Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 122: The Five Bright Kings Enter Emerald Cloud Peak

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: The Five Bright Kings Enter Emerald Cloud Peak

Heaven-Defying Taoist was training soldiers and imparting Taoist magic to boost the cultivation levels of these guards at the drill ground.

Within Qingyang Temple, Yuan Tiangang was crafting elixir pills to enhance cultivation levels. Utilizing elixir pills for this purpose was greatly taboo, as even after the enhancement, one needed to meditate and comprehend their realm to avoid obstructing their future path. However, it was different for these guards. They were directly elevated to the ninth realm of Immortals using a large number of elixir pills and taught the Seventy-Two Transformations of Earthly Fiends before being sent to the front lines.

The inclusion of these guards indeed significantly boosted the military strength of the Tang army, since soldiers at the ninth realm of Immortals were rare.

During the year, there were no significant events, as Heaven-Defying Taoist continuously had medicinal herbs sent from Water Curtain Cave, and then had Yuan Tiangang help with the alchemy. Thus, there was an unending supply of elixir pills. Naturally, the cultivation levels of these royal guards also quickly escalated, practically piled up with genius treasures. Oftentimes, they couldn’t even refine the power of the medicines completely; it overflowed and converted into spirit qi. In that year, three thousand people attained the ninth realm of Immortals and were dispatched to the front lines, after which Li Zhi consistently replenished them with new recruits, continuously sending them to Heaven-Defying Taoist’s drill ground.

"You all continue your practice; I must take a trip to Divine Sword Manor," said Heaven-Defying Taoist as he stood up.

At this moment, large snowflakes fluttered from the sky, but inside the drill ground, over five thousand people sat in meditation, their mana surging.

"We obey, Master!" the five thousand voiced in unison.

Heaven-Defying Taoist nodded, brushed the snowflakes off his body, performed a somersault, and headed towards Divine Sword Manor.

Before reaching Divine Sword Manor, he could already see the sword light flickering and sword Qi crisscrossing around Emerald Cloud Peak and Green Water Lake.

Heaven-Defying Taoist descended and saw the Xie siblings sparring. Xie Qingmei, after ten years, had finally entered the ninth realm of Immortals, while Xie Yunhan’s cultivation level had reached that of a Sub-Immortal, and Xie Yunshen was at that of a Supreme Immortal.

"Heaven-Defying Taoist!" The siblings hurriedly paid their respects upon seeing Heaven-Defying Taoist.

"Is the Sword God here?" asked Heaven-Defying Taoist.

"Our father is in the manor with three of my uncles," replied Xie Yunhan.

Heaven-Defying Taoist was taken aback, then smiled and said, "It seems I am a step behind."

After speaking, he had already employed an escape technique and went up to Divine Sword Manor.

"I have been waiting for Brother Heaven-Defying for quite some time!" Ye Gucheng burst into laughter upon seeing Heaven-Defying Taoist.

"Haha, hahaha! My fellow Taoists are indeed faster than me, my apologies for the wait," said Heaven-Defying Taoist.

Over the past ten years, the Sword Dao of these four had become immeasurably deep and unmistakably brilliant! Let’s start with Ximen Chuixue; His aura was incomparably sharp with a distinctive quality that seemed to signify a deadly strike with every sword move; then look at Ye Gucheng, whose aura felt elusive, profound, and ungraspable; Xie Xiaofeng’s aura, however, was extremely solid and deep, like the heavy responsibility of mountains and rivers; Yan Shisan felt both mysterious and profound, an unfathomable sensation different from Ye Gucheng’s elusiveness.

Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed and said, "It appears the cultivation of my fellow Taoists has improved significantly, even I am unable to fully grasp it."

"We are merely Taiyi Golden Immortals, but the Sword Dao we cultivate each has its uniqueness, condensed into Sword Rhyme," said Xie Xiaofeng.

Heaven-Defying Taoist exclaimed, "Oh? Sword Rhyme? What is that?"

"The so-called Sword Rhyme is a unique Sword Dao temperament. Ximen’s Sword Rhyme is speed. Ye Gucheng’s is elusiveness, Yan Shisan’s is mysteriousness, and mine is solidity!" explained Xie Xiaofeng.

