Translator:
Larbre Studio
Editor:
Larbre Studio
The sky, as though shrouded by a colored glass dome, shed a pale gold radiance. Living Buddha, Shi Shan nestled at the peak of the lotus flower rostrum, gazing down at Lou Cheng conversationally.
Funnily enough, the lips of the Buddha Wisdom King mirage beside him moved ceaselessly, reciting scriptures. The dissonant chanting, like the ones heard by tourists when they passed temples during morning and night classes, made it hard to decipher what was being said.
As the solemn and ethereal chanting reverberated, lotus flowers bloomed, one after the other. They were born in mud, but they remain unsullied. They were sluiced by water, but they remain elegant. Ephemeral existences, detached from worldly affairs.
The surreal vista didn’t distract Lou Cheng. Not a ripple formed in the ice lake that had taken shape in his mind.
In the five meter radius around him, which was within his senses, there was no lotus flowers or Bohdi, only a pale, iridescent light that was gentle but ephemeral. But once out of this boundary, it was all holy soil, the land of Buddha.
To think the Living Buddha’s psyche can reduce the range and potency of my Frozen Heart of Hostile Detection Move to this extent... Lou Cheng had a grave look on his face. His mind turned rapidly as he assessed his situation.
It has been said that the one who inherits the title of Living Buddha inherits the psyche of their predecessor, similar to how the offspring of a Physical Invulnerability Expert can possess innate supernatural abilities...
The latter can be explained with theories. Like how words and symbols can express the ancestor’s messages, the structure of DNA can pass on messages left by antecedents— an implantable memory...
If we think from this angle, then the Living Buddha’s legend seems plausible as well. However, the current level of research on psyche was lacking, so there wasn’t any solid proof to back up these suppositions. Rumors had it that the military had been trying all sorts of methods to get the Daxing Temple to divulge the secret arts of reincarnation but to no avail...
A living Buddha that went through Abhisheka will be well-endowed with the psyche. When practicing the Buddhism and kungfu of the Womb Realm and Vajra Wing, they learn the ropes quickly, as though they had already mastered it in their past lives, but the knowledge had gone rusty, so they needed some refresher courses...
No wonder seniors surmised that the fundamental criteria of being chosen as a reincarnated child candidate was to be extraordinarily gifted. That’s the only way for them to endure the Abhisheka. In every twenty to thirty years, only one child that fits the bill is born. If they couldn’t find him in time, they would have to grant the Living Buddha title to a fairly gifted disciple until he masters the secret arts and performs Abhisheka on a reincarnated child. That was why the Living Buddha line had slumps...
Back when China was in turmoil, it was hard to look for reincarnated children, and the largest subsect, Vajrayana, didn’t have a genuine Living Buddha that got close to the Forbidden Area for two consecutive generations. That was how the Daxing Temple, seized the opportunity and absorbed them...
Thoughts racing, Lou Cheng materialized the Scorching Red, Faint Purple, Gold, Dazzling White, and Light Blue fireballs in a laid back manner. The fireballs began orbiting around him.
Once the five flames formed, the holy land darkened. The night sky slanted and spilled upon the earth, with titillating stars dressing the pitch-black curtains.
However, it didn’t dilute the holy soil, but instead added a dreamy charm instead, making it seem more sacred.
“The Living Buddha lives up to his name...” The host couldn’t see these visuals as clearly as Lou Cheng did from the commentator box, but he could faintly discern the vistas that were described in Buddhist scriptures.
The old Taoist who wore a hairpin nodded in agreement.
“Half of the Living Buddha’s power lies in his psyche...”
At that moment, the referee standing at the edge of Jiangxin island raised his hands high.
“Begin!” he boomed.
As he spoke, the incantation at Lou Cheng’s ears suddenly grew louder and clearer. It put him at ease but quelled his fighting spirit. Controlling his body became a lot harder.
What was more terrifying was how everything seemed to slow down around him, frame by frame, as though he was inside a slow-motion movie scene. It felt like a dream. Sitting on the lotus flower rostrum afar, the golden-bodied Living Buddha suddenly flashed before him. Raising his right hand with a solemn Buddha look, he slapped down.
His glistening palm, with fingers spread apart, shrouded the sky and sealed off all spaces. It isolated the area where Lou Cheng was standing, not giving him any chance of evading.
