Chapter 299 The Earth Immortal
Under the Wutai Mountain, there were torrents of vehicles that were loaded with offerings like money and commodities coming from Taiyuan. Li Keyong sent elite troops to escort these things. The carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain. Now that cultivators and sergeants that Li Keyong sent here were busy in bringing the money and commodities up to the mountain.
According to the arrangement that Li Keyong made, he would build 300 new temples in Wutai Mountain and 81 gold statues of Buddhas, each of which was about 20 meters high. By doing this, he wanted to show his respect for the Buddhism Sect in Land Buddhism.
Staying in mid-air, Li Keyong slightly frowned. He ignored the bustle under his feet and focused his attention only on the temple built on the mountainside. Many days had passed since Feihong Bodhisattva returned, but she declined all his requests for an interview. He had expected that as long as Feihong Bodhisattva took up the matter to handle Li Ye, she could easily get Li Ye’s head. However, seeing that Feihong Bodhisattva acting like this, Li Keyong certainly knew that she didn’t fulfill this mission.
Even Feihong Bodhisattva couldn’t do anything to deal with Li Ye. Li Keyong didn’t know who else could do that. “But Li Ye is merely a mortal, how could he defeat an Immortal? It doesn’t make any sense.” Li Keyong just couldn’t figure it out.
Li Keyong was very disappointed with Feihong Bodhisattva and Land Buddhism. After Li Keyong cast a glimpse at these supplies at the foot of the mountain, his brows were more wrinkled than before.
However, he did not act rashly. Feihong Bodhisattva went to challenge Li Ye, but immediately after she returned, she lived in seclusion. It seemed that she must have been injured. Li Ye fought against an Immortal with his mortal body so that he couldn’t be completely uninjured. It was very likely that the casualties of these masters who stayed around to protect him were heavy. Now it was an excellent opportunity for Li Keyong to send troops.
Li Keyong left Wutai Mountain and returned to Taiyuan City.
In any case, Feihong Bodhisattva didn’t bring Li Ye’s head back. So the war would continue. For Li Keyong, the defense battle in Qinzhou might break out at any moment. Thus, he must dispatch troops to defend. Fortunately, both Fenzhou and Yizhou could support Qinzhou. Taiyuan could also back Fenzhou and Yizhou up. Li Keyong’s army still stood a chance to win from the view of military deployment.
However, it was only a chance. But if Li Keyong couldn’t deal with Li Ye first, his army basically had no chance to win the war.
After he finished arranging all the affairs in his manor, it was already late at night. With his hands clasped behind, Li Keyong stood on the overhanging eaves, looking at the direction of Wutai Mountain. Frowning, he was in silence. Feihong Bodhisattva told him before that if people in Hedong supported Wutai Mountain, many Buddhas would naturally come to the world to help the army of Hedong.
Li Keyong opened the “Diamond Sutra” in his hand and tried to read it for a while. But finally, he couldn’t help frowning.
He didn’t believe a single word on it. The more he read, the more agitated he became. “It says that the merit of reading, copying, and spreading this sutra is boundless. But actually, all of this is only for the widespread of Buddhist scriptures. Those scholars in Confucianism have read the Analects of Confucius many times and spread the Mencius. But can they get infinite merit merely by doing that?”
Swinging his arms, Li Keyong threw the “Diamond Sutra” aside. Li Keyong looked at Wutai Mountain. Gradually, anger and murderous intent filled his eyes, which made him look like a hungry wolf.
“Darling.” Liu Yun came up to Li Keyong. After picking up the “Diamond Sutra,” she held his hands at his back, whispering tenderly, “Dear, please calm down.”
But Li Keyong’s rage didn’t abate a little. “Feihong Bodhisattva asked me to send Wutai Mountain money and commodities, and I did as told. However, she failed to take Li Ye’s head as promised! After returning, she locked herself inside. I went to visit her several times, but she never showed up!”
Liu Yun put the sutra away in passing in case that Li Keyong would become furious upon seeing it again. “It is a pity that the bargain didn’t work. But all the time, she hid behind the closed door and refused to see you. She is too stubborn and arrogant!”
