12 bolts of Heavenly Thunder struck.
The lightning flashed and thunder rumbled atop Mountain Tenya, shaking the hills and quaking the earth.
All the Buddhas stood under the Shield of Vajra and looked toward Phoenix in the distance.
Amidst the fiery flames, Phoenix covered her head with her arms.
Her fifth sense started to vanish.
With her blood dripping, Phoenix could no longer stand and fell on the long steps.
Below the Ninth Heaven.
A host of demons were dancing in riotous revelry.
Almost everyone in the Six Paths could not help but get shocked by the roaring thunder.
Evil spirits started to emerge from the Sea of Blood.
“What's going on? Is there something wrong with Buddhism?”
“It looks like an ancient holy Buddha had abandoned the Buddha's gate and is enduring the Heavenly Tribulations?”
“Abandoned the Buddha's gate? Do they have a death wish? Who could be so stupid?”
As the demons were speaking, they suddenly glanced up at the sky.
Glorious colors were glowing brightly in the midst of the raging flames. A beautiful giant tail flashed across the sky.
“Is that! Is that the Ancient Phoenix?!”
Boom!
The thirty-first bolt of fiery Heavenly Thunder struck!
Mountain Tenya swayed madly with its stones shattering and the sky trembled!
A corner of the Shield of Vajra broke, causing the Buddhas under the shield to frown.
Little Shamis who were scattered around were washed away into the mountain's glacier.
Phoenix was on the verge of death. Her stunning true form laid on the ground with blood running down her soft feathers, reddening the entire path of Buddha.
“Let me ask you again, do you really want to betray the Buddha's gate?”
Phoenix looked up at the sky and snickered.
At that moment, all her unruliness and contempt appeared on the surface.
Everyone knew that if the Phoenix still had the Dharma bone, she might still be able to survive the 33 strikes of fiery Heavenly Thunder.
However, she stubbornly chose the most resolute method to abandon Buddhism.
It was such an unmatched stance as though she was saying, In this world, no one can order me around!
Not even a Buddha.
Get out of my sight!
Bang!
The thirty-second Heavenly Thunder struck directly onto Phoenix's skull.
All the Buddhas knew that when the last Heavenly Thunder struck, Phoenix would lose all her six senses and there would never be another reincarnation of the Phoenix within the Six Paths ever again!
“Amitabha.” Honored Sir retracted his gaze and put his palms together quietly.
At this moment, the branches of the Bodhi tree that had been erected outside the Buddha's gate for thousands of years shook all of a sudden!
Rumble!
Everyone looked up and saw the magnificent statue of Xumi Mountain emerging atop the Trayastrimsa heaven, with countless clouds gathering around it.
That was the brilliant glow of the Buddhas returning.
Someone had become a Buddha!
Someone had become a Buddha without redemption?
That was the first thought that flashed through everyone's minds.
Immediately after that, that Light of Buddha descended from the sky, concealing Phoenix firmly like a golden shield!
“Honored Sir, how can this be? Who dares to disobey the Buddha? Who is it?”
Who was the one who became a Buddha?
All the Buddhas turned to look at Honored Sir.
Honored Sir who was seated on the Golden Lotus, opened his eyes again and stared down at the dying Phoenix among the bronze ruins.
Boom!
The last bolt of thunder struck into the Light of Buddha.
When they opened their eyes again, Phoenix was gone.
Logically speaking, those who betrayed the Buddha's gate would have their bones shattered and turned to ashes.
Besides, Phoenix's Dharma bone had already been retrieved, so she definitely would not be able to ascend into heaven.
It was unexpected for someone to give all of his Buddhist gospel to Phoenix in less than a second after he became a Buddha, in order to let Phoenix reincarnate as a human.
It was such a huge anomaly.
And because of this anomaly, Honored Sir's eyes darkened.
“Honored Sir?” The Buddhas turned, frowning slightly.
Some doubts flashed in the eyes of Honored Sir, but he said nothing. Instead, he squinted his eyes and walked toward Mountain Tenya.
Among the Six Paths, Buddhism was the only path where one must not do things that were against destiny. Since someone had suffered the last bolt of thunder tribulation for Phoenix, the Buddha could not be ruthless.
No one knew who that person was, summoning the light of Buddha from heaven even before he became a human.
As Honored Sir was walking up the steps, he seemed to think of something. He looked back abruptly in the direction of Bodhi.
It was empty!
Honored Sir's eyes tightened as he did some calculations with his fingers. After losing his Buddha body, there was always a puzzling light in his eyes.
As if he had a glimpse of G.o.d's will, he said with a smile, “Amitabha.” He then turned to the empty lotus pond and said, “Golden Lotus, go to the Netherworld and meet Bodhi. As long as you have him, you can take Phoenix's life form. Phoenix owes him that. Phoenix is destined to be unable to escape this karma. By then, you can be a Buddha again. Amitabha.”
Amid the heavy Sanskrits, the lotus pond vibrated and its destiny was set!
But even Honored Sir did not expect that after someone had received the Dharma fate, that person would go to the snowy Mountain Tenya to worship 9999 times in order to make a great wish.
It was a benign and slender figure, with his long white robe and pure black hair, looking as clean as the mythical water of Heaven and Earth.
In the heavy snow.
He did not seem to feel the cold at all, bowing down after every step he took.
As he had just suffered a bolt of Heavenly Tribulation, blood was still dripping down his jade-like fingers.
The blood leaked into the glacier drop by drop as he bowed.
That year, the snow on Mountain Tenya was falling unusually heavily.
The mythical bird swept across the sky, speaking to the person on the ground, “Bodhi, it is useless. Please go back. You can't move Heaven and Earth unless the True Buddha returns to one.”
The man smiled slightly but did not stop.
The mythical bird heaved a long sigh and repeated, “It's useless. How don't you tell me any of your wishes and I will fulfill it for you.”
The man shook his head, with a gentle smile still on his face.
No one could understand.
He had crawled on the ground and kowtowed on the mountain road, not for his afterlife.
But to free that person.
He shook the prayer wheel and raised the wind horse, not to beg for blessing.
But for him to meet that person once.
He even endured suffering to become a Buddha, not to have eternal life.
But to bless her with peace and joy.
The mythical birds could do none of these things.
Only the True Buddha could fulfill his wish.
He kowtowed again.
The man lowered his eyes as the Bodhi leaves continued to fall.
The mythical bird looked at his figure and gritted its teeth, “Why are you so stubborn?! What a thick headed Bodhi!”
After saying that, the mythical bird wanted to fly away, but just as it flapped its wings, the man kowtowed for the 9999th time. The floating lights on the snowy mountain converged into a reflection.
“That, that is!”
No one had ever seen a True Buddha.
The Tribulation of Buddha appeared only once every ten thousand years.
If the True Buddha wanted to be united, they had to clear the Sea of Blood.
But now that the Six Paths were chaotic and even Buddhism was a bit abnormal, the True Buddha was long gone.
But today, it really appeared!
“No one has ever bowed 9999 times on the snowy mountain.” Sanskrits sounded from the sky as the True Buddha looked down and spoke softly, “Bodhi, I know what you want, but you have to know, the Emperor fell from heaven. He abandoned the divine psyche and gave up reincarnation just because of Phoenix. Everyone thought he had tied Phoenix's Red String to himself, but in fact Phoenix does not even have a Red String for him to meddle with…”
