Chapter 37

Blood-Colored Buddha, Evil Tathagata

The white fox lifted its head to look at the Imperial Princess. She recognized the white fox. “Lil Bai…”

While she spoke, the cold wind and billowing snow outside rushed into the archive chamber deep within the palace and extinguished the candlelight behind the door. The world was suddenly engulfed in darkness.

Before Xia Xiaosu could even move, she heard some rustling sounds coming from her side.

The white fox had run into the chamber in the dark and leaped deftly onto the candleholder. It waved its paws and the candle burned once again with light.

Under the glow from the candlelight, Xia Xiaosu’s figure was projected onto the threshold in front of her. It looked a little twisted.

The Imperial Princess closed the door. The white fox had already climbed onto the study table. Its body exploded into a dark, cloudy mass of energy. Once the dark energy formed into a shape again, it had become a demon with the face of the white fox, but the body of a young girl.

However, the white fox’s face made a sudden one hundred and eighty degrees transformation and an adorable and tender-looking face of a little girl appeared. The girl’s eyes were shut. She tried her best to blink twice and finally opened them. They were a pair of seductive eyes that were now fixed on the Imperial Princess. The girl was holding her head against her hand as she said in a delicately sweet voice, “Little princess, I’m here to ask you something. Were you being serious with what you had said?”

Xia Xiaosu might have heard of several myths and legends, but she had never witnessed such a scene before. On top of that, in her mind, this white fox was just a vulnerable little creature that was ensnared by an animal trap. How could she have such magical powers? The Imperial Princess could not help but gasp, “Lil Bai, you…”

The little girl sat on the study table in a delicate yet sluggish demeanor as she said gently, “Little princess, allow me to reintroduce myself. Lil Bai is my descendant, Hu Ling is also my descendant. I… am nothing but an old fox.”

Old fox?

It was difficult for Xia Xiaosu to associate the little girl in front of her with the words ‘old fox’. She was delicate and fair and had a very coquettish look. She had on a silk blouse with red flower imprints and wrapped in a short brocade skirt with clouds on them. Her legs were bare and so were her feet. Her dewdrop toes were playing with the air as she balanced her body with one hand and moved her body slightly toward the Imperial Princess, smiling coyly at her.

Xia Xiaosu asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

The old fox said, “Huh? This was transformed from skin and fur. If the little princess feels cold just by looking at them, I’ll just change my entire body.”

As she was said this, a cloud of dark mist once again exploded around the little girl. Once it solidified, she had changed from summer clothes into winter gear. She was covered in an affluent-looking white robe with a cloth wrapped around it. Her naked legs were now wearing a pair of furry boots. The only thing left unchanged was the delicate, sluggish look of coquettishness she had, as if she would fall over from one gentle push.

The little girl’s long legs crossed as she smiled at the Imperial Princess, waiting for her answer.

There was already an answer in Xia Xiaosu’s heart. In fact, she was very clear on what the answer would mean, but the thought of her older brother fighting a lonely battle made her give a direct answer. “Naturally, I think that if demons do not harm the innocent, then this world should accept them.”

The little girl’s lips broke into a brighter smile.

She could tell there was subtlety in the Imperial Princess’ words.

Xia Xiaosu was not afraid of the white fox. She sat next to the table and looked at the right-handed little girl and sighed softly as she said, “Although, I am but an Imperial Princess who doesn’t even have a grasp on her own destiny. I watched as my older brother was placed under house arrest and allowed myself to be politically married off to Tujue. There are still so many refugees in the city and yet, there is nothing I can do…”

“I saved Lil Bai because it looked so pitiful. I have never really thought about what more I can do. If you are hoping to rely on me to change everything, it would not be practical.”

The little girl’s head gave a sudden transformation and the white fox’s face was looking her in the eye. She spoke in a hoarse and cold voice, “Little princess, do you have any idea how many demons have died in the hands of humans every year, and how many people have died in the hands of demons?!!”

Xia Xiaosu was shocked, but she maintained a calm expression on her face that was no longer nervous and jumpy. She shook her head and said truthfully, “I have no idea.”

The white fox continued hoarsely, “In the North alone, more than ten thousand demons die at the hands of humans every year!!”

