Chapter 288: Even If I Never Return From Ten Thousand Tribulations, I Will Go!

'No more fighting!'

Venerable Vimodha's heart trembled in horror; his shattered Golden Body now rolled forth streams of fresh blood, while the fierce Profound Fire crawled over him like writhing snakes.

These fire snakes, originating from Lu Yang's Dharma Body, were truly all-pervading, drilling directly through the cracks left in the Golden Body after its shattering into his five viscera and six bowels to burn wildly; besides this, that strange power that sucked in souls continued to tug relentlessly at his soul.

By any measure, he had now completely fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Venerable Vimodha stood in mid-air, palms pressed together, his face contorted in agony, seemingly utterly powerless to resist, yet his mind remained incredibly clear.

'Must I use that Spiritual Sword?'

He waited.

He waited for Lu Yang to strike first, to unleash that sword light that cleaves the sea; yet he waited a long while, and Lu Yang drew no sword, continuing instead to stalemate with him.

"Ah!"

Finally, Venerable Vimodha let out a long sigh; his face showed not a trace of joy, but rather regret: "Truly, I underestimated you."

The moment his words fell, this Pure Land Venerable shook his body; as if merely shedding a garment, he actually peeled open and let fall a layer of skin from his body, taking with it all the various injuries Lu Yang had inflicted, the Profound Fire snakes, and other marvels, shedding them all down with this human skin.

This was a technique he had carefully concealed.

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

Yet Lu Yang simply did not move.

In this situation, enduring further attacks from Lu Yang would become like boiling a frog in warm water, yielding no benefit for the cost, so he was forced to cast this technique prematurely.

Yet his heart remained puzzled.

'How was it exposed?'

The Pure Land possessed myriad marvelous methods; this art of 【Burning the Body to Offer the Buddha】 he had almost never revealed to others, so by all rights Lu Yang should not have been prepared for it.

'Could it be calculated?'

'Yet he merely falsely holds the position of Great True Person; how could he calculate me? Unless he possesses a Heaven's Secret Supreme Treasure upon his person, in which case my chances of victory would be even lower.'

Venerable Vimodha's heart grew heavy.

The fact was exactly as he had surmised: Lu Yang saw through his preparations precisely by virtue of the 【Dong Ming】 marvel of 【Li Jie Bo】, calculating cause and effect to perceive it.

The next second, Venerable Vimodha let out a long sigh, pressed his palms together, and behind him appeared boundless light and shadows; clearly, they were countless Buddhist monks seated in temples, gathering in a forest of meditation, chanting scriptures simultaneously at this moment, transforming into rolling thunderous sounds, every word a pearl, bestowing blessings upon Venerable Vimodha.

"Amitabha!"

The solemn Buddhist title resounded, instantly dispelling Lu Yang's soul-sucking marvel; Venerable Vimodha's figure vanished, replaced instead by an ancient temple.

【Temple of the Immaculate Pure Land】!

Seeing this, Lu Yang immediately narrowed his eyes, thinking in his heart: 'He has even brought out the temple foundation of the Pure Land itself; he intends to fight me to the death!'

Venerable Vimodha was in fact helpless.

At this moment, besides 【Temple of the Immaculate Pure Land】, he had also brought forth half a lifetime's savings; within the Buddha-light, dozens of exquisite Spiritual Treasures clearly manifested.

Prayer wheels, wooden fish, flying knives, command flags, golden bowls, precious banners, jade vials—although most were inferior and medium-grade magical treasures, they now gathered into a cluster; the light of the Spiritual Treasures flowed like a river, Xu Xu, cooperating with several superior-grade Spiritual Treasures to encircle the temple, firmly protecting him.

【River of Ten Thousand Treasures】!

Duobao Tongzi had originally defected to the Pure Land first, naturally offering this Dharma gate to them; now it was cast forth by Venerable Vimodha.

Seeing this, Lu Yang paid it no mind.

With a single thought, his fingertips rubbed out a splendor of supernatural power, carrying strange Yuan Magnetic force, breaking through the Five Elements, and crashing violently into the River of Ten Thousand Treasures.

【Lost Harmony Magnetism】!

This innate supernatural power overcomes all Five Elements; no matter what magical treasure, once brushed by the Yuan Magnetic Separation and Union Divine Light it transforms, it immediately loses its marvels.

Now, under the illumination of the divine light, the River of Ten Thousand Treasures instantly melted like ice and snow; the spiritual light scattered, unable to be maintained. Venerable Vimodha could not help but show helplessness on his face, clearly having not expected that he, a Great True Person of such stature, would be forced by Lu Yang to such a plight, where even defense was nearly impossible to maintain!

'Perhaps... I should evade for now?'

The Buddhist cultivators of the Pure Land have always been flexible; Venerable Vimodha now felt fear in his heart, feeling that fighting Lu Yang to the death here was simply yielding no benefit for the cost.

