Chapter 90: The Avatars of the Eight Dragons of Tianlong

Suddenly, a ball of fire drifted slowly from the foot of the mountain.

As the fire drew closer, Guan Wen realized it was a person carrying a fist-sized red ruby, walking all the way. It was none other than the Venerable Crimson Flame. Slung diagonally across his back was a heavy long saber wrapped in red silk.

"Venerable, why is it you?" The three of them revealed themselves and stepped forward to greet him.

"I have said, I am a lamp. The purpose of a lamp is to illuminate the path of practitioners in the deepest darkness. Therefore, I have come. Follow me." The Venerable Crimson Flame walked toward the edge of the cliff, holding his right hand high. The red ruby emitted waves of light like a lighthouse in the dark night, instantly splitting the curtain of darkness.

Another loud crash echoed from beneath the decapitation cliff, and a dark shadow soared into the sky. At the same time, nameless mountaintops to the south, southwest, west, northwest, and north each lit up with a streak of red light, echoing the red ruby in the Venerable Crimson Flame's hand from afar.

"Sarira, light fills heaven and earth, illuminating both ancient and modern times. Within and without the Esoteric Sect, I alone am honored. Go—" The Venerable Crimson Flame suddenly hurled the red ruby, and the red lights from the other five directions also flew over. The six streaks of red light collided and entangled in mid-air, completely illuminating the deeply profound valley behind Mount Niseri.

Guan Wen saw that the dark shadow floating in mid-air was none other than Gao Xiang. The subjugating pestle in his chest had been pulled out, leaving an abrupt, terrifying, fist-sized hollow.

"That is not Gao Xiang, but the witch. This time, it is the true decisive battle," Guan Wen said in a deep voice.

Gao Xiang spun rapidly in mid-air, emitting bursts of sharp and piercing laughter.

Guan Wen listened intently; the laughter actually came from three people: Gao Xiang, Tang Jue, and the witch.

The Venerable Crimson Flame chanted in a loud voice: "The King then set off and arrived at Gheru Field, witnessing firsthand the naturally arisen Six-Syllable Great Mantra. Immediately thereafter, he bathed and purified himself, praying devoutly. Suddenly, from the naturally arisen Six-Syllable Great Mantra, a rainbow of brilliant five-colored light was emitted, shining upon the sacred visages of Avalokiteshvara, Arya Tara, and Hayagriva, which appeared naturally on the opposite rock. Once again, from the images of Avalokiteshvara and the others, light was emitted, which also shone upon the Six-Syllable Mantra. The garlands of light connected with one another like rainbows, witnessed by all eyes, constituting a rare and wondrous spectacle. The King then proceeded before the naturally arisen image of the Compassionate Heart and prayed. Instantly, from the smiling face of the Savior Avalokiteshvara, light was emitted, transforming into flames; from the wrathful face, light was emitted, transforming into Hayagriva and Amritakundalin. And the wrathful deities and their flames, swift as shooting stars, destroyed the gathered piles of demons and spirits. Moreover, by the power of divine transformation, he stirred up the violent winds and fierce fires of the end of the kalpa, driving all fierce ghosts and monsters away to the shores of the outer sea. Once again upon the rock of Ravaze, the three sacred images of Amitabha, Khasarpani Avalokiteshvara, and Hayagriva appeared naturally..."

These were sentences from *The Chronicle of the Kings and Ministers*, describing the heroic deeds of the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, who used infinite magical powers to banish ghosts and evil spirits and protect the peace of Lhasa.

"Venerable, this is the moment I have long awaited. I shall go," Guan Wen said calmly.

The Venerable Crimson Flame pulled the cord buckle at his chest, and the heavy saber fell into Guan Wen's hands.

"A true hero is able to step forward at a critical moment, forgetting his own life and death to seek happiness for the people of the world. Remember well the Six-Syllable Great Mantra—'Om Mani Padme Hum', which possesses subtle and unimaginable merits as well as immeasurable Samadhi Dharma doors. All Vajra guardians and the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas love and protect it. Go, Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum..."

