Chapter 450: Hand Over Your Sarira
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Using the powers of the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree to fly, Lin Feng was joyous. This showed that despite the suppressive powers of the Cloud Forest World the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree and Mount Yujing were still able to operate.
Because of the separation between worlds, neither Yan Mingyue and the rest who wished to return to the Divine Lands from the Cloud Forest World nor Long Ye and company who wished to return to the Barren Expanses were able to do so. No one could come in and no one could leave.
Looking at it now, Lin Feng who carried Mount Yujing along with him would be able to break through the Middle World if he used all his energy to do so. However, he did not do that for he had other matters to settle here.
Hearing the system's notification about the sarira, Lin Feng became happy almost instantly.
Earlier on, after careful consideration, Lin Feng did not capture the monk as he sought to wait for a better opportunity. Who knew that he would appear in front of Lin Feng once again?
Following the system's notification, Lin Feng moved within the white light tree canopy. From afar, he could feel the vibrations from a powerful aura.
"Such an aura feels extremely familiar," Lin Feng thought as an answer surfaced in his heart. "It must be the Great Thunderclap Temple's Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass' Endless Brilliance Tathāgata Mantra! This is the most orthodox spell of the Great Thunderclap Temple and was much more profound than the Sutra's True Intention I had obtained earlier on from the Buddha Statue Seal. It could very well come from a powerful Buddhist cultivator who cultivated the Amitabha Sutra."
The Endless Brilliance Tathāgata Mantra of the Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass comprised three parts. The overall structure was the Amitabha Sutra, whereas its details could be found in the Supreme Light Mantra and its offensive side could be found in the compilation of the Three Thousand Illumination Spells.
Earlier in the Battle of Shazhou City, Lin Feng managed to tap on Zhu Yi's Fortune to obtain a Buddha Statue Seal. From the Seal, he understood the true powers of the Supreme Light Mantra. After they cultivated and mastered it, they benefitted from it. Zhu Yi was able to synthesize it and form his own spiritual crucible and ascend into the Aurous Core stage.
With the Supreme Light Mantra, one could derive the many battling techniques of the Three Thousand Illumination Spells. However, Lin Feng did not do so as he found that there was no need. However, the loss of the Amitabha Sutra was indeed regretful.
Speaking about it, in terms of the Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass, Lin Feng had already obtained the Vairocana Sutra, the Acalanatha Tathagata Mantra and the Endless Brilliance Tathāgata Mantra. However, all three of them lacked the overall structure and their core points.
By linking his soul with Mount Yujing, Lin Feng's own mana became a lot more sluggish. However, this allowed him to further conceal his aura. Combined with the system's protection, he was akin to a fish in the sea.
Walking amidst the white light tree canopy, his entire body appeared to have entered this part of the Middle World. Without leaving any trace of himself, he advanced towards the source of the Buddhist aura. As he approached, Lin Feng heard someone's voice.
"Yuan Xiang, have you tricked me here deliberately?" An old raspy voice sounded. Lin Feng slowed down his footsteps and through the dense canopy, he saw two people facing each other not far away.
One of them was clad in a grey robe with an inch of hair growing from his head. His expression was eerie. It was the Buddhist cultivator that Lin Feng saw earlier on who had allied with the demons. The sarira that Lin Feng coveted was with him. His Buddhist name was likely to be Yuan Xiang.
Facing Yuan Xiang was an old monk clad in a robe as white as the moon. While his robes were old, they were clean. While he stood there surrounded by white, flashing tree leaves, he appeared even brighter.
He emitted a glow that seemed to come from the moment of Creation itself. It was pure light.
The monk Yuan Xiang said, "Virtuous Zen Master, I had offended you today. However, after today, you would surely understand your junior's intentions. All I ever wanted was to help avenge the Great Thunderclap Temple."
The Virtuous Zen Master face was solemn as he looked at the monk Yuan Xiang opposite, whose face brimmed with violence and darkness. He shook his head slowly and said, "So you wished to kill your seniors? First, you turned the sariras of the powerful monks of our Temple into magic items, then you allied yourself together with demons to kill me."
The monk Yuan Xiang said in a low voice, "Correct, I know that my sins are deep and I will not be able to attain Nirvana after death. I will be condemned forever to Hell. However, even so, the destruction of the Great Thunderclap Temple must be avenged!"
"So what if I ally myself with the demons?" Yuan Xiang said, gritting his teeth. "The Great Thunderclap Temple spent so much time educating and enlightening the common folk. Every time there was a disaster, monks from the temple would help the people by curing them of their diseases or subduing floods."
"However, in the end, every single human cultivator allied together to destroy the Great Thunderclap Temple! They massacred our disciples and destroyed our ancient temple. The bones and sariras of our masters were all stolen! I hate them!"
Yuan Xiang's eyes were bloodshot and his voice cracked. He was like a wounded beast. "The tainted Divine Land is no different from the blood-stained world of the demons, the Barren Expanses."
"As long as I can make the culprits, the Great Void Sect, the Mount Shu Sword Sect and the Great Zhou Empire pay for their sins, so what if I ally myself with the demons?"
The Virtuous Zen Master's face was calm and his gaze was still kindly. He looked at Yuan Xiang and sighed, "So what's the difference between what you are doing now and those executioners?"
Yuan Xiang chuckled creepily, "As long as I can exact revenge for my masters and fellow disciples, I will go to Hell willingly."
