596 Buddhism vs Taoism (1)
After Wang Wei returned to his mansion, he immediately heard Ancestor Wucheng’s voice.
“So, you must have reasons for taking such a risk?”
“I’m preparing for the future. Without removing these so-called 2 Suns and Seven Moons, I can never reach the top of the cultivation world. And even the ancestors cannot properly revive. So, I will need all the help I can to deal with them.”
“*Sigh* Although I know I might not need to remind you, given your personality, I still will. Always be cautious. After you ascend, I and the other will no longer be able to protect you.
“The sect will probably not be able to provide you any help and might even be a hindrance. So, always be slow and steady.”
“I will,” replied Wang Wei, and Wang Wucheng no longer spoke. The old ancestor felt his young descendant grew too fast, and it was only a matter of time before his old bones became useless.
Although he always knew this was inevitable, recent events indicate this process might be faster than anticipated.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei observed Feng Heng’s mansion for a few hours, trying to detect any signs of trouble. Luckily, until Monk Wuzhi showed up, nothing changed.
Monk Wuzhi deactivated his invisible talisman before cupping and bowing his hands: “Benefactor, what do you need from me?”
“Monk, can you tell me exactly Zhang Yucheng’s strength? The last time you were vague.”
Monk Wuzhi frowned for a moment before answering: “He is only the peak of 7-Leaf. However, he can use a secret technique to generate a mysterious power from his two physiques, boosting his power to 8-Leaf.”
“Is that so?” Wang Wei briefly pondered before taking out a booklet and handing it to him. “See if this can help you rise in strength.”
Monk Wuzhi took the book labeled [7 Chakras] and scammed through it. And the more he read, the brighter his eyes were.
“This technique is similar to the concept of 5 Inner Wheels. However, it is more detailed, purer, and more powerful.”
Monk Wuzhi had access to all the Buddhist Scriptures, so he remembered the school of thought based on the 5 Inner Wheels. Although they were not the most popular or influential in the Buddhist Sect, they were generally decent.
‘5 Inner Wheel? I remember Buddhism only had 5 Chakras back on Earth before it was changed, while Hinduism–the creator of this system–had 7 Chakras. I’m guessing this world also discovered some version of Chakra,’ though Wang Wei.
“This technique should allow you to reach 8-Leaf, so hurry because I don’t think you have much time.”
“You make a great point, Benefactor,” replied Monk Wuzhi before rushing out. And to Wang Wei’s dismay, the monk entered one of the rooms inside his mansion instead of returning home.
Monk Wuzhi took out a formation plate from his space ring, allowing him to lay out a powerful array around the room instantly. Subsequently, he entered the Time Treasure he had to facilitate faster cultivation.
As soon as he entered the treasure, he did not waste time opening his Chakra. Unlike Wang Wei, who had to use the Good Fortune Flame to open the Chakra, Monk Wuzhi used the purest of Buddha Power.
And since the energy he used perfectly matched the concept of Chakra, he benefited even more than Wang Wei did. After a few hundred years inside the time treasure, Monk Wuzhi opened his eyes.
His pupil had entirely turned golden, and he radiated an aura of purity, benevolence, and nobility. His body shone with golden lights for a few minutes before he returned to normal.
“Peak 8-Leaf strength. The increase was even greater than I anticipated,” Monk Wuzhi muttered before looking at the artificial sky inside the treasure.
“Zhang Yucheng, you wait for me.”
The monk left his treasure before exiting the room and meeting Wang Wei again.
“It seems you succeeded.”
“Thank you for everything, benefactor.”
“No need. I’m just paying my karma.”
“Be that as it may, you have helped me greatly and made a great contribution to Buddhism.”
Monk Whuzi was not lying. The 7 Chakra Method will advance the 5 Inner Wheels faction by miles, possibly elevating them to one of the great factions of Buddhism.
Wang Wei calmly accepted the latter’s thanks. Although he did not invent the Chakra method, he translated it to fit the laws of the Eternal Ascension World, which should give him some credit.
