Longzang

Chapter 986 The Path is Perilous

Beyond the mortal realm, purple-black lightning orbs instantly blanketed the sky, each containing a different form of celestial demon. Each orb was as large as a mountain, and the heavenly tribulations of this realm dissipated, leaving only a torrential rain.

Suddenly, the Duke of Zhongguo let out a loud cry, and purple-black blood spurted from all seven orifices. He was barely breathing, and large sections of his mental world collapsed. Countless stone mountains fell into the void and were torn apart by the demons from beyond the heavens.

The other duke was a level higher, and the Great Swamp World's ability to withstand damage far exceeded that of the Stone Mountain. At this moment, he spat out a mouthful of black blood, but still had some strength left to move. He grabbed the Duke of Zhong and turned to leave!
But he knew in his heart that the world of Zhongguo Gong was shattered, and his path was over. Even if he could save his life, he could only restore his Dharma form, and he would never have any hope of ascending to the throne again in this life.

Wei Yuan quickly finished writing this sentence, and his heart was instantly filled with light. He had gained a clear understanding of his own path.

Suddenly, a beam of light fell from the void into the Pure Land Grotto, illuminating the small temple.

Dust settled down in the small temple, as if washing away years of accumulated dust, and everything began to exude a new vitality. The cracks on the old lotus pedestal slowly disappeared, and warm golden Buddhist light began to shine through the tips of the lotus petals.

The lamp before the Buddha burned steadily, emitting a faint glow that seemed to illuminate all directions. The lotus lamp, on the other hand, stepped back a few paces, its expression complex, a mixture of worry and joy.

Only the young monk Honglian had grown a little taller, and his eyes had become much clearer. He seemed to suddenly understand something, walked to the front of the small temple, and with a wooden shovel in his hand, began to dig in the extra space, wanting to dig a lotus pond.

At this moment, the mortal realm, having been struck by several bolts of demonic lightning, could not withstand the weight and began to tremble. Although Wei Yuan still had countless words to write, he had to close the book and put down his pen. Fortunately, the core meaning of the scripture had already been written; everything that followed would revolve around this single meaning.

After he stopped writing, the lightning in the sky weakened and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wei Yuan stood in the air, watching the rapidly fading world of the swamp and stone mountain. A cold smile appeared on his lips. He pointed a finger and shouted, "Freeze!"

The rate at which the two mental worlds receded suddenly slowed, but the Great Swamp, being much denser and more similar in nature to the human world, managed to break free after a small section exploded. However, the Stone Mountain world was severely damaged and firmly held on, unable to escape.

There was no need to hide now. Wei Yuan immediately used all his strength to pull the Stone Mountain World to the front of the shadow in the moon. The three-eyed bird head appeared and gave Wei Yuan an approving look.

Upon receiving praise from the three-eyed bird, Wei Yuan felt completely at ease, every pore of his body seemed to rejoice. At this moment, Wei Yuan realized that his mental cultivation was still lacking, and in his great joy, he hadn't been reserved enough.

The figure of Duke Zhongguo appeared in the Stone Mountain World. Upon seeing the three-eyed bird head, he was stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something, and suddenly became extremely terrified. His two eyes suddenly split apart, one staring at the three-eyed bird head and the other at Wei Yuan. Then a mouth split open on his face, and he screamed, "It's you! It was you! You are actually the Destroyer..."

Before he could finish speaking, the three-eyed bird opened its beak like a whale sucking in water, instantly engulfing the entire stone mountain world!

Wei Yuan was also stunned. The vast world of mental images had been swallowed up in one gulp?
Having consumed most of the Heart-Shaped World, the three-eyed bird's head grew weary, retreating into the moon's shadow and falling into a deep sleep. Wei Yuan waited for a long time, but the celestial fortune did not arrive.

Is that all? Wei Yuan was unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. It seemed that one Mind World was just enough to pay off the debt, and he could forget about any rewards.

Just as Wei Yuan was about to leave, a bird egg suddenly rolled out of the full moon and hit him on the head with a bang, almost knocking him unconscious!

Ignoring the pain, Wei Yuan frantically caught the bird egg, fearing it would break. However, the egg was unexpectedly heavy, a thousand times heavier than Jade Mountain. Wei Yuan couldn't support it at all and was dragged down like a meteor, crashing into the ground and creating a large crater.

