Chapter 325: Chapter 116: The Heart Sutra_1

“Junior Brother!!!”

As Yuwen Jie met his violent and thorough death, Shen Hongyu screamed, fully activating her magic artifact. She unleashed two fiery dragons in a ferocious attack on Xu Yang while seizing the chance to extract her own body from the battlefield.

However, Xu Yang’s movement technique was unpredictable and extraordinary. With no master to control the fiery dragons, they were unable to stop him. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the encirclement and, tailing Shen Hongyu, flew towards the exterior of the fortress, one after the other.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

One after the other, a chase, an escape—all along their path, thunder roared incessantly.

The shadow of his fists, like dragons, drove the thunder, furiously striking Shen Hongyu’s body, shattering one magic artifact after another into pieces.

Lightning Thunderbolt Fist!

Five Elements unified, its power astonishing, its consumption similarly shocking. It could not be employed in succession and required time for the restoration of mana and Yuan Skill. During this period, one could only rely on martial arts to fight, or use spells of lesser consumption and weaker effect.

This was the limitation of Cultivation—insufficient mana, and the difficulty in utilizing powerful techniques.

Even with standard techniques, in Xu Yang’s hands, they were still not to be underestimated.

Swiftly, three magic artifacts were shattered by his Lightning Thunderbolt Fist.

Though a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from a Sect, she did not possess too many life-protecting treasures.

After three superior-grade magic artifacts were destroyed, Shen Hongyu, left with only one Spiritual Artifact to protect her, ultimately ceased her flight.

To flee was not a solution.

But if not fleeing, what else could she do?

“Don’t push people too far!”

Shen Hongyu turned around, teeth clenched as she glared at Xu Yang, and pulled out a Spirit Talisman flickering with Spirit Light, “Move one step further, and I will choose mutual destruction. Even if I fall into the Demon Path, I won’t let you have your way!”

Xu Yang looked at the talisman and recognized its origin.

It was a third-tier Gathering Spirit Talisman!

A Gathering Spirit Talisman?

Indeed, a Gathering Spirit Talisman, which gathered Spiritual Energy to aid in cultivation. This talisman was Shen Hongyu’s trump card.

Because, this world, it is a Demon World—where gathering Spirits is the same as gathering Demons.

A Qi Refinement Cultivator already harbours a Demon Seed, and upon advancing to Foundation Establishment, the Demon Seed further transforms into a Demon Fetus.

Whether it’s a Demon Seed or a Demon Fetus, as long as they absorb a great amount of Demonic Qi, they will turn into terrifying Demon Objects.

Like the Ghost Fetus Dried Human Placenta from earlier, it was transformed by the “Doctor Mo” from the drugstore.

That Old Ghost Mo had only a Qi Refinement Cultivation, but the Dried Human Placenta he transformed into was comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in performance, with extremely persistent vitality, capable of absorbing Demonic Qi, and continually grew stronger. It was only because of Xu Yang’s powerful Thunder Series that they managed to deal with it at all.

If a Qi Refinement Cultivator’s transformation into a demon was already so formidable, what about Foundation Establishment?

Shen Hongyu, with her complete Foundation Establishment Cultivation, now also held a third-tier Gathering Spirit Talisman. If really forced to mutual destruction and use this to Gather Spirits and Transform Demon, it might even create a Golden Core level Demon Object.

With this threat, could she hope for a way out?

Xu Yang remained silent, and thunder resurged from his palm.

“You…”

“Fine!!!”

Seeing that the other party did not grant her a way out, Shen Hongyu let go of her reservations and bit down hard, activating the Spirit Talisman.

“Boom!”

The Spirit Talisman flashed, flame ignited, and a character of the talisman stamped itself into the world, the Ten Directions Prime Spirits immediately pulled in by its influence.

The Prime Spirits gathered, and a surge of dark mist came rushing forth.

Shen Hongyu lifted all restrictions and absorbed the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirits and Demonic Qi boiling within them without any restraint.

Deep in the Demon Realm, already in despair, and now being pushed to such extremes, Shen Hongyu completely let go of restraints.

“Die! Die! Let’s all die together!”

Shen Hongyu screamed wildly as her bright red garment exploded, revealing her snow-white jade body. Demonic patterns covered her skin, and hair began to grow thickly. Before one’s eyes, the stunning figure was transforming into an ugly Demon Body.

