Chapter 165: End

The Buddhist Sect's headquarters, in the Western Sacred Mountain.

The Buddha, who traverses the three thousand worlds, suddenly opened his eyes, and the three thousand worlds reflected in his pupils.

"Why am I so uneasy today? Could it be that Boshun is causing trouble?"

The Buddha was puzzled; few could disturb his mind, and the only one with motive to cause trouble was the Buddha's enemy, Boshun.

But the Great Sun Tathagata, with a flick of his finger, scanned from the thirty‑three heavens above to the nine‑dark Underworld below, and found no trace of Boshun.

While the Buddha was still puzzled, a vast, majestic aura suddenly rose from beyond the Sacred Mountain, and the holy, divine aura instantly spread throughout the entire mountain.

"Earth Mother?"

The Buddha's complexion changed dramatically; the moment Earth Mother's aura appeared, the concealed heavenly mechanism was revealed, and he finally understood what had happened.

But it was already too late; now he had to face Earth Mother's wrath.

"Boom!"

Although the Buddhist Sect's appetite looks unsightly, it cannot resist taking on any dirty or arduous tasks.

But this time there was truly no way out; they had hit a solid iron plate.

But now it is completely different.

After all, he was just a junior; at first he showed some talent, but in the end he was merely a seed, and he also had karmic ties with our own monastery's bodhisattva; granting him some benefits and recruiting him was a natural course.

This is merely the aftershock of an aftershock, while the main power has now been intercepted by the Buddha alone.

In the current multiversal Jiuzhou, the top figures among the Heavenly Gods and Earth Deities are essentially those whose divine names bear honorific titles, and such titles are divided into many ranks.

Jiuzhou has always been simple and honest; having a big fist is justified, and it's absurd to think that divine ranks could restrict people.

Even if interests were touched, causing many immortals to hold grudges against the Buddhist Sect, they still accepted it, for the Buddhist Sect does no harm to Jiuzhou's heavens and earth, and often appears as a protector and guardian.

At the pinnacle of the Heavenly Gods and Earth Deities stand the two imperial deities, the Sovereign Heaven and the Earth Mother.

Seeing this, the Buddha sighed, resumed his lotus throne—now nearly shattered—radiated Buddha Light to envelop the entire Sacred Mountain, and the endless power of incense overflowed from the Eight‑Treasure Merit Pool, slowly yet steadily repairing the affected mountain.

Thus the Buddha could only swallow this grievance, being neither justified nor able to fight back—what else could he do?

Who could have imagined that a potential seed once watched by a branch spirit would suddenly latch onto Earth Mother, the great boss.

For example, the Five Mountain Lords, Zhenwu, and Fengdu—those who possess both incense and authority—are the main pillars.

The Buddha sighed, "Success by digging the corner, defeat by digging the foot."

"The Underworld is not yet for the Buddhist Sect to meddle with; this is only a minor punishment, a great precept. Buddha, see to it yourself!"

By the same principle, the Buddha and Guanyin both secured a Fifth Elder position in the Heavenly Court; even as a nominal post, it ranks just below Sovereign Heaven and Earth Mother, and the Three Purities and Four Sovereigns.

Later, even ordinary souls will be affected, thereby influencing reincarnation and the operation of multiversal Jiuzhou.

For instance, Guan Sheng Dijun, sustained solely by incense without authority, is a lower‑rank horse among the top tier.

The Underworld teems with countless evil spirits; the resentment during their service in the eighteen layers of Hell can almost affect the entire Underworld. If no one suppresses and dispels it, the Underworld might turn from a normally functioning institution into a breeding ground for vicious souls and demons.

The reason Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is recognized by the Underworld is not his great vow—after all, his becoming a Buddha has nothing to do with the Underworld—but because he voluntarily undertook the heavy task of eliminating the Underworld's karmic sins.

Standing in the Sacred Mountain's great hall, eyes lowered, slightly bowing, he said, "I wonder what urgent matter the Buddha summons me for?"

And Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a bodhisattva capable of becoming a Buddha, voluntarily filled this huge gap, forcing the Underworld to accept him.

The Buddha, like a mute person eating bitter herbs, could not voice his suffering; he knew Earth Mother was using the pretext, but the Buddhist Sect had voluntarily handed the leverage to them.

Lord of Mount Tai, who retired from the Underworld to wander the myriad realms, now holds no authority, yet who can claim superiority over the other side?

Of course, this thing is only for looking at; taking it seriously would be too foolish.

Since attaining Buddhahood, over countless years, he has rarely suffered loss; with superb scheming, he profits from chaos, gradually extending the Buddhist Sect to every corner of multiversal Jiuzhou, and across the boundless heavens and earth, the Buddhist Sect's presence seems ubiquitous, with incense worship flourishing immensely.

