Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter 265 Brave New World (The Finale)

The Big Dipper actually has nine stars, seven of which are visible and two are hidden.

Seven stars are common, but unique insight and hidden essence are rare.

The stars have nine transformations; when the hidden essence is revealed, the God of War is formed.

Upon achieving the Martial God status, Xiao Chong underwent a dramatic transformation.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth surged in, and a massive amount of primordial energy filled the mountains. The clouds and mist on the mountaintop, which had been dispersed by the fierce battle between the two, were now enveloped by the primordial energy that had materialized.

Although the mountain's spiritual energy was incredibly abundant, it could not conceal the starlight falling from the sky.

The starlight was continuous and wispy. At first, it was just scattered specks, but then it turned into thick ribbons of light that descended from the sky like waterfalls, intertwining with the primordial energy of heaven and earth and continuously entering Xiao Chong's body.

The sudden change caught Xiao Chong off guard. His body trembled and his face changed drastically, as if he were in extreme pain.

Starlight and the primordial energy of heaven and earth poured into Xiao Chong's body in an endless stream, turning into primordial energy crystals and storing them in various acupoints. However, his absorption speed was obviously not as fast as the influx of starlight and the primordial energy of heaven and earth. A large amount of starlight and the primordial energy of heaven and earth still emerged from the pores of his body, making him look like a luminous body wrapped in jade belts.

Under the cleansing of the primordial energy of heaven and earth, a large amount of impurities in his body were brought out, which were black and sticky like oil stains on his body surface.

Time passed slowly, and Xiao Chong gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on.

Fortunately, replenished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the starlight, the Purple Cloud Cauldron slowly pressed down inch by inch, fighting to a draw with the large hand that was supporting it. It was powerless and never had the strength to launch a fatal attack on Xiao Chong.

As dawn approached, the countless stars gradually disappeared, their brilliance faded, and the primordial energy of heaven and earth within a radius of tens of thousands of miles gradually thinned out.

Xiao Chong let out a long roar, his body suddenly trembled, and his clothes exploded into pieces, turning into butterflies that fluttered among the mountains. The filth covering his body also vaporized, leaving no trace, revealing skin as pink and tender as a newborn baby.

The Martial God realm has finally reached its peak! Xiao Chong's body has also undergone new changes!

His divine sense grew wildly. The shape of the Purple Cloud Cauldron in the air remained unchanged, but the space inside suddenly contracted and expanded, increasing a hundred million times.

Mountains rose from the ground, rivers appeared out of thin air, the world inside the cauldron was full of life, all kinds of celestial birds and beasts appeared out of nowhere, and the sky was filled with changing winds and clouds, which evolved into the sun, moon and stars.

Xiao Chong's aura continued to rise, and with every move he made, there was a power that could destroy the world.

"Destroy!"

Xiao Chong gave a soft shout and pointed his hand into the air.

The Purple Cloud Cauldron swelled again, easily shattering the giant hand formed from primordial energy, which then fell upon Wu Neng.

"what!"

Wu Neng let out a deafening scream and instantly turned to ashes, leaving not a trace of his existence.

"What martial god? What indestructible body? Under the cauldron, not even a speck of dust will remain!"

Xiao Chong chuckled and prepared to go down the mountain to settle accounts with the mentally challenged old monk.

Just then, a morning breeze swept by, gently brushing against Xiao Chong's body.

Xiao Chong felt a chill beneath him and, in a panic, quickly looked down, only to find himself completely naked.

It turned out that when his body shook just now, his clothes were blown to pieces.

"Luckily, we discovered it in time! Otherwise, if the mentally challenged old monk had seen it, who knows what kind of bad ideas he might have had!"

Recalling the tender affection between the Grand Elder and Elder Hua during the Battle of Yuntian City, Xiao Chong suddenly shivered.

She quickly took out a set of clothes from the Purple Cloud Cauldron and hurriedly put them on to avoid revealing her private parts and attracting the covetous eyes of the mentally challenged old monk.

With everything packed up, Xiao Chong took a step and, as if traversing the void, appeared in the temple halfway up the mountain.

The temple was still enveloped in a peaceful and majestic Buddhist light, just as it had been when he and Wu Neng left. However, Xiao Chong's cultivation had greatly increased, and he was no longer affected by it.

After secretly circulating his internal energy and finding no further obstruction, Xiao Chong felt relieved and stepped into the meditation room.

As if he had known the outcome all along, the mentally challenged Zen master sat in the meditation room with his hands slightly clasped, gently tapping the wooden fish in front of him, his face showing neither sorrow nor joy.

