Chapter 119: A Confrontation Between God and Man
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After eating two slices, Tian Chong Buddha found his mind becoming clearer and his thoughts more agile. Things that had previously baffled him suddenly made sense, and he could understand things he hadn’t been able to before. “So, he ate the entire piece of the ‘spiritual beast meat’ , which opened his wisdom roots and self-cultivated his understanding of Buddhist teachings, embarking on the path of cultivation,” Lu Xuan continued.
Chu Qian and Lin Qingyu listened with a creeping sense of horror. Just from Tian Chong Buddha’s description of the meat, they knew something was off about it. A normal person would hesitate to eat such a thing, but Tian Chong Buddha assumed it was just spiritual beast meat and consumed it raw without any cooking.
Both had a hunch that the meat was likely imbued with some demonic power, deliberately enticing Tian Chong Buddha to consume it.
“Senior Lu, there are records in the cultivation world that Tian Chong Buddha reached the Transcendent Stage and was over five thousand years old when he passed away. Was he not affected by this meat?” Lin Qingyu asked.
“Of course, he was affected,” Lu Xuan replied. “After his enlightenment, Tian Chong Buddha often said that he had taken the wrong path and couldn’t see the true Buddha. In his later years, he frequently fell into a state of mental confusion, often mentioning the name ‘Tai Sui Star Lord’.”
“Isn’t Tai Sui a deity from the Daoist tradition?” Chu Qian wondered.
“Kong Wen mentioned in his notes that the ‘spiritual beast meat’ his master consumed was actually a piece of Tai Sui Star Lord’s corpse,” Lu Xuan explained, sipping his tea. “Tai Sui Star Lord fell for unknown reasons, and a piece of his corpse imbued with his spirit fell to the Archean Eon Realm. It was then consumed by Tian Chong Buddha, who was a mortal at the time. As his cultivation improved, the piece continued to grow…
This was likely a method of resurrection. Tai Sui Star Lord attempted to return in this manner, resurrecting within Tian Chong Buddha’s body. Unfortunately, he underestimated the wisdom of ‘mortals.’ Rising from obscurity and practicing Buddhism for years, how could Tian Chong Buddha not see through his ploy?
Feeling Tai Sui Star Lord’s presence growing stronger and attempting to take over his body, Tian Chong Buddha chose to end his life, taking Tai Sui Star Lord with him.”
Chu Qian and Lin Qingyu were shocked by this revelation. The Buddha of Tian Chong Temple was indeed decisive and resolute.
Lu Xuan nodded, “Tian Chong Buddha must have prepared for this for many years. He shared everything about himself and Tai Sui Star Lord with his direct disciple Kong Wen. In the years of struggle with Tai Sui Star Lord, Tian Chong Buddha also found a true ‘Path to Buddhahood.’
He used his body to cultivate a new kind of ‘Tai Sui,’ which is the black gelatinous substance you saw. In his notes, Kong Wen referred to the creamy and fragrant original substance as ‘Flesh Tai Suit and the newly born black substance as ‘Black Tai Sui’.”
Different from the Flesh Tai Sui, the Black Tai Sui possessed stronger assimilation abilities and grew more rapidly. Under this premise, Tian Chong Buddha schemed to lure the Spirit Charm Sect’s Heart-Bewitching Elder to the temple. She was chosen as the target because her cultivation of the “Mysterious Yin Nurturing Spirit Chapter” had reached a minor accomplishment, making her physique ideal for nurturing the true Buddha.
After the Heart-Bewitching Elder was nurtured to become the “Tai Sui Bodhisattva,” Tian Chong Buddha ended his own life, feeding his body, which had turned into Flesh Tai Sui, to the monstrous creature. Flesh Tai Sui contained a spirit but could not affect Black Tai Sui, originating from the same source.
He wanted his disciple to use the Tai Sui Bodhisattva to become a
“Reincarnated True Buddha” and see the realms he couldn’t reach.
