Having been given a second chance at life, I choose to join the Demonic Sect!

Chapter 171 The Eighteen Bronze Men!

The old Living Buddha did not reply to Shi Kong. Instead, he flicked a beam of Buddhist light from his fingertip, which went straight towards Shi Kong.

Upon seeing this, the hall masters and elders at the Nascent Soul stage all took action to try and stop the Buddha's light.

Of course, most of them were just putting on an act, since everyone was eyeing Abbot Shikong's position.

Ignoring everyone's defenses, the Buddhist light landed directly on Shi Kong, causing his spiritual power to surge uncontrollably.

Anyone with half a brain could see that Shi Kong was starting to lose his power and was about to lose his cultivation.

"Abbot Shikong's cultivation has been ruined like this!"

"How is this possible? Abbot Shikong is a Nascent Soul stage expert!"

The worshippers were somewhat unable to accept that their idol, Shikong, had his cultivation crippled; after all, he was a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage!
Upon seeing that Shi Kong's cultivation had been crippled, Abbot Shi Hong of Jinfo Temple immediately issued an order, saying:

"Activate the temple protection formation!"

"Quickly summon the Zen masters and patriarchs of the secret realm!"

Even with his cultivation at the sixth level of the Void Transformation Realm, his cultivation was easily crippled by the opponent, demonstrating the opponent's formidable power.

In this situation, it would be foolish not to activate the sect's protective formation or call upon the ancestor.

Under Shi Hong's command, Jinfo Temple immediately activated its protective array.

The moment the protective array of Jinfo Temple was activated, eighteen sixth-order puppet bronze monks appeared.

The Golden Buddha Temple has spent a considerable amount of its ill-gotten gains on the eighteen sixth-order bronze puppet figures.

These eighteen bronze puppets all possess the strength of the Void Refinement stage. When the eighteen bronze puppets work together to form a battle formation, their combat power is even more terrifying.

"The Eighteen Bronze Men Formation was originally a formation of our Western Buddhist sect. How could you use it to aid and abet evil? It is a disgrace to our Buddhist sect!"

The things of Eastern Buddhism are basically learned from Western Buddhism, and the old Living Buddha recognized the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation at a glance.

Under the control of Shi Hong and the higher-ups of Jinfo Temple, the eighteen bronze figures split into three groups, forming three small battle formations, and attacked the old Living Buddha simultaneously.

Faced with the onslaught of the Eighteen Bronze Men, the old Living Buddha's body transformed into a barrier of Buddhist light, protecting him and Cao Meng. The Eighteen Bronze Men's attacks could not shake the barrier in the slightest.

"burn!"

The old Living Buddha flicked his finger and sent out a spark, which transformed into a blazing golden flame that condensed into a three-legged golden crow.

"Qiang Qiang~"

The three-legged golden crow let out a long cry and spewed out endless solar fire. The eighteen bronze men turned into molten iron under the burning of the solar fire!

"This is the true fire of the sun in human form!"

Cao Meng recognized the old Living Buddha's moves, and he roughly guessed that the old Living Buddha was the Great Sun Holy Body.

However, Cao Meng was envious. Although he could also command the True Fire of the Sun, his True Fire of the Sun was at most a small fireball. He could forget about things like burning the heavens and seas of fire or divine fire taking form.

Shi Hong and the other high-ranking officials of Jinfo Temple were dumbfounded as they watched the eighteen bronze statues destroyed and the temple's protective formation broken.

These eighteen bronze figures are all sixth-order puppets, comparable to the Void Refinement stage, yet they were burned into molten iron upon first meeting. What's going on?

This old monk's strength doesn't seem to be at the Void Refinement stage!
Jinfo Temple shouldn't have provoked a cultivator of this level!

Could this monk really be a living Buddha from the Western Buddhist continent?
If he really is a Living Buddha from the Western Regions of Buddhism, this matter will cause a huge uproar.

After the old Living Buddha waved his hand to remove the Spirit-Locking and Mortal-Transforming Array of Hongfo Mountain, he shouted:

"Today, this old monk is reorganizing the Buddhist community. Those who are not involved should leave immediately!"

The patriarch of Jinfo Temple has not yet appeared. When he does, there will surely be a sparring match. The old Living Buddha does not want to involve innocent people, so he plans to disperse the worshippers.