"Benefactor Xiao is indeed a genius, managing to escape from the hands of the God of War. Since you have returned unharmed, my incompetent disciple must have already passed away peacefully."

Upon hearing the noise, the Zen Master Zhizhang opened his eyes a crack and stopped chanting sutras to ask a question.

"Indeed, Wu Neng has already died and vanished, but given all the sins he committed, it's hard to say whether he has been reborn in the Pure Land."

Xiao Chong shook his head slightly and laughed loudly, "Old monk, now it's your turn!"

"Wherever Benefactor Xiao says he went, then he went."

The mentally challenged Zen Master didn't argue with Xiao Chong, as if he didn't care about life and death at all. He said softly, "Since even the incompetent is no match for you, then this old monk, who doesn't practice martial arts, is naturally no match for you either."

"You may take my life at any time, but before that, wouldn't you like to hear the origins of this world, Benefactor Xiao?"

"Tell me about it! I have long heard that Buddhism has many wonderful methods, and that virtuous people with profound cultivation can speak eloquently, with heavenly flowers falling as they speak of the most exquisite parts. Today I want to see for myself."

After Xiao Chong finished speaking, he released Sheng Xueyan, Helian Tieshu, Qingmeng and others from the Purple Cloud Cauldron.

He felt that those who were close to him had at least the right to know.

"This old monk, whose Buddhist name is Zhizhang, is the master of the temple and the behind-the-scenes leader of the Martial Elders Association. He has something to say now, so please listen."

Xiao Chong pointed to the mentally challenged Zen Master and introduced him to Sheng Xueyan and the others.

Sheng Xueyan, Helian Tieshu, and other natives of Tianyun Continent immediately gathered around Xiao Chong, curiously watching the mentally challenged Zen Master and listening intently.

Only Long Wu had already vaguely guessed the old monk's origins, and stood behind Xiao Chong with a cold laugh.

"No wonder even Wuneng is no match for Benefactor Xiao. Benefactor, you truly have excellent skills!"

Seeing so many people appear out of thin air, the Zen Master Zhizhang was not particularly surprised. He simply praised them and then said to Xiao Chong, "The Tianyun Continent has a history of tens of thousands of years. Its martial arts are flourishing and can be said to have a long and rich history."

But aside from the martial artists in the Martial Elders' Association, very few other martial artists can cultivate to the level of Martial Saint, and in the last few thousand years, not even a single Martial God has appeared. Why do you ask?

Xiao Chong was also a little curious, so he asked in a cooperative manner, "Why?"

The mentally challenged Zen Master said, "It is because in this continent, all those with exceptional talent are summoned to the Martial Elders' Council after they become Grandmasters. If they can advance further, they are all brought to this temple. Therefore, it is not easy to see martial artists above the Martial Saint realm on the continent."

"Then why don't we see these summoned warriors moving around the continent?"

Where did they go after entering the temple?

Sheng Xueyan and Helian Tieshu were both martial artists from the Clan Alliance, and they were more concerned about the whereabouts of those martial artists, so they asked questions one after another.

The mentally challenged Zen Master glanced at the two of them slowly, but did not answer. Instead, he turned to Xiao Chong and asked, "Has Benefactor Xiao ever heard of the Buddha Kingdom in the Palm of His Hand?"

Xiao Chong nodded and said, "I know a little bit about it. Could it be that the Tianyun Continent is also a Buddha Kingdom in the palm of your hand?"

“That is indeed true,” the mentally challenged Zen Master continued. “But I wonder where you heard this from?”

Xiao Chong laughed and said, "You don't need to know that. Just tell me where those martial artists went. What's your purpose in telling me all this?"

"Then I won't ask."

Knowing that further questioning would yield no results, the mentally challenged Zen Master continued, "Since you know this is a Buddha-land within a palm, you must also know that the vast world is not limited to this one place. In another world, there once existed two religions, Buddhism and Taoism, which fought endlessly for many years, resulting in the deaths of many great beings..."

“I understand that, let’s get straight to the point,” Xiao Chong interrupted the Zen Master Zhizhang.

"So this benefactor already knows, then this old monk will not say any more."

The mentally challenged Zen master was taken aback for a moment, then regained his composure and said, "Our Buddhist sect has a secret method that allows fallen disciples to be reincarnated. After being reborn, their original memories will not be lost."

However, this method has a drawback: without a strong body as a foundation, one must start cultivating from scratch. But with the two sects locked in fierce conflict, how much time can one afford to wait?

