Wei Yuan flicked his sleeves, brushing away the char and smoke that coated his body.
If measured by the scale of the otherworldly realm, Ji Liuli—her body packed with heavenly fire—was far more than merely thirty-nine degrees. Adding two or three zeros wouldn't even begin to cover it; even the surface of the sun was considerably cooler than she was right now.
This had once again proved that Wei Yuan's physical body still lagged behind Ji Liuli's, born anew as she was from the fire. His Desolate Roar could no longer be neglected. But if he wished to advance, the roadblocks ahead were not only numerous but also vicious, devouring men whole.
Ji Liuli drew the heavenly fire back into her body and donned her Daoist robe once more. Far surpassing ordinary true fire, this flame was exceedingly precious and could not be wasted. Drawing it into her body allowed her to attack enemies as well as temper her physique, achieving multiple ends at once.
Once dressed, she regained her dignified composure and asked, "Why the rush?"
Wei Yuan smiled wryly. "Well... everyone is watching."
Ji Liuli undergoing her heavenly tribulation was a paramount event for the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning, so naturally everyone was paying close attention. Although Wei Yuan had activated an array to screen out divine senses when he made his move, anyone would realize something was amiss if it dragged on for too long.
Ji Liuli extended her hand. In her palm danced two flames, frolicking and chasing each other like a pair of spirits. One was the true fire of the heavenly tribulation, while the other carried the distinct aura of Buddhist lands—the Lotus Fire of the Blue Lamp.
"It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As my mindscape world was taking shape, these two flames gained sentience of their own and became part of it. Now, my mindscape world is no longer purely Chaotic Heavenly Mechanism, but leans toward a glazed fire realm. It can be called the 'Mystic Mechanism Glazed Bright Sun Realm.' The advantage is... it makes me much better at fighting."
Wei Yuan nodded. Having personally experienced it just now, he truly couldn't take much of it.
After their bout of wild abandon, Ji Liuli's mindscape world had become slightly unstable. Wei Yuan immediately urged her with grave seriousness to consolidate her cultivation properly. Then, under the suspicious gazes of the gathered cultivators, he soared into the sky and headed straight for the main mountain.
At the Palace of Grand Beginning's main mountain, Immortal Monarch Yanshi sat in a small courtyard, teacup in hand, intently watching the hue of glazed bright sun reflected in the water.
Wei Yuan's figure manifested in the courtyard, and he bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Palace Master."
Yanshi waved a hand to signal Wei Yuan to sit, then handed him the teacup. "Had it not been for you this time, Liuli likely wouldn't have survived this tribulation. You have worked hard."
Wei Yuan took the tea, truly feeling the weighty gratitude of Immortal Monarch Yanshi—this cup contained a tea leaf worth eight million, and a single leaf yielded only one brew.
Not standing on ceremony, Wei Yuan drained it in one gulp. He then looked around and said, "Palace Master, are you not moving to a new immortal manor?"
"Old karmic ties remain here, as do my sentiments."
Many cultivators cared little for luxury, so Wei Yuan did not press the matter further. After all, a quiet and detached demeanor was its own statement, one that many masters favored.
Wei Yuan turned solemn and got down to business, speaking earnestly: "The Pure Land is constantly hunting down the reincarnated bodies of Senior Sister and myself across the otherworldly realms."
After asking for the details, Yanshi's expression instantly darkened. He said slowly, "The realm following ascension to immortality is called Unity, meaning the unification of all realms. One must gather back all karmic ties scattered across the myriad realms of the heavens. From then on, inner and outer become one, the true spirit is born, and the mindscape world is elevated into Immortal Heaven. Karmic ties must be retrieved, and avatars even more so.
"Slaying your avatars in otherworldly realms will leave defects in your foundation when you ascend. Yet finding an otherworldly realm is already difficult beyond measure; identifying your avatars is even more unfathomable. For the Pure Land to pay such a steep price, they clearly wish not merely to thwart your ascension in this lifetime, but to gradually wear down your true spirits until you are completely annihilated!"
"This disciple knows not when we incurred such deep enmity with the Pure Land that they must go to such lengths against Senior Sister and me."
Yanshi sighed. "I know a little of that child Liuli's karmic origin. The Pure Land's desire to slay her dates back to before the Martial Ancestor. In this life, I disrupted the karmic threads on her body, which caused them to lose their target. But from the looks of it, they have found her again."
"Is there a reason?"
Yanshi replied, "There must be. It is just that the roots of this karma lie too far in the past. When the Martial Ancestor united his body with the Great Dao and set down his grand design, he severed the karma between heaven and earth. Many things from before can no longer be seen clearly. When I took her into the sect back then, I did not notice anything unusual at first; only later did I gradually detect a few clues."
Knowing he would get no further answers, Wei Yuan asked, "How does our Palace of Grand Beginning compare in strength to the Great Precious Flower Pure Land?"
Yanshi paused, then said, "The Pure Land's lineage is peculiar. They regard the physical body as a boat to cross the sea, to be discarded at a moment's notice when necessary. Thus, generations of golden-bodied dharma idols undergo reincarnation; as long as one earns a dharma idol's recognition, their cultivation leaps dramatically. In the Dharma Idol realm, the Pure Land is universally acknowledged as foremost under heaven. Even if the other three sects combined their might, they would be no match for it.
"Above Dharma Idol, however, a Pure Land monk's strength is bound by the dual constraints of karmic attainment and dharma idol. One could say that from the day they accept the dharma idol's inheritance, the cultivation and ultimate peak of their current life are already set in stone.
"Therefore, the Pure Land has many Scenery Command experts, but their strength is mediocre, and brilliant geniuses are virtually nonexistent among them. Many are old monks on the verge of passing away who have simply lived long enough, so the Pure Land elevates their cultivation when their lifespans draw near, granting them another century of life. Against Scenery Command cultivators like that, your patriarch could fight five or six at once."
"And higher up?"
Yanshi said, "An immortal is not merely an individual, but a minor world. An entire world breathes and consumes heaven and earth's origin energy. Furthermore, because authority over the Great Dao is limited, there is a natural ceiling to the total number of immortals; otherwise, heaven and earth could not sustain them. But the Pure Land is different.
"The so-called Spirit Mountain of the Pure Land can be viewed as a mindscape world shared by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Not only is it shared, but it is passed down through generations. On the Pure Land's Spirit Mountain, wherever there is a karmic attainment, there is a lotus throne, signifying a living immortal Buddha. Most of these karmic attainments remain concealed under normal circumstances, and the few living immortal Buddhas reside within the Pure Land, never venturing out.
"Existing inside the Pure Land is equivalent to being outside this realm, so they place no excessive burden on it. If too many immortal Buddhas were to leave the Pure Land, this realm would suffer immense strain, and the Pure Land itself would sustain damage. It is like placing stones on ice—once a certain limit is exceeded, the ice will shatter."
Finally, Yanshi added, "Of course, if faced with an existential crisis, they would likely abandon all caution. The Pure Land has a history of nearly a hundred thousand years. In terms of sheer foundation, it is perhaps the foremost immortal sect in the world today."
At this, Wei Yuan understood. If the Pure Land mobilized in full force, none could stand against them. However, that was an act of mutual destruction; even if their enemies were wiped out, the Pure Land would likely collapse in the process.
"This disciple understands."
Yanshi asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Wei Yuan said, "The Pure Land claims to be foremost under heaven in the Dharma Idol realm. For now, I shall start by pulling them down from that throne!"
Chapter 1221