Chapter 3720: Sarira Reincarnation Golden Body Mantra
Zhang Ruochen used the Eight Trigram Compass to protect his body, retreating to the edge of the broken Soul Realm, standing tens of billions of miles away from Xuan Ding. His gaze fixed on the distance, the turmoil in his heart difficult to calm.
How powerful was the Soul Mother? She could control the power of order, and even the Truth Hall Master could only fight to the death against her.
But, facing Lady Shiji, she had absolutely no power to resist. Her physical body was shattered in an instant, and even her Great World body was broken into pieces.
The Soul Mother's divine soul merged into the blood sea.
However, layers of the blood sea, ten thousand miles high, were being drawn by Xuan Ding.
Threads of blood were pulled into the cauldron.
The dark power released by Xuan Ding turned into black ripples, constantly eroding the Soul Mother's divine soul and spiritual will within the blood sea. It was as if thousands of sounds of roaring, wailing, and cursing were released from the blood sea, spreading into the starry sky.
Like ten thousand souls weeping, heaven and earth mourning.
The Truth Hall Master held the Soul-Controlling Ghost Seal in hand, reflecting characters one by one in the starry sky, to stabilize the soul mist that wanted to escape, determined to completely annihilate the Soul Mother here.
The Dragon Lord steadied his form, guarding another direction.
No matter what state Lady Shiji was in now, or what her stance was, for the moment, they could only choose to help her, to first destroy the Soul Mother and eliminate the hidden danger. Behind this, there were earth-shattering risks.
It involved their own lives, and the lives of many others.
Zhang Ruochen transmitted his voice to the Truth Hall Master and the Dragon Lord, saying, "Collect and suppress the world fragments after the Soul Realm shattered!"
The world fragments of the Soul Realm were the body fragments of a Half-Ancestor, possessing deep research value.
The closer the world fragments were to the inner core, the higher their value.
Some of these world fragments seemed to possess independent intelligence, fleeing into the depths of the starry sky.
The Dragon Lord unleashed the Divine Dragon Sun Moon Chaos Pagoda, and the Truth Hall Master released streaks of Truth Divine Light, pulling and collecting the world fragments. Before this, the Blade Venerable and A Fuya on the periphery had already taken action.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was also preparing to suppress some world fragments, his mind suddenly sensed something. His eyes focused, and in the distant layers of crimson blood waves, he saw Lian Xi's ten souls and ten spirits.
The ten souls and ten spirits were like twenty slender, ethereal shadows, with long flowing hair, half-real and half-illusory, constantly being pulled by Xuan Ding's suction force toward the cauldron.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze met the gaze of Lian Xi's divine soul and divine spirit, feeling her emotions, feelings, and consciousness.
The Truth Hall Master noticed Zhang Ruochen's abnormal state and said, "Don't be deceived by the Soul Mother. She is deliberately using you to escape. Lian Xi has long since had her soul scattered; her divine soul and divine spirit could not possibly have been preserved."
The Soul Mother's voice sounded in Zhang Ruochen's mind: "Her seven souls and three spirits were bestowed by me. To avoid the Eon Calamity and the laws of heaven and earth, I not only had to seize her physical body but also her soul. Zhang Ruochen, if you help me escape, I will return her three souls and seven spirits to you. I only need the seven souls and three spirits."
The Truth Hall Master said, "Don't be swayed by her. If she escapes, the consequences will be unimaginable."
The Soul Mother's voice sounded again: "Zhang Ruochen, don't you really want to try? Whether it's true or false, you can judge in your heart. You possess the Heart of Truth; no one can deceive you, except yourself."
"Now, her life and death are in your hands. She chose to return to the Radiant Divine Temple for you. She also came to the blood sea to beg me for you. If you stand by and do nothing, you will be too heartless and will live in guilt for the rest of your life."
Another voice sounded: "Don't believe her. She just wants to use your hand to escape. Being able to come to the Soul Realm, being able to appear by the blood sea, I... I am already satisfied..."
This was Lian Xi's voice.
