Chapter 455: Heavenly Master and the Bodhisattva

Network important notice: You forcibly killed a Buddhist Sect‑affiliated Yaksha who had taken refuge, so your reputation within Buddhist Sect‑related forces has decreased; until the reputation recovers, you cannot undertake Buddhist Sect‑related quests, and any ongoing related quests cannot be claimed or submitted.

Within the three realms of Jiuzhou, some deities and factions have increased their favor towards you.

Network important notice: You killed an incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, causing a massive reputation boost across Jiuzhou; the three realms of Jiuzhou have begun to hear your name.

Guanyin Bodhisattva has marked you as a priority target; in certain worlds you may provoke a pursuit by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Warning: Guanyin Bodhisattva is entering this world.

Mu Yi jerked his head upward, gazing into the distance, as a heavy Buddha Light spread across the entire Netherworld.

Mu Yi stared at the scarlet message before him and the brilliant Buddha Light on the horizon, already ready to invoke Hou Tu Niangniang's name to bear the thunder.

He hadn't expected that this big shot would personally step onto the field himself.

It was just cutting down a clone, right? No need to come after me directly.

This time, unlike the earlier palm‑size Buddha realm technique, it is genuine Buddha Light bathing everything, turning every place it touches into a pristine Pure Land.

Even Mu Yi felt an urge to kneel on the ground, clasp his hands in elevenfold reverent prayer, and tally his past sins.

It felt as if he had returned to the valley where the female drought demon dwelled, with endless Buddha Light pressing in from all sides, urging him to take refuge.

Yet Mu Yi stood like a long spear, rigidly upright.

It would never bow to such overbearing might.

Suddenly, the Buddha Light began to wane, no longer as dense and dazzling as at first.

Yet wherever it passed, the radiance still bathed the area; the entire Netherworld was illuminated by Buddha Light, and some weak aberrant monsters had already begun to be purified, while even those strange deities could only hide in the shadows forged by their own magic, barely clinging to life.

Warning: The current world's spatial stability has increased dramatically; ordinary teleportation and spatial abilities are temporarily unavailable.

……

"Guanyin Bodhisattva, where are you going! Our doctrinal debate hasn't finished yet!" Ge Tianshi smiled mischievously at Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Unexpectedly, this great Bodhisattva actually flipped here today.

Earlier he was restrained by Guanyin Bodhisattva; now he has become the one holding back Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Bullying the weak is not our Jiuzhou way; Bodhisattva, do not bring trouble upon yourself!"

"You dare block me?" Guanyin Bodhisattva lowered her brows, eyes compassionate, showing no trace of anger, yet the Buddha Light surrounding her grew ever denser.

"Hehe, I have a method, please, Bodhisattva, appraise it!"

Silently, Ge Tianshi waved his hand.

A resonant boom echoed throughout the Netherworld, as surging power surged beyond its bounds.

Powerful magical energy enveloped the Netherworld, splitting into eight formation sigils.

From a bird's‑eye view, they each formed patterns that seemed to contain strange regularities.

Each formation sigil possessed a unique attribute; anyone with a modest knowledge of Daoist arts could recite their names:

Qian! Kun! Zhen! Gen! Li! Kan! Dui! Xun!

In the blink of an eye, the eight uniquely shaped formation sigils rose at the world's edge, their qi resonating with one another as a single whole.

The entire Netherworld was isolated within the void.

A massive Bagua diagram unfolded with the Netherworld at its center.

This is the primordial Bagua formation created by employing the whole world.

The bifurcated Bagua great formation, splitting the two realms and sealing space, instantly enveloped the Netherworld, providing superb protection and completely isolating Guanyin Bodhisattva's Buddha Light outside the world.

Ge Tianshi truly displayed his genuine skill.

How could he tolerate Guanyin's Buddha Light bathing the Netherworld? When the cause and effect and destiny are calculated, would they count for Guanyin or for him?

He had spent so much effort on his tribulation‑testing cultivation; how could he allow Guanyin Bodhisattva to be destroyed in this way?

Guanyin Bodhisattva now felt a hint of regret; the Buddhist Sect is accustomed to being overbearing, but this time the ironclad rule was invoked, which was already a flaw on its part, and Ge Tianshi seized the opportunity.

Today, it seems inevitable that a showdown with Ge Tianshi will occur.

With the Heavenly Court fighting amongst itself, it's likely that the Great Celestial Sovereign will punish them.

But at this moment, having finally seized the chance to act, how could Ge Tianshi simply let Guanyin go; even a beating to save face or a parting breath would be fine.

The great Bagua protecting the Netherworld is not the entirety of his divine art; it is merely the prelude to his opening move.

"Refine!"

Raising his finger, Ge Tianshi uttered a resonant syllable like an imperial decree to the whole world, even the void itself responded to his motion.

This is the natural Dao.

In an instant, the Bagua unfolded, enveloping Guanyin Bodhisattva as well.

