Chapter 1 When the Waves Rise in the East Sea

While waves surged in the East Sea, the Ucchusma Vajra had already sensed the plight of the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva. However, he chose not to offer aid, merely observing as the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva's power plummeted, his manifested body was destroyed, and his vows suffered great damage. Even then, he remained unmoved.

The Buddhist faith had overstepped its bounds, and its arguments were weak. The Equivalence Bodhisattva dared to manifest an avatar across realms, and the interests at stake were simply too great.

Indeed, they were far too great.

Even if Zi Yi didn't intervene, once his manifested body dissipated and his true form returned to the Inner Mountains and Rivers, he would soon face condemnation from other Equivalence Bodhisattvas. Guanshiyin, Mahasthamaprapta, Sunlight, Moonlight, King of Light, Lion's Roar, King of Many Treasures... and many other Equivalence Bodhisattvas would demand an explanation from him.

That Buddhist temple was not solely dedicated to him, the Yamāntaka.

Those Buddhist followers were not solely devoted to him, the Yamāntaka.

The mortal realm was not the exclusive domain for his, the Yamāntaka's, sacred manifestations.

It belonged to the Buddhist faith, to its power, to its incense offerings, which the Yamāntaka could not simply seize and use to condense a manifested body.

Without consulting anyone, he had unilaterally taken the incense offerings of many Bodhisattvas for his own benefit. The Buddhas, whether they had already attained the Heavenly Heart or were on the path to doing so, comprehending the Taiyi Daluo, were called "Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Awakened Ones)" or "Wonderful Enlightenment" in Buddhism. They might not care about the various incense offerings in the mortal realm or the actions of the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva.

However, the Equivalence Bodhisattvas had not yet reached that level. They were merely at the peak of ascended immortals and Buddhas, far from touching the edge of the Heavenly Heart. Therefore, they still valued the incense offerings of the mortal realm.

Especially Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, who, among the many Equivalence Bodhisattvas, held the highest position, would undoubtedly seek trouble with the Yamāntaka.

"Our Buddhist faith already holds great power in the Inner Mountains and Rivers. Even though the flow of time differs between the Inner and Outer Mountains and Rivers, the incident at the Great Thunderclap Temple hasn't been that long ago in the Inner Mountains and Rivers. With the lessons of the past still vivid, how dare he cross realms as a flying immortal... isn't he giving the other two sects and the fangshi (alchemists/magicians) leverage?"

"Regardless of which dynasty it belongs to, regardless of which great ruler or tyrant it once assisted, in the Inner Mountains and Rivers, if external forces disrupt the peace, the internal forces must unite against the external threat. The Buddhist faith is being too flamboyant, already causing dissatisfaction among the other three parties. Now, it wants to create even more trouble..."

"Ruining twenty years of an Equivalence's cultivation, causing him to regress to the First Ground Bodhisattva, is even worse than a newly ascended minor immortal. Such a severe punishment should appease matters and give an explanation to all parties."

Destroying an Equivalence was not important.

It wasn't like destroying a Pratyekabuddha or a Wonderful Enlightenment-level Bodhisattva.

Buddhist cultivation also had different paths. Those of the Bodhisattva Vehicle aimed to cultivate Wonderful Enlightenment, which was equivalent to the Daoist Daluo, as their goal. The Daoist Taiyi Daluo all led to the Heavenly Heart, albeit with different focuses. Similarly, the three vehicles of Buddhism, the Bodhisattva Vehicle's Wonderful Enlightenment, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle's Solitary Awakened Ones, could all be cultivated to the level of a Heavenly Heart Buddha.

As for the lowest, the Sravaka Vehicle, it was the path of Arhat cultivation. The highest level was the Great Arhat, but Arhats could not become Buddhas.

However, Arhats could switch to cultivating the Bodhisattva Vehicle. Compared to the orthodox Bodhisattva path, the Arhat path was relatively simpler and could be seen as a shortcut.

Ucchusma Vajra sighed. The phantom of the young Great Buddha took a step forward. The matter in the East Sea had already been resolved, and the Twelve White Horses had disappeared without a trace.

Daoism had used this incident to issue a warning to him.

Perhaps it was also his repayment for the last time.