Li Keyong snorted heavily. “Feihong Bodhisattva promised that after I brought the supplies to Wutai Mountain, Land Buddhism would send cultivators to assist in the fight. Now that Li Ye has assembled more than 400,000 troops, who have already launched the attack to Qinzhou. There are numerous cultivators in the Pinglu Army, and the Son of God from the demon clan also offers his help. It is evident that my Hedong Army cannot resist such a powerful army. But at this key point, I didn’t see a single cultivator from Land Buddhism come to our world!”
With concern, Liu Yun said, “Feihong Bodhisattva asked you to support Wutai Mountain. I am afraid that she wanted you to convert to Buddhism Sect and become their follower. Perhaps, only after that will she truly help you.”
Li Ke sneered coldly, “I am a lord. A lord that descends the world is the emperor! The emperor who reigns the world is the most respected and supreme existence of the world. All people’s fate and future are in the control of him, and each existence must bow its head before the emperor in submission! How can the emperor allow himself to believe in some gods and be under the control of them?”
Speaking of this, he demonstrated his lofty spirit and soaring determination. He believed that in this world, he was the only one with supreme power. Upon hearing this, Liu Yun almost cried.
“Prince of Longxi is deserved to be known as the hero in the trouble times. Others are only willing to believe such words said by you.”
A majestic and indifferent voice from Wutai Mountain suddenly came right to Li Keyong’s ears as a beam of golden light was shooting up to the sky. Though it was a compliment, the voice sounded ice-cold. “From now on, the cultivators of Land Buddhism will guard the Qinzhou City for you!”
Figures in human shape filed out of the towering light beam. They advanced in waves like layers of walls, like a vast forest.
…
As the main force of the army attacking Qinzhou, the Zhaoyi Army was the first to set off. It intended to besiege the city directly. But unexpectedly, they met the defending troops of Qinzhou halfway. Then, the two sides fought a fierce battle in the wild.
The defending troops first utterly defeated the Zhaoyi Army’s 20,000 trail-blazing pioneers, who were forced to retreat for twenty kilometers. Kang Chengqian led the middle troops personally to reinforce those pioneers. Then, all of them started a seesaw battle.
Floating on the clouds, Li Ye, the Son of God, and others were quietly looking at the fierce battle between the two armies in the wilderness. The Hedong Army had only 10,000 people, but they dared to launch a frontal attack on the Zhaoyi Army of 100,000 soldiers because that they had a dozen monks floating above the battle array, who gave them enough confidence.
In the eyes of everyone, the dozen monks in red kasaya had already become part of the military array. They did not consider themselves as masters and cooperated actively with the military Charging Formation.
Most of them had the strength of Yang Spiritual Master, so the people in the Zhaoyi Army were no match for them. Now even after Kang Chengqian gathered all the masters in the army and cultivators that Li Ye gave him, they couldn’t contain the enemy’s attack. Though the Zhaoyi Army was as solid and hard as a sea of iron armors, it seemed that their opponents would soon shoot their way through the middle of the military formation.
After seeing this scene, the Son of God stamped with rage. “It is obvious bullying! Those monks had to descend to the world through the Kunlun Channel. Before that, all of them had the strength as the Immortal Realm masters’. But now they are fighting mortals and slaughtering an army, which doesn’t even get a Spiritual Master Realm chief. They are crazily evil!”
In less than a day, nearly 10,000 troops of the Zhaoyi Army were killed and wounded. If this trend continued, the Zhaoyi Army would collapse entirely before dark. Then, the soldiers would throw away their shields and armors to flee. Meanwhile, the Hedong Army would swarm out to kill them. Their soldiers’ bodies would scatter over the battlefield, and their blood would flow like streams. The Zhaoyi Army would suffer a significant loss.
In the center of the Hedong Army, hundreds of soldiers carried a huge folding rope chair. On the futon above the chair sat a bald man with his legs crossed. Wearing a resolute face, the man looked quite upright. But there was killing intent hidden in his eyes.
Crossing his arms over his lower abdomen, the bald man closed his eyes for rest. In the sun, his several ring scars were very eye-catching. At this time, all soldiers were fighting fiercely on the battlefield, and those monks were using many kinds of techniques in the air. But to this bald man, it seemed that all of this didn’t exist.
