"Buddha, we are ashamed that we failed to see the mind and understand the nature, having been overpowered by heart demons, and have made grave mistakes," the various Buddhas pleaded guilty.

"This is an unavoidable tribulation for our Buddhist Sect," Maitreya said softly.

In his words, there was a remarkable tolerance for the various Buddhas, without any intention of holding them accountable.

As the leader of the Buddhist Sect, he was well aware that the Sect had suffered a great blow. The immediate task was to quickly comfort the hearts of the people. Only by doing so could they better face the challenges to come.

After all, if this was a trap set by the Jade Emperor, then the Buddhist Sect would soon face an onslaught as fierce as a sudden storm.

The Supreme one was not one for compassion or leniency and would not miss such an excellent opportunity.

The Buddhist Sect needed to recover quickly to cope with the subsequent situations.

"Amitabha Buddha, our Buddha is compassionate," the various Buddhas praised Maitreya’s kindness. For a moment, Buddha’s Light illuminated Mount Ling, leading all living beings to worship, and the previously wavering hearts gradually settled.

Atop the Lingxiao Treasured Palace, the Jade Emperor looked at the Western Paradise, radiating with dazzling Buddha’s Light, and a cold smile formed at the corner of his mouth, "Maitreya has indeed lived up to the name of Buddha, stabilizing the minds of Mount Ling so swiftly." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"After all, to ascend to the position of the Buddha is not a fluke," the Divine Exorcist Great Saint said with a light laugh.

"Continue with the plan. I want to see how the Buddhist Sect will cope with what comes next," the Jade Emperor said solemnly.

"Yes!"

Juexing ran wildly through the forest, vaguely hearing the sounds of soldiers searching behind him, which only added to the panic of this surviving disciple of the Buddhist Sect.

The tree branches scratched his face as he ran, causing him slight pain—a sensation he hadn’t felt in many years.

Since he started his practice of cultivation and acquired the Buddhist Golden Body, he had never been scratched by mere branches.

But now, he could not afford to care about such things, as he desperately fled deeper into the forest. The vivid images of his fellow disciples’ tragic deaths were still before his eyes; these people were veritable demon heads, who didn’t care about the identity of the disciples of the Buddhist Sect. They swung their butcher’s knives as if killing chickens.

Their eyes held no reverence for life, only numbness. Never had he, who came from Mount Ling, seen such brutal humans.

Weren’t the people here supposed to be eagerly awaiting salvation from him? Shouldn’t he be revered upon his arrival? Why had it come to this?

Juexing couldn’t understand, but he knew that now was not the time to ponder these thoughts. He hadn’t seen any support from Mount Ling up to now, which made him realize that something must have changed, and they had become expendable.

"Damn it!" This realization infuriated him. His people were fighting bravely at the front lines; how could those behind simply decide to abandon them?

"We came here for the sake of the Buddhist Sect, to establish a Mortal Buddhist Kingdom, and to expand the Sect."

He forgot that although they came to the Eastern Land claiming it was to illuminate the Buddhist Sect, they were actually competing for merit. At that time, everyone thought that with the Heavenly Court’s rebellion, Dongsheng Shenzhou had already become an easy gain for the Buddhist Sect.

Whoever arrived here first could have the largest share of the cake, and it wouldn’t be difficult to achieve the Buddhist fruit later. Meanwhile, those left behind were often those with lesser talents or lower backgrounds.

He didn’t know how long he had run for, but the sky had completely darkened. A full moon hung high, illuminating the Earth, the Milky Way resplendent, stretching across the horizon—a beautiful scene indeed.

If it had been any other time, Juexing would have surely stopped to appreciate the moonlight tonight and might even have softly recited Buddhist scriptures to enlighten his wisdom.

But now, he simply had no time to appreciate the beautiful moonlight he used to enjoy so much. His mind was occupied by a single word: escape.

He ran frantically, feeling for the first time that death was so close to him. In the past, when he read about the Buddha sacrificing flesh to feed eagles and offering his body to tigers, he believed that disciples of the Buddhist Sect should indeed do so.

But when he himself faced this trial, he realized that being truly fearless was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.

The instinct for survival urged him on, causing him to run for his life through the mountainous forests.

He didn’t know how far he had run when the sounds of the soldiers searching for him faded away, leaving only the intermingled chirping of insects in the mountains.

It was then that Juexing finally stopped his frantic run, collapsing to the ground, gasping for air.

He felt he had never been this exhausted in his life. The mental cultivation level he once took pride in was shattered to pieces on this land.

The experiences of this period even made him begin to doubt the correctness of his Buddhist practices. As soon as this thought emerged, he felt an unprecedented fear.

After all, he had joined a temple as a child and had studied the Buddhist Law ever since, not knowing how many hundreds of years had passed. It could be said that the Buddhist Law was his everything, and he had also fervently believed in it. But today, he doubted it.

The feeling of negating his past self was truly too painful.

After a good while, the monk from Mount Ling slowly got up from the ground. With a sorrowful look in his eyes, he glanced in the direction he had fled from, which was now engulfed in a sea of flames.

The officials and soldiers who pursued him set the fire before they left, utterly destroying the ancient temple that the Buddhist Sect had painstakingly managed for years.

"Buddha above, what should we do?" cried Juexing in agony.

Unfortunately, Dongsheng Shenzhou is now enveloped by a huge barrier, and Maitreya cannot sense what’s happening inside.

Although he is known as the Future Buddha and is as esteemed as Buddha, in terms of realization and Bodhisattva status, he falls short of the Buddha, so he simply cannot observe all living beings in the Three Realms as if looking at the lines on his palm.

He even doubted that even if the Buddha himself came, he would not be able to discern the truth; otherwise, he would have left some hint when breaking through.

"Buddha, what kind of method is this? Once we enter the Two Realms Mountain, our mana is suppressed, and we are almost no different from mortals," a Buddha said, still somewhat frightened by the experience. The feeling of being an exalted Buddha plummeted to that of a mere mortal in an instant was too terrible.

If it wasn’t for the suppression of power, how could they have been blocked by a woodcutter at the Two Realms Mountain, unable to advance a step, and ultimately return to Mount Ling in disgrace?

Maitreya, too, had already lost the smile on his face, and he looked towards the Great Tang of the Eastern Land with a somewhat solemn expression.

There, a colossal seal appeared, obstructing his view, confusing the divine prediction, rendering him completely unable to make calculations.

"Mankind?" Maitreya muttered to himself.

He seemed to grasp the essence of it. This power did not belong to Heaven and Earth but to the power of mankind.

"It seems we have all underestimated the people living in this land. To be able to construct the power of mankind, Dongsheng Shenzhou is indeed a place of outstanding figures and spiritual presence."