The Beyond's Leading Figure, an Old Acquaintance at the Floating Buddhist Temple
The Beyond’s Leading Figure, an Old Acquaintance at the Floating Buddhist Temple
“You...”
At those words, the young cultivators and beings of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were first stunned, then flew into a rage, unable to stomach such contemptuous, dismissive mockery.
They simply refused to believe that behind this powerful, terrifying Yaksha, there was actually a master.
“I’ll cut you down!”
Just then, a figure emerged from the side of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Clad in a long cyan robe, with very long hair and a handsome face, he held a long cyan saber as he stepped out from among them and descended onto the battlefield.
His face now carried a faint trace of fury, though he was forcibly suppressing it.
Having personally witnessed so many of their side’s prodigies die miserably at the Yaksha’s hands, he simply could not sit still. He was determined to step forward, wash away the humiliation, and rally morale.
The moment they saw this person, many young prodigies on the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains’ side were shocked, and then an uproar broke out.
“It’s him! Lin Qingyang, Lin Wu’s older brother!”
“What a pity Lin Wu isn’t here, otherwise he could absolutely crush that detestable Yaksha. Still, as Lin Wu’s older brother, Lin Qingyang’s strength shouldn’t be underestimated.”
“After all, with Lin Wu’s guidance, the prodigies of their Lin Family should have advanced by leaps and bounds. They are the Blood Dragon Clan, after all!”
Many hearts surged with excitement, seeing hope of victory.
Since Lin Qingyang dared to step forward, it meant he had absolute confidence in defeating the opponent—not to mention he carried Dragon Blood in his veins and had a powerful younger brother guiding him.
That younger brother of Lin Qingyang’s was a legendary existence, dazzlingly brilliant, someone many of them held in awe.
Among the strongest of the younger generation in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains today, he unquestionably held a place.
“Qingyang...”
On the side of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, a supremely powerful being of the Sacred King Realm gazed at him with complicated eyes, then cautioned, “You must be careful.”
“I understand, Ancestor.”
Lin Qingyang nodded, then turned into an afterimage, seemingly vanishing from where he stood as he charged forward to battle the opponent.
It was a great battle, the two evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Lin Qingyang’s strength was formidable, but the Yaksha-like being Ye Han’s power was no weaker—he was a Young Prodigy ranked among the upper echelons even in the Beyond. Otherwise, he would never have qualified to be Gu Changge’s follower.
Both were drenched in blood, fighting bitterly. All manner of resplendent divine radiance erupted across the battlefield, terrifying fluctuations surging as various Transcendent techniques collided and evolved endlessly.
The aftershocks caused the many barren hills below to explode, reduced to ruins.
“Still, in the end, you’re no match for me.”
Ye Han roared, and in the next instant found an opening. His long spear swept across, Divine Chains of Order blazing brilliantly, and violently pierced through his opponent’s body.
The faces of everyone on the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains’ side turned cold. They felt this Yaksha’s power was simply too terrifying—truly... invincible, sweeping all before him, with no one able to stand against him.
“Heh heh, you fell for it!”
Yet in the next moment, the situation abruptly changed. The impaled Lin Qingyang suddenly sneered.
The blood on his body began to burn hot, a terrifying power reviving within it, like a... peerless True Dragon, about to use the spear as a conduit to send its killing force into Ye Han.
“What...”
Struck by this blow, Ye Han could hardly believe it. Shocked, he coughed up blood repeatedly, both arms exploding as he was sent flying. His indestructible long spear trembled, faint sounds of cracking emerging! Boom! “Give me your life!”
Lin Qingyang roared fiercely, paying no heed to his injuries, closing in at extreme speed. One punch pierced through, boundless blood qi boiling, blasting Ye Han apart in midair, tearing him to pieces!
Behind him, a peerless True Dragon faintly emerged, shaking heaven and earth, granting him unmatched power.
This scene made everyone on the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains’ side cheer, their expressions shifting again and again, from their earlier gloom to exhilaration.
Everyone’s blood boiled, as if they themselves had become Lin Qingyang.
With his strength, Lin Qingyang proved to them that the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were no weaker than the Beyond.
“This aura is somewhat strange. It doesn’t seem like ordinary bloodline power—it can actually scorch Transcendent techniques and melt Runed Bones.”
On the Beyond’s side, many people’s expressions changed as well. None had expected that at the critical moment, Lin Qingyang would suddenly erupt with such power—it was simply stunning. Even Ye Han had been blown apart by him.
“Today I slay you to honor the cultivators of my realm.”
Lin Qingyang roared, pressing the advantage, intending to completely annihilate Ye Han here, planning to destroy his divine soul and scatter it into oblivion.
