The Secret Way of Immortality

Deep within Jing Prefecture, things were becoming increasingly turbulent.

The Great Buddha Heaven, unbeknownst to anyone, had been infiltrated by several extraterrestrial demons of terrifying cultivation, their strength comparable to that of Bodhisattvas, throwing the Buddhist realm into utter chaos.

Even the intervention of the Four Great Bodhisattvas only managed to inflict heavy damage on the extraterrestrial demons.

As for the Small Buddha Heaven, although it was free from extraterrestrial demons from the outside world, it was plagued by the existence of the Flesh Body Tathagata, causing widespread panic.

Golden Gate Temple had become a place completely deserted, even thoroughly demonized in the exaggerated tales of many monks.

Initially, nearby temples still sent Buddhas to Golden Gate Temple to investigate the situation.

However, after several Buddhas suddenly went missing without a trace, Golden Gate Temple seemed to be shrouded in gloom, with no one knowing what was happening inside.

The rumors about the Flesh Body Tathagata became increasingly bizarre, with its mountain-like flesh body spreading the fame of the Mountain Buddha throughout the Small Buddha Heaven.

Even the several extraterrestrial demon attacks that occurred in the Great Buddha Heaven were implicated.

It was said that the monks who did not escape from Golden Gate Temple were left without even their bones, having been turned into food in the belly of the Flesh Body Tathagata.

As for the appearance of the Flesh Body Tathagata, opinions varied widely.

According to the initial descriptions from Golden Gate Temple, the Flesh Body Tathagata was a monster made of flesh and blood, but some monks swore that the Mountain Buddha had tens of thousands of faces.

The Mountain Buddha seemed capable of devouring the souls of mortals, and even Buddhas were not spared.

However, the rumors suddenly came to an abrupt end after more than half a year, because a Buddha who had disappeared after going to Golden Gate Temple safely escaped from within.

Mortals did not know what had happened, and Golden Gate Temple became a forbidden area for a time.

Bang, bang, bang...

Heavy footsteps approached from afar, and faint Buddha light seemed to dispel the gloom.

Five Insect Buddhas walked along the official road towards Golden Gate Temple, their pace not fast, but each step spanned nearly a thousand meters.

The leading Insect Buddha had an extremely bizarre appearance, with thousands of arms growing all over its body, its appearance both male and female, carrying a sense of Zen.

It called itself "Thousand-Hand Buddha," and its cultivation was already a Heavenly Guile Realm Arhat.

Even among Arhat Buddhas, Thousand-Hand Buddha was considered top-notch, not far from becoming a Bodhisattva, and could break through the bottleneck in at most fifty years.

The four Insect Buddhas following Thousand-Hand Buddha were all ordinary Buddhas in the Yang God Realm, with very obvious animalistic characteristics.

"Amitabha."

"Venerable Thousand-Hand, regarding the extraterrestrial demons in the Great Buddha Heaven, do you think they are real or fake?"

The one speaking was the Monkey-Faced Buddha, whose body clearly showed signs of being transformed by beastification techniques, its skin covered with black fur, resembling a mountain spirit.

Thousand-Hand Buddha glanced at the Monkey-Faced Buddha and said calmly, "Even if there are truly extraterrestrial demons in the world, they certainly have no necessary connection with the existence of Golden Gate Temple."

The other Insect Buddhas remained silent, as their status meant they had no access to secrets.

They were mainly here for the sake of believers, as Thousand-Hand Buddha had promised to grant them five thousand adult monks after investigating Golden Gate Temple.

Thousand-Hand Buddha's expression was calm, and he put his palms together and chanted a few scriptures silently, then quickened his pace towards the location of Golden Gate Temple.

If one observed carefully, one could notice that when he mentioned the Flesh Body Tathagata, the emotion revealed in his eyes was slightly turbulent.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the blood-stained official road, with traces of many corpses left around.

