Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Jiangbei is Too Dangerous
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The emergence of the [Scripture of Taking Refuge in the True Dharma] instantly opened up new avenues of thought for Lu Yang.
In his view, there was nothing particularly special about this scripture. The initiative lay entirely with the Pure Land side—whether it worked or not depended wholly on whether the Pure Land was willing to respond.
With that in mind, he immediately summoned a Qi Refining disciple.
He handed the scripture over to him.
After all, the Pure Land scriptures were always laced with something sinister—who knew what hidden dangers they might carry? He certainly wasn't going to recite it himself.
Better to leave it to a reliable underling.
Next, he began setting up formations around the Qi Refining disciple: Trapping Spirit Array, Soul Locking Array. Layer upon layer of array patterns enveloped the disciple completely.
Finally, Lu Yang executed a divine ability.
"[Star Hidden Glory]!"
This divine ability perfectly concealed causality and auras. Under its veil, all the formations were hidden away, making everything appear perfectly normal at a glance.
That's right—he was going fishing!
The [Scripture of Taking Refuge in the True Dharma] could summon a divine sense projection from a Pure Land venerable. To use such a treasure just for converting to the Pure Land was a complete waste!
At this thought, Lu Yang sighed with emotion.
"The demon cultivators of Jiangbei have such poor standards! Their thinking is so narrow. They say one becomes red from rubbing against vermilion, black from ink—yet after all this time under the Saint Sect's rule, these demon cultivators haven't picked up even a shred of the Saint Sect's mindset? Rotten wood can't be carved!"
A divine sense from a Pure Land venerable.
Equivalent to a split soul thought from a Great Cultivator. It could be used in pill refining to create top-tier soul-nourishing elixirs or in artifact forging to greatly enhance a treasure's spirituality.
"If I snag a few and feed them to the Avici Sword, it might even evolve once more!"
Even the Avici Sword's original owner, Blood Demon Perfected Being, had only been at late Foundation Establishment back in the day—same level as the Pure Land venerables.
Thus, the materials he used to sacrifice and refine the Avici Sword were all mid- or early-stage Foundation Establishment Perfected Beings weaker than himself.
As for Great Cultivators, the Avici Sword hadn't tasted one yet!
One could imagine: if it devoured several strands of divine sense from Pure Land venerables to sacrifice to the sword, it would surely gain a massive boost!
It might even manifest an extra wondrous ability!
Energized by the idea, Lu Yang grew even more motivated.
Soon, everything was ready. At Lu Yang's signal, the Qi Refining disciple tremblingly began reciting the [Scripture of Taking Refuge in the True Dharma].
"Whoosh!"
In the next instant, a beam of Buddhist light slowly emerged amid his chanting, unfurling like a peacock's tail to reveal a vast, boundless Pure Land vista. At its center hovered a lotus dais, upon which sat a dharma body of solemn splendor, possessing all thirty-two auspicious marks.
'Got it!'
Hidden in the shadows, Lu Yang's face lit up with excitement. He immediately activated his spell, and the surrounding countless Trapping Spirit and Soul Locking Arrays sprang to life, firmly ensnaring the dharma body!
"Amitabha. This poor monk is [Vimalakirti Venerable One]. Hm?"
The dharma body froze before it could finish speaking, realizing that its divine sense had just manifested—and was instantly severed from the main body.
'This is bad!'
The thought had barely formed when a silent, colorless, formless spell sword drifted lightly into the back of its head, piercing straight through from the brow.
Rip!
In the next second, Lu Yang slew the [Vimalakirti Venerable One]'s divine sense with a single sword stroke. He carefully gathered up the dissipating strands of divine sense.
"Get another one. Any captives from Treasure Dividing Cliff?"
With experience from the first time, the second went even more smoothly. Lu Yang even optimized the bait by using a Qi Refining disciple from Many Treasures Child's sect.
This made it far more believable.
At that moment, in a mountain forest in Jiangbei.
"Pah!"
A spurt of hot blood erupted, evaporating upon hitting the ground. A white-haired old monk gazed warily toward the direction of the [Qing Nation], his face full of dread.
Something was wrong!
A chill ran through Vimalakirti Venerable One's heart. Lu Yang not believing he could restrain the [Great Virtue Bright Kings] was no coincidence—how could he himself fail to sense the trickery?
First, the three [Great Virtue Bright Kings] he had meticulously crafted had run headlong into their nemesis, achieving nothing and even backlashing him with minor injuries.
Then, he sensed someone reciting the [Scripture of Taking Refuge in the True Dharma], seemingly only at Qi Refining—likely a subordinate developed by Many Treasures. To scout the battlefield situation in [Qing Nation], he dispatched a strand of divine sense, only for it to go dark the moment it arrived.
".I was set up!"
At the realization, Vimalakirti Venerable One dared no longer dream of converting Lu Yang. Jiangbei felt like a massive pit right now.
But in the next second, another sensation arose.
"Someone else calling me?"
Vimalakirti Venerable One grew puzzled. A quick probe revealed it was the same as before: a Qi Refining disciple, with nothing amiss nearby.
"This one..seems to be Many Treasures' disciple?"
After several probes, Vimalakirti Venerable One's eyes lit up. "Many Treasures joined the Pure Land early on—his disciple should be trustworthy."
With that, he dispatched another strand of divine sense.
On the other end, Lu Yang rejoiced and reeled it in.
".Gone again?"
Another divine sense severed—Vimalakirti Venerable One felt his mind blur. Though the loss was trivial to him, it was downright insulting.
Do they think I'm an idiot?
Moments later, yet another sensation arrived. This time, Vimalakirti Venerable One decided to go all out, projecting a Foundation Establishment-level divine sense!
"I'll see who—"
Boom!
On the other side, Lu Yang was stunned that the opposing Pure Land venerable had fallen for it again. Without a word, he activated the arrays to capture it.
In the next instant, the projected divine sense went dark once more. Vimalakirti Venerable One staggered—already weakened from the backlash of his empowerment secret art, now losing divine senses in succession, including a major one. This time, it truly hurt his foundations.
But it also snapped him awake.
".Something's off! Why would I do something so stupid, damaging my own cultivation..losing merit and fortune, my spiritual platform clouded—I've been tainted by calamity qi!?"
Vimalakirti Venerable One hurriedly sat cross-legged.
Verses from the *Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Scripture* flowed from his lips, purifying his spiritual platform and swiftly suppressing the stray thoughts that had arisen.
Yet doubts still filled his heart.
When did it start?
He hadn't done anything to forfeit merit—no heavenly punishment should have come. How could calamity qi suddenly cloud his mind? It defied all reason!
'No, it might not be calamity qi—could be other causes. A True Lord could pull off something similar. But with bodhisattvas watching, how could I fall victim..unless the perpetrator isn't a bodhisattva? Peak Foundation Establishment? No—must be more! Likely a supreme treasure tied to causality as well?'
The more Vimalakirti Venerable One thought, the more terrified he became.
'Jiangbei is too dangerous..I need to return to the Pure Land!'
At the thought, Vimalakirti Venerable One moved to stand—when a hand reached out cordially, steadying him.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Vimalakirti Venerable One's body went rigid.
What just happened?
Heaven and earth as witness—he was a Pure Land venerable, a Great Arhat. Returning to the Pure Land took but a thought. Why stand up?
And whose hand was that?
Vimalakirti turned to look behind him. A pair of eyes, suffused with golden light—faint yet undimmed, like temple lamps—met his gaze.
(End of Chapter)