Chapter 778: All Beings Return Into The Earth With The Chirps Of The Cicada
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Outside the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, Lin Feng glanced downwards at the mystical mountain as the strange feeling in his mind intensified. "Somehow I feel like there’s something hidden within the mountain."
Even though the illusion at the core of the mountain had been broken, the connection between the mountain and the Ying Sea was still stable. This caused the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain to be enveloped and covered by a barrier that resembled a thin layer of mist. There was no way Lin Feng could see through into the secrets hidden within the mountain without being down there himself.
Both Shi Yu and Liang Pan had a similar feeling as the auras of the Imperial Palace and the Immortal Dragon City started to grow in power, as if they were getting ready to make a move.
Lin Feng reacted the same way as the peaceful stand-off between the three forces was getting weaker by the second.
"The Original Ancient Skyrider should be getting closer to the Penglai Celestial Mountain…" Lin Feng felt a tingling in his heart as his eyes turned deep and profound.
At this moment, in the southern regions of the Ying Sea in a place far away from the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, a dust particle-like speck of light was surging through the thick white clouds like a shooting star before it abruptly stopped in its tracks.
This tiny dot of light started to expand and transformed into intertwining black and white characters.
A giant human-like figure appeared within the concentration of runes and characters as he stood within the void like a pillar that held up the Heavens – he stood at a height of more than three thousand feet.
This giant figure had baggy sleeves and loose clothing and looked exactly like Lin Feng’s original body. All his physical features and characteristics were the same, down to the clothing and his skin. He was pretty much a colossal carbon copy of Lin Feng.
It seemed more like a figure made from air, however, and the flickering of the airy figure resembled the beginnings of heaven and earth.
This giant was called the Original Ancient Skyrider, and was a physical spell body forged by Lin Feng using the Original Heaven Splitting spell. At the same time, it was also the most powerful spell body that Lin Feng could conjure. When the Original Ancient Skyrider was in play, Lin Feng’s original body would be unable to use the Original Heaven Splitting Technique, the Fist of the Great Heavenly Sun, the Spell of the Boundless Sea amongst other mantras and abhjinas.
However, its battle prowess was superior to that of the Great Heaven Flaming Emperor and the King Of the Boundless Sea spell bodies. During his stand-off with Liang Pan and Shi Yu, this spell body could help him execute his plan to search for the Penglai Celestial Mountain.
There was a tiny speck of light on the forehead of the Original Ancient Skyrider – it was the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl. The golden pearl was flickering with weak flashes of purple light, but the flashes were becoming stronger.
"Oh, we are getting closer to the Penglai Celestial Mountain."
Lin Feng’s consciousness was connected to the Original Ancient Skyrider, and he knew that he was on the right track under the guidance of the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl. This also meant that the rumor that the Penglai Celestial Mountain was located in the Southern regions of the Ying Sea was true.
All of a sudden, the lights from the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl began to flash violently once again. However, it was a little different from the trembling from when it crossed over the Penglai Celestial Mountain.
Lin Feng realized what was happening. "The Yingzhou Mountain is located in the North-Eastern region of the Ying Sea. If it’s not the Penglai Mountain, then it must be the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain that’s in the hands of the Great Zhou Empire."
The black and white characters that surrounded the Original Ancient Skyrider started to condense once again as the giant figure withdrew into the speck of light with a single burst of light. It transformed back into a dust particle-like dot of light that appeared like nothing more than a grain of dust in the air.
The Two Elements Micro-Dust technique was created by Lin Feng from his continuous derivation of the third chapter of the "Heavenly Classic of The Way’s Virtues", the "Two Elements Chapter". It was attained during his process of breaking through to the second-level immortal soul stage.
This spell body was still incomplete and required Lin Feng to officially reach the second-level immortal soul stage. At the same time, Lin Feng had to finish the "Two Elements Chapter"before the spell would be officially mature and complete.
However, it was still functional as of current. The use of this spell body was beneficial for his journey to break through to the second-level immortal soul stage and the completion of the "Two Elements Chapter", like building a bridge across a vast river.
