A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 649 The Dual Bodies of Dharma and Reward, Immovable as a Mountain

After Shenjia Daojun was defeated, Guan Luoyang took over the position of patriarch of the Immortal Spirit Clan.

The position of clan leader is not merely a verbal handover; rather, the former clan leader transfers the clan's fortune to the new clan leader, who then imbues the new clan leader with their own thoughts and intentions, thereby influencing the clan's destiny to a certain extent.

The clan leader is responsible for managing and protecting the clan's fortune, and the fortune of the Immortal Spirit Clan will also bless the clan leader.

The Immortal Spirit Clan is, after all, a powerful force capable of dominating a region. The blessing of such a great clan will bring about extremely obvious changes in the strength of those below the level of Emperor, and their supernatural powers will increase significantly.

For those at the level of Emperor or even Saint Lord, it can also increase the probability of enlightenment, and is more conducive to breakthroughs, treasure refining, and so on.

However, for Guan Luoyang, who was at the mid-level of the Heavenly Venerable realm, this blessing had little effect; it was better than nothing.

What interested Guan Luoyang even more was the path of cultivation through Jia.

Mu Feng Tianzun and Shan Long Zushi have all returned to their respective territories, mobilizing the power of the various holy lands to try to make the connection between the myriad worlds grow stronger and more prominent.

Guan Luoyang didn't spend much energy on this aspect. He simply conveyed and copied the experience of the human race on a regular basis, so that the holy lords of the immortal race could learn from it.

However, he and the Divine Armor Dao Lord focused their attention on the Eternal Calamity Divine Flame.

Like the sacred land where countless dragon veins intertwine, at its center lies a deep pool and an ancient pine tree.

Above the deep pool floated the Eternal Divine Fire, its emerald green flames expanding to the size of a mountain, churning endlessly.

After a long while, two tattered suits of armor flew out.

Guan Luoyang and Shenjia Daojun, who were sitting cross-legged on the clouds, opened their eyes at this moment and withdrew their thoughts from within the armor.

"As expected, by combining your Armor-Borrowing Cultivation with my Vacuum Heavenly Demon Path, we can greatly reduce the burden on the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire, allowing us to comprehend the traces of those great supernatural beings from ancient times."

Guan Luoyang slowly exhaled, feeling refreshed and exhilarated. "It's like reliving the peak battlefields of countless ancient calamities—truly thrilling and exhilarating!"

The Divine Armor Daoist's eyes were still somewhat hazy and confused, as if he was savoring the memory. After a long while, he suddenly shuddered and said with a heavy heart, "These supreme beings who could possibly quell the great calamity are fighting to the death. Under normal circumstances, how could we possibly see them?"

"Using the Eternal Divine Fire for alchemy and weapon crafting is a terrible waste. Only through such a method of comprehension can one see the true nature of this supreme treasure."

Guan Luoyang laughed and said, "They are not the Vacuum Heavenly Demons, and they didn't have my help. The fact that they could apply their skills in alchemy and weapon crafting to that extent has already broadened my horizons. Don't be biased towards one over the other."

"These armors of mine, though not the Holy Lord's armor, are still magical artifacts that I personally crafted and that have been nurtured by our great magical power. Yet, they are used as a medium to comprehend the Eternal Divine Fire, and they still break down so quickly."

With a wave of his hand, the Divine Armor Daoist Lord caused the surrounding dragon vein mountains to split open, revealing a cave that swallowed the two tattered suits of armor and slowly nurtured them.

Recently, the number of damaged armor sets like these has reached one thousand.

"Unfortunately, upon closer examination, the one most suitable to cooperate with you is not my method of cultivating immortality by borrowing armor, but the Heavenly Demon King of the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm. If they were to assist you in comprehending the Eternal Divine Fire, we probably wouldn't even need to damage our magic treasures."

Guan Luoyang shook his head: "Everything that exists should leave a trace. The fact that our joint efforts to comprehend the Eternal Divine Fire resulted in the magic weapon being damaged and burning within it, in a sense, is actually more in line with the true essence of the Eternal Divine Fire."

