Chapter 334

Mount Heng's grass and essence are lush, towering trees block the sky, rosy clouds gather, and the golden lotus embraces the mountain and blooms.

"Guanyin Bodhisattva, when practicing the profound Prajnaparamita, sees that the five aggregates are all empty, relieving severe suffering. Shariputra, there is no difference between emptiness and form, form is no different from emptiness; form is emptiness, emptiness is form; feeling, perception, volition, consciousness are likewise."

A great Buddha sits upon the golden lotus, its stature reaching heaven and standing on earth, as if the Buddha himself has descended.

Behind the giant Buddha, the divine radiance shines brilliantly, as if a golden sun illuminates the heavens, and a lingering chant resounds with boundless Brahma tones.

The sightseers all had their mouths wide open, staring in disbelief at the scene on Mount Heng.

Moreover, some people rubbed their eyes hard, their hearts surging with astonishment.

"The Buddha's golden body illuminates half the sky; could it be that a true Buddha is about to break through space and arrive?"

Countless immortal cranes, leading purple aura, come from all directions, encircling the golden pearl, their emerald cries resounding vigorously in all eight directions.

Longling's avatar, dressed in white, sits solemnly on the high platform, his whole body surrounded by brilliant seven-colored rosy light, with mysterious runes drifting down.

The Sect Leader of the Longyuan Immortal Sect, Heavenly Pivot, has always been called the envoy of the Demon Master; holding a sect ritual, he constructs divine traces with his cultivation level, rendering the entire Mount Song ancient temple as if it were a celestial court.

"What the Heavenly Pivot True Person said is exactly so; cultivators receive great kindness from the Patriarch. Although we cannot repay such vast virtue, we can wholeheartedly return it. Taking this opportunity, we ought to express our gratitude!"

The towering golden Buddha gradually shrinks, like a golden pearl suspended in the sky, golden flames blazing, divine radiance sparkling.

"After a thousand years, the Elixir Path will flourish; my Dao will not be alone."

The illusory apparitions of sentient beings manifest nearby; although they are transparent, they are filled with countless vessels, and the countless mysterious runes within those vessels operate in an orderly manner.

"The Dao has substance: vague and elusive. Elusive yet vague, within it there is an image. Vague yet elusive, within it there is substance."

If it were not for the Demon Master guarding Great Xia, the earth's great calamity would descend, and the people of Great Xia could not resist the bitter cold wave of minus 200 degrees.

There is something formless, born before Heaven and Earth. Silent and vast, standing alone and unchanging, moving everywhere without peril—it can be the mother of all under heaven. I do not know its name; I call it the Way, and forcefully give it the name Great.

Li Bai's eyes shone with divine light as he murmured; just then, a voice entered his ears.

They walked with mysterious steps, under the guidance of the Sect Leader of Longyuan Immortal Sect, carrying high incense toward the Mountain God's temple.

"We are not immortal beings; we have long since fallen into the past. Now that we have returned, we only wish to follow the immortal being and repay the great kindness of transmitting the Dao."

On the clean altar table in the temple's Mahavira Hall, yellow talisman papers floated up; the Heart Sutra moved without wind, and the chanting of sutras echoed throughout the hall.

Students of the Cultivation Academy had never seen the true form of the demon master; hearing of the sacrifice to the demon master, they felt longing, spontaneously prepared gifts, exhausting what they had learned—bringing elixirs, treasures, and spiritual talismans into Song Mountain.

Now it can be freely manifested into reality.

The giant Buddha stepped upon a lotus and rose; the Buddha's voice resounded grandly, lotus petals rained down like flowers, immortal cranes crossed back and forth, stirring clear, crisp crane cries.

Wu Zhenghao was grabbed by the ears by the Northeast Tiger King, pleading for mercy.

Such means overturned their cognition—what powerful existence could have built such a colossal project?

"We three are all cultivators of Earth; having returned now, we can indeed solve Earth's coal crisis."

