Chapter 559
Chapter 559
Chapter 559
Inside the temple, the stone statues were illuminated with varying degrees of golden light.
When Li Zhuiyuan had gone around pasting the Buddha paper all the way, he had wondered if there really were so many Buddhas in the world, with such a huge number of stone Buddhas.
Even if they are only a part of the Dharma body and not the complete Buddha, the corresponding attainment is still quite frightening. Not to mention Buddhism, even the entire martial arts world might not be able to bear it.
However, with more pressing matters at hand, Li Zhuiyuan had neither the time nor the energy to meticulously investigate the mystery surrounding the myth.
Anyway, these Dharma bodies are at least "Buddhas", and I need them for my sacrificial offerings.
In the past, it was the four chief monks, eight stewards, and twelve hall masters of Qinglong Temple who painstakingly burned incense and prayed to each and every one of them to invite the Dharma bodies residing in the stone Buddhas away one by one.
The reason for such difficulties is the recent series of unexpected events, which have led to the passing of a large number of eminent monks of the Kong generation in a short period of time. Those who are fortunate enough to take their place are inevitably "unworthy of their positions."
But it was difficult for them to invite him, while it was very simple for Li Zhuiyuan, because the young man himself was a true bodhisattva, one of their "kindred spirits".
As expected, this call to "call for friends and companions" had an excellent effect, so much so that Li Zhuiyuan was quite surprised. Apart from a few giant stone Buddhas whose responses were rather indifferent, most of the Dharma bodies gave the young man great respect, and could even be described as enthusiastic.
This forced Li Zhuiyuan to re-examine just how high Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's status was within their group.
The first stone Buddha, with one-sixth of its area illuminated, symbolizes its formal return.
Without hesitation, Li Zhuiyuan activated the Buddhist pagoda formation beneath him to capture it.
Soon, a wisp of Buddha's image was peeled away from the stone Buddha, and the stone Buddha instantly went dark.
Even though the boy had done this, the incomplete yet exceptionally pure Buddha image still did not show the slightest rejection. Instead, it continued to show respect and obedience to Li Zhuiyuan.
It was as if, in His perception, He was not captured, but invited to meet and discuss the study of Buddhism.
It wasn't until this wisp of Buddha's image was forced into the screen wall inside the pagoda that it revealed its astonishment and confusion.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't have time for a detailed chat with Him; he was thinking about quickly testing this first shot.
As the compass spun, the evil dragon pulled it along, and a vast Buddhist light emanated from the spire above the boy's head, pointing directly at the Demon-Suppressing Tower.
Like a fiery meteor with an orange halo, it smashed into the demonic barrier, though it did not pierce through it, it melted away a large chunk of it.
good results.
Li Zhuiyuan's gaze shifted downwards, and following the same pattern, he pulled out the second, third, and fourth...
Even though the boy showed no pity, the number of returning Dharma bodies was still too large, and for a time they were stuck in a queue.
After having time to think and observe, they keenly realized that something was wrong with the environment!
On one side was a fierce drought demon, its demonic energy surging; on the other side sat a Bodhisattva, his countenance solemn and dignified; above his head floated the spirit of a holy monk, his murderous intent fully revealed.
Most importantly, this overwhelming aura of cause and effect clearly indicates that the matter is not over, is still ongoing, and is currently at its peak.
But even if you realize it, it's too late.
Qinglong Temple moved to avoid disaster, but it would return afterward. Therefore, the pots and pans here were well preserved, which meant that Li Zhuiyuan had a ready-made kitchen.
No matter how much the Buddha's shadow struggled, it could not escape the capture by the existing environmental mechanisms. After being forcibly brought into the pagoda, it was ignited and projected onto the area of the Demon Suppression Pagoda.
Things went so smoothly that even Li Zhuiyuan found it strange. The young man couldn't understand how these Dharma bodies could believe that Qinglong Temple would never target him like this, and dare to remain here with a clear conscience, given that Qinglong Temple had made such arrangements.
Normal people know that a wise person doesn't stand under a dangerous wall, but these "Buddhas" don't have this awareness?
"Click".
After the Buddha's image was completely removed, the first stone statue first developed numerous cracks, and then collapsed.
All of Li Zhuiyuan's doubts were finally answered at this moment.
Inside the collapsed stone statue, the body of a monk sits cross-legged.
The body showed no signs of decay; instead, it possessed a crystalline, ethereal quality, resembling jade, and exuded a fragrant aroma.
The ancestors of the Zhao family in Jiujiang had their bodies placed in coffins, and their souls entered the void, thus achieving a kind of lingering life and longevity.
The underground palace of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a place where people commit suicide to build their own palaces, and seating is arranged according to seniority, all in pursuit of ascension to immortality.
Regardless of whether one agrees with such statements, one can at least understand their clear motives.
