Chapter 809: Who Will Stand Up for Beizhou Disciples?

Emerald waves and clear pools.

A thin, bony white-robed monk squatted quietly by the pool, scooping up icy-cold water to wash his beautiful, slender hands over and over, tireless.

Soon, several streaks of light glided silently in, taking human form behind him.

“How goes it?” The white-robed monk shook the water from his fingertips, rose calmly, and turned to face the bodhisattvas.

“Venerable…” The bodhisattvas’ faces darkened; they lowered their heads in unison.

Beizhou has always been under the jurisdiction of the Three Immortal Teachings, with Three Grand Masters presiding above, hundreds of caves and thousands of lineages Chuancheng below, not to mention the occasional visits from the Five Imperial Regulators of the Immortal Court.

In the past, after disguising themselves, they could at least gather some scraps of information.

But since the Great Freedom Pure World Bodhisattva intervened last time, slaying several Immortal Sect disciples, Beizhou’s vigilance against strangers has become an impregnable fortress.

The strangeness of this change rivals the events that occurred when Nan Xumí broke through Pozhou.

Worse still, rumors say Qingguang Cave’s Youyao True Person suffered humiliation during the struggle for the Dao Field and now burns with the desire to reclaim her prestige by taking our heads.

Even on their way here today to seek an audience with the Pure World Bodhisattva, these few barely escaped detection by the Three Immortal Teachings’ disciples; if this trend continues, not only will they fail to gather any information, they may find themselves unable to take a single step in Beizhou.

Though the Great Freedom Pure World Bodhisattva’s realm is profound, he is now deep within the Three Immortal Teachings’ territory, watched by countless eyes; should he act and be discovered, it would confirm the accusation of bullying the weak, inevitably escalating tensions between the two sects beyond redemption.

“It’s so similar.” The Pure World Venerable dried his palms, gently rubbing his palms together.

“Venerable, what is similar?” The bodhisattvas looked up, eyes full of confusion.

“This one, once famed alongside our sect’s Subduing Dragon and Taming Tiger Bodhisattva—the Tai Xu True Person.”

The Pure World Venerable’s lips curled slightly as he gazed into the distance, speaking softly: “Arriving from Nanzhou to this unfamiliar land, he first restrained his nature, remained obscure, prepared thoroughly, then struck with lightning speed, rising to prominence at an unimaginable pace, drawing the attention of a senior within the sect, and thereby joining a great teaching…”

“Don’t you think he resembles Lingxu Zi as much as Subduing Dragon and Thousand-Armed Bodhisattvas?”

Whether cultivator or deity, every action carries habit; a person will instinctively repeat what once brought them success.

The Tai Xu True Person is now the most prominent figure in Beizhou—even the Bodhi Sect’s followers have heard of him.

Hearing this, the bodhisattvas finally realized: their mission to investigate the missing fellow disciples in Beizhou, upon reflection, pointed squarely to this Tai Xu True Person who abruptly left Nanzhou—he must know much of the truth; otherwise, why abandon his homeland to seek protection from the Three Immortal Teachings?

“But he’s already joined the Three Immortal Teachings, has protection, and no longer fears Nan Xumí. Even if we seek him out privately, why would he reveal the truth?”

“Then take away his protection.”

The Great Freedom Pure World Bodhisattva’s smile vanished; his gaze turned cold: “Go seize him. I’ll wait for you beyond Beizhou.”

He had a premonition: this man was the key to uncovering everything.

Before his words had fully faded, the bodhisattvas’ expressions turned utterly strange.

They understood why the Pure World Venerable could not act himself—but with only six-six transformations among them, to capture the Tai Xu True Person within Kaiyuan Prefecture, under countless eyes, before the Three Immortal Teachings reacted… it sounded absurd.

Fortunately, before they could speak, the Pure World Bodhisattva flipped his palm, and a dark-golden demon-subduing staff materialized.

“Five-refined Buddha treasure…”

At the sight of the staff, the bodhisattvas’ eyes widened in shock.

Only now did they realize the Pure World Venerable was not joking—and his seriousness surpassed their expectations.

This staff was no mere artifact given to juniors for protection; it was among his most frequently used Buddha treasures, a weapon for dueling peers of equal realm—deserving the title of left and right arm.

“Go.”

The white-robed monk tossed the staff lightly, then turned and walked toward the outskirts of Beizhou.

Once the staff appeared, he could no longer remain here; otherwise, the golden immortals would surely swarm out, leaving him no chance to escape.

The bodhisattvas jointly caught the staff, their palms trembling slightly as they caressed its cold surface; five refinements meant it contained fifty thousand tribulation forces. Even if they combined their strength and could only unleash two or three tenths of its power, it still far exceeded the foundation of a nine-nine transformation cultivator.

