A Pawn's Passage

The Virtuous One was a title adopted by the Buddhist Sect after reforming its hierarchy in imitation of the Daoist Order. It was equivalent to a second-rank Taiyi Daoist. As such, in terms of status, this monk was on equal footing with Yao Pei.

The monk first introduced himself. “I am Yan Ben.”

The Buddhist Yan-generation was roughly equivalent to seventh-generation disciples.

Yao Pei showed no reaction. She merely looked at Yan Ben with eyes that seemed half-asleep and a strange gleam flickering within them.

Yan Ben grew somewhat uncomfortable under Yao Pei’s gaze, but he forced himself to continue. “The Western Region Daoist Mansion should immediately cease demolishing temples and expelling monks. In accordance with the agreement signed between the Daoist Order and the Buddhist Sect years ago, the Buddhist Sect must be granted the necessary freedoms.”

Yao Pei had come fully prepared. She held up a copy of the agreement and spoke in a flat tone. “Allow me to correct one point. It is the necessary freedoms permitted within the scope authorized by the Daoist Order. You have constructed temples without the Daoist Order’s approval, thereby violating the agreement between our two sides. In accordance with the relevant statutes, the Daoist Order is now demolishing them. This is lawful and justified. Furthermore, you have gathered a crowd to resist enforcement, which constitutes an additional offense. However, considering that this is your first offense and that no serious consequences have yet to occur, you may withdraw immediately, and the Daoist Mansion will refrain from pursuing the matter further.”

This was probably the longest speech Yao Pei had ever delivered.

Yan Ben asked in a deep voice, “What do you mean by ‘within the scope authorized by the Daoist Order’?”

Yao Pei answered in the same flat tone. “According to the agreement between both parties, all territories under the Daoist Order’s control are governed by the Daoist Order’s laws. That is what constitutes the scope authorized by the Daoist Order.”

Yan Ben suddenly raised his voice. “Our Buddhist disciples have lived here for centuries upon centuries. How has this suddenly become the Daoist Order’s land? It was the Daoist Order that seized our territory by force! By what right do you forbid us from setting foot in the Western Region? What about all your talk of the Three Religions being united as one family? Were those words nothing but lies?”

Yao Pei replied, “The Daoist Order has never forbidden you from entering this land, nor has it prevented you from living here. We merely require that you abide by the laws. All missionary activities must receive the Daoist Order’s approval beforehand. If all of your actions are lawful, justified, and compliant with the regulations, then the Daoist Order has no reason to withhold approval. I will emphasize once again that your actions today have not been reported to the Daoist Mansion. Therefore, it constitutes illegal and non-compliant conduct. Based on the agreement, the Daoist Mansion is lawfully preventing illegal activities. If you object, you may file an appeal with the Daoist Mansion within 7 days, and the Daoist Mansion will issue its response within 7 days.”

While Yao Pei was speaking, the accompanying Daoists were hardly idle. Some were focused on making voice recordings, while others were responsible for image recordings. They even split into two teams, as one documented Yao Pei’s side of the exchange, while the other recorded the Buddhist’s side. After that, the two sets of records could be compared, ensuring that the Daoist Mansion firmly occupied the moral and legal high ground.

Yao Pei concluded, “This is my final warning. Cease all illegal activities immediately, and I will let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, do not say that you were not forewarned.”

Yan Ben responded with a cold sneer. “This is our land. Why should we obey your orders?”

Yao Pei showed not the slightest trace of anger. She merely glanced at the Daoist responsible for the recordings.

The Daoist gave a slight nod, indicating that everything had been recorded from beginning to end.

Only then did Yao Pei speak. “In that case, you have deliberately violated the agreement made years ago and intentionally provoked the Daoist Order. This is no longer an ordinary legal violation. It is rebellion, and it must be dealt with decisively.”

As she spoke, Yao Pei raised one hand.

All the Daoists responsible for the recordings immediately stopped and retreated.

There was no need to record what came next. Continuing to do so would have been impolite.

The next instant, Yao Pei stepped forward, appearing directly before Yan Ben. A jade-white fist instantly filled his entire field of vision, leaving room for nothing else.

Yan Ben pressed his palms together. The golden radiance flowing across his skin suddenly intensified and solidified. His entire body resembled a Buddha statue cast from solid gold.

Yao Pei’s fist landed squarely upon Yan Ben’s golden body. Though the punch appeared effortless, the supposedly immovable and unyielding golden body was blasted backward. A gap split open between his clasped palms, from which streams of golden light burst forth. Spiderweb-like cracks spread across his golden body, and golden blood began to seep from the fractures.

Yao Pei was not a Martial Arts Practitioner, but her physique rivalled that of one because of her Great Witch bloodline.

Li Changge’s ability to suppress Yao Pei did not mean that just anyone could do the same.

Yan Ben barely managed to halt his backward momentum. Pressing his palms together once more, he forcibly suppressed his injuries.

Cultivation obtained through transmission from another person was not as sturdy.

Back then, the Three Daoist Heirs had all remained at the Pseudo-Immortal stage for many years for the sole purpose of building an unshakable foundation. This alone showed that such rapid cultivation methods were nothing more than paper tigers. The monk’s cultivation was sufficient to intimidate others, but once real combat began, he was probably not even the equal of Qi Xuansu or Li Changge before either had reached the Zaohua stage.

Yao Pei possessed the bloodline of the Great Witch and was extraordinarily gifted. Even at the same cultivation level, she was vastly superior to Yan Ben.

