Nightfall

Hengmu Liren’s punch carried the massive power of Haotian. It pounded on Ning Que yet failed to kill him. He could not understand why. Ning Que was covered in blood and gashes were all over his body. Even his heart was apparently wounded. But he could still stand upright. Why?

The big black horse ran to Ning Que, lowered its head by his right hand and placed his arm over its neck to help him stand still. Ning Que stroked on its mane and assured that he was fine.

“I forgot the sequence of Lian Sheng’s words. Whether it was to practice Buddhism before Devil’s Doctrine or the other way round, they meant the same. Only the unbreakable vajra could stay away from the dust.” Ning Que wiped off the blood stain on his Academy suit, looked at Hengmu Liren and said, “You seem to know me well. But you have no idea about what I have been cultivating on for the longest time.”

He first learned talisman, then Haoran Qi, followed by Lian Sheng’s Dark Techniques, and eventually Buddhism in Lanke Temple.

But in fact the longest time he spent was on Buddhism. It was the time inside the Buddha’s chessboard rather than in the real world. Inside the chessboard, he practiced Buddhism for a thousand years until the mountain-sized Buddha statue looked like Sangsang. And he was with Sangsang throughout the thousand years.

Sangsang had always been inside his body, engraved on his heart. His body and soul had become divine to some extent. In other words he had reached the zenith of both Buddhism and Devil’s Doctrine at the same time.

The thousand years inside the Buddha’s chessboard were the least he would like to recall. Even the Eldest Brother was barely aware of anything happened there, not to mention the rest of the world. Taoism treated him as their biggest enemy and tried to know everything about him. But even they did not know that apart from his well-known skills, he had also practiced Buddhism.

Hengmu Liren did not know either. Therefore he could not understand Ning Quo’s words. But he sensed the danger subconsciously and his jet black pupils shone in extreme vigilance.

For a powerful figure like him, when his psyche was disturbed the heaven and earth echoed. Storm was formed again inside the City of Yangzhou. The clouds swirled in the sky while the Qi of Heaven and Earth was turned into a mess.

Hengmu Liren rode on the wind and came to Ning Que instantly. His right fist was flaming and created a stream of fire like a meteorite darting toward Ning Que’s face.

The end of spring was also the beginning of summer. Despite those dead bodies lying on the bridges and hanging on the trees, the scenery in and outside Yangzhou was very delightful. The grass was growing and wild flowers blooming in the mist.

The big black horse accidentally caught a tiny yellow flower in his mane when they ran through the fields and across the city. The flower shivered in the wind.

Ning Que was stroking on its mane and picked up the tiny yellow flower with his right hand. He held the tiny yellow flower and reached out to the storm and the flaming fist. The tiny yellow flower was blown backward but not broken from its delicate stem. A bout of compassionate energy was spread out from the petals.

Hengmu Liren’s fist was slowed down and could never reach Ning Que.

Instead of becoming a Buddha himself, Ning Que formed a Dharmakaya. An indistinctive statue of Buddha appeared behind him. But it was not a statue with a broad forehead and long ears. Instead, it looked like a plump woman. It was neither the Buddha nor the Acalanatha. It was Sangsang. This was his achievement of the thousand years of cultivation of Buddhism.

Hengmu Liren claimed that he was fighting for Haotian. Ning Que said that too. But he had been fighting for her for so many years that it was her turn to fight for him now.

Hengmu Liren’s fist was still blazing in Haotian’s Divine Flame. It was dazzling and his cheeks seemed pale under the brightness. And his eyes were filled with restlessness, anger and unwillingness.

Tianqi was Haotian’s bestowal. How could he hurt Haotian with the power she bestowed him? That would be blasphemy.

“So what? Without the power of faith how could you call for the real Haotian!”

Hengmu Liren yelled at him. His voice was like a series of spring thunder that exploded in and outside Yangzhou. He applied his ultimate level and continued to bomb onto the tiny flower in Ning Que’s hand.

His figure turned extremely lofty all of a sudden.

His hair was disheveled, and his body was steaming in white mist. He seemed like an ancient divine figure if it was not for his anger.

“She is not Haotian! She’s just a Buddha statue in your heart! The Buddha was the most hypocritical and just pretended to be compassionate! The Chief Monk of Scripture could not even hurt Jun Mo but was defeated by him. Even if you could become a buddha, you could never take me down!”

The divine Hengmu Liren looked ruthlessly down toward him.

Ning Que was bleeding all over. The Buddha statue of Sangsang stood silently behind him and looked compassionately toward the street. They did not know whether she was looking at Hengmu or Ning Que.

Hengmu was right. Without the power of faith, Ning Que could not have the real Sangsang here no matter how hard he had practiced on Buddhism. He could barely keep himself safe, not to mention to hurt Hengmu.

Yangzhou was not Chang’an. All those who were loyal to Tang and the Academy, or who wanted to help Ning Que were all killed by Hengmu. The rest were silenced in awe. Therefore Ning Que could never write a Talisman like he did in Chang’an, nor could he gather the power of faith.

