Da Qin: Conquer all heavens and all realms

Xianyang Star Palace, above the palace gate.

Ying Zheng's figure stands above the sky like an eternal and unchanging towering mountain.

As soon as the words came out, heaven and earth became solemn and murderous.

The white-robed monk, whose Dharma name is "Jingming", is one of the ten great disciples under the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. He specializes in debates and salvation. He once persuaded thirty-six foreign worlds to convert to Buddhism with his own words. His Buddhist practice is unfathomable.

Upon hearing this, his expression remained solemn, and he clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. The Buddha's teachings are boundless. They are not for salvation, but for universal salvation. They relieve the suffering of all living beings, not the world itself. Laws are techniques; they can constrain behavior, but they cannot purify hearts. If a person's heart is evil, even with thousands of laws, they will find loopholes and commit evil deeds. Only the Buddha's teachings can cut off greed, anger, and ignorance at their root, allowing all living beings to naturally develop good intentions. This is the foundation of a good world."

The words of the holy monk Jingming are flawless and full of Buddhist compassion and wisdom.

He cleverly defined "law" as "technique", which is a low-level means; and defined "Buddhism" as "Tao", which is the fundamental solution.

If these words were to reach the ears of all living beings in the universe who are frightened by the laws of the Qin Dynasty, I wonder how many people would be shaken.

Behind Ying Zheng, Meng Tian, ​​Li Si, and the others' expressions changed slightly. They were all practical talents, skilled in the practicalities of governing a country and maintaining peace. For a moment, they didn't know how to refute this vague and illusory dispute over "Taoism."

However, Ying Zheng smiled.

He laughed casually, as if he had heard a very funny joke.

"Good intentions?" Ying Zheng took a step forward, and the entire power of the Heavenly Dao in the Qingtian World seemed to roar with his step. "Jingming, what kind of good intentions are you talking about? Is it the 'good intentions' that allow starving people to watch temples piled high with offerings, yet dare not take a single grain of rice to fill their stomachs? Is it the 'good intentions' that allow believers to spend their wealth just to exchange for a vague blessing from the gods and Buddhas? Or is it the 'good intentions' that allow countless living beings to enslave themselves under the gods, submitting to their fate and daring not to resist, under the euphemism of 'karma and reincarnation'?"

Every question Ying Zheng asked was like a sharp dagger, stabbing the foundation of theocracy.

For the first time, the Holy Monk Jingming frowned slightly. "Your Majesty, this is biased. Believers' offerings are sincere and effective, accumulating merit for themselves. The gods protect a region, and it's only natural that they receive such offerings. This is a contract with Heaven, and it cannot be violated."

"A contract of heaven?" Ying Zheng's laughter grew even colder. "What is heaven's way? I am the heaven's way here! What is a contract? It's a contract when both parties are willing. God, have you ever asked those mortals if they are willing to sacrifice their lives in exchange for that illusory blessing? Have you ever asked them if they are willing to leave their fate to you?"

"no!"

Ying Zheng's voice suddenly rose and turned into rolling thunder.

"What you call 'Heaven's Way' is nothing but shackles tailor-made by you 'gods and Buddhas' for yourselves, to bind my people! What you call a 'contract' is nothing but one-sided exploitation and oppression! Today, I will break these shackles and tear up this false contract! My people, their fate should be in their own hands. Their good and evil should be determined by the law, not by you high-and-mighty 'gods and Buddhas' who can determine their cycle of life and death with a single word!"

These words were powerful and full of domineering and unparalleled logic.

The holy monk Jingming fell silent.

He discovered that the emperor before him was different from any monarch he had converted before.

He doesn't care about the afterlife, nor is he afraid of cause and effect. All he cares about is fairness and order in this world.

This kind of "humanity" that is pure to the extreme makes the Buddhist teachings that he is proud of seem pale and powerless.

After a long pause, the Holy Monk Jingming slowly spoke, "Your Majesty, the human heart is unpredictable, its desires boundless. Without faith to restrain it, without cause and effect to deter it, how can laws alone maintain order? If everyone commits evil out of desire, even if Your Majesty has a million soldiers, how can you control the billions of lives in the heavens and myriad realms?"

This is the killer weapon of the Holy Monk Jingming.

He pointed out a core problem: the cost of enforcing the law.

Gods and Buddhas rule, and costs are low.

All you need to do is create an idol, spread a scripture, and let believers manage and restrain themselves.

Laws, on the other hand, require a huge bureaucratic system, law enforcement teams, and judicial institutions, and the amount of manpower and material resources they consume is astronomical.

Ying Zheng seemed to have expected him to ask such a question. Instead of being panicked, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"You're right."

When these words were spoken, even the holy monk Jingming was a little surprised.

Ying Zheng continued, "It is indeed difficult to control all the heavens with human power alone. But when did I ever say that it was solely human power?"

He raised his hand and pointed into the void.

"Lee Si."

"I'm here." Li Si immediately stepped forward.

"Show this Western saint the core of the 'Law Skynet'."

"According to the order!"

Li Si accepted the order, and a crystal clear jade slip appeared out of thin air in his hand.

With a surge of his magical power, the jade slip soared into the sky and transformed into an extremely vast star map in mid-air.

This star map is not made up of the stars in the sky, but is composed of countless golden rays interwoven together, forming a huge network covering the entire territory of the Qin Dynasty.

Every node in the network corresponds to a world and a living being.

"This is the 'Law Skynet', woven with my humanity and national destiny as its foundation, the 'Basic Law of the Heavens' as its warp and weft, and the 'Heart of Law' of the Qin Dynasty as its core." Li Si's voice was filled with pride and awe.

"What is the 'Heart of the Law'?"

Ying Zheng took over, his voice tinged with cold rationality. "That is a 'Daoist weapon' forged by me personally. It possesses no emotions, no sense of good or evil, only absolute logic and justice. It connects to every corner of the 'Law Skynet.' Every living being, whether divine or demonic, mortal or saint, who enters my heavenly domain will have their every word and action recorded by the Skynet."

"Once their actions violate the law, the 'Heart of Law' will automatically judge them. In minor cases, it will rain down the 'Law Divine Thunder' to punish them; in serious cases, it will directly deprive them of their connection to the 'Law Skynet', erasing their existence under the Heavenly Dao, and annihilating them both physically and spiritually!"

"This entire process requires no human intervention, no trial process. Heaven's net is vast and nothing can escape it. This is the 'law' I use to constrain the billions of lives in the heavens and myriad realms!"

The Holy Monk Jingming looked at the vast and boundless golden network, and his expression finally changed.

He felt it.

Within that network lies a cold, fair, and unquestionable force of law.