The Buddhists had little concern for fair play. Seeing Yan Ben at a disadvantage, they immediately moved to support him. Some monks held prayer wheels, while others wielded vajras, white-bone ritual instruments, or banners. Their expressions were solemn as they chanted sacred mantras in unison. In an instant, dazzling golden light filled the heavens, as though the battlefield had become a Buddhist Pure Land.

Yan Ben sat down cross-legged. An enormous golden throne appeared beneath him, cast from solid golden brass. Its four sides were engraved with Dharma wheels, inverted bowls, crescent moons, precious jewels, floral motifs, and dragons, while clouds naturally gathered around it.

Empowered by the combined support of his disciples, ritual instruments, sacred mantras, and the power of faith, Yan Ben’s body swelled in size, and his aura rose steadily. His previously unstable Zaohua stage cultivation was stabilized.

Yan Ben belonged to the Mahamudra lineage. Seated high upon his golden throne, he spoke in a thunderous voice. “So, this is how Sage Yao persuades others with reason?”

Yao Pei replied calmly, “I have already explained every reason to you. Since you insist on remaining obstinate, I have no choice but to persuade you with force. Do not say that I punished you without instruction.”

The smile slowly faded from Yan Ben’s face, leaving behind only a solemn, sacred expression.

A sword hilt appeared in Yao Pei’s hand. It was Yield Sovereignty, forged in imitation of the Moral Sovereign. Its power was not to be underestimated.

However, Yan Ben knew his own limits. As a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being who had reached this level through borrowed power, he was no match for Sage Yao. If they truly fought, he feared that she would separate his head from his shoulders within three exchanges.

This was only to be expected. When Qi Xuansu had travelled to the Northern Continent, he had single-handedly fought the entire St. York council and had even departed unscathed. Even if Yao Pei was somewhat inferior to Qi Xuansu, dealing with a single monk was still well within her capabilities.

At that moment, another streak of light came hurtling through the sky, stopping not far from Yan Ben. The newcomer possessed delicate, feminine features and jade-white skin despite being male. He wore a jeweled crown and an emerald-green robe whose long trailing hem resembled the tail feathers of a peacock. Fine silks wrapped around his upper body, fluttering without wind. Beneath his feet rested a lotus throne known as the Peacock Seat.

Behind him stood numerous disciples carrying an assortment of ritual tools like purification vases, flower urns, white silk parasols, golden bows, and so on. Through these tools, the disciples pooled their cultivation into the newcomer, likewise elevating him to the Zaohua stage.

Peacock feathers bore circular markings that resembled eyes. At this moment, every circular pattern upon the hem of his robe resembled a Buddhist grotto, and within each grotto sat a Mahamayuri.

The Mahamayuri was also known as the female Wisdom King. Within Buddhist cultivation, practitioners who took the Mahamayuri as their principal deity cultivated the Mahamayuri Scripture, also known as the Peacock Scripture. It was one of the Four Great Dharma Methods of the Western Region Buddhist Sect.

Yao Pei looked toward the newcomer. “So the Great Fruition lineage has arrived as well.”

Yao Pei no longer suppressed her aura and unleashed her Great Witch blood qi, surging outward in wave after wave like a raging gale, scattering the clouds overhead in an instant.

Qi Xuansu and Li Changge embodied the strengths of all Five Immortal Lineages, something Yao Pei could not match. However, her Great Witch bloodline had granted her the physique of a Martial Arts Practitioner from birth, making her comparable to someone who possessed both the Heavenly Immortal and Manly Immortal lineages.

The two monks immediately joined forces. They dared not boast of defeating Yao Pei, but merely holding her off for a time was well within their abilities.

The feminine-featured Virtuous One of the Great Fruition lineage spoke slowly, “Sage Yao has already felt wrath. I fear this matter cannot end peacefully today.”

As his words fell, a gigantic Spiritual Statue of the Mother Buddha manifested behind him. Pure white from head to toe, she wore flowing white silk garments and was adorned with a jeweled crown, necklaces, earrings, and armlets. Seated upon a golden peacock in the full lotus posture atop a blue-and-white lotus throne, she wore an expression of boundless compassion.

The Mother Buddha had four arms. In her upper right hand she held a blooming lotus flower. In her lower right, she held the matulunga fruit. In her upper left, she held the auspicious fruit before her chest, while her lower left grasped five peacock tail feathers.

Among these four sacred objects, the lotus symbolized reverence and kindness, the matulunga fruit represented subjugation, the auspicious fruit signified blessings and increase, and the peacock feathers symbolized the dispelling of calamities. The white lotus throne embodied the original vow of compassionate salvation, while the blue lotus throne represented the subjugation of all obstacles.

Yan Ben remained seated high upon his golden throne. Rather than manifesting a Spiritual Statue, he formed a sacred hand seal with both hands.

In Buddhism, the left hand represented eternal stillness and was called the Hand of Compassion, used to guide stubborn and ignorant beings. The right hand represented eternal activity and was known as the Hand of Wisdom, used to guide those of exceptional aptitude. Together, the two were called the Unity of Compassion and Wisdom, capable of ferrying all ordinary beings across to liberation. Bringing the hands together symbolized the severing of greed, anger, ignorance, doubt, and arrogance, and the transcendence of the ignorance rooted in body, speech, and mind. This posture of joining the palms was known as a mudra.

Yao Pei showed not the slightest trace of panic. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Yan Ben and slashed down with a single stroke.