The Soul Mother said, "Say a few more words. It's time for a final farewell. If you have any heartfelt words, you can say them all."
Lian Xi's voice did not sound again, clearly seeing through the Soul Mother's sinister intentions.
In the distance, the ten souls and ten spirits all looked at Zhang Ruochen with a sorrowful and bitter expression.
Everything was silent.
Zhang Ruochen furrowed his brows tightly. Circles of spatial ripples appeared beneath his feet, moving toward the central area where Xuan Ding and the blood waves were located.
The Truth Hall Master, frustrated by his stubbornness, was about to act to intercept him.
The Dragon Lord blocked the Truth Hall Master and said, "Hall Master, let him go! This matter ultimately requires him to face it himself. Regardless of success, failure, life, or death, it is a calamity he must pass through. I have confidence in him!"
The Truth Hall Master took a deep breath and said, "None of the Zhang family are ever worry-free."
Truth Divine Light burst forth from the Truth Hall Master's body, like a divine sun illuminating the starry sky, crashing into the layers of blood waves.
What disappointed the Truth Hall Master was that the ten souls and ten spirits in the blood waves did not change as a result, indicating that this was not the Soul Mother's illusion. Or perhaps, the illusion was so profound that even she could not break it.
The closer he got to the blood waves, the more terrifying the divine power, curses, spatial compression, and divine soul invasion Zhang Ruochen endured became, as if he were standing in a storm, in a situation of heaven collapsing and earth cracking.
Looking closely, Lian Xi's ten souls and ten spirits all shook their heads.
The Soul Mother's laughter and seductive voice were endless.
"Stop causing trouble here and get lost." Lady Shiji's voice came from within the layers of blood waves.
"I want to try," Zhang Ruochen said.
"With your current cultivation? Every strand of divine force in the blood waves can spin the starry sky and collapse time and space. If you dare to touch it, it will crush you. I cannot stop activating Xuan Ding because of your womanly compassion and give her a chance to escape."
As soon as Lady Shiji finished speaking, a dark ripple from Xuan Ding pierced through the blood waves and struck Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying tens of thousands of miles, spitting a mouthful of blood.
"Lady, there is no need to show mercy. Activate Xuan Ding with full force. If I don't even dare to try, if I don't save the person right before my eyes, how cowardly would that be? How many regrets would life have?"
Zhang Ruochen thought repeatedly in his mind: if the one trapped inside were the Dragon Lord, Feng Yan, Xiao Hei, Xiang Chunan, or even Yan Wushen or Xue Tu, he would most likely try to save them. Why should he give up on Lian Xi?
In the face of life and death, in the face of danger, it was less about struggling against the enemy and more about struggling against his own heart.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen's attitude became unprecedentedly firm. He transformed into a sword light, piercing through layers of divine force and blood energy, approaching beneath the blood waves. He was now within arm's reach of Lian Xi's ten souls and ten spirits inside the blood waves, separated only by a layer of crimson water curtain.
Lian Xi seemed to be weeping, gently shaking her head.
Zhang Ruochen was very decisive. He pressed a palm toward the blood waves.
In an instant, he was pulled into Xuan Ding's dark field, spinning rapidly with the blood waves.
But he steadied himself in the void, maintaining balance. Yin and Yang energy flowed from his palm, and the Four Symbols transformed into forces from four directions, gradually tearing open the blood waves.
Suddenly, a change occurred.
"Whoosh!"
The blood water seemed to find an outlet, madly surging out of the blood waves, rushing into the Yin-Yang vortex in Zhang Ruochen's palm, then drilling into his body, flooding every blood vessel.
It must be noted that the blood here was not the Soul Mother's blood.
It was likely the blood of an Immortal, the blood of the Nether Ancestor.
This blood contained astonishing curse power, capable of even corroding the Half-Ancestor bones of Xuan Yuan Second.
All these sudden changes were within Zhang Ruochen's expectations. He let out a long roar, fully activating the Wuji Divine Dao, condensing countless Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seals within his body.
Billions of seals were born within his body, like Dao imprints, like billions of small worlds evolving.
