Chapter 1559 (Raw 1671):
The Iron Hand Yama recovered very quickly. With a Medicinal Pill plus Xiao Suo personally treating him, his complexion became much better.
The remaining wounds on him started to heal automatically, and the scabs fell off.
The physical body of a peak Major Primal Core cultivator was relatively strong. In fact, it was even stronger than Xiao Chen's after he used all that Life Juice Source.
This was because the physical body would undergo a transformation with every advancement.
Of course, if Xiao Chen reached the peak Major Primal Core Realm, the strength of his physical body would definitely surpass that of the current Iron Hand Yama.
On the deck, the Iron Hand Yama slowly woke. When he clearly saw where he was and the people around him, he slowly stood up. He did not say thank you, nor had any joy on his face.
"Is there any wine?"
Xiao Suo frowned when he heard that. "Although your cultivation is high, your wounds are only slightly healed. You should not be drinking wine."
The Iron Hand Yama smiled and said, "This body belongs to this old man. I don't need a newbie like you to interfere. Do you think that you can start ordering me around just because you saved this old man?"
Xiao Suo felt stifled when he heard this and somewhat embarrassed.
Fei`er could not keep watching. She put on a serious expression as she said, "Why are you always like that? Boss Xiao Suo took the risk to save your life, yet you did not even thank him. He cared for you, and you turned around and scolded him."
The Iron Hand Yama turned his head and looked at her. Although he was injured, his air was still there. He glared slightly, looking exceptionally scary.
However, Fei`er did not take even half a step back, directly staring back at him.
The Iron Hand Yama's lips curled up as he said, "Little fat girl, get this clear first. This old man never wanted this newbie to save me from the start. Not slapping him is already showing him a lot of respect, yet you want this old man to thank him? How ridiculous."
Fei`er's face sank. Her somewhat babyish face flushed red in anger. "You called me fat? You…"
Before Fei`er could go berserk, Luo Nan quickly pulled her back. This moment called for calm.
After all, the other party was a peak Major Primal Core existence who was very infamous. He had just recovered some of his strength now. It was best not to offend him.
"Hahaha!" The Iron Hand Yama guffawed, unable to stop. "The people on this ship are all very strange. I wonder where this young couple came from; they are as unsophisticated as they can be. There is also the newbie pirate that just came to the Grave Sea, very foolish and stupid like a cow. Hey, there is also an elder of the Beast Governing Sect. You are supposed to be a righteous sect."
Elder Tang's face turned dark as he snorted coldly. Then, he waved his hand and left unhappily.
The Iron Hand Yama did not care. He shifted his glare to Xiao Chen and continued criticizing, "And there is this white-clad fellow who comes from who knows where. To think that he is actually the captain. Furthermore, this lousy ship actually managed to escape the Divine Shield Army intact and unscathed."
After the Iron Hand Yama pointed and criticized others, he laughed again.
This was truly a case of kindness never pays. All they got in return was despisal and vicious criticism.
"Whoosh!"
Xiao Chen casually threw a bottle of wine, which shot out like a bolt of lightning.
The Iron Hand Yama's reaction was very fast; he firmly grabbed the bottle. Then, he opened it and drank in big gulps. There was finally a gag on his mouth.
"Great wine! Great wine! I did not expect this. I could not tell that despite your foolish appearance, you actually have some good stuff on you."
However, Xiao Chen already turned around and said indifferently, "Everyone, return to your posts. The destination is the blessed lands. Continue on our journey."
Everyone on deck glared at the Iron Hand Yama before leaving.
Facing the breeze, the Iron Hand Yama drank wine, not caring about the gazes of others.
However, no one noticed the lack of spirit in his eyes. As he stared at the sea, he appeared empty.
The following days were peaceful.
Having hit a block with the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique, Xiao Chen moved on to the Thousand Army Sword Technique. This Sword Technique possessed extraordinary might. In terms of offensive strength, it was even superior to his Flawless Saber Technique.
After all, he created the Flawless Saber Technique when his cultivation was not very high. In hindsight, some of the moves had many areas for improvement.