Thinking that Jinfo Temple might be destroyed, Cao Meng secretly took out a communication jade talisman:

"Master (Uncle Xia), the Golden Buddha Temple is about to be destroyed, you all prepare!" Cao Meng simultaneously transmitted his voice to the female demon and the great demon, and soon he received a reply from the great demon:

"You little rascal, is this for real?"

"The abbot of Jinfo Temple, the bald monk Shikong, has had his cultivation destroyed by the old living Buddha, and the temple's protective formation, the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, has also been broken..."

Cao Meng briefly explained the situation to Xia Yulan.

However, Cao Meng was a little puzzled as to why the female demon didn't speak. Didn't she see the communication jade talisman?
Duanmu Fei: You damned traitor! Have you forgotten that I've been under the spell of the "Silence Zen" and can't transmit my voice during this time?
Upon learning of the situation, Consort Duanmu and Xia Yulan of the Hehuan Sect immediately convened a meeting of their high-ranking members to prepare for a major event.

According to the information Cao Meng has sent back, even if the Golden Buddha Temple is not destroyed, it will be severely weakened. This situation presents an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos!

……

On Cao Meng's side, many pilgrims had already fled. Although they came to pray to the gods and Buddhas, they felt that their lives were more important than their safety.

As for sharing the fate of Jinfo Temple, let's forget about it!
The old Living Buddha looked at Shi Hong and his party, shook his head in disappointment, and said:

"Your crimes are heinous, and this old monk does not wish to commit murder. You should all cripple your cultivation!"

The old Living Buddha was utterly disappointed with the Golden Buddha Temple. It was only because he didn't want to kill that he did so. If it were anyone else, they would have wiped the Golden Buddha Temple out with a single slap.

"Senior, aren't you going a bit too far?"

The Venerable Master Hongjue went too far. You should know that they are already hundreds of years old. Once they abandon their cultivation, their lifespan will regress, and they won't have much time left to live.

At the same time, Shi Hong felt that those Zen masters and patriarchs at Jinfo Temple were a bit of a rip-off, as they hadn't shown up for so long!
"Since you are unwilling to cripple your cultivation, I will have to take action myself."

As soon as the old Living Buddha finished speaking, he waved his robe, and Shi Hong and his group were immediately severely injured, their cultivation gradually dissipating and their spiritual power flowing away.

More than twenty Void Refinement stage elders from Jinfo Temple appeared, led by a Void Refinement stage elder named Fayun, who was at the seventh level of the Void Refinement stage.

Fa Yun stared at the old Living Buddha and asked:

"Fellow Daoist, isn't your attack a bit too ruthless?"

Fa Yun encountered the same situation as Shi Kongzhi; he also couldn't see through the old Living Buddha's cultivation level.

An old ancestor named Chi Nian came to the crippled Shi Kong and was filled with rage as he looked at Shi Kong's crippled state.

"Father, save me!"

Shi Kong kept bowing and pleading with Chi Nian, knowing that he had lost his cultivation and didn't have much time left to live.

In this situation, he can only ask Chi Nian's father for help.

Shi Hong and his group were stunned. Wasn't Chi Nian, the previous abbot, the master and disciple of Shi Kong?

Why does Shi Kong call Chi Nian "father"? Could it be that they have become father and son?
Cao Meng, a mere bystander, never expected that the current abbot, Shi Kong, was actually the son of the old abbot. How interesting!
"I don't even know when Jinfo Temple became a family-run business!"

Cao Meng's sarcastic remark immediately made some of the higher-ups at Jinfo Temple extremely uncomfortable.

They now suspect that there was something seriously wrong with how Shi Kong was able to become the abbot in the first place!
……

Returning to the main point, in response to the questioning of the deceased Dharma Master, the old Living Buddha rebuked him, saying:
"The Golden Buddha Temple preys on the masses and corrupts the Buddhist order; it deserves severe punishment!"

"Let this old monk ask you one question: Do you know your crimes?"

Although the old Living Buddha was compassionate, his words were stern and unapproachable.

"Nonsense!"

Fa Yun shouted and rebuked him, then said:
"This has always been the case in the Eastern Dao Continent. Fellow Daoist comes from the West, so why should you interfere in the affairs of the East!"

After confessing, Fa Yun felt that the Golden Buddha Temple was innocent, since the righteous sects were doing the same things they were doing!

P.S.: This chapter is purely made up!

(End of this chapter)