Buzz!
As this combined golden light pillar shot into the great gate, countless figures were pulled out by a great force.
Clearly, these were all contestants who had not manifested a Buddha image.
Within the great gate, in the Buddhist field.
After the contestants who had not manifested a Buddha image were eliminated, the remaining contestants also opened their eyes.
Golden light emanated from each of them. In their gazes at each other, there was a sense of comparison. However, most eyes eventually shifted to a bald man sitting on the cushion on the east side.
Five beams of golden light appeared on his person.
This person was Ananda, the contestant who had manifested the fifth level of the Buddha image.
Ananda paid no mind to the gazes of others. His slightly closed eyes seemed to be continuing their contemplation.
"This person's Buddhist nature seems very strong. Having manifested five levels of Buddha images in the first stage, his Buddhist nature has likely surpassed everyone present," Li Xuan also looked towards Ananda's location, murmuring to himself before his gaze swept around.
Upon looking, most people had one or two layers of golden light. To Li Xuan's surprise, He Shuqian actually had three layers of golden light.
However, Li Xuan had no particular thoughts about this. Although this was the final, only the top one thousand would enter the final ten. If he were to consider them as opponents now, Li Xuan had no such intention.
Moreover, for himself, if he had not abandoned his rejection of Buddhism on the fifth day, he would likely not have succeeded in understanding the Buddhist path.
Besides, Li Liqing, who had fought with Li Xuan and resulted in the Golden Wheel Buddha expounding a draw, surprisingly also had four layers of golden light. And when Li Xuan's gaze fell upon him, Li Liqing happened to be looking at Li Xuan as well. Their eyes met, and they both nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"Congratulations to you all for successfully entering the second stage of contemplative competition. However, whether you can enter the third stage still depends on your individual understanding of the Buddhist path. The second stage also lasts for ten days."
"Although the minimum requirement to enter the third stage is three layers of Buddha images, the more layers of Buddha images manifested, the easier the pressure will be in the third stage. Everyone, whether you can enter the top thousand depends on your own abilities."
The voice of the Golden Wheel Buddha suddenly rang out, and everyone became solemn upon hearing it. As the Golden Wheel Buddha's words fell, many gazes turned to Ananda again. After all, Ananda, who already had five layers of golden light, was undoubtedly ahead of everyone else.
Moreover, it was not difficult to infer from the Golden Wheel Buddha's words that Ananda would naturally face the least pressure in the third stage.
Of course, many eyes also appraised Li Xuan and Li Liqing, who had four layers of golden light. Most of these gazes came from contestants with three layers of Buddha images.
After all, in the third stage, they could not surpass Ananda and the others, so their targets naturally fell on Li Xuan and the like, who had manifested the fourth layer of Buddha images.
Buzz.
After a brief silence, a buzzing sound suddenly echoed in the air. Then, three resplendent golden characters condensed.
"Where is Buddha?"
Upon the appearance of these three characters, many contestants paused, exchanged glances, and then closed their eyes in contemplation. Clearly, the contemplation of this second stage was to ponder this question.
Li Xuan, who also had doubts, after thinking carefully for a moment, a hint of enlightenment appeared in his eyes, and he also closed his eyes.
"Golden Wheel Buddha, how many people do you think will be able to comprehend the truth of this question in the second stage?" Guanyin Bodhisattva asked the Golden Wheel Buddha with a glint in his eyes as he watched many contestants in the Buddhist field begin to contemplate.
The Golden Wheel Buddha smiled upon hearing this: "Buddha is in the heart, and the heart is in the Buddha; this is self-understanding. Each contestant's understanding of the Buddhist path is different, and their understanding will naturally differ. However, I am optimistic about Ananda, as he has been enlightened by the Buddha. His understanding will surely not be bad."
Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded slightly upon hearing this, and his gaze also shifted to Ananda within the great gate, waiting.
"Where is Buddha?"
"In Buddhism, all are Buddhist practitioners. Cultivators of Buddhism are naturally extremely devout. And this Buddha truly exists, yet now one asks where the Buddha is. This question seems simple, yet it is extremely complex."
After thinking for a moment, Li Xuan couldn't help but shake his head. His understanding of the Buddhist path was still too one-sided. He had only learned about Buddhism from others. To use this to gain enlightenment would be difficult.
"It seems that the second stage of enlightenment is not meant for me," Li Xuan said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
Li Xuan knew very little about Buddhist matters along the way. He had never interacted with Buddhist practitioners at all. Now, to comprehend what Buddha is and where Buddha is, seemed as difficult as climbing to heaven.
However, Li Xuan was quite at ease at this moment. Since he could not comprehend Buddha, he decided to let it go. In his leisure time, Li Xuan's gaze fell on Ananda. He saw that on the bald Ananda's head, a layer of golden light had already manifested.
Clearly, Ananda's manifested Buddha image was already beginning to condense towards the sixth level.
"The local contestants still have some advantage," Li Xuan said with a wry smile, shaking his head. Then, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate.
Many contestants, like Li Xuan, were from other continents. Many of them wore expressions of distress. They were gradually becoming dissatisfied with the final stage's test of comprehension.
After all, they had little contact with Buddhist practitioners, so it was understandable that they found it difficult to comprehend.
However, despite their dissatisfaction, no one made any moves at this moment. After all, this was one of the three pure lands of Buddhism, and with twelve supreme experts present, any movement would likely be met with immediate suppression, or even death.
Time gradually passed, and in the blink of an eye, seven days had passed in the second ten-day period. During these seven days, contestants broke through one after another. The number of Buddha images manifested also mostly exceeded the entry requirement for the third stage.
However, after reaching the requirement, these contestants continued to ponder, clearly wanting to manifest more. Among them, Ananda, who was the most outstanding, stopped after manifesting the sixth level.
At this moment, Li Xuan, who had just completed one cycle of cultivation, also suddenly opened his eyes. His aura quickly appeared and then instantly retracted into his body.
As soon as Li Xuan looked up, he found a gaze full of meaning looking at him. Upon looking closer, it was Ananda.
Li Xuan was somewhat surprised. He and Ananda had no past grievances, nor had they ever even interacted. And Ananda's gaze at this moment left Li Xuan bewildered.
"The heavens are vast, the sea of clouds is deep, Buddhism is home. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are sentiments of compassion. Starlight and moonlight are the calamities of all things. The heart is in the Buddha, emotions are at peace. Buddha is in the heart, love is boundless. Benefactor, meeting is destiny. I hope you can find enlightenment."
"Buddha saves the world, and I am willing to save you, Benefactor. I hope that in the future, when facing all sentient beings, you can let go. Amitabha, good is good."
A voice suddenly rang out in Li Xuan's mind. The voice was slightly smooth and ancient, as if it had seen through all the vicissitudes of human life. Li Xuan was startled, and when he looked at Ananda again, the latter had already closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Li Xuan could only look away. However, Ananda's voice in his mind repeatedly echoed.
Gradually, a hint of enlightenment appeared in Li Xuan's eyes, and he slowly closed his eyes.