Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1565 - 845: Return to the Ancestral Land, Revealing the Jade

"Quiet!"

Zhao Sheng narrowed his eyes, scanned the surroundings, and issued a sharp reprimand.

The moment his command echoed, a suffocating, overwhelming pressure erupted from thin air.

A cluster of elder monks froze in their tracks, their faces drained of color as terror took hold. Overwhelmed by panic, they scattered in every direction.

These holy men, despite their mastery of Divine Power, vanished in a heartbeat.

Silence fell over the Teleportation Hall; the atmosphere became thick and suffocating. The Guest Monks remained in the shadows, bowing their heads, lacking the courage to gaze upon the scene.

With a flicker, Zhao Sheng pulled back his aura and dissolved into nothingness.

Shortly after, he paced down a cobblestone street. The air hung heavy with the scent of burning sandalwood, punctuated by the rhythmic, mournful chanting drifting from nearby shrines.

On both flanks of the street, grand temple complexes towered like imperial palaces.

After traversing a few miles, Zhao Sheng observed that every entrance was thronged with devotees, their expressions twisted with religious fanaticism.

"Something is amiss."

The sheer intensity of the monks' devotion struck a discordant note, making him realize that Muni City hid dark secrets.

Just then, a young monk approached. He was barefoot, blessed with delicate, handsome features, and hair that flowed naturally. As he passed, the faithful parted, bowing reverently.

With every step the youth took, sacred lotus flowers bloomed from the soil behind him.

The blossoms released a heady, intoxicating fragrance, driving the onlookers into a frenzy as they scrambled to snatch the sacred Buddha Lotuses.

The orderly street plunged into total chaos.

Ignoring the pandemonium in his wake, the young monk continued his pace, guided by the trail of flowers.

A flicker of realization crossed Zhao Sheng's eyes. An idea struck him.

"You will suffice."

His voice dissipated in the breeze, and Zhao Sheng vanished once more.

Simultaneously, the monk’s posture stiffened. His body jerked to the side against his will, pulling him into a dark alleyway.

Once within the alley's embrace, the youth flickered and disappeared entirely.

Half an hour later, Zhao Sheng pulled his hand away, his expression devoid of emotion. Across from him, the young monk stood paralyzed, eyes vacant, his consciousness clearly shattered by the assault.

Though Soul Searching is an effective art, it carries inevitable side effects.

Still, these minor complications could be mended with sufficient rest.

Zhao Sheng turned away, indifferent to whether the monk lived or died.

The youth had been practicing corrupted Buddhist arts; to ascend the Mandala Great Treasure Realm, he had heartlessly drained the Buddha Yuan from thirty-three of his fellow monks. His hands were stained with deep, karmic sin.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Zhao Sheng scoured the city, selecting a derelict estate to serve as his temporary refuge.

Inside the meditation hall, he sat in a cross-legged position, deep in contemplation. "...By uniting for cultivation, and utilizing Will Power to sharpen one's Buddhist path, I become the Buddha... Today, all beings nourish my path to Buddhahood, and in the future, the Buddha returns the favor to the destined... What an absurd concept of cultivation!"

Eh?

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him. "Wait, why does this sound familiar?"

Zhao Sheng ruminated on the matter until memories of his previous existence surged forth. "...All beings support me, and I support all beings; only thus can one attain Great Freedom, Great Liberation!"

A towering, compassionate figure materialized in his mind's eye.

"Crimson—Dragon—Child!"

Boom!

The quiet room collapsed into wreckage. Zhao Sheng, his face hardening, swept away the dust with a wave of his hand and vanished into the void.

...

A fortnight vanished in the blink of an eye!

For fifteen days, Zhao Sheng combed through the most incense-saturated temples in Muni City.

After gathering hundreds of secret records, he uncovered a chilling reality.

Some hidden Great Ability was treating Muni City as a testing ground, sacrificing countless practitioners and millions of lives to fuse the philosophies of the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Dao into Buddhist cultivation.

Both Buddhist and Demon paths utilize brainwashing; however, while the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Dao enslaves the soul, these Muni City monks are literal devourers, cannibalizing their own brethren.

The souls and Will Power of all creatures fuel my path to Buddhahood!

Stripping away the veneer of peace, one could only guess how many innocent believers had been consumed by the insatiable maw of Muni City.

Having existed for ten millennia, the city was revered as a Holy Land within the Ten Thousand Peak Spirit Domain.

He refused to believe that in all those years, no one had discerned the depravity occurring within.

Yet, the city thrived, and the surrounding tens of thousands of miles remained a "Buddha Country."

All signs pointed to a powerful backer. Without such influence, the city would have fallen long ago.

Zhao Sheng suspected this entity belonged to the Ten Lands Zhao Clan, possessed of a cultivation base at the Returning to Void stage or higher.

After all, the Ten Thousand Peak Spirit Domain was effectively the backyard of the Ten Lands Zhao Clan.

Over two hundred thousand years of entrenched rule had allowed the clan to weave their influence into every facet of the domain, an unmatched level of power.

These were, of course, mere hypotheses. Only time—and personal verification—would reveal the truth.

...

Days later, Zhao Sheng materialized on the teleportation platform.

Around him, various Human Clan Cultivators with imposing auras appeared out of thin air.

None dared linger; they hurriedly fled the platform and exited the hall.

Zhao Sheng blended among the crowd, following suit.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by an incredibly dense concentration of ambient spiritual energy.

He didn't even need to initiate a Cultivation Technique for the air to begin nourishing his body.

He looked up to see a massive White Tower piercing the heavens, its surface unblemished.

Swirling clouds surrounded the tower, manifesting into illusions of dragons, phoenixes, and other beasts, all formed from pure spiritual energy.

Beneath the mist lay a city of impossible scale.

Pavilions, towers, and immortal palaces stretched to the horizon, vanishing into the clouds.

Looking toward the sky, he spotted Floating Islands drifting in the mists, each anchored by shimmering, multicolored barriers.

A faint smile touched Zhao Sheng’s lips. He pulled a piece of Bright Yellow Jade from his robes and affixed it to his waist.

Releasing his Divine Thought, he transformed into a stream of light, soaring toward the clouds.

The sun hung high, illuminating the crystal-blue heavens.

Breaking through the cloud cover, his silhouette hovered above the sea of light.

In the distance, a vast, vibrant continent hung majestically in the air.

Immortal creatures soared in its skies, while beneath lay lush peaks and winding, river-strewn landscapes that rivaled paradise.

Dazzling palaces floated above the continent, glowing with celestial brilliance.

Streams of light darted back and forth like weaving needles between the floating structures.

Zhao Sheng observed for a moment, preparing to approach, when his presence shifted. He spun around sharply to look behind him.

A stern-faced swordsman, cradling a long blade in his arms, emerged from the Void.

"Halt. Who goes there? Identify yourself!" the swordsman commanded softly, his sword now unsheathed and leveled directly at him.

The blade glittered like autumn water, emitting a sharp Sword Intent that threatened to flay Zhao Sheng on the spot.

Zhao Sheng took a quick breath; he realized that the "swordsman" was no mortal, but a sentient embodiment of a True Spirit.

Only a Spiritual Treasure of the True Form Realm or higher could adopt such a human guise.

In effect, this guard was as formidable as a Half-Immortal of the Void.

"I am Zhao Sheng, emissary of the Red Cloud Spirit Domain’s Zhao branch. I come to claim my place in the Ancestral Land. Here is my Life Jade, please observe."

As he spoke, he presented the Jade, infusing it with a spark of his Divine Thought.

The object erupted with an blinding, unmatched glow.