Chapter 526: To Cultivate Is to Have an Affinity with Buddha

Chapter 526: Chapter 526: To Cultivate Is to Have an Affinity with Buddha

’Oh well. Getting half of Chu Chengnan’s resources makes this trip worthwhile. At the very least, it’s far more than some paltry sum.’

He was mentally calculating the reward Chu Chengnan had promised for protecting him during his attempt to attain the Dao.

More than half the fortune of a Great Daoist Master at Foundation Establishment Perfection, one who had accumulated wealth over five lifetimes—the value was absolutely inestimable.

The earnings from Cold Crow Pass were practically nothing in comparison.

This was his greatest tangible reward from the trip.

Plus, he would be able to learn two Secret Techniques when he returned.

’Simply perfect.’

At this thought, Xu Yunfan’s gaze turned once more toward the direction where Chu Chengnan had disappeared, and his expression grew more profound.

’A pawn and a discarded piece—the line between them is razor-thin.’

And that so-called "more than half a fortune"—was it not also a form of "appeasement" and an "advance payment," tacitly approved by True Monarch Qing Yuan for a pawn like Xu Yunfan, who still had his uses?

All of this aligned perfectly with Chu Chengnan’s parting assertion.

Trust no one but your own strength!

Just as Xu Yunfan was preparing to depart, his mind stirred, and his perspective shifted to the Eastern Wilderness, connecting to the vision of his Clone Wukong.

The one in the lead was none other than Sanzang, his bald head gleaming. He wore a damaged monk’s hat and a tattered Kasaya, and he carried a massive travel pack on his back. Though he looked utterly wretched, he still tried his best to maintain a solemn posture.

Wukong, Wujing, and Wuneng still followed by his side.

The group of them walked on in silence, not speaking a word.

The aftershocks of the True Monarchs’ battle in the Eastern Wilderness had also struck this unlucky pilgrimage group; Wuneng was still letting out panicked mutters from time to time.

After the whole ordeal before Zhenyuan Temple, they had followed the guidance of the Puchen Pure Land’s pre-established "Ritual for the Zizai King Buddha Fruit Position" and headed deeper into the Eastern Wilderness.

This journey required great wisdom, great perseverance, and great courage.

Only with Wukong acting as an intermediary could one hope to receive the favor of the Fruit Position.

Right now, they were planning to quietly leave this dangerous place of conflict and resume their unpredictable journey to the west.

Xu Yunfan took only a brief glance before pulling his attention away from his Clone Wukong.

Whatever schemes the Buddhist Sect might be hatching, the murky waters of this Journey to the West affair were not something he, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, could afford to meddle in—or even pay much attention to—especially in the wake of Chu Chengnan’s disastrous defeat.

The True Monarchs of the Primordial Sect and the Bodhisattvas of the Puchen Pure Land could handle the calculations and machinations themselves.

The only thing he had to do now was leave this place as quickly as possible, absorb the vast resources Chu Chengnan had gifted him, and figure out how to find a chance to survive and grow stronger within the Sect’s intricate, cutthroat web of intrigue.

’Clone Wukong, Clone Han Shi... they will be absolutely vital!’

After Ancestral Master Chunyang severed their karmic ties with One Sword, No Return, Xu Yunfan was certain that unless a Daoist Lord personally intervened, these two clones would be the foundation for his future pursuit of a Golden Dao.

’It’s about time to pull Han Shi out of the Divine Martial Realm. With his talent, getting him into the Wansheng Sword Sect should be a sure thing.’

A gentle breeze rustled Xu Yunfan’s robes, bringing him back to his senses.

He took a deep breath, and the potent, interwoven energies of destruction and rebirth from the lingering Innate Pure and Muddy Qi stabbed into his lungs. In an instant, it was tempered by the circulating Divine Sky Scripture and transformed into pure Magical Power flowing within him.

He didn’t linger. There was no time like the present, and he had no desire to wait three more days at Cold Crow Pass.

Choosing a direction, he transformed into an Escape Light wreathed in Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi and crackling with faint Divine Sky Lightning. He rose a few feet from the ground and sped away soundlessly, heading far from Cold Crow Pass and back toward the Primordial Sect’s main gate.

