Chapter 956: Chapter 460:
The Great Sage said with a faint smile, "You not only have heard of him, but you also know him."
"Know him? Who is it?"
The Great Sage casually replied, "The Great Luo Sect Leader, Xu Xuan, who is my worthy brother and also the lover of the celestial maiden."
"..."
Xin Yuan immediately shook his head, "Impossible! The Sect Leader spends every day in the company of female ghosts and fox spirits, how could he have relations with the celestial maiden? The Holy Buddha must be mistaken!"
"What female ghost and fox spirit?" the Great Sage asked, full of curiosity.
Xin Yuan muttered quietly, "There are also cats and famous opera singers!"
"Could it be my dear brother is quite amorous?"
The Great Sage pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Let’s not concern ourselves with these. Dragon Tamer, how is my master now?"
With a smile on his face, Xin Yuan appeared composed and said:
"Holy Buddha, rest assured, since the time I guided the Merit Buddha, I have been leading him to propagate kindness and practice the Mahayana path to universally rescue all beings."
"During this period, Gujue Temple once became the largest temple of the national religion, until one day it was destroyed, and the temple became reclusive to avoid the world. Yet, it still practices Buddhist Teachings and is revered by the people."
Upon hearing this, the Great Sage seemed somewhat regretful and said, "Apart from practicing Buddhist Teachings, did my master not cultivate any methods to subdue demons?"
Xin Yuan grew cautious and immediately reminded him, "Holy Buddha, do not forget, the Buddha decreed that the Merit Buddha is bearing guilt. Back then, if not for the Merit Buddha relying on his divine techniques and power, trying to annihilate... the Buddha’s legal corpse, he would not have encountered such a great disaster."
Hearing this, the Great Sage pouted, "The victor writes history; back then, he took on too much responsibility. If he had called me earlier, the Buddha’s legal corpse would not have escaped! He asked me to chant scriptures and deliver the Buddha, I might have been lazy and slipped up, but when it came to fighting the Buddha, had I known, I would have spared no effort."
"..."
Xin Yuan laughed dryly, "Perhaps the Merit Buddha had his own considerations. After all, if Holy Buddha had a mishap, then the Western Buddhist lands would truly have had no hope."
"Is there hope now?" The Great Sage said with displeasure, "The Buddha and Celestial Emperor are on guard now, making it impossible for me to act freely!"
"They’re afraid I’ll inadvertently send them to the void. As for those two legal corpses, do you think they wouldn’t be wary of me?"
"The Buddha issued a decree, forbidding my master from practicing divine techniques and magical power, for fear of adding another variable. As for quietly cultivating Buddhist Teachings and promoting virtue... ha! Ultimately, it’s just a delay tactic, waiting for the end of creation, preservation, destruction, and emptiness. When reincarnation ends, naturally evil fades and Dao rises, alleviating concerns of legal corpse disaster by then."
"But by that time, all things collapse, the calamity becomes fully realized, even if there’s a chance of restarting, it wouldn’t hold any meaning."
"A calamity is only a calamity if it can be stopped; otherwise, it’s a failure."
The simply dressed monkey stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the scene where the celestial maiden and Kṣitigarbha clashed. In his eyes, this battle could only be the beginning, never the end.
Xin Yuan’s expression changed, but ultimately he insisted on the principle: "I abide by the Buddha’s decree and cannot act for personal gain."
"However, if Holy Buddha has any matters, you may seek the Savior Altar Master from the Daluo Sect. He might be able to assist Holy Buddha."
"Savior Altar Master? Who is that?"
Xin Yuan replied mysteriously, "Holy Buddha will naturally find out in due time."
"Mysterious and secretive."
The Great Sage raised an eyebrow and was about to say more when suddenly he saw a bronze coffin vaulting out of an eerie river and heading straight toward the depths of Taodu Mountain.
"It’s the coffin of the celestial maiden. My worthy brother must be in these mountains!"
Without hesitation, the Great Sage’s figure flickered and pursued the green coffin.
Where he stood, Xin Yuan was deeply worried.
The Mad Monk feared that the Sect Leader’s great undertaking hadn’t materialized, yet he was already drowning in a sea of dangerous love, unable to rescue himself.
He also feared Xu Qing becoming too close with the Holy Buddha, stirring trouble everywhere and potentially causing a great calamity for the Daluo Sect in the future.
Yet, the Mad Monk inexplicably hoped that the Sect Leader and the Holy Buddha might introduce a new variable amidst the calamity and accomplish the almost impossible task of saving the world.
"I’m worried to death. If the Merit Buddha returns to his rightful place one day, wouldn’t he also come looking for trouble with me, what a misery!"
On this side, just after the Great Sage left, the Three Altar Sea Meeting Great Deity arrived at the border of Taodu Mountain.
"Hey? Dragon Tamer, how come you’re here underworld privately?"
"Privately?" Xin Yuan’s eyelids twitched, he forcibly stabilized his thoughts and said, "I descended under the Buddha’s decree, how could it be privately underworld? But as for the Sea Meeting Great Deity..."
"Ah haha!"
The Sea Meeting Great Deity laughed heartily, hurriedly changing the subject and said, "I’ve come on account of brotherhood, especially to find former colleagues. Has the Arhat, who has been underworld for a long time, ever met with Increase and Protection National two heavenly kings?"
