Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme-Chapter 1060 - 646 - : Secrets

Immortal Spirit Hero, Netherworld Sect Leader, Ksitigarbha King Venerate!

To be honest, Xu Yang was a bit surprised by this outcome.

Although the Immortal Spirit Rank was the pinnacle among heroes, Xu Yang still had not anticipated the sheer extent it encompassed, even including Ksitigarbha, one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism.

Ignoring those fictitious worlds of false Buddha and false Dao, just considering realms like the Earth Immortal Realm, Azure Star Realm, and the real world where Buddhism and Daoism manifest divinely, Xu Yang's own exploration and understanding, whether it was Taoism, Buddhism, or other major Dao lineages, all emphasized equality.

This equality was not about human equality but about the equality of the Dao, the equality of the Three Thousand Great Dao that ultimately converge, where no Dao ranks above another, only differing cultivators and their uneven progress created hierarchical distinctions.

Taking Buddhism as an example, its three main sources—Tathagata Buddha, Bodhisattva, and Fierce Ming King—are actually at the same level of realization.

As long as one could cultivate to the highest realm, there would be no distinctions of higher or lower among them, just as in the Three Pure Taoist Skills of Taoism—could you say Taiqing is stronger than Yuqing, or Yuqing stronger than Shangqing?

Daoist equality has no high or low, only differences among individual cultivators.

Ksitigarbha is among the highest attainments in the origins of Buddhist Bodhisattvas, present not only in the Earth Immortal Realm and Azure Star Realm, but also in the real world, with established Great Vow Tao of Ksitigarbha, and even in the Immortal and Buddha-inhabiting Azure Star Realm where a specifically identified Great Vow Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha exists, said to be a top-tier power among Earth Immortals, nearly at the level of a Heavenly Immortal.

Though all worlds have their own Dao resulting in presence of deities like Three Pure Taoist and Shakyamuni in every realm, similarity in Dao doesn't imply equivalence in realm or power.

For instance, the Supreme Taoist Ancestor of the World of Dao and Law, who possesses the power to create worlds, is conservatively estimated to be a Golden Immortal or even an Immortal.

While the Supreme Immortal Venerable of the Blue Star World is clearly a Heavenly Immortal, as the ruling Immortal Emperor of the Azure Star Realm and all major divine system heads are also Heavenly Immortals.

Apart from those deeply revered and possibly existent creator deities, no one in the Azure Star Realm has proven to have obtained the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, including that Supreme Immortal Venerable.

From this comparison, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva of the Azure Star Realm and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva of the Mystic Yellow Realm are probably peers, as both realms are close in divine hierarchy, hosting Heavenly Immortals but lacking Golden Immortals.

With similar divine hierarchies, the rank of dignitaries should also be not far apart, the Ksitigarbha of the Azure Realm being nearly a Heavenly Immortal-level Earth Immortal, then the Ksitigarbha of the Mystic Yellow Realm is also unlikely to fall below such a rank.

Thus, the arrival of Ksitigarbha was unexpected for Xu Yang.

The Immortal Spirit Hero covers even Earth Immortals?

What about Heavenly Immortals?

Could they also be included?

Moreover, when Supreme Heavenly Emperor Qiong Gao was defeated and Mystic Yellow became a Demon Land, all the major Immortal Gods decisively left. As one of the Earth Immortals, should Ksitigarbha have been part of them unless he perished? How then did he become a hero of this Sky-reaching Tower?

Could he have returned again?

Xu Yang was filled with doubts, yet he did not rush to question but stood aside quietly waiting for Ksitigarbha to ferry the lost souls.

Without a doubt, among the Immortal Spirits, there were rankings of superiority, the prior Shi Pi being at most above average, while Ksitigarbha was truly top-tier; after all, Xu Yang estimated the chances of a Heavenly Immortal becoming a hero were slim, and Earth Immortals were the most likely highest tier.

As a premier Immortal Spirit Hero, Ksitigarbha arrived with a fully-realized third Order rank, unlike Ao Chi who had to be cultivated from scratch.

Moreover, his attributes and skills were outstanding. His first special skill granted him high attribute growth, breakthrough value, and damage reduction, making Shi Pi's abilities pale in comparison.

His second special skill, "Hell is not empty," was a heaven-defying support skill, allowing the revival of fallen heroes and troops after battles.

Though Xu Yang possessed the Unrivaled Commanding Platform, which also revived heroes, that required time and was restricted to the building order of the platform, reviving at most third Order heroes, necessitating a lengthy accumulation of Heroic Soul Points.