Therefore, a plan was devised to establish this Buddha Kingdom within the palm of one's hand, where the inhabitants would not cultivate supernatural powers, but only martial arts. Once these martial artists became Martial Gods, their original consciousness would be erased, and they would be transported to another world to serve as vessels for the souls of fallen disciples, saving much trouble.

"What's the difference between that and raising livestock?" Xiao Chong said angrily after hearing the Zen Master Zhizhang's explanation.

"In the eyes of Buddha, the body is just a skin, and there is no difference between them."

The mentally challenged Zen Master showed no remorse and said, "Benefactor Xiao, how about we make a deal? I'll make you the master of this world, just like the Martial Elders Association, and you can continue to train alchemists for my Buddhist sect in the future, how about that?"

Xiao Chong refused, shouting angrily, "Dream on! Stop spreading your misleading words and go to the Pure Land with your incompetent disciple!"

After saying that, he was about to kill the mentally challenged Zen Master.

The mentally challenged Zen Master sighed and slowly shook his head, saying, "This is a Buddha-land in the palm of your hand. Birth and death are all within my control. Since you are so stubborn, then you will all be liberated together with me."

Before Xiao could make a move, the mentally challenged Zen Master's mouth moved, and the Buddhist light in the temple suddenly intensified. The Zen Master's body also turned into specks of clear light and dissipated along with the Buddhist light.

"A liberation? What does that mean?" A sense of foreboding arose in everyone's hearts.

At that moment, the surrounding space trembled, and the soil beneath their feet collapsed, rapidly extending into the distance.

Sheng Xueyan, Helian Tieshu, Fatty, Qingmeng, and other locals were confused and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

"Boss, something terrible has happened! That old bald monk is going to take us all down with him! This world is about to disappear!" Long Wu, being a half-deity, was extremely knowledgeable. In his shock, he grabbed Xiao Chong's leg and began to shout.

"What's the panic! With such poor composure, how can you possibly achieve anything significant?"

At the critical moment, Xiao Chong kicked Long Wu away, opened the Purple Cloud Cauldron, and instantly covered the entire Tianyun Continent with his divine sense, taking in all living creatures that were breathing.

At the same time, he transformed into a stream of light and swiftly entered the Purple Cloud Cauldron.

Outside the cauldron, the earth shook even more violently, and patches of space were rapidly annihilated, as the Tianyun Continent returned to the endless void.

However, in the endless void, there was a large purple cauldron that remained unmoved no matter how the space trembled.

Time seemed to stand still in the void. After an unknown period of time, the purple cauldron suddenly shrank inward, coalescing into a tiny black dot as fine as dust. Then, it burst forth with a dazzling light, instantly expanding trillions of times in size, giving rise to a brand new world in the void.

……

In the new world, the primordial energy of heaven and earth is abundant, and in many places it is so rich that it is almost tangible.

Thanks to this, the martial arts practitioners' skills improved rapidly, and the scene changed dramatically every day.

In the new world, there was no infighting among various factions, and everyone lived in peace and prosperity, joining the Dragon Flower Path.

One day, the Dragon Flower Dao Master was overjoyed. His divine sense instantly covered the entire world, and a majestic voice resounded through the sky, reaching the ears of every Daoist:

"As long as the dragon's body is immortal and the spirit of China is undying, when I attain the Great Dao, everyone will be like a dragon..."

"The dragon's body will never die, the Chinese spirit will never perish, and everyone can be like a dragon..." The Taoists chanted in unison, their voices reaching the heavens.

"As long as the dragon's body is immortal, the Chinese spirit will never perish..." The voice in the sky grew even more majestic.

Just then, another woman's voice rang out from the sky: "Xiao Chong, the child has wet himself! Why aren't you back yet!"

The Taoist priests were stunned, and their chanting immediately subsided.

"Young Master! Young Madam said that if you come back late, don't even think about getting into her bed again!" A naive girl's voice boomed in the sky, desperately piercing the ears of the Daoist followers.

The Taoist priests were even more speechless. They stopped chanting and secretly wondered if their Taoist master would kill them to silence them.

"Boss! It's not that I don't want to help you, I've already covered for you, so you'd better pray for yourself!" A sleazy voice came again, making the Taoists even more panicked.

However, the sleazy voice didn't finish speaking; it stubbornly continued to reach everyone's ears: "Young master is hungry and is going to gnaw on pig's trotters!"

...Qingmeng! Qingmeng! Did you steal and eat all the pig's trotters?

"Boss, aren't you going to do anything about this? You're really prioritizing your girlfriend over your friends, you're not a human being!"

These last eight words finally shattered the last psychological defense of the Taoist followers, and all of them collapsed, unable to get up for a long time.

[The End]