Chapter 148

: The Blood-Red Sword Gleam
 
It was impressive for the clash on a spiritual level to have such a powerful effect.
The Huanzhen from Guang Qing Celestial Sect and the Xingzou from Ming Wang Temple had a grave expression on their faces. Regardless, the survivor of the battle would be infinitely closer to being a land immortal or the Golden-Bodied Arhat. Moreover, with Baoguang’s accumulation, he might be even to become an Arhat on the spot.
It was as though Chen Jianmei’s spirit was being placed within the waves, and there was no sword aura that came through till now.
The great techniques of the spirit used by Monk Baoguang were an inheritance from the Moonlight Buddha. Moreover, he had studied the Baoyue Guangwang Scripture left behind by his Senior Apprentice-Brother, Baoyue the Venerable. This allowed him to form a Baoyue Guangwang body through the aid of moonlight. He was as clean as the colored ceramic glaze, and as he used the moonlight as part of the spell, he had shape but not matter. His entire spirit was melted in the moonlight, and he planned to take on Chen Jianmei’s Shapeless Sword with this colored light.
This was why Chen Jianmei decided to prioritize defense instead of offense, and repeatedly, he had the most basic form of Dao discussion with Monk Baoguang.
Dao discussion essentially meant the complete and unreserved spiritual clash between the both of them, and it was a determined strike at the opponent’s heart.
Chen Jianmei was not who he once was. All he wanted was supreme swordcraft, and longevity was not part of his final goal.
With a lifetime worth of cultivation, he struck brilliantly with his sword.
As the spectators observed the repeated spiritual clashes, Chen Jianmei stood and walked towards the Baoguang void.
Affected by the aftermath of the spiritual clashes, the waves rolled fiercely. However, none of them managed to get close to Chen Jianmei’s foot. His Daoist robe remained dry. It was as though an invisible force was keeping the sea waves at bay.
When both of them were at a distance of three hundred meters, they retracted their gaze, and the sparks from the spiritual clash disappeared. Calmness returned to the sea. It was the calm before the storm.
Out of a sudden, the world was filled with moonlight, rendering it clearer than the sea.
Even with his great sight, Shen Lian could not see Monk Baoguang clearly. He could not tell what Chen Jianmei was felling, and the response that was about to follow.
Countless little arrows with the color of moonlight shot out from the void. Only the greatest spells could exorcise the demon.
Baoguang Zen Master sat at the lotus seat and was as still as the Mount Tai. The moonlight had spirituality and offered him protection.
Dao was akin to the moonlight, it was endless and could reach anywhere.
The little arrows made from moonlight did not have friction against the air. Though, they did not travel as fast as the moonlight. The maximum limit of speed in this world was that of light, once exceeded, it would be an entirely unknown realm altogether.
Moonlight was condensed due to divine thoughts and was made into spells.
In the void, countless little arrows that only had shape but not matter were formed. They seemed so far yet so near, and all of them flew towards Chen Jianmei.
When they were ten feet away from Chen Jianmei, they dispersed and formed a silver stream.
Shapeless Sword Formula, Shapeless Sword Aura.
If he wanted to, Chen Jianmei could emit Shapeless Sword Aura from any of his acupoints, and he could do so speedily. If it was not for the disappearance of the little swords, no one would have known that he had unsheathed his sword.
Sword aura existed without shape. However, Chen Jianmei’s sword aura was so unnoticeable that even after it was emitted, not even a hint of the sword aura could be sensed.
In the void, it seemed that a long dragon was flying towards Baoguang after the little arrows were wiped off.
The long dragon was the accumulation of shapeless sword aura. Everyone could not see it, and they could only sense it. Yet, that was sufficient for them to feel the enormous pressure emitted by it.
Baoguang Zen Master murmured some Buddhist mantras, and the moonlight in front of him condensed into a blade. The moonlight that had shape but not matter was emitting buzzing sounds, and this was plainly unimaginable.
In Buddhism, there was the saying of
laying down the butcher’s knife, and become a Buddha on the spot
.
This blade of moonlight was the butcher’s knife in Baoguang’s heart; it originated from his thoughts and took shape in the physical realm.
Countless moonlight and Qi of heaven and earth converged into it, completely overpowering the volume of Qi of heaven and earth invoked by the previous fight between Shen Lian and Shi Daoist.
In fact, this was of a different magnitude altogether.
It was as though all of the moonlight were absorbed completely by Monk Baoguang, and were converged onto the intimidating blade.
The blade seemed to have a demonic spirituality, and there were hints of blood.
The hatred of all the demons and monsters that Monk Baoguang had exorcised over the years seemed to be within it and the bellows of the evil spirits could be heard, causing one’s heart and soul to waver.
Even with one’s eyes closed and five senses shut, one could still feel the endless killing intent and hatred of the sword.
Him being merciful was the reason why he could control the butcher’s knife and not the other way round.
Shen Lian started to worry for Chen Jianmei; this form of swordcraft was not something that could be rivaled by human force.
Baoguang Zen Master did not only unleash his blade, he had released the demonic thoughts into his heart at the same time. He tried to utilize Chen Jianmei’s supreme sword aura to extinguished his demonic obstacles and thus, attaining Dao.
This was an unexpected yet ingenious move.
Regardless of whether Chen Jianmei won or lost, Baoguang would be able to overcome the demonic obstacles within him.
The void became darker as the moonlight of the heaven and earth was absorbed by the demonic blade. Overhead, the dark clouds gathered and threatened to pour. The atmosphere was tense.
