Nightfall

There was no wind, but Eldest Brother’s old cotton robe was fluttering. Eldest Brother looked at the Chief Preaching Monk who sat on the ground with his knees crossed. He was pale, as he looked at the monk in confusion, “Teacher said that you can’t attack.”

The Chief Preaching Monk said serenely, “I did promise the Headmaster many years ago, that unless it was a situation that concerned the end of the world, I would not act. However, the appearance of the Daughter of Yama on Earth would bring the end of the world. Besides, after that, I read scriptures every night, practicing in the voice of Buddha. I did not act, I only spoke.”

Eldest Brother paused when he heard that and shook his head, saying, “Jun Mo was right.”

The Chief Preaching Monk did not understand the Eldest Brother. He placed his hands together and continued reciting the scripture.

Only Ning Que and Qi Mei knew what Eldest Brother meant—all monks should die. Qi Mei’s expression did change, although he did not show that he was angry. He remained silent.

Other than anger, Ning Que felt extremely fearful.

The Chief Preaching Monk could affect the Qi of Heaven and Earth of a large area surrounding White Tower Temple, after reciting several lines of the scripture. Using the voice of Buddha, he made a new world on Earth. The power that he revealed was beyond terrifying.

Ning Que had to admit that the old monk sitting with his knees crossed and holding his staff, was the most powerful cultivator he had ever seen. He was even more powerful than the sword that Liu Bai had sent from the sky toward Lanke Temple.

…

…

The sounds of Buddhist scriptures being chanted rang. The lake waters were stilled. The pagoda light froze.

White Tower Temple seemed to have become a Buddhist country that came from the beginning of time. The Qi of Heaven and Earth grew extremely calm, seemingly having connected with a state above that of the Five States of Haotian Taoism. However, it had a large quelling intent. In a world like that, cultivators could not control the Qi of Heaven and Earth and were not any different from ordinary humans.

Tens and thousands of Yuelun Kingdom citizens did not know what was happening. They could not hear nor see. And even if they had heard, they would not be able to understand. They could only feel that something solemn and marvelous was happening. As such, they all prostrated before the Chief Preaching Monk in awe, not daring to rise.

The Qi of Heaven and Earth gradually calmed. Cultivators could not use their flying swords and the ascetic monks of the Buddhism Sect could not use their skills. However, they could still walk. This was especially so for the ascetic monks who had spent days in the Wilderness, sharpening their spirit and bodies, and for the martial cultivators in the West-Hill Divine Guard. They all retained their skills.

Master Qi Mei led dozens of ascetic monks into the crowd. Two priests in red brought dozens of West-Hill Divine Guards into the crowd and judging by their speed, they would reach Ning Que quickly.

Ning Que slightly twisted his wrist, tightly clutching the hilt of his podao. He frowned slightly as he looked at the crowd surrounding them. Even though the Great Spirit in his body had been suppressed by the Chief Preaching Monk’s voice of Buddha, his physical body was still extremely strong after joining the Devil. He was not afraid of anyone should he have to fight with his physical body.

However, Master Qi Mei had already become Buddha and was a very strong martial warrior. He was not confident of winning in this situation. What made him even more uneasy, was his Eldest Brother and Sangsang’s condition. They were as weak as regular humans. How could he protect them so they would not get hurt?

In the land of Buddhas on Earth, the voice of Buddha rang like distant bells. No matter how powerful Ning Que was, he would not be able to leave the Buddhist country. And no matter how tough he was, he could not help but feel despair.

At this time, Eldest Brother’s voice sounded again.

He had been forced out of the Limitless State by the voice of Buddha. His face was as white as paper, and his slender body was suspended in the air like the willow branches by the lake. However, his face and body were still just as clean, and did not have a speck of dust on them.

He looked at the Chief Preaching Monk, with a steel-like expression clouding his clear eyes. He said softly, “Headmaster once said that if one misses the easy life, one would never become a great person. If Buddha misses the world, he cannot be called Buddha.”

The Eldest Brother spoke slowly and seemed distinguished. His voice was gentle and warm but also was steel-like and determined.

These words were imparted to him many years ago by his teacher. Just like all the other students at the Academy mountain’s back, he had never once questioned them because he felt that what Teacher said definitely made sense.

It made sense, that’s why it worked. This was the matter of course that the Academy sought!

Ning Que did not understand why Eldest Brother would suddenly say these words at this point in time. Master Qi Mei did not either. The ascetic monks and the divine guards who were closing in stopped subconsciously.