The nine-colored Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules began to circulate within his body, protecting all his blood vessels.
Zhang Ruochen's body continuously expanded, soon reaching a thousand zhang in height.
Blood water poured into Zhang Ruochen's body endlessly, like a river bursting its banks, unstoppable.
The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seals, Ancestor Divine Qi, and Ancestor Rules barely managed to block the curse power. But the blood water also contained the Soul Mother's divine soul.
As the blood water poured in, these divine souls grew stronger and stronger, constantly assaulting Zhang Ruochen's divine soul consciousness, launching soul attacks, causing countless distracting thoughts to arise in his mind, his body swaying.
The hand reaching for Lian Xi's ten souls and ten spirits became slower and slower. The skin on his arm cracked, revealing white bones.
Lian Xi knew Zhang Ruochen's predicament. Every moment, it became more dangerous.
It was to save her that he was being used by the Soul Mother.
And saving her from the Soul Mother's grasp was simply impossible.
"Sizzle!"
Her eyes were resolute and sorrowful. Gradually, faint blue flames appeared on her ten souls and ten spirits.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Dare you try to self-immolate your soul?"
Meeting Zhang Ruochen's eyes, Lian Xi's ten souls and ten spirits were all startled, frightened, and extremely wronged. For a moment, they didn't know what to do.
...
In the distance, the Truth Hall Master muttered a curse under her breath, crossing layers of divine force to appear behind Zhang Ruochen, holding the Bright Mirror Platform in her right hand.
The Buddha light emitted by the Bright Mirror Platform grew brighter and brighter, with thousands of Sanskrit sounds resounding across the star sea.
At this moment, the Truth Hall Master seemed to cross the River of Time, seeing the potbellied, laughing Sixth Patriarch, and also seeing Xumi who had left with the Bright Mirror Platform back then.
"Is this the fate you spoke of? Is this the reason you incarnated as the Bright Mirror Platform after death? Is this the mess you left behind?"
The Truth Hall Master stared at Zhang Ruochen's even taller back and said, "Zhang Ruochen, I will teach you the 'Sarira Reincarnation Golden Body Mantra.' Refine the Bright Mirror Platform into your physical body, and you will be able to withstand the curse power in the blood water. From now on, no curse in the world will be able to harm you."
"Refine the sarira, inherit the Sixth Patriarch's Buddhist teachings, cultivate the Reincarnation Golden Body, forge the Indestructible Dharma Body. Whether it's the blood of an Immortal or the blood of the Nether Clan, refine it all! If the Indestructible Dharma Body is achieved, the physical body will prove indestructibility. It depends on whether you, the young Ancestor, truly have the qualifications of an Ancestor, and whether the First-rank Divine Path is truly invincible under heaven. If you fail, you die."
"Boom!"
The Truth Hall Master gritted her teeth, pressing out a palm, sending the Bright Mirror Platform into Zhang Ruochen's back, and also transmitting the cultivation method of the 'Sarira Reincarnation Golden Body Mantra' into Zhang Ruochen's mind.
The next moment, a Yin-Yang Diagram appeared behind Zhang Ruochen. Yin-Yang transformed into the Four Symbols, and the Four Symbols evolved into the Five Elements...
Then, a dazzling Buddha light also condensed behind him, with countless Sanskrit sounds ringing out, as if all Buddhist cultivators in the world were chanting scriptures.
"Such strong comprehension."
The Truth Hall Master secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Having no confidence before, she finally gained some faith. She then activated the power of the Soul-Controlling Ghost Seal to suppress the Soul Mother's divine soul, aiding Zhang Ruochen.
"Whoosh!"
Particles of white time imprint light points, like divine rain, fell from above.
The Truth Hall Master's just-relaxed heart suddenly tightened again. She looked around and found that this star region was covered by the time light rain.
Amidst the deafening roar, a wide and bright River of Time, from far to near, rapidly flowed in.
On the River of Time, a pure white Seventy-Two-Pin Lotus bloomed.
The time rules of the entire world became extremely chaotic.
(End of this chapter)