The many ancestors stood solemnly and respectfully.
The Ancient Buddhas either cultivated in the Blissful Realm or resided in reclusion in holy places such as the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and Mount Sumeru, entrusting their disciples to gather the Power of Faith from the commonfolk; even they rarely saw the true form of an Ancient Buddha. Yet, Lin Shiyu had seen no fewer than ten of them.
After the Mount Taihua Goddess created the second path of Sword Dao, she became one of the strongest among the Great Powers of the Immortal Realm. Lin Shiyu, following her sister’s footsteps, traveled far and wide and naturally had seen many powerful beings.
The Elder Ancestor of Lin Clan continued to inquire, “Does the Elder Ancestor know which Ancient Buddha the disciple of the Longevity Sect was in his past life?”
Lin Shiyu shook her head: “It might be an even more ancient existence. By the time I was born, he had already begun the cycle of reincarnation and I do not know.”
“Then it is an Ancient Buddha from the era of the first great war of Ancient Times,” the Elder Ancestor of Lin Clan said.
The many ancestors stood tense and solemn.
The first great war of Ancient Times was a brutal war between the Human Race and the Demon Race, far more terrible than the wars of the later generations between the humans themselves, known as the Immortal-Demon Wars. The Ancient Buddhas of that era could almost be regarded as amongst the first Buddhas. Their emergence from the void, along with their Comprehension and Cultivation Level, were truly terrifying.
The Buddhas born in later generations, for the most part, cultivate the Buddhist Sect Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques they themselves created.
Beneath the Enlightenment Bodhi Tree, the soil and moss on Chen Yi’s body gradually fell away, bringing him back to life, but Chen Yi’s expression grew increasingly agonized, and his aura very unstable.
“Master, something seems wrong with junior brother, should we help him?”
Lu Qinglian, seeing the pained look on Chen Yi’s face, wanted to go forward to help.
Yun Qianyue said from the side, “Do not approach, otherwise he will succumb to inner demons and be doomed forever.”
Lu Qinglian confusedly asked, “But junior brother seems to be in a lot of pain, should we just stand by and watch?”
Lu Changsheng replied, “This is his tribulation. If he overcomes it, he will find a smooth path ahead; if not, then he must leave it to fate. Such is the destiny of reincarnation.”
The extraordinary phenomenon in the heavens and earth had not dissipated; Chen Yi continued to struggle with his inner demons.
Scenes of his parents, mentor, and childhood sweetheart being brutally killed by the Divine Ape King replayed incessantly, and the memories of his past life surged like a tide, assaulting his Sea of Consciousness.
Chen Yi was teetering on the brink of succumbing to inner demons, at any moment possibly doomed forever.
Xia Ningxue, seeing Lu Changsheng’s disciple trapped in agony, said to Lu Changsheng, “I have heard my master say, to ensure that conscious awareness is restored after reincarnation, when the cultivation reaches the Divine King Realm or the Immortal Emperor Realm, memories of the past life will be awakened. At this time, the reincarnated person’s own cultivation is not enough to withstand the Cultivation Path of the past life, and during the integration, the consciousness of the past is likely to dominate. In other words, the consciousness of this disciple in this life may be replaced, and the consciousness of the previous life will take over.”
“I also have some understanding of the laws of reincarnation. There are some issues with this cultivation technique. Is a person who has been reincarnated countless times, with accumulated memories, still the same person?”
Lu Changsheng was unimpressed by the Ancient Buddhas’ pursuit of transcending themselves with the eternal method of reincarnation.
This method had many flaws.
Reincarnation meant that it was very easy to be killed by enemies when weak.
Moreover, the memories generated by reincarnation are already a new life, hence the fusion of countless cycles of memories is seen as a hidden danger.
As to the outcome, Lu Changsheng did not know; it depended on Chen Yi’s own fortune and choices.
A waft of fragrance from the sachet at his waist, the scent of Spirit Grass, stabilized Chen Yi slightly.
The sachet gifted by the Queen of Yanzhi Nation was proving its usefulness at this moment.
“Father, mother, mentor, Qingqing…”
Chen Yi opened his eyes and threw out the copper coin that Lu Changsheng had given him.
The moment the copper coin was thrown, Chen Yi’s eyes regained clarity.
“It seems he has made a choice; now let’s see if he can overcome this tribulation,” Lu Changsheng noted, aware that Chen Yi had followed his heart’s choice.
The result of the coin toss was not important; the moment it was tossed, one knew their heart’s desire.
Xia Ningxue asked, “You mean he chose to…”
Lu Changsheng’s gaze showed appreciation: “Correct, he has chosen to sever ties with his past life.”
