Chapter 243: Vajra Demon-Subduing Formation

【Zongwang Prompt: Your squad killed the Qing Court‑Jia Xian‑Huang Xian clan leader. Based on your contribution, you receive 20000 points of killing experience and a Jia Xian Treasure Chest (Epic).】

【Extermination of the Five Evils quest progress update: Kill Jia Xian (4/5).】

【Zongwang Prompt: Your squad destroyed the Huang Xian Temple. Based on your contribution, you receive 20000 points of Universal Experience and a Jia Xian Treasure Chest (Epic).】

【Extermination of the Five Evils quest progress update: Destroy Jia Xian Temple (4/5).】

Lily raised her hand, summoned a gentle breeze, and dispersed the foul gas lingering over the battlefield.

Mu Yi tossed a blaze of ember fire, igniting the entire Huang Xian Temple and liberating the trapped restless souls within.

Having gained the first experience of confronting the Snake Immortal, bullying other Jia Xian thereafter is a piece of cake.

Divine abilities can flee, but authority cannot be shed; the Jia Xian who had long merged with authority abandons its own authority, shoots toward its own heart, betting that it won't die—no different.

Unfortunately, Bai Xian possesses merit and was even redeemed at great cost by the Buddhist Sect, causing this quest to stall at the final step.

Nevertheless, Mu Yi doesn't mind; their goal this time is to deal with the Legend.

The rest are merely side quests done along the way.

Only the Legend is their main quest; defeating it with a Transcendent body yields rewards truly abundant.

"We should probably figure out how to enter the Imperial City soon," the little fox asked eagerly.

She used to be very timid about confronting the Legend, but she has changed now.

These past days, tagging along with the squad, she has gathered many rewards, and even when she faced the Fox Immortal before, she incidentally, due to her own fox bloodline,

inherited the Fox Immortal's divine seat from its corpse.

Although it is only a Dungeon‑limited power, for the little fox it is a rare possession of combat ability.

The previously timid disposition vanished, replaced by an overblown confidence; when confronting aberrant creatures, she even dares to charge alone into a sea of monsters and unleash a slaughter.

"It's still early! You go collect the incense power here first."

Mu Yi looked at the little fox speechlessly, then casually tapped her on the head.

She inherited only the Fox Immortal's divine seat and the incense left by the Jia Xian; whether it's even a tenth is uncertain, yet it somehow swelled to this extent.

Even the combined might of the five flourishing Jia Xian cannot seal He Luo God, yet the tiny fox has become so inflated.

The tapped little fox revealed her true form, drooping her ears before scurrying off to gather the scattered incense.

"The Buddhist Sect hasn't shown any movement yet; should we just…"

"Who—come out!" Mu Yi was saying when he suddenly turned his head toward the void.

"Mu Boss, it's me!" Lin Jie emerged from the void with a complicated expression.

"Lin Jie!" Mu Yi was startled; he didn't expect to still meet an old friend, and it seemed Lin Jie's progress over the past ten years had been tremendous.

Besides the boundless power he once possessed, he now seems to have an entirely new strength, especially potent in secrecy; if not for the overly sharp insight granted by the Thousand-mile Eye, he might not have found the other party.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Mu Yi also knew that the Rebellion Army survived in this increasingly harsh world by relying on the knowledge he left behind and the Buddhist Sovereign power he had once unlocked.

They tunneled underground and began attempting subterranean life; though difficult, they at least survived.

However, in recent days their livelihood has become ever more difficult.

The greater He Luo God's influence on heaven and earth, the harder their lives become, and as He Luo God's power rises, the blue souls that once dropped from slain aberrant creatures and the red souls from slain Jia Xian species have begun to grow scarce.

Within the Rebellion Army, the number of powerful individuals dwindles, while more and more people choose to convert to the Buddhist Sect, becoming its disciples.

The Rebellion Army instead gradually becomes a hollow shell, with only Lin Jie and the like still persisting.

"Mu Boss, are you still willing to lead our uprising?" Lin Jie's gaze at Mu Yi was full of expectation.

The Buddhist Sect does not intend to overthrow the decayed Qing Court, only to replace the Jia Xian; this is unacceptable to those rebels who originally rose up for a bright world.

