Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant Chapter 2456: 221: Double Wounds
Previously on Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant...
“You’re still not dead?”
The intertwining of Buddha’s light, a palm strike, and the Sky Dome!
Suddenly, innumerable phantoms of Demonic Beasts surged behind the white-robed man, howling towards the heavens like an endless ocean, charging fiercely at Tianshang Buddha!
As they clashed, Tianshang Buddha’s form stood firm without budging, whereas the white-robed man elegantly pulled back, with numerous black voids shattering in the emptiness behind him.
The horde of Demonic Beast illusions behind him vanished one after another, but the white-robed man stayed utterly serene, bursting into loud laughter:
“Tianshang Buddha, how have you been?”
A shadow crossed Tianshang Buddha’s features, showing a touch of astonishment, before he abruptly understood:
“I was guarding the Dharma Realm and failed to sense it… I never imagined you faked your death to slip away back then.”
The white-robed man let out a booming laugh, brimming with audacity:
“That’s because you, Tianshang Buddha, proved too powerful, leaving me no alternative.”
Next, his eyes glanced at Wang Ba, noticing the delight in Wang Ba’s gaze, and he offered a subtle smile tinged with regret, saying:
“The situation compelled me to conceal myself within the Silkworm Dragon Staff earlier; please don’t hold it against me.”
Witnessing this, Wang Ba’s heart overflowed with shock and happiness, and after catching those words, he hastily responded:
“Master Chao’s well-being is what counts most! True Man Taiyi was already aware, though he didn’t anticipate Master Chao’s swift recovery.”
Upon first getting the Silkworm Dragon Staff, he hadn’t pondered it deeply.
Later, when refining the Silkworm Dragon Staff eluded him, only a mild doubt arose.
It was only after encountering the Xiahou Demon at the Reclining Buddha that certainty dawned on him.
Master Chao had to be residing inside the Silkworm Dragon Staff, yet since he hadn’t emerged, some cause must exist; thus, Wang Ba chose not to intrude.
This resolved his earlier puzzlement—why Master Chao had passed the Silkworm Dragon Staff, the cornerstone of the Canlong Realm, to a novice disciple like him, and why strict orders kept him away from the prior Cloud Sky Realm conflict.
Even amid the massive battle, Bai Lechan had urged him multiple times that if things turned dire, escape without delay.
The explanation lay in bearing the Silkworm Dragon Staff marking him as the final beacon for both the Canlong Realm and Master Chao.
Though aware of the secrecy, he felt no resentment.
He had gained immensely from Heavenly Monarch Chao, and entrusting the Silkworm Dragon Staff represented ultimate faith. Moreover, in a similar spot, he could grasp the other’s caution and predicament.
If options existed, who would readily yield their realm’s sacred treasure to an unfamiliar face?
Not even if that individual was his own disciple.
Such reflections raced through his thoughts in an instant.
Right then, far overhead, the trio of Buddha Tianyin, Heavenly Monarch Chao, and True Man Gai quietly encircled Tianshang Buddha.
At the same time, True Man Gai swept his sleeve, unleashing myriad Demonic Beasts that morphed into radiant streaks in the sky, gathering beneath Heavenly Monarch Chao’s feet to shape a ferocious thousand-headed beast.
Though this thousand-headed Demonic Beast’s presence couldn’t rival Tianshang Buddha’s, nor match Buddha Tianyin, Heavenly Monarch Chao, or True Man Gai, it scarcely equaled the Mahayana Realm’s power.
With three Mahayana Cultivators and a Mahayana Demonic Beast encircling Tianshang Buddha, the tide silently turned.
Confronted by this setup, Tianshang Buddha narrowed his eyes faintly, scanning about with mild bewilderment:
“Did you predict this from the start?”
Buddha Tianyin intoned a Buddhist chant, declaring solemnly:
“Amitabha, Tianshang, as cultivators often say, paths that diverge cannot align in purpose. These words apply to you; since you chase your vision of Mahayana Buddhism, why drag in countless others? Should you withdraw now and vow never to return to the four realms of my Duanhai Cliff, I would convince True Man Gai and Heavenly Monarch Chao to spare you.”
True Man Gai and Heavenly Monarch Chao wore grave expressions; at Tianyin’s suggestion, they held their tongues.
Despite uniting with the beast against Tianshang Buddha, doubt lingered in their cores, so compelling his departure, while not ideal, remained a necessary resort.
Hearing this, Tianshang Buddha shook his head with a chuckle:
“Though I arrive without the Dharma Realm’s might, I still wish to test…”
His words trailed off as Tianshang Buddha, poised in the void, lunged straight for Heavenly Monarch Chao of the three.
Heavenly Monarch Chao’s eyes tightened a bit, his stance unchanging.
In that moment, Buddha Tianyin darted ahead abruptly, lifting one hand in a [planting] motion, the “卍” symbol whirling swiftly before him, evolving into a radiant Buddhist glow that cloaked the area!
Nearly at once, from the opposite flank, True Man Gai’s bearing shifted dramatically!
From his prior refined and elegant poise, it turned fiercely incisive; pinching two fingers, a supreme Dao Treasure of the Cloud Sky Realm became a crisp, icy sword beam, slicing directly toward Tianshang Buddha.
A faint ripple stirred in Tianshang Buddha’s core at the sword beam’s keenness, prompting involuntary admiration:
“Good sword!”
Yet this time, he neither withdrew nor dodged.
His right palm thrust toward Buddha Tianyin’s “卍” symbol, as his left hand lifted to counter the sword beam.
The sword beam struck his palm, where surging Buddha’s light swirled, with endless arcane sutras resembling wriggling tadpoles, gently marking the void.
At those marked spots, faint ripples seemed to emerge.
The sword beam plunged into this Buddha’s light like sinking into mud, the nearby void disintegrating bit by bit, its momentum abruptly decelerating.
From a distance, True Man Gai’s countenance grew serious.
He dimly perceived that the principles woven into this Buddha’s light were alien to him, unrelated to the familiar Yin and Yang or Five Elements, but more like the Four Greats of Buddhism that True Man Taiyi had referenced earlier.
This principle felt profoundly strange, to the extent that even he couldn’t instantly discern a way to shatter it, resorting instead to brute force in hopes of exposing a weakness.
In this very instant, positioned behind Buddha Tianyin, Heavenly Monarch Chao softly stroked the multi-headed Demonic Beast at his side, murmuring with a low chuckle: