Cultivation: Being Immortal Chapter 805

Cape III Planet Area

In desperate flight, Bodhisattva Puxiang relies on numerous secret Buddha techniques. The Buddha himself has explored the cosmos, where spans of dozens, hundreds, or thousands of light-years pose immense challenges. Lacking adequate speed, one might exhaust a lifetime merely crossing such voids, far from disseminating Buddhist doctrines.

Bodhisattva Puxiang commands a secret art named "Step by Step Lotus." Activating it causes vast Buddha lotuses to unfurl sequentially across the starry expanse. He merely steps from one lotus edge to the next.

Thus, a Star Road of Buddha lotuses now stretches through the starry sky. Bodhisattva Puxiang strolls leisurely, yet every stride spans immeasurable distances.

Yet even this extraordinary method fails to shake off the Space Battleship's pursuit, as the disturbance proves far too conspicuous. Beyond radar detection, even regular crew aboard the Space Battleship spot it plainly.

En route, the Space Battleship unleashes relentless barrages, binding Bodhisattva Puxiang tighter and drastically curbing his pace.

Cao Ying and her companions have boarded a Space Battleship. Their personal velocity lags behind Puxiang's, and high-speed chases drain spiritual energy excessively. Hence, shadowing him from within the vessel offers the optimal approach.

"He can’t run anymore."

As Puxiang fled, Cao Ying observed the dwindling Buddha lotuses before him and his faltering speed. He can’t run anymore.

Indeed, precisely as Cao Ying predicted, after thirty minutes, Puxiang halted, wheeled about, and faced the Space Battleship fleet. Though space transmits no sound, his declaration echoed in all ears: "I am Puxiang. Is there anyone here from another world who dares to fight?"

"Ancestor Cao, let me confront him."

"Confront him? He’s at the Transmigration Stage; that’s suicidal."

"Um…"

"A single Space Battleship runs billions at minimum. Why squander such fortunes if we still resort to melee? Ready every warship for assault and obliterate him."

Cao Ying noted Huaxia's aerospace tech had advanced remarkably, slashing warship production costs from prior levels, yet each still demanded billions. Engaging in close combat after such investment would be idiotic.

Warship cannons glowed azure. Sensing peril, Puxiang hastily cast a spell to dodge. But the sonic armaments blanketed wide areas, hurling him into the abyss with one volley.

Cornered with no retreat, Puxiang swallowed a pill. He then manifested his dharma body, hefted a Zen staff, and smashed it toward a Space Battleship.

The staff's impact sparked wildly across the Space Battleship's hull, yet it endured, as counterfire from sister ships resumed.

A particle cannon strike slammed into Puxiang, shattering his colossal dharma body amid sprays of golden blood through the void, inflicting severe wounds.

"Capture him alive!"

In that instant, Cao Ying shifted orders to take him alive. A Space Battleship advanced, deploying a vast nanotech metal net, rivaling a top-tier magical treasure in strength and pliancy.

Too debilitated to break free, Puxiang watched powerless as the net ensnared him, dragging him aboard the Space Battleship.

"Head there, and bar ordinary crew from nearing him. These Buddhist cultivators are peculiar; guard against inner assaults."

Cao Ying warned, recalling Lin Jiang's tales of Buddhist cultivators' prowess in subtle influence, binding followers with unyielding devotion.

The pair of Space Battleships docked swiftly, and soon Cao Ying beheld Puxiang confined in a chamber, secured further by robots with elite binding ropes.

"Are you Puxiang?"

Cao Ying abruptly addressed him in Lingjing Star's tongue.

"You, you…"

"Not so surprising that I speak your language, is it?"

"Indeed, since I've revealed my form."

"Got nothing to say, or do you cling to victor-and-vanquished notions, deeming defeat absolute?"

"May I gather my thoughts first?"

"Haha, certainly. I'm eager for whatever drivel you spout."

Cao Ying chuckled deeply; she genuinely anticipated Puxiang's words. Both sides grasped the exchange's purpose: Cao Ying sought Lingjing Star intelligence, while Puxiang probed that world's secrets.

"How shall I address you?"

After a prolonged pause, Puxiang composed himself and queried Cao Ying.

"Cao Ying."

"Master Cao, do you realize calamity looms over you?"

"Really? Based on what? Your hundreds of arhats and dozens of bodhisattvas from Lingjing Star?"

"Partly, yet Lingjing Star merely forms a minor offshoot of my Buddha's doctrine. Across Buddhism's boundless realm thrive myriad true Buddhas, beyond your power to rival."

"Why omit your Buddha Master's potential personal arrival?"

"Amitabha, our Buddha Master manifests infinite forms. His direct descent remains possible someday."

"If that's your sole rhetoric, it falls flat."

Cao Ying sneered coldly; such intimidation struck her as child's play.

"In this realm, all laws dissolve into emptiness; myriad paths lead to cultivation. Yet most practitioners prove self-serving and myopic, and the immortal path…"

"Everyone out, now!"

Puxiang's succeeding words altered Cao Ying's countenance. He commanded the room, and though others harbored doubts, they exited without protest. Cao Ying deactivated all cabin electronics too.

"Evidently, Master Cao grasps cultivation's reality: immortality is illusory."

"Hehe, go on."

"Across myriad worlds, pursuing immortality deceives, save for my Buddha sect. Our Buddha Master encompasses all, admitting true Buddhas while granting longevity to fellow cultivators. Master, pledge to my Buddha sect, and claim eternal life's way."

"Post-tribulation immortals devour lives for sustenance. How does your Buddha sect escape the mortal coil? You're identical. Your preached benevolence is mere pretense."

"Master harbors deep misconceptions of my Buddha sect. We master cultivation arts, surpassing numerous lineages. My Buddha sect…"

Puxiang regarded Cao Ying with serene benevolence, expounding distinctions between Buddha sect cultivation and others.

His exposition portrayed the Buddha sect's leader, Buddha Master, as profoundly enlightened, unlike petty ordinary cultivators. He welcomes true Buddhas and enables practitioners of Buddha arts to achieve immortality.

Regarding Cao Ying's claim of celestials feeding on lives, alternatives exist like thought power. This enigmatic force, long probed by Buddhists, yields diverse harnessing techniques, and more.

Buddhist argumentation excels, frameworks robust and coherent. Even Cao Ying momentarily faltered discerning verity from fabrication, appearing dazed. Per Puxiang, the Buddha sect emerges as cultivation's pinnacle, the authentic dao.

"Cao Ying, snap out of it! Ignore this man's lies. Buddhist practice mirrors ours exactly. Their flourishing rests on others' torment and gore, seized through pillage…"

Suddenly, a voice resounded in Cao Ying's psyche. Awareness surged; her gaze sharpened as she identified the speaker.

Puxiang, within the chamber, registered shock. His discourse doubled as doctrine transmission—not arcane arts, but Buddhism's unvarnished truths, worldly verities. These surpass secret techniques in potency. Evidently, this woman couldn't refute his logic, so whence her abrupt clarity?

"Cao Ying, slay him."

"No, I'll present him to Uncle first."

Cao Ying rebuffed Xia Qingshan's urging resolutely. She stormed the chamber, struck Puxiang, stripped his possessions, sealed his energy core, and suppressed his cultivation.

Xia Qingshan fell silent, and the Space Battleship hurtled toward Cape III Planet. Presently, they sighted Lin Jiang and allies, laboring to excise the Shenwu Demon Emperor's marks.