Chapter 189: The Pure Land Also Wants a Share of the Spoils

Where the clouds meet the sky, at the Holy Fire Cliff.

Just as the Many Treasures Boy produced the Buddha statue, revealing his identity as a Pure Land undercover agent to recruit the Profound Iron Sword Master, the True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue also arched her embroidered eyebrows.

The next second, she lifted her gaze toward the direction of Jiangxi.

"Does a bald donkey also wish to interfere?"

Before her voice had faded, a Buddha head as large as a mountain range rose within the Pure Land; its eyes seemed crafted from glazed glass, and as its lips parted, it emitted a sound of Buddhist chanting:

"Not quite."

Inside the vast hall, a majestic voice resonated: "It is merely a junior wishing to take advantage of this great battle to guide some fated ones to the Pure Land to enjoy blessings."

"Hmph!"

A trace of scarlet flashed through the beautiful eyes of True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue, as if she could barely restrain herself: "Very well, I will not meddle with this person, so you must not meddle either."

"If he dies in Jiangbei, do not blame me."

"Amitabha, that is only reasonable."

The Buddha head smiled faintly; the Great Arhat it had dispatched this time was at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Unless someone at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment intervened, who could possibly kill him?

Yet every expert at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment was focused on seeking the Golden Core; their greatest taboo was offending True Persons like them. Who would idly risk offending a Bodhisattva just to kill a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Great Arhat? It would be a loss outweighing the gain, unless that person never intended to seek the Golden Core in this lifetime!

Thus, the Buddha head remained perfectly calm.

In its view, True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue clearly could not withstand the combined pressure from the Pure Land, the Dao Court, and the Sword Pavilion, which was why she chose to yield and take a step back.

"A wise move."

Thinking thus, the Buddha head withdrew its gaze, feeling a faint sense of anticipation as it recalled that demonic fiend who cultivated the Nine Transformations Dragon Art, corresponding to the 【City Wall Earth】.

Previously, the 【Vase Water Moon Bodhisattva】 had acted, but due to the intervention of True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue, the effort had come to nothing.

Now, however, was a splendid opportunity; with True Person Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue occupied protecting Master Chongguang and unable to attend to other matters, it was the perfect time to convert that demonic fiend to the Pure Land!

At the Dragon-Slaying Pass,

Looking at the Many Treasures Boy and the Profound Iron Sword Master before him, the Dharma Body surrounded by Buddhist light nodded in satisfaction and said, "My name is 【Vimalakirti Venerable】."

In the Pure Land, Foundation Establishment equals Arhat.

And a Great True Person at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment is known in the Pure Land as a Great Arhat, simultaneously one who has realized the three meanings of slaying thieves, no longer being born, and worthy of offerings, thus becoming a Pure Land Venerable.

To slay thieves means to sever all delusions of view and thought.

To be no longer born means to never again be reborn within the three realms.

To be worthy of offerings means to deserve the great offerings of the world.

As the name implies, a figure like 【Vimalakirti Venerable】 could draw upon the realizations of the World Honored One at any time, cultivating divine abilities with almost no bottlenecks.

Furthermore, their Dharma Body enters Nirvana within the Pure Land, and their soul resides only there, never entering the cycle of reincarnation; unless slain by another, they need not endure the suffering of rebirth, and they can receive offerings from countless disciples, Dharma masters, and even Arhats of the Pure Land, preparing for future attainment of the true fruit and promotion to the rank of Bodhisattva.

Only thus does one earn the title of 【Venerable】.

Therefore, upon hearing the newcomer identify himself as 【Vimalakirti Venerable】, the Profound Iron Sword Master immediately became excited, his expression growing even more respectful.

"We beg the Venerable One to save us from the sea of bitterness."

"There is no rush."

Facing the plea of the Profound Iron Sword Master, 【Vimalakirti Venerable】 shook his head and smiled: "The world is foolish, sinking in the sea of bitterness; I wish to devise methods to save them all."

"This..."

At these words, the Profound Iron Sword Master immediately furrowed his brows; he had turned to Buddhism to save his life, so what was the point if the other party now said there was no rush?

