Chapter 454: Sword‑Splitting Bodhisattva

"The nether affairs?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression remained unchanged.

"I am here because I was entrusted by Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, specifically to come and enlighten the Yasha."

Mu Yi felt a slight pain in his liver; the other party spoke without revealing a drop, and he couldn't draw any leverage.

"Yasha, will you not yet take refuge in my Buddha?" Guanyin Bodhisattva, seeing Mu Yi fall silent, turned her head toward the Night Demon King, her voice booming enough to pierce the thick fog.

A dense Buddha Light rose behind Guanyin Bodhisattva, forming a meritorious golden wheel, further embodying her compassion.

The Yasha knelt on the ground, palms together, and began to repent for his sins.

The aura around him, once eerie and twisted, began to transform into a majestic, jewel‑like appearance.

Mu Yi watched the scene unfold before him, silently grinning; with matters at this point, what more was there to say?

It boiled down to a single word, after all.

Battle!

In the next instant, Mu Yi raised the Great Summer Dragon Sparrow high in his hand, then swung it down with a fierce chop.

In that instant, the surrounding time seemed to freeze!

The Reincarnation Barrier manifested on Mu Yi's body, six layers of barrier enveloping him, beginning to radiate the hues of samsara.

Inner Qi began to burn recklessly, and Mu Yi felt a surging power rapidly rising within him.

His blood boiled, Inner Qi burned, his divine will roared, and the already robust arms now tightened with bulging veins.

As his condition worsened, Guanyin Bodhisattva's figure quickly faded from sight, leaving only the Yasha before him, enveloped in Buddha Light, continuously repenting.

He struck down the Great Summer Dragon Sparrow with relentless force; within the golden‑tinged Buddha Light fog, it roared with a whistling sound, emitting a bloodthirsty glow.

"Stubborn in the nether?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression turned cold.

Behind her, the towering thousand‑foot Buddha raised a massive golden palm and slammed it down, colliding in midair with the Great Summer Dragon Sparrow.

Boom!

But this time, Mu Yi could clearly see the sudden change in Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression.

The Great Summer Dragon Sparrow fell, and the massive Buddha palm, unable to bear the weight, shattered.

First, the outermost Buddha Light shield collapsed, then the relics on the Yasha's body began to crack.

In a heartbeat, the Great Summer Dragon Sparrow pierced the Buddha palm, also breaking the relics, and then landed upon the Night Demon King's body.

It sliced as smoothly as a hot knife through butter.

The Great Summer Dragon Sparrow's blade cut down along the Night Demon King's neck.

Protected by the relics, the Night Demon King never imagined that even with Guanyin Bodhisattva present, he would face mortal peril.

The sinister Qi within his body erupted as if without restraint, yet before the sharp blade it was useless, unable to deviate even an iota.

The Night Demon King's head was cleaved off in an instant, the skull falling to the ground, his face bearing an expression of disbelief.

In the next instant, the Reincarnation Barrier fell like a solid mass, splattering blood‑mud everywhere amid a booming roar.

A blaze of hellfire ignited from the separated corpse.

Killing and dismembering were completed in one breath.

When Guanyin Bodhisattva recovered from the shattered Buddha palm, the Night Demon King's soul had already been forced by Mu Yi into the Reincarnation Barrier to be erased.

Seeing the extinguished Night Demon King, Guanyin Bodhisattva did not feel anger; the merit wheel behind her head lit up, and she said lightly:

"Humans are not saints; who can be without fault? Since you persist in this way, you must bear the resulting karma."

"Since the Night Demon King has perished, you should accompany the humble monk to the sacred mountain and explain everything to the Buddha!"

"Hehe, Bodhisattva, I won't go to the sacred mountain; I still need to help the Celestial Master exorcise demons. Please return. If there's any issue, let's meet in the Heavenly Court!"

Mu Yi responded with a forced smile, "What a joke—if I go to the sacred mountain, could I ever come back?"

"Though you are a celestial deity, your nature is fierce and reckless. Today I will capture you and take you to the sacred mountain, temporarily turning you into a demon‑pursuing, impurity‑sweeping Arhat, to listen to the Buddha's teachings for a thousand years at the Great Thunder Sound Temple, thereby tempering your mind."

"Even the Great Celestial Venerable cannot say otherwise!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke, extending her palm, and the towering Buddha behind her did the same.

Upon a massive, translucent palm, as the five fingers spread, golden lotuses blossomed, emitting boundless light.

The huge five fingers rose, the palm facing down, slowly and inexorably slamming toward Mu Yi.

"Om, Ma, Ni, Pa, Mi, Hung!"

Accompanied by the sound of the six‑character Great Brightness mantra, the transparent giant palm descended like a mountain crushing down.

Guanyin Bodhisattva's voice was not booming, yet within the silence there was the authority of thunder.

The action seemed identical to before, but this time Mu Yi felt the surrounding space and time completely suppressed by Buddha Light, even his internal power struggled to operate under this suppression.

Even his thoughts began to slow down.

