Chapter 1784: Three Person (II)

Diyan said softly, "The Great Konghai Temple, Southern Shun Raksha, the Nonarising Calamity Gate..."

Li Ximing waited until he had named them before asking worriedly, "Do these people know about the Grand Daoist Master's condition?"

Diyan was briefly taken aback, then burst into amused laughter and replied, "You are making my situation sound far more dire than it actually is!"

This Daoist Master looked rather frightening when his face was cold, yet when he smiled, his features unexpectedly softened and he seemed much younger. One could vaguely see in him the same warm, easy smile that Kuangyu possessed.

He replied, "This dome contains a spirit treasure formed from the union of the Three Yangs, called the [Origin Manifest Dawn-Bearing Vessel]. With it, I can leave this place. I merely have to return in time to replenish the Three Yangs. Even fighting is not impossible, though doing so would easily aggravate the conflict between my divine abilities."

He smiled and said, "Besides, there is hardly any chance for a battle to begin in the first place... My divine abilities are perfected. If I simply stand in the great void, what petty scoundrel would dare utter a word?!"

Only then did Li Ximing smile awkwardly. He felt considerably relieved, and a faint trace of hope even rose within him. "If the Grand Daoist Master were to take action... I fear even Wei Xuanyin would not dare challenge your edge!"

"Wei Xuanyin?" Diyan's smile deepened as he replied, "Xuanlou[1] and I have fought no fewer than a hundred times, with victories and defeats on both sides. It is simply that his [Unpurple Robe] is difficult to cultivate, while I completed my final divine ability quite early. We have not seen each other in a very, very long time now."

Li Ximing had never expected Diyan to have such a connection with Wei Xuanyin and was briefly stunned. Yet on second thought, it suddenly seemed perfectly natural. After all, even the master of the Pure Victory Dao could be his friend. A friend in Wei Xuanyin was hardly surprising.

Still, as far as Li Ximing was concerned, Wei Xuanyin was ultimately an enemy, so it was better not to dwell on the subject. He quickly took out the crystal-clear pearl from his sleeve and said, "In the great battle at Tingzhou, it was all thanks to the Grand Daoist Master's talisman that my life was saved! I have completely exhausted its power now, leaving only this empty pearl to return to you..."

"That Unfettered Herald Ox was truly formidable." Diyan casually put away the transparent pearl and said with a nod, "This is a treasure passed down by Qusi. You could say it is quite an interesting little trinket."

Li Ximing thanked him repeatedly. Diyan, meanwhile, appeared somewhat weary. He took out a palm-sized piece of bronze stone, as thin as paper and smooth as a mirror, its surface covered in intricate runes, and handed it to him. "This object can resonate with me. Keep it safe. If the King of Wei has any instructions in the future, he need only send someone to Mount Qusi."

Li Ximing understood his meaning, though he had yet to emerge from his heavy thoughts. Complicated feelings filling his heart, he silently accepted the object, thanked him, and then made his way out along the steps.

The water, fire, yin, and yang still alternated in their radiance, yet Li Ximing's state of mind was now completely different.

Qusi...

Lost in silent thought, he descended the profound steps, and discovered that Kuangyu had been waiting below the entire time.

"Fellow Daoist Ximing!"

There was a hint of probing in her tone. Seeing nothing unusual about Li Ximing, she knew the discussion in the hall had gone reasonably well and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She came over to guide him, but Li Ximing was still immersed in his thoughts.

He cupped his hands and said, "I will be relying on your guidance from now on!"

Huh?

Kuangyu was taken aback at first, then hurriedly returned the salute, her expression slightly peculiar. Li Ximing did not notice. A moment later, he suddenly came back to himself as though waking from a dream.

"I nearly forgot about the matter of the Golden Land!"

One of his original reasons for coming to Qusi had been to inquire about the Golden Land and make preparations for dealing with Guangchan in the future. Yet Diyan had left such a powerful impression that his thoughts had been thrown into disarray, and in his momentary loss of composure, he had pushed the matter of Guangchan to the back of his mind.

He immediately composed himself and asked, "During the battle at Tingzhou, Guangchan displayed extremely formidable methods and relied heavily on the Golden Land. I wonder what sort of treasure it is."