They lack strength, even their foundations have been seized by the Buddhist Sect, leaving them clueless; they were once a muddled, corpse‑like mass. Yet now that Mu Yi appears, hope rekindles—he was the leader who once safeguarded their flame, and he has already slain four Jia Xian; perhaps Mu Yi can lead them to rise again.

【Zongwang Prompt: Hidden quest 'Break Then Establish' triggered】

'Break Then Establish'

Quest Requirement: Overthrow Qing Court rule and establish a new dynasty.

Quest Objective: Slay the Qingting Emperor (0/1), destroy the Qing Court Dragon Vein (0/1).

Quest Reward: Unknown

"I'll still leave!"

Mu Yi gave Lin Jie a deep look, neither refusing nor agreeing, but instead stating a fact.

Lin Jie's expression changed, as if recalling something; he said nothing more, turning his head to speak of other matters.

"Let's end the small talk here and get to business!"

Lily interrupted their conversation, noticing that Lin Jie seemed to be pondering something else.

"In the Snake Immortal's memory we saw shadows of the past; who was your second leader?" Lily asked bluntly.

"Zhu Fu, the last bloodline of the Ming Dynasty's Dragon Emperor, bearing the power of seven deities and Buddhas, extremely powerful!" Lin Jie recalled that god‑like figure, his voice trembling.

If Mu Yi gave them the strength of unity, helping the Rebellion Army preserve the flame,

then Zhu Fu represents the pinnacle of individual heroism, so mighty that even the Jia Xian dare not confront him.

"What ultimately happened to him?" Lily frowned; from the description it seemed he was also a half‑step Legend foundation.

"I don't know!" Lin Jie sighed.

"Don't know?"

"Since confronting the evil god within the seal, no one has seen him again!"

"By our conjecture, he must have sacrificed himself!" Lin Jie's face darkened; if he were still alive, they wouldn't have fallen to this state.

Just as Lily was about to press further, Mu Yi turned toward the wind and snow, and a panting bald man emerged.

"Supreme Deity!" the newcomer was Monk Zhitong.

He adjusted his breathing slightly, bowed, and offered a salute.

"Please, Honored Deity, accompany me to the Imperial City to preside over our temple's deployment of the Vajra Demon‑Subduing Formation, intending to cooperate with you to eradicate demons and evil!"

Hearing this, Mu Yi raised his eyebrows and looked at Lily beside him.

Lily nodded without changing expression, and Mu Yi readily agreed.

"Master Lin, please also urge the righteous warriors to contribute their strength!" Zhitong monk turned his head and said to Lin Jie.

Lin Jie narrowed his eyes, also nodded, just as Mu Yi and the others had thought before; no matter how tangled their relationships were, the core point remained unchanged—that they all stood in the camp opposing the Herol God.

Under the guidance of the Buddhist Sect, Mu Yi's group passed through the monster tide scattered around the imperial city; deprived of the Herol God's command, these aberrant creatures wandered aimlessly.

Walking calmly into the imperial city, Mu Yi narrowed his eyes in study; though only a wall away, it seemed like another world—inside the city everything appeared as if nothing had happened, and Mu Yi could even see some households keeping demonic beasts as pets.

Mu Yi glanced around, realizing this was inseparable from the Buddhist Sect.

But he said nothing; faced with a great enemy, uniting every possible force was of utmost importance.

"The venerable deity has arrived! Forgive our distant welcome! Please pardon our shortcomings!"

An old monk wearing a kasaya woven with gold thread, holding a pure-gold nine-ringed staff, greeted them accompanied by dozens of monks similarly resplendent with pearls and jewels!

It was clear that, as the highest leader of the Buddhist Sect, the old monk attached great importance to this matter, receiving Mu Yi with considerable ceremony.

It gave Mu Yi the illusion that he was not in a chaotic end-times but in an unprecedented prosperous age.

"Venerable deity, please follow me; we have everything ready, awaiting your command to begin the demon-slaying at once!"

The old monk got straight to the point without any pleasantries, as if the one to deal with the Herol God were not Mu Yi but the Buddhist Sect itself.

Near the palace, countless monks sat cross-legged, and several woodpiles had been erected, each bearing an old monk over fifty, or with white brows and hair, their expressions sorrowful yet full of compassion.

Mu Yi bowed to these old monks; he realized they intended to sacrifice themselves for the great undertaking of slaying demons, regardless of their motives, but this resolve alone deserved his respect.

"Venerable deity, do you have any further orders?"