Chen Yi clenched his teeth tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, and sweat soaking through his Daoist Robe.
Although his practice was of the Buddhist Sect, Lu Changsheng was a Daoist, so Chen Yi cultivated both Buddhism and Daoism.
Buddhism is but one of the great paths; essentially, there is not much difference.
“He is contending with memories of his past life, but his past is far too powerful; his chances of victory are less than one in ten thousand,” Lu Changsheng saw the difficult situation for Chen Yi.
The Ancient Buddhas, to ensure the dominance of memories of the past life, had tampered with the reincarnation technique; Chen Yi’s attempt to resist the pressure from an Ancient Buddha was exceedingly difficult.
Xia Ningxue clenched Lu Changsheng’s hand tightly.
She once almost had her body snatched by an elder ancestor of the Guanghan Palace, and Chen Yi’s situation was strikingly similar to hers at that time.
The divine sense of the Ancient Buddha wanted to dominate, it was practically the same as snatching a body, only differing in approach.
In Chen Yi’s Sea of Consciousness, a majestic golden Buddha figure condensed, the pressure from ancient times stirred up terrifying waves in his Sea of Consciousness.
“You are me, and I am you, why resist?”
The words of the golden Buddha figure resounded like thunder, echoing above the Sea of Consciousness, causing Chen Yi’s Sea of Consciousness to shake even more violently.
“The Bodhi tree does not exist, nor does the clear mirror stand; fundamentally free of everything, where can the dust alight? I am me.”
“You are but a reincarnated divine sense, yet you dare to resist this Buddha?”
The Buddha light from the golden Buddha figure illuminated the entire Sea of Consciousness, gaining the upper hand, and Chen Yi’s consciousness shrank into the depths of the Sea of Consciousness.
Chen Yi’s consciousness took a human form, standing off against the golden Ancient Buddha.
“Strange, why can this Buddha never… Your obsession is too strong.”
It seemed that the divine sense of the Ancient Buddha was also deterred by Chen Yi’s obsession, which prevented the assimilation of the consciousness from this life.
Chen Yi looked up at the enormous Buddha, his eyes filled with determination: “My name is Chen Yi, born into the Chen Family of Yun Cang Country, my parents are…”
“My name is Chen Yi, born into the Chen Family of Yun Cang Country…”
“Enough, stop reciting!”
The Ancient Buddha was horrified to discover that the consciousness of this life was starting to counterattack even in a hopeless situation, his Buddha light slowly fading, while Chen Yi’s brilliance began to overpower.
He had practiced the reincarnation technique, not knowing how many times he had reincarnated, but this time he had come to grief.
Chen Yi’s eyes were firm: “With no attachment in the heart, all is emptiness, the spirit turns into breeze and the form returns to earth.”
“No!”
The golden body of the Ancient Buddha dimmed, as his divine sense was actually suppressed by Chen Yi’s consciousness.
Outside, Chen Yi’s physical body was already drenched in sweat, soaking the ground where he was sitting in meditation, appearing as if he had been exhausted.
“It seems that he has succeeded.”
Even Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but be astonished.
Against the odds of one in ten thousand, Chen Yi had managed to pull through, cutting off his past life, and will continue to live on as Chen Yi.
Although Chen Yi is currently quite weak, he will soon recover.
“Your disciples, one is more astonishing than the next.”
Xia Ningxue exclaimed in awe as she saw that even the disciples Lu Changsheng recruited in the Immortal Realm were so extraordinary.
“My wife is no less extraordinary.”
Lu Changsheng joked, it had been a long time since he had teased Xia Ningxue in this way.
“…”
Seeing Lu Changsheng speak like this in front of many disciples, Xia Ningxue’s face turned crimson.
But the disciples found it unsurprising, for the master only behaved in such an informal manner in front of the mistress.
At the moment Chen Yi severed his past life, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, the Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas and the Ancient Buddhas in the first row suddenly looked astonished.
The Grand Freedom Buddha and other younger generation Buddhas of lower rank were at a loss.
In the depths of the unknown, what exactly happened that left these Ancient Buddhas speechless?
“This is truly bizarre, with his boundless Buddhist Dharma, how could he fail?”
The Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas looked unnatural.
He and the Ancient Buddhas in the first row could sense that a supremely potent Ancient Buddha had failed in reincarnation, which was utterly baffling.
The Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas himself had undergone reincarnation, breaking through past limitations and establishing the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
That magnificent being, with achievements in Buddhist Dharma even above his, had no reason to fail.
“It seems that the reincarnation technique still needs to be perfected.”