Chapter 193: Soaring High!

"It's over!"

At this moment, Vimalakirti Venerable's heart went cold by more than half; he felt his limbs and bones turn icy, as if he had just been tossed about inside an ice cave.

He did not recognize Hong Ju.

This was normal, after all; even within the Sheng Sect, apart from the True Persons and the few individuals connected to 【Fu Deng Huo】, no one knew Hong Ju.

After all, back then when Daoist Hong Yun enlightened Hong Ju into a Great True Person at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, it was to make him a trump card for his own future return to power; since he was a trump card, if his existence were widely announced, how could he still be called a trump card? Naturally, he had to be hidden in the shadows to be effective.

Furthermore, Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person deliberately concealed him.

Therefore, no one had calculated his involvement.

Just as Master Chongguang was seeking the Golden Position, the entire Jiangbei region lay within the sight of True Persons from all factions; every Great True Person at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, or even at Great Perfection, was being watched.

If anyone made a move, corresponding figures from all factions would intervene.

Only Hong Ju stood alone.

Therefore, his appearance was simply terrifying to the extreme for Vimalakirti Venerable, and those eyes, bright as lamp fire, pierced straight into his divine consciousness.

'Who exactly is this person!?'

'Under heaven, any Great True Person at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment with complete supernatural abilities—whose name is not famous, and whose identity is not known in the hearts of every True Person from every sect?'

'Why has such a person suddenly appeared out of nowhere!?'

Vimalakirti Venerable's mind raced with countless thoughts, yet his eyes reflected a sea of raging fire; only then did he realize his own eyes had been ignited.

Flames erupted from within his body without warning, burning through his internal organs and gushing out from his facial features and orifices, setting his monk's robes ablaze; Hong Ju had not even formed a hand seal or cast a spell from start to finish, yet merely by locking eyes with him, he had turned him into a human-shaped torch!

"Ahhh!!!"

Transformed into a man of fire, Vimalakirti Venerable suddenly let out a mighty roar; his Buddhist voice thundered, his mouth gaping wide as he unleashed a profound Daoist technique.

"【Heart Light Escape Technique】!"

Where the heart goes, the thought moves instantly!

He had studied this Heart Light Escape Technique for hundreds of years; among the Pure Land Venerables, only he was most proficient in this method, and his escape speed was the fastest.

That was why the Pure Land had sent him to Jiangbei.

With this 【Heart Light Escape Technique】, even when facing a Great True Person at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, he still had a fifty percent chance of escaping with his life, far from being certain death!

The next second, Vimalakirti Venerable soared into the air.

This sudden change sparked a sliver of hope in his heart, yet just as that hope rose, his spiritual platform seemed to be covered by a layer of dust.

Countless stray thoughts erupted explosively.

'This person insults me so; why not give him a taste of my power before I leave?'

'No rush, let me toy with him a bit longer!'

'I, Vimalakirti, have never lost to anyone in my life! Even if my cultivation base is slightly weaker and my supernatural abilities somewhat inferior, what is there to fear in death? It is nothing but a fight to the death.'

By the time Vimalakirti Venerable finally broke free from these stray thoughts, he found Hong Ju's large hand already resting lightly upon the crown of his head.

Crack!

One palm, and his heavenly spirit shattered!

At this moment, Vimalakirti Venerable widened his eyes; his prideful indestructible Golden Body possessed no power to resist at all, shattering upon contact like glass.

Amidst the shattered flesh and blood, his soul floated out.

Only then did a beam of white light finally emerge from the void, enveloping Vimalakirti Venerable's soul to prevent him from falling into reincarnation.

Under the blessing of this white light, Vimalakirti Venerable finally understood why he had been so muddled and powerless against Hong Ju; looking up, he saw that above his head, a book was slowly flipping through its pages, upon which was clearly written a short line of text.

【Vimalakirti died by my hand】

"So it is like this..." Vimalakirti Venerable's soul trembled with rage: "A Great True Person at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment still resorts to using a Fruit Position treasure for a sneak attack... such petty conduct!"

At the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, he could have crushed him in a direct fight!

Yet he actually had to use a Fruit Position treasure for a sneak attack, tricking him into handing over his spiritual sense like a fool; this was simply toying with him, even deliberately humiliating him!

However, Hong Ju paid no heed to Vimalakirti Venerable's anger.

"The guiding light of the Pure Land."

