Chapter 98: The Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Sutra

Jiangxi Buddhist Cultivators practice the “Deep Bliss Nirvana Dao.” Being able to occupy a corner of the land instead of being forced into exile overseas is proof enough of the strength of their Dao tradition.

However, unlike the Sword Pavilion and the Saint Sect, which have numerous divine abilities.

For Jiangxi Buddhist Cultivators, cultivation methods and divine abilities are indistinguishable. Therefore, they cultivate nothing else but a single scripture. All cultivation methods and divine abilities are extracted from this scripture.

Its name is the Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Sutra (Dàchéng Zhèngjué Gēnběn Jīng).

It is said that this sutra was passed down by the World Honored One of the “Deep Bliss Nirvana Dao.” Its purpose is to guide people towards good, entering Nirvana after extinction, thereby seeking the “True Self.”

However, this “True Self” is not the Buddhist Cultivator themselves.

But the “Self” of that World Honored One.

After cultivating the Deep Bliss Nirvana Dao to the extreme, one extinguishes oneself, realizing the principle that “I am the World Honored One, the World Honored One is me,” henceforth becoming indistinguishable from the World Honored One.

The scripture calls this “Becoming Buddha,” and “True Enlightenment.”

Because the World Honored One is Buddha, so if I become the World Honored One, it is equivalent to me becoming Buddha.

Sentient beings are also like this. All sentient beings can become Buddha. “I” am Buddha; therefore, all sentient beings can become “Me.” Realizing this principle is proving Supreme Enlightenment.

Within the Mahayana True Enlightenment Fundamental Sutra, there are forty-eight Great Mantras, said to be established by the World Honored One when he achieved the Dao in the past. Each Great Mantra possesses infinite profundity and can derive countless divine abilities. A complete Great Mantra has an effect similar to the Great Divine Abilities of the Sword Pavilion and the Saint Sect.

The more Great Mantras one masters, the closer one is to “Becoming Buddha.”

At this moment, facing Lu Yang’s [Hall of Yama], Arhat Fu Long performed the Earth-Touching Seal and displayed one of these Great Mantras, named [No Three Evil Paths in the Land].

“If, when I become a Buddha, there should be any hell, hungry ghosts, or animals in my land, may I not attain Supreme True Enlightenment.”

The dharma voice was loud and clear, reflecting pure light.

Although it was a Great Mantra of mercy, its power showed not a shred of mercy. How to remove hell, hungry ghosts, and animals? Just kill them; once dead, they are gone.

Moreover, clearly, this divine ability greatly countered the Qi of Baleful Yin.

When the rosy rays shone down, Lu Yang immediately saw the [Hall of Yama] disintegrating inch by inch. Su Nü, who presided over it, suddenly let out a shrill scream.

This is the strength of the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment!

Lu Yang’s heart shivered. Although the [Hall of Yama] was invincible against the Peak Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, who only had a soul left, that was actually due to a special attack bonus.

But a true Middle Stage Foundation Establishment, with soul and flesh complete and in peak condition like Arhat Fu Long… even a single divine ability was enough to make the [Hall of Yama] struggle to cope. If not for the continuous blessing of Baleful Yin from the Skull Mountain earth veins, it probably would have been breached by now.

“Amitabha.”

Seeing this scene, Arhat Fu Long’s expression remained unchanged. He threw the nine-ringed tin staff in his hand into the air. Immediately, a muffled thunder-like sound of metal clashing rang out.

‘Not good!’

Lu Yang’s pupils shrank abruptly. The [Hall of Yama] was suppressed to the point of near collapse by Arhat Fu Long’s “[No Three Evil Paths in the Land]” Great Mantra; it could no longer protect him!

Lu Yang didn’t calculate the change in time, but Arhat Fu Long seized the opportunity in advance. Before the [Hall of Yama] fell, he sacrificed the nine-ringed tin staff, acting the instant the [Hall of Yama] was breached, giving Lu Yang no chance to remedy the situation.

In a blink of an eye, the nine-ringed tin staff had already fallen before Lu Yang’s eyes!

In the nick of time, Lu Yang moved with godlike speed, grabbing the Protector God Su Nü from inside the [Hall of Yama] and firmly shielding her in front of himself.

Boom!

Su Nü didn’t even have time to scream. She was instantly beaten until her whole body cracked, barely enduring the blow by relying on the sturdiness of her falsely held Foundation Establishment Law Body.

“Can’t go on like this!”

Lu Yang casually threw Su Nü back into his Dantian. His thoughts raced, knowing that continuing like this was just passively taking a beating; defeat was only a matter of time.

