Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 647: Chapter 370: Upgrade

Li Yuanba felt his will slipping away. Each Buddhist statue on the walls of this great hall emanated a strange fluctuation, amplifying the Buddhist intentions of the four monks.

Though his spirit was significantly stronger than that of his peers at the Golden Core Stage, it was still not enough to resist the influence of such potent Buddhist intentions.

The true self, Li Shiming, stirred slightly. He took control of Li Yuanba’s body and sealed away Yuanba’s consciousness.

Li Yuanba was his avatar, and the true self had absolute control over an avatar. Had it not been for this situation, Shiming would not have treated Yuanba this way.

Venerable Huike watched the scenes transmitted by the formation, suspecting that Li Yuanba was the reincarnation of a great Buddhist power. Therefore, he refrained from probing directly, fearing that if this Buddhist power were small-minded, such actions might incur his displeasure.

As for bringing Li Yuanba to Qianye Temple, that was seen as delivering the reincarnation of a great Buddhist power from the Demon Cave. The great Buddhist power should be thanking him for this deed.

Initially, Li Yuanba’s demeanor showed signs of deterioration, which caught the attention of Venerable Huike.

The reason Huike had brought Yuanba to this hall to receive the exposition of Buddhist intent from the four monks was precisely to suppress Yuanba’s current consciousness.

To awaken the consciousness of a past life in a reincarnated body, the consciousness of this life must be weakened, or else the consciousness of the past life will only awaken when this life’s strength reaches a certain level.

Naturally, this carried risks, which is why great powers in reincarnation sealed their own consciousness.

This was because the consciousness of a great power was extremely formidable, far beyond what a frail body could bear. Only when a certain level set by the great power was reached would the consciousness awaken.

Venerable Huike did not intend for the consciousness of a great Buddhist power to awaken at this time. He used the Buddhist intent of the four monks just to stir a trace of the Buddhist power’s consciousness, to affirm whether Li Yuanba truly was the reincarnation of a great Buddhist power.

It was no fault of Venerable Huike to be so cautious. If Li Yuanba truly was the reincarnation of a greater Buddhist power than Huike himself, then his reincarnation’s concealment was not something Huike could easily detect, and confirmation required such measures.

Just as the consciousness of Li Yuanba seemed about to be lost, for some unknown reason, he suddenly appeared calm, his face displaying a serene and peaceful expression.

This did not seem like the effect of true Buddhist teachings. Non-Buddhist cultivators, under the influence of true Buddhist teachings, would first be deeply entrenched in degradation, recalling all their own sins, and their hearts would rise with repentance, plunging into deep self-blame.

Unless Li Yuanba had no sins in his heart, but Yuanba, hailing from a demon sect like the Senluo Sect and known from just the intelligence of Qianye Temple to have slain numerous cultivators, was not likely to be unaffected by the Buddhist intent.

This Buddhist intent was no ordinary one. These four Buddhist monks were not highly cultivated, only at the Arhat Level, but their depth in Buddhist teachings put them at the forefront of the entire Qianye Temple.

Had it not been that Venerable Huijing was afflicted with demonic influence, the four monks would not continually expound Buddhist teachings to suppress Venerable Huijing’s inner demons; Huike would not simply call upon these four monks for Yuanba.

Not to mention that the Bodhi Hall where Li Yuanba was situated is the highest-level preaching venue in Qianye Temple, a place that could amplify the effect of the four monks’ exposition of Buddhist intent.

“Great Buddhist powers indeed have means beyond the ordinary!” Unable to explain the phenomenon, Venerable Huike attributed it to the machinations of a great Buddhist power.

He did not disturb Li Yuanba; he wanted to see what would happen next.

Li Shiming’s mind took over the body of his avatar, Li Yuanba. The terrifying Buddhist intent that was supposed to be borne by Yuanba was now entirely endured by Shiming’s mind.

This Buddhist intent was not specifically for Yuanba but was part of Qianye Temple’s efforts to suppress the inner demons of Venerable Huijing. Yuanba was merely incidental.

The Buddhist intent used against a Venerable’s inner demons was fearsomely powerful.

Had it not been for Shiming’s own life-saving mystical treasure, the IBMz15, which shared the Buddhist intent among one hundred ninety-one brains, even he would have been influenced by the Buddhist intent.

Li Shiming, sitting in his abode at Sword Holding Peak of Shushan Sect, continually felt the rise of Buddhist intent around him.

Although the Buddhist intent could not affect his consciousness, it still acted upon his body.

His thoughts slightly moved, and a phantom appeared behind him—the true intent of ‘Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill’ manifested as an Angry-eyed Vajra.

At this moment, he cultivated the ‘Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill’. He had ingested ten drops of fourth-grade ‘Heavenly Immortal Milk’, using such a precious resource, yet he had not been able to bring his ‘Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill’ to the ultimate level of the Golden Core Stage.

Of course, there were many reasons for this, but how could the need for stronger Buddhist intent to support Buddhist cultivation techniques not be among them?

Using Buddhist intent for cultivation, within the Buddhist Sect, only the core true inheritors of the Buddhist Sect had such a privilege. Yet, even the core true inheritors could not have the conditions that Shiming had at this moment.

The Buddhist intent of the four monks was not something to be squandered at will. The Buddhist intent they were now expounding was a special energy, accumulated and enhanced over time.

Had the four monks constantly served the disciples within the temple, using Buddhist intent to assist the disciples in cultivating Buddhist techniques, they could not possibly have cultivated their intent to such a degree.

They were the most precious foundation of Qianye Temple, meant to deal with inner demons that might emerge at the Venerable Level.

Such high-level monks might have nothing to do for a lifetime, but once they were employed, it involved matters of life and death for a Venerable.

A Venerable is also known as a Nascent Soul Ancestor, whose existence relates to the prosperity of a sect.