Chapter 58: The Seal of Freedom—Fingers Turning Heaven and Earth, Shifting Yin and Yang

The Esoteric mudra mirrored the human heart, and once again, kaleidoscopic and swirling illusions materialized before Yi Beidou.

Gathering his inner baleful aura yet again to shatter the mirage, the moment the illusion dissolved, the Grand Master Dashi Baolian launched a counterattack from behind.

Boom!!

With a direct collision of palm strikes, the opponent leveraged the force to retreat once more, then formed hand seals to instigate the Sanskrit chanting illusions, repeating the cycle.

Within Yi Beidou's mind, those Sanskrit chants grew increasingly deafening. The scope of reality he could perceive after breaking the illusions shrank progressively. Deep within the surrounding jungle, towering figures were continuously growing in stature.

With green faces and tusks, yellow beards and scarlet hair, ferocious expressions and eyes like copper bells, they assumed the awe-inspiring, demon-subduing fierce forms of Vajra guardian deities.

The shapes of the eighteen Maras seemed to be gradually deifying.

This was a manifestation of the grand formation's Sanskrit chants eroding Yi Beidou's mental state ever more deeply.

"Look at the terrain and mountain ranges here, with five ridges rising precisely like the five fingers of the Tathagata, which is why the Sanskrit chants never cease and intensify!"

"Look at the sky, obscured by dark clouds, devoid of stars and moon, the Big Dipper dim and hidden in the Milky Way!"

"You have just emerged from a fierce battle, mentally exhausted and physically depleted, yet I possess the demon-subduing supernatural power to cut off your positioning and disrupt your perception!"

"Heaven's timing, advantageous terrain, and human harmony are all on my side! This is your destiny! You are fated to be buried here. Given that you are a Free-Heavenly Mara, why were you able to attain the Dao so easily? It is simply to assist me in achieving the Great Dharma! Cause and effect dictate this; how can you possibly resist?!"

"Why not swiftly submit to destiny? I shall help you be delivered from the sea of suffering and ferry you to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss!"

Simultaneously, the old monk's voice echoed unceasingly, acting like demonic incantations that persistently attempted to shake Yi Beidou's mind and soul.

Beguiling the heart and confounding right and wrong—though draped in monastic robes, the Grand Master Dashi Baolian acted the part of a heavenly demon!

A demon clad in a monk's cassock—precisely as Yi Beidou had stated earlier, without the slightest deviation!

Yi Beidou's figure swayed like a lone leaf on a skiff, seemingly on the verge of destruction at any moment, yet his expression gradually shed its impatience, growing increasingly serene.

At the exact instant the old monk uttered his final word, Yi Beidou abruptly opened his eyes. The vital energy and blood surged within his body, and his state of mind rose like a tidal wave.

"Destiny? I have weathered countless kalpas and shattered destiny long ago! Even Heaven and Earth cannot bind my fate; you wish to become my destiny—are you even worthy?!"

Yi Beidou's voice thundered like rolling lightning. As he spoke, his lungs compressed the air, and white mist exploded before him.

Indeed, this individual had appeared, countering his abilities and confounding his primordial heart, marking the very first tribulation he had encountered after attaining sagehood.

Yet he had never believed in destiny, nor had he ever feared tribulations.

For he himself had stepped forward step by step out of countless tribulations.

In his eyes, tribulations were the stairway to attaining the Dao, the gateway to the evolution of life, and the assistance that propelled him to greater heights.

Without experiencing tribulations, how could he have achieved his current accomplishments?

This person had merely come to assist him in his cultivation!

This could not help but remind him of the legends of old.

When Shakyamuni attained the Dao, heavenly demons came to assail him, attempting to beguile him.

And now, although the Grand Master Dashi Baolian wore monastic robes, he was a demon beguiling the heart, while Yi Beidou was the one who yearned for spiritual cultivation and tranquility.

After Shakyamuni attained the Dao, he suppressed the demon king with mudra arts; and now, the Grand Master Dashi Baolian used mudra arts to disrupt his primordial heart.

Everything was contradictory, yet everything seemed identical.

"Let me tell you what cause and effect truly mean!!"

The ill-fitting upper garments on Yi Beidou's torso had long since burst apart amidst the violent collisions, exposing his robust upper body and perfect muscular contours that shone as brilliantly as a sculpture.

His mind and soul merged like a barrier; both demonic nature and divine nature condensed upon his palms. With one finger pointing to the heavens and the other pointing to the earth, he actually formed a hand seal.

Legend has it that when the Buddha was born, in his infant form, he pointed one finger to the heavens and the other to the earth, symbolizing supremacy over heaven and earth.

Yet Yi Beidou did not harbor this intention.

His finger pointing to the heavens was meant to break free from the cage of heavenly fate; his finger pointing to the earth was meant to cast off the shackles of the mundane world.

The Grand Master Dashi Baolian did not understand. He was wrong—wrong to an outrageous degree.