"Anything that seems to have a slight regret may be perfect from another perspective, so there's no need to be demanding."

He reached out and pinched the air, pulling out a golden dragon scale. With a slight thought, it formed a letter.

This is a communication method left behind by the Celestial Venerable Mufeng, which allows one to know each other's news even across the boundary sea.

Once the golden dragon scales are introduced into the void, it signifies that the letter has been sent.

"After several adjustments, we are now in the best possible state, and it's time for Fellow Daoist Mufeng and the others to come and comprehend it together."

Guan Luoyang narrowed his eyes, making them appear longer and narrower, and said with a malicious smile, "Observing the connection between the myriad worlds still requires waiting, but the Eternal Divine Flame is already a ripe opportunity."

"If we achieve further breakthroughs in our cultivation, and even more people attain the Heavenly Venerable realm, our accumulated advantages will grow ever stronger. At that time, no matter what the Spirit Mountain or the four departments of the Heavenly Court think, if we all unite, we'll be able to beat them senseless!"

Divine Armor Daoist shook his head slightly: "According to the information you mentioned, Gonggong's escape should have been led by the Buddhist sect. They must have suffered considerable losses, and they also had a fierce battle with the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm. It is true that they need to recuperate."

"However, the four departments of Heaven are powerful, and the state of the Thunder Department is hard to predict. I think a change is imminent, and we cannot afford to be idle for too long."

Guan Luoyang nodded: "The Celestial Venerable Mufeng has already instructed the Holy Masters Fuxi and Yushun to try to contact the Thunder Department to investigate the situation. Fuxi is profound and expansive, while Yushun governs with gentleness. Having the two of them go together is the best way to avoid detection. News should be sent back soon."

As he was speaking, golden dragon scales reappeared from the void.

"Um?"

Guan Luoyang looked somewhat surprised.

Mu Feng Tianzun replied that four of the five great demon kings had received the title of Buddha, and together with the fake Ksitigarbha King and twenty holy masters, they were harassing various holy lands of the human race. They were temporarily unable to concentrate on comprehending the Eternal Divine Fire.

"Five True Buddhas and twenty Holy Lords—could they really cause such great trouble for the current human race?"

When Shenjia Daojun saw the news, although his expression was solemn, he didn't seem too surprised. When Shenjia raised a question, Shenjia Daojun gave an explanation.

Taiqing Chiming is the most profound in the Xuanmen Immortal Path, the most stable in the human race's array formations, and the most ferocious in the Great Wilderness Gods and Demons, but the Buddhist sect has been able to stand firm, which naturally means it has its own unique strengths.

Buddhism is most adept at cultivating various techniques of creating and transforming bodies. As early as the Earth Immortal stage, there were three types of manifestations: Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Manifestation Body.

The Buddhist Dharmakaya refers to the principles behind the practices cultivated by practitioners. Unless one is going all out and fighting to the death, one will not easily reveal it when engaging in magical battles with others.

The "Bai Shen" refers to the result of one's own cultivation, that is, a body formed by the condensation of supernatural powers, magical power, and magical treasures, possessing extraordinary combat strength.

For the most orthodox Buddhist practitioners in ancient times, the fighting power of the Sambhogakaya (body of enlightenment) even surpasses that of their true soul.

However, the Buddhist sect today, having learned from each other over a long period of time, still uses the divine soul as the central body, while the physical body can only serve as an auxiliary.

The last type of manifestation is the most common method of incarnation. It is when one senses someone calling one from a certain place, and then projects one's thoughts and magical power there to form a projection.

If one is truly a pure Buddhist practitioner, after reaching a stage equivalent to an Earth Immortal, one often needs to maintain the state of having three thousand incarnations.

He lives, travels, enlightens beings, and comprehends Buddhist teachings in at least three thousand different forms.

If one cultivates to the level of a Bodhisattva, equivalent to an ordinary emperor, it is said that one can incarnate into countless beings.

