Chapter 253: Even If It Means Eternal Damnation, I Shall Go!

"We can no longer continue this fight!"

Venerable Vimala felt a chill of terror in his heart; his shattered Golden Body was now streaming with blood, while fierce Profound Fire, like writhing snakes, continued to crawl over his form.

These fire snakes, originating from Lu Yang's Dharma Body, were truly capable of penetrating every crevice; they slipped directly through the cracks left by the shattered Golden Body into his internal organs and began to burn wildly, and beyond that, the eerie power siphoning his soul kept relentlessly dragging at his spirit.

No matter how one looked at it, he had now completely fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Venerable Vimala stood suspended in mid-air, his palms pressed together, his expression ferocious and filled with extreme pain, yet possessing no strength to resist, while his mind remained utterly clear.

"Must I resort to that spiritual sword?"

He was waiting.

He waited for Lu Yang to strike first, to unleash that sea-slaying sword light, yet after waiting for a long time, Lu Yang did not draw his sword, but continued to deadlock with him.

"Alas!"

Finally, Venerable Vimala let out a long sigh, his face showing not a trace of joy, but rather regret: "I have truly underestimated you."

The moment his words fell, this Venerable of the Pure Land shook his body as if merely shedding a garment, actually peeling off a layer of his own skin which dropped away, taking with it all the injuries Lu Yang had inflicted upon him, the Profound Fire snakes, and other mystical effects, all shed along with this human skin.

This was a trick he had carefully concealed.

Had Lu Yang truly struck with 【Li Jie Bo】, he could have used this marvelous technique to shed his flesh and skin to bear the calamity in his stead, neutralizing Lu Yang's fatal trump card.

Yet Lu Yang simply refused to move.

Under such circumstances, continuing to endure Lu Yang's attacks would be like boiling a frog in warm water, where the cost would outweigh the benefit, forcing him to activate this technique prematurely.

Yet his heart remained puzzled.

"How was I exposed?"

The Pure Land possessed countless marvelous techniques; this art of 【Burning the Body as an Offering to the Buddha】 was something he had almost never revealed to others, so by rights, Lu Yang should not have been prepared for it.

"Could he have calculated it?"

"But he only falsely holds the position of a Great True Person; how could he calculate my moves? Unless he possesses another Heavenly Mechanism treasure, in which case my chances of victory would be even lower."

Venerable Vimala's heart grew heavy.

Indeed, just as he suspected, Lu Yang was able to see through his preparations precisely by relying on the 【Dong Ming】 mystical power of 【Li Jie Bo】 to deduce the karmic connections.

The next second, Venerable Vimala let out a long sigh, pressed his palms together, and behind him emerged infinite light and shadow, revealing row upon row of Shi cultivation Dharma Masters sitting solemnly in temples, gathered in a Zen forest, all chanting scriptures in unison, transforming into rolling thunderous sounds, each word a gem, bestowing blessings upon Venerable Vimala.

"Amitabha!"

A solemn Buddhist title rang out, instantly dispersing Lu Yang's soul-seizing mystical power; Venerable Vimala's figure vanished, replaced by an ancient temple.

【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】!

Seeing this, Lu Yang immediately narrowed his eyes, pondering in his heart: "He has actually brought out the temple that serves as his Dao Foundation within the Pure Land; he intends to fight me to the death!"

In truth, Venerable Vimala was also left with no choice.

At this moment, besides 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】, he had also brought out his life's savings; within the Buddhist light, dozens of exquisite spiritual treasures clearly manifested.

Prayer wheels, wooden fish, flying knives, command flags, golden alms bowls, precious banners, and jade vases—although most were lower and middle-grade magic treasures, they now merged into a cluster, their spiritual light flowing slowly like a river, and combined with a few high-grade spiritual treasures, they encircled the temple, firmly protecting him.

【River of Ten Thousand Treasures】!

In the past, the Multi-Treasure Boy had first defected to the Pure Land, naturally offering this technique to them, and now it was being unleashed by Venerable Vimala.

Lu Yang, however, regarded this with indifference.

With a single thought, his fingertips rubbed together to produce a brilliant splendor of divine abilities, carrying an eerie Yuan Ci force that broke through all Five Elements, and crashed violently into the River of Ten Thousand Treasures.

【Disjointed Magnetism】!

This innate divine ability countered all Five Elements; no matter what magic treasure it was, as long as it was brushed by the Yuan Ci Separation and Union Divine Light it transformed into, it would immediately lose its mystical properties.

Now, under the illumination of this divine light, the River of Ten Thousand Treasures instantly melted away like ice and snow, its spiritual light scattering and becoming unsustainable, causing Venerable Vimala to show helplessness on his face, clearly not expecting that with his status as a Great True Person, he would be forced by Lu Yang to such a pass that he could barely maintain his defense!

"Perhaps... I should retreat for now?"

