Chapter 447: Chapter 165 Merits
"Amitabha."
In the Buddha Light, there appeared a Tou Tuo dressed in monk robes and a headband, standing midair and bellowing, "This poor monk is the Crossing River Arhat from the Western Land Buddha Country. By serendipitous fate, I am passing by and have witnessed demonic people causing floods. It is therefore my duty to intervene and subjugate them, completing an act of merit."
With his opening statement, he had cast a heavy accusation upon Jiang Li and was about to make his move.
The main goal of the Tou Tuo was not to subjugate the demonic people, but rather to spread the faith. It was not important whether the demonic people were truly at fault; what mattered was having such adversaries to confront.
Having said that, he made the Buddha Light around the body of the Crossing River Arhat shine, and an Arhat Dharma Form appeared, ready to press down from the sky with one palm.
However—
"Go!"
At the sound of the cry, the Crossing River Arhat looked down and saw a monk beckoning to him below.
Hui Neng...
As soon as his gaze met Hui Neng’s, the Crossing River Arhat withdrew it, as if he saw nothing, and continued to press his palm down.
Almost everyone in the Buddha Country practiced the Summoning Technique, and ’almost’ indicated it was not universal. Hui Neng was one of the very few who did not practice the Summoning Technique, not needing the faith to enhance his External Dharma Form.
Moreover, Hui Neng had recently expressed dissent towards the Dharma Transmission plan and had disputes with some of the Arhats.
The plans of the Buddha Country indeed hindered the path of righteousness, which the Bodhisattva Arhats understood well. But without such measures, how could the Buddhist Law be spread? Without it, how could the defenses of the Nine Provinces’ populace be breached?
It wasn’t that the Bodhisattva Arhats of the Buddha Country lacked compassion, but only through such means could they swiftly disseminate compassion.
The work of spreading the doctrine was inherently ruthless. You couldn’t simply persuade people to follow the Buddha with words alone; the youth ultimately lacked vision. However, for his sake, why not convert this young man and set him as a protector?
As the Crossing River Arhat pondered this, the Arhat Dharma Form extended its arm, with the golden hand enlarging like a canopy pressing down toward Jiang Li.
Jiang Li, however, remained motionless in the face of this palm, letting the giant hand cover him until he dissolved into a puff of cloud with a ’thud.’
"Hmm? A fake?"
The Crossing River Arhat instantly became alert, realizing that he had failed to discern the true nature of his opponent.
Not being able to see through it meant uncertainty, implying that the opponent’s power could be comparable to his own.
He instantly became wary, ready to fall back on the defense, but just as his caution arose, a flash of Sword Light seemed to whisk it away.
The Dharma Form’s hand was a step too late to withdraw, and the Crossing River Arhat suddenly felt a surge of vile and turbid energy seeping into his palm.
As his External Dharma Form, which had progressed all the way to fifth-rank, was on the verge of dissolution, a stream of dark qi rapidly spread through his hand.
"Five Vile Qi! You are the Lawless Freedom!"
The Crossing River Arhat cried out without hesitation, activating the Dharma Form to sever his right arm.
He had seen Jiang Li and Hui Neng together and subconsciously assumed they were not adversaries. Plus, having never encountered "Li Qinglian," he had failed to anticipate this and suffered a severe setback as a result.
As he amputated his arm, the Crossing River Arhat withdrew the Dharma Form into his body, merging with his True Body and radiating a resplendent golden light, with even his monk robes glazed in gold.
The Dharma Form was vulnerable to the Five Vile Qi, but once retracted into the body, using the Physical Body as a shield could prevent further corruption. Even Magic Practitioners in the Buddha Country valued their Physical Bodies greatly, considering them the Worldly Treasure Raft, and thus they were well-cultivated.
For they had not yet become Buddha and still needed their Physical Bodies to navigate the sea of suffering.
Severing the arm, absorbing the Dharma Form, and manifesting the Golden Body, the Crossing River Arhat executed all these actions with seasoned skill, while the Killing Thieves divine skill of the Arhat Dao Fruit cleansed his mind of distractions and steadied his spirit.
Lawless Freedom also mastered a certain mental secret art capable of stirring thoughts—a fact the Sitting Arhat, who had previously clashed with him, had warned about.
Performing everything with meticulous care, the Crossing River Arhat’s eyes sparked with golden light, suddenly twisting his body, his right foot kicking back. Astonishingly, his foot enlarged just like the Dharma Form and, like a massive pillar, collided with the space behind him.
Right at that moment, a dreadful dark qi had spread behind him, and a Sword Light suddenly emerged, striking directly against the backward kick, ringing out with a resounding clang.
