Chapter 753: Victory or Death!

The terrifying pressure brought by its massive form surged toward them.

Ling Su, whose lips had just moments ago curled in mockery, now stood before this towering, sky-obscuring manifestation, herself as tiny as an ant.

Amidst her wildly drifting strands of hair, her entire face was frozen in stunned vacancy, her eyes blankly gazing up at the vast golden wheel.

The chasm-like gap in realm left her trembling with soul-shaking dread, merely from being gazed upon by those golden eyes.

If a third-rank realm were an insurmountable mountain.

Ling Su had just stepped onto the path at its base, while the bodhisattva before her had long since stood atop its peak.

Only now did the exaggerated descriptions of the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Bodhisattva finally take concrete form in her mind.

"How could this be…" Ling Su felt her throat dry, the surging calamity-force relentlessly pounding her, causing her entire body to shake uncontrollably, shattering all her preconceptions of Nanzhou cultivators.

"Didn't you say he was a disciple of the Divine Void lineage?"

Zhenren Yue Xing adjusted her breathing, finally easing the suffocating sensation, then coldly swept her gaze toward Ling Su.

Brother Mao Feng Feng did not defend Ling Su; he too glared at her with anger.

He had indeed intended to befriend this woman, but not to the point of dragging fellow sect members into mortal peril.

Moreover, Brother Mao Feng Feng had been cautious enough: to deal with a cultivator newly entered into the third-rank, he had not only summoned fellow disciples to flank him, but also specifically acquired a spiritual treasure to counter the opponent.

Who knew not a single piece of intelligence was accurate?

"I… I didn't know!"

Ling Su shook her head violently, her voice trembling with tears, retreating shakily behind the others—clearly, she had lost all courage to act.

With her cultivation, she was utterly incapable of participating in such a battle.

Seeing this, Zhenren Yue Xing showed contempt but did not press the matter further; the urgent task now was how to survive the challenge before them.

With their experience, a single glance revealed the youth had reached the pinnacle of the ninety-nine transformations, his cultivation one level above theirs.

"No use talking more. Do your best."

"He is a Puti Sect elder attempting to infiltrate Beizhou. Any senior of our sect who learns of this will not spare his life. We need not defeat him—only hold him to a stalemate, enough for us to retreat from here."

Though the realm gap is terrifying—like the several Southern Commanders of the Divine Dynasty, even wielding the Demon-Slaying Edict, still powerless against the Southern Emperor.

But with the backing of a great sect, such a gap is not insurmountable.

Just as Shen Yi previously used a spiritual artifact granted by the Sanxian Sect to slay the Southern Emperor; these people, as disciples of Beizhou, surely possess even more methods.

Thus, Shen Yi never expected merely revealing his manifestation would fully intimidate these people.

But this woman's ability to calm her mind and think clearly in such a short time still surprised him slightly—apparently, Beizhou does have sane people.

"After this is settled, stay far away from the Lingxu Cave lot."

Zhenren Mu Song scowled and coldly rebuked Brother Mao Feng Feng.

A bodhisattva bold enough to infiltrate Beizhou alone would hardly lack real ability; even if we only seek a stalemate, today we will likely lose much of our core strength.

"…"

Brother Mao Feng Feng's face flushed and paled alternately; the fault was his, so he dared not retort.

Ling Su also heard these words. She shrank back, a flicker of venom crossing her eyes, but quickly masked it—after all, she still needed these people to survive.

These Yunyun Cave cultivators had all reached their realms and descended into the calamity; each carried at least a few protective artifacts bestowed by their sect. Dealing with a third-rank full cultivation monk should not be too difficult.

As long as we survive today, the Nanzhou bandit will either flee Beizhou or be slain by our sect's seniors; Tashan will surely return to our hands. Then we won't need these people at all, nor waste more words—we can just tear off the mask and skip even the formal courtesies we owed them.

"Your realm is indeed profound, but have you ever experienced Beizhou's methods?"

Zhenren Mu Song shouted loudly, sparing no more words; from the moment the youth revealed his manifestation, today's battle was destined to be to the death.

He skipped all probing, striking with full force immediately.

"Yi Mu Que, go!"

With a cryptic incantation, a finely crafted wooden bird emerged from his sleeve; as it flapped its wings, its palm-sized body suddenly swelled—though not as grand as the manifestation, it was nearly as massive.

