On the Avenue.

Chapter 670 The Number One Assassin in the Immortal Realm

When the Sutra of Eternal Attainment of Freedom through a Thousand Kalpas erupted, all the humans, animals, Vajras, monks, nuns, bodhisattvas, arhats, and wrathful deities on Mount Ling showed signs of panic.

They felt a calamity that had not shrouded them for a long time descend upon them at this moment, a calamity that was more powerful and terrifying than the one they were supposed to bear!
The Western Paradise is free from calamity.

The Western Paradise is known as the Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is common knowledge that one can practice Buddhism in the Western Paradise without the troubles of calamities.

Mount Ling is a rare sacred place in the Western Paradise. On Mount Ling, one can attain enlightenment and is free from calamities. No matter how heinous your sins are, you will not suffer any consequences.

Therefore, many powerful figures in the demonic path willingly laid down their weapons and converted to Buddhism.

But now, the divine power of the Great Bright King has enveloped Mount Ling, and this pure land of the Western Paradise seems to have been shattered. Calamity is surging in, and everyone is struggling in the midst of it!
Even beings as powerful as Bodhisattvas and Venerable Ones felt that they, who were originally not subject to reincarnation, were now falling into the cycle of rebirth.

In the distance, they could even see a vast and magnificent Xuanhuang Sea, and Houtu Huangdiqi, who controlled the dark side of countless worlds with the Great Dao of Reincarnation.

The shadow of that goddess looms over these worlds, and over them as well.

They were already hiding from calamity on Mount Ling, but now they felt that after Mount Ling was destroyed, the calamity was coming even more fiercely than before!
"Great King of Wisdom, what are you doing?"

A wrathful deity, enraged beyond measure, raised his vajra and slammed it down from the sky, shouting, "Why don't you withdraw your supernatural powers?"

The vajra spun in the air, multiplying into countless forms, and vajras appeared everywhere in the sky, smashing down on him.

However, whether or not the supernatural powers are withdrawn is no longer under the control of the Great Bright King.

He was ambushed by Chen Shi. He first practiced the so-called ancient method recorded in the ancient scrolls, but the first of the forty-one hidden laws in the ancient method tore him apart. His own laws expanded outward uncontrollably, severely injuring him!
If he does not use the Eternal Proof of Freedom, he will be torn to pieces.

Chen Shi's brilliance lies in the fact that if Chen Shi himself were to apply the First Principle, he would not be able to shake the Great Bright King in the slightest. But this time, it was the Great Bright King himself who used the First Principle, thus harming himself.

This is tantamount to using a fatal means to strike oneself.

His injuries were so severe, it was all self-inflicted.

Chen Shi's second clever move was using the old monk's blood to write scriptures and ancient scrolls. This was equivalent to borrowing the old monk's power to attack him again while he was seriously injured.

Although the strength of a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal is far inferior to that of a Daluo Golden Immortal, catching someone off guard is Chen Shi's specialty.

The ancient scriptures and scrolls not only exacerbated the injuries of the Great King of Freedom, but also, because the Sutra of Enduring Eternal Freedom through a Thousand Tribulations is both a cultivation method and a supernatural power, while killing the Great King of Freedom, it also activated the Great King of Freedom's supernatural power, pulling Mount Ling into the realm of the Great King of Freedom's supernatural power!
Most importantly, the Great King of Light cannot retract his supernatural powers. If he were to retract them, he would be torn apart by the first of the Forty-One Laws!

However, if he does not withdraw his supernatural powers, Mount Ling will also be succumbed to them!

Only one of him and Mount Ling can exist!
The Great King of Light raised his hand and flicked his sleeve, and the vajras that were being struck fell like rain.

Although he was severely injured by Chen Shi, his cultivation and strength were still extraordinary, and even the Wrathful King was far from being his match.

But the next moment, a Great Luo Golden Immortal flapped his wings and saw the sky filled with colorful divine light, attacking him.

