Chapter 626: Xixi isn't a burden her parents dumped; the boss threw her away

The terrifying roar of an explosion echoed and spread in the void, ripples expanding outward, making the air flow like a released mudslide, utterly oppressive.

The void split, cracking inch by inch, lines of fissures appearing ferociously in the air, like bulging, engorged veins bursting through skin.

Extremely ferocious and terrifying!

Countless turbulence howled and raged in the void!

Li Che hovered in midair, his body shuddering as he withdrew from the Kun-Peng posture, demonic aura raging across him, his black hair flying wildly.

His eyes shone brilliant; with each breath, endless turbulence raged.

He turned his head, gazing at the tall, slender figure hovering beside him.

It was a familiar silhouette long unseen—the mysterious boss who had entered the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths together with Xixi and then vanished.

I never expected the boss to appear at this moment, showing up and lending a hand the instant he set foot in Hell Lotus Land.

The golden liuli kitchen knife bore patterns as if carved with a true dragon, each line seeming alive, ready to leap from the blade and ravage heaven and earth.

A single chop split the Buddha's light cleanly in two.

Even striking the golden bowl set it trembling like an ancient divine bell, nearly shattering from the impact.

At least the Buddha's light was utterly shattered, and the suppression on Li Che was completely cut away.

Li Che felt only lightness throughout his body, and a deep sense of security.

Beside him, the boss wore a blank expression, his tall frame clad in flowing white robes, gripping an unremarkable golden kitchen knife in one hand—like a chef just stepped from the kitchen whom customers complained served terrible food.

Hah…

Li Che, however, laughed, the corners of his mouth turning up beneath his white jade Earth Store mask.

"Long time no see, boss."

Li Che said.

The boss glanced at Li Che, giving a indifferent nod.

"Within Hell Lotus Land, this is our turf—no need to fear him."

The boss said: "Unless the Imperial-rank Eternals of the Three Major Divine Realms unite and attack together, they dare not intrude into Hell Lotus Land."

The boss's words lifted Li Che's spirits slightly.

"Why?"

"Hell Lotus Land bears a curse."

The boss looked at Li Che as if he were an idiot, unable to see such an obvious question?

Hell Lotus Land is the domain of the Hell Lotus Maiden, where the most terrifying Hell Lotus Curse reigns—no ordinary person would dare set foot here.

You didn't see the divine spirits of the Three Major Divine Realms merely standing in Primordial Thunder Heaven to block, not daring to enter Hell Lotus Land—precisely because of its nature.

Li Che smiled, feeling no embarrassment.

"The Hell Lotus Curse carries such weight?"

"How can the Third Prince's eruption of the Hell Lotus Curse leave the Eternals utterly unafraid?"

The boss seemed to know what Li Che was thinking.

He spoke calmly: "Because the Hell Lotus Curse on the Third Prince is merely a single strand, whereas Hell Lotus Land is a region wholly corroded by the Hell Lotus Curse."

"It can't even be called corrosion; it's more like a mutation of the world's will."

"Hell Lotus is actually the product of a mutation in the world's will, its essence slaughter; the will reshapes the mutated Hell Lotus Curse into a blade, giving birth to the Hell Lotus Maiden, who becomes the executioner's blade, cutting down the divinities that have proliferated to the extreme in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

"Because the world's will can no longer sustain the continued birth and growth of divinities, it needs to purge some of them."

"It's like…"

The boss said this, tilting his head.

"Layoffs."

Li Che's eyes lit up at the words; he gave the boss a deep look.

"I get it!"

Li Che laughed.

Boom—

The border between Primordial Thunder Heaven and Hell Lotus Land is small; that patch of sky reflected an enormous Buddha face.

That was the visage of Eternal Light Buddha, his deep eyes reflecting the cosmos, the shifts of ages and spacetime.

Boom—

Eternal Light Buddha seemed unwilling; within the trembling golden bowl that had been struck, Buddha's light shone forth once more.

The Buddha's light intertwined, transforming into wrathful dragons, and the Subduing Dragon and Taming Tiger Vajra Warriors burst forth, tearing through spatial barriers.

The two, like Buddhas forged in gold, glared angrily, accompanied by golden dragon roars and tiger cries, as they charged toward Li Che's position!

Their aim was to seize Li Che again and drag him back to Primordial Thunder Heaven!

The golden bowl radiated Buddha's light, as if freezing the surrounding void, sealing off Hell Lotus Land's aura, then the light rippled like water.

A colossal Buddha hand reached out from the rippling light, like transparent golden glass, every detail vivid, the palm lines lifelike.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

"Earth Store Patron, welcome back!"

