Chapter 179 Honno-ji Temple

The head monk was alarmed by the sudden intrusion, but upon seeing Ji Xiang shatter the Niwang treasure mirrors with a wave of his hand, his expression changed drastically. Utterly terrified, he sternly rebuked:

"Who dares to trespass in Honno-ji!"

This temple was no ordinary place. The Sixth Heavenly Demon King, Oda Nobunaga, had been killed here, leaving behind lingering resentment. Hence, it required eminent monks to chant sutras day and night. Toyotomi Hideyoshi outwardly intended to cleanse Nobunaga's resentment and deliver his vengeful spirit, but there was more to it than met the eye. However, the head monk was unaware of Hideyoshi's true intentions, and simply followed his instructions to perform rituals for Nobunaga daily.

At the same time, the Three Treasures of the Heavenly Demon, left behind by Nobunaga, were also sealed here. Such important items could not fall into the hands of others. Honno-ji was heavily guarded, imbued with the potent power of the Buddha. Ordinary people who entered the temple would feel a sense of piety, not daring to act presumptuously. Furthermore, no warlord or daimyo was allowed, or even able, to set foot in Honno-ji without Toyotomi Hideyoshi's permission!

Yet now, someone had suddenly appeared here!

This was naturally shocking. The old head monk had no time to ponder how Ji Xiang had entered, because the latter had displayed extreme hostility from the start, destroying the Niwang treasure mirrors that illuminated and dispelled demons. This was enough to prove that he had not come to pay respects or converse, but to cause trouble!

"Buddha Seal...!"

Before the head monk could unleash his Buddhist magic, a golden-white khakkhara struck him. The blow shattered more than a dozen of his ribs, sending him crashing to the side with a loud bang, toppling the Buddha statues. Blood spurted from the head monk's seven orifices, and upon seeing the golden-white khakkhara, his expression underwent a sudden, drastic change.

As the Honno-ji Temple of Japanese Buddhism, its heritage originated from the Lotus Sutra School. How could a descendant of such an ancient lineage not recognize the origin of this golden-white khakkhara!

"Isn't this... Yaobikuni's White Copper Four Truths Khakkhara!"

Ji Xiang watched the old head monk sprawled on the ground, listening to him utter the name of this Buddhist artifact in disbelief. He responded with a slightly playful tone, "Worthy of being a high-ranking monk, you can still recognize the origin of this Buddhist artifact. It seems you've seen it before."

"Rest assured, I'm not here to kill people, just to borrow some of your incense."

Ji Xiang had not exerted much force in that strike, and using a Buddhist artifact to strike a Buddhist disciple would not cause too much damage. After all, Ji Xiang did not consider himself one to slaughter the innocent. This time, he had only come to borrow something, so how could he possibly beat up the host?

The old head monk wiped the blood from his face and staggered to his feet. A pile of his bones were broken, but it was not a major issue for him. After all, he was a cultivator, not a mortal. Breaking a dozen bones, even if the internal organs were damaged, as long as his magic power remained, he could use it to recover. Moreover, there was also the nascent soul. Even if the physical body turned to ashes, as long as the nascent soul remained, it was as if nothing had happened.

However, the terror in his heart grew even stronger, only because the other party was using a Buddhist artifact, and he himself cultivated Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra School was not some third-rate Buddhist sect. In the Central Lands, the Lotus Sutra School was the Tiantai School, one of the Eight Great Buddhist Schools. The name "Lotus Sutra" was only used in Japan, and it originated from the Central Lands in the early Sui Dynasty.

"Using a Buddhist artifact yet not harming my life, but casually crippling my physical body... My Vajra body was so easily damaged. What is this person's background..."

"Could it be...."

Great fear gradually arose in the old head monk's heart. He had vaguely guessed the other party's identity, and his face turned pale. He uttered the Buddha's name of Amitabha, though the Japanese pronunciation sounded a little strange....

He revealed Ji Xiang's identity: "You must be the Heavenly Demon that Lord Kanpaku is searching for!"