"Giving the Arctic Dharma Master the Vajra imprint, taking Qin Nuxiu as his blade, and giving her the Second Revolution Immortal Pill. Before that, he even broke through the corpse-dissolving immortal of the Jinglun Heavenly Palace."

"Zi Yi's meaning is that the Daoist people who cross realms are merely minor immortals, and even reduce their realm by reincarnating in the Yin World, losing their immortal bodies. Such weak immortals are still being manipulated by me in secret, causing them to not only fail to return to the Yang World and descend from the immortal realm, but also regress to the weak state of the pre-natal stage and be killed by the Arctic Dharma Master..."

"Afterward, guiding the Arctic Dharma Master to discover the Maitreya Scroll, so as to detect the Ucchusma imprint, and opening the permissions for the first time, allowing the Peacock King Mahamayuri to become aware..."

"Molding a ghost city in the Yin World, I opened the Vajra imprint permissions for the second time, so that the Peacock King Mahamayuri could truly detect the loopholes, and aiding the Arctic Dharma Master involved the Divine Empyrean Dao of the Song Dynasty and the Perfect Great Daoism of the Jin Dynasty..."

"Repeatedly influencing the world in subtle ways, Daoism already harbors resentment towards me."

The Vajra's voice disappeared with his phantom.

Those who cultivate the Bodhisattva Vehicle all aim to achieve Wonderful Enlightenment, which is the same as cultivating the Great Luo Dao. Its essence lies in the application of karma, and after cultivation, one can attain the Heavenly Heart.

Reversing the cause and effect.

But there was no need to do that now.

Just dropping a few thoughts was already unbearable for the mortal realm. Lu Wang was merely entangled by a single thought back then, yet he fell into boundless pain, to the point where he had to build a temple to the Invincible Wisdom King to suppress his own thoughts.

However, that Wisdom King, like the Compassionate Vow Vajra, was merely an incarnation of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

.......

In the Inner Mountains and Rivers, the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva had already suffered the consequences of his own actions. He had painstakingly brought back Buyan's vows from the Eastern Royal Court, but his physical body and soul were gone. Moreover, the grand Buddhist temple built in the Northern Kurus was surrounded by thousands of Buddhist lights!

Lion's Roar Bodhisattva, King of Light Bodhisattva, Sunlight Bodhisattva, Mountain and Sea Wisdom Bodhisattva, King of Many Treasures Bodhisattva.

Five of the twenty-five Equivalence Bodhisattvas had come here and surrounded his temple.

"You did such a thing, crossing the boundary, for the sake of a mere remnant of the Yuan Dynasty!"

"The barbarian monks are arrogant, even if they need protection, there's no need to do it now! Because of you, the Buddhist faith has been implicated. After the incident at the Great Thunderclap Temple, when the path to the True Realm of Heaven appeared, some believed that the Buddha Emperor wanted to seize the opportunity of the True Realm of Heaven, and collectively sent flying immortals to descend upon Thunderclap, forcing the Buddha Emperor to withdraw. If it weren't for the Medicine Buddha, the Light Victory Buddha, and the Kumarajiva Vajra protecting him, Thunderclap would have collapsed by half!"

"Your actions are flamboyant, as if you fear that the world doesn't know that Equivalence Bodhisattvas have crossed the boundary! The many Heavenly Palaces of Daoism, the Ten Immortal Mountains of the Fangshi, and even the other shore's divine kingdom of Confucianism, the Illuminated World, have all become aware. Do you think that the Equivalence Bodhisattvas are still the same as ordinary Bodhisattvas and Arhats, whose actions will not be known or noticed?"

The five Equivalence Bodhisattvas were moved to anger. As Bodhisattvas, they rarely became angry, but this time, a nameless fire truly arose.

Acting on his own had implicated the overall situation. The Buddhist faith had just declared in Thunderclap that it would retreat from the world for ten years without taking any action, but now the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva had directly crossed the boundary with his projection, simply disregarding the Three Sages of Thunderclap!

"Who sent you to question me? Xuanzang, the Medicine King Buddha, Bodhidharma, the Light Victory Buddha, Kumarajiva, the Prajna Vajra?"