Beside him, a girl put her palms together devoutly and bent over to ask, “Venerable Maitreya, will Li Ye appear?”
When people looked carefully, they would find that the girl was the child with Feihong Bodhisattva before. That very day, Feihong Bodhisattva was injured and escaped. Then, she went after Feihong Bodhisattva with the boy. This time, Feihong Bodhisattva’s injuries hadn’t yet healed, and so she was not convenient to fight outside. Thus, she let the girl come with Crouching-tiger Arhat to guard Qinzhou. This little girl had two tiny dragon horns on her forehead — she was the daughter of the Dragon King.
Crouching-tiger Arhat and Venerable Maitreya, he did not open his eyes. “When we kill enough people, he will show up.”
The little Dragon Lady asked in confusion, “Is Li Ye a kindhearted person?”
Crouching-tiger Arhat replied, “I don’t know if Li Ye is a kindhearted person. What I only know is that when we kill enough enemies, the Zhaoyi Army will be on the edge of being wiped out. If the whole army is destroyed, the Tianping Army and the Henghai Army will no longer fight for him. In that case, even the Pinglu Army will be frightened.”
The little Dragon Lady suddenly understood, and her face brightened. “To reverse the war situation, Li Ye will definitely turn up!”
Crouching-tiger Arhat said indifferently, “He will be fine if he does not appear.”
The little Dragon Lady smiled gently. Her bright eyes narrowed, like crescent moons. “But if he appears, there will be no escape for him!”
Crouching-tiger Arhat had already restored his strength in the Ground Immortal Realm. Therefore, his fighting capacity was far much better than the weak Feihong Bodhisattva’s on that day. He thought that Li Ye was no match for him.
In mid-air, Nangong Diyi’s face was as black as coal. “To win the war, Buddhism Sect in Land Buddhism can even slaughter so many common people. They are indeed out of their minds!” He turned to look at Li Ye. “What should we do? There are a dozen Yang Spiritual Masters. God knows if there are masters in the Immortal Realm!”
Before Li Ye say anything, the Son of God rushed to tell him, “There must be an ambush inside. You had hurt Feihong Bodhisattva so that she will certainly not let you go. There must be a trap. They probably plan to lure you out!”
Waving his hand, Li Ye didn’t take it seriously. “What if it is a trap? Even if there are more than a dozen masters in the Spiritual Master Realm, so what? What if there are masters in the Ground Immortal Realm? If they want to engulf me, they should first have a big enough mouth!”
With this, he shook his wrist and pulled Luke Sword out. Going straight down to the ground, Li Ye charged directly at the formation of the Hedong Army!
Both the Son of God and Nangong Diyi were dumbfounded. It seemed that they didn’t believe that Li Ye would be so indiscreet. However, seeing that Li Ye had already rushed to their opponents’ army, they no longer stayed there. Hurriedly, they went to catch up with him.
As fast as lightning, Li Ye came at his enemies with great momentum like a tiger’s. It looked like that whether they were masters in the Ground Immortal Realm or Yang Spiritual Master Realm, he could destroy them with great ease as if they were chickens or dogs. Such an overwhelming bearing of Li Ye made the Son of God and Nangong Diyi feel ashamed. Together, they remembered that their soaring determinations. They had decided to catch up with Li Ye’s speed in cultivation to humiliate him. Feeling embarrassed, they roared with rage and tried to keep up with Li Ye.
Li Ye spotted the Crouching-tiger Arhat in the formation of 10,000 troops, and he found that Crouching-tiger was still resting with his eyes closed, calmly and peacefully. It seemed that he thought it was a piece of cake to deal with Li Ye. Seeing this, Li Ye slightly curved his lips, showing a cold smile.
Li Ye didn’t act on impulse, nor did he burn with righteous ardor when he came down to fight against Crouching-tiger Arhat. In fact, Li Ye had thought it over. The more powerful the Immortals were, the weaker they would become after they came down to his world through the Kunlun Channel, and also, the longer they would suffer from seasickness. Through his observation of Feihong Bodhisattva, Li Ye made a preliminary estimation of the strength of those Immortals from the Land Buddhism by taking Feihong as the standard.
