Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Enlightenment Mahayana Sutra

The monks followed the “Joyful Nirvana Dao,” yet they were able to occupy a corner of the world instead of being forced into exile overseas. This alone was proof of their Sect’s strength.

However, unlike the Sword Pavilion or the Stain Sect with their many different techniques, the monks cultivated nothing else, focusing only on a single Scripture.

Its name was the Enlightenment Mahayana Sutra.

It was said that this Scripture was passed down by the Bhagavat of the Joyful Nirvana Dao. Its purpose was to guide people toward goodness, to achieve Nirvana after worldly cessation, and through this, to find the “True Self.”

However, this “True Self” was not the monk’s own self.

It was the “self” of that Bhagavat.

When one cultivated the Joyful Nirvana Dao to its extreme, they would extinguish their own self and comprehend the principle of “I am the Bhagavat, the Bhagavat is me.” From that point on, they would be one and the same as the Bhagavat.

The Scripture referred to this as “Becoming a Buddha” or achieving “true enlightenment.”

Because the Bhagavat is a Buddha, becoming the Bhagavat is equivalent to Becoming a Buddha.

The same was true for all living beings. All beings could become a Buddha. Since “I” am a Buddha, all beings could become “me.” To understand this principle was to attain Supreme Enlightenment.

Within the Enlightenment Mahayana Sutra were forty-eight Great Spells, said to have been established by the Bhagavat when he achieved the stage of Master of Dao.

Each Great Spell held infinite and profound mysteries and could give rise to countless techniques. A single, complete Great Spell was comparable in effect to a Legendary Technique from the Sword Pavilion or the Stain Sect.

The more Great Spells one mastered, the closer they came to “Becoming a Buddha.”

At this moment, facing Lü Yang’s Yama Hall, the Arhat Fulong touched the ground, formed a hand seal, and unleashed one of these Great Spells, called “No Three Evil Paths in the Country.”

“If, when I become a Buddha, my country still contains hells, hungry ghosts, or beasts, then may I not attain Supreme Enlightenment.”

The Dharma voice rang out, clear and bright, reflecting a pure light.

Though it was a Great Spell of compassion, its power was anything but. How does one eliminate hells, hungry ghosts, and beasts? Just kill them. Once they’re dead, they’re gone.

Moreover, this technique was clearly a powerful counter to Yin Evil Qi.

As the radiant light shone down, Lü Yang immediately saw his Yama Hall disintegrate piece by piece. Guardian Su Nu, who was stationed within it, let out a sudden, piercing shriek.

’This is the true power of the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment!’

Lü Yang’s heart grew cold. Although his Yama Hall had been invincible against the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, who was nothing but a Soul, that was because it had a specific advantage against such beings.

But a true cultivator at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, one with Spirit and Flesh Perfection and in peak condition like the Arhat Fulong, could overwhelm the Yama Hall with just a single technique. If not for the constant support of the Yin Fiend from the Skull Mountains’ Lay Line, it would have already been breached!

“Amitabha.”

Seeing this, the Arhat Fulong’s expression remained unchanged. He tossed his Nine-Ring Scepter into the air, and a thunderous clang of metal on metal echoed out.

’This is bad!’

Lü Yang’s pupils shrank. His Yama Hall, suppressed to the verge of collapse by the Arhat Fulong’s “No Three Evil Paths” Great Spell, could no longer protect him!

Lü Yang had failed to predict this turn of events in time. The Arhat Fulong, however, with his higher cultivation, had seized the opening in advance. He had deployed the Nine-Ring Scepter before the Yama Hall fell and struck the very instant it failed, giving Lü Yang no chance to recover.

In the blink of an eye, the Nine-Ring Scepter was right before Lü Yang’s face!

In that critical moment, Lü Yang moved with lightning speed, pulling Guardian Su Nu out of the Yama Hall and holding her firmly in front of him as a shield.

BOOM!

Su Nu didn’t even have time to scream before her entire body was covered in cracks. She only managed to endure the blow thanks to the sturdiness of her body.

’I can’t let this go on!’

Lü Yang casually tossed Su Nu back into his Dantian, his mind racing. He knew that if this continued, he would just be taking a beating, and his defeat would only be a matter of time.

