First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 2392 - Contending With the Natural Order
Chapter 2392 – Contending With the Natural Order
That infuriated voice had only just rung out when Treasure Leaf, still under the Dipankara Buddha’s control, struck with the light gathered around his right hand.
It looked like a light, airy gesture, but in truth, it was full of long-accumulated power.
The old man naturally wouldn’t just sit there and wait to die. His eyes went bloodshot, and his hair and beard bristled. A bestial roar escaped his lips as his hands formed seals and struck the air.
Bang!
Firelight swept outward. A current of destructive power spread, instantly reducing the worn-out little Yellow Sands City to nothingness.
Heaven and earth split, the sky was thrown into disarray, and all of creation trembled on all sides.
The old man was sent flying back like a kite with its strings cut. Blood spurted from his mouth and nose.
But he was still in midair when someone caught him.
“Ol’ Yan?” The old man’s eyes widened. “You aren’t dead!?”
This new arrival was none other than Yan Chizhen.
“If I’d died, how could I be here to witness your current uselessness?” Yan Chizhen said in a huff.
The old man’s gaze was instantly conflicted, his face full of shame.
“Those in the thick of things are blinded by their proximity. Five Desires erred because he put too much trust in his enemies’ promises,” a calm voice rang out.
Meanwhile, Su Yi appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by a child holding a black umbrella.
“You’re…” the old man was confused and bewildered.
Not far away, Treasure Leaf said calmly, “That’s naturally Yi Daoxuan’s reincarnation. In this lifetime, he calls himself Su Yi.”
The old man quivered from head to toe, visibly overcome with disbelief. “It’s… it’s true?”
Yan Chizhen nodded.
The old man was obviously excited.
But then, as if some unbearable memory had risen to the surface, his eyes dimmed, and he lowered his head. “I… can’t bear to face you, Ol’ Devil Yi. I….”
Yan Chizhen interrupted him here. “Enough. This is just because you didn’t try to avenge Brother Daoxuan, right? Well, Brother Daoxuan and I don’t in any way blame you for that!”
Su Yi nodded. “Everyone has their reservations, and everyone has their difficulties. Five Desires, you never colluded with my enemies in secret, nor did you ever act against me. If anything, I ought to feel gratified. How could I fault you for not avenging me?”
The old man still hung his head, visibly overcome with regret and grief. “But my heart… has never known peace since!”
Yan Chizhen sighed.
“The ones who deserve punishment are my enemies, not you,” said Su Yi. “They’re the true culprits here, and if you really trace things all the way back, you wound up in this state because your connection with me implicated you.”
He looked at the distant Treasure Leaf. “Well, Dipankara? Do you agree?”
Treasure Leaf clasped his palms and inclined his head in greeting. “Right and wrong are a matter of perspective. How can you speak in generalizations?
“If I, the Dipankara Buddha, am the main character, then you are the irredeemable villain. The reverse is also true.”
Su Yi pondered briefly, then nodded. “Well said.”
They were on different sides. They naturally had different views of right and wrong.
Treasure Leaf smiled faintly. “The Buddha said that the eight sufferings of human life are birth, aging, sickness, death, unmet desires, meeting those one hates, parting with those one loves, and the torments of the five aggregates that constitute the self.
“Take now, for instance. Five Desires’ heart is full of reservations because the lives of his sectmates fetter him.
“Treasure Leaf’s awareness is under my control, and he’s become a puppet. Does this development not fill you with reservations, too?
“Killing Treasure Leaf would mean killing a dear friend, someone who understood you.
“And since I’m using the lives of Five Desires’ sectmates as pawns to restrict him, even if you save him, he won’t be able to eat or sleep in peace.”
The Dipankara Buddha looked at Yan Chizhen. “As for him? He’s just a soul. Should violence break out, he won’t be able to help you. Worse, he’ll become a burden.”
The Dipankara Buddha looked at Su Yi and laughed. “Let me ask you this. How do you plan to resolve this situation?”
Yan Chizhen and Five Desires’ expressions darkened. Their hearts were heavy.
The most dangerous part of this set-up was that the Dipankara Buddha was using Treasure Leaf’s body—and life—as his killer weapons!
And the lives of Five Desires’ sectmates were indeed enough to control and restrict him.
Moreover, regardless of victory and defeat, the Dipankara Buddha wouldn’t lose a thing.
Su Yi, however, was unmoved. He said casually, “Naturally, I plan to give you a taste of your own medicine.”
“Please enlighten me,” said the Dipankara Buddha.
“If you can threaten the lives of Five Desires’ sectmates, I can naturally threaten the lives of everyone in the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains,” Su Yi said calmly. “How do you feel about that?”
The Dipankara Buddha pondered briefly. “I’m not afraid of that, but I must say that it wouldn’t be appropriate for this to end in heavy casualties on both sides.”
“The way I see it, it’s not a question of whether it’s ‘appropriate’ or not, but that you don’t dare start an all-out, no-holds-barred war against me prior to the Dark Days of Legend,” said Su Yi.
The Dipankara Buddha didn’t deny it. Instead, he said, “Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. All I have to do is direct things toward my advantage and away from misfortune.”
He paused, then gestured to himself—or rather, the body he was using. “What about Treasure Leaf?”
“Why not just kill him?” Su Yi asked right back.