Life! Death! Rest! Injury! Suppression! Scene! Shock!

The branches representing the eight‑gate rules interlaced, spawning countless new regulations, covering all rules within the Bagua domain.

The void now shrouded by the domain experienced chaotic yin‑yang, with heaven and earth turned upside down.

All of this, under Ge Tianshi's will, surged into a massive, ten‑thousand‑foot wave of change.

Even the Buddha Light surrounding Guanyin Bodhisattva began to flicker intermittently.

Viewed from outside the domain, the Bagua realm now resembled a massive alchemical furnace, imprisoning Guanyin Bodhisattva within.

In the next instant, teal flames rose within the Bagua domain.

Ge Tianshi, who studied Daoist arts under the Supreme Lord Laozi, excels most in the art of alchemical refinement.

Millennia of chanting the Huangting, millennia of alchemy, millennia of watching the fire.

This divine technique is also known as the Doushuai Bagua Furnace.

It melts all rules into a single Dao, the Way of Refinement.

Because of its singularity, its power becomes terrifyingly strong.

Using the void as fuel and essence‑spirit as flame, it ignites all rules, refining everything inside the furnace.

The green flames turned into a gurgling stream, flowing tranquilly beyond the Guanyin Bodhisattva's Buddha-light shrouded Pure Land, silent yet bearing the terrifying power to melt all things.

This fire is the purifying fire of the alchemy furnace, a flame born for refining elixirs, and also the fire used by the Supreme Elder Lord when refining elixirs.

Because elixir refining requires it, the fire must not be rash; it needs unending gentleness, the perseverance of water dripping through stone, and the resolve to calcine all things into elixir.

As if spring wind turned to rain, the Pure Land sustained by the Guanyin Bodhisattva was instantly shaved off a large ring.

The Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression grew solemn; beneath the cover of the Tushita Eight Trigrams Furnace, She felt as if She had become a pill awaiting calcination.

"Heavenly Master, this divine ability has grasped the essence of the Grand Pure Morality Heavenly Venerable's elixir refining!"

"Truly delightful and congratulatory!"

The Guanyin Bodhisattva clasped her hands together; though the Pure Land was visibly being refined at a speed discernible to the naked eye, She showed no urgency.

"Please, Bodhisattva, instruct me!" Ge Tian Shi smiled narrowly as he looked at the Guanyin Bodhisattva.

He certainly did not think that a single combined great divine ability could defeat the foremost Bodhisattva beneath the Buddha.

Thus he eagerly awaited what response the Guanyin Bodhisattva would make.

Only in actual combat can one's flaws be tested, and Ge Tian Shi did not want to miss this sparring opportunity.

"What a pity the Heavenly Master chose the wrong opponent! If Manjusri and Samantabhadra were here, perhaps they would engage in a dragon-tiger battle with the Heavenly Master, but I am not among them!"

The Guanyin Bodhisattva likewise smiled faintly, took a willow branch from her pure vase, and flicked the water droplets from it.

In an instant, the droplets became a great river flowing outward in all directions, as if seeking to fill and destroy the entire Eight Trigrams Furnace.

The furnace's purifying fire blazed fiercely, yet these droplets showed no diminution; instead they increased, as if capable of infinite augmentation.

"Three Lights Divine Water?"

Ge Tian Shi, being erudite, instantly recognized this supreme divine water of heaven and earth.

"This water is not found only in the Jade Pure Original Heavenly Venerable's supreme treasure, the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle; where did you obtain it?"

Ge Tian Shi frowned, his aura rising.

"Naturally it was bestowed by the Jade Pure Original Heavenly Venerable!" the Guanyin Bodhisattva said with a slight bow, her smile unchanged.

Ge Tian Shi remained silent; with the Three Lights Divine Water present, his furnace's purifying fire could hardly threaten the Guanyin Bodhisattva, yet now it was awkward to call off the contest.

Just as the two reached an impasse, the Venus Star Officer arrived riding auspicious clouds, tearing through the void.

"By the command of the Great Heavenly Venerable, I summon you both to the Heavenly Court to audience the Great Heavenly Venerable!" the Venus Star Officer appeared outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace holding the edict.

Upon hearing that it was the Great Heavenly Venerable's edict, Ge Tian Shi and the Guanyin Bodhisattva immediately ceased hostilities and descended before the Venus Star Officer.

"Follow me!"

The Venus Star Officer shook his head at the two, then casually shot a sword-light stabbing into the netherworld.

The sword-light flew to Mu Yi's side.

"Mu Heavenly Lord, just continue as usual; this matter is settled!"

Hearing the Venus Star Officer's mental transmission, Mu Yi exhaled in relief.

Although he had slain an incarnation of the Guanyin Bodhisattva, making him confront the true deity left him feeling uneasy.

Precisely because he knew how terrifying these great beings' divine abilities were, he understood all the more what consequences facing them would entail.

With his current strength, he could not withstand even a single move.