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva's face was pale, and he closed his eyes: "I was just severely injured by Zi Yi, and my cultivation regressed to the First Ground Bodhisattva for twenty years. Daoism will surely cease its actions, so what explanation is still needed now?"

"You still need to give us an explanation! You took our incense offerings without authorization, disrupted our plans, and even broke the Buddhist promise. Now, you've only been beaten back to the First Ground Bodhisattva. I don't think that's enough!"

The King of Many Treasures Bodhisattva said coldly: "You need to step down from the Bodhisattva position!"

"You must not be allowed to achieve Buddhahood, nor can you return to the Bodhisattva Vehicle! Because you have a teacher and a lineage, you cannot attain Pratyekabuddhahood either. From today onwards, you shall switch to cultivating the Sravaka Vehicle and become a Great Arhat, a liberated wanderer!"

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and then burst into laughter:

"There has only ever been Arhats switching to cultivating Bodhisattvas, but never Bodhisattvas switching to cultivating Arhats. People go to higher places, water flows to lower places. The wisdom that has already been obtained has long been engraved in the heart, so how can it be returned to the heavens, earth, and Buddhas?"

"Everyone, who exactly sent you to question me?"

The Mountain and Sea Wisdom Bodhisattva said: "Who sent us doesn't matter. We came on our own, representing the twenty-five Equivalence Bodhisattvas. You are also one of the twenty-five Equivalence Bodhisattvas. Do we still need any Buddha to order us?"

The Lion's Roar Bodhisattva was even more rude in his rebuke, his voice like rolling thunder or a volcanic eruption, the roar of the sea:

"From today onwards, the barbarian monk lineage must not take any more actions! Otherwise, there will be a calamity of thunderbolt fire from the heavens!"

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva was not afraid of the threats from the Great Bodhisattvas, and even burst into loud laughter:

"I was troubled by Zi Yi, and the Ucchusma Vajra didn't protect me. It was my own fault, but you also want to give me orders? This is the Inner Mountains and Rivers, and you are in the southwestern pure land of the Northern Kurus. Without a Great Buddha behind you, you dare to come here?"

"Whether the Tantric sect can be passed down, whether it participates in future struggles, whether it recognizes the agreement of the Thunderclap Temple, is not up to me to decide."

"It is up to the Buddha to decide!"

As his words fell, the world suddenly became filled with intense sunlight, even suppressing the radiance of the Sunlight Bodhisattva among the five Bodhisattvas. That blazing sun even illuminated the entire Northern Kurus!

"Retreat."

With a single word, the five Equivalence Bodhisattvas were immediately expelled from the territory of the Northern Kurus and disappeared without a trace!

The previous arrogant questioning had all vanished. Under the blazing sunlight, the Yamāntaka Bodhisattva saluted the sunlight.

"The Mahavairocana Tathagata!"

From within the blazing sunlight, the voice of the Mahavairocana Tathagata was transmitted:

"The agreement of Thunderclap must not be destroyed. Although I am not present, I must still recognize it. There must be a Great Buddha behind the five Equivalence Bodhisattvas, using this matter to force my Tantric sect to withdraw from the struggle. Therefore, although they are temporarily expelled now, if the problem is not resolved properly, the next ones to come here will probably be Guanshiyin, Mahasthamaprapta, and Akasagarbha."

"The Great Buddhas behind these three are not easy to contend with. Their lack of appearance now is merely to preserve the overall situation."

Guanshiyin represents the Buddha, Mahasthamaprapta represents Amitabha (the Guide Buddha), and Akasagarbha represents the Cintamani Vajra.

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva was unwilling: "My Tantric sect also has many Great Buddhas, why should we follow the agreement of Thunderclap..."

"The Buddhist faith is a whole. The words of Thunderclap are the meaning of Sumeru, the sound of the seven-tiered pagoda, the thoughts of the Saha Pure Land, and the common voice of the four great continents! Once there is internal division, it will be easily disintegrated from the outside. Don't you understand this simple principle?"

"Looking at the current state of infighting in Daoism, one can know the consequences of internal warfare in my Buddhist faith."

"Give me the vow that you brought."

