Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 832: Chapter 518: Pleading_2

“I dare not!”

Great Mercy shook his head, his expression serious as he said, “I’m here only for one request!”

“Hmm?”

Xu Yang’s gaze sharpened, and he asked in a deep voice, “What request?”

“Dare I ask the Emperor to join our Buddhism!”

Great Mercy’s words were as shocking as a thunderbolt.

…

“…”

Xu Yang fell into silence, then flicked his sleeve, “Is the Bodhisattva joking with this poor Taoist?”

“It is no joke!”

Great Mercy’s expression remained unchanged, resolute: “Once the Taoist friend joins our Buddhism, he will become the third Patriarch of our Buddhism, sitting on an equal footing with the two Buddha Ancestors and be one of the three esteemed ones of Buddhism, jointly governing the southeastern provinces. Even if the four of us were to prove the Dao, we will remain below the Taoist friend and the two Buddha Ancestors, never overstepping our bounds by half a step.”

The offer was just as astounding.

However, Xu Yang’s expression did not change: “I do not value fame and fortune, but even if I did, could the Imperial Emperor of the Heavenly Court be inferior to your sect’s Buddha?”

“How could I not know that the Taoist friend does not hold fame and fortune in high regard?”

Great Mercy Bodhisattva shook his head, “Therefore, I come not to ask, but to beg. Please lend your mighty arm to our Buddhism. Should we survive the calamity, and if this humble monk remains unperished, then you may deal with me as you please, forgiving this body its sins!”

Having said this, he bowed his head and waited quietly for a response.

“…”

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang once again fell into silence.

True or false?

Real or hollow?

Both are possible!

This Bodhisattva, either truly lived up to the name “Great Mercy” or was akin to the “great thief.”

One thought of heaven, one thought of hell!

Which to choose?

Great Mercy waited for quite a while before seeing Xu Yang step forward, raising his hands in a welcoming gesture: “Bodhisattva, please rise!”

Yet, Great Mercy did not stand up but instead raised her head, looking up at him, “Is the Taoist willing to lend aid?”

Xu Yang shook his head and calmly said, “I truly cannot agree to join Buddhism, but the spread of Buddhist Law to the south is not something impossible.”

Great Mercy’s gaze grew sharp, and she asked, “What does the Taoist mean…?”

Xu Yang nodded, “This time as I enter the Heavenly Secret Realm, the matter of South Observance must be restrained. If Buddhism is willing to accept this karma and protect South Observance from the harassment of demons, then within ten thousand years, the spread of Buddhist Law will undoubtedly be effortless!”

“Thank you, Taoist friend!”

Great Mercy immediately bowed in thanks when she heard this, “This great kindness and virtue, the people of Buddhism will never forget for all eternity!”

“The Bodhisattva speaks too highly.”

Xu Yang shook his head, finally helping her to her feet and took out a jade slip, “This is the art of the Superior Immortal Spirit, please convey it to the two Buddha Ancestors.”

“Taoist friend…”

Upon seeing the jade slip, Great Mercy was stunned. Shortly after regaining her senses, she looked at Xu Yang and bowed once more, “After the great calamity, should this body remain undying, I shall come to Wuzhuang and bow before the Taoist friend, to redress the sins of this body!”

…

Thus, another guest was sent off.

Alone in Wuzhuang Temple, Xu Yang sat, deep in thought.

The Jade Pool Palace Master and Great Mercy Bodhisattva, these two represented the Buddhist sect of the Heavenly Court, with different intents.

There’s no need to discuss the Jade Pool Palace Master. The Heavenly Court feared him, afraid that he would grow too powerful and usurp the throne, afraid he would become dissatisfied and start a war. Thus, they sent the Palace Master to appease him, deepening their relationship while also using it to counterbalance the Western Pole Emperor Lord and stabilize the political situation within the court…

Although it sounded circuitous, full of strife for interests, and calculated mind games, in reality, it was nothing serious. His stance was also straightforward: You respect me, I’ll respect you even more!

As long as the Heavenly Court is honest, he will behave and maintain the cooperative relationship.

Otherwise… without talking about establishing a new Heavenly Court or taking over, he will have to cut ties and end all entanglements.

He could be the Six Imperial Majesties, or he could be the Ten Thousand Paths Heavenly Venerable. It all depends on what the Heavenly Court decides.

That’s the Heavenly Court, as for Buddhism…

One must admit, this Great Mercy Bodhisattva was truly extraordinary.

To kneel before him as the Venerable of the Eight Calamity and implore his aid, whether the matter was true or false, she deserved a round of applause.

If the affair was indeed true and a great calamity was imminent, then she truly lived up to the name of “Great Mercy,” akin to a compassionate Bodhisattva who forsook the small for the greater good, who threw herself into the calamity.

If it was false, a mere show of force, then she could be deemed a brilliant schemer, a “Great Thief” under heaven, turning deception into truth; Xu Yang would likewise offer his praise.

