Mysterious mirror hanging high

The Iron Mountain Arhat sighed, "Self-cultivation of one's own nature? That's also very good... This isn't the path sought by the [Buddha of the Original Vow], but it aligns with the path of another [Buddha of the Heart of the Candle], Sushengjue. All of these are the teachings of my Buddhism, and you can choose for yourself."

"There is no Buddha outside the mind; the self-nature is the Dharma; I do not light other candles, my lamp remains bright."

Yuanji sighed, "The [Voluntary] method of the Buddha Candle Heart is naturally miraculous, but I, Junior Brother, do not think that [Candle Heart] is superior to [Original Vow]. It's just that both Buddhas were born to respond to the calamity, and both wanted to find a way to help sentient beings survive the epochal catastrophe..."

"Both of these two Buddhas are unrivaled in talent and wisdom, both ancient and modern. Ultimately, they have some differences in their philosophy of overcoming tribulations. After ascending to heaven, I often read Buddhist scriptures, but the more I read, the more confused I become."

"[The Original Vow Buddha] gathered the strength of all living beings, hoping to achieve infinite and vast supernatural powers... In his view, if his supernatural powers could far surpass those of all immortals and Taoist masters, making him the supreme being in heaven and earth, nearly omnipotent, then he would naturally be able to eliminate disasters and save all living beings."

"But [Zhu Xin Buddha] believes that since becoming a Buddha can easily overcome the epochal catastrophe, then as long as every living being in the world reaches the realm of a Buddha, wouldn't the catastrophe be overcome?"

"Brother, which Buddha's way do you think is more correct?"

Tieshan Arhat clasped his hands together and apologized, "Junior Brother, I'm just a small Arhat. You ask me this? How should I answer you?"

"I think both Buddhas are right."

Yuanji rolled his eyes and ignored Tieshan Arhat. Instead, he continued walking forward and watched the various performances on the street held to celebrate Buddha's birthday.

Not long after, Yuanji stopped in the bustling crowd and his eyes were attracted by a stage.

An unknown play was being performed on the stage, but the performers' singing was melodious and beautiful, so many believers gathered here.

"What kind of play is this? It seems to have nothing to do with our Buddhism?" Yuanji asked curiously.

Tieshan Arhat explained, "Buddha's Birthday is a grand Buddhist event. It's not just Buddhists who come to attend. Immortals, demons, Taoists, monsters, mortals... all the major factions will have cultivators present."

"I guess this play is popular among other factions... and they came to perform it in the Buddha Kingdom."

In the center of the stage, a pitch-black golem was imprisoned by dozens of chains, the other ends of the chains were held in the hands of dozens of mysterious people with outstanding temperaments.

These mysterious people were dressed in luxurious clothes and were obviously of very high status, but they tightened the chains more and more, causing the golem to burst with black blood.

Yuanji looked at the golem with a pitiful look, which was actually subdued by dozens of mysterious people. He thought that in this play, the golem was a person who had committed heinous crimes and that was why he attracted the killing and was locked up by everyone.

But the actor who played the Golem sang loudly:

"What are you talking about?"

"It was clearly the robbery cloud covering the moon, and she was the first to ignite!"

"You all sit high in the Nine Heavens Palace..."

"You nailed me to the plaque of sin."

"But I, the poor man, am in chains—"

"What a magnificent show that turns the world upside down!"

Yuanji was slightly startled, and he sensed something wrong in the lines: "Could this demon statue have a grievance?"

But the [Golem] continued:

"Five Elements Sword, gouge my courage;"

"Zuoguang Lock, buckle my shoulder;"

"The prison of the universe seals my defense;"

"Yin Yang Mirror, show me my injustice!"

“My Lords—”

"Your wonderful method can reach the sky eye..."

"Why don't you see the one who started it all laughing in the clouds?"

Yuanji's frown deepened, and he heard the actor scolding and laughing:

"The most ridiculous thing is the green smoke in front of the Buddha..."

“What compassionate words are you reciting!”

"If the laws of nature are truly just..."

"Why not tie up the real culprit and offer him as a sacrifice to the heavens?"

"Instead, you're drawing the fire of disaster towards my heart!"

"So this eternal path of cultivation..."

"It's just a show of bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Upon hearing this, the Iron Mountain Arhat's expression changed, and he shouted angrily, "How dare you! On the Buddha's birthday, how dare you slander Buddhism in the Buddha Kingdom... Who sent you?"

At this moment, the actor who played the golem on the stage smiled strangely, and the heaven and earth suddenly stopped. The entire Buddhist kingdom in the palm of the hand seemed to be completely still at this moment, and the movements and expressions of countless believers and monks were frozen at this moment.

The next moment, the actor drew out a rapier, his whole body full of fighting spirit, and stabbed at Yuanji with a big laugh:

"God damn bald donkey!"

This actor's cultivation level far surpassed Yuanji's, and he seemed to have reached the level of an immortal. Yuanji could only watch as the tip of the thin sword got closer and closer, almost touching his nose.

Just when he thought he was doomed, the sound of Buddhist chanting suddenly rang in his ears.

In an instant, the void shook continuously, and one after another Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas appeared in the Buddha Kingdom in the palm of his hand. Among them, a golden Buddha with extremely powerful spiritual power stood in front of Yuanji at some point, and just stretched out two fingers to clamp the thin sword just right.

Then he gave it a light squeeze, and the thin sword, along with the person holding the sword, broke into pieces at the same time and turned into powder.

At this moment, Tieshan Arhat finally arrived and stood in front of Yuanji.

Yuanji was suddenly assassinated and had a close call between life and death. He was still in shock and before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he turned around and saw that the Tieshan Arhat, who had originally had an honest face, had a strange expression on his face for some reason. The look he gave Yuanji became extremely dangerous:

"God damn bald donkey!"

Tieshan Arhat roared and punched Yuanji, but was blocked by the golden Buddha again.

This time, the Golden Buddha did not kill him. Instead, he imprisoned the Iron Mountain Arhat with his magical powers, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face:

"Inner demon..."

The next moment, all the gods and Buddhas in the sky looked at Yuanji and said at the same time:

"Go back... This place is no longer safe."

Only then did he realize that the golden Buddha in front of him and all the gods and Buddhas in the sky were actually puppets, not real people!

Yuanji looked at the unconscious Tieshan Arhat and asked in a trembling voice:

"May I ask your name, Senior? Senior Brother Tieshan?"

The puppet Buddha spoke, "I am the Thousand-Machine Buddha Lord, ordered to secretly protect the Buddha's disciples... Iron Mountain Arhat is fine, merely temporarily possessed by a demonic inner world, causing a profound change in his mind... He needs a powerful being skilled in the spiritual realm to cleanse his true spirit. He will then rest for a period of time before recovering."

"Who sent that assassin just now? Who wanted to kill me?"

The puppet Buddha was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I don't know..."

"Only the two Buddhas know this matter... I only know that there is a great enemy... the common enemy of all the heavens and the myriad worlds."

"But do not recite his name, nor even think of it, or you will be noticed by the great enemy."

“The best way not to think about Him is to not know who He is at all.”

The puppet Buddha narrowed his eyes:

"It seems that I can no longer arrange for real bodyguards for you..."

"Otherwise, we will be [contaminated] one by one by Him..."