Seeing that Ji Xiang did not respond, but was searching through the Buddha statues, the old head monk knew that he was no match for the demon before him. At the same time, he secretly lamented his misfortune. The last demon who came here was Oda Nobunaga, which ultimately led the temple to fall into war. This time was even worse than the last. A true Heavenly Demon from across the sea had arrived!

Could it be that the name "Honno-ji" held some attraction for demons! It was clearly a solemn and pure land of Buddhism, so how could it have become like this?

"My temple's incense is not flourishing, so it's useless even if you search!"

The old head monk watched Ji Xiang continue to touch the Buddha statues, cursing the desecration in his heart. This great demon was wantonly touching the Buddha statues, wasn't he slapping the face of Buddhism? But now that he had been slapped, after comparing the strength of both sides, the old head monk wisely chose to swallow his anger!

This is my Buddha's compassion, not to argue with demons. These gold-plated statues are just clay and iron, so it won't matter if he touches them....

"You know that this is Honno-ji. The Sixth Heavenly Demon King, Oda Nobunaga, died here. After the incident, this temple was sealed off by the current Lord Kanpaku, allowing my Buddhist sect to operate, receiving the incense of the state. Ordinary people can only offer incense at the outer temple, and are absolutely not allowed to enter this inner temple. Therefore, there is not much incense in this inner temple."

"However, even the incense at the outer temple is not very abundant...."

Ji Xiang turned his head and glanced at him. After their eyes met, Ji Xiang turned his head back and continued to touch the statues, while saying:

"Incense is not flourishing? That's not necessarily true. I see that the incense here is very prosperous."

From the moment he entered Honno-ji, the two Niwang statues were extraordinary. As the Lord of Incense, Ji Xiang sensed, upon entering, that apart from the strong Buddhist nature, there was also abundant incense hidden within the temple.

There were indeed not many people offering incense.

But just as the old head monk had said, this was the territory sealed off by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Ji Xiang had already noticed that these Buddha statues were just something to deceive people. The real thing that received the state's sacrifices was sealed deep within these Buddha statues!

"Here!"

Ji Xiang touched a Buddha statue, and upon contact, he sensed waves of resentment sweeping over him. However, the gold-plated iron exterior completely transformed this resentment, connecting it to the nation's fortune.

"This is also the work of the Ghost God Path. Then this statue is...."

Ji Xiang raised his hand and drew his sword. A flash of light appeared, but he did not slash down. Instead, he smashed the Buddha statue!

With a bang, the Buddha statue shattered. Accompanying the debris that splattered throughout the temple was a fountain of rotten blood. Immediately following were the broken limbs that fell out. Although they were rotten, they seemed to be still alive. The arms were moving, and the bones and muscles were wriggling like worms.

The old head monk was startled, but after slightly trembling with fear, he noticed that Ji Xiang did not react in any way. For some reason, he felt a little calmer.

Damn it, so what if it's a hungry ghost.

Is it more powerful than a Heavenly Demon!

Thinking like this, he instantly stopped panicking. Although the Heavenly Demon had found a shocking, giant hungry ghost while searching for incense, it was probably only fit to be torn apart by this Heavenly Demon.

The hungry ghost roared for a while, then suddenly realized that no one was running away. Both the old monk covered in blood and the black-clothed Taoist in front of him were staring at it with expressions as if they were looking at a Shar Pei dog.

"Furthermore, monks should know about karmic retribution, and observe that there are countless kinds of hungry ghosts."

"They use their wisdom to observe thirty-six kinds of hungry ghosts."

"All hungry ghosts are born in that place due to causes of stinginess, greed, and jealousy."

The old head monk looked at the hungry ghost and murmured to himself. The samurai hungry ghost was enraged. These two ordinary preys were not afraid at all.

It wanted to... eat them. This was also what it should do!

"Wait a moment, do you only remember eating people?"

"Do you still remember... who you are?"

In Ji Xiang's eyes, there seemed to be text floating, and he asked this question. The hungry ghost still had a trace of chaotic consciousness. He was stunned by Ji Xiang's question, and actually stopped waving his claws. As if he had remembered something, the rotten flesh on his body was trembling, gradually tightening.

