Chapter 695: I Am Enough

「……」

General Wushan's entire face twitched uncontrollably as he stared fixedly at the wolf demon before him.

He was born lowly, but luckily his fortune was decent—he escaped the massacre that wiped out his family, entered the Divine Court, and through a bit of cunning, stumbled his way upward until he gained the favor of a senior official in the imperial court.

That senior passed down the True Yue Dao Fruit, helping him break through to the fifth-rank realm.

Then years slipped away, and by sheer luck, he eventually deduced a complete path, harnessing the imperial qi of the mortal realm to successfully ascend to the rank of Taiyi Zhenxian.

Though the True Yue Dao Fruit belongs to the Qi-refining path, it resembles more the methods of a wanderer, thus considered inferior, ranked merely seventy-sixth.

Before the nineteenth-ranked Heartfruit Position, being called a lone cultivator isn't even excessive.

"Indeed."

General Wushan slowly lowered his fist: "I don't have your kind of fortune—you, a great demon, slaughter entire clans, bring ruin to the four seas and eight wastes, yet don't even need to put down your bloody blade before being welcomed into a great sect to cultivate the True Scriptures."

He lifted his head again, gazing at the sky that had twisted for an instant—as if deliberately reminding: "Even the lofty Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva likely descended here, waiting to take you back into the sect!"

At these words, the monk assembly chuckled softly, offering no rebuttal.

General Wushan withdrew his gaze.

He had warned enough already; he wasn't some great benefactor—if the young man still refused to see his doom, he couldn't be blamed.

From the moment the old monk was devoured by the demon, unless General Yan woke up, General Wushan had already fallen into a certain death.

Either he slaughters wildly within Jin Guang Mansion, tearing apart these thief monks, provoking public outrage, then being sacrificed by the court as a scapegoat.

Or it ends like this.

His own demise here would at least prove the thief monks' true intentions.

"Come!"

General Wushan suddenly roared, his divine light surging again, coalescing behind him into the shadow of a ten-thousand-zhang mountain.

True Yue was lush and green, wreathed in white clouds, its winding, treacherous paths resembling a pure sacred land.

His bulky body seemed fused with this great mountain, radiating an air of invincibility.

"To have refined the True Yue Dao Fruit to this extent, you've some talent—but pity, had you abandoned the Qi-refining path and joined my Putida Sect from the start, you'd have surely achieved greatness."

The old monk clasped his palms together; even back then, outside the Demon-Sealing Pagoda, when he secretly clashed with General Wushan, he had sensed this cultivator's formidable strength—otherwise, he wouldn't have matched the old monk evenly.

Now, witnessing the other's great-level Dao Fruit firsthand, achieving such a state through an inferior method, he couldn't help but feel a pang of awe.

Yet talent is a mountain with a higher mountain beyond it.

If General Wushan counts as a standout among Taiyi Zhenxian, this wolf demon, with his two-thousand-two-hundred-cycles great-level fruit position, has barely entered the ranks of the famed prodigies.

In the Sanxian Sect, he'd even qualify as a direct disciple undergoing trials.

Precisely because of this, he caught the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva's attention—and the Bodhisattva wished to take him as a disciple.

All these years of sowing seeds, yet the one that grew best was a demon.

Indeed.

The wolf demon stood beneath the True Yue Mountain, his face utterly expressionless.

Not only did he not retreat from General Wushan's divine aura—he closed his eyes right before everyone's gaze.

The next instant, surging golden light scattered the sky's divine radiance!

A towering Luo Han Golden Body stood in place, nearly matching the height of the divine mountain, its body nearly flawless—its only deviation from the norm being the solemn face, devoid of eyes.

Along with this transformation came the crescent moon great knife, likewise flowing with golden light, settling into his palms.

The moment his ten fingers tightened around the hilt—

General Wushan suddenly felt dread, as if his entire being had been laid bare; no matter how he adjusted his qi, an inexplicable sense of peril clung to him, unshakable.

Before he could devise a countermeasure, the Heartfruit Luo Han's divine form moved.

Another slash!

The crescent moon great knife cleaved through the heavens, seemingly a crude, brutal strike aimed at the illusionary divine mountain before it.

On the mountain's surface, fine veins appeared—right at the point where the blade touched, precisely at the center of those veins!

One slash—directly targeting the flaw.

Crack! Crack!

「……」

General Wushan's face turned ashen—he knew how potent the Puti Sect's fruit positions were; even in full health, he was no match for this wolf demon.

Yet even now, he hadn't anticipated the demon would shatter his technique with a single slash.

He staggered backward several steps, trying to use the mountain illusion to conceal himself and evade the blade.

But no matter how General Wushan manipulated his techniques, the massive blade remained utterly unaffected.

