"What sound was that?"
Hu Sansheng and Liao Yifan asked in shock.
But no one answered them.
The chanting continued, lingering in their ears.
In a daze, they seemed to have entered a Buddhist realm, both real and illusory.
Inside, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Vajras, Arhats, and others sat in order, their divine forms solemn and majestic, their Buddhist light illuminating the heavens.
In the distance, auspicious signs vaguely appeared in the clouds, and intricate patterns crisscrossed, as if forming the very fabric of heaven and earth.
Upon closer inspection, these patterns appeared identical to the cracks on the Golden Jade Robe!
The two seemed to have entered the illusory world of the Golden Jade Robe!
However, the scene that Ying Chen witnessed was different from what Hu Sansheng and Liao Yifan saw.
Before Ying Chen's eyes, there was no Buddhist realm, but a temple.
The temple's age was unknown, only the plaque above the gate bore three characters – Da Yan Temple.
Inside the temple, a group of monks were not chanting scriptures or performing rituals, nor were they engaged in cultivation. Instead, they were practicing martial arts in the courtyard, armed with various swords, spears, sabers, and halberds.
A white-browed old monk stood quietly to the side, watching the monks train.
He murmured to himself, "After I pass away, the demon Mara, Poxun, will gradually corrupt my true Dharma."
"Even impersonating monks and nuns and Arhats, they will claim to possess the unconditioned while being conditioned, thus corrupting my true Dharma."
He was recounting the story of Mara Poxun.
The Buddha had prophesied at the time of his passing that King Mara Poxun would emerge after his death to disrupt his teachings. He warned his disciples not to be deceived and to protect the Dharma when necessary.
This was also the origin of some temples maintaining monastic soldiers or martial monks.
Protecting the Dharma.
However, most temples would only maintain a small number of monastic soldiers, with the majority remaining as genuine monks.
But Da Yan Temple seemed to be the opposite.
Almost everyone inside was a monastic soldier, with only a few being genuine monks who observed vegetarianism and chanted Buddhist prayers.
The white-browed old monk turned his gaze towards the mountain gate.
As if seeing something, he murmured, "Soon, soon. They will be here."
"It will soon be our time to uphold the Dharma and protect it!"
"But the enemy boasts countless masters and their demonic might is boundless. How can we possibly resist with mere staffs and discipline knives?"
"I wonder to what extent the Da Yan Dharma Robe has been refined. Will it emerge before Mara arrives?"
The white-browed monk slowly shook his head, his brow furrowed with worry.
A moment later, the sounds of fierce fighting erupted.
Simultaneously, a wave of bloody miasma surged into the mountain gate.
The enemies the white-browed monk had spoken of had finally arrived!
These enemies were clearly well-trained, with many among them being Xuanmen masters.
The magical artifacts in each person's hand were of high quality and possessed formidable destructive power.
The two sides were clearly mortal enemies, and upon meeting, there was no exchange of words.
They immediately engaged in combat.
Blood splattered everywhere, and heads fell mercilessly.
Although the monastic soldiers of Da Yan Temple fought bravely with their conviction, they were no match for the enemy's Xuanmen secret arts.
Especially when the enemy set up a grand formation, where the blood of all the fallen transformed into energy for the formation, sustaining its operation.
This allowed the formation to run endlessly, never ceasing.
Soon, the monastic soldiers of Da Yan Temple were annihilated. The last monastic soldier, wielding his discipline knife, stood before the white-browed monk and, with his last breath, killed an enemy, shouting, "Abbot, escape quickly!"
"If you do not perish, then the true Dharma will not perish!"
"If the true Dharma does not perish, then Buddhism will not perish!"
"Go!"
But the white-browed monk remained unmoved. Instead, he gently supported the monastic soldier and shook his head, saying, "It is too late."
"If I were to flee today, it would be the time for the true Dharma to be extinguished."
"Only by staying, and by sacrificing my life, can I ensure the continuation of the true Dharma for all eternity!"
The monastic soldier looked at the white-browed monk with shock and confusion.
He did not understand, at such a juncture, why the abbot still had the confidence to speak like this.
The next moment, he understood.
For he saw the abbot suddenly press his palms together, chant a Buddhist name, and then stomp his foot on the ground!
Rumble!
A deafening sound erupted from the temple's backyard, and simultaneously, an item that seemed like gold and jade, resembling both a kasaya and armor, shot through the air!
It instantly arrived before the white-browed monk and put itself on him!
"Da Yan Dharma Robe!"
"It's actually the Da Yan Dharma Robe, finally forged!"
"Da Yan Temple is saved, the true Dharma is saved!"
The monastic soldier was overjoyed.
But the white-browed monk showed no expression.
After donning the Dharma Robe, his aura changed drastically.
From the decrepit old man he was, he became as powerful as a dragon!
He took a small step forward.
Though it was a mere step, it unleashed terrifying pressure!
The immense pressure caused the magical artifacts of the Xuanmen sorcerers present to explode!
The Xuanmen formation, specifically designed to counter the monastic soldiers, also instantly faltered.
"Break!"
The white-browed monk raised his hand and unleashed a punch.
The punch was simple, but its consequences were astonishing!
The Xuanmen formation instantly began to operate in reverse at high speed. Within a few breaths, like a waterwheel unable to withstand water pressure, it exploded with a bang!
Upon witnessing this, the enemies of Da Yan Temple turned ashen.
They retreated two steps.
Only the leading Xuanmen master sneered, "I didn't expect you to actually forge this martial dao saintly armor."
"But you have your saintly armor in the martial dao, do we in the Xuanmen not?"
As he spoke, the leading Xuanmen master's figure flickered, and a set of magical armor appeared on his body!
Without another word, he lunged towards the white-browed monk!
The white-browed monk's expression shifted slightly: "Heavenly Mechanism Slaughtering God Armor? So you have indeed colluded with the imperial court and conspired together! Otherwise, this armor specifically designed to counter martial dao experts would not have fallen into your hands!"
Then, the white-browed monk took a deep breath, his fist intent and aura surging once more.
Like a dragon, like a tiger, like a mountain, like a peak.
His eyes seemed to carry the might of a thousand thunders. He advanced, striking with his fist, and instantly clashed fiercely with the leading Xuanmen master!
It was unclear how long this battle lasted.
It continued from day to night, from the scorching sun to the rising new moon, before a victor emerged.
Ultimately, the white-browed monk proved superior, or perhaps, more fearless of death. With the conviction of exchanging his life for another, he managed to close the distance to the Xuanmen master, shattered the Heavenly Mechanism Slaughtering God Armor on his opponent's body with a single punch, and crushed the Xuanmen master's heart.
The white-browed monk, however, was also struck by the Xuanmen master and was left with only a breath of life.
The white-browed monk looked at his slowly falling opponent, struggled to raise his hands, and slowly pressed them together: "I have won."
"The true Dharma endures."
The Xuanmen master looked at the white-browed monk with a mocking gaze, as if to say: Your Da Yan Temple, from top to bottom, has no one left alive. How dare you claim the true Dharma endures?
The white-browed monk smiled faintly: "Though the people are gone, the Dharma remains. One day, the Da Yan Dharma Robe will find a new inheritor for our temple."
With that, the white-browed monk chanted a Buddhist name and sat cross-legged on the ground.
He closed his eyes and passed away.