On Mount Ling, there was not only the Great World-Honored One Tathagata, but also the Peacock King and Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. Because Avalokiteshvara was not often on Mount Ling, it was the Peacock King who took action.

Both of them are beings of ancient origin, and they came to Mount Ling with their own skills, so their cultivation was already extremely powerful. The Peacock King, also known as the Buddha Mother Peacock King, is the mother of the Great World Honored One and the elder brother of the old monk Yuncheng.

Before entering Buddhism, his cultivation level was already at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Because he swallowed the Great World Honored One, the Great World Honored One burst him out of his belly. The World Honored One originally wanted to kill him, but the monks, because the peacock's mother, the phoenix, was the first phoenix in the world and possessed incredible power, feared the phoenix's revenge. So they said that since the Buddha came out of his body, killing him would be like killing one's mother.

The Great Buddha had no choice but to bestow upon her the title of Buddha Mother.

The Peacock King's strength was no less than that of the Great King of Freedom. He wore a white robe, had four arms, and used a lotus, a fruit of karmic affinity, a fruit of good fortune, and a peacock tail as weapons to attack at close range.

The Great King of Light hurriedly shouted, "Senior Brother, I was framed! I did not harbor any ill intentions to harm Mount Ling!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was struck by the five-colored divine light of the Peacock King, and immediately, deep wounds appeared all over his body, revealing the bone.

Knowing he must not retaliate, the Great Bright King immediately endured the pain, stood still, and cried out, "My heart is devoted to the Buddha, and I have no other thoughts!"

The Peacock King hesitated for a moment, but the old monk had already transformed into a golden-winged roc, flapped his wings and flew over, grabbing at the head of the Great Sage King, shouting: "You scoundrel, how many worlds have you harmed, and now you want to harm Mount Ling!"

Before the old monk finished speaking, many monks from Lingshan had already ignited their karmic fire, their cultivation completely destroyed, and their physical bodies were burned to ashes in an instant, leaving only human skin under their monk robes!

The karmic fire burning inside their human skin made them hang in the air like lanterns made of human skin, drifting with the wind.

This is exactly the scene when one has attained eternal freedom and supernatural powers through countless eons!
On Mount Ling, below the level of immortals, no one could withstand this supernatural power for even a single breath!
Even those above the immortal level and below the Taiyi Golden Immortal cannot hold out for long.

Having committed too many killings and destroyed all life in the four worlds, the Great King of Light, who had experienced countless tribulations, now transferred his tribulation to others. The tribulation transformed into raging karmic fire, which those with high cultivation could suppress, but those with low cultivation were ignited by the karmic fire.

This karmic fire uses the primordial spirit as a candle and the physical body as a wick, burning extremely fast!

Seeing this, the Peacock King no longer hesitated and immediately attacked the Great King of Freedom.

Just as the Great Bright King raised his hand and sent the old monk flying, he saw the Peacock King coming to kill him. He was furious and said, "Brother, I am devoted to Buddhism. If you don't fight back this time, you will know my intentions."

Just as he was about to take a hit from the Peacock King, he saw other Kings, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Vajras attacking him from all directions, with all sorts of magical treasures flying towards him!

The Buddhist sect in the Western Paradise follows the path of cultivating both immortals and deities. Not only do monks have to have golden statues made to receive incense and offerings from the common people, but the same applies to their magical artifacts.

These magical treasures, after being consecrated and refined, possessed immense power. The sight of them made the Great Ming King's scalp tingle, and he thought to himself, "If I were hit by them, I would be severely injured, if not killed."

At this moment, he saw that Venerable Ananda and Venerable Kasyapa, who were beside the Tathagata Buddha, were also attacking him. Without hesitation, he immediately launched a counterattack.

"I only joined the Ling Mountain and became a Ming King in order to survive. Now that I can't even live, what's the point of being a Ming King?"

