If they succeed in assassinating Mitra, the situation will immediately reverse!
A new era! A new world! The dawn of victory is just ahead!
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All of the above, in three different time periods.
All sentient beings, all suffering.
The Bodhisattva Mithra saw it all.
401: Myriad Blissful Realms
Three different times and spaces, various causes and conditions
All sentient beings, all suffering
Asura Slaughter Ground, Five Turbid Worlds
All things in the universe are within sight.
The Bodhisattva Mithra sits serenely in the inner courtyard of the Tusita Heaven, atop a celestial disc.
Although his eyes were closed, his divine eye surveyed the entire earth.
In the Land of the Dead, Hayden and Asmodius discussed how to travel through time to four hundred years ago and how to defeat Mitra in the past—but Mitra had already seen it in the present moment.
In the castle of Neo-Tokyo, Susanoo, determined to protect his nation and safeguard it to the very end, finally takes to the battlefield himself. Wielding the Ame-no-Murakumo sword, he leads the warriors of the gods into the Mithra army, clashing head-on with the Third Prince. The battlefield intensifies, becoming all the more brutal. Countless corpses litter the ground, along with the wreckage of warriors and chariots.
Man kills man, and man is killed in return. After death, man becomes a corpse, upon which new bones are piled up. And many more will die, endlessly—Mithra saw all these tragic wars and deaths on Earth clearly from the moon.
At the same time, his eyes were naturally also looking at the moon itself.
Led by Guanyin Bodhisattva, a team of three bodhisattvas and several great gods were attacking Mithra Bodhisattva, intending to cast a time reversal spell on him and then kill him in the process—however, Mithra had already seen through their plan.
Mithra's Dharma Eye penetrates all three realms—the Yellow Springs, the human world, and even the moon in the heavens.
Mithra felt no anger or resentment at all when he saw Hayden's plan, Susanoo's resistance, or even the betrayal of his once closest friend, Avalokiteshvara.
He simply sighed, just one sigh.
Nothing in this world is without end, nothing is without destruction. All things are destined to perish simply because they exist. Even the intangible are no exception. Time is the most potent poison. Before its silent, pervasive power, nothing can escape annihilation.
Whether it's reverence, fear, longing—or friendship.
Everything is mercilessly evaporated in the passage of time.
........................
...This is the moon, the inner courtyard of the Tushita Palace, in the meditation room deep within the inner courtyard. This is a privileged room independent of corporate control, where Mithra usually sits in meditation and contemplation.
The Guanyin Bodhisattva and her entourage, the assassination squad, have now quietly approached this place. Guanyin Bodhisattva herself personally led the way, using her most powerful supernatural abilities to dismantle the various security measures within the inner courtyard of the Tushita Palace.
"Mithra's private chamber is just ahead."
She said to her accomplices behind her,
"It goes without saying that this matter must be resolved immediately and in a short period of time. If we miss this opportunity, it will all be for naught, and our lives will be subject to reincarnation. Nobody would like that, would they?"
Infiltrating a heavily guarded area is already extremely dangerous. To then plot an assassination is simply the most dangerous thing imaginable.
However, the assassination team, including Karen, silently nodded in agreement.
So they pushed open the door and went into the room.
Even though they were mentally prepared, the scene before them still secretly surprised the five experts who were entering for the first time.
Because this room has no floor, walls, or ceiling. Entering it is like stepping into the center of an endless starry sky. There is no sky, no atmosphere, only perfect points of light contrasting with perfect darkness—an infinite, empty space. The stars shine like burning flames, their light unwavering, and the Milky Way radiant. Although the sun and moon are invisible, the earth is right beneath your feet. Everything feels like falling into a void.
Did they step into the universe?
"No. This is the moon, and it still is; the Tushita Palace, it still is."
A voice said calmly,
"But this is also a real image."
The Bodhisattva Mithra is right here. He is suspended and fixed at the center of the universe, allowing all things in the universe to pass by him.
Three bodhisattvas, accompanied by five powerful deities, slipped in, their intentions clearly malicious. But Mithra remained silent, speaking to them with his eyes closed.
Those who see Mithra for the first time would probably find it hard to believe that he is the most powerful, influential, and wealthy capitalist in the world, because he looks so young. At first glance, he appears to be just a slender, handsome young man. He seems to be of Asian descent, looks to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, has short black hair that reaches his shoulders, and skin as smooth as a child's. He is only dressed in a long white cloth.
Most importantly, he was truly handsome. His well-proportioned features possessed an androgynous, transcendent beauty that would irresistibly attract both men and women. Although the new gods could genetically modify faces and bodies, they had never seen such a beautiful youth.
Because this is not physical beauty, nor even entirely spiritual beauty, but rather an existential beauty, like the beauty of seeing magnificent mountains or the sea.
