Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

The Palace Square, a royal forbidden area built on black stone and white jade, is only open to the general public on the day of the Golden Tripod Gathering, welcoming people from all over the world to come and exchange martial arts essence.

At this moment, sixteen magnificent golden cauldrons stand in the corners of the square, with each cauldron forming a circular arena where sixteen competitions are held simultaneously to vie for a place and the treasures sealed within the cauldron.

The other empty spaces in the square were for people from the capital to walk around and watch the ceremony at will. Of course, no matter their rank, no one dared to get too close, because if they were accidentally caught in the crossfire and lost their heads, that would be a real disaster.

"Clang clang clang—"

Few people know that this palace square is actually divided into two levels. The upper level was used for officials to pay homage or to hold grand sacrificial ceremonies, and it was the surface level that was open to the public.

The lower level consisted of prison cells, holding the most intolerable criminals of the Li Dynasty. The prisons were cramped and old, but not dark. On the contrary, the passageways and ditches were filled with molten iron.

The molten iron scorched the bars and floor of the cell, leaving the prisoners' feet charred and ulcerated. If any other part of their bodies came into contact with it, large patches of skin would be burned off in an instant, accompanied by cries of agony.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to punish those superhuman criminals. Most of them have internal energy protecting them, and it's common for them to take risks and make money in boiling oil... Therefore, the only way to punish them is with the most vicious fire.

The deeper one goes, the more terrifying the heat and the fiery poison become. Standing in the center of this dungeon is a massive bronze pillar, scorching hot, its surface bound with countless chains.

The chains were intertwined and connected to the top. With each tremor of the chains, terrifying heat was transmitted to the bronze pillar, and a large amount of molten copper and iron was burned off the huge bronze block.

...And the one bound to the bronze pillar at this moment is the Buddhist nun who has regained her youth.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

Molten iron was poured onto the girl's body, scalding copper pillars pounded her flesh, and burning iron chains were embedded in her limbs and neck... She was thus subjected to blasphemy and torture.

But strangely, her body remained intact, like a golden lotus in the fire, becoming even clearer and brighter. However, she herself had not yet awakened, only emitting extremely faint breaths from her mouth and nose.

Below the torture device, the faint light from the exploding flames revealed the blurry figures of three people: one wearing a crown with a stern and cold face, another dressed in servant's robes with a humble demeanor, and the third... was none other than Zhou Bensi.

"Your Majesty, the situation has been largely ascertained." The man dressed as a servant, a high-ranking eunuch in the imperial palace, bowed humbly to the man in the dragon robe at the front.

"Fire cannot kill him, water cannot extinguish him, and no matter what kind of weapons or poisons he is poisoned, none of them can erase the life force of this body... Without a doubt, this person truly has the appearance of a god."

"But even if she was once a celestial being, she is now just a corpse. Even breathing is just a primal instinct, she doesn't possess any subjective feedback that a living being should have..."

"I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense."

The man in the dragon robe interrupted coldly. His patience was even thinner than Zhou Bensi's. Even though he was disguised by an outer shell, the burning anger inside could not be concealed even in this prison!

"Can Buddhist teachings be deciphered? Can life force be purified? This key has come to us after many twists and turns. Can you use it to open a door to mythology for me?!"

"..."

"I'm sorry... Your Majesty, that's absolutely impossible."

"Let alone a mere two weeks, even if this Buddhist nun stayed in our hands for a hundred years, it would still be difficult to unravel the mythical secrets hidden within her... Our level and understanding are simply insufficient."

The eunuch knelt directly in the molten iron in the ditch, his body radiating humility and utterly spineless, yet his words were almost cold and indifferent, causing Zhou Bensi, whose legs were trembling behind him, to instinctively squat down.

"The Buddha's teachings are mysterious and profound. The life force he created seemed to be drawn from nothing, creating a girl with Buddha-like bones and flesh. The bones and flesh themselves were covered with mysterious patterns, which could be seen from the cross-section of the severed hand."

"Then why...?"

"Because she's consuming it."

Zhou Bensi spoke urgently; his status had plummeted to rock bottom, and he couldn't accept the loss of his only chance to turn things around. But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the eunuch.

The latter raised his head, his eyes filled with a deeper regret and hatred than his own, and he almost gritted his teeth as he continued speaking.

"The patterns are vitality, or rather, a reflection of the Buddha's power itself. When the Buddha's power is exhausted, it is just a powerful but ordinary corpse. And this process is not enough for us to copy all the Buddhist scriptures."

"From a mere severed hand, all we can transcribe are a few incomprehensible tadpole-like runes. They're incoherent and we can't even do the most basic deciphering. How can we possibly decipher any mythical technique?"

"Moreover, without a doubt, this is a Buddha bone body at the Grandmaster level. Its hardness is beyond the reach of the four of you in the mortal world. Even with violent destruction like this, it would be difficult to leave a mark."

"To dissect and study this in detail requires the mastery of a grandmaster and the skill of a master butcher. Moreover, even if all the conditions are met, it is unknown how long this analytical process will take, by which time the life force will likely have already dissipated."

"...The conflict between the two sides is ultimately unsolvable; your subordinate is incompetent."

"..."

"..."

He kowtowed heavily, slamming most of his head into the molten iron. His skin was covered with scalded blisters, and his frustration and helplessness were no less than Zhou Bensi's.

They remained silent for a long time, only the sound of the melting bronze pillars echoing in the deathly silent dungeon. After a moment, the emperor finally sighed and said softly:

"...That's wonderful."

The other two looked up in astonishment, and then a realization slowly dawned on them. For cultivators, not being able to advance into the path of gods was a regrettable thing, but for the dynasty's rule, it was actually a perfectly good thing.

"Unchanging" is the ideal state for the ruling class. All changes are seen as an impact on the established class. What the lower class sees as an opportunity is seen by them as termites shaking the giant tree.

It's a good thing for them that the key is completely broken. If Buddhism can never truly spread, it will just be another legend in the world... and a few more temples will be built.

It's harmless.

"...But Your Majesty, gods, ghosts, immortals, Buddhas, and demons—one of these fictional tales has already been proven by the nunnery incident. What if there are other legitimate traditions left behind in this vast world?"

"What I'm worried about is the North, that Buddhist city that claims to be the authentic Tibetan Buddhist center... The possibility of Buddhism there seems to have increased considerably because of this matter."