He was thinking of countermeasures, but Arhat Fu Long refused to give him the chance.

The nine-ringed tin staff failed to kill in one hit, spun in the air, and fell again. The nine rings on the staff clashed, jingling and dinging, enough to scatter others’ souls.

Fortunately, Lu Yang had mastered the Severing Thoughts to See Self Silkworm Secret. His Spiritual Sense had long transformed into Divine Sense, no different from a Foundation Establishment Perfected One. Although his head was splitting under the influence of the nine-ringed tin staff, he could still support his actions with willpower. Using Su Nü to bless himself with Foundation Establishment stature, he then pinched a seal on the spot.

The next second, the nine-ringed tin staff fell.

“Corpse Liberation—the transformation of form, the refinement and molting of the true self, the escape and change of the physical body!”

Lu Yang offered no resistance, actually allowing the tin staff to smash down just like that. One hit pulverized his physical body into powder, the exploding flesh and blood turning into a mist of red spreading across the sky.

However, the next second, the red mist rolled back!

The body originally turned to powder escaped hundreds of miles away just like that, finally reassembling only at the edge of Skull Mountain, actually manifesting a physical body again!

And the injuries Arhat Fu Long just caused to Lu Yang, whether to the soul or the physical body, vanished like smoke after the “Corpse Liberation.” Lu Yang even used this to break free from Arhat Fu Long’s Divine Sense lock. Such an exquisite escape technique made even Arhat Fu Long reveal a look of praise—

“Benefactor is truly stunningly talented!”

This was the divine ability of the [Corpse Liberation Immortal]. Not a combat divine ability, but a technique to avoid calamity and eliminate disaster.

Blessed by Foundation Establishment stature, it was even more profoundly mysterious.

“Just tangle a while longer…”

Lu Yang exhaled deeply. He had long released the heavenly secrets he originally obscured. Therefore, people who had karma with him could definitely calculate that he was in a perilous situation.

At least that Perfected One Chong Guang could definitely calculate it.

And he held the [Heavenly Corpse Baleful Qi] desired by Perfected One Yin Shan. Just considering this point, Perfected One Chong Guang and Perfected One Yin Shan would definitely come to save him.

So he just needed to persist until their aid arrived!

Just the moment this thought arose in Lu Yang’s mind, Arhat Fu Long suddenly sighed: “Pity, I intended to keep Benefactor’s physical body.”

Before his voice fell, Arhat Fu Long pressed his palms together.

“Amitabha!”

The next second, a brilliant spiritual light burst from his crown, illuminating the universe. The [Fu Long Temple] behind him chimed loudly at the same time.

And within that spiritual light, a large dragon, majestic as a mountain and burning with blazing white fire all over its body, coiled around it. Then the dragon head drooped down, suddenly becoming illusory, actually overlapping with Arhat Fu Long’s head. The two exhaled and spoke simultaneously, breathing out a beam of fire light with a boom!

Whoosh—!

The blazing white flame was like a sharp arrow leaving the bowstring, hitting Lu Yang. The terrifying high temperature incinerated the shell, turning Lu Yang into a pile of flying ash in a blink of an eye.

But soon, these flying ashes reassembled in the distance, manifesting Lu Yang’s form.

However, this time, even though he had cast the art of Corpse Liberation, sparks of fire still remained on his body, sticking to him like maggots in the bone.

Even as time passed, this fierce fire showed a tendency to reignite!

“This is… [Blazing Fire Dragon]?”

Several months had passed since the battle with the Peak Master of Heaven-Mending Peak. Lu Yang had also mastered the Shaman-Ghost Dao inheritance, so his understanding of Foundation Establishment was no longer half-baked.

Therefore, he recognized at a glance that this was transformed from Arhat Fu Long’s Dao Path.

“[Blazing Fire Dragon] belongs to the Heavenly Stem position [Efeng] (Yi Wood). Pure Yang Wood, towering and majestic. Wood burns sitting on Chen (Earth) to generate Wood and vent Fire… called Blazing Fire Riding the Dragon…”

In other words, the fire Qi Arhat Fu Long breathed out at this moment seemed monstrously raging, but in reality, the fire Qi was just an external appearance.

The truth was using Earth to generate Wood, and Wood to prosper Fire. So no matter what divine ability restraining the Fire Element was displayed, it would be meaningless against this [Blazing Fire Dragon].

“To break it, use Metal, or…”

Just as Lu Yang’s thoughts raced, Arhat Fu Long paced through the air and arrived in front of him, a smile of assured victory on his face:

“ is Benefactor willing to convert now?”

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