Chapter 969: The Conflict Between Buddhism and Taoism

"Since the Buddhist Sect is so powerful, surely the Taoist Sect won't just let them have their way, right?"

Although Zhang Liang came from Confucianism, he did not know much about the murky waters of the Honghuang Dixian Jie, certainly not as much as those at Fire Cloud Cave.

He did not know much about the Buddhist Sect, which was why he was surprised by their strength.

But as one of the most brilliant minds of the Human Race, he quickly understood that if the Buddhist Sect was this powerful, the Taoist Sect certainly wouldn't be inferior.

Previously, the Buddhist Sect had been confined to Lingshan, clearly due to suppression by the Taoist Sect; now that the Buddhist Sect was reaching out, how could the Taoist Sect be willing?

How could one allow others to snore beside one's own bed, let alone when the other party had already run into their bowl to snatch their food?

As for the Qi of Luck, Zhang Liang now understood quite a bit about it as well.

Aside from Jiuzhou, Nanzhan Buzhou was filled with various major sects, and those sects were controlled by the Taoist Sect; this was the traditional sphere of influence of the Taoist Sect, so how could they allow others to come over and compete with them?

The stronger the Buddhist Sect became, the less the Taoist Sect would certainly be willing to accept it.

"The interior of the Taoist Sect is currently rife with constant strife; without being able to work as one, they cannot stop the Buddhist Sect from moving east."

Su Fan shook his head; whether in history or in the Mythical World, the Taoist Sect ultimately never succeeded in stopping the Buddhist Sect.

Historically, the Buddhist Sect eventually became one of the representatives of religion, and for a long time, it even surpassed the Taoist Sect.

The Buddhist Sect's ability to beguile was not a whit inferior to the Taoist Sect's; of course, the Taoist Sect's ability to beguile was not bad at the beginning either.

Whether it was the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han or the Sun En Rebellion during the Eastern Jin, it could be said that these were all instigated by the Taoist Sect.

Because of this, the government became wary of the Taoist Sect.

And the Buddhist Sect took the opportunity to replace them.

However, the Buddhist Sect also suffered heavy blows, such as the Three Wu Persecutions of Buddhism.

In the Mythical World, the Buddhist Sect was even stronger, with top-tier powerhouses and super-strong beguiling abilities.

Su Fan could imagine that the future Nanzhan Buzhou would certainly be very lively.

Of course, the arrival of the Buddhist Sect in Nanzhan Buzhou would certainly cause a disturbance, and the Taoist Sect would not easily let the Buddhist Sect have its way.

The great flourishing of the Buddhist Sect during the Journey to the West was something the Taoist Sect could not stop.

But for the Buddhist Sect to want to move east and preach in Nanzhan Buzhou right now was not that easy; the Taoist Sect were not fools and knew the true face of the Buddhist Sect very well.

If they really let the Buddhist Sect gain a foothold in Nanzhan Buzhou, it would be even harder to drive them away in the future.

They would certainly try every possible means to stop them.

At that time, conflict, or even a great war, would likely be unavoidable.

Large-scale warfare might not happen; both sides were not fools. With their strengths being roughly equal, a real fight to the death would only result in both sides suffering, allowing others to pick up the spoils.

The current Honghuang Dixian Jie could be described as a dance of demons; after entering the era without Saints, all parties had come out.

The Taoist Sect, the Buddhist Sect, the Heavenly Court, and Fire Cloud Cave could be considered the four strongest forces in the Earth Immortal World, and among these four major forces, they were also divided into many smaller factions.

Besides these, there were many other forces in the Earth Immortal World, such as the Demon Race, the Witch Race, the Rakshasa, and so on; although these forces were not as strong as the four major ones, they were not far behind.

Especially the Witch Race and the Demon Race; a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, even though they both suffered heavy losses in the ancient war.

But their remaining strength was still very powerful.

The remaining strength of the Demon Race alone likely included no fewer than two or three Quasi-Saints, such as the Demon Master Kunpeng and the last son of Di Jun.