This made Lou Cheng feel as though he was trapped in an illusion where he entered the world behind the Buddhist scriptures. It felt like those absurd tales were coming to life around him.
If not for the notes on the battles of other Physical Invulnerability Mighty Ones against the Living Buddha (courtesy of the Longhu Club Forum), Lou Cheng would have suspected that his opponent’s divine kungfu had distorted time and space, trapping him in an independent dimension.
But, presently, he knew that the numerous incomprehensible effects from the palm strike mainly came from mind suppression and influence.
A reality that cannot be discerned from fantasy, a lie that cannot be distinguished from the truth— the Bodhi Mantras!
This was a secret art from the Womb Realm wing that could only be truly mastered by a unique Living Buddha who had gone through Abhisheka and possessed a powerful psyche.
At that moment, the audience watching from the distance and through screens witnessed a different image than the one Lou Cheng was seeing. They saw the living Buddha, Shi Shan stepping on an iridescent pale-gold Buddha light as it bloomed like a lotus flower. He closed in on his opponent in one step and raised his right hand. Slowly, and forcefully, he pressed down, as though he wanted to hammer his enemy into the ground, then suppress and seal him.
Against the undodgeable, insurmountable gargantuan golden Buddha’s fist, Lou Cheng suddenly gave up on the Enemy Heart Freezing Move. Instead, he chose to visualize the Fighting character that brimmed with fighting spirit and a never-say-die sentiment.
His Qi and blood boiled. The feeling of dismay and sluggishness was swept away at once.
Lou Cheng then arched his back, quickly withdrawing his force as he casted Force Concentration.
This time, he merely grasped the essence of the character and didn’t move the stars to complete the Fighting Formula.
Bam! With a burst of his Dan Qi, his fist flew upward, like a missile being fired. He pulled his body straight up, as though he was about to break through the clouds and storm the sky palace!
Even if his palm canopied heaven and earth! Even if he couldn’t fight against the Buddha’s intent! Even if the road before him was hopeless! Heck, he would blast right through all of those!
Never say never! Battle across heaven and earth!
With this will that filled him inside-out and unstoppable momentum, the golden Buddha palm shrunk rapidly before his eyes. It no longer blocked the skies! He could see where it was coming from! It was merely the attack of a mortal!
Boom!
Lou Cheng’s fist rose up like a true dragon, collided with the unsulliable Buddha’s fist and scattered the golden glow. It made his opponent’s arm recoil and sent him reeling!
At the same time, thoughts racing, he decided to gather the hovering Scorching Red, Faint Purple, Gold, Dazzling White, and Light Blue flames behind him, then throw them out at once! He had to break the Living Buddha’s psyche territory with the brute power of the Nine Rotations of Five Flames. Descend Of The Sun.
Just as the thought occurred to him, the clear Shi Shan’s figure pulled away, instantly shifting from two meters away to “Mount Meru”, then pallankaed on the lotus flower rostrum. The mere meters became an ungodly distance.
Lou Cheng regained his Enemy Heart Freezing Move, but could only detect what was going on within five meters of him. Beyond this range, he couldn’t tell whether the Living Buddha before his eyes was real or fake. If he used the Rotations of Five Flames. Descend Of The Sun blindly, he would only be wasting his energy. Huge amounts of energy at that.
Right as the thought occurred, the rapidly revolving Scorching Red, Faint Purple, and other fireballs slowed down and continued orbiting around him, without any unnaturalness.
That was when Lou Cheng recalled the previous encounter and understood something.
Mind-reading?
The Living Buddha had heard his thoughts through mind reading! That’s how he foresaw the attack and evaded it!
This ability is like a BUG in a video game!
Daxing Temple’s Womb Realm wing’s Mind Reading was very hard to master, and often, practitioners often only grasped the basics. Even the Wisdom King, Zhi Hai, was only at the stage of detecting honest emotions through obscure clues. Currently, other than the Living Buddha Shi Shan, only the Abbot of the Daxing Temple and Fa Yuan Divine Monk, who had been in solitary training for ten years had truly mastered it.
In the commentator box, observing the quick contact between Lou Cheng and Shi Shan, seeing the former’s poised Five Flames calming down, and the latter pulling a distance of twenty to thirty meters in a second, the host said with great interest.
“The Living Buddha pre-empted the Descent of the Sun?”