"Rest assured, since you have chosen to abandon darkness for light and join the Pure Land, how could I abandon you?" 【Vimalakirti Venerable】 smiled faintly, then extended his hand to shoot out two beams of Buddhist light: "Take this method down to study; as long as you prepare the necessary people, it will certainly help you defeat the Holy Sect."

"This is..."

Hearing this, the Many Treasures Boy and the Profound Iron Sword Master glanced at the spiritual sense sent by 【Vimalakirti Venerable】; in an instant, a cultivation technique was imprinted upon their spiritual seas:

The 【Great Virtue Bull-Headed Wisdom King Empowerment Art】!

"This method requires a man born in a Yang year, Yang month, Yang day, and Yang hour as a medium to be cast; only a fate of pure Yang can bear this Daoist art."

"As long as you can find such men and inscribe the Daoist scriptures I transmit onto their bodies, I can cast the art to empower them, transforming them into 【Virtue Wisdom Kings】; with my status, I can borrow their forms to unleash combat power equivalent to the Great Perfection of the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment within a short time!"

The Many Treasures Boy and the Profound Iron Sword Master listened in stunned silence.

Great Perfection of the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment!?

This was a force capable of altering the course of the battle; no wonder he was called a Great True Person; even acting from afar, he possessed such divine abilities!

"I will go arrange it immediately!"

The Many Treasures Boy hurriedly sent messages to order a search for candidates, while the Profound Iron Sword Master's eyes shone brightly: "With the Venerable One acting, we will surely crush the Demonic Sect in this affair!"

It would be the perfect chance to avenge the Sect Master and the Sword Sect!

"That is secondary."

【Vimalakirti Venerable】 pressed his palms together and smiled lightly: "The Pure Land has come this time not for killing and fighting, but to convert those with fate."

Hearing this, the Many Treasures Boy paused: "Who are those with fate?"

"I find that Yuan Tu from the Demonic Sect shares great affinity with our Pure Land; when the battle begins, I will have the empowered 【Virtue Wisdom Kings】 capture him immediately."

"That is perfect!"

The Many Treasures Boy laughed aloud, an expression of anticipation spreading across his face; although it was not his own doing, if he could use 【Vimalakirti Venerable】's hand to teach Lu Yang a harsh lesson and force him to betray the Demonic Sect and join the Pure Land, he would have indirectly vented his pent-up rage.

Moreover, this would allow him to prove himself in the process.

Heaven bears witness, the sun and moon shine bright, I truly am not an undercover agent for the Holy Sect!

"Then we shall rely on the Venerable One to act when the time comes."

"Amitabha."

【Vimalakirti Venerable】 nodded, recalling the Bodhisattva's mission in his heart, feeling that his current maneuver should not pose any major problems.

Personally participating in the great battle would create karmic ties too heavy, making one highly susceptible to post-war reckoning.

However, using a secret art to borrow another's body without deploying the power of a Great True Person directly, with a Bodhisattva providing a safety net, there should be little risk.

Furthermore, he was rational and not greedy.

As long as he captured Lu Yang and converted him, he could then turn around and assist the Holy Sect; given the overarching situation of Master Chongguang seeking the Golden Core, he believed no one would pursue the matter.

"If one must speak of a flaw..." 【Vimalakirti Venerable】 pondered internally: "This 【Great Virtue Bull-Headed Wisdom King Empowerment Art】 does have a defect, namely that its requirements for the empowered individual are too high; they must be a man of pure Yang fate. The Demonic Sect once created a specific Daoist art for this very purpose."

The function of that Daoist art was simple: to turn a man into a woman.

Once the gender changed, the fate of pure Yang would immediately be broken.

The result would be that the empowered person would die instantly, and under the backlash of the Daoist art, it could even affect his original body, causing him to lose several years of cultivation for no reason.

"However, that Daoist art could only change gender."

Thinking thus, 【Vimalakirti Venerable】 quickly regained his composure:

"Aside from countering the 【Great Virtue Bull-Headed Wisdom King Empowerment Art】, it is almost useless; I doubt any demonic fiend would specifically cultivate it..."

(End of Chapter)