"It's me..... Who am I?"

"Huh..... Nobunaga....."

"Is my name."

The hungry ghost claimed to be Nobunaga, but Ji Xiang shook his head, then sighed:

"How many years has it been? The Ghost God Path's methods are truly powerful. Living people become vengeful spirits, and dead people become living corpses. Is life and death such easily manipulated things? Even those big figures in Rizanhe have to pay a huge price to reverse life and death, yin and yang. On this land, although you have not become immortals, are the changes related to yin and yang so easy?"

"The sacrifices of incense have turned you into a hungry ghost, and the Buddhist chanting has made you lose your mind? After breaking your gold-plated iron exterior, the huge ghost god imprisoned beneath Honno-ji will also come out, right?"

"Receiving the sacrifices of incense from the nation's fortune, using you as a medium to nourish it, creating something unbelievable from Oda Nobunaga's corpse. The Sixth Heavenly Demon King, also known as Mara, is the legendary enemy of the Buddha."

"However, a mere mortal cannot bear the title of Mara, so the thing nourished is destined not to become Mara."

"Just an ordinary demon god."

Ji Xiang extended his left hand towards the hungry ghost in front of him.

"Although my magic power is almost exhausted, I don't need to use my own magic power for this move."

"Akechi Mitsuhide, look at this!"

As soon as the first four words were spoken, the spirit of the samurai hungry ghost in front of him seemed to be shaken. But before he could recover, a huge ghost face with a blue face and fangs suddenly appeared in Ji Xiang's left hand!

In an instant, it covered the entire main hall!

The ghost face laughed, making a terrifying sound. It opened its mouth, and a soaring ghostly aura and scorching heat emanated from it. The ghost face phantom bit the samurai hungry ghost, twisting and deforming his entire body, directly devouring him into nothingness!

Ji Xiang clenched his five fingers, the ghost face disappeared, and immediately afterwards, a large amount of Jāmbūnada gold flowed out of his fingers!

At the same time, the sounds from hell seemed to be coming again. This time, it was not only the voice of the Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, but also those of other ghost kings....

"Here, I'll give you a little bit."

Ji Xiang sprinkled a large handful of Jāmbūnada gold to the old head monk, who did not understand what was happening. But soon, he was incredibly shocked to discover that these golden sands could resonate greatly with his own Buddhist nature. He didn't know what these things were, but there was no doubt that they could greatly help his cultivation.

"May this humble monk be so bold as to ask the Great Demon, what is this thing?"

The old head monk asked with some difficulty:

"This good thing looks really valuable, and you are a Heavenly Demon descended from the heavens. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I'm afraid bad things will happen when making a deal with a demon."

Ji Xiang said indifferently, "Indeed, bad things will happen, but I think this handful of Jāmbūnada gold should be enough to compensate you for the great loss that will follow."

"What, this, this, this, this is Jāmbūnada gold!"

The old head monk was greatly startled. The Great Demon's words were shocking. For a moment, he didn't even know if the other party was lying to him!

Although his face was suspicious, he thought to himself that even if this wasn't real Jāmbūnada gold, it was definitely a superior divine treasure. He remembered that these gold pieces hadn't existed before, and had flowed out of the other party's palm?

"May I ask the Great Demon, where did this gold come from?"

"Avici Hell."

The old head monk fell silent.

Ji Xiang thought he didn't understand, so he explained simply, "My left hand can open the gate to Avici Hell. This is the power of the Ucchusma Vajra.... But you don't seem to believe in him here, so there's no need to know too much."

"These Jāmbūnada gold pieces were all personally mined from the Jāmbūnada River by the hungry ghosts of Avici Hell, working day and night without rest. They are definitely not fake. If you don't believe me, smell them, there's still the stinky hand of a hungry ghost on them."

The old head monk was shocked beyond words.

You say these words as if Avici Hell is your home, and the hungry ghosts are all your workers. You're even more powerful than Mara!

