Chapter 958: Retribution for evil deeds, the devil is unsealed

Buddhism retreated again and again, collapsing repeatedly.

The complete collapse of the Mortal battlefield even led to the destruction of many Bodhisattvas.

Moreover…

The Dual Cultivation lineage of Buddhism and Demons was extremely susceptible to the influence of the Demonic Dao. They only resisted slightly before falling into demonization in batches, turning against their former Senior Brothers and eliminating them all.

This even included many great Bodhisattvas.

Merely listening to the demonic sounds, the great Bodhisattvas succumbed, just as it had been in the past…

The Demonic Dao's infiltration into Buddhism was too deep. Every Monk was a prime target for demon thoughts; almost no one had not been visited by the Heavenly Demon.

Yes, the Heavenly Demon had actually met every Monk. He didn't do much enticing, only telling them a few things, and that was all. Perhaps no one even noticed.

But now, these hidden pieces that the Heavenly Demon had planted in the past had all erupted at this moment.

However, it was not a complete rout.

The Dragon King Nanda coiled himself seven times around Mount Sumeru, leading countless millions of Dragon soldiers from the sea, all armed with spears, bows and arrows, swords, and heavily armored with precious armor, their weapons in perfect order. They fought to the death with the Demonic Army, and the Dragon host ultimately triumphed, driving the Demonic Army out of their sea.

The various Heavens and their Lords all fought against the Demonic Army, each suffering casualties.

Venerable Maudgalyāyana walked in the open, subduing demons along the way. Then, a secondary Demon King transformed into a subtle form and entered Maudgalyāyana's abdomen. Maudgalyāyana then had this thought: "My abdomen is now heavy as if I have eaten beans. I would rather enter a meditative state like this and observe my abdomen with it."

Afterward, he collected his robes and alms bowl, washed his hands and feet, and used his body as a Seal, standing in place, making the Demonic Army inseparable from him like a shadow.

The Buddha's disciples also displayed their Divine Ability, first performing eighteen transformations in the wilderness, sitting, lying, and walking, emitting water and fire from their bodies, and transforming boundlessly.

But… at the same time, the Demonic Prince also joined the battle.

Among the World Honored One's ten Buddha disciples, Maudgalyāyana had the foremost Divine Ability, using his body as a Seal, while the other nine joined forces to confront the Demonic Prince.

However, the Demonic Prince before them appeared exceptionally strange.

According to the Buddha's disciples, the Demonic Prince no longer remembered his own name.

He didn't even know how to fight.

Everything around the Demonic Prince was impermanent, without desire, detached, and extinguished, as if suffering the Retribution of Black Karma.

The so-called ‘Retribution of Black Karma’ means endless cycles of birth and death, without boundary, where living beings are bound by affection and love, flowing through birth and death, dying here and being born there, without end.

It is like an iron city, one Yojanas in length, width, and height, filled with mustard seeds, with no empty space. If one mustard seed is removed every hundred years, until all the mustard seeds in the iron city are exhausted, that would be one Kalpa. This repeats countless billions of hundreds of thousands of times.

He possessed memories beyond limits, memories that almost destroyed his personality. He didn't know what a Demonic Prince was, nor what the conflict between Buddhism and Demons was. He simply appeared and then slaughtered, acting purely on instinct.

But no one could contend with him.

The Demonic Prince was only a Fourth Grade. Normally, any Third Grade could easily eliminate him.

The reality was not much different. The Demonic Prince could not defeat other Third Grades outside of Buddhism. In actual combat, it was the same; Third Grade reinforcements from other places could easily defeat the Demonic Prince.

However… even a Third Grade Great Bodhisattva could not contend with him.

All the Buddha's disciples were defeated.

For some unknown reason…

But, the Demonic Prince seemed to have a natural restraint against Buddhist cultivation methods, to a terrifying degree, such that even a Third Grade Great Bodhisattva was no match for him.

The great Bodhisattvas could trace back the Demonic Prince's past and present lives, but no matter which point in his timeline, it was entangled with deep demonic thoughtss, making it impossible for the Bodhisattvas to act.

Only a very small portion of the Demonic Prince's life was free from those demonic thoughtss, less than one hundred trillionth, a mere speck outside of his endless Kalpas of existence.

The life that truly belonged to the 'Demonic Prince' was as minuscule as a single atom in all the matter of the entire Universe.

He had endured endless tribulations for too long, to the point that merely searching for that tiny bit of life within the infinite Reincarnation of time was a fool's dream; even the computational power of a Third Grade could not fully calculate it.

The Demonic Prince's prolonged torment had instead turned him into a porcupine. As long as one tried to trace back his life, one would have to taste the 'Retribution of Black Karma of Avici Hell' with the Demonic Prince.

Some Bodhisattvas attempted to do so, but were ultimately entangled by the Heavenly Demon's demonic thoughtss, forced to retreat in defeat, unable to make any progress.

As long as one attempted to interfere with the Demonic Prince's life, one could feel its horror.

