon, he instead raised his head and directly addressed the Dharma Aspect of Tathagata,

“From youth, this monk sought the Way, in middle age sought Buddha after failing, and though I only found peace, I also learned not to kneel to the Buddha in my heart.”

“Amitabha, all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dew and like lightning, and should be viewed as such.”

Master Yuanci folded his hands before his chest, silently reciting the Diamond Sutra.

The surrounding All Heaven Gods and Demons suddenly showed their malevolent forms and let out piercing whispers.

More divine dragons, huge elephants, mighty lions, and savage bears roared as they drew near to Master Yuanci, seemingly about to swallow him whole at any moment.

The surrounding golden light and fog boiled like hot oil, with thunderclaps bursting within.

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To Master Yuanci, a mere mortal, even though he realized this was a test, a mere bubble, a projection of his once obsessions,

he still stood at the eye of the storm for a few seconds before feeling that his old bones were about to give way.

Good!

Finally, as Master Yuanci began to bend his legs, he heard a celestial sound like a bell ringing.

In an instant!

The Formation in the main hall of the Floating Illusion Temple stopped operating.

The Tathagata and All Heaven Gods and Demons, reflections of Master Yuanci’s state of mind, all disappeared without a trace.

The empty main hall appeared before Master Yuanci.

Only the lamps and various divine statues accompanied Master Yuanci.

Gazing at the gilded Golden Body of Buddha at the head of the hall.

This time, Master Yuanci knelt on the cushion without hesitation, respectfully kowtowing to the mud Buddha, an icon devoid of any mystical power, to show his reverence.

Su Ping sat cross-legged in the Cloud Sea of the sky, watching every move of Master Yuanci.

Seeing him escape so quickly from the Illusion Realm formed by his lifelong obsessions,

he felt it was unexpected yet reasonable.

Though Master Yuanci engaged in worldly activities, he was indeed a legitimate cultivator from Blue Star.

As he said, he sought the Way in his youth, entered the Buddhist Sect in middle age, and then became the most authoritative host of the Great Compassion Temple in his old age.

If he were in the Immortal Cultivation World, Buddhist Cultivators would say he definitely had a Spirit Root.

Even if it were only Low Grade, he would be carefully cultivated in the Inner Sect.

Even if his future Cultivation achievements were not high, he could still be sent to the Seeking Buddha Institute for research on Magic fundamentals or even advancements.

The technological progress of the Immortal Cultivation World cannot be separated from the silent dedication of these cultivators with insight and Spirit Roots…

“In your hand, you hold the token of the Great Compassion Temple.”

In the main hall, a somewhat bleak male baritone echoed.

Hearing this voice, Master Yuanci, who was about to rise, chose to maintain his bowed posture and quickly declared his identity.

“A mere mortal, who has found the token and gained recognition to come to this Floating Illusion Temple.”

“In these three hundred years, you are the first.”

“The Dharma Vein of the Great Compassion Temple should indeed continue with someone fated.”

Hearing this, Master Yuanci felt much steadier inside while quietly pondering that if in three hundred years, the first person-like a monk similar to himself, had found this place through the token and continued the Buddhist connection for their Sect,

it instantly reminded Master Yuanci of those immortals, Arhats, and Bodhisattvas that had only officially appeared in ancient records three hundred years ago.

And those Demons and Ghosts…

Even thoughts extended to those Sects in the Outer Land, deemed Righteous and renowned.

He even doubted for a moment whether the higher circles already knew some people were True Cultivators, hence recognizing those strangely depicted Sects as renowned and Righteous.

Su Ping did not know that his casual remark

had led Master Yuanci to hypothesize previous causes and consequences, even automatically filling in details to form a still vague but logically consistent worldview of the Mysterious Realm.

“However, you are after all only a mortal; the mission of the Floating Illusion Temple is not something that can be achieved just by having a steadfast mind and a heart that seeks Buddha.”

The male baritone said so, pausing:

“But you ultimately passed the test… and indeed made a connection with the Floating Illusion Temple.”

“Retire now; outside, an envoy will provide you with the needed items and will pass on the necessary tasks.”

After saying this, the male baritone did not appear again.

Master Yuanci initially felt somewhat fearful, it was the fear of being unneeded.

Fortunately, hearing the subsequent words, Master Yuanci gratefully made another salute before slowly retreating from the main hall, bending at the waist.

Bang!

The wooden doors of the main hall closed automatically without wind once again.

Master Yuanci saw the Ghost Envoy waiting beside him.

He noticed that simply by entering and exiting the main hall once, this Ghost Envoy’s attitude towards him had greatly changed.

That dead face was now oddly twisting into a smile at him.

“It really is true… even ghosts abide by worldly conventions.”

“But also true, since the supernatural does exist, and the legends of the Old Ancestors are real, then in their records, those cunning and shrewd immortals and demons also adhere to worldly conventions; what’s the error in that?”