Chapter 305: Enlightenment of the Martial Saint, Rebirth of an Old Friend
Chapter 305: Enlightenment of the Martial Saint, Rebirth of an Old Friend
After the war, neither King Lin nor Xu Qing stayed in the capital, but quickly returned to Mount Taishi, hundreds of miles away, before a powerful and terrifying aura descended.
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On the top of Mount Taishi, a strong smell of blood permeates the air. A huge blood bodhi tree stands there. Its roots are like a giant red python, spreading wildly in all directions. Its thick roots are deeply embedded in the rocks, as if it wants to bring the entire mountain top under its control.
King Lin leaned tiredly against the cracked and rough bark, his chest heaving violently, breathing heavily, sweat soaking his clothes and sliding down his cheeks.
At this moment, the Heaven-shaking Bow that he was holding tightly in his hand suddenly made a crisp sound like porcelain breaking, and the sound was particularly harsh on the silent mountain top.
King Lin was shocked and subconsciously looked at the magic weapon in his hand, only to see that the Heaven-shaking Bow was broken at the root.
The broken fragments fell to the ground one after another. The moment they touched the ground, something strange happened. The fragments turned into spots of rust, as if they had been mercilessly eroded by time for thousands of years.
King Lin Tianwang had already become one with the Heaven-shaking Bow. Now that the Heaven-shaking Bow was destroyed, he felt as if a large piece of his heart was missing and he was at a loss.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound among the treetops. King Lin looked up subconsciously and saw Xu Qing's shadow hanging upside down on the thick blood vine.
Xu Qing's face remained calm. Three drops of amber sap fell from his fingertips, sparkling with mysterious light under the sunlight.
"The bow is destroyed, but the Dao remains. Why bother to cling to the appearance?" Xu Qing's voice came slowly, echoing in Lin Tianwang's ears like a huge bell. As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his finger lightly, and the three drops of sap flew into Lin Tianwang's brow like a meteor chasing the moon.
In an instant, thousands of martial arts insights rushed into King Lin's mind like a raging torrent.
His eyes gradually became blurred, as if he had entered a whole new world. In this world, he saw the farmer hoeing the land, his waist and horse working together, and every time the hoe fell, there was a unique rhythm, which was a fusion of reverence for the land and power; he saw the fisherman casting the net, his movements were both hard and soft, and he skillfully used the power of water to cast the fishing net just right, which contained the understanding and use of natural forces; he also saw the child playing Cuju, his natural body movements were full of agility and freedom, without any constraints.
At the same time, the Blood Bodhi Tree seemed to be summoned by some kind of power, and suddenly bloomed with strange red flowers. Each petal was like a mirror, reflecting the remaining pages of the "Martial Arts Classics". Those obscure words and patterns became clear and easy to understand at this moment, as if telling King Lin the true meaning of martial arts.
King Lin's body began to undergo drastic changes. His spine was like a lit powder barrel, emitting bursts of tiger-like and thundering sounds. The sound made the surrounding air tremble.
The broken bowstring actually emerged from his palm, as if it had life, and turned into 72 dragon bones, piercing into the acupuncture points all over his body at an extremely fast speed. The intense pain made King Lin's face twisted, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but he clenched his teeth and endured the piercing pain.
In the midst of this severe pain, he caught a glimpse of Xu Qing's deep eyes, where 100,000 soldiers were practicing a military formation. Their movements were in unison, their spears protruding like dragons emerging from water, with an indomitable momentum; their swords slashing like mountains collapsing and clouds splitting, full of destructive power.
There was a gleam in King Lin's eyes, and his mind became extremely clear at this moment.
When the last piece of the bow body turned into ashes, a flash of inspiration suddenly occurred to his mind, and he finally understood: The so-called Martial Saint does not need any magical weapons.
True strength comes from within, from the understanding and perception of the universe.
The Blood Bodhi Tree seemed to have sensed the transformation of King Lin Tianwang, and suddenly dropped three thousand air roots, each of which was entangled with the phantom of an ordinary object.
There is the woodcutter's slightly worn but sharp hatchet, the heavy anvil used by the blacksmith to forge steel, and even the shabby bowl in the beggar's hand. These seemingly ordinary objects exude a unique atmosphere at this moment.
Xu Qing walked slowly in the morning dew, his steps light and steady, holding a rice ear in his hand.
He smiled at King Lin and asked softly, "Brother, do you know that the real Heaven Shaking Bow is here?"
After saying this, he gently waved the rice ears in his hand, and the awns swept past like the breeze.
In an instant, the farm tools within a hundred miles seemed to have received some kind of call and began to resonate with each other. The mooing of the oxen also gathered together to form a mysterious martial arts mantra.
