Chapter 788: The Ten Thousand Demon Hall Displays Its Might Again

"You... lunatic!"

By the time Jing Shi Zunzhe realized what Shen Yi was doing, his whole brain felt as though it had taken a heavy hammer blow, and he staggered backward in a daze.

Swear a celestial oath, make a grand vow!

This is the only path upward for Slain Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortals and Great Freedom Bodhisattvas, yet after all these years, the number of people who dared to tread this road could be counted on one hand.

It wasn't because the road itself was so difficult—only that Golden Immortals who had endured endless ages and finally reached their present position found it hard to summon the courage to stake everything on a single throw.

Swearing a celestial oath could indeed draw the attention of the Heavenly Dao, granting power far beyond an ordinary Jin Xian, second only to those Emperor Lords and True Buddhas.

But the price was to personally shatter the undying, imperishable state one had struggled so hard to obtain.

Before possessing eternal life, any cultivator who reached second-rank was in their youth fearless and bold, unafraid of strong foes, climbing up a long stairway built from countless white bones.

But once they truly possessed it, to then cast it away—how could that be easy?

Therefore every second-rank powerhouse waited for an opportunity, only acting when they were certain enough that their grand vow could be fulfilled.

To put it bluntly, even if he returned to Puti Sect today, exposed this fiend's true face, and with the two sects working together successfully located the other's position within the Heavenly Dao—

Then what... at most it would still only be suppression. Even if the Buddha himself acted, he could not strip a second-rank cultivator of the divine art to reshape their body—this was the grace of the Great Dao.

So long as one still maintained an undying, imperishable body, that meant infinite chances, and one day they would surely break free.

So Jing Shi Zunzhe could not understand Shen Yi's thinking at all.

And what made him lose color even more were the three sentences he had just heard.

Pacify the world, save the masses, guard the Dao of the mortal realm.

Now the situation in the world was excellent. The Three Puti Immortals had emerged from the mountains to ferry the world, immortal shrines and Buddhist temples filled Shenzhou. They only needed to wait for that Human Emperor who wished to drag the masses along and rebel against the heavens to lose the people's hearts, then let the Immortal Emperor preside over the mortal realm, and this great tribulation could be ended.

What kind of world needs saving!

In other words, what world was this Jin Xian before him pacifying, and for whose mortal realm was he guarding the Dao?

This celestial oath stood in opposition to the great sects and the Immortal Court—it had absolutely no chance of success.

Cutting off one's own path to eternal life, just to keep himself here—what was this if not madness?

"Get lost!"

Jing Shi Zunzhe let out an indistinct roar; he no longer had any thought of tangling with this madman.

This silent world gradually brought back to him a fear from his youth—an emotion that had become somewhat unfamiliar to him.

Fear was very abnormal for one of Great Freedom's caliber.

If one could no longer die, how could one feel fear?

He mobilized the calamitous power throughout his body and poured it into the wooden fish, finally understanding that what he feared was the unfathomable young man before him—this existence whose thoughts were more mad and terrifying than that Human Emperor's, one who dared to make an enemy of the great sects.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Along with the young man's words, the surroundings sank into a heavy gloom. The wooden fish flashing with Jin Guang was tightly wrapped by fog-like black clouds, as if sunk deep in a mire—no matter how it struggled, it could not move an inch.

"Haa... haa..."

Jing Shi Zunzhe widened his eyes; in his pupils was reflected that unhurried, long-robed figure walking closer.

He instinctively gasped for breath in great gulps.

As a fellow second-rank powerhouse, he could of course also swear a grand vow. Though such a thing wasn't something decided on a whim—said and done—it required tremendous resolve and perseverance, and genuine action toward the matter.

But after so many years as the Southern Nan Xumi Mortal Realm Bodhisattva, Jing Shi Zunzhe had naturally made quite a few preparations.

However... he could not swear it!

Losing this magical duel now meant only losing one body. But if he went mad alongside his opponent, what would be buried was everything he had painstakingly accumulated.

Therefore, he could only watch helplessly as Shen Yi held that sharp sword, as if what he gripped were not a spiritual treasure but a chisel.

The young man's face was calm, his movements brutal, chipping away again and again at the Buddhist light flowing on the wooden fish, then stepping across.

Throughout the entire process, Jing Shi Zunzhe lay paralyzed on the ground, only wriggling backward a few times, like a rabbit in its burrow facing a beast's relentless approach—able to do nothing but shiver.

After all, this wooden fish was already his last reserve.

In an instant, Shen Yi had walked to Jing Shi Zunzhe's front. He now wore the appearance of a Dao Lord, his eyes clear, but the ferocity hidden in the deepest part of his pupils was even more chilling than the earlier inhuman jade gaze.

He suddenly stomped a foot onto Jing Shi Zunzhe's chest, then half-crouched, both hands gripping the sword hilt.

Their gazes met. The Monk said hoarsely, "Even if you can temporarily conceal the news, it's only three to five years. You'll still be suppressed in the end, and this time, you'll truly perish..."

