Chapter 423: Chapter 141 Moluo Sword Manual
"It’s settled."
Ashuren secretly breathed a sigh of relief inside.
Throwing out You Mountain Lord’s head signaled that "Li Qinglian" had no intention of turning hostile. Ashuren had correctly seized the path to life.
"Exchanged," he said, hiding his shock with a laugh and verbally treating You Mountain Lord’s head as a commodity.
Although the head of You Mountain Lord was definitely not worth the Moluo Sword Manual, even if it was only an incomplete version, who could blame him for being willing?
For such a transaction, one party was willing to strike, and the other was willing to endure; thus, the deal was made.
The other two could smell something fishy but couldn’t pinpoint where exactly the fishiness lay.
As for Jiang Li, he had no interest in exposing Ashuren’s verbal trickery, his attention largely devoted to the object in his hands.
At the moment the cloth was grasped, Jiang Li sensed an indescribable, bizarre aura. It felt as though he had suddenly entered a dark and damp place where the moisture enveloping him felt like invisible snakes slithering over his body, not even the Five Vile Qi surrounding him could resist this essence.
Based on this feeling alone, the item was not a common one—it was genuine.
Jiang Li looked down to see the patterns of paddy fields within his sight, indicating the object was a part of a kasaya.
Or rather... a fragment of a kasaya.
He slightly unfurled the rolled-up cloth and immediately noticed a tear.
"Surely, when I open up this cloth, there won’t be the eight words ’To practice this skill, one must first be castrated,’ right?" Jiang Li thought of a certain Zigong Swordsmanship.
"The checkered pattern shines in bright silver color, with clouds adorned along its border, untouched by even a speck of dust... Could this kasaya be of the same quality as Cloud Clothes?" A guess flashed in his mind: "Karma Tathagata’s kasaya?"
Generally speaking, unless one, like Jiang, had taken on a wealthy senior sister as a patron, the only way to wear attire comparable to Cloud Clothes would be to become the future heir of a major power, or to ascend to a high-ranking leadership position outright.
If this kasaya indeed belonged to Karma Tathagata, then his status in Buddha Country must have been quite high.
Spreading the kasaya a bit more, its inner lining revealed itself, along with a line of embossed golden script that shone with a solemn and sacred golden light.
"As I have heard, at one time, the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove in the Garden of Anathapindika in the city of Savasti..."
"The Diamond Sutra?" Jiang Li doubted Ashuren had brought the wrong item.
What came into view were indeed the scriptures of the Diamond Sutra, and the flowing golden light did not match the words "Moluo" at all. But the mysterious sensation he’d perceived before was unlike the atmosphere that typical Buddhist cultivation techniques should possess.
Despite Buddhism’s many dark Chapters, its public image tended to be quite positive; even the Joyful Zen could conjure an aura of purity.
Uncertainty took root in his mind, but before Jiang Li could express his doubts, an inexplicable chant of Buddhist scripture suddenly filled the air.
"At that time, the Worldly Venerable, having put on his robe and holding his alms bowl, entered the great city of Savasti to beg for food..."
The chanting exactly continued from the portion Jiang Li had just read, with strands of golden light interweaving around him, faintly outlining trees.
With the Buddhist chanting reaching his ears, a certain urge of conversion throbbed in his mind, and he felt a strong impulse to renounce worldly desires and become a monk.
Jiang Li suddenly rolled up the kasaya fragment, so fast that it whipped up a sound like a gust of wind.
The manifesting scenery around him also vanished in an instant, and the resounding Buddhist chanting abruptly ceased.
"Is this the ’Moluo Sword Manual’?" Jiang Li looked at Ashuren.
The other two also fixated their gaze on Ashuren, with Holy Infant King’s eyes seemingly spewing fire.
From their expressions, it appeared they too had heard the chanting and witnessed the evolving scene.
This scripture on the kasaya possessed the ability to transform illusion into reality.
"This is indeed the ’Moluo Sword Manual’," Ashuren met the gaze of the three, saying, "Moluo is the Source of Demon, Enemy of Buddha. With Moluo as its namesake, the Sword Manual was created based on the concept of Moluo’s obstruction of Buddha’s enlightenment. This swordsmanship’s essence is in transforming illusions into reality—if completed on a grand scale, it can recreate the Moluo Realm, that is, the Demon Realm."
Legend says that when Buddha was about to achieve enlightenment, Moluo Boxun came to obstruct him. Moluo employed various tactics, conjuring countless illusions, and attempted to shake Buddha’s spirit with magic power—all to no avail.
After using nine different attacking moves, which also failed to perturb Buddha, he ultimately attained enlightenment.