"I pay my respects to Master."

"Tiger King Teacher, could you seek a forward position for your disciple? The disciple truly wishes to behold the ancestor's countenance."

People from all over the Great Xia gathered at Song Mountain; Song Mountain instantly became a sea of people, with voices clamoring.

Zhi Dun was a high monk of Eastern Jin Buddhism, who authored works such as Zhuangzi's 'Free and Easy Wandering', 'On the Profound Theory of Immediate Form', and 'On the Non-existence of Immediate Form'; he is one of the six great masters of Prajna learning, having lived over a thousand years ago.

Zu Ci sensed the aura of the alchemist and spoke excitedly.

One could say that the demon master not only saved humanity but also ushered humanity into a new era, the High Martial Epoch.

Although Song Mountain's Dao lecture comes after those of Heng Mountain and Heng Mountain, it still draws a larger crowd—many who are without any fault in the demon master's divine appearance, and together with Song Mountain above, they make up for regrets.

Li Bai and his two companions, upon hearing Ye Chen's words, all gasped.

"In the past I taught you that greed, anger, and ignorance are the great taboos of cultivators, yet you have forgotten again."

"When did Great Xia produce so many who have entered the Dao?"

The cultivators felt themselves within chaos; the golden core, crystal clear like jade, broke through chaos, seeking harmony with the law, continually transforming within the runes, drawing the souls gradually into a meditative state.

"The false Dao nurtures conduct; the true Dao nurtures the spirit; the true divine way can bring about extinction or survival."

"Three sages, after the Three Mountains Temple Fair ends, please follow me together to Longyuan Mountain to pay respects to the immortal being!"

"Damn it! Fox spirit, you dare to steal the king's position!"

Wu Zhenghao is a disciple of the first wave of the Cultivation Academy, endowed with extraordinary talent, personally instructed by the Northeast Tiger King, his qi elixir condensed into a golden core.

"Is the crisis spoken of by the demon master perhaps this tower?"

He practiced the way of alchemy, and now he saw many precious elixirs placed upon the desk.

That green copper cauldron is clearly three rare treasures; as incense burns the tortoise shell, wondrous undulations ripple forth.

The aura of incense flourished; multitudes of rosy light condensed into a gigantic golden dragon, coiling above the Mountain God's temple, its dragon might vast, within the divine eye a compassion shines through, giving people a natural sense of closeness.

The demon master defied heaven, seized creation, and established a cultivation method unprecedented in ancient and modern times, becoming the teacher of both human and demon cultivators.

Long live the Mountain God!

Some planets are shrouded in thick ice and snow, while others have turned into molten magma.

As a faint, almost imperceptible light flashed, a mental ripple entered the three's seas of consciousness, and then it pulled the three into the depths of Longyuan Mountain.

Therefore, whether demon or human cultivators, they all feel an innate closeness toward Ye Qin.

After Ye Qin exchanged greetings with a few people, he pointed a finger into the void, and with the undulation of spiritual power he sketched out the scene of the solar system.

The Extraterrestrial Heaven Sect constructed a signal tower using an entire star system—its means are utterly unimaginable.

After the Northeast Tiger King threw out the elixir, a sudden shriek sounded and he vanished on the spot.

With a flash of the grand spell formation, patches of rosy clouds pushed aside to reveal a mysterious space, and a mysterious palace manifested.

……

Although incense gives little feedback to the individual, over a long time, even ordinary mortals will eventually transform.

"The grace of transmitting the Dharma is deep as the sea; the grace of receiving the Dao is great as heaven. Without the founder's creation of the method, humanity would struggle to enter the High Martial Epoch. The inheritors ought to perform the sacrificial rite on Song Mountain, exalting the founder's achievements."

Merely thinking about it, Zu Ci and the others felt their scalps go numb.

You probably just want to get closer to obtain more benefits.

The disciples doing evening lessons and the host were astonished, as if they had become heavenly beings.

