Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1487: 804: Catastrophe Strikes
In the depths of the Wolong Mountain Range, a vast array of splendid palaces extends from the summit of Hundred Dragon Peak right down to the mountain's base. Exotic blooms and rare herbs thrive amidst the structures, while mystical creatures such as immortal cranes and spirit rabbits wander without restraint.
Right now, from the grandest palace crowning the peak, bursts of screams and sobs echo out, the atmosphere heavy with the pungent aroma of fresh blood.
Amidst those screams and sobs, a steady recitation drifts from inside the hall: “…Observe wife and children as morning dew, gathering and scattering; observe familial ties as flowers in the mirror, moon in the water; knowing all appearances are non-appearances, attain Great Freedom…”
“…If love for a person is for oneself, then love for all beings is the path; abandon the delusion of self to realize the truth of no-self… By letting go of a single thought, the light of all directions reveals itself; when the heart is free of hindrance, one knows all beings are oneself…”
This recitation rings out like a silver bottle exploding, as though piercing through the illusions of the mortal realm, evoking profound bliss in total emancipation and liberty.
Zhao Sheng enters the hall, facing a ground slick with blood and littered with corpses everywhere. Among them are breathtaking women, venerable seniors, and even infants barely two or three years old.
Yet without fail, every one of them sprawls in crimson pools, denied any eternal repose.
Navigating past the fallen bodies, there stands the Red Dragon Son with tousled hair and uncovered feet, murmuring the scripture as he cuts down his fleeing wives and offspring.
Beholding this unspeakable horror, Zhao Sheng's fury erupts, and he roars in rage, “Beast, cease at once!”
Even as his shout lingers, a mighty surge of Divine Thought lashes forth, immediately quelling the wild Red Dragon Son.
Zhao Sheng covers hundreds of feet in swift strides, reaching the Red Dragon Son, where he encounters a gaze of utter calm and a visage etched with gravity.
Zhao Sheng's spirit plummets, and he mutters a curse through gritted teeth, “Killing wives and sons! Zhao Hong, you've truly… gone mad!”
In past times, the sinister deity of the Qintian Guard, Wu Yue, had often cautioned that the “God Washing Technique” addresses only surface issues, ignoring the core.
While this method erases all former recollections, eventually the individual will relapse into old habits, perhaps even more viciously.
Through the years, the Red Dragon Son has acted impeccably, fooling all around him, even his spouse and heirs with whom he shared every moment.
Though Zhao Sheng kept a vigilant eye on him, constant companionship with his offspring proved impossible.
He could scarcely have foreseen that on this day, such a monstrous betrayal of blood bonds would unfold!
Confronted by his father's rebuke, the Red Dragon Son shows no disturbance, resembling a sage in enlightenment, replying evenly, “Father, I’m not mad, I’ve simply… realized!”
“Ha, realize my foot!” Zhao Sheng bursts into bitter laughter from sheer outrage, bellowing, “Beast, I’ll kill you!”
His declaration barely ends when Zhao Sheng slams a palm against the Red Dragon Son’s forehead, unleashing his strength; the skull shatters on impact, crumbling to dust amid a blaze of lightning.
After perpetrating such an unforgivable crime, this offspring could redeem himself solely through demise, lest his survival become a blight upon the family!
The instant the Red Dragon Son perishes, an abrupt shift occurs; a streak of crimson radiance erupts from his form, tearing through the void with inconceivable velocity, lodging into Zhao Sheng’s forehead.
This crimson radiance, tied by lineage and family bonds, offers Zhao Sheng no opportunity to dodge. Coupled with its abrupt arrival, he finds himself unprepared.
The foe had schemed with precision, anticipating what Zhao Sheng overlooked. For all his cunning depths, wrath had obscured his foresight, ensnaring him in the adversary's snare.
In a flash, Zhao Sheng's vision swims, hurling him into an immense, limitless expanse of disordered whiteness, where directions blur into nothingness.
“…All sentient beings, possess inherent nature. The inherent nature is originally empty, omnipresent. The transformation does not come from external seeking but from internal reflection, transforming with circumstances.
Freedom does not mean leaving the world, but being in the world without contamination, following the heart…”
Initially, a soft incantation reverberates through the realm, the tone brimming with mercy. Soon, voices layer in one by one, from men and women, crisp youthful calls to raspy senior murmurs.
Before long, countless voices swell into a roaring cascade, thundering across this domain.
Zhao Sheng yearns to flee this space yet recoils in terror upon discovering his Mana utterly vanished. Beyond Mana, his Divine Thought and Will stand eerily confined, reducing him to mere Physical Power.
Just then, shadowy forms begin to solidify in his view, starting as hazy phantoms before sharpening into tangible people.
Upon closer inspection, Zhao Sheng's core quakes; these are precisely his blood relatives.
Leading the assembly is that vile progeny!
Zhao Sheng's eyes scan their features, noting looks of mercy, delight, and rapture on every face.
All of them intone the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Scripture, blending seamlessly with the world's echoing chorus.
Slowly, a subtle crimson glow seeps from their frames.
The crimson glow invades Zhao Sheng’s sight, sparking a rush of his vital essence and vigor, cloaking his form in a thin crimson veil; his once-sharp mind fogs abruptly, stirring an odd compulsion to vocalize.
“Not good!” Zhao Sheng snaps alert, instantly grasping the peril.
A fleeting lapse had drawn him into the foe's elaborate ambush.
The adversary wielded blood as the lure and the Demon Scripture for indoctrination, rendering defense utterly futile!
Zhao Sheng fights fiercely against the corrupting Demon Sound in his thoughts while devising routes to break free.
In his reflections, the puppet master lurking behind it all surely ranks high in the Red Eyebrow Demon Path, perhaps the doing of a Holy Demon corrupting the Red Eyebrow Dao.
One must recognize that “Enlightening” a mighty figure of the Unification Realm stands as an exceedingly scarce and arduous feat!
Without the Red Dragon Son as the conduit, how could Zhao Sheng, a titan of the Unification Realm, tumble into this snare with such ease?
Bit by bit, the celestial incantation swells to greater splendor and awe, summoning ethereal visions in succession.
Bit by bit, the Red Dragon Son and the remaining forms approach, fusing one after another into Zhao Sheng’s being.