Longzang

Chapter 502 A Promise Across Past and Present Lives
As a formation passed down by immortals, the Xuan Tian Yin Yang Furnace also has other wonderful uses.

The eyes of the Yin-Yang fish are actually furnaces for refining artifacts, one for Yin refining and the other for Yang refining. However, since there are no corresponding suppressing spirit objects, only the lower-level water and fire refining methods can be used.

The girl beckoned Wei Yuan to the fish eyes, where he saw a butterfly-shaped dagger placed in each eye. These two daggers possessed their own spiritual power and could traverse the void, making them truly rare spiritual treasures. Back then, Wei Yuan lacked experience and thought they were magic weapons used by those at the Dharma Aspect level, only later discovering that they were actually spiritual treasures belonging to the Realm of Control.

They were originally meant to be the possessions of the sorcerer, but somehow they ended up in Huixin's hands.

After acquiring these two spiritual treasures, Wei Yuan had no way to dispose of them, so he simply left them scattered across the vast land. Unexpectedly, with the Xuan Tian Yin Yang Furnace, he was finally able to refine them.

The girl sent a message through her yin and yang, instructing Wei Yuan on how to refine these spiritual treasures.

There are two options: one is to reforge the pair of spiritual treasures and make them Wei Yuan's exclusive spiritual treasures. Although their power is considered low among spiritual treasures, the advantage is that they can be used now, which can significantly increase combat power.

Another, more extreme option is to completely reforge them, turning them into a pair of one-time-use spiritual treasures. The downside is obvious: once used, they're gone. The upside is their immense power, which even a sorcerer would avoid.

Without a second thought, Wei Yuan chose the second option. What he lacked right now was a desperate measure.

Although in terms of value, the price of a normal spiritual treasure is far higher than that of a one-time use treasure, with powerful enemies all around, who knows who else is behind Hongye? As for Wei Yuan's side, apart from his own Xuan Yue Ancestor and Zhu Yuanjin, the other Imperial Realm experts are all going to leave after a while, and even Bao Manshan can't stay for long.

With a major battle looming, Wei Yuan couldn't think that far ahead; he could only focus on the immediate situation. As Xu Wenwu's account states: "In the long run, we're all already dead."

The young woman transmitted another thought, instructing Wei Yuan to place something from his person into the Yin-Yang Furnace's eye, fusing it with the magical artifact to enhance its power. The item placed could be a magical artifact, Dao power, cultivation level, or something else entirely. The more precious the item, the greater the artifact's power.

Wei Yuan suddenly had a thought and, for some reason, chose to place a hundred years of lifespan into each of them.

Unexpectedly, upon thinking this, he suddenly felt as if something was missing, leaving him feeling empty and somewhat weathered. Wei Yuan suddenly realized that in the eyes of heaven and earth, he was now two hundred and eighteen years old.

There was no other way; to fight a powerful enemy, Wei Yuan had to use his most precious possession. He didn't want to experience again the helpless situation of watching Zhang Sheng critically wounded and dying. During those days at the northern mountain gate, watching Zhang Sheng grow weaker day by day, Wei Yuan always felt as if several knives were slowly digging into his heart.

Therefore, now that the opportunity has presented itself, Wei Yuan must go all out from the very beginning.

The Xuan Tian Yin Yang Furnace truly lived up to its reputation as a celestial array, actually stealing two hundred years of Wei Yuan's lifespan out of thin air. Such a method is almost akin to the Dao itself; even ordinary immortals probably couldn't use it.

As the life essence entered the furnace, the two furnace eyes suddenly changed, spewing out black and white beams of light that shot straight up to a hundred feet! Because the material Wei Yuan fused with was too precious, the furnace eyes actually automatically merged with the Dao, transforming into a Yin-Yang Refining Furnace.

The two butterfly blades wailed and struggled in the furnace eye, but they were no match for the power of heaven and earth. They were refined little by little, their spirituality was completely erased, and then they merged with Wei Yuan's lifespan.

For the first time, Wei Yuan felt a connection to the two short blades, a bond of flesh and blood, and a shared understanding.

The simplest way is the best. Refining these two short blades didn't take long; it was completed in a short while. As the black and white light pillars faded, the two butterfly-shaped short blades had transformed into two bullets according to Wei Yuan's wishes, which could now be used by the Brutality Demon.

The two bullets weren't fancy; they only had two characteristics:
1. Guaranteed to win.

