Chapter 226: Jiangbei Is Too Dangerous

The appearance of 【Reverence to the Right Dharma】 instantly unlocked Lu Yang's train of thought.

In his view, this scripture was actually nothing special; the initiative lay entirely with the Pure Land, and its usefulness depended solely on whether the Pure Land was willing to respond.

Thinking this, he immediately summoned a Qi Condensation disciple.

He then handed the scripture to him.

After all, the Pure Land's scriptures were always sinister; who knew what hidden dangers they held? He certainly could not go himself.

So it was better to entrust it to a reliable talent.

Immediately after, he began arranging arrays around the Qi Condensation disciple: the Soul-Trapping Array, the Soul-Locking Array... Layer upon layer of array patterns enveloped the Qi Condensation disciple.

Finally, Lu Yang also cast a divine technique.

"Star-Hiding Radiance!"

This divine technique could perfectly conceal karma and spiritual resonance; under its cover, all arrays were hidden, appearing flawless at first glance.

That's right, he was setting a bait trap!

【Reverence to the Right Dharma】 could summon the divine consciousness of a Pure Land Venerable to descend; using such a good thing merely to convert to the Pure Land was simply a waste of resources!

Thinking this, Lu Yang felt somewhat emotional: "The demonic cultivators of Jiangbei have terrible quality! Their thinking is not open at all. They say 'near vermilion one gets stained red, near ink one gets stained black'; these demonic cultivators have stayed under the Holy Sect's rule for so long, yet they haven't learned a bit of the Holy Sect's thinking? A rotten tree cannot be carved!"

The divine consciousness of a Pure Land Venerable.

It was equivalent to a fragment soul-thought of a Great True Person; used as medicine, it could refine high-grade soul and spirit pills; used in artifact forging, it could greatly enhance the spiritual nature of magical treasures.

"If I can get a few strands to give to the A-Bi Sword, the A-Bi Sword might even evolve again!"

It must be known that even the original master of the A-Bi Sword, the Blood Demon True Person, was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage back then, making him an opponent on the same level as a Pure Land Venerable.

Therefore, what he used to refine the A-Bi Sword were all True Persons at the mid and early Foundation Establishment stages, those weaker than himself.

As for a Great True Person, the A-Bi Sword had never tasted one yet!

One could imagine that if it could devour several strands of Pure Land Venerable divine consciousness and use them to refine the sword, it would surely grant the A-Bi Sword a massive upgrade!

It might even produce another wonderful ability!

Thinking this, Lu Yang felt even more motivated.

Soon, everything was ready; at Lu Yang's signal, that Qi Condensation disciple immediately trembled as he began chanting the 【Reverence to the Right Dharma】 scripture.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

The next second, a beam of Buddha light slowly appeared amidst his chanting, then, like a peacock spreading its tail, revealed a vast and boundless scene of the Pure Land; within the Pure Land, a lotus throne hung high, and seated upon it was clearly a Dharma Body with a solemn, majestic appearance and all thirty-two marks of a great being.

'It worked!'

Lu Yang, hidden in the shadows, wore an excited expression and immediately manipulated the hand seal; countless Soul-Trapping and Soul-Locking arrays around him instantly activated, firmly trapping that Dharma Body!

"Amitabha, this humble monk is 【Vimala Venerable】... Hmm?"

Before the Dharma Body's voice could finish, it froze in place, discovering that this strand of divine consciousness had just appeared when its connection to the main body was mysteriously severed.

'Not good!'

The moment this thought arose, a silent, colorless, shadowless, and formless magical sword floated lightly into the back of its head, piercing straight out through the brow.

Slic!

The next second, 【Vimala Venerable】's divine consciousness was beheaded by Lu Yang; the scattering divine consciousness was then carefully gathered by him.

"Change the person; are there any captives from the Treasure-Splitting Cliff?"

Having gained experience once, Lu Yang was even more practiced the second time, even optimizing the bait to be a Qi Condensation disciple from the sect belonging to Duobao Tongzi.

This would make it even more credible.

