Wizards begin with Occlumency.

After the monk Liaochen went down the mountain, he disappeared without a trace.

When Link and Jasmine arrived at White Horse Temple, they were also surprised by the changes there.

"What's wrong, Link?"

Jasmine looked at Link and asked疑惑地问道, "Was the good thing you sensed earlier related to this?"

"no."

Link shook his head and said frankly, "I didn't even sense this change."

"So... what happened here?"

Jasmine continued to ask, sensing that something was very wrong.

The changes at Baima Temple came too suddenly, without any warning.

Moreover, the now-ruined Baima Temple showed no signs of fighting; it had simply decayed under the influence of time.

There are only two possibilities for this to happen.

First, Baima Temple had been in decline for a long time;

Secondly, there is an entity capable of interfering with time that might take action against the White Horse Zen Temple.

In either case, Jasmine felt quite alarmed and a sense of dread crept in.

There is no other reason.

When it comes to time, only a saint can do it.

Thinking of this, Jasmine looked up at the three great suns overhead.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Link sensed Jasmine's emotions and comforted her before changing the subject, "Come with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Link bypassed the ruins of the White Horse Temple and strode towards the back mountain.

Jasmine quickly followed Link's footsteps.

Before long, the two arrived at the lakeside behind the mountain and saw the lake full of blooming and swaying white lotuses.

"White Lotus..."

Jasmine's lips parted slightly as she murmured the word, a sudden emotion welling up within her.

It's sour and astringent...

Immediately, Jasmine suppressed these emotions and looked at Link.

At that moment, Link was also looking at Jasmine, and the two made eye contact.

The silence speaks.

The moment their eyes met, Jasmine understood what Link's next plan was.

"Go ahead."

Without hesitation, Jasmine spoke softly, "Don't worry about me."

Link didn't say anything, he just looked at Jasmine.

"Go."

A smile appeared on Jasmine's lips as she spoke again, urging him on.

"Um."

Link nodded, then drifted toward the center of the lake.

Jasmine glanced at it, took a deep breath, and turned to leave.

Everyone has their own abilities. If there are things you can't do, then do what you can.

The situation in this world is already chaotic and corrupt, but it can become even more chaotic and corrupt.

Since that's the case, Jasmine decided to add fuel to the fire and make this pot of porridge simmer even more vigorously.

Link, in his special spirit form, floated to the center of the lake and stood still with his eyes closed.

The white lotuses on the lake bloomed even more profusely and swayed even more joyfully.

Soon, the blooming white lotus gradually lost its luster, drooped, and withered.

Soon after, all the white lotuses in the lake withered, leaving only a lake of withered lotus leaves.

Soon after, the lake water surged, as if something underground had sucked in all the withered lotus leaves.

Link waited quietly.

The lake water began to swirl, creating a whirlpool that grew larger and larger.

An irresistible suction force emanated from the vortex, drawing Link, in his special spirit form, into it and merging him with a white lotus seed.

The next second, the white lotus seed disappeared, and the whirlpool in the lake suddenly subsided.

Jasmine paused for a moment after leaving the White Horse Zen Temple, then continued on her way.

Having descended the mountain long ago, the monk Liaochen, with his hands clasped together and his words of "If I go and never return, then I will never return," devoutly chanted, "Maitreya is born, the Bright King is born."

Link couldn't see Jasmine's pause at that moment, nor could he hear Monk Chen's chanting.

He entered an extremely peculiar state, an extremely wondrous space.

After merging with the white lotus seed, Link's existence disappeared from the world where the White Horse Zen Temple was located. Following the call of "unborn parents, the vacuum homeland" and the countless prayers of those who longed for salvation in despair, he arrived at the habitable world where Iris sprinkled starlight.

Upon arriving here, Link remained in a state of having no physical form, residing in a vast and expansive yet extremely minute "virtual".

It's as if this is what is called a "vacuum homeland".

In the "Vacuum Homeland", a white lotus is located in the very heart of the place.

More than 100,000 souls who sacrificed themselves and believed in "the eternal mother, the true homeland" sat quietly and sincerely around the white lotus.

The white lotus seed fused with Link's special spirit body floated above the white lotus, desperately wanting to merge with it, yet inexplicably fearing it.

It seems that something terrifying will happen after merging with the white lotus.

It also seems that the white lotus underground is not the one that the cross-border white lotus seed originally wanted to merge with.

After looking down for a while, Link discovered the reason.