Chu Qian and Lin Qingyu were still immersed in the story Lu Xuan had narrated. “Tian Chong Buddha was indeed a genius, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path,” Cheng Lingzhu sighed. This was a story of a man’s struggle against a deity.
If Lu Xuan hadn’t been present today, Cheng Lingzhu had no doubt that Kong Wen would have become the “Reincarnated True Buddha” as envisioned by Tian Chong Buddha. But to truly become a Buddha with immense power, relying solely on the Tai Sui Bodhisattva was not enough.
In Tian Chong Buddha’s plan, to reach perfection, it was necessary to assimilate all the common people and cultivators in the territory of Tian Chong Temple into the body of the Tai Sui Bodhisattva, providing sufficient nourishment for the true Buddha.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
A woman in coarse cloth put down her needlework, picked up an oil lamp, and walked out of the room. It was a modest farmhouse, well-organized with stacked firewood, hanging wheat ears, and a water well.
At first glance, it looked like any ordinary farmhouse, but on closer inspection, the walls were etched with intricate patterns forming a kind of formation. The wheat was not golden but black, and even the well and bucket bore formation carvings, seemingly in preparation against something.
The woman, holding the oil lamp, approached the courtyard door but didn’t open it immediately.
“It’s me, sister-in-law.”
A voice came from outside the door, and a light shone through the crack, flickering thrice.
Recognizing the signal, the woman relaxed slightly and unlocked the door.
A middle-aged man, also holding an oil lamp, stood outside.
“…Hong Zhen, why have you come?” The woman looked at the man with a hint of wariness.
Standing at the door, she didn’t allow him to enter.
“Tomorrow is the day for the hunting expedition outside the city,” the man named Hong Zhen spoke. He glanced at the drying black wheat and gestured with his chin. “Everyone’s harvest hasn’t been good this year. The city lord says we need to increase the frequency of expeditions. We need to gather more food, or this winter will be tough to endure.”
The woman’s expression changed upon hearing Hong Zhen’s words. She glanced inside the room and hesitated, “Then… what about our He Zhao…”
Hong Zhen smiled, “I came to inform you. Little Zhao is old enough now. He must join the hunting expedition the day after tomorrow.”
Despite being mentally prepared, the woman still covered her mouth in shock, trembling slightly.
“Everyone has to go out to find food, so your family is no exception,” Hong Zhen said with a hint of impatience, handing her a strip of dark, thin dried meat. “Here, this is for Little Zhao.’
The woman stared at the small, dark piece of dried meat, hesitant to take it. “The other day, I saw that Xiao Fan’s family got a much larger piece. Why is ours so small?”
“All the large ones have been distributed already,” Hong Zhen shrugged nonchalantly, his expression almost suggesting he did it on purpose.
The woman sighed, knowing he was behind this. Every family with a member joining the hunting for the first time was entitled to a strip of dried meat, a long-standing tradition in Dream Ruins City. Leaving the safety of the city walls to hunt the Nightmare Demons was extremely dangerous, and the dried meat was akin to “compensation” for taking such a risk.
Her husband had died on one of these hunting missions. Hong Zhen’s uncle, the local leader in charge of distributing the dried meat, was clearly in cahoots with him. The woman knew Hong Zhen had been eyeing her ever since her husband’s death, but she had no interest in him and even suspected he was involved in her husband’s demise. Her husband was stronger than Hong Zhen, yet only Hong Zhen returned from their last hunting mission together. He claimed her husband was killed by a Nightmare Demon, but she remembered her husband mentioning the area they were to explore was safe and cleared of any Nightmare Demons.
Since then, Hong Zhen had been making her life difficult. Though he couldn’t force her due to the city’s rules, his petty tactics were frequent.
“Why do you do this, sister-in-law?” Hong Zhen leaned against the door frame. “You know how dangerous it is outside the city. My brother will also join the hunt the day after tomorrow, and he’s quite strong. If you were with me, He Zhao would have someone to look after him. Otherwise, if something happens outside the city…” He smiled, but his eyes were cold..
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