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Several Arhats had vanished one after another, without a trace.

Beneath the seemingly eternal, unchanging peace of the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm, a hidden and chilling ripple finally appeared.

As the missing Arhats failed to return, even karmic divinations yielded no response.

A cloud of unease began to gather in the hearts of the Buddhist Cultivator leadership.

The World Honored One’s Zen Assembly—the supreme congregation that had been in preparation for years since the Overseas Buddhist Cultivators traveled east, intended to commune with the supreme and lay the foundation for a Buddha Country in this world—could not afford the slightest mistake.

And so, one month before the Zen Assembly was set to officially begin.

A will from the higher reaches of Spirit Mountain quietly descended.

The investigation began.

There was no grand announcement, no clamor to disturb those at the bottom. Everything proceeded within a silent order, driven by the vast Buddha Power.

First, the mesh of the majestic Buddha Light and Wish Power network that enveloped the entire Sacred Realm was quietly tightened.

The Buddha’s Rhyme, which normally permeated all things gently, now acted like the most precise of probes in specific areas at specific times. It meticulously scanned for any residual trace of foreign auras, tracking all recent unconventional fluctuations and karmic ripples.

Countless golden Sanskrit characters, as fine as dust yet containing profound Buddhist principles, emerged from the Buddha Statues, Scripture Banners, and pagoda forests throughout the Sacred Realm. Like living things, they swam and weaved through the air, forming an invisible Karma Net that blanketed Heaven and Earth.

Anyone and anything that had been in contact with the missing Arhats or was connected by a thread of karma would be marked and sensed by this net.

Team after team of Patrol Monks—a rare sight on normal days, clad in pure black kasayas, with auras as deep as an abyss and gazes as sharp as blades—appeared silently on every level of the Sacred Realm.

They wielded specialized Buddhist Treasures.

The Karma Mirror, which reflected True Suchness.

The Shadow-Residing Lotus Platform, which traced residual fragments of past events.

The Telepathy Bell, which sensed the fluctuations of Heart Thoughts.

They conducted round after round of overt and covert inspections on all Foundation Establishment Arhats registered within the Sacred Realm, as well as those who had recently entered or exited.

The entire Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm seemed to have transformed into a massive, precision-run Buddhist mill, grinding over every corner gently but firmly, attempting to sift out any dissonant "impurities."

The Buddha Light still shone universally, and the Brahma Chanting remained solemn. But beneath that glorious facade, an intangible and heart-pounding sense of grim stagnation permeated the minds of every Arhat with even a hint of perception.

The number of figures seen casually strolling about dwindled.

Discussions and spars over the Dao became tinged with more caution and probing.

Flowing through the air, besides sandalwood incense, was a subtle tension.

Under this thorough cleansing—led by the Buddhist Cultivator leadership and watched over by a Bodhisattva Level will—many secrets that had been lurking in the shadows finally had nowhere to hide.

......

「Seven days later.」

Deep within the Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm.

A magnificent hall, usually hidden behind layers of Buddha Light Restrictions and constructed entirely of flawless White Jade, slowly emerged.

The hall was vast and lofty. Its dome was inlaid with countless star-like relics, which cast down a cold, eternal radiance.

The floor was polished to a mirror shine, reflecting the surroundings and making the space seem even more profound and immeasurable.

All the Foundation Establishment Arhats in the entire Spirit Mountain Sacred Realm were gathered here.

At this moment, in the center of the hall, thirteen figures were bound by an invisible Buddha Power, forced to kneel on the cold Jade Bricks.

They were still dressed in the various Arhat’s Kasayas, and behind their heads, Light Appearances of varying brightness were manifested.

But now, these Light Appearances were all dim and trembling, and their faces were filled with a helpless, ashen despair.

The auras of these thirteen people were impure and discordant with the pure, vast Holy Realm Buddha Rhyme around them.

Upon careful inspection, eleven of them had Magical Power foundations that faintly exuded the upright, noble, or sharp Sword Intent characteristic of the various sects of the Southern Orthodox Dao.

The auras of the other two were more furtive and treacherous, carrying the unique Evil Qi and predatory sense of the Northwest Demon Sect.

These were the impostors who had been "sifted" out from the ranks of Spirit Mountain’s Arhats during the great investigation!

Most of them were spies who had infiltrated thirty years ago during the Nanyin chaos when the Buddhist Cultivators traveled east, relying on sophisticated disguises and special secret treasures.

Now, due to the Buddhist Cultivators’ brutal investigation, they were all exposed under the cold light of the Pure Karma Hall.

