Chapter 43 The Thunderclap Great Array

The nine heavens were devoid of corpses! The true form of the Yixing Monk was annihilated in a single strike, which greatly shocked the eighty-four thousand Yang God incarnations. Their expressions changed from astonishment to great fear. Hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers surrounded and attacked within the Buddhist dharma realm, a vast and endless force, undying and unyielding!

The Hall of Great Strength fell into the flames of war. All the Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions vanished like illusory bubbles. Tang Xianzu in the Hall of Great Strength awoke as if from a dream, watching the Yixing Master he had encountered transform into eighty thousand Buddhist disciples, besieged by three hundred and sixty thousand heavenly soldiers!

He even saw the dharma body of Namo Wuming'an Bodhisattva dissipate before his eyes, turning into golden light and disappearing without a trace!

"Tang Xianzu!"

The eighty-four thousand Yang God incarnations suddenly looked at Tang Xianzu in unison!

The Lu King's ascension originally required sacrificing Tang Xianzu's soul, which, with the blessing of immense righteousness, would have made the process more efficient. But now it had failed. Not to mention reciting the third passage of the scripture, even the fifth passage had been completed, yet Tang Xianzu had not escaped from the dharma realm. He was still here, continuing to recite the next Buddhist scripture.

Thus, an unexpected event occurred.

His vows were offered, and the Buddha's name of Namo Wuming'an Bodhisattva, when chanted by someone possessing immense righteousness, would produce incredible changes.

The eighty-four thousand Yang God incarnations shouted in unison, "An external demonic being is disrupting our Buddhist realm, causing arhats to enter nirvana and bodhisattvas to fall from their seats! Are you willing to transform into a great bodhisattva and save the Buddhist realm from collapse!"

Souls in dreams are not affected by yin demons or ghosts, nor do they suffer any direct harm!

And Buddhist magic, as long as it is chanted with sincerity, allows Buddhist masters to "manifest" their appearance, projecting it onto the body of the chanter. At this moment, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are with this person, making them the vessel for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas incarnations.

And this person becomes the "reward body" of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas!

The dharma body is the cause, and the body obtained through cultivation and achieving Buddhahood is the reward body.

They can manifest as the body of the Heavenly Emperor, the Brahma King, the Chakravartin King, a layman, a king, a prime minister, an official, a bhikshu, a bhikshuni, an upasaka, an upasika, or even a sravaka, arhat, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva!

All that's needed is for you to open your mouth and agree!

The eighty-four thousand Yang God incarnations looked at him with burning gazes. At this moment, they were besieged by heavenly soldiers, gradually entering nirvana, constantly dying and perishing, while Ji Xiang stood to the side, without any movement.

The power of the Nine Heavens Gang Wind Giant Seal was too great. This time, Ji Xiang had only just mastered this ultimate move. It was the highest great seal in the *Tianxia Dongzhen Jing*. Those who initially mastered it would instantly deplete a large amount of their primordial energy after casting it, and their bodies would experience a period of stiffness.

After all, the Nine Heavens Gang Wind was an object of Fuli. To master the Gang Wind Giant Seal, one needed at least three strands of gang wind as a guide, using the method of the Three Capitals Seal to activate it. Ji Xiang activated nine strands at once, making it a complete version of the Gang Wind Giant Seal. Its power was naturally much greater than what was described in the *Tianxia Dongzhen Jing*!

Fortunately, the Purple-Gold Pill had powerful restorative properties. In addition, Ji Xiang's true body was merely a Lord of Incense, so the stiffness of the physical body did not affect the true body. It was just like in the battle against the Fire Lord, even if the physical body's neck was twisted, the true body could still manipulate the physical body to stand up and fight.

So, casting the Nine Heavens Gang Wind Giant Seal, other than the loss of primordial energy, had basically no other effect.

