“Samantabhadra, we meet again!”
A deep voice echoed from within Shenshu’s chest cavity.
After fusing his torso with his legs and left arm, Shenshu’s primordial spirit had also successfully merged. The malice that radiated from his left arm was now tempered by the mildness of his torso, while the recklessness and frenzy of the legs had made him short-tempered and unpredictable.
His mere presence affected every living being around, filling the air with a maddening, deranging aura.
Anyone who looked at him directly would hear horrifying whispers at their ear and see hallucinations before their eyes, driving them to want to kill everything around them, including themselves.
The Samantabhadra Bodhisattva did not reply. The wheel behind him slowly spun, the word “Asura” lighting up as it fired a beam of golden light towards Shenshu.
But the beam only struck an afterimage. Shenshu appeared like a spectre before Samantabhadra, his left hand clenched with a bang, bursting the air. His left arm swept up, pulling from the waist and back, smashing down fiercely towards Samantabhadra.
Boom!
Once more, this punch only hit thin air as Samantabhadra’s body dissolved into golden light.
Shenshu’s fist struck the ground, creating a three-metre wide crater, the violent force tearing open a fissure in the earth.
The fissure slammed into the distant city wall, cracking it open with a bang, sending chips of stone flying.
Samantabhadra’s Wheel of Samsara hadn’t struck Shenshu. This means his precepts had no particular effect, and Shenshu’s current rank is at least first rank… Xu Qi’an calmly rolled up his sleeves, tied his belt, and tucked in his trouser legs.
Right now, he appeared as a young boy of about twelve or thirteen, still somewhat soft and tender, otherwise the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox would not have mocked him.
The golden light gathered in the air, solidifying into the form of a young monk.
His Great Samsara Dharma Aspect looked a little dimmer.
Just now, he had failed to dodge Shenshu’s punch, and had “died” once. This aspect could only die three times.
Shenshu straightened his body and let out a reverberating roar like a ferocious beast awaking from a thousand-year slumber, eager to display its might to the world.
Chaos broke out atop the city walls as Western Regions guards, warrior monks, and Yao alike began slaughtering each other indiscriminately.
Behind Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, the Wheel of Samsara faded, and a golden Dharma Aspect thirty feet tall took form. This Dharma Aspect held its hands in a prayer gesture, head lowered, face full of compassion.
“Great mercy and compassion, ever tireless, always seeking good deeds, and benefiting all.”
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva chanted softly, palms pressed together.
As he finished, hymns echoed throughout the world, the thirty-feet Dharma Aspect radiating myriad rays of golden light, piercing the darkness of night.
This blood-soaked battlefield seemed transformed into a serene and compassionate holy ground of the Bodhisattva.
Clang!
Weapons fell to the ground one after another. In this moment, be they human or Yao, all had discarded their weapons, no longer willing to kill.
A moment ago they had been fighting with their lives; now, as they looked into each other’s eyes, their gazes were filled with compassion and love for life.
Human and Yao did not embrace and call each other “brother”; that was the last shred of their rationality.
The monks, soldiers, and Yao who had been whipped into a frenzy by Shenshu’s presence now broke free, compassion in their hearts making them unwilling to fight. At the same time, they were wary of the beyond-mortal battle, so they withdrew from the field in an orderly fashion.
So as to avoid becoming collateral damage.
The Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect…
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox frowned tightly. Bathed in the Buddhist light, all the hatred, scheming, resentment and ambition in her heart dispersed like mist.
But her powerful primordial spirit gave her clear rationality, reminding her that such feelings were wrong, for the Buddhist sect and the Yao were mortal enemies.
Rationality and emotion were locked in a stalemate.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox could not shield herself from the effects of the “Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect”. This Dharma Aspect was utterly unique in that it had no offensive power.
Its sole function was to manifest Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s “Dao”.
Unless one was a Hedao-level martial artist of second rank or above who had already found their dao, anyone below first rank, of any system, would be affected by the “Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect”.
Subject to the suppression of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s divine status.
The Yao did not follow a “dao”, cultivating innate powers instead.
Of course, she did not have to worry about a surprise attack from the Buddhist sect, because whether it was Arhat Du’e or al-Asura, both were, at that moment, filled with compassion.
“This Dharma Aspect is just like the Great Samsara Dharma Aspect, not discriminating between friend and foe. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva really is like a shit-stirring stick.”
Xu Qi’an too noticed the state of the Buddhist monks.
“You…”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox looked at him in bewilderment. The young boy before her, still not fully grown, seemed completely unaffected by “compassion”.
At the same time, she noticed Xu Qi’an now held a sabre in his hand. The blade was long, dark gold in colour.
On the field, only two people were unaffected by the “Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect”, Xu Qi’an and Shenshu.
Seeing the silver-haired, fox-eared beauty staring at him in surprise, Xu Qi’an explained,
“Compassion is not my dao.”
