Chapter 1029: Challenging The Four Buddhas Temple (2/2)

Despite his sorry appearance, his overwhelming aura still suffocated and awed people.

He saw Li Qiye slowly walking by and walked to him instead of flying. In the blink of an eye, the two of them stood face to face. Everyone outside of Spirit Mountain held their breaths in antic.i.p.ation.

One was an invincible user of the grand dao while the other had a boundless dharma. One was someone of this mundane world while the other was quite otherworldly. Despite coming from two different worlds, both of them were impressive all the same. [1. Not too sure about this line. This would imply that daoism is the current model in this world which makes sense while Buddhism is a foreign dao. If I read this pa.s.sage by itself, the author would be implying that Buddhism has its own world/realm.]

In the eyes of others, they were not too different from each other. Both were unbeatable in their own field. One was a peak cultivator while the other was a Buddhist sovereign.

Li Qiye smiled and performed a slight mudra. The South Emperor bowed his head and placed his palms together then respectfully spoke: “Sacred Teacher…”

Li Qiye nodded softly and didn’t stop. He continued on towards the Four Buddhas Temple. The South Emperor descended Spirit Mountain and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

“Such an invincible character actually performed that grand gesture towards him.” Many people were startled to see South Emperor acting so respectfully towards Li Qiye.

“Even though he trains in Buddhism, he is still incredibly accomplished. He can definitely fight against Bodhisattvas and Arhats as well as defeat the other temples.” A monk had to comment: “It is natural to be called a Sacred Teacher by invincible existences when he is so accomplished. He can accept such a t.i.tle without any shame.”

The crowd felt that the monk’s explanation made sense. A knowledgeable ancestor murmured: “If this young, haired pract.i.tioner can defeat the Four Buddhas Temple, then he might even become the new Buddhist Lord. Just think about it, out-debating the eighteen temples, I’m afraid this has never happened before in history!”

The crowd agreed with this ancestor. To be able to defeat the sacred monks and Bodhisattvas of the eighteen temples required a stunning attainment of the dharma. This guy could truly accept the t.i.tle of Sacred Teacher, fully deserving it.

However, no one knew that the South Emperor called Li Qiye Sacred Master for a different reason, not because of his triumph over the temples.

There was another meaning to the t.i.tle of Sacred Teacher. It alluded to him being the imperial teacher. Moreover, he was the most sacred among the imperial teachers.

The South Emperor respected Li Qiye as the dao teacher of Immortal Emperors while outsiders thought that it was referring to Li Qiye’s boundless dharma.

Li Qiye went before the Four Buddhas Temple and gazed at it. He smiled before entering its Buddhist gate.

“Amitabha…” A monk immediately came to greet him. Behind this monk’s head hung a Buddhist radiance. His entire body had transformed into Buddha. The dazzling light made others feel that he was no longer an existence of this world, that he was only one step away from the mythical eternal life.

This monk suddenly paused after he saw Li Qiye. He was frozen for a moment and his Buddhist light was affected as well, pulsing on and off.

The monk stabilized his Buddhist heart. He bowed and placed his palms together to say: “Amitabha, My Lord has reobtained your body, congratulations.”

Li Qiye also returned the grand Buddhist gesture and bowed as well: “Blessings be with you, Zen Master Cheng. Zen Master is a foreigner now and no longer a follower of mine, there’s no need for honorifics.”

This monk ahead was once an invincible general under Li Qiye. Later on, when his lifespan was almost over, he entered the Buddhist faith at Spirit Mountain. He was converted by the Four Buddhas Temple and had severed his mundane ties.

Despite doing so, the Dark Crow was the supreme ruler of eons with a strong influence over his life. Meeting his old lord affected his Buddhist heart.

Li Qiye didn’t want to disturb the monk’s mind. He spewed out Buddhist mantras so that the monk’s light could s.h.i.+ne brightly again. That fluctuation from earlier was not a big deal, just a pebble dropping into a flowing stream or a mirror stained by a speck of dust. A gentle brush was enough to cleanse it.

“Praise be the Boundless Dharma…” The monk bowed his head. At this time, he had regained his piety and removed all of his ties to the past. He closed his eyes and spoke: “Thank you, Sacred Buddha, for enlightening me.” [2. I’m very specific/literal on these honorifics just so that readers can distinguish the different t.i.tles too. The first part is just “Boundless Dharma”, but I’m not sure if readers would get that it was a general phrase, not actually him praising Li Qiye, so I added “praise be”.]

Li Qiye gently nodded his head and accepted the monk’s gesture. In fact, for tens of millions of years, he had countless generals and wise sages under him. There were many among them who chose to join the Buddhist faith and entered Spirit Mountain in search of eternal life.

“I will be debating the Nihility Scripture with the Eight-faced Radiant Bodhisattva.” Li Qiye told the monk with words as powerful as the dharma.

“Please, the Bodhisattva has been waiting.” The monk quickly invited Li Qiye into the Hall of Great Strength.

Li Qiye went inside, feeling at ease. To him, this was the final battle at Spirit Mountain. After defeating this Bodhisattva, his next stop was the Nihility Temple!

This was Li Qiye’s ultimate goal in this trip to the Buddhist Funeral Plateau. He aimed to use the dharma to defeat the group of monks at that temple!