Longzang

Chapter 429 If the Heart Has Buddha
Without Wei Yuan's batch of pills, Xu Henshui's teaching results would have been perfect.

However, afterwards, Wei Yuan gave Xu Henshui a recorded video. In that video, the last part was cut off, ending at the moment when Xu Henshui held the Golden Pattern Elixir.

Upon seeing this video, Xu Henshui's eyes almost welled up with tears.

That night, the young girl Yin Yang waited all night but Xu Henshui did not appear. It is said that the lights in Xu Henshui's room were on all night, and the genius alchemist stared at a stone and grinned foolishly all night.

The rumors weren't spread by the disciples of the Creation Temple guarding the gate, as they couldn't see what was happening inside. The real source of the rumors was the True Man of the Farming Herdsman, while the old Taoist had heard it from a sable.

After achieving minor success in alchemy, Wei Yuan quietly left Qingming and headed to the Zhenshan Realm to find Li Zhi.

The Zhenshan Realm has now reached a considerable size, housing 40,000 elite troops and 60,000 civilians. Construction of a city has begun in the center of the realm, and Wei Yuan met Li Zhi in the temporary realm lord's mansion.

"...That's how it happened. Now the year is almost up, and I really can't think of any way to persuade the Bao family. So I came to you to see if you could help me come up with a plan." Wei Yuan looked worried.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi also became very serious and asked, "When you were on your western expedition to the Wuyu region, did Senior Baomanshan say anything else before he left, such as that he was very satisfied?"

Wei Yuan shook his head: "No."

Li Zhi's expression was solemn. He said, "So your worries were justified. Senior Bao Manshan must have set up another test to see if you are perceptive enough. This is the key to dealing with the future internal struggles among the aristocratic families."

Of the twelve elders of the Bao family, only one elder can be considered on par with two others when making decisions; the other elders are only counted as one. If I wasn't mistaken, his statement meant he would side with you, or at most, his faction would side with you. But that's clearly not enough.

"so what should I do now?"

Li Zhi pondered for a moment and said, "Don't rush, let's see what cards we have up our sleeves first. Hmm, tell me what you're best at and what you're most capable of right now."

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I am good at expanding territory, fighting on the battlefield, governing the country and bringing peace to the people, changing dynasties... uh!"

Wei Yuan was quick-witted, but fortunately he reacted in time, taking back what he shouldn't have said, and then continued:

"Those were just general descriptions of my abilities. If we're only talking about actual achievements, I can say this: I've never lost a battle, nor have I ever lost a fight. When fighting against opponents of the same level, their numbers are negligible; it's my duty to defeat those one level above me, and it's expected to defeat those two levels above me. If it's a life-or-death struggle, where I use all my skills, then I probably won't lose to those three levels above me."

That's about it; there aren't really any other advantages." Wei Yuan said with a worried look on his face.

Li Zhi really wanted to slash at the man opposite him with his sword to see if he could cut through his face. At this moment, he deeply doubted his judgment of people. How did he end up being friends with this guy?
Wei Yuan was also worried, as it seemed that none of his skills were suitable for use in the Bao family, and his newly learned alchemy was even less impressive.

Qingming is too far from the Bao family, practically at opposite ends of the human realm. Wei Yuan can't lead a large army to the Bao family to prove his military prowess. Besides, fighting is quite easy, there's not much to brag about; it's just a matter of leading a team to charge in and back a few times to win.

As for the claim that the Dharma Aspect is invincible, Wei Yuan had already learned the power of that phrase after meeting Shangguan Qianmo, so naturally he wouldn't use it against the Bao family. Moreover, when sparring with a high-level Dharma Aspect cultivator from the Bao family, he couldn't use the Yin-Yang technique of the young girl, nor could he summon the Dragon Eagle. Wei Yuan felt that he wasn't guaranteed to win.

Besides, this trip is to persuade the elders, not to engage in a power struggle. Disrespecting the Bao family will only make things worse.

This time, Li Zhi pondered for a long time before saying, "How about this, I'll go to the Bao family for you first and see if I can increase your bargaining power, or at least sound out the elders' opinions. However, I need to go back to my sect first and ask a highly respected master to come; then I'll go back to Southern Qi and ask an elder to speak on my behalf. Although it will take some time, having two elders with me will give my words more weight."

Wei Yuan was taken aback, not expecting Li Zhi to make such a big fuss.

Li Zhi said solemnly, "Brother, this is no small matter! If I had the chance to cultivate the Floating World Dragon Diagram, let alone choosing five, even if I only gave three to Southern Qi, the King of Qi would not hesitate to send me away. I can only rely on the connections of my sect and family to see if I can get one or two elders to come over for you."

Wei Yuan hadn't expected things to be so complicated, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Li Zhi laughed and said, "I'm going on this mission in your place. During this time, you'll guard Zhenshan for me and make sure the mountain people don't steal my hideout."

