Runan's gaze fell upon Ruzhong, whose appearance was extraordinarily aged.
As his senior brother, Ruzhong was naturally older than him, but among great cultivators, an age gap of a few hundred years shouldn't result in such a drastic difference in appearance.
He himself was still relatively young, yet this Buddha, who knew how long he had stayed in the Western Niu Continent, was already showing the frailty of advanced age.
Karma Buddhas were inherently rare in the Buddhist Sect, and all of them were cultivated together in the Great Thunder Temple, holding Buddhist scriptures in their hands.
At the very least, Ruzhong had once taught him how to cultivate, taught him Buddhist principles, and taught him how to conduct himself.
Time would indeed fade past memories. At least, when he sat in the Great Thunder Temple, he would question whether this former senior brother had betrayed the Buddhist Sect.
But upon stepping onto this land, when truly coming face to face with his senior brother of the past…
Those memories he thought had been forgotten, and those forgotten emotions, surged back into his heart.
Therefore…
What Ruzhong said about giving him time to make his case was true.
But it was also true that Runan hadn't yet decided exactly how to handle the matter.
Because Runan understood that the Karma Buddhas were the Buddhist Sect's ultimate backing.
If they couldn't even completely trust the Karma Buddhas, were they to rely on the Secular Buddhas who came for profit?
However, once certain words were spoken plainly, there was no room left for compromise.
A conversation at their level would set the tone for the entire Buddhist Sect.
Since Ruzhong spoke this way, it meant he was indeed doing it deliberately.
Runan could no longer bring it up lightly and let it go lightly. An imposing aura emanated from him as he spoke in a solemn and stern tone:
"I call you Senior Brother and do not address you by your Buddha title, because I still remember how we cultivated bitterly together in the Great Thunder Temple, and I remember the bond between us."
"Now that I am the Honored Buddha of the Buddhist Sect, I must naturally bear its heavy burdens, strive for the prosperity of the Buddhist Sect, deliver all living beings from suffering, and ensure the Buddhist Sect continues to exist."
"As a Buddha of the Buddhist Sect, you were nurtured and grown through the karma of the Buddhist Sect."
"Let me ask you, if you had grievances in your heart, why didn't you speak frankly to me?"
"I don't believe you are unaware of how important this place is. How much suffering the Buddhist Sect has endured and how many grievances it has swallowed to develop to this day—you knew far better than I did back then!"
"Do you refuse to acknowledge our bond as junior and senior brothers, or do you refuse to acknowledge the karma of the Buddhist Sect, forgetting where this cultivation of yours truly came from?"
Runan tried his best to keep his tone calm, his eyes fixed tightly on Ruzhong, making no attempt to hide his disappointment. He slowed his tone again, yet it sounded even heavier as he said:
"Senior Brother! If you truly wanted to go to the ends of the earth and didn't want to stay here, how could I stop you?"
"After all these hardships, through a thousand years of time."
"Senior Brother, do you truly wish to make an enemy of us?"
A smile graced Ruzhong's face. He had been in the Western Niu Continent, a land of scarce spiritual energy, for far too long. Whether in the depth of his cultivation or anything else, he could no longer compare to his former junior brother, now the Honored Buddha of the Buddhist Sect, Runan.
That imposing aura was heavy even to him, and he could feel the anger within it.
Facing a figure who demanded careful treatment from anyone, Ruzhong's expression remained utterly calm. He opened his mouth and replied:
"You call me Senior Brother, but do you still remember what you should call the person you are relentlessly hunting down now?"
Hearing this, Runan half-closed his eyes and said with unwavering determination:
"Naturally, the Evil Buddha!"
"The Evil Buddha…" Ruzhong's expression turned pensive. "Actually, I still haven't figured out who was right and who was wrong back then. I don't believe that if you truly searched your own conscience, you would feel the Evil Buddha was thoroughly in the wrong."
"To be honest, I came to the Western Niu Continent to avoid the storm, and I also came to the Western Niu Continent to protect him."
"And even more so, I came to the Western Niu Continent to figure out that question."