Ksitigarbha was different, as his special skill's effect tied directly to the hero's rank, thus Ksitigarbha could revive all heroes of the same rank, making him an increasingly effective and upgrading version of the Unrivaled Commanding Platform.

Finally, his Great World-saving Vow, Netherworld Sect Leader, Ksitigarbha King Venerate, greatly enhanced both his individual and collective combat strength, not only enabling disciple cultivation but also allowing the summoning of former followers or the appointment of disciples as such.

Being a great Bodhisattva of Buddhism, Ksitigarbha's attendants were also among the Immortals and Buddhas; not to mention Diting— even the Ten Yama Kings, no matter how inferior, must have held a Mythical Rank.

In short, this was an extremely powerful Immortal Spirit Hero, destined to ascend through the Nine Tribulations and inevitably reach the Tenth Order if uninterrupted, would surely incite countless high-level Lords to desperately compete for him.

But what Xu Yang cared about most was not this.

But rather…

"Namo Amitabha…"

The Rebirth Mantra echoed through the battlefield, amidst the Divine Light and Buddhist chanting, ghosts materialized into reality.

"The Mingxiao Taoists have revived!"

"The Yellow Turban Warriors have revived!"

"The Flying Tiger Iron Cavalry has revived!"

"Hero 'Wu Song' has revived!"

"Transformed the enemy hero's soul, Jin Qiaoju granted a Personal Guard Species—Ksitigarbha Disciple!"

Following the cold prompt sounds, previously fallen heroes and troops were resurrected one after another, even the enemy heroes' spirits were transformed by Ksitigarbha's Dharma into a line of black-robed monks, taking their places gracefully next to Ksitigarbha.

Thus, the Rebirth Mantra ceased after an indefinite period, the battlefield's chilling winds and lost souls were no more.

In their place were the resurrected heroes and troops, along with hundreds of transformed Ksitigarbha disciples.

This great battle saw not merely hundreds of both allies and enemies fallen, but Ksitigarbha's "Hell is not empty" was a chance-based skill, unable to revive and redeem all, hence only yielding this much.

Yet, it was still impressive. The resurrected ones were overjoyed, coming forward to pay respects to Xu Yang, then respectfully bowing to Ksitigarbha.

Ksitigarbha also rose and approached Xu Yang, hands clasped together, sighing, "This humble monk's mana was insufficient, unable to save all lost souls, please punish this unworthy servant, Venerable Lord!"

Between words, the address changed.

"Bodhisattva, why would you say that?"

Xu Yang shook his head, gently assisting him up with a gesture, then gestured towards the city, "Shall we sit in my Daoist Field?"

"Dare not disobey!"

"Please!"

Xu Yang smiled and led him into the city, coming to Taiping Palace.

Then, he cut straight to the point, saying directly, "I have various doubts, and I hope the Bodhisattva can enlighten me."

Ksitigarbha smiled, clearly understanding, "Is it about the Sky-reaching Tower and the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss?"

"Exactly!"

Xu Yang nodded and asked gravely, "Is the Bodhisattva an Ancient Immortal from the Mystic Yellow?"

"Yes!"

Ksitigarbha did not obfuscate, "This monk hails from the Mystic Yellow Buddha Sect, truly an Ancient Immortal."

Xu Yang nodded and continued his inquiry, "At the end of the ancient wars, when the Qiong Gao Heavenly Emperor was defeated and Mystic Yellow became the soil of the Desire Realm, all the great immortals and divine beings left, breaking the realm. Why did the Bodhisattva end up here?"

"The Heavenly Demon's power was unmatched, and no one could oppose him. The immortals withdrew, and the Buddhas hid, to preserve a glimmer of life in Mystic Yellow!"

Ksitigarbha shook his head, and with a sigh, he said, "This monk remained because of a vow I took, to save all sentient beings from suffering. I could not abandon them in their time of calamity, so I stayed in Mystic Yellow, fought against Mara, but was ultimately defeated, my body perished and my Tao obliterated, leaving only this Primordial Spirit, which was drawn here by the Sky-reaching Tower."

"So that's how it is!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang, although enlightened, furrowed his brows even more.

This Ksitigarbha had not withdrawn with others but chose to stay in the Mystic Yellow Realm to fight Mara, and after being defeated, was drawn by the Sky-reaching Tower to become a hero.

Isn't this quite similar to Ao Chi's experience?

