Chapter 850: Column-Breaker Sword Pavilion, A Millennium of Foundation

The 49th year of Hongguang, July 27th.

The last glimmer of the setting sun vanished into the horizon, and the sky grew dim.

Outside the West Xirong Gate of Lanling City, Buddha-light illuminated a radius of one thousand meters.

For the first time in the five hundred-plus years since the founding of the Great Lan Dynasty, a peak powerhouse had invaded the imperial capital!

Even during the Western Allied Forces' invasion back then, their strongest combatants were merely three Princes, and those three were killed by Wenren Zheng—with two dead and one severely wounded—before they could even touch the walls of Lanling City.

Yet today, Jing Heng, a living Buddha of this age, has brought five Great Arhats—that is, five top-tier True Persons—to storm Lanling City!

To attack the capital of a powerful empire with only six people; such a stance can only be called utterly arrogant!

But now, the Imperial Preceptor Yun Shu is severely wounded, and the "God of War" Wenren Zheng and the Sky-Blue Iron Cavalry are both on the Baifeng Plains.

Lanling City no longer has any peak combat power worth mentioning.

As a living Buddha of this age, Jing Heng's cultivation base is unfathomable.

The Buddhist heritage spans 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 a Buddha has come, he must defend this city; how could there be any reason to collapse without a fight?!

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

Everyone wore a look of piety, bathing in that dazzling Buddha-light, having completely lost themselves.

These city guards on the wall were now just like the commoners kneeling and kowtowing outside the city, all having converted under the Buddha-might of the Buddha!

Xi Yan watched, his eyes splitting with rage; he shouted in anger and sprinted toward a city defense cannon not far away.

Kicking aside a soldier who was kneeling and praying, Xi Yan personally opened the breech and loaded a shell.

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

The very moment the muzzle aimed at that golden silhouette 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 snapping of withered branches, and the whimpering of the night wind passing through the cannon barrel all shattered into dust within the golden ripples.

The entire world had vanished!

Only that Buddha in the distance grew increasingly clear and ever more vast.

A galaxy flowed within the folds of the kasaya; in the infinitely extending Sumeru world, the flying eaves and brackets of Lanling City were collapsing into palm prints in the Buddha's hand, the moat turned into a gold-lacquered ravine, and Xi Yan himself was nothing more than a spark on the other's fingertip, flickering as it was about to go out!

This Buddha lowered his head to look down upon all living things; 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, exerting his internal implants to their limit, attempting to provide himself with a tiny bit of support.

"Convert to my Buddha."

"Convert to my Buddha."

"Convert to my Buddha."

The Sanskrit chanting seeped through 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 darkness, a will was telling Xi Yan:

"Do not kneel!"

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

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

Xi Yan suddenly roared loudly: "Ah—"

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

BOOM!!!

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

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

"At least I did not fail His Majesty."

This was the last thought in Xi Yan's mind before he died.

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

"Amitabha."

Jing Heng pressed his palms together and looked up at the pillar of national fortune rising into the sky from the imperial palace.

With Xi Yan being merely a small Dao Foundation realm martial artist, it was naturally impossible for him to truly withstand his pressure.

Just now, it was simply he and Yun Shu using Xi Yan's body to complete a duel from afar.

The firmness of Xi Yan's will was somewhat beyond his expectations, causing him to fall slightly behind in this duel.

To lose a step to an insignificant little person before even entering the city, while not affecting the overall situation, still caused Jing Heng's state of mind to ripple slightly.

He quickly calmed his mind and continued to step forward.

At this moment, the Xirong Gate was completely undefended to him.

However, Jing Heng did not intend to enter the city through the Xirong Gate.

He and the five Great Arhats continued forward step by step; invisible stairs seemed to appear in the air, and the six of them stepped into the void, climbing higher and higher until they finally reached the sky!

The six of them walked upon the protective barrier above the great defensive array of Lanling City.

With every step they took, a ripple appeared on the protective barrier.

The six of them soon arrived above the Imperial City; a few hundred meters ahead was that heaven-reaching pillar of national fortune, with a golden dragon circling atop it, its eyes staring coldly at Jing Heng.

Jing Heng smiled slightly.

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

But peak powerhouses are hard to kill; Wenren Zheng would still have had a chance 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.

