Cheng Arhat was no minor figure in the Northern Land, and all warlords knew of his life story, admiring the shameless path he took to climb to the top.
Not only was he of lowly birth, but his talent was also quite ordinary. When he started out, he wasn't backed by any significant support and relied on various acts of betrayal to gradually ascend to his current status.
He wielded control over Qiantang, a flourishing province in the Northern Land, and had secured the recognition of the Three Arhats from the Demon Buddha Temple, who were willing to help him break through to the Ultimate Happiness Realm, which was tantamount to a meteoric rise.
Regrettably, it was this crucial step that was forcefully disrupted.
So close to success, yet all his efforts were in vain; in fact, things turned out even worse. As Cheng Arhat's obsession deepened, fixated on the Great Abyss Zen Master, after being blinded, his mind and soul were set aflame.
Thus, the next moment, all the warlords and audiences from the seventy-two provinces heard a "boom"—a muffled explosion amidst the sound of a shrewish scolding.
The body of Cheng Arhat, already like a dried-up corpse, suddenly waxified.
His body turned to wax, with his soul as the wick, burning fiercely.
Who knows what he saw before his demise, but as he burned with crackling sounds, he ranted incoherently,
"Hahaha... I am Cheng Arhat, the Lord of Earthly Buddha Country, the future fragrant oil Buddha, eternally undying, with boundless Ultimate Happiness."
"Cheng Arhat has seen Elder Kongchan. Han Mountain Temple, ignorant of what's good for them, refuses to help me. Elder, if you're willing to lend your strength, I offer Qiantang Province with both hands."
"I have grand aspirations. Regardless of life or death, no matter the cost, I wish to quell the many warlord and bandit issues in the province, to protect the millions of people. Would the brothers, elders, and abbots of Han Mountain Temple be willing to assist me?"
"Master, I seek Buddha's Divine Power not for myself, but for these common people, for all under heaven. I would rather sacrifice my flesh and soul..."
As people listened, they all understood that as the "Human Candle" burned, Cheng Arhat was returning to his original state.
Now blind, his body nearly burnt out, he tearfully mistook the Great Abyss Zen Master for his childhood teacher, Master Zhishan, who had presented him with the Withering and Flourishing Scripture and introduced him to the Buddhist Sect. He knelt with genuine emotion, shouting hoarsely to express his faith and grand aspirations.
It seemed so sincere.
A stirring, tragic lament that moved people.
This made many wonder how such a good and heroic figure in his youth had become what he was today.
Others didn't understand, but Tao Qian wasn't surprised at all.
"All things are prone to change, especially humans."
"This wretch, slick with fat and deceit, is no different from the other warlords present here."
"But his goodness as a child, his youthful passion... weren't necessarily all lies."
"One can only say that human hearts are fickle."
As Tao Qian thought this, the Great Abyss Zen Master, burning out himself, smiled.
He nodded at Cheng Arhat, then said:
"Good, I'll grant your wish."
After speaking, Cheng Arhat seemed to move on his own.
He seemed to be completely under the control of the Great Abyss Zen Master as he stumbled out of the White Bone Glaze Tower.
On his face, too, there appeared a look of emancipated joy.
Ignoring everyone, including Shipi Arhat.
He fiercely broke off one of his own arms, and as golden blood splattered, he threw the limb towards Qiantang Province City below. As the flesh dissolved mid-air and collided with the clouds, it was transformed into a fine rain and breeze, with a calming fragrance that gently caressed Qiantang Province City.
"This is an Arhat repaying a debt, everyone should accept it."
The million inhabitants of the city had already been released from addiction by the Great Abyss Zen Master's Buddhist Law and had awakened from the pollution of the Demon Buddha's influence.
Now touched by this fine rain and breeze, they suddenly had a greater understanding.
No one responded in kind; they all simply sighed.
Cheng Arhat, now in a special state, laughed as he rushed to various market towns across Qiantang. His limbs, flesh, organs, and skin... bit by bit, were forcefully torn and transformed into a fine rain and breeze, seemingly intent on purifying the entire province of Qiantang.
This, presumably, was the so-called taking from the people, and now giving back to the people.
The Cultivation Power of Cheng Arhat was nourished by the fat and essence of the people of Qiantang Province; he was now merely returning it completely.
In a sense, it was also the most thorough lingering death.
All the warlords and spectators found it astonishing, and then they all turned their gaze to the Three Arhats of the Demon Buddha Temple.
Cheng Arhat was supposed to be a strong figure in the Ultimate Happiness Realm that the Demon Buddha Temple wanted to cultivate.
Having been defeated and treated ,
Shipi, Kongchan, and Lian Sha should have been furiously reacting, preparing to take action directly.
But strangely, there was no such reaction.
With a placid face, the fleshless Kongchan Arhat looked at the Great Abyss Zen Master, instantly seeing through his condition, and said admiringly:
"I don't know which expert you were in your last life."
"Such Buddhist Divine Powers, none of us three brothers have ever seen before. I reckon you're not from the Free Temple."
"Elder, had you revealed your identity from the start, we three would have been willing to negotiate with you. Now, it seems we've damaged our relationship, creating enmity."
"Elder, your refining is most vulnerable to others' covetous thoughts, and given our people at the Demon Buddha Temple are vengeful, it will be hard to trouble you upon your enlightenment. However, your reincarnated form is likely to be sought out by us, to exact revenge."
Kongchan's words were a mix of soft and hard tactics.
Also, in front of everyone, he revealed a bit about the Great Abyss Zen Master's background.
Which was normal. The astonishing and unbelievable avatar of millions that had appeared earlier.
Any slightly knowledgeable Buddhist Practitioner would have guessed that the Zen Master, who looked like an ascetic monk, must have had no ordinary origins.