Furthermore, he did not mind taking credit for someone else’s work if it could help him pay some of his karma. Thus, he chatted briefly with the monk before overseeing him leave his mansion.
Wang Wei was alone since Li Jun entered seclusion to use the talisman the Battle Maniac Emperor left for him. And since he had to observe the situation in case of any changes, he decided to cultivate a little.
He first checked his acupoints; he had already created or opened all his artificial acupoints. The next step in refining his body was the condense the 1964th black holes.
Regrettably, he could not do that now as he could sense a Fleshly Body Tribulation was approaching. From the third stage of the True Power Realm, body refiners have to undergo tribulations often, and it was Wang Wei’s turn.
And from what he learned from his ancestor, there will be a drastic increase in pain after he reaches the fourth stage. According to the Ancient Desolate Paragon, the pain is so intense that most cultivators give up trying to open the Gate of Power.
Additionally, since he decided to walk both the Qi Refiner and Body Tempering path, the pain he will suffer will be at least a hundred times more than pure Body Refiners who focus on only opening the gate.
The pain is the way Grand Dao used to balance how powerful Body Refiners were. Of course, Wang Wei did not mind the pain since his Pain Talent had already made him a masochist.
‘It’s begun?’ thought Wang Wei as he opened his eyes. At that exact time, all the participants received a notice from Lord Spirit to stay inside their mansion and not interfere with the affairs of the upper dimension.
“Ancestor, how are the preparations?”
“Everything went as you wished. We hired many Immortal Tier loose cultivators, and they should have no problem dealing with Zhang Yucheng’s people.”
Wang Wei nodded his head. Although he promised Monk Wuzhi he would have his sect help him, he also did not want to directly use the powerhouses of the sect.
He wanted plausible deniability, and by hiring other people to fight instead of his sect, he had a reasonable cause to do so. Of course, Wang Wei knew deniability might be pointless based on Zhang Yucheng’s character.
He could imagine that Supreme Unity was not the kind of person that cared for loopholes. Nevertheless, he wanted to be careful–just in case. His motto has always been to be highly cautious when dealing with these old monsters.
Outside Feng Heng’s mansion, two people floated in the sky, staring intensely at one another.
“Bald monk, you should know you are not my opponent. Stop this futile resistance.”
“I am not the same me as I was yesterday.”
Zhang Yucheng shook his head. “Why do you monks try so desperately to resist your fate? My master is now the Heavens. Taoism’s destiny is to reign supreme, so why not bow and accept the mandate of Heaven?”
“All things that rise must fall,” replied Monk Wuzhi, his voice soft, soothing, and full of wisdom. “Taoism had its era, Buddhism followed, and it should have been someone else’s turn; this was the way to maintain the balance of Heaven and Earth.
“But your greed forced another era of Taoism. You have corrupted the way of Heaven and Earth and thus must pay the price.”
“Blasphemy!”
“Is it? You, Taoist priests, always preach about being inactive, following the flow of nature, and letting things proceed on their course. Yet, you do not practice what you preach.”
“Don’t be so sanctimonious; it’s disgusting. It’s not like you, Buddhists, are innocent. The entire lower dimension suffered such catastrophe because of the backlash for forcibly prolonging your reign.
“Their blood is your hands.”
“That is the truth. But we have learned from our mistakes. We strove to do better. Current Buddhism can say without hesitation we have paid our karma; we have made peace with our past.
“Can you do the same?”
“Enough with your sharp tongue,” groaned Zhang Yucheng, his eyes red, gleaming with a demonic atmosphere. He raised his hand to manifest a purple sword. His black, silky long hair turned half white, and a red tattoo of a small sword appeared on his forehead.
“It’s a shame we had to result with using force.”
Monk Wuzhi’s body then changed. He turned into a 7 meters tall golden Buddha. This form had no shirt on, displaying his slightly large belly. He only had shorts to cover his lower body and a golden scarf that floated around his neck.
Brilliant golden light shone on him, along with chants of scriptures.