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Chapter 239: Lei Daochang Borrows the Buddha's Flower Offering (Part 1)
Chapter 239: Lei Daochang Borrows the Buddha's Flower Offering (Part 1)
The newcomers were clad in pitch-black monastic robes, their expressions calm and carrying an air of solemn dignity. Yet, Lei Jun could distinctly sense a trace of sinister and murderous aura emanating from them.
Like some of the cultivators from the Nanhuang Wu Sect, the successors of Dakuang Temple cultivated by refining the qi of heaven and earth, as well as absorbing traces of demonic energy and sinister miasma.
This not only gave their sect's techniques exceptional offensive capabilities but also influenced their mental states to varying degrees.
Among the two heretical branches of Buddhism, the Dakuang Temple lineage was infamous for its ferocity and bloodthirst, surpassing even that of the White Lotus Sect.
Their revered Great Extinction Tathagata was once known as the Demon Buddha.
Although the White Lotus Sect's Buddhist teachings had diverged significantly from the orthodox Four Holy Lands of traditional Buddhism over the years, if one were to trace their origins, they stemmed from the Bodhi, Tianlong, and Xuantian Temples.
And the Dakuang Temple? They were more akin to the true arch-nemesis of orthodox Buddhism.
According to the ancient records that Lei Jun had perused in the Chishu Tower of the Tianshi Mansion, the Dakuang Temple's sect techniques even possessed a degree of suppression and counteraction against the Buddhist divine abilities of the orthodox Holy Lands.
Upon witnessing the arrival of these black-robed monks, Lei Jun's wariness heightened.
The involvement of the Dakuang Temple indicated that besides the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, there were surely other enemies among the Four Surnames and Six Aspirants at play in this scheme.
The Lin Clan of Jiangzhou had been locked in a bitter feud with the Tianshi Mansion for nearly a millennium, resulting in numerous casualties on both sides, making their grudge profound and intractable.
The Tang Imperial Family had long since adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards mediating their conflicts, choosing to turn a blind eye.
It was only when other prestigious clans joined forces with the Lin Clan to oppress the Tianshi Mansion that the imperial family would consider intervening, depending on the circumstances.
And now, with the emergence of successors from the Dakuang Temple, it was evident that the Four Surnames and Six Aspirants were employing the same tactic as they had with the Bodhi Temple, using them as a scapegoat.
The black-robed monks came to a halt in the snowy mountains surrounding Dragon Bone Ridge, maintaining their distance as if assessing the situation.
Lei Jun did not reveal himself immediately either, opting to observe quietly first.
The eyes in the sky became even more covert.
However, scenes continued to unfold on the mirror surface of the ancient bronze mirror that Lei Jun held.
His little senior sister was indeed holding back, and her current assault was even more ferocious than her usual self.
Under the dazzling golden lightning, she quickly overwhelmed the Eightfold Heaven Confucian scholar from the other side.
The Five Surnames and Seven Aspirants were all longstanding prestigious clans that had prospered for generations, and their inheritances were impeccable and exceptional in every aspect.
Speaking of the Confucian archery lineage, it was challenging to pinpoint any shortcomings in their archery techniques and abilities, be it range, shooting speed, accuracy, or arrow power.
However, each clan had their unique secret techniques, and when compared, slight differences were inevitable.
For example, the divine archers of the Chu Clan in Suzhou, whom Lei Jun had personally witnessed when Chu Yu drew his bow—their archery techniques excelled in terms of range and single-arrow power.
On the other hand, the archers of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou were renowned for their wide-area scatter shot.
But the problem for the Daoist Talisman Sect's sacred ground, the Tianshi Mansion, was that the Chu Clan of Suzhou's advantage in archery was precisely the type that made them more vigilant.
The Daoist Talisman Sect had always been known for their versatile and adaptable combat techniques.
While they might not be truly omnipotent, they rarely found themselves at a disadvantage in most situations.
It was only when faced with an opponent who possessed an extremely pronounced strength in a particular area that the Tianshi Mansion's versatility would seem insufficient.
The Confucian archery lineage was one such example.
The more emphasis a divine archer placed on range, the greater the threat they posed to the Daoist Talisman Sect cultivators.
Alternatively, those who excelled in movement techniques and rapid consecutive shots, able to continuously control the distance, would also make the Tianshi Mansion successors feel uncomfortable.
On the other hand, a wide-area coverage archery technique like that of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou was less likely to suppress a Tianshi Mansion cultivator of similar cultivation during a one-on-one confrontation.
Lin Yuwei, the number one expert from a branch of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, had successfully cultivated to the Eightfold Heaven realm. His arrows could pierce through the clouds and split the sky, and reducing mountains to rubble was child's play to him.
When facing Li Song, he might have been able to gain a slight advantage due to Li Song's advancing age and his own prime condition.
However, against Li Hongyu, a fellow member of the middle generation, Lin Yuwei would find it difficult to gain the upper hand.
And the outcome of Tang Xiaotang's battles against Li Hongyu and Li Song was known throughout the world.