The Virtuous Zen Master shook his head and said calmly, "A thousand years of cultivation is lost in a single morning. Yuan Xiang, you too had cultivated our Buddhist way for many years. However, all that's left in you is violence. What a shame that what your obsession isn't revenge for our Great Thunderclap Temple."
Yuan Xiang opened his eyes as an angry expression appeared on his face. "What did you say?"
The Virtuous Zen Master said quietly, "What you are obsessed with are fear and hate. All you want is a peace of mind for yourself."
Yuan Xiang turned to the Virtuous Zen Master like a hurt beast and said, "Then what about you, Uncle Virtuous Zen Master? You were responsible for defending our sect, but you could only watch as our enemies trampled all over our holy ground. Don't you feel hatred?"
The Virtuous Zen Master raised his head and looked at the sky, "The Buddha is compassionate but he could also destroy demons with a flick of his finger. That is not his way, however. It is not the Buddhist way."
"Because of hatred and obsession, you are willing to descend into Hell and join the demons. Doing so will cause you to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss, and further and further away from redemption."
He looked with pity at Yuan Xiang and said slowly, "Yuan Xiang, you had made your choice. That could not be counted as a mistake. However, it is a choice that goes against the Buddhist way. You are still you, but you are no longer a disciple of the Great Thunderclap Temple."
The Virtuous Zen Master tugged his robe and said, "Today, you helped the demons trick me into coming over here. I don't know what your intentions are, but I won't let you have your way. You desecrated the sariras of our masters. I will naturally want them back."
"Everyone's path is different and all we can do is to walk our own separate ways."
Yuan Xiang nodded his head, "You are right, Virtuous Zen Master, my uncle. This is also the last time I will be referring to you as my uncle."
"The time for catching up is over. Yuan Xiang, you can leave," roared a bestial voice. The Qiong Qi that chased Lin Feng earlier on appeared out of a ripple of white light. It stood next to Yuan Xiang and faced the Virtuous Zen Master.
In the air, one could hear the flapping of wings that was as loud as the wind. The Golden Feathered Great Roc and the Sun Swallowing Condor appeared behind the Virtuous Zen Master on both sides, left and right. In a triangular formation, the three demons surrounded the powerful Buddhist cultivator.
The Virtuous Zen Master, faced with the entrapment of the three Demonic Saints, was solemn and calm. His gaze was also deep. "Other than the Qiong Qi, there are also the Golden-Feathered Great Roc and the Sun-Swallowing Condor, right?"
He looked at the Golden Feathered Great Roc and said, "The one who unified the consciousness of this world is the Golden Roc Grand Sage, right?"
The Golden-Feathered Great Roc's gaze flashed sharply and said, "You will know soon." He flapped his wings and tens of thousands rays of golden light flew towards the Virtuous Zen Master.
The Virtuous Zen Master looked at Yuan Xiang, who was retreating slowly and sighed. He turned his gaze away and placed his palms together before quietly muttering an incantation.
In the next instant, his entire body glowed brightly as he engaged the Golden Feathered Great Roc in battle.
"Let's not waste any more time," the Sun-Swallowing Condor shrieked as the black gas around his body began to spread. Immediately, it engulfed almost half of the light from the Virtuous Zen Master's body.
The Qiong Qi too joined in the fight. The three demonic saints all joined in the fight and immediately suppressed the Virtuous Zen Master.
After the three demonic saints appeared, Lin Feng slowly retreated. The old monk's fate was long-sealed ever since he stepped into the Cloud Forest World.
With the same mastery and battling three-against-one in an encirclement, combined with the suppressive powers of the Cloud Forest World, defeat was guaranteed. However, if the opponent wished to catch him alive, then it would be harder.
"Remember what the old wolf said earlier on? They need to get enough people, however, what exactly does the Golden Roc Grand Sage want?"
As Lin Feng thought about it, he walked in the opposite direction.
Over there, the monk Yuan Xiang was already far from the battle between the four powerful Immortal Soul stage beings. In the dark gaze of his eyes, there appeared to be some realization.
He stood there, dazed, for a long while. Yuan Xiang the monk then said in a low voice, "You are right, uncle. I am motivated by fear, fear that those who destroyed the Great Thunderclap Temples so many years ago were too powerful."
"I hate too. I hate the fact that I was in charge of guarding the Forest of Pagodas and I witnessed the destruction of the Saros Steel Tree. The enemies slaughtered their way into the Forest of Pagodas and yet, I did not dare defend it to the death. All I could do was to escape with a few sariras."
Yuan Xiang the monk exhaled, "I told myself that running away could ensure some of my masters' sariras would not fall into our enemy's hands. However, that was an excuse. I was fearful and so, I ran. I did not dare face the enemies."
"I am scared of death. I passed the Void Lightning Tribulations but faced with the apocalyptic powers then, I could not suppress my terror..."
"I feel ashamed and remorseful for what I did. What I want for myself and the Great Thunderclap Temple is to atone for my cowardice earlier on and to kill my enemies that made me feel fear."
Yuan Xiang's eyes turned blood red, "I will do it with any method, at any price."
A voice sounded behind him suddenly, "A Buddhist cultivator must understand himself clearly and differentiate clearly between good and evil. Understanding the deficiencies of his own soul may not be a bad thing, but you are not addressing the issue at its crux. Instead, you are taking only superficial methods. No wonder your senior and master said that you are on the wrong path."
Yuan Xiang was shocked as he turned around. He saw Lin Feng staring at him, who then said, "Hand over your sarira."