Chapter 379: Non-Killing
Lü Yang was a man of action. Ten lifetimes of cultivation had taught him a simple truth: decisiveness is key. Procrastination achieves nothing.
’First, the Little Blessed Land!’
Although this thing seemed like a completely new Dharma Gate at first glance, as Lü Yang thought back on it, he realized this wasn’t the first time he’d encountered something similar.
’Blood Demon Island!’
That’s right. The so-called Little Blessed Land was practically identical to the Blood Demon Island he had seen in his past lives. In fact, the latter was just a simplified version of the former.
’A Little Blessed Land can conceal its occupant, allowing them to evade the lock of Heaven and Earth. Blood Demon Island, though just a simplified version, must have inherited this effect. That’s how Blood Demon Zhenren could hide inside, enter a deep sleep through a method of feigned death, and survive for thousands of years—far longer than any ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator...’
With a concrete example before him, Lü Yang’s confidence in the Little Blessed Land soared.
There was just one last problem: he didn’t know how to refine it.
After all, it was personally passed down by a Perfected Lord. The refining method for the Little Blessed Land was exceedingly profound. It wasn’t that Lü Yang couldn’t comprehend it, but that he needed a certain amount of time to learn it.
’At this point, I can only rely on my Talent Skill!’
’Progenitor Tingyou!’
Lü Yang shook the Myriad-Soul Banner, summoning Progenitor Tingyou once more. Without a word, he handed over the Dharma Gate and the Indestructible Gilded Golden Silkworm.
"You..."
After hearing Lü Yang’s request, Progenitor Tingyou wore a helpless expression. A ripple of his Qi trace revealed that he had already reached the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!
Although it hadn’t been long since his revival, Progenitor Tingyou’s recovery was still incredibly fast. This was because he had already reached Foundation Establishment Perfection in his past life, and his Innate Divine Technique, once attained, was his forever. He didn’t need to search for the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, so even if he did nothing, he would continue to recover at a remarkable speed.
This left even Lü Yang somewhat speechless.
’It seems Progenitor Tingyou wasn’t incapable of recovering to his peak. It was just that in previous lives, with a Perfected Lord keeping him in check, he didn’t dare to...’
However, the Progenitor Tingyou of today was likely even stronger than his original self.
After all, under Lü Yang’s nurturing, he had consumed the Unity Immortal Pill and merged with his original body. His Enlightenment and Spiritual Wisdom had clearly reached a new level.
"This is not the way to cultivate."
Progenitor Tingyou looked at Lü Yang and spoke earnestly, "I can help you comprehend the Dharma Gate, but if you don’t understand the principles behind it yourself, it will always be a hidden danger."
"What I understand will always be mine."
"If you want to achieve Seeking Gold and ascend to a higher realm in the future, you must have your own principles and your own insights. You can’t expect me to help you with Seeking Gold as well, can you?"
"I understand."
Lü Yang knew full well that Progenitor Tingyou meant well.
"But Progenitor, you know my current situation. I don’t have time to waste. The longer I stay in this wretched place, the more danger I’m in!"
The situation in the world is changing. Heaven and Earth has seized my Immortal Spirit Body, and with its full support, Major Metal will probably reach Foundation Establishment Perfection before long. Meanwhile, Buddha’s Son Guang Ming has emerged from the Pure Land with his own grand scheme. The undercurrents are about to break the surface.
And of all people, Heaven and Earth is targeting him.
Once Major Metal reaches Great Perfection, he will almost certainly come for me. I could stick to Demon-Vanquishing Perfected like a shadow, but then how could I possibly cultivate?
More importantly...
"My path is now severed!"
My Sword Dao Avatar is powerful, yes. Empowered by the Tribulation Wave, it has the combat strength of a Great Trueman—and could even be considered one of the best among them.
But so what?
The Sword Dao is tainted; I can’t take it with me when I start over, so improving it is utterly meaningless. My most urgent priority now is to find a cultivation path that I *can* take with me!
Under these circumstances, if I stay in this wretched place, I’ll have to start over from scratch, searching for the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches all over again. But with Heaven and Earth targeting me, searching for them is no different from suicide. Therefore, the only way out is to journey Beyond the Heavens and switch to an otherworldly cultivation path for now!
’It’s a temporary measure, just to get through this crisis...’
I’ll follow an otherworldly path to raise my Cultivation first, then return and use that to nurture my cultivation in this world. One path will drive the other. That’s how I can achieve twice the results with half the effort.
For this reason, refining the Little Blessed Land was an urgent matter that could not be delayed.
