I Can Traverse Multiple Worlds-Chapter 32: 500 Years Ago, the Buddhist-Ben Conflict

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: 500 Years Ago, the Buddhist-Ben Conflict

Five hundred years ago.

The Central State and the Wilderness were both prosperous lands.

Jianghu Sects in both regions sprang up one after another, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

However, a single event completely changed this scene of prosperity.

According to records, this was around the year 1500 of the Great Wu Calendar.

A meteor fell from the sky, crashing deep into the Wilderness.

That night, a rain of blood fell over a ten-li area, and a bloody mist filled the air.

Some bold members of the Jianghu ventured inside to explore, hoping to find a fortuitous encounter.

But when they emerged, they had lost their minds and become incredibly bloodthirsty, secretly beginning to eat human flesh and drink blood for their cultivation.

By the time other members of the Jianghu realized what was happening, these individuals had already grown into a formidable force. Some had even cultivated to the realm of Opening All Passages, becoming Refining Acupoints Human Immortals.

Furthermore, the blood qi they released could influence others, causing them to lose their sanity and become bloodthirsty as well.

And so, the people of the Jianghu established themselves as the Righteous Path and called those infected cultivators Demon Cultivators.

The two sides began an unprecedented war between the Righteous and the Demonic.

The great war lasted for a full seven days.

Both sides suffered countless casualties.

In the end, the Demon Cultivators won, relying on their powerful regenerative abilities and ruthless methods.

To avoid being slaughtered by the Demon Cultivators, the remaining Righteous People of the Barbaric Territory had no choice but to flee en masse to the Central State.

These Demon Cultivators wanted to give chase, even attempting to conquer the Central State and turn the entire world into a Demon Realm.

However, at that moment, Celestial Sword Mountain, already the leader of the Central State’s Jianghu, stepped forward.

It led the major Jianghu Sects of the Central State, allied with the surviving Jianghu Sects from the Wilderness, and engaged the Demon Cultivators in a life-or-death battle at Dragon Fall Valley.

Ultimately, the Demon Cultivators were driven back, retreating deep into the Wilderness.

The Sword Holder of Celestial Sword Mountain, wielding the Celestial Sword, pursued them all the way to the place where the meteor had fallen.

「Three days later.」

The Sword Holder of Celestial Sword Mountain returned, gravely injured. After leaving behind the legacy of the Celestial Sword, he passed away.

Fortunately, the Demon Cultivators also seemed to have suffered a devastating blow. They ceased their activities and did not invade the Central State again.

Both sides began to recuperate and rebuild their strength.

And so, five hundred long years passed.

The Jianghu Sects from the Wilderness that had fled back then gradually integrated with the Jianghu Sects of the Central State, becoming a part of it.

「These days.」

Yuan Chu Temple, which had come from the Wilderness all those years ago, had even replaced Wuxiang Temple as the Alliance Leader of the Western Regions.

Although both were temples, their beliefs were completely different.

Wuxiang Temple followed Buddhism, emphasizing kindness to others and cultivating for the next life.

Yuan Chu Temple followed the Bon religion, which worshipped all things in nature and sought fulfillment in the present life.

Due to their differing doctrines, conflicts often erupted between the two.

In the past, they even waged several wars to eradicate each other’s faith.

These were known to history as the ’Buddhist-Bon Schism’.

After repeated mediation by Celestial Sword Mountain, and with the added threat of the Demon Cultivators from the Wilderness,

the conflict between Wuxiang Temple and Yuan Chu Temple has subsided somewhat over the last few centuries.

However, in their daily affairs, both sides inevitably needed to attract followers, expand their domains, and increase their sect’s influence.

As a result, conflicts were still unavoidable.

To resolve this issue, the Khenpo of Yuan Chu Temple (a position similar to an abbot) and the Abbot of Wuxiang Temple reached an agreement.

Each side would select an infant to raise and train.

Fifteen years later, the chosen infants would hold a debate on Zen principles.

The winner would gain control of half of the loser’s domain.

Within the winner’s newly acquired territory, the loser would be forbidden from recruiting followers or spreading their teachings.