Then he answered himself.
“Mind reading is very mysterious!”
“And Lou Cheng’s control over his five flames is impressive, as though they are an extension of his body. I have only seen such skills from the Dragon King... He can release them on call, and recall them forcefully and re-balance them. This is no easy feat...”
...
As the host babbled on, the old Taoist with silver-streaked dark hair had wanted to speak a few times, but couldn’t find the right time to interject.
Being as polite as he was, he didn’t want to interrupt, so he quietly fulfilled his role as background decor.
...
After a brief exchange of moves, Lou Cheng and Living Buddha both had an idea of the other’s style, capability, and standard.
At this moment, the Living Buddha no longer tried to get closer. He continued to perch on the lotus flower rostrum at the top of “Mount Meru”. He formed a seal with both hands, lips moving as he uttered solemn chants.
“Weng! Ma! Ni! Ba! Mi! Hum!”
“Weng! Ma! Ni! Ba! Mi! Hum!”
The complete six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra!
Chapter 646
: A Thousand Years In An Instant
Translator:
Larbre Studio
Editor:
Larbre Studio
“Weng Ma Ni Ba Mi Hum!”
“Weng Ma Ni Ba Mi Hum!”
The Living Buddha recited it quicker and quicker and the golden light around him became even more radiant. There seemed to be something within the heavens and earth that was triggered by the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra.
Lou Cheng could only hear a curse humming in his ears. At the same time, he could feel obvious exhaustion in his brain and his body gradually lost strength. Every piece of his bones, every joint and every muscle seemed to have been sealed as he felt the sensation of gradually being locked down.
His spine started to curve a little and his back bowed accordingly. It was as though there were a few mountains stacked on top of his back. Every movement became an uphill task. At this moment, just standing felt like a luxury and controlling the surrounding faint purple and gold fireballs was impossible.
When the Six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra was used in unison, it was said that it would have the ability to suppress and seal. It was known as the supreme technique left behind by the previous Buddha!
Seeing that his Five Flames were about to disintegrate, Lou Cheng couldn’t care if it would be worth it. Suppressing his emotions, he twisted his waist abruptly, clenched his fist tightly and charged ahead!
Gold, faint purple and the light blue fireballs merged into one as they followed the wind caused by the punch and smashed into the ground.
An extremely dazzling white ray erupted that enveloped the Buddha’s Light completely as it was on the verge of collapsing.
Rumble!
The loud explosion shook the entire Jiangxin Island and softened the curse of “Weng Ma Ni Ba Mi Hum”!
As the thunderous explosion overshadowed the curse, Lou Cheng instantly felt as refreshed as he ever had. His mind was no longer blank and the restrictions on his body seemed to have been lifted one after another!
He used violence to overcome technique and used the actual impact of destruction to overwhelm the secret laws of the Buddha’s Realm!
At this moment, the audience on the carrier ships were not far from Lou Cheng. The Living Buddha, Shi Shan, had avoided the most severe impacts of the “Nine Rotations of Five Flames” and took a stride against the shockwave towards his opponent.
Around him, bright and pure Buddha’s light erupted and formed a several meters tall illusory figure of Vairocana that seemed to have merged with the real body of the Living Buddha!
This Buddha statue stretched out his huge right arm with a face of compassion and mercy towards Lou Cheng as though he was swatting a fly!
This was the core technique, “Vairocana Flesh”, that was common to the “Golden Light Sutra”, “Womb Realm” and “Vajrapani”!
At this very moment, Lou Cheng had just shaken off the effects from the light and explosion of the “Nine Rotations of Five Flames”. As he changed his movement within the shockwaves and flames, he suddenly saw the entire sky covered by a huge golden Buddha statue. Moreover, it was still rapidly expanding.
In an instant, Lou Cheng felt as though the entire Earth had become just a gem of that golden Vairocana statue. An insignificant being like him relative to the Earth could not simply be disregarded!
Following which, this Vairocana statue, which looked omnipotent, stretched his hand toward him from the skies.
Lou Cheng took a deep breath and gathered his Ice and Fire Force towards his abdomen. He shifted the stars and traced out the “Fighting” Formula!
Bam!
The airflow around him exploded as he expanded too. His muscles were tight and his skin tone had turned darker. Every inch of his body was filled with explosive power!