Second: Yang Bullet: Reduces lifespan by three thousand years;
Yin Bullet: Reduces lifespan by ten thousand years, divided into twenty years of average reduction.

To be honest, when Wei Yuan saw these two characteristics, he was so shocked that he almost jumped up.

These two Yin-Yang Bullets are utterly unreasonable. Moreover, they are of extremely high status. Even immortals, unless their own status in the world is higher than that of the immortal who created Qingming, will most likely suffer a reduction in lifespan, with only a 30% chance that the effect of reducing lifespan will be halved.

If the target is Yujing, the life-shortening effect will be significantly enhanced when combined with the brutal special effects.

Such power completely exceeded Wei Yuan's expectations. It seemed that the materials of those two butterfly short blades must be extraordinary, perhaps even the embryonic form of immortal artifacts. Combined with Wei Yuan's own two hundred years of lifespan and the combined effect of the Xuan Tian Yin Yang Furnace, this pair of Yin Yang Bullets was created.

All three factors are important, but perhaps the most important is Wei Yuan's lifespan. The value of lifespan varies completely depending on who it belongs to.

The combined lifespan of tens of thousands of ordinary people is no match for the fleeting moment of an immortal.

This is the world, this is heaven and earth.

Wei Yuan was overjoyed and swept the girl Yin Yang into his arms, hugging her with all his might.

The girl looked up at Wei Yuan with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he was doing. But suddenly, her clothes fell to the ground one by one, scattering at her feet.

Unfortunately, Wei Yuan did not notice this change. He sensed that someone was calling him, and that the call was malicious, so he withdrew from the mundane world.

As soon as he returned to reality, Wei Yuan felt a chilling wind around his neck, as if a ghost was breathing on him. At the same time, his crown of his head burned, as if someone was casting a curse on him.

Wei Yuan suddenly turned around and saw two shiny bald heads. He recognized both of them: one was the Peacock Buddha Mother, and the other was the Red Lotus Little Monk.

Wei Yuan immediately felt a throbbing pain in his temples and wondered if he should show the Peacock Buddha Mother the footage from that day in the East Sea Secret Realm.

However, based on Wei Yuan's understanding of the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land, the monks produced there are detached from worldly desires and don't care about things like face at all. If you show them too many videos, they might think you have an affinity with Buddhism; otherwise, why would they record such things?

Before Wei Yuan could speak, the Peacock Buddha Mother smiled and said, "You are indeed destined to be with Buddha."

The young monk also said, "Absolutely, absolutely!"

Wei Yuan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot as he angrily said, "I'll say it again, no!"

The Peacock Mother was not annoyed at all, and said, "Why are you so attached to appearances, benefactor? Even if you had a hundred or eighty auspicious marks, it would not prevent you from entering my Buddhist path. Right now in the Pure Land, the image of the Great Joyful King Buddha is still waiting for you there. The Buddha's Dharma is boundless, and he can take on all kinds of worldly forms. A thousand hands and a thousand arms are just commonplace. When the time comes, you can hold as many as you want."

Wei Yuan felt increasingly uneasy as he listened, and quickly said, "Master is joking! How could I dare to have such unrealistic hopes? To have found a soulmate in this life is enough..."

The Peacock Buddha Mother smiled and said, "You should think carefully before you speak such words. You have great opportunities and great wisdom, and what you say could easily come true if you're not careful. Do you really only want one confidant? Then the others will run away due to various coincidences, and you can't stop them."

"Huh???" Wei Yuan was stunned, never expecting to be outmaneuvered by a monk on this point. It seems he'll have to think carefully about how to lie to monks in the future, otherwise it wouldn't be fun if the monks used some secret method to make his lies come true.

If it were a sword cultivator like Su Xuejing, she would definitely say, "I've already said it, what can you do about it?" But Wei Yuan is not a sword cultivator after all. He is always flexible and adaptable, and he would never be stubborn when he is unsure of the truth.

Wei Yuan then said sincerely, "I was just joking. Master, why don't you go back to the Great Joyful Buddha and say that I am dull-witted and come from a poor family, and that I am not worthy of him? Or shall we just let it go?"

Unexpectedly, the Peacock Mother said, "I already spoke with the Great Joyful King Buddha after I returned. But the Great Joyful King Buddha said that in your previous life you were it, and it was you. In this life you are its reincarnation. If you didn't know, that would be fine, but now that you know, it is karma before the Buddha, and it cannot be changed."

