Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

“Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed the abyss of worldly suffering! Repent and be absolved of your crimes! Lord Buddha said everyone has the potential to become Buddha. Everyone struggles between good and evil, all changing with a thought. If one’s heart is for Buddhist, one can become a Buddha with a thought!”

Suddenly, an endless Buddhist exhortation resounded over the ocean. It spoke of benevolence and sorrow, commanding others to convert, to repent and become Buddhas.

When the Buddhist exhortation entered Xiao Chen’s ears, a seed appeared in Xiao Chen’s heart.

All the evil things that Xiao Chen had done in his life turned into obsessive thoughts in his mind, inflicting extreme pain.

This seed became an old amiable-looking monk, who sat in the middle of a lotus flower and materialized a world where everyone was happy. Joy filled the place and Buddhist lights shone. There was no pain or suffering.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen’s heart was startled. This Buddhist extortion was trying to cleanse him, to convert him into a mindless disciple. If he really listened to it, everything from his past would disappear; he would lose his sense of self. This was even more horrifying than death.

The purple Lightning Talisman above his head quickly reentered his sea of consciousness and crushed all those evil thoughts and that planted seed.

“Huang dang!”

After losing the protection of the will of thunder, Xiao Chen felt the world spinning like he was falling from a tall mountain. When his footing stabilized, he found himself standing on Qing Cheng’s Specter Boat.

“Xiao Chen, why are you here?!” Qing Cheng asked with some shock. There was an unexpected trace of pleasant surprise in her voice.

Xiao Chen smiled helplessly. Now, he was probably the same as Qing Cheng, his body shrunken multiple times smaller.

At this moment, the Buddhist exhortation was still ringing. Even if he brought out the will of thunder again, he would not be able to leave. So, he could only explain the situation to Qing Cheng while waiting for an opportunity to leave.

When Qing Cheng heard what Xiao Chen said, her face drained of color despite herself. It turned out that all she had done earlier was to move in place. There was no way to cross this sea of bitterness.

Qing Cheng said in a cold voice, “This Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva is playing a good trick. He stayed in this land of reincarnation and blocked off the road to hope. He is really no different from those opportunistic bandits.”

Xiao Chen thought about it and agreed. Since hell already broke, all the evil spirits in hell naturally hoped to reincarnate and become human again.

However, this fellow chose to stopper up this place, making it impossible to cross this sea of bitterness. At the same time, he took the opportunity to give Buddhist exhortations to cleanse the masses and gain a following.

This fellow glorified this by swearing not to become a Buddha until hell was empty.

“It’s not a problem. When the Buddhist exhortation ends, I’ll bring you out,” Xiao Chen said calmly.

Qing Cheng shook her head resolutely. “You go. I’m not returning. I must see the broken paths of reincarnation for myself. Otherwise, I will not give up hope.”

Something occurred to Xiao Chen, and his expression changed. “You’re thinking of using reincarnation to revive someone, right? The six paths are already broken. Reincarnation no longer exists. This is impossible.”

Qing Cheng countered with a question, “Have you seen it personally? Since you have not, that means that there is hope. As long as there is a strand of hope, I will not give up.”

Xiao Chen said calmly, “I only believe in my current life, not the next life. Even if I saw it for myself, I would not believe.”

“Bang!”

Suddenly, a resplendent saber light appeared, illuminating this black-and-white world with color. That saber light froze for an instant as if it transcended time and space, leaving them behind.

The Buddhist exhortation instantly vanished. The evil spirits and withered bones struggling in the sea of bitterness turned quiet immediately; their howling stopped.

The saber light streaked by, passing the headless Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s blockade in an instant. The world turned back to black and white.

“What is this saber light? How come the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s might cannot block it? It easily pierced through,” Xiao Chen muttered to himself. He felt excited, but he could not understand what was happening.

Qing Cheng said, “That was probably a saber light left behind by the Azure Emperor ten thousand years ago. It was the Azure Emperor who chopped the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s head off! This here is hope. If the six paths no longer existed, why would the Azure Emperor have spent so much effort to fight this Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva?”

A saber strike from ten thousand years ago can light up the entire place?

Now that the Buddhist exhortation had ended, Xiao Chen wanted to leave. After he sent out the will of thunder that contained his Great Perfection saber soul, he could leave the sea of bitterness. There was no need to continue struggling here.

However, the sight of that breathtaking saber light flashing by had convinced him that the Azure Emperor chopped off the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s head.

Xiao Chen’s heart wavered. Although there were some things he did not want to think about, it did not mean that he did not want to know the answer.

“What’s wrong? The Buddhist exhortation is already gone. Are you not leaving?” Qing Cheng asked with a smile.

Xiao Chen replied calmly, “I’m not leaving now; you won’t go, either. Wait for a while. I will bring you past this headless monk.”

Qing Cheng’s eyes lit up. “You have a way?”

“Just wait.” Xiao Chen did not give her an answer. He sat cross-legged at the boat’s bow. Then, he quietly cultivated, waiting for that strand of saber light to come again.

Earlier when that strand of saber light flashed by, the Azure Dragon Medallion in the Universe Ring became agitated. If the situation was as he guessed, he might find his answer when the saber light came again.

When Qing Cheng saw what Xiao Chen was doing, she could only sit helplessly beside him. Then, she took out a green pearl and stared at it distractedly.

Inside this clear pearl was a soul that maintained its ability to move.