But this monk's remains are not.
The remains are the remains, and the Buddha's image is the Buddha's image. The remains merely provide the spring mud to nourish the Buddha's image upon it.
The monk who was the owner of the body had long since passed away and disappeared from the world; he had not attained Buddhahood or immortality.
To some extent, it could even be said that Qinglong Temple's acceptance of so many Dharma bodies was not for personal gain.
"Qinglong Temple is actually... truly devoted to Buddhism."
Despite his feelings, Li Zhuiyuan continued operating the pagoda, capturing wisps of Buddhist images and transforming them into radiant Buddhist light.
The demonic barrier has become very thin under this constant attack.
Guests who remained conscious within the Demon Suppression Tower area felt this especially strongly; the oppressive and stifling feeling above their heads was finally broken by the light.
Liu Yumei looked up and knew that it was her son, Xiao Yuan, who had made the move.
This didn't surprise Liu Yumei. Xiao Yuan had always had this ability to make people believe him, but she didn't know why...
Liu Yumei looked down at the sword in her hand. The trembling of the sword not only did not stop, but continued to intensify.
Kong Yi closed his eyes and continued reciting scriptures, intending to further exploit himself and, with the help of the two sides, suppress the drought demon in one fell swoop.
In other areas of the temple, the pervasive demonic energy has been cleansed, not only is the suppression of perception gone, but even the chaotic spatial dislocations have been restored.
Tao Zhuming wiped the bloodstains from his seal on Feng Xionglin's bald head.
"Is this the end?"
This righteous light suppresses darkness and evil, which fits the art style of a wave that is about to end.
Yayoi gazed at the two pagodas in the distance, remaining silent.
All the beings he had sensed in the temple in the past have returned, and all have left.
From another direction, Xu Mofan stood with his gun in hand: "It seems there's no need to rush to provide support."
Chen Xiyuan wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and said, "No, I have to go over there to take a picture with the little girl's drawing."
Although the Buddha's struggle and resistance were futile, they revealed another side of the story.
Gradually, the captured image of Buddha was no longer a compassionate Buddha, but a distorted and insane one, subverting the traditional perception of Buddha.
Even though Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was suppressed by the Great Emperor and sent to hell, and stripped of his status, the Bodhisattva's dignity remained, unlike those of others.
Soon, an even more outrageous scene unfolded: the Buddha figures that were subsequently captured no longer retained their pure Buddha-nature, but were instead shrouded in black, exuding an aura of intertwined Buddha and demon.
Standing next to Li Zhuiyuan, Lin Shuyou, with his vertical pupils wide open, looked puzzled: "How did they turn into this kind of thing?"
Tan Wenbin rubbed his eyes and replied, "Is it possible that they were originally this kind of thing?"
Li Zhuiyuan nodded slightly. Binbin was right.
The vast majority of them are this kind of thing, or more accurately, a certain type of evil spirit.
Qinglong Temple traveled to various places to collect so-called Dharma bodies that it had received, but the real Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were very few.
The monks placed these evil spirits in the temple, using the monks' remains as soil to nourish them and offer incense, gradually transforming the evil spirits into "Buddhas".
Isn't this a kind of enlightenment and transformation, like cutting off one's own flesh to feed an eagle?
Li Zhuiyuan had to hurry and cook the ingredients before they completely spoiled.
These Buddha figures no longer lingered foolishly at the stone Buddha waiting to be captured; they all gathered around and approached the pagoda where the boy was.
At this moment, in the air around where Li Zhuiyuan was sitting, there were countless Buddha images standing in layers, arranged in an orderly fashion.
Lin Shuyou held up his two swords, looking around warily. Putting everything else aside, the sheer scale of the scene was truly frightening, as if he were attending a meeting with Brother Xiaoyuan in Lingshan.
Tan Wenbin took the cigarette out of his ear and put it in his mouth. No wonder Ayou was nervous; even he, who was most skilled at using intimidation techniques, was intimidated at this moment.
Ah Li stood behind the boy, holding the blood-stained porcelain bottle, her gaze calm. Run Sheng, who was sitting at the entrance of the tower, looked up and then rubbed his eyes. It was so bright, so blindingly bright, like being surrounded by the most power-consuming light bulbs.
"Crash..."
The huge reclining Buddha statue in the courtyard cracked open, raising a cloud of dust.
Runsheng's eyes, which he had just rubbed shut, were watering again from the sunlight. He stood up, grabbed the Yellow River shovel, and prepared to open the valve.
This time it's not a light bulb anymore; it's like golden lava flowing out.
With a "whoosh," the golden lava rose upwards again.
Outside the pagoda railing where Li Zhuiyuan was sitting, a huge Buddha head appeared, and the other Buddha figures all moved aside to make room.