King Lin suddenly had an idea, and his eyes became firm and bright.
He raised his hand and drew the Chinese character "人" in the air. As he moved, the hearts of the people gathered together as if being pulled by an invisible force, forming an invisible giant bow.
This giant bow exudes a powerful aura, as if it contains endless power.
The red-haired Yan Kong's wild laughter came from the heart of the tree: "How wonderful! Use all living beings as the string and the mountains and rivers as the arrows!" The entire blood bodhi tree suddenly lost its blood color, and the originally blood-red branches became lush green. Those green branches quickly woven into a huge quiver.
King Lin took a deep breath, his eyes revealing an unprecedented confidence and composure.
He drew his bow and shot, and the energy of the seventy-two peaks of Mount Taishi became arrows one after another, like spirits controlled by him. The moment he pulled the bowstring, the sound was like millions of people shouting in unison:
"shoot!"
The arrow flashed across the sky like lightning. Wherever it passed, the clouds seemed to be split by a sharp blade, revealing thousands of miles of clear sky.
The wolf hair brush in Xu Qing's hand seemed to be a spirit injected with life, and suddenly it emitted a dazzling green light. The light was like a sharp blade, cutting through the surrounding air, carrying a mysterious and powerful force.
As the brush tip fell, the peaks of Mount Taishi seemed to feel the call of some powerful force and trembled violently. Huge rocks on the peaks rolled down, and dust flew, as if the whole world was shaking under this stroke.
The Blood Bodhi Tree was like a giant beast that had been awakened. Its thick roots broke out of the ground frantically, quickly entwined in the air, and intertwined into a giant ten-foot-long piece of rice paper.
The sap of the blood bodhi tree gushed out and turned into thick ink, slowly spreading the three big characters "Ruzi Niu" on the rice paper.
The moment these three words appeared, King Lin felt a trance before his eyes, as if he was pulled into a whole new world by an invisible force.
There, he clearly saw the silhouette of an old farmer bending over to plow the field. Although the old farmer's back was hunched, he showed a kind of tenacious strength, and every movement was smooth and natural. Lin Tianwang took a closer look and was shocked. The posture of the hunched back was actually consistent with the meaning of the Bull Demon's powerful fist.
"Brother, a martial saint is also a 'saint'. The power of the Bull Demon's powerful fist should be higher." Xu Qing's voice sounded slowly, breaking the brief silence.
As he spoke, he wrote with a brush. The words under his pen seemed to come alive, transforming into the shadows of thousands of oxen galloping and roaring in the air.
"Brother, you have the power of a demon bull trampling the earth, and you should also have the kindness of a child leading an ox."
The evening drum that was snatched from the Living Buddha of Snowland not long ago sounded, and Xu Qing's words echoed in Lin Tianwang's ears like a loud bell. Every word was like a key, opening the long-closed door in Lin Tianwang's heart.
Lin Tianwang's Bull Demon Qi was like a ignited powder keg, suddenly boiling violently.
A tattoo of a farmer waving a whip slowly emerged on his spine. The tattoo was so lifelike that it seemed as if it would come alive in the next second.
The tip of the whip trembled slightly, and it actually produced a wonderful resonance with the remaining bowstring of the Heaven-shaking Bow.
The resonating sound grew louder and louder, like a grand symphony, playing the prelude to King Lin's breakthrough.
The blood bodhi tree seemed to have sensed the changes in King Lin's heart and suddenly blossomed and bore fruit.
Each fruit is like a mirror, reflecting different figures: there is a tenant carrying a hoe with a simple smile on his face; there is a craftsman holding a hammer with taut muscles; and there is a schoolchild holding a book with a thirst for knowledge in his eyes.
King Lin looked at these fruits and suddenly a blessing came to his mind.
His Bull Demon Fist stance suddenly changed. When he threw the fist, he was like an old farmer bending over to gather strength when transplanting rice seedlings. His movements were steady and powerful, revealing his awe for the land and love for life. When he finished the fight, he was like a child leading a cow with a combination of looseness and tightness, full of agility and wisdom.
The dragon energy in the Taishi Mountain veins seemed to have been summoned by him and spontaneously gathered into a string.
When he plucked the string with his fist, it actually produced the ancient tune of "Jirang Song".
"I work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets. I dig wells for drinking and till the fields for food. What power does the emperor have over me?"
The melodious melody echoed among the mountains, as if telling an ancient story.
At this moment, the red-haired Yan Kong suddenly appeared from the tree. He had his usual uninhibited smile on his face, holding a string of bodhi seeds in his hand, and threw them hard, shouting, "Catch it!"