“As for us, we no longer consume humans. Not only do we not feast on humans, but the juniors have been reading human books on courtesy, trust, benevolence, and righteousness. They even know how to save people. They would guide lost hunters toward the right path, but those hunters would then turn around and bring monks and people from the magistrate’s office to hunt us down instead. All because our fur is valuable and can be sold for a handful of silvers once it is peeled off and dried.”

“This happens because the fox guiding them is channeled with intelligence. If they were presented to officials and nobles, these men will be able to gain a bright future.”

“Or, it might not be anything to do with their future, but rather, it’s a basic instinct to brown-nose and show-off.”

“There are some other juniors who have read your stories thinking they would have romantic encounters with young scholars. They ended up waiting stupidly at ancient temples, even gifting nectars from the demon tribe to help those young scholars energize and increase their intelligence with whole-heartedness. Yet in the end, once the young scholars had achieved success, they repaid kindness with cruelty and killed those juniors, using their fur coats to make fur boas for their newly-wedded wives!”

“To reward kindness with cruelty where benevolence does not beget benevolence, is that right?!!”

Xia Xiaosu shook her head.

The white fox’s expression was cold and malevolent. She moved her face close to the Imperial Princess and once again, her head transformed completely and revealed the face of a coquettish little girl. She now spoke in a soft voice.

“As for you, little princess, you are benevolent and kind, and possess the true form of a bodhisattva. However, destiny had been unjust to you. You want change, and so do we. You are a member of the Shang Dynasty’s Imperial family who is able to accept us. That means… We would only be able to survive with you in the Shang Dynasty. Can we expect this?”

Xia Xiaosu nodded.

The little girl smiled and said, “A major catastrophe is arriving. Everything will be embroiled in this catastrophe of slaughter. You and I won’t be able to escape from it—no one would be able to escape from it. Since the Imperial Emperor has left the Imperial Capital, why don’t you take your seat as the ruling emperor? The demon tribe will protect you. We will kill whoever that goes against you. Hehehe…”

Become emperor?

Xia Xiaosu had never thought about this. This was an extreme upgrade that had taken her aback.

The little girl said, “Little princess, you won’t be able to escape. Your older brother may have protected the Imperial City and can claim to be full of valor and vigor with no comparison, but how would he be able to overturn the will of heaven on his own?”

“Without outside help, he would be imprisoned and even have his head chopped off sooner or later. As for you, you are destined to be sent to Tujue and enter those savage lands. I heard that the Tujue king you are supposed to marry is an old man. According to Tujue law, if the old man dies, you would need to marry his son, and if his son dies, you would need to marry his grandson. When the day comes that you have turned old, you might also be escorted to die in burial with the deceased, hehehehe…”

The pale and pitiful Imperial princess imagined this scenario described by the white fox and fell into a daze. She stared at the candlelight dancing about in front of her and she fell silent. She was only sixteen and such burdens should be far from her.

“Take your time to consider this, little princess. You have tonight, and even tomorrow night, but there is not much time.” The little girl no longer pushed her. All she did was smile coyly and twisted her body to move nearer to the Imperial Princess once again.

“As for my name, I used to be called Hu Xian, but when I thought about it, it felt pretty rigid so I added the word ‘er’. My name is Hu Xian’er.”

“I haven’t left the deep mountains in quite a while. If not for this catastrophe of slaughter, I would have remained deep in the mountains and continued to be an old fox. Take your time to consider, little princess. If you agree, then your destiny and mine will be tied together from now on.”

…

Right at that moment on Mount Meru, Xia Ji’s left hand indicated a gesture of courtesy as a black flammule burst out three feet tall, building a form of Vidya-raja. This made his body expand vastly, surpassing far wider than his original form.

He had a look of rage as fires roared behind him. He held a bright, blazing sword. This sword could slice away all of men’s troubles and had a light of wisdom glowing from it.

The Arhat held a long, golden rod as its shadow fell along with the snow. The rod emanated the majestic pressure accumulated in the sky as it came down in an explosion.

