Chapter 700: Wrathful Vajra

Chapter 700: The Wrathful Vajra

Having explored countless secret realms, Zhao Changher’s talent for burrowing was now scarcely inferior to Ying Wu’s—indeed, in the art of plumbing other kinds of depths, he surpassed him by far.

By observing the atmospheric drift and tracking the flowing currents of faith, the entrance to the secret realm revealed itself clearly without any need for searching.

Following the energy, Zhao Changher arrived at the entrance, his inner thoughts reduced to a string of ellipses.

Why must the opening always be situated behind a giant Buddha? Could you monks not show a modicum of creativity? Why is it that every subterranean realm connected to Buddhism invariably lies behind a Great Buddha...

According to his current understanding of various secret realms, their formation was entirely natural, originally devoid of formations, mechanisms, or entry switches; it was much like jumping into the belly of the volcano back then, plunging directly into another dimension.

The reason various entrances existed was either because some lingering powerhouse had not yet perished—such as Xuanwu hastily arranging a stone formation outside for concealment, which was clearly a crude, rushed piece of work—or because the descendants who discovered the realm had built a facade outside, like the Wang family constructing an altar linked to mechanisms, when in reality it was merely the Sea-Quelling Sword thrust into rock.

Thus, rather than saying a hole had been dug behind the Buddha, it was more accurate to say a statue had been erected at the entrance to deceive the eye. Zhao Changher pressed his hand against the back of the statue, channeling the Crane-Controlling Skill inside, easily unlatching the door from within, and slipped into the Buddha.

Then, completely bypassing any need to decipher mechanisms, he merely executed a small hop on the spot within, exerted force with his feet, and with a soft thud, he entered another dimension.

Once the nature of the secret realm was understood, breaking through was just that simple.

Yet the sight upon entering caught Zhao Changher entirely off guard, filling him with astonishment.

He had imagined it to be a minor instance, perhaps a burial mound with a Buddha lying within, or perhaps a heavily guarded fortress where he would face a barrage of attacks the moment he stepped inside. Instead, an endless expanse unfolded before him; green grass and flowing water met his eyes, and in the distance lay continuous mountain ranges, closely resembling the Great Secret Realm of the Spirit Race.

To possess such a vast secret realm, under normal circumstances, there ought to be a Heavenly Book... it was strange that the Blind Girl had given no indication.

Zhao Changher's first instinct was to dash toward the distant mountains; standing on this flat plain, he could not tell if he was already fully exposed to view, feeling exposed like a naked monkey, awkwardly uncomfortable to death.

Darting into the mountains, sheltered by the surrounding trees and rocks, a sense of security returned without reason. Zhao Changher looked around, his expression growing stranger still.

Outside, it was the twelfth lunar month, celebrating the Laba Festival, yet here it held the scorching heat of summer. Looking up, a fierce sun hung high in the sky, dazzling like a great ball of fire.

This defied common sense... a secret realm was a fractured piece of space, and normally it should possess neither sun nor moon; dark chaos was the natural order. The sun and moon of the Spirit Race were highly suspected of being counterfeits, and considering this was a Buddhist realm, could this be the doing of the Great Sun Tathagata?

If there was something antithetical to the Night Emperor, could it be this?

The mountain slopes faintly revealed the flying eaves of a temple pavilion. Zhao Changher carefully crept forward, soon catching sight of an ancient monastery.

To call it "ancient" was no longer entirely accurate; monks dispatched by Yuancheng and others were stationed here as guards, or perhaps cultivating within, and though the temple had endured two epochs, its glazed tiles remained as fresh as new. It was only that ruined walls, fallen debris, and collapsed quarters lay neglected without repair, presenting a highly dilapidated sight that retained a touch of antiquity.

At this moment, a group of elderly monks sat cross-legged on the plaza before the Mahavira Hall, chanting scriptures around a golden, glittering ancient Buddha in the center.

Looking closely, this was no statue.

It was the physical remains of an ancient Buddha who had passed away in meditation here, one finger pointing to the earth and one to the heavens, eyes wide with rage. Amidst the ruined surroundings, it carried the flavor of a Vajra's furious roar and unyielding struggle. Its cassock was intact, its features full, and its entire body shimmered with golden light, fundamentally different from those dried corpses of Huang Yang.

The ancient Buddhist sect, the Imperishable Vajra!

Yet though the body remained incorruptible, the soul seemed unrecovered, currently appearing like a sculpture.

Strands of the power of faith slipped into the body, proving he was not entirely dead, indeed retaining hope of revival. If faith were expanded over years and months, this Buddha could truly be resurrected. Looking at it this way, it was possible that more than one such Vajra Buddha existed; unfortunately, Xia Longyuan had slain one or even multiple revived Buddhas in the early years, and once the decree to eradicate Buddhism was issued, the process was interrupted, only resuming now.

