Redemption of a Born Demon-Chapter 57: Topsy-Turvy Illusions: Ksitigarbha-Śmaśāna Devours the Demon Body
One trouble after another!
Yi Beidou had never expected to be intercepted on his way back.
His movements were unpredictable, and with his Celestial Demon Sensing, he could detect killing intent and malice. Yet, he hadn’t sensed the slightest hint of danger beforehand.
This meant the person before him possessed a flawless Heart Intent, their mind in a deep Meditation Realm. Furthermore, they were protected by various Feng Shui Magnetic Field techniques, which prevented their presence from leaking out.
This person’s Daoist Cultivation was not to be underestimated.
Hearing the old monk’s words from the forest, Yi Beidou immediately recalled the recent incident in Wencheng.
Back then, while resolving his family’s issues, he had met people from Nanyang. He learned that Nanyang had a Saint Expert who had achieved Body Ascension, one who swore a great vow to vanquish demons but was, in fact, allowing demonic corruption to fester.
’It must be him.’
The Great Vow Master!
This man’s Cultivation was rooted in vanquishing demons. Naturally, he would never let Yi Beidou, the world’s greatest demon, go free. He had only been deterred by Donghua’s strength, which prevented him from easily crossing the border.
Now that Yi Beidou had left the country, this man seized the opportunity and immediately made his move.
"To be able to block my path, it seems you also possess a unique spiritual ability."
Yi Beidou’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke calmly.
He possessed Celestial Demon Sensing; it was only natural that other powerful experts who achieved Body Ascension would have their own special abilities as well.
This man had sworn a great vow to suppress the Purgatory of the mortal realm. Having been based in Nanyang for many years, his Cultivation was profound. It was perfectly normal for him to be able to sense the demonic dao.
Extraordinary people existed outside of Donghua, too. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Is this all you think my Buddhist Dharma amounts to? You cannot escape your doom today. You have only yourself to blame for being too young and arrogant, for not knowing when to conceal your strength."
The Great Vow Master’s voice carried far and wide.
In the next moment, a sound emerged: "Ma Mo Da Hong Hei..."
The Great Vow Master’s lips hadn’t moved a fraction, yet layered whispers, like the chanting of sutras, emanated from within his body, as if a thousand mouths had sprouted beneath his plain monk’s robes.
Experts of the Martial Arts Dao could produce the "Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound" when circulating their energy and breathing. But when this man channeled his Qi and blood, the sound of scriptures accompanied him.
MA MO DA HONG HEI!!
As if in concert with the sound from his body, overlapping whispers and murmurs echoed from all corners of the forest. The sounds reverberated, surrounding Yi Beidou and growing steadily louder.
The sound of chanting!
Moreover, it was far from a simple sound.
Centered on the Great Vow Master’s body and Heart Intent, the chant was infused with spiritual power, magnetic fields, and other elements. It connected with the ley lines of the earth, producing a potent effect on the mind.
Yi Beidou’s gaze swept across his surroundings. In the dappled moonlight, he could faintly discern figures appearing throughout the forest.
Some of these figures carried Buddhist shrines, others held Vajra Bells, and still others wielded Demon-Subduing Pestles. They all radiated vigorous blood and Qi, their hair bristling with rage. Evil Qi billowed from them, and their faces were fearsome, as if they were the Arhats of Buddha, manifesting their demon-quelling forms.
The Great Vow Master had not come alone. Over his many years of vanquishing demons in Nanyang, he had subjugated eighteen practitioners of the Evil Demons and Heretics Dao, all at the Peak Soul-Seizing Realm. They served at his command and were known as the "Eighteen Demon Kings."
The eighteen now held Dharma Artifacts that the Master had refined over the years in his temple using Incense Fire Wish Power. In combination with the surrounding terrain, they had deployed the "Earth Store Array of Evil Subduing Demons" to help him defeat the Free Celestial Demon.
The chanting continued to layer and expand, like millions of mouths whispering into Yi Beidou’s ears, fouling his inner peace and making him increasingly agitated.
It defiled tranquility and threw the six sensory roots into chaos!
At the same time, the scene before Yi Beidou’s eyes transformed. A golden light bloomed around the old monk, and lotuses unfurled at his feet. A closer look, however, was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat.
The center of each Lotus was not a bud, but a hideous, ghostly face.
Lotus Hidden Ghost!
TAK!
The old monk’s palms moved. His fingers flickered through the night air like phantom serpents, blurring into afterimages before suddenly converging in front of him to form a seal.