Compared to the extremely profound Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique, the Thousand Army Sword Technique was grand and sweeping. Xiao Chen's comprehension ability was extremely high, and he quickly grasped the technique and infused it into his own skills with the saber.
Xiao Chen altered the Thousand Army Sword Technique into his own Army Breaking Saber Technique. After all, a saber was different from a sword. Xiao Chen made use of his unique characteristics and emphasized the word "break."
He adapted and condensed the Thousand Army Sword Technique into four killing moves: Breaking Vast Armies, Breaking Mountains and Rivers, Breaking Stars, Breaking the World.
Of which, Breaking the World was based on the extremely mighty One Sword Conquering the Country of the dark-gold-armored Venerate.
As Xiao Chen worked on his Thousand Army Sword Technique over half a month, it became increasingly dazzling.
When he brandished his saber, saber light howled as his Great Dao Energy spread out. Sonic booms reverberated as its sharpness rang out. It was like all his hot-bloodedness accumulated in his chest as he roared at the sky.
Break! Break! Break! Breaking Vast Armies! Breaking Mountains and Rivers! Breaking Stars! Breaking the World!
As Xiao Chen executed all the moves of Thousand Army Sword Technique on the deck, he felt very carefree. His blood rushed through his veins, and he felt very comfortable.
Vaguely, the bottleneck to the Primal Core Realm also loosened significantly.
"Great Saber Technique. I have seen many geniuses in my life but never such a demonic genius like you. In your hands, the famous Thousand Army Sword Technique of the Divine Shield Army transformed into your own creation in less than half a month."
For the past half month, aside from Xiao Chen, there had been only the Iron Hand Yama, who was hard to get along with and had abandoned himself to reckless drinking.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he smiled faintly. This was the first time the Iron Hand Yama spoke properly.
Over the past few days, Xiao Chen had suffered from many of the other party's "evaluations." The Iron Hand Yama was like a fly buzzing around his ears, very annoying.
"Damn! If only that thieving general were here to see this Saber Technique. He would be frustrated to death! Hahahaha!"
Xiao Chen had just thought something nice about the Iron Hand Yama when the Iron Hand Yama suddenly said that.
Xiao Chen's lip twitched as he said awkwardly, "It would be better if he does not show up."
Xiao Chen was not tired of living yet. If the Sword General appeared here, everyone would die.
"That's true. With that old fellow's tortoise-like nature, even if he was angry, he would not show it on his face." The Iron Hand Yama smiled and started to lose interest.
Xiao Chen could not help asking, "What was the outcome of that huge battle that day?"
The Iron Hand Yama took a large gulp of wine before replying dispiritedly, "How else could it have gone? Given the Divine Shield Army's style, no matter how great their losses, they would want to kill off all of the pirate groups. There was no way to charge out at all. Boss Savage Blood used his full power to help us create an opening…"
When Xiao Chen heard that, he found it somewhat strange. "He dared to get distracted when fighting the Sword General?"
"That's right. Hence, even though we managed to charge out, Boss was nowhere to be found. We do not even know if he is alive. Later, everything turned chaotic. None of the Savage Blood Pirate Group's people fled, going all-out with them."
As the Iron Hand Yama spoke, tears leaped out of his eyes. Then, he ferociously took a swig of wine and said, "However, you know, only I freaking lived! Everyone else died; only this old man alone lived!"
Xiao Chen's heart skipped a beat. He did not know what to do.
He could imagine that under such an intense situation, the Savage Blood Star Venerate got severely injured due to his distraction. Since no one knew whether he was alive or not, the result was unlikely to be good.
All of the people of the Savage Blood Pirate Group had not cared about their own lives, intent on fighting to the death as they charged at the Divine Shield Army.
Everyone died in the intense battle or had their heads chopped off by the gold-armored cultivators' swords.
If not, they were killed by thousands of arrows piercing them, dying with their eyes open. Perhaps they managed to take their enemies with them.
Some were blasted apart by cannonballs. Hot-bloodedness filled that surging sea, rage spread throughout their bodies.