"Three to five years?"

Shen Yi was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "A bit more than I expected."

The instant his smile faded, the three-foot blade fell ferociously. Under the shock of power far exceeding before, the sword edge pierced Jing Shi Zunzhe's chest without any obstruction.

Splurt! Blood splashed across that fair face.

"I told you, you can't leave."

Shen Yi drew out the blade and thrust it down viciously once more. Contrasting with this horrifying act was his utterly flat tone from beginning to end.

"And you can't escape either."

Strike after strike, blood dyed the inside of the wooden fish red. The Jing Shi Bodhisattva's beautiful hands lay limp at his sides, fingertips twitching slightly, until they finally went still.

On that emaciated chest, holes now covered the surface—ghastly to behold.

But unlike this tragic scene, in the Monk's gradually dimming eyes, a hint of release actually emerged.

He could finally stop facing this frenzied slaughter god. Perhaps returning to the Heavenly Dao to recuperate for a while would also soothe the shock he had suffered today.

"..."

Shen Yi numbly drew out the Wuwei Sword; the slick feeling made him slightly nauseous.

He stood up, then leaned against the inner wall of the wooden fish. The long sword in his hand slipped and clattered to the ground.

The power gained from swearing the celestial oath somewhat exceeded Shen Yi's expectations, so much so that even the Five-Tempered Blood Jade he had prepared never came into use.

His current exhaustion was not because he was drained of strength.

As a cultivator, after finally crossing countless mountains and dangers to glimpse the mysteries of the Great Dao, who would be willing to give it up lightly?

Shen Yi had indeed been doing this all along, but that didn't mean he wanted to bind himself with another layer of restriction — which was also why he had sighed earlier.

"Longevity…"

He stretched out his palm and gently wiped the bloodstains from his face.

After a long silence, Shen Yi suddenly laughed and spat: "To hell with it."

Over twenty years in his past life had already made it impossible to forget; in this life, barely a decade and more, from Bai Yun to Shenzhou — just as splendid all the same.

What's the point of living so long? I'm not some old Wang Ba.

"But I do owe you one."

Shen Yi closed his eyes and looked inward toward Wan Yao Dian.

Honestly, the only reason he could make this decision so quickly was that his own immortality was a fake — if it had been a genuine one entrusted to the Heavenly Dao, he might not have been able to.

But at that very moment, Shen Yi's entire body stiffened.

Within Wan Yao Dian, a gaze met his — a pair of eyes both shaken and terrified. Upon realizing it had been noticed, the owner of that gaze swiftly tried to dodge away.

But in these five pitch-dark, gloomy Black Cities, where could he possibly hide? He could only be forced to look straight at the master of this great hall.

"……"

Although it was only a Golden Body fruit-position with blurred, indistinct features, Shen Yi still recognized this person's identity at a glance.

No way — you really can put on an act, huh?

Shen Yi swallowed. He had never imagined that those careless words from back then would actually become reality now.

This Wan Yao Dian could truly, right under the Heavenly Dao's very nose, silently "steal" the fruit-positions inside!

"Don't move. Let me take a look."

With a single sentence from Shen Yi, Jing Shi Zunzhe was bound tight by an invisible force, able only to cast a pleading gaze.

As his consciousness probed into that fruit-position.

Shen Yi's eyes truly lit up… a vast mass of tribulation-force was reflected straight into his pupils.

A rough estimate — at least a million tribulations' worth.

Did this old monk have this much savings?!

Shen Yi could hardly imagine — had he kept tangling with the other party in that great marsh earlier, fighting to utter exhaustion probably still wouldn't have been enough to drain this Monk's reserves.

"Zunshang!" The very thing Jing Shi Zunzhe feared most had still come to pass. He stared tensely at that invisible consciousness above, and whether or not it was an illusion, he distinctly sensed a hint of greed.

"Hand it over."

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Yi began attempting to draw out the tribulation-force within. Brilliant golden radiance began to surge between the two fruit-positions.

Jing Shi Pusa watched with a dead heart, his entire mind already a blank.

He didn't understand — he, who should have returned to the Heavenly Dao, why had he appeared in such a ghastly death domain? And the voice that had just sounded had let him recognize the identity of this "Zunshang."

No wonder… no wonder the other party had looked utterly unafraid.

This Taixu Zhenjun was no second-grade cultivator at all — the other had actually dared, beneath the Heavenly Dao, to forge a brand-new "Heavenly Dao"!

Compared to this thing, that immortal oath sworn earlier didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

"……"

Only after drawing out the greater part of the tribulation-force did Shen Yi, with a trace of reluctance, release that Golden Body fruit-position.

It wasn't soft-heartedness — he had to leave the Monk enough to rebuild a physical shell. Though it would take some time, it might still come in handy later.

Feeling the abundant tribulation-force within his own fruit-position, Shen Yi finally felt a measure of peace of mind.

