Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

The Bhagavat’s Enlightened Body generally has three levels.

The first level: Buddha’s Son, with Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivation. Although it exerts a certain pressure on Lower Cultivators, it is not completely without ways to resist it.

The second level: Tathagata.

Back when he proved the [Fruit of Celestial Fire], it was this level of Enlightened Body that came to deal with Lü Yang. Strictly speaking, its combat power was already that of a Perfected Lord.

The third level.

It was also the most terrifying Enlightened Body Lü Yang had ever seen: a Titled Tathagata comparable to a Great Perfected Lord, whom he had only met once in the Celestial Mansion.

"The Titled Tathagata back then was named [Vajra Realm Unmoving Tathagata]. The Bhagavat used the Spirit Platform Dharma Transformation on Sichou’s Residual Thought before Enlightening this body—an absolute Great Perfected Lord... From this, it can be seen that the third level of the Enlightened Body is different from the first two. It cannot be Enlightened out of thin air."

A Master of Dao is not omnipotent after all. Not to mention the Bhagavat. Therefore, even the Bhagavat could not manage to Enlighten a powerhouse at the Great Perfected Lord level out of thin air. He had to rely on a medium of an extremely high Position.

Sichou’s Residual Thought was undoubtedly top-tier. Compared to that, the Position of the Three Pure Land Bodhisattvas was somewhat low—so the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] that appeared today was also much weaker.

In short...

"He’s not a Great Perfected Lord!?"

In a split second, Lü Yang abruptly halted his steps to flee into [Emperor Ying]. At the same time, the Buddha Light broke through the Sea of Suffering and arrived before him.

Was it strong? Very strong. But it didn’t seem to have reached the point where he couldn’t handle it and had to flee at the first sign of trouble... although saying this might make him seem exceptionally arrogant right now.

But... it was fightable!

"Hah!"

Lü Yang let out a long breath. He saw thousands of rays of Buddha Light riding the wind and waves from beneath the [Sea of Suffering], sweeping over and illuminating its murky waters until they resembled transparent glazed glass. Wherever the light passed, endless Zen chants echoed. It actually mobilized the waters of the [Sea of Suffering], attempting to swallow him whole.

"So powerful... but I have to block it."

If he didn’t block it, he would be letting the opponent mobilize the waters of the [Sea of Suffering] and sitting back while it continuously grew stronger. Before long, he probably wouldn’t be able to block it even if he wanted to.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang immediately calmed his mind and focused his breath.

The next second, he flashed forward on his own initiative, arriving directly in front of the Buddha Light. He formed a Daoist Hand Seal, and a dim gray radiance instantly surfaced on his fingertips.

[Great Mighty Spirit Qi]!

"BOOM!"

The whistling dark light melted instantly like a drop of ink falling into the sea. Then, that magnificent Buddha Light poured down onto his Dharma Body with a thunderous crash.

Lü Yang stabilized his Dharma Body and stood completely unmoving. He used the [Rebirth Appearance] to absorb and redirect all the damage from the Buddha Light. Bathing in the Buddha Light, he remained completely unharmed. It wasn’t until the [Rebirth Appearance] reached its limit that he changed his Daoist Hand Seal and struck out another streak of illusionary colors.

[Tribulation Evil Profound Light]!

This time, the gray brilliance didn’t shatter on contact like the [Great Mighty Spirit Qi]. Instead, it clung tenaciously inside the Buddha Light like a festering ulcer on bone.

The two devoured and wore each other down. An unknown amount of time passed before the Buddha Light was finally worn away completely, revealing a towering Dharma Body with torn flesh, looking as though it had been rolled over hot coals.

"COUGH, COUGH..."

Lü Yang coughed up a mouthful of golden Dharma blood, but he immediately caught it and swallowed it all back down. Subsequently, his Dharma Body began to recover rapidly from the inside out.

"Thank goodness. I still only displayed the basic methods of my Dharma Body. At most, I exposed the [Past Dust Appearance]. The secret of me devouring the four elements hasn’t been exposed yet. Taking a minor injury for this is worth it. Otherwise, if the Master of Dao finds out I’m only short of the Wood Element to achieve Perfection, I’d have no choice but to start all over again."

His injuries were not light, but he didn’t regret it. After all, he was tough and thick-skinned; taking a bit of damage didn’t matter. But if it ruined the major task of devouring the Wood Element, then the pages of the [Centome] would be wasted.

Even so, the situation remained grim.

"What do I do next?

"Although it’s good news that the Position of that [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] hasn’t reached the Great Perfected Lord level yet, it’s still very hard for me to go all out in front of him.

