Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Convert

“Amitabha.”

Under Lü Yang’s gaze, the youth with red lips and white teeth smiled faintly. He then put his palms together, a golden light shining in his eyes as he stared straight at Lü Yang.

“Benefactor, your exceptional talent is truly a pleasant surprise for this humble monk.”

“…A Monk?”

Lü Yang’s brows shot up. He had heard from Chen Xin’an that Monks didn’t exist in the North and the South. Even if there were any, they were Rogue Cultivators like Ming Zen.

The true Monks were all in the West.

They didn’t cultivate the Ascension Dao, but the Joyful Nirvana Dao, which was said to have its own advantages and was vastly different from the practices in the North and the South.

Especially this Perfected Panlong before him. His Cultivation was close to that of the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, but unlike the Master, he hadn’t been slashed by Golden Core Sword Qi. His spirit and body were intact, and he was in his prime. His Qi enveloped the universe, as vast as Heaven itself. Lü Yang immediately understood why the Master of Heaven Mending Peak had been so aggrieved before.

“I am Fulong.”

The youth spoke, his voice calm. “Panlong has entered Nirvana and been reborn in the Pure Land. His past life has nothing more to do with this humble monk. In this world, there is only Fulong.”

Lü Yang’s expression was equally calm. “Then, Senior Fulong, why have you come looking for me at this moment?”

As he spoke, he continued to build his Dao, only to find that the Dao Foundation, which had been so easy to construct just moments ago, was now as difficult to form as if he were carrying a heavy burden.

’…Is it that dragon?’

Lü Yang’s gaze shifted to the small dragon coiled around the Arhat Fulong. He saw that its golden, draconic eyes were fixed on him.

Seeing this, the Arhat Fulong just smiled faintly.

His little dragon might look like a living creature, but it was actually a Superior Sentient Artifact called the Dragon Ring. The Technique within it was called Gaze at the Universe. As the name implied, anyone caught in its sight would be locked within its field of vision, unable to change their status.

Because when it first saw Lü Yang, he had not yet established his Dao Foundation.

Therefore, no matter how Lü Yang operated his Abilities now, his Dao Foundation would be fixed in place by its gaze, making it difficult to coalesce and preventing him from escaping.

“This humble monk has come to offer you a fortuitous opportunity, Benefactor.”

The Arhat Fulong sized up Lü Yang and continued, “After this humble monk entered Nirvana, I attained the rank of Arhat and established a temple in the Pure Land, named the Fulong Temple.”

“The temple is newly built and still lacks Buddha Followers.”

“Benefactor, your Qi has reached the pinnacle of perfection. You could join my temple as a Dharma Protector Vajra and cultivate the Nirvana Dao with me from now on. Wouldn’t that be wonderful…”

BOOM!

Before the Arhat Fulong could finish, Lü Yang’s figure flashed and vanished, replaced by a dazed-looking Wu Ghost.

The Arhat Fulong was stunned, clearly not expecting Lü Yang to be able to break free from the Dragon Ring’s restraint.

But he quickly smoothed his brow and laughed heartily. “Benefactor, why must you be so obstinate? You cultivate the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis; you are naturally fated to be with this humble monk and the Pure Land.”

“Fate my ass!”

Within the Foundation Establishment Realm, Lü Yang cursed inwardly as he fled. The Arhat Fulong clearly had malicious intentions. How could he just surrender without a fight?

’I was too careless!’

Lü Yang fled, filled with regret. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered that the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis might be problematic; after all, Liu Xin had served as a cautionary tale.

But for one, Perfected Panlong had been a dead man in his eyes at the time. For another, he had attempted to reach Foundation Establishment in his past life, and Perfected Panlong hadn’t come looking for him then, so he’d let his guard down…

Thinking back now, it was probably because he had made his breakthrough within the Stain Sect in his past life!

’Damn it, they’re all a bunch of animals!’

’Is there not a single good person in the Stain Sect who genuinely cares for future generations? And what’s this about a Dharma Protector Vajra? Is he planning on refining me into a puppet?!’

With a thought, Lü Yang directly exited the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The next second, Lü Yang escaped using the power of the Heaven-Crashing Technique. The Vast Skull Mountains immediately began to shake violently.

’Fighting inside the Foundation Establishment Realm is a death sentence for me.’

Lü Yang knew that he had not yet formed his Dao Foundation. Inside the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had to resist the assault of Heart Demons every second of every minute.

How could he possibly fight under those conditions?

