Chapter 122 Lotus Pure Realm
Chen Chang'an's lips curved slightly, but a coldness flashed in his eyes: "Very well, let's proceed as you suggest."
As he agreed, he secretly prepared to shift his consciousness—this monk's cultivation far exceeded this avatar's capabilities. If left unchecked, he would eventually threaten his daughter and disciples.
Even if it meant leaving the valley and intervening personally, this twisted-mouthed evil monk must be eradicated today!
However, just as his consciousness was about to detach, Monk Miaohua's eyes suddenly blazed with light. He formed hand seals and chanted lowly:
"Om Vajra Sattva Hum!"
Buzz—!
An invisible ripple spread out. Chen Chang'an felt his vision blur. The mountain remained the mountain, the temple remained the temple, people remained people, but his consciousness seemed to collide against a transparent wall—the shift failed!
WTF?
He cursed inwardly, but calmed down the next second—because he sensed his consciousness wasn't truly trapped, but suddenly enveloped by a transparent "membrane" that temporarily isolated this space from the real world.
This barrier could only trap his avatar. If he abandoned this body immediately, his divine soul could still easily break free.
Chen Chang'an felt slightly relieved, but couldn't help reassessing the monk before him—to make him misjudge even for a moment proved this bald donkey possessed threatening potential.
He decided to play along, pretending to be completely trapped while secretly sensing the monk's cultivation. Strangely, the monk's realm was neither Profound Passage nor Sacred Saint, but in an extremely peculiar state—as if forcibly elevated by external power, with foundations as unstable as a castle in the air.
Interesting...
A flicker of contemplation passed through Chen Chang'an's eyes.
Since the opponent hadn't reached Sacred Saint, his Return-to-Origin avatar might still have room to maneuver.
Moreover, he wanted to see what this monk, full of Buddhist rhetoric yet more ruthless than demonic cultivators, was truly plotting.
"Benefactor seems distracted?" Monk Miaohua pressed his palms together, his expression compassionate. "Contemplating how to break free?"
Chen Chang'an raised an eyebrow with a smile: "Master worries too much. I was merely wondering—did you set up this barrier because you fear I might escape, or because you fear others might see?"
The monk didn't expect Chen Chang'an to sense it, revealing surprise for the first time: "Benefactor is only at the 'Mind Illumination, Nature Realized' realm, yet you can perceive this poor monk's Lotus Pure Realm?"
Chen Chang'an raised an eyebrow: "What does 'Mind Illumination, Nature Realized' mean?"
Monk Miaohua pressed his palms together and explained: "Buddhist cultivation has six realms: 'Precept Purity', 'Meditative Freedom', 'Mind Illumination, Nature Realized', 'Prajna Wisdom', 'Vajra Indestructibility', and 'Nirvana Serenity'. The 'Mind Illumination, Nature Realized' realm you occupy is equivalent to the Daoist Return-to-Origin realm."
A flicker of inquiry appeared in his eyes: "Logically, with your cultivation, you should never detect the Lotus Pure Realm..."
Chen Chang'an chuckled inwardly—how could this monk know that while using a Return-to-Origin avatar, his divine sense was truly at the Sacred Saint level? Outwardly, he feigned realization: "So that's how it is. What realm is Master in now?"
Monk Miaohua smiled slightly: "This poor monk has just entered the 'Prajna Wisdom' realm." As he spoke, a faint golden glow emanated from him, with faint Sanskrit chants swirling around.
(Equivalent to Daoist Longevity realm)
Chen Chang'an pondered silently. No wonder the monk could deploy a barrier trapping a Return-to-Origin cultivator—he was a major realm higher. But what concerned him more was the monk's cultivation felt unstable, not achieved through steady progression.
"Master has achieved such cultivation at a young age, truly admirable." Chen Chang'an deliberately flattered, "May I ask whose disciple you are?"
Monk Miaohua did not answer, only slowly withdrawing an ancient bronze lamp from his sleeve.
The wick ignited without fire, casting an eerie green glow that left half his face shrouded in shadow.
"Benefactor need not think of delaying. The Lotus Pure Realm is empowered by great divine abilities. If the debate remains unresolved, none shall leave today."
He looked at Chen Chang'an: "Benefactor, we may begin the debate."
...
Elsewhere, sensing the spatial disturbance, Ji Hongli instantly drifted from the rooftop into the dilapidated temple. Her dark hair brushed past the broken window frames as she surveyed her surroundings—the temple remained in ruins, two withered corpses lay sprawled, the fishmonger Lao Lu leaned dying in the corner, yet the monk and Chen Chang'an had vanished.
She closed her eyes in concentration, her long lashes casting fragmented shadows in the moonlight.
Suddenly, her expression shifted: "This is... the 'Uninterrupted Lotus Prison'?"
A hundred thousand years ago, she had dealings with Buddhism and witnessed such secret arts.
After breaking her seal in recent years and wandering widely, she learned what had transpired during her hundred millennia of confinement on Xuan Ying Continent.
She knew that after her sealing, the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty rose, only to launch a vigorous anti-Buddhist movement—because those bald donkeys preached compassion while secretly seizing bodies under the guise of "salvation."
They created numerous pocket worlds, calling them "trials of the heart" while actually extracting cultivators' power and lifespan.
More terrifyingly, these Buddhist cultivators could transfer their karmic obstacles to innocent commoners through "causality reincarnation" techniques.
She had always felt indifferent toward Buddhism, treating it as mere hearsay—never expecting to encounter it firsthand.
"Truly, with the Great Zhou fallen, all demons and monsters reveal themselves..."
She sighed, yet faced a dilemma—
Her true body was in seclusion at her abode, at a critical moment of enlightenment. This avatar possessed only Return-to-Origin cultivation—insufficient to forcefully break the "Uninterrupted Lotus Prison."
But interrupting her seclusion... not only would decades of painstaking cultivation go to waste, but her next opportunity for such profound Heavenly Dao comprehension might never come!
She couldn't help but wonder... was that perpetually grinning fellow... worth it?
Memories surged like tides.
The dawns and dusks at Ping'an Fang over these two years—that man always lazily manning his fortune-telling stall, occasionally tossing out a jest.
Though they exchanged mere sentences daily during this time, last Lantern Festival, he produced a glass lantern from his sleeve like magic, smiling as he said, "To add some light to Miss Li's stall"...
Even the White Wolf King had come to respect him...
"Enough!" she suddenly declared through gritted teeth, her eyes sharpening—her choice made.
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