The air rushed against the current as heaven and earth formed into a minuscule funnel caused by this strike. Everything was poured into this spot, the shadow, the scraping, the gold, grey, white colors clumped together and appeared in an instant.

Bam!!!

The form of Vidya-raja endured the strike and had actually cracked two meters deep. Previously, the ten-meter Frost Giant could only slice through half a meter.

However, in that instant, Xia Ji’s black hand of Buddha had gone along with the flow of the strike and pushed the long, golden rod down. He circulated his inner vitality and the cracked body of the form quickly repaired itself.

The long, golden rod was raised once again.

The hand soundlessly pushed against the rod.

The divine form possessed extreme power and was displaying a resonance shared with heaven and earth. The forms of both the Vidya-raja and Arhat collided and clashed against one another, creating a thundering explosion. The booming sound spread out across all directions from Mount Meru in the season of deep winter.

It was common knowledge that there was no snow during summer and no thunder during winter. This strange occurrence shocked several hunters at the foot of the mountain.

One tried to lift, the other pushed down.

One tried to push down, the other attempted to lift.

It was but a moment’s pause of two or three attempts.

Xia Ji spun and used the momentum to leap into the air. In mid-air, Vidya-raja held on to his bright, blazing sword.

Two fingers on his left hand clasped tightly together as they swept across the tip of the sword. With that sweeping action, nine blazing suns appeared one-by-one on the bright, blazing sword. The already glaring sword was now given an additional blinding light of glory.

With one focused thought, the fingers on his left hand swept toward the very tip and the nine suns became one. The tip of the sword immediately lit up into a bright light as it burned furiously.

This upgraded version of the blazing sword fell onto the Arhat’s body, slicing a wound of about one foot into him. The spirituality of the monks within the formation faded slightly as the golden light on the Arhat dimmed somewhat as well.

Xia Ji did not stop. With agility like an emperor riding on a dragon, the glow from his sword encircled and formed a dazzlingly bright heavenly dragon. It circled as it attacked with slashes, leaving more and more wounds onto the body of the Arhat.

It lasted no more than the span of two or three thoughts, but the Arhat was already terribly wounded.

The eighty-foot golden Arhat was finally able to react as his eyes widened. He roared, “Indestructible Golden Body!”

Along with the roar, all three hundred and twenty-four yellow-robed monks within the formation gathered in a furiously imposing manner. The long, golden rod of the eighty-foot Arhat was stuck into the ground heavily. He clapped his hands together and numerous gold lights rushed into his skin, accumulating right below it. The slash wounds caused by Xia Ji quickly healed.

Xia Ji slashed at him another two times, but it was like attempting to slash a solid and hard-surfaced material. The deepest wound he could cause was only around three feet. Considering the size of this gigantic Arhat, such level of defense was completely equivalent to the standard of his divine form of Vidya-raja.

The spellbinding formation was indeed a magically astonishing formation that was without equal. If it was not for the fact that the Arhat and Demon Suppressing Formation of Leiyin Temple were strongly bound by location, these monks could have made a name for themselves in the world with this formation and would have been invincible throughout the lands.

For the first round, it was a tie.

…

The Arhat’s skin was flowing with burning golden light, displaying an Indestructible Golden Body that withstood the attacks of knives and spears, and was susceptible to water and fire. The more light accumulated within it, the brighter the Arhat was. He was like a glaring sun resting within the clouds.

He was waiting for the lights to achieve the peak of its utmost blinding moment of glory.

“Flammule of Buddha!”

Following the roar of hundreds of voices mixed into one, flammules burst through the Arhat’s spirituality and erupted to all four corners like an erupting volcano!

The flammule shot out around the Arhat.

These flammules did not cause harm to any physical beings or objects. It possessed a powerful spiritual attack that would ignite a flame within the body of those with even the slightest thought of evil or sin.

This was the grandest attack skill that stood out for Leiyin Temple. Regardless of Buddhist instruments or even formations, the highest form of attack point for them was to target sins and evil. The same could be said for both Xia Ji’s hundred and eight prayer beads that formed Buddha’s giant palm and the flammules currently spouting from the eighty-foot gold Arhat.

Logically speaking, once this skill was activated, anyone would turn to run. After all, who would not have sins? Who would not have evil thoughts?