If one were to open up a realm of great Dao and condense a pure land of holy land, becoming a great Bodhisattva, the total number of incarnations one maintains on a daily basis would be enough to reach the level of the sands of the Ganges, or even higher, beyond counting.

If these great bodhisattvas could break through to the realm of true Buddha, and combine all their reward and response bodies to the fullest extent, there would be a 90% chance of them condensing an avatar that also possesses the combat power of a true Buddha.

A 90% probability—how terrifying is that?

Guan Luoyang was able to create the clone of the Supreme Master Qingdeng thanks to three treasures: the Primordial Golden List, the Primordial Golden Pill, and the skull of the Great Sun Tathagata.

Especially the skull of the Great Sun Tathagata; a normal nine-star powerhouse would either not die or be completely obliterated.

The Great Sun Tathagata who died at the hands of the Half-God, even though he was completely dead, still managed to leave behind a skull that contained the essence of his true form. This was extremely rare and could be considered a priceless treasure.

Even so, Guan Luoyang felt on the verge of failure several times during the refining process.

Although the initial result was good, if he were to try again now, he would find it hard to say that he would have more than a 30% chance of success.

Moreover, he couldn't find a second piece of the skull of the Great Sun Tathagata.

"No wonder the Buddha of Mount Ling has such great ambitions. Apart from their allies outside the realm, just considering the number of people under this Buddha's command, it seems to be the combat strength of five True Buddhas, but in reality, it is ten True Buddhas. If his Underworld plan succeeds, the number of Holy Lords under his command will far exceed that of other parties."

Guan Luoyang clicked his tongue in amazement and exclaimed, "I've heard that the Buddhist sect and the Heavenly Demon of Taiqing Chiming have been entangled since ancient times. They are almost like two sides of the same coin, with extremely deep karmic ties. They haven't been able to completely stop this entanglement even after so many great calamities."

"Then, those demon kings who have already submitted to Buddhism should also be considered as double?"

The Divine Armor Daoist nodded: "I believe that the Armor-Borrowing Cultivation Technique that I created has some similarities with the Heavenly Demons. Therefore, I once infiltrated the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm to carefully travel and comprehend it. I even found an opportunity to meet with several Heavenly Demon Kings in the Boundary Sea, from which I benefited greatly."

"As far as I know, among the five great demon kings, the one with the most powerful strength has a demonic true body that has already reached the high level of the Heavenly Venerable realm, and the Heavenly Dao clone he has created also has the strength of the mid-level of the Heavenly Venerable realm."

"There are also three Heavenly Demon Kings, whose true forms and avatars are both at the mid-level of Heavenly Venerable. Only one Heavenly Demon King is weaker, with both of his forms at the early-level of Heavenly Venerable."

Guan Luoyang exclaimed in surprise, "After the main body has cultivated to the middle level, the clone can also continue to improve. The methods of the highest level of the Buddhist and Demonic lineages are simply too ingenious."

He is currently at the mid-level of Heavenly Venerable, but without a Supreme Master, and without the blessing of the Netherworld Sect Master's Red Lotus, he has always only had the combat power of a beginner. He has no idea how to effectively raise the realm of this clone.

"Didn't you ever consider that the methods of humans are even more outrageous?"

Shenjia Daojun said, "In the Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm, one must cultivate to the level of Heavenly Venerable or Buddha before one can elevate the strength of their clone to that level."

"But your human race's eight ancient holy lands can directly elevate an ordinary emperor to the level of a mid-level Heavenly Venerable, and they don't have the same shortcomings as ordinary holy lands."

"I can still learn from the cultivation methods of Buddhism and the Heavenly Demons, but I also went to observe the eight ancient holy lands, and I still can't figure out the key to them."

The Divine Armor Daoist sighed with genuine emotion.

"That's true."

Guan Luoyang had also observed the eight ancient holy lands, but hadn't gained any inspiration either. He didn't continue the topic and instead said, "But, if the five Heavenly Demon Kings have such strength, how could they all be subdued? Is the Buddha himself or his allies from beyond the realm too strong? No, that doesn't make sense either. If they really are that strong..."

