A Buddha's Great Sun hung high in the sky, shining upon the entire Li Palace space.
Scriptures fell like rain from the heavens, transforming endlessly, as if countless Buddhas were bowing in worship.
Vast Buddhist hymns echoed, as if myriad Buddhas were chanting sutras for deliverance.
A colossal golden Buddha, its head crowned by the Great Sun's radiance, sat with one hand held vertically before its chest and the other resting flat on its knee. Its eyes were slightly closed, occupying half the sky, receiving the worship of the boundless Buddhas. It looked as if the Buddha Lord himself had descended.
Seated cross-legged upon the Buddha's palm was the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata. He wore a Five-Buddha Crown, was draped in monastic robes, had a string of relics around his neck, and held prayer beads in his hand. Like the golden Buddha, his eyes were slightly closed as he turned the beads and recited scriptures.
In this moment.
Within the arena, the countless Original Sin Dharmakayas all felt their heads splitting with pain, unbearable agony. Their powers ran wild uncontrollably, and their minds and spirits began to fracture, as if on the verge of collapse at any moment.
At this moment, they all shared a sensation—a feeling of being madly incinerated by an invisible, intangible, formless fire. Whether it was consciousness or spirit, flesh or soul, cultivation or destiny, all were twisting and blurring.
Suddenly.
Everyone remembered a legend.
A legend about Miao Tathagata.
'A Sacred Golden Buddha descends from the West, Ten Thousand Buddhas bow to the Tathagata; Sutra-chanting hymns deliver evil, the Great Sun's light purifies all heavens.'
It meant that when the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata descended, a sacred golden Buddha would inevitably descend from the Western Heaven. Then, scriptures would fall like snow, transforming into countless Buddhas respectfully welcoming and bowing to Miao Tathagata. At that time, vast Buddhist hymns would deliver all evil existences, and the Great Sun's radiance would purify all the myriad realms.
This legend began to spread after Miao Tathagata once manifested as a Great Sun to illuminate the Nine Underworlds and deliver demons and ghosts. Since then, wherever Miao Tathagata appeared, all dark and evil demons, ghosts, and monsters across the myriad realms would retreat.
Yet no one had imagined that the legend of Miao Tathagata's deliverance could be so terrifying, to the extent that even Original Sin Dharmakayas could not withstand it.
Fortunately, with Miao Tathagata's appearance, the Buddha's Great Sun gradually dimmed, the boundless Buddha light slowly dissipated, the myriad Buddhas ceased their bowing, and the vast chanting hymns no longer echoed. Otherwise, the countless Original Sin Dharmakayas in the arena, even if not delivered, would likely have been in dire straits.
Within the arena.
Whether they were Original Sin Patriarchs or Great Dao Patriarchs, nearly all knew that Miao Tathagata would certainly appear.
Not only did they know, but each had also laid their own plans to deal with Miao Tathagata.
Yet even so.
When Miao Tathagata truly appeared, both the Original Sin Patriarchs and the Great Dao Patriarchs felt deeply uneasy, and this feeling was particularly intense.
The reason was simple.
Although Miao Tathagata had not achieved Taiji Boundless, he was said to be both an ordained calamity constant and an Original Sin variable.
Of course.
This was merely a legend.
Whether the legend was true or false, no one knew, for to this day, no one had seen Miao Tathagata's true original form.
Beyond that.
The true purpose of Miao Tathagata's existence—whether to slaughter the Original Sin True Lord or to covet the Original Sin True Lord—remained a mystery to this day.
If one said he coveted the Original Sin True Lord, it didn't seem to fit. Every time Miao Tathagata appeared, there was not a trace of Original Sin aura, not even the slightest bit. This time was no exception. Whether it was the Buddha's Great Sun, the worship of myriad Buddhas, the sacred golden Buddha, or the sutra-chanting hymns—all were related to Buddhism.
Moreover, upon his appearance, the boundless Original Sin aura in the sky was shaken into nothingness, and the entire Li Palace space seemed to transform into a Buddhist realm with his arrival.
