Starting Immortal Cultivation from a White Dog

hum! !

The sutra scroll unfurled in the void, instantly radiating golden light and accompanied by a surging tide of chanting. Countless Sanskrit characters flowed across the scroll, each one like a mountain, pressing down with immense force.

Golden light illuminated half the sky, as if an ancient Buddha had opened his eyes within the Buddhist scriptures.

"You took my things, and you think you can just leave?"

Avalokiteshvara's voice was clear and cold as ice, echoing in the void.

Five divine lights shot into the sky from the scroll, intertwining to form a massive hand that blotted out the sun and sealed off the void within a thousand miles, transforming it into a small, independent world that contained the Golden Crow and Guanyin.

Jinwu felt a blur before his eyes, and the world around him suddenly changed.

The sea of ​​clouds is gone, the sunrise is gone, and the vast landscape is gone.

In its place lies a desolate wasteland.

The sky was dark red, with flames like blood burning, twisting and deforming the dark red canopy, as if the entire sky was enduring some indescribable pain.

Those blood flames were no ordinary fire, but the embodiment of the "world is like a purgatory" in the Path of Beauty and Bone; each wisp of flame was a severed life, each ray of fire was a silent wail.

The earth was covered with crisscrossing cracks, each one bottomless, emanating an aura of decay and ruin so intense it was almost tangible, making one feel life slipping away with every breath.

But in such a world, the Buddha's light is everywhere.

Golden light seeped out from every crack in the void, illuminating this desolate world with a play of light and shadow.

Within the Buddha's light, chanting echoed, but it was not a compassionate recitation of scriptures; rather, it was a more ancient, more primal, and more frenzied prayer...

Beauty will eventually turn into bones. The world is a purgatory where all beings suffer. Only by burning away all sins, attachments, and desires with pure fire can all beings escape the sea of ​​suffering and attain true freedom.

That is the true essence of the path of white bones and red faces.

It is the obsession with killing in order to protect life.

It is the echo of Avalokiteshvara's heart, who has attained enlightenment through killing over the past eight thousand years.

The Golden Crow stood amidst this desolate world, its body radiating golden sunlight that illuminated the darkness within a hundred feet. It raised its eyes to gaze calmly at the snow-white figure opposite it.

"Avalokiteshvara, what do you mean by this?"

Avalokitesvara stood a hundred feet away from him, dressed in white robes as white as snow, untouched by any dust. His bare feet trod on the gray-black earth, and white lotuses naturally bloomed beneath his feet, lifting him above the filth.

She gazed at the golden crow.

That face was breathtakingly beautiful, with skin as white as jade, glowing faintly in the dark red light of the sky, as if it were not flesh and blood, but a Buddha statue carved from white jade.

This Buddhist bodhisattva has a graceful figure and exquisite curves. The undulations that can be faintly seen under her white robes have both the delicacy of a young girl and the fullness of a mature woman.

But on that exquisitely beautiful face, there was no compassion, no pity, no anger, only a pure, emotionless indifference.

That indifference is a reflection of the Dao heart tempered by eight thousand years of killing and arduous cultivation of the Dao of White Bones and Red Faces.

In her eyes, all beings in the three realms suffer, and the mortal world is ultimately empty.

Killing one person is no different from killing ten thousand.

Saving one person is no different from saving all souls.

Because ultimately, everything must be burned away in the pure fire to attain true freedom.

"The Buddhist community must not be insulted."

Her voice was as cold as ice, echoing in the desolate world.

“You suppressed Dingguang and threatened Buddhism, so you must pay the price.”

“I’ve said it before, the Phoenix lineage can’t protect you.”

"This place will be your final resting place today."

Upon hearing this, Jinwu suddenly laughed.

"What a fine example of Buddhism being inviolable!"

"You Buddhist sects are as domineering as ever."

Before the words were finished, Avalokiteshvara moved.

She gave Jinwu no chance to catch her breath.

A jade bottle appeared in her left hand. The bottle was pure white, with a faint bluish glow at the mouth, as if it contained a world within it.

A willow branch, no more than three feet long, was placed in the vase. It was a vibrant green, with delicate leaves that looked as if it had just been broken off from a spring branch. A few glistening water droplets clung to the branch, gleaming warmly in the dark red sunlight.

It looks so delicate and tender, as if it would break if you folded it.

With a flick of her wrist, the willow branch lashed out at Jinwu's face.

The willow branch looked light and soft, like an ordinary branch swaying in the spring breeze, but the moment Jinwu saw the willow branch, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a great terror arose in his heart.

At this moment, his eyes transformed into the sun, and he opened his Dharma Eye, seeing the truth.

When you look at the willow branches, you no longer see any lush green leaves.

