Chapter 247: Chapter 247: The Path to Life is Severed

A Divine Weapon!?

Xu Yunfan narrowed his eyes. This strange fragrance seemed to be coming from some kind of Divine Weapon. His gaze fell upon the nun’s wrist.

"May I ask for the venerable monk’s Dharma name?"

"I am a disciple of Mituo Temple. My Dharma name is Jingming."

As the nun pressed her palms together, her six fingers twitched, shimmering with faint threads of gold.

"Patron, you are burdened by a bloody aura, yet your mind is clear. You must have some affinity with the Buddhist Sect."

Xu Yunfan was speechless. "An old man from the Taoist Sect once told me I had no affinity for the Dao. It seems he misjudged."

Jingming smiled faintly. "Those who enter our Buddhist Sect are not judged by their aptitude."

Xu Yunfan: "..."

’That stings a little.’ Xu Yunfan didn’t dwell on it. He asked, "Master, what is this path to life you mentioned? Is there a way out of this Secret Realm?"

Just as Jingming was about to answer, her expression tightened. Her twelve fingers bloomed like a lotus as she formed several Dharma Seals, then she suddenly looked up at Xu Yunfan.

She swiftly pressed her palms together, and the Eight-Treasure Bodhi Bead bracelet on her wrist suddenly cracked.

The faint golden light flowing between her six fingers was pushed back three inches by the Blood Qi emanating from Xu Yunfan. The hem of her kasaya fluttered without a wind as fine beads of sweat appeared on her skin.

"Patron, do you know of the Six Dusts Reversed?"

Jingming suddenly changed her Dharma Seal. A Seven-Layered Radiance Wheel, cultivated from her spiritual practice, cast a distorted Buddha shadow on the surface of Xu Yunfan’s Dragon Scale Armor. To the naked eye, nothing was out of the ordinary. Only those with keen spiritual senses, who had mastered their own spirit and entered a higher state, could perceive this Anomaly.

"Patron, by devouring the residual Evil Qi from the Sword Qi, you have severed the Earth Vein Birth Gate in this place."

Xu Yunfan’s expression didn’t change, but his mind raced with vigilance. ’This bald donkey! She just blurted out the very secret I was trying to hide.’

Mituo Temple of Mosenan Dao, one of the Six Top Sects of Great Zhou, was the only Zen Sect of Buddhism. It was extremely secretive, rarely revealing itself to the world, and focused solely on cultivating for the next life.

Its Ultimate Skill, the Amitabha’s Golden Body Sutra, was one of the world’s most supreme arts of Horizontal Divine Skill Mastery. And yet, Mituo Temple considered it merely a method of self-preservation; the true Wonderful Technique was cultivating for the next life.

"The path to life..." Jingming said slowly. "The path to life has been severed."

What made her even more cautious was that the man before her, Xu Yunfan, felt like a ferocious beast.

"So that’s how it is..."

The nun took half a step back. Under the influence of the Buddhist Divine Weapon, an Anomaly of a Golden Lotus bloomed beneath her feet.

’Just a flashy trick to fool people.’

Xu Yunfan’s eyes were deep with thought. ’No wonder Mituo Temple of Mosenan Dao has maintained its unshakable status for millennia. With a single move like this, the common people of this feudal society would mistake her for a True Buddha descended to the mortal world.’

Furthermore, Jingming was born with six fingers on each hand—a sign of a Buddha—and was naturally regarded in Mosenan Dao as a Buddha’s Holy Son.

"Patron, you are my fated demonic trial!"

The whites and blacks of Jingming’s eyes were starkly defined. In an instant, an aura of peace and serenity filled the air around her.

"Patron, are you willing to join me in the Buddhist Sect? Cleanse your Demon Qi, and in your next life, you will surely achieve enlightenment and perform deeds of immeasurable Merit."

Xu Yunfan felt his emotions inexplicably calm. Just as he was about to answer, his expression faltered for a moment, and then he realized.

’A spiritual bewitchment... ’

"Master, your Seven Treasures Bodhi Incense is truly profound."

The arch of Xu Yunfan’s foot crushed three pieces of basalt. His Thunderfire Qilin Hammer seared a blackened trigram into the ground. "But I am afraid I cannot afford this ’Buddha’s Destiny.’"

The illusory Golden Lotus beneath Jingming’s feet suddenly solidified, having manifested from the power of the Eight-Treasure Bodhi Beads on her wrist.

The surfaces of the Bodhi Seeds were covered in micro-carvings of the Lengyan Spell, and at this moment, they were vibrating in resonance with the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace on Xu Yunfan’s back.

