Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Scripture
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The Buddhist cultivators of Jiangxi followed the "Path of Profound Joy in Nirvana". The fact that they could occupy a corner of the land instead of being forced into exile overseas was proof enough of their tradition's strength.
However, unlike the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion or the Primal Saint Sect with their multitude of divine abilities...
The Buddhist cultivators of Jiangxi made no distinction between cultivation methods and divine abilities. They cultivated nothing else, focusing only on a single scripture from which all their techniques and abilities were derived.
Its name was the *Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Scripture*.
It was said that this scripture was passed down by the World-Honored One of the Path of Profound Joy in Nirvana. Its purpose was to guide people toward goodness, to achieve nirvana after cessation, and through this, to find the "True Self".
However, this "True Self" was not that of the cultivator.
It was the "I" of that World-Honored One.
When the Path of Profound Joy in Nirvana was cultivated to its apex, one would extinguish their own self and comprehend the principle of "I am the World-Honored One, the World-Honored One is me." From then on, they would be one and the same as the World-Honored One.
The scripture called this "attaining Buddhahood" or "true enlightenment".
Because the World-Honored One is a Buddha, becoming the World-Honored One is equivalent to becoming a Buddha.
The same was true for all living beings. All could attain Buddhahood. Since "I" am a Buddha, all living beings could become "me". To comprehend this principle was to attain supreme enlightenment.
Within the *Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Scripture* were forty-eight great mantras, said to have been established by the World-Honored One when he achieved the Dao. Each mantra held infinite mysteries and could give rise to countless divine abilities. A single, complete great mantra was comparable in effect to a grand divine ability from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion or the Primal Saint Sect.
The more great mantras one mastered, the closer one came to "attaining Buddhahood".
At this moment, facing Lu Yang's Palace of Yama, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat touched the ground, formed a hand seal, and unleashed one of these great mantras, called "No Three Evil Paths within the Nation".
"When I become a Buddha, if my nation still has hells, hungry ghosts, or animals, I shall not accept supreme true enlightenment."
The Dharma voice was sonorous, reflecting a clear light.
Though it was a mantra of compassion, its power was anything but. How does one eliminate hells, hungry ghosts, and animals? Just kill them. Once they are dead, they are gone.
And it was obvious that this divine ability was a powerful counter to yin and baleful qi.
As the rosy light shone down, Lu Yang immediately saw the Palace of Yama disintegrating piece by piece. The Plain Maiden stationed within let out a sudden, piercing shriek.
This was the true power of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Lu Yang's heart went cold. Although the Palace of Yama had been invincible against the Heaven Mending Peak Master, who was only a soul, that was due to a specific advantage.
But a true mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, with a perfected body and spirit, at their peak like the Dragon-Subduing Arhat—even a single divine ability from him was enough to overwhelm the Palace of Yama. In fact, if not for the continuous supply of yin and baleful qi from the ley lines of Skull Mountain, it would have already been breached!
"Amitabha."
Seeing this, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat's expression remained unchanged. He tossed the nine-ringed monk's staff in his hand into the air, and a thunderous, muffled clang of metal on metal rang out.
'Not good!'
Lu Yang's pupils shrank. The Palace of Yama, suppressed to the point of collapse by the Arhat's "No Three Evil Paths" mantra, could no longer protect him!
Lu Yang had not foreseen this change in time, but the Dragon-Subduing Arhat, with his higher cultivation, had grasped the opportune moment. He had launched the nine-ringed staff before the Palace of Yama fell, and made his move the very instant it was breached, giving Lu Yang no chance to recover.
In the blink of an eye, the nine-ringed staff was right before Lu Yang's face!
In that critical moment, Lu Yang moved with lightning speed, pulling the guardian spirit Plain Maiden out from the Palace of Yama and holding her firmly in front of him as a shield.
Boom!
The Plain Maiden didn't even have time to scream before her entire body was covered in cracks. Only the sturdiness of her Dharma body, temporarily elevated to the Foundation Establishment realm, allowed her to endure the blow.
"I can't go on like this!"
Lu Yang casually tossed the Plain Maiden back into his dantian, his mind racing. He knew that if this continued, he would just be taking a beating, and his defeat would only be a matter of time.
He was trying to think of a countermeasure, but the Dragon-Subduing Arhat was not about to give him the chance.
