Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

Shouyang Mountain, Bajing Palace

The sea of ​​clouds rises and falls, and the red clouds swirl and turn.

This sacred place is forever shrouded in tranquility, where even time seems to slow down.

Inside the main hall, an old man sat with his eyes closed, surrounded by a pure aura, blending into the entire Shouyang Mountain and even the whole world.

He is Taiqing Daode Tianzun, the head of the Three Pure Ones and the leader of the Human Religion.

Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes.

At first glance, those eyes seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, they appeared to contain endless galaxies and the cycle of creation and destruction. Without turning his head, he addressed the empty side hall with a mischievous smirk, "Disciple, that little monkey you've got your eye on is in trouble!"

The echoing sound woke up Grand Master Xuandu, who was deducing the Dao of Alchemy in the side hall.

This only disciple of the Supreme Saint slowly raised his head, his face gentle and his temperament reserved. He looked to be only in his thirties, but in reality, he was already a quasi-saint who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years.

Xuandu put down the jade slip, stood up and walked to the main hall, where he respectfully bowed and said, "Please give me your instructions, Master."

The Sage Taiqing's lips twitched slightly as he looked at his disciple's expression. Anyone who saw this would be utterly astonished. Who would have thought that the Sage Taiqing, who always presented himself as serene, inactive, and detached, would occasionally find his overly "serious" disciple somewhat uninteresting?

"Alas." Taiqing sighed softly, regaining his calm and composed expression. "Zhang Kui has cultivated the Golden Elixir Dao and has already attained the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit. This time, the people from the West are making things difficult for him. You should go down the mountain to help them."

A knowing glint flashed in Grand Master Xuandu's eyes.

He naturally knew who Zhang Kui was—the human cultivator who possessed witch blood but cultivated the Golden Elixir Path and received the true teachings with his master's tacit approval.

"Disciple obeys." Xuandu bowed again.

He then turned around, stepped out of the Eight Views Palace, and his figure transformed into a long rainbow of clear light, piercing through the sea of ​​clouds and heading straight east.

After Xuandu left, the Eight Views Palace returned to silence.

The Sage of Taiqing closed his eyes again, but softly recited:

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, treating the people like straw dogs. People all say that the Supreme Being is heartless! But..."

He paused, and the air in the hall seemed to waft slightly.

"Who can truly understand the boundless love that is selfless, unselfish, and without attachment?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Eight Views Palace fell into complete silence, with only the flame in the alchemy furnace, which had been burning since the mountain was founded, flickering silently.

……

More than a hundred li to the east of Qinglong Pass.

A cavalry force of several thousand men is marching rapidly along the dirt road.

The sound of horses' hooves was like rolling thunder, and the dust they raised stretched for miles, but it was strangely contained within ten feet around the formation by an invisible force, and did not spread out.

At the very front of the procession, Zhang Kui rode on the back of the divine beast Bi'an, his eyes slightly closed, his divine sense spreading out and covering an area of ​​a hundred miles.

"My lord, we're almost at Qinglong Pass!"

Wu Wenhua rode forward, clad in heavy black iron armor, his physique as imposing as an iron tower. His mount was a specially chosen northern dragon horse, more than two feet taller than ordinary warhorses.

Zhang Kui opened his eyes, a flash of light appearing in them.

"Yes, culture." He said calmly, "Tell everyone to keep pushing forward, and then get a good rest once we reach Qinglong Pass."

"Yes, my lord!" Wu Wenhua clasped his hands in obeisance, turned his horse around, and his booming voice echoed throughout the army: "My lord orders us to speed up the march! Once we reach Qinglong Pass, there will be plenty of wine and meat!"

"promise!"

Three thousand Xuanjia soldiers responded in unison, their voices echoing across the land.

These elite soldiers were all full of vigor and vitality. The blood and energy of the three thousand men were connected and condensed into a blurry phantom above their heads.

Zhang Kui nodded slightly.

