Chapter 524
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Buddha Repair
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“[Buddha Repair]?”
Lu Yang furrowed his brows. Yet Xiao Shan continued,
“It means repairing the Buddha in the literal sense. That demon monk was cradling a damaged Buddha statue in his hands.”
“He claimed that anyone who could help him restore the statue would receive gifts ranging from spiritual treasures down to spiritual materials—techniques and divine abilities included. No restrictions on cultivation: Foundation Establishment True Persons could try, Qi Refining cultivators could try, even mortals without any cultivation could give it a shot.”
“The border garrison commanders at the time had iron wills, so nothing came of it.”
“But some soldiers got ideas. They wanted to seize the so-called opportunity. The moment they patched a single corner of the statue... they ascended in broad daylight!”
Shock flickered in Xiao Shan’s eyes as he lowered his voice.
“It was true ascension in broad daylight, right before everyone’s eyes. All of them saw that lowly third-layer Qi Refining foot soldier transform straight into a Foundation Establishment True Person!”
The scene erupted in an instant.
Repair a Buddha statue, blink of an eye—Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment. Even the Dao Court wasn’t this outrageous! Official Foundation Establishment posts came with cultivation thresholds too!
The situation spiraled out of control in no time.
“Mortals, Qi Refining cultivators, even Foundation Establishment veterans stuck without promotions—more and more threw themselves in, helping that demon monk repair the Buddha...”
Lu Yang cut him off right there.
“And now? What’s the situation now?”
Xiao Shan looked lost for a moment, then murmured,
“Half an hour ago, the border report was still a dire emergency on the scale of a million flames...”
“...But now? It’s over. Nothing to worry about.”
Lu Yang’s face darkened at those words. Xiao Shan produced a jade slip.
“This is the final transmitted image.”
Lu Yang pointed at it without delay.
In the next instant, a nauseating sight assaulted him—a vast sea of pale, quivering flesh.
At first glance, it looked like a herd of breeding swine.
Closer inspection revealed... people.
Piled in a writhing mass, men and women indistinguishable, utterly exposed, every face beaming with serene compassion.
At the center, ringed by the heap, sat the shattered Buddha statue: face marred, limbs fractured, chest a gaping void scooped hollow. Even the lotus pedestal was missing petals—one here, none there—a miracle it hadn’t toppled already.
Then the crowd stirred.
They clambered aboard the [Buddha statue] without a second thought, without hesitation, patching its every flaw with their own flesh and blood.
Some burrowed into the lotus throne, propping up the great Buddha with their bodies.
Some crawled inside the statue, becoming its lungs and guts.
Some scaled the face, forming its eyes, nose, and mouth.
“Oh god...” Xiao Shan squeezed his eyes shut. Lu Yang and Chongguang both grimaced.
The heaped flesh wove together in that moment, crafting a scene of raw horror. Worse still... it actually took shape.
“Amitabha!”
A grand Buddha chant boomed. The [Buddha statue]’s lips and teeth—forged from countless bodies—parted slowly. The voice rang out like a million echoes in chorus.
The next instant, the flesh melted away.
The grotesque vision vanished clean. Everyone who’d filled the statue merged into it seamlessly. Yet the Buddha remained as broken as before.
Only then did Lu Yang spot the figure beneath: a fresh-faced novice monk, lips red, teeth white—the familiar Guang Ming. But unlike his previous life, this Guang Ming bore no trace of his old self. Speech, mannerisms—all another person entirely.
“Still not enough...”
A hollow sigh drifted from the recording, cutting off sharp. Xiao Shan’s face twisted in undisguised terror.
“Your Majesty, decide swiftly.”
“Contact’s been lost with more and more places.”
“All ten border cities followed the pattern: urgent military alert for aid, then ‘situation resolved.’ Plenty more like it.”
Xiao Shan sighed in helpless defeat.
“The news has spread through Tianwu City now. Rebels are calling Your Majesty the World-Honored One incarnate—an inside job to wipe out all Jiangdong.”
Lu Yang rose with a flick of his sleeve before the words even landed.
“Let’s go see for ourselves.”
He had to admit, the World-Honored One moved faster than expected. From the anomaly’s outbreak in Jiangdong... how long? Not even an hour!
‘From another angle, the World-Honored One’s getting desperate.’
But not desperate enough.
If truly unhinged, it wouldn’t be a Buddha child descending. It’d be like the previous life’s [城头土] crisis—the World-Honored One personally possessing a vessel.
‘So the five-thousand-year taboo’s secret isn’t all that critical to him. At worst, the informed are variables—not enough to uproot his foundation. He’s just shameless and paranoid, zero tolerance for loose ends.’
Regardless, it ends now.
‘Whatever scheme this [Buddha Repair] hides, stop it cold. Perfect chance to scout his other cards too.’
Plus, the fool charged into Jiangdong solo. Failing to pile on would dishonor Lu Yang’s lifetimes honing arts in the Primal Saint Sect.
With that, he turned to Chongguang.
“Fellow Daoist, care to join me?”
Chongguang nodded.
“Duty calls.”
In a flash, the pair unleashed escape lights, soaring on void winds, streaking to Jiangdong’s fringe—a barren wilds devoid of human trace.
What met their eyes was a bizarre spectacle.
Leading the way: Guang Ming in novice guise, draped in kasaya robes. One hand gripped a nine-ring Zen staff, the other toyed with milky-white prayer beads.
Behind trailed the statue from the recording—patched further now. The lotus seat stood whole, petals gleaming translucent, sunlight rippling pure golden luster across them.
Abruptly, Guang Ming looked up.
He flashed a toothy grin, teeth dazzling white in the sun. His voice rolled in from the clouds.
“Why linger in the clouds, watching from afar, donors?”
“This monk walks in the light—no secrets from the world. Come closer if you wish to see. I’m no miser.”
Lu Yang nearly choked. You, no miser?
Everyone knew: Jiangxi’s World-Honored One—shameless to the core. Stingiest of the Four Dao Lords, forever cozying up to the rabble!
Exposed now, no point hiding. Lu Yang dropped his light, blocking the Buddha child’s path dead-on.
“Fellow Daoist, your path carves rivers of blood.”
Guang Ming blinked in genuine surprise.
“Such a thing occurred?”
“This monk came to Jiangdong solely for [Buddha Repair]. Those I met were all virtuous souls—warm hosts, eager to aid. Who’d have thought wicked folk would stir trouble!”
Lu Yang stood dumbfounded. Good grief—who said the World-Honored One skipped Sword Pavilion? That pious innocence mirrored the sword seeds perfectly. Yet since crossing into Jiangdong, ten cities stood empty. Even sparse border haunts tallied millions!
Not that Lu Yang cared for the body count.
The issue: Dao Court officials dead, posts unrecovered! Swallowing them was one thing—swallowing their ranks too?
Grave matter.
“At this point, why kid yourself, fellow Daoist?”
Chongguang sneered from the side.
“Killing’s killing. Own it. Sneaking around like Sword Pavilion’s lot? Pointless.”
Guang Ming’s face shifted.
“Absurd!”
“This monk’s [Buddha Repair] in Jiangdong treads the kingly path. How could I harm lives? Jiangbei fiends—cease your slander of my orthodox dharma!”
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