The news of Chen Yuan's departure was known only to a few close individuals; outsiders were almost entirely unaware, as Su Ziyue, Jiang He, and others took great care to disguise it.

In a short period, it was difficult for anyone to notice.

And Chen Yuan, too, was traveling towards the Western Regions at the fastest possible speed, unaware that Xiang Qianqiu's other scheme against him was already being prepared.

Passing through Lanzhou, Chen Yuan witnessed the Heavenly Demon Hall battling with the Buddhist coalition of the Thirty-Six Nations, with great battles occurring almost daily, draining heavily.

Of course, such a massive depletion couldn't have been taken on foolishly by the Heavenly Demon Hall just because of a promise from Chen Yuan. The portion of the army left behind by the Xiang Family was handed over to the Heavenly Demon Hall by Chen Yuan.

Using these lives to block the Buddhist advance eastward.

He did not interfere, just quietly watched a great battle with Moluo, and then left silently.

Moluo, being an entity from the Western Regions, described it in such a way that Chen Yuan gained a deeper understanding of the unfamiliar Luli Kingdom.

Before this, he had basically only heard the name of Luli Kingdom and had no interest in understanding a small country in the Western Regions. This opportunity was the reason; otherwise... he still wouldn't pay attention.

In the Western Regions, Buddhism is the one and only.

It is the true God, the belief of everyone living in the Western Regions, from top to bottom. Almost all the royalty and nobility worship the true Buddha in Spirit Mountain.

Spirit Mountain can even easily change the selection of the King.

The Buddhist temple preaches equality for all beings and compassion, but in reality, they divide people into different social classes; the upper class will always remain the upper class.

The lower class will always remain the lower class.

To prevent those of the lower class from rebelling, many Buddhist doctrines in the Western Regions teach ordinary people not to resist, that the more suffering they endure in this life.

The greater the happiness they will enjoy in the next life.

The pain in this life is due to the deep sins of past lives, and once those sins are cleansed, in the next life, they will reincarnate as upper-class individuals.

Under the education repeated year after year, day after day, the people of all Western Region countries have long forgotten about taking up arms, and cultivation has become the exclusive domain of the aristocracy.

Moluo once felt something wrong with this doctrine, but he couldn't articulate it. He wanted to change it, but was powerless, and finally, after discovering the secret of the Immortal Domain,

he was declared a heretic, to be killed by all, by Buddha.

Moluo spoke very calmly, as if he was just talking about something irrelevant to himself, but Chen Yuan felt....somewhat uncontrollable anger.

Indeed, for the upper class, this doctrine is most fitting, so the nobility of the Thirty-Six Nations would always embrace Buddhism.

But for a state, a nation, it undoubtedly is a bloodless blade.

Although he already had a bad impression of Buddhism, when Moluo spoke about the Buddhist doctrines in the Western Regions, he clearly felt more disgusted because he was not born a strong figure; he climbed up step by step from a weak one.

If such doctrine truly took root in the Central Plains, how could someone like him rise up?

The evil of ordinary people is evident on the surface, while the evil of Buddhism in the Western Regions is ingrained deeply. Perhaps Buddhism knows this, and therefore the doctrine spread in the Central Plains is completely different.

Thinking a bit deeper about the intricacies makes it clear, as the Central Plains Thirteen States are not yet Buddhist territories, and many sects are rejecting Buddhism.

If they initially spread such ideas.....

The imperial family may very well recognize it, but certain mid-to-upper-level individuals would certainly resist forcefully.....

The Western Regions are vast, filled with myths everywhere.

The combined territories of the Thirty-Six Nations in the Western Regions are definitely half the size of the Central Plains, though they are not as fertile as the Central Plains, with sparse population and scarce resources.

The limited resources are all supplied to the imperial family and Spirit Mountain.

Of course, Moluo also told Chen Yuan that Buddhism is not static; in fact, it has always been absorbing new blood in order to maintain its vast power.

The temples scattered across the Western Regions are places for selecting talents for Spirit Mountain. Whenever children reach a certain age, experts in these temples will examine their bones.

If they meet the standards, they will be sent to the nation, and after another selection, they will be sent to Spirit Mountain.

Moluo himself had entered Buddhism for cultivation in this way.

He liked some Buddhist teachings and longed for true equality for all and compassion in Buddhism, but unfortunately, the ultimate truth that he learned led him to cultivate a demonic phase.

This was the first time Moluo shared his past with Chen Yuan.

Plain.... yet real.

Chen Yuan keenly noticed that the current Moluo seemed more genuine, unlike the compassionate Buddha Phase or the wicked Demon Phase, but more like his original self.

He....

Gradually returned to his true self.

...

...

Western Regions, capital of Luli Kingdom.

Traveling from Qingzhou to the Western Regions, Chen Yuan and Moluo hardly stopped, except for a brief delay in Lanzhou, quickly crossing the desert.

They arrived at the oasis, taking a total of three days on the journey.

Here, it's indeed as Moluo described, with extremely severe polarization; nobles wear luxurious clothes, frequently whipping commoners with their whips, while those commoners are timid and dare not resist.

He clearly saw anger in the eyes of some common folk, but it quickly got suppressed, and they quietly endured the lashes.