This army is one of the fruits of his labor over the years. Although small in number, everyone practices the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Jue" (a martial arts technique for strengthening tendons and bones), and when combined with battle formations, they are strong enough to withstand an army of tens of thousands.

The procession continued forward.

……

On the western horizon, a faint purple-gold light was approaching at an alarming speed.

On the eastern horizon, a streak of clear light arrived first, silently blocking the path of the purple-gold escape light.

The two beams of light stopped simultaneously, revealing two figures.

A man dressed in a purple-gold kasaya, wearing a jeweled crown, holding a vase, with a compassionate yet dignified expression, was none other than the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta of the Western Paradise.

The other person wore a moon-white Taoist robe, and his aura was as restrained as an abyss; he was none other than the Grand Master Xuandu.

The two stood in mid-air, thousands of feet apart, yet their auras had already divided the entire sky in two: one side shone with purple-gold Buddhist light, while the other was filled with clear light and Daoist charm.

The Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, with hands clasped in prayer and a solemn expression, said, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Xuandu. Why are you blocking my path?"

Grand Master Xuandu bowed slightly, his tone calm: "Fellow Daoist Mahasthamaprapta, are you on your way to find Zhang Kui?"

"Indeed." Mahasthamaprapta readily admitted, "Zhang Kui killed my Western Sect's Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons on the banks of the Yellow River. The karmic debt has been settled, and this humble monk has come to settle this matter."

"Oh?" Grand Master Xuandu's expression remained unchanged. "As far as I know, those three laid an ambush first, intending to kill Zhang Kui. Zhang Kui was merely acting in self-defense; what wrong has he done?"

"Killing is a sin," Mahasthamaprapta shook his head. "Moreover, those three did not deserve to die. Zhang Kui was ruthless, killing them both body and soul, thus committing the sin of murder. This humble monk is going there to convert this scoundrel."

How could the Grand Master Xuandu not know the true meaning behind this? "Since that's the case, I will discuss the cause and effect in this matter with you, fellow Daoist."

How could the Grand Master Xuandu not know the true meaning behind this? "Since that's the case, I will discuss the cause and effect in this matter with you, fellow Daoist."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and a beam of clear light emerged from it, transforming into a water mirror in the air. The mirror reflected the battle on the banks of the Yellow River—from the ambush set by the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons, to Zhang Kui breaking through the formation and killing people, and then to the destruction of the Water Palace, everything was clearly shown.

"What are your thoughts, fellow Daoist?" asked Grand Master Xuandu. "The cycle of cause and effect is inescapable; retribution is inevitable. Why should others suffer the same fate?"

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva looked at the scene in the water mirror without changing his expression. "Even if those three people are wrong, it is up to my Western Sect to punish them. It is not for outsiders to interfere."

"That is where you fall short, fellow Daoist," Grand Master Xuandu shook his head. "Since those three have traveled a thousand miles to commit such atrocities, how can the cultivators of the East, acting on behalf of Heaven, not intervene?"

The two exchanged words, seemingly calm, but in reality, they were full of hidden wit, with every sentence revolving around the struggle for tradition and destiny.

Seeing that words could not persuade Xuandu, the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta sighed: "It seems that today, you and I are bound to have a battle."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Grand Master Xuandu nodded slightly. "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will not rely on my Quasi-Saint cultivation to suppress you. Today, we will only distinguish the superiority of our Daoist methods, not the level of our cultivation."

The two exchanged a glance and, in perfect unison, launched their attacks, each displaying their unique abilities.

The Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta made the first move, gathering his right hand into a palm, palm down, and showering down endless Buddhist light. Within the Buddhist light, the phantom of a world could be vaguely seen, in which countless Buddhist disciples chanted sutras, heavenly flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprang from the ground, which was the "Buddha Kingdom in the Palm" supernatural power secretly transmitted by the Western Paradise.

