Chapter 525
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unspecified]
Chapter Title: The Buddha Child's Wager
-----------------------------------------------------------------
On the barren wilderness, Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, spoke with resounding conviction, his entire demeanor radiating righteousness.
Even Chong Guang laughed upon hearing this.
"How's that? Weren't the people of Jiangdong's ten cities killed by you?"
Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, furrowed his brows at those words.
"Donor, do not spout nonsense. How could this monk ever kill? They all came of their own volition to aid this monk in [refining the Buddha]."
"Refining the Buddha... and refining themselves to death?" Chong Guang shot back.
Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, immediately shook his head, his face filled with profound sorrow.
"It was their karmic affinity that proved insufficient. After all, attaining true Buddhahood is no easy feat. Yet this, too, is their blessing."
"You call this a blessing?"
"Is it not?"
Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, tilted his head slightly, his expression utterly solemn.
"They came to [refine the Buddha] precisely because the mortal world is rife with suffering, and they sought the Buddha's aid, did they not?"
"This monk did not force them."
"On the contrary, this monk compensated them. It was all by mutual consent. They simply could not rid themselves of the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion, and thus failed to achieve true Buddhahood."
"But no matter. Though they failed to refine the Buddha, the Buddha now resides in their hearts. In their next life, they shall return to purity and be reborn in the Pure Land, awakening to their true selves. From then on, they will be free from all mortal suffering, basking in supreme bliss and serenity. Tell me, Donor, is this not a blessing?"
With that, Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, looked earnestly toward Lu Yang and Chong Guang.
It was as if he awaited their rebuttal.
But at this sight, Lu Yang and Chong Guang exchanged a glance. Smiles crept across their faces, and divine abilities already coalesced in their palms.
Boom!
In the next instant, a blaze of palatial splendor erupted like roaring flames, interwoven with the phantom of a copper furnace. Layer upon layer, it engulfed Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son.
[Palace of Returning Bounds]!
[Rigid Flame Furnace]!
The two divine abilities crashed down from the sky. Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, merely shook his head.
"I had thought you two Donors might offer profound insights. To think you would stoop to crude violence."
Lu Yang merely sneered at his words.
"I'm too lazy to reason with you. You're not worthy of it."
With that, he unleashed his natal divine ability. The [Chong Li Imperial Decree of Mountains and Seas Chart] blanketed the heavens, its radiant glory blazing like a second sun rising in the sky.
Yet soon, Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply. Whether it was his own divine ability or Chong Guang's, their majestic spells dissolved upon striking Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son—like a clay ox vanishing into the sea. Not a ripple stirred; all were utterly devoured by the ruined Buddha statue behind him.
"Donor, how about a wager?"
Guang Ming's voice emerged from within the [Chong Li Imperial Decree of Mountains and Seas Chart], calm and composed.
"If you win, Donor, I shall lead the Pure Land's myriad arhats in submission to the Dao Court."
"The stake shall be this great Buddha behind me."
"This monk came to Jiangdong solely to [refine the Buddha]. No matter what methods you employ, Donor, so long as you can help this monk complete this Buddha statue, you win."
"If you lose, Donor, there's no need for anything excessive."
"Simply continue aiding this monk in [refining the Buddha] until it is complete. You remain free to come and go as you please, and this monk shall still ensure the Pure Land's arhats submit."
"How about it?"
His response was a streak of brilliant golden light.
'[Bright Sovereign Subduing]!'
This arcane wonder's greatest flaw lay in its need for the mystic light to sweep down, limiting its speed. Even if the foe could not resist, they could still dodge or evade.
Thus, before unleashing it, Lu Yang typically laid elaborate traps—as he had against Empress Xiao previously—to ensure success.
But this time, Lu Yang noted that Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, relied on the ruined Buddha statue behind him and showed no intent to evade. A insidious thought stirred. Outwardly, he activated the divine ability, but secretly he pinched a wondrous spell. Abruptly, the light swept down, drowning Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son.
Divine ability stripping!
