Before he realised, the chanting stopped. All of the monks’ faces darkened.

  The grey smoke that curled up from the censer spread through the grand hall. The great buddha peered down from above like it was hiding something, smiling gently.

  Li Qingshan immediately experienced tremendous pressure. His violent demonic thoughts could not be repressed anymore. His back burned like fire as his face twisted in anger. He leaned forwards as if he was about to throw himself at the Upraised Light abbot.

  His forehead almost pressed against the Upraised Light abbot’s bald head when he suddenly powered the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression, halting everything. He forced out word by word. “Of course not!”
The Upraised Light abbot basically wanted to counter with, “If you aren’t, then who is?” It took him quite some willpower to endure the incoming murderousness without dodging. Even a Demon Sovereign could only give off so much pressure, and this was in the Pure Land temple, right at the foot of the buddha. His demonic nature was actually so heavy.

  However, Li Qingshan did not lie, and the Upraised Light Abbot was forced to admit this too. He straightened himself out and brought his palms together. “Amitābha. I’ve accused you wrongly. However, with your behaviour right now, just how far away are you from becoming a demon?”
Throughout history, countless cultivators had fallen into the demonic path, especially near the boundary of the Demon domain. Even those with significant willpower would be constantly eroded away.

  “I’d advise you to leave Black Cloud city and return to the Myriad sect, fellow!”
Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. Even if Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao let him go so easily, he did not really want to return right now. He had only been here for a few days, and the benefits he had received so far were basically countless. There had been the armour, weapons, and corpses of hundreds of thousand demonfolk, a tremendous amount of merit and contribution, and success at getting back at Li Liehuo. If he had remained in the Myriad sect, would any of this have happened?

  As a result, he smiled, even though it only made him seem even more twisted and vicious in the Upraised Light abbot’s eyes.

  “Master, it’s not my fault.”
“Then whose fault is it?” The Upraised Light abbot countered.

  “Please take a look, master.”
Li Qingshan turned around and rolled down his robes, revealing a vivid image of Maheśvara that was deeply embedded in his wide back like he had been born with it.

  “This is!”
The Upraised Light abbot was surprised. He could clearly sense the demonic nature within. It definitely was not just a tattoo or image, but an imprint that could truly connect with Maheśvara.

  “I am the first to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. I cannot work off the experiences of those who have come before me, so I could only feel my way around myself. In order to expedite my cultivation, I tried the methods of offering from the Siddhānta school, but I never expected to be stuck with an image of Maheśvara. My cultivation has increased drastically, but it has also left me with an unstable mental state. Even when I peel off my skin, I cannot remove it.”
Li Qingshan did not tell a single lie with that.

  The Upraised Light abbot came to a realisation. “I see! I see!”
Just like that, it was no longer strange that Li Qingshan would often give off a sense of hostility for no reason. Everyone knew about the lord of the trichiliocosm’s loathing for the pure land school. The cultivators of the pure land school were most vulnerable to the disturbance of demons when they faced tribulations. Basically an endless number of kleśa-māra and skandha-māra would spring forth. Even devaputra-māra would arrive in person to obstruct them from attaining the fruit of Arhat.

  Meanwhile, the ones that spent the most effort in repressing the heretic paths were the pure land school.

  These two paths basically could not coexist with one another.

  When Maheśvara converted to buddhism, that was because he respected the buddha’s power and wisdom. He was not after a life of bliss and enjoyment like what regular people believed. Instead, he stressed asceticism, often cultivating arduously on a snowy mountain. He was the protector of all ascetic monks.

  However, the pure land school advocated for Mahāyāna that could bring salvation to all, accepting followers far and wide, founding a land of buddhism and reincarnating in the pure land. Even the chan sect that pursued self-actualisation and schools that stressed esoteric studies and secrets like esoteric buddhism and Vajrayāna were heavily affected.

  They wrote off all other methods of cultivation as Hīnayāna, lesser paths of cultivation, which included Maheśvara’s lesser path. Heresy would always be more despicable than other religions. As a result, Maheśvara was both a god and a demon.

  “I’ve just arrived in Black Cloud city, so it’s impossible for me to return to the Myriad sect, or wouldn’t I be a coward? But you don’t have to worry, master. I will keep my distance when I see you again in the future.”
Li Qingshan did not want to owe this monk a favour, so he did not make the request. However, he had a feeling that as long as he showed him the image of Maheśvara, the Upraised Light abbot would definitely do something about it. That was because loathing would always be mutual. Since Maheśvara loathed the pure land school so much, then the pure land school must loath Maheśvara as well.