The Luo Han had forsaken physical sight, perceiving all through the Heartfruit.

The great knife descended, shattering the illusionary divine mountain.

Only that ant-like fat man remained standing before the godlike Luo Han.

Like an axe cleaving sand and gravel!

General Wushan stared fixedly at the raging blade-light, drowned in the golden river—he swallowed hard, a suffocating sensation rising from within, engulfing his entire being.

He had labored for years, hoping one day to slay demons and purge evil.

But today, he had become a pitiful, helpless little demon beneath the golden river that suppressed evil.

The Luo Han's might—how could a lone cultivator hope to stand against it!

「……」

The old monk slowly closed his palms; the monks behind him followed suit, clasping their hands together.

That single slash was enough to prove the wolf demon's profound Buddhist attainments—henceforth, he was no longer General Nan Huang's demon commander, but the Heartfruit Four-Image Luo Han of the Puti Sect, guarding the Bodhisattva's Dao!

Ding!

The sound of great bells and ceremonial chimes rang through the heavens.

The monks, who had just closed their eyes, opened them once more, slightly puzzled.

They saw General Wushan standing with his hands at his sides, face blank, chin raised — already looking as though he had given up resisting.

The wolf demon held its chopping stance, but the casualness on its face was slowly fading.

As Jinhe churned, that broad blade—no one knew when—had fallen into the grip of an equally broad and thick golden giant palm, and so it froze, stiff and awkward, hanging suspended in midair.

An equally towering golden dharma body stood before General Wushan, using its bare palm to directly prop up this great blade.

Just this simple scene alone made the monks' faces change drastically: "Another Great Vehicle Luo Han has manifested!"

The old monk and Huixin exchanged a startled glance.

The two had been ordered to search for the seeds the sect had planted over the years, but they had heard nothing at all about this one.

"This aura... could it be that one from last time?"

The old monk suddenly recalled something and stared wide-eyed toward the front.

Master and disciple had sensed a similar aura before at the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, but it was far from as vast and powerful as today's.

But if it really was that one, it would explain why he had helped General Wushan take this blade.

"I mean, if one wishes to enter the great Putida Sect, how could it be so easy and simple?"

"Slaying some worthless fool — how would that display this seat's divine power?"

The wolf demon felt the surging force transmitted through the hilt. After a brief daze, it still spoke unhurriedly: "So, you are the trial I must face today?"

Facing its polite inquiry, this newly appeared Great Vehicle Luo Han gave no response, instead turning its head and lowering its gaze to glance faintly at General Wushan beneath its feet.

"You..."

Facing those eyes churning with light, General Wushan fell into bewilderment, and did not catch the helplessness within those eyes.

He had never imagined that, in this certain-death situation, the one who had stepped in to save him would be another Luo Han of the Puti Sect.

What on earth are these monks up to?

"Huff."

Shen Daoren withdrew his gaze and looked once more at the Luo Han dharma body the wolf demon had transformed into before him.

With his current strength, unless he did so deliberately, how could General Wushan possibly have caught any trace of the Grand Void Dao Fruit?

The reason he did this was that Shen Daoren hoped the other party could buy a little time.

After all, the moment he saw the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva statue in the old monk's hand, he had roughly guessed what kind of existence he would face on this trip.

Even with both the Dao Fruit and the rank at fourth grade, plus an immortal seal snatched from Qingluan, Shen Daoren would still not be so arrogant as to think he could withstand a Bodhisattva.

Therefore, from the moment this group set out.

Shen Daoren had already contacted Lady Qinghua in advance, ordering her to hurry back to Eight Extremities Valley to seek reinforcements.

This place was very close to Eight Extremities Valley, and out of regard for Lady Qinghua's face, at the very least it could get that Divine General Qi Feng to come take a look.

No matter how arrogant the Renputi Sect was, it could not be too brazen right in front of a Star Lord Divine General.

But who could have expected General Wushan to charge straight up.

Shen Daoren truly was not used to things slipping beyond his control. To be honest, the fact that he had lived until today meant his caution was in no way less than General Wushan's.

But since he had already made his move...

His gaze sharpened slightly. He suddenly released the right palm gripping the blade, his massive dharma body pressed forward, and both fists smashed out violently!

"Well struck!"

Hearing the sudden dragon roars and tiger howls at his ears, the wolf demon gained confidence, and a few hints of a smile unconsciously appeared on its face.

A Dragon-Tiger rank in the low thirties — though a bit stronger than that loose cultivator from before, that was all there was to it.

Even among Great Vehicle Arhats, there were high and low distinctions.

It suddenly swung its great blade back to defend. With the Heart-Eye's empowerment, it almost instantly located the flaw in Shen Daoren's defense, and the blade flicked upward from below, aiming straight for the weak point in the opponent's force.