The Savage Blood Pirate Group had fought to the last man. The Iron Hand Yama personally witnessed everyone's death.
Everyone died. Only he lived…
The only pain greater than being parted by death was the resulting loneliness. Those who died were fortunate. The ones who lived were in greater pain.
The Iron Hand Yama leaned against the side of the ship, holding his head and pounding on it.
Xiao Chen did not know what to say.
From the moment Xiao Suo said that the Iron Hand Yama refused to be rescued, Xiao Chen already had a rough idea of what happened. However, he had not expected it to be so miserable.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen thought of a line from the mantra of the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique's Breaking the Mundane: "The mundane is bitter. One grows old, gets sick, and dies. There are grudges and hatred, unable to obtain what one desires, parting from love."
The line "There are grudges and hatred, unable to obtain what one desires" truly applied to the Iron Hand Yama.
However, in reality, how was Xiao Chen different?
The various things of the mundane are all sorts of bitterness. Break the abstinence and purification. Use the mundane as a cauldron to temper my Buddha-like heart!
"Break the abstinence and purification…"
Xiao Chen muttered to himself, pondering the words. However, bitterness spread in his heart. At this moment, he was not willing to think about this Saber Technique.
He shook his head and turned back. Then, he saw Xiao Suo at the door, looking over.
"What are you doing here?"
Xiao Suo said abashedly, "I'm afraid that he will take things too hard. I've experienced what he did. Actually, I really don't blame him. I'll go over and let him scold me for a while. Perhaps that might make him feel better."
"Go on, then."
After Xiao Suo left, Xiao Chen thought about what Xiao Suo said and suddenly felt enlightened.
There were all sorts of bitterness. However, in this mundane world, there would always be someone who cared for one.
Breaking the abstinence, ignoring the outmoded conventions of the secular world, did not bring purity but temporary delight, leading one into the Demonic Dao.
Xiao Chen understood now. Breaking or not breaking did not matter. As long as one had a Buddha-like heart, one was a Buddha!
Chapter 1660 (Raw 1672):
With a Buddha-like heart, I am a Buddha.
This was the principle of using the mundane as a cauldron to temper a Buddha-like heart.
With this understanding, many things cleared up. Xiao Chen's clogged-up thoughts became like a dredged river, gushing ferociously.
The mantra of the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique's Breaking the Mundane filled Xiao Chen's mind, bringing with it a feeling of enlightenment.
Inside the captain's quarters, Xiao Chen unfurled the painting and seriously observed it once more.
Soon, under the watch of the massacre Buddha image, the monk brandished his Buddhist monk's knife.
The saber light shot everywhere. The originally cold, emotionless, chilly saber light turned somewhat warm. Various scenes of the mundane world slowly unfurled in the saber light filling the air like a painting.
"Break!"
When that saber light reached perfection, everything, all the scenes of the mundane world, came to an abrupt stop.
That huge massacre Buddha image gave off a golden light, suddenly coming to life.
A purple-gold Buddhist monk's knife appeared in the Buddha image's hand as it ferociously thrust the knife forward.
The thirty-kilometer-long saber light layered over the knife in the monk's hand. It seemed to come out of the painting and pierce Xiao Chen, who was observing.
Before it was over, this saber severed the mundane, ending it.
That monk sat cross-legged, hovering in the air.
A Buddhist swastika appeared on his forehead, spinning continuously.
Earlier, the lingering thoughts of the mundane world, which had previously been severed, reappeared. Worry, concern, grief, joy, parting, happiness, sadness, and sorrow, they all appeared in the world.
Slowly, a flame lit on the monk's body, and the entire world started burning.
As this flame blazed, the Buddhist swastika on the monk's forehead brightened, radiating golden light and Buddhist Might. Accompanying those was a tyrannical aura that resembled the Buddhist Martial Techniques.
Use the mundane as a cauldron to temper my Buddha-like heart!
Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart as he quickly put away the painting and started cultivating again.