Two very familiar seals, the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal and the Jiu Lao Xiandu Seal, are shining brightly, one on the left and one on the right, in the stamen of the white lotus below.

Two beams of clear light replaced the white lotus seed that Link was currently in, serving to maintain the white lotus's existence while also constantly attempting to purify it.

The term "purification" is, of course, from the perspective of both seals.

From the perspective of that white lotus, we naturally need to use a different word, such as "transformation," or more precisely, "editing."

Both seals want to fundamentally alter the core concept of the White Lotus's survival!

"Master Xu Jing"

Link murmured the name, then thought of the Celestial Master's Mansion standing behind Celestial Master Xu Jing, and the old Celestial Master.

He said that this mission, which went deep behind enemy lines and involved cooperation from within and without, could not have been accomplished by the wizard civilization alone, without the participation of the immortal and divine civilization.

Judging from the current situation, it is clear that the wizard civilization and the immortal civilization had a division of labor.

The wizard civilization was responsible for the first half, while the immortal civilization was responsible for the second half.

The four saints—True Spirit, Elementalist, Intelligent Mechanist, and Body Refiner—represented the Wizarding Civilization and crafted the "Possession" artifact. Naturally, the Immortal and Divine Civilization could not be too stingy.

Sure enough, the Celestial Master's Mansion has produced imitations of the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal and the Jiulao Xiandu Seal.

The key question is: what is the purpose of these two imitations, and what is the objective of the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Immortal Civilization?

Link thought for a while, seemingly pondering something, but due to limited information, he didn't gain much insight, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

He focused his attention on himself.

According to the plan of one or more beings, the white lotus seed from Baima Temple will definitely merge with the white lotus below.

With the mixing of two imitations, the white lotus seed can still forcibly merge with the white lotus, but the effect will definitely deviate from the plans of that one or several beings.

Link needs to consider two things:

First, should we continue to allow the white lotus seeds to fuse with the white lotus?

Second, whether or not you want to integrate yourself into the group, and if so, in what form.

Without much thought, Link made a decision.

"My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."

With a murmur that pointed directly to the essence of the Immortal Path and the Golden Core of the Immortal Civilization, Link began to act.

The special spirit detached from the white lotus seed and then struck it heavily, completely shattering the white lotus seed.

Like tiny specks of white lotus seed, Link's will evenly distributed them into more than 100,000 pieces, which floated above the heads of every sacrificial undead.

What is the true nature of the white lotus seed from Baima Zen Temple?

In essence, it is the enlightenment of Master Wusheng's understanding of the Bodhisattva Vehicle Dharma, and the merits accumulated by Master Wusheng throughout his life of practicing the Bodhisattva Vehicle Dharma.

These insights and merits have now been generously broken into over 100,000 parts by Link, and evenly distributed to every sacrificial undead.

"This humble monk, Liaofan, vows to save all suffering beings from sin and lead them to Bodhi, thus attaining perfect enlightenment."

"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

Two voices echoed in the "void" that seemed to be the "vacuum homeland".

The first sentence is a compassionate vow, and the second sentence is a steadfast will.

With the enlightenment and meritorious assistance of Master Wusheng, the compassionate vows and unwavering will combined to unleash supreme power.

Thus have I heard: At one time…

The voices of compassion and unwavering resolve rang out once more, as they prepared to chant sutras to deliver the souls of the more than 100,000 sacrificed souls in their "vacuum homeland."

Located in the heart of the white lotus, on the left and right, the imitation seals of Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal and Jiu Lao Xiandu Seal, which maintained the existence of the white lotus and modified it, suddenly flew out of the white lotus.

Like a white lotus seed shattering, the two imitations instantly split into more than 100,000 pieces.

"Thus have I heard: At one time, at one time, at one time..."

The chanting, intended to pray for the souls of the more than 100,000 victims, was immediately interrupted, unable to continue, as if it had stalled.

Link noticed the changes, was pleased with them, and did not intervene.

"For a while, for a while, for a while..."

The intended recitation of scriptures faltered, gradually diminishing until it disappeared.

Another, even clearer voice followed immediately, seamlessly connecting the two.

"The Way says:"

In the beginning of the Azure Heaven, a song was sung in the vast blue sky, and the great floating earth received immeasurable superior blessings from the Primordial Beginning.

... "

The clear, melodious voice continued chanting without any disturbance.

Amidst the chanting of sutras, the more than 100,000 souls who had sacrificed themselves, who had been superstitious about "unborn parents and a void homeland," gradually came to their senses, realized their mistakes, and repented.

Then, through sudden repentance, they find redemption.