The presiding monk followed Mu Yi in a bow, then turned his head to look at Mu Yi.

"Once the Diamond Demon-Subduing Formation is opened, evil spirits will inevitably break free; we are weak and can only hope to restrain them, so we pray the venerable deity will display mighty power to save all beings from water and fire!"

"Can we divert some troops from the army over here?"

Mu Yi pondered and asked, earlier the situation had been dire and troop movements impossible, but when they arrived this time, the outside had not yet laid siege.

"Once we activate the formation, if external enemies keep coming, this great army surely cannot be moved!"

The presiding abbot, after a polite refusal, eventually persuaded the Qingting Emperor to consent to their demon-slaying and even to allow the Rebellion Army to enter the city.

Moreover, wanting to seize military authority is simply wishful thinking.

Mu Yi understood the old monk's meaning and did not press further; he could see the old monk had done his utmost, otherwise he would not have expended such great effort.

With his Thousand-mile Eye, he saw the entire imperial city enveloped by an unprecedented grand formation, and almost every nodal point of the formation bore a monk preparing to offer himself as sacrifice.

The effect of this grand formation, in some respects, would likely not fall short of that of a coordinated military array.

At least in terms of grade, this formation must be of golden Legend quality, and the sheer number of participants left Mu Yi somewhat startled.

Among them were many commoners and nobles, who, under different monks' guidance, were preparing to chant sutras and pray for blessings.

Clearly, the Buddhist Sect of this world has spared no expense.

"Let's begin!"

Mu Yi and his companions adjusted their conditions, then nodded to the old monk.

Initially Mu Yi intended to challenge the Legend with his own strength, but unfortunately this world's difficulty exceeded his expectations; subduing the Herol God felt like a tier harder than confronting a Legendary Dragon.

Therefore they also had to rely on local power to weaken it.

Courage to challenge is a fine virtue, but blind confidence can only lead to self-destruction.

Assessing the strength disparity between friend and foe is a good moral quality every Zongwang Player should possess.

"Amitabha!"

After watching Mu Yi's group descend toward the seal deep in the palace, the old monk, with his disciples behind him, sat cross-legged on the ground and began to chant sutras in a low voice.

Waves of chanting echoed throughout the imperial city.

"Has it begun?"

The Qingting Emperor seated on the throne gazed expressionlessly into the void.

A young novice stepped forward to pour oil onto the woodpile, then a great fire blazed up.

Flames mixed with rolling thick smoke rose instantly.

While the monks standing in the sea of fire faced the agony of burning flesh, their expressions remained unchanged; they held a single hand before them and recited passages of scripture:

"Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven taught for his mother."

"Then, in the ten directions, countless worlds, innumerable Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas all gathered."

"Praised be Śākyamuni Buddha, who in this age of five corruptions manifests inconceivable wisdom and supernatural power, subdues the arrogant, knows the dharma of suffering and bliss, and sends attendants to inquire of the World-Honored One."

The chanting grew louder, the blazing flames became more vigorous, the monks' bodies burned at a speed far exceeding ordinary, then turned to ash, leaving only a single relic shimmering with seven-colored Buddhist light floating in the fire.

Around them, the novice monks and monks all bowed with sorrowful expressions.

Although the Buddhist Sect, due to its openness, has some mixed elements, the number of high monks remains considerable; relics are the condensed fruit of a high monk's Buddhist cultivation, and those who leave relics are undoubtedly eminent monks.

Now, they have all sacrificed their lives to slay demons and save this world.

Fortunately, these fallen monks had chanted the Ksitigarbha Sutra before offering themselves; after death they can be guided by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to be reborn and later re-enter the Buddhist Sect.

This is also why the Buddhist Sect paid such a price to place Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the Underworld; although Ksitigarbha cannot affect rebirth, it can at least open a modest convenience.

This lets the Buddhist Sect avoid a break in succession and continue to flourish.

Even in some worlds, they can bypass the Underworld, create a small cycle of rebirth, and use the doctrine of rebirth to let Buddhism prosper further.

Accompanied by the appearance of many relics, a furious-eyed vajra holding thunder and golden light appeared in the firmament.

"Halt!"

Accompanied by a solemn angry shout, a bolt of thunder split from the heavens; the enormous white lotus that had grown beneath the palace and shrouded the imperial city instantly turned to ash and vanished.