At this moment, a continuous stream of dharma realm primordial energy was absorbed and devoured by Ji Xiang. Even the Blank God Tablet vibrated, helping Ji Xiang to absorb the primordial energy. Whirlpool clouds formed in the entire sky, and vast primordial energy, like the ocean, poured into Ji Xiang's body.

This scene made the eighty-four thousand Yang God incarnations of the Yixing Monk tremble with fear!

This primordial energy of heaven and earth contained extremely pure yang energy. Buddhism was originally a path of ultimate yang and unyielding strength, but the dharma realm contained such vast yang energy that if it were poured into a cultivator, it might cause them to be incinerated by their own yang fire and turn into green smoke and ashes.

However, for Ji Xiang, there was no problem at all!

Standing in the sea of primordial energy, feeling an unprecedented rate of recovery, Ji Xiang even had a faint premonition.

It was as if the threshold of Earth Immortal was about to be broken!

"Such pure and immense yang energy, and such vast and thriving incense within the Buddhist dharma realm."

"Plus, the considerable amount of incense I devoured in Yingtian, it won't be long before my physical body breaks through to the Primordial Spirit Realm!"

Ji Xiang pondered in his heart that he was only one step away from the Primordial Spirit Realm!

And the important marker distinguishing the Primordial Spirit from the Golden Core was the emergence of the Yang God!

The emergence of one Yang God signified the Primordial Spirit Realm, and a perfected Primordial Spirit could produce four Yang Gods.

However, before entering the Primordial Spirit Realm, taking the Essence of Sun Radiance to strengthen one's foundation was of utmost importance.

The thing born in his body after taking Emperor Jiajing's medicinal powder was called the Root of Heaven and Earth. Within the inner mountains and rivers, it was the Left Path Heavenly Essence. Its effect was different from normal Heavenly Essence. After taking normal Heavenly Essence, one could change their own foundation, while the role of the Root of Heaven and Earth was to further strengthen the effects of these Heavenly Essences!

As for how much it could enhance, Ji Xiang was not yet clear, as he had not yet taken any other Heavenly Essences.

But now, the Lu King had enough Essence of Sun Radiance. The small box given by Qin Nvxiu, he did not know what was inside. If it was Heavenly Essence, then the preparations would be complete.

"Almost there."

Gathering a large amount of primordial energy was not just for breaking through the realm.

The Yixing Monk's eighty-four thousand Yang Gods thought that Ji Xiang had consumed a large amount of mana, so he was standing still to accept the infusion of primordial energy. They were hurriedly calling Tang Xianzu's name, hoping that he could accept their "good intentions"!

And Tang Xianzu was obviously stunned by the scene before him.

Transform into a great bodhisattva?

Master Yixing was in such a disheveled state, while the newcomer was radiant and had heavenly generals. No matter how he looked at it, he did not seem like an external demon....

"There is no need to listen to his words."

Ji Xiang spoke faintly at this moment, the Inner Vision God Tablet vibrating gently, instantly discerning everything. At the same time, the primordial energy in the dharma realm gradually dissipated, but in an orderly manner, leaving towards eight directions, not directly vanishing:

"Your soul is in a dream, not in the same world as us. What is manifesting in the dharma realm now is just your soul image, an illusion. After all, the dharma realm is something real, while dreams are illusory. Reality and illusion can intersect, but they cannot connect. Before reaching the Heavenly Heart, no one has the ability to turn the false into reality."

"At this time, if you transform into a great bodhisattva, this Buddhist demon can turn you into his reward body. Then you will not be able to return to the human world, but will only be able to sit withered in this dharma realm, as the source of his new essence. Soon, you will once again become a new 'Yixing Monk'."

Among the encirclement of the three hundred and sixty thousand heavenly soldiers, all the remaining Yang God incarnations changed their expressions in shock!

"Do not listen to his demonic words! He is a demon, a descendant of Mara, who has come to destroy Buddhism! Believe us!"

