Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree

Chapter 878 - 322: Heavenly Demon, World Venerable—Playing by Proxy

"The Only Buddha Lord of the past? Ha, who can say which came first!"Someone sneered on the spot,

"What I just said are the words of the True Buddha. In addition, we have heard a story from the past that would you dare listen to?"

He swept his gaze over the hesitant crowd and administered a strong dose, saying in a deep voice:

"You should have heard by now, in the eyes of other powers, the Only Buddha Lord we once worshipped has always been considered one of the Four Demons by them!"

"Bold!"

"Watch your words!"

"How can we believe their words, they have no evidence!"

In an instant, the man was met with the crowd’s rebuke.

But he didn’t waver, facing the numerous blazing eyes of those ready to attack, he said in a painful tone:

"Listen to me finish the story, and you will understand."

For the sake of the True Buddha, the crowd slightly restrained their anger, some still cursing, but some others spoke to stop them.

They vaguely sensed something, now with two "Buddhas" existing in the world at the same time, disputes were likely to arise, they should not easily choose sides, but first listen to what this person had to say.

The self-proclaimed listener of Buddhist Law began to speak——

A million years ago, the World Venerable took upon himself the burden of the Bitter Sea for all beings, about to enter Silent Annihilation Nirvana, when the Heavenly Demon, whose plan of world destruction had been thwarted, came to him, saying:

"The day of your annihilation will be the time of the corruption of Buddhist Law. At that time, I will steal your authority, have my devil’s sons and grandsons infiltrate your temple, wear your Kasaya, and sabotage your Buddhist Law."

"They will misinterpret your teachings, break your precepts, to achieve a goal my force cannot attain today."

The World Venerable listened to the Heavenly Demon’s words calmly, saying:

"Then, my true disciples will take off their Kasaya, wear plain clothes and go into the world, the world will become my new temple, the old temple will become a prison for your devil’s sons and grandsons."

"I carry out the reality of Buddha, you steal the name of Buddha."

"People are willing to take refuge because of the reality of Buddha, not the false name, the value of Buddha lies in reality, never in false name."

"If you can truly embody the reality of Buddha and practice it daily, you become my disciple, another Buddha."

"But if you merely wish to borrow the name of Buddha to enjoy worship in the temple, coveting false name, in just ten or twenty years, people will see through your true nature as a demon, see that this temple is a demon prison, and abandon this hypocritical Buddhist teachings that write Buddha yet read Demon."

"And by then, my disciples will have already put on plain clothes and gone into the world, practicing and promoting my teachings, guiding people to overthrow the false Buddhist Law of your devil’s sons and grandsons."

"The teachings may be named Buddha or Demon, yet they cannot thwart my will."

"As long as there is someone willing to practice Buddha’s reality, my teachings will endure in the world..."

——This is the answer of the World Venerable.

As the story unfolded, more and more people showed fear, while some had sudden realizations, followed by palpitations, anger, terror...

The various expressions could not describe the people’s emotional fluctuations here.

When this story correlated with what the man mentioned earlier——in their eyes, the Only Buddha Lord is one of the Four Demons according to the various powers of Nine States.

After the two matters confirmed each other, a terrifying truth emerged.

The only tacit understanding everyone could continue was silence.

A deathly stillness enveloped the hall.

No one dared to respond, for the implications were too vast, even the most devout believers in the past could not help trembling, pursed their lips, pointing at the person who spoke earlier, not uttering a single word for a long time.

It took a long time until an old monk shakily raised his hand, pointing at the man and sternly said:

"You are... blaspheming Buddha!"

From the crowd, someone quietly murmured: "But ultimately, who is the True Buddha?"

Someone shouted: "Shi Zun has sheltered our civilization for thousands of years, have you all forgotten?!"

"But the story also mentioned, at that time, the Heavenly Demon will steal authority, don the Kasaya... And judging by today’s actions, the upper echelon may not have truly misinterpreted the True Words, but it could be Shi Zun’s original intention..."

"Why does the Only Buddha Lord want to open the barrier between Yanfutu and Nine States?"

"What kind of existence is Shi Zun, his actions have profound meanings! Do not attempt to fathom the mind of a God!"

"But speaking of that, in these thousands of years, when has Shi Zun ever shown his true form in the world? No family can provide evidence to prove Shi Zun is one of the Four Demons, and we..."

"You are blaspheming Buddha! The Buddha Master will abandon those who are not devout, you will fall into the Nether Sea! Taking your civilization and powers with you!"

"Not devout ones? But the World Venerable said, Buddha will not abandon any person, even if he does not believe in Buddha, He is the mentor of all realms, the benevolent father of Six Paths and Four Lives, did you not hear the Great Vow?"

"If not for saving all beings, not rescuing the end of the world, then not seeking the future! If this is not the True Buddha, who is?!"

"Absurd, absurd..."

An old monk looked at the increasingly fervent and polarized crowd in disbelief, slowly backed away, murmuring,

"You are all mad, mad, you are actually doubting the Only Buddha Lord, you will descend into Hell, and suffer the endless torment..."

For a faith that is not devout, once the seed of doubt is planted, it is difficult to restrain.

Let alone the current Buddha Country.

Even the believers of Buddha Country had difficulty fully explaining some issues in the past, but at the time, piety was enough to cover them.

It was precisely these issues that led Buddha Country to be viewed with hostility by various powers of Nine States, but because there was no conclusive evidence, and Buddha Country indeed solved most of the survival issues of the lower civilizations in Yanfu State, it was tolerated until recently.

But with the emergence of another True Buddha, their faith was shaken.

The most crucial aspect is that this is not about making them abandon faith, but "returning to the correct path", taking refuge under the true Buddha’s disciples!