Chapter 303: Bold Response

Facing the stern accusation of the Dragon-Subduing Luo Han.

Su Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his robes swaying slightly in the wind.

"I am Wu Chen, a lone cultivator," Su Chen said calmly, gazing at the Dragon-Subduing Luo Han in midair. "Today, both of you have been aggressive, attempting to forcibly take my disciple. I cannot stand idly by. I care not for his past life's origins—so long as he refuses, no one shall take him by force."

The Dragon-Subduing Luo Han's lips twitched.

A lone cultivator? He had never seen a lone cultivator speak so boldly before the Buddhist sect.

Could a mere lone cultivator possess a Great Arhat-level body?

Such a physique could withstand even a Heavenly Spirit Treasure.

Even if he and the Tiger-Subduing Luo Han combined their strength and unleashed the full power of Buddhist great techniques, they might still fail to breach his bodily defenses.

Moreover, the man had not even stirred his magic power—his true cards remained utterly unfathomable.

At this moment, the Tiger-Subduing Luo Han, clutching his chest, rose from the distant ruins and flew back to the Dragon-Subduing Luo Han's side.

His cassock was torn to shreds, and a faint golden blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.

"Brother, this man is strange," the Tiger-Subduing Luo Han growled. "The Great Arhat body is indestructible through countless calamities—we cannot take the World-Honored One's reincarnation."

The Dragon-Subduing Luo Han's face darkened. The World-Honored One's reincarnation lay right before him, yet a mysterious Daoist had intervened.

But reason told him that if they fought further, both of them would perish here today, their Golden Bodies destroyed.

"You are Wu Chen, then," the Dragon-Subduing Luo Han fixed his gaze on Su Chen. "You obstruct the World-Honored One's return—you stand against the entire Buddhist sect. This karmic debt is one a lone cultivator cannot bear. Today's affair, we shall report truthfully to the Buddha of Lingshan."

Su Chen did not even glance at him; he merely raised his hand and flicked a thread of force from his fingertip.

The force tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom.

The Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Subduing Luo Hans turned pale and dared not linger for even a breath.

Both clasped their hands in seals, transforming into two brilliant beams of Buddhist light, fleeing west without a backward glance.

So swift was their escape that they vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

The clouds above slowly dispersed as the two departed.

Sunlight once again bathed Yunze City.

Su Chen retracted the crimson aura from his body.

Inside the Mo Ye royal palace, silence reigned.

Qiao Hui and his guards had only just recovered from the terrifying pressure.

The true Buddhas they had once revered had fled in terror at the words of the Crown Prince's master.

Qiao Ling stood behind Su Chen, staring at the direction from which the two Luo Hans had fled, his chest heaving.

He turned and looked at his father kneeling on the ground.

"Father," Qiao Ling stepped forward and reached out to help Qiao Hui up.

Qiao Hui stared at his eldest son, opened his mouth, but could not find words.

What had just occurred had utterly shattered his understanding.

"Ling'er, what those two Luo Hans said…" Qiao Hui's voice trembled.

"They were likely telling the truth," Qiao Ling's gaze was clear. "But I do not wish to become a Buddha."

Qiao Hui stared at his son, stunned.

Qiao Ling drew a deep breath, his tone resolute: "The Buddhist sect will not let this go. Today they retreated, but tomorrow they will send someone stronger. If I stay, Mo Ye will be destroyed because of me. I must leave with my master immediately."

Qiao Hui looked at his son, eyes reddened, yet found no words to plead for him to stay.

This matter involved legendary gods and Buddhas—he, though a king, had no power to intervene.

At this moment, the door to the inner chamber opened.

The queen, just after childbirth, staggered out, supported by two maids.

Her face was pale, drenched in cold sweat, tear tracks still glistening at her eyes.

"Ling'er…" the queen's voice was weak.

Qiao Ling hurried over and knelt before her.

"Mother, I am unfilial," Qiao Ling bowed his head deeply.

The queen broke free from the maids' hold, bent down, and embraced Qiao Ling, weeping uncontrollably.

She knew her eldest son was extraordinary—he would one day leave.

She had never imagined it would come so soon, so suddenly.

Qiao Hui stood aside, wiping away a tear from his eye.

"Go," Qiao Hui's voice was hoarse. "Train well under your master. Do not worry for us—Mo Ye still has your younger brother."

Su Chen watched this scene, then stepped forward.

He raised his right hand and pressed his index finger into empty air.

A dense mass of wood-element magic power coalesced at his fingertip, forming a single drop of emerald-green spiritual fluid.

Su Chen flicked his finger—the fluid sank into the queen's forehead.

Her pale complexion instantly flushed with health; her previously weak breath became steady and deep.

This magic power not only stabilized her postpartum depletion but also purified her marrow and cleansed her sinews, ensuring she would suffer no lasting illness from this ordeal.

"Thank you, Immortal Master," Qiao Hui pulled the queen close and prepared to kneel before Su Chen.

Su Chen swept his sleeve, lifting them both.

"Since he calls me master, this is what I must do," Su Chen turned to Qiao Ling. "Let's go—the Buddhist sect will return soon."

Qiao Ling rose, stepped back three paces, and bowed deeply to his parents once more.

"Father, Mother, take care."

Su Chen flung his wide sleeves—a gentle magic force swept up Qiao Ling.

The two ascended into the sky, becoming a streak of light piercing the clouds.

The setting sun bathed the Mo Ye royal palace in golden-red twilight.

As they rose, the clamor of mortal life faded from Qiao Ling's ears.

Above the clouds, the gale howled fiercely.

Su Chen summoned a barrier of magic power to shield Qiao Ling.

At ten thousand zhang above ground, Qiao Ling did not look down.

His gaze fixed straight ahead, his eyes more resolute than ever.

He had witnessed his master's absolute power in driving back the Luo Hans, and endured the heart-wrenching farewell with his parents.

His final lingering doubts vanished completely.

He would grow strong—strong enough to control his own fate, to refuse becoming someone else.

As his Dao heart stabilized, the residual aura of the Tathagata's Dao Fruit hidden deep within his soul was firmly suppressed by his own will, unable to stir any disturbance for now.

Su Chen sensed the change in Qiao Ling and nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, he was grateful that Bai Ze had given him that jade talisman.

It was precisely because of that talisman that they had gained six precious years—allowing Qiao Ling's mind to grow stronger, shielding him from the Tathagata's Dao Fruit.

Now he could depart calmly with Qiao Ling, unafraid of Buddhist interception along the way.

Even if the two Luo Hans returned with reinforcements, even if the current Buddha of the Buddhist sect, Maitreya, used great techniques to divine, he would find not a single trace of Qiao Ling.

Though Huaguo Mountain now had Bai Ze stationed there, and the Demon Alliance had grown stronger, it was still far from ready for open war with the Buddhist sect.

Steady development was the wisest course.

Above the clouds, the gale roared fiercely—only now did Qiao Ling turn his head to look back.

In his vision, Mo Ye was already gone.

He turned his gaze forward, toward Su Chen standing ahead.

"Master," Qiao Ling asked, "where are we going now?"

Su Chen faced the gale, his robes fluttering, gazing eastward with deep eyes, and replied.

"To Dongsheng Shenzhou—Huaguo Mountain."