Mythology

Chapter 417 The Immaculate Buddha Becomes a Buddha
"The Dao Fruit is about to be refined; does that mean I'll become an immortal?"

Yang He appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he was extremely wary of Shakyamuni.

In Buddhism, the term "Tathagata" does not refer solely to Shakyamuni, but is an honorific title for the Buddha. Shakyamuni's status as the Tathagata Buddha reflects his transcendent position within Buddhism.

In comparison, the Dipankara Buddha is considerably less impressive.

Although Dipankara Buddha became the founder of Buddhism after the Investiture of the Gods, Shakyamuni Buddha quickly took his place. In Journey to the West, Dipankara Buddha's role is even less prominent than that of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

As Yang He walked, his skin and flesh sizzled all over.

Shakyamuni was still a corpse, but the invisible influence he exerted caused food within a hundred meters to quickly rot away.

Yang He slowed his pace. He had only recently completed the cultivation of the Vajra Nine Dharma Bodies, and his Buddhahood was in the process of merging with the Immaculate Ghost Buddha.

Logically speaking, having cultivated for ten lifetimes, once the Buddhahood is attained, the Immaculate Ghost Buddha should have entered the realm of a true immortal.

However, the Immaculate Ghost Body was rather strange, so Yang He wasn't entirely confident.

"Yang He".

Daoist Duobao stood up and said, “When the sage descended upon the Immortal Slaughtering Formation, the two Western sages mentioned that Shakyamuni was our only chance to escape the Investiture of the Gods calamity. We must not interfere with his attainment of enlightenment.”

Ju Liusun chimed in, "Brother Duobao is absolutely right! If it weren't for the protection of the Western Sect, we would probably have already become remnant souls and been included on the list."

Manjushri, the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Dharma, stroked his beard and sighed, “Shakyamuni’s enlightenment is related to immeasurable cause and effect. If we rashly obstruct him now, I fear we will perish and our spiritual path will be destroyed at the crucial moment of the saint’s transcendence.”

The discussions rose and fell, and the immortals all wore solemn expressions, yet not one of them took a single step forward.

The deterrent effect of Yang He killing Ran Deng Dao Ren was too terrifying. Even though no one knows to this day why Ran Deng Dao Ren died, it still makes them unwilling to be the first to stick their necks out.

Daoist Duobao stared at Yang He for a long time.

The Immaculate Ghost Buddha's cultivation level was only at the Hunyuan Realm. In the eyes of a Daluo Golden Immortal, he was no different from a roadside creature. However, Yang He had attracted the attention of almost all the otherworldly saints.

Yuanshi Tianzun, Tongtian Jiaozhu, Taishang Laojun, the Two Saints of the West, and Nuwa.

The thought sent chills down Duobao Daoren's spine.

Yang He remained completely unresponsive throughout, his slow approach a test of Shakyamuni, constantly observing the changes in life force through his spiritual vision.

suddenly.

A ticking sound.

The thick, black rain fell inside Leiyin Temple without causing any ripples, but all the True Immortals realized that the struggle between the Saints was intensifying.

The Jade Void Palace of the Primordial Celestial Venerable is gradually infiltrating.

The immortals looked solemn. The battle between the sages had already begun, and the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation would become an indiscriminate and deadly place. They dared not make any rash moves.

Regardless of whether he had converted to Buddhism or not, even if Duobao Daoren had completed his rebirth, he would still be included in the Investiture of the Gods list upon his death.

It is foreseeable that Daoist Duobao will be posthumously honored by the Heavenly Court.

Given his traitorous status, his position will most likely be mediocre. Yang He remembers that the Investiture of the Gods in the original work was not about impartiality.

The Three Immortal Maidens made Yuanshi Tianzun extremely embarrassed, and it seems that they appointed her as some kind of responsive and worldly fairy goddess, responsible for delivering children.

Yang He was the only one among everyone present who didn't care about life or death.

They don't even care whether they worship Taoism or Buddhism.

A chilling wind swept through Leiyin Temple, carrying with it the fishy smell of the sea.

Yang He had already arrived within the vicinity of the Bodhi tree, and only upon closer inspection did he discover that Shakyamuni's spiritual root was composed of countless intertwined vines.

