Chapter 863

Chapter 863: The Retreat of the Buddhist Sect

Lingjing Star Domain

As Lin Jiang was running away, he suddenly felt the pressure behind him vanish. Lin Jiang realized that Xia Qingshan had made his move.

"Lin Jiang, don’t run, chase the remaining enemies, don’t let them take the dao auras."

Lin Jiang’s ears caught Xia Qingshan’s voice, and then Lin Jiang forwarded this message to others before grabbing his spear and returning to the battlefield.

At this moment, the true Buddha of Lingfa Star had taken action, aiming to protect Xuan Fa and the others as they retreated. The true Buddha could see clearly that they could no longer win this war; it was important to preserve their strength.

Xuan Fa and his friends were very obedient, or rather, they were eager to retreat immediately, so they started to fall back. However, they needed to take as many dao auras with them as possible, which was very important for the true Buddha.

"Sigh."

Xuan Fa sighed deeply, feeling very sad. The dao auras left behind were all from their Buddhist practitioners, and on the Blue Star side, not a single person had died in battle yet; it was truly terrible.

Lin Jiang and the others charged back in, gathering the dao auras and engaging with Xuan Fa and the others again. But this time, Xuan Fa and his friends were the ones fighting and retreating at the same time.

Xia Qingshan was also fighting with the true Buddha. Although they did not reveal themselves, the powers of their rules continually clashed, creating a deadly atmosphere in the starry sky, with occasional ripples in space.

Liang Long was commanding the Space Battleship to take down enemies, especially focusing on the injured ones as his main targets.

"You all go quickly; I will stay behind."

Xuan Fa became anxious. At this rate, none of them would get away. He immediately made up his mind to stay behind.

Xuan Fa took out a bell from the storage bag and then clapped his hands on the bell.

"When…"

In space, Lin Jiang and the others actually heard the sound of the bell, and everyone felt a pain in their heads.

"This is a combination of sound waves and spiritual attack, everyone stay calm…"

Lin Jiang immediately communicated with everyone, this old monk is impressive; he can even use sound wave attacks in space, it must be some kind of rule power that breaks the norm.

"When…"

Xuan Fa struck the bell again, and at that moment, a Bodhisattva also stopped.

"Elder brother, I am here to help you."

The Bodhisattva said, then directly stopped beside Xuan Fa and began to chant the Freedom Bestowing Sutra, wanting to use Xuan Fa’s Buddhist sound to guide everyone forcibly.

Xuan Fa glanced at the Bodhisattva but didn’t say much. At that moment, he wasn’t in the mood to guess what he was thinking, whether it was good or bad.

Xuan Fa immediately changed his approach. The sound of the Buddha was no longer an attack, but rather became the carrier for the Bodhisattva, transmitting his Freedom Bestowing Sutra to all enemies.

"Ding, ding…"

The sound of the temple bell continued to ring. Xuan Fa came from the Foyin Temple on Lingfa Star, and he was very skilled in sound attacks.

"Retreat the battleships."

Liang Long had already received reports from various battleships. The Freedom Bestowing Sutra had a significant impact on ordinary cultivators, so he had to order the battleships to retreat to a safe distance. As for whether they could still hit the Buddhist cultivator, he no longer cared; after all, they had already won this battle.

"Take down Xuan Fa."

Lin Jiang was also feeling aggressive. Xuan Fa was looking for trouble; having broken formation, he had to accept the risk of falling.

The power of the Freedom Bestowing Sutra varies from person to person. For those with a strong mind, the Freedom Bestowing Sutra has little effect; however, for those whose minds are weak, the verses of the Freedom Bestowing Sutra can trigger many illusions, greatly increasing its power.

So this moment is a test of everyone’s determination and foundation; the stronger the foundation, the less likely they are to be affected.

"Ah…"

Some people could not bear the Freedom Bestowing Sutra and let out a terrible scream; they were affected by the Freedom Bestowing Sutra and not only wanted to drop their weapons but also to stop Lin Jiang and the others. But they knew this was wrong, so they were in great pain.

"Liang Long."

"Got it."

Lin Jiang communicated with Liang Long, and Liang Long replied. Then, a dozen warships’ Spiritual Cannons aimed at Xuan Fa and fired at him.

When the light faded, Xuan Fa and the others had already escaped; somehow, they had not died.

"Go."

Lin Jiang took out the Sagittarius Bow, shot an arrow, and the arrow exploded next to Xuan Fa. Xuan Fa stumbled but continued to run away.

Another spirit was unlucky. Not only did Lin Jiang attack, but everyone did. Cao Ying’s lightning magic blocked his way.

"No."

When Lin Jiang and the others caught up, the spirit shouted in surprise and then was overwhelmed by the crowd. Soon, dao auras appeared.

