The Ancestor of All Demons

It is said that back in the day, Shakyamuni observed birth, old age, sickness, and death, and felt a sense of renunciation. At that time, there was no Buddhism in this world, but there were already many sects that recognized the great suffering in the world.

Mainly, Ancient India was too harsh, with frequent droughts and floods, nothing to eat, nothing to wear, most people living as savages in the forests.

Many ancient Indians pondered there on how to eliminate this suffering, and after much contemplation, various sects were formed.

Some said that if one enjoyed too much in the previous life, they would suffer in this life.

Some said that people bore sins and had to rely on ascetic practices, enduring hardship to cleanse their karma.

Notions like karma and cause-and-effect emerged one after another.

Shakyamuni joined an ascetic sect, stopped eating, and hid in the jungle, surviving on grass seeds for days.

The "saints" of Ancient India mostly practiced in the forests, which later became synonymous with places for cultivation.

When he was on the verge of starvation, he felt something was wrong, that this method wasn't right, so he emerged from the forest and accepted food offered by a benefactor.

Originally, he had a few attendants and followers who practiced asceticism with him. Realizing he didn't want to endure hardship anymore, they abandoned him one by one.

He went alone to sit beneath the Bodhi Tree, meditating and soon had a great awakening. He claimed to have fully understood the true nature of the universe and life, attaining Buddha-hood.

During this time, his awareness broke through the Six Desire Realms, encountering many Bodhisattvas, to whom he preached the Mahayana teachings. Upon his return, he preached the Small Mahayana teachings in the human world.

At that time, he took leaves from the Bodhi Tree behind him to create the Conch Leaf Talisman.

While he was in meditation under the Bodhi Tree, he shared much of his enlightenment with the Heavenly Bodhisattvas. However, in reality, only a short time had passed.

Though named a "talisman," the Conch Leaf Talisman was actually the illumination of his enlightenment at that time.

This treasure can reverse time, but can only be used three times. Since its creation, it has been used for other purposes and never truly for reversing time.

Master Fen Tuo had originally planned to use this item to gain another chance for the Buddhist disciples of this world, extending the Magic Vein, but it was stolen by Xin Ru Nun, designed to be stolen, leaving Master Fen Tuo to sigh that henceforth all beings in this world would have no fate with the Buddha, and Buddhism was entering the Dharma Destruction Era.

The treasure has limited uses; Xin Ru Nun calculated it meticulously, planning to use it to eliminate opponents and to rescue herself from tribulations, sparingly.

She also knew Shi Feiyang deliberately suggested this to make her waste a use for nothing, naturally unwilling to comply. Just as she was about to speak and expose this, she suddenly sensed danger, suddenly realizing that her lair at Jiuhua Mountain was in trouble!

This time, Shi Feiyang, knowing her plan, naturally wouldn't walk into a trap, getting worn down and trapped in the Ten Directions Embryo Array. He also calculated that Xuanyuan Dharma King would go to the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, leaving Master Chi Zhang at home. If Xuanyuan Dharma King went, not only would he gain nothing, but he would also again have his body broken and Primordial Spirit damaged!

Unfortunately, Xuanyuan Dharma King was also wary, knowing that as long as Master Chi Zhang was at the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, he wouldn't go.

Shi Feiyang also sent Jin Xunu, Huo Wuhai, Deng Bagu, and Zhu Changyuan, additionally having the Emei Sect's Three Heroes and Two Clouds break into Xin Ru's Jiuhua Mountain lair together.

Xin Ru moved her mountain from overseas, forming several thousand zhang high peaks, where she built temples connected by Arrays, foundations for her future "Buddha Transformation" of the world.

Shi Feiyang, however, planned to attack the Old Nun's mountain and destroy her temples!

Now, Jin Xunu and the others are attacking her Array on Jiuhua Mountain, destroying her temples.

The temples on the nine peaks are grand in scale, blooming like lotus flowers atop the mountains. Inside each temple is a tower, each tower enshrining a Shariputra relic, which glow day and night, connecting to form a vast bright cloud enveloping the entire Jiuhua Mountain.

Jin Xunu and the others followed Shi Feiyang's prior plans, each attacking a peak.

Xin Ru already placed eight Shariputra relics atop the Buddhist towers of eight peaks, leaving only the main peak without a relic.

Earlier, Jin Xunu led the group standing in mid-air observing the Array, saying that although there's no Shariputra here, Xin Ru Nun was aware of its weakness, deliberately arranging many setups, making its fortitude less than other places, but its danger even greater.

Emei Sect Leader Li Yingqiong volunteered to attack here alone with her sword, crazily unleashing Purple Ying Sword, Douluo Fire, and all kinds of Magical Treasures bestowed by Master Xun Lanyin, as well as those obtained from the Illusion Wave Pool.

The other eight also began breaking the Array, charging into layers of Buddha Light.

The Buddha Light had twenty-eight layers, corresponding to the twenty-eight heavens of the Buddhist Three Realms, each layer within which contained transformed illusions.

In normal times, all the Buddha Light connects into one, like a golden ocean without apparent depth. Once someone breaks in, all kinds of miraculous transformations occur, with the slightest carelessness leading one into the core of the Array—the Ten Directions Three Realms Six Paths Reincarnation Embryo Burial Array.

Yes, this array on the surface appears to be the Buddhist "Fetus Storage," but in reality, it is the Demon Path's "Fetal Burial." Anyone who falls into it will repeatedly experience life and death, eventually being trapped in the "Ignorance Womb."