  Just as he had expected, the Upraised Light abbot thought, The Heavenly Tome of Liberty? The Myriad sect really has gone too far. If this child continues like this, he’ll either end up as a demonfolk or fall into Maheśvara’s lesser path. The latter is even worse than the former. But I can tell that he’s unhappy with this situation as well, so I can give him some guidance. Since the buddha could subdue Maheśvara, then I’ll subdue this demonic image of him!

  As a result, he said, “I can try and erase the image of Maheśvara. Would you like that, fellow?”
He had already made up his mind. Even if Li Qingshan objected, he would still go ahead with it.

  Li Qngshan beamed with joy inside. He knew that any lies he told would be seen through before this monk, so he did not bother with posing around. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, master.”
Since both sides were willing, then the matter was simple. The Upraised Light abbot ordered others to remove the table before ringing the bell and gathering all the monks in the temple. He made Li Qingshan sit in the very centre of the grand hall, while he sat behind Li Qingshan. Several hundred monks huddled around them.

  “Are you ready?”
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  “Please go ahead, master!”
The chanting began to rise and fall, ringing through the grand hall with the playing of various arcane artifacts like golden bowls and wooden fish. “Namo Amitābha, Namo Amitābha, Namo Amitābha…”
It left Li Qingshan feeling like his head was about to explode. His back scorched as the demonic image of Maheśvara glared away furiously, seeming like it was about to spring alive.

  “Heh, it really is effective!”
The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and looked down, assuming a solemn demeanour. A golden halo rose up from behind his head, leaving him dignified in appearance and bearing some resemblance to the great buddha.

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  “Na- Mo- A- Mi- Tā- Bha! Oṃ- Ma- Ṇi- Pad- Me Hūṃ!”
As he spat out the twelve words slowly, each word possessed extraordinary power, like the roar of a tiger. It left the entire grand hall shaking gently. When he spat out the last word, he slammed his palm into Li Qingshan’s back.

  Bang!

  Li Qingshan felt a sickly sweet sensation rise up in his throat, almost coughing up blood. His organs felt like they were about to rupture. He thought, This bald ass sure is vicious. Is he trying to kill me?

  The only thing that existed in the Upraised Light abbot’s eyes was the demonic image of Maheśvara. If he could not destroy it, then he would have to destroy the bearer of this demonic image who was currently on the path of great liberty, Li Qingshan. While he was an inner disciple of the Myriad sect and the Upraised Light abbot was forbidden from killing him, he only needed to heavily injure him and prevent him from making any more progress with his cultivation. At the very least, that would stop the spread of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty in the Myriad sect.

  These two paths cannot coexist, so do not blame me!

  Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and endured it. The toughness of his physique surprised the Upraised Light abbot. He soon composed himself and unleashed all of his power. He erupted with light, like a sun that had fallen in the grand hall. The great buddha dazzled in the light.

  His palm actually sank into Li Qingshan’s back inch by inch, pressing into Maheśvara’s belly.

  “The world is like a dwelling of fire, where all life suffers. The pure land of bliss can bring salvation to all.”
Within the devoted chanting, the monks seemed to see a half-transparent great buddha make its way down from its lotus seat, stepping over the Upraised Light abbot and planting its foot on Li Qingshan’s back.

  Li Qingshan felt a rumble in his head, like it had exploded. His sea of consciousness surged violently. Only a great buddha stood within there, overlooking him like it was hiding something, smiling gently.

  The Heavenly Tome of Liberty circulated uncontrollably, and Li Qingshan almost fought back instinctively. The image of Maheśvara actually began to move, swinging his arms and wanting to fight back out of anger.

  However, this power was just so mighty, and the will was just so firm. Above and below the skies, he stood supreme, unable to be shaken. Li Qingshan could not even lift a finger. All he could do was prostrate himself and convert.

  He could not help but develop a hint of regret. Surely he had not taken things too far this time!

  In the Upraised Light abbot’s eyes, the image of Maheśvara gradually blurred and twisted. A smile formed on his lips.

  Suddenly, a will filled with great destruction and great annihilation descended from above, penetrating the top of Li Qingshan’s head.

  The image of Maheśvara on his back opened its third eye and produced a stream of black divine flames, striking the Upraised Light abbot in the forehead.

  “Argh!” The Upraised Light abbot cried out painfully and collapsed forwards.

  Li Qingshan fell forwards as well. The figure of Maheśvara on his back had vanished, like all of its power had been ejected with the streak of black divine flames. What replaced it was the image of a golden buddha.

  For a moment, all of the light and manifestations of divinities vanished. The grand hall was deathly silent.