With a fierce determination, he no longer held back and instantly triggered the calamity of almost everyone on Mount Ling!
Just now he was merely transferring his own calamity, but now he has stirred up the calamities of these experts from Mount Ling. All the bright kings, bodhisattvas, arhats, and venerable ones from Mount Ling suddenly felt that their own calamities could erupt at any moment!
The Great King of Light was determined to fight to the death, forcing the experts of Mount Ling to mobilize all their cultivation to suppress the karmic fire and calamity within their bodies.

However, the Peacock King and the Golden-Winged Roc brothers still pounced on him. Despite the Peacock King's best efforts to defend himself, he was severely injured again in just a few moves!
The Golden-Winged Roc's Yin and Yang energies are now even more powerful. It summoned the Yin-Yang Energy Bottle and with a whoosh, it took the Great Bright King into the bottle. Just as it was about to refine the King, it heard a crisp clang and a small hole was punched through the bottom of the bottle.

The Great King flew out, but was immediately struck by the Peacock King's lotus flower, causing it to spit blood and fly backward!

The Great King of Light gritted his teeth, disregarding his injuries, and forcefully activated the Sutra of Enduring a Thousand Tribulations to Attain Eternal Freedom, inciting the sins of the Peacock King of Light and the Garuda. When the two caught up, they found their own karmic fire raging and difficult to suppress, and their expressions changed drastically as they each suppressed their own karmic fire. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Great King of Light flew up and fled towards the outside of Mount Ling.

"Fellow Daoist, why the haste to leave?"

A grand voice echoed from Mount Ling, saying, "If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. However, you must take this calamity with you and not leave it on my Mount Ling."

The Great Bright King knew something was wrong, so he immediately turned around, staring intently at the direction of Mount Ling, and flew backward, shouting, "Buddha! I have been suppressed by you for tens of thousands of years, suffering countless torments! We made a deal, I would become the Bright King of Mount Ling, and you granted me freedom! Now, are you going to go back on your word?"

He was incredibly fast, and in an instant he had vanished hundreds of thousands of miles!
Golden light shone brightly on Mount Ling, and an enormous hand slowly rose up.

The Great King of Light felt fear. Although he was flying backwards, the distance between him and Mount Ling was getting closer and closer.

The great supernatural power that had shrouded Mount Ling and attained eternal freedom through countless eons was like a vast net, shrinking and falling back into his body.

The Great Bright King was terrified and cried out, "Buddha, your purpose in releasing me is nothing more than to use me to transfer the calamity to the monks of Mount Sumeru! What you cannot do, I can do for you! If you kill me, all your schemes will be in vain!"

He had barely finished speaking when the supernatural powers he had accumulated through countless kalpas were pressed into his body by the Great World-Honored One Tathagata.

The Great King of Light trembled violently and froze on the spot.

Peacock King and the bodhisattvas and arhats suppressed their karmic fire and were about to step forward to kill the bandits who were troubling Mount Ling when suddenly the Great King of Freedom exploded with a bang!

The first of the forty-one laws formed a huge crack that tore and devoured him, and the explosive power did not even reach a hundred feet away!

When the Peacock King and his entourage rushed to the front, they saw that the Great King of the Free and Bright King had been shattered beyond recognition, with no trace of his remains.

Only forty-one enormous cracks remain in the original location, some hanging in the air, some hanging in the rocks, some hidden in the earth, and some passing through the trunks of towering ancient trees.

These cracks are extremely strange. Even after they were torn apart by the Great King, they have not disappeared and are filled with an ominous aura of heretics.

The Peacock King stopped the crowd and threw out a peacock feather.

This feather was a treasure he had forged with countless refinements; it was extraordinary and possessed immense power. However, upon contact with the crack, it suddenly shattered into pieces, becoming utterly indestructible.

"This is an unorthodox supernatural power!"

The Peacock King was startled and ordered everyone, "Do not approach anything and obey the Buddha's instructions."