After tens of thousands of monks initially defected and left Golden Gate Temple, the Insect Buddhas stationed in the surrounding temples fought openly and secretly to seize the population, resulting in many additional deaths and injuries.

Ironically, although the Flesh Body Tathagata's evil reputation spread far and wide, no monk had died because of it.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha was very puzzled as to why Thousand-Hand Buddha's attitude was so ambiguous towards the Mountain Buddha, who was the source of the trouble?

"Venerable Thousand-Hand, we're almost there."

The Lion-Bodied Buddha reminded softly, a hint of greed arising in his eyes.

He noticed that the nearby trees had traces of being cut down, indicating that there were probably a large number of monks living in the mountains.

They had likely strayed into the depths of the mountains while fleeing.

To the Heavenly Guile Realm Thousand-Hand Buddha, tens of thousands of people were barely better than nothing, but he didn't want to miss the benefits so close at hand.

The Lion-Bodied Buddha's nose twitched, wanting to smell the scent of living people.

As a result, he discovered that the survivors seemed to be living inside Golden Gate Temple, which didn't seem as terrifying as the rumors described at all.

The Lion-Bodied Buddha glanced obscurely at the Thousand-Hand Buddha not far away, who should have noticed the anomaly as well, but showed no reaction.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy, but he still walked towards Golden Gate Temple.

As the Insect Buddhas approached Golden Gate Temple, the environment revealed many unusual aspects, making their hair stand on end.

As temples built by Buddhas, they were made of glazed stones, and would not change in the slightest even after thousands of years.

But Golden Gate Temple, having experienced something unknown, was covered in thick moss.

A musty smell came over them, mixed with a strong stench, as if they were heading to a living hell.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha couldn't help but leak Buddha energy, but was immediately stopped by Thousand-Hand Buddha.

"Do not make noise when coming to Golden Gate Temple, be careful in everything."

The other Insect Buddhas stared at Thousand-Hand Buddha with fear, as his attitude from beginning to end was somewhat strange.

Thousand-Hand Buddha suppressed his excitement, closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Amitabha, fellow disciples, do not startle the snake."

He chose to walk in the front, dispelling some of the Monkey-Faced Buddha's doubts.

Before long, the Insect Buddhas had stepped into the area of Golden Gate Temple, and Thousand-Hand Buddha's attitude became even more cautious, his head slightly lowered.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha swallowed and couldn't help but feel like retreating.

Thousand-Hand Buddha's performance was too much like a believer going to pay homage, as if they were about to face the Blessed Virtue Tathagata.

"Something's not right..."

The Lion-Bodied Buddha muttered, then signaled the Monkey-Faced Buddha to look at the street.

The buildings of Golden Gate Temple had all been leveled, leaving only large streets, with prisons sitting on the open space.

"What the hell?!"

The Thorny Buddha, made of vegetation, exclaimed incredulously, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

In the cages, a large number of emaciated Buddhas were actually imprisoned.

The Buddha energy all over their bodies had been absorbed, their flesh also appearing withered, their minds constantly repeating strange scriptures.

Even with the arrival of the Insect Buddhas, they did not raise their eyes to pay attention, directly ignoring the sudden strangers.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha was terrified because, according to the estimated number, at least seven or eight thousand Buddhas were imprisoned, which was simply unheard of.

What was the origin of the Mountain Buddha? The Great Buddha Heaven was nothing more than this, right?

The situation was simply bizarre and unpredictable. Although there were no believers in the city, one could feel the imprisoned Insect Buddhas' aura recovering.

If the environment were not simple and crude, and there were no traces of Buddha energy, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was the Great Buddha Heaven.

One should know that only the Blessed Virtue Tathagata could emit Buddha energy to nourish the Buddhas under his seat without believers.

Golden Gate Temple was too strange, like coming to the junction of hell and the Buddhist world, filled with things that subverted imagination.

