Great Momentum

"Evil King..."

Seeing Shi Zhixuan lying on the ground without moving, dead or alive unknown, Wanwan's body trembled. She lowered her head, knelt properly again, and obediently, honestly resumed her job as a background prop.

After Zhu Yuyan and the host of experts from both the righteous and demonic paths, the Buddhist and Demonic Sects, even the Evil King Shi Zhixuan, who had roamed the world unchallenged, had suffered defeat.

Who else could stand against him?

Amid such doubts...

"Amitabha!"

A Buddhist Chant rang out. Four figures appeared around them, striding in from all four directions. In an instant, they stepped onto the battlefield, forming an encirclement and trapping Xu Yang within.

Four men, four monks, old yet not frail.

The monk to the left had snow-white hair and beard. He held a Vajra Staff, possessed an elegant and refined bearing, and had a burly, imposing frame.

The monk to the right was withered, thin, and dark-skinned. He looked utterly unremarkable, but his eyes were unfathomably deep, as if they contained the Sun, Moon, and Stars.

The monk above had the appearance of Maitreya, open-hearted and broad-minded, with a belly that could contain all things. Divine light seemed to shoot from his eyes. Though fat, he did not appear bloated; he looked carefree and content with his lot, kindly and approachable.

The monk below was tall and erect, with a broad, level forehead, glossy black hair and beard, a long yet generous face, and eyes gleaming with wisdom. He had the compassionate features of an enlightened monk who grieved for all under heaven.

They were Venerable Dixian of the Huayan Sect, Master Jiaxiang of the Sanlun Sect, Daoxin, the Fourth Patriarch of the Zen Sect, and Master Zhihui of the Heavenly Harmony Sect.

The Four Great Holy Monks of Buddhism!

On the other side...

"Ride!!!"

The earth shook, hoofbeats rumbling like thunder. An elite cavalry force galloped out from Chang'an City, followed by infantry soldiers stretching like a long dragon.

It was the Li Tang army.

"Whoa~!"

Li Shimin rode forth and halted the army at the head of Yue Ma Bridge. Behind him, armored troops stood like a forest, arranged in battle formation.

Li Xiuning was beside him as well. Gazing across the river at the battle by the Qujiang River, she muttered, "Those four are the Four Great Holy Monks of Buddhism?"

"Correct."

Li Shimin nodded. His gaze swept over the experts of the righteous and demonic paths sprawled like corpses all along the Qujiang River, then turned to Xu Yang and the Four Great Holy Monks facing each other in an encirclement. His expression was incomparably grave.

"This Xu Qingyang laid his plans and schemes with good reason to be so confident. The righteous and demonic paths, the Buddhist and Demonic Sects—even such a force could not stop him alone. Had Imperial Father not borrowed Cihang Jingzhai's strength and invited the Four Great Holy Monks, he might truly have escaped today."

Li Shimin's expression was solemn, his heart full of lingering fear. Li Xiuning's brows furrowed as well. "I have heard that the Four Great Holy Monks are supreme figures within Buddhism, each no weaker than the Three Grandmasters. I wonder whether that is true..."

Li Shimin's eyes turned sharp, killing intent laid bare. "Whether it is true or not, we must keep this man in Chang'an today. Otherwise, letting a tiger return to the mountain—no, letting a dragon return to the sea—will surely make him Li Tang's greatest hidden danger, a calamity that could bring utter destruction!"

The two commanded from the center while the armored army waited, poised to strike, awaiting the outcome of the battle across the river.

Meanwhile...

Within the mountain forest, above the sea of bamboo, two figures stood upon green bamboo stalks as though suspended in the air, watching the battlefield from afar.

"The Four Great Holy Monks..."

Shi Feixuan murmured, unconsciously tightening her grip on the jade flute in her hand.

Fan Qinghui's gaze was cold. "I never expected this man's cultivation to have reached such a level. Had the Four Great Holy Monks not been invited today, the consequences truly would have been unthinkable...!"

Even as she spoke, she could not conceal her lingering dread.

Back on the battlefield...

The encirclement had formed. The four monks said nothing, and neither did Xu Yang. He stood in the formation with his hands behind his back, utterly composed.

In the end, it was Master Daoxin, the plump monk who resembled Maitreya, who broke the silence.

"Amitabha!"

He glanced at Shi Zhixuan, whose life and death remained unknown, then turned his gaze back and uttered a Buddhist Chant.