Everyone withdrew to clean up the mess on Mount Ling.

In this incident, many monks on Mount Ling were killed or injured, and many human-skin lanterns were left hanging in the air, with karmic fire still burning inside.

Some monks were burned down to their toes, which floated in the air, swaying back and forth, with crackling sounds of flames still coming from inside their skin.

Zhong Wuwang looked around blankly, staring at the swaying human skin lanterns, and was momentarily dazed.

Just moments ago, Mount Ling was a scene of bustling prosperity, with monks gathering to celebrate the passing of the Great Bright King.

Unexpectedly, countless people died and were injured in just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and even the Great Bright King who was undergoing tribulation perished!
Chen Shi's voice came from not far away: "Zen Master Ciyun, Zen Master? Shouldn't we go to a place to rest?"

Zhong Wuwang looked over and saw that Chen Shi was all smiles and very polite to Zen Master Ciyun.

Master Ciyun was a true immortal, and he had almost died from the divine power of the Great King of Light. Still in shock, he did not pay any attention to Chen Shi for the time being.

Chen Shi called out twice more, but the Zen master was still restless.

Zhong Wuwang shuddered: "Chen Zhenwang did such a thing, yet he still dares to stay in Lingshan... Wait a minute, will my master and I be implicated by him?"

At this moment, the voice of the Great World-Honored One Tathagata came: "...The Great Bright King Zijing Layman has committed grave sins, destroying the four worlds of Sanyuan, Tailai, Wufang, and Liuli, and burying countless lives. I, with a compassionate heart, thought I could teach this demon to abandon evil and do good, and wash away his sins. Who would have thought that he would be so vicious and wicked, almost ruining my Lingshan lineage. This is my fault, which has implicated many fellow Daoists."

Peacock King and the others wore sorrowful expressions. A Bodhisattva sighed, "This body is nothing but a stinking bag of skin. It is not necessarily a bad thing for you fellow practitioners to shed this stinking bag of skin and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. We can find them again in the future."

Everyone nodded.

The Tathagata said, “Many of you are injured; each of you should recuperate. Ananda, you should personally escort Benefactor Chen to rest. Benefactor Chen was frightened; you should protect him by his side.”

Venerable Ananda bowed and said, "As you command." After saying this, he came to Chen Shi's side, raised his hand and said, "Benefactor Chen, please."

Zhong Wuwang was about to follow when Venerable Ananda turned around and said, "Junior Brother Zhong, please wait."

Zhong Wuwang was a disciple of the Golden-Winged Roc, and his seniority was extremely high. He was on the same level as the Bodhisattvas and Venerables on Mount Ling.

Helpless, Zhong Wuwang had no choice but to stop and whisper to the approaching old monk, "Master, Chen Zhenwang has been placed under house arrest by the Great World Honored One."

The old monk said expressionlessly, "He murdered the Great Bright King and killed so many disciples of Mount Ling. Naturally, he must give the Great World Honored One an explanation. His methods may fool others, but they cannot fool the Great World Honored One. We need not concern ourselves with this matter, nor can we concern ourselves with it."

Zhong Wuwang agreed, saying, "His audacity is a bit too much."

The old monk sighed and said with sincere admiration, "Talented people emerge in every generation, and new people replace the old. I originally thought that the number one on the Zhuxian Ranking this generation was nothing special, but now it seems that his ability to hold the top spot for so many years is indeed not an empty reputation."

"Master, you have a reputation that is undeserved."

"None of your business! You should properly learn Chen Zhenwang's Yin-Yang Dao. If you can't learn it well, how can you pass it on to me?"

……

Chen Shi was placed under house arrest by Venerable Ananda in a side room of the Dongshan Villa. He could move around the Dongshan Villa, but if he wanted to leave, Venerable Ananda would block him.

After more than ten days, Venerable Ananda said to Chen Shi, "Benefactor Chen, the World-Honored One requests your presence."

(End of this chapter)