Quinn, Grandpa Mark, and the others quickened their pace, but Grandpa Mark had to keep Granny Sue's mind stable. The effort grew heavier, and their speed gradually slowed.
Cult Master Li was growing stronger at a terrifying rate, and Granny Sue's cultivation kept rising as well. Grandpa Mark didn't dare use his full strength, afraid of harming Granny Sue's soul—making the journey increasingly unstable.
Granny Sue woke less and less, while Cult Master Li surfaced more and more. Quinn was burning with anxiety, but there was nothing he could do.
This basin had once been an ocean—most likely the Eastern Sea mentioned by the Heavenly King idol. The terrain was impossibly complex, with ravines plunging tens of thousands of feet and mountains as sharp as blades.
The former Eastern Sea was now land—its waters vanished without a trace. Yet Quinn found it strange: villagers said that at night, the ocean floated in the sky and misted the land, but by day it was gone.
So where had all the seawater gone?
The deeper they went, the stranger and stronger the creatures became. Glowing jellyfish drifted through the sky, and at nightfall they hid in temples, lighting up like giant, multicolored lanterns.
They also encountered living flood-dragons—some nesting in deep ravines, others in volcanoes, ruling their own domains.
As long as they weren't provoked, these flood-dragons rarely emerged. A few times, Quinn saw them fly out to snatch villagers for food, but when they spotted his group, they sensed their strength and didn't dare act up—just flew past in silence.
Once they left the basin, Sumeru Mountain was only two days away.
For days, Quinn and the others hadn't dared relax, even while sleeping—always ready to wake and suppress Cult Master Li. It was exhausting. Only Dragon-Qilin slept deeply and ate well, his scales and fur gleaming with health.
Quinn and the others simply climbed onto Dragon-Qilin's back, letting the gigantic beast carry them toward Sumeru Mountain.
Gradually, more and more villages along the road worshipped Buddha; every household enshrined Buddha statues, sometimes placing them together with the village's stone gods—worshipping both gods and Buddha side by side.
After asking around, Quinn learned that monks had come to preach sutras and heal villagers, winning their trust.
"Buddhism has its eye on the Great Ruins too."
Grandpa Blind chuckled, "Great Thunderclap Temple is treating the refugees of the Great Ruins—there's a hint of compassion for all beings. But it's also a bit opportunistic, borrowing the prestige of the stone gods to accumulate merit."
The closer they got to Great Thunderclap Temple, the more Buddhist temples appeared. Some were bustling with incense and worshipped various Buddha statues, but at night, the locals and beasts still hid by stone gods and idols—not inside the temples.
Quinn thought to himself, "The Elder Buddha means well, but it's still hard for Buddhism to rival the gods of the Great Ruins. They can heal sickness, but not truly save lives."
Nearby, mountain peaks multiplied, dotted with temples large and small. Quinn and the others passed several monasteries; as night fell, they decided to lodge at one.
The monastery was thriving with incense; hundreds of monks chanted fearlessly through the night.
"Do these monks have real divine powers to resist the darkness of the Great Ruins?" Quinn wondered in surprise.
But to his surprise, many Buddha statues glowed with a faint divine light at night, keeping the darkness at bay. Quinn approached one for a closer look—and his face darkened.
The monks had actually coated the stone gods of the Great Ruins with clay, fired them into Buddha shapes, and gilded them—disguising them as golden Buddhas. At night, it looked like the Buddha statues were shielding everyone, but it was really the stone gods offering protection.
Using his Heaven-Eye, Quinn saw that it was the gods of the Great Ruins radiating divine light—not the Buddha statues themselves.
There were also some vicious, man-eating beasts in the monastery. Even during the day, they roamed the grounds freely, and the monks seemed used to it—letting the beasts wander as they pleased.
Strangely, these man-eating beasts were gentle and behaved like vegetarian, sutra-chanting 'good beasts'—their ferocity seemingly gone. Some refugees staying there claimed this was the power of Buddhism.
Yet Quinn saw monks secretly feeding the beasts huge chunks of bloody meat laced with anesthetic.
He was taken aback, frowning deeply.
"Don't meddle, Quinn."
Grandpa Blind whispered, "Great Thunderclap Temple is close. If you smash this monastery, the temple will hear about it and cause us trouble—they might not even save Granny Sue."
"Hypocrites!"
Granny Sue sneered, "This is the hypocrisy of Buddhism. They have no true power, yet claim others' miracles as their own, boasting it's all Buddha's might. Grandpa Blind, Grandpa Mark, you're hypocrites too—you need the Elder Buddha's help, but don't dare expose these bald donkeys' tricks!"
Quinn said, "Whether they have real power or not, we'll see when we reach Great Thunderclap Temple and Cult Master Li meets the Elder Buddha."