"The Qi of the heavens is vast and boundless, and my Dao flourishes daily."

As this verse was uttered, over 100,000 sacrificed souls rose to their feet and bowed to Link, who stood atop the withering white lotus, thus receiving salvation and embarking on their next life.

In an instant, the extremely vast yet extremely small space was filled only with Link's special spirit body and the seemingly withered white lotus.

"Come out."

Link then floated down from above the white lotus, stood beside it, and shouted loudly.

The sound echoed in this extremely vast yet extremely small space, buzzing and swirling.

No one responded.

"Come out, stop hiding."

Link remained calm and repeated the sentence.

As soon as she finished speaking, the withered white lotus disappeared, and the figure of a woman appeared, whose appearance and figure were exactly the same as Iris Clark, but whose temperament was completely different.

This woman, like Link now, exists in the form of a special spirit.

When did you find out I was here?

The woman appeared and asked a pointless question.

Link smiled: "I don't know, I'm just guessing."

"Just a guess."

The woman muttered something to herself, then asked, "What do you plan to do by calling me out? Kill me?"

"Cannot be killed."

Link replied calmly, "I don't want to kill either."

Why?

The woman frowned, looking quite puzzled.

Clearly, the woman is the "I" that Iris completely severed, the ruthless person who fought her way back to the Wizarding Civilization universe from another universe.

He is also the "culprit" who brought Link to the Wizarding World.

It is also a "predestined fate" that Link faces directly, an existence he cannot avoid.

Now, thanks to the efforts of all parties, Link has finally faced the woman directly, and what he needs to do is clearly not fighting and killing.

The martial arts world is not just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions.

"What do you want to know?"

After a moment of confusion, the woman asked this question again.

Link shook his head upon hearing this: "I don't want to know anything, I just want to hear what you have to say and see what you do."

These words made the woman frown even more.

A sudden silence fell between the two.

Link looked calmly at the woman, who frowned in thought.

In this strange space that resembles a "vacuum homeland," time seems to have no meaning.

Link and the woman remained in the same position, locked in a stalemate for a very long time, without any apparent purpose.

And it can remain in a stalemate.

However, in the outside world, the significance of time is ubiquitous and has a wide-ranging impact.

Believers who joined the Lotus Society, adhering to the concept of "unborn parents and a true homeland," have gradually undergone a fundamental change in their beliefs.

This change is silent and imperceptible to everyone.

This includes sixteen girls and twenty-seven women personally trained by Iris.

At some point, the Lotus Society's methods of preaching and resisting Buddhism became increasingly natural and serene.

The Lotus Society no longer slaughtered every temple and killed every monk it encountered.

Instead, they would capture those they could, and conquer and occupy those they could.

After capturing monks and occupying Buddhist temples, the Lotus Society followers began to preach and debate scriptures.

They not only preached and debated scriptures internally, but also preached and debated scriptures with the captured monks.

At first, the Lotus Society believers, whose reasoning was weak, could not argue with the monks of the Buddhist temple.

However, the Lotus Society believers quickly filled the gaps and solidified their foundation by listening to teachings from voices of unknown origin during the process of preaching and debating scriptures.

The slogan "No biological parents, no empty hometown" is mentioned less and less.

The name "Lotus Society" is gradually being abandoned.

Initially, joining the Lotus Society required paying five dou of rice, and the name "Five Dou of Rice Way" was readily accepted by the Lotus Society's followers.

The actions of resisting Buddhism gradually changed, and were eventually characterized as cutting down mountains and destroying temples and eradicating illicit worship.

Yes, the Lotus Society followers, who have transformed into the "Five Pecks of Rice Sect," have denounced the lofty Buddhist sect as a lewd cult!

The Buddhist community could not sit idly by and watch this change, much less allow the Five Pecks of Rice sect to grow stronger.

The crackdown on the Five Pecks of Rice sect is intensifying. Not to mention Vajras and Arhats, even Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are running around everywhere.

However, a single spark can start a prairie fire.

The original Lotus Society could be described as a rootless duckweed.

However, the Five Pecks of Rice sect today is not an empty shell without support.

It's not about pursuing some "vacuum homeland" that you can only go to after death.

It is a Taoist kingdom on earth that replaces the Buddhist land on earth!

This is a struggle for survival, but even more so a struggle for the preservation of tradition.

The scabies disease thus became a major health concern, evolving from a superficial ailment to a deep-seated problem.

The three great suns above his head watched the changes without reacting. (End of Chapter)