The demonic blade finally clashed with the dragon-like Shapeless Sword Aura, and the moonlight sparked all over, falling into the void and the calm sea.
The breeze swept past the waves, and the sparks were scattered like a slope-full of stars.
In the dark, the sparks of moonlight came as a consolation.
Right at that moment, everyone felt a terrifying explosion which emanated between Chen Jianmei and Baoguang. Before the sound of the explosion was heard, the seawater remained calm. It took on a mystical appeal having received the countless falling moonlight.
The impact of the sudden explosion affected the surface of the sea first. Countless sea water droplets that were salty and bitter splashed all over. Some of the spectators did not manage to dodge it and ended up being soaked.
The body of demons and monsters were a lot stronger than human cultivators, which was why they barely felt anything. However, most of the human cultivators felt pain – something that they had not felt for a long time.
A lot of different protection spells were used. Some used a thin film of light, some used umbrella, some even used a thin veil of cloth; different instruments and spells were used. However, there were some who did not take any measure for protection at all.
Shen Lian looked towards the rocks; the monk and the Daoist seemed the calmest out of the surrounding spectators, and they were also the scariest.
The monk smiled slightly at him, and the Daoist shot him a cold glare without any further unnecessary movement.
Some moonlight returned back into Baoguang’s body following the explosion.
Even under the dark sky, it could still be seen that Chen Jianmei who stood in the void was in distress. His Daoist up-do was undone, and his long hair fell casually. His Daoist robe was worn out, and visible holes could be seen.
The dark clouds shrouded the sky, and both moonlight and starlight could not pass through. The clash between the both of them caused changes to their surroundings, leading to the current predicament.
Within the heaven and earth, a voice rang.
Shen Lian, observe this move closely,
a Daoist voice spoke.
That was Chen Jianmei speaking. Baoguang Zen Master had not given it his best and Chen Jianmei was injured. Yet, from Chen Jianmei tone, it seemed as though he was certain of his victory.
Chen Jianmei’s Shapeless Sword Aura was gone, but he still had his sword with him. A long sword appeared in his hand, and it seemed to have endless killing aura attached to it. The appearance of the sword brought forth endless murderous thoughts in the air, and it was a lot more frightening than the demonic blade used by Baoguang earlier.
Indeed, some part of the murderous thoughts came from the demonic thoughts of the demonic blade, which turned into food for this Killing Sword. No wonder Chen Jianmei wanted to test the waters with his body, and no wonder that his Daoist robe was torn.
It was not that he could not block off the explosion earlier, but his lack of protection was a purposeful act.
At the pinnacle of the Shapeless Sword Formula, one could use one’s heart as a sword. All of the demons and monsters slayed by Chen Jianmei all these years, their murderous thoughts were contained within this sword.
The longsword gleamed with the luster of blood and shot through the sky. It even passed through the dark clouds in a single line, and a small portion of moonlight and starlight made their way through.
Shen Lian’s attention was drawn towards Chen Jianmei’s Sword of Heart. It was as though he could break open the sea with the long sword if he wanted to.
Chen Jianmei finally made a move with his sword, and Shen Lian’s heart was beating in anticipation.
The killing intent from the sword was clean and neat, it was as though it could take away any unfairness in this world.
Chen Jiamei was one with his sword, and the bloody sword gleam pierced at Baoguang Zen Master. The void was vibrating with fear.
Monk Baoguang formed a hand gesture, and a ray appeared. It was purple inside and moonlight-yellow on the outside. This was the supreme protection spell of Jinguang Temple –
Moonlight Treasure Wheel
. It contained the wishes of the believers within it.
However, Monk Baoguang did not expect the Moonlight Treasure Wheel to not be able to withstand the strike of the sword. Upon contact, the Moonlight Treasure Wheel fell apart like a thin, flimsy paper. There was no resistance when it was broken apart by the bloody sword gleam.
The strength and power of this move were unexpected by everyone and even Baoguang Zen Master did not see it coming.
Baoguang Zen Master roared, and it sounded like the roar of a tiger. It sounded like the thunder from the Nine Heavens, and countless gold swastikas came out of his mouth. This was the manifestation of his cultivation.
Under the bloody sword gleam, the gold swastikas did not do much and were all eliminated.
Shen Lian was not joyous. His heart was filled with grief. There was an actual difference between Chen Jianmei and Baoguang, and it could not have been that easy for the former to break through the latter’s defense.
This was something that was the proper way of the world, and it definitely came at a price.
This was why Chen Jianmei told him to observe this move. This was likely to be the last time that he would see Chen Jianmei charging with his sword.
The brilliant move was founded upon his life force.
After having spent one half of one’s life to cultivate in isolation, the world was finally made known of it upon one’s success; this was a precise description of Chen Jianmei.
After tonight, none of the spectators would be able to forget this person. No one would be able to erase the Sword of Blood and Ray from their memory. It was just like the beautiful fireworks that disappeared at their most brilliant moment.
When the gold swastikas had disappeared, the bloody sword gleam proceeded to slash towards Monk Baoguang. He was unable to resist. The Baoyue Guangwang body was shattered into pieces without blood.
On the sea, a monk floated on the water surface. It was not known if he was alive or dead.
After the bloody sword gleam took on Monk Baoguang’s Baoyue Guangwang body, it rushed through the sky without pause. The dark clouds were crushed and a bloody rainbow painted the sky. Shortly after, it disappeared without a trace.