The beginning of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination is ignorance, which is also known as the sum of all afflictions since innumerable past eons.

To break this array, it must be done when her nine Shariputras have not been completely gathered, by nine Heavenly Immortals who have cultivated into Yang Gods working together.

Furthermore, even as a Heavenly Immortal, one could accidentally become "ignorant," from saint to mortal, and in an instant, their Dao Level would be struck down, becoming a mere mortal fetus.

Fortunately, these nine Heavenly Immortals are all from the Mysterious Sect, with strong mana and protected by Immortal Treasures. Caught in the Buddha Light, each waved their copper fans, releasing the Immortal Sword. Various Immortal Light Divine Qi and True Fire of Cloud protected themselves, breaking down layer by layer.

The array began to operate, but with nine peaks being attacked simultaneously, unable to attend to all, the only weak point was fiercely assaulted by Li Yingqiong. This third-generation sect leader of the Emei Sect was truly strong, and the Purple Ying Immortal Sword was the best in the world. Arrangements left by Xin Ru Nun were broken by her one by one, consecutively breaching through.

At Baihua Mountain, Xin Ru felt her lair was about to be destroyed; the "Fetus Storage" array she used to seal Baihua Mountain was the surface, while the core was the "Fetal Burial" Demon Formation located at Jiuhua Mountain. Her plan was to trap Shi Feiyang in the array, then use magical means to plunge him into the abyss of spacetime at the array's center, trapping him directly within Jiuhua Mountain's "Ignorance Womb."

If the foundation at Jiuhua Mountain was destroyed, the array at Baihua Mountain would also collapse and dissipate!

The old nun realized she was outmaneuvered, calculating back and forth, ultimately falling into Shi Feiyang's larger scheme.

She decisively took out the Conch Leaf Talisman, held it in her left hand, and spat out a ray of golden light. In the golden light appeared a Bodhi Tree, which quickly grew from a sapling to a towering giant wood.

This tree was different, its branches and leaves lush and Buddha Light surging, hosting layers of Heavenly Realms.

Below the tree were the Human Path and Beast Path, the roots were the Hungry Ghost Path and Hell Path, and above the tree were the Heavenly Dao and Asura Path.

Further up were the Four Heavenly Kings, Daoli Heaven, Xu Yanmo Heavenly Realm, Douluo Heaven, Hua Le Heaven, and Heaven of Self-Transformation...

Shakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree and became Buddha, ascending to heaven with Zen, with numerous protectors worshiping him at each ascent, and his lectures became deeper layer by layer.

The Conch Leaf Talisman was not made from traditional Bodhi tree leaves but from the leaves of the Bodhi tree under which Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood.

One flower, one world; one leaf, one Bodhi. The leaf reveals the Bodhi tree, where the Three Realms Heaven naturally exists upon it!

Xin Ru's stature grew a hundred zhang tall. She grasped the Bodhi Tree and first swept it toward the sky, scattering the heavenly thunderclouds summoned by Shi Feiyang, then swept it over Shi Feiyang's head, dispersing the purple and blue thunderclouds above him, and subsequently swept toward Shi Feiyang from a distance, aiming to sweep him into the array's core.

Under Shi Feiyang's feet, a space-time vortex appeared, meaty and bloody, resembling a womb's placenta, pulling him upwards with infinite suction.

If he truly fell in, the top Three Flowers would immediately be diminished, and his Dao Level struck down!

Shi Feiyang had previously calculated Xin Ru's means with Master Chi Zhang and the two Divine Nuns, Fen Tuo and You Tan.

Master Fen Tuo knew some wonders of the Conch Leaf Talisman, yet she had never tested it, not knowing as comprehensively as Xin Ru.

Faced with this situation, Shi Feiyang was somewhat mentally prepared, yet he still hadn't anticipated the peril of Xin Ru's "Fetal Burial" array.

Although startled, he did not panic, immediately sitting upon the Five-Colored Lotus, forming hand techniques, enhancing the brilliance of the Purple And Blue Divine Flames above his head.

In the next moment, that Bodhi Tree swept down directly, even shattering a mountain upon impact, striking Shi Feiyang and directly obliterating him along with the treasure!

The "placenta" below still writhed and contracted, with nothing falling into it, yet Shi Feiyang was nowhere to be seen.

Xin Ru Nun's eyes glinted with golden light as she searched all around, closely examining heaven and earth, yet finding no trace of Shi Feiyang.

She was rather shocked: "That Evil Dragon has already achieved Body Ascension, and cannot be so easily obliterated body and soul. Even if truly obliterated, some remnant soul would remain, posing no way to escape my Dharma Eye!"

She believed that by using the array to seal spacetime, Shi Feiyang could not possibly escape outright and must still be within the array, though hidden somewhere unknown.

Xin Ru had initially thought Shi Feiyang might have drastically shrunk his body, using space distortion to conceal himself among grains of dust.

She used her Dharma Eye to search everywhere, inspecting every speck of dust within three thousand li, yet did not find Shi Feiyang.

While puzzled, she suddenly remembered that previously in Chao Yin Cave, Shi Feiyang had somehow transformed into the guise of Master You Tan, with such realism it bypassed even her Dharma Eye.

Likely, he had disguised himself as one of his own followers and blended into the crowd!

Xin Ru Nun had over a million followers. Looking around, they were all golden-headed, bald, old and young, scattered here and there, glancing left and right.