Only the Chief Preaching Monk who was wise and experienced enough understood the Eldest Brother’s intentions. He grew stern and looked at Eldest Brother in surprise, releasing the hold on his staff.

If one misses the easy life, one would never become a great person. If Buddha misses the world, he cannot be called Buddha!

A slight change happened in the silent world when Eldest Brother said that. One could vaguely hear the sound of something cracking and breaking.

The White Tower Temple was still the same. Everything seemed ordinary, but something seemed to have broken.

A slight breeze stirred on the lake’s surface. The waters that had seemed frozen began to swirl. The willow branches by the lake looked as if they were lifted by invisible strings. They waved around and began to move for the first time.

The Buddhist world had been broken.

The Chief Preaching Monk’s expression grew complicated. He had not expected Mr. First’s casual words to break the power of his words, and was about to destroy his Buddhist world.

Even though Mr. First of the Academy was a leader in the cultivation world, he was but just the Headmaster’s disciple. How did he manage that? And when had he learned such incredible skills?

As the lake breeze picked up and the willow branches waved, the swirls on the lake waters grew larger. The Chief Preaching Monk’s manner grew more and more solemn. He pointed his right finger at the Eldest Brother and said, stricken, “I heard: There’s a mountain called Praja. It is 18000 times the size of Tianqi Mountain. It stops the wind and shields one from the wind. It can subdue all demons.”

The silent Qi of Heaven and Earth in the White Tower Temple grew violent in seconds. The ordinary person would not be able to see it, but cultivators would be able to sense its rolling that was like that of thick rain clouds. They could sense the terrifying power within, making them grow very frightened and wish to leave.

The violent Qi of Heaven and Earth was suppressed at an unbelievable speed. Then, it changed into a tangible peak that rose up from nowhere. It rushed toward Eldest Brother, almost breaking free from the bindings of the Buddhist’s voice.

The temple remained silent. Yet, Eldest Brother heard the sounds of numerous large rocks crushing his body, and felt as if the weight of a large mountain was on his shoulders.

His body was ordinary. As compared to Jun Mo and Ning Que, his shoulders seemed as if they could not bear much weight. He swayed, and his knees buckled. However, he refused to fall.

There was a puff.

Eldest Brother spat out a mouthful of blood. He stared into the Chief Preaching Monk’s eyes and said in a level voice, “Confucius said that, when people mounted the same carriage, he should not care only for himself. He should not speak hastily and should not point!”

Even when he was saying this in a scolding tone, his voice was still as gentle and drew one to it. It was strongly persuasive and extremely powerful.

When he said the words “care for himself”, the Chief Preaching Monk felt a slight pain in his eyes.

And when Eldest Brother said “not speak hastily”, the monk stopped chanting.

When Eldest Brother said “and should not point”, the Chief Preaching Monk felt as if a large mountain had landed on his fingers. His arms fell, and he could not point at Eldest Brother anymore!

The Chief Preaching Monk grew more and more solemn. His silver eyebrows floated in the air and his lips were slightly pursed. He recited yet another scripture. This time, he chanted very slowly. Each word was like thunder and was extremely harsh.

“I heard, that through samadhi, all the mountains, trees, vegetation and land in Sandilya were turned into seven treasures, the public saw, and listened to the wonderful teachings in front of Buddha.”

“Depending on what you think, you can see yourself as blue, yellow, white, purple, red, black, or as wind, or fire, or emptiness, or heat, water, foam, as mountains, or an emperor, or China, or Garuda, or stars, or elephants, or wild foxes!”

The voice of Buddha thundered in the temple, reverberating in the air. The lake waters rolled uneasily and the willow branches by the shore broke and fell. The White Pagoda began to shine in seven colors.

The tens of thousands of believers who knelt on the floor finally heard the sound. They heard the thunderous sound of Buddha and looked up subconsciously into the sky. However, they did not see any signs of lightning.

Countless streams of Qi of Heaven and Earth came all the way from the lands of the Yuelun Kingdom. They brought dust along with them, breaking branches and startling beasts. It came all the way to Chaoyang City and to the White Tower Temple.

The cloud layer in the sky had shrouded Chaoyang City for the entire winter. This winter, other than the gathering and thickening of the cloud, nothing changed. However, even the strange cloud layer seemed to have sensed the horror behind the Chief Preaching Monk’s voice of Buddha and began to stir uneasily.

The dark clouds rolled and twisted violently. It seemed like thousands of black snakes were twisting and tearing inside. Occasionally, the clouds would be torn apart, exposing gaps for a very short time, allowing sunlight to fall from them. The sunlight would then be scattered by the clouds into numerous colors and distorted into countless shapes.

