Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 616 - 280. Master Lei Bestows Opportunities, a Lingering Fragrance on the Hand (Two in One Chapter)_2
The young monk on the lotus platform was indeed the Future Maitreya of the White Lotus Sect.
He sought to break through and escape, flying all the way, entangled in a prolonged battle with Shangguan Yunbo and the officers of the Divine Strategy Army under his command.
Seeing this, Master Longjia formed a Dharma Seal before his chest and said to Yuan Mobai beside him, "The White Lotus Sect heretics are the Great Tang’s publicly announced rebels. Elder Yuan, why don’t we lend the Great General and his men a helping hand?"
Yuan Mobai did not object. "Master, your words are reasonable."
A Taoist and a Buddhist monk, their figures immediately floated into the air.
Lei Jun remained hidden in the shadows, unmoving, simply observing the distant battle quietly. Strictly speaking, there was no amity between the Celestial Master Mansion and the White Lotus Sect, nor any direct conflicts or grievances. Thus, although Lei Jun did not agree with the White Lotus Sect’s ideology, he had no intention of joining the siege at that moment. He and the Future Maitreya had some old ties from the Celestial Book Universe, where one had been the Taibai Metal Scepter and the other the Age Star Muyao. However, this past connection was also insufficient to make Lei Jun draw his sword in assistance. Therefore, Master Lei currently chose to help neither side, merely spectating from afar.
Yuan Mobai’s views were similar to his. However, considering that the Celestial Master Mansion generally needed to maintain alignment with the Tang Imperial Court on the surface, his decision to act now served as a form of accountability. Though he wasn’t exerting his full strength, he wasn’t merely going through the motions either.
The number of besiegers grew, and the Future Maitreya, despite possessing the Ninth-grade Lotus Platform, found it difficult to escape.
Among the attackers, a middle-aged scholar dressed in Confucian robes but wielding a longbow caught the attention of Lei Jun, who was watching from a distance.
Prince Zhang... Lei Jun noted, nodding slightly. This was a master of the Confucian Divine Archery Lineage at the Eightfold Heaven’s Expanding Border Realm.
The lineage of Prince Zhang was passed down from the blood descendants of the Founding Emperor of Great Tang. It was somewhat distant from the current Tang Court’s central power, but they held significant power and prestige within the Great Tang Dynasty, governing Xiaoxiang and directly facing the Southern Wilderness.
During the last major war in the Southern Wilderness, Prince Zhang, Zhang Luo, had been in seclusion for Qi Cultivating, cut off from the outside world, and thus had not participated. Otherwise, he would have joined Shangguan Yunbo in the expedition to the Southern Wilderness.
A Great Scholar from the Divine Archery Lineage at the Eightfold Heaven Realm possessed extremely keen insight and perception. Therefore, with Zhang Luo present, Lei Jun paid even closer attention to concealing his own presence.
The style of this Prince Zhang’s archery was starkly different from Chu Yu’s. His arrows flew as thick and fast as the night rain in Xiaoxiang, an unceasing, overwhelming barrage that pelted the sea of white lotus flowers, shooting down one bloom after another. Zhang Luo’s archery was somewhat similar to Lin Yuwei of the Nanzong Lin Clan, both favoring rapid and scattered shots. But he was even more aggressive than Lin Yuwei. Though dressed as a scholar, he charged forward like a great general leading an assault, closing in on the sea of white lotus flowers for a concentrated barrage at close range. Coupled with a Cultivation Realm superior to Lin Yuwei’s, Prince Zhang Zhang Luo’s arrow storm was both powerful and swift, like a torrential downpour.
From afar, the Great Scholar of the Divine Archery Lineage, with his attacks, created an imposing aura akin to a Weapon Strike Martial Arts Expert executing a flurry of close-range thrusts with a divine weapon.
For a moment, Prince Zhang Zhang Luo appeared to be the main attacker, constantly clashing head-on with the Future Maitreya. Shangguan Yunbo, meanwhile, continuously shifted his position, frequently launching sudden, unexpected blows at the young monk.
However, Shangguan Yunbo, wielding the Expelling Invaders Halberd, remained the greatest threat to the Future Maitreya. Although the Future Maitreya, possessing the Ninth-grade Lotus Platform, was not afraid of Shangguan Yunbo, he still had to dedicate at least seventy percent of his attention to him.
Consequently, when facing the extremely fierce fighting style of Prince Zhang Zhang Luo, the Future Maitreya quickly found it difficult to advance.
When Yuan Mobai also advanced, the young monk found himself even more hard-pressed. Distracted and unable to fully attend to all threats, his White Light Peacock, a manifestation of his Mana and great vows, was suddenly struck by several arrows! Zhang Luo’s arrow storm was relentless; once a small breach was torn, subsequent arrows surged through like a torrent, overwhelming the White Light Peacock.
Simultaneously, Shangguan Yunbo delivered a thunderous strike, his Expelling Invaders Halberd slashing towards the Future Maitreya.
The Future Maitreya sighed softly, "Greed, hatred, and delusion—the three poisons—indeed, one must always be vigilant against them. The Buddha is compassionate; this Disciple is ashamed."
Around his body, the clear Buddha light suddenly retracted, appearing to become extremely solidified.
In that instant, it seemed as if two Ninth-grade Lotus Platforms materialized simultaneously in the sky. One blocked the Expelling Invaders Halberd, while the other intercepted the dense rain of arrows.
The Expelling Invaders Halberd swept past, causing the Ninth-grade Lotus Platform to tremble lightly, its surface showing scratch marks. The other Ninth-grade Lotus Platform, however, enduring the barrage of arrows, remained perfectly intact.
A Buddhist Precept Holder?! Both Shangguan Yunbo and Zhang Luo frowned at this.
The Future Maitreya brought his palms together again, and the pure Buddha light abruptly condensed into a colossal Roc, its wings spread wide enough to eclipse the sky. The Roc flapped its mighty wings once, generating an immense burst of power that seemed capable of tearing heaven and earth, aiding the Future Maitreya in his attempt to break out of the encirclement.
Ahead, starlight blazed, coalescing into the immense Doumu Star God Dharma. Yuan Mobai, his expression placid, threw a punch. Yet, the force of the punch was monumentally powerful, scarcely inferior to that of a Physical Training Martial Way expert of the same realm.
The Future Maitreya, neither startled nor angered, remained serene. He too raised a hand, fingers forming a palm, and pushed forward.
Without any elaborate techniques, the two clashed head-on in mid-air!
Yuan Mobai’s gaze flickered slightly. "Buddhist Sect Zen Martial Arts..." he murmured.
All present were astonished by this sight. The White Lotus Sect originated from a confluence of defectors from the three great Taoist Heritages of the Buddhist Sect. Thus, it was common knowledge that the sect simultaneously possessed legacies from all three. However, disciples of the White Lotus Sect, after initiation, would traditionally choose to cultivate one of these three legacies—Vow Making, Zen Martial Arts, or Precept Holding—each achieving their own accomplishments.
And yet, this Future Maitreya, at this very moment, seemed to have personally mastered the Schools of Dharma from all three Buddhist Family traditions?