This supernatural power appears peaceful, but it actually harbors deadly intent. Once one is drawn into the Buddhist realm, one will be converted by the Buddha's light, gradually lose oneself, and eventually convert to Buddhism in the West.

Seeing this, Grand Master Xuandu remained calm and simply raised his hand and made a light sweeping motion in the air.

"Reversing Yin and Yang."

The moment those four words were uttered, the world changed drastically.

Suddenly, the enveloping Buddhist light distorted, and the scene within the illusory Buddhist kingdom began to reverse—golden lotuses withered, celestial flowers fell, Buddhist disciples walked backwards, and scriptures were recited in reverse. The once peaceful and solemn Buddhist kingdom now revealed a strange and absurd quality.

The power of salvation of the Buddha Kingdom in the palm of the hand was completely disrupted by this move, "Reversing Yin and Yang".

The Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta's expression hardened slightly, his hands clasped together, and three golden relics the size of bowls rose from the top of his head. The relics emitted countless rays of light, each ray containing Buddhist mantras, which pressed down on the Grand Master Xuandu.

This is the Western religion's "sarira" supernatural power, which uses the relics condensed through one's own cultivation as a foundation to invoke the laws of heaven, possessing boundless power.

Grand Master Xuandu remained calm, his right hand forming a sword-like gesture in front of him, outlining a series of profound and mysterious trajectories.

"Shifting stars and changing constellations".

As he finished speaking, the countless rays of light emitted from the three relics suddenly veered off course, intersecting and colliding with each other, ultimately canceling each other out and dissipating in mid-air. It was as if countless stars had been forcibly repositioned with supreme magical power, disrupting their original trajectories.

The supernatural powers of the relic have been broken.

The Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta finally put aside his contempt. He chanted a Buddhist mantra, and his body shone with great Buddhist light, and his figure began to expand rapidly—one zhang, three zhang, six zhang.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a golden giant six zhang tall, his entire body as if cast in gold, with a golden wheel of merit floating behind his head. This was the "Six-Zhang Golden Body," one of the most powerful divine abilities of the Western Sect.

This golden body is not only indestructible, but it can also draw upon the blessings of Heavenly Dao and its merits, making every move it makes carry immense power.

Grand Master Xuandu looked at the golden statue, a hint of seriousness finally flashing in his eyes. He formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and performed profound footwork.

"Liujia Qimen".

In an instant, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of a thousand miles, centered on Grand Master Xuandu, began to operate according to some strange law. The phantom image of the Eight Trigrams appeared in the air, with the eight directions—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—constantly rotating and changing.

As the six-zhang-tall golden body stepped into this area, it immediately felt as if it were trapped in quagmire—Xuandu was clearly right in front of it, but with each step, it felt as if it were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. The power of the golden body was weakened, dispersed, and transferred layer by layer by the Bagua formation, making it difficult to exert its true power.

"What a wonderful Liujia Qimen!" Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva exclaimed, and his golden body suddenly sat down cross-legged, his hands forming a mudra in front of his chest.

That being the case...

A resolute glint flashed in the eyes of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. He took out an object from his sleeve—a branch of a seven-colored tree. It looked ordinary, but it exuded a terrifying holy aura.

The Seven Treasures Tree of the Sage Zhunti.

Although it is only a branch of the Seven Treasures Tree, it contains the power of a sage and is no small matter.

Mahasthamaprapta tossed a branch of the Seven Treasures Tree into the air, and the branch grew rapidly in the wind, transforming into the phantom of a towering Bodhi tree. The tree's shadow covered a thousand miles, each leaf shimmering with the light of wisdom, its roots piercing the void, and its trunk supporting heaven and earth.

"Bodhi Grand Formation, activate!"

With a low shout from Mahasthamaprapta, the illusory image of the Bodhi tree solidified completely, enveloping Grand Master Xuandu and the entire Six Jia Qimen Formation.