Li Zhuiyuan sensed a level of enlightenment from this Buddha head; strictly speaking, this was his true "kindred spirit."
The Buddha's head was solemn, and its invisible pressure was almost tangible, pressing down as it tried to stop the boy from continuing his anti-Buddhist activities.
Li Zhuiyuan placed his right hand on the dragon-patterned compass beside him. The evil dragon understood and cut its skin, causing blood to drip from the boy's palm and soak into the compass.
A rumbling sound came from the pagoda beneath him, and the great formation was fully activated without regard to cost, causing multiple cracks to appear in the internal staircase and screen wall.
Li Zhuiyuan only needs this one day anyway, so why should he care about or maintain anything here?
As for them, it would have been fine if they hadn't returned, but since they have, they are at a complete disadvantage here and can't make any waves.
The reason they were willing to place themselves in such a dangerous and controlled position was that they believed the monks of Qinglong Temple would not use these mechanisms against them, because their goals aligned with those of Qinglong Temple.
That is:
We will build a... Buddhist kingdom on earth here!
It's not a pipe dream, it's very realistic. After all, the journey has already begun. The rest is up to time to nurture and mature it, which is also a form of enlightenment.
The boy's left hand first reached forward, then slapped down.
Before him, the Buddha's head was sunken, like a colossal statue collapsing. Even though the powerful intent kept assaulting Li Zhuiyuan, the lotus mark between the boy's eyebrows was steadily protecting him.
From the top of the tower, the thickest beam of Buddhist light since its opening was released, piercing through the last layer of demonic barrier above the Demon Suppression Tower before disappearing into the tower itself.
The Demon-Suppressing Tower seemed to be ablaze, and the demons suppressed inside howled in agony. The drought demon, which was also standing on the railing at the top floor, was surrounded by intense Buddhist flames, as if it had changed into a red dress.
Li Zhuiyuan's "brutal" actions shattered the last glimmer of hope for the surrounding Buddha figures. When despair filled the air and the path to Buddhahood was severed, they gradually returned to their original forms.
These countless Buddhas tore off their robes, revealing their fangs and displaying their ferocity. The sacred mountain of just moments ago was transformed in the blink of an eye into a gloomy and terrifying place comparable to the depths of hell.
No wonder Qinglong Temple sent people to Fengdu to receive the Bodhisattva's Dharma body, and also sent seven senior monks of the Kong generation to Zhenjun Temple to compete for Sun Baishen's qualification. It's like putting a few ripe persimmons in a pile of unripe ones, which can accelerate the ripening process.
Moreover, Li Zhuiyuan speculated that the only people who truly orchestrated and understood all of this were the recent high-ranking officials of Qinglong Temple, or even the behind-the-scenes high-ranking officials. Most of the monks of Qinglong Temple thought it was for the benefit and protection of the temple's development.
Because when Li Zhuiyuan interacted with those high-ranking monks of the Kong generation, he discovered that they only saw the Buddha as having practical value rather than worshipping him. They were willing to provide assistance and even sacrifice for the development of Qinglong Temple as a force in the martial arts world, and probably did not want their temple to be replaced by the Buddhist kingdom.
Therefore, Qinglong Temple, as a lineage comparable to the Dragon King's court, was corrupt as a whole, and those who truly controlled Qinglong Temple were not corrupt, but madmen.
When the previous generation traveled to the river, the one who lit the lamp at Qinglong Temple was the most ruthless and vicious, attempting to kill Qin Shu after he returned. This was aimed at making the Qin and Liu families shut up.
The real motive here is probably that they hope the evil spirits in the ancestral homes of the Qin and Liu families will go out of control after no one appeases them. Not only will they not care about the evil spirits rioting and poisoning the people, but they can also use the pretext of suppressing evil spirits to pick out the specific evil spirits they need from the ancestral homes of the Qin and Liu families.
However, this act of building a Buddhist kingdom is not like the Yu family's, which was overthrown by demons. Instead, it can be transformed into the salvation of evil spirits and the attainment of Buddhahood on the spot.
Heaven could not possibly stand idly by and watch this happen, but it also lacked sufficient means to intervene.
Therefore, the catalog for this wave of Qinglong Temple was given to myself in advance.
At first, Li Zhuiyuan was surprised by this kind of treatment, which was like a pillow being delivered when he was sleepy. Wasn't this just giving him a chance to abuse his power for personal gain?
It turns out that Heaven is using itself to achieve its own selfish ends.
In the first wave, the reclusive monk Kongji in a remote scenic area of Suzhou used the pagoda he was currently in to repair the evil energy transmitted by the Demon Suppression Pagoda, which was telling him the method.
In the second wave, one must go to the Zhenjun Temple to obtain the status of a Bodhisattva, which will grant one the qualification to "call upon friends and companions" there.
