Chapter 98

Looking at the Zen Master Zhisheng blocking the way, Zhuganglie’s face turned cold. He pushed the ancient Qingyang lamp in his hand forward. The golden body of Zen Master Zhenkong was still on the lamp wick, so he was not afraid of this Zen Master Zhisheng for the moment.

"Master Zhutanyue, do not worry. This poor monk knows well the depth of my sins and is about to enter Nirvana, plunging into the cycle of rebirth."

"Re-enter the cycle of rebirth?"

Hearing Zen Master Zhisheng’s words, Zhuganglie’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the Zen Master. Although the Arhat realm was not the realm of immortality, it still granted a lifespan of ten thousand years. Within this time, there might still be a chance to resolve this predicament and achieve the opportunity for immortality.

However, if one entered the cycle of rebirth, their wisdom would dissipate, and they might not even be reborn as a human in the next life. Even if they were reborn as a human, it would be extremely difficult to obtain the opportunity for immortality.

Moreover, to regain the wisdom of the previous life, one would have to go through countless cycles of rebirth before possibly regaining that wisdom and cultivating to the current level of cultivation.

While Zhuganglie was pondering these thoughts, Zen Master Zhenkong slowly said to Zen Master Zhisheng, "Master, you may proceed. One day, I will surely guide you back."

Hearing Zen Master Zhenkong’s words, Zen Master Zhisheng clasped his hands together, a smile appeared on his face, and his figure slowly sat down in a meditative posture.

At this moment, the monks of Wanshi Temple who had enlightened to the Buddha’s consciousness gathered around, their expressions filled with sorrow. They surrounded Zen Master Zhisheng, silently reciting scriptures.

A golden flame slowly rose from within Zen Master Zhisheng’s body. As this golden flame burned, it gradually turned into a pure red.

Seeing the flames around him, Zen Master Zhisheng sighed deeply, "This poor monk thought I had accumulated boundless merit, but I did not realize I had committed so many sins, which have now invoked the Red Lotus Karma Fire. Truly, my sins are deep."

"In this life, my merit may not be enough to offset these sins. It seems that in the next life, I will still be troubled by these sins!"

At this point, Zen Master Zhisheng sighed lightly, and his figure completely disappeared. A golden-robed Arhat statue, sitting cross-legged with a fierce expression, appeared in the air.

It flickered slightly and entered the ancient Qingyang lamp in Zhuganglie’s hand. Before Zhuganglie could react, the golden statue slowly melted into a golden liquid in the lamp flame. The Qingyang lamp then underwent a dramatic transformation, the golden flame contracting sharply, and in an instant, a sesame seed-sized relic was formed.

As soon as the relic was formed, a vast amount of Buddha power infused into Zhuganglie’s body, and a halo of light appeared behind his head. In an instant, he comprehended a great Buddha power and six lesser powers.

This great power was called the Ten Directions Vajra Womb Array, which could create a small space to easily trap and refine people.

If it were not for the external aid of the Qingyang lamp to form the relic, but rather a true enlightenment, he could have achieved two great powers.

Achieving the relic was equivalent to achieving the Golden Core in the Daoist path.

However, at this moment, Zhuganglie did not show any joy. Although he had achieved the relic, he had also been secretly manipulated by Zen Master Zhisheng, forming a significant karmic bond.

With the formation of the relic, achieving the Golden Core was just around the corner. However, the most crucial foundation for his immortality was now owed to Zen Master Zhisheng.

In the future, he would have to repay this great favor to Zen Master Zhisheng.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother, on your enlightenment to the relic. This poor monk will take my leave now!"

After saying this, Zen Master Zhenkong slowly retreated, seemingly drawn by the power of the void.

"We pay our respects to the abbot!"

The other monks, seeing the relic on the wick of the Qingyang lamp above Zhuganglie’s head, their eyes brightened, and they bowed in unison.

However, Zhuganglie acted quickly and had already disappeared on the Taiyi Golden Scales Boat.

He had spent several months at Wanshi Temple and now needed to hurry to the Great Wasteland to find the Linglong Blessed Land and use the Flowers of the Other Shore and the Three Lives Flower to revive the Linglong Fairy.

Then he could fully focus on advancing to the Golden Core realm.