Eternal Light Buddha's voice resonated, like the true deity reaching out from the other side of the Buddha's light across endless spacetime.

Li Che furrowed his brows, feeling an inexplicable force welling up in his heart like a lingering longing, a strong sense of unease.

"This is…"

"Karma." a calm voice came from the boss.

Then the boss brandished his golden kitchen knife overhead, slashing down fiercely over Li Che's head.

Clang—

A crisp sound rang out, and golden light burst forth!

In fact, an incredibly thin golden silk thread sprouted from above Li Che's head, connecting to endless Buddha light, like a thread manipulating a puppet, fundamentally impossible to cut!

"This is a karmic thread; with this karmic thread, Dingguang Buddha can constantly lock onto your position, even reach out to seize you."

The boss said.

"But this karmic thread must be personally connected; only someone close to you can link to the karmic thread……"

The boss frowned slightly: "It should have been already connected during his time in the mortal world."

"Dingguang Buddha, while in the mortal world, had already begun scheming against you."

The boss's words made Li Che break out in a cold sweat, as if his whole body instantly turned icy, his pupils slightly constricting, somewhat incredulous.

Is it really like that?

Dingguang Buddha…… during his time in the mortal world, had he had contact with him?

"It could be a reincarnation, or perhaps shielding the will of Heaven and Earth, entering the mortal world to silently make contact with you."

The boss began a serious analysis.

That massive Buddha palm came slapping down, the Dragon-subduing and Tiger-subduing Golden Buddhas charging forth, yet Li Che and the boss still had leisure to trace and investigate just who Dingguang Buddha had manifested as in the mortal world.

Or rather, who in the mortal world could be an incarnation of Dingguang Buddha?

Li Che drew a deep breath, feeling a gloom rise in his heart.

"However, it's not a big problem; if in the mortal world, the will of Heaven and Earth still exists, so it cannot display overly great power, thus it cannot affect the present you."

"That is, because you have entered the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, this latent karmic thread can erupt; moreover, this time he is clearly anxious, otherwise he would not have detonated this karmic thread hidden for so long."

The boss said.

And Li Che's gaze slightly condensed, his heart continually trembling.

He thought of a question, that is…… since Dingguang Buddha left a karmic thread on his body, does it mean the other party even knows his hidden identity as the Ksitigarbha King?

Knowing the Ksitigarbha King…… is actually him, Li Che?

Exactly, this identity is very likely already exposed.

Generally speaking, it should have been exposed, but perhaps Dingguang Buddha's true form is still in the mortal realm, so he has not yet informed the Buddhas of the Black Sumeru in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?

However, Li Che didn't mind too much; exposure of the Ksitigarbha King identity is merely a matter of time.

Li Che formerly always concealed his identity, because he feared exposing the identity of Xixi's father, Li Che, appearing in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths would make him a target of many.

But now, the identity of the Ksitigarbha King has also become a target of many.

So……

There's nothing left to hide.

"Exposure is merely a matter of time, but…… while still unexposed, perhaps I…… could make a move using this name?"

Li Che's eyes flickered.

With the boss present, he did not worry about Dingguang Buddha's methods; his mind even began to scheme and ponder, planning to pull off a tricky maneuver.

Boom——

The Dragon-subduing and Tiger-subduing, shouting angrily, stepped through the void, behind them a golden Buddha palm that covered the sky and earth!

The terrifying aura of the Heavenly Immortal level instantly spread throughout the entire Prison Lotus Realm.

However, the boss glanced indifferently, then swept his golden kitchen knife once again.

First, he completely severed the karmic thread above Li Che's head.

Then, the blade light crisscrossed again.

The golden dragon shadow lashed out by the Dragon-subduing was split in half by a single blade; at the instant of splitting, even the golden dragon skin, scales, bones, flesh, and tendons were clearly picked out, scattering like stars across the sky.

A blade like butchering an ox, beyond imagination.

Li Che stared agape, wondering how many dragons the boss had slaughtered to master this 'Dragon-Severing' technique?

That immortal dragon emperor, utterly hopeless, the ancestral dragon lineage hard to lead…… could it not have been wiped out by the boss?

And after the boss's knife dissected the golden dragon shadow, it also chopped down the Dragon-subduing together.

The Tiger-subduing came charging; the boss likewise struck with a single blade, in the Prison Lotus Realm he seemed no longer needing to suppress his power, overwhelmingly mighty, the power that had once burst forth obscurely could now be unleashed at will.

The Tiger-subduing was cut down; that Dingguang Buddha's palm, seemingly seeking to fix time, was also lightly split by the boss's blade, utterly unable to be maintained!

