Mythology

Chapter 383 My Affinity for the Buddha's Fruition
When the Green Ox Demon mentioned Laozi, his expression revealed extreme fear.

Yang He frowned slightly, showing no reaction to the news from Laozi. After all, the concept of death in the world of classical literature had been overused, and it was difficult for any immortal to die even if they wanted to.

As a sage, Laozi (Taishang Laojun) could not possibly die and disappear so easily.

It is very likely some kind of means to ward off disaster and avoid misfortune.

Yang He, through the increase in his spiritual vision, did not detect any flaws in the Green Ox Demon, and felt that the latter had no need to deliberately fabricate lies.

When it comes to Lao Tzu, it's easy to tell the truth from the falsehood.

The Green Ox Demon continued to mutter, "It must be some kind of calamity. I personally witnessed Laozi slowly losing his life force. I just want to go to the gambling den to confirm whether Laozi is still alive."

Yang He looked puzzled, implying that the gambling den contained the corpse of Laozi.
Did the sage die in some remote corner?

He was puzzled. The Immortal Slaughtering Formation was still unclear, and none of the five saints had shown up. The so-called gambling den must be hiding something.

"King Si, do you take me for a three-year-old child? Sages are immortal and indestructible. Even if heaven and earth were to be destroyed, it would not necessarily affect Laozi."

"saint?"

The Green Ox Demon's eyes widened, and two puffs of white steam billowed from his nostrils: "A sage? How could you think Laozi is...a sage?"

Yang He instinctively wanted to refute, but found that the Green Ox Demon didn't seem to be faking it.

Compared to Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu, Taishang Laojun's name is not prominent, and I only have a preconceived notion because of the original work.

After all, in the original work, Laozi was the incarnation of the Moral Celestial Venerable, and his revealed strength even subtly surpassed that of the three sages of the three religions.

"King Si, tell me in detail about your impression of Laozi, and your origins."

"I am a disciple of Laozi."

A glint of light appeared in the Green Ox Demon's eyes. "Laojun always wears a gray Taoist robe, and his right shoulder is three inches lower than his left when he walks. Because he belongs to West Kunlun, he is considered a famous wandering immortal."

"What nonsense is this?" Yang He was completely bewildered.

West Kunlun is a gathering place for independent cultivators. Its name comes from the reverence for Kunlun Jade Void Palace, where the immortals do not have profound lineages.

In the original work, Laozi never claimed to be from West Kunlun.

For some reason, Yang He suddenly thought of the True Man Du'e. His appearance and description did have some similarities, but the two were completely unrelated.

The Green Ox Demon flicked its tail and continued, "Laojun is most skilled at setting up formations. He spends his years studying formations in the Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cave on Nine Cauldrons Iron Fork Mountain. In front of that cave, there is a thousand-year-old pine tree with branches that twist and turn like a dragon..."

As Yang He listened, his expression suddenly became blank, and his eyes glazed over for a moment.

The daze didn't last long; the throbbing pain in his temples subsided considerably, and the unease he felt about the Green Ox Demon's words inexplicably dissipated.

Yang He couldn't help but carefully recall his memories related to Laozi.

As a result, his perception was subtly affected, and the figures of Laozi and Du'e Zhenren overlapped. He no longer felt that Laozi was a saint.

"King Si, since you are a disciple of Laozi, do you know your origins before you became his disciple?"

The Green Ox Demon's eyes gradually dimmed, and he stammered, "I... I can't remember. I only remember waking up one day and kneeling on the stone steps in front of the Cloud Light Cave. It was Laozi who accepted me into the sect."

Yang He couldn't find any flaws, but he instinctively felt uncomfortable all over.

"Speak of it."

The Green Ox Demon suddenly lowered his voice, "On the night before Laozi died, he stared at the Vajra Bracelet all night long. As soon as the sun rose the next day, his entire body began to disintegrate."

It unconsciously licked its forehead, "I always felt that Laozi left the ring in the gambling den."

Yang He remained unmoved and showed no intention of taking the Green Ox Demon out of the peep show.

"Wait, let me out!!"

"We'll talk about it in a while. Your Majesty, you should stay put and not move."

Yang He turned and left, the mirror slowly disappearing into the wall.

He headed towards the subway entrance, the shadows in the corners of the road surging as he walked.

"Brother!"

Bixiao was startled and took a half step back. Then, Yang Sanlang silently stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing a white coat, the kind of coat a doctor would wear, and had a pair of elegant silver-rimmed glasses on his nose.

Yang He stopped and asked in a calm tone, "San'er, has my perception been changed?"

"Father, you made me keep an eye on the aura of the soul."

Yang Sanlang nodded slightly. "Father, your soul has not been abnormal, but your consciousness has fluctuated, especially when the green ox's head mentioned Laozi, your consciousness seemed to be boiling."

"Ah."

Yang He's brows were filled with coldness, and he wished he could just throw the Green Ox Demon into the Treasure Bone Mausoleum.

If the Green Ox Demon is indeed the Great King of the Rhinoceros who endured eighty-one tribulations in later generations, his head would surely be of great use. However, even though he is already under someone else's control, the Green Ox Demon still thinks of causing trouble.

Simply looking for death!
Yang He grunted, and after realizing the fact that Laozi was a sage, two conflicting memories clashed violently.

Yang Sanlang hesitated for a few moments before explaining, "Father, to be precise, after the green ox's head was mentioned in relation to Laozi, its perception also changed."

"Huh? So, the Green Ox Demon wasn't intentionally influencing me?"

"It should be that the son suspects the source is still the gambling den."

Yang He hesitated slightly. Even if there was Laozi's corpse in the gambling den, touching it rashly would be certain death. As for the Vajra Bracelet and the Jade Bottle, they were hot potatoes.

