Emperor's Domination

Although the temple was protected by the eight deities and vajras, it still shook all the same, albeit to a lesser extent.

Many people gasped at this moment. Jikong Wudi’s group was speechless and austere. Even if they were called invincible, they still didn’t dare to challenge the Four Buddhas Temple, let alone call out the eighteen famous evil-subduing vajras!

“The Grand Heaven Temple lost.” Someone shouted. While people were astonished by the South Emperor’s invincibility, they had forgotten that Li Qiye was debating inside the other temple.

They all looked back and saw the Grand Heaven Temple turn listless. All of the phenomena that emerged disappeared without a trace at this moment.

Sure enough, Li Qiye and Wo Longxuan came out of the temple before everyone’s eyes. He was still as carefree and nonchalant as always.

“Is the world turning crazy? Two invincible characters coming out on the same day. This guy just challenged the Three Grand Temples, Six Tribulation Temples, and the Eight Void Temples in one breath!” A spectator was dumbfounded.

Even the monks were terrified and had to murmur: “This is the coming of a new Buddhist Lord...”

“In less than a day, he defeated the sacred monks and even the Bodhisattvas from the holy temples. Just how great is his dharma?” Even those who didn’t truly understand Buddhism were frightened quite a bit.

“It’s fortunate that he isn’t a cultivator or we’d be done for this generation. People like Jikong Wudi and Lin Tiandi are already oppressive enough. And now, this South Emperor came out of nowhere as well, what a desperate situation to be in.” A young man stated: “At least this devil isn’t gifted in both Buddhism and daoism, or else we’d just have to hang ourselves in shame.”

Li Qiye exited the Grand Heaven Temple and looked at the eight deities as well as the vajras defending the Four Buddhas Temple: “This brat is coming out again. Sigh, he can’t defeat his own inner demon or else he would still have a chance.”

Wo Longxuan was astonished as well while she looked at the Four Buddhas Temple. She was a brilliant genius, but she wouldn’t dare to challenge the temple like this.

Right now, this South Emperor that no one knew about dared to do so alone. Such a heaven-defying act was beyond words. She and her peers were overshadowed by this South Emperor.

“There is always a higher mountain and a better person.” She spoke with a tinge of emotion.

Li Qiye smiled and slowly headed for the Four Buddhas Temple. She followed right after him, but he gently shook his head and said: “You should go down, there’s no need to follow me.”

“Why?” She frowned before revealing a smile capable of causing hundreds of flowers to bloom. Alas, no one was able to see it.

“I will be debating against the Eight-faced Radiant Bodhisattva at the Four Buddhas Temple. His affinity isn’t something you can handle. Even if your dao heart is strong, the moment he finishes chanting part of a scripture, you will be converted and drowned in the endless Buddhist sea.” He said dismissively.

After hearing this, she didn’t refute and immediately left Spirit Mountain. Meanwhile, Li Qiye leisurely spoke: “It is time for the Nihility Temple to come out as well. I want to see if your Buddhist laws are boundless or if my dharma is invincible.”

“Buzz!” As he was heading for the temple, the eight deities and vajra protecting it suddenly disappeared.

The mountain turned quiet again and no longer quaked while the Four Buddhas Temple remained unchanged at the top.

Many people realized it and murmured: “It’s over...”

In just a second, all eyes turned to the Buddhist gate of Four Buddhas. They wanted to know who the victor of this supreme battle was.

Eventually, before the nervous crowd emerged a figure from the Buddhist gate of the Four Buddhas Temple. It was the young man called South Emperor. Although he appeared quite ragged at this time, he was still spirited as he slowly walked outside.

Countless people took deep breaths after seeing him still able to walk. Jikong Wudi’s group was even more astonished. Some even took a step back.

“The eighteen great vajras lost... this, this is too heaven-defying.” A monk didn’t dare to believe his own eyes after seeing that the South Emperor was still alive and well.

Jikong Wudi’s group all had ugly expressions on their faces. They knew that they had met a terrifying foe in this generation, one that would be very difficult to overcome.

Despite his sorry appearance, his overwhelming aura still suffocated and awed people.

He saw Li Qiye slowly walking by and walked to him instead of flying. In the blink of an eye, the two of them stood face to face. Everyone outside of Spirit Mountain held their breaths in anticipation.

One was an invincible user of the grand dao while the other had a boundless dharma. One was someone of this mundane world while the other was quite otherworldly. Despite coming from two different worlds, both of them were impressive all the same. [1. Not too sure about this line. This would imply that daoism is the current model in this world which makes sense while Buddhism is a foreign dao. If I read this passage by itself, the author would be implying that Buddhism has its own world/realm.]