Indeed, this Sword Rhyme was akin to the universal ideas of the Great Mountains and Rivers Seal, resembling a type of thought or realm!

All four were sword geniuses. Once they broke through their bottlenecks, they advanced rapidly, each carving out their unique Sword Dao.

Xie Xiaofeng invited them into Divine Sword Manor and, after settling down, offered them tea.

"Brother Heaven-Defying, you have kept well-hidden, haha!" laughed Xie Xiaofeng.

"In times of crisis, one must keep their cards close. Hehe, please don’t take offense," Heaven-Defying Taoist chuckled weirdly.

Ye Gucheng said, "The methods of the Buddhist Sect are deep and unfathomable; it’s only right that Brother Heaven-Defying is cautious in his actions."

"Who could have expected that Brother Heaven-Defying is actually Sun Wukong..." said Yan Shisan.

Heaven-Defying Taoist replied, "Those pretentious monks could be killed without concern, feel free to speak freely." He took a sip of his tea, "Though I am Sun Wukong, I am no longer the same Sun Wukong I used to be."

"Oh? How so?" Ye Gucheng picked up some mystery in his words.

"The former Sun Wukong was a lackey of the Buddhist Sect, wholeheartedly seeking enlightenment and aiming to become a Buddha at a moment’s notice; but today’s Sun Wukong seeks to see through and break the Buddhist Sect, to see through those hypocritical Buddhas!" Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed.

Ye Gucheng could not help but exclaim, "Brother, you really are talented! You have already carved out your own path and have come quite far along it!"

Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed, "I have found my own path."

Xie Xiaofeng praised, "Brother Heaven-Defying Taoist truly has exceptional talents!"

Suddenly, the Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed strangely and said, "If I don’t strive harder, I fear I might be suppressed for another five hundred years."

The others heard the self-mockery of the Heaven-Defying Taoist and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, even the usually stoic Ximen Chuixue showed a hint of a smile. It seemed he had truly found his own Sword Dao, not deliberately concealing his true heart, whatever should be, would be!

In the path of Sword Dao, one primarily cultivates a sword weapon. While this path may appear narrow, it is also boundlessly vast, with many minor paths branching off from it. Moreover, in this path of Sword Dao, one must cultivate the Sword Heart, the so-called heart of the Sword Dao. Once the Sword Heart wavers, it could lead to death and the dissolution of one’s path. Indeed, the Sword Dao is difficult to cultivate and prone to many bottlenecks, but upon deeper reflection, it is worth relishing.

"Father, there are five monks requesting an audience outside," Xie Yunhan walked into the hall and said to Xie Xiaofeng.

"Oh? Five monks?" Xie Xiaofeng said, surprised.

The Heaven-Defying Taoist calculated and suddenly, with a slight shock, said, "It’s the Tathagata!"

All four faces changed and said, "The Tathagata? The Sakyamuni of the Western Heaven?"

Suddenly, the Heaven-Defying Taoist sneered and said, "Exactly, with the commotion I’ve caused in the Eastern Divine Region, the Tathagata naturally observed with his Dharma Eye. I came to Divine Sword Villa unprepared, leading him to detect it, and then with a little deduction, he figured out some details, guessing that we had ambushed Monk Tang together on our journey to the West."

Ye Gucheng’s face was grim as he said indifferently, "Since they have come, let them be. If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it cannot be avoided! I too, want to see what skills the current ruler of the Western Heavenly Buddha Land possesses!"

Being free-spirited sword masters, hearing Ye Gucheng say this, any unease in their hearts was completely dispelled.

"Let them in!" Xie Xiaofeng laughed loudly.

Knowing the gravity of the situation, Xie Yunhan went out to invite the five monks inside. Meanwhile, he alone looked towards the Western Direction and Shu Mountain to request assistance from the masters of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect. After all, they all practiced Sword Dao, and with the Buddhist Sect encroaching, they would surely lend a hand.

Those five monks walked into the hall, causing the Heart of Heaven-Defying Taoist to skip a beat.

