Chapter 516: Lieque Sword Tower, Thousand-Year Foundation

49th Year of Hongguang, July 27th.

The last trace of twilight disappeared on the horizon, and the sky was dark.

Outside Xirong Gate of Lanling City, Buddhist light illuminated a radius of a thousand meters.

Since the founding of the Great Lan Dynasty over five hundred years ago, this was the first time a peak expert had invaded the imperial capital!

Even for the Western Allied Forces back then, the strongest combat power was only three princes, and these three didn't even touch the city walls of Lanling City before two were beaten to death by Wen Ren Zheng and one was seriously injured.

And now, Buddha Buddha Jingheng, this Buddha of the current age, brought five Great Arhats, that is, five top-tier True Persons, to attack Lanling City!

Only six people attacking the capital of a powerful empire, this posture could be said to be extremely arrogant!

But now, the Imperial Preceptor Xiang Yunshu is severely injured, and the "God of War" Wen Ren Zheng and the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry are all at the Bai Feng Plains.

Lanling City no longer has any top-tier combat power that can be brought to the table.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng, as the Buddha of the current age, has a cultivation base that is unfathomable.

The Buddhist lineage has been passed down for a thousand years, and its foundation is likewise unfathomable.

Now that the Buddha has arrived in person, who can stop him?

"All units, fire—"

On the city wall, Xi Yan roared loudly.

Even if the Buddha has come, he must guard this city well; how could there be any reason to collapse without a fight?!

But the thousands of soldiers on this section of the city wall had already lost their will to fight at this moment; they all threw away the weapons in their hands, pressed their palms together, and knelt on the ground, praying incessantly.

Everyone had a devout expression, bathing in that dazzling Buddha light, completely losing themselves.

These city guards on the wall had become just like the commoners kneeling on the ground outside the city, kowtowing incessantly; they had all converted under the Buddha's might!

Xi Yan watched until his eyes were about to split; he shouted angrily and ran quickly to a city defense cannon not far away.

Kicking away a soldier who was kneeling on the ground praying, Xi Yan opened the breech himself and loaded a shell.

The veins on the back of his hands bulged as he quickly turned the handle to adjust the firing angle; the sound of metal grinding pierced the stagnant air.

Just as the muzzle aimed at that golden outline in the distance, the firmament suddenly collapsed into a vortex of Buddha light!

Hum—

The moss on the battlements faded to gray-white at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the sound of Xi Yan's heartbeat was being swallowed by a more grandiose rhythm.

The sound of the commoners kowtowing below the city, the crisp sound of withered branches snapping, and the whimpering of the night wind sweeping past the cannon breech all shattered into dust within the golden ripples.

The entire world had disappeared!

Only that Buddha in the distance became increasingly clear, growing more and more vast.

A galaxy flowed within the folds of the kasaya; in the infinitely extending Sumeru world, the flying eaves and bracket sets of Lanling City were collapsing into palm prints in the Buddha's palm, the moat turned into gullies outlined in gold lacquer, and Xi Yan himself was nothing but a spark on the other's fingertip that was about to go out!

This Buddha lowered his head to look down upon all living beings; his compassionate gaze fell upon the masses, and it also fell upon Xi Yan.

Xi Yan trembled all over, his knees gradually bending, about to submit under this vast and boundless Buddha light.

He gritted his teeth, fully stimulating the implants in his body, attempting to provide himself with a tiny bit of meager support.

"Convert to my Buddha."

"Convert to my Buddha."

"Convert to my Buddha."

The Sanskrit chanting seeped from his seven orifices into his bone marrow; every single bone was emitting a mournful cry of being unable to bear the burden!

But in the dark, another will was telling Xi Yan:

"Do not kneel!"

Unknowingly, Xi Yan was already hunched over, his knees almost touching the ground, his skin cracking all over, his body drenched in blood, and the implants in his body were constantly disintegrating!

It felt as if ten thousand years had passed, and yet it also felt as if only a single instant had passed.

Xi Yan suddenly roared loudly: "Ah—"

With his eyes wide open in anger, he pulled the long rope in his hand violently.

Boom!!!

