Chapter 50: Buddha (title)

Chapter 50: The Buddha

Night had fallen, and amidst a dense thicket, Li Huowang lay wrapped in a quilt, keeping a silent vigil.

The night was bitterly cold without a campfire, for it was only March after all.

Yet he dared not strike a spark, lest the flickering flames in the dark draw the murderous pursuit of the monks.

Borrowing the faint moonlight from above, Li Huowang reached into his bosom and drew out the Daoist bell.

The immensely potent pills Danyangzi had given him were nearly exhausted; this bell was the only trump card he had left to play.

But recalling how effortlessly the abbot had held it in his grasp, a fierce resentment surged within Li Huowang.

His enemies sought to destroy him, yet all he could do was flee—the sheer frustration of it was suffocating.

In this chaotic, bizarre world, strength reigns supreme. If I am to stand my ground here, I must become powerful enough!

If even a man like Danyangzi could grow so mighty, why not me? No matter how grotesque the path of cultivation is in this world, I must claim it.

I will protect myself, and I will protect those I hold dear. If I cannot beg for it, I will steal it; if I cannot steal it, I will rob for it; if I cannot rob it, I will use every underhanded trick in the book! Li Huowang's expression gradually twisted into a ferocious sneer.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Li Huowang froze, his face clouding with confusion as he reached back to rub his neck, seemingly lost in thought.

Namo... Ratna... Trayaya...

The tranquil silence of the woods was shattered by an ethereal chant.

Almost by sheer reflex, Li Huowang sprang to his feet, his eyes darting rapidly around his surroundings.

But the darkness was absolute, revealing nothing; the simple little traps he had set earlier remained undisturbed.

Namo... Arya... Avalokiteshvara... The ethereal chanting rose from the darkness once more, closer this time.

Quick! Everyone up! Move! Scatter and run, leave the donkey cart! Idiot! Do what I taught you before!

Roused by Li Huowang's warning, Bai Lingmiao instinctively moved to follow him, only to be scooped up and hoisted onto the Idiot's shoulder as he charged eastward in great strides.

Li Huowang vaulted over the thicket and leaped back onto the road, gritting his teeth as he sprinted forward; after all, the monks were only after him, and if escape was truly impossible, there was no need for anyone else to die with him.

Through the darkness Li Huowang ran, yet the chanting, its source unknown, clung to his heels, and his nostrils began to catch the scent of temple incense.

As he ran, he suddenly halted, his pupils contracting as he stared down the pitch-black road ahead, where countless fly-sized red dots trembled faintly in the gloom.

Buddhaya... Buddhaya... Maitreya... Naraka... The chanting grew ever louder.

At last, the things in the darkness slowly emerged: they were Buddhas, with massive heads and towering torsos, yet with impossibly spindly legs and bloated bellies.

The red dots Li Huowang had seen in the dark were actually bundles of incense sticks thrust into the Buddhas' flesh, quivering with the sway of their colossal bodies.

A towering Buddha wreathed in white smoke might have seemed divine and transcendent, but here on a dim, wild forest path, it was an entirely different matter.

And there was not just one such Buddha, but seven, standing shoulder to shoulder, their bodies swaying as they advanced toward Li Huowang.

They stepped in a simple, repetitive rhythm, swaying left then right, their forms vaguely human yet uncanny, their expressions hovering between a smile and a scowl, between serenity and wrath.

Fully exposed to the moonlight, the lead Buddha's face came into view; Li Huowang recognized him—it was the face of Jiandun. Amitabha, benefactor, your mind is not at peace.

Li Huowang looked up at the flesh-and-blood Buddha towering at least four meters above him. So you are finally dropping the act, are you? You trash who worship monsters!!

Benefactor, this poor monk knows not what you speak of. Come back to the temple with me at once. The karma of Danyangzi rests upon you; if you take it away, you will invite great calamity, and all living beings will suffer likewise.

As Jiandun finished speaking, he brought his hands together in a heavy clap; the sound of tearing flesh echoed as skinless, fleshless hands sprouted and writhed from behind him.

In an instant, like a peacock fanning its tail, the seven Buddhas transformed into seven horrifying, flesh-and-blood Thousand-Armed Buddhas.

Cling, cling, cling! As Li Huowang shook the Daoist bell in his hand with all his might, the surroundings began to warp, the lines of the branches twisting rapidly to form Lord You.

Yet amidst the ringing of the bell, the chaotic distortions around them failed to affect the Buddhas, who stood as immovable as reef rocks.

Scooping up a handful of dirt and shoving it into his mouth, Li Huowang roared, Kanlangken! Lord You, trailing afterimages, skimmed the ground and flew toward the Buddhas.

Hah! A colossal Buddha palm slammed down, instantly sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.

But the incorporeal Lord You completely ignored the strike, drilling straight through the back of the hand and lunging at the Buddha's massive face.

As Lord You burrowed entirely into the head of one Buddha, the towering figure began to stagger, its giant hands swatting wildly as if trying to shoo away flies.

Yet it was to no avail; moments later, the colossal Buddha crashed heavily to the ground, its facial features melting away, its once-unaffected body now warping and twisting along with the surrounding illusions.

Thud, thud, thud! The remaining six Buddhas swiftly formed a circle back-to-back, then slammed themselves into the earth like stone pillars, pressing their palms together as they began to chant an obscure and esoteric sutra. Tathagata Arhat... Samyak... Sambodhi...

The moment the chanting began, Li Huowang, watching from afar, immediately saw that something was wrong with Lord You; the lines composing its body began to writhe uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Li Huowang gripped the Daoist bell and shook it even more fiercely. Zhijian! Jiukao Gaozhun Qu!

Hearing Li Huowang's pledge to offer more of his lifespan, Lord You struggled to hold its form together and charged toward another Buddha.

Accompanied by a ground-shaking tremor, a second Buddha toppled to the earth, but this was the absolute limit of what Lord You could achieve.

Amidst the resounding chants, Lord You, suspended in midair, plummeted to the ground.

Seeing that Lord You was spent, Li Huowang stopped ringing the bell, yet as the surroundings returned to normal, the entity on the ground did not dissipate.

All the lines on its body began to shed their original hues, turning the pinkish color of raw flesh; the perpetually formless entity had actually been granted a mortal, physical body by the monks' chanting.

Now corporeal, Lord You looked like a massive, tangled knot of earthworms, writhing slowly across the dirt.

A giant palm, bearing the swastika symbol in its center, slammed down with crushing force.

Splat. Lord You's physical form was instantly reduced to a puddle of gore.

The colossal hand, smeared with Lord You's flesh and blood, slowly rose and pressed together in prayer; the remaining five Thousand-Armed Buddhas swayed forward, lining up before Li Huowang. Amitabha, benefactor, please come back with us.

End of Chapter