Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 361: Four Arms Supporting the Sky, Boundless Wondrous Techniques

In the direction of the main hall, the seated statue of the Mingwang Buddha, its body gleaming like gold, slowly rose from the altar amidst continuous cracking sounds.Dust mixed with stone powder and incense ash fell from its body as his form grew taller and taller, almost touching the glazed lamp above the main hall.

Perhaps because Zhao Long returned the power of his incarnation, it disturbed the Mingwang Buddha, whose whereabouts had previously been yet to be determined. At this moment, the incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha finally descended upon the statue.

The heavy footsteps of the statue of the Mingwang Buddha echoed as it walked out of the hall, slowly bending down to step across the threshold.

The robe that originally formed part of the solid statue of its body gradually became soft, like a real, enormous garment. The more it moved, the less the Mingwang Buddha resembled a clay sculpture, and the more it resembled an ancient golden Buddha.

At this moment, this ancient Buddha was over two zhang tall. Although it was still much smaller than Lu Shan Jun’s demon body, it was definitely a colossal figure. More importantly, the a halo of Buddhist Dharma light shone behind it, and Buddhist mantras and scriptures surrounded its form. It was a majestic and awe-inspiring vision of Buddhist power.

Lu Shan Jun steadied himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhao Long still ignoring what was going on as he continued to disperse the power of the Mingwang Buddha. Lu Shan Jun sneered at the approaching ancient Buddha.

“An incarnation of a wrathful Mingwang Buddha?”

The golden Buddha stepped over the courtyard wall and stood in the courtyard. His gaze swept over Zhao Long before turning to Lu Shan Jun.

“Excellent! You have revealed the true and wondrous Dharma of this Buddha, and you have cultivated your meditation to an immeasurable level!”

The ancient Buddha slowly clasped his hands together. In the very next moment, without any further words, he suddenly struck out with his right palm. The giant golden palm gathered the power to suppress mountains. To Lu Shan Jun, it felt as though an entire mountain were pressing down on him, giving him the feeling of inescapable doom.

Lu Shan Jun roared fiercely. His monstrous flames suddenly erupted from his body, as if an endless fire had been ignited, engulfing half of the monastery courtyard. Ominous winds swirled around his claws, emanating boundless monstrous energy.

A massive claw-like beam of light, accompanied by a fierce gale, met the attack head-on.

A thunderous boom sounded from the ground. The Mingwang Buddha took a step back, while Lu Shan Jun slid backward, clawing deep furrows into the ground of the Daming Monastery courtyard with all four of his limbs.

The sound of the ancient Buddha’s mantra resounded.

“Om… Mani… Padme… Hum…”

With each syllable, endless golden light flashed, and waves of light rippled outwards, sweeping across the entire Daming Monastery and several of the peaks of the Xiaoliang Mountain range. Simultaneously, with each incantation uttered, a giant golden hand casually struck down on Lu Shan Jun, with seemingly no regard for distance.

After six strikes, Lu Shan Jun’s enormous monstrous body was sent flying backwards away from the mountain that Daming Monastery sat upon, crashing heavily onto the mountainside hundreds of feet away with a loud “boom”.

Trees snapped, rocks collapsed, and deafening noises and a billowing cloud of dust exploded all along the mountainside.

‘He is merely in incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha, and he’s already this powerful?’

Lu Shan Jun was shocked. The few blows he had just suffered had already injured him, and he felt a dull ache in his bones. With his current cultivation level, some minor injuries wouldn’t have much of an impact at all. At most, he would feel some pain, but it would be temporary. Therefore, he was certain that a direct confrontation would be more troublesome.

However, this ancient Buddha was not as serene as it appeared. At least, there were now several claw marks on its robe, revealing golden skin underneath. Moreover, its skin was not intact either. Although the broken skin was shallow, it revealed the mortar and plaster of the statue beneath.

This made Lu Shan Jun realize that, although the golden Buddha statue now looked like a person, it was not a true Mingwang Buddha itself. It was still essentially a clay sculpture, and thus could be broken.

The monstrous energy on the mountainside grew stronger and stronger, and endless demonic flames once again covered half the sky, forming the phantom image of a strange beast, as if an enormous monstrous beast lay atop the mountain peaks opposite.

“Seated Mingwang Buddha, Zhao Long and I made a covenant long ago. Today, our relationship is one of cause and effect, and this matter has nothing to do with Buddhism. Moreover, regarding the transfer of the power of the Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation over to him, did the eminent monks of Daming Monastery ask Zhao Long for his consent? As for you, Seated Mingwang Buddha, did you ask him for his consent?”

Lu Shan Jun’s roar echoed throughout Xiaoliang Mountain, the rumbling sound making the lumberjacks in the distance believe that a thunderstorm was about to break out.

The ancient Buddha’s halo shone brightly, its gaze sweeping past the illusory demonic flames atop the various peaks, then turning towards the distant mountainside, directly confronting the true form of the monster.

