Chapter 124 - 109 In Flame Mountain

Impending rain fills the mountain air with the breeze.

Before the conflict between the Buddhist Sect and King Niumo had even begun, the aura of a great battle was already reverberating near Zhilei Mountain.

Countless Little Monsters were drawn in, joining the vast army, utterly unaware of the crisis that was coming.

Meanwhile, in Western Ling Mountain, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas likewise fixed their gazes upon this Earth.

One Buddha was seated on a lotus platform, bare-chested with a smiling face and a noticeably large belly, flanked by two Arhats with faces full of compassion. He was none other than the Future Buddha, Revered Maitreya Buddha.

"Buddha," one of the Arhats said, bowing his head, "it seems that King Niumo is determined to confront our Buddhist Sect."

"Fame and fortune are but illusions; only the Buddhist Law is eternal. The ignorance of all living beings is lamentable, truly lamentable!" Maitreya Buddha’s voice echoed through Ling Mountain, and everyone bowed their heads in praise of the Buddha’s compassion.

"King Niumo has a connection with us Buddhists!"

With these words, everyone understood, and in an instant, the enormous war machine of the Buddhist Sect began to move. Countless Buddhist Soldiers emerged from the Eight Treasures Merit Pond and, led by Arhats and Gālans, marched in the direction of Zhilei Mountain.

The dark clouds of war gradually enveloped the area, signaling the slow rise of the curtain on a massive event.

At this time, Lin Fang was immersed in his practice of cultivation, oblivious to the worldly affairs outside his window.

With his relentless effort, he finally drew near to the core area of Flame Mountain, and the quality of the surrounding flames leaped considerably.

The blazing flames morphed into various wild beasts, frolicking and playing in the Forest of Flames, making Lin Fang feel as though he had entered a world of fire.

These Spirits of Flame were incredibly agile as if they had developed the most basic Spiritual Wisdom, making Lin Fang marvel at the wonder of creation.

A fiery tiger paced within the flames. Smaller Spirits of Flame scurried away, making it evident that even in this world, the law of the survival of the fittest prevailed.

The fierce tiger came from the depths of Flame Mountain, exuding an aura of boundless ferocity. As soon as it appeared, it fixed its gaze on Lin Fang.

After all, Lin Fang, with his flesh and blood body, was entirely different from these creatures of flame and was naturally met with hostility. The fiery tiger’s hostility was deeper, and its eyes, formed from flames, brimmed with a desire for slaughter.

With just one glance, the tiger charged toward Lin Fang, roaring with fury, its body flames turned a brilliant red, searingly hot.

Lin Fang observed the oncoming fierce tiger with great interest, scrutinizing its every move. He found it to be no different from a normal tiger, with the same movements, habits, and even its attack pattern were identical.

Just as the tiger was about to pounce on Lin Fang, he suddenly struck out, quick as lightning. The tiger, still in mid-air, had no chance to dodge and was struck by Lin Fang’s fist, instantly bursting into a cloud of flames.

"Huh!" Lin Fang exclaimed in surprise.

From among the scattered flames, a blue light seemingly flew outwards. Lin Fang reached out and grasped it in his hand, and a mysterious feeling surged through his mind.

"So this is the True Spirit!" Lin Fang had an epiphany.

The True Spirit, the most fundamental existence of a life, is the basis of the Primordial Spirit. Before the process of ’Refining qi to transform the spirit,’ the spirits of all beings refer to the True Spirits that reside within the soul.

After people die, the True Spirit still doesn’t dissipate but enters into Reincarnation. However, if the True Spirit dissipates, then it would completely vanish from this world, and that is true death.

Sensing the information coming from the True Spirit, Lin Fang seemed to see a young tiger born in a tall mountain.

The peaks were treacherous, the trees lush, and countless animals thrived within them. The young tiger was born and grew up in this place and eventually became the king of all beasts, ruling the forest.

If it had continued like this, it would have had an ordinary life, having a litter of cubs with a tigress, and then, in its old age, quietly walked into the depths of the mountain to meet its death.

But that day, a blaze of fire lit up from the edge of the sky, streaking across the heavens like a meteor, falling into the forest. It vividly recalled that a brick wrapped in roaring flames landed at that moment.

The dreadful wildfire began to burn fiercely. Numerous animals couldn’t escape in time and were devoured by the surging flames, including the tiger. It didn’t even feel any pain before it met its death.

It was unclear how long had passed when it regained consciousness, and it had turned into a fiery body. Influenced by its previous life, it continued to live like a real tiger, completely unaware that it was no longer a being of flesh and blood.

Seeing this, Lin Fang smiled and shook his head. He saw the mystery of the operation of the True Spirit, which was of great importance for contemplating the greater Dao in his future.

Looking at the fire spirits filling the mountains and plains, Lin Fang felt a trace of lament. These fire spirits depended on the flames for life. If Tang Monk and his disciples were to pass through here, they would inevitably have to extinguish Flame Mountain, and these fire spirits would likely not escape death.

A fire rabbit stealthily darted past him, but was caught by a powerful force and pulled into a mysterious space. Looking up and around, there were no longer the raging flames of Flame Mountain, only a desolate land with a faint stench of blood lingering in the air.

The fire rabbit was petrified by this scene. Its limited intelligence couldn’t make any judgment, and it could only follow its soul’s instinctual fear to start running wildly across this land.

With a bang, the panicked rabbit collided with a cliff and instantly burst into flames.

In a short while, these flames reassembled into a new rabbit, though its size seemed to have decreased significantly compared to before.

Lin Fang observed this phenomenon and a smile appeared on his face. This was truly interesting.

Continuing forward, Lin Fang encountered various fire spirits along the way. No matter their forms, he indiscriminately threw them all into his Pagoda Space. Gradually, as more and more fire spirits were thrown in, these creatures took over a large area in the space. The roaring flames began to spread to the ground.

A region reminiscent of Flame Mountain appeared in the space due to this, awakening the creatures inside with its terrifying and vigorous flames.

The Great Inspirational King sensed the place where the fire spirits were and showed a hint of displeasure on his face before continuing his journey of slumber.

The Beast of Calamity took an interested glance, discovered they were all fire lives, lost interest, and continued to lie dormant.

Only the paper figures seated in the Buddha Land quietly moved their bottoms backward, enveloped in golden light. They always felt the world seemed to become more and more frightening.

Of course, in the eyes of countless believers, the Paper Buddha right now was dignified in appearance, compassionate, and the real Buddha who would relieve all suffering of the Mortal World.