I stole divine power in Daxia

Chapter 608: The Mortal World
Baoxiangzhou, Heniucheng.

This place is three thousand miles south of the Luo River. Buddhism is flourishing here. There are countless Buddhist temples in the state, and Buddhists from all over the world come here to pay tribute.

Just two months ago, the Nananda Temple, one of the four holy sites of Buddhism, was closed, causing a brief panic among the people of Heniu City. Fortunately, no problems occurred in other Buddhist temples, and Baoxiang Prefecture has always been prosperous. Even during droughts, people were able to live a life of plenty with the offerings of believers from all over the world, so there was no major chaos.

However, this short-lived prosperity only lasted for two months. As the imperial court issued an edict to "reform monks and return to secular life", many temples in Baoxiang Prefecture were the first to be affected.

If the Queen Mother wanted to change her ways from a nun to a secular woman, she naturally needed to make an example of someone else to scare the monkeys. So her actions could not be too small. If they were too small, not only would she not be able to shock the monks, she would also not be able to show her determination and get the monks to donate food and land on their own initiative.

So today, a six-tailed flag came from the west against the morning glow, with white characters on a black background, and the word "Zhou" written in capital letters. The man was like a horse, and the horse was like a dragon. It rolled up the clouds in the sky like fire, like an arrow tearing through the Buddha's light that had accumulated over the years in the sky above Baoxiang Prefecture, making the morning glow look like blood.

Ah Da pulled the reins and clenched his fist in the air, immediately ordering the three hundred guards to obey orders. As they stopped, the strong wind that was blowing from the sky also came to an abrupt halt, and the five elements of ancestral qi in this place became extremely suppressed.

Ah Da grinned and said, "Since you have chosen to fight to the bitter end, then don't hide in your tortoise shell. Your tortoise shell cannot protect your Buddha statue."

In front of him, there is a three-meter-tall gilded bronze elephant on each side of the magnificent temple, both kneeling on their front knees. The left elephant carries a lotus, and the right elephant carries scriptures. This is the Dongxiang Temple. It is said that when the Buddha traveled around the world, two precious elephants greeted him here. The Buddha was grateful to all living beings for seeking the true scriptures, so he preached here, and thus left behind the Dongxiang Temple.

Therefore, although Baoxiang Temple is not one of the four holy places of Buddhism, it is also very important. There have always been second-level practitioners in the temple.

Hearing Ada's provocation, a low bell sounded from the temple. The sound of the bell was like the cry of a precious elephant, which fell into people's hearts, cleansing their seven emotions and six desires, allowing people to touch the essence of Buddhism.

This is the "Baoxiang Ciyin", the Buddhist Dharma that Dongxiang Temple is proud of. It is performed by a second-level Bodhisattva of Buddhism. It is said that it can make even the most heinous criminals convert to Buddhism, put down their butcher knives, and become monks.

Even if they do not enter Buddhism, countless practitioners before the third level will benefit greatly from hearing it, so this "Baoxiang Ciyin" is not easily performed and is kept as a top secret in the temple.

Obviously, the Bodhisattva of Dongxiang Temple neither wanted to confront Ada, who represented Zhou Tieyi, the Queen of Heaven, and the main intention of Daming Palace, nor did they want to follow the policy of "changing from monk to layman". Therefore, they wanted to test with Buddhist sounds. If Ada and others were willing to "let go" of Dongxiang Temple, then the Bodhisattva in the temple would not mind giving out benefits and sending away this group of vicious villains, which was probably a bit like the Buddha cutting his flesh to feed the eagle.

However, the powerful and compassionate Buddhist sound came out from the temple and hit Ada and the three hundred guards, just like waves crashing on pieces of black polished rocks, leaving only a little golden Buddha light to shatter.

At the beginning, Zhou Tieyi trained his personal guards with the method of the five elements. Among them, the fifty elite men including A Da were the core, and the 'Blood God Son' was directly planted. Zhou Tieyi did not need the 'Blood God Son' to take over another's body and be reborn, so the benefits of the 'Blood God Son' to A Da and others were real. After all, even Zhou Tieyi, the Heavenly Venerable, could only produce three lotus seeds every month.

And each lotus seed is like a blood-colored ginseng fruit, which can pass on a part of Zhou Tieyi's physical talent, so one can imagine how terrifying the physical talents of these fifty people of A Da are!

These are not all the "talents" of Ada and others. As Zhou Tieyi's core guards, although they have never shown their abilities in major events, Zhou Tieyi has never been short of resources for cultivation, from the fish and dragon blood in Fengyu Pavilion on Yujing Mountain, to the abundant supply of ginseng fruit, to the precious weapons bred by the magic stones in Taihang Divine Court.

Even the core children of the great families might not be able to enjoy these resources. When the two are added together, even the Emperor of Great Xia’s Yulin Guards are far from being able to obtain them.

"Noisy!"

