Chapter 98: Entering the Shi Sect Through Nirvana

"Amitabha."

Under Lu Yang's gaze, the red-lipped, white-toothed youth smiled faintly, then pressed his palms together; golden light shone from his eyes as he stared straight at Lu Yang:

"Benefactor, your talent is outstanding; truly, this humble monk is pleasantly surprised."

"... Shi cultivator?"

Lu Yang raised an eyebrow; he had heard from Chen Chen Xinan that there were no Shi cultivators in Jiangnan or Jiangbei, and even if there were, they were rogue cultivators like Ming Chan from before.

True Shi cultivators were all in Jiangxi.

What they cultivated was not the "Form-Refining Ascension Dao," but the "Deep Bliss Nirvana Dao," which was said to hold its own profound mysteries and differed greatly from those of Jiangnan and Jiangbei.

Especially the current True Person Panlong, whose cultivation base was close to that of Peak Senior Butian, yet unlike him, he had never been slashed by Golden Core sword qi; with both spirit and flesh intact, he stood at his peak, his vital energy encompassing the universe, vast as the heavens, making Lu Yang immediately understand why Peak Senior Butian had felt so humiliated before.

"This humble monk is Fu Long."

The youth exhaled and spoke, saying calmly, "Panlong has entered nirvana, reborn in the Pure Land; all past affairs no longer concern this humble monk. In this world, there is only Fu Long."

Lu Yang's expression remained equally calm: "Then, Senior Fu Long, why have you come to find me at this moment?"

As he spoke, he continued constructing his Dao, yet he found that the Dao foundation, which had been easy to build just moments ago, was now so difficult it felt as though he were moving while bearing a heavy burden.

'... s it that dragon?'

Lu Yang shifted his gaze to the small dragon coiled around the Arhat Fu Long, only to see its golden dragon eyes fixed firmly upon him.

Seeing this, Arhat Fu Long smiled faintly.

This accompanying small dragon of his appeared to be a living creature, but in truth, it was a superior magic treasure named the "Dragon-Trapping Ring"; the divine ability within it was called "Gaze Encompassing the Universe," and as the name suggests, once something fell within its sight, it would be locked within its field of vision, unable to leave or shift and transform.

This was because when Lu Yang was first seen by it, he had not yet constructed his Dao foundation.

Therefore, no matter how Lu Yang circulated his divine abilities now, his Dao foundation would be pinned by its gaze, making it difficult to condense and impossible to seize an opportunity to flee elsewhere.

"This humble monk has come this time to offer the benefactor a fortunate opportunity."

Arhat Fu Long sized up Lu Yang and continued, "After this humble monk entered nirvana, I attained the rank of Arhat and established a pagoda temple in the Pure Land named the 【Fu Long Temple】."

"The temple is newly established and still lacks a congregation of Buddhists."

"Benefactor, your true qi has reached the pinnacle; if you enter my temple, you can serve as a Dharma-Protecting Golden Guardian. From now on, you and I will cultivate the Nirvana Dao together; would that not be wonderful?"

Boom!

Before Arhat Fu Long could finish speaking, Lu Yang's figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot, replaced by a bewildered Witch-Ghost.

Seeing this, Arhat Fu Long was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting Lu Yang to break free from the constraints of the "Dragon-Trapping Ring," but soon he relaxed his brow, laughed aloud, and said, "Why must the benefactor remain so obstinately deluded? You cultivate the Nine Transformations Dragon Art; by nature, you share an affinity with this humble monk and with the Pure Land."

"Affinity my ass!"

Within the Foundation Establishment realm, Lu Yang fled while cursing vehemently in his heart; Arhat Fu Long had clearly come with malicious intent, so how could he simply surrender and accept his fate?

"I was too careless!"

As Lu Yang fled, regret filled his heart; he had not failed to consider that the "Nine Transformations Dragon Art" might be problematic, especially given Liu Chi's cautionary tale.

However, firstly, True Person Panlong had seemed like a dead man in his eyes at the time, and secondly, in his previous life, he had attempted to break through to Foundation Establishment, yet Panlong had never come knocking then, so he had lowered his guard... Now thinking back, it was likely because his former self had broken through within the Sheng Sect!

"Damn it, they're all beasts!"

"Does the Sheng Sect not have a single good person who genuinely cares for future generations? And what Dharma-Protecting Golden Guardian—could it be that they intend to refine me into a puppet!?"

With a thought, Lu Yang immediately exited the Foundation Establishment realm.

The next second, Lu Yang fled carrying the power of "Heaven's Collapse," causing the eight-hundred-li Skeleton Mountain to shake violently as if an earth dragon were turning over.

"Fighting within the Foundation Establishment realm, I am certain to die."

Lu Yang faced reality; he had not yet constructed his Dao foundation, and while within the Foundation Establishment realm, he had to resist the intrusion of heart demons from that realm every second.

