Chapter 852

Seeing Luo Fu grow impatient, Saint Jieyin ceased his formalities.

His earlier words were merely routine politeness.

Due to their immortality, saints never fully break ties with one another.

In the endless span of eternity, no one dares guarantee they won't one day need to beg another's favor.

Unless absolutely necessary, saints always preserve at least a veneer of mutual respect.

Saint Jieyin most firmly believed in this principle.

Thus, after confirming Luo Fu's strength, Saint Jieyin did not strike immediately but first offered a few polite words.

Since Luo Fu did not wish to listen, Saint Jieyin had no intention of continuing.

The earlier politeness was merely a precaution.

After so many years of development, especially after completing the Ten Thousand Buddha Array, Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin had long since seen their confidence surge.

In the eyes of Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin, with the Ten Thousand Buddha Array as their trump card, aside from Saint Taishang, they could jointly subdue all other saints.

If they could subdue saints, subduing Luo Fu—who had not yet reached the Jin Xian layer—was no problem.

As soon as Saint Jieyin finished speaking, boundless Buddhist light spontaneously bloomed behind Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin.

Within the light, three thousand Buddha realms began to slowly emerge.

The three thousand Buddha realms summoned directly by the saints were clearly heavier and more solemn than before.

Boundless Buddhist light swirled above the three thousand Buddha realms.

Moreover, within the three thousand Buddha realms, the aura of countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Luo Han emerged.

The Buddhas of Buddhism were mostly Saint-level or at the peak of Great Jin Xian, the Bodhisattvas were at least Great Jin Xian, some even Saint-level, and the Luo Han were at least at the peak of Jin Xian, with many being Great Jin Xian.

Luo Fu's awareness swept lightly and sensed at least dozens of Buddhas, hundreds of Bodhisattvas, and countless Luo Han within the three thousand Buddha realms.

Though Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin publicly claimed Buddhism had only five hundred Luo Han, the true number far exceeded that.

Among these Luo Han, Great Golden Immortals were by no means rare.

A careful count revealed that each Buddha realm was guarded by a Luo Han at the Great Jin Xian layer.

The several hundred stronger Buddha realms were guarded by Bodhisattvas.

The Buddhas and several Saint-level Bodhisattvas presided centrally, each controlling over a hundred Buddha realms.

At this moment, Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin finally revealed the true depth of Buddhism, the foremost power in the Three Realms.

Merely the number of Great Golden Immortals—numbering in the thousands—was enough to shock every faction in the Three Realms.

Great Golden Immortals were no common commodity.

During the Investiture of the Gods Era, Great Golden Immortals were absolute elites.

The Chan Sect, as one of the Three Sects and led by a saint, had only a mere dozen or so Great Golden Immortals during the Investiture War.

This shows just how difficult it was to become a Great Jin Xian.

Though not many yuanhui have passed since the Investiture War, Buddhism now possessed thousands of Great Golden Immortals and dozens of great transcendent beings.

This reveals how richly Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin profited from the Investiture War and how terrifyingly deep their accumulated foundations had become over the years.

Of course, Luo Fu could see that the Great Golden Immortals guarding the Buddha realms mostly had problems.

Either they were hollow shells, forcibly elevated, or their eyes burned with fanaticism and dullness, clearly forcibly converted.

Buddhism possessed terrifyingly potent incense and vow power, making it easy to boost a believer's strength.

This was precisely why only those at the peak of Jin Xian could become Buddhist Luo Han.

With incense and vow power, as long as Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin wished, they could elevate a mortal directly to the Jin Xian layer without spending much time.

Below the Great Jin Xian layer, only magic power accumulation was needed; realm was secondary.

Incense and vow power could forcibly enhance strength.

Even Great Golden Immortals could be mass-produced if one was willing to expend enough incense and vow power.

It simply required a greater cost.

Such forcibly elevated Luo Han had nearly all their potential consumed, leaving no possibility of further advancement.

Even other factions in the Three Realms, despite possessing abundant incense and vow power, would never do this lightly.

After all, as long as there remained even a sliver of potential to become strong, no one would willingly sacrifice their future and remain stagnant for life.

If forcibly coerced, even if a batch of strong disciples were gained, their loyalty could not be guaranteed.

Buddhism had no such problems—they forcibly elevated only those already forcibly converted.

After forcible conversion, a believer's potential was already severely damaged.

Whether potential was sacrificed was irrelevant.

Clearly, Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin had generated so many Great Golden Immortals to better control the three thousand Buddha realms.

With Great Golden Immortals guarding them, each Buddhist realm stood as solid as Mount Tai.

Three thousand Great Golden Immortals coordinating together, with dozens of great transcendent beings mediating, caused the three thousand Buddha realms to fuse completely, giving an impression of utter immovability.

Now, the three thousand Buddha realms had already fused into one, flawless and whole—even without forming the Ten Thousand Buddha Array.

In the previous battle, the three thousand Buddha realms had vulnerabilities because their power had not merged, due to the lack of Luo Han and Bodhisattvas to guard them.

In the Three Realms, Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin dared not reveal the true three thousand Buddha realms like this.

Whether the Great Golden Immortals were forcibly elevated through incense and vow power or forcibly converted, they were extremely sensitive.

A few forcibly elevated Great Golden Immortals were tolerable; too many would inevitably draw resistance from all factions in the Three Realms.

Those forcibly converted Great Golden Immortals were mostly disciples of major factions in the Three Realms.

This was no longer the Investiture of the Gods Era, when the Jie Sect collapsed after Saint Tongtian was imprisoned, allowing Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin to freely plunder Jie Sect disciples.

Now, the Three Realms had entered a time of peace.

In a time of peace, forcibly seizing disciples from other factions—especially disciples at the Great Jin Xian level—

Once exposed, Buddhism would instantly become the public enemy of the Three Realms.

After summoning the three thousand Buddha Realms, Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin did not stop.

Om!

The Changhe River reappeared, and Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin once again summoned forth the three thousand past Buddha Realms and the three thousand future Buddha Realms.

The three thousand past Buddha Realms, the three thousand future Buddha Realms, and the three thousand present Buddha Realms became one, their Buddha light interlinking and merging into a grand array.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Array reappeared within the Chaos.

This time, even before Saint Zhunti and Saint Jieyin moved to control it, the aura of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Array surged dozens of times stronger.