He believed that by borrowing the terrain and the timing of heaven, he could suppress Yi Beidou, yet he had forgotten the true meaning of Yi Beidou's name.

Move Mount Tai, Shift the Dipper (Yi Beidou).

He was meant to cast off the shackles of heaven and earth, bearing the true intent of altering the cosmos.

What the Grand Master Dashi Baolian considered to be heavenly fate was actually assisting Yi Beidou in his cultivation.

"Freedom!!"

The wave of sound exploded from Yi Beidou's mouth, rolling and propagating through the forest, cooperating with the magnetic field of his intent to shake heaven, earth, and human harmony.

One finger pointing to the heavens, one pointing to the earth, chanting of freedom.

This was Yi Beidou's third martial art: the Freedom Dharma Seal!

This seal emphasized intent, awing the soul, inverting the magnetic field of heaven and earth, shattering the formation barrier, and penetrating directly into the primordial heart of living beings.

"This is..."

The pupils of the Grand Master Dashi Baolian abruptly contracted. He clearly perceived that the magnetic field surrounding Yi Beidou was reversing along with the movement of his fingers.

Though called the Freedom Dharma Seal, it was in reality the inversion of heaven and earth.

Pointing to heaven and earth to reverse Yin and Yang!

Without shattering the shackles of heaven and earth, how could one be called free?

Instantly, he formed a grand mudra with his hands. The lotus-like and ghost-like markings all over his body trembled, and the chanting of Sanskrit turned into the weeping and wailing of malicious ghosts.

This instantaneous mental burst enabled him to block the inversion of the magnetic field with his hand seal.

However, while he could block Yi Beidou's dharma seal, the eighteen Maras he had brought along could not.

Though they chanted Sanskrit and operated Dharma instruments, their minds and intents had long been connected to the surrounding magnetic field.

At this very moment, as Yi Beidou abruptly formed the Freedom Dharma Seal, within their field of vision, his body rapidly magnified, appearing no longer as a human, but rather as the gods and Buddhas seated within grand halls.

With one finger pointing to the heavens and the other to the earth, the heaven and earth in their eyes seemed to invert. The instantaneous shift of the magnetic field eroded their bodies, causing them to experience mental derangement, spinning skies, and the reversal of vital energy and blood.

Puff!

Unable to maintain the formation barrier any longer, they could not help but spew mouthfuls of fresh blood.

A single dharma seal actually caused all eighteen soul-奪 (soul-snatching) fiends to suffer injuries simultaneously.

The terrain shifted; heavenly timing and advantageous terrain could no longer suppress Yi Beidou, and the Demon-Subduing Grand Formation dissolved into thin air.

"You attempted to confound my heart and mind using the method of hand seals, and now I shall shatter your grand formation using the method of hand seals. This is cause and effect!"

Yi Beidou stepped forward, his gaze like lightning. Freed from restraint, his demonic nature was no longer kept in check, and his imposing aura was vast like the sea.

"A demon draped in a monk's cassock, I shall send you back to the Avici Hell!"

Yi Beidou shouted, his figure instantly striking toward the Grand Master Dashi Baolian.

A horizontal palm strike, with baleful intent and murderous aura condensed in his palm, rolled forward like a tidal wave, crushing everything in its path.

Extinguishing Dharma Murderous Tribulation!!

The Grand Master Dashi Baolian met the strike with a palm of his own. The lotus and ghost faces encompassing his body stirred up countless piercing Sanskrit chants, likewise elevating his physical capacity to its absolute limit.

Ksitigarbha's Profound Dharma, All Ghosts Subdue and Hide!!

Boom!!

The two parties clashed head-on. The Grand Master Dashi Baolian took two steps back, instantly realizing the terrifying strength of Yi Beidou's demonic physique; having lost the momentum of the grand formation, he could no longer contend with him head-on.

His eyes mixed with dread and greed.

Such a physical body was precisely the object of his covetous desire!

"Protect me, now!!"

He shouted loudly. The bodies of the surrounding eighteen Maras shook, and immediately disregarding their injuries, they lunged desperately toward Yi Beidou.

Over the years, he had continually suppressed these people's minds with Esoteric mudra arts, long ensuring that they would not fear life or death for his sake.

This was precisely the time to use them!

Bang, bang, bang, bang!!

Martial artists at the peak of the soul-snatching realm lunged forward one after another, yet Yi Beidou ignored them entirely, enduring their attacks while continuing his assault on the Grand Master Dashi Baolian.

However, something he never anticipated occurred.

Faced with his palm strike, not only did the Grand Master Dashi Baolian not dodge, but he instead turned sideways, meeting the blow with his left shoulder.

Bang!!

The palm landed squarely on his body, producing a muffled sound accompanied by the cracking of bones. The Grand Master Dashi Baolian spat out a mouthful of blood, utilizing the impact of the blow to retreat, while simultaneously shaping his right hand into a hook, striking viciously like a poisonous snake toward the arm with which Yi Beidou had hit him.