Chapter 437
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: Unknown
Chapter Title: Great Dragon River
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Great Dragon River.
For this great river that divided the east, west, south, and north into four regions, Lu Yang had long been curious about it yet never laid eyes on it until now.
Gazing out, this side was Jiangnan, that side Jiangxi—yet what lay between them was no seawater, but waves of [Two Forms Birth-Death Profound Light] that annihilated all things, surging and roiling as if ready to devour everything whole. Even a Qi Refining disciple would evaporate upon mere approach!
'What Great Dragon River—clearly a sea of otherworldly light!'
In that instant, Lu Yang recalled the sight from his prior return. This forsaken place was actually stitched together from five realm-heavens!
'But evidently, the stitching fell short of perfection.'
'Otherwise, how could I spot the seams? This Great Dragon River marks the rift between the five realm-heavens, proof they have yet to fully merge.'
Just then, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling spoke up.
"Past this point lies Jiangxi Pure Land ahead. I trouble you to journey with me this time—and later, to carry my relics back from the Pure Land."
Lu Yang fell silent at his words.
"Master, why must you come to the Pure Land?"
He had harbored this doubt for ages. Strictly speaking, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling bore no grudge against the Pure Land, which counted among the righteous paths.
And from his demeanor, it seemed Perfected Being Demon-Quelling had come to the Pure Land to die. Yet if so, did he lack confidence in manifesting his [Sword Dao Fruit Position]? What then was there to fear? Achieve True Lord status outright, swing his sword wildly—who under heaven could stand against him?
"Curious, are you?"
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling chuckled lightly.
"Truth be told, there's naught I can't share. This is my tribulation. I enter the Pure Land to settle it."
'Tribulation?'
Lu Yang pondered silently.
Meanwhile, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling pressed on.
"My roots ran deep from youth—a touch arrogant in my salad days. First life, foundation built with ease. Aimed straight for the Great Dao, vowed to claim True Lord rank amid the heavens."
Here, a shadow flickered deep in Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's gaze.
"L ater... certain upheavals forced me to sword dao. Rage and bitterness boiled within, yet I dared not show it—vowed instead to excel there too. Down the mountain I went for trials, set on forging supreme sword intent."
As he spoke, Perfected Being Demon-Quelling stepped into the Great Dragon River.
No divine arts or spells invoked—just [All-Slaying Sword Intent] unfurled, cleaving a straight path through the raging torrent.
Lu Yang hurried after him.
"And during those trials, I met a mortal. An ordinary tutor under a mundane Jiangnan realm."
"I was thunderstruck."
"A mere mortal, fragile as grass—yet upon him, I sensed [Sword Intent]. A mortal had forged sword intent!"
Lu Yang froze at the revelation.
His gut reaction: impossible. Mortal birthing sword intent? Like hitching a pony to a war chariot—even if born, instant rupture!
Put another way—
'It's a trap!'
Beaten down time and again in this godforsaken realm, Lu Yang had honed hair-trigger wariness. Anything defying reason screamed suspicion!
'Eight in ten chance: snare!'
His face shifted subtly—all noted by Perfected Being Demon-Quelling, who laughed.
"You're far warier than I was. I gave it little thought back then."
"The mortal had just forged his sword intent as I passed—overwhelmed, his frail flesh buckled. Folk deemed it dire illness, death imminent. I intervened, saved him. We conversed with delight, struck up friendship."
"And his sword intent..."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's eyes softened with reminiscence.
"...was [Not Killing]."
"Back then, my path severed, malice choked my chest—hence [All-Slaying]."
"But [All-Slaying] raged too fierce."
"By name, it slays all—foe and self alike. Each wield killed enemies, scarred me. My friend urged me to set it aside."
"In its stead, he passed me [Not Killing]."
Lu Yang's brows arched. Sword intent: a cultivator's singular obsession. How pass it on?
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling caught the doubt, smiled.
"Then, I hungered for the world's peerless sword dao. A second intent offered? Pure gain. Why refuse? Why doubt? I embraced it gladly—and it served me well thereafter."
[Not Killing] and [All-Slaying].
Polar opposites, yet complementary—each other's whetstone. Longer the grind, fiercer the edge!
"Injustice stirred [All-Slaying] to life."
"Then [Not Killing] reined it back... So [Not Killing] waxed strong, [All-Slaying] tempered and amassed."
The proverb held: fine steel from relentless forge.
Such honed intent—who rivaled it under heaven? Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's crown as supreme sword cultivator stemmed eight parts thence!
Yet principles of the world: borrow demands return.
[Not Killing Sword Intent] plucked from another, ripened long in Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's grasp—like leeks at harvest. Who wouldn't reap?
Lu Yang divined it.
"That mortal... hailed from the Pure Land?"
"Indeed."
Perfected Being Demon-Quelling nodded.
"More precisely: a Buddha's son. No dharma image—born for me, descended for me."
With that, he rummaged his storage pouch, withdrew Jing Guan's severed head.
"This one, who plagued Jiangnan, fell to my blade. Belike deliberate—the Pure Land's one testing my mettle, gauging if I met his mark."
"Amitabha."
In Perfected Being Demon-Quelling's grasp, Jing Guan's features shone serene, lips intoning the Buddha's call.
"This poor nun foretold it: donor bears awakened mind—meet for our Pure Land."
"This—"
Lu Yang's brows knotted.
"Ancestor Master—do you just stand by?"
Where was Sword Pavilion's Ancestor Master? Intervene! [Sword Dao Fruit Position] hung in balance—save him now!
'Little friend, you cling to form.'
Jing Guan smiled faintly.
"Think you we seize by force? Pluck from Sword Lord's jaws, earn Sword Pavilion's ire?"
Was it not?
"The reverse!"
Jing Guan expounded.
"Ponder, little friend: sans [Not Killing], how hone Demon-Quelling donor's [All-Slaying] to this pinnacle?"
"World Honored One's acts ever mutual boon."
"[Sword Dao Fruit Position] rules slaughter, roots in [All-Slaying]. [Not Killing] from World Honored One: outer dross thereto."
"Donor enters our Pure Land, offers body to sword. Twin intents: [Sword Dao Fruit Position] from [All-Slaying]—we claim not a whit. Reclaim only our old gift [Not Killing]. Resculpt donor golden form as Pure Land guardian Arhat; henceforth, Bodhisattva fruition awaits."
"No harm befalls any."
"Sword Pavilion reaps true gain; our Pure Land vast profit. Demon-Quelling donor claims righteous fruit, basks eternal bliss and ease."
"All rejoice, no?"
Her merry laughter rang through the Great Dragon River—chilling Lu Yang to the marrow.
'What all rejoice... Nay, it predestines Demon-Quelling True Person's life and afterlife—devours whole, leaves not a crumb!'
He had to concede: each time he gauged this realm's baseline, its titans shattered it anew with deeds.
Bottomless, they were!
"Rumble!"
Abruptly, thunderous boom from beyond the Great Dragon River. Lu Yang realized: Perfected Being Demon-Quelling had led him into Jiangxi bounds.
Buddha light bathed all in sight.
"Amitabha."
Shoreward, an elder monk beamed, palms pressed, trailed by milling mortals—piety etched on every face.
"Thump!"
Instantly, the assemblage knelt low, great礼 proffered.
"Hail [Veda Heaven Demon-Quelling Arhat]—turns measureless kalpas, star-bright past wisdom reborn—now returned to the Glazed World."
"Well done!"
"Well done!"