Chapter 133: Chapter 130: The Western Ultimate Hooked Chen Finally Reveals Himself Chapter 133: Chapter 130: The Western Ultimate Hooked Chen Finally Reveals Himself Lu Dongbin transmitted the swordsmanship to Liu Xuande in a dream, but Liu Xuande possessed such poor aptitude that he nearly drove Ancestor Lu to the brink of madness.

Lu Dongbin, being the leader of the Eight Immortals of the Upper Caverns, and in his previous life, Donghua the Great Emperor, held considerable status within the Daoist sect. He had many disciples, each with exceptional talents. The Complete Truth Sect that he established in the mortal world was also full of talented individuals. Where had he ever encountered someone as dull as Liu Bei? Actually, it was not that Liu Bei was unintelligent; after all, everyone has their own expertise. It was simply that martial arts were not Liu Bei’s strength, and it was useless to force it. When it came to crying, however, he was extremely formidable—he had wept his way to an entire realm.

The four of them left the village and entered the county town to look for Zhang Fei, who was attending to the Peach Garden.

Daoist Equal to Heaven laughed and said, “Yang, I’ve divined that this man is indeed Liu Bei’s Right Assistant. His martial arts education will be up to you!”

After looking at Zhang Fei, Yang Jian commented, “This man has the head of a leopard and the eyes of a tiger, a truly fierce appearance. Let’s just hope he’s not all show and no substance, like a straw bag.”

Daoist Equal to Heaven still sent the Sleepy Insect out, causing Zhang Fei to fall asleep under a peach tree. Yang Jian then sat down cross-legged and entered his dream.

Shortly, Zhang Fei got up from the ground, brandishing a broom and swinging it through the air, creating a mighty wind and a formidable presence. He was countless times stronger than Liu Bei!

Unable to help himself, Lu Dongbin exclaimed, “This Zhang Fei does have potential. Look at how well he’s practicing that spear technique, a hundred times better than that Big-Eared Thief!”

Ancestor Chen Tuan laughed until his stomach ached and said, “My friend, don’t be angry, don’t be angry! They say that a great teacher produces outstanding students, but I’m afraid even if Laojun himself were teaching, Liu Bei would still be the same. Besides, no one would expect you to be his ‘great teacher’!”

As he spoke, Ancestor Chen Tuan was winking and obviously ribbing Lu Chunyang intentionally, infuriating him enough to shoot flames of Samadhi fire from his nose.

“None of you had better say that Liu Bei learned the swordsmanship of the Complete Truth lineage from me, or else…” Lu Dongbin said between clenched teeth.

“Absolutely not, we won’t say anything, you can rest assured! Besides, the way Liu Bei wields it hardly resembles any Complete Truth swordsmanship—it should be called Complete False swordsmanship,” teased Daoist Equal to Heaven.

Lu Dongbin ended up laughing due to the pair’s teasing and said, “You rogue, I even did you a big favor, and still, you make fun of me!”

The three of them laughed again, and upon reflection, found the situation quite amusing.

Yang Jian used Lu Dongbin’s method and transmitted spear technique to Zhang Fei, who proved to be much more adept at learning martial arts than Liu Bei, mastering the spear technique with lethal precision.

“Haha! Lu Dongbin wanted to see me fail, but it’s not so easy after all. This Zhang Fei is much better than Liu Bei,” Yang Jian couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Lu Dongbin felt somewhat relieved in his heart. After all, these were just mortals, and he was an Immortal and the founding master of the Complete Truth Sect. It would be disgraceful to lose composure over a mere mortal.

Lu Dongbin said, “It’s just your good luck. How about we try this: let’s incapacitate both their martial arts and then I’ll transmit the sword technique to Zhang Fei and you to Liu Bei?”

Yang Jian laughed and said, “Let’s forget it, I won’t take it seriously with you! Qi Tian Daoyou said this Zhang Fei is the Right Assistant, I wonder who the Left Assistant is?”

Daoist Equal to Heaven replied, “The Left Assistant is named Guan Yu, known as Jie Liangren from Hedong, but he killed someone in his hometown and has now gone into hiding somewhere. I suspect it won’t be long before he returns to his destined place.”

