The Deeper Layer World had no night. Because Buddhist light illuminated all things, it maintained eternal daylight, as though time itself did not pass.
However, there was still a way for the common people to distinguish day from night.
Normally, about every seven shichen, the sound of reciting the Sutra of Buddha Recitation would ring out from the Great Buddha Heaven above, originating from the highest-ranking Fude Tathagata, who was imparting Buddhist teachings.
Generally speaking, although there were Buddhas presiding over temples of all sizes, not every Buddha possessed a Dharma title corresponding to a fruit position.
The Dharma titles were divided into "Arhat," "Bodhisattva," and "Tathagata."
For example, Jinmen Temple, which had more than a hundred thousand monks, had three Buddhas, but none of them were Arhat Buddhas, indicating that their cultivation was still lacking.
It was said that Arhats were common, Bodhisattvas were spread throughout the Great Buddha Heaven, but there was only one Tathagata, Fude Buddha.
"Amitabha."
Fude Tathagata emerged from the sea of clouds once again.
Whether in towns or the wilderness, everything became quiet.
Even those who were traveling would, upon hearing Fude Tathagata's murmuring, choose a secluded place nearby and prepare to begin meditation.
To them, meditation was naturally the best way to rest.
Fude Tathagata's chanting lasted for varying lengths of time. When the voice suddenly stopped in the Deeper Layer World, the common people resumed their routines.
Caravans flowed endlessly along the official roads, and regardless of whether they were men or women, all were dressed like tonsured monks.
The Deeper Layer World was short on resources. The vegetation all had a crystalline appearance and could not bear fruit, making it impossible to cultivate crops and harvest them. Even large towns found it difficult to sustain themselves.
To obtain food, they could only go to the Great Buddha Heaven above.
According to legend, every time Fude Tathagata breathed, golden ears of rice would flow from his mouth and nose. The closer one got to the Great Buddha Heaven, the less one had to worry about food.
The purpose of the caravans was to transport food, and most of them were organized by temples.
Fleshly Tathagata appeared near the official road and was quickly noticed by the passing common people. Even from far away, they could feel their hearts pounding with fear.
According to the old people in the caravans, even encountering a wild beast was not this terrifying.
However, although Fleshly Tathagata looked extremely frightening, it remained standing motionless like a mountain, even through wind and sun.
As time passed, the common people gradually became accustomed to it.
They even discovered something strange. As they approached Fleshly Tathagata, the fear in their hearts would transform into reverence.
Moreover, Fleshly Tathagata really was inhaling and exhaling Buddhist qi, so passersby began to worship it as the "Mountain Buddha."
Just as the common people were scrambling to worship Fleshly Tathagata, an old and a young monk instead deliberately moved away from its location.
"Senior Brother, I heard them say that the Mountain Buddha is also a Buddha."
The young novice monk scratched his head and could not help asking softly, while the middle-aged monk beside him made a terrified gesture for silence.
The middle-aged monk had practiced Buddhist teachings since childhood and had encountered the Buddhas of Jinshan Temple, but he could faintly sense that Fleshly Tathagata was not benevolent.
It was like the natural enemy of a Buddha. Although both emitted Buddhist qi, they were mutually opposed.
"Those who do not know are without sin. Apart from the sinners, all things can become Buddhas."
As the middle-aged monk spoke, he glanced at the caravan nearby from the corner of his eye. Because they lacked horses, the goods were being carried entirely by slovenly dressed merit monks.
"Senior Brother, if all things can become Buddhas, then why can't the sinners..."
Seeing that the young novice monk was about to continue asking, the middle-aged monk hurriedly covered his mouth.
The middle-aged monk did not know why they were called sinners either. Perhaps they had incurred the displeasure of the Buddhas, and thus had remained slaves for generations.
Some time ago, more sinners would occasionally appear, but their numbers had clearly begun to decrease. They might become extinct before long.
