Chapter 75: Billions of Gods and Buddhas, All Under the Buddha's Palm Are Pure Lands

Countless people were horrified.

The old monk's form remained unchanged, yet in the hearts of countless people, his ancient figure gained infinite majesty, as if what they saw walking forward was not a person, but an eternal mountain range in motion.

"Transcendent!!!"

Mori Takeshi, Director Takahashi, and Lieutenant General Suzuki of the Eastern Regional Headquarters, along with the media and anchors inside the building, and the audience watching on televisions in their living rooms, all screamed hoarsely, their voices bordering on moans.

The old monk, like an ancient peak, tread across the mountains and rivers.

Such immense power is beyond the capability of ordinary humans.

Only the Transcendent can do this!

Only the Transcendent can achieve this; with a single step, he can shatter the earth and the heavens.

Director Takahashi laughed wildly, laughing until he seemed mad, his eyes shining like lamps as he stared intensely at the old monk and Xia Mei Amaterasu on the screen, so agitated that he spoke incoherently.

"I knew it! That's right, they didn't deceive me. I was wondering why they would allow a young generation of Transcendents to come; it turns out they had a backup plan."

Clearly, he mistook the old monk for a Transcendent summoned by Xia Mei Amaterasu.

As for why, isn't it obvious? Xia Mei Amaterasu came to suppress the demons, accompanied by an old monk, and the two were conversing while waiting for the demons to arrive. If they didn't know each other, no one would believe it; such a coincidence simply couldn't exist.

Tokyo, Japan, a villa.

"Excellent! I was wondering how Kenji dared to let his granddaughter go; it turns out you are all Transcendents!"

The abbot of Asakusa Temple, his face flushed with excitement, grabbed Kenji Amaterasu's shoulders with both hands, feeling as though he had only just realized who Kenji truly was.

His expression was a complex mix of excitement, disbelief, awe, the thrill of discovering treasure, and astonishment.

"Director Amaterasu, you scared us half to death. I thought your granddaughter was leading us into a trap, but now I realize you were helping us all along."

"Director Amaterasu, could you reveal which temple this Transcendent Monk comes from? Could there be a connection with our temple?"

"Don't say another word, Director Amaterasu. From now on, we follow you. You are our leader. If you say go east, we go east. We beg you to take us under your wing. If you could... if you could teach us a little of the Shinto arts, we will do anything you ask."

The others were much the same, surrounding Kenji Amaterasu, both shocked and delighted.

It turns out that among this flock of sheep, there was a wolf hidden!!

Upon realizing that the Amaterasu family had invited a Transcendent Monk, they were utterly convinced that the Amaterasu family must also be Transcendent. Thinking this, everyone became ecstatic, especially the abbots of the temples, whose spirits soared until they were trembling with excitement.

So, temples truly do have Transcendents!

Immediately, they cast aside their earlier fear of Director Takahashi's pretense, stood tall with their chests out, and became bold and righteous, because... now they had confidence!

Kenji Amaterasu looked utterly bewildered.

He knew better than anyone that his granddaughter was not a Transcendent.

But... why was his granddaughter conversing with a Transcendent, acting as if they knew each other?

For no apparent reason, a strange yet highly plausible thought occurred to him.

Could it be that Xia Mei was pretending to be a Shinto Transcendent, and in the process of pretending, actually drew out a real Transcendent... and even established a connection with them?

In an instant, while everyone thought a wolf had infiltrated a flock of sheep, Kenji Amaterasu felt as though a pack of wolves had infiltrated a group of Huskies.

It was just...

While Kenji Amaterasu was still bewildered, he suddenly glanced at the live broadcast of the battle zone on his phone, and in that instant, he gasped sharply.

There was no time to think, nor any chance to reply to the people around him; Kenji Amaterasu gripped his phone tightly and stared at the screen.

On the live broadcast feed on his phone screen, the old monk took his final step.

"Amitabha."

A peaceful Buddhist chant accompanied the landing of his foot; at this moment, the upheaval was no longer limited to the earth, but even the heavens trembled.

The heavens and earth underwent a violent transformation.

In the sky filled with dark, churning clouds, a crack appeared, and a single ray of the proud sun descended. Its brilliance was dazzling, bringing the first ray of warmth and light to this region drenched in cold rain.

The radiance of the proud sun, like beams of light, fell straight down, bathing the old monk and enveloping his body. He looked exactly like a true Buddha emerging from the legendary Buddha Land of Tathagata, with ten thousand feet of Buddha light and brilliant divine radiance, holy and inviolable.

The image was extremely impactful.

It shocked the world.

Beneath the heavy rain, which blurred the heavens and earth, a single ray of sunlight shone down, followed immediately by ray after ray of the proud sun's brilliance.

Centered on the first ray of morning sun and the old monk on the ground, the dark clouds in the sky parted to form a massive circular clearing. Inside the circle, sunlight shone everywhere, its warmth touching the hearts of men; outside the circle, the rain poured down as before.

Countless people stood stunned, too shocked to speak.