Although Ghost Race cultivators could collect the souls of the dead, they did not have the ability to revive someone. They could only refine these souls into various combat-type spirits. Furthermore, after these souls became spirits, they would not be the original soul; they would not have any intelligence or memories.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and asked Qing Cheng as he looked at her, “Who is this person? The person you want to revive?”

Qing Cheng revealed a reminiscent expression on her beautiful face. “This is my mother. She died when I was only six. My master kept her soul after she died. However, Master could not save her.

“I have long since wanted to come to the Yellow Springs Road. However, I could never resolve myself to do it. I kept finding excuses for myself, saying that the Last Breath Lake was too dangerous and I should go when I’m stronger.

“Haha! Actually, I knew. I was just afraid of having my final hopes dashed. I did not dare to face the truth. If you had not gone to the Yellow Springs Road, who knows when I would be able to take this step? There are some things that I have to see for myself before I can set my heart at ease.”

Xiao Chen could hear some sorrow in Qing Cheng’s tone. The other party also knew that after they crossed this sea of bitterness, an even more sorrowful end awaited.

However, as she said, there were some things that one had to see for themself before one could be at ease.

“Three Life Stone, Paramita Flower, and Soul Returning Grass. By collecting all these, are you trying to recover an Item Spirit?” Qing Cheng changed the topic, asking Xiao Chen another question.

At Xiao Chen’s slightly surprised expression, Qing Cheng smiled and said, “It is not strange. This secret technique came from my Ghost Race. Too bad it is not useful for living beings.

“However, based on your expression, you aren’t very happy. Didn’t you already collect all three items?”

Xiao Chen had not expected Qing Cheng to be so observant. He answered honestly, “I missed the timing. Unfortunately, the Yellow Springs Road took three months.”

Originally, he had planned to collect the three items and return within three months. That way, he would make it to the competition for the saber school ranking with time to spare. After that, he would obtain the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal and revive Ao Jiao.

Then in another two months, it would be the King conferral ceremony. Xiao Chen had everything planned out.

However, who would have imagined that just the Yellow Springs Road would take three months. Furthermore, he took one month to get there. The saber school ranking competition would definitely have started by now.

Xiao Chen would have no way to obtain the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal. He did not know what to say to Situ Leihong when they next met.

Qing Cheng said, “It looks like you are indeed in some trouble. Situ Leihong is not an easy person to negotiate with. He does not show any face even to Sovereign Martial Emperors.”

Xiao Chen did not feel confident of convincing Situ Leihong. He could only ask the Sect Master to intervene personally.

“Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed the abyss of worldly suffering…”

The Buddhist exhortation resounded once again. The many Skeleton Phantoms in the sea of bitterness struggled and howled in pain.

However, Xiao Chen, who was on the Specter Boat, had waited a long time for this to happen. As he resisted the torture of the Buddhist exhortation, he waited quietly in anticipation.

He was not disappointed. The saber light that lit up the entire place appeared again and shattered the Buddhist exhortation, turning this black-and-white world colorful once more.

Again, the Azure Dragon Medallion trembled intensely in the Universe Ring. Without saying a word, Xiao Chen summoned out the Azure Dragon Medallion with a flip of his hand.

“Whoosh!”

Xiao Chen and Qing Cheng saw an intense light moving towards them and closed their eyes at the same time. When they opened their eyes, they were shocked to discover that the saber light was no longer there. Furthermore, the Azure Dragon Medallion had turned into a dazzling multicolored light.

This radiance splashed color on their surroundings for one hundred meters. This vivid area looked inharmonious with the black-and-white world above the black ocean.

Unexpectedly, the Azure Dragon Medallion had absorbed the saber light that had existed for ten thousand years.

At the same time, Qing Cheng was somewhat shocked to discover that the Skeleton Phantoms beside the Specter Boat that had previously been the same size as them were now as small as ants.

Now, the two’s distance to the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was no longer infinitely far—only five kilometers separated them. They would not take much time to cross this gap.

“Let’s go. I’ll bring you over.”

The Specter Boat carried the two into the air. This distance of five kilometers did not even require five minutes to traverse.

When the two got closer, they discovered blood continuously flowing out of the wound on the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s neck. This sea of bitterness before them was actually made of his blood.

When the two saw this, they could not help their shock; the sight made their hair stand on end.

Once they were past the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s headless corpse, its Magic Might completely vanished. Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and grasped the Azure Dragon Medallion above his head. Then, he revealed a faint smile on his face.

No matter what, this saber light that he had collected unexpectedly was a significant pleasant surprise.

If Xiao Chen met with an opponent that he could not deal with, he could just unleash this saber light. It could even take down a quasi-Emperor.

The place beyond the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was the land with the six paths of reincarnation. The two found six huge broken whirlpools, each representing one path of reincarnation.

From right to left, they were the God Path, Asura Path, Human Path, Animal Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Hell Path.

Xiao Chen released his bated breath. The six paths were very broken; there was no way for reincarnation to happen. The worry in his heart also disappeared.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Qing Cheng walking forward to the whirlpool for the God Path. Then, she tossed in the pearl containing her mother’s soul.

“You… This…” Xiao Chen felt confused.

Seeing the six broken paths of reincarnation did not seem to affect Qing Cheng. She smiled and said, “Consider it a dream. According to legend, if one enters the God Path, they will be reincarnated in the Immortal World and no longer be mortal; they will no longer have to undergo the pain of the six paths of reincarnation.”