During the flight, Zhuganglie placed the Fengshen Pagoda on the Taiyi Golden Scales Boat, letting the nine ghost immortals within the pagoda control the magical tool. He, on the other hand, focused on circulating his magical power, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and familiarizing himself with the newly achieved relic.

Zhuganglie traveled day and night, covering a distance of several billion miles, and after three months, he reached the outskirts of the Great Wasteland.

The Great Wasteland was a vast area in the southern part of the Eastern Shengzhou, preserving the ancient appearance of the primordial era, inhabited by numerous primordial beasts.

The largest sect here was the Great Wasteland Sect, one of the famous Daoist sects of the primordial era. The sect’s treasure, the Great Wasteland Halberd, was extremely powerful, even more famous than the Kuiniu Drum of the Divine Dawn Sect.

When Zhuganglie entered this area, he no longer flew forcefully, putting away all his magical tools and transforming into an ordinary wandering cultivator to gather information about the location of the Linglong Blessed Land.

Wuxian had told him some information about the Linglong Blessed Land, but it had been tens of thousands of years, and the location of the Linglong Blessed Land was now unknown.

Moreover, tens of thousands of years ago, the Great Wasteland was a forbidden area for the Linglong Blessed Land, and the Great Wasteland Sect was not yet prominent. Now, it had become famous throughout the primordial era, almost treating the Great Wasteland as its own backyard.

The intricate connections were unclear to him. If the Linglong Blessed Land and the Great Wasteland Sect had any enmity, rashly entering would be courting death.

After a moment of thought, Zhuganglie decided to transform into a wandering cultivator entering the Great Wasteland to search for materials.

The White Bone Technique, the Seven Killings Scripture, and the Great Vajra Manifestation Demon were all suitable for disguising himself as a wandering cultivator.

However, the Fengshen Pagoda’s power was now so strong that even a person with a discerning eye could tell it was a powerful magical tool.

Not to mention that its material was derived from ancient primordial beasts, emitting an increasingly powerful aura, which could not be used openly.

Therefore, the only techniques he could use were the Seven Killings Scripture and the Great Vajra Manifestation Demon.

The Great Vajra Manifestation Demon could help him cultivate to the relic realm.

However, since he had already reached the relic realm, the value of this technique to him had greatly diminished, and he no longer needed to go to great lengths to find the souls of greed, hatred, and delusion to refine the Great Vajra Manifestation Demon.

During his journey, Zhuganglie also planned to refine another Seven Killings magical tool.

The Great Vajra Manifestation Demon was powerful, but lacked other abilities. This technique aimed to force the practitioner to enlighten to the Buddha’s consciousness, not to excel in combat.

On the contrary, the Seven Killings Scripture was detrimental to immortality, but the spells it refined were all vicious. Its highest secret, the Seven Killings Spirit, only extended life by entrusting the soul to the spirit of a long-lived fierce beast.

However, the Seven Killings Scripture was perfect for concealing his identity.

After three days of traveling in the Great Wasteland, Zhuganglie targeted an Elephant Dragon Beast. This beast was as large as an elephant, covered in black iron armor, with four iron hooves as hard as gold. Its weakest point was its long trunk, making it a medium-level fierce beast.

The iron armor was a rare material, and with a little refinement, it could become a simple magical tool.

Zhuganglie targeted the Elephant Dragon Beast and did not use any other techniques, only using twelve Great Vajra Manifestation Demons to surround and kill it. After subduing it with brute force, he refined its iron armor and spirit into a Seven Killings magical tool, the Huntu Banner.

The Huntu Banner was pure black, filled with a thick aura of malevolence. A light flick of the banner caused strands of malevolent energy to fall like silk.

"Hmm?"

At this moment, Zhuganglie’s expression changed as he sensed a group of people quickly approaching. A brief investigation revealed that the highest cultivation among them was the Possession Realm, but their auras were pure, and their magical power was refined and substantial, clearly indicating they were disciples of a major sect. A quick investigation confirmed they were definitely disciples of the Great Wasteland Sect.

He immediately suppressed his movements, using the Heavenly Cicada Leaf to conceal his cultivation, revealing only the power of the Manifestation Realm.

"Was it you, this side-path cultivator, who killed the Elephant Dragon Beast?"

A crisp, slightly arrogant female voice sounded in Zhuganglie’s ear.

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