The Malevolent Buddha

Both men halted their movements, quietly awaiting the response from the faceless Buddha statue.

"What lies beneath the Buddha... is another Buddha."

A deep, resonant voice tinged with disbelief emerged from the faceless statue.

Xu Jin furrowed his brows slightly, his expression equally incredulous.

The young monk's eyes shimmered with golden light, flames seeming to flicker and drift from his gaze.

The faceless statue turned its featureless face toward Xu Jin and hastily continued,

"However, that Buddha is enshrouded in a miasma of blood, eerie and grotesque, bound motionless by countless chains. The overwhelming divine power is solely to suppress his divine sea and Buddha-realm!"

Xu Jin's frown eased, and he immediately commanded, "Return your divine sense at once."

The young monk remained silent, merely raising his hand. The Nine Dragons Staff he had hurled earlier transformed into a golden streak of light and returned to his grasp.

The barrier protecting the Zheng Yin Dharma Temple dissipated.

Without another word, the young monk tightened his grip on the Nine Dragons Staff, ignoring Xu Jin's sword pointed directly at him, and instead swung the staff with full force toward Yuan Kong before the great Buddha.

At this point, words were meaningless.

As the staff descended, several golden dragons infused with Buddhist might surged toward Yuan Kong as if piercing through space.

Xu Jin moved to intervene. Since Yuan Kong had witnessed the truth firsthand, protecting him now was imperative—after all, more answers lay with him.

"There is no need to worry about me."

The voice of the faceless Buddha echoed, and behind it, a resplendent Buddha-realm materialized—though not bathed in golden light, but woven from countless strands of divine power.

The realm behind the faceless Buddha was not populated by serene Buddhas or compassionate Bodhisattvas.

Instead, it was filled with Arhats consumed by greed, Bodhisattvas with sly and sinister expressions, and Buddhas whose smiles blurred the line between majesty and deceit, their faces dripping with temptation.

Their expressions varied, yet all exuded an aura of corruption.

The faceless Buddha raised its head, its faded hand lifting as the Arhats from its realm charged forward, clashing with the oncoming golden dragons.

The Arhats, faces twisted with greed, lunged at the dragons with delight, punching and biting into them as if feasting on heavenly delicacies.

The young monk frowned. The golden dragons were ethereal—even if overpowered, they shouldn’t be devoured like this.

But he had no time to dwell on it, for Xu Jin's vast sword radiance was already upon him.

The staff in the young monk's hand erupted with blinding golden light. Rather than counterattacking, he focused solely on defense, his voice sharp:

"With such methods, how could this faceless statue still be under the control of that so-called Buddha-child? Your Buddha-child has already fallen prey! If we don’t subdue this great Buddha now, he’ll break free in moments, and your Buddha-child will be nothing but nourishment! Seize the great Buddha first—don’t let him escape!"

Xu Jin’s movements didn’t falter, as if all hesitation had vanished. His sword gleamed with relentless cold light, each strike fiercer than the last, filling the sky with flashing arcs that forced the young monk into a desperate retreat. Yet his voice remained calm as he replied,

"Preventing his escape is your concern. My goal is to uncover what he truly is—and what your Buddhist sect is scheming!"

The young monk’s gaze hardened. A phantom of a Buddha manifested behind him, raising a palm that descended with thunderous Sanskrit chants, pressing down on Xu Jin. At the same time, he retorted coldly,

"What is the Buddhist sect scheming? Haven’t you seen it with your own eyes? We are suppressing evil!"

A streak of azure light flashed past, and the Buddha’s palm dissolved into motes of light.

Xu Jin lunged forward, his spirit-treasure sword blazing once more before transforming into a radiant streak that smashed the young monk into the ground.

The impact carved a massive crater, the residual force absorbed by the earth and radiating outward like an earthquake.

Xu Jin descended, sword in hand, arriving at the crater’s edge in an instant, his divine sense locking onto the young monk amidst the swirling dust.

So what if this was a Great Vehicle Buddhist cultivator’s possession?

Xu Jin might not surpass his own master, but surpassing a second-rate Buddha was hardly impossible.

Moreover, the Buddha’s control could only manifest at most an early-stage Unity Realm power. And with such a long-distance divine descent, there had to be drawbacks—whether the Buddha could even mobilize all of that Unity Realm energy was questionable.

At this moment, the one at a disadvantage should not be Xu Jin.

The situation was strange. Bai Xuanling was likely under pressure as well. Best to eliminate this troublesome monk first, then determine the truth about the faceless statue.

Xu Jin’s spirit-treasure sword became a streak of light, its slash capable of sundering mountains and splitting earth. The overwhelming pressure scattered the dust instantly as he brought the blade down on the rising young monk.

"Ah..."

The young monk sighed softly. Time seemed to stretch as golden light swirled in his eyes. Though his body didn’t move, a golden hand emerged from behind him, intercepting Xu Jin’s full-powered strike.

BOOM!

The collision of spiritual forces sent shockwaves rippling outward.

Xu Jin’s expression remained placid, but inwardly, he sensed trouble—the golden hand that had appeared behind the young monk... exuded an oppressive aura.

The young monk lifted his gaze. "Beneath Zheng Yin Dharma Temple lies a Buddha who strayed from the true path—a being of malice and corruption. He distorted the orthodox Dharma, deceiving countless Arhats and Bodhisattvas, even leading those on the verge of Buddhahood astray, dragging them into the abyss of Avīci Hell."

"That evil Buddha held high status, and his twisted teachings spread widely, drawing many cultivators into his heresy."

"The once-peaceful Buddhist realm was thrown into chaos. Fortunately, the true Buddhas uncovered his treachery early. They debated him at the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Defeated in the debate, the evil Buddha flew into a rage, seeking to slaughter all dissenters and impose his so-called ‘righteous path.’"

"Yet the Buddhas, in their mercy, merely joined forces to suppress him beneath Zheng Yin Dharma Temple, allowing him time to reflect, repent, and shed his bloodthirsty nature."

"Even the newly ascended Buddhas he deceived chose to remain here voluntarily, guarding him as penance."

"This matter is a classified internal affair of the Buddhist sect. Must it truly be exposed to the world? Must outsiders dictate its resolution?"

As he spoke, the golden hand held firm against Xu Jin’s sword technique, unwavering.

The young monk’s eyes narrowed. "That evil Buddha has been suppressed for nearly a millennium. Look at his Buddha-realm—does it resemble that of a true monk?"

"If he escapes, spreading his heretical teachings, how many lives will be ruined? How many will descend into depravity?"

"I’ve held back against you both repeatedly. We even protected that Buddha-child of yours. Must you truly, for reasons unknown, bring calamity upon this world?"

"You understand how difficult it is to apprehend a Buddha. Now, for the greater good, you should aid me in keeping that evil Buddha contained."

Xu Jin’s gaze remained steady, his sword’s force undiminished. "An evil Buddha? What teachings did he spread that alarmed the entire Buddhist sect so gravely?"

Seeing Xu Jin’s slight hesitation, the young monk quickly answered,

"That evil Buddha perverted the Dharma, preaching false doctrines—and arrogantly named them... the Great Vehicle Teachings."