Amidst the chanting of the Venerable Crimson Flame, the valley instantly turned into flat ground. From the mountains in all directions, different voices responded, chanting the Six-Syllable Great Mantra in unison.

"And us, regardless of life or death, we will go with you." Gu Qingcheng and Baoling walked over, flanking Guan Wen on the left and right.

"Tubo's赞普 (Tsenpo) Songtsen Gampo addresses the Eastern Monarch Emperor of Han and Tang: I, Songtsen Gampo, can at any moment manifest five thousand incarnations, and within a single day promulgate royal law and make Buddhism flourish within the borders of Tibet. The Tsenpo transformed into hundreds of millions of incarnations, and the light emitted by these incarnations transformed into countless Heavenly Kings and Crown Princes, radiating a light that illuminates the ten directions of the heavenly canopy. Afterwards, the Tsenpo used his right hand to stroke the crown of Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal, and instantly Bhrikuti transformed into an eight-petaled white lotus. The Tsenpo used his left hand to stroke the crown of the Han Princess Wencheng, and in a moment Wencheng transformed into a sixteen-petaled blue lotus. At that time, the Tsenpo looked up for a moment at the primary deity image of the Eleven-Faced Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara, and then, together with the white and green auspicious lotuses, transformed into a ball of light, absorbed into the chest of the Great Compassionate Avalokiteshvara image..."

These were the words recorded in *The Pillar Testament*. As the Venerable Crimson Flame chanted these words, Guan Wen, Gu Qingcheng, and Baoling advanced simultaneously.

"I have come, I have come, I have come..." Gao Xiang rushed forward at high speed, emitting three voices at the same time.

Gu Qingcheng and Baoling let out a cry simultaneously, placing their palms on Guan Wen's shoulders as two streams of power poured entirely into Guan Wen's body.

At that moment, he was no longer a weak literati who only knew how to hold a brush and paint, but Guan Yu, the Wusheng (Martial Sage) whose loyalty and righteousness were unparalleled in the world.

The moment they met, Guan Wen raised his blade and brought it down, splitting Gao Xiang into two, two into four, four into eight, eight into sixty-four... until he was split into tens of millions of pieces.

"I can be as minuscule as a mustard seed, so small that you cannot even make a cut; I can also be as magnificent as Mount Sumeru, so large that you do not know where to begin your cut. Guan Wen, this is the foundation of the secret technique of 'The Eight Legions: Eight Births and Eight Deaths'. I possess the eight kinds of 'non-human' powers: Devas, Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, and Mahoragas, and I soar freely through the world of the 'non-humans'. What can you do to me?" That was Tang Jue's voice.

"Guan Wen, across hundreds of millions of worlds, hundreds of millions of spaces, and hundreds of millions of reincarnations, I still suppress you. You are simply no match for me. With strength and weakness so clearly defined, what else is there for you to struggle against? You might as well obediently submit to me and become my slave; perhaps you can manage to preserve your life. A miserable life is better than a good death—this is the most brilliant truth of living in this world. Come, come, just put down your saber and surrender, and I can reward you with a couple of bones to eat, hahahaha..." That was Gao Xiang's voice.

"This is an age of the resurgence of the demonic path. The sky is dark enough, the earth is heavy enough, human nature is ambiguous enough, and human intellect is foolish enough. By coming, I can change this world, which precisely conforms to the will of heaven and the will of the people. Anyway, the people are meant to be ruled and slaughtered; you kill, I kill, he kills—is there any difference? A wise man knows how to assess the situation and adapt to changes, so why bother always doing thankless, grueling work? Come over to my side, and I will give you everything you want..." That was the witch's voice.

Three voices and three lives were all concentrated on Gao Xiang, terrifying, eerie, and hair-raising.

Although they were hacked to pieces, they were not killed, living on within the tens of millions of fragments of Gao Xiang's body.