At this moment, the golden pure yang thunder dragon roared in the heavens, its thunderous draconic roar causing snow to tumble down from the surrounding mountains. Countless golden lights blossomed, and arrows rained down like shooting stars, charging towards Lin Yuwei with an overwhelming force.
As Lin Yuwei retreated, he waved his hands, and the air seemed to reverberate with the vibrations of invisible bowstrings.
Countless twinkling starlights converged rapidly and transformed into a dazzling radiance that continued to condense and compress.
In that instant, the meteor shower seemed to metamorphose into a brilliant sun.
After years of rivalry between the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou and Longhu Mountain's Tianshi Mansion, both sides had come to know each other well.
The Lin Clan, too, sought improvement and breakthroughs to overpower their neighboring arch-nemesis.
And Lin Yuwei's arrow at this moment marked a departure from the Lin Clan's traditional archery style.
However, his opponent, Tang Xiaotang, was also an anomaly among the Tianshi Mansion's successors throughout the years.
The arrow, resplendent as the sun, burst forth, and its radiance seemed to permeate the heavens and the earth instantaneously.
But the Golden Pure Yang Thunder Dragon paid it no heed and charged headlong into its brilliance, colliding directly with the arrow's sharp edge.
Then, above Dragon Bone Ridge, the scene seemed to distort slightly.
And along with the distortion of the air, the straight arrow of light bent and twisted in the sky, deforming.
Yet, the pure yang thunder dragon continued onward, rushing towards Lin Yuwei.
With that arrow's obstruction, Lin Yuwei's figure had swiftly retreated, but the golden light flashed, and the thunder dragon pursued closely behind.
Suddenly, a surging sword intent coalesced in the heavens, seemingly materializing into a tangible entity and condensing into five towering peaks.
The five peaks stood side by side in a staggered formation, resembling five venerable elders standing steadfastly against the passage of time, witnessing the ebb and flow of the years.
It was the Five Old Peaks Sword, a Confucian sword art of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou!
With their sword intent condensed, it was as if even the relentless flow of time could not topple them, and they intercepted the golden thunder dragon that pursued Lin Yuwei.
Upon impact, golden thunderous light scattered in all directions, and the peaks trembled.
However, at the same time, a mighty river forged from sword intent emerged and flowed alongside the Five Old Peaks, a testament to the landscape of mountains and rivers.
In the distant mountain range, Lei Jun sat quietly beneath a silver-clad tree, his eyes fixed on the celestial mirror in his hand as it depicted a dynamic battle scene. His keen eyes noticed something amiss about Lin Che's technique.
"If I recall correctly, Lin Che should be a Confucian scholar of the Governance Trigram lineage," Lei Jun mused. "But he doesn't seem to be exhibiting his full capabilities."
The unique nature of this world's cultivation methods caused certain paths to converge, resulting in synchronized realm divisions among the various cultivation traditions.
For instance, the Middle Three Heavens were divided into four minor realms, the Five Heavens into five, and the Six Heavens had no internal divisions, serving more as a summary and foundation for the upcoming Seven Heavens breakthrough.
Similarly, the Seven Heavens followed the Six, without internal divisions, bridging the gap and laying the groundwork for advancement to higher levels.
It was only upon reaching the Eight Heavens that the major cultivation traditions would further subdivide into minor realms.
The Daoist Talisman Sect's Seven Heavens was called "Tongtian," and its Eight Heavens was termed "Shenting," with four distinct phases: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
For the Daoist Dan Ding Faction, the Seven Heavens was known as "Nascent Soul," and the Eight Heavens as "Spirit Transformation" or "Infant Transformation," which consisted of four transformations.
The Daoist External Alchemy Sect named their Seven Heavens as "Elixir Realms" and their Eight Heavens as "Immortal Wandering," with four seas of exploration.
In the Confucian lineage, the archers of the Seven Heavens were dubbed "Shenfeng," and those of the Eight Heavens were called "Kaijiang," with four realms of expansion.
The Confucian reciters of the Seven Heavens were known as "Entering the Divine" or "Rushen," while those of the Eight Heavens were the "Emerging Divine" or "Chushen," with four states of forgetfulness.
As for the Confucian scholars of the scriptures, their Seven Heavens was termed "Chongdou," symbolizing the literary talent and spirit charging towards the Taurus constellation, while their Eight Heavens was named "Governing the Nation" or "Zhiguo," with four governing treatises.
In recent years, the top cultivators of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan included four Eight Heavens Confucian masters: the former clan head, Lin Qun, who had reached the peak of the Eight Heavens and mastered all four treatises of governance; Lin Che, who had attained the third treatise; and two clan elders, Lin Feng and Lin Chou.
With the death of Lin Qun, the clan's strength had been impacted, and the subsequent disappearance of Lin Che and Lin Feng after the Battle of Poyang Lake had plunged the clan into a deep crisis. Only in recent years, with Lin Che's return and Lin Yuwei's breakthrough to the Eight Heavens, had the clan begun to recover.
However, the deaths of Lin Qun and Lin Feng remained a deep wound.