The next moment, both fists slammed violently into the blade.

The wolf demon's confident, assured expression turned to shock at the very same instant.

That great blade flowing with golden light, beneath the other's fist peaks, was fragile as a scrap of broken iron. With a sudden hum, the entire blade trembled violently like a bamboo strip.

Whether in the timing of its strike or the direction of its slash, there was nothing to fault — it was perfect.

But in an instant, the blade was sent flying from its grip, and those fists landed heavily on the wolf demon's chest. An indescribable great force swept in, making its golden light shudder across its whole body. Its towering frame suddenly tilted backward, like a mountain collapsing, and crashed thunderously onto this barren earth.

The wolf demon had never encountered such a situation; it even began to suspect its Heart-Eye had malfunctioned.

But in the eyes of the onlookers, it was crystal clear.

It had indeed found this Dragon-Tiger Luo Han's weak point, but the problem was... even that weak spot was still not something it could withstand.

This was unreasonable, pure crushing dominance of cultivation!

Before the wolf demon could rise, Shen Daoren had already closed in once more. Again came the most brutal stomp — a foot that blotted out the sky suddenly descended, stepping straight toward the wolf demon's heart.

"Hold!"

The old monk, who had been watching from the side, moved. By the time he reappeared, he had already revealed his dharma body.

How vast were Luo Han dharma bodies — let alone three of them together.

They nearly occupied the entirety of the onlookers' field of vision.

Because the old monk was wounded, his Golden Body was clearly far dimmer than the other two. But he was not the main force, and this was a strike from behind. His entire body charged forward like a raging bull, only seeking to first push Shen Daoren aside and buy the wolf demon a sliver of room to maneuver.

Smack.

Shen Daoren turned his head indifferently, his five fingers tightly gripping the old monk's face. He effortlessly dissolved the force of the old monk's charge, then directly hoisted this mountain-like massive dharma body up and held it in front of himself.

The wolf demon did not take the chance to rise. With a hiss, the skin over its heart split open, revealing a strange eye that spun round and round.

As that eye opened and closed, the Four Images surged forth from its pupil, intertwining and transforming into a ferocious great blade.

The blade edge cleaved forward with terrifying momentum, but failed to land on Shen Daoren. Instead, it sank into the old monk's body — with a wet crunch, it left a massive gash!

"Crack—"

The old monk's head was pinned down, his eyes wide and round.

The two were of similar build, but their strength was worlds apart; the other had restrained him dead with a single palm, and now had taken a Four Symbols blade head-on — where would he find the strength to struggle?

He now finally understood what General Wushan had been thinking earlier.

Both were fourth-realm cultivators, yet they hadn't even had a chance to resist — what kind of despair was that?

"Wastes!"

It had been a well-coordinated ambush, yet this old monk couldn't even manage to force back this Dragon-Tiger Luo Han, and instead got himself captured, wasting a prime opportunity.

Fury surged across the wolf demon's face. He sprang up abruptly, fingers curling into an empty grip; the Four Symbols drew out from the old monk's body and reformed in his palm into that savage great blade.

It leapt up and brought another blade down at Shen Yi.

Before the blade could fall, an arm shot out with the force of Lei Ting, a giant palm precisely clamping the wolf demon's throat and lifting it into the air.

A trace of terror welled up in the eye on the wolf demon's chest.

Before it could even cry out, Shen Yi was seen lifting the old monk as well, slamming both Great-realm Arhats hard into the ground!

Boom!

A clash between such titans made the very earth shake; the entire barren mountain range trembled.

Shen Yi hunched forward, each hand gripping a throat, gradually tightening his hold.

The old monk and the wolf demon were now faces full of terror, their movements eerily identical — both clutching Shen Yi's wrists with all their might, trying to break free of the other's grip.

Yet those palms only tightened further, utterly immovable.

"Ten Thousand Staffs Bind the Demon!"

Monk Huixin, seeing his master captured, finally panicked.

Although this newly appeared Great-realm Dragon-Tiger Luo Han used the same Puti Sect techniques, the man was standing up for General Wushan. Given what his master and disciple had done earlier, if this man won, where would he find a way to live?

He let out a great shout and led the many monks, pressing their long staves into the ground.

Streaks of golden line spread out across the barren earth, climbing like chains onto Shen Yi's towering body and binding his arms fast.

"Demon-Binding Staff!"

Huixin swept his long staff across the ground, and the monks moved in concert.

The golden lines snapped taut at once, trying to drag that majestic Luo Han Golden Body.