For the first time, people no longer recognized themselves; for the first time, humanity felt strange to them; for the first time, they realized their understanding of humanity was scant, that their discoveries had remained at the superficial stage.

At the same moment.

Enveloped by sunlight, golden light rose from his skin; the holy old monk looked at the Six-Eyed Demon.

"Benefactor, you have killed too many living beings. Put down your butcher's knife."

As his words rang out,

the response to the old monk was a cold snort.

The Six-Eyed Demon did not reply to the old monk's words, nor did he give the old monk any chance; he acted without hesitation!

Boom!

Terrifying pressure, unprecedented in its intensity, erupted. No longer formless, the pressure condensed into a massive phantom figure standing behind the Six-Eyed Demon.

This phantom figure was enormous, looking exactly like the Six-Eyed Demon, yet more majestic, with a colder aura and a more terrifying momentum. It stood upon surging black clouds, resembling the body of a ghost or god, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The ghost-god phantom threw a punch that crashed down upon the old monk. Its overwhelming force crushed souls to fragments, turned everything around into dust, and annihilated even the air and dust particles.

The massive fist shadow overwhelmed all brilliance and all tangible things, vast enough to connect the heavens and the earth.

The heavens and earth trembled; the void shook!

The momentum shook the heavens and earth; the fist shadow seemed poised to crush this space flat, to sink this land, to...

Annihilate everything!

Everyone trembled, feeling their scalps explode with a roar. Was this the Six-Eyed Demon's true strength? Compared to the Six-Eyed Demon's previous attacks, the strength displayed now was worlds apart.

He firmly believed that this single punch could extinguish an entire species and reduce a whole region to absolute void.

And just as countless people trembled in terror.

"Amitabha."

Facing the ghostly phantom of gods and demons that terrified the world.

The old Monk finally raised his head, revealing the face hidden beneath his wide-brimmed hat, presenting himself to the world. He stood there, looking up as the fist-mark of the ghostly phantom, massive as a meteor, descended. His hands slowly pressed together in prayer, his lips parted slightly, responding with only a single Buddhist chant.

To everyone, his action seemed like a person facing death and despair, waiting passively for their end.

But in the next instant.

Boom!

Accompanying the rise of the Buddhist chant, boundless Buddha-light radiated from the old Monk's body. The light blazed fiercely, illuminating a radius of three thousand li, as if a sun of merit had risen.

Those rays of light transformed into a Buddha-halo as dazzling as a divine sun, suspended behind the old Monk. As the Buddha-light bloomed, it was faintly visible that within the radiance of the halo lay a Pure Land world, where billions of divine Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats sat.

And those billions of divine Buddhas seemed to guard the heavens, encircling nine thousand and ninety-nine Immortal Buddhas seated on golden lotus thrones. Those Immortal Buddhas, in turn, seemed to be revered by all stars, orbiting a single Buddha who was tall and majestic. His body soared into the clouds, reaching down to the Nine Nether and the dark abyss, and up beyond the Nine Heavens and the azure sky.

That was the Tathagata!!

"Amitabha."

As if communicating with the Pure Land Buddha-kingdom and opening the gates of the Buddha-kingdom, voices echoed from within the Buddha-halo. The shadows of billions of divine Buddhas chanted the Buddhist name in unison.

The sound of the Buddha resonated deeply, echoing through Higashi-Osaka, echoing through Arakawa Ward, echoing through...

At this very moment.

Across the whole of Japan, countless people looked up in shock, gazing toward the direction of Higashi-Osaka.

They heard a boundless sound of Buddha coming from that Higashi-Osaka.

And at this time.

Boom!!

Boundless Buddha-light erupted. Every pore of the old Monk's body emitted light. Everyone felt an illusion, as if at this moment, it was not the old Monk acting, but the billions of divine Buddhas of the Buddha-kingdom striking out. They formed the Ten Directions of Boundless Pure Annihilation and Great Brightness; great compassion and great mercy, boundless light shining universally over the eight wildernesses and the nine heavens.

Countless people fell silent. Anyone paying attention to Higashi-Osaka felt their minds calm to an unprecedented degree, feeling as though every evil in their body and soul was about to be purified by that Buddha-light.

Under the gaze of the multitude.

The Buddha-light extended forth, possessing the supreme light capable of freeing all sentient beings from the suffering of the Three Evil Paths and destroying all demons and evil spirits in the heavens. It pressed down from above.

There was no time even to scream.

It could not withstand even a single second.

The ghostly phantom resembling a god or demon and the Six-Eyed Demon turned into light. Like wind eroding stone, they dissolved into shimmering points of radiance, entering Nirvana and merging into the Pure Land.

Immediately after.

The boundless, vast Buddha-light that annihilated the Six-Eyed Demon did not diminish in its divine radiance. It pressed forward relentlessly, shining toward the direction of Hachinomiya Village...

(PS: This chapter has enough substance, right?... Actually, I really don't know what "filler" means. I always feel that what I write isn't filler; I just write everything that needs to be written. Also, I timidly ask: if you feel today's update has substance, please send some recommendation votes to encourage this heart of mine made of glass.)