"It's unlikely that there's an ancient powerhouse hiding in the ancestral land of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan, but we must remain vigilant," Lei Jun thought, aware that the term "old monster" in this world referred to something different from what he had read in novels on Earth.
Due to the unique lifespan and aging stages in this world, there were rarely any sect elders who became stronger with extended service.
Instead, "old monsters" referred to elderly cultivators who had passed the platform stage and were entering a period of decline but had not yet reached the cliff-like drop-off of old age. At this stage, further advancement was highly improbable, and those who managed to reverse the trend and improve were few and far between, earning their place in the annals of history.
The Dakuang Temple monks kept a low profile throughout the year, and often, their efforts were not directed towards further advancement but rather...avoiding decline."
To be precise, the decline was difficult to avoid, but by quieting their hearts and cultivating diligently, they could attempt to curb and slow down the downward trend.
At the very least, they would not accelerate their decline.
At this stage, if cultivators engaged in battles, it would be easy for them to harm their foundations.
And once their foundations were damaged, it often marked the beginning of an accelerated decline and decay for elderly cultivators.
If longevity was out of reach, a considerable number of cultivators in similar situations would choose to rest and cultivate in seclusion.
The more prominent and powerful their background, the more likely they were to do so, as they could rely on the support of their sects or families without having to worry about seeking protection or guardians.
Among them, the Upper Three Heavens elders would try to slow down their decline, preserving their strength to a certain extent and leaving some trump cards for the holy lands or prestigious clans they hailed from.
This was part of what constituted the depth of holy lands and prestigious clans.
However, the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou was somewhat unique in this regard.
After being pushed to the end of the Five Surnames and Seven Aspirants by the Tianshi Mansion, they had been "taken care of" by the Fang and Chu clans, their neighbors to the left and right. Whenever there was a change in the Lin Clan, the Fang and Chu clans would pay them a "visit."
This was no exception after Lin Qun's death on the grand river and the Battle of Poyang Lake.
It was only in recent years, when the Empress opened the Xue Palace, that the Fang and Chu clans eased their suppression of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou.
And after Lin Qun's death and Lin Che's disappearance, the Lin Clan was left leaderless and in disarray. No elderly powerhouse emerged to stabilize the situation.
After the Battle of Poyang Lake, with Lin Che and Lin Feng either dead or missing, only Lin Chou led the remaining clan members back to the ancestral land of Jiangzhou, forcing the Lin Clan to retract their influence.
Even Ye Chen from Qingzhou's Ye Clan stayed in Jiangzhou for several years, helping the Lin Clan maintain their presence.
If they hadn't been desperate, the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou wouldn't have become so weak that they would practically have no bottom line.
Unfortunately, when Xu Yuanzhen also went missing, the Tianshi Mansion also ceased their attacks and did not further invade Jiangzhou. Otherwise, they might have been able to uncover some secrets.
As for whether the Tianshi Mansion had such depth and hidden elderly powerhouses, the answer, of course, was yes...in the past.
Lei Jun shook his head slightly.
It's best not to discuss this issue; it's better for everyone's friendship.
Under the circumstances of both internal strife and external troubles, the Tianshi Mansion's elders from the early years were all gone.
Not to mention the Tianshi Mansion, even the Huangtiandao next door no longer had any elders from the older generation.
There used to be an old solitary survivor, Li Song.
But he, too, was lost in the recent conflict between Li's internal factions...
"Hmm?"
Lei Jun's eyes suddenly narrowed, his gaze shifting to the group of black-robed monks in the distance.
Their leader was being cautious, taking out something.
From a distance, it looked like a pouch.
I recall that the successors of Dakuang Temple cultivate the True Meaning of Destruction and do not refine Buddhist artifacts... Lei Jun approached as he observed this.
The black-robed monk was extremely cautious as he opened the pouch.
In a somewhat blackly humorous turn of events, several of his fellow monks standing behind him took out a few talismans, which turned out to be spiritual talismans from the Taoist Fulu School.
Wind Rolling Up the Remnants talisman, with brushwork from Huangtiandao... Lei Jun only needed a glance to recognize it.
Lei Jun couldn't see clearly what was specifically inside the pouch that the leading black-robed monk had opened.
But even from a distance, he could feel a sharp and evil aura emanating from it.
At the moment, it wasn't strong enough to be noticed by the combatants in the distance.
However, the evil aura was quite pure and did not seem to come from the Dakuang Temple, the Blood River Sect, or other sects that practiced both Buddhist and Taoist arts. Instead, it seemed to originate from a pure-blooded demon.
Looking at the direction in which the black-robed monks with the Wind Rolling Up the Remnants talismans were aiming, it was clear that they intended to blow the contents of the pouch towards Dragon Bone Ridge.
They're going to blow whatever's in that pouch towards Dragon Bone Ridge... Lei Jun's thoughts flashed, and without pausing in his actions, he quietly approached the group of Dakuang Temple disciples under the cover of the Wind and Thunder talisman and the Coiled Serpent Bone.
(End of Chapter)
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