Ah Da glared angrily, and the sneer on his face turned into a ferocious look. Streams of blood and strong murderous energy gathered to form a huge dragon head.

The dragon's head was ferocious and dark in color. The dragon blood that Ah Da took that day was taken from Bi'an, which belonged to the earth. Then he took the ginseng fruit produced by the real dragon that caused disaster in Pingjindu, which belonged to the water. Therefore, Ah Da's current innate magical powers were a combination of water and earth, and appeared dark in color.

The dragon opened its mouth and a terrifying roar sounded. Ah Da took out a decree, "The Queen of Heaven decrees that anyone who does not respect the laws of the Heavenly King will be considered treason and will be exiled eight thousand miles away and sent to the army. They will not be allowed to return without amnesty!"

When Ah Da received the decree in his hand, a bright yellow national destiny rose up, and combined with Ah Da's innate magical power, it directly broke through the "Bao Xiang Ci Yin" in an instant. The terrifying roar was like a hurricane, and it lifted up the two three-meter-high copper doors of the gate and smashed them towards the main hall inside.

"Amitabha."

The sound of Buddhist chanting was heard again in the temple, but this time, the anger was not concealed in the chanting. In front of the Main Hall, the golden body of the Bodhisattva, as majestic as a mountain, swelled with Buddha's light. The Bodhisattva sat on the six-tusked elephant, holding a wisdom pearl in one hand and raising the other hand forward. Two three-meter-high and heavy copper doors were gently lifted up in his hands like two petals of lotus flowers, without a trace of fireworks.

Bodhisattva Baoxiang still wanted to make a final concession. He suppressed his anger and looked down at Ada and his guards. "Buddha is one of the three ancestors of the human race. Daxia has always respected Buddhism. If you want to destroy mountains and temples, aren't you afraid of the consequences? When the great catastrophe comes, all your merits will vanish into thin air?"

"Monk, you don't need to talk about karma and catastrophe. If there is a catastrophe, it is your Dongxiang Temple that is in trouble today. I know that you rely on your supernatural powers and want to resist stubbornly. If it were in the past, I would have razed your Dongxiang Temple to the ground, but this time, the mistress warned us to leave a glimmer of hope. I have a formation passed down by the old mistress. If you can break it, we will turn around and leave. If you can't, all the monks in your temple will either become monks or be sent to the front line as soldiers!"

The old mistress that Ah Da mentioned is naturally Zhou Yulong, the mother of Zhou Tieyi.

Bodhisattva Baoxiang's wisdom pearl kept moving, and he looked down at Ada and the other three hundred people. Each of these three hundred people had already entered the sixth rank of military strategists, and some of them were even fifth-rank "forged soldiers". They could be said to be the elite among the elite.

The only shortcoming is A Da, the leader of the troops. Although he is not inferior to other third-rank military strategists in terms of pure physical strength, the practice of military strategists is not limited to physical practice. Therefore, when it comes to the arrangement of formations, A Da is definitely lacking.

The 'old mistress' he mentioned must be Zhou Yulong without a doubt. Although Zhou Yulong is regarded as the seed of a Taoist sub-sage, he has never really shown his ability. Even when Zhou Tieyi was preaching at Taiyi Temple last time, Zhou Yulong failed to gather the embryonic form of Tianyu.

Taking several reasons into consideration, Baoxiang Bodhisattva was naturally tempted by Ada's proposal, because if he could not even meet such conditions, then any further resistance would only cause greater losses to the temple.

"Who is this main formation?"

Bodhisattva Baoxiang confirmed again. Ah Da pointed at himself and said, "Of course it's me."

There was murderous intent in his eyes and he licked his lips subconsciously. Although he had received the [Array of All Living Beings] from Zhou Yulong and thought he could defeat Baoxiang Bodhisattva, victory and killing were two different concepts. If a second-grade wanted to escape at all costs, Ada would definitely not be able to suppress him. It would be better for him to let the other party enter the array voluntarily like he was doing now. By then, life and death would naturally be in his hands.

Bodhisattva Baoxiang stopped turning his rosary beads and said, "I accept the offer."

"Hahaha, so refreshing!"

Ah Da laughed, then his clenched fist turned into five fingers, and the blood and energy of the three hundred guards behind him rose up, and the terrifying blood and energy directly formed a vortex of a thousand acres, shining with magnificent five-colored light. In the auspicious clouds of the five-colored light, there were faint images of five majestic emperors. They were located in the five directions, looming in the auspicious clouds. Even the golden body of Baoxiang Bodhisattva could only look up to them.

The five emperors stretched out their fingers and pointed downwards. They used blue, red, white, black and yellow to draw a prison on the ground, covering the Bodhisattva Baoxiang. The Bodhisattva Baoxiang sat on the six-tusked white elephant and did not escape. Instead, he took the initiative to enter the formation woven by the Five Emperors' laws.