However, Xia Ji did not have them.

He had them.

Yet, he does not have them.

This was the benefit brought upon him by unlimited Zen. It aided him to maintain a carefree state of mind without being contaminated by sin.

The monks waited expectantly for the flammules to ignite the fire within this demon.

To cleanse him of his sins.

To send him down to hell to repent and reflect on himself.

However, Xia Ji took the flammules in with an open heart as he walked casually and slowly within the fires of the flammules.

On the other side, the golden Arhat had actually displayed some dimness due to the spreading of the flammules everywhere.

If it was someone else, it would be impossible for the person to notice that dimness under the blinding glory of light. If that person were to walk into the blazing glory, he would go up in flames.

However, Xia Ji stood amidst the glorious blaze without getting burnt, and he had noticed the dimness.

This Imperial Prince of the Shang Dynasty leaped from the ground and into the air, the hand of the black Vidya-raja holding onto the gigantic sword, which was shining with flames, with both hands held tight to the helm. He was like a majestic eagle that had broken into the golden sea, coming down from the sky as it soared through multiple layers of flammules.

The gigantic sword sliced into the body of the Arhat, which had now dimmed, and cut through four feet before it was unable to go any deeper.

Xia Ji looked down at the six hundred and forty-eight eyes within the divine form of the golden Arhat. Those eyes were now as one with the spirituality of the golden Arhat and stared back at him with cold looks.

Xia Ji circulated his inner energy and the scintillating sword continued cutting deeper, but it met an obstacle after going in five feet and a balance was formed.

A derisive look vaguely appeared within those six hundred and forty-eight eyes.

After a thought.

Both of Xia Ji’s hands formed a third divine form.

The palm ‘expanded’ with eighteen circles in an instant.

The eighteenth circle was the eighteenth level.

Each level was a dense illusion that was like the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts.

All forms and illusions gathered as one.

Vidya-raja, sun, and hell came together.

The extremely powerful force brought down the gigantic blazing sword all the way through to the end without any further resistance.

Xia Ji entered into the chest of this Arhat. Once within, it was like stepping into a burning sea of gold. At this place, anyone with even a shred of unrighteous thought would instantly be burned entirely. One wrong thought was enough to burn a man into ashes.

Besides that, there was also a heavy-looking gold 卍 rushing toward him with hostility.

A maniacal need to pulverize one another formed between divine form and divine form. Each continued to attack the other with their stored energy as grating, booming sounds of thunder were generated. Every graze against each other had formed a series of burning white light that dazzled while the splendor of energy created from it exploded straight into the sky. The light pierced through the thick, accumulating flying snow that clumped together like dark clouds, flickering uncertainly within them. The sky within a few miles followed suit as it flickered as well.

After a thought.

He shot out from the golden Arhat’s back and the aura about him dimmed somewhat. The dark light of Vidya-raja weakened slightly while the vast nine suns were also slightly diminished. Even the density of the Parade of a Hundred Ghosts was affected.

However, the entire body of the golden Arhat dimmed even more in comparison. A great despairing atmosphere of failure had appeared within the spirituality of the monks.

Both sides exchanged blows at extreme speed. The Arhat clearly did not expect that the sins of fire hidden within the ‘flammules’ were unable to burn Xia Ji. With that, he quickly retrieved the flammules and attempted to place them back under his skin to form the powerful Indestructible Golden Body.

The Arhat had just given this instruction via thought when Xia Ji’s second sword attack had once again sliced through his back.

Boom! Rumble!

Both divine forms clashed.

The winter thunder rumbled!

The burning white light exploded into the sky.

The thick snow started to sizzle and steam and for a moment. The steam, the blazing fire, the icy snow, the frightening thunder, all came together to create a strange and mystical aura.

With another thought, Xia Ji had pushed through the other end of the chest. This time, he did not use his sword, but grabbed onto the Arhat’s chest with both hands as he tore the wound open. He circulated all three of his legendary strengths, which consisted of his unorthodox physical training, inner vitality, and physical skills. It was as if he had suppressed his powers for far too long and he unleashed it all at once by springing his strength into tearing the wound apart in different directions!

