So, no room for talk?
Lu Zheng pouted. He said nothing. Instead, he slapped his hand back. The flying cloud evil-breaking curse was already so proficient that it formed in an instant.
“Amitabha!”
Ben Cong clasped his hands. Glazed Buddha light suddenly filled the hall.
Shen Ying waved her hand. Taiyuan profound light spilled out at the same time. It ground down the Buddha light on one side. It rushed to Guangyue’s side on the other. She tried to save him.
Lu Zheng did not interfere with Shen Ying’s side. Instead, he slapped one cloud qi curse after another toward Ben Cong.
The two joined forces. Ben Cong’s Buddha light wavered. But it still did not retreat.
Seeing Lu Zheng descend from the sky, Ben Cong showed no fear. That could only mean his strength was indeed not weak. Earlier, he just wanted to subdue Guangyue. If he truly wanted to kill, Guangyue would have had no power to resist.
But Lu Zheng and Shen Ying were no pushovers either. One cast cloud methods. One displayed profound light. They pressed Ben Cong into the disadvantage.
However, though Ben Cong was weakening, he did not retreat. His chanting voice did not stop. He even had spare energy to continue affecting Guangyue.
Guangyue had refined a glazed demon relic from a high monk of the Great Glazed Temple who had entered the demonic path. He turned it into his luminous relic. That created the connection.
And this monk returned to basics. He wanted to restore the relic to a glazed Buddha relic. Through that connection, he influenced Guangyue. He washed his Great Sun Buddha light into glazed Buddha light. Thus, he drew him from Rizhao Temple to the Great Glazed Temple.
The Buddha sect’s methods for competing over disciples were far more advanced than the Dao sect’s.
And in Lu Zheng’s eyes, the luminous relic above Guangyue’s head had already taken on a layer of pure glazed colour.
Lu Zheng frowned. As the saying goes, all things are hardest at the start. Once this monk got a foothold, the following immersion would be much faster.
“Qingwei Jade Vault, Taiyi Five Thunders, strike!”
This monk stood still. Was he not just a fixed target?
“Qingwei divine thunder? Are you not a disciple of Baiyun Temple?”
Ben Cong’s eyes flashed. A glazed Buddha bead appeared above his head. It blocked Lu Zheng’s Taiyi five thunders curse.
“Our Dao sect shares freely. Unlike your Great Glazed Temple, which is all or nothing.”
“Amitabha. Impure mind, hard to reach the blissful shore.”
“The sea accepts a hundred rivers. Tolerance makes greatness. Model after nature. Refine emptiness and unite with the Dao.”
Lu Zheng patted the gourd. He took out the peachwood sword. He alternated cloud methods and thunder methods. He suppressed the Buddha bead’s Buddha light to within three feet.
On the other side, Shen Ying’s Taiyuan profound light filled the hall. Taking advantage of Lu Zheng’s display of might, she stepped closer to Guangyue bit by bit. But she stuck at the last step. She could not advance an inch.
Ben Cong seemed strained. But he still held on. Not only that, the glazed Buddha light filled the hall. He attacked and defended against Lu Zheng and Shen Ying.
What a monk from the Great Glazed Temple. One against two. Truly formidable.
“Lu lang?” Shen Ying looked to Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed. He had just refined the treasure mirror. Did he need to use it already?
“Amitabha. The Da Jing Dynasty breeds heroes and fertile lands. You two are young, yet your dao is so profound. Truly the elite of the Dao sect.” Ben Cong smiled. “This poor monk does not wish to be enemies with you two. Please wait a moment more. Then we can talk.”
“I will wait for your… Hmm?”
Lu Zheng did not answer. Instead, he looked toward the hall door.
Ben Cong was stunned too. He looked outside.
“Amitabha!”
A resounding Buddha proclamation echoed. Then a big monk with a little monk walked slowly into the hall.