With this artifact, capturing a third-rank cultivator would be no difficulty.

…

Beizhou, Kaiyuan Prefecture.

From its initial emptiness to the current constant flow of cultivators, only a month had passed.

The reason? All centered on Youyao True Person.

Everyone wanted to know how this struggle would end—whether Lingxu Shu’s sudden appearance signaled conflict among the elders.

Yet in the end, despite heavy losses, Youyao Shijie shifted her focus toward the Bodhi Sect’s monks.

This meant the matter had ended as abruptly as that.

Tai Xu True Person became the first among Beizhou’s disciples to wrest the Dao Field from Youyao’s grasp, thereby taking actual possession of Kaiyuan Prefecture.

Within the Three Immortal Teachings, those who held a prefecture alone were all senior disciples of their lineages, widely followed by fellow disciples—let alone how prestigious this particular prefecture was to have seized.

Now that Youyao Shijie had abandoned pursuit, Shen Yi naturally became a coveted figure among many disciples.

“Tai Xu Shixiong, a small gift, specially brought to congratulate you.”

A disciple arrived with a beaming face, only to find he couldn’t even squeeze into the crowd.

By custom, disciples of the same lineage address each other by entry time; even across lineages, most follow this etiquette.

Yet all these disciples seemed to have forgotten the rule, addressing him as “Shixiong” without exception.

“Tai Xu… Tai Xu Shixiong.”

Hao Ming True Person pushed through the crowd; though he’d prepared himself, he still felt shame, his face flushed as he forced out the title.

“Apologize to your Shixiong for your earlier disrespect!”

After bowing, Hao Ming yanked the trembling Hua Ming from behind and shoved him to his knees.

Hua Ming had lost all his former arrogance; he stared blankly at the serene back seated by the cliff, unable to believe that Youyao Shijie—once so lofty, whose silence alone could crush her Shixiong—had been humiliated by this man.

“Tai Xu Shixiong!”

The next instant, he dropped to the ground and slammed his head repeatedly.

The disciples watched, silent, stealing glances at Hao Ming True Person.

Tai Xu True Person’s original Dao Field was Tian Ta Mountain; Hao Ming lived closest to him—likely clashed during the struggle for the Dao Field, and now, sensing the tide had turned, came to beg for mercy.

Such things were common in Beizhou, not shameful.

But avoiding confrontation himself and shoving his junior forward to apologize? That drew contempt.

“It’s trivial. Let it go.”

Shen Yi glanced sideways; his pale face showed no arrogance from sudden success—he merely glanced at the two disciples and returned his gaze.

Seeing this, the other disciples stepped forward again, echoing: “Tai Xu Shixiong’s magnanimity inspires reverence!”

Compared to earlier forced flattery, this carried genuine sincerity.

Nothing compares to contrast: while Youyao Shijie fought for a Dao Field, she didn’t take it—she lost it, then tried to kill the winner.

But Tai Xu Shixiong? Two came to him, and he dismissed them with a light word.

Dao Field disputes should be settled this way—to show the great teaching’s dignity.

Remember, this Shixiong just came from Nanzhou, yet his conduct is more proper than Beizhou’s prodigies.

“Thank you, Shixiong. We’ll take our leave.”

Hao Ming True Person felt his face burn; he grabbed Hua Ming and flew away from Tian Ta Mountain.

Seeing Shen Yi preferred solitude, the other disciples dared not linger, bowing and preparing to depart.

“Esteemed elders, this way, please.”

Several young disciples of Lingxu Cave stood straight, smiling respectfully, escorting the guests out.

Since this tribulation began, when had their lineage ever been so honored? Even they felt this new junior uncle surpassed even the senior disciple.

As the crowd began to move, a cultivator of higher realm suddenly frowned, glancing suspiciously upward: “Hmm?”

Soon, others realized too, shouting sharply: “Who dares spy from the heavens!”

The aura leaking out was utterly alien to the Three Immortal Teachings.

One disciple waved his sleeve; it expanded into a thousand zhang wide, like a roaring silver waterfall sweeping across the blue sky and white clouds: “Cowardly hide-and-seek—come out, or face me!”

The sweep had no effect—until the clouds parted, revealing several gleaming bald heads. Everyone froze.

No one had imagined the Bodhi Sect’s notorious fugitives would so abruptly enter Kaiyuan Prefecture.

“Tai Xu Shixiong, these bandits dare trespass on your Dao Field—let this disciple relieve your burden.”

Upon recognizing the six-six transformation levels of the bodhisattvas, five or six figures shot from Tian Ta Mountain—all accomplished cultivators.