Of those six palm strikes, only the first two felt forceful; the last four struck the demonic flames and the raging wind. This prodigious creature’s mastery of wind had reached an extraordinary level, and he also displayed various other wondrous abilities.

Moreover, it had a tiger’s body, a human face, long ears, and a mane. It was not a god, but possessed a comparably majestic countenance, brimming with enlightened reason yet also arrogance. The way its tail swept behind it created afterimages, suggesting the potential to sprout multiple tails.

This was already an unprecedented beast. If it could grow multiple tails, it would likely become an unparalleled demon in the future. Slowly wearing it down was not advisable; it had to be suppressed with swift and decisive measures.

“The Buddha’s Dharma is boundless, the Buddha’s Dharma is immeasurable…”

As the echoing Buddhist mantras grew, the ancient Buddha closed his eyes, and rays of Buddhist light converged downwards from the sky. The golden light emanating from the ancient Buddha grew ever brighter, and patches of colorful light appeared in the sky, staining the clouds with a seven different hues. Layer upon layer of clouds changed accordingly, forming the image of a wrathful deity.

“The will of emptiness and stillness, the seated Mingwang Buddha; the summoned Dharma form, mind empty of Dharma; this is the nature of meditation, knowing the mind is empty; this is to bear witness to the Buddha…”

The Buddhist mantras did not rise slowly, but rather seemed to be multiple chants in the same voice, echoing with countless Buddhist scriptures in a short period of time.

The colorful clouds changed continuously amidst the Buddhist mantras as they slowly descended. Finally, as they converged and approached Daming Monastery, they turned golden and actually moved towards the ancient Buddha’s golden body.

The original manifestation of the Mingwang Buddha suddenly grew taller and larger as it slowly sat down cross-legged at the same time. At the same moment, the Buddha’s light shone brightly.

Lu Shan Jun felt the pressure increase greatly. He felt the aura of the Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation before him rising continuously. If he had previously estimated the Mingwang Buddha to be a powerful and troublesome opponent just now, he now felt unapproachable and impossible to resist.

‘This Seated Mingwang Buddha wants to kill me!?’

The moment this thought arose, the Seated Mingwang Buddha opened his eyes and roared.

“You fiend, you will bring calamity and destruction to the world in the future. You cannot be allowed to live! I will save you. I shall suppress…!”

As soon as the word “suppress” was uttered, though the ancient Buddha did not move an inch, Lu Shan Jun suddenly felt a surge of pressure on his limbs, as if he were being crushed.

However, though the monster’s body trembled for a moment, it was not directly crushed into the ground as the ancient Buddha had wished. A golden silhouette of a mountain appeared on its body, making the demon tremble, but it could not make him completely collapse.

Lu Shan Jun gathered all his strength, stretched out his body, and raised his head.

“A mere incarnation of a Mingwang Buddha, yet you think you’re so invincible with your Buddhist power?”

With a furious roar, Lu Shan Jun’s demonic body erupted, using the mountain-like force above his head to leap away.

The ancient Buddha spoke again: “Mountain!”

As the word “mountain” fell, the illusory mountain seemed to materialize instantly, and an overwhelming pressure poured down, shattering the illusory demonic flames on several mountain peaks. With a loud “boom,” Lu Shan Jun was pressed back down from mid-air.

Despite the Buddha’s outwardly relaxed demeanor, he had already used the strongest techniques available to this incarnation. Once all four mantras of “Suppressing Mountain, Subdued Demon”1 were recited, the power of this wrathful Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation would be exhausted. Although this strange beast was powerful, the Seated Mingwang Buddha was confident that he could suppress it, or at least severely injure it and imprison it under Xiaoliang Mountain, at which point the monks of Daming Monastery would subsequently be able to kill it.

“Roar… Rooar…”

Lu Shanjun was furious. What bothered him most was that his monstrous power was suppressed, preventing him from using his full strength. This was too frustrating.

Just as he was about to fight desperately…

Two streaks of yellow light, glowing with a powdery sheen, flashed past Lu Shan Jun.

Two golden-armored warriors appeared, their bodies rising from the ground and expanding continuously. They were much larger than the golden-armored warriors that Ji Yuan had used in their normal state. In an instant, their bodies expanded to a height of three zhang tall, and the two warriors raised their arms to lift up the sky.

With two loud bangs, the giant warriors used their four hands to support the illusory mountain in the sky.

The entire Xiaoliang Mountain trembled. The arms and legs of the two golden-armored warriors were bent under the pressure, but in the next few breaths, their yellow tabards fluttered, and Lu Shan Jun also mustered the strength to stand up again. The golden-armored warriors then slowly straightened their legs and stretched out their arms.

In an instant, the pressure on Lu Shanjun lessened dramatically, and his monstrous power surged forth. More importantly, a strong sense of excitement rose in his heart.