When a Cultivator actively transforms into a demon, the process is faster and more efficient.

Xu Yang, upon seeing this, did not say another word. Another bolt of thunder struck out, heading straight for her demonic body.

“Boom!”

The thunder exploded with an earth-shaking impact and struck her body, but it failed to penetrate the skin.

At this moment, Shen Hongyu was covered with black fur, her muscles coiled and powerful. Where was the fairylike appearance of before?

Xu Yang’s thunderous strike hit her and managed only to shatter some fur without truly harming her flesh.

The defense had undergone a qualitative change!

Without a doubt, after the demon transformation, the barrier of the realm had been broken.

Now, she was no longer the Foundation Establishment Cultivator she used to be, but a Golden Core Realm Demon Object.

“Roar!”

With a roar beyond human capability, Shen Hongyu leaped forward, her deformed right claw viciously reaching out.

According to the memories of Taoist Zhu Yang, most of the Demonic Qi enhances the physical body, which is why demons possess extremely formidable physiques, and their attacks are mostly close-range combat. Only a very few demons would employ unique cultivating skills.

Now that Shen Hongyu had transformed into a Golden Core Demon Object, she likewise primarily engaged in close-quarters combat.

Seeing this, Xu Yang did not speak again and leapt up with a sword generating wind and thunder.

The Sword Cultivator’s battle method—to unify man and sword!

The sword stirred wind and thunder, flashing with lightning, and even had the energies of the Five Elements brewing within it.

Xuanyuan Divine Sword Jue!

Big Five Elements Sword Art!

Heavenly Heart Five Thunder Righteous Skills!

Five Spirits and Five Elements True Jue!

Two sword arts, one thunder skill, one true skill.

This sword strike, though not as powerful as the Heavenly Sword, nor was it a Divine Skill, it still demonstrated Xu Yang’s profundity in Cultivation and Taoist Scriptures.

Martial Arts Scripture and Taoist Scripture are not isolated; they complement and verify each other.

Brilliant sword light flashed, with the rise of wind and thunder, lightning striking forth.

“Pfff!!!”

With a single stroke of the sword, he pierced through the demonic body, ravaging it from within.

“Crack! Pop! Crack!”

The Golden Core Demon Object stood stiffened, a sword wound cleaving through its chest and abdomen. Black fur, demonic bones, and flesh were all flickering with electric sparks, ravaged by Sword Qi, and further infiltrated by the power of the Five Elements, which invaded the organs and formed a cycle of the Five Elements, nurturing and countering each other within the body.

A cycle like a wheel, correctly turning to nurture oneself, enhancing its power; inversely turning to counteract, amplifying the damage to the enemy.

Such a strike…

“Boom!!!”

The Five Elements Sword Qi exploded into fragments, the nascent body of the demon creature couldn’t withstand it and disintegrated into powder in an instant.

“Bang!”

As the sword light descended, Xu Yang’s figure wavered, his mouth stained vermillion, and his complexion turned a shade paler.

The Golden Core, it was the Golden Core after all!

Despite possessing a Five Elements Spiritual Root, a superior aptitude, despite the Five Elements True Jue, a top-tier cultivation technique, despite the accumulation of several lifetimes, the substantial potentiality, despite the direct opposition, the righteous overpowering the demonic…

All these advantages still couldn’t bridge the gap between the two levels of cultivation, and in the end, a price had to be paid.

But it was only a slight price, painful though it was still within the realm of acceptance.

“Heh!!!”

Xu Yang took a deep breath, operated his cultivating skills, and forcefully suppressed his injuries.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a worn and tattered Storage Bag flew towards him.

In truth, he didn’t want to relentlessly pursue and risk a fight to the death with Shen Hongyu; he simply had no choice.

During his pursuit, he had checked Yuwen Jie’s Storage Bag, which only contained one Spiritual Object that suited his needs.

This was not to say that Yuwen Jie, a disciple of a Sect, had less wealth than the loose cultivator Taoist Zhu Yang, but that most of the spiritual objects on him were of the extremely cold water attribute, lacking the variety found with Taoist Zhu Yang.

If Yuwen Jie’s collection was incomplete, then he had no option but to doggedly pursue Shen Hongyu. He couldn’t waste more time seeking other cultivators.

Who knows which master Artifact Refiner came up with the method to create this Storage Bag; although it can’t be used as a protective Magic Artifact, it is more durable than other artifacts of the same level. Even if it’s broken by someone, the items inside would explode outward rather than vanishing into space and time.