Lu Dongbin said, “Since Guan Yu has the strength to kill someone, he must have learned martial arts on his own, right?”

Daoist Equal to Heaven replied, “That should be the case. Otherwise, after killing someone, how could he have escaped?”

After Yang Jian transmitted the spear technique, Daoist Equal to Heaven withdrew the Sleepy Insect, and Zhang Fei woke up. Picking up the broom, he swung it around with quite the presence.

Zhang Fei thought to himself, “The Immortal in my dream told me not to tell others that he taught me this martial art. This Immortal imparted his arts to me, probably seeing my loyalty and sincerity. Now that eunuchs are abusing power and chaos is about to rise, he wants me to help uphold the destiny of the nation!”

Zhang Fei was rather thoughtless and did not ponder any deeper, simply assuming his martial prowess came from this circumstance. But in broader terms, it was indeed so, while in detail, it was merely Qi Tian Daoyou’s calculated move. Regardless, Zhang Fei would learn martial arts since in his past life, he appeared to possess unmatched martial prowess. Daoist Equal to Heaven could figure out with his toes that it was too improbable for a mere butcher like Zhang Fei, untaught by anyone, to wield an eighteen-foot-long serpent spear with terrifying power…

Liu Bei, however, remembered what Qi Tian Daoyou had said—that within a year, he would have the opportunity to rise to power. Therefore, he found nothing unusual about today’s dream and simply thought that his chance had come. A True Man of Dao and Virtue was secretly assisting him, teaching him the swordsmanship.

Lu Dongbin asked, “I wonder if you have any other strategies for dealing with Buddhism? Just speak, and I will surely lend a hand!”

Qi Tian Daoyou replied, “I don’t have any other plans for now, but when I’ve done more calculations, we’ll discuss it.”

At this time, Zhuge Kongming, the key figure of Shu Han, was still but a child, and Cao Cao had not yet risen to power, much less Eastern Wu gaining influence. Everything remained calm without showing any signs. Although Daoist Equal to Heaven had a rough idea of the historical trajectory, he was clueless about some details and could only take one step at a time, seizing a small advantage from his foreknowledge of history.

Celestial Emperor Fuxi’s Arithmetic Path of Eight-Nine Techniques was indeed too profound; he had only managed to comprehend a small fraction, barely able to make slight predictions, let alone fathom the deeper mysteries.

As the four spoke amongst the clouds, Ancestor Chen Tuan furrowed his brows and said, “Silence, someone is approaching. Let’s see who it is.”

Among them, Ancestor Chen Tuan was the one with the highest mana. Before his reincarnation, Lu Dongbin had possessed greater mana, as he was Donghua the Great Emperor. However, now reborn as the leader of the Eight Immortals, his mana was significantly diminished and would require much time to be restored.

The four ceased their conversation and each used a spell to cloak themselves, becoming nearly invisible to outsiders unless inspected closely.

The newcomer was a monk with a ferocious appearance. His skin was blue, tinged with red in his cheeks, and his eyes seemed to burn with two flames. With sharp fangs and claws, he bore little resemblance to the Buddhas of the Spirit Mountain.

Lu Dongbin frowned and said, “This is someone from the Esoteric Buddhism Sect, or rather, these beings can’t truly be called ‘people’. They are manifestations of human greed, anger, ignorance, and other such thoughts, akin to heavenly demons. They serve as the Dharma Protector Vajras for the Esoteric Buddhism Sect. It is said that they absorb these miscellaneous thoughts from the Vedha Continent, making the telekinetic power of the continent quite pure.”

Ancestor Chen Tuan asked, “I wonder where this Vedha Continent is? Does Pure Yang Daoist Friend know?”

Lu Dongbin replied, “Even when I was Donghua the Great Emperor in my previous life, I didn’t know much about the Vedha Continent, where the Esoteric Buddhism Sect resides. It is a major holy land for Buddhism, hidden somewhere in West Cow He State, similar to the secret realms of Ancient Times, quite concealed. I only know a little about it.”