'I am not in my full strength at this moment!'

'If Hongju had not killed me once, causing me hidden injuries within my body, which then erupted under the influence of this junior's supernatural power, I would absolutely not have fallen into such a predicament.'

'Once I have healed my injuries in the future, there will be time to fight him again.'

As his thoughts raced, Venerable Vimodha already formed a plan; immediately, he took a deep breath and violently expanded the 【Temple of the Immaculate Pure Land】 behind him!

In an instant, that magnificent temple opened and closed like a blood-filled giant mouth, swallowing Lu Yang whole to trap him, while Venerable Vimodha himself rode a beam of escape light, intending to flee directly from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Mortal World, giving Lu Yang no chance to kill him.

The temple was solemn and forbidding, making escape through the void impossible.

Even Lu Yang's 【Ding Qin Shu】 was included in Venerable Vimodha's considerations and had been sealed off by his methods.

"Hmph, you wish to flee?"

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

In the center of the Buddhist temple, atop the treasure hall, an evil god stood towering.

Three heads and six arms, green face and fangs; in his movements he kicked at Buddhas and cursed ancestors, toppling the forest of meditation; his six arms, fully charged with strength, smashed violently against the temple.

"Boom—!"

After a single deafening roar came a silence where heaven and earth were voiceless; the entire 【Temple of the Immaculate Pure Land】 at this moment actually sank inward from its central position, forming a depression.

And within the temple, the light-shapes of countless monks and disciples chanted Buddhist scriptures in unison, summoning karmic fire to fall upon that Dharma Body, yet it did nothing to stop its movements; indeed, it even made its power rise another level. The six arms threw punches continuously, each one hammering heavily against all sides of the temple.

"Pfft—!"

Venerable Vimodha immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

'What a demon!'

【Temple of the Immaculate Pure Land】 was formed from Venerable Vimodha's Dao foundation; he had originally intended to use it temporarily to trap Lu Yang, then retrieve it remotely after escaping.

At most, it would only delay some time; minor damage would be of no consequence.

But now Lu Yang, disregarding his own injuries, forcibly drove the Dharma Body to attack aggressively, instead putting him in a dilemma where he could neither advance nor retreat; he could hardly simply watch Lu Yang break his Dao foundation, could he?

Venerable Vimodha was not a vacillating person.

In the blink of an eye, he had already made his decision: "No matter what! Fleeing first is the best course! Entering the mortal realm takes but an instant; he could never break my Dao foundation!"

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

Yet the very next second, Vimala the Venerable felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave.

For in the mortal realm, right before his eyes, a young Daoist identical in appearance to Lu Yang stood holding 【Li Jie Bo】, gazing at him with a calm expression!

But Lu Yang was clearly still inside 【Pure Land of Immaculate Temple】!

"That clone!?"

In an instant, Vimala the Venerable recalled the Immortal Embryo clone he had previously smashed to death; though he had beaten it into minced meat, how could it possibly reassemble itself?

"Not good..."

If he had not focused solely on fleeing and instead chosen to fight Lu Yang to the death, the outcome might have been uncertain; but because fear took root in his heart, he had driven himself into a dead end!

Yet he had no time to ponder this further.

For at this very moment, Lu Yang's true body within 【Pure Land of Immaculate Temple】 had ceased his actions, and his entire mind and spirit now rested upon the Immortal Embryo clone wielding the magic sword.

By ceasing his actions, he even let go of the protective treasure light, allowing 【Pure Land of Immaculate Temple】 to suppress him mercilessly; his already severe injuries suddenly worsened, yet correspondingly, the more grievous his wounds became, the stronger the 【Dharma Body】 augmented his divine arts and magic power, surging to its peak almost instantly!

Clang-clang—!

In the clone's hand, 【Li Jie Bo】 emitted a high-pitched sword cry; the wondrous effect of 【Manifesting Might】, which had been on cooldown since the sword strike that severed the sea, had fully recovered.

At this moment, Vimala the Venerable instead calmed himself:

"If you kill me, Benefactor, there will be no turning back between you and the Pure Land; thereafter, all Bodhisattvas will no longer show compassion, but will truly seek to take your life."

"Does Benefactor truly desire eternal damnation?"

He did not expect Lu Yang to truly abandon killing him; he only needed Lu Yang to waver for a single instant so that he could cast a wondrous spell to escape this deadly predicament before him.

Yet what answered him was a sword light that advanced without retreat.

【Manifesting Might】!

The sword strike that severed the sea appeared once more; Vimala the Venerable's figure was instantly swallowed by the sword light, shattering inch by inch, until finally he turned into dust scattered across the sky.

Eternal damnation?

I shall go anyway!

(End of this chapter)