I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

The Great Heroic Treasure Hall was empty of people, with only the Golden Buddha displaying a compassionate visage.

Zhou Yi had long anticipated this, as the high monks in charge of Buddhism had fallen into demonic possession, others betrayed their faith, or ascended to Ultimate Bliss.

When it comes to eradicating heretics, government officials are far less ruthless than religion, after all, heretics are more hateful than followers of foreign religions.

"This makes things convenient, now I can wipe out the Buddhist transmission in one fell swoop!"

Zhou Yi's mana operated, casting an Illusion Technique spell, manifesting a Buddha Dharma body tens of feet tall, with dazzling golden light and awe-inspiring divine presence.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

The Dharma body proclaimed the Buddha's name loftily, its gaze compassionate as it looked towards the congregation outside the hall, saying, "The Buddha taught that all beings are equal, and the mercy boat ferries everyone!" Monks from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, Vajra Temple, and Great Buddha Temple had bodies possessed by extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons and arbitrarily divided the Buddha's followers into four classes!"

"By Buddha's command, I shall purge the demonic heretics and restore purity to Buddhism!"

Since their birth, the congregation outside had been influenced by family and Buddhism to instinctively believe that people should be divided into four classes.

Moreover, upon joining Buddhism, they belonged to the privileged first class, and hearing about the equality of all beings for the first time, they felt innate rejection in their hearts.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi borrowed the name of the True Buddha and controlled the interpretation of scriptures, otherwise the believers would have recklessly charged forth. Zealous religious followers are not afraid of death, but instead see it as liberation, a glorious ascent to Ultimate Bliss and return to the Buddha's embrace!

"Amitabha Buddha!"

The gaze of Zhou Yi turned stern, his voice thunderous, "Are you also possessed by Heavenly Demons?"

"We pay homage to our Buddha!"

"The Buddha is compassionate, all beings are equal!"

"…"

The congregation hastily kneeled, their slogans inconsistent and no one daring to question the incarnate True Buddha. Among the monks in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple who knew about the Cultivation World, none were left, and the rest were mostly true Buddhist followers.

Monks knowing that "Buddha" had achieved immortality through cultivation could hardly maintain their reverence!

Zhou Yi's Divine Sense swept over them, easily discerning their true thoughts–most were hesitant while a minority of fanatics accepted what the True Buddha said.

"After ruling for hundreds of years, Buddhism's class distinctions have taken deep root in people's hearts and cannot be changed overnight. Even if all the monks were killed, and the Imperial Court took over, wouldn't the hierarchy persist?"

At this thought, he suddenly felt disheartened.

"Changing the hierarchy is not yet possible, but this can be used to vindicate Xuan Xiao!"

Zhou Yi stepped and lotuses bloomed beneath his feet, lifting into the air while writing in the void with his finger as a pen.

Simultaneously.

The mountainous Buddha statues boomed loudly, revealing inscriptions on the chest area, starting with the words "All beings are equal, mercy ferries everyone" in eight characters.

Then, speaking through the mouth of the Buddha, it explained the true story of Xuan Xiao slaying Miao Shan.

"With Buddhism's upper echelons gone, even if equality among all beings is hard to achieve, those in power wanting a stable foundation will surely promote the words of the True Buddha. It serves both to remove dissidents and to declare the legitimacy of their rule!"

Having lived for a thousand years, even without scheming intentions, Zhou Yi naturally learned from observation.

The congregation inside and outside the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple recited the words of the True Buddha word by word, and after experiencing the shock of equality among all beings and realizing that Xuan Xiao was not a great Demon Head, they felt no ripples in their hearts.

Whether Xuan Xiao was righteous or heretical did not matter to them, it was merely a matter of revising scriptures without any impact on actual interests.

This was to seek a higher level by aspiring to something greater!

The characters inscribed by Zhou Yi were each of immense size, Fang Yuan in dimensions, penetrating several feet deep into the rock, and would not be easily erased unless the Buddha statue was toppled and destroyed.

As the last stroke was completed, the golden lotus throne flew into the sky and disappeared from sight.

After a long while.

The congregation regained their senses from the successive shocks, looking around in confusion. With the high monks in the monastery dead, they were at a loss as to what to do next.

Zhang Li stood up, feeling strong and vigorous. The essence absorbed by the demonic forces seemed to have been restored to normal under the illumination of the True Buddha's light.

"The Buddha said, all beings are equal!"

…

Meanwhile.

The True Buddha had not left, but had transformed into a gray-robed monk, making his way toward the treasure vault of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.

From the memories of Ben Kong, it was known that all treasures offered by the faithful were stored here. Perhaps among them were items sealed by the Dragon Emperor.

Zhou Yi walked with an air of satisfaction, quite pleased with himself.

"After one thousand three hundred years, I've finally gotten the chance to act!"

In his ears, it seemed as if a song was playing: "Waiting a thousand years for this return…"

"Tsk tsk, I must say, the thrill of performing miracles before an audience is really quite pleasing!"

While speaking, he arrived at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple treasure vault, a nine-layer tall pagoda with a base covering a Fang Yuan hundred zhang in size, standing majestically.

"Huh! Why is the door open?"

Zhou Yi stepped in and saw a portly monk stuffing a bag full of riches.

Startled by the sound of footsteps, the portly monk turned his head to look, continuing to hastily snatch up gold and precious jewels, the hard currency, asking, "Which division's disciple are you? The treasure vault is a restricted area, how can you just walk in?"

"Isn't the master inside as well?"

Zhou Yi found this amusing and pulled out a Beast Skin Bag from his sleeve, one foot square in size.

"I am in charge of the treasure vault, checking for any missing treasures!"

The portly monk patted his slightly plump belly, seeing Zhou Yi take out the bag, he dropped the pretense and chuckled, "You are clever, but you have too thin a face, such a small bag can hold so much?"

"Until it's full."

Zhou Yi activated his mana, and the Beast Skin Bag flew into the air, accompanied by a whistling sound.

All the items in the treasure vault were drawn to it, and even the storage racks were uprooted from the ground, all of them pouring into the Beast Skin Bag.

"This this this…"

The portly monk turned pale with fright, dropping the hemp bag he was holding. It scattered gold and jewels across the floor, including a translucent Treasure Bead.

The Treasure Bead was a bright red, as if it were a crystal formed from blood.

Zhou Yi waved his hand and the Blood Crystal flew to him. He scanned it repeatedly with his Divine Sense, finding it no different from an ordinary gem. As he held it up to the sun, the vague shadow of a dragon could be seen within.