Rip!

The wound expanded by an inch.

Two inches…

Three inches…

…

One meter…

The length increased.

The wound grew bigger!

However, the golden lights had returned to the body of the Arhat. The Indestructible Golden Body’s powerful strength aided the wound’s healing as both his hands blocked the wound without budging.

Both sides fell into a standoff.

The wound healed by an inch.

The gigantic hands tore another inch into the wound.

The wound healed by a meter.

The gigantic hands tore another meter.

This happened repeatedly without stop.

The Imperial Prince was a mere seven meters, and he was going against an eighty-foot Arhat. It was like the demon and deity hanging high up in the air and the Imperial Prince was literally tearing the Arhat apart with his bare hands!

…

Shi Kong had been hiding behind a tree since the fight started. He had been shocked into awe by Xia Ji.

When three of the divine forms appeared simultaneously, it invoked a strange, frightened feeling within him.

This Imperial Prince might really know the Ninth Level of Dhyana of the Present.

This was a character who was a double-threat in deity forms and martial arts, and he was at the peak of his form. How many people in the world would be able to match up against him in a one-to-one fight?

Even so, a human’s power will exhaust one day and it did not matter how powerful a man was, there would always be an expiry date for him. Destiny aside, his downfall could also be brought upon by a powerful binding divine weapon.

For him to be able to last this long at Leiyin Temple was in accordance with heaven’s will. The Imperial Prince in front of him was able to turn his destiny around because he was an abnormal being. There was no place for abnormal beings in heaven and earth. Since there was no place for them, it would naturally mean that their existence was against heaven. If heaven did not allow his existence, how could Leiyin Temple let him be?

Right at that moment, the Imperial Prince and the Arhat had gone into a state of balance.

All Shi Kong needed to do was create an imbalance between them and they would be able to rid the human world of a major evil!

At the thought of this, Shi Kong activated his skills and moved with lightning speed. He found himself a suitable spot and suddenly lifted his hand toward the sky to breathe in the air. With one breath, he inhaled and exhaled all the wind and snow for several feet around him. The air entered his body and a little circle expanded around him. His monk’s robe blew up and was rounded like a balloon.

“Evil! Demon! Unorthodox Path!”

The four words stacked in attack, each word like a different level of the height of the sky with power escalating within each of them, like waves that continued to crash one after the other. When the word ‘Path’ was shouted, a powerful wave of air materialized as it blew outward, traveling for more than twenty feet before hitting Xia Ji right in the back.

Xia Ji’s body did not shudder from the hit, but it was a crucial moment of the fight between him and the golden Arhat. This attack was like the straw that caused an imbalance on the balancing act, which forced him to stop the attack.

Xia Ji had gained a slight advantage in the second round, but this sneak attack had once again closed the fight in a draw.

…

Xia Ji loosened his grip. Both his hands slammed against the golden body as he leaped into the air and soared into the ruins of a tall building situated a few hundred meters away.

The Arhat did not give chase, but he was recuperating at a great pace.

Xia Ji was recuperating as well. He turned to glance at Shi Kong, the culprit who had conducted the sneak attack, but did not say anything.

He had understood by now that if he asked, “Why would a monk conduct a sneak attack?”, the monk would surely reply, “Evil demon on the unorthodox path deserves to be eliminated by all living beings”, which was why he chose not to ask at all.

A thought suddenly entered his mind while he was busy clashing with the Arhat just now.

The Demon Suppressing Formation ignored the physical being and was locked on spirituality. Would the ‘Dhyana of the Present’ which had been turned into a red skill bead by him be able to do the same?

Shi Kong saw that his attempt at interfering in the fight had worked and did not dare to stay any longer. He quickly retreated and disappeared from the demon-like Imperial Prince’s sight. After all, he was nothing but a slightly stronger insect in this fight, and the divine form of the eighty-foot Arhat created by the spellbinding formation was the main fighter.

…

The monks within the divine form of the Arhat took advantage of the time to quickly heal themselves as they stared at the Imperial Prince, who was staring back at them from afar, looking about the size of an insect.

A moment passed.

The Arhat did not move.