All that Xiao Chen saw earlier were things that he had never seen before. This was the principle of Breaking the Mundane: Break the abstinence and purification. Use the mundane as a cauldron to temper my Buddha-like heart!
With a Buddha-like heart, breaking or not breaking did not matter.
With this thought, Xiao Chen stopped dwelling on his past. He let himself go, chopping off the obsession in his heart without worries.
Suddenly, scenes of Xiao Chen's experiences appeared in the captain's quarters.
Xiao Chen's fresh face when he was in Mohe City. The peaceful times with Liu Ruyue in Qingyun Peak. The Kunlun Realm's Demonic Calamity…
All sorts of scenes of the mundane world appeared. Within the same generation, nearly no one could match Xiao Chen's experiences.
Break!
When the scenes of the mundane world increased to the point where there could not be any more, Xiao Chen shouted in his heart. Everything vanished. Then, like a crack of thunder, all the confusion scattered in an explosion.
After a while, everything reappeared and turned into flames, blazing fiercely.
Xiao Chen's entire body bathed in flames, feeling a warmth. Buddhist chanting rang out beside his ear as the various mysterious phenomena around his body approximated those of the monk in the painting.
All he lacked was the swastika on his forehead.
This was because Xiao Chen's tempering had not produced a Buddha-like heart yet. After all, he was not an experienced monk; it would still take him some time to develop a Buddha-like heart.
------
In the blink of an eye, one month passed.
Only seven days remained before the Black Cutlass would reach the Black Cave Mountain, one of the three blessed lands.
The journey had been smooth and peaceful without many setbacks. The crew of the ship slowly relaxed.
For the past month, Xiao Chen had mostly stayed in the captain's quarters in closed-door cultivation.
A faint Buddhist swastika finally appeared on Xiao Chen's forehead. It was not bright or dazzling with golden light.
However, he completely grasped the principle of the Breaking the Mundane Saber Technique, accomplishing what Elder Tang thought impossible.
Without Xiao Chen grasping the principle, Breaking the Mundane would only have shape without form. He would not be able to release its true might.
He would be just like that Skeleton Dragon Star Venerate, who could bring out only twenty percent of the Saber Technique's might even when going all out. Despite being a Star Venerate, that was all the Skeleton Dragon Star Venerate could accomplish.
However, Xiao Chen now—at the half-step Primal Core Realm—could easily bring out twenty percent of this move's might.
This was the difference between grasping the principle and not.
More importantly, only by grasping the principle could one have a thorough understanding of the move and reverse-engineer it to comprehend the one move of the Gautama Divine Palm that the Hidden Spirit Temple grasped.
Xiao Chen dismissed the technique with satisfaction, revealing a smile on his face. However, before he could finish his smile, he turned grave.
The black lotus mark pulsated, and Xiao Chen felt a burning sensation. The string holding the Buddhist pendant broke with a 'buzz.'
The Buddhist pendant quickly floated in front of Xiao Chen's chest, showing small cracks in it.
Xiao Chen's face immediately sank. He reached out and grabbed the Buddhist pendant. Then, with a few flashes, he arrived on deck.
This was a feeling that Xiao Chen never had before. It was not that he had not been pursued by the Black Lotus Church in the past. However, the reaction had never been this intense.
What kind of enemy was this strong?
A strong sense of danger bloomed in Xiao Chen's heart as he stood on the deck and looked to the front.
Xiao Chen's expression turned heavy. It seemed that the Black Lotus Church had already figured out his destination long ago and set up an ambush there.
Perhaps the Black Lotus Church had laid traps in advance around the few places that one had to pass to reach the blessed lands.
Damn, who leaked information about me?
Or was I not cautious enough and exposed some clues?
Why had the Black Lotus Church's people chased Xiao Chen all the way to the Grave Sea, even waiting for him here? Originally, he thought that he had already completely shaken them off in Purple Sun City.
"Brat, why is your expression so ridiculously unsightly? It is not like you took a wrong path in cultivation. Your aura seems to be getting increasingly stable. Once you advance to the Primal Core Realm, I wonder how your strength will erupt?"