Once you enter the formation, the surrounding scenery suddenly changes. The mountains and rivers here are beautiful and it doesn't look like a military formation at all. Instead, it feels like entering a paradise.

However, Bodhisattva Baoxiang did not dare to relax at all. In general, military formations are based on some extreme forces, so they are either roaring winds that can scrape off golden flesh and jade bones, or burning fires that can refine real Arhats. Although these extreme forces are terrifying, because they cannot achieve balance, the formations will reveal some flaws, which can be broken as long as the corresponding methods or treasures of restraint are found.

On the contrary, this kind of five elements balanced formation before him was the first time even Bodhisattva Baoxiang had seen it.

He thought about it and knelt in front of the six-tusked white elephant. He slid down from the white elephant's body and turned into the size of an ordinary person. His red and white soles touched the soil of the beautiful mountains and rivers below. The moment his feet touched the ground, a bustling city suddenly appeared in the beautiful mountains and rivers in front of him.

The city is home to peddlers, princes and nobles, like a miniature country with its gates open to the Bodhisattva Baoxiang.

Baoxiang Bodhisattva raised his foot, and lotus flowers blossomed under his feet. He first walked a thousand miles eastward, and then walked another thousand miles westward. With the help of his magical power of feet, Baoxiang Bodhisattva should have walked out of Baoxiang Prefecture long ago.

However, this formation has all five elements. Although the space inside is not endless, the five directions will also be transformed under the transformation of the five elements. Even if Baoxiang Bodhisattva travels thousands of miles, he cannot get out of this formation with all five elements.

After seeing the power of this formation for the first time, Bodhisattva Baoxiang finally stopped avoiding the central city and led the six-tusked white elephant towards the city.

As He walked, He made judgments.

"The formation in front of us is not based on extreme power, so it seems that it has no direct killing power, at least that's what it shows now."

"Although it has no direct killing power, it also shows how balanced and harmonious the five elements are here, making the spatial stability here a hundred times greater than that of the outside world."

The moment Baoxiang Bodhisattva's heel landed on the ground, He knew that there was no absolute nemesis of this formation. Unless one cultivated to the level of Champion Marquis Xiao Yuanshan and was able to break all methods, he could barely be called the nemesis of this formation.

"It seems that Zhou Yulong evolved this formation to help Zhou Tieyi resist Ren Tu's 'Heluo Formation' and 'Wu Mie Tiandu Formation'?"

Bodhisattva Baoxiang made a guess.

"However, although the formation is perfect, and can even be said to be 'the condensation of ten thousand paths', the formation is perfect, but the person who set it up is not necessarily perfect. I just need to find the person who set up the formation, subdue and suppress him, and I will naturally be able to break the formation. I just walked two thousand miles and didn't find any formation base."

"This shows that his formation base has not been hidden at all, and has always been exposed in the central city."

Leading the six-tusked white elephant into the city, there was still no murderous intent here. Instead, the scenes in front of him made Bodhisattva Baoxiang squint his eyes slightly. He saw mechanical vehicles traveling back and forth on the wide streets. Among them, there were large mechanical vehicles buried underground, rumbling like trains. Even ordinary people could travel back and forth across the city within half an hour.

The towering buildings reach into the clouds like palaces in the sky. Although the passers-by are not wearing fancy clothes, their narrow-sleeved and long trousers are brightly colored, similar to those of Mohists and Gongshujia, which are far more than clothes that can cover the body.

“Is this the vision of the future presented by His teachings?”

Bodhisattva Baoxiang judged.

Although Ah Da said that this formation was evolved by Zhou Yulong, the scene before him was clearly a future manifestation of Zhou Tieyi's Taoist lineage. When Bodhisattva Baoxiang observed it, the day and night in the sky had changed silently. The bright sky light dimmed, and ground lamps as bright as stars lit up.

Under the light of the floor lamps, the crowd around not only did not decrease, but became more prosperous and lively. As the crowd grew, wisps of invisible aura began to gather. This aura brought together people's emotions and desires, similar to the 'smell of money' of merchants, but more complex than the 'smell of money', but at the same time more pure.

Baoxiang Bodhisattva was the first to sense this aura, and it gradually poured into his six senses of eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, and mind, and landed in his heart, causing a layer of confusion in his clear Buddha mind.

"This is?"

Bodhisattva Baoxiang looked within himself and saw that the layer of confusion appeared light pink, just like the smoke and dust rising above the ground in the town. His expression became solemn. He naturally knew that this smoke and dust was the famous "red dust".

The world where mortals live, where the seven emotions and six desires, and the causes and effects of all living beings converge, is the land of red dust. No matter whether they are Buddhist or Taoist monks, after they realize that they have transcended, they will try their best to stay away from the red dust to avoid being dragged into it. This is just like the Buddha, who also needed to stay sober after becoming a saint.

(End of this chapter)