Xia Ji dismissed all of his divine forms suddenly.

The monks were taken aback. They had no idea what the Imperial Prince was planning.

The fight just now had exhausted a lot of energy from both sides. Their spiritualities had dipped low and now was the time to recuperate. What was he doing?

While the monks looked on curiously, Xia Ji took a step forward.

This was the step.

A gigantic Buddha’s form appeared behind him.

The gigantic Buddha was still sitting in a cross-legged position with the soles of his feet facing the sky. He was deep in meditation with no indication of his intentions while his hands formed into a mudra during interchangeable movements of the hands.

His left hand reached down naturally as his fingers pointed downward, much like the snowy clouds hanging in the sky. His right palm faced outward, his fingers pointing upward like a shield covering the sky. His palms opened up facing up and down, it was the Varadamudra. It represented Buddha’s comprehension of the heart of all living beings. He listened to the will of all living beings, fulfilling the prayers of all living beings.

Buddha’s eyes were shut tight as an atmosphere of quiet solitude and complete mindfulness encapsulated him. It was like he was sleeping, yet awake. It felt real, yet like a dream.

At the sight of this divine form, both the golden Arhat and Shi Kong could not help shuddering, as if fearful of the appearance of Tathagata’s truth in front of them. Even if they wanted to continue with the attack, they would still need to conduct a round of prayers to remind themselves that they were there to ‘exterminate the demon, and not attacking Buddha’. Otherwise, their meditative minds would shatter on their own and there was no way of continuing the fight.

Suddenly, something broke through the silence.

Tathagata’s form had suddenly opened its eyes.

The monks were shocked. They could not believe this scene in front of their eyes…

There was no sign of benevolence in the eyes of this Tathagata. They were filled with a strange, blood-red malevolence.

A great force could be felt surging into the air. Waves of demonic intent formed into a violent beast-like wave that flooded into the hearts of the monks!

A smile appeared on Xia Ji’s face.

Tathagata smiled as well.

With this smile, all living beings within a few radiuses understood his intentions and were all influenced by his will.

This intention… was a demonic intention.

The monks’ meditative minds were greatly impacted as every one of their divine consciousness turned chaotic. They could hardly reign themselves in as they became fickle-minded and indecisive. The Arhat’s golden form had also started to lose its radiance.

Even though he was not completely extinguished, he had become much weaker.

This sudden weakness, in addition to the wounds he had yet to recuperate from the previous fight, stacked up. The golden Arhat was starting to show signs of falling apart.

The monks quickly attempted to gather their divine consciousness and chanted sutras.

At that moment, Xia Ji had transgressed and reanimated all three of his divine forms.

Vidya-raja, sun, and hell.

The Imperial Prince held onto that flickering, maybe righteous, maybe evil; maybe material, maybe immaterial, bright and blazing sword. Like a shot of an electrical pulse, the sword came down onto the eighty-foot golden Arhat.

Boom!!

Arhat, shattered!!!

The golden body cracked into pieces as it scattered into the air, as if a state of illusion had just been broken.

Following this shattering, the firefly-like golden lights turned dim and finally fell into the earth. As for the three hundred and twenty-four yellow-robed warrior monks, they ended up throwing up blood while their spirituality degenerated to extreme levels.

Xia Ji’s toe-tip had just touched the ground when he leaped into the air once more like a wild dragon. He flew more than dozens of feet in the air and the bright, blazing sword in his hand directly slashed Shi Kong, who was not far off. Before Shi Kong could react, his head had already fallen to a different spot, away from his body.

Xia Ji made a turn and he once again went back to the many warrior monks and began his slaughter.

Blood.

Blood.

Blood!

Bloody stream!

Bloody river!!

After a short moment had passed.

The earth was spread into a carpet of blood. There was no one alive at this spot.

Xia Ji retracted his strength. He had some afterthoughts as he once again formed Tathagata.

This time…

The Buddha’s form behind him was now a light red Buddha. His face was hidden deep within the darkness as he looked down at the ruins of Leiyin Temple and the bloody river, which was gradually freezing into ice.

It was a long time before a soulful sigh could be heard coming from the snowy ground.

“I’m… still too weak.”