He can no longer use even a tenth or a twentieth of the Hunyuan Golden Bucket.

"Aruan, play with Bixiao for a while."

Yang Hezhao waved his hand, and Yang Shimei landed lightly on the platform.

Yang Shimei tilted her head, winked at Bixiao, and with a flick of her finger, a wisp of green smoke transformed into a butterfly, fluttering and dancing in her palm.

Bixiao, being of ordinary childlike nature, was immediately drawn to the butterfly.

"Sister, come here." Yang Shimei took Bixiao's hand, and the two disappeared in a flash.

Yang Heze turned to Yang Sanlang and asked in a deep voice, "San'er, ask your older brother if the subway can connect to other districts?"

Yang Sanlang pondered for a moment and nodded. After a while, he said, "It is possible, but we can only bypass the True Immortal's Daoist temple. If we force our way through, we might alert certain beings."

Yang He's gaze turned slightly cold. He lightly traced a line with his fingertip inside his sleeve, and a faint, obscure fluctuation of magical power spread out, like some kind of silent command.

"Then let's build a subway line to the casino."

"Don't alarm anyone, and don't make a big fuss. Half a meter is enough."

Yang He paused for a few breaths, "In addition, we still need to focus on Metro Line 1 and hurry up to excavate to the Lingjiu Mountain of the Burning Lamp Taoist."

“Father, the Immortal Slaughtering Formation is beyond our ability to break. Even if the tunnel is completed, it will most likely be… a one-way trip.”

"It's nothing." Yang He didn't care at all; taking the blame was Chi Yin Gui Xian's forte.

What does Shen Gongbao's despicable deeds have to do with me, the Corpse Taoist?

The ten sons of the Yang family each possess unique supernatural abilities, and Yang Dalang's ghost realm is a subway station.

According to Yang Dalang, it is even possible to reach the Daoist temple of a true immortal without making a sound, but the Daoist temple of a Great Luo Golden Immortal has not yet been tried.

Yang He made this arrangement because he knew he couldn't remain passive indefinitely.

"Father, your ninth brother's seclusion room has been prepared."

"Take me there."

Yang He couldn't help but show interest. In the previous Ten Deadly Formations, the ten sons of the Yang family had just been comparable to True Immortals before passing the imperial examinations one by one. He himself only had a superficial understanding of his children's Ghost Realm.

The two soon arrived at a seemingly ordinary house.

The gray walls were covered with moss, and the red paint on the wooden door had long since peeled off.

Yang Sanlang pushed open the door, and a piercing electrical sound suddenly rang out.

Yang He's expression was strange. The room was like a nest made of countless intertwined wires, with dense copper wires resembling blood vessels, but they formed a magic array, a magic array formed by Yang Jiulang's ghost domain.

“Father, you can activate the magic array simply by closing your eyes and resting.” Yang Sanlang stepped aside.

"Heh, what cyber array?"

As soon as Yang He stepped inside, he had a sudden, enlightening feeling.

hum! !

His consciousness was struck as if by lightning. Countless fragmented images flashed before his eyes. All distracting thoughts were instantly washed away by the electric current, replaced by a state of supreme clarity and detachment.

"It's really good."

Yang He did not deliberately request a seclusion room; everything was out of his children's filial piety, including this magic array that could bless the soul.

He touched his brow with his index finger; with the help of this formation, reaching the peak of the Tribulation Transcending Realm would be no problem.

"and many more."

Yang He inadvertently connected with another resident character at Jiepai Pass, who was not the Imperial Ghost Immortal, but one of the Twenty-Four Heavenly Beings.

He tried to visualize the Twenty-Four Deities, and heard deafening chanting in his ears.

The sounds layered upon each other, like thousands of monks chanting mantras, eerily maintaining their consistency, with each tone having a Sanskrit flavor.

Yang He's spiritual vision displayed its power, forcibly capturing the scenes within the Twenty-Four Heavens.

Countless monks sat cross-legged on the sea, surrounding a Heavenly Tree, whose trunk and branches were made of coral.

The tree trunk was a dark red, like flesh and blood, and its branches and leaves were twisted and stretched out, with the head of a living immortal hanging at the end of each branch.

His face showed anger, a slight smile, but mostly extreme pain.

"The fake Heavenly Dao Tree was probably made using the aura of the Tongtian Sect Master. It seems that Daoist Ran Deng is nurturing something."

Yang He clicked his tongue in amazement, even guessing that Daoist Ran Deng had made the dumplings for the vinegar.

"The Twenty-Four Devas are certainly important, but the things they gave birth to may very well be the key to why the Daoist Burning Lamp became the founder of Buddhism in later generations."

"I can't let that old cunning fellow have it too easy; this thing is destined for me."

Just as Yang He was about to withdraw his consciousness, thousands of eyes on the branch suddenly opened, spewing out colorful and raging karmic fire from their mouths and noses.

"Om, Ah, Hum!!!"

All the heads of the living immortals turned to look at Yang He.

"not good."

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang He forcibly withdrew his consciousness at the cost of damaging his soul, but the three words "Om Ah Hum" still entered his mind.

puff.

He coughed up blood and his vitality waned.

The continuous murmur of "Om Ah Hum" could still be heard in my ears.

Not long after Yang Hegang left, a crack appeared in the sky above the Twenty-Four Heavens, and the eyes of the Burning Lamp Daoist approached the False Heavenly Dao Tree.

"Yang He?"

"Yang He!!!"

The Taoist Ran Deng examined the head of the living immortal on the branch for a long time.

"I need more ascetics to attain Buddhahood. Trying to shorten it to five days is far from enough, far from enough..."

(End of this chapter)