As for the current wave, it knows that it will not be satisfied with just fighting and killing in Wangjiang Tower, and will definitely divert the river water to Qinglong Temple.
Heaven had already planned everything, but Li Zhuiyuan felt no anger or frustration at being used. He even had to thank Qinglong Temple for giving Heaven a reason not to break its sword for the time being.
You destroy your Buddhist kingdom, I avenge my family's grudge—this kind of cooperation is acceptable.
The pagoda was still operating powerfully, and Li Zhuiyuan's hands never stopped moving. However, the kind of treatment where there were good dishes everywhere was gone. He could only pick out some of the Buddha images that still retained some Buddha-nature from among the evil-looking Buddha images. For example, Grandma Cui Guiying would cut off the rotten part of the apple and then give it to the children to eat.
Above, the influence of the holy monk's spirit continues to grow; the Dragon King, who did not cherish his life in life, does not yearn for life after death.
After Li Zhuiyuan broke through the outer demonic barrier, all the spirits of the holy monks pressed forward and fell, each crashing into the Demon-Suppressing Tower, as if lighting lamps on the tower.
This is a willingness to burn oneself out completely in order to suppress the drought demon.
Kong Yi desperately reinforced the temple's protective formation, driving all the guests with marks on their bodies, whether possessed by demons or conscious, into the Demon-Suppressing Tower to fill their places and increase the sealing power.
At the top of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, the figure of the drought demon was fading away.
The situation is gradually developing in the most appropriate direction, and success is imminent.
Tao Zhuming and Ling Wuxing each led their teams to the pagoda where Li Zhuiyuan was, awaiting the final result.
Tao Yunhe glanced outside, then looked down at the trembling seal in his hand and smiled.
Liu Yumei rarely took the initiative to ask, "Your seal..."
Tao Yunhe: "It must have sensed the seal in Zhu Ming's hand."
Liu Yumei tightened her grip on the sword. She wasn't sure if the Tao family's seal was truly due to this mutual resonance, but at least she was certain that the trembling sword in her hand didn't have such leisure and elegance.
Even though things are about to succeed, where does this inexplicable anxiety come from?
Here at Li Zhuiyuan's place, almost all the Buddhas in the sky had been sacrificed.
This time, Qinglong Temple not only incurred the wrath of the martial arts world due to the high monk's behavior and will face subsequent reckoning and retaliation, but also lost its most precious heritage.
When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; I will continue to exert my influence to sever the lineage of Qinglong Temple.
The boy looked at the spirit of the holy monk who had fallen into the Demon Suppression Tower. Even if it didn't extinguish this time, the spirit of the holy monk would be severely damaged and would be unable to provide protection for a long time.
Although the spirit of the Dragon King would disappear wherever Li Zhuiyuan went, he had no interest in deliberately going after the spirit of the Dragon King. He would also go to the ancestral temple later to explain to the spirits of the holy monks.
Zhou Huai-ren gripped the door frame tightly with both hands, making a final stand.
"Empty space!"
As the owner of Wangjiang Tower, he never imagined that his life would end with him being imprisoned in another tower.
"boom!"
The gates of the Demon Suppression Tower are closed.
Kongyi lowered his head; he had drained himself of both his Buddha-nature and his blood, and his death was imminent.
At this moment, he clasped his hands together, and attained the great peace that he had been contemplating since he went into seclusion.
"Little monk, it's a deal. I'll beat you up again. After I'm done, put extra salt in your next bowl of vegetarian noodles. This one's so bland it's practically tasteless!"
Memories of the past surfaced in Kongyi's mind, his voice and appearance still vivid in her memory.
I am ultimately inferior to you, and can only crudely imitate you, like the man from Handan who tried to learn to walk in a clumsy way.
On the top floor of the Demon Suppression Tower, the figure of the drought demon had faded to the point of being almost invisible.
The aura of the holy monk's spirit continued to exert pressure, soon stabilizing the Demon-Suppressing Tower completely, and this turbulent wave would soon come to an end.
However, at that moment, Li Zhuiyuan, who was sitting on the pagoda, saw the drought demon on the opposite pagoda turn around and face him.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't have Tan Wenbin's snake eyes, but he had exceptional hearing. Logically, he shouldn't have been able to see the drought demon, which was so faint, from such a distance. However, the drought demon's image became stronger and clearer in the boy's eyes.
The lotus mark that had just faded between the boy's eyebrows reappeared on its own in response to the shock, and a tremendous sense of crisis instantly swept over his entire body.
next moment,
The third eye on the drought demon's forehead, which had been tightly closed, opened!
It wasn't the bloodshot hole, but a dried-up eyeball wriggling inside.
Li Zhuiyuan's gaze sharpened.
Who sent back the Eye of the Drought Demon, which should have been sealed away at the Qilong King's dojo?
(End of this chapter)