The 70mm caliber city defense cannon shook, and the shell shot out of the muzzle at three times the speed of sound, flying toward Buddha Buddha Jingheng and the others in the distance.

After firing this shot, Xi Yan was like a candle burned to the wick; he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward, facing the sky.

"At least I did not fail His Majesty."

This was Xi Yan's final thought before death.

The shell did not hit the ground; it exploded in mid-air, and not a single speck of dust fell upon Buddha Buddha Jingheng and the others.

"Amitabha."

Buddha Buddha Jingheng pressed his palms together and looked up at the pillar of destiny that had shot into the sky from the imperial palace.

Relying solely on Xi Yan, a small Foundation Establishment martial artist, it was naturally impossible to truly withstand his pressure.

Just now, it was merely him and Xiang Yunshu using Xi Yan's body to complete a battle of techniques from afar.

Xi Yan's firmness of mind was somewhat beyond his expectations, causing him to fall slightly behind in this battle of techniques.

Losing a step to an inconspicuous little person before even entering the city, while it did not affect the overall situation, still caused ripples in Buddha Buddha Jingheng's state of mind.

He quickly calmed his mind and continued to step forward.

At this time, the West Glory Gate was completely undefended to him.

However, Buddha Buddha Jingheng did not intend to enter the city through the West Glory Gate.

He and the five Great Arhats continued forward step by step; it was as if invisible stairs appeared in the air, and the six of them stepped into the void step by step, constantly ascending, finally going up into the sky!

The six of them walked on the protective barrier above the Lanling City defensive formation.

Every step they took, a ripple would appear on the protective barrier.

The six of them soon arrived above the Imperial City; a few hundred meters ahead was that pillar of destiny reaching into the sky, with a golden dragon coiling upon it, staring coldly at Buddha Buddha Jingheng.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng smiled slightly.

If he had also appeared on the Bai Feng Plains with his people, he could certainly have swayed the outcome and won this battle.

But top-tier powerhouses are hard to kill; Wen Ren Zheng would still have had the opportunity to lead the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry to fight while retreating, eventually sacrificing a portion of the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry to escape all the way back to Lanling City.

Therefore, Buddha Buddha Jingheng brought his people directly to Lanling City.

This is the "heart" of the entire Great Lan Dynasty, suppressing the national destiny!

As long as this place is taken, no matter what the final result is on the Bai Feng Plains, the overall situation cannot be shaken.

Moreover, on the Bai Feng Plains, the imperial court is currently able to maintain a stalemate, or even occupy the upper hand, because the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry has the blessing of national destiny.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng directly "drew the firewood from under the cauldron," which could likewise affect the battle situation a thousand miles away!

The five Great Arhats stood in their respective positions, surrounding him in the middle.

A golden lotus bloomed from beneath Buddha Buddha Jingheng's feet, with five lotus petals just right to support the five Great Arhats.

This lotus grew larger and larger, growing right on top of that protective barrier, eventually covering most of Lanling City!

The sky had originally been dark and gloomy, but with the blooming of this golden lotus, the entire city lit up, as bright as day.

The millions of commoners within the city looked up at the sky one after another.

Some were terrified, some were devout, some were shouting and screaming, some were kneeling on the ground kowtowing incessantly...

The entire city was in chaos!

Inner City, headquarters of the Law Enforcement Pavilion.

A grand formation was activated, and a magnificent tower rose from the ground, generated from the formation!

The tower had twelve levels in total, with awe-inspiring sword intent, and streaks of sword light circled within it.

Ji Yiheng, the Deputy Pavilion Master of the Law Enforcement Pavilion, sat in the center of the formation, his true power erupting, his expression solemn:

"Activate the formation!"

As his voice fell, a cyan sword light flew out from the first level of the tower.

The sword light was as thin as a willow leaf, carrying the changes of the twenty-four solar terms; as the sword swept out, the icicles on the eaves all turned into flying frost, and where the thunder of the Awakening of Insects sounded, the dragon patterns on the sword spine spat out clouds and mist.

This is the Green Duckweed Sword!