This would last for ten years.

After ten years, they would select new infants and repeat the process.

This method of competition could prove which sect’s legacy was superior while also avoiding direct conflict.

Thus, this tradition was passed down through the generations.

Over several hundred years, Yuan Chu Temple and Wuxiang Temple were evenly matched, with victories and losses on both sides.

Until the last hundred years, when Wuxiang Temple unexpectedly lost three times in a row.

This caused Wuxiang Temple to gradually fall behind Yuan Chu Temple.

The number of its followers and monks dwindled, far from what it once was.

To reverse this decline, the Abbot of Wuxiang Temple, Liao Zhen, specially dispatched the Refining Acupoints Human Immortal Zen Master Zhi Kong to search the various regions of the Central State for infants with aptitude and innate wisdom to bring back to the temple.

These infants were called ’Buddha’s Sons’. In the future, they would have the chance to represent Wuxiang Temple in the Zen debate against the ’Origin’s Son’ from Yuan Chu Temple.

Wang Xiao was one of the ’Buddha’s Sons’ chosen by Zen Master Zhi Kong and brought back to Wuxiang Temple.

’Being a Buddha’s Son isn’t necessarily a good thing. Wuxiang Temple selects so many of them not just to cast a wide net and pick the best of the best, but also to prevent them from being assassinated by Yuan Chu Temple. The more Buddha’s Sons there are, the harder it is for Yuan Chu Temple to assassinate them all.’

Wang Xiao knew that in previous competitions, quite a few ’Buddha’s Sons’ had died mysteriously before they could mature.

This was one of the reasons Wuxiang Temple had lost three times in a row.

’I hope Wuxiang Temple is a bit more careful this time. They’d better not let me die young. Otherwise, I’ll really have to thank them for nothing.’

Wang Xiao’s current body was exceptionally weak. Even if he possessed a lifetime of skills, he couldn’t use any of them.

Any ordinary person could easily kill him.

He sighed softly and summoned the Book of Space-Time for a look.

In an instant, lines of text appeared.

[Controller of the Book of Space-Time: Wang Xiao]

[Current Realm: Tier Zero Life]

[Current Status: Consciousness Travel]

[Talent: Analyze All Things]

[Time Remaining: 60 years]

’I can actually stay for sixty years this time, double the duration of the last world. Could it be that the more I travel, the longer I can stay?’

This was only Wang Xiao’s second time traveling, so he hadn’t yet figured out the rules of the Book of Space-Time.

However, he felt that with his talent, he wouldn’t need sixty years to cultivate to this world’s highest realm, the Celestial Human Realm!

The prerequisite was that he had to survive infancy and not die prematurely.

’It seems I need to act differently from the other infants to win Zen Master Zhi Kong’s attention. That’s the only way to be safer.’

Wang Xiao looked at the square-faced, large-eared monk before him, his mind racing.

He kicked his legs wildly, circulating the modified "Sword Dao True Understanding: Blood Movement Chapter" to mobilize the qi and blood in his body, directing it to bombard his Lower Dantian.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

In an instant, a warm current of air surged out from Wang Xiao’s Lower Dantian.

At that moment, he felt his limbs grow strong and powerful, and his blood surged like a rushing torrent.

’Good thing the Martial Arts from my previous world work here. Otherwise, it seems cultivation in this world requires various potent medicines. I really would have had no way to even get started.’

Wang Xiao felt the faint Inner Qi within his body and let out a soft breath.

Just then, Zen Master Zhi Kong noticed something unusual about Wang Xiao. With a soft "Hmm?" he placed a finger on Wang Xiao’s chest.

A peculiar stream of qi slowly entered Wang Xiao’s body.

When he came into contact with the barely-perceptible Inner Qi inside Wang Xiao, his eyes widened abruptly.

"This is... Qi and Blood like Tide, Concealed Divine Radiance... the makings of a Celestial Being! The makings of a Celestial Being! This infant..."

Zen Master Zhi Kong stared at Wang Xiao in his arms, his eyes filled with irrepressible shock.