Blade light continuously surged forth, severing solidly onto the golden bowl.

Another blade fell.

The golden bowl directly emitted a groan of being unable to bear the load, upon which a ferocious and terrifying blade scar appeared, long difficult to heal.

The golden bowl's light dimmed, directly losing its controlling power from the firmament of the Prison Lotus Realm and falling down.

A thudding 'dong' sound.

The entire ground seemed to be smashed into a depression, collapsing into an enormous abyss, countless Prison Lotus flames roaring forth from within.

It swallowed the golden bowl, directly refining it into a pool of water, finally vaporizing into pure energy that merged into the Prison Lotus Realm.

"This is the Prison Lotus curse……"

"The fire of the Prison Lotus meridian, the fire of purgatory."

The boss said lightly.

Li Che's clothes fluttered as he gazed upon the terrifying blaze beneath him, like a lotus blossoming in terror, his hairs standing on end.

The curse, like a venomous snake, spat forth.

The boss said nothing; Li Che had not yet sensed it, but now he fully felt the curse's power, only feeling his whole body go numb as if. As Dingguang Buddha's golden bowl was severed, the shattered barrier of the Yuanlei Heaven realm thoroughly healed.

The crisis seemed to have been expelled in an instant, with no further threats arising, as if.

Heaven and earth fell utterly silent.

A breeze drifted through the high air, stirring the fluttering clothes.

Li Che lowered his head and looked around, gazing at the entire Prison Lotus Land, then slowly exhaled a breath.

"Finally…… we have reached the Prison Lotus Land."

"The Prison Lotus Maiden, the place of origin!"

"The burial ground of generations of Prison Lotus Maidens!"

"The Prison Lotus Tomb Pool is right here; inside lie buried the generations of Prison Lotus Sons and Prison Lotus Maidens, bearing the inheritance of the Prison Lotus through the ages!"

"It can help Xixi unravel, or rather…… it is the key to mastering the power of the Prison Lotus curse!"

"Boss, where is the Prison Lotus Tomb Pool?"

Li Che couldn't help but ask.

The Prison Lotus Land is vast; looking out, the mountains and rivers undulate.

The mighty will of the Martial Immortal spread out, like the waves of an boundless ocean, diffusing toward the entire Prison Lotus Land.

Soon, Li Che froze.

Within the Prison Lotus Land, city after city is dotted among the fire‑scorched, twisted mountains and forests, and surprisingly many humans and living beings survive there.

"This……"

Li Che was somewhat surprised.

He had thought the Prison Lotus Land was very desolate, with harsh living conditions.

But he never expected that the Prison Lotus Land would appear so vibrant and full of life.

"Isn't it normal for there to be living beings within the Prison Lotus Land?"

The cultivators of the Prison Lotus factions throughout the ages have all survived here; they reproduce and continue their lineage, generation after generation, and this has long become a place of cultivation.

The boss tucked the golden kitchen knife behind his waist.

Seeming to notice Li Che's surprise, he curled his lip: "The Prison Lotus Land isn't just inhabited; living beings have built nations and dynasties, with a normal course of history."

"Do you think this is the cursed land spoken of by the gods of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a purgatorial fire that burns mountains and boils seas, a place where nothing can survive?"

Li Che smiled, his mind stirring.

The Heavenly Tower instantly burst forth from the inner vision of his upper dantian, howling as it leapt into the air, continuously trembling and then growing larger.

He flicked a finger.

From within the Heavenly Tower, streams of light burst forth.

These were the many ancient village names he had stored inside the Heavenly Tower.

Earth Village, Cloudheaven Village, and Canglan Village—the inhabitants of these three ancient villages all appeared, full of bewilderment.

Li Che settled them on a hilltop, where the scorching Prison Lotus fire roiled, making them feel utterly alien.

The clamoring sound echoed without cease.

"Father!"

A cry of alarm rang out; Xixi transformed into a stream of light, stepping upon the void and soaring into the heavens!

With a thud, the much‑grown Xixi lowered her head and crashed into Li Che's embrace.

Her face was filled with worry.

She knew her father was leading them in a breakout, charging out of the blockade set by the three major divine camps of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Unfortunately, Xixi could only fret inside the Heavenly Tower, with no way to help.

Now, the moment she saw Li Che, the anxiety in her heart finally eased.

Mother, for Xixi's sake, strained against the seal of the four Immortals of Heaven.

If anything happens to Father…… Xixi would have neither father nor mother!

Xixi cannot imagine such a situation; if that were to happen, she would surely go mad, and would then slaughter everything, avenging her parents with a blood feud!

"It's all right, Father is fine."

