Two Realms High Martial Arts: Gathering the Heavens to Become a Great Luo Immortal

Chapter 409 Vajra Temple, Fighting Downwards Across Ranks (Two Chapters Combined, 4.1k)

Before the turmoil in the northern desert had subsided, that figure, who had already become the focus of the world's attention, had quietly turned westward.

Li Xijun neither flew on a sword nor transformed into a rainbow; he simply moved leisurely above the clouds at the speed of an ordinary Grandmaster.

The uproar caused by the killing of Chi Na Ri and the evaluation of the "Book of the Mortal World" failed to stir much emotion in his heart.

His gaze had turned to the Western Regions shrouded in yellow sand and faith, to the place with the deepest connection to the Undying King, and possibly where the "Indestructible Vajra Body" was hidden.

In the Western Regions, deep in the desert, lies the Vajra Sacred Mountain, a vast, undulating mountain range that appears entirely dark gold. Under the blazing sun, it resembles an ancient Buddha reclining on the earth.

On the mountainside, there are countless caves and niches of varying sizes, carved into the mountainside. In each cave, there is a Buddha statue, whether gilded, stone-carved, or painted, sitting or standing, with expressions of compassion or majesty, quietly observing the vicissitudes of time amidst the continuous chanting of sutras and the smoke of sandalwood incense.

A pilgrimage route, ten zhang wide, carved out by countless believers with their bodies and faith, winds its way up the mountain like a golden ribbon, leading to the magnificent and breathtaking temple complex at the summit.

That is the main body of Vajra Temple.

Every morning, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of believers gather on the pilgrimage route and in the huge square in front of the temple gate. As the temple bells and drums ring out, they begin their daily chanting, prostration, and circumambulation.

The converging chanting, like a tidal wave, mixed with the rich aroma of incense, formed a vast and pure force of faith that enveloped the entire sacred mountain, filling the area with a peaceful, serene, yet incredibly profound spiritual atmosphere.

This is the Vajra Temple, one of the leading Buddhist temples in the Western Regions, with millions of followers and profound cultural heritage, and whose philosophy is to be indestructible and to suppress demons.

Master Fa Nan, the current abbot of the Jingang Temple and the Fangzhang Zen Monastery, showed none of the solemn and dignified appearance of a high-ranking Buddhist monk at this moment.

He was dressed in a magnificent gold-embroidered robe, tall and robust, but his face was somewhat gloomy, his brows furrowed. He paced back and forth in the meditation room, a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand making a clattering sound as he turned them.

Master Fa Nan was a powerful cultivator, a grandmaster of the seventh heaven.

However, he knew in his heart that his position as abbot was more due to the prestige of his senior brother, the Venerable King Buhuai, and the fact that Vajra Temple needed a manager who was proficient in temple affairs.

In his early years, he also tried to cultivate the temple's ultimate skill, "Indestructible Vajra Body," but due to a lack of talent and opportunity, he was unable to master it and had to switch to cultivating another top-level ultimate skill in the temple, "Mighty Vajra Palm."

This palm technique is powerful and, when practiced to its fullest extent, it is a top-tier skill. However, compared to the supreme body-refining divine skill known as "indestructible," it is ultimately lacking in essence.

Recently, his uneasy premonition has grown stronger.

.

Ever since his senior brother, the Undying Venerable King, forged a deadly feud with Li Xijun at Qiandao Lake, and then heard the news that Li Xijun had killed Chi Na Ri with a single sword strike in the northern desert, he had been unable to eat or sleep properly.

Although the Vajra Temple was powerful and had many followers, he didn't have much confidence when facing a ruthless figure who could kill the third-ranked person on the Earth Ranking, whose methods were unpredictable, and who had the Sword Sect's Dharma Body and the Great Xia Dynasty standing behind him.

His gaze involuntarily drifted towards a corner of the Zen temple.

There, an old monk with a hunched back, dressed in a simple gray robe, was meticulously sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard.

The old monk had an ordinary face, even a kind and benevolent look. He concealed his aura very well. If one did not know the truth, it would be hard to imagine that he was a top grandmaster of the ninth heaven!

This person's Dharma name is "Kuchen". Half a year ago, he was personally brought back to the temple by the Venerable King Buhuai, who declared him to be a model of "laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot". He has sincerely taken refuge in the temple.

The disciples in the temple only knew that this newly arrived old monk was taciturn, hardworking, polite to everyone, and learned Buddhist scriptures very quickly, which made him quite popular among some disciples.

Only a few high-ranking figures, such as Fa Nan, knew his true origins—this person was originally a member of the Blood Fiend Sect, one of the six heretical sects in the world, and held a powerful position in one region.

The infamous leader of the Seventy-Two Linked Strongholds, "Blood Butcher" Li Tianxiong!

This Li Tianxiong has probably lived for six or seven hundred years, two eras earlier than the Undying Venerable King.

His talent was only considered "acceptable" in the eyes of true geniuses, but his cautiousness, or rather his cowardice and fear of death, was renowned throughout the world.