There is a great stone mountain, one Yojanas in length, width, and height. A person with long robes and wide sleeves comes here every hundred years to brush it once, and when the stone mountain wears away, that is one Kalpa.

Therefore, the Demonic Prince's Kalpas are long and boundless, beyond what can be described by one or a hundred Kalpas.

Life and death are long, immeasurable, and without boundary.

Living beings, obscured by ignorance, wander through life and death.

There is no end to it; dying here and being born there, it is endless.

Even a Third Grade could not endure this level of retrospection. The great Bodhisattvas would be infected by the demonic thoughtss brought by this infinite Reincarnation. If they did not retreat, their minds would collapse within it, falling into the same state as the Demonic Prince.

In the endless Reincarnation, sorrow, worry, suffering, and distress are immeasurable.

When old age arrives, youth is gone, the body decays, and limbs gradually slow.

When sickness arrives, in the prime of life, strength is gone, and life gradually shortens.

When death arrives, the life-root is severed, loved ones are separated, and the five aggregates scatter.

The suffering within is inexpressible.

The Demonic Prince was like a zombie; he was a humanoid Heavenly Demon demonic thoughts broadcaster. His mind stored an entire Avici Hell, possessing super-effective attacks against all Buddhist Cultivators, to the extent that no Buddhist Cultivator could stop him.

The Central Saha World seemed to be flowing with endless demonic thoughtss.

The three most magnificent worlds of Buddhism…

The Western Pure Land, the Central Saha World, and the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World. One of them was actually polluted by a 'mere Demonic Prince'.

It was as if… the Heavenly Demon had cultivated him precisely for this purpose.

Then, Dizang Wang Bodhisattva acted.

Dizang Wang Bodhisattva, whose Divine Ability and great vow can save all in Hell.

It is Dizang Bodhisattva, who has a great Destiny in Jambudvipa. If one were to speak of the benefits seen and heard by living beings, it would take hundreds of thousands of Kalpas to finish. With his Divine Power, he spreads this scripture, allowing the living beings of the Saha World to enjoy peace and happiness for hundreds of thousands of Kalpas.

Thus, the Demonic Prince was finally suppressed, and the countless demonic thoughtss he carried were also assimilated by Dizang Wang Bodhisattva, which temporarily deprived Dizang Wang Bodhisattva of the ability to interfere with other matters.

A mere Demonic Prince actually tied down Dizang Wang Bodhisattva! A Second Grade!

It's unimaginable. If an ordinary Third Grade were to endure memories like the Demonic Prince's, they would probably have collapsed long ago, but the Demonic Prince was still alive, which was simply inconceivable.

Even many great Bodhisattvas couldn't understand why the Demonic Prince was still alive.

This level of torment had obliterated his personality. Every single memory was deeply etched with despair and terror. Not to mention Mortals, even Bodhisattvas couldn't bear it.

But the Demonic Prince consumed it all, and besides losing his self-awareness, he even retained his combat instincts, to the point of being a bio-weapon bomb of demonic thoughtss, directly thrown into the Buddhist kingdom by the Demonic Dao. Only Dizang Wang Bodhisattva's personal intervention could suppress all the demonic thoughtss within him.

At this level of war, if the World Honored One did not act, Buddhism would likely suffer severe damage.

Clearly, the Demonic Dao and the Human Dao had been planning for this moment for a long time. The extermination of Buddhism was by no means a decision made in a day or two.

Even…

Was the past rebellion, the severe damage to the Human Dao caused by the Heavenly Demon, truly real? Were the Human Dao and the Demonic Dao really on such bad terms?

All of this was perplexing; at this point, it was impossible to distinguish.

But the war continued.

And Shamansan, at this moment… actually chose to stop.

The Five Aggregates Devil lineage and Shaman Dao did not continue to interfere with the Human Dao and the Demon of Death lineage, while the Five Aggregates Devil lineage naturally joined the attack on Buddhism.

Shaman Dao, at this moment, chose to stand by.

It's unknown what the Shaman gods were considering, but this was undoubtedly a severe blow to Buddhism's situation.

The World Honored One Tathagata still did not act.

Among all the First Grades of Buddhism, he was the only one who had not yet made a move.

Dipamkara Buddha, Amitabha, Maitreya Buddha, and Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light King Buddha were all suppressed by the First Grades of the Human Dao and the Demonic Dao respectively.

It shouldn't have been this way, because the Human Dao had to deal with Shaman Dao and the True Dragons, making it impossible to spare such immense power to exterminate Buddhism.

However, the True Dragons and the Shaman stopped at this moment, almost as if deliberately urging the destruction of Buddhism.

But… all the Bhikkhus, Monks, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats still firmly believed in one thing.

As long as the World Honored One acted, everything would be resolved.

After all… this was the great existence who single-handedly suppressed the Four Demons.

Everyone spoke of the Demonic Prince, of Li Qi and Zhang Zong as Genius.

Because they subconsciously ignored those great beings who had already achieved the Dao, forgetting how glorious they were in their youth, and how terrifying their natural talent was.