In the eyes of others, they were not too different from each other. Both were unbeatable in their own field. One was a peak cultivator while the other was a Buddhist sovereign.

Li Qiye smiled and performed a slight mudra. The South Emperor bowed his head and placed his palms together then respectfully spoke: “Sacred Teacher...”

Li Qiye nodded softly and didn’t stop. He continued on towards the Four Buddhas Temple. The South Emperor descended Spirit Mountain and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

“Such an invincible character actually performed that grand gesture towards him.” Many people were startled to see South Emperor acting so respectfully towards Li Qiye.

“Even though he trains in Buddhism, he is still incredibly accomplished. He can definitely fight against Bodhisattvas and Arhats as well as defeat the other temples.” A monk had to comment: “It is natural to be called a Sacred Teacher by invincible existences when he is so accomplished. He can accept such a title without any shame.”

The crowd felt that the monk’s explanation made sense. A knowledgeable ancestor murmured: “If this young, haired practitioner can defeat the Four Buddhas Temple, then he might even become the new Buddhist Lord. Just think about it, out-debating the eighteen temples, I’m afraid this has never happened before in history!”

The crowd agreed with this ancestor. To be able to defeat the sacred monks and Bodhisattvas of the eighteen temples required a stunning attainment of the dharma. This guy could truly accept the title of Sacred Teacher, fully deserving it.

However, no one knew that the South Emperor called Li Qiye Sacred Master for a different reason, not because of his triumph over the temples.

There was another meaning to the title of Sacred Teacher. It alluded to him being the imperial teacher. Moreover, he was the most sacred among the imperial teachers.

The South Emperor respected Li Qiye as the dao teacher of Immortal Emperors while outsiders thought that it was referring to Li Qiye’s boundless dharma.

Li Qiye went before the Four Buddhas Temple and gazed at it. He smiled before entering its Buddhist gate.

“Amitabha...” A monk immediately came to greet him. Behind this monk’s head hung a Buddhist radiance. His entire body had transformed into Buddha. The dazzling light made others feel that he was no longer an existence of this world, that he was only one step away from the mythical eternal life.

This monk suddenly paused after he saw Li Qiye. He was frozen for a moment and his Buddhist light was affected as well, pulsing on and off.

The monk stabilized his Buddhist heart. He bowed and placed his palms together to say: “Amitabha, My Lord has reobtained your body, congratulations.”

Li Qiye also returned the grand Buddhist gesture and bowed as well: “Blessings be with you, Zen Master Cheng. Zen Master is a foreigner now and no longer a follower of mine, there’s no need for honorifics.”

This monk ahead was once an invincible general under Li Qiye. Later on, when his lifespan was almost over, he entered the Buddhist faith at Spirit Mountain. He was converted by the Four Buddhas Temple and had severed his mundane ties.

Despite doing so, the Dark Crow was the supreme ruler of eons with a strong influence over his life. Meeting his old lord affected his Buddhist heart.

Li Qiye didn’t want to disturb the monk’s mind. He spewed out Buddhist mantras so that the monk’s light could shine brightly again. That fluctuation from earlier was not a big deal, just a pebble dropping into a flowing stream or a mirror stained by a speck of dust. A gentle brush was enough to cleanse it.

“Praise be the Boundless Dharma...” The monk bowed his head. At this time, he had regained his piety and removed all of his ties to the past. He closed his eyes and spoke: “Thank you, Sacred Buddha, for enlightening me.” [2. I’m very specific/literal on these honorifics just so that readers can distinguish the different titles too. The first part is just “Boundless Dharma”, but I’m not sure if readers would get that it was a general phrase, not actually him praising Li Qiye, so I added “praise be”.]

Li Qiye gently nodded his head and accepted the monk’s gesture. In fact, for tens of millions of years, he had countless generals and wise sages under him. There were many among them who chose to join the Buddhist faith and entered Spirit Mountain in search of eternal life.

“I will be debating the Nihility Scripture with the Eight-faced Radiant Bodhisattva.” Li Qiye told the monk with words as powerful as the dharma.

“Please, the Bodhisattva has been waiting.” The monk quickly invited Li Qiye into the Hall of Great Strength.

Li Qiye went inside, feeling at ease. To him, this was the final battle at Spirit Mountain. After defeating this Bodhisattva, his next stop was the Nihility Temple!

This was Li Qiye’s ultimate goal in this trip to the Buddhist Funeral Plateau. He aimed to use the dharma to defeat the group of monks at that temple!