"Did we hit it?"

The Cat Lady Emperor shielded her eyes with her hand, looking southward.

"It was off, just grazed the edge, what a pity," Li Yueqi said, arms crossed.

Behind the two of them stood a giant Golden Buddha.

The Buddha had eight arms, the lower six forming a Dharma Seal, while the upper two held a gilded cannon.

Around the cannon, mana fluctuated and the Array Map opened and closed. It seemed like it could fire another shot.

This Magical Treasure, named "Ultimate Verity," was a Magical Artifact co-created by the Buddhist Sect and Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, originally the Thousand Machine Cannon of Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Of course, this unfortunate name was invented by Zhang Ze.

The Cat Lady Emperor turned her eyes to the large face of the statue, pondering for a long time, and couldn't help but curiously ask.

"Didn't they say the Buddhist Sect of our East Sea is not into idol worship? Why does this big Buddha's face resemble Monk Konghai's?"

She had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but hadn't had the chance.

She distinctly remembered that the original Buddhist Sect was not like this.

Perhaps she read it in books; she remembered that in the old times, the halls of various temples were bare, mostly serving as places for meditation and cultivation.

But now, it seemed that every temple housed Golden Body statues.

Like the Thousand Mechanism Temple in Thousand Mechanism Town, there was a Bodhisattva holding a Thousand Machine Cannon.

She wondered when it had become so contradictory.

Just as she spoke, the Buddha, with a cannon on its shoulder and a spell in its hands, seemed to take notice. It looked down at the silly cat lady and even smiled a bit.

The Cat Lady Emperor shivered all over with fright.

"Don't panic," Li Yueqi said, hands in pockets, soothing her. "I told you long ago to read more, check out other schools' introductory materials, to avoid making this kind of joke in the future.

"The statues in the Buddha Hall are not for worship; they're for fighting."

"Fighting?" The Cat Lady Emperor was puzzled.

Li Yueqi explained, "The Buddhist Sect accepts disciples differently from the other Five Sects, not just based on talent and cultivation.

"Anyone with a transparent mind and awakened spiritual root, even if lacking cultivation aptitude, can enter the mountain gate to cultivate their heart and learn Buddhist doctrines.

"These people, after descending the mountains without practicing spells, can also build temples, teach Buddhist knowledge, treat illnesses, and bring blessings to ordinary people."

"I know," the Cat Lady Emperor nodded. "They used to do it this way, but without those statues..."

"Well, you have Xiao Jing to blame for that," Li Yueqi sighed. "After the great war, order collapsed, and many small temples were destroyed, either by human hands or natural disasters.

"So during that time, in pursuit of security, they came up with this method.

"Each temple constructed a Golden Body statue.

"Once a small temple is invaded by demons or the local area faces disaster, they can directly invite the East Sea grand temple or a passing High Monk to descend, and then..."

As Li Yueqi spoke, she mimicked the scene of a Buddha statue stepping out of the temple hall and slapping people.

"Understand? With a Golden Body as the foundation, fighting becomes easier.

"Afterwards, some external temples without their own traditions copied this, erecting a painted Golden Body in their halls.

"When demons and evil forces see it, they have to gamble on whether the Golden Body will attract a High Monk.

"If they guess wrong, they're buried alive on the spot. If they guess right, they snatch two pounds of flour."

"So, over time, it became like this."

Li Yueqi nudged her chin upward, signaling the Cat Lady Emperor to look up. At this time, the "Ultimate Verity" had ceased its operation, and the Buddha's face had reverted to its original ordinary look.

"The authentic Golden Body statues in Buddhist temples have this face, called 'Appearance of the Masses,' indicating that everyone can achieve Buddhahood."

Feeling slightly regretful for being too confident while only knowing superficial details about the East Sea Buddhist Sect, Li Yueqi worried her unlucky apprentice might offhandedly ask, "What is Buddha?" leaving her awkwardly stuck.

Luckily, the unlearned Cat Lady Emperor didn't care about what Buddha was; she was merely curious about the powerful descent spell.

"Master, master, if you kick me out of the sect now, can I still learn that descent spell as a reward?"

The Cat Lady Emperor asked sincerely.

Li Yueqi sighed and kicked her.

"The Buddhist Sect wouldn't accept a fool like you, whose spiritual root is fully blocked.

"Now that the Six Sects share their resources, if you want to learn that 'Descent Divine Technique,' you can just use points to exchange for it in Little Walnut."

"No need to shave your head, um..."

As Li Yueqi was provoked into conversation, she suddenly had an idea while looking at the Cat Lady's head.

This silly girl could move her cat ears atop her head in addition to her human ears.

They weren't just decorative.

So if her head was shaved, how would that look?

She had never seen it before.

Thinking so, Li Yueqi decided to do it. She opened Little Walnut and placed an order with the Medicine King Valley for Mystic Fragrance and Hair Growth Ointment.

With each mentee and mentor lost in their own thoughts, the recovery work was also completed.

Using the "Ultimate Verity" was merely to test; the actual recovery of that middle finger was done by the Old Ascenders.

However, what they recovered was somewhat unexpected.

"Zhang Ze, how did you end up here?"

Instead of the middle finger, Zhang Ze appeared with a wry smile.

"It's hard to explain; just consider me unlucky."

Saying this, Zhang Ze stretched out his right hand, which he had kept on his back.

At this moment, Zhang Ze's right hand was somewhat stiff, flipping a middle finger at Li Yueqi.

"What's going on? What happened?" asked Li Yueqi.

Zhang Ze sighed, unsure of how to proceed with an explanation.

Fortunately, Fuji was more considerate.

From somewhere, she emerged, poking Li Yueqi's cheek before snapping her fingers.

"I recorded everything," she said.

Instantly, the scene Fuji had just witnessed appeared before Li Yueqi's eyes.