Chapter 114: Talent and Effort

"One escaped."

On the scorched earth, deep pits appeared one after another, as if just plowed over; inside every pit lay a broken corpse.

Of the seventeen Buddhist cultivators, one fled.

The remaining sixteen were all blown to death by Lu Yang's Nine Heavens Talisman Secret Demon Yin Thunder, and the Buddha light that should have countered the Yin Evil had not the slightest effect.

But this was normal; so-called counteraction is relative. For example, water and fire counter each other; under normal circumstances, water indeed overcomes fire, yet when the fire spans a thousand li, what use is a cup of water? The gap between Lu Yang and this group of Buddhist cultivators was even greater than that.

In this regard, Guangming, who had escaped, understood this clearly.

At this moment, in a mountain forest several thousand li away from Lu Yang, this place was the gathering point for the Buddhist cultivators; Guanghai, the leader of the Pure Land this time, was here.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Guanghai, who had been sitting in meditation with eyes closed, opened his eyes, and then a visible golden Buddha light suddenly rippled around him.

The next second, Guangming stumbled and fell out of the Buddha light.

As soon as he touched the ground, he looked around in extreme terror, only sighing with relief from the bottom of his heart once he no longer saw that terrifying figure.

"I escaped! I escaped!"

It was not in vain that he had deliberately gathered all the Buddhist cultivators, using them as human shields; on the surface preparing a grand move, but actually activating the "Heart-Linking Life Talisman" to flee.

The Heart-Linking Life Talisman was a treasure of the fruit position held by the Pure Land Buddhist cultivators; its effect was to teleport cultivators marked with the talisman to the side of the talisman's owner. This effect could actually be reversed; Guangming had used a secret method to activate it, thus instantly teleporting to Guanghai's side.

"What happened?"

Looking at the disheveled Guangming, Guanghai frowned slightly: "Did you encounter a powerful enemy? How many were there, and where are your fellow Daoists?"

Upon hearing this, Guangming was instantly stunned.

At this moment, his brain began to race. Tell the truth? What a joke; should he tell his senior brother that he had deserted in the face of the enemy?

That would truly seal his doom!

After all, if that happened, to give an account to the dead Buddhist cultivators, Guangming believed his senior brother would absolutely not mind using his head to sacrifice the banner.

Guangming's eyes rolled, and the next second a look of grief appeared on his face; with a crying voice, he said: "Many! Too many to count! That group of demons also seemed to have prepared a backup plan. I fought desperately, killed a few, and escaped with my life; the others were all killed by the demons."

"What?"

Before Guangming finished speaking, Guanghai's expression turned solemn; for a moment he felt as if facing a great enemy. The demons from the First Saint Sect had actually gathered as well?

"We must find a way to annihilate them."

Guanghai took this extremely seriously and immediately summoned another Buddhist cultivator wearing a kasaya: "Guanghui, you take the 【Dragon Host】 to exterminate that group of demons."

The Buddhist cultivators of the Deep Joy Pure Land are divided into eight Buddha hosts; among them, the 【Dragon Host】 ranks second and is considered the most elite team of Buddhist cultivators under Guanghai's command.

After speaking, he looked at Guangming again: "Junior brother Guangming, you will lead the way."

"Ah? Me?"

Guangming was stunned for a moment, his lips twitching slightly; his heart was full of refusal, but under Guanghai's gaze, he could only grind his teeth tight, smile, and nod.

'It should be fine this time, right?'

Looking at the imposing 【Dragon Host】 of Buddhist cultivators, numbering over a hundred, Guangming also calmed down a bit; after all, the enemy was just one person.

As for the Buddhist cultivators of the 【Dragon Host】, the weakest were at the mid-stage of Qi Refining; Guanghui, the leader, had even cultivated a full three Great Mantras. At a critical moment, he could summon all the cultivators to perform a secret method, raising a Dragon-Elephant Vast Power Jin Gang, a rank of extremely high status, almost equal to a Dharma-Protecting Jin Gang, second only to a Foundation Establishment True Person.

With such strength, how could they lose?

That great demon, no matter what, was only at the Qi Refining stage; as long as over a hundred Buddhist cultivators rushed up, it would be impossible for him to kill them all before his true energy was exhausted!

Meanwhile, on the scorched battlefield.

