“Benefactor, stop here.” The leading Arhat who subdues dragons spoke, his voice like the clash of metal and stone, “The Great Thunderclap Temple is not for ordinary people like you. If you take another step, don’t blame us for stopping you by force.”
Su She did not speak, but simply looked at them calmly. His gaze swept over the eighteen people's magical implements, over the intertwined Buddhist light they emitted, and finally settled on the faint Buddhist seal between their brows.
"You want to stop me?" His voice was soft, yet it pierced through the chanting. "With your power?"
"Insolence!" the Tiger-Taming Arhat roared, slamming his Vajra pestle into the ground with a loud "boom," and a golden beam of light shot into the sky. The eighteen Arhats moved at the same time!
The Vajra pestle crashed down with the force to shatter mountains, the Zen staff transformed into thousands of staff shadows that enveloped everything, the prayer beads coiled around the limbs like venomous snakes, and the Buddha's light condensed into Buddha seals, Buddha hands, Buddha knives... eighteen kinds of attacks came from all directions, sealing off all space for evasion, and their power was more than a hundred times stronger than the previous Buddhist cultivators!
The golden light on the platform surged violently, as if the entire Wanfo Mountain was trembling.
Sushe stood in the center of the attack, his expression unchanged.
He slowly raised his hand and reopened the *Tao Te Ching* in his arms. The pages rustled softly as they turned. This time, he didn't recite the text; he simply gazed at the flowing blue veins on the pages and uttered a single word:
"Disperse."
As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle yet unparalleled blue light burst forth from the Tao Te Ching. The blue light spread like a tide, and wherever it passed, the golden attacks that came rushing in melted and dissipated instantly, like ice and snow meeting the sun!
The vajra stopped in mid-air, its shadow turned into points of light, and the prayer beads froze in mid-air... The attack of the eighteen Arhats was effortlessly neutralized by this single word "scatter"!
"This..." The eighteen Arhats were all shocked, disbelief flashing in their eyes. Their combined attack hadn't even touched the hem of the other's clothes?
"It's not over yet." Su She's voice rang out again. He looked at the eighteen Arhats, who were filled with astonishment and uncertainty, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. Then, he parted his lips again and uttered the second word:
"Soldiers".
As the word was uttered, eighteen figures suddenly emerged from the blue light of the Tao Te Ching—they were dressed in blue armor, holding long spears, their faces blurred, yet exuding a dignified and righteous spirit of "defending the land and upholding the Tao," and were the "armor" that Su She had condensed with the righteous spirit of Confucianism and Taoism.
"kill!"
The eighteen soldiers shouted in unison. Although their voices were not as ethereal as Buddhist chants, they carried a fierce and ruthless intent that struck straight to the heart. Holding long spears, they charged toward the eighteen Arhats!
The spear flashed like a dragon, exuding righteousness, and collided with the Buddha's light from the Arhat, producing a "sizzling" sound.
The Buddha's light represents compassion and salvation, while the spear's intent represents protection and slaughter. These two completely different forces clashed fiercely, causing light and shadow to flicker and energy to overflow on the platform.
The more they fought, the more terrified the eighteen Arhats became.
These soldiers, though only at the Integration Realm, coordinated perfectly and displayed exquisite marksmanship. In particular, their righteous energy subtly suppressed their Buddhist light!
The dragon shadow of the Arhat Subduing Dragon was shattered by a single spear thrust, the tiger phantom of the Arhat Subduing Tiger was torn apart by the spear's intent, and the other Arhats were also suppressed by the soldiers and armor, retreating one after another. Their robes were torn by the wind of the spear, and their Buddhist light dimmed a bit.
Their proud Eighteen Arhats Formation appeared inadequate in the face of these eighteen armored soldiers!
Seeing the eighteen Arhats retreating in disarray, Su She did not order a further pursuit. He closed the book, turned around, and continued walking up the stone steps.
Seeing him advance, the eighteen soldiers ceased their fighting, feigned an attack, and then transformed into a blue light, returning to the Tao Te Ching.
The eighteen Arhats looked at Su She's departing figure, exchanging bewildered glances, none of them daring to step forward to stop him.
They could sense that their opponent hadn't used their full strength in the previous exchange. That seemingly ordinary book seemed to contain profound truths of the universe; a single word could neutralize an attack, and a single word could summon soldiers—such methods were beyond their comprehension.
"Who...who is he?" a arhat murmured.
No one could answer.
Only that figure in green robes, bathed in rich golden light, walked step by step towards the Great Thunderclap Temple atop the mountain, his back view solitary yet resolute.
The chanting at Wanfo Mountain seemed to have become much lower at this moment, as if it too was quietly falling silent in response to this silent confrontation.
Su She knew that after passing the Eighteen Arhats, the mountain gate of the Great Thunderclap Temple would be just ahead.
There, perhaps he will find the answer he seeks; or perhaps, he will only find deeper disappointment.
But he had to go.
Because his path lies beneath his feet, ahead of him, and in the perseverance of every step he takes.
The vermilion mountain gate stood ten zhang tall, with the four golden characters "Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage to the Ancestor" hanging above it. On either side of the gate stood two ten-zhang-tall stone Buddhas, their eyes wide open in anger, as if scrutinizing everyone who approached. The square in front of the mountain gate was already filled with believers and lower-level Buddhist practitioners who had rushed there upon hearing the news. They bowed and worshipped before the mountain gate, chanting incantations, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
As soon as Su She stepped onto the plaza, an ancient voice resounded from within the mountain gate, as if from time immemorial:
"Please leave, benefactor."
As the voice rang out, an elderly man dressed in a moon-white kasaya slowly walked out of the mountain gate.
His hair and beard were all white, and his face was deeply lined, yet he exuded a peacefulness that seemed to have returned to simplicity. There was no outward-emitting Buddhist light around him, but with each step he took, the golden light in the square became more intense, and the kneeling believers trembled with excitement, repeatedly calling out "Pu Shan Ancient Buddha".
Su She understood immediately—this was a high-ranking member of the Buddhist sect. He could sense that the old man's aura was unfathomable, far surpassing the previous eighteen Arhats, and had faintly touched the threshold of the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.
When the discussions of those who came later reached his ears, he realized that within Buddhism, Buddhas were divided into three levels, and this Universal Benevolent Buddha was the third level. Above him were the "True Buddha" and the "Great Buddha" levels. Only the Great Buddha of the first level could be considered the true leader of Buddhism.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com