In the past, when the World Honored One Tathagata achieved the Dao, he faced the interception of a First Grade Heavenly Demon in a Second Grade state, and the final result was the Heavenly Demon's defeat.

He suppressed the Four Demons with his own power.

The Demon of Death, the Demon of the Five Aggregates, the Demon of Affliction, and the Heavenly Demon, these four Demonic Overlords attacked together, surrounded by infinite Demonic Lords, yet the outcome was decided in that instant.

The Four Demons were no match for the Buddha.

As long as the Buddha acted, there would be no problem. The current offensive could not possibly take down Buddhism.

From the novice Monks to the great Bodhisattvas, all believed this.

Therefore, the Monks who had not fallen into demonization continued to persevere, facing the encirclement from both humans and demons, and the betrayal of their Senior Brothers around them.

However, more and more high-grade Buddhist Cultivators could not hold on.

Until the main timeline advanced another two thousand five hundred years.

On that day, Venerable Mahakatyayana, Venerable Bakula, Venerable Upananda, and other such great Bhikkhus, their bodies trembled, even shaking violently beyond self-control, their minds clouded and confused, crying out loudly, experiencing various kinds of suffering.

Thereafter, sixty billion Bhikkhunis, great Arhats, whose afflictions were subdued and senses controlled, instantly felt their hairs stand on end, and blood appeared all over their bodies.

The Buddhist front collapsed again.

All of this was because the last of the Four Demons, the Demon of Affliction, had appeared.

And Buddhism no longer had a First Grade to contend with him.

The Demon of Death confronted Amitabha in the Western Pure Land. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is where the dead return; if the deceased in Reincarnation are faithful, they will be rescued to this place.

So, the Demon of Death came to send these lives that should have long died, to their death.

The Demon of the Five Aggregates had already polluted the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World. The Lapis Lazuli Pure Land can enable living beings to attain present happiness, allowing them to live in peace and without suffering in this life. However, the arrival of the Demon of the Five Aggregates distorted this happiness.

Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light King Buddha had already sealed off the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land.

Dipamkara Buddha still had some reserve power, but he faced the Human Emperor personally wielding the human emperor sword. The Supreme does not speak lightly; the words 'exterminate Buddhism' are certainly not uttered easily. Without Shaman interference, Dipamkara Buddha had no ability to interfere with the outside world.

Maitreya Buddha, on the other hand, faced the Three Dukes of the Human Dao. The Three Dukes did not make a move, because in addition to suppressing him, they were also guarding against possible actions from the True Dragons and the Shaman.

But fighting one against three, Maitreya Buddha had no chance at all.

Thus, after the Demon of Affliction entered the fray, no First Grade could spare enough energy to resist.

Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Suryaprabha Bodhisattva, and Candraprabha Bodhisattva, the six strongest great Bodhisattvas, acted and attempted to resist.

The outcome was self-evident; against a First Grade, even six top-tier Second Grades could not be opponents.

Perhaps if Dizang Wang Bodhisattva, the Great Bodhisattva who is only one step away from First Grade, could join forces, the outcome might have been different…

However, Dizang Wang Bodhisattva had to suppress the Demonic Prince, otherwise the demonic thoughtss carried by the Demonic Prince would pollute the Central Saha World.

The Demonic Army was clamoring!

The fruit was already vibrant and ripe, ready to be picked.

The power of the Demon of Affliction eroded the great wheel of Dharma.

Earth, fire, wind, and water had already been annihilated.

The restless Demonic Overlords had begun to enjoy themselves with fanatic greed. They devoured the demonic thoughtss of living beings. The demonic thoughtss generated by the celestials in the Buddhist Heavens were an ultimate delicacy, and the new Demonic Overlords born from them eagerly joined in.

Proliferating, multiplying, thoughts continuously growing, demonic thoughtss would multiply thousands of times in the blink of an eye, and then rejoin the battle.

Defeat was already a foregone conclusion.

Across countless timelines, across countless world lines, countless people made countless attempts and efforts, yet the final result was always led to 'extinction'.

Possibility had converged.

No matter what one did, no matter how one acted, the future was already destined. No matter how one chose the path ahead, turning left, turning right, burrowing into the ground, flying into the sky, or even reversing backwards, all would only lead to the same endpoint.

The Heavens fell.

Countless disheartened, terrified, and already surrendered individuals.

Countless Bhikkhus panicked, because even now, the World Honored One Tathagata showed no sign of appearing.

But there were still those who expounded the Dharma, those who tirelessly upheld the true Dharma, and the Four Heavenly Kings (Brahma, Shakra, and the Four Guardians of the World), each continuing to subdue demons and protect themselves and the true Dharma for their own 'Dao'.

They had seen the destined destruction ahead, but no matter what, it was not a reason to give up.

Death, too, should occur on the path of guarding and fulfilling the true Dharma, not by sitting and waiting for death.

However, the outcome would not change.

In the sixth millennium of the war, after the choices across endless timelines—

The final and largest of the Buddhist Heavens… the Heavens of the Formless Realm was declared destroyed.

The Heavens roared.

The Heavenly Demon's maniacal laughter echoed through every corner of the Universe.