Taiyi Dao Fruit-Chapter 1210 - 11: On the Demon Buddha (Part 2)

"The mental state of that old Tathagata is quite elevated," Sun Wukong said with regret.

"He is the Incarnation Buddha among the Three Body Buddhas, also known as the Incarnated Buddha, and the original Enlightened One. Naturally, his mental state is not low," Karma Tathagata replied as if stating the obvious, without any regret.

The so-called Three Body Buddhas are the Dharma Body Buddha, the Reincarnation Buddha, and the Incarnation Buddha.

The Dharma Body Buddha is Great Sun Tathagata, representing the truth of the Buddhist Law. The Reincarnation Buddha is Lushena Buddha, representing the Buddha Fruit, enjoying the Buddha Country's Pure Land. Lastly, the Incarnation Buddha is Shakyamuni Tathagata, representing the teaching by adapting to circumstances, the Buddha body that manifests to enlighten the multitude of beings, essentially a divided Incarnated Buddha.

In Buddhist legends, the original Enlightened One descended as the Buddha's incarnation into the mortal world, reawakened the Buddhist Law, and attained enlightenment to become a Buddha.

In Buddhism, his status roughly corresponds to that of Lao Zi as the incarnation of Daode Tianzun.

And Shakyamuni Tathagata is comparable to Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad.

But with this being the case...

Jiang Li speculated, "If he is an Incarnated Buddha, could it be that Shakyamuni Tathagata still has a First Grade true body?"

Thinking this way, Jiang Li felt that this particular Tathagata might be the most wary enemy at present.

"Jiang Tanyue has some ideas."

Karma Tathagata chuckled upon hearing this, then said, "However, it is possible. Maybe Shakyamuni Tathagata indeed has a higher true body, and he himself is just an incarnation. However, the Mazer, having acquired Bodhi's memories, knows that Bodhi has a different notion. Maybe Shakyamuni Tathagata... or the original Enlightened One was not an incarnation but became an Incarnated Buddha due to certain reasons."

"How do you explain that?" Jiang Li became interested.

Knowing a secret not only satisfies curiosity but also helps to target enemies appropriately when facing them. Information is always the foremost factor in a confrontation.

Jiang Li naturally maintained interest.

Karma Tathagata wore a slightly mysterious look, putting away his smile, and said, "Jiang Tanyue, and Great Sage, you ought to know that Buddhist Law originates from the Enlightened. Hence, in theory, the Enlightened One should be the first Buddha."

"But in Buddhist texts, there are predecessors to the Shakyamuni Tathagata he acknowledged, fifty-four generations of Buddhas before the Shakyamuni Tathagata. According to the texts, Buddhism had long been spreading, but it was only after Shakyamuni Tathagata that it was disseminated to the world. To the laymen, these fifty-four generations of Buddhas only exist in legends, never having shown their true forms. Bodhi uses this to alter the Buddhist Law, claiming that Buddha started from the Enlightened, but his Buddha Fruit was stolen by others, turning the Enlightened One into an Incarnated Buddha, and making Buddhism just a guise.'

"All the Buddhas of countless generations are his demons, the Devil's Child and the Devil's Grandson.'

Briefly expressed, but for Jiang Li, it brought a chilling realization.

Karma Tathagata's words seem to hold some truth.

And Bodhi indeed lives up to the title of Buddha's enemy, directly claiming that all the Buddhas of countless generations are his demons, the Devil's Child and the Devil's Grandson.

Moreover, Jiang Li genuinely admired Bodhi for not being killed for saying such things.

"Is this true?" Sun Wukong couldn't help but ask.

"Whether true or false, the Mazer doesn't know. Even Bodhi only has this suspicion, and since this suspicion is unfavorable to Buddhism, he spread it to the world."

Karma Tathagata chuckled irresponsibly, "For this reason, he truly became Buddha's enemy. And now, the Mazer wishes to use this statement, telling it to Jiang Tanyue and the Great Sage, to assist the Mazer in demonstrating the Dao Fruit."

It isn't necessary for Jiang Li and Sun Wukong to fully believe it; a mere shred of doubt could aid Karma Tathagata in demonstrating the Dao Fruit.

The Demon is fundamentally an entity that entices the heart.

Yet Jiang Li found it surprisingly plausible.

Though the Enlightened achieved great accomplishments, his emergence into the world was late. If a Great Divine Power wanted to steal the Buddha Fruit, the Enlightened truly might not be able to withstand it.

