Chapter 1373: Chapter 619: Mortal Inquiry, Great and Small Thunder Sound (Part 2)

"I watched my youngest son beg me to kill him."

"Watched my grandson starve to death, die of illness."

At this point, the old man suddenly glared at the Medicine Buddha and asked:

"Bodhisattva, is this the blessing of a lifetime of devoutness?"

A monk shouted, "Insolence!"

The old man was not afraid at all; instead, he smiled, fell back, lay on the stretcher, and used his blind eyes devoid of any emotion to stare at the resplendent dome of the temple, not knowing whether he was reminiscing or questioning.

The Medicine Bodhisattva stretched out his palm, stopping the angry disciple of Leiyin Temple, and said, "This Paradise Fragrance, even we were affected by it. This object is evil, from the Yaochi Blissful Heavenly Lady..."

"Bodhisattva, I often hear those high monks say that monks do not lie. Do you truly know nothing about the problem with this Paradise Fragrance?"

The Medicine Bodhisattva found himself unable to answer.

Don’t know?

Of course, he knew.

The Four Directions Buddha initially used Paradise Fragrance on a large scale, not because of compulsion from the Yaochi Heavenly Maiden.

The old man’s voice grew lower: "I don’t know what Yaochi is, don’t know what Blissful Heavenly Maiden is. I only know that it was the high monks of Leiyin Temple who let us inhale Paradise Fragrance."

"Those who suddenly invaded Pharmacist City and killed my two sons were also high monks of Leiyin Temple."

"I have believed all my life..."

The old man suddenly stopped speaking.

Several monks in the room exchanged glances, and the Medicine Bodhisattva lowered his eyes.

He was dead.

...

The Medicine Bodhisattva suddenly understood why he received so little power of incense.

These mortals, though they worship Leiyin Temple, are not foolish.

The root of the previous Paradise Fragrance calamity was clear to many.

He walked out of the monk’s room with very complex emotions in his heart—he could feel that even those who had restored their faith in him were no longer so devout to Leiyin Temple.

Their faith was more out of fear.

"Bodhisattva!"

A figure hurriedly flew over; it was the monk official he had sent out to find food.

The expression on the monk official’s face was hard to describe—a mixture of joy, shock, and even anger.

"Have you found the provisions?"

The Medicine Bodhisattva understood clearly that no matter how vast his divine skills, he could do nothing without food.

Luckily, the Blissful Heavenly Maiden had previously understood this problem as well and had controlled those mortals and cultivators to farm.

However, those people were weak and muddle-headed, and the grain yield was not as before.

It was just that the climate on the West Continent was good, the land fertile, and even scattered seeds could grow food.

Otherwise, the entire Pharmacist City would probably have starved to death.

"Found... found it!"

"Where?" the Medicine Buddha rejoiced at heart, simply saying, "Forget it; take people to harvest and bring it back."

"No need to transport it!"

The monk official’s expression became more peculiar, stammering, when suddenly a voice came from behind him from afar: "We brought it."

The speaker was a cultivator at the Divinity Transformation Stage, a man who flew over from afar and stood before the Medicine Bodhisattva, this True Immortal, without a trace of fear.

"You are..."

"I am a disciple of the Bodhi Institute under the seat of Maitreya, Cheng Yun."

"People of Maitreya!"

The Medicine Bodhisattva instantly became tense in his heart. Pharmacist City was already close to the heartland of Leiyin Temple, yet the people of Maitreya had arrived here?

"What are you here for?"

"What for? To deliver grain!" Unexpectedly, Cheng Yun was even angrier than him, "Who would have thought that Leiyin Temple would let so many starve to death!"

Cheng Yun was truly very angry. As a modern person, he could understand cultivator oppression and power struggles, but letting people starve to death was something he couldn’t bear.

Nine Mountains Immortal Court had never imagined that despite the cultivators’ strong productivity and the fertile land of the West Continent, so many believers could starve to death!

Even Maitreya felt a bit frightened, glad not to have tangled further with the Liuli Buddha.

In the end, it wouldn’t be a question of whether they could win or if there were any accidents.

If fighting continued, the West Continent might be a thousand miles without a rooster crowing, and any Future Buddha talk would be a joke at that time.

Frankly, a group of people fighting was all about vying for a piece of incense.

If everyone died out, what incense would there be?

Upon realizing this issue, Maitreya immediately dispatched disciples to penetrate deep into Leiyin Temple’s territory to rescue, aiming to save more ordinary people.

