Chapter 709: Heavenly Demon Papiyas

Chapter 709: Mara the Demon King

“As for Yuxu, there are old grievances, but that was a matter of long ago,” Yuanxing said. “In earlier days, before the Four Symbols Sect rose, the prominent teachings in the world were only Buddhism and Taoism, and conflict was inevitable. Starting from the previous dynasty, Yuxu and Senior Brother Yuanzheng competed all the way through the Hidden Dragon List, the Human List, and the Earth List—somewhat akin to Chief Tang and the Vermilion Bird…”

Zhao Changhe: “…A fine analogy. But if we follow that comparison, later on Yuxu ranked fourth on the Heavenly List, while your senior brother fell behind. Wouldn’t Yuxu be rather upset?”

Yuanxing gave a wry smile: “Of course, it didn’t develop into as fine a romance as between Chief Tang and the Venerable Vermilion Bird. Who could be upset? That Yuxu didn’t come to trample him is already a sign of his magnanimity. As for falling behind… In this world, only a scant dozen or so have managed to break through the Threefold Secret Treasury. That my senior brother couldn’t do so is hardly surprising. Of course, if one insists on finding an excuse for him, there is one—as everyone knows…”

“The late emperor’s persecution of Buddhism caused your Buddha to die, the transmission of teachings was lost, and the spiritual meridians were utterly shattered.”

“Exactly.”

“And now you feel that the Four Symbols Sect lacks a universal foundation, so you intend to start anew… Wouldn’t that inevitably bring conflict with the Taoists?”

Yuanxing hesitated for a moment: “Given the current situation, we are in no position to clash with the Taoists. We might not even be a match for Guichen’s Taiyi Sect, let alone Yuxu.”

Zhao Changhe had been puzzled by this earlier. Buddhism was now so weakened—why would they want to provoke a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism? Driving a tiger to devour a wolf required both a tiger and a wolf; stirring up chaos required evenly matched opponents. What was the point of pitting a cannon against a mosquito?

The only possibility he could think of was that Buddhism still had hidden reserves—perhaps a Buddha who could be resurrected, maybe more than one. Stirring up conflict with Yuxu would only make sense if that were the case. But their Buddha was still just a brick… Perhaps precisely because it was still a brick, it could be controlled, which had led to his involvement in this affair.

That connected the dots. If this was the case, then Snow Owl would either come to steal this Buddha again, or if he didn’t, it meant he had other goals and didn’t necessarily need this one.

And this technique of corrupting a Buddha with chaotic demonic intent seemed very much like the legendary Mara…

Yuanxing was also speaking: “Mara the Demon King is recorded in the scriptures, and many in the world know of him… But to be honest, Your Highness, we have never seen him. We don’t know if he’s a legend or a real person.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. In the mortal world, this could only be a legend, but here, it was highly likely real. Moreover, such a demon lord, recorded in scriptures and traditions, was of a very high caliber—possibly on the level of the Sea Emperor or the ancient Four Symbols, or even comparable to the Night Emperor. Far beyond the likes of Huangyang.

Now it was roughly clear. Beings like Huangyang belonged to a lineage of calamity stars. They hadn’t existed before; they were manifestations of various apocalyptic attributes from before the collapse of the era. The Fire of Annihilation had been unlucky—it had just emerged and was immediately skewered by the Misty Qinghe Sword. The others had survived to this day, like Huangyang, Fengyin, and Anmie.

In theory, these beings had a high status—they could be called primordial demons. Yet somehow, they always gave Zhao Changhe the feeling of “isn’t this just a heavenly treasure?”—utterly devoid of reverence…

Another type, like Doro, Xuewu, and Jianhuang, were all leaders of ancient factions. Xuewu was the Beast Spirit Guardian of the Spirit Clan, of high status; Doro was likely an abbot or guardian of ancient Buddhism. Lie also belonged to this category—mortals who cultivated to become regional overlords and were called gods or demons. The gap between the upper and lower limits of this type was huge; the lowly ones were like Xuewu, the powerful like Lie and Jianhuang.

The last type was the Buddha, Mara, various Bodhisattvas and Vajras, the Eternal Heavenly God, the Sea Emperor, the Night Emperor and the Four Symbols, Misty, and so on—these were the true celestial deities… and the Blind One. This type had the highest status and was the most troublesome. The Sea Emperor had merely gotten lucky, running into the even more buggy Old Xia; if they fought again, he would definitely be skewered alive, no contest.

