The old monk in red was greatly shocked, his expression filled with surprise. He pointed at the sword in Ji Xiang's hand and said with certainty, "This is the Sword of Wisdom wielded by Manjushri Bodhisattva!"
"No, you possess no Manjushri aura, nor has a Bodhisattva manifested a divine position in you... Where did you obtain this Buddhist sword?"
The old monk's expression shifted several times, finally settling into a ferocious one. "Never mind. If I can kill you today, my Vajra manifestation will also achieve the Manjushri holy position. The previous Manjushri Bodhisattva disappeared from the Dharma Realm many years ago, and the Manjushri divine position has been unknown. It is likely wandering in some Buddha-land. If I hold this sword, with my profound Buddhist dharma, I might be able to summon the Manjushri divine position to reside within me and achieve completion."
The old monk spoke softly to himself. However, at this peak human level, all five senses and divine abilities were already awakened. His soft speech was like shouting directly into Chunyang's ear. Thus, Ji Xiang heard him clearly and sneered, "If you have the ability, come and take it."
Rumble! The Giant God Legion attacked forward in this opening. The Pusa-level intention-body was touched by the Giant Gods and quickly collapsed and was destroyed. Countless divine voices roared in the old monk's mind, like waves crashing one after another without ceasing!
This was the aspirations of the gods impacting his spirit. The intention-body of Buddhism, when subjected to strong mental attacks, would be heavily damaged, preventing the main body from maintaining mental stability, thus causing the intention-body to self-destruct.
"Your Buddhist dharma is not cultivated well enough."
Ji Xiang glanced at him and mocked.
The old monk's lips moved, chanting strange syllables. As these Buddhist syllables spread, his precarious spirit immediately stabilized. Many almost collapsed intention-bodies re-condensed and recovered, engaging in battle with the Giant God Legion.
In an instant, various Buddhist phenomena manifested. The old monk's hands opened wide, and the Dharma form of the White Bone Giant Buddha also opened its hands.
Golden lotuses suddenly bloomed on the mountains and rivers below, and various Buddhist lights streaked across the sky.
"Buddhist light shines everywhere, golden lotuses emerge from the earth."
Bu Yan Che Chen Han was greatly amazed by the Buddhist power displayed by the old monk. This was the first time he had seen the National Preceptor unleash such great magical power. Only Buddhist cultivators who reached the Pusa level could exhibit such phenomena. This Buddhist light descended from various Buddha-lands and Dharma realms, and the golden lotuses from the earth were illusory scenes produced by the touch of Buddhist dharma with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Although illusory, these golden lotuses, as phenomena, could instantly pull those with weak spiritual power into a realm of illusory aspirations. If they could not break free, they would become lambs to the slaughter.
And the myriad Buddhist lights carried various great powers from the Buddha-lands and Dharma realms. Demons and monsters encountered this vast Buddhist light and had almost all their evil thoughts erased in an instant, converting to the Buddha-land and chanting Buddhist scriptures.
All Buddhist dharma is inseparable from aspirations. Legend has it that if aspirations are strong enough, one can even ascend to the Buddha-land in one step and become a Buddha. That is, if people say you are a Buddha, then you are a Buddha!
The Buddhist light enveloped Ji Xiang. The old monk continued to utter strange syllables, attempting to convert Ji Xiang with the unique Buddhist dharma of the Fan monks.
"Bathed in the light of all Buddhas, the Great Black Venerable God protects your body, enabling you to achieve completion."
"Maha Kala."
As the old monk's syllables fell, the Buddhist light before Ji Xiang vanished completely, replaced by an endless night. In reality, this was an illusory realm manifested by the Buddhist light. However, although illusory, it could genuinely harm the enemy, while the enemy found it difficult to break through this illusion. This was one of the highest applications of the art of aspiration.
All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows!
"The guardian deity manifested to subdue strong and stubborn sentient beings, Maha Kala, the Great Black Heavenly God!"
The Fan Buddhist lineage believes that Maha Kala is the wrathful manifestation of Vairocana Buddha, the Great Sun Tathagata, and is the supreme guardian deity universally recognized by all Fan monks, regardless of sect. When the target to be subdued is too powerful, this deity is invoked to descend and manifest, to subdue the "stubborn sentient beings" of the world!
The old monk felt victory was within his grasp.
"Even with the Sword of Wisdom of Manjushri Bodhisattva, it will be difficult to escape. Since you asked me to take this sword, how could I dare to refuse?"
The old monk let out a contented sigh, as if Ji Xiang would soon perish, and this was already a foregone conclusion. With such a tone, he descended from the sky and came before Bu Yan Che Chen Han.
"Legend says that the Sword of Wisdom of Manjushri Bodhisattva can invert reality and illusion. That is why when the Buddha was assassinated, he exclaimed that even if one must kill, it should be with kindness, not with evil."
