Chapter 252: Dharma Body Reveals Its Wonder, Seven Killings Hold Authority

"Imperial Mountain-Shifting Orthodox Art!"

Lu Yang went all out from the very first move; holding the Wave of Tribulations, he formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and pointed at the mystery, completing all three steps in one seamless flow under the art's mystical enhancement.

This strike had been long premeditated by Lu Yang.

He had deliberately used a sky filled with sword light and his Dharma Body to block Vimalakirti Venerable's vision, so that the moment the venerable finally broke through layer upon layer of obstacles and saw Lu Yang, he also witnessed Lu Yang's hand-seal formation, heard the sound of his incantation chanting, and found the final pointing at the mystery utterly unavoidable.

"Gush! Gush!"

The next second, Vimalakirti Venerable was struck by Lu Yang's fully powered Imperial Mountain-Shifting Orthodox Art, and instantly, endless mud surged forth from his seven orifices.

"Amitabha!"

Having suffered a major setback right from the start, Vimalakirti Venerable immediately halted his upward momentum, chanted a Buddhist title, and then exhaled a mouthful of bright, blazing Buddhist light.

The flames engulfed his entire body, poised to melt away the mud.

Yet how could Lu Yang grant him such an opportunity? Almost simultaneously as Vimalakirti Venerable attempted to dissolve the spell, Lu Yang's figure vanished from the spot.

Seeing this, Vimalakirti Venerable hastily slapped his forehead.

The next instant, Buddhist light flashed into existence, and a monk's staff materialized out of thin air before him, blocking the blade edge of the Wave of Tribulations at the most critical moment.

"Clang! Clang—!"

In that instant, firelight soared, and the sound of metal clashing split the clouds and shattered stone; even though the sharp sword qi was blocked, it still caused piercing pain throughout Vimalakirti Venerable's body.

In a flash, Vimalakirti Venerable flew into a towering rage:

"Demonic fiend! How dare you run wild?"

With this furious rebuke, Vimalakirti Venerable's figure suddenly swelled, layers of Buddhist light blooming behind him as Zen forests rose majestically, revealing a vast Pure Land.

Immediately afterward, ten thousand strands of golden light flew forth from within the Pure Land, falling upon Vimalakirti Venerable like gold lacquer, dyeing his form as if cast in gold, while his body surged upward once more, transforming in the blink of an eye into a towering Golden Body of solemn dignity, standing between heaven and earth.

Golden Chestnut Tathagata Dharma Body!

The moment Vimalakirti Venerable revealed such a technique, Lu Yang immediately narrowed his eyes, detecting an extremely similar qi mechanism emanating from that towering Golden Body.

'Just like me... drawing qi from the Ten Thousand Martial Worlds?'

Lu Yang suddenly recalled that the Ten Thousand Martial Worlds were not solely the territory of the Holy Sect; True Person Miaoyin had once mentioned that the Pure Land also had interests there.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Lu Yang yielded not an inch.

He was confident that his gains in the Ten Thousand Martial Worlds were extraordinary; even a Great True Person might not surpass him, and if it came to a contest of Dharma Bodies, victory or defeat remained uncertain!

"Boom!"

The next second, the two Dharma Bodies collided like a mountain collapse and a tidal wave, with dark fire raining down on one side and golden light scattering on the other, stirring up a heaven-rending roar.

This sight made Vimalakirti Venerable's expression turn grave; clearly, he had not expected Lu Yang's Dharma Body to be so fierce. However, as a Pure Land Venerable and a Great True Person, how could he consider himself inferior to a mere junior? He immediately stood his ground and clashed head-on.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each collision sounded like hundreds or thousands of thunderclaps exploding; Lu Yang, merged with his Dharma Body and combining his innate divine ability with its mystical properties, suddenly burst forth with Daoist sounds between his lips and teeth:

"Break! Shatter! Crack! Destroy! Die!"

With each shouted proclamation, Lu Yang drove his Dharma Body to strike with a full-force punch, while a brilliant splendor of divine ability simultaneously enhanced his person.

Seven Killings Hold Authority!

When the Seven Killings hold authority, lack of restraint brings calamity; the effect of this innate divine ability was simple: it caused anyone harboring hostile intentions toward Lu Yang to encounter Disaster.

