Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 279 Seven-Level Pagoda, the Advantage Lies With Me

Bodhidharma traveled eastward to spread Buddhism in the Central Plains.

He left behind four great martial arts skills and seventy-two unique techniques at Shaolin Temple.

These are Xi Sui Jing, Yi Jin Jing, Jin Zhong Zhao, and Tong Zi Gong.

Among them, the Boy's Skill is the most mysterious. It requires maintaining a pure yang virgin body and accumulating innate virgin energy. It is said that there is no true perfection. The longer one maintains a virgin body, the stronger the innate virgin energy accumulates, and the higher one's cultivation level will be.

Even Bodhidharma himself didn't know the limits of this virginity training.

However, it has the fewest practitioners among the four great martial arts.

On the contrary, the legends of the Golden Bell Cover and the Yi Jin Jing are the most widely circulated. The former is said to be the Golden Bell Cover with twelve gates, which can make one's physical body comparable to that of a celestial being, reaching the level of Bodhidharma in his time. It can withstand being slashed by swords and blades, burned by fire and drowned by water, and can even survive five hundred days without sleep or food, and even ingest deadly poison.

The Yi Jin Jing absorbs the energy of heaven and earth and transforms it into one's own. When cultivated to the highest level, one can become a god with a physical body, shatter the void, ascend to immortality, and even evolve into a small cave world. It is the sacred skill of Shaolin Temple.

The Marrow Cleansing Classic is the most mysterious. Apart from Bodhidharma, a Zen Buddhist, who mastered it, there are only a handful of people in the Shaolin Temple who have truly mastered it over the past thousand years, and none of them have made a name for themselves in the martial arts world.

Its effects are also subject to various interpretations. Some say that the Marrow Cleansing Classic is a technique that directly leads to the realm of celestial beings on earth, while others say that the Marrow Cleansing Classic can transform one's body and bones, cleanse the marrow through the I Ching, and allow both the physical body and spirit to transcend into gods, achieving the effect of immortality and eternal life.

As for whether it's true or false, there's no way of knowing.

Even the Shaolin Temple has never produced a single person who has truly mastered the Marrow Cleansing Classic in hundreds of years.

Xiao Luoyang never expected that he would run into one here today.

Brahma did indeed practice a Taoist technique to conceal the true origin of his cultivation method.

But I never expected to be seen through at a glance today.

Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Brahma stopped pretending. He put his hands together, smiled, and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha, benefactor, your wisdom is truly admirable. This humble monk is impressed."

"In the martial arts world, there has been a long-standing curiosity about the Marrow Cleansing Classic, with many conflicting opinions. Now it seems that it actually has the power to bring the dead back to life?"

"Everyone knows that Bodhidharma left behind four great skills. The most admired are the Yi Jin Jing and the Twelve-Layer Golden Bell Cover. But few know that the Xi Sui Jing is the real skill that can save people from suffering and help them overcome their hardships."

Upon hearing this, Brahma put his hands together, nodded slightly, and praised Amitabha Buddha, saying, "Amitabha Buddha, Emperor Wu of Han once asked Bodhidharma, 'If you build countless temples and vigorously promote Buddhism, will you have immeasurable merit?' Bodhidharma replied, 'Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.'"

Neither of them mentioned the childhood training.

Although Buddhism precepts against sexual misconduct, maintaining celibacy for life is a difficult task, even for ascetic monks who manage to persevere. Most, however, lack the necessary aptitude and understanding, and thus achieve nothing in their lifetime.

Over time, this extraordinary skill was shelved and forgotten.

Aside from a certain Taoist martial arts legend who borrowed some techniques and remained a virgin even at nearly two hundred years old, there is almost no one in the entire martial arts world who has cultivated the "Virginity Skill" to a level above the Celestial Phenomenon.

Closer to home.

The efficacy of the Marrow Cleansing Classic was exaggerated to an extreme degree by Brahma.

Xiao Luoyang and some of his secret guards also listened to what they could hear.

If Bodhidharma could truly revive the dead and restore flesh to bones at will, he wouldn't just be a Zen patriarch, but the Buddha Tathagata. If the Marrow Washing Classic truly had the power to reverse life and death and revive the dead, countless Shaolin monks would have followed in his footsteps long ago, and Emperor Wu of Han would never have let go of such a peerless skill.