In that instant, his blood-Qi, the magnetic field, his spiritual energy, his Soul, and the Sanskrit chant all merged as one within the Hand Seal, striking deep into the core of one’s being.
Esoteric Hand Seal!
BOOM!!
In the blink of an eye, the entire world warped. The surrounding scenery became a blur. The lotuses had somehow appeared right beside him, and the ghostly faces within them stretched out their bodies, clawing at Yi Beidou from all directions.
Everything was turned upside down, a hazy, dreamlike illusion.
Yi Beidou felt as if he had been thrown back to the time before he became a Free Celestial Demon, when he was still plagued by visions.
The influence of the man’s Esoteric Hand Seal Technique, amplified by the Array, was powerful enough to twist a person’s mind and subjugate their very will.
It was precisely through this Seal Technique that he had gathered so many followers of the Evil Demons and Heretics Dao, making them fanatically loyal and bending them to his will.
"Mere illusions!"
Yi Beidou focused his mind and unleashed his Heart Intent. Evil Qi and killing intent surged like an ocean tide, and the chaotic vision of lotuses instantly dissolved into nothing.
However, in the instant he broke the illusion, the hair on his arms stood on end. The Great Vow Master had appeared at his side without him realizing it.
In a battle between Saint Experts who had achieved Body Ascension, even a moment of distraction from an illusion was enough to lose the upper hand instantly.
The old monk’s body seemed to swell, stretching his wide robes taut. A powerful aura emanated from him as he apparently manifested some sort of Dharma Body. He attacked Yi Beidou’s flank, and as his arm extended from his sleeve, it revealed a terrifying sight.
His once fair skin was now a bulging mass of fascia. The overlapping layers of muscle, sinew, blood vessels, and skin formed patterns like lotuses across his arm. A closer look revealed that they weren’t lotuses at all, but a collection of hideous, ghostly faces!
The Great Vow Master’s Cultivation method was to vanquish demons, and the fiends he supposedly exorcised and "purified" had all become part of his own body.
The world knew only that he cultivated Ksitigarbha’s Skillful Method; they were unaware that his practice was also rooted in another, secret Dharma Gate.
The Corpse Heap Lord Method!
A Corpse Heap is a charnel ground, akin to the mass burial sites in the Central Plains. This Dharma Gate involves cultivating in places where corpses are left exposed, using the visceral horror to stimulate one’s spirit and break through to the great secrets of life and death.
The Great Vow Master combined Ksitigarbha’s Skillful Method with the techniques of the Corpse Heap, cultivating both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism to forge his own path.
He subdued demons, and he also devoured them.
In the language of modern science, after the Great Vow Master achieved Body Ascension, his genetic sequence gained an "open" characteristic. By consuming specific flesh and blood, his body could automatically capture certain genetic fragments, using them to remodel itself and enhance its physical strength to a certain extent.
Meanwhile, the great vow of Ksitigarbha’s Skillful Method helped him elevate his own spirit as he vanquished demons, creating a symbiotic relationship.
This was the "Earth Store Corpse Devouring Magical Body."
And this was the true reason he had come to stop Yi Beidou.
A Celestial Demon was a rare sight, and a Free Celestial Demon was practically unheard of. If he could "purify" Yi Beidou and send him to the Western Heaven to see Buddha, then consume his flesh and blood, his own spirit and body would likely both sublimate, reaching an entirely new realm.
He was not here for revenge—he was here in pursuit of the Dao!!
BOOM!!
Yi Beidou twisted his body and unleashed a palm strike, concentrating Evil Qi and killing intent in his palm.
Destruction Killing Tribulation!
However, the technique was not at its peak. Thrown off by the Great Vow Master’s illusion, Yi Beidou had been forced into a hasty response, unable to fully gather his power and Heart Intent.
As their palms collided, Yi Beidou’s figure swayed. He sank his legs, forcibly neutralized the impact, and stood his ground.
"What a Celestial Demon Body! So powerful! From this day on, it shall be mine!"
The Great Vow Master didn’t press the attack. With a flash, he retreated, and the Sanskrit chant inside him flared up again. The chanting from within the Demon Suppression Array grew even more fervent.
He formed another Hand Seal, and a new illusion materialized before Yi Beidou.
The Great Vow Master had the Grand Array on his side. The longer his opponent stayed within it, the deeper the Sanskrit chant would penetrate their spirit. Sooner or later, their mind would descend into chaos, and they would lose all self-control.
He was like a hunter battling a wild beast; the goal was to wear down his opponent’s stamina, not to fight to the death.
’This man is already a turtle in a jar!’