Kuangyu shifted her gaze aside, appearing thoughtful, and replied, "There is a Great Konghai Temple nearby. Ximing, have you heard of it?"

"Naturally."

Li Ximing had first heard about the Great Konghai Temple from Jiao Zhongzi of Southern Shun Raksha. At the time, the Great Konghai Temple's Buddhist land had been unstable, so its master, Jinghai, had deliberately sent Baoqing to his death to stabilize the Buddhist land before undergoing reincarnation himself. Because of the enmity between them, Li Ximing had long kept the matter in mind.

Unexpectedly, Kuangyu said, "Zhaojing, have you ever wondered about them? Buddhist lands clearly belong to Dharma Masters, with Mahas presiding over them and generations of disciples beneath them. Yet there happen to be a handful of Mahas and Merciful Ones, like those of the Great Konghai Temple, who have no Dharma Master above them.

"Ancient cultivators once said, [Seek the wondrous through purity and form a Golden Land; a Dharma Master attains the Dao within the Sandalwood Grove]. A Golden Land is where purity and sandalwood abide. It is the very foundation upon which vast dharma realms and Buddhist lands are built. This Great Konghai Temple is itself the [Konghai Golden Land]!

"You must understand that even if a Maha cultivates to the title of Liangli and is nominally the master of one of the Seven Dharma Forms, who does not know who the true master really is? The Dharma Masters are the true masters of those Buddhist lands. But when the Merciful Ones and Mahas attain the Dao through a Golden Land, they answer only to themselves."

Li Ximing blurted out in shock, "It is itself a Buddhist land? Guangchan actually possesses such a tremendous opportunity! Would that not mean he has the potential to become a Dharma Master!"

Kuangyu also looked deeply moved. She said solemnly, "Zhaojing, hear me out... These [Golden Lands] are treasures of the ancient Buddhist Dao. However many branches the ancient Buddhist cultivators produced back then, that many Golden Lands still exist today.

“Some are manifest, others hidden, and there is no discernible pattern to their appearances. Each one is capable of supporting an entire Buddhist land, and whenever a Golden Land emerges or disappears, it is enough to alarm the Dharma Masters within the [Sandalwood Grove]!

"It is said that the earliest Buddhist lands of the Seven Dharma Forms were each nothing more than a single Golden Land. Only after those within them attained the rank of Dharma Master, expanded their dharma realms, and absorbed many other Golden Lands did they become as vast and stable as they are today."

She continued, "Back then, Jinghai obtained the [Konghai Golden Land]. Through arduous cultivation and the accumulation of destiny, he advanced in one stroke from a Merciful One to a Maha and elevated the [Konghai Golden Land]. Although I have heard that it comes with many limitations, Zhaojing, there is nothing wrong with regarding it as a small Buddhist land in its own right!

"With that tremendous destiny, he also became one of the foremost among the Mahas and established a lineage of his own."

The woman's blue-purple eyes blinked lightly as she said, "But Guangchan is different.

"The [Konghai Golden Land] had originally vanished without a trace, and Jinghai had quietly become a Maha before anyone knew it, thereby gaining the right to act independently. But Guangchan’s Golden Land came from the [Undefeated King of Brightness], so he has long been under the watchful eye of the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm. He was raised to his present position by others!

"The Great Mahayana Dharma Realm's purpose in supporting Guangchan was to annex the [Jeweled Tusk Golden Land] from the very beginning. At the very least, they intend to bring the [Jeweled Tusk Golden Land] under the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm's control and make it the realm's eighth Golden Land!

“No one knows how matters will develop in the future. Although Guangchan's chances of attaining the rank of Dharma Master are higher than those of other Mahas, they are still exceedingly slim. He is nowhere near as promising as Jinghai, the highly sought-after master of the [Konghai Golden Land]!"

Li Ximing relaxed slightly, but after hearing the latter half of her explanation, he raised his head in astonishment and asked, "The Great Mahayana Dharma Realm already has seven Golden Lands?!"

Kuangyu raised her brows and replied solemnly, "It is precisely why, among the Seven Dharma Forms, it alone dares call itself a dharma realm!"

1. Dao title of Wei Xuanyin. ☜

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