"Perhaps it's not a matter of strength."

After a moment of contemplation, Shenjia Daojun revealed a look of reminiscence and said, "Those Heavenly Demon Kings are all impulsive individuals. It's unlikely that you can make them submit simply by relying on strength. Otherwise, they would have already submitted to Buddha back then. But if there's something that can pique their interest, they're capable of doing anything."

"After all, Mara died because he was so keen on provoking the Buddha that he forced the Buddha to kill him. In a sense, he had accomplished his life's goal."

Guan Luoyang asked curiously, "You seem to have a deep understanding of the actions of those Heavenly Demon Kings?"

"Among those demon kings back then, one of them became interested in my cultivation method using armor and tried to seduce me."

The Divine Armor Daoist said calmly, "I am not a lecherous person, but she has too many tricks up her sleeve, and I was accidentally taken advantage of by her, so I have some understanding of her character."

The Heavenly Demon Path of Taiqing Chiming is essentially more focused on the demonic path, and specifically the formless demon within the demonic path.

For the formless demon, gender, appearance, and so on are all meaningless matters that can be changed at their root.

However, the fact that the Heavenly Demon King could fall for someone of the Divine Armor Dao Lord's tricks suggests that he must have a truly extraordinary number of methods.

Guan Luoyang laughed and said, "Since there's such a connection, why not try and see if we can persuade her to join our side?"

"Not long after she left me, various relics appeared in the myriad realms. Among them, there were always some things that resembled the embryonic magical treasures crafted by our immortal spirit clan. If anyone took a fancy to those ancient magical treasures, it wouldn't be long before we heard news of that person's personality undergoing a sudden change."

As Shenjia Daojun spoke, he opened his eyelids, his eyes blazing with fierce light, and said with a hint of gritted teeth, "In the business of magic treasures, reputation is of utmost importance. The reputation that our Immortal Spirit Clan has cultivated over hundreds of millions of years was almost completely destroyed during that period."

"Later, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to the task, working with the entire clan, traveling far and wide, and painstakingly researching for a long time before finally finding a way to prevent and treat it. When I think of the losses our entire clan suffered during that period, I feel..."

His teeth were clenched so tightly they were grinding together. Although he didn't finish his sentence, Guan Luoyang already understood.

It was just a joke, but it unexpectedly revealed Shenjia Daojun's sad story.

"Ugh!"

Shenjia Daojun sighed, "Later, I also wanted to break into the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm and fight her, but as the patriarch of the Immortal Spirit Clan, doing such a thing was tantamount to declaring war on both sides. The Heavenly Demon Secret Realm had a large number of people and was far beyond the Immortal Spirit Clan's ability to fight against, so I had no choice but to endure it."

"I see. Hmm, your method of cultivating through armor is because you are the patriarch of the Immortal Spirit Clan and have lived for a long time, which is why you were able to cultivate so many Saint Lord Armor. That Heavenly Demon King who learned your method should not have a large number of Saint Lord Armor available in addition to his true body and clones, right?"

Seeing that he nodded in agreement, Guan Luoyang smiled and said, "Then let's first study the battlefield traces of each kalpa within the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire."

"At that time, we will ask Ancestor Shanlong and the others to come and help guard the Immortal Spirit Holy Land and guard against the four departments of the Heavenly Court. The two of us will go and meet those Heavenly Demon Kings who have been conferred Buddhahood."

The Divine Armor Daoist said, "Aren't we going now?"

"The reason why Lingshan is playing this trick is simply to prevent our newly formed alliance from comprehending the Dao in peace. Even if we go there now, they will definitely retreat at the first opportunity, and we will not be able to achieve effective damage."

Guan Luoyang's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, and he lowered his gaze slightly. "Then let's make as many preparations as possible and see if we can hurt them properly."

"Since you have some understanding of those Heavenly Demon Kings, while we comprehend the Eternal Divine Fire, you should also relay all your understanding to me. We can then use the various traces within the Eternal Divine Fire to temper our minds and all our thoughts, and stimulate our inspiration."

(End of this chapter)