He withdrew his hand, took a step back voluntarily, and looked up at the sky, where layers of clouds piled up, vaguely manifesting the form of a Buddha's head.

Boom! Lightning flashed within the clouds, exploding within the eyes of the Buddha's head.

"... lease forgive me, Bodhisattva," Hong Ju said with a bitter smile upon seeing this: "This humble one only seeks to survive; I beg the Bodhisattva to be magnanimous and not take offense at my actions."

Before his voice had even faded, a cold snort suddenly rang out.

"Bald donkey, scram back!"

In an instant, snow flew in midsummer; a fierce wind blew apart the cloud-formed Buddha's head in the sky, also blocking the angry gaze from the Pure Land outside Jiangbei.

The next second, all these visions vanished; Vimalakirti's soul returned to the Pure Land under its guiding light. This was the benefit of becoming a Great True Person in the Pure Land: no need for reincarnation, and even in death, one would only undergo re-transformation within the Pure Land, with no worry of suffering the hardships of reincarnation.

Seeing this scene, Hong Ju also breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately after, he first glanced toward Zhalong Pass, then turned to look back toward the Sheng Sect; soon, a voice drifted over faintly:

"The Pure Land has made one move; you make one move as well."

When the voice fell, there was no response from any faction, as if this decision had been tacitly accepted; seeing this, Hong Ju no longer held any fear and immediately strode toward Zhalong Pass.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared inside a secret chamber.

Inside the chamber, Lu Yang was still activating the formation, collecting every strand of Vimalakirti Venerable's divine sense; almost immediately, he looked up.

"... reetings, Senior."

Lu Yang reacted quickly, bowing deeply almost at once, and said: "I wonder if that Shi cultivator has been dealt with? Is there anything this junior can do to help?"

"... ou react quite fast."

Looking at Lu Yang, Hong Ju's expression was somewhat complex; after all, not long ago he had tried every method to take this man's life, yet now he had to save him instead.

"The Shi cultivator who attacked is named Vimalakirti."

Hong Ju got straight to the point: "I clouded his spiritual platform, causing him to send you several strands of divine sense; can we consider our past grievances settled?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang was momentarily stunned.

However, he soon realized: the Great True Person of the Sheng Sect who held a grudge against him... was this person before him the mastermind behind his encounter with the heaven-and-earth killing intent?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang hurriedly bowed again: "Senior speaks too seriously."

"What happened in the past was merely a trivial matter; this junior has never dared to harbor resentment, so what is there to speak of settling accounts? I beg Senior not to keep it in mind."

"..."

Hong Ju sighed inwardly: We are both True Persons of the Sheng Sect; do you take me for a fool?

Saying you 'never dared to harbor resentment' means you actually do harbor resentment; saying 'what is there to speak of settling accounts' means you are unwilling to settle accounts! This person's heart is far too narrow!

"... ith the True Person's permission this time, I can lend you a hand."

Hong Ju extended his hand, from whose palm floated a wisp of golden smoke: "This is a portion of the merit and fortune belonging to that Vimalakirti, which I have extracted."

Immediately after, he took out a book.

"This item is called 【Fate-Swapping Destiny Record】; it requires consuming merit and fortune to leave writing upon it, and whatever is written will be propelled by heaven and earth."

Having said this, he handed both items to Lu Yang.

"I will lend it to you for now; you write, limited to one sentence: 'From now on, our karmic ties between you and me are extinguished; we may be colleagues in the future, so let us not pursue this further.'"

Although in terms of cultivation base he could leave Lu Yang ten streets behind, the problem was that Lu Yang had powerful backing; if Master Chongguang successfully ascended to power in the future, he would have to rely on Master Chongguang's favor to survive, and in such a situation, making an enemy of someone like Lu Yang, a favorite before Master Chongguang, what should he do if the other party gave him trouble behind his back?

He could only spend wealth to avoid disaster.

On the other side, Lu Yang stared straight at the 【Fate-Swapping Destiny Record】, his eyes brightening slightly; was this the strange treasure capable of triggering heaven-and-earth killing intent?

'Flawless calculation; truly a flawless calculation!'

'It is just unknown whether this is Master Chongguang's backup plan or Qingcheng Qingcheng Feixue True Person's arrangement... With it, assassinating that King of Qing from 【Qing Kingdom】 will no longer be difficult!'

(End of Chapter)