“I planned to have Treasure Leaf kill Five Desires. I wanted to see how you’d treat him afterward. I wanted to know which of the two of them you valued more, and whether or not you’d view Treasure Leaf with enmity over Five Desires’ death.
“Of course, even if you’d chosen to forgive Treasure Leaf, I’d have had him attack you, forcing you to kill him, or be killed yourself.”
The Dipankara Buddha continued calmly, “I’m sure it would be extremely interesting to watch, as well as a truly heavy mental blow. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate you getting here so quickly.”
Yan Chizhen gasped. This bald donkey… is simply ruthless! He doesn’t care in the slightest if he wins or loses! He’s just doing all of this to hurt and torment Su Yi!
“Are you doing this to help Gu Huaxian vent?” Su Yi asked suddenly.
The Dipankara Buddha said calmly, “An eye for an eye. That’s fair, don’t you think?”
“You and that poisonous bitch really are family,” sighed Su Yi. “She tried to control my son and use him to hurt me, and you’re using Treasure Leaf to threaten me. You really are a like-minded couple: a debauched man and a loose woman.”
Yan Chizhen laughed. How satisfying!
Five Despires gaped. This was his first time hearing that the Dipankara Buddha and Gu Huaxian had had an affair!
Only the Dipankara Buddha remained unmoved. He said calmly, “Slander and insults are the methods of the weak, and they cannot change anything. If insulting me is enough to delight you, you’ll only disappoint me.”
Su Yi laughed. “Then let’s skip the chatter and just fight.”
The Dipankara Buddha’s brow furrowed slightly, but then, he inclined his head. “The victor of our conflict will only become clear after we’ve revealed our strength. If you please!”
He raised his hand, and…
Boom!
The controlled Treasure Leaf’s cultivation base circulated, emanating boundless divine majesty.
“Your Excellency, should I kill him or spare him?” asked the River Child with seething murderous intent.
“Let’s see how things go, but it’d be best if you left him alive,” Su Yi said calmly.
Yan Chizhen and Five Desires looked stricken. How could they fail to realize the implications? Su Yi was already preparing for the possibility of Treasure Leaf’s death!
But that was unquestionably the worst possible outcome!
The Dipankara Buddha’s eyes narrowed.
“Got it!” The River Child took a step forward, then charged, blurring into a streak of black lightning.
The Dipankara Buddha’s expression shifted inscrutably. He just stood there in place, unmoving.
But then, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of him and reached for the River Child.
Bang!!
Heaven and earth shook, and a rain of the light of the natural order burned like fire, spreading through the heavens.
The River Child flew backward and almost fell. His adorable, guileless little face was full of astonishment.
The onlookers were stunned too. Only then did they see his attacker clearly: a little girl.
She looked eight or nine years old, and she wore a silver feather coat. Her face was innocent, without the slightest malice.
But her eyes were truly strange. They were pitch-black, and they surged with heart-palpitating light and shadows.
Yan Chizhen and Five Desires were ancient experts, but their hearts shook at the sight of her, and their whole bodies tensed.
Dangerous!
Her whole body emanates a taboo, mysterious, unearthly air. She might look guileless, but in truth, she’s extremely dangerous!!
Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. He recognized that little girl.
She’d appeared during the battle of Skybright Mountain, too. Even Di E had treated her with respect, obeying her every command.
Only later did Su Yi learn that the little girl was a spirit of a natural order born of the River of Destiny!
Moreover, she’d chosen Di E as her Bringer of Order!
Her origins were unquestionably far too terrifying.
Su Yi also vividly recalled the powerful threat he’d sensed when the little girl first appeared, as well as the murderous intent rising uncontrollably from the depths of his heart!
It was an instinctual reaction.
And indeed, when he saw her again, he felt that same powerful threat and rising murderous intent!
“Dipankara, you chose an excellent opponent this time. That’s quite a special spirit of the natural order, the same type as me, but… his foundations and strength are far weaker,” said the little girl, her gaze cold and dark as she stared at the River Child. “Still, he’ll make a lovely meal. Once I’ve refined him, I’ll be able to further advance my source power.”
She spoke without the slightest ripple of emotion, but she calmly referred to the River Child as if he were food. It was enough to make one shudder.
The River Child’s brow furrowed, his little face utterly solemn.
He, too, sensed an utterly terrifying threat from the little girl, and an intense suppression of his powers of the natural order!
He didn’t even need to think to know that she too was a spirit of the natural order, but… her powers of the natural order were far greater than his!
It was then that Su Yi finally understood the Dipankara Buddha’s true intentions.
He might well have been hoping to vent on Gu Huaxian’s behalf, but what he really wanted was to destroy the River Child!
There was no doubt about it. The River Child had drawn the Dipankara Buddha’s attention, and he saw him as a threat. That’s why he invited that mysterious little girl to participate in this death trap!
Doing so wasn’t just killing two birds with one stone; it was getting three meals out of the same fish. Succeed, and he’d vent on Gu Huaxian’s behalf, kill the River Child, and use Treasure Leaf and Five Desires to deal Su Yi a heavy blow!
The old bald donkey is far more insidious than before, Su Yi sighed to himself.
There’d been so many tricks behind this trap. It was truly terrifying.
But… Su Yi didn’t panic.
He’d fought the Dipankara Buddha countless times over the years. How could he not have means of countering him?