In that instant, Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, shuddered violently. Buddhist radiance exploded forth, revealing five figures seated within, forcibly expelled by Lu Yang's divine ability.
Yet he showed no panic. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh.
"Donor, you truly have affinity with my Buddha!"
"Well done!"
"Well done!"
Meanwhile, Lu Yang's eye twitched.
The five figures varied in expression—some vacant, some laughing. One glared with wrathful diamond eyes, another beamed with compassion, one bore a face of suffering, and another resolute determination.
—All were dharma images!
'[Manifest World Phase], [Contemplating World Phase], [Hearing World Phase], [Purifying World Phase], [Abiding World Phase]. Fuck your mother, the World Honored One has truly cast aside all shame!'
In his previous life, Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, wielded but a single [Manifest World Phase], rendering him nigh invincible in Foundation Establishment save against Perfected Being Demon-Quelling. This time, the World Honored One had directly bestowed five dharma images! Moreover, they seemed arrayed in a formation for joint assault!
"Amitabha."
In the next breath, the five dharma images spoke in unison. They allowed Lu Yang's [Bright Sovereign Subduing] radiant light to sweep over them, then proactively flew toward him!
Instantly, chants of sutras echoed in Lu Yang's ears.
At the same moment, [Immortal Kingdom Dao Canon] descended from nowhere, enveloping him entirely and stifling the "Huh?!" that nearly escaped his lips.
Lu Yang nearly severed [Bright Sovereign Subduing] at once. Instead, the five dharma images forcibly maintained the connection, glaring at him predatorily. Were it not for the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Canon]'s protection, they would have already descended upon him, converting him in an instant.
'They want to latch onto me?'
Lu Yang's brows knitted. His hand, hidden in his sleeve, already gripped the鸿运金性. At this point, perhaps only false-holding the golden position could break the deadlock?
Yet something felt off.
'False-holding the golden position is my greatest trump card, but not the first time I've used it. I already did so once when sending off Emperor Jiayou, feigning an outer path.'
If one would not have others know, one must not do it oneself.
Any deed done, no matter how secretive, left traces. Would the World Honored One truly be ignorant of his ability to false-hold the golden position?
'A trap?'
Hesitation gripped Lu Yang's heart. More critically, he still did not know the secrets behind Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, and that ruined Buddha statue—what hidden machinations lay in this so-called [refining the Buddha].
'Still not strong enough.'
Lu Yang sighed inwardly. Though the World Honored One had not descended personally, merely borrowing the Buddha's Son and prior arrangements sufficed to corner him.
With this thought, Lu Yang could not help cursing silently:
Damn it, where's the Dao Court Lord?
Didn't you say you'd let me handle it and not hold back? I'm handling it now—where the hell are you? Hurry up and smack down from the heavens to flatten Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son!
At the same time, Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, spoke leisurely:
"Donor, this monk knows your ambition lies in claiming the gold—you lack only Jiangxi's territory. Why resort to slaughter? Even if you truly kill this monk, can you kill every last one of Jiangxi's myriad Buddhist cultivators? Why not sit and wager as this monk proposed earlier? It would be boundless merit."
Clang! Clang!
A sword cry interrupted Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son. He raised his gaze, only to see three feet of azure edge filling his vision, reflecting in his pupils.
Pfft!
A spray of blood bloomed in the air. The azure blade had slashed upward, carving a vicious gash across Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son's face—skin splitting, flesh parting.
Had he not retreated a step in that flash of steel, dodging the tip from piercing his eyes, and with the ruined Buddha statue's protection behind him, this strike would not have merely scarred his face—it would have cleaved his skull in two!
"It's you...!?"
Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son, clutched his eye—radiance bursting forth like flowing blood from the wound—as he glared in shock and fury at the sword's wielder.
"You're far in Jiangnan, and I committed no atrocities there. Why...?"
Before Guang Ming, the Buddha's Son could finish, the gleaming azure edge thrust once more at his skull. Accompanying it was a frost-cold roar:
"You slaughter the innocent—how dare you speak of no atrocities?"
"You and I are already locked in mortal enmity!"
"Bald ass, behold my sword!"