He raised the sabre in his hand and said,
“This is my path.”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox clearly saw that, near the hilt, the word Taiping1 was engraved on the blade.
She pondered for a moment, then said,
“You’ve established your own mandate?”
After asking, the seductress’s eyes betrayed unmistakable jealousy.
“Mandate Seeker” was the name of third rank in Confucianism. They explained it as: rectifying oneself in preparation for Heaven’s mandate.
Mandate Seeker and the “dao” were two sides of the same coin.
Xu Qi’an grunted in agreement and sighed,
“Perhaps it’s because I bear the fortune of the nation. When I named it, I too inexplicably established my mandate. Back then, my cultivation was shallow and I understood little. If I had another chance, I wouldn’t establish such a mandate again.”
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox scrutinised him.
“What mandate would you choose then?”
Probably “free loader” or “listening to songs in goulans”… Xu Qi’an only smiled and said, “Have a guess.”
Elsewhere, Shenshu’s navel split open, turning into a mouth and letting out a buzzing, bizarre laugh,
“Great mercy and compassion? What use is that to me?”
The mouth at his navel suddenly spat out a jet of blood, which struck the Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect. In an instant, the radiant golden figure was tainted, the thirty-feet tall Dharma Aspect enveloped by black and red light.
A faint twitch crossed Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s face, as if enduring immense pain.
Thud, thud, thud… Shenshu broke into a wild run. Bathed in moonlight, his figure was taut with strength, his muscles rippling with each stride.
But Shenshu’s target was not Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, but the distant city wall.
Boom!
The towering city wall was blown apart as though struck by tens, hundreds, of tons of explosives. Under the shockwave, the shattered stones became shrapnel shooting in all directions.
A breach nearly ten metres wide appeared in the south wall.
At this moment, if the Yao army rushed through the gap, they could seize the Southern Kingdom City and retake Wanyao Mountain in short order.
But both Yao and Western Regions defenders had long since withdrawn from the area, either fighting elsewhere or watching from afar.
Looking down at the collapsed wall, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s face did not show any shock or anger. Instead, he seemed relieved as he retracted the Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect.
Xu Qi’an had been watching carefully, and a sudden thought flashed through his mind:
Samantabhadra’s true purpose in using the Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect had been to end the slaughter atop the city, to relieve the ordinary soldiers and Yao of Shenshu’s influence and prevent their descent into madness.
Silently, a shadow fell over Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, it was Shenshu, blocking out the moonlight. No one knew when he’d taken to the sky, swooping down like a hawk hunting a rabbit.
The mouth at his navel split in a fiendish grin.
Right at that moment, a golden figure shot in from the side, crashing into Shenshu and tumbling with him far away.
That was al-Asura.
Two powerful and formidable bodies, filled with incomparable strength, wrestled and tangled as they rolled. Hands, feet, elbows, knees, every part of the body could turn into a divine weapon, inflicting terrifying harm.
Behind Samantabhadra, the wheel spun with a “ratatat” sound, casting a golden ray of light upon al-Asura, branding a “卍” mark on his brow.
On the other side, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, no longer influenced by the “Great Mercy and Compassion Dharma Aspect,” braced herself on the ground with eight tails, propelling herself high into the air, leaping towards Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
Eight tails trailed behind her, dancing beautifully and enthralling.
“Amitabha!”
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra bent, sat cross-legged and pressed his palms together.
A faint golden glow appeared on his body.
Zen Meditation!
Thump, thump, thump… The eight fox tails, like tentacles, struck Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, sending ripples through the golden light over his body.
Seeing this, Arhat Du’e took off the Buddhist prayer beads hanging around his neck and gently ripped them apart; ninety-nine beads floated around him, each dyed with a five-coloured halo.
“Go!”
Arhat Du’e waved his sleeve, firing off all the prayer beads.
The brilliant, dazzling “rainstorm” streaked through the night sky, attacking the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.
The young boy leapt from the shadow of the silver-haired enchantress, sabre in his left hand, sword in his right, swinging incessantly.
With clanging sounds, sparks flew as the resplendent beads were knocked aside one by one.
If only I was in the Great Feng, I could use the Sovereign Sword to gather the power of all beings, perhaps I could break open Samantabhadra’s Zen skill with a single strike… Xu Qi’an swept his gaze, noticing the prayer beads looped like a swarm, circling around to attack the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox from the flank.
These beads, imbued with Executioner Phala, could inflict immense damage even on beyond-mortal martial artists, no one dared let them hit their body.
The Stupa tower trembled, its suppression power radiating out, suppressing the rainstorm of falling prayer beads.