"True Lord above... a Foundation Establishment True Person can actually enter the Realm of the World?"

Looking at Lu Yang's back, Qin Tianhe fell into deep confusion; obviously, the misunderstanding from when he met Lu Yang before had not been resolved.

It had even deepened.

But this was not strange; after all, Lu Yang's battle just now was utterly devastating; to him, it made no difference facing a Foundation Establishment True Person.

However, the next second, Qin Tianhe became excited again.

Although he did not know how Lu Yang, as a "Foundation Establishment True Person," had entered the secret realm, as long as he knew Lu Yang was a True Person of his own Saint Sect, that was enough.

This situation was secure!

Meanwhile, Lu Yang did not care about Qin Tianhe's misunderstanding; his attention was now entirely focused on the Buddhist cultivator corpses spread all over the ground before him.

"Perhaps this can be utilized..."

Thinking this, Lu Yang immediately formed a hand seal and unfolded the Wan Ling Banner; instantly, thick white smoke began to rise from the corpses around him one by one.

Next, these Buddhist cultivator corpses were seen turning into Qi one by one; their souls floated out and were taken in one by one by the Wan Ling Banner. After the true spirits mounted the banner, the white smoke began to reorganize, actually re-manifesting the sixteen Buddhist cultivators, who all bowed their heads to Lu Yang in unison.

"Pay respects to Master!"

Lu Yang nodded in satisfaction; looking at the still largely empty Wan Ling Banner, his heart burned with heat. This Battle for the Dao might also be a great opportunity!

An opportunity to completely refine the Wan Ling Banner to perfection!

After all, this Battle for the Dao had gathered so many cultivators from Jiangdong, Jiangxi, the Dao Court, and the Pure Land; these mountains and fields, full of lively people, were all talents!

"Interesting..."

Just then, the figure of Patriarch Tingyou also appeared behind Lu Yang. He looked at the Buddhist Banner Spirits with interest, then suddenly spoke:

"I once referenced the Jiangdong 【Heaven-Deputing Hunt Dao】 to create the 【Yanma Hall】. Now it seems Jiangxi also has merits. If you can collect more of these Buddhist cultivators, perhaps I can reference and improve the 【Yanma Hall】, making its power ascend another level."

"Oh?"

Patriarch Tingyou's suggestion made Lu Yang's eyes light up instantly, because he suddenly thought of the 【Luo Han Fu Long Temple】 that the Luo Han Fu Long Luo Han had once used on him in his previous life.

The so-called 【Luo Han Fu Long Temple】 was actually the Dao Foundation of the Luo Han Fu Long Luo Han.

It was just that for Buddhist cultivators, Foundation Establishment did not occur within the Foundation Establishment realm, but within the Deep Joy Pure Land opened by the World Honored One of Jiangxi; the Dao Foundation was their own temple.

The more prosperous the incense and the more the Buddha hosts gathered, the stronger the master of the temple became.

If Patriarch Tingyou could apply this point into the 【Yanma Hall】, then with the scale of the Banner Spirits inside the Wan Ling Banner, it would be enough to make his strength leap again!

Without a word, Lu Yang immediately clasped his hands: "Then I trouble you, Patriarch, to take care of it!"

Hearing the Patriarch You sigh, "The power of the Yama Palace has strengthened—this also enhances the foundation of our Witch Ghost Dao. All I can do now is this."

"From now on, try not to disturb me again. I will enter seclusion for a while."

"It's a pity that the spirit banners collected this time were too few—only a dozen or so. Otherwise, my comprehension speed could have been even faster."

As his words faded, Hearing the Patriarch led the group of Buddhist cultivators into the celestial realm within the Wan Ling Banner, clearly intending to thoroughly study the Buddhist cultivation methods.

Seeing this, Lu Yang finally understood the proper use of Hearing the Patriarch You.

Send him out to fight others?

Too small—your vision is too narrow!

He is plainly a top-tier technical talent—his effectiveness far surpasses the Mingdao Jade Slip from the previous life. Almost anything requiring insight can be entrusted to him!

Thus, as long as Hearing the Patriarch You, with his extraordinary talent, pushes himself to the limit, he will surely go further in this life!

Then, perhaps he too could say to others, "My current realm is entirely due to my innate talent and relentless effort!"

(End of Chapter)