Following Duge’s suggestion, several people also changed their names, their new names carrying the implied fortunes of reincarnated saints:
Da Zhi changed his name to Manjushri Bodhisattva, symbolizing wisdom, virtue, enlightened virtue, and trustworthiness;
Da Xing changed his name to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, symbolizing reason, virtue, meditative virtue, and the objects of faith;
Da Bei then took the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva, representing compassion, wisdom, equality, and selflessness;
Da Yuan renamed himself Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, symbolizing salvation, dignity, patience, and liberation;
...
When everything was set in stone,
The Longevity Emperor gathered all his disciples and the Immortals of the Southern Zen Region to announce the renunciation of the Heavenly Court and the establishment of Buddhism, proclaiming himself the Immortal Life Buddha:
He made forty-eight grand vows:
He vowed to create the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, to extensively save boundless sentient beings, to widely propagate the Buddhist teachings, and to ensure that the people of Buddha Land would not fall into the three evil paths, among others;
And his many disciples also made their grand vows in succession:
Manjushri Bodhisattva made ten grand vows: giving respect to all Buddhas, repenting of karmic obstacles, etc.;
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva made ten grand vows: all beings of the Three Realms, whether by my doing or others’, contingent upon causes and conditions...
Guanyin Bodhisattva made twelve grand vows: to compassionately save the world, to relieve the three calamities, to be freed from the four distresses;
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made twelve grand vows: to enter hell in his physical form, swearing not to achieve enlightenment until the hells are emptied...
...
It is said that,
when the Longevity Emperor established the religion, thunder roared in the skies, light descended from heaven, marvelous phenomena emerged everywhere, and lotuses bloomed with each step he took...
His top ten disciples faced the multitudes and opened their sects widely, to resolve doubts for all beings, guaranteeing responses to all prayers.
...
The Human Emperor Inheritance appeared in the Southern Zen Region as everyone had expected.
But the fact that the Longevity Emperor publicly broke with the Immortal Court was more explosive than the Human Emperor Inheritance itself.
News of the establishment of the religion spread.
The entire Southern Zen Region was in an uproar.
...
Xianyou True Monarch and Lingyou True Monarch had descended to the mortal realm for over three days, along with Heavenly Master Xu, Heavenly Master Zhang, and a host of officials from the Daoist sects of the Eastern Polar Continent.
With their assistance, investigating the matter would be somewhat easier.
When Xianyou True Monarch descended, he happened to encounter the celestial official in charge of guidance and learned from him that the Human Emperor had passed through the Ninety-Nine Tribulations under the influence of Emperor Donghua, and he realized that the situation might not be so simple.
But it was only when he truly entered the Eastern Polar Continent that he found the situation to be far more serious than he had imagined, with the entire continent utterly out of control.
In the mortal realm, the Immortal Emperor was no longer revered, cultivators and the system of Yin Gods served the Human Emperor throughout, essentially becoming messengers for the Human Emperor.
People firmly believed that humanity could triumph over the heavens and stories of the Immortal Emperor’s despicable plotting against the Human Emperor were widespread; in the Eastern Polar Continent, the reputation of the Immortal Emperor and the Heavenly Court had entirely collapsed.
...
In New Moon Kingdom’s Capital City,
Xianyou True Monarch sat imposingly on the throne in the Jinluan Hall, facing him were several disciples of the Five Peak Emperors and Emperor Donghua, along with a group of cultivators from Dragon Tiger Mountain and many Yin Gods.
Xu Jinghui and Lou Zhen were among them.
All of them were ill at ease, looking down and not daring to make a move in front of the glaring Xianyou True Monarch.
Xianyou True Monarch, like Emperor Donghua, was a Daluo Golden Immortal, the top enforcer under the Immortal Emperor, against whom all present combined were no match in combat.
Moreover, they held the Immortal Emperor’s edicts in their hands.
The coercive power of the Immortal Emperor had deeply taken root over many years.
Now, with both Emperor Donghua and the Human Emperor absent, Xianyou True Monarch alone managed to suppress everyone there.
Although the Human Emperor had made it clear he intended to oppose the Immortal Court, his current strength was too weak, and he lacked any noteworthy achievements. The likes of the West Peak Emperor obeyed primarily due to the millions of years of pressure from Emperor Donghua. Now, even Emperor Donghua himself might be in jeopardy, making it impossible for them to commit to the Human Emperor’s cause.
Heavenly Master Xu, frustrated with his descendants’ failure to shape up, cast an angry look at his numerous followers. As soon as he descended, he went to Dragon Tiger Mountain and soon learned the causes and consequences from his disciples.
The thought that his line of teachings in the mortal realm came close to being wiped out made his blood boil.
"The Ancestor of the Carefree Sect, the Heavenly Demon, on a par with the Daoist Ancestor, the Innate Water Spirit, the Human Emperor Inheritance, the Incarnation of Heaven?"
Xianyou True Monarch looked down at the crowd with a scornful gaze, "A bunch of people, completely played by an Evil Demon, what a way to honor Emperor Donghua!"
Inside the Jinluan Hall, silence reigned.
When they were with Duge, nobody noticed anything amiss, but as everyone compared notes, Xu Jinkui, the South Peak Emperor, Qing Shan and Qing He, and others realized something was not right.
After all,
when everyone gathered together, none of the information matched up.
The South Peak Emperor and his leading disciple Qing Luan were still baffled. One had been in seclusion on Suspended Mountain, and the other at Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Yet when people came knocking,
the entire Mortal Realm had been turned upside down into something unrecognizable, and all thanks to their favored disciple and junior brother. Even Emperor Donghua had been dragged into the fray.
This left them with a sense of bewilderment and tightness in their chests, a feeling that demons had taken over...
Heaven only knows.
The South Peak Emperor’s dream was just to become a Golden Immortal. He never thought about rebellion. How did he end up being portrayed as the first to support Duge and as Duge’s number one lackey?
Thinking of this, he glared fiercely at Qing Luan, as if blaming him for not keeping a close enough eye on Duge!
Qing Luan too looked innocent, thinking how could he have anticipated his dutiful junior brother would bring him such enormous wealth yet also stir up such a disaster?
Among the crowd, only Liao Jiulong and his two disciples still believed that Duge was indeed the true form of the Heavenly Demon. If not for the most skilled at beguiling hearts, the Heavenly Demon, how else could such a great calamity have been stirred in so little time, even sweeping up Emperor Donghua...