Even Donghua the Great Emperor from Taoism, who holds no low rank, knew only a fraction, which underscored the secrecy of the Esoteric Buddhism Sect under the control of Tathagata.

The Esoteric Buddhism Sect can truly be considered Tathagata’s precious preserve, ensuring he doesn’t have to worry about Incense Power and Wishes. The people of Vedha Continent chant his name dozens of times daily, worship him mornings, afternoons, evenings, and give thanks before each meal…

No wonder this monk looked so fierce; he was formed from the undesirable thoughts of people, nearly indistinguishable from the ghosts and demons of the Underworld in appearance.

“Which protector of the Esoteric Sect is this?” Daoist Equal to Heaven inquired.

“I am not sure, but I know he belongs to the Esoteric Sect, for only they have such fierce existences,” said Lu Dongbin.

Members of the Esoteric Sect often have defining traits, such as carrying two large gold bowls, wearing a unique Buddha crown, or having green faces and sharp teeth like demons… Compared with the Prominent Sect, the people of the Esoteric Sect seem slightly more fierce, unlike the Prominent Sect’s image of compassion and vows to deliver all beings.

Daoist Equal to Heaven frowned and said, “What is this person from the Esoteric Sect doing here? Could it be they intend to thwart our vital matter?”

No sooner had he spoken than the Esoteric Buddhism Protector charged down and reached for Zhang Fei.

Daoist Equal to Heaven was inwardly shocked, thinking, “Tathagata is formidable to have discovered Liu Bei’s Left and Right Aids so quickly and sent an Esoteric Buddhism Protector to assassinate them! This protector, made from the seven emotions and six desires of the people of Vedha Continent, with their multitude of miscellaneous thoughts, can disperse even the gravest karmic consequences, leaving them insignificant! Tathagata’s schemes are truly formidable, impressive indeed!”

The more Daoist Equal to Heaven interacted with Tathagata, the more he realized how formidable he was.

Just as Ancestor Chen Tuan was preparing to act, a bolt of thunder from the sky struck the Esoteric Buddhism Protector’s back without a sound, making him stumble. This thunder came silently, with no roar, only a flash of light landing behind him.

Looking up, Daoist Equal to Heaven and the others saw a vague figure standing within deeper clouds, dressed in a dragon and phoenix red robe, his form partially obscured by the mist.

“Great Emperor Gouchen of the West Pole!” Lu Dongbin recognized the figure instantly and whispered his name with reverence.

The Esoteric Buddhism Protector, struck by Great Emperor Gouchen’s thunder, was torn and tattered, falling onto the clouds unable to move. A cold laugh came from Great Emperor Gouchen, who pointed into the void, and another silent bolt of thunder fell, even larger than the first, instantly killing the protector.

Daoist Equal to Heaven wondered, “Has he not discovered us?”

Lu Dongbin narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment before saying, “Perhaps he has set up some kind of mechanism in secret, such that if any Buddhist seeks to harm these individuals, he would be alerted and thus intervene. His arrival was hurried, and he may not have seen us.”

Daoist Equal to Heaven felt that Great Emperor Gouchen was as profound and unfathomable as Wusheng, noting that controlling such pure and intense thunder quietly was no ordinary skill. The four present admitted they couldn’t achieve such a feat.

Daoist Equal to Heaven thought to himself, “Tathagata’s calculations are brilliant, but the Daoist sects are not to be underestimated either! The methods of these individuals are terrifying. While I found them through early detection, they had already foreseen this. Terrifying, truly terrifying!”

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the following story.

PS: Some have asked about the matter of Pure Yang. It’s the same principle as before. Chen Tuan is a figure from the Song Dynasty, yet he appeared as the Sleep Immortal much earlier in the book. As for Xu Jingyang, also known as Xu Xun, a figure from the Two Jin Dynasties, and Ge Hong from later times, the Heavenly Court had already established the Four Heavenly Masters. One could see that Donghua the Great Emperor had already reincarnated as Lu Dongbin early on and only later descended to propagate Taoist Teachings during the Tang Dynasty. Just as Laozi appeared during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, it was merely his descent to spread the Taoist teachings.