A red sword light flew out from the second level of the tower, with Vermillion Bird patterns, the sword hilt embedded with Southern Bright Separation Fire; wherever the sword light passed, the glazed tiles melted into magma and dripped down.

This is the Fire Cloud Sword!

The third level of the tower flew out the Xuanji Sword, the sword guard cast with a star map, the sword light like a shooting star.

The fourth level of the tower flew out the Taisu Sword, black ice forming the sword body, the sword's hum clear and piercing enough to shatter the mind and spirit...

From the final twelfth level of the tower, the Taiyuan Sword had stars suspended around it, yin and yang dual Qi flowing on the sword edge, and the sword intent drew forth the simultaneous ringing of sword intent across the sky.

"Twelve-Level Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Tower"!

This formation was derived from the Daoist "Great Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Formation"; Xiang Yunshu spent over thirty years analyzing Dao principles, constantly polishing and improving it, until finally, the student surpassed the master!

The "Great Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Formation" was already a top-tier killing formation of the Daoist school; after Xiang Yunshu improved it with Dao principles, the "Twelve-Level Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Tower" he created had even greater killing power.

His goal was that with a single sword strike, he could kill a Great Grandmaster!

With all twelve swords out, even a Martial Saint would fall!

Of course, to reach such power, it would still need to be nurtured with national destiny for another fifty years.

It is still far from reaching its peak.

Since the day this sword tower was completed, it had never been used, because every time a flying sword is used, it needs to be nurtured with national destiny for at least three years before it can be used again.

With all twelve swords out, don't even think about using it again for the next sixty years.

The heavenly materials and earthly treasures and national destiny consumed over the decades were all condensed on the sword edges at this moment!

Ji Yiheng, a top-tier True Person sword cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend, presided over the formation, with twelve other True Persons assisting within the formation.

Twelve streaks of sword light shot into the sky, piercing toward that enormous golden lotus in the air!

Flying frost, thunder, black ice, raging flames, stars... various strange phenomena appeared, and the sword intent was like a river, like a high mountain, constantly impacting the golden lotus.

At the same time, several figures also rose into the air, attacking the golden lotus above.

The Commander of the Imperial Guard and the Pavilion Master of the Stop-Conflict Pavilion were both Great Grandmasters.

Besides them, there were also four university presidents who had been transferred from various places, all of whom were also Great Grandmasters.

Among the Imperial Guard of the Imperial City, there were over five thousand Imperial Camp soldiers.

For every level the military formation rises, the difficulty of refining the evil weapons and the resources required increase geometrically.

Therefore, these five thousand-plus Imperial Camp soldiers were just five thousand-man military formations.

At this moment, the five streaks of evil Qi turned into blades, swords, and fierce beasts, also attacking the golden lotus in the air!

Eleven Great Grandmaster-level powers bombarded the golden lotus!

Among the top combat powers in Lanling City, there were still three who had not made a move:

Two Great Inner Eunuchs and one Royal Chief Consultant.

The Great Inner Eunuchs guarded the imperial palace and did not make a move.

The Royal Chief Consultant, Yao Hanfei, had helped the First Imperial Prince escape, and afterward, his cultivation was locked, and he was thrown into the heavenly prison!

So this Great Grandmaster of the Establishing Dao realm had no chance to make a move.

One sword tower plus eleven Great Grandmaster-level powers was the strongest counterattack means Lanling City could bring out at this moment!

Above the golden lotus, the Great Arhats, each standing on a lotus petal, pressed their palms together one after another, chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Golden Sanskrit characters flew out from their mouths, circling around the lotus petals.

Immediately after, the five of them sacrificed their own life-bound magic treasures—three Earth-grade and two Heaven-grade—each suppressing one lotus petal.

Even so, the lotus petals were still trembling violently!

Inside the Imperial Study.

Under the guidance of Xiang Yunshu, the Crown Prince gradually withdrew the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi that had been cast into the distance.

The enemy had already reached the doorstep, so naturally, he could not continue to support the Bai Feng Plains.

From the moment Buddha Buddha Jingheng entered the city, the Crown Prince's expression had been somewhat tense, with sweat on his forehead.