Li Che's eyes softened as he gently rubbed his daughter's head.

Without realizing it, Xixi had grown into a young lady.

It seems Xixi is about to celebrate her twelfth birthday, right?

This year is Xixi's twelfth birthday, but the child's mother cannot take part.

Thinking of his wife Zhang Ya, Li Che's eyes gradually turned cold; he would certainly not stand idly by, but must find an opportunity to help his wife break free.

To that end, he must strive to grow stronger, and keep growing stronger!

"Boss!"

Xixi finally noticed the boss.

Her eyes lit up slightly as she gave a greeting.

"Where's the dog‑smash?"

Xixi asked.

The boss had originally caught Xixi's attention, the corner of his mouth lifting in a slight arc, but he hadn't expected that Xixi's focus would suddenly shift to the dog; that raised arc instantly smoothed, even dipping a bit.

"He's slaying enemies in the Primordial Thunder Heaven."

The boss said lightly.

"Oh." Xixi nodded: "Dog‑smash is really awesome."

Xixi gave a word of praise.

The boss's brows furrowed slightly, the kitchen knife at his waist twitching…

"I just helped your father behead the will of a Royal‑level Heavenly Immortal; it's a bit boring, too weak."

The boss said lightly.

Li Che's mouth twitched involuntarily; "Putting on an act, you damn well keep pretending!"

Even a dog has to compete?

"Father broke through the encirclement of the three major divine god camps; even four or five Emperor-rank Heavenly Immortals showed up……" Li Che said nonchalantly.

"Wow——!!!"

"Dad is so awesome! Even more awesome than a dog smash!" Xixi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with little stars; the daughter is just Dad's little fangirl!

The boss's mouth twitched; he almost wanted to pull out the golden kitchen knife and press it against Li Che's neck, shouting angrily: "Childish or not?!"

However, Li Che's expression quickly settled.

"Xixi, we have arrived at the Hell Lotus Grounds; the Hell Lotus curse on your body, having been fully triggered by the Third Prince, can no longer be suppressed."

"After this, Dad might not be able to help you anymore; you'll have to rely on yourself."

"Inside the Hell Lotus Mound Pool lie the remains of past Hell Lotus maidens, containing their inheritance and power to resist the Hell Lotus curse……"

"You must obtain and accept it yourself; only then will you become strong enough to no longer fear the power of the Hell Lotus curse."

Li Che rubbed Xixi's head and said.

"In other words, if Xixi wants to become strong, she has to go into the Hell Lotus Mound Pool?!"

Xixi's eyes shone bright.

"Right." Li Che and the boss nodded at the same time.

"Xixi will work hard!" Xixi clenched her tiny fists, utterly earnest!

Li Che looked at Xixi, whose gaze was resolute, and a relieved smile curled his lips.

"Xixi wants to become strong, go save Mom, and be able to help Dad!"

Xixi's face was full of determination.

She pursed her lips: "Xixi feels her own powerlessness; she doesn't want to just watch her parents fight for her in the future while she can do nothing, like a useless burden."

"Xixi is not Mom and Dad's burden!"

"Xixi is certainly not Mom and Dad's burden; she's still young, and one day she will grow up!" Li Che rubbed Xixi's head and said.

"Xixi is still a child, so Dad naturally wants to be the big tree that shelters you from wind and rain, but a tree will eventually wither and lose its leaves; then, Xixi, who surpasses Dad, will need to spread her canopy to shelter Mom and Dad from wind and rain."

Li Che said gently.

"So, Xixi, don't blame yourself, don't feel guilty… parents protecting their children is only natural."

Xixi pursed her lips, her eyes bright, clenching her fists until they turned white: "Xixi will surely become strong, become the invincible Xixi Great Emperor, and crush all who bully our family!"

Hearing this, Li Che rarely heard Xixi's childhood bold proclamation of "Xixi Great Emperor" again, and he couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh.

"Boss, please." Li Che turned his head toward the white-clad, fluttering boss.

The boss crossed his arms, expressionless: "Aren't you that impressive?"

From south to north, killing?

From east to west, chopping?

Here's the knife—you take it!

Xixi also pressed her palms together, her gaze clear, looking at the boss.

"Boss, please."

As soon as Xixi spoke, the boss didn't hesitate much and nodded.

The golden kitchen knife at his waist was instantly grasped in his hand.

He gripped it reverse-handed, blade pointing down.

Then he released his grip.

The golden kitchen knife instantly became like a splendid blade of golden light, smashing into the ground.

Pfft——

It sliced the entire Hell Lotus Ground's surface in half with a single stroke.

The Hell Lotus Mound Pool emerges!

(End of chapter)