Even though it was his first time seeing the Golden-Armored Warriors, how could Lu Shanjun, who had heard Hu Yun talk about them many times before, possibly not recognize such distinctive divine warriors?

‘The golden-armored warriors are guardian generals created by my master’s power; my master must be nearby!’

In the courtyard of the Daming Monastery, the Seated Mingwang Buddha’s eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared intently at Lu Shan Jun in the distance and the two huge golden-armored warriors beside him. Then, he raised his head slightly and saw a person in white standing on a cloud, looking directly at him.

Without any words spoken, a few breaths later, the ancient Buddha’s voice rose again.

“Subdue!”

As the Buddha’s light surged forth, the giant mountain solidified from its previous illusory state, pressing down on Lu Shan Jun and the two golden-armored warriors again. The mountain ridge cracked continuously, and the entire mountain peak began to sink and even collapse.

“Demon!”

As the final word of the mantra faded, the Buddha’s light manifested in the colors of the mountains and rivers, as if transforming the illusory world into reality.2

In the same fleeting instant—

The sharp, ringing sound of a sword briefly drowned out all the roars and chants, and a flash of bright silver light overshadowed all the demonic flames and Buddhist light in an instant.

With a near-full-force strike, the Green Vine Sword sliced across the mountain peak.

A thin crack tore the Demon-Suppressing Mountain open from base to tip. It continued to widen, cutting off the continuous stream of Buddhist light emanating from it.

A flash of yellow light appeared on the two golden-armored warriors.

With a rough, loud roar, each of the warriors pushed their half of the mountain into the air. Then, their right arms blurred and disappeared, only to reappear with their fists touching the base of the mountain.

The Demon-Suppressing Mountain, already stripped of its essence by the immortal sword, was now shattered by a single blow from each of the two powerful warriors.

The remnants of the endless Buddhist light turned into shockwaves, sweeping out in a violent gale. Trees in the mountains swayed and dust and stones flew everywhere. All the monks in Daming Monastery crouched to the ground, turned their backs, or covered their faces to block the raging dust storm.

The ancient Buddha’s palms snapped open the moment the mountain peak was shattered, and his body tilted slightly.

Ji Yuan descended on a cloud and stood in the courtyard of Daming Monastery. As he gazed at the enormous incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha from less than ten zhang away, he could see with his supernatural vision that the clay sculpture on the ancient Buddha’s body could no longer hold up.

After all, the Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation had poured all his Buddhist Dharma into that mountain; destroying it was even more effective than attacking the ancient Buddha directly.

“Your Eminence, why don’t you just leave this matter alone?”

The ancient Buddha looked at the tiny white-robed gentleman before him. He appeared to be an ordinary person, but beneath the surface lay a divine quality: the ability to cleanse himself from dust and filth, and a clear aura that flowed through him.

“You are a true cultivator of the Dao, Sir. This demon has trampled on my Buddhist temple and intended to devour my monks. You should not aid it, but why do so anyway?”

Ji Yuan shook his head.

“You have your thoughts, and I have my reasons. Even Monk Jueming has his own choices. Lu Shan Jun has indeed been slightly offensive, so I will apologize to Your Eminence the Mingwang on his behalf. However, I still maintain my stance: Great Mingwang Buddha, please do not interfere in this matter.”

Ji Yuan paused for a moment before continuing.

“The Mingwang Buddha holds the highest position in Buddhism. You should be clear about the rights and wrongs of this matter today. There is no need for me to say more. The Buddha’s Dharma are boundless and immeasurable, but the Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation is ultimately unable to bear this immeasurable power. Let this incarnation disperse.”

The ancient Buddha remained silent for a moment, then clasped his hands together again, bowing to Ji Yuan as he did so.

“Your Honor’s Dharma is boundless. With you here, I hope the safety of the monks of Daming Monastery can be ensured.”

Ji Yuan then smiled and returned the bow to the Seated Mingwang Buddha.

“Your Eminence, please rest assured. Even without my presence, the monks of Daming Monastery would have been safe and sound.”

The ancient Buddha glanced at the tiger monster with a human face, whose expression showed a look of surprise and delight. It seemed that this demon had been enlightened.

“Very well…”

As the vast sound faded, the ancient Buddha, the incarnation of the Seated Mingwang Buddha, could no longer hold on. The statue began to lose its luster from the base, turning back into clay, and began to crumble little by little.

T/n: I’m not going to lie, the first half of this chapter with all the lights in the sky and the glowing statue getting a change of outfit felt a lot like a magical girl transformation sequence

Might make more sense translated as “Mountain Suppression of the Subdued Demon,” but the name is the four characters that the Buddha statue yells out (“Suppress,” “Mountain,” “Subdue,” “Demon”) so I figured it would make more sense to stick to those four words and their derivations T/n: it’s telling that this is the ultimate attack of the literal avatar incarnation of a deity, but manifesting the illusory world in reality is one of JY’s regular old techniques