The Mistress is holding Bodhisattva Samantabhadra in check, al-Asura is being restrained by Shenshu, now is the best opportunity for me to capture Arhat Du’e. If I can get him, then my last demon-sealing nail can be removed…
Xu Qi’an melted into the shadows and emerged from Arhat Du’e’s shadow, the Sovereign Sword bursting forth with brilliant light, stabbing toward his back.
But he could not thrust the Sovereign Sword, The Buddhist Precept of “No Killing” enveloped him.
The Stupa tower vibrated with a hum, again releasing its suppressing power. It did not do so to counteract the precept, but to restrain Arhat Du’e, preventing him from reacting.
As a result, Xu Qi’an emerged from the shadow behind Du’e, blade in hand, poised to stab, but could not deliver the blow.
Meanwhile, Arhat Du’e had his back to him, unable to respond.
A second later, the precept and the suppressing power expired, the Sovereign Sword was no longer impeded and stabbed resolutely toward Arhat Du’e’s back.
A halo spun rapidly behind his head, his kasaya billowed, and colourful, rainbow-like light surged outwards.
Xu Qi’an was blasted away by this mighty force. At once, a roaring whistle came from behind, ninety-nine prayer beads shot toward him like resplendent streaks of flame.
Elsewhere, Shenshu seized al-Asura by the neck with one arm, lifting him off the ground, and cackled in his strange, buzzing voice:
“Boy, you carry a familiar aura.”
The fiery halo behind al-Asura’s head extinguished, a five-coloured wheel gleamed into life, golden flames flickering in his gaze.
“You shall not kill!”
The precept had no effect.
He calmly sat cross-legged in zen meditation, and a faint golden glow enveloped him.
Crack! The golden glow was instantly crushed by Shenshu, Zen Meditation had failed.
Multi-coloured brilliance ignited in al-Asura’s fist. He pushed the power of Executioner Phala to the utmost, his fists whistling as they struck Shenshu’s chest.
Bang!
A sound like a great bell; the force of the punch passed through Shenshu’s body, surging hundreds of metres like a raging gale, demolishing all houses and city walls along its path.
Bang, bang, bang… al-Asura’s fists repeatedly exploded against Shenshu’s chest, the force passing straight through him; in the hundred metres behind Shenshu, a patch of ground was cleared into an irregular vacuum.
“Are you scratching an itch?”
Shenshu’s navel opened and spoke in a puzzled tone.
Al-Asura’s rainstorm punches froze a little, his movements stalled.
You should say: “Little fists thumping my chest…” In the distance, Xu Qi’an, witnessing this, muttered inwardly.
He calmly dealt with Arhat Du’e’s prayer beads, not rushing things, working together with Bear King keeping Arhat Du’e occupied left and right.
The gap between third rank and second rank was still vast, especially for a seasoned second rank like Arhat Du’e.
The power of the Executioner Phala could inflict immense damage on both him and the Bear King, coupled with all sorts of Buddhist magic.
The best strategy now was to wait for Shenshu to finish off al-Asura and free up a hand for dealing with Du’e and Samantabhadra.
Shenshu swung al-Asura and slammed him violently down.
With an earth-shaking boom, Xu Qi’an felt as though he heard a missile explode, and the ground beneath his feet shook violently.
The solid ground suddenly sank and cracked, fissures extending downward, splitting the inner rock of Wanyao Mountain.
Al-Asura’s eyes were wide open, blood gushing from his throat.
Boom, boom, boom, boom…
Thunderous heartbeats, like pounding drums, sounded as al-Asura’s skin faded from dark gold to pitch black.
This meant he no longer suppressed his Asura bloodline, releasing his fighting spirit, he was an indomitable warrior, an undefeated god of war, he was…
Bang!
Shenshu stomped him deeper into the earth, cracking the rocks inside the mountain even further.
“Such a familiar aura, there’s something very familiar in you,” Shenshu said as he continued stomping. Al-Asura’s chest bones caved in, he coughed blood incessantly, even the undying battle body of the Asura clan could not withstand Shenshu’s mighty foot.
Al-Asura grinned, his gums crimson, mocking:
“How pitiful you are.”
Shenshu seemed enraged. He lifted his left hand, and conjured an orb of black-red energy in his palm. Its core was jet black, the outer layer enveloped in blood light. The black core kept collapsing inward, erupting with black arcs of lightning.
Gripping the orb, Shenshu smashed it down fiercely on al-Asura’s head.
Red and black light erupted in an instant, expanding outward like a dome before exploding with a boom, transforming into a pure, raging energy storm.
The dense forest around bent low like wilting grass under the onslaught.
Xu Qi’an, Bear King, and even the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox stopped what they were doing and turned to look toward Shenshu.
Shenshu stood in the deep pit left by the vanishing energy, smoke rising from his left hand. At his feet was a broken, pitch-black corpse, its head and chest vanished.
Dead?
Xu Qi’an focused his senses but could not detect al-Asura’s true spirit.
…
The “greatest peace” ↩
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