495: With Heaven as witness, seated in the high hall, Buddha is married.

White Lotus widened her eyes even further, her face turning crimson: "You... what nonsense are you talking about! I haven't even agreed to marry Linger yet!!"

Only the Monkey King and little Nezha, one scratching his cheek and the other covering their mouth while snickering, had expressions that said "as expected" and "there's a good show to watch."

No Heaven sat atop the black lotus, his face as calm as water, seemingly not noticing the strange looks from his subordinates, only repeating:

"Did you not hear clearly? Arrange the hall, prepare the wedding robes, and perform the marriage ceremony."

Black Robe shuddered and quickly bowed: "Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"

Although he completely failed to understand the Buddha's intentions, an order was an order.

He quickly selected several clever demonic generals and hurried down to make the arrangements.

The Demonic Path's efficiency was extremely high, or rather, under No Heaven's cold gaze, no one dared to delay in the slightest.

In just half a day, the Mahavira Hall of Spirit Mountain was already decorated with lanterns and streamers.

Large red "Double Happiness" characters were hung high! It was indescribably solemn and serious!

In the Abyss of Darkness, Lu Jiuyuan's reclining posture remained unchanged, but the wisp of purple Qi at his fingertips, reflecting the Three Realms, flickered slightly.

He watched the solemn yet festive decorations of Spirit Mountain presented within the purple Qi, his grin widening until he finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Hahaha, how fun, how fun. How can such a wonderful event happen without my witnessing it!"

"The Buddha getting married—truly earth-shattering!"

"For such a lively scene, I shall be the witness! Tathagata, oh Tathagata, this romance of yours is truly enough to move heaven and earth!"

Spirit Mountain, the Wedding Hall.

The festive atmosphere reached its peak.

Melodious music, a festive ambiance!

Dressed in bright red wedding robes and having their movements immobilized by a Spell Restriction, Qiao Linger and White Lotus were "supported" on either side by Black Robe and Giant Scorpion, standing in the center of the wedding hall.

Qiao Linger's face was ruddy, and White Lotus's pretty face was flushed crimson! Although both felt it was inappropriate to marry here, they loved each other and didn't have much resistance.

"First bow to Heaven and Earth! Er, Heaven isn't here, and Earth isn't here, so skip it!"

"Second bow to the Elders! The Elders aren't here, so skip it!"

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

"Wait! You all are far too lacking in seriousness! How can you be so hasty? So informal?" Lu Jiuyuan's figure appeared in the central-most seat amidst a golden light.

"I am Heaven! In a marriage ceremony, how can there be no ritual of bowing to Heaven?"

"No Heaven, you are older than Tathagata. This body of yours was formed by assimilating the body of the Buddha Mother, the Great Peacock Wisdom Queen. In terms of the body, you can be considered Tathagata's birth mother!

The seat of the Elder shall be occupied by you!"

"Fine!" No Heaven was not at all surprised to see Lu Jiuyuan's arrival. He sat directly in the Elder's seat.

"What are you staring for?" Lu Jiuyuan's eyebrows quirked slightly. "The Elder is here, and Heaven is in me; the etiquette must not be discarded. Black Robe, announce the rites again!"

Black Robe shuddered and looked at No Heaven.

His Black Robes were like ink, forming a bizarre contrast with the piercing red throughout the hall. His pale face bore no expression, only the faint light swirling between his brows revealed that his heart was not as calm as his surface suggested.

He sat with his back straight, his gaze falling upon the pair of red-clad beauties before him, waves seemingly surging deep within his eyes.

Black Robe immediately knew that Buddha No Heaven was looking forward to it!

"This..." Qiao Linger finally struggled to speak through his astonishment. Though restricted, his mind was clear, and at this moment, he felt it was absolutely absurd.

"Lotus and I are mutually in love, but marriage is a major life event. How can it... how can it be such a farce? Especially in this place..."

"A farce?" Lu Jiuyuan chuckled. "Linger, you are mistaken. Buddha No Heaven is personally presiding over your marriage, and the Heavenly Emperor is present as a witness. In the Three Realms, is there any wedding more solemn than this?

As for the location... Spirit Mountain is the source of all Buddhas. Forging a good marriage here is exactly the stuff of legends."

White Lotus was both ashamed and anxious. Although she adored Linger, she instinctively resisted this forced, watched union, especially since the one sitting in the Elder's seat was the Devil Head who had kidnapped Linger and subverted the Three Realms!

"We..." She tried to struggle, but her cultivation was suppressed, and she could not move.

"The auspicious hour has arrived!" Having received No Heaven's silent consent, Black Robe steeled himself and channeled his power, announcing again with a loud but slightly trembling voice:

"First bow... to Heaven and Earth!"

This time, Qiao Linger and White Lotus had no choice. Drawn by an invisible force, they turned toward Lu Jiuyuan and bowed deeply.

Lu Jiuyuan accepted it calmly. A wisp of purple Qi flowed from his fingertips, transforming into two small Dragon and Phoenix jade pendants that fell into the hands of the newlyweds.

"Since you have bowed to me, I cannot accept it for nothing. I bestow upon you the 'Zichen Concentric Pendants.' May you be of one heart and mind, sharing life and death together."

"Second bow... to the Elders!"

The newlyweds turned to face the seated No Heaven.

The atmosphere was stagnant to the extreme during this bow.

No Heaven placed his hands on his knees, coldly watching Qiao Linger bowing below.

The youth who carried the true nature of Tathagata yet had a young and tender face, and the woman beside him with stubborn eyes and a straight posture.

In a daze, he seemed to see another time and space, another place, where a woman named Ashu told him that she would only be his woman from then on.

Those bowing were not Qiao Linger and White Lotus.

They were the Kinnara and Ashu of the past.

It was his obsession that had been crushed and spat upon, yet burned fiercely in the demonic flames.

His throat moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.

He only raised his hand slightly, and a gentle but irresistible force lifted the newlyweds.

Two wisps of pure black Devilish Qi transformed into two rings with restrained black light, sliding onto the fingers of Qiao Linger and White Lotus respectively.

"These are the Concentric Rings." No Heaven's voice was low. "They can protect the Divine Soul from being disturbed by external demons, and allow for thousand-mile voice transmission to call the other to one's side!"

These words had a hidden meaning. Lu Jiuyuan heard them and only smiled even more happily.

"Husband and wife bow to each other!"

The final bow.

Qiao Linger and White Lotus faced each other, seeing their red-clad reflections in each other's eyes, along with the complex emotions that could not be hidden.

The love was real, and the absurdity and oppression of this situation were also real.

Driven by an invisible force, the two slowly bowed to each other.

The moment their heads touched, the pure, suppressed Buddhist nature within Qiao Linger's body seemed to be provoked by this extreme Mortal World emotion and the vast Devilish Qi and Imperial Qi surrounding them, suddenly fluctuating!

A faint layer of golden light appeared around him, and a phantom of a swastika symbol seemed to flash across his forehead!

"Hmm?" Lu Jiuyuan's gaze sharpened.

No Heaven instantly straightened his body, the Devilish Qi beneath his Black Robes faintly surging.

But that fluctuation came and went quickly, as if it were just an illusion.

Qiao Linger raised his head, his gaze still clear and filled with confusion, seemingly unaware of the anomaly within himself.