That is why Jing Heng brought his people directly to Lanling City.

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

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

Moreover, the reason the imperial court can currently maintain a stalemate, or even hold the upper hand on the Baifeng Plains, is because the Sky-Blue Iron Cavalry has the blessing of the national fortune.

Jing Heng is directly "drawing the firewood from under the cauldron," which can likewise influence the battle a thousand miles away!

The five Great Arhats took their respective positions, surrounding him in the center.

A golden lotus bloomed beneath Jing Heng's feet, its five petals perfectly supporting 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 dim, but as this golden lotus bloomed, the entire city lit up as if it were broad daylight.

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

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

The entire city was in chaos!

In the Inner City, the headquarters of the Law Enforcement Pavilion.

A great array was activated, and a magnificent pavilion rose from the ground, generated from within the array!

The pavilion had twelve levels, filled 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 at the center of the array, his true power surging, his expression solemn:

"Activate the array!"

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

The sword light was as thin as a willow leaf, carrying the changes of the twenty-four solar terms; as it swept out, icicles on the eaves turned to frost, and where the thunder of the Awakening of Insects rumbled, the dragon patterns on the sword spine exhaled clouds.

This is the Green Duckweed Sword!

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

This is the Fire Cloud Sword!

The third level of the pavilion flew out the Mysterious Pivot Sword, its guard cast with a star map, the sword light like a shooting star.

The fourth level of the pavilion flew out the Primordial Essence Sword, its body made of mysterious ice, its sword hum clear and sharp enough to shatter the heart and spirit...

From the final twelfth level of the pavilion, the Great Origin Sword had stars suspended around it, yin and yang energy flowing across the blade, and as the sword intent exhaled, it caused the sword intent of the entire sky to chime in unison.

"Twelve-Level Great Cycle Column-Breaker Sword Pavilion"!

This array was derived from the Daoist "Great Cycle Column-Breaker Sword Array"; Yun Shu spent over thirty years analyzing Daoist principles, constantly polishing and improving it, until the student surpassed the master!

The "Great Cycle Column-Breaker Sword Array" was already a top-tier killing array of the Daoist school; after Yun Shu improved it with Daoist principles, the "Twelve-Level Great Cycle Column-Breaker Sword Pavilion" he created possessed even greater killing power.

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

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

Of course, to reach such power, it would still require another fifty years of tempering with the national fortune.

It is currently far from reaching its peak.

Since the day this sword pavilion was completed, it had never been used, because every time a flying sword is used, it requires at least three years of re-tempering with the national fortune before it can be used again.

If all twelve swords are released, one should not even think about using them again for the next sixty years.

The heavenly treasures and national fortune consumed over the decades were all condensed upon the sword blades 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 array, with twelve other True Persons assisting within it.

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 Qi, like a river, like a high mountain, continuously struck the golden lotus.

At the same time, several figures also rose into the air to strike at the golden lotus above.

The Commander of the Imperial Guards and the Pavilion Master of the Stop-Goe Pavilion, these two were both Grandmasters.

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

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

For every level the military formation rose, the difficulty of refining the baleful weapons and the resources required increased geometrically.

Therefore, these five thousand-plus Royal Camp soldiers were only five thousand-man-level military formations.

At this moment, five streams of baleful energy transformed into blades, swords, and fierce beasts, also attacking the golden lotus in the sky!

Eleven powers at the Grandmaster level bombarded the golden lotus!

Among the top combatants within Lanling City, there were still three who had not made a move:

Two inner-palace eunuchs and one chief imperial consultant.

The inner-palace eunuchs guarded the imperial palace and did not make a move.

The chief imperial consultant Yao Hanfei had originally helped the First Imperial Prince escape, and after the incident, his cultivation base was locked, and he was thrown into the celestial prison!

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

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

Above the golden lotus, the Great Arhats, each standing on a lotus leaf, folded their hands together and chanted Buddhist scriptures.

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

Immediately after, the five of them sacrificed their own life-bound magic treasures—three Earth-grade and two Heaven-grade—which were suppressed onto each lotus leaf respectively.

Even so, the lotus leaves 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 no longer continue to support the Baifeng Plain.

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

Although he possessed the combat power of a peak expert while inside the imperial palace, peak experts were also divided into strong and weak.