These five were the Five Great Dharmakayas cultivated by the Tathagata using the wish power of sentient beings, namely the Five Great Ming Kings; Central Immovable, Eastern Conqueror of Three Worlds, Southern Yaksha, Mighty Armor of the West, and Northern Vajra! It was clear that the Tathagata was extremely wary of the Taoist Sect. Despite this significant event, he had not mobilized his real body, but had sent these Five Great Dharmakayas instead.

"Amitabha Buddha! It is truly impolite of us monks to visit so abruptly," said the Immovable King with a smile.

"Heh heh... Even the Buddha Ancestor has learned to be polite, which makes sense. This place is not the Western Heavenly Buddha Land, and with all eyes of the Taoist Sect upon this place, the Buddha Ancestor also has to be cautious," sneered the Heaven-Defying Taoist upon seeing the Five Great Ming Kings, and began to mock and taunt.

The Tathagata, who had cultivated these Five Great Ming Kings, with both their cultivation level and temperament greatly advanced, naturally would not stoop to quarrel with the Heaven-Defying Taoist.

The Heaven-Defying Taoist was internally shocked and thought, "This Tathagata really is formidable. The path of Slaying the Three Corpses broke down because the Taoist Master Golden Cicada was tainted with karmic force and fell into the Demon Abyss of the Northern Region. The accumulation of reincarnation merits to become a saint also failed due to the schemes of the Three Pure Ones. Now, he has cultivated these Five Great Ming Kings to reforge evil thoughts and transfer new evil thoughts onto their bodies!"

The Tathagata had once been a disciple of the Tong Tian Sect Master, skilled in many ways, and greatly favored by him, having been taught much, thus could be considered destine for great fortune. Having formed many Taoist Masters, but with Golden Cicada falling into the Demon Abyss of the Northern Region, the Tathagata then embarked on two paths to sainthood. The first was to hide his Golden Body through the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the second was these Five Great Ming Kings. Should the merit-based sainthood fail, they had to once again slay the evil thoughts, using these Five Great Ming Kings as vessels.

The Immovable King said, "Amitabha!"

The Conqueror of Three Worlds followed, "You covertly harmed our Buddha’s disciple, Golden Cicada, and your crimes are unforgivable. Today, we have specially come to hold you accountable!"

Xie Xiaofeng laughed and said, "I wondered how formidable the Buddha of the Western Heaven could be; it seems it’s just this much after all."

After a brief pause, they heard a piercing wind sound outside, the sound of flying swords breaking through the void.

"Shu Mountain Sword Sect, five thousand Sword Immortals have come to our aid!" they heard a roar, it was none other than the Old Ancestor with White Eyebrows!

This Shu Mountain Sword Sect, a legacy from Ancient Times, possessed a Sword Mountain. Anyone who joined the sect would enter Sword Mountain to seek a fated Immortal Sword, thus embarking on the path of a Sword Cultivator. Xie Xiaofeng, known as the Sword God, truly had extraordinary qualities. Sword Cultivators were already rare, and now that the Four Great Sword Masters were being challenged by the Tathagata, if Shu Mountain did not act first, they feared criticism.

The Five Great Ming Kings’ expressions remained unchanged, their bodies bursting with energy, forcing the Heaven-Defying Taoist and his four companions to retreat together.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion sounded as if thunder had struck, transforming the Divine Sword Villa into ruins, with the sword cultivators outside being blown dozens of miles away before stopping, some even bleeding from their seven orifices, their Primordial Spirits leaving their bodies, nearly dying on the spot, but fortunately, they were just injured, not dead.

"Amitabha Buddha!" the Immovable King shouted loudly, "These five are enormously sinful, having ambushed Golden Cicada, they rightfully should be executed!"

White Eyebrowed Elder Ancestor, whose cultivation was at the Great Perfection stage of a Daluo Golden Immortal, only one step away from becoming a Primordial Golden Immortal and founding his own sect—being in a Taoist governed area, he obviously was not scared, and he roared, "Tathagata, do not be reckless! If you wish to seize them, you are using might to overpower the weak!"

Seeing the Five Great Ming Kings standing in the five directions, surrounding Heaven-Defying Taoist and his peers at the center, their imposing aura horrifying,

As to their fate, please tune in to the next installment.