Cheng Yun was already acquainted with Zheng Fa, an old figure in the almshouse, a director of sorts, having traveled the farthest and seen the most tragic sights, thus holding the most anger toward Leiyin Temple; therefore, he spoke quite bluntly upon meeting their disciples.

"Do you think I dare not kill you?"

The Medicine Bodhisattva said coldly.

He didn’t expect Maitreya’s people to be so brazen, a Divinity Transformation cultivator daring to be this arrogant before him.

Cheng Yun smiled without speaking.

The Medicine Bodhisattva fell into silence.

He really couldn’t dare...

Their master hadn’t thought things through, still clinging to some Future Buddha concern, but we disciples could see clearly—Leiyin Temple was beyond saving.

It wasn’t just a matter of strength not matching those of Maitreya’s duo.

Trying to gather incense seemed hopeless; restoring ordinary folk’s faith wasn’t a matter of overnight.

In such a situation, killing Maitreya’s people was equivalent to courting death.

He even wondered why Maitreya would sell the Pure Spirit Water to his master.

But he understood, whatever the reason, it didn’t mean Maitreya’s people were easy to provoke. On the contrary, the Jiushan Sect was known for protecting its own.

Not hitting you doesn’t mean they can’t kill you.

As if seeing his doubt, or perhaps someone had asked him, Cheng Yun said directly, "Keep fighting, and the West Continent will be finished."

The Medicine Bodhisattva fell silent again, the scene of the old man earlier flashing in his mind.

"Pure Spirit Water, grains, were never meant for you," Cheng Yun beckoned behind him, and several modern cultivators flew over. "They’re for these mortals in the city."

"We have food, medicine, and seeds."

Cheng Yun was not lying.

In the modern world, although cultivator strength might not be strong, production capacity far exceeded the West Continent.

The food supply for the tens of thousands of people in Pharmacist City was trivial for modern agricultural yields.

The Medicine Bodhisattva was genuinely somewhat grateful: "Then thank you..."

"Thank me for what?"

The Medicine Bodhisattva was stumped.

He saw Cheng Yun’s face sneer: "You don’t think we’ll give you these things, do you?"

"..."

Cheng Yun waved a hand, sneering: "You spread your Buddhist Law; I spread mine. I don’t care what you do, and don’t think you can magically gain benefits."

They came to provide disaster relief.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t truly doing charity; they also aimed to gather the power of incense, perhaps mainly for that purpose.

This Medicine Bodhisattva thought too highly of himself.

The Medicine Bodhisattva realized that, at this stage, Maitreya didn’t care about him or the other Leiyin disciples; their focus was entirely on the mortals.

The Medicine Bodhisattva hesitated.

The smile on Cheng Yun’s face faded: "We’re here not to ask for your permission, but to inform you."

"We don’t want conflict with you now because it would delay important matters and cause more deaths, but understand that our important task is to ensure people in this city have food and clothing."

"Whoever obstructs us will be our enemy."

The Medicine Bodhisattva gritted his teeth.

He might not fear Cheng Yun, but the defiance in Cheng Yun’s tone made him realize Maitreya’s confidence, and he didn’t dare doubt the truth of those words.

After a long time, he closed his eyes.

Cheng Yun chuckled as if he had expected it, nodding slightly backward as he and several modern cultivators descended into the city.

The Medicine Bodhisattva didn’t dare to obstruct, yet he kept watch over their actions.

Cheng Yun’s group didn’t head toward Leiyin Temple but flew around the city, finding a few empty courtyards.

A cultivator stood on the street, tossing out a Spirit Talisman.

Several oddly-shaped iron lumps fell from the sky, extending iron arms to start pushing walls.

In just a couple of strokes, the connected courtyards were razed.

What is this?

The Medicine Bodhisattva, curious at heart, heard the cultivator muttering, "Who researched this excavator talisman? It’s quite handy."

Excavator talisman—what on earth was that, the Medicine Bodhisattva had never heard of it.

He only found these cultivators unprecedentedly strange—not only did they favor these odd machines, but they also had several bizarre Warrior Talismans, working extremely quickly.

He had never seen cultivators so skilled and diverse in building houses.

After three sticks of incense, a small temple complex was erected.

With a wave of his hand, Cheng Yun placed a plaque above the temple gate.

Upon seeing the Great Leiyin Temple inscribed on the plaque, the Medicine Bodhisattva’s face darkened, feeling he was taken advantage of.