novelraw Chapter 312 - 286 Fa Hui (Combined Volume 1 & 2)
Chapter 312 - 286 Fa Hui (Combined Volume 1 & 2)
Li Xuanling had traveled all over Xu Country in these five years. After the Compassion War among the various Zifu powers, each force had been severely weakened and needed time to recover. Furthermore, the Xiuyue Sect intervened in the Xu Land after the war, establishing rules and restraining the Loose Cultivators. As a result, the region enjoyed a period of calm, and the lives of the common people were quite decent. Although not as prosperous as under the Li Family’s rule, it could still be considered a life well-lived.
This year, Li Xuanling made connections across Xu Country and finished recording various methods of Qi gathering. Thus, he crossed over to Zhao Country to observe the situation. Seeing the parched land of Duanchen Village, he had expected to hear the tenants grumbling with discontent. To his surprise, the present tenant farmer was ecstatic, which startled him and prompted him to turn to the tenant at the foot of the table and ask softly,
"How do I get to Luoxia Mountain?"
Although the Northern region had fallen into Buddhism’s influence, there were still Taoist Lineages and Immortal Cultivators who lived in seclusion in the mountains, away from worldly affairs. Most had their own backgrounds, so no one dared to provoke them. Luoxia Mountain was one of these places where Northern Immortal Cultivators often roamed. Li Yuanping had set his mind on visiting to see how different it was from the Zifu Golden Core Path in the South.
"Luoxia Mountain?"
The people at the foot of the table glanced at each other, all looking puzzled, which made Li Xuanling shake his head. As he was about to take to the wind and fly away, he suddenly looked up thoughtfully.
There was a man standing bare-chested on the ridge. His muscles were well-defined and reddishly taut; his hands were clasped together as he stared intently at Li Xuanling and said in a deep voice,
"May I know which path’s fellow Cultivator you are? You have such an unfamiliar face. I am Fa Lin from Duanchen Temple; my respects to you!"
"I’ve run into the very person..."
Li Xuanling felt a rush of embarrassment. He wanted to speak but was afraid of giving himself away, so he simply nodded and summoned the wind, preparing to depart. However, the monk suddenly shouted,
"Stop! I knew there was something wrong with you, a follower of the crooked path."
Monk Fa Hui, with a stride as mighty as an eagle, leapt from the ridge into the air, raising his fist to strike at Li Xuanling. Li Xuanling also conjured the wind and felt a wave of shock, thinking to himself,
"Has this man lost his mind? What possessed him to attack me for no reason?"
He didn’t care about right or wrong anymore, and he quickly formed a spell to bring forth a Dharma Shield while grasping the Dharma Sword at his waist. His True Yuan flowed like ripples, and he said aloud,
"We have no grudges, monk. Why are you going mad?"
The monk’s eyes were wide with fury, and his fists struck the Dharma Shield with a thudding sound. Li Xuanling drew his Dharma Sword, poised to strike, and Monk Fa Hui kicked against the Dharma Shield to launch himself up, narrowly avoiding Li Xuanling’s sword before pressing down on him like a hawk.
Li Xuanling felt a piercing wind scraping his face and raised his Dharma Sword to block. The sword emitted a dim Dharma Light, but to his surprise, Monk Fa Hui, with a body as sturdy as steel, grabbed the blade with his bare hands, stopping it firmly and reaching for Li Xuanling’s wrist.
"Heh!"
Li Xuanling, recognizing the monk’s physical strength, had no intention of letting him take hold. He didn’t wish to discard his Dharma Sword either. With one hand, he concentrated a Spell and smashed it towards the hand that was reaching for him, while with the other, he vigorously maneuvered the Dharma Sword, discharging bursts of grey-black sword light trying to force the monk back.
Monk Fa Hui, hindered by the Spell, crushed it with one palm. His other hand was already in agony, the golden light on it showing faint cracks. Fa Hui pondered to himself,
"Somehow, upon seeing this man, I felt an irrepressible loathing and anger. The Dharma Sword is quite sharp, though, and if I keep holding it, it might breach my Dharma Body. I can’t keep holding it like this!"
So he punched the Body Protection Dharma Shield hard, causing a thunderous boom, released the Dharma Sword, and soared higher once again.
After spending five years traversing Xu Country and dealing with plenty of demons and people, Li Xuanling had ample experience but had never encountered a Buddhist Practitioner quite like this. Caught off guard, he took a series of blows before finding a moment to catch his breath and immediately realized,
"This man probably can’t fly on the wind; he’s just using the force of my blows to hang in the air. I don’t need to entangle with him!"
Without pursuing further, he immediately widened the distance. Monk Fa Hui bellowed with effort, trying to reach out as he flew, but without any leverage in the air, he fell back to the ground like a clumsy bear, causing a loud thud.
"Hmph! Heretics that lead people astray are all deserving of death!"
Monk Fa Hui was merely a monk, incapable of wind-riding. Li Xuanling rose higher, leaving the monk to stare furiously from below. Surprised and angry at having been punched for no reason, Li Xuanling cursed,
"All I did was ask for directions; how does that lead people astray?"
Prior to becoming a Mage, Buddhist Practitioners were physical beings; yet Monk Fa Hui had profound Cultivation, breaking Li Xuanling’s Dharma Shield with two punches. Li Xuanling could have commanded his Dharma Sword from above, but considering Duanchen Temple’s local influence, he dared not act. The monk continued to rant and rave below, shouting,
"You used an Illusion Technique, isn’t that leading people astray? Your corrupted practices, have they ever led a single person to paradise? Just seeking..."
As Fa Hui was still shouting, Li Xuanling ignored him. Seeing that figures were starting to emerge from the temple in the distance, he knew he couldn’t drag this out any longer and scoffed,
"Fuck your nonsense, what paradise? It’s all just a facade for cannibalism, deceiving both yourselves and others!"
Monk Fa Hui’s eyes bulged as Li Xuanling drifted away on the wind. Meanwhile, the monk roared like thunder until monks gathered around him, and he finally quieted down, still glaring in the direction Li Xuanling had gone.
A nearby monk tried to calm him with kind words, and after a while, an elder monk came forward, his grey robe flowing and a string of translucent beads in his hand, smiling warmly as he said,
"Fa Hui, the moment of your Karma Magic has come!"