Many bodhi seeds drew a beautiful arc in the air and took root on the ground. Each bodhi seed turned into a shadow of a civilian with weapons, with a firm look on their faces, as if they were fighting to protect something.
King Lin looked at these phantoms and felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart.
He swung his fist, and wherever he went, the farmers swung their hoes with vigor and force, forming the "mountain-splitting style"; the blacksmiths swung their hammers with great momentum, forming the "mountain-shaking move"; the children played at play with agile steps, which actually contained the "Telepathic Step".
At this moment, the Martial Saint Pass of the Bull Demon's Great Fist seemed to be made of paper and collapsed.
The true Qi gushed out of the pores all over King Lin’s body.
"It turns out that being a martial saint does not mean being able to suppress mountains and rivers with your fists."
King Lin suddenly murmured to himself, his eyes revealing an unprecedented enlightenment.
"It's about defense!"
After saying this, he slowly stood up, and a huge Dharma image appeared behind him.
On the left is a green-faced and fanged Bull Demon, emitting powerful strength that seems to be able to tear apart everything that stands in his way; on the right is an old farmer bending over to plant rice seedlings, with an aura of simplicity yet endless tenacity.
As if inspired by the Dharma, the blood bodhi tree suddenly produced rice ears. The evening drum continued to beat, and then the mountain seemed to be filled with the sound of 100,000 farmers reciting the "Jirang Song" in unison. The sound was uniform and loud, like a hymn praising life.
The singing startled all the fireflies in the valley. They danced in the air and gathered into a bright light, illuminating the wolf hair brush that Xu Qing put away with a smile.
The green branches of the Blood Bodhi Tree suddenly moved without any wind and without any warning.
Each branch is like a nimble snake, dancing freely in the air, making rustling sounds, as if telling some mysterious language.
At this moment, a golden line slowly appeared in the heart of the tree. The golden line was like a flash of lightning, splitting the blood bodhi tree into two, emitting a dazzling light, illuminating the surrounding world.
Old monk Yankong walked out slowly from the center of the tree. His steps were steady and slow, and his coarse cloth monk shoes lightly stepped on the broken leaves on the ground, making a slight rustling sound.
What was amazing was that wherever he went, tender green sprouts broke through the ground, as if his footsteps brought the vitality of spring and awakened every place he passed through.
The cassock on his body, like a faded prayer flag, hung loosely on his body, fluttering gently in the breeze. On his neck, half of the blood vine tattoo was faintly visible. It was the mark left by Zen Master Hongyue when he was staying at the temple. Now it has turned into the texture of a withered vine, like the vicissitudes of life carved by time.
Seeing this, King Lin subconsciously threw a punch.
This was because he had just made a breakthrough and was not yet fully integrated, so his body instinctively launched a defensive attack against the sudden danger.
Then he realized something was wrong, and the energy in his body suddenly stagnated.
Is this the "Yankong" of that year?
The old monk held a crystal relic in his palm. The relic emitted a soft light, reflecting his peaceful face. It was clearly the glazed bone structure that only great Buddhists could have.
"This punch of yours is far better than the one before." Yan Kong raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, and stretched out his hand to gently stroke the tree trunk.
As he touched them, the branches being stroked seemed to be driven by some magical power and instantly produced full ears of rice. The ears of rice swayed gently in the breeze, exuding a faint rice fragrance.
"What's even more rare is that when the donor Bull Demon stepped on the ground, he spontaneously retained 70% of his strength to protect the ridge of the field. That's great." He nodded slightly, his Buddhist words mysterious.
King Lin stared at his fist in a daze, his eyes full of thought.
When he subconsciously swung his fist just now, he did not notice the subtle changes. Now that Yan Kong reminded him, he looked carefully and saw that the cracks on the rock wall swept by the fist wind had cleverly avoided all the bird nests.
The bird nests were hanging safely on the rock wall, and the birds in the nests were not even disturbed at all and were chirping happily.
Looking at the posture of the Bull Demon's shadow bowing when he clenched his fist, it was exactly the same as the posture of an old farmer picking up ears of grain in the field. This discovery made King Lin feel inexplicably moved.
Xu Qing leaned against the tree roots, with a casual and carefree look on his face. He threw the wine gourd to Yan Kong and asked loudly: "Master, do you know what the most intense fire in the world is now?"
Yan Kong took the wine gourd steadily, tilted his head back and took a sip. The spicy wine flowed down his throat and a blush appeared on his face.
Suddenly, he coughed up a few drops of golden blood. The golden blood dripped onto the ground and instantly ignited a green flame.
In the flames, his mad appearance when he was controlled by the Red Moon's evil thoughts was reflected. His eyes were wide open, his face was distorted, and an evil aura emanated from his body, which formed a sharp contrast with the peace at the moment.
