Chapter 656: The Thirty-Third Appearance — The Appearance of Self

Mount Sumeru.

This is the most famous Buddhist mountain under heaven.

In the concepts of Buddhism, Mount Sumeru is the king of all mountains and the center of the world.

And Tianyin Temple, located on Mount Sumeru, is one of the three great sects of the righteous path, and also a holy land in the hearts of Buddhist disciples.

As the most magnificent and glorious building of Tianyin Temple, the Great Hero Treasure Hall has always been worshipped by thousands of believers.

And at this moment.

Mount Sumeru is trembling.

The beasts in the mountains are as panicked as headless flies.

The disciples of Tianyin Temple are equally panicked; they cast their gazes toward the Great Hero Treasure Hall one after another.

The Great Hero Treasure Hall is also trembling.

Or rather, the Great Hero Treasure Hall is the center of the trembling, and it is trembling the most violently.

Bursts of Sanskrit sounds ring out from within the Great Hero Treasure Hall; those Sanskrit sounds are no longer auspicious and peaceful, but filled with sharp, wrathful intent.

Furthermore, there are collision sounds like muffled thunder exploding, ringing out in succession. Clearly, an intense battle is unfolding inside the Great Hero Treasure Hall.

The two forces clashing inside the hall are simply too strong; now that they have collided, even the mere aftershocks are rising up in all directions like raging waves.

Crack! Crack!

Even though the Great Hero Treasure Hall is reinforced by an array, it is gradually unable to withstand this terrifying power. After one crack spreads, new cracks follow immediately. More and more cracks cover the entire Great Hero Treasure Hall, and there are already no telling how many hundreds or thousands of them. As for the interior of the Great Hero Treasure Hall, it is a scene of utter devastation; one can see white jade floor tiles shattered everywhere, and the massive pillars are also broken one by one, slowly crashing to the ground.

Boom!

Boom-boom-boom!

Finally, the Great Hero Treasure Hall can no longer withstand the battle within and begins to collapse; bricks and tiles flow in all directions like a torrent of rolling stones.

Glazed tiles pour down like rain, shattering into pieces; when illuminated by the sunlight, they reflect seven-colored radiance, only to be covered by more bricks and tiles the next moment.

From the ruins of the Great Hero Treasure Hall, one after another, massive shadows fly out, all shimmering with golden light, their auras grand.

"Evil! Obstacle! You have actually destroyed the Great Hero Treasure Hall!

"

Looking at the collapsed hall, Puhong Shangren, standing in the void, is practically gnashing his teeth. The group of Peak Masters and Elders behind him are also frowning deeply, even assuming wrathful appearances.

This Great Hero Treasure Hall, which cost an unknown amount of wealth and resources, has actually been destroyed just like this.

"With a heart directed toward Buddha, where my heart resides, where is not a treasure hall? Senior Brother, you are attached to appearances again." Yu Liancheng presses his palms together and smiles slightly: "The monks in the temple are trapped by receiving pilgrims, and their cultivation regresses instead of advancing; now I have done you a great favor, Abbot. No, only half a favor, after all, you also have a share of the credit for tearing down this treasure hall."

Xiaobai, standing to the side, is caught between laughter and tears.

These words are simply unreasonable; who tears down someone else's house and then says, "I am helping you"? Especially the last sentence, which is mocking to the extreme. It makes Xiaobai suspect that this fellow might have received unfair treatment at Tianyin Temple in the past and came back specifically to settle the score.

Puhong Shangren was already in a fit of anger, and at this moment, he is even less able to remain calm: "Puzhen, you colluded with the Demon Sect to commit a monstrous crime, and now you are still acting wantonly on Mount Sumeru. You are truly bringing about your own destruction, and today I shall purge the sect."

Yu Liancheng laughs: "Senior Brother, stop being angry. Keep a smiling face; you are already of age, so be careful not to have a mishap and go to meet the Buddha Tathagata."

Puhong Shangren is so angry that one Buddha exits his aperture and two Buddhas ascend to heaven. Amidst a chant of the Buddha's name, he leads the group of Bodhisattvas and Lohans behind him to strike at Yu Liancheng once again.

Boom!

The battle begins anew!

"This is the Thirty-Two Appearances of Tianyin Temple; it is indeed formidable. With my cultivation, I can at most deal with two or three of them." Although Tianyin Temple has already closed its doors, two guests from the Qingyun Sect had previously checked into the guest rooms. The person speaking at this moment wears a Daoist robe and looks up; his temples are frosted with white, and he appears particularly aged.

It is none other than Ceng Shuchang, Peak Master of Fenghui Peak of the Qingyun Sect.