He cultivated the Blood Fiend Sect's notorious "fast-track" but weak-foundation, mediocre power, and almost bottom-ranked evil technique among its peers, the "Blood Fiend Qi Gathering Technique".

The advantage of this technique is that it is extremely fast to cultivate and it is good at concealing one's aura. The disadvantage is that its combat power is weak and its potential is limited, almost severing the path to the Dharma Body.

Li Tianxiong used this "divine skill" to live a life that turned him into an old relic.

His life motto is:

When one is enlightened, one should never go out and cause trouble, but only bully those in the Qi Accumulation Realm; after reaching the Outer Realm, one should specifically seek out enlightened juniors to "spar" with; once one has reached the Dharma Form Realm, one should go and "guide" the "juniors" in the Outer Realm.

Even after he became a Grandmaster of the Ninth Heaven, his greatest achievement was nothing more than "suppressing" a few ignorant Dharma Aspect Grandmasters who dared to provoke the mountain stronghold.

Even when facing disciples of prestigious sects, he dared not injure them. He would simply knock them unconscious and then politely send them back to their respective sects' headquarters.

Within the Blood Fiend Sect, he outlived several sect leaders and elders by relying on his exceptionally long tenure and his "sensible" nature of never vying for power and only seeking personal gain. Later, due to his advanced age and lack of advancement, he was "exiled" to the Seventy-Two Linked Strongholds to become a local tyrant, continuing his "legendary" career of dominating the area, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, yet always remaining unshaken.

Until half a year ago, the Undying Venerable King came down the mountain to "pilgrimage" to promote the fame of Yangjingang Temple and happened to pass by his village.

After a series of tests, Li Tianxiong almost immediately knelt down, weeping and expressing that he had long admired Buddhism and was willing to give away all his wealth to become a monk, only asking Buddha to accept him.

Seeing that he was sincere and seemed to have truly converted to Buddhism, and that he was also a Grandmaster of the Ninth Heaven, it wouldn't be bad to take him back to enhance one's image, so the Undying Venerable King casually "converted" him.

After being brought back to Jingang Temple, Li Tianxiong behaved impeccably. He was more serious about eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures than anyone else, worked harder than anyone else, and greeted everyone with a smile, always humble and respectful, without any airs of a grandmaster.

Although Fa Nan held his past in contempt, the Vajra Temple was currently going through a turbulent period. Having such a "sensible" Ninth Heaven warrior on the open would at least boost its prestige and deter some villains.

"Sigh—" Fa Nan sighed inwardly, about to speak with Ku Chen to discuss how to deal with the possible arrival of Li Xijun.

Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Huh? What's that light?"

"Auspicious signs from the heavens? Buddha has appeared!"

"Look! They're heading towards the holy mountain!"

At the foot of the mountain, in the pilgrimage square, came bursts of commotion and exclamations.

Fa Nan and Ku Chen looked up at the same time and saw a stream of light in the eastern sky that seemed to be a condensation of starlight and faint fragments of time. It was breaking through the sky at a mysterious speed that seemed slow but actually covered thousands of miles in an instant.

Wherever the streak of light passed, the clouds in the sky were parted by an invisible force, leaving clear trails. There were also specks of blue light, full of vitality and majesty, falling down. Under the sunlight, it was beautiful and magnificent, like a miracle.

Seeing this, countless devout believers thought it was a manifestation of Buddha or Bodhisattva, or a blessing from the gods. They were so excited that tears welled up in their eyes, and they prostrated themselves in the direction of the light, chanting various Buddhist chants and praises. The faith and aspirations of the entire area around the holy mountain fluctuated accordingly.

Only Fa Nan and Ku Chen, along with a few highly skilled elders and true disciples in the temple, had their expressions turn extremely ugly in an instant.

The flowing light contained not the peaceful aura of Buddhism, but a supreme majesty as magnificent as the Heavenly Emperor's patrol and as profound as the long river of time. It also faintly carried a chilling aura that had recently shaken the world and killed a Grandmaster!

Li Xijun!

he came!

The streak of light suddenly stopped directly above the Vajra Temple.

As the light faded, a tall, dark figure, as straight as a pine tree, was revealed.

Li Xijun stood with his hands behind his back in the void, his expression calm, his eyes lowered, looking down at the magnificent Buddhist holy land below, where believers were as numerous as the sea. He did not deliberately release his aura, but just his presence alone, the invisible pressure of having just killed Chi Na Ri, ascended to the top of the Earth Ranking, and possessed multiple supreme inheritances, was like an invisible mountain, heavily pressing down on the entire Vajra Temple.

The temple bells had stopped ringing sometime earlier, and the chanting of sutras had abruptly ceased.

Countless monks and believers looked up in horror at the god-like figure in the sky.

The joy that I had previously thought was auspicious vanished, replaced by a tremor and suffocation that came from the depths of my soul.

Some disciples with low cultivation levels even collapsed to the ground.

The entire sacred mountain was plunged into a deathly silence, with only the howling of the wind.

Fa Nan took a deep breath, suppressing the fear and panic in his heart. He knew he had to step forward at this moment.