"We have long heard of Benefactor Xu's great reputation. Seeing you today, your talent is indeed outstanding and unparalleled beneath heaven. At such an age, you have already attained such cultivation—far beyond what we can match!"

"However..."

His words paused, then Suddenly turned sharp. "The Evil Emperor's Sarira is an object of utmost evil and wickedness. Not only does it contain the Essence of generations of Evil Emperors, it is also mixed with all manner of evil and demonic qi, clouding one's mind and bewitching one's heart."

"The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back, and there is shore!"

"Lay down the butcher's knife, and become a Buddha on the spot!"

Venerable Dixian, holding the Vajra Staff and radiating awe-inspiring majesty, also said, "We ask Your Excellency to relinquish this object and this obsession, lest you devastate living beings and bring calamity upon the world!"

Xu Yang laughed at that. "What, after cultivating Buddhism for so many years, all you learned was to deceive yourselves?"

A soft laugh, a single sentence—the atmosphere on the field immediately tightened.

"Hmm!?"

"Incorrigible!"

"Since that is so, do not blame us!"

The four monks' eyes hardened, and their compassionate expressions gradually became Vajra's Fury.

Though it was an angry visage, it held no intent to slaughter or kill—only the will to subdue demons and suppress evil, displaying the depth of their Buddhist cultivation all the more.

The heart realm, the heart realm. After reaching the Grandmaster Realm, the most important thing was cultivation of the heart realm. If one did something contrary to one's own beliefs, damaging the spirit and clouding the heart realm, one's entire cultivation would inevitably be affected.

Therefore, although they had come this time for their sect's Great Cause and the fortune of incense offerings, determined to slay Xu Yang in Chang'an, the four monks could not harbor killing intent. They could only act with the will to subdue demons and suppress evil, displaying Vajra's Fury.

To put it simply, they could not believe that they were killing a man. They had to regard this as an act of subduing demons and suppressing evil, saving the world from calamity. Only then could they withdraw Bodhisattva's Compassion and reveal Vajra's Fury.

Thus, Xu Yang was not wrong in the slightest to call them self-deceiving.

Yet the four had cultivated Buddhist teachings for many years and no longer cared about the vulgar gazes of the world. Xu Yang's words stirred little anger in them. They still held compassionate hearts, wore Vajra visages, carried out the work of suppressing demons, and relieved the suffering of all living beings.

"Amitabha!"

A succession of Buddhist Chants rang out. Four streams of intent arose one after another, merging together into a great momentum.

Great Buddhist Momentum!

A Grandmaster's power was strengthened by the heart, manifested through momentum, united with the Dao, and moved with the power of heaven and earth.

All four were holy monks of Buddhism. Their methods of cultivation might differ, but their foundation was Buddhism.

Thus, their momentum could merge and form the one and only Great Buddhist Momentum in the world.

"Amitabha!!!"

Golden light blazed, and phantom forms condensed. Behind the four monks, the vague silhouettes of four Great Buddhas took shape. Dazzling Buddhist light soared into the sky, joining into one vast expanse and forming a domain ruled by "Buddhism."

Its momentum seized heaven and earth!

The four monks joined forces, their Buddhist teachings combining to form the Great Buddhist Momentum, directly seizing control of this entire area.

Within this great momentum, within the domain's bounds, all Heaven and Earth Origin Energy had to be governed by the Buddhist teachings of the Four Great Holy Monks. Unless one could break their Great Buddhist Momentum or oppose it with a momentum of equal rank, one could forget about wielding the power of heaven and earth or achieving Unity of Heaven and Man.

What kind of "momentum" could contend against such Great Buddhist Momentum?

None!

To this day, looking across the world, no one could contend with such momentum.

For the Great Buddhist Momentum of the four monks came not only from their cultivation, but also from the faith in their hearts. It was the accumulated result of Buddhism's flourishing over these past several centuries.

Through the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern dynasties, over four hundred years, Buddhism had gradually risen, and its great momentum had gradually taken shape.

Otherwise, how could the line, "Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many towers and terraces amid mist and rain," have been passed down for ages?

The Grandmaster Realm placed utmost importance on the heart. The Buddhist Hearts forged by the four monks from this Buddhist momentum and the faith of incense offerings were even more unbreakable, Clear and Transparent. Even great Daoist cultivators and great Confucian scholars of the Confucian Sect had to retreat three paces—how could Others possibly contend with them?