1105 True Buddhism
Feng Heng remained calm before manifesting black and white chains to counter Khutulun 5's while also dealing blow-to-blow with numbers 1, 3, and 4. Khutulun 7, the woman with the lion pelt, stood in the distance, roaring at him, thus releasing a powerful shockwave attack.
[Yin World Strike]
While Feng Heng was dealing with more than four opponents, he had already used a secret attack and just waited. Then, two black spears appeared out of nowhere: one impaled Khutulun 7, and the other attacked the Talisman Maker.
Khutulun 7 practiced Beast Dao and had an abnormal beast-like instinct, but it was too late for her to react. Like every Emperor in the Myriad Emperor World, Feng Heng studied all the battles from this generation's Heaven Will. So, he once noticed one of Wang Ju's techniques where she entered a two-dimensional space.
Intrigued, he created his own version by entering the Yin Dimension or the Yin World, a place outside the material world where Yin and Yang are not balanced; on the contrary, only Yin exists. He sent his attacks on that world to sneak attack his opponent.
Feng Heng calmly watched the result of his actions. Number 7 died with a shocked expression, while number 8, the Talisman Maker, only injured her shoulder as number 6's eyes detected something at the last minute to save her.
Swish!
Khutulun 12 appeared out of nowhere and stabbed Feng Heng in the back. However, her dagger could not penetrate his golden body protection. However, she seemed rather calm by this fact. As Feng Heng was about to take action, he sensed something attacking his soul.
As expected, Khutulun's attack was from the shadow of his soul. However, this technique was useless to him, as he had seen it during her fight against Xu Shi during the Gu Xuan trial. He would not fall for something he was already aware of.
Feng Heng slightly underestimated Khutulun 12. After so many years, how would her technique not evolve? The shadow of the soul was just the beginning, as her attack also contained the body's shadow. However, it was not the ordinary shadow that a human figure created.
No, it was deeper than this. Her technique involved the idea that even the atoms in a body have their own shadow, and she controlled them to attack her enemy from the inside; he targeted their essence.
Such a brilliant move, and Feng Heng's mistake should have been the opportunity to wound her opponent severely. Sadly, Khutulun 12 or anyone in this battle underestimated the defense of a golden body of merit, even the future possibility one, and of the lowest levels. The golden light around Feng Heng's body appeared on every atom of his body to protect him.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Do it now," said Khutulun 12, whose attack failed. She ordered the others who had already surrounded Feng Heng to move, and they all activated the talisman secretly sealed inside their bodies.
The talisman formed a magic circle above Feng Heng, sealing all his movements. "Brother," yelled Khutulun 12, and Tolui braved into action.
[World's Sin Corruption]
He used a divine ability to summon all the sins or negative karma of the Ancient Spirit World and forcefully imbue them into the enemy's body. The plan was to corrupt Feng Heng, thus destroying his golden body of merit. The corruption should also be enough to ruin his body and soul, leading to his defeat in this battle.
"This plan is stupid. I'm a monk, so purifying sins is second nature to me," he commented, calmly looking at the group as his body contained dark and red grievances.
"I'm not stupid, so would I know such a simple and obvious fact?" sneered Tolui. "However, even you cannot bear the sins of an entire Heaven Will that has existed for countless Yuan Epochs."
"You have underestimated what I suffered before I succeeded in reviving Buddhism," Feng Heng said calmly.
"Run away," yelled Khutulun 5, but it was too late.
[Golden Karma Lotus Flame]
A golden flenveloped Feng Heng, purifying all the sins. The flspread, instantly killing Khutulun 1 and 4 and severely injuring number 3.
"No, this can't be," said Tolui, refusing to accept that someone could survive such terrible karmic sins, let alone purify them.
Khutulun 4 suggested, "We must do something, or we will lose this battle once he finishes."
"I have a plan," said Khutulun 12. "We forced all the hidden Emperor Dao Imprints from the Spirit Realm into his body, forcing them to confront each other."
Everyone frowned. Khutulun 5 said, "The Spirit Realm contained many ancient secrets. Do you think it's wise to mess with these people?"
"I agree with her. Doing such a thing could have repercussions on the world and the tribe," added Khutulun 3.