Among the willow branches, countless dense streaks of blood-red light intertwined, a chilling aura of malevolence and sin, outlining a terrifying legal principle and flames.

Those were all beings that Guanyin had killed.

Their life essence, spiritual cultivation, magical power, and even their pain and despair were absorbed by the willow branches, turning into nourishment and making them even more delicate.

The more lives that die beneath the willow branches, the greener and more vibrant the branches become.

This is the profound meaning of the "Red Beauty, White Bones" path.

Killing is protecting life; death gives birth to life; beauty is ultimately reduced to bones, and from bones, lotus flowers bloom.

Jinwu felt his scalp tingle. Almost the instant his opponent made his move, his figure had already disappeared from his original spot. He unleashed his lightning speed, moving with the light, transforming into a golden ray that drew mysterious trajectories in the void.

Guanzizai's power is truly terrifying. That willow branch looks lush and green, but if someone is struck by it, their life, cultivation, and magical power will be devoured by the willow branch and turned into another drop of dew on its delicate leaves.

But the willow branch that Guanyin observed was more terrifying than he had imagined.

Just as the golden crow dodged away in a flash of light, the emerald green branches transformed into hundreds of emerald green threads, shooting towards him in a massive, overwhelming rush.

Each thread contains the power of life and death intertwined, echoing and cooperating with each other, like a blooming lotus flower, or like a delicate hand woven together.

A flick of a willow branch kills one's life with one's bare hands.

Such a scene is breathtakingly beautiful, yet it harbors a deadly trap.

The speed of the Golden Crow traveling with the light was pushed to the limit. His figure transformed into thousands of golden rays in the void, shuttling between the dense emerald green threads.

His speed was so fast that even the threads couldn't capture his trajectory. He moved through the gaps in time, teetering on the edge of life and death.

At the same time, with a thought, he unleashed the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife he had just obtained from Shen Hongyu.

The yellow gourd appeared in his left hand; it was ordinary, mottled and ancient, like a vessel for holding wine in the mortal world.

He held the gourd in his left hand and gently patted the bottom of the gourd with his right hand.

"Gourd, please turn around!"

In an instant, a beam of white light shot out from the mouth of the gourd.

The white light was only three inches long, as thin as a hair, yet it was extremely dazzling, as if all the light in the world had been swallowed up by that three-inch ray of light.

Within the white light, countless profound incantations could be faintly seen flowing, each incantation containing ancient principles that existed since the beginning of time.

Then, a blade of light slashed out from the gourd.

The blade's light seemed to be formed from the purest moonlight. There were no intricate patterns or mysterious runes on the blade; only an indescribable sharpness.

hum!
A white rainbow stretched across the sky, suddenly bringing silence to this world filled with fire and sin.

The sound of swords clashing echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

The white light was reflected in Guanyin's pupils, and for the first time, her cold face showed a look of surprise.

She didn't dodge.

There's no escaping it.

The Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, having locked onto cause and effect, slashed towards destiny.

This strike severed the very foundation of her existence in this world.

If it cannot be stopped, it will disappear completely from this world.

It was as if it had never existed.

This... is the terrifying power of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife.

Guanyin raised her hand, and the jade bottle hovered above her head, showering down countless rays of divine light that enveloped her. At the same time, she abruptly retracted the willow branch in her hand.

Hundreds of emerald green threads intertwine, coil, and coalesce, transforming into an emerald green ring. Within that ring, the laws of life and death alternate and revolve endlessly.

The blade flashed onto the willow branch, but there was no explosion, no roar.

Only a faint sound, like a snapping string, echoed in the void.

That lush green willow branch is broken!

In that instant, the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife collided, intertwined, and clashed with the life and death principles on the willow branch thousands of times. Each clash caused the resentment, malevolent energy, and dead souls contained on the willow branch to wither away.

A beautiful woman walks a path through white bones, where life is found even in the bones.

At this moment, the marks left by those beings that Guanyin had once slain became the supreme means of protection and survival.

To sacrifice one's life for another—this can be called the Way!
This is the most supreme Dharma for protecting the path in the world, and it is also one of the many supernatural powers of Avalokiteshvara.

With her supernatural ability to live in place of death, she had rendered many formidable enemies helpless in the past.

however……

The Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife is terrifying.

Guanyin has cultivated for eight thousand years, slaying countless gods, immortals, demons, and monsters. The number of beings that have died on this willow branch is far too many.

The existence of billions of living beings, the sins of billions of living beings.

Their presence is like an ancient sacred mountain, suppressing Guanyin's vitality and life.

But the existence of so many living beings, and such a profound and mysterious method of protection.

They couldn't even block that knife.

With a single stroke, millions of souls vanished, leaving no trace of life or death.

That delicate willow branch... broke!
Even the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, following the threads of cause and effect, continued its upstream journey, aiming to slash towards Guanyin's brow.

puff!

