Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 369: Chapter 243: Preaching_2

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Demons, immortal and indestructible, difficult to eliminate and remove.

This has been a common understanding since ancient times, shared by immortals of old, to Corpse Resolution Cultivators, through to today’s cultivators.

Heavenly Demons cannot be killed nor extinguished; they can only be sealed, a temporary solution to a permanent affliction!

Why is it a temporary solution?

Because as time passes, seals will eventually fail, and ultimately, the calamity of demons will leak out and wreak havoc once more.

It is said that time wears away all, and the years are unsympathetic; even the ancient immortals cannot live forever, and the immortal artifacts and spiritual treasures that have been passed down to this day are all damaged and incomplete, with reduced tiers and greatly diminished power.

However, demons remain demons, always indestructible!

Why?

Because of their origin, because of… their backing!

The Mara, Boxun as well, the ancient Heavenly Demons possessed the essence of the “Boxun,” the ruler of the Desire Realm.

This essential quality, this portion of strength, grants them the power to be undying and indestructible.

Unless one possesses the same standing and an equal level of magnificent power and authority to support it, it is fundamentally impossible to annihilate them.

Obviously, this world, whether it be the ancient immortals or Corpse Resolution Cultivators, lacks such power, such authority.

How could mere ancient immortals, at best reaching Integration, ever aspire to reach the ruler of the Desire Realm, Mara, who could stand against the Buddha?

Therefore, this is an issue of backing.

The standing of the Desire Realm, the standing of Boxun, is far above this world.

It’s just that the Desire Realm has not regarded this world as a primary target, otherwise, if the great Demon Gods came in person, or Mara arrived, or Boxun descended, then this world would have long ago become a Demon Realm just like the Black Water World.

Without an equal force to counterbalance, Heavenly Demons are indeed indestructible, immune to the ravages of time.

The same goes for Blood Demons.

If it had been Yuwen Shang of the past, indeed, he couldn’t have broken through the seal.

But he is no longer the Yuwen Shang of the past. A hundred years ago, during the great battle at Great Xing Mountain, he was driven to the extreme by Xu Yang, completely fell into the Demon Path, and pledged allegiance to Boxun, becoming the true Nether River Blood God Child.

Therefore, he was reborn, naturally reborn.

Even if Xu Yang still sealed half of his Blood Seed, it couldn’t prevent him from being reborn with the power of Boxun—it would merely weaken a portion of his strength.

That’s all!

So it goes, with backing, things are different.

The Blood Demon sat calmly while Xu Yang’s expression remained indifferent, with no intention to make a move.

To move against him, it would be meaningless; this was merely an avatar, not the Blood Demon’s true form.

As early as decades ago, when “Five Elements Mysterious Spirit Admiring Eye of Heaven” was mastered and the related skill traits were transferred, Xu Yang had become aware of his existence.

However, he was a step too late; the true form had already retreated into the Death Land Demon Region. Those walking outside were merely Demon Seed avatars, puppet cannon fodder—killing them in droves would not affect the core.

The three great Death Lands, the nine great Demon Realms, even the Ancient Immortals and Corpse Resolution Cultivators dare not rashly intrude.

With him entrenched within, Xu Yang naturally had no means to deal with him.

Of course, he could do nothing to Xu Yang either.

Five Elements Mysterious Spirit, Admiring Eye of Heaven, Divine Skills illuminating all things; the demon’s shadows had nowhere to hide.

All the schemes of the Holy Blood Demon Sect were preemptively known; under the sweep of White Jade Capital, at most, there were temporary upheavals in the Demon Realm, nothing substantial.

Such a stalemate reveals no outcome.

But both sides understand that the situation will not remain so indefinitely.

The standoff will eventually break.

Victory and defeat will become clear.

So…

“A hundred years have passed!”

“The count of Corpse Resolutions is full, only the merit must be repaid to redeem karma, then one can Breaking the Realm for Ascension!”

The two sat opposite each other, the Blood Demon looked at Xu Yang and said with a smile, “If you ascend, I will not obstruct you, I’d even open up the Demon Realms, allowing you to sweep away the demons, completing the merit and karma, and ascend smoothly.”

Within his words, the conditions were set, appearing to be a concession.

However, Xu Yang’s expression did not change: “Do you think such trivial tricks can disturb my Tao heart?”

“Hahaha!”

The Blood Demon laughed heartily, not taking it to heart, his eyes swirling with blood, exuding an ominous charm: “You are not a cultivator of this realm, why bother meddling in these muddy waters?”

Xu Yang remained expressionless, tranquil as an ancient well: “Since ancient times, righteousness and evil cannot coexist, Taoism and the Demon Path are incompatible!”

“What a fine saying, ‘righteousness and evil cannot coexist,’ ‘Taoism and the Demon Path are incompatible!’”

“Hahaha!”

“What is righteousness, what is evil?”

“What is Taoism, what is the Demon Path?”

“There is righteousness in my demons, and evil can be seen in my Taoism.”

“Buddha’s Way is one family; Buddha and demons, in one thought; Taoism and demons, in one thought!”

“Taoist friend, you adhere so stubbornly to appearances, you have already strayed, departed from the Righteous Path!”

“It would be better if you quickly convert to my Demon Path, hearken to the Boxun Orthodoxy, and seek the true fruits of the Great Way!”

