Li Dingxun vanished from people's sight.
The Lion Appearance Sect Master's Second Young Master, Third Young Miss, and Fourth Young Master were all highly regarded, mastering excellent martial arts at a young age and rising to fame in both the Pure Land and the martial world. However, when people asked about the Eldest Young Master, the answer was always 'I don't know'.
People knew nothing of the current situation of the Lion Appearance Li family's eldest son. What was particularly reassuring, however, was that his reputation within the Lion Appearance Sect was also quite ordinary.
When mentioning this Eldest Young Master, most Lion Appearance Sect members would dismiss him with a simple 'weirdo' or a whispered 'good-for-nothing'.
Every month, the Lion Appearance Sect held internal assessments, screening members through combat. Seventy percent of people would be deemed unqualified and then receive punishment; the lower their ranking, the harsher the punishment. Although all were assigned rigorous training, the 'good-for-nothings' suffered the most agonizing torment. Almost every year, disciples would die suddenly during training or commit suicide due to being unable to bear it.
What about the Sect Master's son? He never participated in any assessments, yet he enjoyed the top-tier resources, with all cultivation methods open to him.
There were always people who couldn't stand it.
But the authority of Li Piguang and his wife, and Deputy Sect Master Shi Minghua, could not be questioned. Thus, the grumbling was softer than the buzzing of mosquitoes.
In the Sect Master's eyes, his eldest son was a prodigy with a specific talent.
Whether it was body tempering, unique techniques, movement arts, or hard qigong, he could learn them flawlessly. But once it involved mental methods like visualizing the Lion Divine Will, he would become exceptionally clumsy.
He was like a piece of iron, hard enough, but without a true sharp edge; it couldn't be called a weapon. To fight, he could only rely on brute force. This method was sufficient against ordinary martial artists, but it would be very difficult to engage in combat with those profound masters.
...
Fifteen-year-old Li Dingxun, nine feet tall, with raven hair cascading to his waist, clad in a simple training uniform, slowly practiced his boxing in the courtyard.
The four simple moves, vertical, horizontal, forward, and reverse, were precisely the ninth-grade Mountain Pushing Palm, an entry-level technique.
Even with such rudimentary martial arts, Li Dingxun still practiced diligently. The essence of Mountain Pushing Palm was a surge of force; mastering it meant being able to unleash that force.
Li Dingxun had already mastered the Divine First-grade Da Zhuo Hand at the beginning of the year, and his external martial arts had reached the pinnacle. Returning to practice the basics was considered building from a high vantage point, where a simple force had already evolved into thousands of variations.
However, no matter what, it was just a leisure pastime. He didn't really care how strong his martial arts were; he preferred the feeling of honing himself.
And from the moment he resolved to be a stone, he tried his best not to let subjective emotions influence his moves.
A move was just a move.
Without joy or weariness.
Everyone who had seen Li Dingxun practice martial arts said that his fists, like him, were silent and unyielding.
October fifteenth.
This was an unremarkable day. Perhaps the full moon was a scenic view, but there was a full moon every month.
However, Li Dingxun knew this day was very important to him.
The old ghost told him that as long as he opened his crown chakra, he would transmit the true meaning of Mount Sumeru to him.
But what the old ghost didn't tell him was that opening the crown chakra required cultivating the Supreme Yoga Method of the Divine First Grade.
Brahman and I are one.
For Li Dingxun, the cultivation of internal energy seemed to have no bottlenecks; he could reach the realm coveted by martial artists just by following the steps. This was a talent that had repeatedly astonished the old ghost.
However, even the smartest people need to practice diligently.
From the ninth grade to the Divine First Grade, the internal arts and techniques of two top martial arts sects.
It took Li Dingxun ten years.
He trained hard during the day and also trained hard in the Pure Land at night.
Twenty years to forge a peerless master.
In the old ghost's words, it was merely 'not bad'.
"The fourteen Venerables are all supreme masters, with unparalleled brilliance. Some of them achieved your current accomplishments at a very young age, because they were closest to the Bodhisattva, closest to Brahma."
"Is the Bodhisattva Brahma?"
"No, but the Bodhisattva seems to want to become Brahma."
"How do you know?"