"coming!"

Shakyamuni was affected, and a crack appeared between his eyebrows.

Snapped.

Immediately afterwards, a trickle of golden blood seeped out, the blood gleaming with a nauseating sheen, like long-spoiled grease.

"gold."

Yang He was startled. The Seven Sages of Buddhism are associated with the Seven Treasures, with Shakyamuni representing gold and subtly holding the first place among the Seven Treasures.

Soon after, lumps appeared on the surface of the Bodhi tree.

Inside the swollen mass, you could see a fetus curled up, its fingers and toes stuck together, twitching with the flow of pus.

"Uh……"

Yang He covered his throat, his indescribable nausea intensifying.

Compared to the two Western saints, Shakyamuni is at least ten times more disgusting, even though his corpse is becoming more and more like that of an enlightened monk.

Seemingly threatened, the attainment of Buddhahood faced almost no obstacles.

The pure white Buddhist soil beneath Yang He's feet cracked inch by inch, and ten solemn heads chanted sutras aloud, but not praising Shakyamuni, but rather the Lotus Sutra, which was related to Dipankara Buddha.

He belatedly realized that the Buddhahood within him had quickly disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, a strange and wonderful spiritual root grew in the center of the Lingjiu Mountain dojo.

The overall shape resembles a vine, and it also looks somewhat like a prayer wheel used in daily Buddhist practice. The material shimmers with silver light, and you can see a lot of mysterious Sanskrit characters on the surface, as well as inlaid eyeballs.

Its eyeballs were also made of silver and were constantly moving around randomly.

Yang He's Taoist spiritual root is called Wanhuatian, while his Buddhist spiritual root is called 'Silver Tree', and its Sanskrit equivalent is Vipali Tree.

That's right, it's silver, one of the seven treasures of Buddhism.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shakyamuni Buddha was gold, and I happen to correspond to him.

"This thing..."

Yang He examined the silver tree. Unlike the Taoist spiritual root, which belongs to the Heavenly Dao Tree, the silver tree seemed like a defective imitation.

“The two Western saints do not have the drawbacks of ordinary saints, perhaps because their cultivation system has abandoned some things, resulting in something that is neither fish nor fowl.” He felt that the Buddhist tradition must have its merits.

The flourishing of Buddhism in Journey to the West proves everything, but it is unrealistic to abandon Taoism for this reason. Both should be verified and developed together.

Yang He is now very curious whether his true form can achieve dual cultivation of Buddhism and Taoism.
Not long after, he stood under the Bodhi tree, no more than three meters away from the body of Shakyamuni. The Immaculate Ghost Buddha could last for four days by consuming his lifespan, but the black cat could not.

The black cat was only at the Tribulation Transcending Realm, and was already powerless to withstand the attack from Shakyamuni.

Thanks to Cihang Daoren's assistance in Hakimi's previous transformation, the five-colored divine light he possessed was essentially more in line with Buddhism than Bixiao.

Yang He chose to start with the Bodhi tree, and the Immaculate Ghost Buddha continuously dripped blood.

"It's probably unrealistic to think that blood alone can establish a connection with Shakyamuni. The most reliable one is definitely the black cat, but it's still unknown when Shakyamuni will need the Five-Colored Divine Light."

"Why not try refining the remains of Shakyamuni Buddha..."

As Yang He pondered, he discovered that the blood water had an unusually good effect. The Bodhi tree slowly absorbed the blood water, and its spiritual root gradually extended.

At the same time, the lifespan of the Immaculate Buddha suddenly decreased sharply.

He didn't care at first. He wouldn't panic even if his lifespan was reduced by a hundred years in a minute. At worst, he could just play the role again. It would only waste a few days.

But soon, Yang He noticed something was wrong with the lifespan of the Immaculate Ghost Buddha.

The original lifespan limit of four thousand years has somehow dropped to three thousand nine hundred years, and it is still disappearing at a visible rate.

Yang He thought it was the work of Shakyamuni, but he discovered that the sharp decline in lifespan was due to the silver tree.

The silver tree is undergoing some kind of subtle change.

"Can one really become an immortal?"