In the eyes of today’s Three Immortal Teachings disciples, these monks’ heads weren’t just skulls—they were trophies, the long-suppressed source of everyone’s fury.

“… ”

The bodhisattvas watched the streaks of light, eyes narrowing; without hesitation, they channeled the surge of the Golden River, and upon its crest, the dark-golden staff rose high, radiating auroras that nearly covered the entire sky.

“Buddha treasure!”

At the moment the aurora fell, the five figures who had just leapt up—and all the cultivators on the mountain—spontaneously scattered like startled birds.

They stared fixedly at the staff, faces filled with shock.

When had Xumí Mountain become so wealthy? Such a terrifying Buddha treasure entrusted to a few ordinary monks?

Even as senior disciples of a great sect, even Li Shan and Youyao might not possess such a treasure.

Before they could recover, the already terrified bodhisattvas roared: “All of you, we are here for Tai Xu! Stand aside, we mean no further trouble!”

Beizhou is the Three Immortal Teachings’ territory; even with the staff, if the great immortals react, they’d have a thousand lives and still not escape.

Thus, they struck with lethal force, aiming to scare off these cultivators instantly.

“… ”

The crowd regained composure; many faces now wore strange expressions.

Though good things come after trials, Tai Xu Shixiong’s luck is truly terrible: first targeted by Youyao Shijie, barely calmed down, now surrounded by these monks.

Even summoning such a terrifying Buddha treasure, they still intend to capture him.

“Shixiong, rest assured—Beizhou won’t let these monks act with impunity!”

Though they barely knew him, as they shouted this, many disciples instinctively retreated beyond the aurora’s range—some hurried to report to their elders, others too embarrassed to leave outright, so stood far off, silently mourning the new disciple.

“Huh.”

Several Bodhisattvas witnessed this scene and finally exhaled in relief.

They looked downward, their expressions freezing slightly—the young man in white had risen to his feet, yet remained standing at the cliff’s edge, showing no intention to flee.

The Bodhisattvas’ eyelids twitched; no wonder he could match wits with You Yao—he remained calm even before a Buddha treasure.

“True Lord of Grand Void, do not resist. Perhaps you may still spare your life… Don’t force us!”

Even they themselves spoke these words without conviction. True, they had sought him only for questioning, but even if the truth were uncovered and he proved uninvolved, he had still seen the true face of the Great Freedom Pure World Bodhisattva—how could they possibly let him live?

Before the words had fully faded, the golden rings on the staff clanged sharply, their piercing waves causing all who heard them to grimace in pain, even hindering their ability to mobilize tribulation energy.

Buddha Sound Subdues Demons!

Even in the hands of these Bodhisattvas, it wielded such power—hard to imagine what would happen if a Great Freedom Venerable held it; they might lose even the ability to flee.

Instantly, the entire staff slowly rose upright, its shaft swelling a thousandfold, like a celestial pillar suspended in midair, then crashing down toward Tian Ta Mountain.

Feeling the turbulent tribulation energy, the disciples, already far away, fled again in utter terror.

This time, they didn’t even bother offering Shen Yi any reassurance.

After all, those words were meant for the living—and among third-rank cultivators, few could survive such an assault.

If this staff truly struck Tian Ta Mountain…

There would hardly be a single living soul left in Kaiyuan Prefecture.

“...”

Shen Yi stood within the rosy light; the piercing Buddha sound seemed to affect him little.

He lifted his head slightly, gazing at the descending staff.

From the void behind him, tendrils of black cloud spread forth, invisible to the naked eye, swiftly coalescing into a colossal shadow as tall as the heavens—the surging black clouds resembled ink-drenched flames, roaring upward with the power to burn the sky!

“Phantom things—disperse!”

The Bodhisattvas instantly recognized the shadow as vast yet formless, consistent with the Grand Void Dao Fruit’s unsuitability for direct combat.

If this was all he had, a single strike of the staff should be enough to subdue him.

The monk’s face broke into a smile.

Yet in an instant, the black shadow extended a blurred hand—and, before their eyes, slowly gripped the staff.

The black clouds, though violently shaken, never truly dispersed.

It gripped the staff and gently tapped its end against the mountain peak.

Ding—

The crisp sound erupted as an invisible wave, halting fleeing disciples, stunning the airborne Bodhisattvas, and causing the bewildered, dazed civilians to involuntarily widen their eyes.

Before the small immortal shrine, on the high cliff where the wind howled.

Shen Yi stood composed, his robes snapping in the wind; behind him, the colossal shadow held the staff, gazing coldly at the monks before it.

“We...”

The five Bodhisattvas were engulfed by the towering shadow, their throats dry, chests constricted, nearly suffocating.

(End of Chapter)