"But now, I invoke the Great Black Heavenly God with supreme aspiration to subdue this heretical being. The Great Black Heavenly God is both real and illusory. He originates from aspiration, thus illusory, but he can harm people. However, if the Buddhist sword inverts this, he will become real and can also harm people."
"The power of Manjushri Bodhisattva's Buddhist sword cannot break the subtlety of Buddhist dharma, for this is the divine sword wielded by my Buddhist sentient beings. It is laughable for an outsider to hold this sword and wish to kill a Buddhist Vajra."
The old monk shook his head, laughing exaggeratedly. Great Khan Bu Yan, looking at the still rampaging giant gods, asked, "What about these gods?"
"Do not worry. These gods are merely things created by that person using a strange method, with divine positions assisting the essence of mountains and rivers, and the power of wind and thunder. Although I do not know how he created these gods, the essence of mountains and rivers they possess is currently being lost. The giant gods manifested by this method cannot appear in the human world for long."
"When my intention-body has worn down these giant gods, all these divine positions will fall into our hands. Is that not wonderful?"
Upon hearing this, Bu Yan exhaled a breath he had been holding. In short, as long as this old monk had the ability to handle the situation, that was enough. He waved his hand, signaling the remaining royal court warriors to slowly retreat from the valley. After all, in front of these giant gods, the combat power condensed by his own meager troops was simply insufficient.
This was the disadvantage of not having the protection of national destiny. What could one-third of weakened national destiny bring him? The ancient God of War's blessings upon him, the legitimate ruler, did not even reach the peak of the human realm. The blessings received by the common soldiers under his command would be even weaker, perhaps not even reaching the Xiantian, let alone the "Earth Immortal" level.
With a difference of five realms or more, in the eyes of Chunyang, insects and Golden Core Earth Immortals were indistinguishable.
The old monk smiled, his heart filled with even greater excitement.
Manjushri Bodhisattva's precious sword was about to fall into his hands, and the moment of achieving completion was also approaching.
"The National Preceptor also does not seem to be at ease."
Bu Yan saw that the old monk's complexion was far from as good as before. The old monk also admitted his situation was not good.
"That person is also very strong. I had to use the true form of a Buddha and employ such marvelous methods to trap and kill him. However, no matter how many means he possesses, it will be difficult for him to escape the control of the Great Black Heavenly God. That is the supreme guardian built by my Buddha's accumulation of immense aspirations and the integration of the spirits of ten thousand Buddhas..."
"Although the divine position is not high, as long as the Great Yuan can be restored, the Great Black Heavenly God can return to his rightful glory..."
Rumble—!
........
In the dark world, the Great Black Heavenly God had already revealed his complete form.
He had six arms, his body was blue, clad in tiger skin, with a large mala of fifty human skulls around his neck, and wearing five skull crowns. He was entwined with snakes, and his six arms respectively held a moon knife, a human bone bowl, a trident, an elephant hide, a great drum, and a vajra rope. Beneath his feet, he trampled a giant white elephant god, and behind him, fierce flames burned, forming a rotating wheel of fire!
There was also a legend that the Great Black Heavenly God became a Buddhist guardian deity after Guanyin possessed his consciousness.
"Subduing gods, so that's how it is..."
Ji Xiang saw the manifested six-armed Great Black Heavenly God and confirmed one thing:
"This is 'Spirit Control'!"
Although the Spirit Control technique was one of the Seventy-two Earthly Fiends, it had many variations. All methods of dispatching spirits could be said to have evolved from the Spirit Control technique!
And the power of the Spirit Control technique was undoubtedly great. It was difficult for others to control great gods, but for Ji Xiang himself, he could even summon Primordial Heavenly Lord!
However, it was not yet time to ask Primordial Heavenly Lord to act.
"How can the Great Heavenly Venerable be summoned repeatedly? That would consume a lot of my magical power."
The Buddhist sword in Ji Xiang's hand hummed. The Great Black Heavenly God reached forward, and a long night of suppression descended. Ji Xiang thrust the Great Wisdom Sword of Manjushri forward. With a sound of "Da," the sword enlarged like a mountain peak and flew forward, with wisdom fire erupting from its edge!
The Great Black Heavenly God saw this attack and did not dodge. He moved forward, even exposing his chest, as if afraid Ji Xiang would miss!
*Pfft!* The giant sword, like a flying peak, pierced the Great Black Heavenly God's chest. The latter let out a piercing strange laugh, and his blue skin transformed from illusory to real, intending to invert reality and illusion from the world of falsehood, using the power of the Buddhist sword to descend into the human world!
But Ji Xiang smiled strangely.
Chinese characters appeared in the Inner Scene Divine Tablet:
[Great Black Heavenly God Maha Kala (Original): To save all sentient beings corrupted in the Dharma-ending age, to subdue all stubborn sentient beings in the world!]