So his only choice was to first return to the real world and find a way to escape or repel the Arhat Fulong. Only then could he continue his attempt at Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, it was a dead end.

’Escaping is unrealistic. I have a Divine Talisman to conceal my karmic links, yet that bald donkey still found me. That means he has a way to bypass karmic links and lock onto me directly through the connection in our Cultivation Technique. There’s no way I can run. Besides, the Skull Mountains are my home turf; running away would be even more dangerous…’

At this thought, Lü Yang made up his mind. ’…I’ll fight!’

Although he could still restart, the pages of the Centome were limited. He wouldn’t do it so easily unless he was at the end of his rope, with absolutely no other choice.

Besides, even if he had to restart, for the sake of his next life, he should try to probe as many of Perfected Panlong’s methods as possible.

The next second, the Arhat Fulong’s figure appeared. He also wielded the power of the Heaven-Crashing Technique, but as a real Foundation Establishment cultivator, the phenomenon he created was different from Lü Yang’s.

He lowered his eyelids and calmly swept his gaze over the Skull Mountains.

In an instant, the entire Vast Skull Mountains were in his view, and an invisible pressure from the Foundation-Stage Cultivator descended upon every Cultivator within.

RUMBLE!

Instantly, all Cultivators below the Late-phase of Qi Refining were crushed to dust by this pressure. Those in the Late-phase of Qi Refining prostrated on the ground, vomiting blood ceaselessly.

Only the Cultivators at the Final-phase of Qi Refining, who seemed to have some value, were not seriously injured. Instead, they suddenly put their palms together and inexplicably began to chant Buddhist Scriptures.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang shook the Myriad-Soul Banner. Guardian Su Nu immediately appeared and, leading eight Red-clothed Ghosts, channeled her Abilities. The majestic Yama Hall shot up from the ground, dominating the sky, while Lü Yang continuously drew out the Yin Fiend from the Lay Line beneath the Skull Mountains to empower the Technique.

The Arhat Fulong clicked his tongue in admiration.

“Once you enter my temple and become a Dharma Protector Vajra, Benefactor, this one here can also become a female disciple in my temple. She can enjoy paradise with you. It is also the fate.”

BOOM!

Lü Yang completely ignored the Arhat Fulong’s words. The moment the Yama Hall appeared, he lifted it into the air and smashed it down on the Arhat’s head!

The Arhat Fulong neither dodged nor evaded. He simply conjured a Mythical Light above his head, shaped like a canopy, and steadily caught the falling Yama Hall. The moment they collided, sparks like shooting stars flew in all directions, causing the Arhat Fulong’s previously smooth brow to furrow slightly.

’It seems ordinary methods won’t be enough to take him down.’

Despite this, the Arhat Fulong was overjoyed. When he left behind the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis, he hadn’t actually expected to bait any big fish.

After all, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak knew his background. He would never let a true Foundation Seed cultivate the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis only to be hooked by him, benefiting the Jiangxi Shixiu. So his expectations were low from the start. He wouldn’t have minded even if it were just someone with a ten percent chance of succeeding at Foundation Establishment.

But Lü Yang had far exceeded his expectations.

He could tell at a glance that the other party was a true Foundation Seed, and a top-tier one at that. If he could achieve his Enlightenment, the benefits to his own cultivation would be immense!

Not to mention the free Guardian Su Nu thrown into the bargain.

A Fake Foundation Establishment wasn’t as good as a real one, but it was still excellent. Sending them both into his Fulong Temple would be enough to advance his Cultivation even further!

“So be it. I’ll just have to use some more of my Abilities.”

At this thought, the Arhat Fulong’s expression turned serious. He put his palms together, and a golden light steamed from beneath his feet, instantly filling more than half the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the Vast Skull Mountains, once roiling with Yin Fiend, transformed into a boundless golden land.

And within this golden land, a temple as majestic as a mountain rose from the ground. Its gates swung wide open, revealing the main hall with a Lotus Platform at its head.

The Arhat Fulong’s figure then flashed, and he landed upon the Lotus Platform in the temple.

Instantly, a brilliant light burst forth. The Arhat Fulong sat upon the Lotus Platform, his right hand resting on his right knee, fingertips touching the ground to form a mudra. In a flash, he cast down thousands of radiant beams.

Wherever the radiant beams passed, all filth was scattered, and All Phenomena dissolved.

The Yin Fiend across the Vast Skull Mountains was completely swept away, and the Yama Hall, like ice and snow in summer, collapsed with a crash under the radiant light!

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