The intangible six‑character mantra rang, and in that instant Mu Yi's head was struck as if by a heavy iron hammer, his skull cap on the verge of shattering from the booming blow.

The Reincarnation Barrier surrounding his body lasted only a heartbeat before shattering outright.

As if an illusion, Mu Yi felt his soul descending, as though someone had slapped his head.

Thus his soul detached from his body, pressed downward by that palm.

Guanyin Bodhisattva's seemingly ordinary palm actually struck the very foundation of Mu Yi's constructed Reincarnation Barrier—the Six Paths of samsara.

The Six Paths themselves were created by the Buddhist Sect, their essence being Buddhist Sect incantations.

Even though Guanyin Bodhisattva is not Kṣitigarbha, as a great Bodhisattva of the Buddhist Sect capable of standing alongside the Buddha, she needed only a moment of deduction to locate the segment of Buddhist Sect incantations within the Reincarnation Barrier.

She then, with an exquisitely subtle technique, directly unraveled the ever‑changing gaps of the barrier.

Like a chef deftly carving an ox, she effortlessly severed the link between Mu Yi and the Reincarnation Barrier, separating his soul from his flesh.

Watching the stunned Mu Yi, Guanyin Bodhisattva gently grasped his throat.

If it were anyone else, the Buddhist Sect would have long since forcibly institutionalized it, but Mu Yi's identity is too special.

Spirit Mountain once suffered a blow because of this, and they certainly don't want to repeat it.

Therefore they set a thousand‑year period for listening to the Buddhist Dharma, letting Mu Yi work for Spirit Mountain to compensate for the loss of a yaksha guardian deity.

This is merely equivalent to changing workplaces; even Hou Tu Niangniang couldn't pursue it.

But just as Guanyin Bodhisattva planned to bring the now‑defenseless Mu Yi back to Spirit Mountain to atone for his sins.

Yet they discovered that Mu Yi, whose body and soul should have been severed, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Take my blade!"

He roared, Mu Yi raised his knife and slashed; the fury that had almost been instantly killed by Guanyin Bodhisattva surged, and scarlet Inner Qi burst forth from his body.

If it had been before, Mu Yi might really have been killed in a single move.

After all, the foundation of His Reincarnation Barrier is the Six Paths, a Buddhist Sect thing—how could one's understanding of Buddhist Sect mantras match that of a great Bodhisattva like Guanyin?

You might as well wash up and go to sleep; even if you summoned the Four Sovereigns to pit Buddhist Sect scriptures against a great Bodhisattva, you wouldn't have a chance.

But now it's different—Mu Yi has undergone a hundred cycles of reincarnation, and his true spirit is bound together with reincarnation.

Mu Yi himself used the Six Paths as a stepping stone, coming into contact with and grasping part of the true meaning of reincarnation.

It's like climbing a ladder to the roof—even if you pull the ladder away, it won't affect Mu Yi standing on the roof and gazing at the heavens.

"Clang!"

Accompanied by a clear ringing of metal striking metal.

Mu Yi's swung Great Xia Dragon Sparrow was directly shaken back by the Buddha-light counterstrike, and even rebounded to smash his own shoulder.

Although he was wounded by the counterstrike, Mu Yi's face showed a ferocious grin.

The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow chopped through Guanyin's surface‑protecting Buddha-light, and amidst the bursting Buddha-light filling the sky, a golden‑red blood line pierced through!

At this moment, a clearly visible wound appeared on Guanyin Bodhisattva's chest.

Golden blood rain fell from his chest, pattering onto the ground; on the barren netherworld earth, purple bamboo actually began to grow.

"It seems you can't take me away after all!"

Mu Yi rested his knife on his shoulder, his grin growing ever more ferocious.

Even before the battle began, He had many misgivings, but now his heart holds not a trace of retreat—only a single thought remains.

Today it's either his death or Guanyin's demise.

At this moment, the noisy battlefield suddenly fell silent; the whole world trembled lowly, and involuntarily, everyone's gaze turned to the thousand‑zhang Buddha image that Guanyin extended his hand toward.

Guanyin's face grew ever more solemn; the thousand‑zhang Buddha image began to glow, layers of light surging forth, and suddenly the sound of countless voices chanting sutras filled the air; the light condensed into golden Buddhist lotuses that blossomed and fell, turning the netherworld earth instantly into a solemn pure land.

Countless Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats appeared faintly in the light, continually transforming into either compassionate or stern visages.

Meanwhile, Guanyin lowered his brows and eyes, continuously reciting Buddhist Sect scriptures.

Line after line of fine sutras fluttered freely across the solemn pure land.

It looked utterly holy, yet Mu Yi only felt danger drawing ever nearer; the area covered by the pure land seemed like another world, and he could not even sense the presence of yin‑sha qi within it.

You must know, this is happening within the netherworld.

"Pósuó pure land?"

Mu Yi recalled a great Buddhist Sect divine ability, whose principle is similar to that of a divine kingdom: both reshape the surrounding environment into something under one's control.

Mu Yi kept retreating, and at the same time vast fog continually burst forth from his whole body.