[Original Heavenly Department Great Karma Seventh Rank!]
[Current Heavenly Department Great Karma Twelfth Rank.]
[The image of the Great Black Heavenly God passed down from the Yuan Dynasty, manifesting in this form at the invocation of Mongolian monks. In the past Yuan Dynasty, Phags-pa forged a golden statue of the Great Black Heavenly God for Kublai Khan. This statue was originally placed on Mount Wutai and later flowed north with the fall of the Yuan. When it received offerings, all Yuan Dynasty Dharma masters summoned it, and it would immediately manifest to assist. After the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the incense of the Great Black Heavenly God declined in the Central Plains, with almost no one worshipping it.]
[Chant the seventh section of the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra three times, "I recall immeasurable kalpas ago..." — externally manifesting as the divine form of "Thousand-Light King Still-Dwelling Tathagata," shattering the Black Heavenly World!]
[Or manifest as the divine form of the Ghost-Slaying General, forcibly tearing this world apart.]
Ghost-Slaying General?
This was a killing move. Who would use their trump card so early?
The Great Black Heavenly God cast a curse upon Ji Xiang. The attack from the grand aspiration was blocked by an illusion of a sea of suffering. At this moment, the deity could not help but show an astonished expression, while Ji Xiang smiled strangely:
"Even heavenly gods have emotions? That emotion just now clearly does not belong to natural heavenly gods!"
Some heavenly gods love to laugh, and they are always laughing when they manifest. Some cry, some are angry. For example, the Ming Kings are always angry. This is their "divine form." When people worship them, they do so in these forms.
However, if a Ming King, who governs anger, is invoked and manifested using such a spirit control divine ability, humanized emotions like "surprise" or "bewilderment" would absolutely not appear.
Pure gods have no humanity.
The Great Black Heavenly God's gaze shifted. Ji Xiang, from this moment of silence, guessed some circumstances and spoke, revealing, "As expected, you are not an ordinary subdued heavenly god. What was summoned using a spirit control-like divine ability is not the Great Black Heavenly God, but a Buddhist disciple holding the divine position of the Great Black Heavenly God."
"However, you should only be an aspiration manifestation, much like the intention-bodies displayed by those at the Pusa level."
The Great Black Heavenly God showed a surprised expression, but soon began to grin sinisterly. He did not speak. This mental intent was about to break through the limits of reality and falsehood, descending into this dark world.
But then.
Ji Xiang chanted the seventh section of the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra, and the second chanting voice came from the Swastika mark between his eyebrows. It was the Vajra of Great Vow assisting him.
In an instant, a vast Buddhist light emanated from his body!
A thousand streams of Buddhist light illuminated all heavens, Ji Xiang's body was covered in a layer of gold, and a thousand golden arms gradually unfolded from behind him. The Great Black Heavenly God was also pushed out of this dark world by a thousand golden palms in an instant!
The black Buddhist light suddenly exploded!
......
Rumble—!
The black Buddhist light shattered, and a thousand golden arms extended from within! The old monk in red had not finished speaking. The next moment, those thousand golden palms rained down from the sky like a torrential downpour!
The White Bone Great Buddha waved his hand, but he could not reach these golden arms.
The magical techniques gathered by aspiration could not attack these golden Buddhist mights.
The arms and palms fell, and the golden light screen submerged the mountains and rivers. The old monk saw Ji Xiang's black robe transform into a golden kasaya, and the revealed Buddhist form caused him to momentarily lose focus.
That image was also circulated within the Fan monk lineage.
Thousand-Armed Guanyin?
No.
That appearance was not. The kasaya of Thousand-Armed Guanyin was not like this.
It was... who?
"In immeasurable kalpas ago, there was a Buddha who appeared. His name was Thousand-Light King Still-Dwelling Tathagata. That Buddha, the World-Honored One, out of compassion for me, and for all sentient beings, spoke this vast, perfect, and unobstructed Great Compassion Heart Dharani. With his golden hand, he touched my crown and said thus."
The voice from within the black Buddhist light transmitted out at this moment.
Thousand-Light King Still-Dwelling Tathagata.
He was an ancient Buddha from a distant era, the teacher of Guanyin.
The golden light before the old monk dissipated. His physical body was unharmed, but he stared with wide eyes, his body collapsing onto the ground like mud.
Bu Yan was by his side. Everything happened too quickly; he didn't even have time to react.
The old monk's physical body suffered no damage. What was completely destroyed by the golden light was his spirit and soul.
And all the aspirations he possessed, under the illumination of a thousand streams of Buddhist light, turned to dust!
"Now... let's talk, Khan."
"Do you die... or do you die?"
Ji Xiang retracted the Thousand-Buddha form, returned to his black robes, stood beside Bu Yan, and raised his hand.
The lightning that had been suspended in the heavens and earth flickered once more!