Yang Heyi gritted his teeth and did not stop them. Four thousand years of lifespan was not a short time, and in the context of the Investiture of the Gods, there was almost no possibility of making up for it.

But Journey to the West is different; there are not many ways to prolong life.

Well, all you need to do is follow the Monkey King during the havoc in Heaven and get a peach of immortality. It is said that a peach of immortality that matures in nine thousand years is enough to live as long as heaven and earth, and be as old as the sun and moon, extending one's life by 120,000 years.

Damn it, my hard work accumulating four thousand years of history seems insignificant.

As Yang He bled, his lifespan was reduced. His aura at the Primordial Chaos Realm quickly became unstable, and he quietly fell to the Concentration Realm. His additional nine heads and eighteen arms swayed slightly, as if he was about to come back to life.

A moment later, he reached the embryonic stage again, and in less than ten breaths, he was left with only the core.

The immortals watched coldly. Since Yang He arrived at Leiyin Temple, his actions had been inexplicable, and his purpose was completely unclear.

They assumed that Yang He's dimming aura was intentional.

Only Daoist Duobao noticed something amiss.

Yang He seemed to want to use the same trick he used against Ran Deng Dao Ren on Shakyamuni, so that the two could connect their auras.

The result... was a backlash?
Daoist Duobao examined it repeatedly but still couldn't be sure.

Yang He's expression was extremely calm, as if he didn't care about his lifespan at all, and his cultivation had been completely depleted in a short period of time.

The blood had completely drained away, and the Immaculate Ghost Buddha stood motionless.

Immediately, the immortals and gods vaguely sensed the silver tree within the body of the Immaculate Ghost Buddha. Although they could not touch it, they couldn't help but have their own thoughts about it.

If they could refine it, could they become the Seven Saints of Buddhism?
Judging from appearances alone, Yang He was completely unprepared.

Yang He himself is like a test of the Dao heart for all the True Immortals. Greed will lead to death, while not being greedy may cause them to miss the opportunity to become saints.

After an unknown amount of time, the aura of the Immaculate Ghost Buddha appeared and disappeared.

Yang He's image had transformed into that of a two- or three-year-old child, and a silver tree burst forth from his body, forming a spiritual root phenomenon over two meters tall above his head.

All the immortals, including Daoist Duobao, swallowed hard.

The Silver Tree... is within reach!!

boom.

The unusual phenomenon subsided.

Yang He opened his eyes. His lifespan limit of four thousand years had dwindled to only one thousand years, meaning that even if he exhausted his lifespan, he would only reach the initial stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

However, he gained a lot, and it's clear that Daoist Zhunti didn't actually say anything wrong.

The Immaculate Ghost Buddha has already stepped into the realm of true immortals.

Yang He broke off a finger, and the bone and flesh instantly transformed into a small novice monk, whose aura undoubtedly reached the realm of true immortals.

To be precise, his physical body and bones were already at the True Immortal Realm, but his cultivation level was not yet at that level.

To reach the True Immortal Realm, Yang He's Five Gods and Three Souls and Seven Spirits Transformation True Scripture require a lifespan of at least eight thousand years.

Shen Gongbao is a ghost immortal, and the Corpse Taoist is a corpse immortal.

The Immaculate Buddha is not a deity, but a unique 'ancient Buddha' in Buddhism.

Generally speaking, Buddhist enlightenment is divided into three categories: 'Arhat', 'Bodhisattva', and 'Buddha'. Yang He's ancient Buddha has already demonstrated its special nature.

"hehe."

"Bone and flesh become immortal? The Immaculate Ghost Buddha's combat power is not even as good as the Yin-Controlling Ghost Immortal."

The lifespan of the Immaculate Buddha, spanning a hundred years, was simply insufficient to transform too many novice monks; fortunately, mere pretense was enough.

Yang He looked around. The True Immortals sensed the aura of the Immaculate Ghost Buddha True Immortal and all looked away. Daoist Duobao also regained his composure.

"However, I seem to have adapted to the Buddha's sacred site."

"Or is it that your efforts to establish kinship ties are beginning to bear fruit?"

Yang He stared at Shakyamuni for a few breaths, while his sworn brother remained asleep and silent.

(End of this chapter)