Chapter 451: Fixed Number
The four realms of heaven and earth fell into utter silence.
Lü Yang stood frozen in place, his face ashen as he stared at the spot where Ang Xiao had vanished moments ago. Internally, he was already cursing up a storm:
'That bastard!'
No wonder the man had reached late-stage Golden Core and sought the Netherworld—his reaction speed was inhuman! The World-Honored One hadn't even fully descended before he'd bolted!
What now?
'Activate the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes?'
Lü Yang took a deep breath, steadying his mind with practiced speed. The interface of the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes hovering beside him was his ultimate trump card. No one could stop him from restarting!
After all, he currently held a false Golden Seat, his status nearly at the pinnacle of this realm. If the World-Honored One knew about the Book's existence and laid specific countermeasures, even divine intervention might not save him. But since the Book remained hidden, who could possibly anticipate his ability to suicide-restart?
Yet soon, Lü Yang noticed something amiss.
The World-Honored One wasn't looking at him.
Those eyes brimming with Buddhist light swept calmly across the surroundings. Wherever they passed, ghosts wailed and gods howled, blood rain fell from the skies—as if heaven and earth itself trembled in fear!
'He's not looking at me.'
In that moment, realization dawned on Lü Yang. It was like a mortal observing an anthill—who cared what individual ants looked like?
Golden Core? Foundation Establishment?
Merely variations in ant size, utterly beneath notice!
What truly drew that gaze was the anthill itself—this entire realm. Everything else had never been within its scope of attention.
"Boom!"
The entire Jiangxi region quaked violently as the World-Honored One stood with hands clasped behind his back, surveying the surroundings as if reminiscing about bygone glory days.
Then He spoke.
"Return."
Two simple words, spoken even in Precious Vase Water Moon Bodhisattva's voice, yet they instantly drew resonance from all creation.
This resonance clearly came unwillingly. The phenomena manifesting across heaven and earth displayed contradictory aspects—blood rain falling from skies while golden lotuses bloomed from earth, calamity and auspicious signs coexisting in eerie harmony. Only after a long moment did these phenomena simultaneously vanish.
In their place emerged a golden light.
This radiance had originally hidden itself within the fabric of reality, yet now it was forcibly extracted. Within the light appeared infinite scenes:
Dragons coiled around golden cities, celestial capitals of jade ramparts.
Hundreds of officials paying homage, myriad households' lantern lights.
At a glance, it wasn't light at all, but a nation condensed billions of times over, radiating an indescribably heavy imagery.
City Wall Earth!
Despite having escaped Pure Land after the destruction of the Buddhist Kingdom on Earth and the severing of Unity of All Beings, City Wall Earth had been recaptured by the World-Honored One with just two words!
'How shameless can you get?!'
Lü Yang nearly popped his eyes out at the sight, but swiftly schooled his expression, daring not to reveal even a hint of emotion. After all, this wasn't some ordinary Buddhist disciple.
This was an actual Dao Lord making a personal appearance!
'What the hell are the Saint Sect, Sword Pavilion, and Dao Court doing? How can they let the World-Honored One intervene like this? Where's the justice? Where are the rules?!'
The mighty figures of this damned place had no cultivation ethics whatsoever!
Though filthy curses piled up in his heart, in reality Lü Yang immediately used Wall Soil to seal his qi, desperately minimizing his presence.
Not that it helped.
Mostly just self-comfort.
"Boom!"
The next instant, City Wall Earth trembled violently in the World-Honored One's palm, clearly ready to dissipate the moment He loosened His grip.
Yet soon, the World-Honored One extended a finger and lightly tapped downward. Instantly, the entire Jiangxi Pure Land shimmered with hazy, illusory light. Then Lü Yang watched as everything in Jiangxi—every Buddhist cultivator, every plant and animal, every phenomenon of nature—shed a strange layer of light and shadow.
A new "Pure Land" emerged.
This completely surpassed Lü Yang's cultivation depth, appearing as incomprehensible as the Heavenly Book. Yet through his grasp of the Sword Dao Fruit Position, he clearly sensed:
'The Sword Dao is anchored there!'