The middle-aged monk could not help reprimanding the young novice monk and told him to be careful with his words and actions.
Buddhas traveled between Heaven and Earth, and any disrespect could bring disaster.
Seeing the exhaustion written across the novice monk's face, he softened and said, "Forget it. Let's meditate for a while before continuing our journey. We'll try to reach Jinmen Temple by evening."
"All right, Senior Brother."
They set up meditation mats far away from Fleshly Tathagata and sat cross-legged in the open air, needing only to recite the Buddha's name to meditate.
Just as the middle-aged monk was picturing the appearance of a Buddha in his mind.
Bang, bang, bang...
Thunderous footsteps approached from afar, and the two of them woke up groggily.
The middle-aged monk immediately reacted. Without even checking the source of the commotion, he picked up the young novice monk and ran toward the woods beside the official road.
As the footsteps continued to fall, the desperate screams of the common people could be heard.
The smell of blood spread through the air.
The young novice monk's eyes widened. A figure more than a thousand meters tall was approaching, completely ignoring the lives of the common people. With every step, several people were crushed into a bloody pulp.
He desperately covered his mouth to keep himself from making a sound, then realized that the figure was clearly the Guardian Buddha of Jinmen Temple.
The two were fairly lucky. The Buddha's target was obviously Fleshly Tathagata, so it happened to pass right by them.
Meanwhile, the official road was already covered with corpses and chunks of mangled flesh.
The middle-aged monk lay weakly on the ground, his expression filled only with the relief of having survived a disaster.
But before he could catch his breath, the earth shook again, indicating that another enormous Buddha was approaching Fleshly Tathagata.
The middle-aged monk grabbed the young novice monk and crawled into a hollow tree.
To the Buddhas, the common people were like insignificant ants. They would not pay any attention to life or death and were not even willing to waste time stopping.
Ren Qing awoke from his seclusion and examined the three Buddhas that had suddenly arrived.
According to the information stream, they should be called Insect Buddhas.
They were formed from Strange Objects, and their bodies could be used to contain Dipankara Buddha Qi.
The three Insect Buddhas looked different from one another. One of them did not even have a head, with distorted facial features growing from the palm of its right hand.
They had all been transformed from Strange Objects of the Yin Difference realm.
However, under the erosion of Dipankara Buddha Qi, the Insect Buddhas had already broken through the restrictions of the Strange Object realm, reaching the level of the Yang God realm.
The Insect Buddhas also noticed the strangeness of Fleshly Tathagata.
Their cultivation was clearly superior to Fleshly Tathagata's, yet they felt an indescribable fear, as though they were facing an existence that could easily destroy them.
There was more than one strange aspect to Fleshly Tathagata. The Buddhist qi it emitted seemed to be mixed with countless resentments, its exterior resembled flesh piled together, and lifelike Arhat statues stood at its base.
It was difficult to imagine what kind of terrifying Buddha could have been formed from such a thing.
"Amitabha. May I ask which temple you originally came from, Junior Brother?"
The Insect Buddha who spoke had mouthparts covering its entire body. The mouthparts could continuously absorb Dipankara Buddha Qi, and tongues resembling tentacles would occasionally extend from them.
The Many-Tongued Buddha asked several times in succession, only to discover that Fleshly Tathagata showed no reaction whatsoever. A bone-chilling coldness then appeared in his eyes.
They exchanged glances and could not help muttering to themselves.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.
Ren Qing quickly figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the Insect Buddhas. The strength of these Buddhas formed from Strange Objects could be judged entirely from their height.
They were all at the Yang God realm, but the Many-Tongued Buddha, who was more than fifteen hundred meters tall, was clearly stronger. A thousand meters should be the lower limit of the Yang God realm.
"Do you think it might be something that fell from the Great Buddha Heaven, involving..."
The Many-Tongued Buddha's muscles tensed, and the teeth of hundreds of mouths clattered as he looked at Fleshly Tathagata with deep apprehension.