"I have seen the carvings of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas at Baoding Mountain in Dazu, Chongqing, and I have immersed myself in the 'Eight Legions: Eight Births and Eight Deaths' secret technique you wield. Therefore, both you and I are very clear that all eight kinds of 'non-humans' are divine monsters; you cannot rely on your single strength to completely control them, nor can you encompass all the 'non-humans' of the world in your own person. Furthermore, when you were in Nepal, you already tried and failed to completely uproot the wisdom root of the wise within my body. What does this indicate? It indicates that my wisdom is superior to yours, and your secret technique simply cannot shake my foundation. The Martial Sage Guan Yu could slay Hua Xiong over a cup of warm wine, behead Yan Liang and execute Wen Chou, and pass five passes and slay six generals—what else could possibly block my blade?" Guan Wen thus responded to Tang Jue.

"The Martial Sage could attend a single-handedly hosted banquet with just a blade, flood seven armies, scrape bone to cure poison, and look down upon all hardships and obstacles in the world. As long as he lives, if gods block him he slaughters gods, if Buddhas block him he slaughters Buddhas, let alone a clown jumping about like you?" He thus responded to Gao Xiang.

"Humanity and demonhood cannot coexist. It is precisely because demonic nature has invaded human nature and madness has wreaked havoc on this wonderful world that I redrew the mandala and lured you out. Do not think that you can do whatever you please by breaking away from the *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* mandala. Have you realized that this valley is also a mandala? You are still within the boundless magical power of the Tibetan Buddhist mandala!" He thus responded to the witch.

The valley was indeed an infinitely magnified mandala. Although Guan Wen did not know which sage and virtuous person had constructed the mandala, he believed that for the sake of eliminating demons, people in Tibetan Buddhism had done far too much—some recorded in history, while others unknown to the world.

"I don't believe it... No one understands how to harness the power of the 'Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas' better than I do. In this regard, I have reached the ultimate—" Tang Jue screamed in a shrill voice.

"I can," Guan Wen said in a deep voice.

People stepped forward with large strides from the five directions where the red lights had previously flown out. The two from the south and north were Tseten Tashi and Master Sangchao respectively. The three from the west, southwest, and northwest were the "one king and two princesses" Guan Wen had seen in his illusions: the black-armored General Songtsen Gampo, Princess Wencheng, and Princess Bhrikuti.

"What are they? What are they?" Tang Jue shrieked wildly.

"They are the true Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas," Guan Wen replied coldly.

In an instant, Songtsen Gampo transformed into the majestic Deva, Princess Wencheng transformed into the free and unrestrained Naga, Princess Bhrikuti transformed into the agile and warlike Yaksha, Master Sangchao transformed into the faint and ethereal Gandharva, and Tseten Tashi transformed into the human-bodied, snake-headed Mahoraga. These were five of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas. Immediately afterwards, Guan Wen transformed into a Garuda, Gu Qingcheng transformed into the extremely beautiful and dazzling Asura, and Baoling transformed into the graceful and dancing Kinnara.

Dazzling divine lightning erupted from the palms of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas. Tang Jue screamed in agony and was turned to dust under the combined strike of the Eight Legions.

"I originally thought the Rakshasa witch had two heads and one body, being both male and female. Now I realize she actually has three heads on one body. No wonder the demon-subjugating journeys of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners repeatedly failed—it was all because they failed to catch sight of the witch's full appearance. This time, the truth has finally come to light—" The black-armored General Songtsen Gampo sighed with emotion.

"Well done, well done." Princess Wencheng smiled and pressed her palms together.

"This time, let it end right here." Princess Bhrikuti lowered her head and stepped back.

"This is the true decisive battle, the grand finale!" The one-armed and haggard Tseten Tashi raised his arms and shouted.

"True heroes change the world, while ordinary people are changed by the world. Let's go, we must walk our own paths now..." Master Sangchao tugged at the corner of Tseten Tashi's robe.

All the illusions of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas quietly receded. Guan Wen swung his blade once more, and among the tens of millions of fragments, Gao Xiang's head crashed to the ground, splattered with blood.