Chapter 605: If I do not enter hell, who will?

"Gate, gate, pāragate, pārasaṃgate, bodhi svāhā..."

The Sanskrit chanting emanated from the base of the mountain, the booming sound echoing throughout the entire Spirit Mountain.

The majestic Sanskrit chanting grew louder with each passing moment.

Consequently, the mountain trembled, buildings collapsed, and scriptures tumbled down.

At the same time, golden Buddhist light slowly spilled down from the summit; every object touched by the radiance revealed its original form.

After being bathed in the golden light, black smoke erupted from the bodies of the high monks, their skin was scorched, and even their souls were cleansed.

Spirit Mountain is not merely a mountain where Buddhas reside; it is the most powerful Supreme Treasure of the Western Desert Divine Continent. Since it is a special Supreme Treasure in itself, it naturally possesses more than just the function of bearing weight.

Cleansing the soul is the most famous ability of Spirit Mountain.

As long as one resides on Spirit Mountain, a kind person bathed in the Buddhist light will have their heart and mind subtly cleansed, causing their soul to become single-mindedly devoted to Buddhism.

Conversely, an evil person will suffer torment akin to purgatory, their soul will be burned, and all evil thoughts will be purged clean.

Over the past hundred years, this function of Spirit Mountain has been forcibly suppressed, allowing any evildoer to indulge wantonly on Spirit Mountain and profane the Buddhist Dharma.

Now, finally, under the blessing of these Sanskrit chants, Spirit Mountain has returned to its original state.

Everything gorgeous, false, and twisted revealed its true form amidst the apocalyptic tremors and Buddhist light.

The first to come into contact with the Buddhist light was a Dharma Protector of the Lingyu Sect. He appeared compassionate, but the black smoke rising from him was like a surging torrent; within a few breaths, he was reduced to a pile of dust under the illumination of the Buddhist light, remaining where he stood.

The monks were horrified and fled in panic, attempting to run down the mountain, not wanting to become the next poor wretch to be reduced to ashes after having their soul cleansed.

But they had nowhere to go, for Spirit Mountain is unique and restricts flight; there is only one path up and down the entire mountain.

And on that only path to survival, a fierce ghost was currently blocking the way.

A bald giant, four or five people tall and radiating golden light, had sealed off their path to survival.

That strange person who broke into the mountain gate possessed terrifying strength, having already defeated and suppressed the two Great Elders of the Lingyu Sect!

With a fierce ghost blocking the front and the Buddhist light pursuing from behind, the monks on Spirit Mountain could not help but feel a sense of despair.

"What is happening?"

Chijiao swung his large hand down, grabbing a demonic monk who was trying to fight his way out, and frowned as he looked toward the top of Spirit Mountain. "This pure Buddhist light... could it be that someone in Spirit Mountain is still resisting, attempting to set things right?"

A look of pleasant surprise appeared in his eyes; in his excitement, he exerted force and crushed the demonic monk in his hand.

Pfft.

Chijiao frowned and disdainfully threw the unrecognizable demonic monk to the ground; such a casual attitude made the others' hearts sink even further.

One must know that he was no weakling, but a master with a small reputation who could be ranked throughout the entire Western Desert.

"If that is truly the case, then this humble monk must hurry; I cannot let them fight alone."

With his momentum surging, Chijiao exerted force again, advancing like a hot knife through butter, breaking through several barriers along the way, killing many demonic monks as he charged toward the top of Spirit Mountain.

Those demonic monks, driven to desperation, were forced to show their ferocity and launched attacks against Chijiao.

Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well charge downward; there was still a chance to escape!

"Kill this bald donkey, and we still have a way to live!"

"He might not be able to kill us all before his Dharma Power runs out!"

And just as the life-and-death struggle was taking place on Spirit Mountain, the space inside Spirit Mountain appeared exceptionally calm.

After launching the counterattack, the Fozi Jiexing did not strike at the Fozhu, not because he feared the Fozhu's strength, but because he could no longer move.

Jiexing had completely changed in appearance; his black robe was shattered, revealing the bloody, mangled, and twisted body beneath that no longer resembled a human.

Only his face remained recognizable; everywhere else was completely distorted, with various eerie tumors growing on his body, and the buds growing from them swaying slightly like tentacles.

Between these tumors and tentacles, one could faintly see several twisted faces stitched onto him.