Ye Han’s expression changed drastically. His divine soul tried to escape, but it simply couldn’t match the opponent’s speed. Utterly despairing, he watched as he was about to be slain on the spot.
Buzz!! At the center of his brow, strands upon strands of silver threads suddenly emerged, incomparably brilliant, containing an indescribable mysterious power.
At this moment, heaven and earth suddenly froze. A supreme and terrifying aura continuously manifested, as if about to descend upon this place across countless worlds and spaces.
“What is this...”
“Across the Boundary Marker Sea, what existence could still descend here?”
The many supremely powerful beings of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains all changed expression in unison, finding it inconceivable, their divine souls even trembling slightly.
Everyone couldn’t help but feel their whole bodies go cold, as if frozen in place, completely unable to move. Immense dread swept over their entire bodies.
Lin Qingyang, who was in the midst of pursuing Ye Han, felt it most directly of all.
His entire body trembled to the extreme; he didn’t dare move an inch, his very soul seemingly frozen solid.
A tall, blurry figure seemed to cross countless spaces and appear at this place.
It was an incomparably shocking and astonishing sight—specks of divine light, utterly hazy, shrouded in chaotic mist, with what seemed like three thousand worlds surrounding this figure, making it the one and only in all of heaven and earth, eternal and indestructible.
Silver divine flames burned, each strand carrying a supreme, unsurpassable intent, dazzlingly brilliant. Many dared not look directly, tears streaming from their eyes as they hastily shut them.
“This is... this is my master protecting me!”
“Ye Han pays respects to Master!”
The Yaksha-like being’s face flooded with wild joy as he prostrated himself on the ground with utmost devotion and fervor, kowtowing toward the figure before him.
“That’s that one’s Dharma Body... it can actually affect this place.”
“Just what level has his cultivation reached now...”
Within the dense, sky-blotting mist, the many supremely powerful beings of the Beyond recognized the figure before them. Their expressions all turned solemn, feeling a tremor of disbelief.
“Qingyang, flee, quickly!”
“This person is not someone you can fight.”
The supremely powerful being of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains who had spoken earlier suddenly changed expression. His figure crossed over, and he brought out his own weapon, intending to battle the Dharma Body that had appeared, planning to resist it.
Boom! However, the figure shrouded in silver divine radiance wore an utterly cold expression, seemingly devoid of any emotion, high above all, looking down upon the ages.
One palm pressed down across the entire sky, blood qi shaking heaven and earth, surging and unmatched. Everything blocking the way ahead exploded! Boom! It was indescribable, sky-flooding divine might.
This Dharma Body’s giant hand covered the firmament, its palm lines clear, golden light dazzling, like the hand of a Supreme Ruler, carrying terrifying pressure! The supremely powerful being of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains changed color, brought out his weapon, and used his strongest methods—yet it was all useless. His body was blasted apart, blood filling the sky.
This scene was utterly horrifying, leaving everyone dumbstruck, their divine souls unable to stop trembling.
His blood carried a divinity, golden aura and runes pouring down from the sky.
The already battered desert looked as though it had been scorched by the fires of the Nether.
Only the weapon that had been brought out, its radiance dimmed, trembled with a buzz on its own, then with a thud exploded in the void, shattering into fragments that crashed into the ground.
In all directions, dead silence fell at once. The battle fluctuations dissipated, and the figure in the sky slowly faded away, as if everything just now had been everyone’s hallucination.
But the sight of a Sacred King Realm being before them being slain by a single palm strike left them chilled to the bone.
“Thank you, Daren, for saving my life!”
“Thank you, Daren, for saving my life!”
Only Ye Han prostrated himself on the ground with reverence and fervor, kowtowing in that direction, devoted to the utmost.
“So powerful. Is this that one’s current strength?”
“Simply inconceivable.”
Everyone on the Beyond’s side likewise watched this scene in stunned shock, their hearts unable to calm.
None had expected that at the brink of life and death, that one would save Ye Han across a distance of hundreds of millions of miles.
Such methods were dreamlike, powerful to an unbelievable degree.
While horrified, they couldn’t help but feel envy toward Ye Han—following such a master, one could even be saved at the critical moment.
“In ancient legends, the mightiest among immortals reach unimaginable realms. So long as one devoutly chants their true name in one’s heart, they can send down a wisp of a Dharma Body to protect one for eternity...”
At this moment, many recalled this legend, deeply shaken. Unknowingly, thoughts of faith began to sprout within them, awed by what they had witnessed today.
Even more young prodigies burned with fervor, deeply feeling that Gu Changge’s power had reached an inconceivable level.
It was already far beyond anything they could imagine or aspire to.
“Who exactly was that person just now...”