In the next moment, the void above the sea started to tremble. Nothing could be seen, but there was a feeling that something invisible and gargantuan just passed by this exact location.
"The Fangzhang Celestial Mountain…" Lin Feng laughed inside as he witnessed the passage of the mountain.
The Great Zhou Empire was fully invested in this endeavor and it was clear that they perceived the conflict of the Ying Sea as a substantial determinant of the future of their sovereignty as an empire.
Liang Pan took the Imperial Palace to take control of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain while Zhu Hongwu and the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain was responsible for seeking out the Penglai Mountain.
The Great Zhou Empire had most of the initiative in this competition as they already had a mountain under their control. They were using the mystical connection between the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain and the Penglai Celestial Mountain to search for the latter.
Lin Feng started to channel the Two Elements Micro-Dust technique again with the Original Ancient Skyrider as he proceeded forward in the same general direction. "It seems like they will reach the Penglai Celestial Mountain before I can."
As he was considering his options, Lin Feng suddenly felt a violent tremble from the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain in amongst the dense blanket of clouds above the Ying Sea.
The white clouds suddenly turned into a patch of gold as vast amounts of golden light flowed out between the golden clouds and the space all around started to twist out of proportion.
A rectangular colossal mountain surged into vision from within the golden light as the clouds were instantaneously dispersed.
From the moment the gigantic mountain appeared, boundless volumes of light started to condense at its core and transformed into a dull gold-colored ray of Heart Of The Sky Fangzhang Celestial Light and shot towards something in the distance. Every part of the void that was touched by the ray of light was destroyed and crumbled into nothingness.
Initially, Lin Feng thought he had been discovered but immediately realized that he was not the target of the Heart of the Sky Fangzhang Celestial Light beam.
A human figure appeared from the void in the trajectory of the beam of light. The person grinned and said, "Seems like I followed a little too closely behind."
He placed his palms together as he spoke and Buddhist light flickered around his body. A giant form of the Buddha materialized in the sky above his head; it was pure gold and emanated traces of blue light.
The ancient Buddha form sat upon a lotus throne that was supported by eight elephants. It held the Vajra Rod in one hand and a giant bell in the other – it was the Acala Buddha Spell Body.
The Acala Buddha Form started to chant Buddhist scriptures as a golden sphere of light appeared in front of it. The light sphere shimmered with an independent Pure Land, which it embodied true happiness and unwavering satisfaction.
The Pure Land of the Acala Buddha was called the Pure Land of Happiness. The profound enlightenment and knowledge embodied within was something that could transform all worries and anxieties into happiness and satisfaction. It could achieve this without fear and hesitation as it had its true nature was that of the Adars’ajnana, also known as the Great Mirror Wisdom. (Translator’s Note: This is one of the Four Great Wisdoms of the Buddha.)
The light shadow was one of a young and relatively good-looking monk who was clad in grey. Surprisingly, he had a level of mastery higher than that of even the Zhi Guang Zen Master and his display of the Pure Land Of Happiness was a lot more mature and immense than the Da Kong Monk’s Pure Land Of Industry.
The light sphere started to expand and transformed into a complete patch of Pure Land – and immovably and fearlessly, it faced off against the Heart of the Sky Fangzhang Celestial Light beam.
At the same time, the young monk raised his right hand and clenched his fist.
The Acala Buddha Spell Body above his head mimicked his action and an omniscient concept of power that could dictate the future and alter the past, yet was immovable and unwavering at the same time, flowed out of it.
It was the most powerful defensive martial way technique of the Buddhist mantras – the Unmovable Nagaraja Buddha Cloak!
The combined appearance of both the Unmovable Nagaraja Buddha Cloak and the Pure Land Of Happiness formed an impenetrable wall and absorbed the Fangzhang Celestial Light beam like the tides crashing against the rocks by the oceanside; it did not matter how ferocious or how powerful you were, but I could never be moved as you broke yourself apart in front of me.
Inside the great hall of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain, Liang Pan’s avatar watched the grey-clothed monk quietly and said, "Golden Cicada Master, we went our separate ways not too long ago, and now you’re so eager to leave again?"