But the power of faith here was wrong... and the Buddha was wrong too.

Zhao Changher faintly discerned that within the faith that should have been pure, many turbulent, chaotic, argumentative, and conflicting elements were hidden. These differed in nature from the blood-wraith, violence, bloodlust, and hatred he had previously encountered, yet belonged to the same category of negative intent. Ordinary people might not distinguish them; only someone like him, who began with the power of blood-wraith and studied faith and energy currents through the Heavenly Book, could faintly sense it.

The Buddha had harbored resentment before death, thus easily absorbing such chaos and strife. A Buddha resurrected from this kind of aura would likely not be what Yuancheng envisioned.

This would be a deity of destruction whose wrath could not be appeased, and even his sanity might be broken.

...

Around the same time Zhao Changher formed his judgment, Yuancheng and his companions led the crowd to the place where the Blood God cultists had committed murder.

A monk lay hacked to death on the ground, and several Blood God cultists were locked in a fierce dispute with another group of monks: "Damn it, it was your monk who stabbed our brother first! A casual swing was only meant to force him back—a dog could have dodged that strike, Heaven knows why he didn't move!"

"Do you expect anyone to believe those words?"

"I, Liu Zi, follow Boss Zhao. I might not have other skills, but my word is as good as gold! If I killed him, I killed him; if it's not my fault, don't think you can easily make me take the blame!"

"It was you who first plundered the people at the temple fair, and our senior brother stepped in to stop you. Surely that cannot be denied!"

"Bullshit! We honestly draw imperial grain, why the hell would we plunder your mother!"

"Bandits comb through like a comb, soldiers search like a coon, officials shave like a razor. To say you wouldn't plunder just because you are government troops now—those words can only fool your King Zhao."

"Insult me if you want, but to insult our Boss Zhao, how many heads do you have? Screw your mother!"

The two sides quickly clashed in a brawl.

"Stop!" Yuancheng and Yuanxing swiftly intervened, separating both parties.

"Amitabha." Yuanxing gave a polite bow to Liu Zi: "This old monk counts King Zhao as a friend. May the general grant this old monk some face and explain the matter clearly."

Liu Zi replied: "What is there to say? It was clearly this idiot who looked for trouble and suddenly attacked us, insisting we were plundering the populace. Did I plunder his mother? I struck back with a single blow and he died, what does that have to do with me?"

Both Yuancheng and Yuanxing frowned; these words were truly hard to believe, and both inclined toward the belief that Liu Zi was lying.

Liu Zi also knew no one would believe his words, growing both angry and anxious: "In any case, that is the truth! Either way, let us go before Boss Zhao to settle it!"

These words were effectively invoking their backing to pressure them. Looking at his deceased monks, Yuancheng could not help but feel anger rising, chanting in a low voice: "Then we shall apprehend you, and we can all go before King Zhao to settle it."

With that, he suddenly struck out, gripping Liu Zi's shoulder.

Almost at the exact moment the two sides broke into open conflict, the wide-open, furious eyes of the Vajra Buddha inside the secret realm suddenly moved, seemingly coming alive.

The surrounding elderly monks were overjoyed: "The Buddha has re—"

Before the words could finish, the Vajra glared at him. The elderly monk choked suddenly, letting out a horrific shriek as his veins bulged and his eyeballs protruded, as if enduring an immensely terrifying pressure.

The other monks were horrified: "What is wrong with the Supreme Buddha!"

"Rumble!" The Vajra slowly stood up. Though glowing with golden light, he radiated a ferocious malice and hatred; the bizarre atmosphere of Buddha and demon fused as one left the surrounding monks dumbfounded.

"Bang!" The Vajra threw a fist, striking toward the restrained monk.

The remaining monks acted together to save him: "Buddha, wait!"

"Boom!" Lethal intent erupted instantly within the peaceful ancient temple.

Outside, just as Yuancheng subdued Liu Zi and the others, a monk suddenly cried out in astonishment: "Look, what is that?"

Everyone turned to look as a flying horse descended from the heavens, landing in the courtyard.

The restrained Liu Zi was overjoyed: "Boss Zhao's Black Piebald!"

Everyone's hearts trembled; rumors of Zhao Changher riding a flying horse to the capital and Langya had already spread, and everyone knew Zhao Changher possessed a horse capable of flight. Why would it inexplicably appear here?

A sense of dread, as if being watched by a deity or demon, arose in everyone's hearts. Zhao Changher was thousands of miles away, yet he could still come to protect his subordinate—what kind of concept was this? This was a true Buddha!

Sharp-eyed onlookers noticed a slip of paper on the horse's back. Yuanxing stepped forward to take it, finding only two lines written upon it: "First, examine the baleful aura inside the deceased. Second, none of these subordinates of mine have ever learned the Blood-Wraith Cultivation."