Taiyi Dao Fruit-Chapter 1228 - 20: The Wish of the Great Venerable, The Scheme of the Tathagata (2)

Until a voice echoed.

"Ending? Not necessarily."

The Candle Dragon, as still as the mountains, suddenly spoke. Its indifferent and immense face slightly lowered, though its eyes remained closed, giving the illusion of a luminous gaze.

"Heaven is formless and imageless, except for when the Heavenly Monarch falls in a special manner; otherwise, it is difficult to harm Him. Now that He has a human form, He has a vulnerability."

The Candle Dragon said faintly: "Regardless, the Great Formation must be laid out. Even if it cannot ultimately bring the ancestor back, it can fulfill my desire. I have failed numerous times, but these failures can eventually be remedied."

"Remedied..." The young man murmured softly, eventually falling into silence.

The other incarnations of the Great Venerable showed unusual expressions.

"I will bring the Feng family back, reclaiming the Fuxi Dao Fruit is just the beginning."

The Great Venerable continued speaking, while his eyelids slightly lifted, revealing a dazzling light from within.

The cosmic starry sky formed by the Book of Luo River Map spun, deducing various possibilities.

"The Array Map left by the ancestor has pointed the way forward; once completed, everything can begin anew."

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At the same time, to the west of the Buddha Country, in the sweeping sandy wasteland, two majestic Buddha Images appeared.

The winds calmed at this moment, revealing the azure sky, the Pure Saint light spreading across the earth, transforming into a red-gold Pure Land.

"To reverse purity and turbidity, the youth of today are indeed formidable."

Shakyamuni Tathagata's Dharma Form sat in the void, forming the Zen Meditation Seal, though situated in the vast wasteland, the Buddha's Eye already perceived the rising spiritual mechanism on the Divine Country.

"This is an opportunity." The Great Sun Tathagata said.

After descending from the Three Pure Ones, these two Tathagatas formed a standoff with Karma Tathagata.

Karma Tathagata had been waiting for these two Tathagatas to emerge, capable of eliminating enemies and demonstrating Dao Fruits.

The latter concerns the cultivation path, thus garnering great attention.

Already surpassing Bodhi on the Demon Path, if he could utterly defeat Shakyamuni Tathagata and the Great Sun Tathagata, bringing them down to the mortal realm, Karma Tathagata's Dao Fruit of Bodhi could reach Perfection, perhaps even breaking the limit of the Dao Fruit.

A Supreme in the Second Grade is not impossible.

As it relates to future achievements, Karma Tathagata naturally focused intensely on these two, and ideologically, they stood opposed.

Although Shakyamuni Tathagata and the Great Sun Tathagata knew Karma Tathagata was determined to be the Buddha's enemy, they persisted in opposing him in the Buddha Country for a reason.

The Buddha Country inherits three Second Grade Dao Fruits; now that Shakyamuni Tathagata and the Great Sun Tathagata have awakened, yet another Tathagata's Dao Fruit remains in the Buddha Country.

Past Buddha—Randeng Tathagata.

The two wished to obtain the Dao Fruit of the Past Buddha, awaken Randeng Tathagata, while Karma Tathagata waited to use the Past Buddha's Dao Fruit to lure both of them.

Consequently, the Fire House Buddha Hell ran rampant within the Buddha Country but never encroached upon the Mountain of Mind and Heart.

This inadvertently provided the monks of the Mountain of Mind and Heart with a reasonable breathing space.

Now, Jiang Li's reversal of purity and turbidity was perceived by the Great Sun Tathagata—as the chance arrived.

"Today's youth indeed cannot be underestimated, yet if we could return to the flourishing of spiritual mechanism, with our Daoist attainments, even if not at the peak, we would not be weaker than others," the Great Sun Tathagata said solemnly, "If the Buddha's enemy were to go to Great Zhou, that would be even better, it would be an opportunity to awaken Randeng and, using the power of the Three Buddhas, seek out Amitabha's Dao Fruit."

Saying this, the Great Sun Tathagata's words carried a tone of regret, "It's unfortunate not to obtain the Three Pure Dao Artifacts, otherwise, even if it were impossible to awaken Randeng, sensing the location of Amitabha Dao Fruit would be possible."

"Entering hastily without gaining anything is very likely," Shakyamuni Tathagata said without regret, in a tone of deep meaning, "Moreover, the emergence of the Three Pure Dao Artifacts is unlikely to be simple, let alone there are old friends."

