"Buddhism has admitted defeat." Fang Jian, who had just returned from the Lingxiao Palace, looked at the Wuying Palace immortal officials and said, "Sandalwood Merit Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva have personally come to the Lingxiao Palace to submit a petition of apology. The war in Jambudvīpa will soon be over."
As soon as Fang Jian finished speaking, there was silence in the entire hall at first, and then cheers broke out immediately. Then all the immortal officials in the hall began to congratulate each other.
It's not their fault that they are excited. It's because during the nearly nine months since the war started, all of them have been working intensively and dared not slack off for a moment.
Because all the situations on the front line, as well as the preparation and transportation of materials, daily battle reports and military achievements have to go through Tianshu Province and Wuying Palace, the pressure on them is also enormous.
During this period, even Fang Jian personally escorted the supplies several times, let alone these people.
Moreover, the Buddhist sect took the initiative to submit a petition of apology, which showed that the Heavenly Court had won a great victory in this war. As the immortal officials of the Heavenly Court, they were naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts, especially since they would be rewarded according to their merits after the war!
"Alright, alright." Fang Jian looked at the excited crowd and said, "From now on, everyone should hurry up and compile all the merits of this battle. This will be used when the Grand Master rewards people for their contributions."
"We obey the order." The immortal officials bowed in response, and then went about their business with great excitement.
Not long after, Fang Jian was summoned to the Taixuan Palace by the Eastern Qinghua Emperor, who gave him and Ren Hua a mission. "Negotiations between Heaven and Buddhism will be held in Mount Zhongnan within the Tang Dynasty. You two will represent Taixuan Province. But remember, Erlang Shen will be representing Heaven in this negotiation, and you are merely assisting him."
Upon hearing this, Fang Jian and Ren Hua bowed and said, "We will obey your command."
Afterwards, Fang Jian and Ren Hua descended to the mortal world and headed for Mount Zhongnan in the southern continent of Zhanbuzhou. As soon as they landed at Mount Zhongnan, a celestial general approached them and asked, "May I ask if you are familiar with Ren Hua, the governor of Taixuan Province, and Hong Qing, the chief governor of Taixuan Province?"
Ren Hua and Fang Jian nodded and said, "That's right."
Upon hearing this, the general immediately bowed and said, "Heavenly General Yan Ze greets Master Ren Hua and Master Hong Qing. Masters, I, under the command of Master Erlang, have come to escort you to Louguan Terrace for negotiations."
Fang Jian nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your help, fellow Taoist."
"I dare not. Please follow me, both of you." The heavenly general said, then turned around and led Fang Jian and Ren Hua all the way to Louguantai.
Louguantai is where Li Er, the human incarnation of Taishang Laojun, preached after he left Hangu Pass to the west. Later, it has been a holy place for Taoism.
The negotiations between the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist sect were held at the Zongsheng Palace on Louguantai. All personnel from both sides had arrived, waiting for the arrival of Fang Jian and Ren Hua Zhenren.
The celestial general led Fang Jian and Ren Hua directly into the Zongsheng Palace. Once inside, they immediately came before Erlang Shen and saluted. Erlang Shen nodded slightly and said, "My two fellow Daoists, please take a seat."
"Yes." Fang Jian and Ren Hua Zhenren accepted the order respectfully, and then flew onto their thrones.
After Fang Jian settled down on the throne, he finally had time to look up at the situation in the hall. The people on the Heavenly Court side included: Erlang Shen, Tota Heavenly King, Nezha, Ma Lingyao, Zhao Gongming, Wen Qiong, Guan Yu, Fang Jian and Ren Hua Zhenren.
On the Buddhist side, the leader is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and there are: Sandalwood Merit Buddha, Fighting Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
However, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's energy is slightly weaker than before, probably because the three flowers on his head were sealed during the battle.
Immediately, Erlang Shen said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin."
The two Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas from the Buddhist sect all put their palms together and said, "Good."
Because the Buddhist sect has already submitted a petition of apology to the Heavenly Court, there will be no "questioning of guilt" process in this negotiation. Instead, the negotiation will start directly based on the situation in Jambudvīpa.
However, before the Heavenly Court could offer any conditions, Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke first, "Our Buddhist sect must bear all the consequences of this failure. All Buddhist sects must withdraw from the Southern Continent and return to the Western Continent, including the Buddhist kingdom of Tianzhu and its various sects."
After hearing what Guanyin Bodhisattva said, everyone in Heaven was obviously stunned. They didn't expect that Buddhism would take the initiative to "surrender unconditionally" right from the start. This really stumped everyone in Heaven.
But Erlang Shen quickly responded, "Very good, Master Ren Hua, please record this."
As the head of the Wenlin Academy in Taixuandu Province, one of Ren Hua Zhenren's important tasks here is to record this negotiation. So as soon as Erlang Shen finished speaking, Ren Hua Zhenren wrote on the jade slip: 1. All Buddhist sects, including the Tianzhu Buddhist Kingdom, will withdraw from the Southern Continent and return to the Western Continent.
To prevent Guanyin Bodhisattva from "taking the lead" again, Erlang Shen immediately said: "For the next ten thousand years, all Buddhist cultivators and immortals above the True Immortal Realm are forbidden to set foot in the Northern Continent, the Eastern Continent, and the Southern Continent."
This is equivalent to putting all Buddhist cultivators above the True Immortal Realm under 'house arrest', and imprisoning all of them above the True Immortal Realm in Xiniu Hezhou for ten thousand years.
But even so, the Buddhists remained unmoved. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Sandalwood Merit Buddha nodded in succession, saying, "Agree."
This time, without Erlang Shen's instructions, Ren Hua immediately wrote on the jade slip: "Second, all Buddhist cultivators and immortals above the True Immortal Realm are forbidden to set foot in Northern Julu Continent, Eastern Divine Continent, and Southern Jambu Continent for the next ten thousand years."
Erlang Shen then continued, "The Heavenly Court shall establish the 'Qilvyuan' in Taixuandu Province. From now on, the Buddhist sect and the Taoist sect shall work together to establish sects, spread the Dharma, and teach the law, and all matters related to the law shall be subject to the constraints and supervision of the Heavenly Law. The Qiluyuan will have one head, who will be an immortal official of the Heavenly Court, and two deputy heads, who will be appointed from the Taoist and Buddhist sects respectively."
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