The poetic characters' brushstrokes wandered like dragons and snakes, mysterious profound light flickered upon them, runes floated and turned into a rain of runes that enveloped the entire temple.

"Having formed a Golden Core, with five senses penetrating the profound, how could one fail to see the Demon Master's heavenly visage?"

A mountaineer swept away all fatigue from his body.

Ye Qin, seeing this, merely chuckled.

The main hall's seat shone with treasure light, a figure appeared—it was Ye Qin; the three sages saw Ye Qin sacrifice himself and dared not delay.

Li Bai, Zuo Ci, and Zhi Dun saw that mysterious pagoda, their pupils constricted.

Ye Qin, deeply feeling it, nodded.

The Great Xia authorities issued a document about the Song Mountain sacrifice to the Demon Master; once the news spread, all Great Xia citizens sprang into action.

An ancient, simple aura appeared—a phantom of a bronze sword manifesting before Zhi Dun.

Nowadays, he personally revived ancient people from the ages; these feats shocked the hearts of many Great Xia citizens.

Upon Longling's avatar's words, the cultivators looked up in anticipation, focusing their minds to answer.

"Amitabha, the talisman was left by Master Zhi Dun; the talisman paper has reappeared with divine traces, the fruit of bliss certified by Master Zhi Dun."

Longling's avatar lectured for forty-nine days; the Great Derivation is fifty, evolving forty-nine and escaping one, thus forty-nine days is the heavenly number.

This is the most original truth of cultivation; parting the clouds to see the essence directly can let cultivators avoid detours.

"Hehe, nothing can be hidden from Teacher Tiger King."

"The three have reversed time, their Dao fruits merged—how delightful."

Zhi Dun's eyes showed excitement; the bronze sword was spirited, humming incessantly.

That sutra's sound was ethereal yet deafening, making the mind and spirit clear.

All the ribbons used in the temple were painted with praises.

Longling's avatar's eyes shone with brilliant treasure light; the left eye like the moon, the right eye like the sun, yin and yang intertwined.

"Thank you, ancestral master."

Upon Longling's avatar's words, the boundless heavenly sound resonated in the field.

"The manifestation of Master Zhi Dun's divine image in the human world suggests he has attained the Buddha's exalted position."

The 749 Bureau's Hua Tiancheng signed the supreme document, recalling all cultivators to rush to Song Mountain with state honors.

"Amitabha!"

Long live the Demon Master!

The revival has descended into the world; everything is the work of demons and immortals, and now we shall finally see the true immortals.

When Longling's voice arrived, the three ancient sages were instantly stirred.

Moreover, that pagoda occasionally emitted water‑like ripples, spreading throughout the solar system and even into the depths of the universe.

The Signal Tower is a bridge to the deepest reaches of the universe, linking another cultivation world; it can contend with Huanyu cultivators for Earth's cultivation resources.

Among the crowd, Li Bai, Zuo Ci, and Zhi Dun gazed at the ancient temple's vast incense power, their minds shaken.

Wu Zhenghao rubbed his ears and gave a silly laugh.

At the same time, they will also become the first batch of Earth cultivators to venture into Huanyu!

"The ancient sages have descended into the world; I come under the command of the immortal demons, lecturing in various places, the Three Mountains and the Academy. Today's lecture is the method of cultivating the primordial spirit; you must cherish it deeply."

Longling's avatar glanced over the listeners, satisfiedly nodding.

Before the Song Mountain temple, ribbons fluttered, red candles stood upright, and boys and girls sang a sacrificial hymn praising the Mountain God.

A monk in plain robes stepped out of the golden pearls, palms together, his face filled with sorrow and compassion.

"The Demon Master has built an era of great prosperity; in the high‑martial age, geniuses abound!"

At that moment, a mighty voice resonated across the earth; countless those who knew Zhi Dun sucked in a breath of cold air.

The cultivators' hearts and spirits were stirred; they instinctively felt a strong affinity for Longling's avatar, as if bound by blood.