But suddenly the ground shook violently. He remembered that the hungry ghost had just been taken away, and quickly said, "What the Great Demon just said... what was that hungry ghost's name....?!"

"Akechi Mitsuhide, aren't you the head monk of Honno-ji? You don't even recognize Akechi Mitsuhide?"

Ji Xiang waved his hand, "Alright, he's not important. He's just a living corpse, being refined into a hungry ghost. It's just a medium. Now that this medium has disappeared, the thing being nourished beneath Honno-ji is about to come out."

"It's like removing a stone that's blocking the flow of water.... Look!"

A huge demonic aura soared into the sky!

All the surrounding Buddha statues shattered, turning into dust, and Ji Xiang's body also revealed true demonic aura. Although the demonic aura was weak, the demonic aura rising from the ground could not pollute Ji Xiang's body.

However, the Buddhist disciples in Honno-ji were not so lucky!

The moment they came into contact with this demonic aura, those who were not strong enough and had stayed behind to guard the temple were directly possessed, turning into twisted monsters with fleshy wings on their backs, fangs in their mouths, sharp iron claws, and making disgusting screams like yakshas.

Even the old head monk couldn't resist, and demonic aura was surging from his body, but thanks to years of cultivation, he could still endure it. Only one of his eyes had turned into a demonic eye, turning coldly, and his face changed greatly at this moment.

The Heavenly Demon came down and released the Earth Demon!

The Kanpaku actually used the corpses of Akechi Mitsuhide and Toyotomi Hideyoshi to create such a thing beneath Honno-ji!

What is this demon god supposed to be used for! The Dharma of my Buddha is so defiled. In that case, the real Great Demon is not outside, but within the country. What was the death of Yaobikuni for? Instead of killing the Heavenly Demon, she was harmed by the Heavenly Demon. And now, it is going to let the demon bring chaos to the world....

"Kshitigarbha, please help me."

"My Buddha is merciful."

Just as the old head monk was disheartened and preparing to give up and wait for death, the "Heavenly Demon" he saw not far in front of him actually emitted Kshitigarbha Buddha light!

Then, something even more terrifying, perplexing, and uncertain happened to him. He saw two Buddhist dharmas manifested in the hands of that Heavenly Demon, and with the sound of chanting Buddha mantras, two great Buddha phantoms appeared on his body!

However, perhaps due to insufficient magic power, these two Buddha forms were very faint and seemed to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment. Even so, it had almost made the old head monk's jaw drop.

Wasn't it said that he was a Heavenly Demon?

The demonic aura he had sensed before was definitely not false. It was absolutely pure demonic aura. At most, it didn't have that sense of filth, but he thought that this was because the Heavenly Demon was different from the filthy demons on earth, and there shouldn't be any difference in essence.

But now, how did the situation change? The demonic aura disappeared in the blink of an eye as if it had never appeared, and what followed was pure Buddhist Dharma?!

"Demon God?"

"Demon Buddha?"

The demon god nurtured beneath Honno-ji, the Demon Buddha who crossed the sea from Ming?

Alright! A Demon Buddha is also a Buddha!

But Ji Xiang didn't care about those demonic auras.

Because along with those demonic auras, there was also an extremely large amount of incense power surging from the ground!

In the Inner Vision Divine Tablet, words appeared:

【Conquering Heavenly Demon King (Corpse of Oda Nobunaga): Heaven has nine layers, I can conquer six layers!】

【Nourishing oneself with the incense of the thousands of monks of Mount Hiei, the corpse remains indestructible after death!】

"In other words, this demon god's corpse is just a pile of incense."

"Then I won't be polite."

Looking at those surging demonic auras that were gradually probing and becoming more and more distorted, Ji Xiang rummaged through his sleeves and pulled out the Gatling gun as if from a Qiankun sleeve.

"Now I don't have any magic power left, so I can only use a machine gun."

After saying that, the Gatling gun roared and fired continuously at the large pit from which the demonic aura was pouring out. In an instant, the surging demonic aura was scattered in all directions!