Logically, under True Person Dangmo's manipulation, the Sword Dao Fruit Position had taken root in Pure Land, binding itself to the Buddhist cultivators' Unity of All Beings.
The Sword Dao would not perish unless Unity of All Beings was destroyed.
Yet now, the World-Honored One peeled away this conceptual bond like removing a snake's shed skin, separating the Sword Dao from Pure Land!
'No, more precisely, He cleaved the Pure Land already rooted by the Sword Dao Fruit Position from the unaffected portions. The former was cast out while the latter remained... thus restoring Unity of All Beings without damaging the Sword Dao Fruit Position!'
Karma? Time? Concepts?
Lü Yang could follow the transformations but couldn't comprehend how the World-Honored One achieved them. As he pondered, the deity's gaze suddenly shifted.
'Hiss!!!'
Lü Yang inhaled sharply.
He's looking at me? No... not me—at the Sword Dao Fruit Position!
The World-Honored One still didn't speak. Those Buddhist light-filled eyes simply gazed calmly at the fruit position in Lü Yang's hand before extending a finger in another light tap.
"Boom!"
Immediately, the light-shadow "Pure Land" He had just separated began collapsing. Countless phenomena flowed into the Sword Dao Fruit Position, making it more complete and independent. Meanwhile, expressions of compassion bloomed across the faces of Pure Land's Buddhist cultivators.
"Amitabha!"
The synchronized chant rose again. Every cultivator now bore solemn, dignified countenances, sensing the restoration of Unity of All Beings. Gone were their previous emotional fluctuations.
Only serenity and freedom remained.
With this accomplished, the World-Honored One withdrew His gaze. The restored Unity of All Beings suppressed the rampaging City Wall Earth once more, returning it to Pure Land's depths.
Everything reverted to normal.
True Person Dangmo's meticulously laid schemes—turning Sword Pavilion and Pure Land into irreconcilable enemies—had all been rendered void by the World-Honored One's appearance!
Next, the World-Honored One closed His eyes.
When they reopened, the overflowing Buddhist light had vanished. Precious Vase Water Moon Bodhisattva's consciousness returned, only to disappear instantly like a bursting bubble.
She had withdrawn from the world again.
After all, constraints from the Heaven of Non-Existence remained.
Precious Vase Water Moon Bodhisattva had forcibly descended by burning her dongtian. With matters settled, there was no need to further damage it.
From start to finish, the World-Honored One never addressed a single word to anyone else.
'That's it?'
Lü Yang stood bewildered, never expecting the World-Honored One's descent to end so anticlimactically. Yet soon, he pieced together the underlying logic:
'Of course. Pure Land's repeated setbacks had derailed from the Dao Lords' predetermined course, requiring correction—hence the World-Honored One's intervention. Yet the Sword Dao concerned Sword Pavilion's designs and couldn't be destroyed, so after descending, He refrained from further extraordinary actions.'
In that instant, enlightenment struck Lü Yang.
The World-Honored One's descent absolutely wasn't unrestricted!
'Strictly speaking, He represents the will of four Dao Lords—after reaching compromise, they delegated cleanup to Him!'
Pure Land had to reclaim City Wall Earth—non-negotiable.
The Sword Dao Fruit Position was Sword Pavilion's exclusive domain—untouchable.
As for the Buddhist Kingdom on Earth—that would depend on individual capability. The other Dao Lords gave the World-Honored One a chance, which He failed to capitalize on. The loss had to be accepted.
"This is truly..."
Though Lü Yang understood the logic behind the World-Honored One's actions, no relief followed—only icy dread creeping up his spine.
The reason was simple:
'The four Dao Lords each have red lines for this damned place's situation. Triggering any would likely provoke direct interference from a Dao Lord!'
Hence why the Saint Sect's Founding Ancestor schemed Mu Changsheng to death.
Hence why the World-Honored One personally intervened to correct deviations.
In other words, from the very beginning, this realm's future trajectory had been locked in place by four Dao Lords!