The Iron Hand Yama, who had recovered his strength, had not left the ship yet, remaining aboard.
When Xiao Chen saw the Iron Hand Yama, his expression warmed slightly. However, the worry on his face did not fade away.
"Telling you or not, what does it matter?" Xiao Chen replied before turning around and heading for the control room.
Seeing Xiao Chen rush away so quickly, the Iron Hand Yama took another gulp of wine and smiled. "Even if this fellow did not say it, this old man can also guess it. With that unsightly face, I can be sure that his enemies found him and are approaching."
The Iron Hand Yama looked in the direction Xiao Chen had looked towards earlier. Then, his expression turned slightly strange. After that, he shook the wine bottle in his hand; he was out of wine. He contemplated as he stared at the empty bottle.
Xiao Chen gathered everyone in the control room. Then, he looked at Xiao Suo with a complicated expression.
"Captain, don't look at me like that. I feel strange." Xiao Suo felt that something was wrong, so he said, "Captain, just speak if you have something to say."
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "It's fine. Remember what I once told you?"
"Which one?"
Xiao Chen looked straight at him and said seriously, "I said long ago that this ship would return to your hands someday. I cannot walk too far down the path of being a pirate."
When Xiao Suo heard that, he felt an itch in his heart, feeling somewhat excited and nervous at the same time. "You are leaving."
"Yes. There are seven more days before we reach the blessed lands. If everything goes according to plan, I should meet a senior there. Then, I will cultivate there for some time before heading for my true destination." Xiao Chen's expression appeared relaxed; no one could tell what he was thinking.
On hearing this news, Luo Nan and Fei`er gaped in shock. This was too surprising.
They had no warning of this at all.
"Captain, you never mentioned this before. This is too sudden," Luo Nan protested, feeling confused.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "This is not that sudden. I thought very long about this while I was in closed-door cultivation."
Fei`er's eyes turned red with reluctance. "However, Big Brother Xiao Chen, Fei`er cannot bear to part with you."
"That's right, Captain. None of us can bear to part with you. Let us wait for you. Give us a time. No, no need for a time, just your word. We are all willing to wait for you."
All of the crew on the ship found Xiao Chen's sudden departure somewhat hard to accept; they could not bear for him to leave.
Xiao Chen's heart felt warm as he held back the gratitude in his heart. He smiled and said, "I also cannot bear to part with you. However, there is no banquet that never ends. Everyone has their own destiny. Furthermore, while this starry sea is very vast, it is not impossible for us to meet again."
He paused here and looked at Elder Tang, who had remained silent all the while and showed a suspicious expression.
Then, he stretched out his hand and tapped Elder Tang's forehead.
"Crack!"
The red restriction in the depths of Elder Tang's soul, which had extremely worried and troubled him, vanished.
Elder Tang felt released of a heavy burden. He looked at Xiao Chen, wanting to say something. However, Xiao Chen's glare stopped him.
"This period has been hard on Elder Tang."
Xiao Chen smiled and performed a cupped-fist salute. "Everyone, we will meet again in the future."
The black lotus mark on Xiao Chen's chest burned hotter. He suppressed the reluctance in his heart and left hastily in a few flashes.
"Captain!"
The others quickly gave chase, all the way to the deck. By then, they could only see Xiao Chen's figure rushing off.
Xiao Suo looked at the Captain Token, which Xiao Chen had handed to him, in his hand. He felt that all this was too sudden. He muttered, "Why do I feel like something is wrong?"
Luo Nan, Fei`er, and the others continued looking into the distance, full of reluctance as they watched Xiao Chen's dwindling figure.
The Iron Hand Yama shook the wine bottle, feeling bored. However, not a single drop of Thousand Year Flame came out.
"How unfortunate! I will not be able to drink such nice wine again in the future."
After that, the Iron Hand Yama looked at the people at the side and said helplessly, "You group of fools. Could none of you tell that he is running because he does not want to implicate you all?"
"What?!"
Everyone felt startled, staring at the Iron Hand Yama in disbelief.