"I have never burned incense or bowed to the Buddha; the Buddha ferried me out of the sea of suffering—true Buddha's compassion."

The grades of some rare elixirs actually elicited his great admiration.

Ye Qin lifted the three up, gestured for them to sit down, then said.

"Taken from the people, used for the people; borrowing the power of incense to give back to all beings, cleansing essence and marrow. The Demon Master's methods reach heaven thoroughly—indeed capable of crossing the river of ages, walking between present and future."

When the tower was completed, Earth's orbit changed due to radiation, and cold waves ravaged the land, leaving the people unable to survive.

Here stands an ancient simple Daoist temple, naturally the object of contemplation Ye Qin once saw—the Supreme Clarity Observatory!

"The master's ability penetrates the profound; he is the ancestor of the method's creation, and those who excel in practicing it know it in their hearts."

The Demon Master is actually a transmitter of Master Zhi Dun's teachings—surely a living immortal who bears witness to history!

The temple's groves rise loftily; the blue‑gray halls bathe in sunlight, their ambiance distant and poetic, like poetry and painting.

Those afflicted with illness felt only that all pain in their limbs and organs vanished.

"Clang!"

Ye Qin seized the workings of heaven and earth, entered the path of cultivation through the Contemplation Method, studied ancient and modern classics, the vast rivers and great rivers, used the method to tread the river of ages, spanned past, present, and future, transmitted the teachings of ancient sages, created the Demonic Scripture, wrote the foundational cultivation method, and further passed down the great ways of alchemy and artifact forging.

He was honored as the Poetry Immortal, entering the Dao through poetry.

Following the old monk's manifestation in the world, at Yunling West Mountain's Yuan Chan Temple, the image hanging in the hall suddenly shone with great righteous divine light; a young monk discovered the divine trace and hurriedly sought the abbot's help.

They were ancient ones; though they yearned for Huanyu, they knew little of it. Had they not encountered Ye Qin's broadcast, they would have long perished in the river of time; today, reborn, they never imagined there would still be an extraterrestrial cultivation civilization.

He is the ancestor of all myriad laws, the source of all wonders; whoever cultivates his method becomes his inheritor.

Afterward, Longling went to the Three Mountains, lectured at the temple fair, transmitted the law to all beings, and prepared the subsequent human race for entering cosmic warfare.

On this day, temples everywhere sensed it; countless Buddhist disciples sat cross‑legged, chanting in astonishment, respectfully welcoming Master Zhi Dun's descent into the human world!

……

At this moment, on the central lecture platform, a mysterious vibration transmitted, and the Longling avatar suddenly appeared.

Zhi Dun's eyes showed the vicissitudes of ages as he overlooked the whole of Xia; when his gaze fell upon Mount Song, he felt somewhat incredulous.

All cultivators praised in unison and began to act.

His strength was formidable whether among the demon tribe or among humans.

"I am Zhi Dun, having received the demon master's teachings, combining Buddhist and Daoist paths, I have comprehended the profound truth of Mahayana Buddhism and attained great virtue."

The Longling avatar's mouth blossomed with lotus flowers; countless purple flower rains fell from the sky. It is formed from postnatal qi condensing, containing infinite truth; when it falls upon a cultivator, countless runes evolve in the mind.

"Everyone, don't panic; the Heavenly Sect has constructed a signal tower. Although there is a crisis for the solar system, crisis and opportunity coexist."

"This is the signal tower, built by the extraterritorial Heavenly Sect."

They were even more astonished by the unfathomable divine traces.

The Northeast Tiger King said, producing a piece of ammunition, and threw it to Wu Zhenghao.

"The demon master calculated that today he would emerge, using a bronze sword to shuttle through the river of ages, to renew the karmic bond after a thousand years."

