Chapter 460: Asura Demon Sword

The Xifu Zhi Shu, as Xu Jia first saw it, was used by the Longevity Sect Fawang to bind ghosts, gods, and Demon Gods, subduing them with the Dharma.

In Buddhist tales, many demon kings and Ghost Kings were subdued in this way, eventually following their masters to attain the fruit of enlightenment.

For example, Guanyin Bodhisattva often did such things; likewise for Manjushri and Great Strength Bodhisattva, as seen in various allusions within the Buddhist scriptures.

The origins of these demons and ghosts were actually the deities of primitive religions; they simply did not revere the Dharma and were classified as Outer Path demon kings, much like how Taoism labels deities that refuse to be converted as Six Heavens Primordial Qi or Great Demons of the Six Heavens (Caverns).

Some were deities of Brahminism with ancient status who even held high positions within Buddhism, while others were primitive gods worshipped by the Witch Sect, which were truly no different from evil gods.

The Secret Treasury Buddhism absorbed many Witch Sect methods and ended up completely taking the shape of the Witch Sect, using human intestines, bones, and skin as Magic Tools to please and delight ghosts and Demon Gods.

Most importantly, Buddhism initially came to proselytize, thus clashing with demons and the Outer Path; later, as it became a Buddha Kingdom, it gradually distorted the Dharma to maintain its rule.

If one traces it to the source, one would know that the original Master Padmasambhava suppressed ghosts and gods; the binding was in preparation for forced conversion, or even to erase their consciousness and make them into his own external manifestations, known as External Dharma Body—those Asuras, Rakshasas, Yakshas, Ghost Kings, and demon kings...

All terrifying appearances are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; they are all conditioned phenomena.

Where there is cause, there is effect; where there is good, there is evil. All things are relative; it only depends on how one applies them.

In Taoist cultivation, "demons" are merely treated as a test.

"The Xifu Zhi Shu."

Xu Jia said: "Buddhism has four great qualities: Great Perseverance, Great Wisdom, Great Compassion, and Great Fearlessness."

"The Asura corresponds to Great Fearlessness, so the seal formed should be the Fearless Seal of Great Strength Bodhisattva."

Xu Jia guided him one by one: "Lead out the fear and terror within your heart; they are the true Demon Seeds."

Although Deng Yin had dispersed his cultivation and lost his Dharma Power, his Primordial Spirit remained, and he actually felt a sense of ease and freedom, having shed many spiritual burdens; at this moment, he was best positioned to overcome the Demon Seed.

Subduing demons, especially subduing inner demons, does not necessarily require great Divine Ability or great Dharma Power; rather, the most important thing is Great Wisdom. Once wisdom is cultivated, Divine Ability is realized spontaneously—why toil to cultivate it? Xu Jia and Deng Yin engaged in deep self-reflection, transforming wisdom, courage, perseverance, compassion, restraint, justice, equality, and hope into the Eight Precepts Chains.

Deng Yin said: "Today I vow to generate the heart of wisdom, equally seeking all wisdom to reveal it to all sentient beings."

"I vow to generate the heart of fearlessness, to subdue all inner and outer Demonic Obstacles, to overcome all difficulties, and to attain great diligence."

"I generate the heart of great perseverance, to constantly wipe away the dust, so that my initial intention never wavers."

"I generate the heart of great compassion; when I attain the Dharma, all conditioned phenomena of sentient beings shall attain great universal salvation."

"I generate the heart of great restraint, to uphold the precepts, to practice patience, to suffer tribulations for the sake of sentient beings, and to let all in Hell attain great liberation."

"I generate the heart of great justice, to be neither evil nor delusional, neither biased nor skewed, in order to seek great, infinite light, so that sentient beings may not be burdened with suffering."

"I generate the heart of great equality, not judging sentient beings by rank, for all possess the nature of equality." "I generate the heart of great aspiration; when I attain the Dharma, all sentient beings shall be liberated, never falling into reincarnation, never encountering hardship."