The big monk wore a white monk robe. His figure was tall. His eyes were bright. His face was ruddy. He held a fine steel Zen staff. His lower jaw had a pure white full beard. Each strand was like a thorn, like tiger whiskers.
The little monk looked twelve or thirteen. He was four feet seven tall. He was a little fatty. He wore a grey cloth monk robe. He held a red copper alms bowl a circle larger than his face.
Thunder light flashed in the hall. Buddha light and profound light rose and fell. The pressure was immense. Ordinary people could not approach within ten zhang of the hall.
But these two monks seemed to sense nothing. They just walked in plainly.
Experts!
“I originally wanted to hang my certificate in a fellow Dao temple and beg alms. I did not expect to run into a Buddha-Dao battle. Quite lively.” The big monk looked left and right. Full of curiosity.
Lu Zheng’s hands did not stop. Together with Shen Ying, he avoided the main door. While fighting, he asked, “May I ask master’s dharma name? Do you have ties with Rizhao Temple?”
Ben Cong clasped hands. “Amitabha! Monk, are you from Great Vajra Temple, Tianlong Temple, or Dharma King Temple?”
“Who would think a monk far in the Glazed Buddha Kingdom knows our Central Plains Buddha sects.” The big monk laughed heartily. He stamped his Zen staff. “Great Vajra Temple’s Jue Xuan is here. Monk, you are already struggling. Do you still want this poor monk to act?”
Ben Cong’s eyes flickered. In the end, he could not bear to let his efforts fail. So he said, “Amitabha. Just in time to learn from senior brother.”
“Good! Take this!”
Jue Xuan Master shouted loudly. Then he strode forward. Along the way, whether glazed Buddha light or Taiyuan profound light, all were pushed away a foot from his side.
Jue Xuan’s figure was tall. His steps were big. In a few steps, he reached Ben Cong. He raised the fine steel Zen staff. He struck down on his head.
Ben Cong’s eyes flashed. He moved slightly. But in the end, he dared not take it head-on. The glazed Buddha bead above his head shone with ten thousand Buddha lights. Like soft fingers, it wrapped the Zen staff round and round. It tried to divert it aside.
But… it did not divert!
Ben Cong’s pupils shrank. His figure instantly merged into the Buddha light. He vanished from the spot.
“Hit!”
“Strike!”
“Reveal!”
Jue Xuan’s figure vanished too. Then he struck the staff into empty air.
Lu Zheng and Shen Ying had no qualms about interfering in a Buddha sect duel. A flying cloud evil-breaking curse and a peach blossom煞 as exquisite as jade carving appeared at the same spot at the same time.
“Glazed golden body, dustless and pure!”
A Buddha proclamation rang. Ben Cong instantly showed his form. The glazed Buddha bead above his head vanished. But his body was wrapped in a layer of pure glazed Buddha light. As if he had become a glazed golden body.
Zen staff to the body. Thunder covering the top. Peach blossom piercing the heart. These three attacks. The glazed golden body actually blocked them all.
“Amitabha!”
A Buddha proclamation. All the glazed Buddha light in the room fully receded. It vanished in an instant.
At the same time, Ben Cong’s voice came from outside the hall. “Senior brother’s great strength Vajra method has reached such a realm. Junior brother admires.”
The voice floated and wavered. By the last word, it was faint and inaudible.
Gone?
Was he at his limit? Or was this big monk too strong?
Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed. He raised his palm in salute. “Many thanks to master for your aid.”
“No need. The Western Buddha Kingdom comes to the Central Plains to snatch disciples. Of course, we must drive them out!” Jue Xuan Master waved his hand. His voice boomed.
On the other side, without the glazed Buddha light, the luminous relic finally gradually restored. It turned into a golden shining light bead. Then it fell into Guangyue’s hand.
His eyes opened. Guangyue stood tall. He clasped hands in thanks. “Many thanks to brother Lu, many thanks to madam Shen, many thanks to uncle Jue Xuan!”
