Chapter 424: Doubt
Chapter 424: Questioning
After Lü Yang followed True Person Dangmo out on their escape light, they soon saw the bustling crowd gathered outside the Sword Pavilion's mountain gate.
At the forefront stood an elderly man.
His face was deeply wrinkled, his body hunched, yet he wore monk's robes and held a string of prayer beads, standing silently at the center of the crowd.
'A Buddhist cultivator?'
Lü Yang's heart stirred slightly, but he quickly shook his head, discerning the old man's true nature. He had merely practiced a few Buddhist techniques and recited some scriptures without formal recognition from the Pure Land. Such rogue cultivators were common throughout the world, entirely different from genuine Buddhist practitioners.
'Yet bolder than real ones.'
Observing the old man and the crowd behind him, Lü Yang couldn't help but reflect: What were these background-less rogue cultivators doing gathered at Sword Pavilion's gate?
Rebellion!
'No...not necessarily without backing.'
Under normal circumstances, these people's voices wouldn't even reach True Person Dangmo's ears. There must be puppet masters orchestrating this behind the scenes!
'True Person Quexie and Buddhist Son Guangming? They move this quickly?'
Understanding dawned on Lü Yang. Rogue cultivators causing trouble at Sword Pavilion's gate wasn't because the sect respected them—it was because someone within Sword Pavilion needed this chaos!
But this was just taking advantage of True Person Dangmo's nature. As the world's foremost sword cultivator, he actually came out personally to meet a group of rogue cultivators. If this happened at the Saint Sect, these people would have evaporated on the spot, their souls sent to the Refinement Secret Realm to contribute to the disciples' cultivation.
"Shiyuan...you've aged."
True Person Dangmo landed his escape light before the old man, frowning slightly at his monastic attire before sighing:
"It seems the aftereffects from back then remain severe."
"Have you revived your desire to join the Pure Land?"
As he spoke, True Person Dangmo reached out as if to pat his shoulder, but his expression froze abruptly the next moment.
Because the old man stepped back.
True Person Dangmo's hand hung suspended in midair as his eyes met the old man's furious gaze. A questioning roar erupted in his ears:
"Ye Guangji!"
The old man trembled—whether from fear or timidity—yet resolutely raised his head and directly uttered True Person Dangmo's personal name.
"I ask you! Was that drop of Buddha's blood that fell into Jimo City back then because of your battle with a Pure Land virtuous one? You slew that virtuous one but deliberately let the Buddha's blood fall on my Jimo City, then used it as pretext to massacre my entire city's residents...isn't that the truth of what happened!?"
The old man's words struck like thunder from the mountains.
Lü Yang stood beside True Person Dangmo, watching as the crowd behind the old man turned scrutinizing, accusatory gazes toward them.
Yet Lü Yang remained unmoved.
After all, Jimo City was merely a rogue cultivator faction—only Mo Shiyuan, this old Foundation Establishment True Person, with the rest being mere Qi Refining cultivators.
Not even fully human—why bother caring?
While Lü Yang remained indifferent, True Person Dangmo's expression changed. He exhaled deeply, his face showing helplessness:
"That matter back then wasn't my doing. There were hidden circumstances."
With another sigh, he continued: "My battle with Jingguan—though I took her head and severed her form—wasn't easily won."
As said before, he wasn't a True Lord.
The limit for the world's top Foundation Establishment cultivator was beheading a Buddhist Son in three sword strikes. Three strikes implied a process—that both sides had room to exchange techniques.
If it were a Golden Core True Lord, would it be like this?
Unless the World-Honored One descended personally, any mere Buddhist Son—no matter how miraculous—could be crushed with one hand!
True Person Dangmo couldn't achieve that. He still needed three strikes, meaning some things remained beyond his control—like a single drop of Buddha's blood from Jingguan.
"The Jimo City incident was indeed caused by that drop of Buddha's blood. It contained Pure Land's wicked dharma and conversion chants, infecting all who saw or heard it, transforming them into Buddhist cultivators. Without intervention, Jimo City and surrounding regions might have become a minor Pure Land."
Had she succeeded, even in death, the Pure Land's goal would have been achieved.
Moreover, since the Pure Land had already negotiated terms with the various True Lords, Sword Pavilion's True Lords didn't intervene.
For True Person Dangmo, it could even have been spun positively afterward—framed as Buddhist cultivators causing chaos that he suppressed to avenge the dead.
Yet True Person Dangmo refused.
He hadn't come to avenge the dead.
He came to save people.
So with just his sword, he beheaded Jimo City's entire population, severing the Pure Land's influence and restoring their rationality.
At this point, True Person Dangmo looked puzzled:
"I explained this to you back then, Shiyuan. Your kin and friends didn't die. Didn't you visit and reminisce with them in recent years?"
"Not dead?"
The old man's eyes reddened instantly: "I was deceived by you! If you dare, open your storage pouch and let everyone see!"
True Person Dangmo nodded calmly, then removed his storage pouch and loosened its ties. Instantly, a tidal wave of human voices emerged from within—countless heads separated into various circles, chatting happily without any aura of death or sorrow.
Yet the more normal it appeared, the more eerie it became.
Even after seeing this multiple times, Lü Yang still felt his scalp prickle, let alone the rogue cultivators behind the old man, who recoiled in terror.
"Everyone, look!"
"Do you consider these living people?"
The old man's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he growled: "People die without hearts. These have nothing below their necks—can such beings still call themselves alive?"
"How are they not alive?" True Person Dangmo looked genuinely confused. With a wave, he summoned the beheaded residents of Jimo City: "You spoke with them recently. Without Foundation Establishment and sustained by my magic power, they remain unchanged after all these years..."
"You lie!"
The old man interrupted sharply, his voice hoarse: "I received guidance from a virtuous one long ago—these people exist between life and death, effectively your puppets!"
"Claiming salvation while practicing enslavement."
"All those you've killed appear alive, yet suffer punishments worse than death—forever bound as your accomplices!"
Lü Yang: "..."
Growing more agitated, the old man stomped his foot: "Besides, how could the Pure Land—a foremost benevolent place—require your rescue? Had you not interfered, I might now be cultivating Buddhism there, attaining Buddhahood and eternal bliss! Instead, I still suffer in this mortal dust!"
"You severed our mortal path to Buddha-hood, then took our lives."
"What No Killing? Merely reputation-hunting!"
Reputation-hunting!
As the old man finished, the crowd behind him erupted in shouts.
To Lü Yang, these voices were but gentle breezes—utterly insignificant. Yet to True Person Dangmo's ears, they drew a heavy sigh.
This sigh wasn't for the old man or Jimo City.
As the world's premier sword cultivator, True Person Dangmo had an amiable and approachable nature—yet this didn't make him weak-willed.
Accusations that didn't faze Lü Yang...
Though they affected him, they wouldn't shake his resolve.
'Shiyuan isn't well-informed. For him to know about my storage pouch and these details...likely came from within Sword Pavilion.'
This indirectly confirmed Lü Yang's earlier report.
That was the true reason for his sigh.
'So impatient?'
'So eager for me to sacrifice this lifelong-cultivated sword intent?'