389: Great Thunder Temple

Every ancient existence peeking at this scene suffered an unprecedented shock to their minds!

The power that once annihilated the Glazed Holy Land had reappeared, shocking everyone once again.

"The Western Regions Buddhist Sect occupies an entire domain, possesses endless foundations, and has even been able to protect itself when facing Forbidden Zone Supremes; have they really been defeated just like this?"

"Just how strong is this person?"

Endless fear, doubt, and shock spread wildly in the hearts of countless experts.

Yet the power displayed by the person in the black robe before their eyes truly overturned their understanding.

Even the Supremes sleeping in the Forbidden Zones could not help but cast their inquisitive gazes toward this battlefield.

In the sky, the black-robed figure manifested by Xiao Hei stood silently, as if he had just done something insignificant.

His gaze swept over the collapsing Buddhist kingdom below, and the five Ancient Buddhas whose faces were ashen, their eyes filled only with endless fear and despair.

He slowly raised his hand, and within his palm, an aura of destruction began to condense, preparing to deliver the final judgment to this hypocritical Buddhist kingdom.

"No—!!!"

Watching that giant palm of annihilation slowly press down, carrying the meaning of ending everything, the Vajra Demon-Subduing Ancient Buddha let out a heart-wrenching roar.

The wisdom on the face of the Ancient Buddha of Wisdom had long since vanished, leaving only boundless fear. He frantically performed divinations, but only obtained omens of Chaos and destruction.

"A crisis of sect annihilation! This is a true crisis of sect annihilation! Senior Brother Changsheng!"

Changsheng Ancient Buddha coughed up several mouthfuls of golden blood mixed with visceral fragments, a look of determination appearing on his pale face.

"We cannot just wait for death!"

Changsheng Ancient Buddha's eyes flashed with madness as he roared toward the depths of the Holy Mountain: "Using the incense of our Buddhist Sect for ten thousand years as a sacrifice! Using the blood and Divine Soul of us five as a catalyst! Respectfully inviting the imprints of the Buddhas of past generations! Protect our Buddhist lineage from destruction!"

Following his roar, the five Ancient Buddhas simultaneously cut their chests, spraying out blood essence containing their Origin, sprinkling it toward the three most ancient relic pagodas in the depths of the Holy Mountain that were shrouded in Buddhist light all year round.

At the same time, they frantically burned their remaining Lifespan and Divine Soul, chanting the most ancient and taboo summoning scriptures.

"Om... Om... Om..."

The three relic pagodas trembled violently, and dense, ancient Buddhist patterns appeared on the pagoda bodies. An aura, even more vast and boundless, as if it had traversed the ages of time, began to slowly awaken.

Three extremely blurry phantoms, which caused the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth to resonate, were faintly about to step out from the pagodas.

These were the combat imprints left behind by the Buddhas who had truly attained the Emperor Realm fruit in the history of the Buddhist Sect; they were the Buddhist Sect's final and strongest trump card!

Meanwhile, Changsheng Ancient Buddha used his last strength to crush an ancient jade talisman that had never been used before. The jade talisman transformed into a golden light that was almost imperceptible but carried a special fluctuation.

It instantly traversed the Void Realm and shot toward another unknown place in the Western Regions: the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

That was the highest-level distress signal left behind when the two temples shared the same Origin; it meant the Buddhist lineage was facing a crisis of collapse!

After doing all this, the auras of the five Ancient Buddhas withered to the extreme, almost falling from the Quasi-Emperor Realm, but a glimmer of weak hope ignited in their eyes.

In the Western Regions, within another hidden mountain range that was isolated from the world and shrouded in peaceful and serene Buddhist light, was exactly where the Great Thunder Sound Temple was located.

At this moment, deep inside the temple, there were several grey-robed old monks who also possessed ancient auras, but whose Buddhist light was more restrained and peaceful, and whose faces appeared more compassionate and sorrowful.

They were watching everything happening above the Mount Sumeru Ancient Monastery through an ancient Karma pool water mirror, their faces filled with horror.

The heaven-destroying and earth-shattering scene reflected in the water mirror caused the minds of these old monks, who had long been as calm as an ancient well, to tremble violently.

"With just one palm, he broke the Mount Sumeru's Demon-Slaying Great Array, severely injured the five Ancient Buddhas, and the Emperor Weapon is wailing..."

The old monk in the lead, whose white eyebrows hung to his chest and whose face was withered, spoke in a dry voice, his eyes filled with disbelief, "Such power is no longer something a Quasi-Emperor can reach. Mount Sumeru is in danger."

He was the current abbot of the Great Thunder Sound Temple, Ancient Buddha Huixin, who was also an existence who had stepped into the Quasi-Emperor Realm for many years.

Just at this moment, that golden light of distress broke through the Void Realm and landed in the hands of Ancient Buddha Huixin, transforming into a hurried thought: "We share the same lineage, the Buddhist lineage is collapsing, save us quickly!"