Without digging at the foot, the Buddhist Sect would not have grown, yet now they can only grit their teeth and accept it.

With a single strike, the entire Sacred Mountain silently sank dozens of zhang amid the reverberating boom, like a firm, powerful finger pressing down on the mountain as if it were a nail, forcefully driving it deep into the earth by dozens of zhang.

Military strategists and the like are wholly beyond the Buddhist Sect's concerns; after all, even Guan Sheng Dijun and his peers have been accounted for, and they care not for an undeveloped junior pawn.

He touched the swollen three‑percent hair knot on his head, and even the Buddha's composure couldn't help but sigh.

"Cause and effect, ultimately emptiness; that destined one ultimately has no fate with our Buddhist Sect, so let him go. All past layers shall be considered a good karmic tie!"

If it were someone else, even the Three Purities and Four Sovereigns, the Buddha could later find an opportunity to seek a venue.

But the task assigned by the leaders cannot be shirked; he could only bow, receive the Buddha's decree, then transform into Buddha Light and vanish across the void.

"Where is the Venerable Infinite?"

The lotus platform he sat on silently cracked, and seeing the Buddha caused a pang of heartache; heaven knows how much incense would be needed to repair it again.

Although largely to safeguard the Buddhist Sect's own interests, overall it is a positive move for multiversal Jiuzhou.

Investing a small world and a guardian deity seed is minor, but also losing oneself in it is terribly unlucky.

The Venerable Infinite's face turned bitter; yet the Buddha had said it, what could he do? Now not only has he sunk his investment, but must continue to extract things, following the Buddha's wishes; the rest may require him to pay out of his own pocket.

……

The Three Purities, Four Sovereigns, and Fifth Elders are the main pillars.

Through shrewd scheming, the Buddhist Sect fully integrated into Jiuzhou, becoming part of it; within Jiuzhou, there are only a handful of things that could cause it loss.

Soon, a flash of golden light appeared, and the Venerable Infinite manifested outside the Sacred Mountain's great hall.

On the other side, under the patronage of two ghost emperors, Mu Yi was picking up bargains.

Or rather, Mu Yi's actions were no longer picking bargains but outright plundering.

The surviving shadow soldiers, after the fierce battle, continuously drove the crawling ghosts into the Reincarnation Barrier.

"Zongwang Prompt: You are suppressing ghosts in the Hungry Ghost Path, the nascent Hungry Ghost Path is forming, current progress 73%…"

"Zongwang Prompt: You are suppressing ghosts in the Hungry Ghost Path, the nascent Hungry Ghost Path is forming, current progress 86%…"

"Zongwang Prompt: You are suppressing ghosts in the Hungry Ghost Path, the nascent Hungry Ghost Path is forming, current progress 98%…"

……

"Zongwang Prompt: Sacrifice activated successfully, you offered soul fragments and Nether Pearl, the Hell Path nascent form draws the sacrifice power, currently growing (52%)…"

Everything in the Ghost Country became nourishment for the Six Paths Reincarnation; Mu Yi moved what he could, and for what he couldn't move he directly sacrificed it in place, then absorbed all its power.

He didn't even let go of the sharira fragments that fell from the Rakshasa King's body; in a posture almost like being backed into a corner, he moved everything from the Ghost Country that could be moved.

In this grand scheme, he was merely a pawn; he couldn't trace the root or change anything.

All he could do was seize every opportunity before him.

Shen Tu and Yu Lei silently watched Mu Yi.

After Mu Yi incorporated the entire Ghost Country into reincarnation, the two figures then disappeared from the firmament.

"Mu kid, next time you must definitely find us two a good opponent!"

As Shen Tu's words fell, the fragment of the Ghost Gate Pass in Mu Yi's hand flickered.

Ghost Gate Pass (fragment)

3. Can summon the Eastern Ghost Emperor: Shen Tu and Yu Lei avatars (50% power) descend; the distance from the main body affects the summon's casting time; this trait requires charging, current charge count: 1.

Looking at the Ghost Gate Pass fragment whose properties had changed, Mu Yi's face showed surprise; he had thought it was a one-time consumable, but now it seems...

After shaking off extraneous thoughts, Mu Yi sent Lin Xuan away, then brought the surviving yin soldiers back to the Underworld and went to the Underworld Bureau to turn in the mission.

The Underworld Bureau's soul-repelling envoy dared not slight Mu Yi; after verifying the mission token, he immediately settled the related rewards for Mu Yi.

"Marshal Mu Yin, this is your reward! Please accept it."

A string of information prompts floated across Mu Yi's retina.

You gained 100 points of Underworld prestige! Current Underworld prestige is respect!