「Several days later, at the Primordial Sect’s True Martial Peak.」

As the seat of the True Martial Demon Suppression Lineage which he himself had established, True Martial Peak still retained the solemn, imposing atmosphere Xu Yunfan had originally envisioned for it.

A colossal Black Tortoise Stone Carving stood before the mountain gate, breathing in and out vast amounts of Water Element Spiritual Qi.

Amidst the overlapping peaks and ridges, dark, black palaces were built into the mountainside, their halls and courts arranged in a staggered pattern.

However, when Xu Yunfan set foot on this peak he had not visited in a long time, the feeling was completely different from the past.

Though there were plenty of people on the peak, and True Martial Peak had been thriving under the management of Bi Yuan and the others, the atmosphere had become somewhat somber ever since Xu Yunfan had switched his cultivation to the Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying Scripture.

The disciples hurried about their business, and from the Martial Arts Arena, one could hear the shouts of those practicing the Combat Techniques of the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture.

But Xu Yunfan’s keen Divine Sense detected an unusual air of decline.

As he spread his Divine Sense, he quickly gleaned the reason from the disciples’ discussions.

He had already stopped cultivating the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture, and that very scripture was now held in a stranglehold by the Puchen Pure Land. Even though the Divine Martial Realm was still in the Primordial Sect’s hands, anyone who cultivated the scripture to a certain point could suddenly find themselves burdened with Buddha’s Destiny, at which point the Puchen Pure Land would find a way to poach them.

Then came the all-in-one package: conversion, brainwashing, and taking the tonsure.

’Damn it, that’s just too shameless.’

Xu Yunfan cursed inwardly. The Puchen Pure Land and the Primordial Sect were obviously locked in a tug-of-war, making it impossible for anyone to attain the Divine Martial Dao Fruit nurtured within the Divine Martial Realm, a Small World Heaven.

The Puchen Pure Land’s goal was the ritual for the Zizai King Buddha Fruit Position and to receive the favor of said Fruit Position. Seeing that the Primordial Sect had the Divine Martial Realm in a death grip, they had no choice but to transform their plan into the Fighting Buddha Scripture for Wukong to cultivate.

Meanwhile, the Primordial Sect simply didn’t want the Puchen Pure Land to have a good time.

Cultivating a Dharma Gate with a severed lineage and an uncertain future hung like an invisible, dark cloud over the heart of every disciple who trained diligently.

Cultivate to a certain point, and you were deemed to have "Buddha’s Destiny."

It was utterly absurd.

No matter how hard they tried, the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture had become a dead-end path that could not be cultivated further, offering no room for advancement.

Their efforts were little more than a futile, fear-driven inertia.

Xu Yunfan’s arrival was silent and unannounced; he didn’t go to see Bi Yuan and the others right away.

They were all still in secluded cultivation, and he didn’t want to bother them.

After all, forcing them to disperse their skills and re-cultivate would be a death sentence at their age. He needed to figure out a better way.

He returned directly to his own relatively secluded cave residence halfway up the peak.

The wards on his cave residence were triggered, and soon, three figures rushed over from different directions.

The one in the lead had a resolute expression, a steady aura, and wore a tight-fitting black outfit. It was Wu Yan, the Inner Sect Disciple Bi Yuan had taken under his wing to act as steward of the peak’s affairs.

Following closely behind was a simple-faced youth who had been completely transformed. His face still held a hint of greenness, but his steps were firm, and his physical vitality was exceptionally powerful. This was Chen Tiezhu, who had cultivated the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist given to him by Bi Yuan to a profound Realm.

A pure Body Refining Cultivator.

The last person was a tall, thin Cultivator with a gloomy aura and furtive eyes, like a living shadow.

"Peak Master! You’ve returned!"

Seeing that Xu Yunfan was safe and sound, a look of relief and reverence flashed through Wu Yan’s eyes, and he immediately bowed respectfully.

Chen Tiezhu’s gaze was just as fervent, and he bowed clumsily, his admiration unconcealed.

The gloomy Cultivator bowed as well, but he kept his gaze lowered, not daring to look directly at Xu Yunfan.

Xu Yunfan glanced coolly over the three of them, his eyes lingering on Chen Tiezhu for a moment. He was reasonably satisfied with the young man’s progress.

He walked into the inner chamber of the cave residence and took the main seat.