Fang Ming remained unmoved.
He simply watched the celestial maidens, using the White Bone Contemplation technique.
He saw that while they appeared to possess myriad charms, beneath their skin lay only a skeleton!
He saw how their bones were arranged, how their intestines peristalsed, how their blood flowed.
No appearance of longevity, no self, no sentient beings!
The Heart Sutra states, "Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form."
Fang Ming had, in both mind and form, attained the realization of emptiness, reaching a state that was neither empty nor existent, yet both empty and existent.
In this state of cultivation, any beauty, any celestial maiden, no matter how their charm might vary, was merely a "rose skeleton"!
The Heavenly Demon Lord of Transformation and Freedom was defeated!
His demonic arts, though capable of deriving pleasure from the pleasure of others, could not hinder Fang Ming's enlightenment!
Yet, the Heavenly Demon Lord of Transformation and Freedom was not defeated!
The Demon Lord sneered, "World Honored One! I have lost to you, yet I have not lost!"
"I can still destroy your teachings!"
Fang Ming asked, "My temples are spread across the world, my disciples as numerous as mountains and seas. How can you destroy my Buddhism?"
The Demon Lord laughed heartily, "I will have my demon sons and grandsons don your kasayas, enter your temples, and preach my demonic ways, cloaked in the name of Buddha, corrupting your doctrines!"
Fang Ming shed tears.
He was helpless.
He knew the Demon Lord's threat was real!
Fang Ming was but a mortal, his lifespan to end in a hundred years.
After his death, his disciples would continue to deify him, transforming him from an enlightened being, from a mortal, into a deity, a Buddha.
His teachings would be constantly altered.
Concepts would be continuously stolen and twisted!
Arhats appeared, Bodhisattvas appeared, Buddhas appeared!
A sky full of deities and Buddhas emerged!
Yet, they had long since violated the Three Marks of Existence!
Buddhist teachings are to be sought within; the World Honored One can only save himself, not others! Seeking Buddha is the self's own effort, the realization of true enlightenment! There are no deities or Buddhas to assist!
Now, there are heresies of the Pure Land, using the discourse of deities and Buddhas to delude all beings in the three realms! Using the heresies of karma and reincarnation, the heresies of good and evil karma, to frighten all beings in the three realms!
And then there was the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, who with the line "Bodhi originally had no tree, the bright mirror also has no stand, originally there is nothing, where can dust alight," completely propelled the so-called "sudden enlightenment" to its peak!
Did you enlighten?
I did!
How do I prove I enlightened?
How would I know? It sounds more profound this way!
The Fifth Patriarch Shenxiu's "The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is like a bright mirror, constantly wipe it clean, do not let dust alight!" was instead cast aside by that damned sudden enlightenment!
This is because people only wish for a single step to heaven, a single moment of sudden enlightenment, a single thought to become Buddha.
They only wish to chant Amitabha Buddha a few times!
They are unwilling to practice! Unwilling to constantly polish their own minds!
A single phrase of sudden enlightenment has deceived so many people!
Who is the ultimate con artist? The pragmatic ones are instead at a disadvantage!
Orthodox Buddhism has been relegated to Theravada Buddhism! Cast aside as the lineage of Pratyekabuddhas!
In reality, the so-called Mahayana Buddhism is the true demon!
Various memetic attacks, altering the thoughts of Maitreya Buddha...
He continuously affirmed a conclusion in his heart...
That is, the two Western Sect Leaders, Jieyin and Zhunti, were not Buddhas, but demons!
"So that's how it is! So that's how it is!"
"The World Honored One's teachings were constantly altered! Altered by the demon sons and grandsons sent by the Heavenly Demon Lord of Transformation and Freedom!"
"The World Honored One was not originally a Buddha, but merely a mortal, an enlightened being. The demon sons and grandsons deified him as a deity, a Buddha, to satisfy their own selfish desires!"
"The closer one is to divinity, the further one is from Buddha..."