More astonishingly, though its size had exploded, its intricate detail remained untouched; instead, its fine dao patterns became clearly visible, its cry filled with ferocious malevolence, appearing vividly alive—as if a great demon had awakened.

Such profound puppetry was enough to open the eyes of Nanzhou cultivators far from the Sanxian Sect.

After launching this creature to entangle the bodhisattva's manifestation, Mu Song did not relax; he smoothly took several warm jade stones from his sister Yue Xing and helped her quickly establish the sealing array.

Their coordination was flawless, requiring no communication—they had clearly planned this response in advance.

Once the sealing array was complete, at least we could retreat safely; whether we could then slay this elder and claim credit at the sect would depend on his true ability.

Yet just then.

As Yi Mu Que lunged toward the opponent, the manifestation slowly raised one arm behind it; the blade spanning the heavens suddenly blazed with crimson-gold heavenly flame, and a soaring phoenix cry instantly drowned out the bird's screech.

The blade slashed straight down, and in the crystalline eyes of the puppet bird, a hint of human-like terror surged forth.

Crack! —as clean and swift as an axe splitting firewood.

The once-ferocious Yi Mu Que simply split apart, then was swallowed whole by the crimson-gold flame.

"…"

Mu Song stared blankly at the sky. He had prepared for the loss of this rare artifact—but never imagined it would be shattered like a pile of rotten firewood, utterly useless.

The next instant, fear flared in his eyes.

"Stop setting the array!"

Zhenren Yue Xing snapped sharply, instantly discarding the warm jade stones in her hand and swiftly pulling a gauze veil from her storage treasure, wrapping herself in it.

Indeed, the manifestation had already shaken its sacred bell.

The next moment, a soul-shaking chime struck, transforming into a vast, sky-covering wave that crashed toward them.

The thin gauze on Yue Xing's body glowed with spiritual light, like a grass-thatched hut in a storm, barely protecting her form; Brother Mao Feng Feng reacted a fraction slower, too late to retrieve his artifact, forced to resist with calamity-force alone, stumbling backward in disarray.

Ling Su had been hiding behind him since the start; now she used his body to shield herself.

As for Mu Song, still stunned, clutching several warm jade stones in his hand, he was instantly submerged by the wave; though the water looked ordinary, it was chillingly icy, even slowly drowning his soul.

"Don't rescue him! Run!"

Master Yue Xing's face was already filled with furious rage; by now, how could she not see the immense trouble Brother Mao Feng Feng had brought upon them all?

This fully transformed Bodhisattva's strength, even among peers of the same realm in the Northern Zhou sects, was undoubtedly among the finest!

Brother Mao Feng Feng barely pulled himself free from the great waves, frantically slapping at his storage treasure, not even looking at what he grabbed, and hurled everything blindly toward the opposite side.

Altogether four or five items, each no weaker than the Fire Dragon Cart.

After discarding the artifacts, he turned to flee far away—but the moment he looked back, he froze rigid in place.

Before him, where there had been empty air, a vast indigo-colored flesh wall now stretched from earth to sky, like an endless mountain range, silently spanning the horizon of his vision.

"..."

The Southern Emperor stared with a complex expression at the tiny creature below, suddenly feeling he had lost unfairly.

If the master had been these cultivators, not even nine-sun flags or Fire Dragon Carts would have mattered—given how they used them, even if you gave them three or five more similar artifacts, I'd still be the Southern Emperor who looked down upon the mortal world today.

It sighed, then suddenly swept its palm—five fingers like celestial pillars abruptly engulfed Brother Mao Feng Feng.

"Aaaah!!"

Ling Su stared straight at the flesh wall before her, breathing raggedly, chest heaving wildly, until she finally let out a shrill, piercing scream.

"Calling me a bug demon, one after another."

An old man clad in silk robes stepped forth from the Grand Void, grabbed her hair, yanked her to the ground, and slapped her face hard: "With your worthless character, where do you surpass Laozu? Let me tell you—Laozu has endured you long enough!"

Ling Su's mind reeled under the storm of slaps; tears had not yet rolled down before her eyes were stained with blood.

She instinctively curled up, trembling on the ground, even failing to notice that the old man's cultivation was lower than her own.

"Build temples and shrines? Pfft!"