The Golden Cicada Master chuckled and replied, "I don’t think I can leave this time. If I leave, the Penglai Celestial Mountain will end up in the pockets of the Great Zhou Empire."
Liang Pan said, "If that’s the case, then stay behind and let’s catch up."
"You were not there during the battle of the Great Thunderclap Temple all those years ago. It’s been my regret, as well as that of the other participants, that you were not able to show up."
The Golden Cicada Master placed his palms together and started muttering under his breath. "This is supposed to be my responsibility and my punishment, but I ended up pulling down the Great Thunderclap Temple to its ruin."
Zhu Hongwu was standing below Liang Pan inside the great hall and said softly, "You were like a coward all those years ago and you refused to participate in the battle. Now you’re back to stir things up – don’t you feel ashamed of yourself?"
The Golden Cicada Zen Master casted his gaze towards the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain. His eyes seemed to pierce through the layers of void and stared straight into the souls of Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu. "The Buddha does not condone emotions of anger and vengeance, but he still has the power to vanquish all evil. All karma and fate will be resolved in the end – why are the two of you so adamant about fighting a war of words with me?"
"The sweet tongue of the Buddhists – is that not one of your ‘powers’ as well?" Liang Pan smiled faintly. "However, I agree. A war of words is indeed unnecessary."
As he spoke, the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain started to tremble violently once again as an immeasurable number of glyphs and runes shot out from the void and chained themselves onto the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.
The giant rectangular mountain, which was a good five thousand miles long and wide, was immediately enveloped in a layer of dull golden light.
The golden light followed along the transparent chains and caused these chains of runes to turn into a dull golden color as well. The patch of sky all around were tainted gold in the next moment as Heaven and Earth continued to shake while runes and glyphs continually appeared from between the flashes of light – it was if the entire world was crying out.
The power of the entire Ying Sea seemed to be integrated into the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain as everything crashed towards the Golden Cicada Zen Master.
Lin Feng nodded his head in approval as he witnessed this powerful execution. "This is the most powerful state of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain – drawing on the power of the Ying Sea to defeat its enemies. Even third-level immortal soul stage cultivators are not able to face this kind of power. It’s quite similar to the formidable auras of the Imperial Palace or the Immortal Dragon City."
At this moment, the Golden Cicada Zen Master felt as if he was all by his lonesome with no place in the world and even Heaven and Earth were against him.
Even the Pure Land of Happiness and the Unmovable Nagaraja Buddha Cloak trembled under the immense pressure.
The Golden Cicada Zen Master heaved a light sigh and said, "It’s a pity that I have yet to master the complete version of the Vairocana Sutra. If the Five Tathagata Dharmas of the Compass were complete, then I can experiment using Buddhist powers to challenge the Initial Catastrophe and I won’t be stuck in the third-level Golden Form stage."
The Golden Cicada Zen Master was still calm despite his utterances – he only felt a little regret and not fear.
All of a sudden, the chirps of cicadas rang out from between the heavens.
The chirps embodied the true meaning of freedom and liberty of the Buddhist teachings, and only in its deepest recesses could one detect an ounce of ferocity.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp…"
One chirp rang out after another as the entire patch of void became filled with the sounds of cicadas.
In an instant, the world started to shake as everything seemed to descend into a path of decadence and towards the end of time. It was as if the season was transforming from summer to late autumn and into winter as all beings in the world returned to the Earth. Heaven and Earth were becoming nothing, and the great laws of nature along with them.
Even the fearsome Fangzhang Celestial Mountain seemed to be masked in a layer of rainstorm as it lost all its former glory and color.
Lin Feng, who was hidden inside the Two Elements Micro-Dust, Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu all shared a strange reaction.
"The Alpha and Omega, the Vipralopa Realm!"
The voice of the Golden Cicada Zen Master could be heard from the cacophony of chirpings. "My demonic form had reached the end of the path, but I found another way to ascend to the next level by studying the Buddhist mantras all those years ago. However, I never expected that when I resurfaced into the world after going through the tribulations, the Great Thunderclap Temple had been laid to ruin because of me."