On the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains’ side, many were chilled to the bone, their skulls nearly bursting from sheer dread. Witnessing such terrifying divine might for the first time, they knew it was simply nothing a person could resist.
“They say it’s the leading figure of the Beyond...”
The person beside them spoke with a trembling voice, having heard the sounds coming from the Beyond’s side, and suddenly felt that what Ye Han had said earlier was right.
Having witnessed this scene with their own eyes, they could no longer muster even the slightest will to resist...
Inside the Mortal Palace, Gu Changge slowly opened his eyes. The silver flames around him dispersed, runes faded away one after another, and then all returned to silence.
He looked at the Golden Fortuity Cauldron in his hand and sensed that the Power of Faith within had clearly diminished considerably.
That single manifestation just now had consumed no small amount of the Power of Faith. Had it continued a while longer, he felt the Power of Faith gathered in the Golden Fortuity Cauldron would have nearly run out.
Although this time he had only intended to test the waters, the effect was plain to see, even if the increase in Power of Faith wasn’t much.
But once word spread, one could imagine how far its reach would extend, and how many devout “believers” it would draw to him.
“Those who chant my true name shall attain eternal life within the cycle of reincarnation—the style points really do have to be maxed out...”
Gu Changge couldn’t help but chuckle, then placed the Golden Fortuity Cauldron within the great hall, leaving it there to gather Fortuity and the Power of Faith.
As for the matters at the Boundary Marker Sea, he didn’t want to meddle further for the time being.
Still, after this manifestation, it would likely stir up quite a wave over there in the short term.
It wasn’t that Gu Changge liked showing off—he purely felt that such a move could save him considerable trouble the next time he descended upon that place.
“Have you finished handling matters on your end?”
“If you’re done, we can set off for the Demon-Burying Abyss.”
Gu Changge looked toward Jiang Chuchu, who had been guarding him inside the hall all this time, and asked.
Although Jiang Chuchu was somewhat curious about the little golden cauldron in his hand, she didn’t ask further. Hearing his words, she nodded and gave an “mm.”
After all, Wang Zijin wasn’t at the Mortal Palace, and there were many matters she had to settle before leaving.
Just as Gu Changge had said before, Wang Zijin herself had no great attachment to the Mortal Palace, so naturally she wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters.
Jiang Chuchu was different. She had grown up in the Mortal Palace since childhood, raised by its elders, and her feelings for the Mortal Palace ran quite deep.
“Then let’s go.”
Gu Changge then directly tore open the space before him. A golden great road pierced straight through the firmament, appearing outside the mountain gate of the Mortal Palace.
Powerful figures were already waiting there, ready to accompany them to the Demon-Burying Abyss to exterminate demons.
The Demon-Burying Abyss was extremely far from the Middle Domain—and not just the Middle Domain; the same was true of all the other domains.
That was because it was a place of chaotic space, shifting with the terrain. The surrounding space was not fixed, roiling and changing at every moment.
However, finding the Demon-Burying Abyss was actually not difficult, because far beyond it lay the Floating Buddhist Temple of the Buddhist Mountain.
Outside the Floating Buddhist Temple was a teleportation formation. As long as one reached there, one could naturally find the Demon-Burying Abyss.
The Floating Buddhist Temple and the Demon-Burying Abyss actually shared quite a history.
The founder of the Floating Buddhist Temple had once been an accomplished high monk of the Buddhist Mountain. Deeply sensing that the demonic qi within the Demon-Burying Abyss billowed skyward and lingered without dispersing, certain to erupt one day and bring calamity upon all living beings,
that accomplished high monk made a great vow: until the Demon-Burying Abyss was emptied, he swore never to attain Buddhahood.
Later, that accomplished high monk ventured deep into the Demon-Burying Abyss, attempting to find the source of its demonic qi and quell all its calamities. Unexpectedly, he encountered an unknowable great disaster within and ran out raving mad.
He was also one of the very few people in all these years to have gone deep into the bottom of the Demon-Burying Abyss.
As for what he encountered there, no one knew.
On the journey to the Demon-Burying Abyss, Gu Changge and the others did encounter quite a few great demons, all of which had charged out of the Demon-Burying Abyss to wreak havoc on the surroundings. Their cultivations were not weak—the weakest among them were at the Sacred Lord Realm.
Going by Jiang Chuchu’s strength, she was decidedly no match for these great demons.
But in Gu Changge’s eyes, they were merely somewhat defective nourishment resources, so dealing with them didn’t take much time.
News of Gu Changge and Jiang Chuchu heading to the Demon-Burying Abyss to exterminate demons also spread rapidly through cultivators in various regions.
At a time when all the cults and lineages of the Beyond were in an uproar over the Absolute Yin Heaven and the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, Gu Changge’s whereabouts naturally drew particular attention.