The blade ripped through the divine light emanating from the jade bottle, then grazed past Guanyin's temples, severing a few strands of her hair and leaving a thin trail of blood on her cheek.

The bloodstain was very shallow, almost invisible.

Guan Zizai was clearly stunned for a moment. She raised her hand and gently stroked the bloodstain with her fingertips.

Then, she looked down at her fingertips.

There was a drop of blood on my fingertip.

Bright red, warm blood that belonged to her.

She hasn't bled for a very, very long time.

Guanzizai raised his head and looked at the golden crow.

"A fine knife."

She spoke softly, her voice clear and cold, yet carrying a hint of seriousness.

"I never expected Shen Hongyu to give you this knife."

She raised her delicate hand and reinserted the broken willow branch into the jade vase, then suspended the vase above her head. The vase slowly rotated in the air, casting down countless rays of Buddhist light that enveloped Avalokiteshvara.

Within the Buddha's light, countless white lotuses bloom, wither, bloom again, and wither again, endlessly cycling through life and death.

Her white robes appeared even more pristine in the Buddha's light, and her face appeared even more sacred and pure in the blue light. On that exquisitely beautiful face, a thin bloodstain still oozed blood, but her expression was calmer, more indifferent, and more aloof than ever before.

The treasure bottle floated silently in mid-air, then suddenly its mouth turned downwards, as if the entire world had been turned upside down.

The original warm, jade-like white luster on the bottle suddenly disappeared, replaced by an extremely deep darkness.

That is not darkness.

Darkness has boundaries, it has an end.

It is a being that is older and more essential than darkness.

It is "nothing".

It is "empty".

It is the origin of all things, and also the destination of all things.

The golden crow's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw the mouth of the jade bottle, which was only about three inches wide, but under his divine eye, the mouth seemed to expand infinitely, expand, and expand again.

It was as if the entire sky had been swallowed up by the mouth of the bottle.

Jinwu felt his body trembling; an instinct was calling to him, making him want to leap into the darkness.

That is the intersection of life and death.

It is the starting point of all cause and effect, and the end of all destiny.

Where do all the spirits of the world come from?
It comes from nothingness.

Where to go?

Go to nothingness.

At this moment, the jade bottle seemed to contain the life and death of all beings, and the cycle of life and death entered my precious bottle.

Avalokiteshvara stands beneath a vase, his white robes fluttering, his bare feet treading on lotuses.

"All spirits have their place of refuge."

"Your home is here."

Her voice was no longer cold and clear, but became empty, distant, and devoid of emotion, as if it were not a person speaking, but rather the heavens and earth themselves speaking.

The moment the words fell, the jade bottle shone brightly.

Jinwu felt an irresistible force surging from the bottle's mouth. It was not a physical force, but rather a pull on the instinct for life, a call from the Great Dao.

It is the call of the cycle of birth and death to all things in the world.

It was the instinctive desire of every inch of his flesh and blood, every wisp of his soul, and every bit of his magical power to embrace death.

Every living being, from the moment of its birth, is on the path to death.

This is the most fundamental law between heaven and earth, a great principle that no one can defy.

The jade bottle is the embodiment of this great Dao.

The golden crow's body involuntarily floated towards the mouth of the bottle.

He tried to struggle, but he found that his magic was still there, his supernatural powers were still there, and his golden sunlight was still blazing, but his struggles were... useless.

Because what he was fighting against was not Avalokiteshvara, not a magic weapon, but death itself.

How do you fight death?
How do you combat nothingness?
How do you fight against the timeless truth of the cycle of birth and death?
The golden sun's light burned wildly around the Golden Crow, illuminating the surrounding void as bright as day. He unleashed his incredible speed, moving with the light, his figure transforming into countless golden rays in the void, attempting to break free from that death.

But death is everywhere.

It is in the light, in the darkness, in every crevice of time, and in every corner of space.

The golden crow vanished in a flash of light, and death followed the light.

The golden crow tore through the void, and death surged forth from it.

Jinwu even tried to escape this sealed-off little world, but he found that even that world seemed to have disappeared, and he was completely enveloped by the Jade Bottle.

If he cannot break the treasure bottle, he cannot return to the present world and see the truth.

Guanyin silently watched the Golden Crow struggle. Her exquisite face showed no pride or joy, only a calm that bordered on pity.

"It's no use."

She spoke softly, her voice echoing clearly throughout the world.

"This bottle contains the cycle of life and death, the workings of the Great Dao, and the eighty-four thousand kinds of afflictions, eighty-four thousand kinds of attachments, and eighty-four thousand kinds of destiny of all beings in the Three Realms."

"You can't escape."

"Because you are alive."

"All living beings must eventually die." (End of Chapter)