With a flicker, he transformed into a golden light and ascended into the sky, stopping a hundred feet away from Li Xijun. He clasped his hands together, barely maintaining the demeanor of an abbot, and said loudly, "Amitabha. This humble monk, Fanan, abbot of Vajra Temple, greets Your Highness, the Star Lord. I was unaware of Your Highness's esteemed presence and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me."

He used the techniques of the Buddhist Lion's Roar Kung Fu to spread his voice far and wide, attempting to calm people's hearts.

Li Xijun's gaze fell on him, and she said calmly, "The abbot should know why I have come."

Fa Nan's heart tightened, and he forced a look of compassion onto his face. His voice grew louder, as if he wanted all the believers to hear: "Your Highness, my senior brother had a conflict with you at Qiandao Lake earlier, which may have been a misunderstanding."

"However, what you did, senior brother, was for the well-being of countless believers in our Buddhist sect, for the peace of all living beings, and to prevent the reappearance of the ancient forbidden power and its devastation to the world!"

"Your Highness possesses the legacy of the Thunder God, and the secrets within are likely not all known to Your Highness."

As he spoke, he observed Li Xijun's expression. Seeing that the other's eyes flickered slightly, as if he was touched by the "secrets of the Thunder God's inheritance," he felt somewhat reassured and continued, "The past is gone, and my senior brother is now gone too—I hope Your Highness will have mercy and forgive others when you can."

"Our Vajra Temple has stood for a thousand years, with millions of believers, all of whom are devout Buddhist men and women, innocent people. Your Highness is now the Crown Prince overseeing the country, the future ruler. You should have a benevolent heart. How can you vent your anger on thousands of lives because of the mistake of one person?"

He paused, then turned to gesture to Li Tianxiong, who had quietly risen into the air and was now standing behind him, still looking meek and submissive. His tone carried a hint of threat and pleading: "Besides, although Your Highness is strong, our temple is not without its own strength. This humble monk is also a seventh-level cultivator."

"Furthermore, this senior brother Kuchen has sincerely converted to Buddhism and is a grandmaster of the Nine Heavens."

"If Your Highness insists on war, this sacred mountain, this pure land of Buddhism, will inevitably be plunged into carnage, with rivers of blood flowing. Countless innocent believers will perish as a result. How can Your Highness bear to do this? What good will it do for the fate of the Great Xia? We urge Your Highness to reconsider!"

His words, seemingly a plea, actually implied moral blackmail, a display of power, and the use of innocent believers as hostages—a truly cunning move.

As Li Xijun listened, a cold smile appeared on her face.

The inheritance of the Thunder God may indeed have some secrets, and the Buddhist sect's fear is not unfounded. He had already sensed this when he comprehended that destructive thunder.

But this is by no means a reason for the other side to surround and kill him, nor is it an excuse to beg for mercy at this moment.

"The abbot is certainly eloquent."

Li Xijun's voice was calm, yet carried a chilling edge, "However, those who kill will always be killed. Since you intend to kill me, you should be prepared to be killed by me. As for the innocent believers—"

His gaze swept across the terrified crowd below, a fleeting hint of pity flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a resolute expression.

With a slight thought, the Night Emperor Sword Embryo silently appeared in his palm. He began to calculate how to deal with the two people in front of him as quickly as possible with the smallest impact, especially the seemingly low-key but actually interconnected aura of the Ninth Heaven old monk who seemed ready to explode at any moment.

However, just as Li Xijun's murderous intent was about to arise, a sudden change occurred!

"Hey! Master, why waste your breath on this arrogant brat! Look at him, so young and callous, how dare he talk about benevolence and national destiny?"

A rough, hoarse shout suddenly rang out from behind Fa Nan.

Suddenly, Li Tianxiong, who had been meek and obedient like an old servant, launched an attack without warning!

His hunched figure straightened instantly, and a thick, viscous aura of bloodlust, exuding a pungent stench and a terrifying corrosive quality, erupted from his withered palms.

The blood demons were not scattered, but highly condensed, faintly forming two illusory blood rivers.

Even more terrifying was that the blurry Blood River Dharma Image behind him, composed of countless wailing blood shadows, and the blood-red primordial spirit condensed between his brows, actually completed the initial fusion in an instant. Although it was not a perfect half-step Dharma Body cultivation, it forcibly added the power of the Dharma Image and the primordial spirit to his palms in a way that was almost "burning"!

This sudden outburst was swift, precise, and powerful! It came without warning, showcasing the accumulated skill and precise control of power of a Grandmaster of the Ninth Heaven over hundreds of years!

"Bitter dust! No—" Fa Nan was greatly alarmed.

He never intended to actually fight; he just wanted to bluff and force Li Xijun to back down. Li Tianxiong's sudden outburst was completely unexpected!

He turned around hastily, trying to stop him.

But it was too late.

Those two bloodthirsty claws, which combined Li Tianxiong's lifelong skills and a sudden burst of power, were not aimed at Li Xijun in the air, but at Fa Nan, who was right next to him!

"Pfft—!"

A blood claw, at an eerie angle, ignored the protective Buddhist light that Fa Nan had hastily erected, and like a red-hot iron inserted into butter, easily pierced Fa Nan's throat.