The Shi cultivators of the Pure Land were always flexible; at this moment, fear arose in Venerable Vimala's heart, and he felt that fighting to the death with Lu Yang here was simply a case where the cost outweighed the benefit.

"I am not currently at my peak!"

"If Hong Ju had not killed me once, leaving me with hidden injuries that were then triggered by this junior's divine abilities, I would absolutely not have fallen into such a predicament."

"Once I have healed my injuries in the future, it will not be too late to fight him again."

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Venerable Vimala already formed a plan; he immediately took a deep breath and caused the 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】 behind him to expand violently!

In an instant, the magnificent temple opened and closed like a bloody maw, swallowing Lu Yang whole to trap him, while Venerable Vimala himself rode a beam of escape light, intending to flee directly from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Present World, giving Lu Yang no chance to kill him.

The temple was solemn and strict, making spatial escape difficult.

This included accounting for Lu Yang's 【Ding Qin Shu】, which he had also managed to seal off.

"Hmph, trying to flee?"

Seeing this, Lu Yang's gaze flashed, and then he shook his body; instantly, Profound Fire surged, and he actually unleashed the 【Qian Tian Zong She Wan Xiang Fa Shen】 once again!

In the center of the Buddhist temple, atop the precious hall, a vile god stood towering and majestic.

With three heads and six arms, a green face and fanged teeth, its actions involved kicking Buddhas and cursing ancestors, toppling the Zen forest; its six arms gathered their full strength and delivered a violent punch straight against the temple.

"Boom!"

After the tremendous roar came a silence where heaven and earth seemed voiceless; at this moment, the entire 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】 actually caved inward from its central position.

Inside the temple, the light and shadow of countless Dharma Masters and monk disciples chanted Buddhist scriptures in unison, summoning karmic fire to fall upon that Dharma Body, yet this failed to stop its actions in the slightest; instead, it even made its power grow another level, its six arms constantly punching, each strike heavily battering various parts of the temple.

"Pfft—!"

Venerable Vimala immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

"What a formidable demon!"

【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】 was the manifestation of Venerable Vimala's Dao Foundation; he had originally planned to use it temporarily to trap Lu Yang, intending to retrieve it from afar after escaping.

It was merely a matter of delaying some time, and minor damage would be of no great consequence.

But now, Lu Yang, disregarding his own injuries, forcibly drove his Dharma Body to launch a fierce assault, leaving him in a dilemma; surely he could not just stand by and watch Lu Yang shatter his Dao Foundation?

Venerable Vimala was not an indecisive person either.

In the flash of lightning and spark of flint, he had already made his decision: "... orget it! Escaping is the best option! Entering the Present World takes only an instant; he absolutely cannot break my Dao Foundation!"

The next second, he rode his escape light and leaped out of the Foundation Establishment realm.

However, the very next second, Venerable Vimala felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

This was because in the Present World, right before his eyes, a young Daoist priest who looked exactly like Lu Yang was holding 【Li Jie Bo】, watching him with a calm expression!

But Lu Yang was clearly still inside 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】!

"That clone!?"

In an instant, Venerable Vimala recalled the immortal fetus clone he had slapped to death earlier; even though it had been beaten into minced meat by him, it could actually reassemble and return?

"Oh no..."

If he had not been bent on escaping and had instead chosen to fight Lu Yang to the death, perhaps the outcome would still be uncertain, but because fear arose in his heart, he had instead driven himself into a deadly situation!

Yet he had no mind to ponder this further.

Because at this moment, Lu Yang's main body inside 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】 had already withdrawn his hands, focusing his entire mind upon the immortal fetus clone holding the Dharma sword.

By withdrawing his hands, he even released his protective treasure light, allowing 【Wu Gou Jing Di Si】 to suppress him ruthlessly; his already serious injuries suddenly worsened, yet correspondingly, the heavier his injuries became, the stronger the boost his Dharma Body gave to his divine abilities and magic power became, almost instantly climbing to its peak!

Clang, clang—!

In the clone's hand, 【Li Jie Bo】 emitted a high-pitched sword hum; the 【Xuan Wei】 mystical power that had entered cooldown after slaying the sea had now fully recovered.

At this moment, Venerable Vimala instead calmed down:

"If you kill me, Benefactor, there will be no room for reconciliation between you and the Pure Land ever again; hereafter, the Bodhisattvas will show no more mercy, but will truly devise ways to take your life."

"Does Benefactor truly wish for eternal damnation from which there is no recovery?"

He did not expect Lu Yang to truly give up killing him; as long as Lu Yang hesitated for even an instant, he could activate his marvelous technique to evade this deadly situation before him.

Yet the answer he received was a sword light that pressed forward without turning back.

【Xuan Wei】!

The sea-slaying sword strike appeared once more; Venerable Vimala's figure was instantly submerged within the sword light, shattering inch by inch, finally turning into powder that filled the sky.

Eternal damnation from which there is no recovery?

I shall go there nonetheless!

(End of Chapter)