Chapter 36

Xuankong felt a bitter ache in his heart: others cultivated the Dao, and so did he. Others cultivated the Dao with a body full of magical treasures and fine silks, while he cultivated with nothing but the wind in his sleeves and in his stomach.

Magical treasures were things that others received as gifts when they joined a sect.

Only he, after twenty years of hard work, found himself back at square one. Apart from the wine flask, folding fan, and alms bowl, which he used for leisure, his only proper magical treasure was a Purple Yang True Talisman. He had finally refined it into a precious item, but now he had to destroy it himself.

He opened his mouth and took a long, deep breath, gathering his dragon power from the dantian and channeling it into the Purple Yang True Talisman.

This was a moment of life and death, and there was no time to hold back. Xuankong wished he could exert ten times the effort for every bit of strength he had. He pushed his dragon power to the limit, and the Purple Yang True Talisman emitted ten thousand rays of silver light, each containing immense true power, which all transformed into a thunderclap.

With a "boom," the entire world suddenly darkened, then flashed with lightning.

Xuankong, following the Nine Heavens Mixed Essence True Thunder technique, condensed the true power into the Primordial Thunder Deity's manifestation, pushing its power to the extreme. "Little friend, don't go to such lengths!" Daoist Master Shenhuai, as a senior in the Daoist community, naturally wouldn't stand by and watch Xuankong fight the giant eagle to the death.

He sighed and held his incense burner, the unbreakable flower once again blooming into incense mist to protect both himself and Xuankong.

Daoist Master Shenhuai shouted sternly, "Watch my skills, Daoist Master Shenhuai's move, take it!" He spat a mouthful of pure white true qi onto the incense burner, lifting its lid and raising it into the air. The incense burner emitted a powerful suction force, drawing in all the Yin Wind blown by the Master of the Seat.

The giant eagle also exclaimed, "Good!"

Caught off guard, Xuankong had intended to use the Nine Heavens Mixed Essence True Thunder to turn the cloud in front of him into chaos to block the Yin Wind. But he didn't expect Daoist Master Shenhuai to intervene, using the incense burner to absorb the Yin Wind. Seizing this opportunity, he launched the Nine Heavens Mixed Essence True Thunder at the giant eagle.

Seeing the true thunder's power, the giant eagle sneered and transformed into its true form, the Golden-Eyed Eagle. Even with its body compressed, its wingspan stretched for three thousand miles, casting a shadow over the city of Bianjing below.

The people below only then realized the gods were fighting in the sky. Each one, eager for a fight, stood in the street, waving swords and demanding the eagle to let the sunlight through.

They didn't know that the Golden-Eyed Eagle was a prehistoric creature, but Xuankong did. Seeing the eagle's true form, he stumbled, muttering, "What a big bird..."

"I wonder how many days it would last..." Having spent too long in Laoshan, eating only radishes and greens, Xuankong's first thought upon seeing the eagle's true form was to stew it whole and cook it.

The Golden-Eyed Eagle cackled in the sky, folding its wings and transforming into a meteor that collided with Xuankong's Nine Heavens Mixed Essence True Thunder.

A loud explosion echoed through the sky, and both Daoist Master Shenhuai and Xuankong felt their feet weaken, being pushed back three hundred miles. The Golden-Eyed Eagle, a creature from ancient times, had a sturdy body, but it was still hit by the Nine Heavens Mixed Essence True Thunder, its feathers scorched and its wings trembling.

Unfortunately, Xuankong's cultivation was not enough. If he had sufficient Daoist power, this thunderbolt could have ended the Master of the Seat's eternal life.

Xuankong exclaimed, "What a fragrant smell of roasted wings!"

The eagle's wings were scorched, emitting a pleasant aroma. It rolled in the air and transformed back into the Master of the Seat's manifestation. Seated on the cloud, the manifestation emitted ten thousand rays of Buddha light, glaring at Xuankong and Shenhuai with eyes of wrath, its voice like a gong:

"You two Daoists, what other tricks do you have? The Master of the Seat of the Western Paradise is here, the sea of suffering is boundless, will you not turn back? Turn back and embrace the faith!"

"Embrace the faith? Embrace your big...!" Xuankong straightened up from the cloud, speaking clearly, "I, Xuankong, have never known what it means to give up!" After finishing his sentence, he coughed dryly, spitting out blood, clearly at the end of his strength.

But he forced himself to stay upright. In his past life, he was a seasoned leader, and in this life, he was a Daoist cultivator.

He was never willing to bow before others.

Daoist Master Shenhuai was also unwilling to yield to Buddhist cultivators. He glanced regretfully at his incense burner, which had been turned to ashes by the Yin Wind and dissipated into the sky. He smiled coldly and said, "There are three thousand great paths. Your Buddhist sect has long taken a different path from ours. I have never heard of a cultivator of the Great Purity Dao turning to your small Buddhist sect!"

The giant eagle, with the upper hand, gradually softened his expression and said, "You two are also immortals. I, the Master of the Seat, also look down on the small Buddhas of Vulture Peak. But now, my Buddha has a grand plan and is in need of people. If you two recognize the situation, you will have a good future!"

Xuankong raised his eyebrows. He heard the eagle repeatedly refer to the "small Buddhas of Vulture Peak." Could it be that there was internal strife in the Buddhist sect, and a new Buddha had been enthroned?

He knew that the predecessor of the Buddhist sect was the Western Teachings of the Sealing of the Gods era. Could it be that the two leaders of the Western Teachings, bored, had re-established the Buddhist sect? This didn't make sense. Xuankong closed his eyes and ignored the eagle.

The eagle was not angry. Since these two knew his secret, he couldn't let them go.

He reached out and grabbed a small black-gold lotus in the air. This black-gold lotus was a powerful and significant item. The eagle intended to use it to control Xuankong and Shenhuai, but suddenly saw a white auspicious cloud floating over from a distance.

On the white cloud stood several Daoists, dressed just like Daoist Master Shenhuai, none other than the twelve true immortals of the Pure Brightness Dao.

The leading Daoist on the cloud held a scroll and read aloud. His voice was not loud, but even from a hundred miles away, his words were clearly heard: "What is purity?"

Beside him, Daoist Master Jingxing replied, "Not being tainted by things is purity."

The Daoist asked again, "What is brightness?"

Daoist Master Yuantong answered, "Not touching things is brightness."

The Daoist laughed and clapped, "The meaning of Pure Brightness is not being tainted or touched; loyalty and filial piety come naturally, I understand now!" This was the second senior disciple of the Pure Brightness Dao, Guo Pu, also known as Daoist Master Jiandu, a renowned scholar, both a literary and philological master, and a grandmaster of Daoist numerology and the founder of the Immortal Poet school.

The other true immortals all bowed, "Thank you, senior, for your guidance."

The Pure Brightness Dao, also known as the Pure Brightness Loyalty and Filial Piety Dao, was established by the Celestial Master Xu Jingyang, who received the teachings from the Supreme Daoist Ancestor and wrote the "Scripture of Flying Immortals and Saving People." It incorporated the essence of Confucianism, forming its current structure.

The face of the Master of the Seat turned ashen. He retracted the black-gold lotus and coldly watched the Daoists on the cloud approach.

Daoist Master Shenhuai, seeing Daoist Master Jiandu and his fellow disciples arrive, immediately showed a joyful expression and laughed to Xuankong, "This is good, we are saved!" He had destroyed his incense burner, and like Xuankong, his spirit was injured, relying on willpower to stay upright. Seeing his fellow disciples, he relaxed, and even the cloud could no longer support him, causing him to fall to the ground.

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