"Impossible. I think it is the reincarnation of the soul of a great Buddhist master. As long as..."
The Palm Buddha released Buddhist qi, intending to determine the true nature of the Tathagata before him, but the moment it came into contact with the flesh mountain, he sensed that something was wrong.
The Buddhist qi within his body surged out of his control and was frantically devoured by Fleshly Tathagata.
While the other two Insect Buddhas were still stunned, the Palm Buddha had already shrunk by nearly half. He had originally been around twelve hundred meters tall, but was now just over a thousand meters.
What shocked them most was that the surface of Fleshly Tathagata began to writhe.
The Arhat statues at the base actually began climbing upward, and the unfinished Bodhisattva statue did the same, seemingly deliberately making room.
"What kind of monster is this?"
The Many-Tongued Buddha was incredulous because at the base of Fleshly Tathagata, a familiar face was gradually taking shape. It was the Palm Buddha.
Ren Qing had not expected the false Buddhas of the Deeper Layer World to be usable as food for Fleshly Tathagata.
The Palm Buddha was equally astonished and hurriedly broke free of Fleshly Tathagata's restraints, causing the churning flesh mountain to immediately calm down.
"Monster. It is definitely a monster from the outside world..."
"Contact the Arhats as quickly as possible, or disaster will surely befall the Great Buddha Heaven."
The Buddhist qi they had released was withdrawn, and their expressions became solemn as they surrounded Fleshly Tathagata.
Facing such an enemy that could not be defined, they had no confidence in killing it, but temporarily sealing it should not be a problem.
Just as a battle was about to break out, Ren Qing secretly used Heavenly Demon Tribulation to forcibly alter the Insect Buddhas' thoughts and dispel the fear in their hearts.
The Insect Buddhas were gathering an enormous amount of Buddhist qi, but suddenly greed replaced their expressions, and Fleshly Tathagata in their eyes seemed to transform into a mountain of gold.
Heavy breathing echoed through the surroundings.
In the ears of the Insect Buddhas, it was as though a voice were constantly whispering.
"What you see is the Buddhist Lingshan. It is the reincarnation of the Buddha Ancestor. As long as you offer up your Buddhist qi, you can obtain an even greater opportunity..."
Ren Qing frowned when he discovered that Fleshly Tathagata actually strengthened Heavenly Demon Tribulation.
He had originally intended to use Zhili Technique in conjunction with it, but Heavenly Demon Tribulation alone had already brainwashed the Insect Buddhas, even altering the subconscious thoughts in their minds.
It was an unexpected surprise. After all, although Fleshly Tathagata possessed the cultivation of the Yang God realm, it had no means of attacking on its own.
The middle-aged monk watching from the side was somewhat at a loss.
Seeing the tense situation, he had assumed that the Buddhas were about to fight.
Since the Buddhas did not seem intent on fighting, the middle-aged monk prepared to take the young novice monk and use the opportunity to move away from the center of the chaos.
But the moment he crawled out of the tree hollow, he saw a horrifying scene.
Fleshly Tathagata was flowing like liquid, then covered the body of the Many-Tongued Buddha, connecting to it bit by bit with flesh from its back.
After only a few breaths, it seemed as though another mountain peak had appeared on the Many-Tongued Buddha's back.
Buddha statues could be seen on its surface, including the Many-Tongued Buddha himself, yet the Many-Tongued Buddha did not notice anything unusual.
The three Insect Buddhas began walking away toward the town.
"Senior Brother..."
"Something isn't right. We can't return to Jinmen Temple."
The middle-aged monk's entire body trembled, but his tone was firm as he said, "I told you before that there was something wrong with the Mountain Buddha. Jinmen Temple is likely to suffer a calamity. We must contact the other temples."
After saying this, he stomped his feet hard. Once he recovered some feeling in them, he immediately followed the official road in the opposite direction.
The middle-aged monk did not notice that one of Fleshly Tathagata's faces was staring directly at him.