Wei Yuan felt dizzy and shook his head vigorously to regain his vision. Then he saw a pair of toes appear in front of him. He looked up and followed the toes to see the girl Yin Yang. Yin Yang leaned slightly forward, scrutinizing Wei Yuan who had descended from the sky. Wei Yuan pointed to the bird egg, wanting to say that he hadn't done it on purpose, but then he realized, what was the point of explaining to a creature that hadn't yet developed intelligence?
Just then, the girl's clothes began to fall off one by one, landing in front of Wei Yuan's nose.

"Wait, let's not rush this! Besides, I'm not really in a good position right now..." Wei Yuan's explanation sounded weak and feeble, and then he wondered why he was even trying to explain it to her.

Wei Yuan got up and tried to move the bird eggs, but they wouldn't budge, so he had to give up. Meanwhile, the fighting outside hadn't subsided, and Zhao wasn't just missing two imperial guards; there was another important figure watching from above.

Wei Yuan put the bird eggs down for the time being, left the mundane world, and then looked up at the sky. His gaze pierced through the heavens and met a pair of eyes high above that were devoid of joy or sorrow.

Wei Yuan bowed to the air and said, "This junior was indeed a bit reckless, but even a rabbit will bite when cornered, and a clay figure has some spirit. This junior cannot always be bullied without fighting back, can I?"

Those eyes seemed to be looking at Wei Yuan, but in reality, they were fixed on the Pure Land of Bliss, at the small lotus pond that Hong Lian had dug out. It was called a lotus pond, but in reality, it was only the size of a water vat.

The little monk Honglian kept digging, his eyes constantly watching. Wei Yuan wasn't in a hurry; he stood in the air, waiting patiently. Below, the army continuously received orders from the mortal realm, acting independently to clean up the battlefield, occupy the county town, and establish defenses—everything was carried out in an orderly manner.

The remaining 50,000 Zhao cavalry silently withdrew, their morale almost completely extinguished. The corpses of their comrades were right before their eyes, yet they could not collect them. In an instant, the spirit of this once mighty cavalry plummeted to rock bottom, and even their morale collapsed.

After a while, the little monk Honglian finished digging the lotus pond. Wei Yuan suddenly sensed something, and a small patch of green mountains and clear water appeared high in the void, with a small courtyard in the center. Immortal Lord Yanshi sat in the courtyard, nodded to him, and then the courtyard disappeared into the void.

With the arrival of Immortal Lord Yanshi, Wei Yuan felt more confident and naturally became calm and composed. He summoned a chair and a tea table for himself in the air, then picked up a teacup and took a sip.

The tea was just so-so.

Once the lotus pond was dug, water gushed from its bottom, quickly filling the entire pond and then slowly rising. But what emerged from the bottom wasn't clear water, but thick blood! Wei Yuan could even smell a strong stench of blood.

In the blink of an eye, the blood reached the edge of the pool, turning it into a blood pool. Then, the little monk Honglian produced a lotus seed from somewhere and threw it into the blood pool.

A moment later, two lotus leaves and a lotus bud appeared on the surface of the blood. The lotus bud then bloomed and finally transformed into a blue lotus flower.

A name suddenly came to mind for Wei Yuan: Bitter Sea Green Lotus.

The Daoist canon states that ancient immortals and great beings, possessing profound understanding of heaven and earth, planted golden lotuses in chaos and attained enlightenment. Today, I plant a blue lotus in my own sea of ​​suffering; what enlightenment can I possibly gain?
As Wei Yuan pondered, a question suddenly arose in his mind: Was this blue lotus planted by him or by the little monk? If he were to attain enlightenment in the future, would it be considered his own or the little monk's?
The pair of eyes in the void disappeared, without uttering a single word from beginning to end.

Wei Yuan rose, flicked his sleeves, and silently cleared away the chairs and tea table. He still had a long way to go on the path of emulating immortals.

At that moment, a mournful cry suddenly drifted from afar. Although it was thousands of miles away, the sorrowful feeling still rushed towards us.

Duke Zhongguo of Zhao ultimately failed to return to the capital, passing away en route at the age of 460.

(End of this chapter)