Does he know the origins of the Sky-reaching Tower and the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss then?

Xu Yang looked at Ksitigarbha, not hiding his suspicion, "Does the Bodhisattva know the origins of the Sky-reaching Tower and the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss?"

"I do not."

Ksitigarbha shook his head, speaking faintly, "But I suspect it may be closely related to the conflict between the Emperor Venerable and Mara."

"Emperor Venerable?"

Xu Yang muttered, lost in thought.

The Emperor Venerable mentioned by Ksitigarbha was none other than the Qiong Gao Heavenly Emperor.

As the Realm Master of Mystic Yellow, revered by the Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, this Heavenly Emperor stood above all the sects' ancestors in Mystic Yellow, being the closest being to achieving the Golden Immortal status.

Such a being, even in defeat, would not likely perish.

After all, Mara might not be a Golden Immortal, and as a supreme Heavenly Immortal, even if not victorious, Qiong Gao could surely have retreated and saved himself.

Indeed, this was true, according to what Ao Chi had said, whether it was those ancient gods who had left breaking the realm, or the cultivators who remained in Mystic Yellow enduring hardships, all believed that the Heavenly Emperor was not dead and that he would return.

So...

Xu Yang looked towards Ksitigarbha, "Did the Heavenly Emperor and Mara innovate this Sky-reaching Tower and Ten Thousand Demon Abyss?"

"I dare not speak carelessly."

Ksitigarbha shook his head, speaking solemnly, "But to change the natural laws of a realm to this extent, other than the Heavenly Emperor and Mara, I cannot think of a third person, or perhaps a great power from another realm, who could lend their strength of Golden Immortal or Immortal to aid our Mystic Yellow?"

After Ksitigarbha spoke, Xu Yang pondered, speaking after a long silence, "Then according to the Bodhisattva, to what extent must the conflict between the Sky-reaching Tower and the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss go before a resolution can be found?"

"I do not know!"

Ksitigarbha listened and still shook his head, "But the confrontation between good and evil has shaped, the Venerable Lord appears as destined, carrying the heavenly mission, and surely will be key to breaking this deadlock, the Savior of Mystic Yellow!"

"With such high hopes from the Bodhisattva, I fear I may not be able to bear them."

Xu Yang heard this and also shook his head, then smiled, "Well, there will be a way when we get to the mountain. Let's proceed and see how it goes!"

"Venerable Lord's great wisdom!"

Ksitigarbha brought his hands together, showing a faint smile, "Though this monk has but minimal strength, I am also willing to assist the Venerable Lord, to achieve this Demon Extermination and save the troubled people."

"Thank you, Bodhisattva!"

Xu Yang nodded, then suddenly recalling something, waved his sleeve, casting divine light that materialized a person's figure below—the Demon Spirit Shi Pi: "Bodhisattva, with your profound Buddhist Law, could you possibly transform this demon, leading it to forsake evil for good?"

Before this, it was mentioned that high-level Lords have certain special methods, capable of purifying unusable heroes from the Demon Abyss, troops, and weapons, converting them into usable assets.

Compared to direct offerings to Civilization Wonders, this purification method is more efficient and effective.

Although Xu Yang doesn't possess such methods, "creation from nothing" has always been his expertise, after several lifetimes of cultivation and accumulation across realms, he doesn't lack techniques for Demon Transformation, just needing to transfer them to create the corresponding skills, which could probably also purify Demon Objects.

This was Xu Yang's original plan.

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But now he had changed his mind.

Because he was very busy, not wanting to waste time on this, and now that an opportune tool was available, it made no sense not to make full use of it.

Ksitigarbha glanced at the Shi Pi held by the Five Colors Divine Light, displaying shock and anger yet unable to move, and also gently laughed out, "This person, though fallen to the Demon Path, still possesses some good nature. If guided properly, change is possible, and I'm willing to undertake this task for the Venerable Lord."

"Then I will trouble the Bodhisattva!"

Xu Yang nodded, and released another,the Nine Sons Mother Demon stored within Jiu Panpo's Primordial Spirit: "Here is another Demon Head; may I ask the Bodhisattva to take further efforts?"

Upon falling to the ground and hearing Xu Yang's words, the Nine Sons Mother Demon was greatly alarmed, but restrained by the Five Elements Prohibition, it couldn't move and could only watch as its fate was decided.

Ksitigarbha glanced at Jiu Panpo and nodded firmly, "Venerable Lord, rest assured, I will do my utmost!"