"Indeed, once these Thirty-Two Appearances are brought out, the top-tier strength of our Qingyun Sect will be far inferior to Tianyin Temple, and the position of the number one righteous sect in the world will change hands." Standing side-by-side with Ceng Shuchang is a short, stout middle-aged man, unremarkable in appearance; it is Tian Buyi, Peak Master of Dazhu Peak.

Ceng Shuchang gives a bitter smile: "Junior Brother, you are overthinking things. Whether the righteous path of the Central Plains can survive this catastrophe is another matter; why care about so-called empty names? The three great sects are of one mind; should you and I go to lend a helping hand to the high monks of Tianyin Temple?"

"The Thirty-Two Appearances are already a perfect and flawless formation; if we rashly intervene, it will do more harm than good."

Tian Buyi shakes his head: "It would be best if Puhong Shangren and the others can win; if they are defeated, even adding the two of us would just mean two more people thrown into the fray."

Ceng Shuchang ponders for a moment and says: "Junior Brother's words are reasonable."

The two of them were originally ordered by Daoxuan Zhenren to come and discuss with Puhong Shangren how to resist the Changsheng Tower.

Yet they did not expect Yu Liancheng to come and pay a visit to the mountain.

Both of them watch the battle in mid-air without blinking.

Once the Thirty-Two Appearances Array of Tianyin Temple is defeated, they must immediately flee and inform Sect Leader Daoxuan.

And the rise and fall of the righteous path under heaven will all depend on Senior Brother Daoxuan and the Zhu Xian Sword.

Tian Buyi's gaze is particularly complex; in the past, when the White-Clad Wonderful Monk followed Puzhi up the mountain, he and Yu Liancheng had met several times.

At that time, the other party already displayed a peerless demeanor, and his own daughter still thinks of Yu Liancheng with longing.

Yet he did not expect that after only a few years, the other party would become the Demon Sect Leader, and his cultivation would be heaven-defying.

If he were in the place of the current Yu Liancheng, he fears he would not last ten breaths before being severely wounded.

In mid-air, the Thirty-Two Appearances reveal their formidable combat power.

The "Heavenly King Appearance" has an auspicious and peaceful demeanor, unstained by dust, high and aloof, merely chanting scriptures in a low voice. That chanting sound, initially as thin as a thread, becomes overwhelming in the blink of an eye, like a heavenly dragon dancing wildly; the dragon's roar rolls and pours directly into Yu Liancheng's mind, and even he feels a sense of mental confusion.

The "Heavenly Maiden Appearance" is itself a mud sculpture and stone carving, but at this moment, its posture is graceful, singing and dancing lightly, as if it is not engaged in battle but attending a grand banquet, causing one to unknowingly sink into it, unable to extricate oneself.

The "Wisdom King Appearance" assumes a wrathful posture, suddenly brandishing the Vajra Staff, whipping up a howling gale, and smashing toward Yu Liancheng with the force of Mount Tai pressing down; even a real mountain would collapse under this blow.

The "Glazed Appearance" is cast entirely of glaze, shining brilliantly under the sunlight. And when the Glazed Appearance strikes the seven-colored glazed treasure light onto the other appearances, the cracks that appeared on those dharma appearances due to their battle with Yu Liancheng are immediately mended.

Of the Thirty-Two Appearances, each has its own special ability.

The Thirty-Two Appearances cooperate with each other, added to the 'Subduing Demons Array' of Tianyin Temple and the Faith Power, it is indeed flawless and extremely tyrannical.

And the strongest of the Thirty-Two Appearances is naturally the "Tathagata Appearance" cultivated by Abbot Puhong, also known as the "Tathagata Aspect," and it is the head of the Thirty-Two Appearances, leading all the others.

The Tathagata Appearance is controlled by Abbot Puhong, who has the deepest cultivation.

The Buddha statue radiates brilliant light, trapping Yu Liancheng in the very center.

Countless golden lights of Dharma treasures struck toward him, appearing to have an irresistible momentum, yet his expression was unexpectedly calm.

"Just as the Thirteen Sword Moves of Life-Taking have fifteen variations, in truth, the Thirty-Two Appearances also have a Thirty-Third Appearance."

Yu Liancheng murmured softly. After trading a blow with the Tathagata Aspect, he retreated ten zhang, unfurling a Protective Qi Cover to ensure his subsequent attack would not be interrupted.

He simply pressed his palms together, and the aura behind him surged unceasingly.

A dignified, solemn, and supreme aura permeated the space between heaven and earth.

The next moment, a great Buddha rose from the ground, one finger pointing to the earth; it was precisely the Tathagata Aspect.

Following closely, one Bodhisattva and Lohan after another tore through the void, sitting solemnly; he was actually manifesting all Thirty-Two Appearances simultaneously.