“We do not like to call it faith in the Academy.”

The glorious Buddha statue was confronting the divine Hengmu on the street. Ning Que and his tiny yellow flower seemed so insignificant. But he was still very calm.

“We’d like to call it belief.” Upon those words he let go of the yellow flower in the wind.

In the meanwhile the Dharmakaya disappeared in the wind and the Buddha’s glory was charged into this body.

He held on the hilt of this iron cutlass.

Endless dim, indistinct energy came from everywhere in and outside Yangzhou, flowed toward him silently and charged into his body bit by bit.

Hengmu Liren turned ghastly pale and spoke to himself puzzled, “How could this happen?”

The energy was just what he thought Ning Que could never gather from the City of Yangzhou. It was the power of faith, or in Ning Que’s words, the power of belief.

Even if the Buddha was present, how could he have collected the belief from the dead?

Ning Que raised his iron cutlass and hacked at Hengmu Liren. The Buddha would never kill, but he would.

The iron cutlass fell down carrying the resentment of countless people killed in the Qinghe Prefecture. Therefore it was not a simple strike.

Wind roared. The Buddha’s glory and the Divine Flames shone against each other and smashed each other into pieces.

Hengmu Liren howled like thundering. He was burning his life in Haotian’s Divine Flame in order to withstand the blade.

Ning Que had no idea about faith when he wrote the two talismans in Chang’an with the Core Vajra of the Array many years ago. He was passively accepting the fearless faith of the people in Chang’an at that time.

Whereas today he had acquired a profound understanding of faith. Therefore even if he could not write the mighty talisman with the support of Chang’an, he could gather no less strength with the help of Buddhism and make tens of thousands of strikes.

Hengmu Liren might be able to withstand his blade. But he could never take tens of thousands of strikes.

Dust prevailed on the street. Horrifying tearing sounds were constantly heard together with Hengmu Liren’s terrified, desperate, outrageous and unreconciled howls.

It was in an instant. Or in a split second according to Buddhism.

Hengmu Liren was only able to take three thousand seven hundred and eighty-two strikes from Ning Que.

Out of the thirteen thousand seven hundred and eighty-two strikes he had made.

Therefore the cutlass was hacked ten thousand times on Hengmu Liren’s body.

The dust gradually settled.

The former divine Hengmu Liren was hacked into an ordinary human being. He was covered in blood with his head lowered. His eyebrows were no longer dashing and his energy was drained. He seemed to have turned back to the lowest ranking manservant in the Revelation Institute two years ago.

Ning Que whizzed his blade back into the sheath.

Hengmu Liren’s broken Taoist heart was further fragmented upon the sound. Blood spurted from his mouth. And his jade-like internal organs gushed from the wounds on his chest and belly.

He looked down at the horrible gashes and felt lost.

In the next moment the crystal beads of Haoran Qi that Ning Que pounded previously into his body exploded from the ten thousands of gashes, whistled chillingly, splashed along the street and darted afar.

The storm swirled the reeds in the Great Swamp, scared the birds outside Linkang, spread to the West-Hill Divine Kingdom, and finally ceased among the Divine Halls on Peach Mountain.

Ning Que stood in the chilling wind. He looked indifferent and tired instead of relieved. He paid no attention to Hengmu Liren and sat down with his legs crossed to reset his breath. The big black horse stood by him on guard.

Hundreds of cavalrymen from the divine halls were encircling the street. Yet they did not dare to come any closer.

“I can’t understand why,” Hengmu Liren murmured with his head down. He sounded extremely painful.

“You are indeed powerful and well-prepared. You knew the iron arrows were not my best weapons. You tried to destroy my ultimate weapon despite the cost. That was why you’ve killed so many people.” Ning Que said, “But what you don’t know is that I’ve already practiced Buddhism. Furthermore I’ve realized another fact when I was in the Wilderness: dead or alive, every human being counts. You were seeking your own destruction while killing those people.”

“No wonder.” Hengmu Liren raised his head and said to him with a bitter smile, “So you’ve prepared well for killing me. That’s somewhat comforting.”

Ning Que said, “You overestimated yourself.”

Upon saying that he stood up and mounted onto the big black horse. Looking around he could see the brooks and bridges, misty blossoms and charming scenes, old trees and faint crows. Everything was there in this miserable world, except for her.

Hengmu Liren stared at his back and yelled desperately, “Until now can’t you just acknowledge that I’m different? I’m Haotian’s son! How could I be the same as everyone else you’ve killed?”

Ning Que turned to take a glance at him and said, “You said you were her son. But I don’t recall we ever had a son like you. What do you want me to acknowledge?”

The big black horse darted again in roaring dust toward the south of Yangzhou.

Hengmu Liren looked hard at his fading figure, felt disappointed yet finally understood why. Then he died.

In the blossomy May, Ning Que killed one more.

The Tang army occupied the City of Yangzhou.

…