And today was the day of the Buddhist Cultivators’ public punishment for these thirteen individuals!

HUMMMMM—

As the void trembled slightly.

At the highest point of the hall, upon the perpetually vacant Ninth-Grade Vajra Lotus Platform, a figure appeared without any warning.

It was a monk whose face could not be seen clearly, dressed in an exceedingly simple gray robe, and barefoot.

He was surrounded by no brilliant Buddha Light, nor did he emit any intimidating pressure. One could barely even sense his "presence."

But the instant he appeared.

The entire Pure Karma Hall "froze" completely.

The next instant!

The gray-robed monk slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were they...?

They were not like the eyes of Hui Jue Arhat, which held the light of wisdom, nor were they the stern pupils of a Furious Vajra.

At first glance, those eyes were a patch of chaos, like the primordial cosmos before its creation. But then, they reflected the Grand Thousand Worlds, the vast mortal realm, the joys and sorrows of all living beings, the six paths of reincarnation...

Endless scenes emerged and vanished within them, flowing at a speed that surpassed thought, yet so clear it made one’s soul tremble.

Finally, all these scenes collapsed and condensed, transforming into two points of the purest, most extreme, and yet coldest—

Compassion.

A "Compassion" stripped of all personal emotion and subjective will, as constant, vast, unquestionable, and irresistible as the Law of the Celestial Dao.

"Amitabha Buddha."

The gray-robed monk spoke. His voice wasn’t grand, but it resounded directly in the deepest part of the thirteen impostors’ Purple Mansions, in the very origin of their Divine Souls.

It was not heard, but "infused."

"The sea of suffering is boundless, yet delusion is your shore.

Patrons, why have you come to this, sinking into the Outer Dao, unable to find liberation?"

As his voice fell, he raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and gently pointed at the thirteen people below.

"HUMMMMM—!!!"

An indescribable Brahma Chanting erupted from every inch of the thirteen’s flesh and every wisp of their Divine Souls!

[World-Transcending Buddha’s Voice]

The thirteen simultaneously let out silent screams so piercing they were distorted!

The righteous light of the Righteous Dao and the baleful aura of the Demon Dao on their bodies melted and dispersed like ice and snow under a scorching sun, at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The foundations of their own sect’s Cultivation Skills, painstakingly built over hundreds of years, were forcibly battered, dismantled, and overwritten by this all-pervasive Buddha’s Voice!

Even more terrifying was what happened to their consciousness and memories.

The gray-robed monk’s eyes were like two Bright Mirrors of a Buddha Country, reflecting and cleansing everything.

Wherever his gaze fell, the thirteen’s entire life experiences, memories, emotions, obsessions, loyalty to their sects and families, their identification with their Daoist lineage...

...all the keystones that constituted their "selves" began to crumble and reform like sandcastles under the illumination of that boundless, vast, and coldly compassionate Buddha Light!

"Take refuge in the Buddha, and only then find Freedom."

"Abandon illusion, and behold True Suchness."

"The mortal world is suffering; the Buddha Country is Paradise."

One by one, True Words imbued with supreme power of Enlightenment were chiseled like the hardest of brands directly into the depths of their Divine Souls.

They overwrote old beliefs, planting a new core of absolute piety and devotion to the Buddhist Sect’s Buddhist Skills.

One Righteous Dao Master’s face twisted grotesquely, blood seeping from the corners of his eyes as he tried to sever the invading Buddha’s Voice with a Sect Secret Technique. But the moment the technique was activated, it was annihilated by the even vaster Buddha Light, and even his memories and comprehensions became blurred and unfamiliar.

A Demon Sect cultivator roared, activating his life-bound Demon Fiend to counterattack. But the instant the Demon Fiend touched the gray-robed monk’s gaze, it evaporated like morning dew in the sun, instead transforming into pure nourishment that was absorbed by the Buddha Light, accelerating his Enlightenment process.

Their eyes transitioned from initial struggle, anger, and fear to confusion and emptiness.

Finally, they were filled, bit by bit, with a "piety" that was pure, fanatical, and stripped of all personal impurities.

The kasayas on their bodies seemed to have grown into their very flesh.

The Light Appearances behind their heads no longer trembled. Instead, they began to spontaneously absorb the Buddha’s Rhyme within the hall, becoming solid and bright, and emitting a pure aura identical to that of a true Buddhist Cultivator Arhat.

The entire process seemed slow.

In reality, within that frozen space-time, it lasted only a few breaths.

The gray-robed monk slowly retracted his finger.