Under such circumstances, how could he fight?

Therefore, he could only return to the present world first, devise a way to escape with his life or repel Arhat Fu Long, before continuing his attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment; otherwise, it would be a dead end.

"Escaping with my life is unrealistic; I have a divine talisman concealing my karma, yet that bald donkey still managed to track me down, which means he has a way to bypass karma and lock onto me directly through the connection of the cultivation technique. In this situation, escape is impossible for me; moreover, Skeleton Mountain is my home turf, and fleeing would only make things more dangerous."

Thinking thus, Lu Yang had already made up his mind: "... et's fight!"

Although he could start over, the pages of the 【Book of Hundred Lives】 were limited; unless he reached a desperate situation with no other choice, he would not easily restart.

Moreover, even if he had to restart, for the sake of his next life, he should try his best to probe True Person Panlong's methods.

The next second, the figure of Arhat Fu Long appeared, likewise carrying the power of "Heaven's Collapse"; however, he was truly at Foundation Establishment, creating a phenomenon that differed from Lu Yang's.

He lowered his eyelids and calmly swept his gaze across Skeleton Mountain.

In an instant, the entire eight-hundred-li Skeleton Mountain came under his view, and the invisible heavy pressure from a Foundation Establishment True Person instantly fell upon every cultivator within Skeleton Mountain.

Rumble!

Immediately, cultivators below the Late Stage of Qi Condensation were crushed into powder by this heavy pressure, while those at the Late Stage of Qi Condensation collapsed directly to the ground, vomiting blood incessantly.

Only cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, seemingly still holding some value, escaped serious injury; instead, they suddenly pressed their palms together and inexplicably began chanting Buddhist sutras.

At the same time, Lu Yang shook the Myriad Souls Banner, and the Dharma-Protecting Deity Su Nu immediately appeared; commanding eight red-robed ghosts to circulate their divine abilities, the towering and magnificent 【Yanmo Hall】 rose abruptly from the ground, dominating the sky, while the yin sha from the earth veins beneath Skeleton Mountain was continuously drawn out by him to bolster his divine ability.

Seeing this, Arhat Fu Long clicked his tongue in admiration:

"Once the benefactor enters my temple to serve as a Golden Guardian Dharma Protector, this one can also become a female believer in my temple, sharing supreme bliss with the benefactor; this too counts as a karmic affinity."

Boom!

Lu Yang paid no heed whatsoever to Arhat Fu Long's words; as soon as the 【Yanmo Hall】 appeared, he lifted it high and smashed it down directly onto Arhat Fu Long's head!

Seeing this, Arhat Fu Long neither dodged nor avoided; he simply raised a treasure light from above his head, shaped like a ceremonial canopy, and steadily caught the falling 【Yanmo Hall】. The moment the two collided, flying stars and flowing fire burst forth, scattering in all directions, causing Arhat Fu Long's previously relaxed brow to furrow slightly.

"It seems ordinary methods will not subdue this person."

Despite saying this, Arhat Fu Long's heart was filled with uncontrollable joy; when he left behind the "Nine Transformations Dragon Art," he had never expected to catch any big fish.

After all, Peak Senior Butian knew his background and would never truly allow a Foundation Establishment seed to cultivate the "Nine Transformations Dragon Art," only for it to be caught by him and benefit the Shi cultivators of Jiangxi; thus, his initial expectations were very low—he would not have minded even if it were only someone attempting Foundation Establishment with merely a one percent chance.

However, Lu Yang had far exceeded his expectations.

At a glance, he could see that the other party was a true Foundation Establishment seed, and even an outstanding one among them; if he could convert him, the benefit to him would be immense!

Not to mention the free gift of the Dharma-Protecting Deity Su Nu.

A false Foundation Establishment, though not equal to a true one, was still not bad; sending them both into his 【Fu Long Temple】 would be sufficient to advance his cultivation base another step!

"Very well, then I shall employ some more divine abilities."

Thinking thus, Arhat Fu Long immediately straightened his expression, then pressed his palms together; golden light surged from beneath his feet, instantly filling more than half the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the eight-hundred-li Skeleton Mountain, originally churning with yin sha, transformed into a vast golden land.

Within this golden land, a temple towering like a mountain rose from the ground, its gates wide open to reveal the main hall, with a lotus throne positioned at the head.

Then, Arhat Fu Long's figure flashed, and he landed upon the lotus throne within the temple.

In an instant, brilliant light erupted; Arhat Fu Long sat cross-legged on the lotus throne, his right hand resting on his right knee, fingertips touching the earth to form a mudra, instantly showering down myriad rays of rosy clouds.

Wherever the rosy clouds passed, filth and impurities scattered, and all phenomena dissolved.

The eight hundred li of yin sha on Skeleton Mountain were swept away completely, while the 【Yanmo Hall】 collapsed with a crash under the rosy clouds, just like ice and snow in the summer heat!

(End of Chapter)