He wondered what kind of being Yuxu had been wary of and restrained from in the past, and which category it belonged to.

Damn, when he counted them all, there were really a lot… No wonder the Heavenly Dao Society wanted to wipe them all out, and they had already eliminated many. On the other hand, the Four Symbols were all dead, and the so-called celestial deities might not be that numerous. He didn’t know how many were left.

Seeing Zhao Changhe lost in thought, Yue Hongling, who had been quietly drinking porridge and eating steamed buns, suddenly asked: “There is a kind of ice-crystal mirror that reflects inner demons and drains souls… And there are various strange beasts or spirits that can disguise themselves as others by peering into their hearts. Is this Mara?”

Yuanxing was startled: “Exactly! The mirror that is not a mirror might be Mara’s eye. As for the so-called strange beasts or spirits, they are either Mara’s incarnations or his myriad split souls.”

Yue Hongling said calmly: “Then he’s nothing special.”

Yuanxing: “?”

He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a long time. His tension was stuck halfway, his heart neither daring to leap out nor settle back.

Yue Hongling didn’t think breaking free from the inner demon was anything remarkable. Though it had been perilous, once she realized what was happening, it wasn’t too difficult. She didn’t realize that her firmness of will and clarity of self were actually the highest level of the sword path—‘sword heart clear and bright.’ Among all the swordsmen and martial artists in the world, fewer than a handful could match her, and even those stronger than her might not possess it.

Mara’s tricks would work on almost anyone else, but they were useless against her. This included all subsequent illusions and deceptions—her sword heart shattered them all, making them meaningless, as if they had encountered a ghost.

Zhao Changhe also caught on and laughed: “At least it proves one thing: Mara is actually very weak. He can only use this kind of innate ability to manipulate hearts, but cannot directly attack Hongling. Since that’s the case, I have a plan.”

A string of ellipses ran through Yuanxing’s mind. That was Mara the Demon King, the adversary of the Buddha! Did they have any idea what that meant?

He hesitated for a moment, then said: “If the enemy is Mara, Lady Yue might be fine, but Your Highness, with your blood aura foundation, you are very likely to run into trouble. You must prepare in advance. My personal suggestion is that Your Highness study the Diamond Sutra of our temple.”

Zhao Changhe squinted at him: “Your guardian vajra was turned into a puppet. What use is reciting his sutra?”

Yuanxing was a bit embarrassed: “This vajra is not that vajra. This is about tempering the heart to be like diamond, impervious to all demons. As for that Buddha, he was the result of the Golden Bell Shield reaching great perfection. In martial terms, it is a body-forging technique, unrelated to inner demons.”

Zhao Changhe opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped.

Yue Hongling couldn’t help but laugh: “He wants that body-forging technique even more.”

Zhao Changhe lowered his head to drink his porridge. Sister really knows me…

Yuanxing said: “The Golden Bell Shield is truly the foundation of our temple, and indeed cannot be passed on to others. Your Highness, please forgive me. Moreover, Your Highness has no understanding of Buddhism and would not be able to learn it.”

Zhao Changhe had expected this outcome, but he was still a little disappointed. Damn it, it seemed he would continue to be beaten like a dog for a long time: “I don’t understand Buddhism, but can I learn the Diamond Sutra?”

Yuanxing blinked, a hint of slyness in his eyes: “It is one of the Buddhist teachings… In a sense, the Diamond Sutra is a way to preach to Your Highness.”

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment, and a thought suddenly struck him.

Actually, he wasn’t too concerned about the blood aura problem anymore. He was already considering the level of ‘controlling’ it—the world’s blood aura should submit to him. At this point, worrying about blood aura backlash or being used by others was beneath him… But what came to mind now was the Blind One.

Now that he was forced to use the Heavenly Book more and more… A heart as firm as diamond… He wondered if it might be useful against the Blind One in the future.

Also, if he let the Heavenly Book analyze the Diamond Sutra, could it deduce the Golden Bell Shield? It was a long shot, but possible.

With that thought, he finally nodded: “Alright, don’t call it preaching. Consider this favor from me. If you want to repay the help this time, consider it settled.”

Yuanxing let out a long sigh of relief and smiled: “Your Highness is a man of his word.”

A young novice ran in from outside: “Uncle Grandmaster, the abbot sent me to report that the secret realm’s space has closed, and there is no other way out.”