Great Red Immortal Sect

Chapter 79: Gathering Strength
The sky is bright and the clouds are drifting. The light from the sky shines through the towering peaks and into the pines and cypresses in the mountains.

Xu Xuan rode on a cloud and stood high in the sky. Beside him stood a big man with a curly beard, a woman in a white dress, and a beautiful woman in a green dress.

He looked towards the big plate from afar and saw monks walking around and ordinary people burning incense, everything was going on as usual.

The light from the temple was even brighter, and even across the mountains and fields, one could hear the devout chanting, which was very disturbing.

"Is it possible to tell the truth from the false?"

He came here just to ask Tiantuo to come and take a look. The old monster has recovered a lot over the years, and his ability to observe the surroundings has improved.

Tian Tuo replied after a while:
"The atmosphere in the temple has changed. It seems that someone else is in charge. However..."

"From the perspective of the void, this place is scattered with colorful precious light. It seems that there is something hidden inside. I'm afraid it is something of the first level of a mage. It's either a magic weapon or the remains of a mage."

After hearing this, Xu Xuan pondered for a while. The Buddhist cultivators' magical instruments were all good-looking but useless, so there was no need to worry. But if it was the remains of a wizard, it would be a bit difficult to deal with.

Buddhist cultivators are good at refining relics and Buddha bones, unlike immortal cultivators, who will disappear between heaven and earth in an instant once their immortal foundation is destroyed.

If it is indeed the remains of a wizard, with some remaining skills, then it is also the realm of Pratyekabuddha, similar to the power of foundation building.

"How to resist?"

"If you can use the Universal Lightning Fire Pearl or the Qifen True Feather, I can activate it secretly without fear, but it will make a lot of noise and will inevitably attract attention."

"This opportunity is hard to come by. If we give up, we will have to wait until after we have established our foundation. By then, Ci Hai will also be a mage, and the cost will probably be even greater."

Xu Xuan absolutely did not want to give up this opportunity. If he could take over the market in one fell swoop and make arrangements in advance, even if Ci Hai broke through, it would be separated by the Li River, and the power of will could not be brought in, so it would be of no use.

Tian Tuo was silent for a while, then suddenly said:
"Is the precious Bodhi light that Jingyan gave you still there?"

Xu Xuan only remembered this thing at this time. Tiantuo had said before that this thing could only be used by Buddhist cultivators, so he had put it aside.

The last time the fragments of the Immortal Stele returned, the Taiyin Laurel turned into a Taoist platform, and the colorful light turned into a Mani Pearl, hidden in Xu Xuan's Qi Sea.

Xu Xuan concentrated his mind and looked inward, finding the orb at the edge of his Qi Sea. Tiantuo activated the golden mandala pattern, rolled up the orb, and said with a smile:
"It is this thing. It is a relic left by a Buddhist monk of the Bodhi stage. It can naturally cure the remains of the other master."

Xu Xuan understood, and now he had a way to deal with it.

"Speaking of which, how exactly are the realms of Buddhist cultivation divided? I heard that the founder of Lotus Temple sought to attain the Vajra realm, and died, leaving behind a fragmented pure land. How is the Bodhi realm any different?"

Tian Tuo became quite lively when talking about Buddhist cultivation. He smiled and said:

"The Buddhist realms are divided into four levels: Dharma Wisdom, Śrāvaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva. These correspond to the stages of the Immortal Cultivation from the Fetal Breath to the Purple Palace."

"If one practices diligently and comprehends the Buddha's teachings, and receives a response from Mount Sumeru and breaks through the realm of Bodhisattva, then one has attained the Bodhi stage and can be called a Bodhisattva. There is hope for further advancement."

"The Vajra rank is a separate realm from the Bodhisattva realm. It can be achieved through the power of vows. The requirements for qualifications and spiritual attainments are not high, and the threshold is relatively low. However, it requires the support of a certain Bodhisattva to achieve success."

Xu Xuan was puzzled when he heard this and continued to ask:

"Then what are the drawbacks of this Vajra position? It can't be that just because the Purple Palace is difficult to achieve, the Vajra position has no drawbacks?"

Tian Tuo chuckled and continued:
"Of course, there is no such thing as perfection in the world. Once you become a Vajra, your cultivation level will never improve. You can't even match the magical powers of an immortal. Even if there is a vacant Bodhi seat above, you can only watch."

"There are also some Vajras with great magical powers. They are all from the Purple Palace who converted to Buddhism. Most of them are external demons who originally did all kinds of evil. But they transformed themselves into guardian deities and are revered by people."

"The son of the True Dragon entered Mount Xumi that year and achieved Buddhahood. He received a copy and gained a great reputation. He is on the same level as the True Lord."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan sighed in his heart. The Buddhist cultivators were so powerful, which was really a headache.

"Junior brother, what's the situation in this temple? Can you tell me anything?"

Wang Xiwei took a step forward, his eyes wide open and unfriendly, staring at the stock market in the distance.

Xu Xuan came back to his senses and said in a deep voice:
"Ci Hai should have retreated. There are still some old monks left in the Lotus Temple who are nearing the end of their lives. Who knows, they might send a few more, not to mention..."

"I think something's not right with this temple. There might be something at the level of a mage. If it's a magical tool, that's fine. But I'm afraid they'll be desperate and bring in a set of remains."

Wen Sian frowned when she heard this and said:

"After all, the Lotus Temple has been presided over by a Buddhist master for generations. Xiaolian can accumulate vows and power because of the Pure Land, which can be used by Cihai. However, the Buddhist monks rely on the temple. As long as we act quickly and destroy the temple, we will be successful."

"There's no need to fight the people inside. Without the temple's protection and having cut off contact with our main temple in Jiangbei, they will naturally retreat."

