Longzang

Chapter 269 If the End Comes (Part 1)

The guardian deity slowly raised his large foot and stomped down heavily. A circle of golden Buddhist light instantly spread out, sweeping across the entire world like a storm.

However, the summit of the back mountain remained serene, and the monk's corpse emitted a faint light. Although the light was dim, it was only enough to protect the entire peak, but it was still a Buddha's light. The two beams of Buddha's light collided, annihilated each other, and then burst into flames.

The fire was pale, and Wei Yuan trembled at the sight of it, not daring to touch it.

This fire seems to be a karmic fire that can burn away cause and effect. Once cause and effect are burned away by it, it is equivalent to being completely erased from the world without any trace, and even reincarnation is impossible.

The guardian deities' radiant light swept across the entire world, yet it couldn't penetrate the small world atop the mountain. Wei Yuan had assumed all radiance was the same, but he hadn't expected there to be differences, and that these different lights could even annihilate each other. This was quite different from what the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land preached!

At this moment, the Dharma Protector also discovered the summit, but his movements suddenly became extremely slow. His entire body was covered with layers of spider webs that he couldn't shake off.

He roared in fury, his eyes blazing with fury, and his body burst into a purifying flame that crackled and popped against the spiderwebs. But the spiderwebs were incredibly durable; it took a long time for even a small patch to melt.

Vajra snorted, slowly squatted down, and placed his palm on the ground. Suddenly, a pure land of Buddha materialized in his palm, filled with countless powerful warriors, all of whom had opened their eyes!
Countless powerful warriors rushed out of the Buddhist land; as far as the eye could see, there were demon-subduing warriors, Dharma-spreading warriors, defilement-purifying warriors, and so on. Wei Yuan could tell at a glance that there were more than a dozen kinds of warriors, most of whom he did not recognize at all.

Wei Yuan immediately put away all his Dao Foundation Flying Swords, grabbed the girl, and said, "Run!"

"Escape? Why should we escape? Aren't those people from the Pure Land, the place we're supposed to go? Aren't they here to pick us up?" The girl asked, somewhat bewildered.

Wei Yuan said, "Even if they come from the Pure Land, we are not objects of salvation now, but beasts to be suppressed and killed. At most, they can be used as mounts."

Wei Yuan led the girl to the edge of the cliff. Looking back, he saw countless strongmen coming all over the mountainside. Fortunately, none of them could fly.

Just as Wei Yuan was thinking this, he saw several strongmen try to fly, but as soon as they were a few feet off the ground, golden flames suddenly burst into their bodies, and they screamed and fell back to the ground.

Wei Yuan pointed to the other side of the cliff and said, "We have to escape to that side."

The girl exclaimed, "This is impossible! The mage said that the wind blowing from this cliff is a magic-breaking wind, and no flying spell can be used; you'll fall right off. There are countless poisonous snakes and scorpions below; if you fall, you'll be left with nothing but bones."

"It just means we can't fly, not that we can't go." Wei Yuan picked up a stone and threw it forcefully. The stone flew dozens of feet away and landed on the other side of the cliff.

Beside the cliff stood two large trees with their trunks thinned, both bent over, one end fixed to the ground. Wei Yuan grabbed a rope from the tree and tied it securely around his and the girl's waists.

"Hold on to me!"

"What, what are you going to do... Ah!!"

Amidst the girl's pig-like screams, the tree suddenly straightened, and the long rope swung Wei Yuan and the girl up again, throwing them out at the highest point. The two flew towards the other side of the cliff as if riding on clouds.

As Wei Yuan crossed the cliff, mist rose beneath his feet, slowing him down and preventing him from crashing to the ground. However, the momentum was too great, and the girl still managed to pull Wei Yuan along, turning them into a rolling mess.

"He's definitely a burden..." Wei Yuan thought to himself, then got up and untied the ropes. He turned around and glanced at Yue Sheng and the young monk, a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Countless strongmen gathered at the edge of the cliff, their numbers growing, but apart from chanting Buddhist mantras or reciting the Vajra Subduing Demon Mantra, they had no way to cross the cliff. Several wrathful strongmen uttered a Buddhist prayer and leaped toward the other side, but they only jumped a few feet before plummeting to the bottom of the cliff.

Wei Yuan grabbed the girl and ran into the depths of the mountains.

"Where are we going?"