"So, Master, you've already mastered the Marrow Cleansing Classic to the seventh level of the Pagoda stage?" Xiao Luoyang asked curiously. In Buddhism, "seven" represents perfection. According to Brahma, the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Classic is the highest level.

Judging from Brahma's eloquent speech, the intelligence from the secret guards, and the resurrected 'dead' mentioned in Shu Jiu's confession.

This Brahma had mastered the Marrow Cleansing Sutra to an extremely high level. However, Brahma's answer surprised Xiao Luoyang: "This humble monk is dull and cannot fully comprehend the profound Dharma. Although I have barely comprehended the Seven-Tiered Pagoda, it seems that I have not yet reached the level of Bodhidharma."

When the matter was mentioned, Brahma spoke with regret.

He had cultivated the Marrow Cleansing Classic to a level comparable to that of Bodhidharma, reaching the highest level recorded in the Marrow Cleansing Classic, but unfortunately he was still only at the peak of the terrestrial immortals, and was still quite far from becoming a terrestrial celestial being.

Xiao Luoyang also sensed Dafantian's disappointment. He smiled and looked at the figure behind him whose face was half-covered by a theatrical mask, and asked curiously, "If the Marrow Cleansing Classic has such wonderful uses, why is the person next to you still disfigured?"

"Amitabha!"

Brahma simply put his hands together, uttered a Buddhist chant, and offered no further explanation.

"Is the master unwilling to speak, or unable to do it?"

Xiao Luoyang deliberately revealed a mocking expression, then turned his gaze to the somewhat unsettled figure who had been mentioned, and laughed, "You are indeed not Xie Wangsun."

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Qiu Tangbai, the owner of Qiushui Manor."

Autumn cypress?
The number one martial arts manor, the owner of Qiushui Manor?
The group of secret guards behind Xiao Luoyang all showed astonishment. Among the most famous manors in the Ming Dynasty, besides the Dragon Guard Manor and Wan Sanqian's number one manor in the world, Qiushui Manor was the most famous.

However, the owner of Qiushui Manor disappeared several years ago.

But I never expected to end up here.

And judging from what their leader said, Qiu Tangbai seems to have been disfigured?
"That's right, I am indeed Qiu Tangbai."

Qiu Tangbai, who was using the alias Bai Tang, did not continue to hide his identity after it was exposed. He openly admitted that he was Qiu Tangbai, the owner of Qiushui Manor.

Brahma did not stop it.

He remained remarkably composed since his appearance, as if the six terrestrial deities before him did not exist.

This confidence gave Qiu Tangbai immense self-assurance.

There is a kind of magnanimity that says, "Though the enemy is numerous, my advantage lies in my own."

"It's good that it's you." Xiao Luoyang suddenly smiled. It was truly a case of finding something without even looking for it. The Dragon Ball, which the secret guards had been searching for, had unexpectedly been found today by chance.

With the whereabouts of Qiu Tangbai and Meng Baichuan known, tracking down the remaining Dragon Balls will be much easier.

"Aren't you being too confident?" Brahma suddenly interrupted, and the moment his hands were clasped together, a dazzling golden Buddhist light burst forth from the surrounding void, and faint Buddhist chants seemed to resound all around.

This makes Brahma appear as if he were a true Buddha walking in the mortal world.

Behind him, a magnificent, hundred-foot-tall phantom of Buddha emerged from the void like a mountain, as if proclaiming his daring reliance on the name of God.

Seeing this, Xiao Luoyang chuckled and pointed to himself, then to the guards he had brought with him: "Shouldn't I be confident? We have five terrestrial immortals here. Even if you've mastered the Marrow Cleansing Scripture to the seventh level, even if you've mastered the Golden Bell Shield to the twelfth level, and even if you've mastered the Tathagata Palm and are the reincarnation of Bodhidharma... today, you won't be able to escape even if you grow wings!"

One terrestrial immortal takes on five other terrestrial immortals of the same realm.

Does he really think everyone is his prince?
Even if the old Taoist Zhang Sanfeng, who was once a terrestrial immortal, came in person, he could at most maintain an undefeated situation when facing these people alone.

"Amitabha, benefactor, you are welcome to give it a try." Brahma's face was full of a confident smile, and a hint of pity flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Luoyang. He felt that this commander of the secret guards seemed to have poor eyesight, or rather... poor math skills.

Let alone five terrestrial deities, even six...

(End of this chapter)