After deducting yin soldier losses, you gained 1000 points of Underworld incense, which can be converted into 10000 points of Universal Experience.

After deducting yin soldier losses, you gained 10000 units of netherworld currency, which can be converted into 10000 units of Zongwang Disaster Coin.

Your Underworld contribution increased by 100 points! Your divine rank is seventh grade! To reach the next grade you still need 9900 contribution points.

Phew~

Looking at Zongwang's settlement for this mission, Mu Yi couldn't help but let out a sigh.

After all, his strength was insufficient; the yin soldiers lost were too many, causing the rewards to be greatly reduced, but it didn't matter much, after all he had already made a killing in side income, so mission rewards were trivial.

The biggest gain of this trip was that the embryonic form of the Hungry Ghost Path was about to take shape, and the Hell Path had taken a big step toward full formation.

After politely declining the Underworld Bureau's plan to keep assigning him missions, Mu Yi patted his butt and fled directly from the Underworld.

He decided that unless he became a legend, he would absolutely not return to taint himself with Underworld missions, because this thing is really too terrifying.

Not only was the mission itself difficult, but also the difficulties behind it piled up, so he didn't even know who his opponent was.

This time a big shot had his back; next time, without a big shot's backing, wouldn't he be schemed to death?

He slipped away; the waters of Jiuzhou were too deep, really unsuitable for this newbie to mix in; better to honestly go explore other worlds, where there are also dangers, but at least there won't be such frightening things.

A few more times like this, and he'd really shorten his lifespan.

He plumply ran back to Kunlun Mountain, stroking the soft, furry dog head of Chu Yi, Mu Yi felt that home was still best, without so much pressure.

Just as Mu Yi was about to lie down and do nothing, Chu Yi nudged him, urging Mu Yi to go with him.

Mu Yi curiously followed behind Chu Yi; Chu Yi's supernatural abilities had already been fully displayed in the East Dao Prefecture, and he wanted to see what Chu Yi was up to this time.

Chu Yi brought Mu Yi to a somewhat familiar place; at that moment a pack of wolves was loitering around, and Mu Yi recalled that they seemed to be the wolves the human mountaineering team had encountered earlier.

Upon seeing Chu Yi approach, the wolves immediately lowered their heads and retreated to the sides, showing respect for Chu Yi; even the largest wolf king rose from the stone it was lying on, lowered its head, and showed respect to Chu Yi.

"Where is this?"

Mu Yi looked at a lush, verdant big tree and immediately recalled that it was the precious seed that had been planted earlier.

Unexpectedly, after not seeing it for a while, its growth had been incredibly rapid, shooting up from a sapling to this size; it seems Chu Yi had cultivated this precious tree very seriously.

Chu Yi waved his paw, and among the lush branches a peach flew down from the tree and landed in Mu Yi's hand.

【Flat Peach】

Item Level: 10

Item Type: Rare Treasure

Quality: Blue Excellent

Description: Unripe flat peach; eating it prolongs life and strengthens the physique.

"Ah?"

Mu Yi widened his eyes, fixing his gaze on the rare treasure tree; he had initially thought Chu Yi would make use of this thing, but he hadn't expected that Chu Yi would actually produce a flat peach tree.

Flat peaches are rare heavenly treasures in myth and legend; a ripe flat peach is a precious item even for immortals.

It is said that in the Heavenly Court's Flat Peach Orchard there are 3600 flat peach trees.

The first 1200 trees have small blossoms and fruit, ripening every 3000 years; eating them makes one become an immortal, with a healthy body and light frame. The middle 1200 trees have layered blossoms and sweet fruit, ripening every 6000 years; eating them lets one ascend to immortality on rosy clouds, achieving eternal life. The last 1200 trees have purple patterns and yellow cores, ripening every 9000 years; eating them lets one's lifespan match heaven and earth, with the sun and moon sharing the same cycle.

Mu Yi was somewhat surprised, but upon thinking, he realized the identity of the owner of the Flat Peach Orchard, and suddenly understood.

The owner of the Flat Peach Orchard is the Queen Mother of the West, the master of Kunlun.

Chu Yi now counts as a mountain god of Kunlun, so taking the opportunity to produce a flat peach tree seems quite reasonable.

Hmm... could it be that Chu Yi, when he transforms in the future, will also take the form of a human body with a leopard tail and tiger teeth?

But just as Mu Yi was thinking that, he sensed a great horror in the dark, and immediately restrained his thoughts, not daring to let his imagination run wild.

Mu Yi took a bite of the flat peach in his hand; at the moment it entered his throat it melted directly, turning into a continuous warm current that nourished his whole body.

The fatigue of battle vanished in an instant, and his whole person felt refreshed.

"Zongwang Prompt: Consuming flat peach slightly boosts vitality (based on the user's current physique)."