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

Chapter 441 The Shaolin Tradition, the Book of Changes and the Marrow Cleansing Classic

Among the kneeling monks, one figure stood out as somewhat out of place.

It is indeed the indestructible Venerable King.

He was also kneeling, but his posture seemed to be a bit straighter than the other monks.

He lowered his head, making it impossible to see his expression, but the fierce and violent aura that he once exuded, like a fierce and wrathful tiger, had completely dissipated.

Instead, there was a strange tranquility, even—with an indescribable clarity and twilight.

In the oppressive silence, the Undying King slowly raised his head.

His face remained resolute, and the faint dark gold hue flowing beneath his skin indicated that his cultivation of the "Indestructible Vajra Body" was still intact. However, his eyes, which were once filled with fighting spirit, greed, and fear, had become unusually peaceful, even empty, as if he had seen through the vast world and that everything was in vain.

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it carried clearly through the silence, carrying a tone completely different from before.

In an almost pious tone: "This humble monk congratulates Your Majesty—no, congratulations."

He changed his form of address to "Your Majesty".

"Today, Your Majesty slew an Arhat from beyond the heavens and ascended to the top of the Heavenly Ranking. Your magnificent power overshadows the world. This is truly the mandate of heaven and the hope of the people."

His tone was calm, as if he were stating a perfectly natural fact.

"Now that Your Majesty is the most powerful person in the world, you should inherit the throne as soon as possible, ascend to the throne, and rule the world. Only in this way can you stabilize the hearts of the people and govern the destiny of the eight directions. This is a blessing for all people and also the principle of the cycle of heaven."

These words, spoken by an enemy who not long ago wished Li Xijun dead and was burdened with a blood feud, seemed so bizarre, so illogical.

Even Li Xijun raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

His gaze was piercing, fixed on the Undying Venerable King, as if trying to see through him inside and out. He spoke slowly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "Your attitude has surprised me somewhat."

"As far as I know, the Vajra Temple lineage has always emphasized 'force' over 'care.' Their martial arts are domineering and brutal, but they treat Buddhist teachings and Zen principles with utter indifference—it's simply the prevailing atmosphere."

"You, in the past, relied on your indestructible golden body and were arrogant and unruly. You didn't even take the Dharma Master seriously. After being arrogant for a long time, you were plagued by the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance, like a carbuncle that is attached to your bones."

Li Xijun paused, a hint of amusement in his voice: "What? In less than half an hour, witnessing Kong's demise, you were so frightened that you instantly became a Buddha, saw through the illusions of the world, and even let go of life-and-death grudges?"

Faced with Li Xijun's almost sarcastic question, the Unevil King showed no shame or anger, but instead a bitter smile that seemed almost pitiful.

He kowtowed deeply once more, his forehead touching the ground, his voice carrying a deep sense of weariness and vicissitude: "Your Majesty is wise."

"This humble monk—, for the past few decades, has indeed been as Your Majesty said. I was obsessed with the boundless power brought by the Vajra Indestructible Body, believing myself to be indestructible and therefore able to act with impunity. I was arrogant towards everyone, had no Buddha in my heart, only focused on strength and weakness, gain and loss. I coveted even greater power, was angered by others' offenses, and was obsessed with my own fame—I had long been deeply entrenched in inner demons, and was unaware of my own hideous appearance."

"Today, I witnessed with my own eyes the Arhat Venerable—his body and soul perished."

His body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from a deeper sense of dread.

"In that instant, the extreme fear and despair were like ice water poured over my head, extinguishing the last trace of hope and delusion in my heart. Between life and death, there is great terror, but also great enlightenment."

"This humble monk suddenly realized how laughable and insignificant all the past struggles, rivalries, and feuds were before true 'annihilation' and 'nothingness.' Like the agitation of a single grain of dust among the sands of the Ganges, it is utterly meaningless to the universe."

"This body and this life shall end today. Only in this desperate situation can this heart and this thought find a sliver of peace."

As he spoke, the aura of "Nirvana" emanating from him grew even stronger!

It is neither an injury nor the dissipation of one's power, but a voluntary, peaceful passing away towards the end of life.

The dark golden luster of his indestructible golden body faded rapidly, like embers after a fire had burned out, and turned ashen.

The abundant vital energy begins to recede and subside, and the vigorous vitality dissipates like the receding tide.

Even the fluctuations in his soul were weakening and calming at a visible speed, like an oil lamp calmly waiting for the last moment when the oil runs out.

Even more astonishingly, in this state of "self-destruction of life," his expression became increasingly peaceful and serene, even faintly revealing a clear and precious light that only a high-ranking Buddhist monk would possess before his passing.

It was as if they had truly glimpsed something on the edge of life and death.

Trembling, he took out two ancient books from his bosom—neither gold nor jade, but shimmering with a faint Buddhist light, clearly extraordinary—and held them high above his head, presenting them to Li Xijun.

"These two items are, one is the essence of the practice of the Tathagata Palm and the method of activating Buddhist power, and the other is the complete true transmission of the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing. Together with the Vajra Indestructible Body that I practice, they all originate from the core mysteries of the Bodhi seed, the supreme sacred object of Buddhism, and point directly to the fundamental path of Buddhism."