Longyuan Immortal Sect Sect Leader Heavenly Pivot True Person Hu Xiaocao, gazing at the reluctant cultivators, felt a stir in his heart and said:

Zhi Dun, a Buddhist practitioner, immediately noticed the extraordinariness of those three bronze tripods.

On Mount Song, all demons and human cultivators gazed upward at the lecture platform.

Long live the master!

Xiguangsi.

Golden threads of light darted across the lofty mountains; withered trees met spring, and planted vegetation burst forth with endless vitality.

Cultivators obtained the method of refining the primordial spirit; their inner cultivation path became clearer, and countless cultivation problems dissolved automatically as their realm reached perfection.

A few, with profound cultivation, needed only ten-odd minutes to reach Longyuan Mountain.

Even Li Bai, the poetry immortal, was attracted by the new idea of entering the Dao through poetry.

There, the achievements of countless demon masters were engraved on tortoise shells; after being read aloud, they were cast into three nine-zhang-long green bronze tripods.

"Thank you, Master."

"Paying respects to the ancestral master."

"Paying respects to the demon immortal."

Li Bai exuded an air of drunkenness, and auspicious colors appeared in his eyes.

Zuci and the two others followed the sound and saw that, near Earth in the solar system, a tower-like structure stood upon a huge celestial body, with countless fine lines extending crisscross into the depths of space.

The Cultivation Bureau's Hua Tiancheng expressed agreement.

"What is this?"

Some people gazed at the divine trace, palms together in sincere prayer, earnestly asking the true Buddha to fulfill their wishes.

Long live the ancestral master!

Moreover, some, using the golden core to aid primordial spirit cultivation, entered inner observation; the golden core condensing soul energy to give birth to the primordial spirit was only a hair's breadth away.

"It is heard that the true Buddha cultivates Mahayana Buddhism, able to ferry all suffering; great compassion!"

Countless cultivators were all refreshed; the spiritual power they consumed during meditation was replenished, making meditative cultivation easier.

"May I follow the venerable demon master left and right, to universally save people from the sea of suffering."

Zuci stared at the sacrificial objects on the altar, his mind greatly stirred.

Seeing the Longling avatar disappear from the lecture platform, the cultivators respectfully knelt and bowed.

Far away on Mount Heng.

With the aid of various demon kings, whether at the Cultivation Academy or the Longyuan Sect, the number of humans who have reached Golden Core is vast; this will be the paramount force of the high martial era, capable of great use when facing unforeseen circumstances beyond Earth.

Seeing this, the cultivators dared not cause trouble; they hastily straightened their attitudes, faces full of reverence as they bowed once to the high platform.

"Yaya teacher, ouch ouch ouch."

"Namo Amitabha, the Dharma of emptiness is formless, illuminating the five aggregates as empty; Master Zhi Dun guides Buddhist practitioners."

Countless stars were stirred, their orbits pulled and deformed.

"The Buddha has entered the hall, universally salvaging the vessel of compassion."

The Buddhist chants of Yuanchan Temple rose and fell, celebrating the descent of the true Buddha.

Stars erected towers, devouring vitality and altering the fate of the entire star system.

The chorus of praises shook heaven and earth, making blood boil and spirits surge.

Spiritual power from the ten directions, drawn by it, converged here; a great spiritual power vortex formed, then stirred by yin and yang qi into spiritual rain that fell.

When Master Zhi Dun entered nirvana, a celestial crane descended; no relics remained—it turned out the demon master had intervened.

The cultivators' hearts and minds were instantly drawn, for the phantom of all beings, as if alive, corresponded to various biological imprints in their brains, while simultaneously mobilizing the spiritual power within their bodies to run autonomously.

Whether demon scriptures, basic cultivation methods, or the transmitted alchemy and forging techniques, all have made great contributions to Xia.

"Venerable, immortal decree."

……

"The true Buddha has descended into the world, using boundless Dharma to ferry all beings from boundless suffering."

If used properly, it can quickly enhance cultivators' strength.

So, would the three of you be willing to go?

(End of chapter)