Feeling the desperate plea of Changsheng Ancient Buddha within the thought, an extremely complex expression appeared on the withered face of Ancient Buddha Huixin; it held compassion, struggle, and even deeper helplessness.

"Abbot Senior Brother, is that a plea for help from the Mount Sumeru Ancient Monastery?"

Beside him, another Ancient Buddha with a more upright aura, named Huihai, asked with a frown. He had also seen the scene in the water mirror, and the horror on his face had not yet faded.

"It is." Ancient Buddha Huixin nodded bitterly.

"Hmph!" A trace of anger and disdain flashed in the eyes of Ancient Buddha Huihai.

"Do they still have the face to ask for help? Usually, they are arrogant, monopolize the incense of the Western Regions, commit hypocritical and greedy acts, and make the pure land of Buddhism a mess! Now that they've kicked an iron plate and invited a disaster of sect annihilation, they finally remember that we share the same lineage?"

His words voiced the sentiments of many monks in the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

In the past, the Buddhist Sect was originally one entity, but later, due to differences in philosophy, they gradually drifted apart.

The Mount Sumeru Ancient Monastery lineage advocated subduing others with force, widely accepting incense, and manifesting as Saints in the human world, gradually becoming a powerful force, and their actions became increasingly domineering.

There were even, in secret, no shortage of acts of extortion and hypocritical conversion, long ago departing from the Buddhist fundamental of mercy and realizing one's true nature.

The Great Thunder Sound Temple, however, insisted on ascetic cultivation of one's own heart, focusing on internal enlightenment without seeking externally, and was isolated from the world. Because of this, it gradually declined and was pushed to the edge of the Western Regions.

Although the two temples shared the same Origin, in reality, they had long since become strangers, and there was even much conflict between them.

Another Ancient Buddha with a more sorrowful face, named Huinan, sighed: "Although Junior Brother Huihai's words are blunt, they are also reasonable. The people of Mount Sumeru have long misinterpreted Buddhist classics, using the name of Buddhism to carry out extortion and power struggles; it is extremely hypocritical. What they hold in their hearts is likely no longer the suffering of all living beings, but that boundless incense and power. Such actions truly do not befit a Buddha."

"Moreover, what do we have to save them with?"

Ancient Buddha Huihai raised his voice, pointing at the black-robed figure in the water mirror who was like a god or demon. "This person's strength is unfathomable! The five Quasi-Emperors of the Mount Sumeru Ancient Monastery formed an array, held an Emperor Weapon, and gathered faith, yet they were still vulnerable to a single blow! Our Great Thunder Sound Temple's foundation is not as deep as theirs, we do not have as many Quasi-Emperor experts as they do, and we have no such powerful Emperor Weapon or accumulation of faith. What do we have to block him?"

Ancient Buddha Huixin fell silent. How could he not know that what his two Junior Brothers said was reasonable?

The Great Thunder Sound Temple was already inferior in strength to the Mount Sumeru Ancient Monastery; what could they use to confront that terrifying existence suspected to be an Emperor?

Forcibly stepping forward would be nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot, courting their own destruction.

For a moment, this pure land fell into a deathly silence.

Ancient Buddha Huixin watched the scene of the end that was about to fully erupt in the water mirror, and the last trace of hesitation in his eyes finally turned into determination.

"Amitabha."

He slowly stood up, and the peaceful aura around him suddenly became heavy and condensed.

"Senior Brother!" Huihai and Huinan's hearts sank simultaneously, giving rise to an ominous premonition.

"Junior Brothers Huihai and Huinan," Ancient Buddha Huixin spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over the two.

"My mind is made up. From this moment on, seal all passages inside and outside the Great Thunder Sound Temple, and activate the Immovable Wisdom King Pure Land Array. Before I return, no one is allowed to leave the temple, nor are they allowed to pry into the affairs of Mount Sumeru again."

"Senior Brother! Are you going to go?!" Huihai exclaimed.

"We share the same lineage; if I see them die without saving them, my heart will not be at peace."

Ancient Buddha Huixin's voice was not loud, "But the Legacy of our Great Thunder Sound Temple is not easily obtained; I cannot, because of my own delusions, put all the Disciples of the temple in danger."

He looked at the water mirror, his gaze seeming to pierce through the Void Realm, landing on those living beings struggling on the edge of destruction.

"My trip there is not to repel the enemy, nor to save people. I only seek to have a clear conscience. For our Buddhist Sect, and for those potentially innocent Disciples, I will ask for a thread of Karma. If that existence still has half a shred of leeway, I am willing to use my body as a hostage to exchange for some chance of survival."

"If the matter is impossible..." He paused, a look of calm and almost liberated smile appearing on his withered face. "Then that is the Karma I should repay, the worldly ties I should end. At the very least, our Great Thunder Sound Temple has not stood idly by."

"I alone am sufficient."

Before his voice faded, the figure of Ancient Buddha Huixin had already dissipated in place like a clear breeze, leaving behind only a faint Buddhist light, rushing toward the center of destruction without looking back.