Chapter 57: Floating Light Heavenly Realm

Chapter 57: Floating Light Heavenly Realm

"Little one, are you chopping up meat for dumplings?"

Meng Yuan was chopping with great focus when he suddenly heard someone speaking. He realized he had been so engrossed that the old monk was already dead beyond recognition.

Snapping back to his senses, he followed the voice.

By then, night had fallen. Gong Zihua was kneeling on one knee, using his knife to support himself, and his head was bowed low.

On his shoulder stood a large magpie, several times larger than an ordinary magpie, and even bigger than a falcon. Its beak was black and shiny, its feathers vibrant, and its eyes, though small, were exceptionally bright.

Meng Yuan had no experience in fighting bird demons, but he thought that even if the bird could fly, throwing his knife might still hit its target.

The magpie seemed to sense Meng Yuan's intense killing intent and quickly squawked, "Little guy, we're on the same side!"

"Really? I don't believe you," Meng Yuan said.

"Gong, say something!" The magpie didn't dare to fly away, fearing that Meng Yuan might lose control and strike with his knife. It flapped its wings anxiously and pecked at Gong Zih its long beak, pecking at Gong Zihua's ears.

"We're on the same side," Gong Zihua replied weakly. He lifted his head, his eyes still slightly dazed, and smiled bitterly, "They're good at manipulating emotions, causing people to experience extreme joy and sorrow, deep regret, and sudden enlightenment. This is how they preach the wonders of the Buddhist path."

"You two are too arrogant!" The magpie spoke up when it saw Meng Yuan sheathing his knife. "That old monk must have been an Eighth Stage Perfection, almost reaching the Seventh Stage. He had the ability to discern truth from falsehood, and with his mind-reading ability, he gained the advantage! If it weren't for me keeping watch, you two Eighth Stage little guys would have been finished long ago!"

Meng Yuan realized that this magpie liked to boast and take credit, but he didn't expose it. Instead, he curiously asked, "His mind-reading ability? Can he see my thoughts?"

"Little guy, you're so naive!" The magpie seemed to lack the skill of delivering good news, and its words were not polite. "His mind-reading ability is just their exaggeration. Do you really think he can see what you're thinking? He can only sense your emotional and mental changes, using them to lure you into shaving your head!"

"I see, thank you for the lesson," Meng Yuan said.

"Call me Senior Brother, and I'll teach you more!" the magpie replied.

Meng Yuan pretended not to hear and turned to Gong Zihua, asking, "How are you, Brother Gong?"

"Perceiving life and perceiving death, perceiving death and perceiving life," Gong Zihua said, pinching the space between his eyebrows. His eyes had already cleared, and he smiled bitterly, "They excel at manipulating emotions, causing people to experience extreme joy and sorrow, deep regret, and sudden enlightenment. This is how they preach the wonders of the Buddhist path."

"You really lack experience, Gong. They preach abstinence, but wait until they trap you in the realm of lust. Then you'll see!" the magpie said.

Gong Zihua ignored the magpie and stood up. He looked at Meng Yuan and smiled, "Reaching the Eighth Stage so quickly, Senior Nie's discernment is truly sharp. We worked together."

"Don't forget me; I kept you alive too!" the magpie interrupted.

"It was a joint effort," Gong Zihua said with a smile.

They exchanged glances and smiled. Gong Zihua examined the old monk but didn't find anything.

The old monk was already dead, and the middle-aged monk, who had also escaped, was now sitting cross-legged, his palms pressed together. He chanted, but the sound was not the usual compassionate and enlightening tone of Buddhism; instead, it carried a hint of eeriness.

"Let's go and watch Old Zhang fight!" the magpie urged, looking towards the Righteous Shrine as it spoke.

Gong Zihua picked up the middle-aged monk, and together with Meng Yuan carrying the old monk's head, they headed towards the Righteous Shrine.

The end of February left only a waning moon in the sky, and they were in the outskirts.

In the distance, they heard the sound of horses galloping back and forth, and many people holding torches. It seemed like the reinforcements that Zhang Guinian had mentioned.

Inside the dilapidated Righteous Shrine, bursts of light and thunderous roars filled the air, accompanied by the radiant glow of Buddha's light.

At the center of the Righteous Shrine, about ten people were mounted on horses, and another ten were holding captive the disciples of Mother Luo.

It seems that everyone from the Luo Sect, except for Mother Luo, has been captured.