Such Disaster could be a minor slip during combat or a qi deviation caused by a momentary blockage of breath; the greater the gap in cultivation base between the two parties, the more powerful the Disaster became. Strictly speaking, this was a simplified version of the Heaven and Earth Killing Intent, sufficient to kill invisibly!

The next second, Vimalakirti Venerable's body suddenly stiffened.

If merely Distinguishing Right from Wrong and Qian Heaven could not shake his Golden Body, then Seven Killings Hold Authority was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

In an instant, he felt his qi mechanism fall into disharmony.

His Dharma Body, which had been operating smoothly, suddenly revealed slight impediments, as if hidden flaws unnoticed before had suddenly erupted.

Including the hidden injuries from being killed earlier by Hong Ju, which had not fully recovered even after reconstructing his Dharma Body, these flaws erupted at this moment, triggering a violent chain reaction. Suddenly, his state, which still held some reserve, became perilous; before he could adjust, Lu Yang had already struck with full force!

"Boom!"

With one final thunderous crash, the golden Buddhist light was smashed to pieces, suddenly scattering into a sky-full of golden rain, indistinguishable as to whether it was golden light or blood.

The Golden Chestnut Tathagata Dharma Body was shattered!

'The timing is perfect!'

Lu Yang stepped back, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth; the price he paid was actually not small, as his manifested Dharma Body also displayed fine cracks.

However, for him at this moment, such injuries were exactly what he needed!

Enhanced by the mystical properties of the Dharma Body, the heavier the injuries, the stronger his divine abilities and magic power became; now surging violently, they were even more potent than at the very beginning!

"Hoo." Lu Yang took a deep breath.

Almost simultaneously, the Qian Heaven Controlling All Phenomena Dharma Body behind him also inhaled, and an invisible absorbing force once again fell upon Vimalakirti Venerable.

Total Control!

This mystical property of the Dharma Body specifically countered Buddhist cultivators; Vimalakirti Venerable, already having been killed once with an unstable soul, now felt as if the heavens were shaking and the earth was trembling.

'Not good!'

Only at this moment did a chill arise in Vimalakirti Venerable's heart.

Because he realized that despite fighting Lu Yang to this extent, neither the Dao Court nor the Sword Pavilion had reacted; not a single person had come to lend him aid.

'This junior planned this long ago! He came prepared!'

Just as Vimalakirti Venerable suspected, Lu Yang's decision to come and fight him to the death was no impulse, but a choice made after weighing pros and cons.

After all, having successfully broken through and demonstrated sufficient "value" in the position of a pseudo-Great True Person, he was worthy of regaining the attention of the Holy Sect's True Persons.

Moreover, although both faced severed Dao paths, the gap between an ordinary True Person and a Great True Person was vast; even in the eyes of True Persons, a Great True Person was someone worth noting. As for a severed Dao path? On a Great True Person, this could even be a bonus point, making them more likely to gain a True Person's favor.

And with the Holy Sect backing him, many matters became easier to handle.

Previously subjected to sieges from all sides, now that Lu Yang had turned the tables, and since neither side wished to tear off the mask completely, a compensation based on mutual tacit understanding was naturally required.

Then Lu Yang proposed his own compensation through action.

He intended to kill Vimalakirti!

Under such circumstances, even the Pure Land would not attempt to stop Lu Yang, because in the eyes of most people, this was merely Lu Yang's small act of willfulness.

You want to kill Vimalakirti? Do you think you can actually kill him?

What a joke; how could a Great True Person die so easily? Let alone a Great True Person of the Pure Land; at worst, he could destroy his Dharma Body and be reborn again.

In the eyes of the True Persons above, and even other Great True Persons, Lu Yang simply could not kill Vimalakirti, so there was no reason to intervene; they could use this "compensation" to appease Lu Yang and save some resources, while Vimalakirti? He would just have to suffer a bit.

After all, Buddhist cultivators were thick-skinned and robust.

Could he really be beaten to death?

At this very moment, only Vimalakirti Venerable, facing Lu Yang directly, could personally feel the immense pressure this junior was exerting upon him.

'He wants to kill me... Can he kill me?'

Vimalakirti Venerable did not know the specific details, yet the spiritual sense of a Great True Person constantly warned him that Lu Yang still held powerful techniques in reserve.

'That spiritual sword!'

The image of Lu Yang previously slicing through the sea, splitting both ocean and sky, flashed through his mind; at that time, that strike had seemed insignificant to him, but perhaps not anymore!

(End of Chapter)