Those faces had no eyes, and there were no tongues in their mouths; their mouths opened and closed unconsciously, as if silently reciting some kind of scripture.

"..." Ren Yidao furrowed his brows, unable to help but shake his head.

Truly insane...

After seeing such a sanity-draining scene, Ren Yidao felt no disgust in his heart, but could not help but sigh, because he subconsciously read the scripture those faces were reciting from the shape of their mouths—Soul Suppression.

These faces were constantly suppressing souls, not their own souls, but Jiexing's soul!

The owners of these faces had voluntarily entered this half-dead state before they died, all so that he could remain clear-headed despite this level of distortion and aberration.

But even so, Jiexing's condition was spiraling out of control; after unleashing all the trump cards he had prepared, he was reaching his limit... because he was also a target of Spirit Mountain's attack, and the Sanskrit chanting of those monks had an effect on him too!

"... Sigh."

The Fozhu shook his head after seeing Jiexing's miserable state and did not strike, instead sighing softly: "Merging tens of thousands of dead souls into your body, relying on their resentment to enhance your mental power, relying on devouring their bones to strengthen your physical body, relying on absorbing their Dharma Power to improve your strength... So, the essence blood you provided me actually came from them."

Jiexing did not answer, but instead flashed a ferocious smile at Him.

Everything was understood without words.

"These are all evil arts destined for hell; no one can save you, not even I." The Fozhu looked at Jiexing, whose form was constantly shattering and whose flesh was growing in twisted ways, and asked softly: "Child, is everything you have done worth it?"

Is it worth it?

This question was not just one the Fozhu wanted to ask; Ren Yidao was also pondering it.

Is this really worth it?

A haze flashed through Jiexing's blood-red eyes, but it finally turned into determination as he rasped: "... It is worth it."

"I was willing, and so were they."

"I do not know what you want to do, nor do I understand why you are doing this. But I only know that you want to destroy the orthodoxy of my Buddhism, and we must stop you, stop you at all costs!"

Jiexing's expression grew even gloomier, and his voice dropped: "But we understand that even if we pay every price, we may still be unable to kill you, this monster. We have always known..."

Jiexing knew better than anyone how powerful the Fozhu was, and he feared it more than anyone else.

Even if all their preparations went smoothly, Jiexing had no confidence that he could kill the Fozhu.

There was not even a half-percent chance of winning.

So, can they only continue to endure like this?

No, they are not resigned.

Thus, they made a choice.

"So, haha... if I cannot kill you, then I will make all your preparations come to nothing!" Jiexing's eyes flashed with gratification as he looked at Fozhu mockingly and laughed heartily.

"We know that the great upheaval of Heaven and Earth has arrived, and an existence like you has been waiting for an opportunity!"

"We would rather others attain the Dao, whether it be a Human Immortal or a Demon God, it doesn't matter who! But you alone—we will never let you have the slightest chance!"

Jiexing does not know why those Immortal Gods have survived until today, but he is clear that since these Immortal Gods have appeared one after another during this period and chosen to no longer endure, it means the time they have been waiting for is not far off.

And to destroy all of Fozhu's preparations at this critical juncture, leaving him no time to prepare again... wouldn't that be wonderful?

"I will—"

"Even if the price is my life, our lives! We must stop you from attaining the Dao!"

"We will die, but you will die too!"

"Buddhism will not be extinguished!"

"Hahahahaha!!!"

This is their resistance.

It sounds a bit petty, as if they are flipping the chessboard because they cannot win, but it is already the limit of what they can pay.

Although they have paid everything they have to flip this chessboard.

From the very beginning of this plan, everyone understood—they were destined to go to hell.

But it doesn't matter; if they were to continue living in such an Earthly Realm, witnessing with their own eyes Buddhism being eroded and destroyed by that evil spirit, then they might as well just die.

"If I do not enter hell, who will?"

After saying this, Jiexing seemed unable to maintain his will; his body expanded rapidly, almost turning into a huge, distorted ball of flesh and blood, with only one face still embedded within it.

Jiexing closed his eyes; his soul and flesh were both rapidly decaying, but what radiated from this twisted body was the purest Buddha light.

For the sake of all living beings, for the sake of the people of the world, he is willing to fall into the path of the Demon.

At this moment, even with his body twisted, he has almost become an Incarnation of a Buddha.