Yet this was not overly surprising; after all, the Thirty-Two Appearances were created by Yu Liancheng himself, not to mention that on the day he emerged from seclusion in the past, there was the spectacle of Wanfo Chaozong.

And this astonishing transformation did not end there; the Heavenly Human Aspect, Glazed Appearance, and the other thirty-one appearances all drifted toward the central Tathagata Aspect, merging into that great Buddha.

Like trickling streams merging into a great river or Dahe.

Each time a Dharma Aspect merged with the Tathagata Aspect, the momentum of the Tathagata Aspect grew a notch stronger, and its form rose continuously.

When the final Battle Aspect merged into the Tathagata Aspect, this Tathagata Aspect had already reached a height of one hundred zhang, blotting out the sky and covering the sun.

In contrast, the clay-sculpted Dharma Aspects behind Puhong and the others were almost all only two to five zhang in height. Compared to this, they were simply not worth mentioning.

And what was even more surprising was that the face of the "Tathagata Aspect" had also changed, appearing vaguely familiar.

Looking closely again, was that great Buddha not "Yu Liancheng" himself?

Only, this "Yu Liancheng" had an ethereal demeanor, the corners of his mouth held a faint smile, divine radiance illuminated the world, and his eyes were lowered, no different from a God.

I am all appearances.

All appearances are me.

The Thirty-Third Appearance—Self Appearance.

The "Self Appearance" flipped its palm, and Sanskrit sounds resonated between heaven and earth; a massive "Swastika" Buddha seal pressed down horizontally, covering a radius of one hundred zhang.

In an instant, the thirty-two high monks and virtuous ones all felt a sense of being suppressed, as if a mountain peak were pressing down upon their heads, while the surrounding energy rapidly condensed and compressed; the air seemed to have solidified like the hardest Iron, leaving them unable to move.

Boom!

Gale winds howled, and the energy surged like a raging sea.

In mid-air, eighteen Dharma Aspects fell, countless cracks appeared in the void, and then they shattered with a boom.

This palm strike caused the Heavenly Maiden Appearance, Glazed Appearance, and others not suited for combat to withdraw from the battlefield one after another. The Battle Aspect, Wisdom King Aspect, and others also developed cracks, their golden light dimming. More importantly, the auxiliary Dharma Aspects like the Glazed Appearance and Medicine Master Appearance disintegrated, causing them to lose their follow-up sustainability. Once injured, there was no way to heal.

Soon, they no longer had to worry about that.

Because this "Self Appearance" was not only immensely powerful but also proficient in the abilities of the other thirty-two appearances; the gap in strength between the two sides was too great.

In just a short ten or so breaths of time, the "Self Appearance" struck down the Dharma Aspects one by one, leaving only the lonely Tathagata Aspect in the end.

Boom!

The Tathagata Aspect and the Self Appearance traded a blow.

In an instant, the Tathagata Aspect shattered, appearing with countless cracks. It soon turned into countless fragments and fell down along with Abbot Puhong, who was spitting blood.

Yu Liancheng looked at Abbot Puhong, who was being supported by a group of monks, his lips moving as he silently said: "Senior Brother, thank you."

Immediately, he once again revealed that world-dominating aura and said loudly: "The Thirty-Two Appearances are broken; from this day forward, Tianyin Temple is merged into Changsheng Tower."

As for Ceng Shuchang and Tian Buyi, seeing that the situation was wrong, they had long since turned into streaks of light and fled.

The next day.

The monks of Tianyin Temple became very busy, repairing the damaged Great Hero Treasure Hall, with sighs echoing incessantly. It was a perfectly good treasure hall that had ended up like this; it would be a lie to say they didn't feel heartache.

Yu Liancheng stood before the Sarira Pagoda of Puzhi, lit a stick of incense, and said calmly: "Senior Brother, your great ambition from back then is about to be realized. I will not only integrate the cultivation world but also make this cultivation world brand new; if you have knowledge in the afterlife, you should be comforted."

Having said this, he took out a wine flask and smiled: "Although you did not drink alcohol while alive, I imagine you don't need to keep the monastic precepts after death. Come, let us brothers drink this flask together."

After speaking, he removed the stopper, tilted the flask, and the wine flowed down slowly.

"Senior Brother, since it is your first time drinking, just take a small sip; leave the rest to your Junior Brother." Yu Liancheng tilted his head back and poured it into his mouth, gulping it down.

Abbot Puhong was healing his wounds in the Small Tianyin Temple. He stood by the window, looking down from here, and could vaguely see Yu Liancheng and the Sarira Pagoda. He remained silent, and after a long time, he let out a sigh.

"Junior Brother, I hope this decision is the right one; otherwise, after I die, this old monk truly deserves to descend into the Eighteen Levels of Hell."

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