"Damn it, that bald donkey runs really fast!"

Lin Jiang shouted angrily. Xuan Fa’s figure had already vanished. In such a short time, Xuan Fa had run far away and could not be seen, definitely out of reach.

"Ancestor Lin, if we use the battleship, can we catch up?"

"No chance now, let’s retreat."

Lin Jiang shook his head. The battleship could catch up, but they had a true Buddha with them. Lin Jiang could not guarantee that Xia Qingshan was brave enough to leave the Lingjing Star area to chase. If Xia Qingshan didn’t have that courage, they would be asking for trouble.

······

Lingjing Star, Modern City

The attack from Lingfa Star was repelled, and it was a great victory. Nearly one hundred thousand came from Lingfa Star, and no more than two hundred managed to escape. They killed more than a hundred arhats and bodhisattvas combined.

Of course, it was impossible to count exactly. The main weapon of the Space Battleship hit directly and shattered everything; the dao auras were all mixed together, so only the Buddhist cultivators know the exact casualties.

Lin Jiang brought everyone back to Lingjing Star and sent people to rescue the injured. Although none of the masters died, many were hurt, like Shiyi, who fought fiercely and lost many parts, needing to go back for major repairs.

There were also some casualties among the lower and mid-level cultivators; this was unavoidable. Now, the cleanup of the battlefield has been handed over to the demon race, and those fourth and fifth-level Demon Kings will not waste a single drop of Buddhist cultivator’s blood.

"Taoist Friend Lin"

Ming’an waited until Lin Jiang was free to meet him.

"Taoist Friend Ming’an, what brings you here?"

"Taoist Friend Lin, I am afraid I have to return to Canglan Star first."

"Oh, is the important task not happening anymore?"

"Taoist Friend Lin is joking, Lingjing Star is so powerful, tsk tsk…"

Ming’an shook his head. He needed to go back and rethink his attitude toward Lingjing Star. This battle not only drove back the Buddhist cultivator from Lingfa Star but also troubled Ming’an’s thoughts about Canglan Star.

Because he knew that the losses of the Space Battleship in this battle would be replaced in less than three months, while the loss of skilled Buddhist cultivators might not be recovered in a thousand years. It’s very difficult to train a Bodhisattva; it’s not simply something that can be done easily.

"Then what about your classes? You won’t study anymore?"

"I want to study, but I have an important responsibility. If Ancestor Lin is willing to keep my enrollment, I hope to return to Lingjing Star’s campus in the future."

Ming’an said. He truly craved the technology of Lingjing Star and was almost obsessed with it. Luckily, Li Canghai reminded him and helped him see the bigger picture; he had been stuck in a narrow view.

Now Ming’an understood that technology cannot be achieved by just a few people; it requires everyone’s effort and needs to be coordinated in many ways. For example, industrial development must have a market to stimulate growth.

This requires some opportunities. For instance, Canglan Star finds it very difficult to complete an industrial revolution since the first generation of industrial revolution has no advantages compared to the highly developed Immortal Language.

So he needs to go back and think carefully, and he needs to discuss with the high-ranking members of Canglan Star to make decisions together.

"Okay, when you come back, I will arrange for you to enroll."

Lin Jiang smiled and said that if Canglan Star had no ill intentions toward him, he would also like to have another friend. For now, it seems that Heavenly Court can still be friends, as they have a common enemy: the Buddhist sect.

Ming’an and Lin Jiang talked for a long time, and then Ming’an hurriedly left. Before leaving, Lin Jiang wanted him to leave the address of Canglan Star, thinking they might start some interstellar trade, but Ming’an’s expression changed dramatically, and he refused directly, likely fearing that Lin Jiang and his group would invade Canglan Star.

After all, the technology of Lingjing Star is very tempting for ordinary people, especially for the lower class. There is plenty of resources, who wouldn’t want that? However, for the higher-ups, it is not the same. A widespread education could affect countless people’s interests; not everyone wishes to uncover all talents. If the talents are from their own people, they are called geniuses; if they are from the enemy, they are simply enemies.

After Ming’an left, Lin Jiang held a post-war meeting to discuss the shortcomings of this war and the areas that need improvement. Of course, the most important thing was to think about how to launch a counterattack.

Right now, everyone’s mindset is different from before. In the past, if they were bullied, winning back would be good enough. But now, they want to fight back. The Buddhist cultivators have attacked them several times, and not fighting back is absolutely not acceptable; they could not let down all their years of effort.

Of course, everyone is also eyeing the interests of Lingfa Star, a planet that is a hundred times bigger than Lingjing Star, larger than Lingjing Star, Jiang Star, and Blue Star combined. How much benefit could that be? Even Xia Qingshan was very tempted. If he could occupy such a planet, how powerful would he need to be? Could it be possible to compete with Heavenly Court?