Looking at the tattered but intact Storage Bag in his hand, Xu Yang sighed and began to check its contents.

“There really is one, a Five Elements Spiritual Object, and now I’ve finally got them all.”

Looking at the last Five Elements Spiritual Object he needed from the Storage Bag, Xu Yang nodded his head and was about to take off.

But unexpectedly…

“The body is a Bodhi Tree, the mind like a bright mirror’s stand.”

“Endlessly clean the dust away, and let no grain of dirt land.”

“…”

“Originally, there is not a single thing—where can the dust alight?”

“Amitabha Buddha, well said, well said!”

The sound of a Buddhist verse chanted in a Brahma Voice came flowing in.

“!!!”

Xu Yang’s pupils contracted as he fixed his gaze ahead.

Ahead, within the roiling dark mist, a figure could faintly be seen.

It was a monk, a monk clothed in white.

The white monk’s robe was stained with blood, splattered shockingly all over.

Whence came the blood?

From the eyesockes?

From the nose and mouth?

No, it was from a hole!

The monk’s face lacked eyes and nose.

There was only a large hole, a gaping wound that devoured all facial features.

And there was a talisman, a blood-red Spirit Talisman, affixed to his forehead, as if it were trying to suppress something but not quite succeeding.

As he stepped forward, from within his head, blood flowed forth, with flesh and bone writhing, faintly forming a visage.

That face warped within the bloody pit, emanating a deep Brahma Sound, seemingly a chant from the Buddha himself.

Sacred?

Demonic?

Such contradictions, yet somehow in harmony.

With every step he took, the chanting from his mouth was of a verse known to all.

The Bodhi Verse!

As the story goes, in the Buddhism’s Zen sect, the fifth patriarch Hongren sought to choose his Dharma heir and asked the monks to compose a verse.

One monk, Shen Xiu, advocated for gradual enlightenment and wrote the Bodhi Verse: “The body is a Bodhi Tree, the mind like a bright mirror’s stand; always strive to keep it clean, let no dust or dirt land.”

Another monk, Huineng, who stood for sudden enlightenment, countered above Shen Xiu’s verse: “Originally, there is not a single thing—where can the dust alight?”

After comparing the two, Hongren ultimately decided that Huineng had the higher intuition and covertly passed on the Dharma robe to him, appointing him as the Dharma heir, who would eventually become the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism.

This is the story of the Bodhi Verse, a tale of one prodigy overshadowed by another.

The two Bodhi Verses—who can tell which is superior?

Though eventually, both Huineng and Shen Xiu would become celebrated names in the north and south, the Dharma transmission of the Zen sect ultimately passed to Huineng, and as people marveled at the grand wisdom of the sixth patriarch, they couldn’t help but lament Shen Xiu’s diminished standing and sigh with regret.

So, who was this monk now, Shen Xiu or Huineng?

No, he was…

“Originally, there is not a single thing—where can the dust alight?”

“What is the Bodhi Tree, and what is the bright mirror’s stand?”

“Huineng, Huineng, you are the most shameless, the most shameless!”

“Stealing my work, usurping my renown, beguiling my teacher, seizing my teachings!”

“If Yu is born, why then did Liang arise? If Yu is born, why did Liang arise!”

“I hate, I hate…”

“Shen Xiu, Shen Xiu, you are attached to appearances!”

“The Dharma knows no high or low—gradual enlightenment is enlightenment, and so is sudden enlightenment!”

“If the Dharma has no high or low, then why should there be a distinction between Buddha and demon?”

“If Buddha does not accept me, I shall enter the Demon Path, the demon is Buddha, the Buddha is the demon.”

“Amitabha Buddha, Prajna and Mara, possessed of spontaneous powers, the World-Honored Boxun!”

“Possessed of spontaneous powers, the World-Honored Boxun, possessed of spontaneous powers, the World-Honored Boxun!”

“With my demon’s mercy, I shall deliver all beings, follow me in chanting, the Boxun Heart Sutra!”

“Possessed of spontaneous powers, the Boxun Heart Sutra…”

“Namo Namo Boxun Mara, Namo Namo Boxun Mara…”

The Brahma sound, wave upon wave, the chanting voice, one after another, assaulting Xu Yang’s Divine Soul like a demonic trial.