Facing this grand Puti Sect formation, Shen Yi acted as if he hadn't noticed. With a light shake of his arms, the golden-line chains shattered in an instant; the long staves in the monks' hands exploded one after another, and starting from the palms gripping them, their entire bodies crumbled to ash beneath that tremendous force.

Huixin held out the longest — a full three breaths. That brief span was only enough for his features to twist, his face full of horror; he didn't even have time to cry out a single plea for mercy.

Puchi!

General Wushan stared dumbly at the three towering dharma-phases, then looked back — across the mountains and fields, there wasn't a single living soul left.

As a fellow fourth-realm cultivator, watching such a fight, he actually felt a helplessness of being unable to take part.

This Dragon-Tiger Luo Han had clearly already stood at the very peak of the fourth realm.

Yet he didn't know that this was only because Ye Lan wasn't present; otherwise she would surely have noticed that Shen Yi had deliberately, from start to finish, used only Puti Sect techniques — beyond that, he also possessed a Grand Void Dao Fruit no inferior to a fruit position.

Just then, a somewhat blinding Buddhist light suddenly welled up on the horizon.

That radiance came pouring in like the Wang Yangdahai, blanketing the sky, and in a single breath it had enveloped this stretch of land.

Within that radiance, arm after arm stretched across the long sky, descending from the heavens, and in an instant landed upon Shen Yi's four limbs, pinning him hard to the ground.

As the arms moved, Jin Guang swallowed everything on the scene.

The hidden wounds General Wushan had been forcibly suppressing within his body, drawn out now by that Jin Guang, burst open again beyond his control.

He opened his mouth, his body swaying, his very soul on the verge of collapse.

"Hold."

The words drifted over; at the end of those arms, a figure seated cross-legged on a lotus platform rapidly drew near.

Shen Yi kept his grip on the two throats, his expression calm.

The old monk and the wolf demon's faces broke into wild joy: "Bodhisattva, save us!"

Had the Bodhisattva not come in person, given how vicious this man's strikes had been today, he would surely have taken their lives.

Fortunately, the man was now restrained by the Bodhisattva; though those palms still gripped their throats, even with the power to overturn seas and rivers, they could not tighten a hair further.

But before the wild joy on their faces could fully spill out, they saw Shen Yi's shoulders begin to stir subtly.

The next instant, a azure dragon burst through the flesh of his left shoulder, and on the right, a ferocious tiger split open its bloody maw.

The two beast-heads shot out in a flash; amid a series of cracks, they unhesitatingly tore off the two Arhats' heads, chewed them a few times, and swallowed them down clean and crisp.

Even as their life faded, neither had figured it out — that someone would dare commit murder in the Bodhisattva's presence, and actually pull it off!

"……"

On the lotus platform, the monk with a thousand arms on his back paused briefly, taking in the scene below; his face visibly sank into an icy chill.

Even the black hound beneath his seat was pinned beneath the lotus platform by the quietly rising cold, unable to so much as lift its head.

The Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva drew a deep breath, looking at the Luo Han Golden Body pinned to the ground by him, utterly unable to move: "I shall give you one chance to explain yourself — just one."

The divine might of the Bodhisattva's personal arrival swept forth without concealment.

General Wushan could hold on no longer; his vision grew ever more blurred, and at last he fell backward.

In the final moment before losing consciousness, a very familiar voice rang in his ears — a voice that added another thread of shock to his already astonished face!

"……"

The three-headed dharma-phase bowed low to the earth.

The azure dragon was fierce and murderous, the White Tiger was frenzied; only on the very center head did the expression remain unchanged.

Shen Yi gazed quietly at the two corpses beneath him, as if he had long foreseen this scene.

He did not turn to look at the Bodhisattva, nor did he choose to explain himself, merely saying composedly:

"I can also discuss."

"I can also join the sect."

With those two simple sentences falling, atop the lotus platform, the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva gazed upon this nearly flawless Luo Han Dharma Body, its dragon-tiger head looking as though carved by heaven and earth itself.

A full three thousand tribulations!

The Bodhisattva's expression did not change, only a few traces of chill vanished from his eyes, replaced by a touch of complexity.

That wolf demon might have been among the most robustly grown of the seeds once scattered, but compared to the person before him, it was simply not worth mentioning.

The Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva even felt that if he let this person slip by, he might never again encounter such a heaven-bestowed fourth-grade Luo Han.

After a moment of deliberation, he asked in puzzlement, "Why must they be killed?"

"Because entering the world to undergo tribulation and spreading the scriptures for the Tiwo Sect — such matters don't need so many good-for-nothings."

Feeling the arms on his body gradually loosening, Shen Yi rose unhurriedly to his feet. His gaze looked into the distance; he still did not turn his head, nor did he look at the black hound beneath the Bodhisattva's seat. His voice was calm.

"Having me is enough."

(End of chapter)