So in that instant, everyone was captivated by his presence, momentarily stunned. The indescribable aura of power emanating from Mitra, that divine charisma, couldn't be concealed by simply closing one's eyes. His radiance had pierced the hearts of the assassins.
Only Guanyin Bodhisattva (and for some reason, Karen) remained unshaken even when faced with this sudden situation. Instead, they immediately leaped into the air and rushed towards Mithra one after the other!
Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin. Even if his assistant falters at the last minute, he still has to go all out! Go!
"Moo!"
In the blink of an eye, Guanyin Bodhisattva activated her pre-hidden traps and issued special commands, pulling the entire room—this entire space—into her own domain.
By confining Mithras within the vacuum of his divine authority, preventing him from accessing his assets, a state of divine power vacuum is created. Once within this carefully designed domain by Avalokiteshvara, Mithras would only possess his own power, theoretically making it impossible for him to defeat three bodhisattvas combined.
Not only that, Kallen was incredibly fast. She moved with lightning speed, arriving at the forefront in a fraction of a breath, ahead of Guanyin Bodhisattva! Her attack method was her hand, or more precisely, her fingers. The profound secrets of time magic taught by Hayden were concentrated on just one index finger.
She was going to inject this spell into Mitra's body, reversing his time to 400 years ago!
As mentioned earlier, their opportunity to assassinate Mithra was extremely short, leaving no room for hesitation.
Guanyin Bodhisattva used special technology to temporarily separate this area, preventing anyone from drawing upon external divine power; they could only rely on their own. In other words, Karen, with her mastery of martial arts, was the most terrifying assassin present. Her unique mission was to instantly kill Mitra!
Anyone would feel fear when faced with an enemy far stronger than themselves.
The difference between the strong and the weak is that when the strong are afraid of the stronger, they will draw their swords and fight back.
Karen is undoubtedly a strong person.
So just as she sensed Mithra's overwhelming presence, at that very moment, the momentum she had been building up finally erupted!
A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the dark void. This lightning even temporarily suppressed the brilliance of the surrounding stars, and suppressed the Bodhisattva's divine power and all unease!
kill!
With the speed of light and the power of thunder, Karen's fingertips pierced Mitra in an instant! Although it was neither a fist nor a sword, she could feel that this move had unleashed the strongest power she had ever possessed in her life!
Karen is a true spring-like woman; the greater the pressure, the stronger the rebound. Mitra's overwhelming divine power not only failed to break her, but instead forced out her potential, unleashing a devastating attack!
...However, at the same time, facing Kallen's strongest attack, Mithra Bodhisattva did not even open his closed eyes.
A slight smile appeared on his lips.
A slight appreciation, nothing more.
The distance between the two was not long. Karen's finger strike was as fast as lightning. But even as Karen's fingertip, more deadly than swords and spears, was already poised to strike him, Mitra remained motionless, showing no reaction.
It neither resists, nor retaliates, nor dodges.
—Then the attack that had pierced Mithra's face disappeared.
Without realizing it, Karen found her fingers had stopped, frozen in mid-air, as if all her power had vanished into thin air.
It was neither blocked, nor pushed aside, nor dodged.
Karen only realized what was happening when she found herself pinned in mid-air, completely bewildered.
The strongest attack, unleashed with all his might and martial arts skills, had absolutely no effect, and then he was inexplicably frozen in place!?
Guanyin Bodhisattva, of course, wouldn't stand idly by and watch Karen suffer a humiliation. Activating her supernatural powers, she raised her hand and unleashed boundless light into the air, which transformed into rolling, turbid waves. This was no ordinary ocean, for the ordinary ocean was clearly insufficient to deal with Mithra. Therefore, Guanyin Bodhisattva's gesture borrowed a wisp of the power of the Milky Way, or the galaxy, and pressed down upon Mithra with overwhelming force!
However, Mithra did not even open his eyes. He simply raised his left hand and casually flicked it, stirring up the illusory image of the Milky Way that Guanyin Bodhisattva had borrowed, then crushing it.
Guanyin Bodhisattva's wondrous power didn't actually pull the Milky Way directly to smash people—even Mithra didn't have that kind of ability, really, this isn't a scene from "Gurren Lagann." She merely transformed the Milky Way into its form, borrowing the power of the galaxy, only pulling a sliver of the Milky Way's shadow... but even a sliver of shadow is terrifying enough! At the very least, a single blow could absolutely level the entire surface of the Earth!
As a result, Mithra simply reached out and crushed the Galaxy Shadow with a flick of his hand... and without even using his divine power.
Even though Guanyin Bodhisattva had considered many things beforehand and made many mental preparations, this scene still left her somewhat bewildered—are you kidding me?