The colors of light fell into the White Tower Temple. They were green, white, or black. When the people looked at the colors that fell on themselves, they were at a loss. To the cultivators, the light distorting into various shapes was even more terrifying. In their sense of perception, the light had become venerable Buddhists holding Vajras. They had become terrifying Buddhist beasts and water, and fire that rushed towards them!

Ning Que knew that it wasn’t a hallucination, nor the Chief Preaching Monk’s spiritual world. It was the real aura of Heaven and Earth. The Chief Preaching Monk had drawn on his power, forging the aura of Heaven and Earth into the shapes of Buddha!

Blood flowed from the corners of his lips. Ning Que did not have any power to retaliate against the powerful Buddhist power and the sky full of Buddhas. He could only kneel, his face pale and twisted in pain. His Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi seemed as if they would be destroyed the next moment!

Sangsang, whom he was carrying, was in an even more dire situation. When the light rays pierced through the cloud layer and shone on her, her body became layered in black. While her face was pale, it could not hide the inauspicious black color. She began to throw up blood, and like previously at Lanke, she threw up something that was the color of ink!

At that moment inside the White Tower Temple, only the Eldest Brother of the Academy could stand against the Chief Preaching Monk’s voice of Buddha. He naturally became the focus of attack for the Buddha power.

Eldest Brother did not see the myriad of colors, wild foxes, enormous elephants or the cruel floods and fires. He only saw the sky full of Buddhas and stars rushing towards him.

Every ancient mythological king had supreme power. Every Buddha in Buddhism legends had supreme power. Every star is the power of Heaven and Earth with unshakable might.

Eldest Brother’s bones started to crack. Blood began to ooze from the corners of his eyes and his face grew paler and paler. Even his cultivation state was on the verge of collapse.

However, his expression remained calm and firm.

Eldest Brother looked up at the violently rolling dark clouds. He looked at the seven-colored lights falling from the sky, the ancient Buddhas as well as the stars that were pouring like rain. He yelled, “He doesn’t speak. Strange Powers Interfere Deities.”

He doesn’t speak.

The Chief Preaching Monk’s eyebrows lowered. A streak of red suddenly appeared on his wizened face, and the voice of Buddha stopped!

“Strange!”

“Powers!”

“Interfere!”

“Deities!”

Eldest Brother would vomit a mouthful of blood every time he said a word. He vomited blood four times since he said four words!

His face paled dramatically; so much that his face looked like clean snowy grounds no one had ever seen.

After he said that, the cloud layer above Chaoyang City suddenly quietened. The tearing clusters of clouds huddled together in fear. The scattered gaps immediately closed.

There wasn’t a single ray of light that could pass through the layer of clouds to fall onto the ground. The seven-colored rays of light disappeared and the White Tower Temple returned to its original appearance. The enormous elephants and wild foxes forged by Buddha’s power howled and exuded several rays of light before disappearing into the sky. The legendary venerable Buddhists holding Vajras and the kings from mythologies as well as the stars that fell like rain suddenly vanished!

“He doesn’t speak. Strange Powers Interfere Deities.”

The Buddhas all retreated!

The aura of Heaven and Earth that had come from all corners of the Yuelun Kingdom eventually stopped, bringing a strong gust of wind to Chaoyang City. The White Tower Temple had just returned to its original appearance but was darkened beyond comparison in a split second.

The Chief Preaching Monk looked at the figure within the swirling sand who could fall at any second. He looked at the figure’s robes which were soaked in blood. His silver eyebrows floated slightly as he pondered something.

The crowd inside the White Tower Temple looked at the skies in shock. They did not understand what had happened and many rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were hallucinating.

Master Qi Mei and the cultivation powerhouses from the Buddhist and Taoist sects looked at the scholar. They looked surprised; from Qi Mei’s eyes, one could see the respect he had for the scholar.

Everyone knew that the scholar had been heavily injured in order to fight the Chief Monk’s voice of Buddha. However, when he spoke, the sky full of Buddhas disappeared. This was sufficient to shock the world.

Mr. First of the Academy was indeed Mr. First of the Academy.

The Eldest Brother lifted his right arm to wipe the blood off the corners of his lips. He looked at the Chief Preaching Monk but spoke to Ning Que who was behind him, “Teacher said that a gentleman wouldn’t stay on dangerous grounds. If we don’t leave now, when else should we?”

Ning Que looked at his Senior Brother’s back and whipped around, rushing off away from the crowd.

Eldest Brother painfully coughed twice before disappearing once more.

A gust of wind started next to the Chief Preaching Monk.