The old friend he mentioned, naturally, was the entity that at a critical moment informed Jiang Li of related information, allowing the Three Pure Ones to evolve into a cosmic starry sky.

And this person, or rather this entity...

"Is it truly him?" the Great Sun Tathagata murmured.

"Who else could it be?" Shakyamuni Tathagata replied, "The Six Souls Banner is indeed formidable, but do not forget, now only the tail of the banner remains, having only three parts of its effectiveness is considered good enough. After all, it was destroyed by the Three Pure Ones and the End of Dharma. Back then, Amitabha tried to curse the enemies of the Three Pure Ones and the End of Dharma with the Six Souls Banner, and the result..."

As these words trailed off, Shakyamuni Tathagata seemed to fall into taciturnity, unwilling to elaborate further.

The Six Souls Banner itself was created by Lingbao Tianzun to curse formidable enemies, including his two backstabbing good brothers, and the beggar stink from the west, deemed the pinnacle of cursed treasures.

However, due to the curses targeting beings seemingly too formidable, in retrospect, Amitabha died valiantly, and the Six Souls Banner naturally could not meet a good end.

Under these circumstances, how effective it still could be was truly uncertain.

Considering Karma Tathagata's existence, the Great Sun Tathagata harbored doubts regarding the Six Souls Banner.

If the Six Souls Banner were whole, it might have cursed even Karma Tathagata, who shares origins with the Awakened, rather than now cursing the Awakened, only to create a stronger Karma Tathagata.

Such meticulous planning ultimately served others.

"It seems we can only wait for the opportune moment," the Great Sun Tathagata said.

"Act when the timing is right," Shakyamuni Tathagata replied, "Everything centers on Amitabha's Dao Fruit. Once found, it can awaken all fellow practitioners, even reunite the thoughts of all Buddhas, allowing them to be reborn through borrowed bodies."

With these words, the two Tathagatas ceased observing the Nine States Spiritual Mechanism, their vast Dharma Forms gradually faded.

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Every faction has its schemes; thus, after the Great Heavenly Venerate and Jiang Li's probing, there wasn't much commotion.

Great Zhou therefore passed through the last few days of the year.

Time gradually transitioned to the following month, which marked the beginning of the new year in January.

From late winter to the onset of spring, though the cold lingered, the time of flourishing had arrived. Seeds of grass and trees buried in the soil also began to stir, just waiting for the moment to break through the soil.

A vast will spread with the coming of spring, the pace of expanding spiritual mechanism accelerated.

From the beginning of spring to the rain, the spiritual mechanism started entering Yu State, Liangzhou Province, Jingzhou.

Then, when it reached Jingzhe—

"It has begun."

Divine Capital Imperial City, beneath the ginseng fruit tree, Jiang Li sat cross-legged and spoke slowly.

Since the day he began transforming the spiritual mechanism, he had been meditating under the ginseng fruit tree, his will flowing with its roots deep into the Earth Veins, now seemingly one with the earth.

Successive Emperors utilized the Divine Skill [I Am the Nation] to unite with national power, claiming the Emperor's body to be the body of the nation, yet they never truly harmonized with Great Zhou, at least, the will didn't integrate into the Nine Provinces, only fused with the national strength.

Until this moment, Jiang Li, with the realm of a Saint, united with Heaven and Earth, coexisting with the vast earth, his intent thoroughly imprinted upon the Divine Country.

"Boom—"

A sudden thunderclap resounded, echoing across the sky, demonstrating Heavenly Might while awakening dormant vitality.

Jiang Li's will exploded alongside this clap of thunder, sweeping across the Nine Provinces in an instant, even beginning to extend toward the Buddha Country.

Spiritual mechanism surged at that moment, swiftly covering Dinghu.

"Upper Pure Cave Heaven will open." Tianxuan beside Jiang Li, meditating, spoke.

After enduring continuous trials and enlightenment, Tianxuan and Gongsun Qingyue had to admit their Daoist attainments were insufficient to quickly master "One Qi to Three Pure Ones," thus, after brief contemplation, they opted for a shortcut.

To master it well, they must slumber with the "pupil/disciple brother," now simultaneously secluding under the ginseng fruit tree with Jiang Li, while their other incarnations roamed.

Gongsun Qingyue possessed one body, managing the harem.

Tianxuan's original body was here as Princess Consort Xi, whereas another incarnation served as Sect Leader within Dinghu Sect.

At this moment, it was Tianxuan's other incarnation that opened the Upper Pure Cave Heaven.