Xu Jia was lost in thought, recalling the history of Huangjin Zhi Guo, where an Eight Precepts Monk preached the Dharma, attained the rank of Buddha through the Eight Great Precepts, and attained the rank of a great Bodhisattva—it was the Prajna Buddha Fruit of the Outer Path.

Here, too, there were eight beautiful qualities; if they were all to exist in one person, would he not be the supreme sage of the world?

Deng Yin certainly could not do it, but that did not matter; as long as he began, it was enough.

Deng Yin's hair began to fall out strand by strand, and a mass of blood-colored light was pulled by the eight chains.

This Xue Mo had already permeated Deng Yin's Primordial Spirit and physical body.

Those segments of demonic scripture and secret texts directly manifested demonic restrictions; to remove the demon, one would have to destroy the Primordial Spirit and remove it along with it.

Yet at this moment, the eight chains did not intend to kill the Demon Seed, but merely pierced through it, locking it firmly in place.

The Demon Seed let out a shriek, and Deng Yin felt as if he were dying and coming back to life, yet he bit his teeth shut, refusing to move.

Then, the blood all over Deng Yin's body began to evaporate; the desire to kill, the desire to loathe, the desire to curse, the desire to envy, the desire to hate... all kinds of Demonic Obstacles began to flare up, and various negative emotions and memories resurfaced in his mind, as if a schizophrenic were tearing himself apart.

To an outsider, it looked like Xu Jia had tricked Deng Yin into becoming a monk with a few words—after all, his hair had fallen out—but then they saw the Demon Seed erupting with such terrifying ferocity.

Xu Jia said: "Bear with it, watch as I force the Demon Seed into your right hand!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of Sacred Fire; the intent of infinite light within it was exactly what was needed to overcome demons, though it caused the pain of burning the Primordial Spirit when it landed on Deng Yin.

The Demon Seed wanted to break through the Eight Great Precepts Chains to seize the Primordial Spirit and force Deng Yin to fall into the demonic path prematurely, but it saw the light of the Sacred Fire, which carried a divine intent; it not only reinforced the eight chains, giving them the aura of the Sacred Fire, but also refined the source of its own Asura Demon blood.

In the end, it retreated again and again, until it was forced into Deng Yin's right arm.

The entire right arm transformed into an Asura Arm, and even at the elbow joint, an Asura Bone Spur, or perhaps an Asura Sword, appeared in shock.

Only then did Xu Jia slowly say: "Now, you can choose to cut off this arm and reattach a new one; thus, the Demonic Obstacle will be removed. Or you can let it remain in your hand and use it as a tool."

Deng Yin looked at his completely mutated right arm and sensed that this arm now belonged to another species—a Blood Sea Asura—which possessed its own thoughts and even wanted to attack back to the main position, but the eight chains locked the right arm completely, just like the Town Dragon Well suppressing an evil Flood Dragon, using eight chains to lock the dragon's limbs, torso, tail, and pair of dragon horns.

"Cut it off," Deng Yin said. "Everything started because of it; why keep it?"

"Although you cut it off, you must remember the vows you made and never break them." Xu Jia immediately wielded the Weiji Immortal Sword, severing it in one stroke. The Asura Arm fell to the ground, still trying to change shape and turn into a streak of blood light to escape, but the chains connected it to Deng Yin, preventing it from fleeing. When it tried to return, it could sense the lingering sword intent on the wound.

Thus, the one-armed Deng Yin looked as if he were leading a blood-colored vicious dog; although the chains were illusory, they still pulled on his Primordial Spirit with great effort.

Xu Jia added: "I will teach you a sword-forging method that can forge this arm of yours into an Asura Demon Sword. Because it was formed from your own arm, it is very fitting, and with the chains binding it, it can be considered a compassionate reversal. From now on, you can use the blood of the most wicked people to feed it, while you yourself must perform more good deeds and acts of kindness to neutralize the baleful energy brought about by this sword's killing."

(End of chapter)