"Don’t think that just because you caught the sitting brother off guard and defeated him, you can underestimate the wonderful Buddhist methods."
Crossing River Arhat merged with his Dharma Form, transforming into an Arhat’s Golden Body, flawless and impervious, his limbs twisting abruptly as he turned. His palm grew larger by several fractions and slammed towards the black fog with an Arhat’s gigantic handprint.
As the handprint crushed down, the tremendous force was fully revealed. Within the black fog, a figure flickered into view, responding with a palm strike of their own.
"Bang!"
The mismatched palms met, strength against strength, sparking a fierce gale. The Arhat’s Golden Body, combining the power of both Crossing River Arhat and the External Dharma Form, had twice the power of an ordinary fifth-rank, yet the handprint emerging from the black fog was like an immovable mountain.
Within the black fog, Jiang Li had manifested his Dragon and Snake Body, wielding the toughness and flexibility of Yin and Yang, blending the Three Elements into one—Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams united. Imprints flickered around his body’s acupoints. With a slap, he halted the great handprint in front of his palm, and immediately an invisible field formed around him, propelling his body forward.
"Thump!"
Crossing River Arhat felt his blood reverse flow in his arm, his veins bulging as if they would burst, and the golden light scattered. The Arhat’s Golden Body nearly shattered, and from his opponent’s palm emerged a sharp force.
The Great Circle Sword!
The Great Circle Sword, integrated within Jiang Li’s body, merged with his arm and blended with the Innate Qi. After Jiang Li’s shocking strike on Crossing River Arhat, the Great Circle Sword "grew" from Jiang Li’s palm, its blade piercing through Crossing River Arhat’s palm, spiraling up his arm bones like a dragon-snake.
The Arhat’s Golden Body almost crushed, and at that moment, the Sword Light flayed flesh from bone, exploiting weakness with strength. Chunks of flesh fluttered away, revealing bones stained with blood. In the blink of an eye, the blade reached the shoulder.
"Demon!"
Crossing River Arhat, enduring the agony, once again deliberately severed his arm, but this time with his flesh and blood body. He used his True Qi to shatter the arm bone and quickly retreated.
But the Sword Light straightened out, manifesting the shape of a sword, now held in Jiang Li’s hand.
"Once, a Buddha sacrificed his flesh to feed eagles, accomplishing a great deed. Today, please follow the Buddha’s example—"
Jiang Li sheathed the sword at his side, the invisible field transforming into a scabbard, "Offer your head to aid my cultivation."
Heaven Cutting Sword Drawing Skill!
Evil Qi surged back, clinging to the sword. With one slash, the endless-night Sword Light streaked across the sky, striking at the retreating figure.
Using the Dragon and Snake Body to wield the Heaven Cutting Sword Drawing Skill, he absorbed all the Five Vile Qi into the Sword Light. The Dragon and Snake Dao Body automatically adjusted, physically merging with the sword, pushing this sword’s power to perfection, reaching its current peak.
Once Crossing River Arhat caught sight of the Sword Light, darkness fell before his eyes, as though plunging into endless night, all perception stripped away.
This sword gathered not only the Five Vile Qi but also contained the Heavenly Escape Sword Intent, severing his five senses and extinguishing the six consciousnesses!
"Slicing both body and soul, this is bad!"
Crossing River Arhat was shaken, knowing that being hit by this sword meant severe injury, if not death. And under Lawless Freedom’s hawkish gaze, even an injury meant death.
Since death was inevitable either way, he might as well go all out.
With that thought, Crossing River Arhat reversed his True Qi, golden light bursting from his body.
"Boom!"
The Arhat’s Golden Body exploded dramatically, Buddha Light mingled with Sword Qi shooting out, a golden afterimage streaking forth like a meteor, racing toward the heavens.
In a critical moment, Crossing River Arhat detonated his physical body, merging his Divine Soul with the External Dharma Form to make a desperate escape. This Dharma Form, lacking a tangible body, sped away swiftly and abruptly, comparable to a Primordial Spirit, heading southwest.
"You can’t escape, I’m set on claiming this deed today."
Jiang Li glanced downward and with a flash of Sword Light, integrated Man and Sword to give chase.
Although he might escape the Arhat, he couldn’t outrun the monk, and that monk was an Awakened’s disciple, a sixth-rank. Previously, Jiang Li took advantage of his unguarded mental state to gain the upper hand, but confronting him directly, not to mention Hui Neng’s life-saving ace, would be troublesome enough for Jiang Li.
Missing the previous opportunity to break free from the Demon Realm meant no second chance.
Thus, it was better to seek targets within reach.
Only time would tell if this Buddha Country Arhat could further enhance his Dao Fruit.