“No problem,” Wei Yuan readily agreed. He was good at this, and from their last encounter, Wei Yuan felt that the mountain people were easy to deal with; they didn’t even need to think during the fight.

"Okay, I'll give you a portion of the Realm Lord's authority later. I'll set off tonight without further ado."

After giving some instructions, Li Zhi added, "Also, it's definitely not enough for just my Li family. It would be best if Xiaoyu could invite an elder from the Xiao family to come forward; as for Cui Yu... well, his position in the clan is limited, I'm afraid he can't invite an elder of sufficient standing." "Can't the elders from Taichu Palace do it?" Wei Yuan felt that even if others didn't mention it, his own Xuan Yue Ancestor could definitely come forward.

Li Zhi shook his head: "Sister Bao was originally a disciple of Taichu Palace, so the elders of Taichu Palace are useless to her. You need to prove how many connections and resources she has outside of Taichu Palace."

Wei Yuan felt a headache coming on; he hadn't expected it to be so troublesome.

At this moment, a gentle and melodious voice suddenly rang out: "What difficulty is there in this matter? As long as you enter my Pure Land, I can guarantee that the Bao family will never make things difficult for Miss Bao in the future, and she can do whatever she wants. Of course, if Miss Bao also enters the Pure Land, then it will be perfect for both of you."

Wei Yuan stood up instantly, and the dragon eagle was already poised to strike.

A monk in a blue robe entered the study, unnoticed by the guards at the door. The monk had unusual amber eyes and a feather mark between his brows; he was none other than the Peacock Monk.

Li Zhi was both shocked and furious. He stood up abruptly, his hand already gripping the hilt of his sword. Although the monk was clearly a Dharma Image, Li Zhi possessed good fortune, the supreme teachings of the Four Saints Academy, and several Dharma Image followers nearby, so he was not afraid.

Even without any attendants, Li Zhi could fight an ordinary Dharma Minister on his own.

At this moment, Wei Yuan had already reached the Dharma Aspect Nourishing Spirit Realm, and he could see that the monk was actually in the Myriad Transformations Realm, but he didn't know how long it would take for him to generate the Mind Aspect World.

Wei Yuan pressed Li Zhi down, signaling him to calm down. This monk was no ordinary cultivator who could be contended with; he was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses, capable of sweeping aside those of the same level.

Wei Yuan wanted to sound out the monk's intentions first, so he asked, "Master, you want me to join the Pure Land? What are the benefits?"

The monk said, “You have a great affinity with my Pure Land, which is the greatest benefit. If you enter my Pure Land, you can inherit the image of the Buddha of Great Joy. At that time, Miss Bao will also enter my Pure Land. Her affinity is slightly less than that of you, so she may not be able to inherit the image of the Tathagata, but she can also become part of the image of the Buddha of Great Joy. It all depends on you.”

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "Become part of the Buddha's image of the Great Joyful King? Then is she still herself?"

"She is still herself, of course."

Wei Yuan remained silent for a moment, then asked, "What does the Buddha's form look like? May I have a look?"

"The Dharma image is already in the eyes and hearts of millions of people, so what's wrong with that?"

A beam of light shone from between the peacock monk's eyebrows, and a Buddha statue appeared before the two of them.

The Buddha statue that Li Zhi saw was leaning against the mountain peak, with a majestic face. Behind it were mountains and rivers, and the Buddha held a sword. Countless women were prostrating before the Buddha's bed, and their faces all seemed familiar.

What Wei Yuan saw was a five-faced, eight-armed Buddha statue. The five faces expressed joy, anger, sorrow, worry, and fear, respectively. Six of the eight arms held different ritual implements, including a pestle, a bowl, a bottle, a whip, and a sword, which was fine enough. However, the sixth arm was brutal in appearance and was equipped with a magazine, making it somewhat out of place among the ritual implements.

The Buddha statue's remaining arms are embracing a naked woman. The woman is wrapped around the Buddha statue, displaying extreme beauty.

The problem is that all five faces of the Buddha statue are Wei Yuan, while the woman is Bao Yun!
The monk then said, "The Buddha resides within your hearts. What you two benefactors see is the Buddha within your own hearts."

Li Zhi's expression hardened, and he began to ponder, his face gradually becoming serious.

Wei Yuan was also pondering, but he felt that something was not quite right.

At that moment, the shadow in the moon seemed to move slightly, and Wei Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He immediately let out a cold laugh: "If I had Buddha in my heart, would I look like this? Monk, you think you can fool me with such a simple trick? You're still lacking!"

The peacock monk frowned slightly, not understanding what the problem was.

Wei Yuan naturally wouldn't tell him that if he truly held a Buddha of Great Joy in his heart, there were probably more than one hanging on it...

(End of this chapter)