Moreover, he now bore the identity of the Mortal One, so it didn’t strike anyone as strange.
During this period, news from the Boundary Marker Sea also arrived, naturally drawing considerable attention—especially the matter of Gu Changge’s Dharma Body manifestation, which shook all sides.
Many suspected his cultivation had at least reached the Sacred King Realm, or even a deeper realm beyond it, impossible to fathom.
One had to know that among the many young prodigies today, the strongest cultivations were merely at the Sacred Realm or the Sacred Noble Realm.
Even the likes of the King of Six Crowns, Jun Yao, were at such realms.
That said, in the battles at the Boundary Marker Sea, quite a few figures were shining with dazzling brilliance, their fame resounding in all directions.
For instance, the newly appointed Lord of the Supreme Cave Heaven, a Sacred Emperor Realm being merely a few hundred years old—Chu Hao.
Many knew that he actually had some grievances with Gu Changge. In this campaign against the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, who knew whether the two would ultimately cross paths.
Many other prodigies also made their names in the slaughter and campaigns—disciples of the True Immortal Academy, as well as successors of various races and lineages.
The people Gu Changge paid attention to were mainly a few Fortuitous Ones and those close to him.
Yue Mingkong was gradually taking control of the key affairs of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty and had no time for anything else, so she did not participate in this campaign.
Otherwise, with her identity as a regressor, she could have known certain things in advance—furthermore, regarding the whereabouts of the last of the Seven Tools of World Domination.
Yue Mingkong had not told Gu Changge much, so he guessed it was likely because the time had not yet come.
The master of this Sword of World Domination was probably no simple figure.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed. Traversing numerous regions amid waves of spatial fluctuations, the figures of Gu Changge and the others emerged from a teleportation portal.
A solemn, treasure-like ancient temple, faintly glowing with Buddhist light, appeared in the distance before them—towering and ancient, carrying an air of solemn dignity. Many monks could be seen meditating in various spots, comprehending the Buddhist dharma.
“The Floating Buddhist Temple.”
Jiang Chuchu’s gaze fell upon the plaque above the ancient temple’s gate. Several ancient characters edged in purple-gold faintly gleamed with Buddhist light, as if able to reflect all demons and evil spirits.
True to its name, the Floating Buddhist Temple was surrounded by many wondrous sights. All around was open void, thick mist visible everywhere; one careless step and one would plummet down a bottomless abyss.
Moreover, this place had a flight-restricting formation. Unless one’s cultivation was profound, it was very difficult to travel through the air.
“This humble monk pays respects to Young Master Changge and Saintess Chuchu.”
Before the gates of the Floating Buddhist Temple, a monk with delicate features had long been waiting, knowing that Gu Changge and the others would come here to exterminate demons and defend the Dao.
What somewhat surprised Gu Changge, however, was that here he encountered an old acquaintance—the Chosen Monk Jin Chan, whom he had once publicly humiliated before the gates of the True Immortal Academy.
He was here too, hands pressed together, a smile on his face, waiting for them.
“Tsk, he’s really hidden himself quite deep.”
Looking at him again now, Gu Changge could see the faint aura of Fortuity emanating from his body. Though not yet at the level of a Fortuitous One, he was still a person of great Fortuity.
That he hadn’t noticed back then, and that the System had never mentioned it, meant either the monk had hidden it deeply, or he had only recently come upon some remarkable opportunities.
This piqued Gu Changge’s interest. He still remembered clearly how the Chosen Monk Jin Chan had set up Prince Shen back in the Eternal Overcast.
Although that had been his own deliberate doing at the time, had Jin Chan spoken up to warn him, Prince Shen would not have fallen victim to his poisonous hand.
“Greetings, Brother Gu. We meet again.”
The Chosen Monk Jin Chan spoke, dressed in Buddhist robes, Buddhist light wreathing his body, giving off the air of an accomplished high monk.
Gu Changge’s gaze fell upon the prayer beads in his hand, and he said, “For the Chosen Monk to be waiting here truly surprises me. It seems the Chosen Monk will also be going on this trip to the Demon-Burying Abyss?”
The Chosen Monk Jin Chan nodded. “The calamity of the Demon-Burying Abyss—as a successor of the Buddhist Mountain, this humble monk naturally cannot stand idly by.”
As he spoke, his expression was perfectly natural, as if discussing the most ordinary of matters.
Gu Changge felt he probably knew a thing or two about the Demon-Burying Abyss—after all, the Chosen Monk Jin Chan was said to have been there once before.
With him leading the way, some trouble could be saved, and at critical moments, he might even serve other purposes.
He knew the Chosen Monk Jin Chan wouldn’t kindly involve himself for the so-called calamity of the Demon-Burying Abyss. Most likely, he was searching for something.