The method Moluo used comprised the Demon Realm; upon emerging from the Demon Realm, Buddha attained instant enlightenment, transcending mortal nature to realize the Dao Fruit of Buddha, freeing himself from Moluo’s control.
Karma Tathagata had thus crafted the ’Moluo Sword Manual’ based on the principle of the Demon Realm.
"To transform the illusory into the real... to turn fantasies into reality?"
Jiang Li had seen many Divine Skills and wonderful methods, but never before had he encountered a cultivation technique as bizarre as the "Moluo Sword Manual," which transformed illusion into reality, projecting fantasy into the tangible world.
It was uncertain how the power of the Sword Manual was determined. Did a richer imagination equate to greater strength?
If that was the case, couldn’t Jiang Li simply imagine a universe-ending explosion and be invincible?
Regardless, the trade had been worth it.
He had originally planned to see if there were any more undercover agents to facilitate his actions. Obtaining the "Moluo Sword Manual" was also for the persona of Li Qinglian, but he hadn’t expected such an unexpected gain.
Jiang Li’s cultivation of the Three Elements had progressed side by side, and now he had cultivation techniques to follow for both Essence and Qi, only lacking a primary technique for Divine Essence. Although he had cultivated his Primordial Spirit by leeching the Heavenly Tribulation and Dao Fruit, he had not had a main practice to follow.
The Heavenly Escape Sword Skill and the Heart Demon Secret Sword were more about application, while Jiang Li sought a cultivation skill for practice.
Now that he had the "Moluo Sword Manual," this piece of the puzzle was complete.
The only concern was that this cultivation technique was incomplete, merely fragments, unable to provide a full picture.
But if it were complete, Ashuren probably wouldn’t have been able to use the "Moluo Sword Manual" to disguise his identity.
He hailed from the Buddha Country, and unless the upper echelons of the Buddha Country had gone mad, they definitely wouldn’t allow the complete Karma Tathagata cultivation technique to leak.
Storing the kasaya fragments carefully, Jiang Li looked to the other three and asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
"Senior has far-reaching insight. May I ask where the senior plans to go?" Rashamon Lady asked with a smile.
She had always shown considerable respect for "Li Qinglian," always addressing him as "senior." It was unclear what she had in mind.
"I will also follow the senior’s lead," Ashuren added, also calling Jiang Li "senior," indicating that he felt the same.
It seemed he still planned to stay within the Devil God Sect, so he dared not show any disrespect to Jiang Li, for fear of exposing his identity.
Thus, the Holy Infant King suddenly found that the outsider he had brought in was trending towards becoming the leader.
He looked left and right and finally said nonchalantly, "Follow your lead."
The three, who had just exchanged blows earlier, now showed no intention of parting ways.
"Then let’s go," Jiang Li said slowly, "to Wushan."
······
······
"They’re gone."
Atop the city wall, Hui Lun watched the departure of four figures and let out a sigh of relief, "To think there are others who have cultivated the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing True Technique using the Five Vile Qi, and it’s Li Qinglian..."
"It seems he can only lead the Five Vile Qi, not transform it into spiritual mechanism," the yellow-faced monk Hui Neng said beside him.
"If so, that’s even more terrifying. Fortunately, Zhang Daoyi doesn’t have such Realm," Hui Lun showed a bitter smile.
Although Zhang Daoyi had truly cultivated the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing True Technique, his realm was not as high as "Li Qinglian’s." The latter, being an incarnation of Taibai True Monarch, naturally surpassed the junior Zhang Daoyi in terms of realm.
Hui Lun was still unaware of "Li Qinglian’s" true identity and felt some relief in his heart.
Hui Neng, on the other hand, remained expressionless and silent, revealing neither joy nor concern.
The middle-aged monk beside them, who had returned to his lean physique, listened to the conversation between his two brothers and said, "Chaotic times are approaching. It is an opportune moment for our cultivation. With your talents, it shouldn’t be long before you ascend to fifth-rank. By then, even strong individuals like Li Qinglian may not be beyond reach for a challenge."
Chaotic times were good for cultivation, sheltering disaster victims, and saving those in distress. Not only could one cultivate the Summoning Technique and strengthen the External Dharma Form, but they could also use this as an opportunity for advancement.
The Dao Fruit of the Buddhist attribute largely depended on universal salvation and rescuing the distressed.
The Buddha Country’s decision to move eastward and choose to protect Jiangyang City also stemmed from this line of thinking.
But...
"Rescuing the suffering is not the cultivation I desire."
Hui Neng looked behind him, observing the panic within the city, "Our practice is built upon the misfortune of others."
Without chaos, why would one seek Buddha?
To inspire seeking, chaos was needed.
The eastward movement of the Buddha Country was perhaps not solely for rescuing the distressed.