Granny Sue cackled, "Quinn, do you really deserve to be Holy Master of my Sacred Cult? You're the leader of my Heavenly Sacred Cult, yet you go begging the Elder Buddha of a rival sect—how disgraceful! Our cult's reputation is ruined by you! Once I recover, I'll return to the cult and show you what a true Holy Master should do!"
Quinn remained calm. "So what should a Holy Master do?"
"Tear off these bald donkeys' masks! Smash their Buddha statues and reveal the stone gods inside!"
Granny Sue continued leisurely, "Then break the beasts' trance, let them show their true nature and devour these bald donkeys—bathe the monastery in blood! Let the fools see that all this Buddha talk is worthless, just a gilded facade! Hah, so-called 'righteousness' is just dung—let's show its true color, instead of covering clay with gold! That's the real doctrine of my Sacred Cult: pure, natural, and true!"
Quinn thought she made some good points, though her methods were extreme. He'd considered breaking the beasts' trance too, but knew they'd start eating people—so he let it go.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^—please click next page to continue reading!
At last, Great Thunderclap Temple came into view—a towering mountain rising in the heart of the Divine Severance Range. The other peaks had been cleaved apart by unimaginable force, forming sheer cliffs and snowy summits, but this mountain remained vast and majestic, surrounded by countless smaller peaks circling the main summit.
Strangely, the peaks here formed a series of tiers: the lowest had three thousand summits in a great circle, the next tier had nine hundred ninety-nine, then ninety-nine, then nine—each tier higher, each surrounding the central peak.
On every peak, monasteries stood tall, enshrining immense Buddha statues—some peaks were carved into giant Buddhas, some temples sat on Buddha hands, some in Buddha hearts.
"What extravagance!"
Grandpa Blind praised, "Grandpa Mark, why do your temples always wear gold and silver? So dazzling, so luxurious—if you used it for disaster relief, wouldn't it be better? Monks claim to forsake all things, but their hands are never empty!"
Grandpa Mark replied coolly, "If it's not grand, who would worship and donate?"
Granny Sue snorted, "Hypocrites..."
Quinn snapped, "Enough! The Elder Buddha will deal with you soon!"
"Brat, you dare scold me now!" Granny Sue fumed.
Quinn flustered, stammered, "Oh, Granny Sue—I thought Cult Master Li had come out again. Don't take it to heart."
Granny Sue sneered, "These bald donkeys are all hypocrites—Grandpa Mark, I'm not talking about you. Look around: every monastery is grand and lavish, every Buddha statue gilded and huge! Only these monks' temples are so extravagant. They don't work, don't pay taxes, and if you threaten their interests, they'll cause trouble, raise monk soldiers, rebel, and try to control the world."
"Demon, hold your tongue!"
Suddenly, a furious shout echoed from midair. Quinn looked up and saw a monk radiating Buddha light, stern and dignified, clearly overhearing Granny Sue and rebuking her.
The monk saw Grandpa Mark, was startled, and bolted, shouting, "Trouble! Trouble! King Ma is back on the mountain!"
Monks all over the peaks erupted in alarm, flying up and forming battle arrays in midair as if facing a dire threat.
Grandpa Mark replied indifferently, "Last time I came to reclaim my arm, I caused a bit of a stir. Let's head up."
Dragon-Qilin's hooves ignited fire clouds as he sped toward the central peak.
The main peak hung above the sea of clouds, bathed in sunlight and gleaming gold. Even Dragon-Qilin needed time to reach it, with thousands of temples and countless accomplished monks lining the way. None dared block them, but none were willing to let them walk straight to Sumeru's Golden Summit.
More and more monks flew out, riding all manner of spirit beasts, encircling the Golden Summit in layer upon layer of dense formations, ready to subdue demons.
Quinn couldn't help but admire Grandpa Mark: "Last time he came, he probably fought his way straight to the main peak."
Grandpa Mark told Dragon-Qilin to stop. Ahead, tens of thousands of monks formed an iron wall to guard the Golden Summit. He announced, "I've come to see the Elder Buddha—I have a request."
His voice shook the mountains, triggering wondrous phenomena—golden springs burst from the earth, lotus flowers fell from the sky, the Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Host appeared in the air, and twenty layers of heavenly gods manifested above, radiance streaming as all chanted the Buddha's name.
This single true word stunned countless monks.
Just then, an aged voice laughed from the Golden Summit, "King Ma, your cultivation has surpassed the past. You've already reached the Great Brahma Heaven, the twentieth heaven of the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture. One more step and you will be a true Tathagata. Monks, stand down and let him come up. I've been waiting for him a long time."
"Twenty Heavens?" Quinn was startled and looked at Grandpa Mark.
The monks' iron wall parted, and Grandpa Mark led Dragon-Qilin up the mountain. "These are the twenty heavens of the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture. Completing all twenty makes one a Tathagata. When I left Great Thunderclap Temple, I'd already reached the nineteenth, Indra's Heaven, making me one of the strongest experts in the world."