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva gave Buyan's vow to the Mahavairocana Tathagata, who, after taking the vow, sighed softly: "The matter of restoring the Great Yuan still needs to be considered in the long term. The Ucchusma Vajra is also ruthless, destroying the physical body is enough, yet he even annihilated the soul. We still need to find a new soul from reincarnation to be the carrier of the vow."

"If it weren't for him possessing the Mandate of Heaven, obtaining the seal of the Great Yuan, and having the hope of drawing out the Heavenly Dao, such a weak person would not need much attention. Offending the human immortal was also because heaven and earth did not care for him at that time."

"Restoring the Yuan court is a further step from the Heavenly Heart. The so-called Hunyuan of Daoism, the so-called extinction of us, are all illusions. Only the True Realm can break the shackles and achieve the true Buddha fruit."

"At that time, the universe will be unified, and the 'Primordial Buddha' may reappear."

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva's eyes also shone brightly upon hearing this.

The Primordial Buddha was a realm in the legends of Tantric Buddhism, also the first Buddha at the beginning of the world's creation. Zen and other Buddhist teachings also have a legendary first Buddha, named "Awesome Sound King Buddha," but the meaning represented by Awesome Sound King Buddha is different from that of the Primordial Buddha.

Sakyamuni is still the ancestor of Buddhism, and Awesome Sound King Buddha is merely a pure spiritual incarnation condensed by all those who practiced Buddhism in the distant past.

But the Primordial Buddha of Tantric Buddhism is the real, original Buddha, considered the source of all Buddha Dharma, the creator of all things. They do not recognize Sakyamuni as the Buddha.

"Whoever can achieve the True Realm and obtain the true Buddha fruit is the Primordial Buddha. This is also the struggle of the Buddha Dharma, so there can be no retreat."

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva also spoke words of no retreat with a firm tone. The blazing sun manifested by the Mahavairocana Tathagata wrapped Buyan's vows, and then the gate of the Six Paths of Reincarnation opened, from which flew out a soul. The Mahavairocana Tathagata began to reshape his soul.

But at the next moment!

An inexplicably powerful force instantly erased the newly detained soul, tearing it to shreds!

The Northern Kurus trembled with the fluctuations of the Mahavairocana Tathagata's blazing sun!

"Which Heavenly Heart is this? Show yourself!"

No one responded to the Mahavairocana Tathagata, who was extremely strange. Then, he opened the gate of the Six Paths of Reincarnation again, and a new soul flew out, but this time, it was still the same as before!

"This is..."

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva immediately discovered that the phenomenon of the soul collapsing and being instantly erased was exactly the same as the move used by that black-clothed Dharma Master back then!

So he told the Mahavairocana Tathagata in detail about what he had encountered in the Outer Mountains and Rivers.

The Mahavairocana Tathagata was also very surprised, but then, his voice became heavy:

"In that case, isn't it... this person can only exist as a vow, and can no longer condense a soul?"

No soul, only vows?

Even if they needed a puppet, it wasn't this kind of true "puppet"!

Something with only vows and no soul to support it was just like those divine tablets in Fuli. What was the difference between that and wood carvings and mud sculptures!

Could the Tantric sect defeat the other Buddhist teachings, and even the entire Three Teachings and the fangshi, with a wood carving or mud sculpture?

"Useless...! Interesting, I've never seen this kind of divine power before!"

"It can even erase my Dharma power, and it's still working even when crossing the Inner and Outer Mountains and Rivers... This isn't ordinary divine power! It involves the level of 'Buddha Fruit'!"

"You said that person was a demonic cultivator? What kind of demon, a heavenly demon or a human demon, a heretical demon or a foreign demon? Or is it the Western Christian art that has risen in recent times?"

The Yamāntaka Bodhisattva was momentarily speechless: "This... I only exchanged blows with him for a moment before being separated by the Ucchusma Vajra, so I really can't say for sure."

"But he seems to have a good relationship with the Ucchusma Vajra."

"The Ucchusma Vajra... I see... it's the human immortal who was given the Second Revolution Immortal Pill... Perhaps the Yuanmiao Great Sage of the Divine Empyrean Dao and the immortals of the Jinglun Heavenly Palace will know something about his detailed information."