"I will not blame the peacock's daughter."
Mithra spoke with his eyes closed.
"Because she has never, not even for a single day, been of one mind with me, and has never called herself my friend. So this is not betrayal; nor will I blame her."
“However, Miaoshan, Miaoyin, Miaoyuan—you were all my friends, and you swore to create a new world with me.”
He closed his eyes and quietly uttered the true names of Guanyin, Samantabhadra, and Manjushri before they became Bodhisattvas.
"Five hundred years of friendship. Is this all you've given me in return—the sharp blade of farewell, betrayal?"
His tone was soft and calm, a murmur, yet his words, imbued with divine power, froze the two Bodhisattvas and four great deities. Samantabhadra and Manjushri were unable to move, nor were the four great deities. They were all gripped by fear and unable to move.
Only Guanyin Bodhisattva remained unfazed, raising her head and saying, "In reality, who betrayed whom? Mithra, I've said this more than ten thousand times in the past four hundred years. I will not allow you to turn the entire world into a military fortress to defend against the Outer Gods! It's been long enough! Stop fantasizing about non-existent calamities! After this war ends, the world should enter a long period of peace and stability!"
Was Guanyin's statement true or false? Perhaps it was just to deceive Mithra and the others present, while she had already decided that after assassinating Mithra, she would take control of the world and become the sole supreme god.
However, at least logically, what she said is not wrong.
However, Mithra sighed softly.
"Using the excuse of not wanting the people to suffer to evade war. But this decision has become one that will lock the future of the whole world in darkness and will bring destruction to the world sooner or later. Why can't you understand, Miaoshan?"
"The truth and the future are hard to see. But they are obvious to me, the first four hundred years and the next four hundred years are both in my eyes."
"Only I know how to escape eternal suffering. All beings and all afflictions can be united under enlightenment, and humanity will work together to defeat the Outer Gods."
"The hope at the end of the next life will be the peace of all living beings."
He spoke in a strange way, his words were a bit jumbled up... as if... it seemed like the order of time was constantly changing in his eyes.
Fortunately, Guanyin was already used to Mithra speaking like that.
"No Outer God will come again!" she answered decisively. "We defeated the Outer God four hundred years ago! Even if it did come again, we have been on guard for the past four hundred years! To be concerned about an enemy that has never shown a trace, and even to risk the entire world militarily for it, is nothing but paranoia! You were just scared by the Outer God four hundred years ago!"
This wasn't entirely without merit, but unfortunately, Mithra only sighed softly upon hearing it. In fact, they had engaged in similar dialogues countless times over the past four hundred years, and Mithra had never been persuaded by Avalokiteshvara.
"There's no need to say anything more. I already know that you won't listen to my advice."
He still didn't open his eyes, and simply said...
"I will cast you into the cycle of reincarnation. The truth will be revealed naturally—on the day of the final tribulation."
In the blink of an eye! Just as Mithra was about to make his move, Guanyin finally used her supernatural powers to shout at the other bodhisattvas and deities: "Why haven't you made your move yet!"
Everyone present was a first-rate god, and under the sudden shock of this divine power, they immediately broke free from the oppressive aura. In an instant, countless attacks were unleashed from their hands, raining down on Mithra, clearly determined to "annihilate first and ask questions later." Regardless of Mithra's true intentions, their priority was to use their numerical advantage to wipe him out in one fell swoop!
However, this time, the human wave tactic failed to work.
The countless attacks had the power to shatter the Earth four times over.
However, Mithra didn't even need to open his eyes; he simply raised his hand, one finger pointing to the sky and the other to the ground, and replied:
"Past and future, all are within my sight."
"I am the only one in heaven and under heaven."
402: Everyone longs for light.
"Past and future, all are within my sight."
"I am the only one in heaven and under heaven."
One finger points to the sky, the other to the earth.
Mithra made the announcement calmly.
In an instant, a golden sphere, cracked and fragmented, seemingly composed of countless irregular pieces, yet surprisingly perfectly round, appeared in the very center of this dark universe, emerging from behind Mithra.
Boundless radiance shines in all directions, with golden mandalas and various colored runes and patterns emerging, like the foundation from which all things are conceived and born.
The sphere of light, full of cracks and breaks, yet giving a perfect image, seems to encompass all things in the universe, symbolizing everything from the beginning of time to the endless future.
Whether it was the Three Imperial Princesses or the Four Great Gods, all attacks were worn down and dissipated under the immeasurable swastika mandala.
...In other words, there is still a god here who has not yet delivered the decisive blow.
While Mithra was resisting the attacks of the other gods, and while she herself was fixed in front of Mithra herself, Karen finally stabbed Mithra in the face with her finger that reversed time!
Won!