He was trying to think of a countermeasure, but the Arhat Fulong wasn’t about to give him the chance.

Its first strike having failed, the Nine-Ring Scepter spun in the air and descended again. The nine rings on the staff chimed against each other, a sound powerful enough to shatter a person’s Soul.

Fortunately, Lü Yang had mastered the Soul Splitting Technique. His Spiritual perception had long since evolved into Divine Sense, making it no different from that of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

Although the Nine-Ring Scepter’s influence gave him a splitting headache, he could still force himself to move through sheer willpower. He used Su Nu to grant himself a temporary Foundation Establishment Position, then formed a hand seal on the spot.

The next second, the Nine-Ring Scepter fell.

“Shed Corpse”

Lü Yang offered no resistance, simply allowing the scepter to crash down. A single strike pulverized his physical body, the exploding flesh and blood turning into a sky-filling red mist.

But the next second, the red mist swirled back!

The body that had been turned to dust fled several hundred miles away, barely managing to land on the edge of the Skull Mountains before re-forming into a physical body once more!

And the injuries the Arhat Fulong had just inflicted on Lü Yang, both to his Soul and his physical body, had vanished without a trace after the “Corpse Dissolving.” Lü Yang had even used it to escape the Arhat Fulong’s Divine Sense lock. Such an exquisite Escape Technique even drew a look of praise from the Arhat Fulong.

“Benefactor, you are truly a stunning talent!”

This was the ability of the Corpse Shed Immortal. It was not a technique for combating, but a skill for avoiding harms. Empowered by the Foundation Establishment Position, its mysteries were truly endless.

’Just need to hold on for a little longer…’

Lü Yang took a deep breath. He had already released the veil that concealed his karma links, so anyone connected to him by fate could surely divine that he was in grave danger.

At the very least, Perfected Chong Guang would certainly be able to.

And he still possessed the Celestial Corpse Fiend that Perfected Yin Shan wanted. Considering this point alone, both Perfected Chong Guang and Perfected Yin Shan would definitely come to his rescue.

So all he had to do was hold out until they arrived!

The very instant this thought arose in Lü Yang’s mind, the Arhat Fulong suddenly sighed. “A pity. I had wanted to leave your physical body intact, Benefactor.”

Before his voice had even faded, the Arhat Fulong pressed his palms together.

“Amitabha!”

The next second, a brilliant Spirit Light shot out from the top of his skull, illuminating the entire world. Behind him, the bells of the Fulong Temple began to ring out loudly.

Within that Spirit Light, a great dragon as majestic as a mountain, wreathed in blazing white flames, could be seen coiled up. Its head then lowered, suddenly turning illusory and overlapping with the Arhat Fulong’s own head. The two opened their mouths in unison and blasted out a torrent of fire!

WHOOSH—!

The white-hot flame, like a sharp arrow loosed from a bowstring, struck Lü Yang. The terrifying heat incinerated his body, turning him into a handful of drifting ash in the blink of an eye.

But very quickly, the ashes gathered again in the distance, reforming Lü Yang’s body.

This time, however, even after he had used the Corpse Dissolving Technique, sparks of fire remained on his body, clinging to him like a disease that sticks to the bones.

With the passage of time, the flames even showed signs of reigniting!

“This is… the Fire Dragon?”

Several months had passed since his battle with the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, and Lü Yang had since acquired the legacy of the Wu Ghost Sect. He was no longer half-ignorant about the Foundation Establishment stage.

Thus, he recognized at a glance that this was the manifestation of the Arhat Fulong’s Dao path.

“The Fire Dragon corresponds to Major Wood, one of the Heavenly Stems. It is Yang Wood, towering and magnificent. ’Wood burns… giving rise to fierce flames, this is called a Fire Dragon…’”

In other words, the fire breath that the Arhat Fulong had just spat out might look like a raging inferno, but the fire was merely an outer appearance. In reality, it was a process of earth generating wood, and wood fueling fire. Therefore, any technique used to counter the Fire Element would be completely meaningless against this Fire Dragon.

’To break it, I need to use Gold, or…’

Just as Lü Yang’s mind was racing, the Arhat Fulong strolled through the air and appeared before him, a confident smile on his face.

“Benefactor, are you willing to convert now?”

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