"He has no way to move now, this is a good opportunity for us to jointly cast spells to subdue this external demon! Tang Xianzu, you possess great righteousness, favored by heaven and earth. If I am a monster and he is the righteous path, then why can I bring you to this Buddhist dharma realm, while he cannot touch you!"

"That's right, you have to trust your own judgment! We are Buddhas, this demon has come to destroy Buddhism! If you transform into a great bodhisattva, then you can also enter the Pure Land of the Spirit Mountain. The human world is just a place that you can return to at any time, it will not have any impact on you!"

The incarnations were extremely anxious!

Tang Xianzu looked around blankly.

Ji Xiang sneered upon hearing the horrified words of the many Yang God incarnations:

"What I said to him was that there was no need to listen, not that he shouldn't listen."

"You incarnations seem to have misunderstood something. The heavenly soldiers cannot completely kill you, so I only told them to hold you back. As for myself, there was never any question of me being unable to move."

"I'm just completing some arrangements."

"Oh right, I heard that you are good at Buddhist dharma arrays. I wonder if you have a way to break this Maoshan Great Array that I have now arranged?"

Gu Meng. After saying that, the eight directions of primordial energy in the Buddhist dharma realm transformed into eight directions of lightning, crashing down!

"Thunder Tribulation Great Array, arise."

Thick lightning bolts pierced through the endless Buddhist light, destroying the Hall of Great Strength. The lotus platforms turned to dust, and the Buddhist soldiers became soil. Tang Xianzu saw the Yang God incarnations of the Yixing Monk being struck by the lightning tribulation, instantly turning into black smoke and dissipating, emitting strange howls before disappearing!

Countless light bubbles floated out of the black smoke!

At this time, Ji Xiang chanted a Buddhist mantra, the most well-known of all mantras!

"All conditioned phenomena."

"Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows."

"Like dew drops, like lightning flashes."

"Contemplate them thus."

All worldly dharmas that arise from causes and conditions are like dreams, like shadows in bubbles, like swift lightning, unpredictable and impermanent.

Ji Xiang spoke softly, but it was like a thunderclap, producing incredibly clear rhythms even in the sea of lightning tribulation! And those illusory bubbles gradually shattered, revealing the dreams of ordinary people who had been bewitched and devoured by the Yixing Monk in the past.

Large and small dreams, including even the things that happened in Yingtian Prefecture, were all presented at this time, blooming in Tang Xianzu's eyes, manifesting a scene that shocked him and made him want to speak but stop, and he was completely submerged by the illusory bubbles.

He could only hear Ji Xiang's voice:

"Legend has it that the Tathagata was skilled at analogies. What he saw and thought while sitting under the Bodhi tree in the wilderness."

"Have you ever seen puddles of water when it rains?"

"Drip, a bubble appears, and in an instant, the bubble bursts. Drip, drip, drip, countless bubbles are born and die."

"Have you ever seen lightning? Flash, it streaks across the sky, illuminating the earth, but in an instant, it returns to darkness."

"Have you ever seen the dew on the leaves? It gathers on the leaves before the sun comes out, but as soon as the sun rises, it disappears without a trace."

"Conditioned phenomena are like dreams, unconditioned phenomena cannot be spoken of."

Ji Xiang spoke of Buddhist principles, and at this time, a Vajra dharma body appeared behind him. The ghostly face of the Uesuki Vajra in his left hand transformed into the Tathagata's dharma appearance, shedding the form of the Vajra, communicating with the Buddha's divine thoughts, only faintly appearing for an instant, before disappearing without a trace.

The Uesuki Vajra God Seal, after the Tathagata's nirvana, vows to liberate all beings!

Around Ji Xiang, golden Buddhist lights rose, and the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus flew out of his body, actually landing at Ji Xiang's feet on its own, transforming into a Seven-Rank Lotus Platform.

The Yang God incarnations who had not yet perished in the thunder tribulation were greatly shocked!

"Are you a deity, or a Buddha!"