Xu Xuan nodded and whispered:
"That's exactly the case. There are several foundation-building artifacts in the temple, especially the Untied Boat. If the four of us activate it, the enemy will have no choice but to defend themselves."

Fan Qingzhu didn't say anything, just nodded. She had been practicing in Luo Qing for three years and had never lost any of her resources. Now was the time for her to contribute.

"If Master Xu can establish his foundation, the prosperity of this sect is only a matter of time. I will contribute a little now, and I will repay you tenfold in the future."

Fan Qingzhu drifted from the north to Chiyun, and suffered many hardships along the way. Naturally, he has a long-term vision and does not care about his reputation.

After discussing it, several people went to Luoqing, preparing to choose a day to act, take over the market in one fell swoop, and completely drive Shi Xiu out of Qingwei.

Riding the wind, Xu Xuan was thinking about the temple when Fan Qingzhu suddenly spoke:

"Since the headmaster has made destroying the temple his top priority, why not ask someone for help?" Xu Xuan didn't understand what he meant and only asked:

"May I ask who it is?"

Fan Qingzhu's beautiful eyes moved as she slowly said a person's name.

"Liang Yong."
-
A large plate, inside a temple built with gold lacquer and jade.

An old monk with a haggard appearance was meditating and beating a wooden fish. The monk was wearing a simple black robe, his hair and beard had fallen out, and his hands and feet were like dead branches. Only his eyes and eyebrows showed a bit of majesty.

"Master Cishan, will the other party really send someone here?"

The disciple below spoke, causing Cishan to stop what he was doing and look over.

There are six disciples in the temple, two of whom are his direct disciples, and the other four are sent by Junior Brother Ci Hai to help. All six of them are in the middle stage of the Arhat realm.

"Where did Junior Brother Ci Hai find so many highly accomplished disciples?"

Cishan was awakened from his sleep. He knew that it was time for him to contribute to the temple and had no intention of escaping. However, over the years, the Lotus Temple seemed to have changed so much that he could hardly recognize it.

He is very old, but the reason he is still alive is because of the situation he is in today.

"Wen Fufeng was very decisive back then, so his disciples must be no worse."

Cishan's voice was old and he spoke very slowly.

"How's the formation you're practicing going?"

"Master, it's complete. With six of us forming a formation, we can block even Xu Xuan's sword energy for a long time."

"Okay, proceed normally for the next few days. Don't alert the enemy. Just wait for them to come to you."

The disciples below responded, and Cishan ordered them to retreat. Now he was the only one left in the temple.

Cishan stood up and looked at the tall golden statue in front of him, [Lotus Cause Great Transformation Bodhisattva]. The Buddha statue had a compassionate look on its face, sitting upright on a lotus platform, with nine arms and nine hands, each holding a Buddhist treasure.

Cishan chanted a Buddhist name softly, walked towards the back of Jin, knocked on the wall lightly, opened the secret door, and saw a secret passage leading to the underground.

Entering, there is a dim light in a small stone chamber with a lotus platform in the middle. On top of it is a skeleton in a cassock. The bones are like colored glass and are shining with colorful gems.

"It's a sin."

Cishan bowed down and looked at his master's remains with mixed emotions.

"Junior Brother Ci Hai told me that the other remains in the Small Pure Land have lost a lot of their vital energy, and only Master's remains are relatively good. We had no choice."

Cishan looked at the glazed skull and saw a hideous gash on its sternum, countless ribs shattered, and a ball of mysterious yellow energy flowing in the heart, dissipating the precious light.

"Chen Weiyuan, what is his cultivation level?"

He was filled with surprise and doubt, vaguely remembering what happened that year. His master, Master Miao He, had already reached the realm of Dharma perfection and was about to try to break through to the realm of Bodhisattva.

A young man in black clothes who had just broken through the foundation-building stage rushed in, holding a gilded spear with a dragon pattern. He crossed the Li River and rushed in as if he was in an empty place.

Master Miao He blessed himself with Xiao Lian's Pure Land vows and took out the secret treasure, but he was still no match for the opponent and was shot to death by the opponent, ending up like this.

Now, after all these years, he heard that Chen Weiyuan had become old and useless, and he felt it was ridiculous. As long as this man had not really died, even if the Lotus Temple had more monks, they would not dare to go any further than Da Jingyuan.

"Even though Wen Fufeng's swordsmanship is powerful, he's only at the foundation-building stage, and I'm afraid he's still a few points behind Chen Weiyuan."

Lotus Temple never announced the true cause of Miao He's death, and Chen Weiyuan never publicized it, apparently disdaining to mention it, and the matter was gradually forgotten.

Now, looking at his master's remains again, Cishan felt only fear. The higher his cultivation level, the more he felt how unfathomable the person back then was.

"Junior Brother Ci Hai's temperament has changed drastically. He used to hate the Chen family the most and was always thinking about Master, but now he's willing to hand over the remains."

Cishan now felt that his junior brother had become a different person, as if something else had penetrated under his skin, but he didn't dare to say it or think about it. He could only comfort himself over and over again that these were all trivial matters.

He was too old, so old that he had no thoughts other than death.

If someone could kill him off quickly and swiftly, that would be great. I've heard that the swordsmanship of the Great Red Temple Master is very sharp, I wonder if he could act faster?

This may be his last time in this world. No matter he wins or loses, he will be buried here.

When people get old, they can’t remember many things. The grudges in the temple and the teachings of the master all seem hazy.

He sat down quietly, his posture casual, like a common villager in the mountains.

Cishan felt that many people and many things were saying goodbye to him irrevocably. Deep in his memory, he vaguely remembered a woman leading his young son into the temple.

"My practice is not enough, Master."

He looked at the glass skeleton with a smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)