Crack! Lou Cheng twisted his waist, clenched his fist, shot it up, tore through the air barrier and collided with that giant golden palm of the Vairocana statue.
Rumble!
Lou Cheng was swatted down ruthlessly and both of his legs sank deeply into the ground!
However, that golden Buddha’s palm shrunk at an extreme pace and stopped mid-air from the impact.
Now’s the time! Lou Cheng didn’t attempt to break free from the difficult state he was in. Instead, he maximized the time he had and lowered his stance.
Around him, darkness appeared and a chilling sensation enveloped the air. Dots of stars were complemented by the dark surroundings.
This was his innate killer move, “Cosmic Universe”. There weren’t any breaks or delays from his previous move, and Lou Cheng seemed to have made the mental and psychological preparations for it in advance!
The reason why Lou Cheng had chosen to use the “Nine Rotation of Five Flames” instead of “Nine Words Formula” against the “Six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra” was to give Living Buddha the opportunity to attack him at close range!
His strong mental strength and Bodhi Curse had limited Lou Cheng’s senses to only a radius of five metres around him. Even if he wanted to engage in a long-range exchange with his opponent, he also wouldn’t be able to differentiate the real body from the illusory body. As a result, the area he could cover with his firepower would deviate from his target and lose its effects. He couldn’t possibly pin down the Living Buddha with what he did to Xin Xiaoyue.
Therefore, he had pretended to be at the losing end. This was to drag the battle into the region of close combat as he sought out the opportunity for victory using his ample experiences!
As Lou Cheng straightened his back and raised both of his arms up high, the “universe” shifted upwards instantly. Darkness had shrouded the palm that was still emanating faint golden light.
Layers and layers of ice crystals were formed that sealed the Buddha’s palm and caused the Vairocana’s statue to lose its appearance. The image of the big head and thick neck Shi Shan reappeared once again.
This was the first time since the start of the battle that Lou Cheng had seen the real form of his opponent!
In the short exchanges previously, although he was able to accurately sense the figure of his opponent within a radius of five meters, he wasn’t able to clearly see the appearance of the Living Buddha.
The layer of ice moved like a bolt of lightning and spread rapidly. Soon, the Living Buddha, Shi Shan, was completely sealed into it.
This allowed Lou Cheng to understand a point. The full version of “Thoughtsteal” was also limited by distance. It might also be only effective within a few meters.
His previous thoughts had fooled the Living Buddha!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh! Within the “Dark Universe,” stars flew by one after the other and collided with Shi Shan, who was sealed within the layer of ice.
At this moment, the Living Buddha, who had not lost consciousness and control of his body suddenly emanated layers of golden rays. They turned into a huge lotus flower and enshrouded Shi Shan completely.
A split moment later, the surrounding ice seemed to have gotten heavier and plunged rapidly with the Living Buddha and allowing him to avoid the majority of the shooting stars.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Rays of crimson red light appeared rapidly like consecutive rocket cannons and blew the surrounding area into pieces.
The Living Buddha, who had landed on the ground, no longer looked as sacred and solemn. The surrounding layers of ice were almost completely shattered and some had even melted into water. When the Buddha’s light dissipated, the yellow monk’s robe was in tatters.
On the other side, Lou Cheng had broken free from the ground. He stood there to assess the situation and accumulate strength.
Every section of his joints, every part of his muscles and every tendon of his was humming. The sound was dense and terrifying. Snow was falling from mid-air in the atmosphere as the image of an ice mountain could be vaguely seen.
Bam! Before the Living Buddha, Shi Shan, had landed, Lou Cheng clenched his fist and rushed ahead. Several meters were covered in an instant.
Rumble!
The power accumulated in Lou Cheng’s was released like a deluge and the ice mountain around him collapsed suddenly. Together with the wind caused by the punch, he charged towards the Living Buddha with great momentum!
This was a modified style of “Blizzard Blast” and the real “Avalanche”!
The Ice Sect wasn’t just about controlling techniques that gradually affected an opponent. There were also potent offensive techniques!
The only problem with it was that it would take a long time to prepare for it.
Facing the collapse of the “Ice Mountain”, Shi Shan didn’t have time to react. He could only take a deep breath, expand his body, gather the Buddha’s Light, transform into the simplistic “Wisdom King” and swing all six arms forward.