Although he possessed the combat power of a top-tier powerhouse while in the imperial palace, top-tier powerhouses also vary in strength.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng was a Buddha of the current age who had been famous for over a hundred years, while he was a Crown Prince who had been supervising the state for less than a year, and he had no prior experience in fighting against powerhouses.

How was he supposed to fight this?

Furthermore, Buddha Buddha Jingheng had not yet entered the range of the imperial palace, and the Crown Prince's power would decline step by step once it left the imperial palace.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince did not need to go out and fight Buddha Buddha Jingheng personally at this moment; he only needed to control the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi well.

"Go!"

The Imperial Jade Seal in the Crown Prince's hand suddenly vibrated.

Immediately after, the golden dragon coiling on the pillar of destiny suddenly charged into that magnificent tower at the Law Enforcement Pavilion's headquarters.

The Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi blessed the "Twelve-Level Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Tower"!

Crack—

Cracks began to appear on that enormous golden lotus in the air.

"Amitabha."

Buddha Buddha Jingheng, who was in the center, still wore a smile:

"I did not expect there to be such a sword tower in Lanling City. If you, Benefactor Xiang Yunshu, were still at your peak and presiding over this formation yourself, supplemented by the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi, I am afraid this old monk would only be able to retreat today."

As his voice fell, the five Great Arhats around him took out a round bead from their bosoms one after another.

The five of them cast the five beads, which were emitting sandalwood fragrance and carrying thick Buddhist charm, into the lotus petals beneath their feet.

As soon as these five beads left their hands, they bloomed with dazzling Buddha light, revealing five Buddha statues of different forms:

One Buddha statue was like green jade throughout, with hands in the meditation mudra, and the scene of a dry landscape garden faintly appearing in the light behind it.

One Buddha statue had a body of red gold, the right hand in the fearlessness mudra, and the left hand holding a broken bronze alms bowl. The Buddha's eyes were half-open, and tears dripped from the corners of his eyes, turning into beads.

One Buddha statue had an indigo Buddha body like translucent glaze, sitting cross-legged on a red lotus formed of raging flames, hands folded in the teaching mudra, sparks bursting from the fingertips, a third eye in the center of the forehead, the pupils reflecting the scene of books burning, the ashes drifting into Sanskrit characters...

These are the Sarira relics transformed by five high monks of the Buddhist school!

After a Daoist True Person dies, their complete true soul is entrusted to their own life-bound magic treasure, and they can survive for at least a hundred years or so after death, while a True Monarch can survive for at least two hundred years.

The same is true for the Arhats and Great Arhats of the Buddhist school.

The Great Lan Dynasty could have the foundation of the former Law Enforcement Pavilion Pavilion Master Zhang Chengbi; since the Pudu Temple has been passed down for a thousand years, how could its foundation be lacking?

At this moment, inside the five Sarira relics sacrificed by the five Great Arhats, there were the true souls of five Great Arhats respectively!

With only the true soul and no body, the true soul is like a rootless tree; its own realm and power will constantly weaken with the passage of time, and it cannot maintain its original realm for too long, only becoming weaker and weaker.

However, within the Pudu Temple, tens of thousands of monks chant scriptures every day for these true souls enshrined in the Sarira pagoda, and there is also the incense wish power accumulated over time by millions of believers in the world.

When it comes to the protection and nourishment of true souls, the Buddhist school is definitely the best in the world!

Sacrificing the Sarira relics of five Great Arhats all at once at this moment is equivalent to having five more top-tier True Persons.

The five Buddha statues sat on the lotus petals, and the golden lotus stabilized once again.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng only brought five people to attack the city, solely because he had the thousand-year foundation of the Buddhist school in his hands!

"Respectfully invite Ancestor Hui Ku."

Buddha Buddha Jingheng also took out a Sarira relic from his bosom.

This Sarira relic was dark gold throughout and the size of a fist, several times larger than the other five Sarira relics of the Great Arhats.