"Regardless, when things reached that point back then, everyone was at fault."
"But you and I are Buddhist cultivators. Shouldn't we at least reflect on ourselves and consider whether what the Evil Buddha said had any merit?"
"Back then, you were intelligent and eager to learn, always demanding true essence and true intent, refusing to engage in deceit."
"But now that you have become a Buddha, you have also learned how to turn a blind eye."
Ruzhong slowly propped himself up, looking at the Zhengyin Dharma Temple, which had been blasted down to half by Chu Xingchen and was now rebuilt, looking far more magnificent and splendid than before. He sighed softly and said:
"This senior brother also understands what is in your heart. You are the Honored Buddha now. Whether it is the rights and wrongs in your heart, or the entanglements and torments, none of it is as important as the Buddhist Sect walking a better path and going further."
"For this sake, pretending not to see is fine; for this sake, doing things you are unwilling to do is also fine."
"You have inherited the karma of the Buddhist Sect, and you have also inherited Master's mantle."
"I know that among us brothers, you are actually the one who values our bond the most and values promises the most."
"Similarly, Master knew this, and Dajing knew this too."
"That is why you have become this way, and why you became the Honored Buddha."
"Whether this title of Honored Buddha is a shackle or not, you know far better than I do."
Ruzhong spread his hands, his gaze sweeping across the vast hall, looking at the surrounding Buddha walls that had been freshly carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes:
"I know that as a senior brother, I shouldn't criticize you for doing things wrong. You have worked very hard."
"But sometimes, this senior brother just thinks…"
"Should we not discard these useless murals, discard this useless splendor, and discard whether others look upon us with contempt or not?"
"You and I are our true selves, you and I are our true selves…"
Runan was deeply moved. With his eyes half-closed, he could only raise his head, his gaze falling upon Ruzhong, whose expression was half-smiling and half-not, his eyes seeming both sorrowful and joyful.
After a moment of silence, Runan's tone remained as serious as ever:
"This is my true self now. Senior Brother, regarding these words you spoke today, have you fallen under someone's demonic illusion technique? Was it the Evil Buddha?"
Hearing this, Ruzhong chuckled in amusement and took a step toward Runan.
There was some distance between him and Runan.
Several Bodhisattvas and Arhats standing in front of Runan immediately stepped forward, blocking the path of this Buddha who wished to walk toward the Honored Buddha.
Runan cast his gaze over. The figure of his senior brother of the past was already almost completely obscured by the Bodhisattvas and Arhats before him.
His heart was conflicted, but he still spoke:
"Step aside!"
The moment his voice faded, the Bodhisattvas and Arhats in front of Ruzhong all stepped aside to make way.
Runan watched his senior brother step closer, step by step.
Ruzhong's pace was not fast, and the aura on his body was suppressed to the point of being nearly nonexistent. He slowly walked up to Runan and gently placed his hand on Runan's shoulder:
"When did it start that whenever you and I speak, you always have to talk in circles? Always having to feed me the words?"
Runan raised his eyes, feeling as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.
Ruzhong's gaze was calm as he said softly:
"Being wrong is not scary; what is scary is lacking the courage to right wrongs and restore order."
Runan said coldly:
"Do you think Master was wrong, Dajing was wrong, those who died for this were wrong, and that I am also wrong?"
Ruzhong shook his head gently:
"Actually, I was the one who was wrong. Back then, I shouldn't have avoided it, leaving you to bear all of this alone."
"You bore everything, so anyone has the qualification to say you were wrong, except for us senior brothers who have no such right."
Runan asked coldly:
"What exactly are you trying to say? Do you want to rebel against the Buddhist Sect and join the Evil Buddha's faction? Or do you think I won't punish you?!"
"Or are you going to raze the Buddhist Sect to the ground, discarding all the hard work of those who came before, and destroying the great righteous Buddhist Sect?"
A smile still lingered on Ruzhong's somewhat withered face:
"I just wanted… to speak my heart to you."
"For a senior brother to vent such complaints to his junior brother, is it very unbecoming?"
All Runan could respond with was silence.
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