Thousand-Hand Buddha, however, showed no surprise, as if he was already used to it.

The Monkey-Faced Buddha couldn't help but ask, "Venerable Thousand-Hand, have you been to Golden Gate Temple before?"

Thousand-Hand Buddha smiled, his footsteps continuing forward, then the palms all over his body suddenly cracked open, and mouths opened, with tongues sticking out.

"I used to be stationed at Golden Gate Temple, all thanks to the glory of my Buddha Tathagata..."

"My Buddha Tathagata allowed me to achieve Arhat."

"If you are willing to become Buddhas under the seat of the True Tathagata, you will have the opportunity to reach Arhat, or even Bodhisattva in the future."

Thousand-Hand Buddha looked at them with a threatening gaze, raised his head and said, "The Great Buddha Heaven is the false Tathagata. Once you have seen my Buddha, you should know that there is only one Tathagata in the world."

Thousand-Hand Buddha... no, Many-Tongued Buddha's face was ferocious, and then he burst out a burst of Buddha energy.

Arms drilled out of the ground, and then the arms combined with each other, forming a wide wall, directly surrounding the four Insect Buddhas.

"Not good, let's scatter and escape."

The Monkey-Faced Buddha knew that he was no match for Many-Tongued Buddha, and quickly signaled the Buddhas to escape, but found them standing still in shock.

Many-Tongued Buddha had knelt on the ground, piously chanting the word "Tathagata."

The Monkey-Faced Buddha turned his head stiffly and saw more than a dozen Buddha statues carrying a mountain of flesh, slowly approaching them.

The substantial pressure surged out, and they could not move at all.

"Now that you have seen the Tathagata, why don't you kneel?"

A vast voice sounded, and mysterious patterns appeared on the surface of the Flesh Body Tathagata, and golden bronze Buddha energy filled every corner of the city.

Many-Tongued Buddha sang the name of the Flesh Body Tathagata, "Spirit Mountain Tathagata."

The thousands of Insect Buddhas imprisoned in Golden Gate Temple opened their eyes one after another, frantically shouting hysterically, singing the praises of Spirit Mountain Tathagata.

They were only in the Yang God Realm, how could they resist the remaining power of the Heavenly Guile Realm?

Even if the Flesh Body Tathagata had no attack methods at all, it could suppress the Yang God Realm with Buddha energy alone, easily imprisoning them in cages.

"Well done, Many-Tongued Buddha."

"Tathagata, I will definitely let more Buddhas worship at your seat..."

The Flesh Body Tathagata wriggled, and a statue exactly like Many-Tongued Buddha stretched out its arm and pointed its index finger at the center of Many-Tongued Buddha's brow.

Then, Buddha energy poured into Many-Tongued Buddha's body, causing his cultivation to rise slightly.

"Thank you, Tathagata, thank you, Tathagata."

Many-Tongued Buddha did not stay long, as he still had to find more Buddhas for the Flesh Body Tathagata.

Ren An looked at Many-Tongued Buddha's departing back, the Flesh Body Tathagata could control the thoughts of Insect Buddhas and could feed back Buddha energy.

Currently, the Flesh Body Tathagata was still at the Yang God Realm Perfection, but it could create Insect Buddhas in the Heavenly Guile Realm.

Ren An had scattered a total of five Insect Buddhas outside, and had gradually begun to close the net. It would not be long before he could completely control the Small Buddha Heaven.

He was quite curious about the situation in the Great Buddha Heaven.

The Heavenly Guile Realms such as Madam White Bone went to the depths of the deep world, and even in such a remote place as Golden Gate Temple, they could hear the names of their extraterrestrial demons. What kind of chaos had they caused?

Ren An took advantage of the opportunity that the Great Buddha Heaven was attracting attention to recapture the Small Buddha Heaven first, and then use the small to eat the big.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the Pig Taoist hiding in the Great Hall of the Great Hero.

The Pig Taoist shivered.