Jing Heng was a contemporary Buddha 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 experts.

How was he supposed to fight this?

Moreover, Jing Heng had not yet entered the range where the imperial palace was located, and the Crown Prince's power would decline step by step once it left the imperial palace.

Fortunately, at this moment, the Crown Prince did not need to go out and fight Jing Heng personally; 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 coiled around the Pillar of National Fortune suddenly charged into that magnificent building at the headquarters of the Righteous Law Pavilion.

The Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi empowered the "Twelve-Layered Heavenly Cycle Lieque Sword Tower"!

Crack—

That huge golden lotus in the sky began to show cracks.

"Amitabha."

Jing Heng, in the center, still wore a smile:

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

As his voice fell, the five Great Arhats around him each took out a round bead from their robes.

The five of them cast the five beads, which emitted sandalwood fragrance and carried a thick Buddhist aura, into the lotus leaves beneath their feet.

As soon as these five beads left their hands, they burst forth with dazzling Buddhist light, revealing five Buddha statues of various forms:

One Buddha statue was entirely like green jade, with hands in the meditation mudra, and the scene of a dry landscape 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 fell from the corners of the eyes, turning into beads.

One Buddha statue had an indigo body like translucent glaze, sitting cross-legged on a red lotus formed by raging flames, hands folded in the preaching mudra, fingertips bursting with sparks, a third eye between the brows, the pupil reflecting the scene of burning scrolls, the ashes drifting into Sanskrit characters.

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

After a Daoist True Person dies, their complete true soul is deposited into their own life-bound magic treasure, and they can survive for at least a hundred years after death; 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 Righteous Law Pavilion Master Zhang Chengbi; with the Pudu Temple having 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 were the true souls of five Great Arhats!

With only the true soul and no body, the true soul is like a tree without roots; its own realm and power will continuously weaken as time passes, 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 and wish power accumulated day by day by millions of believers in the world.

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

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

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

Jing Heng only brought five people to attack the city because he had the thousand-year foundation of the Buddhist school in his hands!

"Respectfully inviting Ancestor Hui Ku."

Jing Heng also took a Sarira relic from his robe.

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

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

The Buddha statue appeared to be cast from black iron, standing with glaring eyes, 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.

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

"Greetings, Ancestor Hui Ku."

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

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

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

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

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

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, but how many years it can survive at most depends on the means of each party.

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

From the moment a Buddha or True Monarch dies, their realm will fall; having survived for so long, Hui Ku had long since lost his original realm and now barely maintained himself at the edge of the Great Arhat realm.

But after all, this was a former Buddha, and his cognition and experience were extraordinary.

Even if he only barely maintained the Great Arhat realm, there was no Great Arhat in this world who would dare to say they could steadily defeat him.

Hui Ku's Buddha statue glanced at Lanling City beneath his feet, said nothing more, only exchanged a look with Jing Heng and nodded slightly.

For the first time, Jing Heng's emotions were somewhat moved, and a faint sorrow flashed in his eyes:

"Respectfully sending off the Ancestor."

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

As his voice fell, his Buddha statue transformed into a black rainbow tinged with blood, crashing into the golden lotus beneath his feet.

This previous generation's Buddha, who had survived with his true soul for nearly three hundred years 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 drifted through the sky like gilded swimming dragons, shrouding the entire Lanling City in a cage woven from Buddhist light!

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

The other five Buddha statues wailed in unison, glaze-like tears 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 Buddhist power condensed into a tangible golden tsunami, pressing down upon 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 peak of the clouds!

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 city, filling their hearts with awe.

The six Grandmasters who had attacked the golden lotus all spat blood and fell from the sky, and the five military formation baleful energies disintegrated!

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

Jing Heng stepped out from the golden lotus, actually taking the initiative to leave this great formation.

And without his presiding, the great formation still firmly resisted, and even actively entangled the sword light of the "Twelve-Layered Heavenly Cycle Lieque Sword Tower."

Jing Heng walked, lotus flowers blooming with every step, arriving step by step above the imperial palace, arriving before that Pillar of National Fortune.

Bang!

A stream of Buddhist light pierced through heaven and earth, instantly piercing through the protective shield of the city-protecting formation.

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

The Buddha enters the imperial palace!

(End of chapter)