Rumble!
Snow fluttered and pieces of stone were everywhere. The momentum of the Avalanche was stalled for a moment before continuing its charge ahead and filling the hole in the process.
Shi Shan made full use of the moment of pause and barely avoided the “Avalanche”. However, before he could open up some distance, Lou Cheng had pressed ahead again. Lou Cheng extended both of his arms and started a series of Fire-like invasion attacks together with his legs.
Bam bam bam!
Each punch was covered in faint purple flames and looked extremely heavy and hot. The punches were intensely invasive as they burnt away the sleeves of Shi Shan and torched his skin.
However, Shi Shan stood firmly on the ground without wavering. Using punches against punches and kicks against kicks, he wasn’t at the losing end at all. The negative effects he suffered and the deep burns caused by Fire Force also seemed to be gone without a trace.
With both of his legs as his center, cracks started appearing. Within each crack, there were signs of being burned.
After a frenzied barrage of attacks, Lou Cheng gradually caught his breath. Seeing that the Living Buddha was still unmoved, a different plan flashed in his mind.
Try to find an opportunity to change the pace and the opening to use the “Formation” Formula!
Bam!
Lou Cheng swung his right arm from the side and smashed his fist, which was covered in a layer of faint purple flame, ruthlessly on the charcoal-black forearm of Shi Shan. The impact from the strike shook Shi Shan slightly.
Making use of this opportunity, Lou Cheng stepped back. Just as he was about to quickly execute the “Formation” Formula, he suddenly heard the Living Buddha’s “Thoughtsteal”!
He knows that I will be using “Formation” Formula... After a change in thought, Lou Cheng followed his natural instinct to contract his Dan Force, allowed the stars to be separated from the darkness and making the edge of the “Universe” to get colder and colder.
Another control technique, “Lament of the Ice Queen”!
Pa! Lou Cheng strode ahead again and struck with his palm. Shi Shan who was about to make a turn stopped in a hurry and pushed back against with his hand.
“Thoughtsteal” can indeed hear my thoughts. However, if I changed my thought in a split of a second, he might not be able to react in time... Lou Cheng seemed to have discovered something and struck this palm strike resolutely.
Bam!
Amidst the dull sounds, the Living Buddha started to burn with a yellow flame. It was frozen instantly and suspended in mid-air like pieces of artwork. However, it soon fell down.
Pa pa pa! The collapsed of “Dharmapala Veluriyam Flames” prevented Shi Shan from being frozen in ice. He took a side step and had an extremely solemn look on his face.
Seeing this, Lou Cheng raised his other hand and quickly formed a seal. In a low voice, he shouted, “Formation!”
At the same time, the Living Buddha, Shi Shan, also let out a solemn voice, “Weng!”
The will of Buddha strengthened and the air flow became more gentle and did not turn into a restricting cage!
Pa! The living Buddha took a side step and struck out a palm strike towards Lou Cheng with a solemn expression and indifference gaze.
Lou Cheng suddenly felt a tinge of danger. Just when he was about to avoid, he suddenly felt lost.
He felt like he had turned into a monk that was reciting scriptures all night while fiddling with prayer beads. He might seem sincere but would always get distracted from time to time. He seemed to have recalled about her...
He felt he was excluded, away from his home and it was hard to achieve inner peace...
As memories flashed through his mind, Lou Cheng felt like he had gone through a thousand years of experiences in an instant and the incomplete lives of each and every generation’s Living Buddha.
This caused him to feel a sense of memoriy confusion and physical and mental exhaustion. After some hardship, he was finally able to trace out the “Confrontation” Formula. His mind and body felt at peace instantly but his mental strength had dried up.
The image of the Living Buddha in front of him was clear. With a turn, Lou Cheng avoided the frontal attacks and was about to execute the simplified “Wholeness” to refresh his condition.
However, at this very moment, his intuition for danger welled up suddenly!
Before he could react to it, he felt a chilling sensation over his forehead and Shi Shan’s palm was pressed firmly against it.
The figure of the Living Buddha reappeared with an indifference expression.
Lou Cheng paused in his step and understood the reason immediately. His mental strength had dried up previously and his Ice Heart was broken. Even as Shi Shan was within five metres of him, he was still fooled by the illusions.
At this moment, the referee announced loudly,
“Living Buddha wins!”