Now that the great beings had departed, Mu Yi truly breathed a sigh of relief, turning his gaze toward the eerie deities that began to gather as the Buddha-light faded.

The great beings brushed off their backsides and left, leaving him a heap of mess.

Ghosts and monsters and eerie deities, which could originally be defeated individually, now, under mortal peril, rarely gathered together and surged toward him.

In merely a moment, vicious curses descended upon him from afar.

Outwardly, his entire body was draped in multicolored curses that corroded every inch of Mu Yi's skin.

But soon they were expelled by the scarlet Inner Qi from within his Inner Qi.

Having activated the Heaven-Earth Embodiment divine ability, Mu Yi found that while not claiming invulnerability to all laws, ordinary curses and techniques had lost their effect on him.

"Huu~"

Mu Yi exhaled mist; he had no fear of being surrounded.

The Guanyin Bodhisattva could pierce the mist with her Buddha-light, but these eerie deities could not.

Snow-white mist veiled the junction of heaven and earth, also blurring the sight of the eerie deities and ghosts and monsters.

After just a moment, the surrounding world had turned a pallid white.

Mu Yi, bearing the Great Summer Dragon Sparrow, vanished into the mist; even as he moved, the earth-shaking sound fell silent and secret, leaving the eerie deities plunged into an unprecedented panic.

Silence does not mean safety.

Quite the contrary, a tranquil environment deepens the collapse of the eerie deities' mindset.

Moreover, immersed in this surrounding abnormal great fog, one's five senses and divine sense are compressed and confined to an extremely narrow region.

It is like playing a horror game: beyond the narrow field of view lurk terrifying monsters ready at any moment to trigger a hunting state.

Previously, it was always these eerie deities and ghosts and monsters playing such roles, but now the roles have reversed, and it is their turn to become the hunted.

"Human Path!"

The vast great army surged into the mist; the rising Cloud Energy and the great fog merged, suppressing not only the five senses but also the eerie deities' magical power in unison.

When facing the Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Reincarnation Barrier exerted no effect and was broken; now, for dealing with these ghosts and monsters, bringing it out proves most suitable.

Under Mu Yi's command, wherever the great army passed, no grass grew, and even somewhat stronger eerie deities were slain by a few thrusts from Mu Yi as he darted out of the mist.

Later, all the ghosts and monsters and eerie deities began to scatter and flee in panic.

Mu Yi was not afraid of these fellows surrounding him; he feared they would hide and evade.

To rout these eerie deities and ghosts and monsters, Mu Yi needed only three days.

However, carrying out a carpet-like search and cleanup took Mu Yi a full month.

This was with the great army at his disposal; if he had to clean up alone, heaven only knows how long it would take.

Finally, it's over!

Mu Yi looked at the now completely different Netherworld and sighed.

The Netherworld now had none of its previous gloom; it was somewhat like an underground world untouched by sunlight.

Almost all the Yin Fiends in the Netherworld had been absorbed by Mu Yi; souls entering the Netherworld would now proceed to reincarnation, rather than being infected by Yin Fiends as before and turning into evil ghosts that roamed the Netherworld.

Nor would they be seized by various strange gods as before, turned into nourishment to fill the ghost lair.

In this regard, the Buddha's light that Guanyin Bodhisattva had previously revealed helped a great deal; without that light, Mu Yi would at least have needed to work an extra two months.

Thank you, Heavenly Lord Mu!

When Mu Yi returned from the Netherworld, Ge Xuan had already been waiting for a long time; by his side was also the young Daoist boy who had attained Golden Core perfection, whom they had seen before in the Heavenly Court.

Thank you, Heavenly Lord Mu!

Ge Xuan hastily thanked him and left, beginning his secluded cultivation; he already felt a growing urge to ascend, but before that he still needed some complete preparations.

The Heavenly Master ordered me to wait here for the Heavenly Lord; this task has been arduous, and it is also thanks to Heavenly Lord Mu!" the young Daoist boy conveyed the Heavenly Master's meaning.

No matter what, Guanyin coming to his tribulation world could possibly have an impact.

If he didn't show up, would Guanyin really only take away a single Yaksha Ghost King?

At least Heavenly Master Ge wouldn't dare to gamble on it.

The Heavenly Master has been sent by the Great Heavenly Venerable to conquer foreign lands; he cannot return in the short term, and he has asked me to inform the Heavenly Lord!

The matters we previously agreed upon have already been arranged; please rest assured, Heavenly Lord, that when the time comes, all under my Dao lineage will surely obey the Heavenly Lord and lend aid to the Heavenly Lord and Guan Sheng Dijun.

Please thank Heavenly Master Ge on my behalf.

Mu Yi clasped his hands; despite the turmoil, he had indeed achieved his goal.

With Heavenly Master Ge as a precedent, he thought he should perhaps visit other immortals and deities, perhaps winning them over.

No matter when, having more friends is never a mistake.