The space inside Spirit Mountain fell silent once again, with only the chanting from the bottom of the mountain and the faint wailing and roaring from the outside world to be heard.

"..."

Even Yaoyue had fallen silent; she took a deep look at Jiexing, then shook her head slightly.

For such a person, Yaoyue holds respect in her heart, but in all fairness, if she were placed in that position, she would not make such a choice; she would fight with everything she had, and even if she could not kill the opponent, she would bite a piece of flesh off them.

The choice and sacrifice of Jiexing and his companions look tragic, but in her view, it still lacks a bit of courage.

Whether one can win is another matter, but one must take action!

Ren Yidao's thoughts are similar to Yaoyue's, but he thinks more; he does not feel that after Jiexing and the others make such a sacrifice, they will necessarily be able to achieve the result they want.

It is not just because Ren Yidao is not that optimistic about the outcome, but also because the sense of crisis in his intuition has not faded.

Jiexing's secret preparations might be able to deceive Fozhu, but if he can have preparations on his side, then does Fozhu not have any countermeasures at all?

Sure enough, after Jiexing showed his hand, Fozhu remained unperturbed.

"If I do not enter hell, who will?"

Fozhu chewed on this sentence, shook his head with a melancholy expression, and sighed lightly: "I said this back then, too."

!!!

Ren Yidao's expression changed slightly, the conjecture in his heart becoming more substantial, and the fog shrouding Him seemed to be gradually clearing away.

"At that time, I also felt that preserving the orthodoxy of Buddhism was the most important thing, and this matter was higher than everything else, including my own life."

Fozhu's gaze fell upon the ball of flesh Jiexing had become, but his vision seemed to drift into the distance, immersed in his own memories.

"So, I chose to sacrifice, casting everything aside, and voluntarily became a sacrificial offering to block that catastrophe for Them."

"I thought that after encountering such a catastrophe, They would change, but later, I discovered that those were merely my own wishful thoughts; They would not change at all."

He whispered softly: "The Buddhas sitting high on the Lotus Platform have already grown accustomed to the Incense offerings of the Earthly Realm; how would They be willing to walk down and become mortals?"

"Since They are unwilling to come down voluntarily, I can only give Them a hand—destroy Their Incense in the Earthly Realm so that They can no longer rely on Incense to live forever."

"However, I would not let Them notice at the beginning, but change things slowly, letting Them think that nothing has changed..."

Fozhu suddenly chuckled at this moment, his mouth carrying a hint of mockery: "It's just that, just as I imagined, even if I hadn't done that, They wouldn't have noticed the changes in the Earthly Realm. As long as the amount of Incense remained the same, They would only care about feasting, completely ignoring the prayers of the Earthly Realm, just like in the past."

!!?

Jiexing's expression changed, and he opened his eyes abruptly, staring fixedly at Fozhu: "You didn't block our prayers!?"

"Never. Of the many means I had prepared, not a single one was used in the end." Fozhu shook his head with a smile and said pityingly: "They are hiding above the firmament of Heaven; how could They hear your prayers?"

"They are now like clay Bodhisattvas crossing a river—hardly able to save themselves—so how would They have the leisure to help you?"

"So, you actually blamed me wrongly; it was not I who destroyed Buddhism, but They who abandoned you long ago."

!!!

"No, no, no, this is not true!"

Jiexing's expression changed constantly, the fluctuations on his body flickered, and his aura was extremely unstable.

Jiexing does not want to believe that what the other party said is true.

It is fake!

He must be lying to us!

But the more he thought this way, the more he could not help but recall those prayers of his that had gone unanswered time and time again. At that time, they had assumed it was Fozhu who had severed the connection between the Buddhist followers and the Buddhas, and they had even been secretly angry.

But looking back now, it turns out that They had actively blocked it!?

"This, this is impossible... impossible!!!"

If everything is truly as He said, then what exactly was the sacrifice of people like us for?

What is the meaning of it all!!?

Haven't we sacrificed ourselves in vain?

We...

"Fozhu, may I ask you a question?" Ren Yidao, who had remained quiet until now, suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hehe, naturally you may, benefactor, please speak." Fozhu smiled, not refusing his question.

Ren Yidao looked into Fozhu's eyes and asked softly:

"Are you a benevolent thought? Or a malevolent one?"