"It is the fire of obsession that cannot be extinguished by all living beings." Yan Kong's face was calm. He stretched out his fingers and pinched them lightly, and the green flame was extinguished instantly.
Seven beads on his wrist suddenly turned gray, as if with this gesture, he had also extinguished the obsession in his heart.
"Fortunately, Mr. Lin's fist has the intention of the Martial Saint who can give birth to all things. It helped me break down the last mental barrier." There was some emotion in his voice, and his eyes were full of gratitude as he looked towards King Lin.
This is the strength of Xu Qing.
Letting King Lin assassinate the Snowland Living Buddha to break through to the Martial Saint level was only the first layer of appearance. The other layer was to forcibly take the Dusk Drum and use King Lin's breakthrough to the Martial Saint realm to shatter the last layer of mental barriers in Yan Kong's rebirth after experiencing the catastrophe.
It can be said that it is closely linked and achieves multiple goals at one stroke.
Only Xu Qing, the contemporary demon lord, could use his superb methods to turn the obstacles and calamities in the practice of the two old friends into good fortune.
After playing this trick, Xu Qing finally accumulated the momentum that a founder of the Immortal Dynasty should have, and was truly qualified to fight against the Black Mountain Old Demon who had regained the peak of the Creator.
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The sound of the evening drum is melodious and deep, as if it has traveled through time and space, echoing between heaven and earth.
Yan Kong's cassock suddenly fluttered like a sail, rustling, and the shadow of a hundred acres of rice fields appeared behind him. In the rice fields, the sun shone on the water, making the waves sparkle.
It turned out that those who were working were some souls in the fantasy world of the Snowy Living Buddha's kingdom. At this moment, their posture of bending over to plant rice seedlings was exactly the same as the "old farmer's style" in Lin Tianwang's boxing stance.
Their movements were in unison. Every time they bent down and stood up, they showed a reverence for the land and a love for life, as if they were acting out real life in this imaginary rice field.
In the Buddhist kingdom of the Living Buddha of the Snowland, they only need to enjoy pleasures without having to pay anything.
But in Yankong's Buddhist fantasy world, they need to work to obtain fulfilling happiness.
The difference is that in the environment of Yankong Buddhist Kingdom, their souls will become more and more fulfilled, so that they can be reincarnated in the future.
In the Buddhist kingdom of the Living Buddha of the Snowland, one can only exist in the Buddhist kingdom forever, until one can no longer feel any desire or pleasure and completely turns into an illusory dead object.
The bull magic form of Lin Tianwang suddenly looked up to the sky and mooed loudly, the sound was deafening, and it seemed to break through the sky. Behind him appeared the shadows of 100,000 blacksmiths forging iron, and only saw sparks flying everywhere and the sound of anvils hitting each other.
The fist wind whistled past like a powerful storm, and the three thousand aerial roots of the blood bodhi tree simultaneously produced ears of rice. The ears of rice hung heavily, as if telling the joy of a good harvest.
Yan Konghe laughed loudly and heroically, and eight-petal golden lotus blossomed under his feet.
At the heart of the lotus, there was a boy with a clenched fist. The boy had a childish face, but his eyes were firm. It was the manifestation of the first move of the Bull Demon's powerful fist that Lin Tianwang had just learned, "The Child Leading the Cow".
Xu Qing snapped his fingers, and golden characters of "The Law of the Immortal Dynasty" fell from the treetops. At this moment, they were intertwined with the Sanskrit characters of "Diamond Sutra" of Buddhism. The two ancient scripts reflected each other, emitting a mysterious light, and startled the whole mountain.
A flock of cranes circled and danced in the sky, making clear calls, as if cheering for this wonderful sight.
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In the ruins of the temple, the remains of the Snowland Living Buddha sat quietly, with chains wrapped around his body that looked like the laws of heaven. The remaining lamas chanted Tantric Buddhist scriptures around him.
And on the chains were the souls that had previously been in the Buddhist fantasy world.
At this moment, each of them had a look of joy on their face, as if they were enjoying some great bliss.
All kinds of blissful emotions turned into flames and ignited them.
The fire was getting more and more intense.
These souls are becoming happier and happier as a result.
Gradually, the chains around the Living Buddha began to be burned by the flames and broke into pieces.
However, during this process, the joy on the souls' faces gradually faded and turned into calmness.
And each soul died in the process.
Wait until the last inch of the chain breaks.
All souls died in silence.
No pain, no joy.
There is no savior and no eternal paradise.
But they know nothing.
The Living Buddha of Xueyu sighed softly:
“Ordinary people think that they have a self.”
As soon as the plain "Buddha's words" came out, the surroundings became completely quiet.
(End of this chapter)