Besides that, there might still be surviving Demon Gods; among the ten great Demon Gods of the Demon Court back then, several had reached the level of Quasi-Saint.

Although almost all of them died in battle, a few survived, and after so many years, perhaps some Demon Gods had already broken through to the Quasi-Saint level.

As for the Witch Race, not to mention anything else, Houtu Niangniang alone made all forces wary; she was comparable to a Saint, although her strength might decrease after leaving the Difu.

But she was still not someone a Quasi-Saint could compare to.

Moreover, besides Houtu Niangniang, the Witch Race had another Ancestral Witch, plus some Great Witches; in terms of strength, they were not much weaker than the four major forces.

The Buddhist Sect would generally not fight to the death with the Taoist Sect; the Taoist Sect wanted to stop the Buddhist Sect from preaching, but it was impossible to keep stopping them like this forever.

The interior of the Taoist Sect was not united and could not make a unified decision.

Su Fan also had a general understanding of the situation in the Earth Immortal World and knew that all parties were currently exercising restraint.

After all, no one wanted a great war to happen.

Look at the previous calamities; they were so tragic, and in the most recent Investiture of the Gods, the Honghuang was shattered.

As for the cultivators who died, if there were no Investiture of the Gods, then the number of Great Luo Golden Immortals who died would have been truly significant.

As for the Lich Calamity, that was even more terrifying.

Countless Great Luo Golden Immortals died, and even dozens of Quasi-Saints perished.

Especially the Eastern Emperor, who had almost reached the level of a Saint; such a calamity was truly too terrifying.

No one wanted to be the next one.

One could see from the Journey to the West Calamity that although it was a calamity, in reality, there was not much damage at all.

The only ones who died were small demons without any background.

As for the Havoc in Heaven at the beginning of the Journey to the West, that could be considered a joke; although the monkey caused quite a bit of trouble, in reality, the damage to the Heavenly Court was nothing more than some buildings.

The Heavenly Court lost at most a small number of heavenly soldiers.

Of course, in the end, the monkeys of Huaguoshan did indeed die in large numbers.

But most of those monkeys could barely be considered spirits.

Clearly, neither the Taoist Sect nor the Buddhist Sect wanted this calamity of the Buddhist Sect's flourishing to expand.

Otherwise, in the era without Saints, it was not as if the Taoist Sect had no chance to stop the Journey to the West.

Most of it would just be fighting the Buddhist Sect to block their flourishing.

Although the Buddhist Sect was powerful, if the Taoist Sect were truly willing to work together, the Buddhist Sect would have had no chance at all.

Although the Human Teachings and the Chan Sect did not have many Quasi-Saints, don't forget that they only knew about the second-generation disciples.

The true great powers of the Taoist Sect, such as Zhenyuanzi, were numerous; if these people were willing to join together, the Buddhist Sect would really have had little possibility.

Theoretically, the two Western Saints of that year were also considered part of the Taoist Sect, but they later defected and became the masters of the Eight Hundred Side Sects.

The benefit is that becoming the master of the Heterodox Paths is somewhat equivalent to being like the Dao Ancestor, yet the Taoist Sect is not something the Heterodox Paths can compare to.

The Dao Ancestor preached the Dao in Honghuang to gather the Qi of Luck, which is how he became a Saint, and although the two Western Saints are also Saints.

But there are gaps between Saints, and the gaps are also very large.

The gap between the Dao Ancestor and the Six Saints is almost equivalent to the gap between a Saint and a Quasi-Saint.

Among the Three Thousand Zixiao Guests, there are not many who are truly willing to join the Heterodox Paths, although not many of the former Purple Heaven Guests survived.

But even if there are only a few who have lived until now, their cultivation is not that of an ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal.

They are either Quasi-Saints or top-tier Great Luo Golden Immortals.

The overall strength of the Taoist Sect is still not something the Buddhist Sect can compare to.