"Today, on behalf of Shaolin—no, on behalf of the fallen Arhats, and on behalf of the remaining monks of this ancient temple, I hereby offer these two scriptures, along with all the land deeds, gold and silver stored in the treasury, Buddhist implements and scriptures, and even the entire Sutra Repository under the name of Shaolin Temple, to Your Majesty."

He bowed deeply again, his voice broken and weak, yet he still tried to speak clearly: "All the faults lie with this humble monk and the deceased Arhat—most of the ordinary monks in the temple are devout believers, either seeking the Dharma or seeking refuge from the world—"

"We implore Your Majesty—to remember Heaven's benevolence and compassion—to grant Shaolin—a glimmer of hope—a path—"

Before he could finish speaking, his hands, which were holding the book, fell limply to his sides, and his head slowly bowed down. The last bit of life in his body completely dissipated, leaving only his body, which quickly lost its luster and became like a gray rock, in a kneeling and devoted posture.

The Undying Venerable King, in this very place, extinguished his life force, his mind went extinguished, and he died in "Nirvana"!

This scene, filled with a complex mix of tragedy, sacrifice, repentance, and redemption, deeply moved many unsuspecting bystanders, evoking a sense of awe and pity.

However, a "ha"

A clear, cold laugh shattered the somber atmosphere.

Li Xijun gazed at the lifeless "corpse" of the Undying Venerable King, then glanced at the Shaolin monks kneeling before him, silent as cicadas in fear. His eyes showed no emotion whatsoever, but were instead filled with icy mockery.

"Good tactic."

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, yet it sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Using his own death as a pretext, he created a tragic atmosphere, offered up precious treasures to gain sympathy, and took all the blame upon himself and the dead, attempting to preserve a sliver of Shaolin's lineage.

"Before you died, you truly mastered the Vajra Indestructible Body Technique to a peculiar level of 'extreme hardness giving rise to softness,' and 'strength entering the heart,' putting on quite a show. The Shaolin Temple's thousand-year heritage has produced monks whose ability to manipulate people's hearts only increased, not decreased, in this life-or-death situation."

The chill in his words caused the kneeling abbots of the Disciplinary Hall and the Arhat Hall to stiffen almost imperceptibly.

"What can I do?"

Li Xijun's tone suddenly turned fierce, and a murderous intent flashed in her eyes: "When you tried to kill me back then, when Liaokong attacked from afar—did you ever think of giving me, Li Xijun, a way out?!"

"Buzz!"

The moment the words fell, several Grandmasters from the Disciplinary Hall and Arhat Hall, whose bodies had stiffened slightly and whose auras had fluctuated, along with a dozen other Grandmaster-level martial monks whose eyes had flickered with a hint of death or resentment, did not even utter a scream before the space around them suddenly collapsed and twisted inward, forming a miniature original dark hole!

The next moment, they, along with their monks' robes and ritual implements, were wiped away as if by an invisible eraser, silently turning into the finest dust and disappearing completely from the world, leaving not even a trace of blood.

Decisive, efficient, and ruthless.

The remaining Shaolin monks were terrified, their last shred of hope and courage vanished, leaving only boundless fear and despair. They prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to even tremble.

Li Xijun no longer looked at the "deceased" body of the Undying Venerable King. His cold gaze swept over the remaining monks, as if the Heavenly Emperor were proclaiming: "Shaolin Temple, all martial artists at the Outer Realm and above have committed grave sins. Today, they will all be executed as an example to others."

"The rest of the monks who are at the Qi Accumulation and Qi Opening stages will have their core Shaolin martial arts cultivation abolished, leaving only the foundation for physical fitness. They will be expelled from Mount Song immediately and exiled to the western regions, the northern deserts, the southern border, and the eastern seas, to cultivate wasteland and guard the frontier. They may not return without orders, nor may they return without merit!"

"All of Shaolin Temple's assets, including its halls, fields, shops, storehouses, ritual implements, and scriptures—"

Everything, in its entirety, shall be confiscated and returned to the Great Xia treasury!

"From this day forward, this ancient temple, with its thousand-year history, is closed to the public; it is no more, a Buddhist ancestral home!"

After the verdict was announced, a deathly silence fell over the area in front of the mountain gate, broken only by the mournful sound of the wind rustling through the pines.

Those low-ranking monks who had survived by sheer luck, though facing a bleak future and destined to become criminals, had at least saved their lives. At this moment, they felt a sense of exhaustion and bewilderment, as if they had survived a catastrophe.

Led by several surviving elders, they once again kowtowed in Li Xijun's direction, their voices choked and trembling, yet they shouted in perfect unison, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity and mercy!"

"We, the sinful monks—kowtow in gratitude to Your Majesty for sparing our lives!"

The call echoed at the foot of Mount Song.

The Shaolin Temple, a thousand-year-old Buddhist sect and the pinnacle of Buddhism, collapsed on this day, with the death of its Dharma body, the demise of its leaders, the confiscation of its assets, and the exile of its disciples—becoming history.

Li Xijun didn't linger. He turned around, took a step, and his figure disappeared into the darkness.

All that remains is a desolate ruin, and a Songshan Mountain that has been completely rewritten and is no longer known for its Shaolin prestige.

The true number one in the world, in the most ruthless way, completed his revenge and established his authority.

From this day forward, the name of Star Lord Li Xijun will not only signify the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking, but also the supreme authority that those who obey will not necessarily prosper, and those who defy will surely perish!