"But if we don't do anything, we know for a fact the tribe won't survive," added Tolui, taking his sister's side.
"This plan can deal with the enemy while also helping the world get rid of these scourges, hiding themselves and waiting for the perfect opportunity to revive and cause chaos," persuaded Khutulun 12. "As for the consequences? We will deal with them then."
Khutulun 3 sighed, "You're this generation's leader. We're only spirits left to support you. Since that's your decision, I will help you." The others looked at each other before agreeing. They immediately accessed the Spirit Realm and searched for hidden imprints before forcing them into Feng Heng's body. The imprints resisted, but there were only imprints, and only a few could use a full attack from their prime, so their resistance was futile. The team's greatest trouble was finding these hidden marks from the normal spirits. Sspirits were truly powerful, and it was not worth angering sof them. So, the team had to choose wisely while working with extrhaste.
Feng Heng immediately felt it when the first imprint entered his body, but he did not care. He had absolute faith in his purification ability and used his Dao Imprint to fight off these imprints. Feng Heng considered this fight a Will tempering experience.
The battlefield shook lightly, and the sin stopped pouring. The team discovered their plan had failed, and continuing was useless. Tolui looked at Feng Heng with gritted teeth. Khutulun 12 was silent, and the remaining spirits sighed. Meanwhile, Feng Heng was looking at a white crystal floating before him, releasing white light.
'A physical manifestation of very condensed and purified positive karma? Interesting,' thought Feng Heng as he observed the crystal. 'This should be very beneficial for my body training.' He put away the crystal before looking at the survivors.
"Do you want to continue this pointless fighting?"
"We're not given up because you have the advantage," replied Tolui."The battle does not end until we are all dead," added Khutulun 12.
"Amitabha," sighed Feng Heng before going on the offensive. The result was as expected: he slaughtered the injured number 3 and swiftly eliminated the Talisman Maker (Number 8), sealed Number 5 with the intent to fuse this spirit with her Yin-Yang Eyes, and captured Khutulun 12 and her brother.
"What do you want with us?" asked Tolui.
"You know what I want."
"I will never help you," declared Tolui. "I'm even prepared to watch you slaughter all my believers and people. I won't help you even if it's the only thing to save my life."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I know that's your hurt pride that's speaking," Feng Heng said calmly. "Once you calm down, we will discuss with a more rational mind."
Tolui looked at him fiercely, "Men have committed worse acts while acting on pride. So, as I said, you can kill everyone. Isn't that what you wanted? The rise of Buddhism but curated through your wants and desires?"
Feng Heng did not immediately say anything. Instead, he looked in the distance with a peaceful aura. "I've always thought that Buddhism and cultivation should never be intertwined. The power we acquire always interferes with our practice.
"We get entangled in the cultivation world's desires for benefits and power; we care too much about our ideology's prosperity instead of focusing on our spiritual practice and helping as many people as possible."
"If we do not have power, others will oppress and even persecute us," rebutted Tolui.
"Yes, that is the excuse used to justify why we need power," said Feng Heng calmly. "But is that true? Why not practice a system of minimal power where only a few people practice cultivation to protect the collective while the rest focus on becoming enlightened."
"Isn't it obvious? The people with the power can easily abuse it," sneered Khutulun, and Tolui nodded in agreement.
"If they were true monks, why would they care about their power, let alone abuse it?"
The two becquiet.
"Those chosen guardian monks should know why they have this power and what their duty is. Their position should be temporary before another group takes over. Then, they will abandon their cultivation to focus on their practice."
"Your idea sounds good on paper, but there are too many flaws upon closer look."
"Like what?"
"Like lifespan. How are we supposed to achieve enlightenment without the long lifespan of cultivation?"
"You have no idea how much mortals can achieve in their short, limited time," replied Feng Heng, shaking his head. "Moreover, you failed to see my point. We could use cultivation to increase our lifespan and help us with our practice, we just won't use them for power and strength.
"Furthermore, true enlightenment is about cultivating the self and the mind; we don't need to focus on the laws of Heaven and Earth; we should focus more on the inner self. Cultivate from the inside out, instead of from the outside in."