"From the Pure Land." The old ghost sighed with a look of vicissitudes of life, "The Pure Land is slowly perfecting itself. In the future, it might even allow people to enter with their true bodies, perhaps it already can. With a universe, with reincarnation, how is it different from a real world?"
Li Dingxun sat silently, cross-legged before the stone wall.
"You haven't gone to retrieve the Epiphyllum Seal yet, have you?" the old ghost suddenly said, "For ten years, you've had so many chances to pick the epiphyllum, but why didn't you?"
"Flowers grow on stems, and roots are embedded in the soil; this is nature. Why should I break it?"
"No wonder..."
"No wonder what?"
"Go pick one. Get your own small Pure Land."
"I thought the Saint Path Pure Land was so vast, it could completely accommodate me."
"It's different. The epiphyllum is a gift from the Bodhisattva to the world." The old ghost smiled slightly, "Go pick the epiphyllum, and I will transmit the Xumi Divine Will to you."
This was somewhat impossible to refuse.
Li Dingxun rose, and with a light leap, he sprang out of the grotto.
The mountain was a sea of flowers, each one so beautiful, that for a moment he didn't know where to start, like an exquisite dessert, unsure where to take the first bite.
So he casually grabbed a branch.
The petals spun and flew into his glabella.
The next moment, he appeared in a blank plaza.
The sky was still dark purple, and the ground was pure white, perfectly flat. Gazing in all directions, he could see a straight horizon.
It was different.
He no longer had that dream-like feeling.
Li Dingxun clenched his fist; his body told him he was not in the Pure Land.
He was in another space.
The old ghost said that people could enter with their true bodies, and it was true. Li Dingxun had entered and exited his small Pure Land many times, even carrying some objects. Indeed, this was a real world.
It was said that the small Pure Land was a place where thoughts became reality, but Li Dingxun repeatedly tried, from silently wishing to shouting aloud, and things did not appear out of thin air as he imagined.
By this time, he had completely understood.
The Bodhisattva bestowed such a generous gift upon the Venerables in the Saint Path Pure Land.
A flower, a world—such a Zen profoundness truly made one exclaim in admiration.
If the Bodhisattva possessed such divine powers, then what kind of master would the Buddhist Son be, as His representative in the human world? What would his Xumi Divine Palm be like?
The Vajra Sect had a similar technique called the Mount Sumeru Four Divine Palms, but the old ghost personally admitted that compared to the Buddhist Son's palm technique, it was a pile of stinky dog shit.
He was about to experience this extraordinary martial art, and Li Dingxun's stone-like heart began to subtly stir.
The old ghost looked at the tall man before him.
A smile he couldn't suppress spread across his face.
This smile was unfamiliar.
It differed from his usual arrogance, playfulness, mockery, and triumph.
The old ghost smiled with great joy.
This was the first time in ten years Li Dingxun had seen him wear such a happy expression.
"What are you smiling at?"
"I'm smiling because my disciple will be the second Buddhist Son, the number one in the world. Isn't that worth my delight?"
"Does knowing a bit of Xumi's true meaning make me a Buddhist Son?"
"Of course not. You'll only be the dust kicked up by the Buddhist Son's feet, but even that tiny bit of dust will be enough for you to beat those stinking eggs in the martial world into a pulp!"
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me." The old ghost's expression remained the same, a grin on his face, but his eyes were calm. "I only hope you can do one thing."
Something was off.
He's not right. Li Dingxun told himself.
"Plant this epiphyllum across all the mountains and rivers of the world."
"What do you want to do?"
The old ghost did not answer, but suddenly let out a wild roar, "I am Gongbu, the Thirty-sixth Generation Dharma King of the Boundless Vajra Sect!" He raised his right hand.
Li Dingxun's chest rumbled, and air vibrated in his vocal cords, but his words were swallowed by the light.
"Xumi Divine Palm!"
Gongbu ignited, transforming into a four-sided pyramid, and lunged at Li Dingxun.
Blinding light.
Golden, substantial light.
Li Dingxun remembered that time, kneeling before Dharma King Gongbu, his palm stroking his head.
It had no texture, like thin gauze and mist.
But now, it was so heavy.
In the golden torrent, Li Dingxun's iron-like body continuously shattered, only to be reformed by the power of the Pure Land.
There was no pain.
Just.
A little ache.
An ache in his heart.
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