Xin Yuan’s heart stirred slightly, and he said, "We’ve had a brief encounter, but if the Great Deity wants to find them, you might go to Jin Sect Underground Street and look for a warrior named Li Tie Zhu. That man has some connections with Protection National Heavenly King."
"Li Tiezhu?"
The Sea Deity noted this name down and then asked, "By the way, have you ever encountered a monkey resembling the Victorious Fighting Buddha?"
"..."
The monk Xin Yuan did not expose the Sea Deity’s ruse, instead pointing towards Taodu Mountain, saying, "Southwest, it’s chasing a copper coffin."
The Sea Deity gave a bow of thanks, but as he was about to leave, he turned back and reminded Xin Yuan:
"That monkey is just a wild monkey, and I’m merely a loose cultivator who somewhat resembles the Sea Deity. Please, don’t misunderstand, Arhat."
"I understand clearly! You are all benevolent beings born from the lower realms, having nothing to do with those Western and upper realm Gods and Buddhas."
"As long as you understand!"
The Sea Deity chuckled, then stepped onto his iconic fire wheel and headed straight in the direction indicated by Xin Yuan.
...
Deep within Taodu Mountain, under an old peach tree that had long withered and died.
Xu Qing looked at the solitary copper coffin that had found him, feeling somewhat perplexed.
Why did the celestial maiden’s coffin suddenly fly back by itself?
"Where is your master?"
Xu Qing asked.
The copper coffin revolved around the young man before him. Though it was just a cold, hard coffin, Xu Qing inexplicably sensed a feeling of sadness from it.
Xu Qing furrowed his brow, and a feeling of unease suddenly emerged within his heart.
The celestial maiden’s prowess surpassed his, and logically, even if she couldn’t easily defeat the embodiment of Kṣitigarbha, she wouldn’t be in danger, but this coffin...
Xu Qing didn’t dwell on it much; once his magical power was restored, he planned to go support the Lady Kui Ba, aiming to tackle Kṣitigarbha with a combined assault.
However, at that moment, the copper coffin behind him suddenly opened slightly and caught on his clothes, pulling him towards the coffin.
The unease within Xu Qing’s heart intensified as he followed the copper coffin’s lead, entering it, only to discover a world within it, where azure gold aura was being suppressed between mountains, but the celestial abode on the hillside was empty, neither the celestial maiden’s trace nor even the aura of her sustaining the copper coffin’s magical power remained.
"Lady Kui Ba is indestructible, needless to say, even if the Buddha himself descended, it would be impossible to eradicate Lady Kui Ba..."
Walking out of the copper coffin, Xu Qing discovered that the copper coffin had already carried him away from the old peach tree, flying straight towards the direction of Chishui.
"Hold on! Why are you so eager to return to Chishui? The celestial maiden is in the midst of a magical duel with Kṣitigarbha, take me to her instead..."
Despite Xu Qing’s urging, the copper coffin acted on its own, forcibly trying to take him back to Chishui to hide.
Xu Qing did not know what instructions the celestial maiden had given the coffin, no matter what he said, the coffin would not heed his command, even when he attempted to utilize the celestial maiden’s technique to control the coffin’s course, it still did not succeed.
"You think you’re being tough, huh? The celestial maiden isn’t here, you have to listen to me!"
Feeling uneasy, Xu Qing had no patience to play games with a coffin.
He decisively wielded the General’s authority to command ten thousand soldiers; as the wheel of light appeared, the stubborn coffin instantly turned into a cold block of copper, losing its obstinance.
Carrying the temporarily subdued coffin, Xu Qing traced the direction from which the copper coffin had arrived.
Yet, before he could leave Taodu Mountain, he saw his senior brother, the monkey who achieved the status of Victorious Fighting Buddha, appearing not far away.
Xu Qing’s eyes brightened, and he hurried forward, calling out, "Brother!"
"You’ve arrived just in time, brother. The celestial maiden and I were ambushed by Kṣitigarbha. That Kṣitigarbha is truly treacherous, attacking us just as the celestial maiden and I were refining the treasure..."
Xu Qing briefly explained the situation and upon hearing how Kṣitigarbha’s dharma corpse shamelessly ambushed them, the Great Sage squinted his eyes, immediately pulling out his iron rod, surveying the surroundings:
"Are you okay, dear brother? Is the dharma corpse still here?"
Xu Qing waved his hand and said, "The dharma corpse has already been vanquished by me. My only worry now is the celestial maiden’s safety. Logically, the celestial maiden’s copper coffin should not appear here, and there is no trace of her aura within the coffin. I fear that another dharma corpse has broken into the ghost river within Ghost Gate, assisting Kṣitigarbha..."
"..."
The Great Sage looked at Xu Qing’s worried expression, unsure of what to say.
"Dear brother, Kṣitigarbha has been defeated by the celestial maiden, his remains returned to the ghost river."
"Kṣitigarbha was defeated?"
Xu Qing was obviously taken aback.
He had considered the possibility that Lady Kui Ba might possess the capability to defeat Kṣitigarbha, but he never expected that she could actually kill Kṣitigarbha.