The Sarira relic flew out from Buddha Buddha Jingheng's hand, also revealing a Buddha statue:

The Buddha statue looked like it was cast from black iron, standing with eyes wide in anger, the right foot stepping on a boulder, the left foot stepping on a skull, hands holding a vajra pestle and a nine-ringed tin staff respectively. Armor covered the body, the armor plates engraved with scriptures, and thorny vines growing out from the gaps, blooming like blood.

A seven-treasure canopy hung above the Buddha's head, using spider webs as necklaces; it was clearly solemn in appearance, yet it also carried a bit of chilling coldness.

"Greetings, Ancestor Hui Ku."

The five Great Arhats on the lotus petals bowed to this Buddha statue together.

The five Buddha statues revealed from the Sarira relics also bowed to the other.

"Wisdom, Purity, Enlightenment, Meeting, Permanence"—the highest generation in the Pudu Temple today is only the "Jing" generation.

And this true soul that revealed a Buddha statue from the Sarira relic at this moment belonged to the "Hui" generation.

Hui Ku, the Abbot of Pudu Temple over four hundred years ago, the Buddha of the previous generation!

It has been nearly three hundred years since he passed away!

A True Monarch's true soul can survive for at least two hundred years, and as for how many years it can survive at most, it depends on the means of each party.

The Pudu Temple actually let the true soul of the previous generation's Buddha survive for nearly three hundred years!

From the moment a Buddha or True Monarch dies, their realm will fall; Hui Ku has survived for so long, he has long since failed to return to his original realm, and now he is barely maintaining himself on the edge of the Great Luo Han realm.

But after all, this was a Buddha of the past, and his cognition and experience were extraordinary.

Even if he is only barely maintaining the realm of a Great Luo Han, there is no Great Luo Han in this world who would dare to say they could steadily defeat him.

Hui Ku's Buddha statue took a look at Lanling City beneath his feet, did not say anything more, merely exchanged a glance with Buddha Buddha Jingheng and nodded slightly.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng's emotions were moved for the first time, and a faint sorrow flashed in his eyes:

"Respectfully see off the Ancestor."

Hui Ku's eyes were calm: "If I do not enter hell, who will enter hell?"

As his voice fell, his Buddha statue turned into a black rainbow carrying blood color, crashing into the golden lotus beneath his feet.

This Buddha of the previous generation, who had survived for nearly three hundred years with his true soul after death, completely dissipated between heaven and earth today!

Boom—

A hundred-zhang golden radiance tore through the clouds, and tens of thousands of Sanskrit mantras wandered across the sky like gilded dragons, shrouding the entire Lanling City in a cage woven from Buddha light!

Blood-jade-like patterns appeared on that golden lotus that covered the sky and the sun.

The other five Buddha statues wailed simultaneously, tears of glaze flowing from their eyes, and then they disintegrated one after another, turning into Sanskrit characters burning across the sky.

The true souls of the five Great Arhats also chose to sacrifice themselves!

In an instant, the Buddha's might condensed into a tangible golden tsunami, pressing down on the city.

A reflection of Mount Sumeru appeared deep in the clouds, and one hundred and eight thousand Arhats chanted the Rebirth Mantra at the cloud peak!

Heaven and earth resonated, golden Sanskrit characters filled the sky above Lanling City, and the sound of Sanskrit rang in the ears of the millions of people in the whole city, giving rise to awe in their hearts.

The six Great Grandmasters who had attacked the golden lotus spat blood and fell from the sky one after another, and the five military formation evil Qi disintegrated!

The twelve-level sword tower shook violently, emitting a roaring sound.

Buddha Buddha Jingheng stepped out from the golden lotus, actually taking the initiative to leave this grand formation.

And without his presiding, the formation still firmly resisted, and even took the initiative to entangle the sword light of the "Twelve-Level Layered Zhou Tian Lie Que Sword Tower."

Buddha Buddha Jingheng walked with lotus flowers blooming at every step, arriving above the imperial palace step by step, arriving before that pillar of destiny.

Bang!

A streak of Buddha light pierced through heaven and earth, instantly penetrating the protective barrier of the city defense formation.

Immediately after, a golden figure appeared on the white jade square outside the Zheng Lan Hall.

The Buddha enters the imperial palace!

(End of chapter)