Moreover, many of these Buddhas are actually mere aliases, referring not to the relationship between Manjusri Guangfa Tianzun and Manjusri Bodhisattva, but others. For instance, Emperor Ziwei of the Central Heaven has an alias as the Golden Wheel Radiant Light Buddha.

Even the Three Generations of Gods have aliases in Buddhism, with some claims stating the Enlightened One is the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.

Perhaps, among the original Buddhas, most were merely others' aliases?

The mythologies of the previous world were indeed complex and convoluted, hard to distinguish between true and false. Now integrating them into reality, Jiang Li found himself somewhat convinced by Bodhi's conjecture.

Even Karma Tathagata could not help but show a look of surprise, looking at Jiang Li.

Jiang Tanyue, do you really believe it?

He expressed this thought clearly.

Although Karma Tathagata did not attempt to probe Jiang Li's mind, the degree of Dao Fruit demonstration skyrocketed, which he couldn't possibly fail to notice.

In this situation, only two possibilities could cause the Dao Fruit demonstration degree to rise frantically: either Sun Wukong believed it, or Jiang Li believed it. Sun Wukong, a Victorious Battle Buddha, though somewhat unruly, since entering the Buddhist sect, was not inclined to believe such extravagant notions from Bodhi.

So the answer was singular—Jiang Li believed it.

"Just finds it quite interesting."

Jiang Li chuckled, suppressing the associations forming in his mind, saying, "Lay people can spread this notion through the Buddha Prison, thereby reducing the faith in the various Buddhas. Though those two managed to condense a Dharma Manifestation through unknown means, they should still have a need for incense."

It's up for debate later whether to trust it; for now, if it appears advantageous to us, then why not believe it?

Jiang Li embodies the ideology of taking what's useful and discarding what's not. If it's beneficial, even if it's false, he could make it sound true for you.

"Naturally, it would be best not to let Ksitigarbha know about such actions," Jiang Li said softly.

Karma Tathagata didn't immediately respond, merely revealing a rare complex expression, looking at Jiang Li.

"Jiang Tanyue, the Mazer once thought you had a Buddhist destiny, and at that time, the Buddha Country indeed needed talents like you, hence the numerous meetings, attempting to bring you into the Buddhist sect. Now, seeing it, the Mazer had misjudged, saw it wrong."

Karma Tathagata sighed long, "It is the Fire House Buddha Hell that needs talents like you."

If the Devaputra Dao Fruit fell into Jiang Li's hands and was absorbed by him, perhaps his progress would exceed mine.

Even without such a strong foundation, just this limitless resilience and lack of taboo already fully embodies the meaning of the Demon Path.

Compared to Jiang Li, Karma Tathagata felt his own moral threshold might be slightly high.

Sun Wukong even felt like seeing Jiang Li in a new light.

Originally thought Emperor Jiang had no bottom line, daring to accept the title of Horses' Fortune as an honor, now it seemed, he might have underestimated him.

"False praise, false praise, haha."

Such high praise genuinely left Jiang Li unsure how to respond, ultimately masking it with a few awkward laughs.

"We should quickly leave Heaven, both of you; lingering here is not worthwhile."

In just this brief interaction, several days passed again in the mortal world, truly a bit of a waste.

Meanwhile, simultaneously existing in two realms, Emperor Jiang changed the subject, leading the two out of the Heavenly Court.

After they left, the Heaven returned to tranquility.

Until—

Jiang Li appeared once more.

Another Jiang Li entered Heaven through the South Heavenly Gate, looking towards the direction of the Three Pure Ones they'd entered previously.

"The Three Pure Ones, where the End of Dharma initially descended, should not be left empty, and moreover..."

Thinking about his next actions, Jiang Li's eyes flickered.

He planned to begin transforming the clarity and turbidity, thereby demonstrating the Green Emperor Dao Fruit. With Three Pure Ones being the source of Five Vile Qi, if he could further discern the transformation of clarity and turbidity in the Three Pure Ones, it would significantly aid in converting the Five Viscous.

Once accomplished, not only could he fully integrate the Third Grade Dao Fruit, but it also paved the way for the advancement of Emperor Yan's Dao Fruit.

After understanding the actions of the Three Emperors, Jiang Li's admiration led to a desire to communicate with Emperor Yan's True Spirit.

If necessary, he could negotiate with Emperor Yan's True Spirit to allow swift advancement to Second Grade through the Emperor Yan's Dao Fruit.