In previous, Feihong Bodhisattva was Daluo Golden Immortal. After she came down to earth, her strength dropped fast. Thus, she wouldn’t be able to stay in the realm above the Golden Immortal Realm. Or she could handle Li Ye easily even when she was weak. Thus, the realm level of her and the children she brought with her would be the Sky Immortal Realm at most.
After they arrived in Li Ye’s world, the little Dragon Lady, who was in the Yang Spiritual Master Realm, experienced less “seasickness” time. But Feihong Bodhisattva in Sky Immortal Realm would suffer more than a month. Thus, in the process of recovering, she would stay in the Earth Immortal Realm. Now only five to six days had passed since Li Ye fought with Feihong Bodhisattva. Therefore, the Crouching-tiger Arhat, who came here this time, should be in the Earth Immortal Realm at best.
Sitting cross-legged in the folding rope chair, the Crouching-tiger Arhat suddenly opened his eyes and looked up to the mid-air with delighted light shining in his eyes.
Carrying his sword, Li Ye flew sideways from above the clouds. Like a sharp flying arrow, he came straight at the Crouching-tiger Arhat.
“How rampant this guy is!” Crouching-tiger Arhat said coldly with a heavy snort. He stood up at once. When he stretched out his hand, the Demon-vanquished Truncheon with the shape of a crescent-like spade popped up in his hands.
The little Dragon Lady quickly reminded him, “Be careful, this guy has a powerful strength, or he wouldn’t be able to hurt Feihong Bodhisattva!”
But Crouching-tiger Arhat didn’t take her warning seriously. “Feihong Bodhisattva rushed to fight with him in her weakest condition. She should have had some rest first. But she was so proud and made the wrong choice. Anyway, I will capture that guy Li Ye today!”
Li Ye reached out in the air. Then, a string of fireballs bombarded Crouching-tiger Arhat. It seemed as if he were shooting with a quick-firing crossbow.
Crouching-tiger Arhat became furious. “Fireballs Technique, he used such a low-level technique to attack me…”
But soon, his eyes froze. In a hurry, he raised the Spiritual Qi Shield and finally managed to block those fireballs before they hit his face. Those fireballs smashed on the Spiritual Qi Shield and blew up. All of a sudden, in a glittering view, the Spiritual Qi Shield kept twinkling and broke up after a bang!
Crouching-tiger’s face changed. Although he put up his Spiritual Qi Shield in a hurry, it had the power of Ground Immortal Realm. How could the simple technique of Yang Spiritual Master shatter it? Was the attack that Li Ye launched as powerful as the attacks of Ground Immortal Realm masters?
Before Crouching-tiger could figure it out, Li Ye had already taken the chance and came near him. His Luke Sword cut forward, and a giant green-white dragon came up to Crouching-tiger in an instant. Roaring and screaming, it bared its fangs and opened its claws as if it was going to tear him apart.
A touch of ferociousness flashed across Crouching-tiger’s eyes. Swinging his Demon-vanquished Truncheon, he hit at the dragon. “Evil thing, how dare you to show yourself in front of me! You are looking for death!”
When Li Ye saw that Crouching-tiger came to confront him while waving his Demon-vanquished Truncheon, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and he looked at him with disdain. When Crouching-tiger noticed the expression in Li Ye’s eyes and felt his contempt for him, he couldn’t help falling into a rage. One must know that Crouching-tiger was in the Ground Immortal Realm, but now a Yang Spiritual Master looked down upon him. So how could he not be angry?
The forces released by the Demon-vanquished Truncheon and the Luke Sword crashed into each other. Suddenly, earthshaking waves of Spiritual Qi burst out. Before Crouching-tiger flared up, he felt a dull pain in his chest. Then, he could no longer hold his ground and was pushed back into the air from the folding rope chair! He was sent out of the military formation. Then finally, he managed to stand steadily when he landed on the ground in the wilderness.
Slightly hunching down, Crouching-tiger made great efforts to clasp his Demon-vanquished Truncheon with his trembling hands. When he cast his eyes at Li Ye once again, he looked grave and fearful.