From a practical combat standpoint, the boundless fog and the principle of this Pósuó pure land are actually quite similar: both create a favorable environment for oneself, thereby restricting the opponent.

Mu Yi spread his wings and flew wildly for three thousand li, yet the Pósuó pure land stubbornly stayed at his side.

Mu Yi, not giving up, flew wildly another three thousand li, only to find the Pósuó pure land still enveloping him.

"No!" Mu Yi suddenly realized.

If it were Guanyin's true form here, having such a great divine ability would be understandable.

But how could a mere incarnation, limited by heaven and earth, possess such ability—able to keep up with his speed and cover a six‑thousand‑li range within the netherworld?

"Palm‑held Buddha Kingdom?"

Mu Yi then thought of another great Buddhist Sect divine ability.

He activated the Thousand-mile Eye divine ability, shooting his gaze piercingly toward the heavens.

As expected, in the moment when the Buddha‑light burst forth just before, he had already been seized by Guanyin Bodhisattva into the Palm‑held Buddha Kingdom divine ability.

Now he pierced through all Buddha‑light and looked upward—there sat a majestic bodhisattva on a golden lotus, brows lowered, compassionate eyes fixed on him.

Who else could it be but Guanyin Bodhisattva?

It seems to be because Mu Yi discovered it.

The sound of countless voices chanting sutras grew ever louder, as if it were echoing inside Mu Yi's mind.

Being bombarded by this omnipresent chanting made him irritable beyond bounds.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Mu Yi's eyes turned blood‑red, and he roared toward the heavens.

He used the battle cry to counter the chanting, then unfolded the Heaven‑Earth Correspondence technique.

His towering, majestic form swelled upward at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye it had already pierced the clouds.

The most basic aspect of the Heaven‑Earth Correspondence divine ability is not only the augmentation of massive stature and spell effects; its resistance to various techniques and curses is also a chief component—otherwise, how could Heaven‑Earth Correspondence be called the premier battle art of Jiuzhou?

At this moment Mu Yi also relied on this ability to oppose Guanyin Bodhisattva's Palm‑held Buddha Kingdom and the omnipresent chanting.

After Mu Yi unleashed Heaven‑Earth Correspondence, the sound in his ears indeed began to wane, and even the pressure of the Buddha‑light started to lessen.

Even the Palm‑held Buddha Kingdom divine ability shattered in an instant.

No matter how great a divine ability, it ultimately requires magical power to sustain it; even though Guanyin Bodhisattva's mastery of divine abilities is profound, a mere incarnation cannot create something from nothing.

This is also why Guanyin Bodhisattva has always avoided direct confrontation with Mu Yi, opting instead to subdue him with grand divine abilities.

In the midst of close combat, this incarnation might not be able to defeat Mu Yi.

The unhealed wound on the incarnation's chest already explains everything.

Seeing his divine ability broken, Mu Yi burst into loud laughter.

"Amitabha... come die for me!"

But the moment Mu Yi opened his mouth, he instinctively uttered the Buddha's name.

This only made Mu Yi even more furious; he didn't want to be brainwashed by Buddhist scriptures.

The hazy mist spread out, canceling the Buddha light, and then the towering figure's body suddenly donned a bloody aura, after which three heads and six arms unfolded, waving various weapons downward.

It slashed straight toward the Bodhisattva's dharma body within arm's reach.

In the blink of an eye.

The Bodhisattva's golden form, resembling a mountain range, shattered with a boom, and the incarnation hidden beneath it was inevitably struck.

Under the violent force of the Weapon Lord's divine ability, Guanyin Bodhisattva's Buddha body instantly exploded into countless golden specks of light.

Accompanied by the patter of golden light specks falling down.

Finally, fury appeared in Guanyin's eyes.

Boundless light surged like a tide.

In the roar, the inner qi armor protecting Mu Yi's body shattered instantly, his massive frame emitted a cracking sound, and he was forced to retreat.

At this moment, the pure jade vase in Guanyin's hand shot toward Mu Yi like a bombardment.

"Boom!"

Mu Yi blocked the deadly bombardment with his tempered weapon, smashing it toward the pure jade vase.

In the violent collision, Mu Yi's weapon, pushed to the extreme by the Weapon Lord's power, shattered inch by inch.

Likewise, the pure jade vase showed cracks spreading and began to break apart.

Seizing the last opportunity, the blood-stained Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sword, after a brief obstruction, unleashed a massive slash in the air, bearing tremendous force and cleaving Guanyin Bodhisattva's body.

"Boom!"

Through the slash's penetration, rising from the sky and ending on the earth, everything obstructing its path was brutally severed.

A huge, bottomless grand canyon formed behind Guanyin Bodhisattva, stretching to the ends of the earth, with the sound of shattering and annihilation still echoing in the ears.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva uttered a Buddha's name, gazing at Mu Yi with a complex expression, saying nothing.

A bloodstain appeared on the forehead, then spread downward.

Moments later, Guanyin Bodhisattva's incarnation split along the bloodstain, its entire body turning into fine specks of light that began to dissipate.