Shenxu Laozu spat out a mouthful of saliva; regardless of anything else, it had attained the Dao on its own and founded a lineage in Da Nanzhou—how could such a thing dare look down on it?

"Hah."

Listening to the noisy wailing beside her, Master Yue Xing hovered motionless in midair, her gaze fixed ahead.

There, the towering, majestic Dharma Form stood unmoved, still coldly gazing down upon them all; behind it, the golden wheel radiated blinding light.

And the artifacts Brother Mao Feng Feng had thrown—under the glow of that golden light—all hung frozen in midair.

Not only could they not harm the opponent, they couldn't even draw near—they were nothing but toys.

Witnessing this utterly hopeless scene, Master Yue Xing's face unconsciously darkened with bitterness.

Because she reacted quickly, she had suffered no injury so far—only the spiritual radiance on her gauze robes had dimmed slightly, and she still clutched tightly the immortal sword she had prepared for counterattack.

But after a moment, she silently glanced at the three captured ones, slowly loosened her fingers, and let her long sword clatter to the ground.

"We yield."

Master Yue Xing exhaled deeply, then looked again at the white-robed youth who had stood motionless from start to finish.

He clearly hadn't even used his true strength—and yet he had plunged them all into despair.

To fight further would only bring further humiliation.

But since he captured them without killing, there must be another reason.

Ling Su also snapped out of her daze, her face numb; she trembled as she rolled over, too afraid to meet the youth's gaze, only sobbing as she repeatedly banged her head hard against the ground, movements mechanical and lifeless.

Whatever they demanded of her, as long as she could live, it was enough.

Only now, standing in the midst of it, did she truly understand: escaping death from such a Bodhisattva was indeed something worthy of pride.

He Who Took the Crane's Form hadn't exaggerated at all—he'd even been too conservative.

"..."

Shen Yi glanced at Master Yue Xing ahead, then shook his head: "There is no victory or defeat here."

As he spoke, he swept his sleeve.

The Golden Body Dharma Form calmly pressed its palm—several rivers of golden light surged forth, violently wrapping around their bodies.

When the golden rivers receded, the Dharma Form in the sky gradually faded and vanished.

Several corpses tumbled out of the golden rivers, each face twisted in utter despair, bodies riddled with cracks, still streaked with thick golden light.

Anyone with even a modicum of cultivation could instantly tell they had died by Puti Sect's methods.

"..."

Shen Yi casually swept up the artifacts falling from the sky and tossed them to Shenxu Laozu, instructing it to store them within the Grand Void Realm.

He didn't know how great a stir these deaths would cause in Beizhou—but any change was good for him.

"Later, find a distant place to discard these corpses. Delay their discovery as long as possible, but no need to hide them too well."

"Yes, Master!"

Shenxu Laozu bowed respectfully; it could almost imagine the fury that would erupt among the Sanxian Sect disciples when they learned their members had been slain by a Buddhist Bodhisattva.

"So... so that's how it is..."

Bai Long Chen Yi had watched the entire scene in a dazed silence.

Only now, as it ended, did he finally grasp why Da Nanzhou had held firm—when a general like this stirred chaos, those two self-important great sects would surely beat each other's brains out.

Among the mountains and fields, a disciple of Lingxu Cave carefully caressed the jade mirror in his hands.

This might be the closest he would ever come to a spiritual treasure in his life.

After all, even his master had no right to touch such a treasure, let alone him.

Too bad—he could only gaze at it for a little longer.

Thinking of this, the Lingxu Cave disciple sighed with reluctance, calculating the time—it should be over inside by now.

As if to confirm his thought,

the next moment, a faint, otherworldly figure slowly appeared before him.

Shen Yi slightly bent down and reached out to grasp the jade mirror.

「……」

The Lingxu Cave disciple's expression shifted from confusion to terror; he instinctively wanted to cry out, but he could only watch helplessly as the young man pulled the jade mirror from his grasp, his vision growing hazy.

Thud—the cultivator whose soul was shattered collapsed to the ground, immediately swallowed by the Grand Void Mirror.

Shen Yi carefully examined the treasure mirror in his hand.

Compared to the previous artifacts, which were as useless as chicken ribs, this mirror capable of forming its own world was precisely what he most urgently needed.

With this item, his future endeavors would be far more convenient.

(End of Chapter)