"Although the [Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder] has impressive power, it relies on my Position and is essentially still an Outer Dao. It hasn’t birthed any Profound Mysterious, so it probably won’t be very effective against him. Under these circumstances, protecting myself is definitely not a problem, but winning would be very difficult, let alone killing the Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva..."

Thinking of this, Lü Yang felt a wave of mental exhaustion.

"This shouldn’t be happening. In my Previous Life, the Bhagavat clearly ignored the Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva and let him fend for himself. Why is it different this life?

"Could it be because of me?

"That doesn’t make sense either. I haven’t exposed the true nature of the Dao of Arcane Body. How did he determine that my main target this time was the Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva?"

Right at this moment, a voice suddenly drifted over.

"Little friend, let’s talk."

Lü Yang immediately lowered his eyes. He saw that within the Pure Land, the three Bodhisattvas were all resting with their eyes closed. Only the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] was looking at him with a smile.

The next second, he put on a panicked and fearful expression.

"...Crossing Business pays his respects to Senior."

"There is no need for formalities." The [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] raised his hand, a compassionate smile on his face. Then, he spoke a sentence that nearly gave Lü Yang a heart attack out of sheer fright. "I said we would have plenty of time to converse."

"..." Lü Yang was horrified inwardly.

These were the exact words Mingfeng had said to him when they parted ways at the Star Palace earlier! Now, for them to be spoken by the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata]... Were they just dropping the act completely?

However, while the other party could just lay their cards on the table, he absolutely couldn’t do the same. Therefore, upon hearing this, Lü Yang immediately feigned a bewildered and helpless expression. He tilted his head, pretending to recall something, before suddenly showing a horrified look as if struck by a sudden realization. "You, you... You are Daoist Mingfeng!?"

"Yes, and no." The [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] nodded, then shook his head again. "Mingfeng and I are both incarnations of the Bhagavat. Strictly speaking, we should be considered colleagues.

"However, that isn’t important." The [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] continued unhurriedly, "I observe that you are an Outer Heaven Wanderer. Although your innate talent is outstanding, you possess no Dao inheritance.

"The Bhagavat cherishes talent, and has specially sent me to this world to bring Enlightenment to you.

"The Bhagavat has already prepared a Lotus Platform in the [Vajra Realm]. As long as you are willing to convert and enter our Buddhist Sect, there will surely be a place for you among the seats of the Tathagata.

"In this way, you can attain Supreme True Skills, and from then on, there will be hope to reach the Late Stage of Golden Core, or even the Other Shore. It’s a win-win situation, so why not do it?"

As his voice fell, the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] immediately condensed Buddha Light in his palm, which then transformed into a thick Buddhist Scripture. He chuckled softly and said, "This is the ’Enlightenment Mahayana Sutra’. If you do not believe me, just take it and chant it for three days. You will definitely reap some rewards and be able to enjoy the scenery of the Other Shore."

Lü Yang was speechless.

"Who the hell are you trying to trick like a child? Do you really take me for an Outer Dao?

"Saying I will ’definitely reap some rewards’? I bet I’d just reap a ’Yuck!’, wouldn’t I? As for the scenery of the Other Shore, of course I’d be at the Other Shore once I get turned into a part of the Bhagavat."

"Senior, there is no need to say more."

Lü Yang didn’t even glance at the Buddhist Scripture offered by the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata]. He directly shattered it, his eyes filled with resolve. "I do not negotiate with invaders.

"Those who walk different Daos cannot scheme together!"

He hadn’t forgotten his persona. At this moment, he was fully in character. "As a native Cultivator of the Profound Spirit Realm, my love for the Profound Spirit Realm runs deep!"

As soon as he said this, Lü Yang immediately felt a response from the weakened Profound Spirit Realm, as if it were cheering for him. Without hesitation, he vanished and reappeared within the Profound Spirit Realm. In an instant, countless phenomena emerged around him, surrounding him like stars clustering around the moon.

"It seems you haven’t thought things through yet. Since that’s the case, we have no choice but to cross blows."

Hearing this, the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata] shook his head. He then took a step forward, arriving in the Void Sea of Light in just one stride, wearing a calm smile on his face.

Meanwhile, the Three Pure Land Bodhisattvas followed behind him.

The Buddha Light connected them. It was obvious that the [Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata]’s foundation for existence in this world was the three Bodhisattvas, which was why the two sides couldn’t be separated.

"It seems he’s not truly without flaws after all..."

Lü Yang took a deep breath. When he decided to make a move against the Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva, he had actually anticipated today’s situation, so he didn’t panic.

"...Then bring it on!"