The Buddha King will wait for you to attain enlightenment; if you remain ignorant your entire life, he will wait for you your entire life.

Wei Yuan was dumbfounded, feeling that the Great Joyful Buddha had picked up the wrong storybook.

He was determined to try again, and said seriously, "I am dull-witted, have never read Buddhist scriptures, do not understand the profound teachings of the eminent monks, and have no Buddhist nature whatsoever. If I were to enter the Pure Land, I would probably become a laughing stock."

The Peacock Buddha Mother said, “You are mistaken, benefactor. Buddha-nature resides in the heart and cannot be attained through chanting scriptures or meditation. With your innate wisdom, you only need sudden enlightenment, or even if you do not, it doesn’t matter. Upon seeing the Buddha’s body, you will naturally understand your past and future lives, and the cause and effect of a thousand years.”

Furthermore, the universal salvation mantra you recited the other day was exquisite and profound, truly enlightening. Even I, a humble monk, have made significant progress in my spiritual practice and gained new insights into many Buddhist scriptures. If you, benefactor, do not possess Buddha-nature, then who dares to claim to have it?

Wei Yuan then recalled that when he received the Red Lotus Universal Salvation Mantra, the Arhat had said that the mantra's power depended on one's own Buddha-nature and the growth of the Red Lotus Bodhi. The Red Lotus Bodhi had only been growing for a little over a year, at most from a sapling to a small tree, and this was only because Wei Yuan was burdened by karma, allowing it ample nourishment. If the Red Lotus Bodhi's growth was only average, then the remaining power of the mantra should originate from one's Buddha-nature.

Upon realizing this, Wei Yuan suddenly felt as if he had fallen into a trap. He knew himself all too well; where did his Buddha-nature come from? The Buddha-nature that propelled the Red Lotus Universal Salvation Mantra most likely came from Arhats, but Wei Yuan didn't know how they did it.

However, despite his annoyance, the two monks' excessive praise still gave Wei Yuan a strange feeling, and he always wanted to hear more.

This bizarre phenomenon immediately alerted Wei Yuan, who thought to himself that the bald monk was cunning, having unknowingly fallen into his trap. He resolved to listen carefully this time to see what other schemes and tricks they might have up their sleeves.

"Were you there too?" Wei Yuan asked. If the Peacock Mother was also present during the great battle but did not intervene, the nature of the matter would be different.

In Wei Yuan's view, the war against the alien races was of paramount importance, a matter of great righteousness. This great war claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands, forcing Wei Yuan to use mortals to deplete the power of the Wu Clan. If any human cultivators were present but did not intervene, regardless of their reasons, Wei Yuan felt there was nothing to say; they simply couldn't work together if their principles differed.

The Peacock Buddha Mother said, “At that time, I was meditating in the Pure Land, purifying my mind. When you, benefactor, recited the Mantra of Universal Salvation, the Pure Land trembled, and Buddhist chants descended from the sky, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth. It was a grand event in Buddhism. With the help of the King Buddha, I was fortunate enough to witness your magnificent performance of the mantra. Only then did I realize that you were engaged in a great battle, so I rushed here to lend you a helping hand.”

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, but the Peacock Buddha Mother's upright attitude left him speechless.

Moreover, I only chanted a spell and released some karma, so how did it cause such a big commotion?
The sound of chanting from the heavens and the emergence of golden lotuses from the earth—if this phenomenon were applied to Taoism, it would be considered to be in harmony with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, thus triggering a response from the Great Dao, also known as the "edict of the Great Dao."

However, Wei Yuan noticed that the Peacock Buddha Mother kept reciting the Universal Salvation Mantra, while the Arhat gave him the Red Lotus Universal Salvation Mantra.

Wei Yuan reluctantly accepted the help from the Peacock Buddha Mother, but pointed at the little monk and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

“He is a disciple of Senior Brother Pingfan. He and you both came from Fengyuan County and were in the same class, so you have a connection. That’s why I brought him along on this training trip. He will help my nephew grow on the battlefield against the alien races.”

The young monk clasped his hands in prayer and said softly, "I failed to convert you the first two times. After returning home, I went into seclusion to reflect on my mistakes and had an epiphany. I realized that it was because my martial arts skills were lacking."

"To subdue demons and monsters... no, to convert you, mere rudimentary martial arts skills are insufficient. Therefore, this humble monk intends to hone my skills here, and only after my martial arts have improved will I return to subdue... no, to speak with you."

(End of this chapter)