Chapter Thirty-Six: What a Big Bird

  Bitterness in the heart: Others cultivate the Tao and I also cultivate the Tao, others cultivate the Tao with a body full of jade and silk, but when I cultivate the Tao it's just empty sleeves and two meals of wind.

  The ritual of presenting gifts when visiting a master is something I've seen others do before, and it's been passed down as a custom.

  Only himself, after twenty years of hard work, returned to the Liberation Front in one morning. Except for the wine jug, folding fan, and other leisurely objects that were picked up at random to pass the time, his own serious treasure was only a purple sun true symbol, which had been refined into a treasure with great difficulty, but now he had to pinch it himself.

  He took a deep breath from his dantian, summoned his dragon energy and launched it into the Purple Sun Seal.

  This is a critical moment, and he can't afford to show weakness. Xuan Kong has a burst of energy that he can't wait to use to the fullest. He brings Long Li to its peak, and the Ziyang True Symbol releases a myriad of silver lights, which also unknowingly accumulates a tremendous amount of true energy, all transforming into a deafening thunderclap.

  A loud "boom" echoed through the sky, and suddenly everything went dark, followed by a flash of lightning.

  Xuan Kong followed the method of Jiuxiao Hunyuan Zhenlei to condense his true energy into a Yuanlei God Form, and its power was even more extreme. "Little friend, don't risk your life!" Shen Hui True Person, being a senior in the Taoist sect, naturally wouldn't just watch Xuan Kong fight the giant bird alone.

  He sighed and held his own incense burner in his hand, the unbroken flower bloomed again, transforming into a fragrant mist that enveloped himself and Xuan Kong.

  "Behold the divine might of Shen Hui Zhen Jun! Take this, Daoist master!" He suddenly spat out a mouthful of pure white true energy onto the incense burner, lifting its lid and sending it flying into the air. The incense burner emitted an incredibly powerful suction force, drawing in all the cyclonic winds that Ben Shi Zu Ming Wang had blown over.

  Jù diāo yě hē le yī shēng: "Hǎo!"

  Translation:

  The giant eagle also let out a loud cry: "Good!"

  He was too busy to care, Xuan Kong had originally wanted to use the Jiuxiao Hunyuan True Thunder to turn the cloud in front of him into chaos, to block the Xuan Yin's wind. But he didn't expect that Shen Hui Zhenren would suddenly launch a surprise attack halfway, using his incense burner to capture all the winds. He took advantage of this opportunity to strike the giant statue with the Jiuxiao Hunyuan True Thunder.

  The giant sculpture saw the true power of Lei, but instead, it let out a sinister laugh and shook its body, revealing its true form as the Golden Eyed Divine Eagle. Even with its body compressed, its wingspan was over 3,000 li in length, casting the city of Bianjing under its shadow.

  The people below finally realized that the gods in heaven were fighting, each one brave and fierce, standing on the street wielding swords and knives to make way for the giant statue of the sun.

  They didn't know that the Golden Eagle was a strange species from the Desolate Expanse, but Xu Kong did. Looking at the giant eagle's true form, he couldn't help but stumble backwards and muttered: "What a huge bird..."

  "I don't know how many days I can eat this......" Poorly, he had been staying in the mountains for too long, every day eating radish and green vegetables, his mouth was numb. When Xuan Kong saw the true body of the giant eagle, his first thought was to stew the skin and bones of Ben Shi Zuo Ming Wang.

  That Golden Eyed Eagle let out a strange laugh in the air, folded its wings and transformed into a shooting star that collided with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Origin True Thunder of the Dark Sky.

  But just as they heard a loud noise in mid-air, Shen Hui Zhenren and Xuan Kong both stumbled, and Yun Lu was shaken back three hundred miles. The Golden Eye Divine Eagle, an ancient species that had lived from the dawn of time to the present, had its feathers scorched and its wings trembling wildly after being struck by the Jiuxiao Hunyuan True Thunder.

  It's just a pity that Xuan Kong's cultivation is still not enough. If he had sufficient Dao achievements, this one lightning bolt could have sent the Giant Ivory King to eternal damnation.

  "Wow, what a delicious roasted wing smell!"

  The giant statue's twin wings were scorched, emitting a fragrant aroma. In the air, it transformed into the true form of Master Mingwang. A majestic figure of Master Mingwang sat on the cloud, radiating boundless Buddha light. With an angry gaze, he stared at Xuán Kōng and his companion, his voice like a golden gong:

  "You two Taoist priests, what other tricks do you have? The Brilliant King of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is here, and yet you still refuse to turn back! Turn back and surrender!"