The nine-ringed staff, having failed its first strike, spun in the air and descended once more. The nine rings on the staff clashed, ringing with a sound powerful enough to shatter a person's soul.
Fortunately, Lu Yang had mastered the *Heavenly Silkworm Secret: Severing Thoughts to See the Self*. His spiritual sense had already evolved into divine sense, no different from that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although the staff's influence gave him a splitting headache, he could still rely on his willpower to act. He used the Plain Maiden to grant himself the status of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, then formed a seal on the spot.
The next second, the nine-ringed staff fell.
"Corpse Liberation is the transformation of form, a shedding of the mortal coil to reveal the true self, an escape through the body's metamorphosis!"
Lu Yang offered no resistance, allowing the staff to smash down. In a single blow, his physical body was pulverized, his exploding flesh and blood turning into a sky-wide red mist.
But in the next instant, the red mist swirled back!
The body that had been turned to dust fled hundreds of miles away, finally reforming at the very edge of Skull Mountain, becoming flesh and blood once more!
And the injuries the Dragon-Subduing Arhat had just inflicted upon Lu Yang, whether to his soul or his body, had vanished without a trace after the "Corpse Liberation". Lu Yang had even used the technique to break free from the Arhat's divine sense lock. Such an exquisite escape art earned a look of praise from the Dragon-Subduing Arhat:
"Benefactor, you are truly a stunning talent!"
This was a divine ability of the Corpse-Liberation Immortal. It was not a combat ability, but an art for avoiding calamity and disaster. Empowered by the Foundation Establishment status, it was all the more profound.
"Just a little longer..."
Lu Yang took a deep breath. He had long since released the veil that concealed his heavenly secrets. Therefore, anyone with a karmic connection to him would surely be able to divine that he was in grave danger.
At the very least, that Perfected Being Brilliant Light would be able to.
And in his possession was the Heavenly Corpse Baleful Qi that Perfected Being Yin Shan desired. For that reason alone, Perfected Being Brilliant Light and Perfected Being Yin Shan would definitely come to his rescue.
All he had to do was hold on until they arrived!
The very instant this thought arose in Lu Yang's mind, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat suddenly sighed, "A pity. I had wanted to preserve this body of yours, Benefactor."
Before his voice had faded, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat pressed his palms together.
"Amitabha!"
The next moment, a brilliant spiritual light shot out from the crown of his head, illuminating the world. At the same time, the great bell of the Dragon-Subduing Temple behind him began to toll.
Within that spiritual light, a great dragon as majestic as a mountain, wreathed in blazing white flames, could be seen coiling. Then, the dragon's head lowered, becoming illusory, and superimposed itself over the Dragon-Subduing Arhat's own head. Both opened their mouths as one and let out a deafening roar, spitting forth a torrent of fire!
Whoosh—!
The blazing white flame, like a sharp arrow released from a bowstring, struck Lu Yang. The terrifying heat incinerated his body, turning him into a wisp of flying ash in the blink of an eye.
But soon, the ashes gathered again in the distance, reforming into Lu Yang's body.
This time, however, even after using the art of Corpse Liberation, embers of fire remained on his body, clinging to him like a maggot to bone.
With the passage of time, the flames even showed signs of reigniting!
"This is... the Blazing Fire Dragon?"
Several months had passed since the battle with the Heaven Mending Peak Master. Lu Yang had also acquired the legacy of the Dao of Witches and Ghosts, so he was no longer ignorant about the Foundation Establishment realm.
Thus, he recognized at a glance that this was a manifestation of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat's Dao path.
"The Blazing Fire Dragon corresponds to Yanfeng of the Heavenly Stems. It is wood of pure yang, towering and majestic. Wood is consumed in the Dragon's domain to birth a fire that drains it dry; this is the principle of the Blazing Fire Dragon..."
In other words, while the fire breath the Dragon-Subduing Arhat had just exhaled seemed like a raging inferno, the fire was merely its outer appearance. In reality, it was earth giving birth to wood, and wood fueling fire. Therefore, any divine ability or technique that countered the fire element would be utterly meaningless against this Blazing Fire Dragon.
"To break it, I need metal, or..."
Just as Lu Yang's thoughts were racing, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat strode through the air and appeared before him, a victorious smile on his face:
"Benefactor, are you now willing to take refuge?"