However, whether it was real or fake, substantial or illusory, Xu Yang would never leave the initiative in the hands of others.

Therefore, he had not agreed to the Great Mercy Bodhisattva’s request to join Buddhism as one of the three Revered Ones.

But he had not rejected the notion of the “Southern Transmission of Buddhist Law” either.

The Southern Transmission of Buddist Law was a grand strategy of Buddhism, long planned by the Two Venerables and Four Saints, and the time to execute it had come.

But, coincidentally, he had emerged and taken the Land of South Observance, which Buddhism had long coveted, and, by the merit of governing the world and propagating the Pill Origin Law through the Scholar’s Palace, he had won over the people’s hearts, following the trend of power.

This completely disrupted Buddhism’s plans; with him in South Observance, the Southern Transmission of Buddhist Law could never succeed.

This blow struck straight at Buddhism’s Achilles’ heel.

Among the Buddhist hierarchy, the Two Venerables required no further discussion, as they were already True Buddhas of the Nine Tribulations, but the key lay in the Four Great Bodhisattvas.

Among the Four Great Bodhisattvas, Great Wisdom, Great Virtue, had overcome the Eight Calamities and needed only one final step to achieve true Buddha Fruit.

But this last step had stymied them for tens of thousands of years!

Why?

Because they were not certain they could transcend the final layer of the Ninefold Buddha Calamity; to rashly risk it would mean a likely fate of nine deaths and one life.

Therefore, Buddhism began plotting the Southern Transmission to try to capture the fate of South Observance, bolster Buddhism’s influence, attain their own achievement, and overcome the Ninefold Buddha Calamity.

That is to say, the Southern Transmission of Buddhist Law was key to whether two more True Buddhas of the Nine Tribulations would emerge in Buddhism!

With Xu Yang disrupting their plans, one can imagine how Buddhism was feeling.

Yet Buddhism had no way to deal with him, and even if they could manage to fight, victory wasn’t guaranteed, nor was maintaining control afterward, making the entire effort of the Southern Transmission and the prosperity of the two states futile.

Helpless, they had no choice but to shift their stance and send the Great Mercy Bodhisattva to reason logically and appeal emotionally to him.

After much consideration, Xu Yang ultimately decided to make concessions, allowing the “Southern Transmission of Buddhist Law” to proceed.

After all, he was entering the Heavenly Secret Realm, and with no one in South Observance to stand guard, it would inevitably attract demons to attack.

Although he had backup plans, if Buddhism was willing to take the stage, he did not mind relinquishing a thousand years of fate to aid Buddhism in achieving two True Buddhas.

It was a trade of interests.

As for whether this could lead to hidden dangers…

It remained to be seen who would be the hidden threat!

With the Southern Transmission, Great Xing for Buddhism would only mean the emergence of two more True Buddha of the Nine Tribulations, or at most, all Four Great Bodhisattvas breaking through to the next realm, giving Buddhism six Buddha Ancestors.

But for him, entering the Heavenly Secret Realm, achieving Enlightenment over ten thousand years, this cultivation and transformation…

Therefore, Xu Yang was not worried at all.

Interest for interest, time for time.

Right now, his main need wasn’t the fate of South Observance, but the Heaven-Connecting Secret Treasures.

If Buddhism wanted them, he would let them have it, to each their own needs, and if there was a conflict later on, each side would rely on their own skills.

…

With this, the situation was sorted, and Xu Yang stopped dwelling on it, beginning to take stock of his gains from this Pill Origin Gathering.

This Pill Origin Gathering had opened for over two centuries, whether for winning hearts or showing off power, its purpose was achieved, enough to intimidate for a while.

These were latent benefits, along with substantial gains; preaching, sharing of what was available, and cultivating gifts added to his treasury.

Truth to be told, organizing such a pill conference was, overall, a loss, after all, not everyone could bring gifts of significant value, and many of them were substandard or even falsely represented.

Thus, estimated by spirit stones alone, the Pill Origin Gathering could even be considered to have spent more than it earned.

But that only applied to a spirit stone tally, and the reality was different; Wandao School had the advantage in materials, supply sources, and “technology,” making the prepared pills relatively cheap.

Through this Pill Origin Gathering, swapping cheap pills for various precious Spiritual Objects, even if some of them did not match in value, overall, it did not incur a loss. Moreover, there was an opportunity to acquire reputation, dominate the market, and reap a series of intangible benefits.

In summation, Wandao School not only didn’t lose but made a substantial profit, creating a mutually beneficial situation for all cultivators who participated in the gathering.

Xu Yang was quite pleased with this, selecting a batch of High-Order Spiritual Objects from the treasury and beginning to focus on Artifact Refining.

The world buzzes with activity for the sake of profit; in the end, disputes over interests must still be resolved by strength.

So, there was nothing much to say, let them scheme as they will, I shall cultivate my own strength, to shatter their plots with sheer power!