"Zhunti and Jieyin are the disciples of the World Honored One's disciples' disciples!"
"But they stole the name of Buddha, possessed all sorts of divine powers and magical abilities, and then traced back the timeline, descending from the future to the past, descending to the era of the Witch and Demon!"
"Occupying the upstream of the timeline!"
"Reversing cause and effect! Calling themselves supreme innate divine beings!"
"And then, they actually wanted to take the World Honored One as their disciple!"
"The sky full of deities and Buddhas has long been in the upstream of the timeline, high above, altering true Buddhist teachings! Causing the heresies of karma and reincarnation to deeply penetrate people's hearts! Deeply penetrate!"
"The World Honored One is the true Buddha! The two Western Sect Leaders, Zhunti and Jieyin, are heretics! They are demon sons and grandsons!"
"Sage Zhunti, Sage Jieyin, are the Buddhas in the hearts of all beings, but in reality, this is not the true dharma! This is heresy! This is demonic!"
"The demons are rampant!"
Maitreya Buddha's heart now considered Zhunti and Jieyin as true demons!
He paid no heed to the various irrationalities! The various illogicalities within!
He had fallen victim to Fang Ming's supreme皈依印 (Guīyī Yìn -皈依印) memetic poison!
Fang Ming continued to smile.
The young boy's laughter was crisp and pleasant to the ear!
Wave after wave of laughter, carrying memetic attacks, altered the thoughts of many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas of the Western Sect!
With a single smile, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas directly prostrated themselves before Fang Ming!
Seeing me, the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas heard Fang Ming's laughter, as if they had seen the true Buddha! The one true Buddha!
They saw the Tathagata!
What is the Tathagata?
Fang Ming is the Tathagata! He is the World Honored One!
Maitreya Buddha's mind was controlled by Fang Ming.
His eyes were peaceful, his demeanor utterly serene.
He seemed to be awakening to his sins!
"I have sinned!"
"As a disciple of Zhunti and Jieyin! A true disciple!"
"I have harmed countless humans! At least persecuted millions of mortal humans, collecting countless wish beads and incense beads!"
"These are all grave sins!"
"I was deluded, foolishly believing in these two heretics, Zhunti and Jieyin! I have wronged the true meaning of my Buddha! Violated the Three Marks of Existence! Violated the teachings of the World Honored One!"
"These are all demonic obstacles! I have been immersed in demonic obstacles!"
"Today, having seen the true Buddha, I know my sins are heinous. I will immediately commit suicide! Immediately enter nirvana! To atone for my sins!"
Maitreya Buddha was deeply poisoned by Fang Ming's supreme皈依印 (Guīyī Yìn) memetic attack!
At this moment, he was about to instantly mobilize his divine power, his primordial spirit, his body, to self-destruct with his Da Luo early stage cultivation! To commit suicide!
Just as Fang Ming watched this scene with mild interest.
Suddenly, two saint-level intentions arrived in unison!
The two saints, Zhunti and Jieyin!
The Six Supernormal Knowledges of Buddhism!
The knowledge of past lives (宿命通 - Sùmìng Tōng): The divine power to know one's own and the six realms' past lives for hundreds of millions of kalpas!
The exhaustion of outflows (漏尽通 - Lòujìn Tōng): The divine power to sever all worldly afflictions and desires, to be free from the cycle of birth and death in the three realms, and to exhaust all outflows!
The knowledge of others' minds (他心通 - Tāxīn Tōng): The divine power to know all thoughts of sentient beings in the three realms and six paths!
The two Western Sages first employed these three divine powers, instantly altering Maitreya Buddha's will! Re-brainwashing him!
Then, they altered the intentions of the large number of Buddhas present!
Maitreya Buddha and the large number of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas instantly regained clarity of mind.
Instantly woke up!
"Master, Martial Uncle, two Heavenly Dao Sages, where do they have the ability to travel through time and return to the upstream of the timeline?"
"And where is this Fang Ming, the World Honored One?"