Within the formation, chanting filled the air, and Buddhist light shone everywhere. Countless phantoms of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats appeared, chanting scriptures in unison. Each verse transformed into golden runes, pressing down upon Grand Master Xuandu.

Grand Master Xuandu, standing in the formation, looked up at the illusory Bodhi tree and the countless Buddha images in the sky, and sighed softly.

"Since you have come up with this strategy, I will not hold back my skills."

After saying this, Grand Master Xuandu took out a gold and a silver wheel from his sleeve—the Sun Essence Wheel and the Moon Essence Wheel.

The Sun Essence Wheel is shaped like a constantly burning sun, its body continuously emitting the sun's true fire. When it rotates, its light illuminates the heavens, and all evil forces retreat.

The Moon Essence Wheel is shaped like a flawless, bright crescent moon, its entire body as white as jade, radiating a cool, silvery glow. Within the wheel, Dao patterns appear and disappear, freezing the void.

Xuandu threw the two wheels into the air, where they instantly unfolded in the wind and entered a specific location.

Immediately afterwards, Xuandu took out an ancient array diagram and pressed it into the center of the array.

"The Yin-Yang Dust Array, activate."

The Sun Wheel and Moon Wheel vibrated simultaneously, emitting divine light that intertwined in the air to form a Tai Chi pattern covering the heavens and the earth. The Tai Chi diagram slowly rotated, and the Yin and Yang energies circulated, evolving into earth, water, fire, and wind, thus resetting the balance of purity and turbidity.

As soon as this formation was activated, the Buddhist light and sound of the Bodhi Grand Formation began to fade.

When the Buddha's light falls into the Tai Chi pattern, it is like a clay ox entering the sea, being broken down and worn away by the Yin and Yang energies, transforming into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The Two Elements Dust Array is one of the top-tier killing arrays of the primordial world, personally passed down by the Sage of Taiqing.

This formation is infinitely mysterious, known as "the land of dust, from which the primordial chaos evolved." Within the formation, a world exists on its own, where life, death, illusion, and destruction are all within a single thought.

Although the Bodhi Grand Array is powerful, it is ultimately inferior to the Yin-Yang Microcosm Array.

The expression on Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva's face finally changed.

He sensed the Bodhi tree phantom, formed from the branches of the Seven Treasures Tree, trembling violently, its light of wisdom rapidly dimming. The Buddhist landscape within the formation began to crumble, and the phantoms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas vanished one after another.

Mahasthamaprapta sighed deeply, knowing that victory was impossible today. He clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to the Grand Master Xuandu in the formation.

"Fellow Daoist Xuandu's Daoist skills are profound, and this humble monk admires them. Let's leave it at that for today."

Having said that, he retrieved the Seven Treasures Tree Branch and dispersed the Bodhi Great Array.

Seeing this, Grand Master Xuandu waved his hand and dispelled the Yin-Yang Dust Array. The Sun Essence Wheel and the Moon Essence Wheel flew back into his sleeve.

The two stood facing each other in mid-air once again, as if the battle between them had never happened.

"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me," said Grand Master Xuandu, bowing deeply.

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva shook his head with a wry smile: "My skills are inferior to others. The divine powers of the Taiqing lineage are indeed infinitely mysterious."

He paused, pointed to Zhang Kui in the distance, then looked at Xuan Du: "What is the connection between Zhang Kui and you, fellow Daoist?"

"This child cultivates the 'Golden Elixir Great Dao' taught by our master, and can be considered part of my Xuanmen lineage," Grand Master Xuandu said calmly. "If you seek trouble with him again in the future, you will be making an enemy of my Taiqing lineage."

The Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta remained silent for a moment, then clasped his hands together and said, "This humble monk understands. From today onwards, my Western Sect will no longer seek trouble with Zhang Kui. All past karmic debts are wiped clean."

"Good." Grand Master Xuandu nodded.

Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva said no more, turned around and flew towards the western horizon...