The Blood Demon’s laughter was filled with demonic nature, hinting at madness.

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Xu Yang’s expression remained unchanged, cold and indifferent, “Righteousness is righteousness, evil is evil. Self-deception and the sorcery of evil demons—how can they speak of the righteous path? It only invites ridicule!”

“You are all ignorant, sinking without realizing it. Listen to my recitation, and convert to the righteous law.”

But the Blood Demon was unconcerned, and with her red lips parting, she utters the true law.

“Regard the Bodhisattva of Compassion; during deep meditation on the Perfection of Wisdom, the Five Aggregates are seen as empty, and all suffering is transcended.”

“O Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness not different from form. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. So too are feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness.”

“All dharmas are marked with emptiness; they do not appear nor disappear, are not tainted nor pure, do not increase nor decrease!”

“Therefore, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, perception, volition, consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, phenomena; there is no realm of the eye, up to and including no realm of mind consciousness…”

Chan chanting, line by line, the Brahma sound so true, one can’t tell if it’s Buddhist scripture or a demon scripture.

It’s a Buddhist scripture, and as well a demon scripture, the Transformative Freedom Boxun Heart Sutra!

The Blood Demon preaches the law, chanting the heart sutra.

In the void, blood can be seen flowing in, turbulent and vast.

In an instant, the void was stained by blood, transformed into a sea of blood.

Within the sea of blood, the Blood Demon preached the law, reciting the Boxun Heart Sutra, and immediately blossoms fell chaotically from the sky, blood gushed forth forming golden lotuses, manifesting countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Vajras, Arhats, and monks, as well as numerous monks, believers, and peoples bowing in worship, offering incense.

The sea of blood and demons, the sanctity of law, a perfect opposition and a flawless integration, becoming the supreme righteous law, the Boxun Heart Sutra.

The supreme righteous law, the Boxun Heart Sutra!

Unconsciously, such thoughts, such perceptions, took root and grew strong in the heart.

However, Xu Yang sat in meditation, his expression unchanging, cold and indifferent, rejecting all sorts of illusions as nothingness!

What then does this demon truly desire by coming here?

Propose conditions, make concessions, is it to seek his ascension?

No, no!

This demon came here with but one thought, that is, to convert to the demon’s way!

He wants to convert Taoism into the Demon Path, to have people convert to his law!

Any conditions, any concessions, they are all traps.

A single errant thought, and one would be subjected to his demonic magic, causing one’s Taoist heart to suffer, even letting the demon seed take deep root.

Not to mention Xu Yang has no intention of ascension, even if he had, he would not agree to it, because the very moment you agree to cooperate with him, you’re already tainted and fallen into his trap, his Demon Path.

Do not doubt, Transformative Freedom is indeed capable of such things.

Mara Boxun, the master of the Desire Realm, where even the Buddha and Bodhisattvas face the peril of being converted into demons, let alone ordinary cultivators?

With one response, one would fall, and even the merest thought could turn into a deeply rooted demon seed.

But Xu Yang harbored not a single such thought, his Taoist heart firm and unmovable, and he wielded the Wisdom Sword to cut through all chaos.

The Blood Demon expounded the scripture, Transformative Freedom, all indeed the Boxun Orthodoxy.

The cultivator remained silent, unmoved as a mountain, steadfastly guarding his Taoist heart.

And so it was, for who knows how long…

“Bodhisattva, the mind free of obstructions, inverted dreams and fantasies, ultimately achieving Nirvana!”

“All demons of the three realms, by virtue of the Perfection of Wisdom, obtain the state of Samyak-sambodhi.”

“Gate gate, para gate, parasam gate, bodhi svaha…”

The law reached its culmination, the heart sutra gradually faded.

The Blood Demon ceased chanting, her eyes looking at the cultivator before her, a trace of madness flickering, then returning to normal.

Xu Yang’s expression remained serene, unwavering: “Are you done?”

Without waiting for a response, he continued, “You’ve finished, now it’s my turn.”

“Hm!?”

The eyes of the Blood Demon narrowed, revealing unease.

Xu Yang, however, ignored this, sat in the void, and began to expound the law himself.

“The Tao arises from nothingness, mysterious to myriad spirits beyond measure, wondrously manifold and formless, deeply profound with essence that lights up with peace, the Great Mystery boundless, aiming for the ultimate void and serenity, this is called the Great Cave, where one consolidates essence and gathers spirit, commanding the ancestral qi in a swirling dance…”

Expounding the scripture, he recites an excerpt, which is none other than the classic of the Dao Zang.

The Supreme Pure Great Cave True Scripture!

This scripture takes Huang Ting as its foundation, ranking first among the three marvels of Taoism, premier among the scriptures of the Supreme Pure Ones, truly the pillar of Taoism!

As the scripture and law revealed themselves, mysteries unfolded, and wonders were shown, clear light and lotus blossoms opening, festal clouds bunching and celestials appearing.

“Hm!?”

The eyes of the Blood Demon contracted, her expression abruptly changing.

Xu Yang, however, continued without heed, preaching the scripture, his voice resounding with the law.

Transformative Freedom, Mara Boxun?

Truly formidable, indeed terrifying!

But as the saying goes, ‘Among the strong there are still the stronger, and beyond the high peak lies another higher.’

Patronage, who doesn’t have it?

I not only have patronage, but I also have…