No matter how one looked at it, Miao Tathagata did not seem to be coveting the Original Sin True Lord, but rather appeared prepared to deliver him.
Yet if one said Miao Tathagata was prepared to deliver the Original Sin True Lord to protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, that also didn't seem to fit.
Miao Tathagata had not missed any of the various omens and signs related to the Original Sin Cataclysm. Every time signs related to the Original Sin Cataclysm appeared, Miao Tathagata had been present. Most importantly, since the changes in the Ancient Desolation Nine Palaces, Miao Tathagata had occupied the origin of the Central Palace, one of the Nine Palaces.
If he did not wish to covet the Original Sin True Lord, why occupy the Central Palace origin?
The problem was, if Miao Tathagata truly wanted to covet the Original Sin True Lord, he should have focused his efforts on the Li Palace side. After all, the changes in Li Palace would influence the Original Sin Cataclysm. The other Original Sin Patriarchs, while occupying the origins of the Nine Palaces, also guarded against the changes in Li Palace because they knew the Original Sin True Lord recorded in the Book of Destiny could not be themselves, so they could only scheme and compete—such as the Black Mountain Old Monster, the Green Lamp Ghost Emperor, and others.
Miao Tathagata was different.
Miao Tathagata was both an Original Sin variable and an ordained calamity constant. Moreover, based on past omens, aside from Gu Qingfeng, his chances were the greatest.
In other words, if the Original Sin True Lord recorded in the Book of Destiny was not Gu Qingfeng, then it was likely Miao Tathagata. Even adding Taiji Boundless into the mix, Miao Tathagata's chances remained very high.
Under such circumstances, anyone else would probably have focused their efforts on the Li Palace origin.
Yet Miao Tathagata had not done so. Instead, he focused on the seemingly insignificant Central Palace origin, appearing in Li Palace only with an external incarnation.
It was truly incomprehensible. What exactly was he thinking?
And it was impossible to guess his true intention—whether to slaughter the Original Sin True Lord or to covet him.
Upon the solitary peak.
Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at Miao Tathagata seated upon the palm of that sacred Buddha statue, and asked, "So that's the Miao Tathagata hailed as the Buddha Emperor of the West?"
"Exactly!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk nodded heavily. "That is Miao Tathagata."
"I must say, this fellow really does put on quite the show."
Although this was Gu Qingfeng's first time seeing Miao Tathagata, he was not at all unfamiliar with the name. Especially after entering the Ancient Desolation Black Hole, the name Da Xing the Mad Monk mentioned most often was Miao Tathagata.
What left the deepest impression on him was Da Xing's account: back when the Radiant Emperor manifested as a Great Sun to illuminate the Nine Underworlds, Miao Tathagata had also manifested as a Great Sun—not to illuminate, but to deliver the Nine Underworlds.
It seemed that in the end, Miao Tathagata had even severed the Nine Underworlds Sacred Stele, leaving behind a rather arrogant verse.
'All demons and fiends are but ants; the Underworld Lord clings to life, fears reincarnation. Sever all darkness, deliver the Nine Underworlds; only my Buddha, Miao Tathagata.'
"I've always wanted to have a meeting with this fellow Miao Tathagata," Gu Qingfeng said. "Today, I finally have the chance."
Hearing this, Da Xing the Mad Monk smiled bitterly.
If the appearance of Taiji Boundless had disrupted everyone's schemes and the situation within the arena.
Then the appearance of Miao Tathagata had already made the current chaos even more chaotic.
One Taiji Boundless was both an ordained calamity constant and an Original Sin variable. If Miao Tathagata was also an ordained calamity constant and an Original Sin variable, then what the hell was the meaning of their existence? And who had laid the schemes behind them? Was it Wu Dao Zun Shang? Or Genggu Wuming?
If they were both schemes laid by Wu Dao Zun Shang and had both been targeted by Genggu Wuming, then why was Gu Qingfeng, the greatest variable of all, not an ordained calamity constant?