Hearing this, Tang Xianzu naturally understood who was the real demon.

"I am neither a deity, nor a Buddha, nor Mara, the lord of demons."

"Above the Jade Purity, my name exists; beneath the seat of the Primordial Beginning, I cultivate hidden scriptures."

Ji Xiang composed a song, the Buddhist light turned and shone, the thunder tribulation struck, and the many Yang God incarnations perished one after another. More than eighty thousand of them vanished into thin air, and finally, only one Yang God incarnation remained, shrouded in Buddhist light, transforming into a giant bird with black-blue feathers, crouching on the ground, subdued by the light of the Tathagata Buddha.

"The Buddhist demon of Uttarakuru, the giant bird Youwei Changa, heard the lectures in front of the Buddha's lotus platform, so it achieved the body of a Buddhist demon, collecting the corpses for the dead and placing them outside the world of Uttarakuru, in order to complete a clean world."

Ji Xiang reached out his hand, and the bird transformed, shrinking to the size of a pigeon, flying onto his arm and stopping, bowing its head and ceasing to move.

And Tang Xianzu had already watched in stunned silence. Ji Xiang dispersed the Buddhist light, retracted the lotus platform, and with a wave of his hand, the Buddhist dharma realm returned to the heavens, while Tang Xianzu's soul instantly re-entered the dream and returned to his own body.

.......

Pa!

A shocking thunderclap shook the sky, and in front of the magistrate's desk in Suichang County, Tang Xianzu suddenly woke up. The manuscripts on the desk were scattered all over the ground. He leaned over to pick them up, and scenes of the illusory dream he had just seen flashed back into his mind.

Including the matter of Ji Xiang and the Yixing Monk, was that a Daoist Lord subduing a demon, or a great demon reversing the Buddha?

He walked out of the magistrate's residence, and at this time, the sky was about to dawn, but he wandered aimlessly, like a wandering ghost. The scenes in his mind were all difficult to erase. Suddenly, he turned his head and saw a locust tree, with ants active below it. The sky was not yet bright, but they had already come out of their nests diligently and orderly, no less so than human society.

Thinking again of the scenes he had seen in the illusory dreams, including everything that had happened in Yingtian Prefecture, Tang Xianzu did not know whether all of this was true or false. Suichang was extremely far from Yingtian, and he could not verify it at this time, so he could only temporarily regard this matter as a miraculous dream.

The Tathagata's words, all kinds of dreams, the Vajra's words, like dew and lightning.

Looking at the sky again, where were there any Buddhist demons or Daoist Lords?

So, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Alas, when humans look at ants, they are busy and scattered, not knowing what they are doing, not knowing where they are going, and they all think about food and shelter. Seeing them angry and fighting fiercely, one cannot help but laugh and say, 'What are they doing?' There are people in the heavens, and their laughter when they look down is also the same."

As soon as these words were spoken.

The righteousness of heaven and earth gathered and fell in favor.

Tang Xianzu thought that he should record these things and then adapt them.

His new book had just been completed, and he immediately had inspiration to start another one.

........

Before the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum's Sacred Way, Wu the Great's six swords were all damaged. The Lu King mobilized the Xiaoling Guards to protect him, while the other cultivators were trying their best to stop Wu the Great. Although the two Refinement Spirit experts were greatly injured in primordial energy, they still managed to injure Wu the Great repeatedly in the shortest time, and used incense divine spells to prevent Wu the Great's rebirth.

However, it was too late.

A celestial light fell from the sky, and Qin Nvxiu's saber wind had already swept up from the foot of the mountain, turning the forests and vegetation into dust wherever it passed!

Before the Sacred Way, the power of the dharma realm disappeared, and Ji Xiang reappeared in the human world.

There was a fierce tiger in front and a flood dragon behind.

He was only one step away from the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

The Lu King vomited blood and sighed weakly.

"His achievements were not established, it is the will of heaven."