"Jiao Poison Erosion Vein, Sword Spirit shattered."

The nun suddenly looked into the depths of a fissure in the ground. The Sun Wheel Seal formed by her six-fingered hands glowed with a bloody light. "Patron, are you aware that before Pei Yan’s bones have even grown cold, the Sword Qi of the Sword Pavilion has already coiled around your Three Jiao Acupoints?"

The Six Great Sects of the world have existed since before the Primordial Spirit dissipated. Now, with the Empress of Great Zhou stirring the Primordial Spirit Qi within the Earth Veins, many Secret Techniques that were once ineffective have regained some of their power.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils shrank. Without hesitation, he activated the Linn Character Technique and entered the Linn Character State. His expression quickly calmed as he used the Heart Seal in the Heart to continuously inspect his Triple Jiao Meridians.

Within a few breaths, Xu Yunfan indeed discovered a wisp of Sword Qi coiled within the meridians of his internal organs.

Pei Yan’s Soldier Resolution Transformation Dao was not just a desperate, life-sacrificing move; it had also planted a Sword Energy Seed within him.

If anyone from the Sword Pavilion were to sense it, they would naturally understand that Xu Yunfan had killed Pei Yan.

Unfortunately, because he was cultivating the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique, this wisp of Sword Qi was lodged deep inside and was impossible to remove.

’Pei Yan, oh, Pei Yan,’ he thought. ’Truly worthy of your Innate Sword Bone and your status as a representative of the Sword Pavilion. Your cleverness and intelligence are top-notch.’

Although Xu Yunfan was surprised, he wasn’t panicked. More than anything, he was impressed.

’With my Attribute Panel, this wisp of Sword Qi will eventually melt away like ice and snow once I cultivate the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique to the Great Success stage. It will then be absorbed into my Origin.’

’Most importantly, this has given me a key to unlock the Ninth Realm.’

’A double-edged sword!’

’Now we’ll see if the Sword Pavilion can find me first.’

’Was Pei Yan so certain that I couldn’t break through to the Ninth Realm?’

Xu Yunfan sneered inwardly. ’Snobbishly looking down on others, just like that Bi Sheng from the Taoist Sect. It’s like these people from the top sects have developed reproductive isolation.’

Exiting the Linn Character State, Xu Yunfan met Jingming’s serene and tranquil gaze, which held a thread of solemn dignity.

Xu Yunfan spoke. "I really hate your eyes."

"Hm?"

Jingming faltered, slightly stunned.

Before the words had even left his mouth, Xu Yunfan shattered the ground beneath him. He was already upon her, his Thunderfire Qilin Hammer wrapped in a purplish-red Evil Qi, aimed straight for the space between Jingming’s eyebrows.

Jingming’s reaction was incredibly fast. She formed a Seal Technique with her hands, and a massive amount of visible Qi Force suddenly erupted from her body. Aided by the Divine Weapon Eight-Treasure Bodhi Bead, it transformed into twelve Golden Lotuses as a Brahma Sound vibrated from the void. "The Sea of Suffering is boundless. Why not turn back, Patron..."

The golden Qi Force solidified, rippling outward in layers like Buddha Light. The tip of Xu Yunfan’s mace felt as if it had plunged into a swamp.

The moment Jingming pressed her palms together, the Eight-Treasure Bodhi Bead on her wrist shone with brilliant light. The incredibly sparse Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the surroundings was absorbed by her. A thirty-foot-tall illusion of a Buddha appeared behind her, and a Wan character Dharma Seal spun out from her pupils.

Within a hundred-zhang radius, the plants and trees moved without wind. Countless tiny specks of golden light rose from the fissures in the ground, forming a dense barrier of text from the Diamond Sutra between the two of them.

"Putting on a show! You think you’re some kind of Immortal cultivator?"

Xu Yunfan laughed loudly as he twisted his waist and swung his arm. Arcane patterns surfaced on his Dragon Scale Armor.

’This Buddha Light is just an illusion, a trick of light and shadow created by the Eight-Treasure Bodhi Bead,’ he thought. ’No different from a holographic projection.’

In the next instant, the seventh style of the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique—"Shatter Mountains and Collapse Stars"—smashed into the sutra text. Thirty-six scripture symbols exploded on impact, only to reform and reassemble within the Buddha Light.

Jingming rose into the air, treading on a lotus. The wheel of light behind her head was as dazzling as the scorching sun. "Tangled in the Jiao Dragon Evil Qi and the karma of the Sword Pavilion, you have already fallen onto the Abi Path without even knowing it, Patron."