At this moment, within a mountain forest in Jiangbei.

"Pah!"

As a mouthful of hot blood spat out and evaporated upon hitting the ground, an old monk with white beard and hair was seen looking warily toward the direction of 【Qing Kingdom】.

Something was wrong!

Vimala Venerable felt a chill in his heart; if Lu Yang didn't believe his ability to suppress 【Virtuous Bright King】 was a coincidence, how could he fail to notice the trickery within?

First, the three 【Virtuous Bright Kings】 he had carefully crafted happened to run into their nemesis, achieving nothing and even rebounding to inflict a minor wound upon him.

Immediately after, he sensed someone chanting 【Reverence to the Right Dharma】, and the cultivation seemed to be only at the Qi Condensation realm; it might be a subordinate developed by Duobao, so to investigate the battle situation over in 【Qing Kingdom】, he specifically sent a strand of divine sense over, only to lose contact immediately upon arrival.

"... I've been schemed against!"

Thinking this, Vimala Venerable no longer dared to think about making Lu Yang convert; he felt that the current Jiangbei was simply a huge pit.

However, the next second, another sensation arose.

"Someone looking for me again?"

Vimala Venerable fell into confusion; sensing briefly, it was, as before, a Qi Condensation disciple, and he detected nothing amiss around him.

"This person... seems to be Duobao's disciple?"

Vimala Venerable sensed several times, and finally his eyes lit up: "Duobao joined the Pure Land long ago; his disciples should be no problem."

Thinking this, he immediately sent out a strand of divine consciousness.

On the other end, Lu Yang was overjoyed and immediately reeled in the line.

"... Gone again?"

Another strand of divine consciousness lost contact; Vimala Venerable's mind felt somewhat dazed; although this loss meant nothing to him, it was deeply insulting.

Do they take me for a fool?

In a short while, another sensation came through; this time, Vimala Venerable decided to go all out, directly projecting a divine consciousness at the Foundation Establishment level!

"I want to see who it is."

Boom!

On the other end, Lu Yang was somewhat shocked to see the Pure Land Venerable on the other side could still fall for it; without a second word, he activated the arrays again to capture it.

The next second, the projected divine consciousness lost contact again; Vimala Venerable's body swayed; he was already in a state of injury after the backlash of a secret technique enhancement, and now he had lost several strands of divine consciousness in succession, finally losing a major one; this time, it was truly a serious blow.

Yet this also made him suddenly come to his senses.

"No! How could I have done such a foolish thing, cutting my own Dao cultivation? Merit and fortune damaged, the spirit platform clouded—I am tainted by calamity qi!?"

Venerable Vimala quickly sat cross-legged.

A passage from the Mahayana Fundamental Sutra of True Awakening was chanted from his mouth, cleansing the spirit platform and swiftly suppressing the many stray thoughts that had just arisen.

Yet his heart remained filled with doubt.

Exactly when did it happen?

I have done nothing to damage my merit; it is impossible to invite heavenly punishment. How could calamity qi suddenly cloud my heart? This makes no sense at all!

'No, it might not be calamity qi; it could be another cause. A True Lord could perform similar tricks, but with a Bodhisattva watching, how could I fall for it? Unless... the one who acted is not a Bodhisattva? Foundation Establishment complete? No more than that! There must also be a supreme treasure related to the fruit of enlightenment?'

The more Venerable Vimala thought, the more terrifying it became.

'Jiangbei is too dangerous... I must return to the Pure Land!'

Thinking this, Venerable Vimala immediately rose to leave. Just then, a hand reached out kindly, steadying him as he stood.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Venerable Vimala's body instantly froze in place.

What just happened?

Heaven and earth bear witness! I am a Venerable of the Pure Land, a Great Arhat. Returning to the Pure Land requires only a thought; why did I need to stand up?

Whose hand is this beside me?

Vimala turned his head to look behind him. A pair of eyes, suffused with Jin Guang, faint yet not dim, like the lamps in the hall, immediately entered his field of vision.

(End of this chapter)