When Zhang Lingfeng saw Gong Meng approaching, he didn't say a word, merely nodding slightly before turning his gaze back towards the Righteous Shrine.

The Righteous Shrine, already in ruins with broken walls, now bore even more new wounds.

Zhang Guinian held a long sword in his hand, and around him, the sound of spring thunder resonated, while behind him, the image of spring thunder over mountains and rivers appeared.

Mother Luo, with her disheveled hair, had withered hands like chicken claws, and she tightly clutched a broken staff. Though she looked utterly disheveled, she still burst into laughter from time to time, and her blind eyes frequently flashed with light.

The two were locked in an intense battle, neither gaining the upper hand. Suddenly, a figure appeared standing on the roof of the Righteous Shrine.

Meng Yuan, now an eighth-rank official, was perceptive and quick-witted. He clearly saw that the person on the roof was a man in his late twenties or early thirties, dressed in a dark Daoist robe, carrying a long sword on his back, and holding a dust-sweeping brush in his arms. His eyes were cold and piercing.

Although his appearance was ordinary, under the night wind and the waning moon, just before the battle, he exuded a sense of freedom and transcendence, as if he had ascended to immortality.

"Who is that Daoist?" Meng Yuan asked the magpie.

This magpie was a chatterbox, and Meng Yuan had been forced to exchange names with it, learning that the magpie was named Baoxi Xian.

"I don't know!" The magpie stood on Gong Zihua's shoulder, stretching its left wing and scratching its head.

"He's a guest invited by Zhang to strengthen their position. We're meeting him for the first time as well," Gong Zihua said with a smile.

Meng Yuan wanted to ask more, but suddenly, the situation in the arena changed.

Mother Luo, already in a state of extreme despair, began chanting a few lines of lyrics, her emaciated body now leaking blood.

The blood carried a golden light, and her entire body seemed to be bathed in Buddha's radiance, with intense light shining from her seven orifices. However, despite her emaciated and disheveled state, when she unleashed her secret technique, instead of resembling a powerful deity, she seemed more like a demon descending upon the world.

Zhang Guinian paused to carefully observe his opponent. He had been waiting for this moment to see how capable his opponent truly was, and now he was about to find out.

"Brother Zhang, don't hold back!"

The Daoist on the roof suddenly spoke, his voice cold and clear: "Buddhism strictly forbids self-harm. She is using her last breath to forcefully invoke the Dharma of Extinction, destroying her own nature, life, and cultivation. By the Dharma of Cause and Effect Continuation, she is entangling her karma with you and even us. Where there is cause, there will be effect, and the consequences will be endless."

His words sounded mysterious and profound, but Zhang Guinian didn't hesitate. He immediately leaped forward.

Zhang Guinian's back sprouted countless floating lights, and his long sword also flashed with intense light. As he swung his sword, it seemed to split open a heavenly realm, and the endless sword intent and aura resembled flowing light, pouring down like rain.

The onlookers surrounding the courtyard exclaimed in astonishment, as if they rarely witnessed such an extraordinary skill.

Mother Luo, who had been about to launch a counter-attack before her death, was struck by countless streams of light, her body now covered in numerous wounds, and she was left completely powerless.

After displaying his ultimate skill, Zhang Guinian remained ten steps away from Mother Luo, but at this moment, he looked as if all his energy had been drained, his face pale, and he knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his sword.

Meng Yuan stood outside the Righteous Shrine, about seventy or eighty steps away, but he could still sense the power of that sword strike.

Compared to the Spring Thunder Burst, this sword strike was clearly even more powerful, several times stronger, in fact! Whether against a single opponent or a group, it was an ultimate strike.

"Is this also the Secret Treasury Opening Technique?" Meng Yuan felt an itch to know more and hurriedly asked Baoxi Xian.

"You don't even know this?" The magpie's tone was disdainful. It hopped on Gong Zihua's shoulder and, seeing that Meng Yuan didn't respond, continued, "This is the Secret Treasury Opening Technique. With the floating lights flashing, it's like a heavenly realm blooming, hence the name 'Floating Light Heavenly Realm.'"

"Does it consume a lot of true energy?" Meng Yuan asked, seeing that Zhang Guinian couldn't even stand up.

"Of course!" The magpie kept chattering, "It almost transforms all the Jade Dew into sword aura and scatters it. What do you think?"

The magpie, seeing that Meng Yuan wasn't responding, couldn't wait for him to speak and quickly said, "Call me Senior Brother, and I'll teach you!"

Meng Yuan smiled but didn't respond.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end