Regardless of whether he could rebuild his body, with these reserves, at least when fighting others he wouldn't be strapped for resources, and he could also try tempering spirit-treasures.

Take that eight-times-tempered Buddhist treasure as an example — even though he had sworn an immortal oath, carving it open had still cost him no small effort. In a same-realm fight, this alone could create quite a few openings; it must never be underestimated.

"……"

Jing Shi Zunzhe felt that consciousness gradually recede, and still stood dazed and frozen in place. Looking at the pitiful bit of tribulation-force left — just enough to rebuild his shell — he suddenly felt utterly drained, on the verge of weeping.

Had he known it would come to this, he might as well have sworn a grand vow back then and fought the other to the death.

But now, fallen into this death domain, his life and death both hung on that person's whim — no chance of turning things around ever again… what regret!

"Little brother, look on the bright side."

Shenxu Laozu patted this Golden Body fruit-position's shoulder and consoled him: "Look at old me — aren't I doing fine now? A man should learn to be content and find joy in what he has."

Nan Huang stood behind the two of them and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Indeed quite fine — back in the old days in Da Nanzhou, the moment Shenxu Laozu's form of address left his lips, he'd probably have been glared to death on the spot by this Jing Shi Zunzhe.

"Hoo—"

Setting aside the clamor within Wan Yao Dian, inside the wooden fish, Shen Yi slowly opened his eyes, and his whole body suddenly felt much lighter.

He swept his sleeve to recall the Wuwei Sword, then packed away that Buddhist-bead staff, the short staff, and the wooden fish as well.

An immortal sword in his right hand, Buddhist beads twirled in his left — the very picture of a fat-pursed, swaggering rich man.

This whole affair in Wan Yao Dian had not only temporarily eased Shen Yi's immediate troubles—no longer needing to worry about the two teachings dragging him out prematurely—but had also given him some hope of fulfilling that immortal oath.

Ascending to first-grade, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Six Imperials and True Buddhas.

The lotus throne within Mount Nan Xumi one could sit upon; the Dijun Residence one could also cultivate — for a cultivator, this was probably the lifelong, dream-of-dreams endpoint.

Shen Yi tucked everything into his thumb-ring and gazed off into the distance toward the east.

Just as he was about to set off again, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time rang in his ear.

"My Lord — He has awakened!"

……

The deepest depths of the Immortal Court, the very end of heaven and earth.

Majestic giant pillars loomed faintly visible among the clouds, their surfaces shedding ancient aura through their patterns. There were nine such pillars in total; the floating patterns converged at their midsections, outlining nine entirely distinct motifs.

The Five Elements of Heaven and Earth, the birth and perishing of yin and yang.

A single short sentence gathered the very foundation upon which the operation of the world turned.

If the first-rank titans represented the myriad laws' root that the Great Dao had spun forth, then these nine colossal pillars were the cornerstones with which the Great Dao had founded heaven and earth.

At this moment, beneath the pillar carved with flame motifs, a host of towering, exaggeratedly ferocious-faced Orthodox Gods sat cross-legged, all raising both palms high together.

Within this crowd, that Golden Body dharma-image instead became small and inconspicuous, and no one noticed it secretly transmitting messages to the mortal realm.

The Orthodox Gods were only responsible for upholding the order of heaven and earth.

No matter how the two Sects and the Divine Dynasty contended, that was the pattern of the world's operation and ought not to be meddled with; but the mistake lay in the Puti Sect laying hands on the Orthodox Gods in Da Nanzhou.

Laying hands would have been forgivable, but they failed.

The reason the Orthodox Gods had not made a fuss was, first, because Qi Feng and the others who had fled back wished to repay a kindness and wanted to suppress this news first; the other reason was that, to question Mount Nan Xumi without being brushed off, they would need to invite forth a being of sufficient stature to go.

And this matter likewise required time.

"Please the Ancestral God to awaken!"

Within the vast cry, a thread of whispered murmuring was threaded.

"Call out along with them." Qi Feng Divine Lord stealthily nudged the Golden Body dharma-image's shoulder. Strictly speaking, Qian Qing was not an Orthodox God, but had thrown in his lot with the Zhengshen Sect.

But who could blame him—every time trouble arose, he could summon that ruthless being, and that person was of a disposition that sought no merit, handing over great swathes of credit to this lad.

Today, Qian Qing was already a proper third-rank Divine Lord of the Immortal Court.

Title: Azure Cloud Majestic Spirit Manifested General!

A genuine, through-and-through member of the Zhengshen Sect itself.

Amid Gao Ang's cries, the stone skin on the colossal pillar slowly flaked away, revealing a closed-eyed, ashen-white face—so vast that merely a single face was beyond all imagining.

Then came the shoulders and the torso.

This terrifying pillar could only barely accommodate the Ancestral God's body. As those eyelids lightly trembled, the serpent-like spreading vein-lines atop His head actually transformed into flames visible to the naked eye, which then suddenly leapt up!

(End of chapter)