The sense of stagnation in the hall receded like a tide.

Light began to flow again, and motes of dust resumed their descent.

The thirteen "impostors" who had been kneeling on the ground now slowly rose to their feet on their own.

Their faces were calm, their eyes clear and fervent, their bodies surrounded by a harmonious Buddha’s Rhyme. In perfect unison, they prostrated themselves deeply before the gray-robed monk on the lotus platform, their voices filled with the joy of rebirth and absolute faith:

"Namo, World Honored One!"

"We disciples have been enlightened by the Bodhisattva, abandoning darkness for light. Having heard the true dharma, we henceforth take refuge in the Three Jewels, vow to spread the Buddhist Skills, and deliver all sentient beings!"

Their voices were loud and resonant, their faith firm, without a trace of their previous hostility or abnormality.

In the Pure Karma Hall, the Buddha Light seemed to shine a little brighter.

The gray-robed monk—a true existence of the Bodhisattva Realm—nodded slightly. His gaze swept over these thirteen "newborn" Arhats, the vast Compassion in his eyes unchanged, yet without the slightest ripple.

"Good."

"Since you have entered the Buddhist Sect, you must abide by the rules, diligently cultivate Buddhist Skills, await the Zen Assembly, and forge good karmic bonds."

"Go."

The thirteen newly-minted Arhats bowed respectfully once more, then turned and walked steadily out of the Pure Karma Hall. With serene expressions, they quickly merged into the endless Buddha Light and Brahma Chanting of the Sacred Realm, showing no sign of their identities or struggles from moments before.

The hall returned to vast silence.

Only the Jade Brick floor remained as pristine as ever, reflecting the Relic Starlight of the dome, as if the terrifying Enlightenment that had forcibly twisted the destinies of thirteen Foundation Establishment Masters, stripped away their old selves, and reshaped their Buddha Nature had never happened.

The Bodhisattva’s figure had already faded away, as if he had never descended.

At the edge of the White Jade Plaza outside the Pure Karma Hall, the Buddha Light was like a tapestry and the Brahma Chanting was like a sea.

The Foundation Establishment Arhats who had been summoned here stood solemnly, having collectively "witnessed" the entire process of their thirteen peers being forcibly Enlightened by the Bodhisattva’s supreme methods, shedding their pasts, and converting to the Buddhist Sect.

Qi Yun—in his Fa Hai clone—stood toward the middle and back of the crowd of Arhats. He wore a deep blue monk’s robe, his expression placid, his eyes holding the same tranquility as the Arhats around him.

’Stripping away memories, twisting one’s will, reshaping beliefs... So this is the Buddhist Cultivators’ [Enlightenment]?’

Qi Yun’s consciousness flowed silently between his clone and his true self, carrying a trace of cold scrutiny.

’This technique is even worse than Soul-Searching and Refining!’

’Soul-Searching at least leaves behind fragments and remnants.’

’This Enlightenment... it negates and replaces the [self] at its very root, completely reshaping it into another "me."’

Sighing inwardly, Qi Yun reined in his thoughts.

Before the Pure Karma Hall, the ceremony was over. The gray-robed Bodhisattva’s figure had long since vanished, and the thirteen "newborn" Arhats had been led away.

The Arhats on the plaza began talking in low voices in twos and threes about what they had just seen. Their expressions held a mixture of awe, emotion, and relief, and the atmosphere relaxed slightly.

Like the other Arhats, Qi Yun wore a pensive expression as he slowly turned, preparing to follow the crowd back to the Qi Yun Zen Temple.

But in the instant he turned—

A gaze.

Landed on his back without any warning.

"Hm?"

Deep within Qi Yun’s clear and peaceful eyes, a sliver of cold, sharp light, like the edge of a sword suddenly brandished from the depths of a dark pool, shot out, following the trajectory of the gaze he had sensed!

His gaze gave chase!

It crossed past the figures of the Arhats who had not yet fully dispersed from the plaza and were still gathered in twos and threes, talking;

It crossed past the majestic and solemn, yet now desolate, White Jade portico of the Pure Karma Hall;

It crossed past the layered golden roofs of temples, appearing and disappearing in the dense sea of Buddha Light clouds in the distance...

Finally, his line of sight settled on a spot on the other side of the plaza, next to a White Jade railing on slightly elevated ground.

’It’s him?’

Staring at the back of the figure turning to leave, the corners of Qi Yun’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a hint of intrigued interest.

’It’s been a long time... Your Highness, the Crown Prince...’

...

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