’According to Fortune’s memories, a Little Blessed Land can act as a vessel, enough to help me escape this wretched place and travel to the Outer Realm that Fortune discovered.’
After all, he had the coordinates to the Outer Realm.
Although the Little Blessed Land could only survive for a limited time Beyond the Heavens before it would disintegrate, Fortune’s calculations showed it would be enough to reach the destination.
"I’m counting on you, Progenitor."
Lü Yang bowed solemnly with his hands clasped. Seeing this, Progenitor Tingyou could only shake his head, giving Lü Yang a look that said, ’This must be so hard on you.’
"I’ll do my best,"
"Thank you!"
Watching his Talent Skill get to work on comprehending the method, Lü Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then let his consciousness surface and directed his Sword Dao Avatar to look ahead.
There before him lay an ancient longsword. Its guard was inlaid with the Celestial Spirit North Dipper Array Pattern, its hilt was wrapped with the Five-Colored Jueqiao Thunder Attraction, its scabbard was sheathed in the hide of a Mysterious Turtle Carrying the Map, and its tassel was tied with a Taiyi Qingli Fruit. It was none other than Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s Non-Killing Sword. At a single Heart Thought from Lü Yang, the blade shot from its sheath.
SHIIING!
Amidst the crisp ringing of the blade, Lü Yang once again entered the state of Sword Heart Clarity, beginning to carefully comprehend the Sword Intent emanating from the Non-Killing Sword.
This was perhaps the only benefit of the Sword Dao.
Compared to mere Sword Dao cultivation, Lü Yang placed more importance on mental states like Sword Heart and Sword Intent, which also greatly enhanced his combat strength.
「Meanwhile, at the Sword Pavilion’s Zenith Cliff.」
At the same time as Lü Yang began to comprehend the Non-Killing Sword, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected was sitting cross-legged before the cliff, his consciousness quietly sinking into his personal Storage Bag.
The first thing he saw was a horrifying sight: thousands upon thousands of heads.
Every head was muttering to itself, every head was pontificating. At the very top of the pile was the lovely head of a woman.
"Amitabha."
The woman’s face wore a compassionate smile. Though she was just a severed head, she looked incredibly serene, her full lips and pearly teeth gleaming with a healthy luster.
It was as if she were truly alive.
Seeing Demon-Vanquishing Perfected enter, she immediately spoke: "Benefactor Ye, you have upheld the principle of Non-Killing your entire life. Your philosophy is no different from that of my Pure Land. You are meant to be a Monk."
"Benefactor, you should know that in my Pure Land, all citizens have Arhats and Bodhisattvas as Protectors. They need only work diligently during the day and silently recite scriptures at night, upholding the precepts, to enjoy supreme bliss. Everyone has the hope of Becoming a Buddha, and Cultivators there never kill or harm the populace. Does this not perfectly align with your own vision, Daoist?"
"In all the world, who else is like my Pure Land?"
"The Stain Sect honors the law of the jungle; the Sword Pavilion’s main goal is to keep the people weak and ignorant; the Dao Court herds the populace like cattle and sheep, fattening them up only for the slaughter."
"Only my Pure Land is open and noble, where everyone can be a dragon!"
Faced with the head’s speech, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected shook his head. "The Pure Land Buddhist Cultivators are but an empty shell. In essence, you are nothing more than puppets of the Bhagavat."
"Those are rumors!"
The female head shook. "We are mere Lower Cultivators. What could we possibly have that is worthy of the Bhagavat’s desire? When the Bhagavat descends upon our bodies, it is not possession, but a form of love!"
"You must understand, cultivating the Dao is harder than ascending to the heavens! But in my Pure Land, everyone is supported by an Upper Cultivator. How many tribulations on the path of cultivation can that eliminate? Back then, I was favored by a Dharma Appearance and roamed the world. Even Perfected Lords could only turn a blind eye to me. If not for the Bhagavat’s love, how could I have achieved what I did?"
"Even though you beheaded me, Benefactor, it wasn’t because you were strong!"
"It was mostly because you, Benefactor, had gained the favor of All the True Monarchs of the Sword Pavilion, and even that of the Sword Master. Otherwise, you could never have killed me!"
"I did not kill you."
Demon-Vanquishing Perfected replied seriously, "I am not like you."
"Hilarious!"
The female head laughed loudly at his words, then glanced around at the thousands upon thousands of other living heads. "Benefactor, you are *exactly* my kind of person!"
"Everyone in this whole world is just like me!"
"Non-Killing? As long as you continue to uphold that principle, Benefactor, there will come a day when you will have no choice but to come to my Pure Land!"