  "Take refuge? Take your mother*!" Xuan Kong stood up from the cloud with a loud voice: "I, Xuan Kong, have lived so long and still don't know what it means to wait for death with folded hands!" As soon as he finished speaking, he let out a dry cough, spitting out fresh blood, clearly already in a state of exhaustion.

  He barely managed to prop himself up and prevent his body from collapsing. In his previous life, he was a powerful big shot, but in this life, he is a Taoist cultivator.

  Never willing to bow his head in front of outsiders.

  Shen Hui Zhen Ren was also unwilling to yield in front of the Buddhist monks. Unfortunately, after seeing Xuan Yin's incense burner blown into ashes, he dispersed himself in the sky and earth. He smiled slightly and said: "The Great Tao is three thousand, your Buddhist door has long been different from my Taoist door, I have never heard that a cultivator of the Taiqing Great Tao would convert to your Buddhist little way!"

  Jade Carving took advantage of the situation, his face gradually softened, and he said: "You two are also true immortals who have become Tao. To be honest, I don't think much of the Little Buddha of Ling Mountain either. However, my Buddha has a great plan at present and is in need of people. If you two know what's good for you, you will come to a good end!"

  Xuan Kong raised an eyebrow, he heard Ju Yu's voice mentioning Ling Shan Xiao Fo, could it be that the Buddhist sect had internal conflicts and another Buddha was revered instead of the original one?

  He knew that the predecessor of Buddhism was the Western Church during the Investiture of the Gods, so wasn't it that the two masters of the Western Church were extremely bored and recreated Buddhism? However, this reasoning doesn't make sense. Xuan Kong closed his eyes, meditated, and refused to think about the giant statue.

  Jù diāo yě bù zhe nǎo, fǎn zhèng zhè liǎng gè rén zhī dào le zì jǐ de yǐn mì, shì bì bù néng fàng guò.

  Translation:

  The giant statue didn't care, anyway these two people knew their own secrets, and they definitely wouldn't let it go.

  He stretched out his hand in the air and grabbed it, and when he opened his palm again, a small black gold lotus flower had appeared. This black gold lotus flower was indeed extraordinary, with great abilities, and the giant statue was about to use it to control Xuanyuan and the others, but unexpectedly saw a white auspicious cloud floating in from afar.

  Several Taoist priests stood on a white auspicious cloud, dressed exactly like Shen Hui Zhen Ren, but weren't they the twelve True Lords of the Jing Ming Dao?

  The leader of the auspicious clouds, holding a book in his hand, was reciting loudly. His voice wasn't very loud, but even if separated by hundreds of miles, one could still hear him clearly: "What is purity?"

  A wise man beside him replied, "To be unsoiled by things is what is meant by purity."

  "What is enlightenment?"

  Yu Tongzhen replied: "Not touching things, it is called Ming."

  That Taoist burst out laughing and clapped his hands, saying: "The intention of Jingming is not to be stained or touched; loyalty and filial piety are naturally obtained, I understand now!" This was Guo Pu, the second master of the Jingming sect, also known as the True Man of Jian Du, a renowned scholar in the world, who was both a literary expert and a master of Daoist learning, numerology, and the founder of Youxian poetry.

  The other few true people clasped their hands and said: "Thank you, senior brother, for your guidance."

  Originally, Jingming Taoism was also known as Jingming Zhongxiao Taoism. It was founded by Heavenly Master Xu Zhengyang, who received the teachings of the Taishang Daozu and wrote the "Flying Immortal's Scripture for Saving Humanity". This sect absorbed the essence of Confucianism in the human world, eventually forming its current framework.

  Jù diāo míng wáng liǎn sè tiě qīng, fǎn shǒu bǎ wū jīn lián huā shōu le, lěng yǎn kàn nà yún duān shàng de jǐ gè dào rén fēi jìn.

  Translation:

  The face of the giant carving Ming Wang turned iron blue, he reversed his hand and put away the black gold lotus flower, coldly looking at those several Taoist priests flying near on the cloud end.

  Shen Hui Zhenren saw the arrival of his fellow disciples, including Jian Du Zhenren, and immediately showed a joyful expression. He smiled at Xuan Kong and said: "Now we're saved!" He had also destroyed his incense burner and was injured in the same way as Xuan Kong, relying on his willpower to stay upright. At this moment, seeing his fellow disciples arrive, he suddenly felt relieved and almost fell to the ground, unable to maintain even his cloudy aura.

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