"Shut up!" Wei Yuan snapped irritably. When you're running for your life, you're barely breathing, how could you possibly have the energy to speak? Besides, the girl's question was completely useless; how would Wei Yuan know where they were going?
The two ran like headless flies, when Wei Yuan suddenly stopped in front of a deep ravine. The ravine was more than ten feet deep, and its walls were all rock.

"This is it." Wei Yuan picked up the girl and jumped to the bottom of the ravine together. Then, a celestial sword appeared in his hand, and he cut a round rock off the cliff.

The rock was fairly intact and solid… Wei Yuan used the knowledge he had learned during his intensive training to assess it, then dug with all his might, quickly creating a small hole. He casually tossed the excavated stone into the foundation. At this moment, the Guardian Vajra was walking towards them. Although his movements were slow, he was thousands of feet tall, so each large step covered a thousand feet. In the blink of an eye, he reached the small village, then threw his Vajra pestle over, which landed perfectly on the cliff, becoming a bridge.

Countless strongmen squeezed across the bridge, but the Vajra Pestle was round, and some of the strongmen at the edge could not stand firm and were pushed off the cliff.

Wei Yuan had already dug the hole. He first stuffed the girl inside, then crawled into the hole himself, and put the rock he had cut off back in place to seal the entrance.

Wei Yuan had several more strange components in his hands. He carefully sealed another layer behind the natural rock. The components were very fine, and there were no gaps after they were pieced together.

This made the already small cave even smaller, and since Wei Yuan had dug it low, it was easy for her to bump her head even when sitting down. The cave was also circular, so there was no way for everyone to sit on one side. The girl slid down along the curve until she was right next to Wei Yuan.

"What was that layer you just laid?" This girl really does have a lot of questions.

"It's heat-insulating and soundproof, and doesn't involve magic, so they shouldn't be able to tell, right?"

"What do we do next?"

"I don't know, let's get through this first and see." Wei Yuan shook his head, but in that sway, his nose and mouth brushed against the girl's face. Especially her lips, it felt like they touched something particularly soft and sweet.

"Hmm..." the girl made a sound like a kitten.

The cave was pitch black, which conveniently concealed the awkwardness, so Wei Yuan shrank back a little, but the girl moved closer and the two touched again.

Wei Yuan had no choice but to reach out and support the girl, but her posture was somewhat awkward, and in the darkness, her position was incorrect, so his hand received no support. Wei Yuan groped his way to her shoulder and then managed to steady her.

At that moment, a feeling of unease washed over both of them. The surroundings trembled slightly, and faint roars of demon-slaying could be heard. The power of these roars was evident, as they could penetrate the layers of rocks and the isolation layer set up by Wei Yuan.

The girl was terrified; her body began to tremble. She asked, "Are we going to die?"

Wei Yuan didn't know the answer to this question either; he had no idea how to escape this world. This place was different from the Netherworld. Although both were worlds traversed by the primordial spirit, the Netherworld was open, allowing entry and exit at will. This place, however, was completely isolated. Wei Yuan couldn't sense where his own world was, nor did he know where his physical body was.

He believed that the Marquis of Xiang did not intend to harm him; otherwise, his teacher and senior sister would not be so easily fooled. There must have been some unknown change in this world, or perhaps it was simply not the time to leave yet, since Wei Yuan had not yet seen what the true blood of the Arhat looked like.

But now is not the time to reap the rewards; the question is how to survive. If the primordial spirit is destroyed, the physical body becomes an empty shell, which is essentially the same as being dead.

Wei Yuan had no desire to fall into the hands of that guardian Vajra. If he did, the best outcome would likely be becoming a strongman in the Buddha's Palm, without even the chance to be a mount for a Bodhisattva.

As for the Dharma Protector Vajra, this guy's status is not high enough to warrant a mount.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Yuan replied, "He might die."

From the conversation between Yue Sheng and the monk, Wei Yuan realized that the existence of this pure land depended on the survival of all the villagers, and that Wei Yuan and the girl were also villagers.

Therefore, as long as the two live, the Pure Land will not perish.

The girl was very scared, so she moved closer to Wei Yuan. Then, as if she thought Wei Yuan tasted good, she couldn't help but take another bite.

Wei Yuan was caught off guard by this move and fell into its trap.

After tasting it, she found it quite good, so the girl prepared to have another bite.

(End of this chapter)