Chapter 789: Crimson Lotus Tribulation

Suppress, suppress, seal the demons!

Fan Long and the myriad disciples of the Red Lotus Temple roared angrily, rolling up the sky‑filled rosy light, supporting the tens‑of‑thousands‑zhang‑high Thousand‑Armed Buddha golden statue, they rallied and charged at Wu Tie.

Suppress everything, seal everything.

The Red Lotus Temple's cultivation art is so overbearing and brutal; they are like tyrannical kings, relying on absolute brute force to suppress everything, blockade everything, rule everything, control everything.

Wu Tie's Pangu True Form exhaled boundless chaotic qi clouds; behind him, the three thousand purple qi and eighty‑four thousand golden lights condensed into a huge jewel wheel that rose and rotated. Stars orbited, sun and moon waxed and waned, and countless inconceivable celestial phenomena flickered faintly behind him.

His massive arms flickered with a hazy white light; amidst Qing Feng's stunned, shrill cries, Wu Tie, using his Pangu True Form, unleashed the Myriad Transformations Tribulation Hand.

The Azure Lotus Observatory's supreme Dao art, the Myriad Transformations Tribulation Hand, has a core mystery utterly different from the Red Lotus Temple's Buddhist Dharma.

The Great Dao is natural; it resolves everything.

No matter if you are a demon with raging, heaven‑high ferocity or a cruel, wicked monster, no matter how vast your aura or how blazing your demonic flame, a gentle press of the palm turns water back to water, clouds return to clouds, and following the water's flow transforms all things to their origin—thus water flows freely, clouds drift at will, and heaven and earth become pure and bright.

Overbearing and free lightly collided.

Another tremendous boom rang out; the gleaming, tens‑of‑thousands‑zhang‑high Buddha statue suddenly collapsed more than half, Wu Tie's arms shuddered violently, a terrifying pressure surged, and the flesh and blood of his arms burst apart in more than half.

In the great formation behind him, the bodies of seventy‑to‑eighty thousand Wu tribesmen shattered instantly.

But in an instant, the Primordial Diadem reversed time and space, combined with the Wu tribe's bloodline ability 'Rebirth from a Drop of Blood' pushed to the extreme, the bodies of tens of thousands of Wu tribesmen instantly recovered, and their breath 'whoosh' surged upward by a great margin.

Qing Feng stared wide‑eyed in terror, slapped his own forehead hard, and gazed at those Wu tribesmen whose breath had suddenly surged, as if seeing ghosts.

"Where is my Three Pure Ones Ancestor above… Disciple today, I've seen a living ghost… no, no, in the Sui Dynasty I often see ghosts, but I've never seen such a ghost!"

Upon the bodies of the tens of thousands of Wu tribesmen that had shattered, Qing Feng sensed the flavor of the Myriad Tribulations Scripture.

It is precisely the Myriad Tribulations Scripture—the more you court death, the faster you cultivate; the more desperately you court death, the more your cultivation soars!

Wu Tie bore no trace of an oath backlash, and the True Oath Sage statue showed no reaction—clearly, Wu Tie did not transmit the Myriad Tribulations Scripture to these Wu tribesmen in violation of an oath.

But they indeed possessed the aura of the Myriad Tribulations Scripture; they had formally entered its cultivation. Each time their bodies shattered, it was equivalent to dying once. And 'death' undoubtedly counts as a 'great tribulation'; driven by death, the cultivation of these tens of thousands of Wu tribesmen has already reached the pinnacle of the First Heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm!

They can step into the Second Heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm at any moment.

And the Dao resonance they exude is at least above the hundred great Dao laws.

They are all 'Heavenly Gods', and moreover the supreme 'King Gods' among Heavenly Gods…… In the Sui Dynasty, such figures, once appearing, are unconditionally appointed as 'State Lords', granted a fiefdom, and can suppress a region as mighty hegemons.

"Disciple I… I've seen a living ghost!" Qing Feng muttered incoherently.

The Azure Lotus Observatory doesn't mind using its supreme Dao art to cultivate relationships and form beneficial ties with certain special individuals—so‑called 'everything follows fate', 'widely open the door of convenience'—although this is a common Buddhist phrase, the Azure Lotus Observatory indeed does so.

As long as those who cultivate the Myriad Tribulations Scripture do not spread it recklessly across the world, having three or five outsiders master our supreme Dao art is, for the Azure Lotus Observatory, a very common occurrence.

But this time, twelve‑hundred‑and‑three Wu tribesmen unrelated to Qing Feng have inexplicably entered the gate of the Myriad Tribulations Scripture……

"How will the Dao Master die? Be concocted to death by those old fogeys with their eighteen tricks?" Qing Feng's body trembled slightly as he recalled the Azure Lotus Observatory's eccentric old Daoists, making him feel utterly uneasy.

"But why is this? It makes no sense…… What is the reasoning?" Qing Feng felt blank and dazed, then sank into deep confusion; he even doubted whether he was having a nightmare.

Thus, Qing Feng drew a pestle imbued with the intense Red Lotus Temple style and struck his own forehead with it.

Blood spattered, intense pain surged, Qing Feng covered the wound and cried out in agony: 'Not a dream…… that, that, that……'

Wu Tie's Pangu True Form shuddered violently, palm after palm relentlessly striking the Thousand‑Armed golden Buddha.

His essence, energy, and spirit completely penetrated the Wu tribe's secret grand formation; he and the 120,003 brothers were as one person, everyone's essence, energy, and spirit merged into one, and many of Wu Tie's inner secrets were shared with these brothers.

Except for the Primordial Scripture, which is too profound and deep, these brothers could only rely on their own activated ancestral bloodlines to grasp some similar great Dao laws; the rest of Wu Tie's many fine qualities were naturally imprinted onto their bodies.

The Pangu Scripture, Myriad Transformations Scripture, Myriad Tribulations Scripture, One Qi Transforms into Three Purities, Vertical Earth Golden Light Method, Nail‑Head Seven Arrows Book, Heavenly Gang Transformations, Earth Fiend Transformations, Samadhi True Fire…… these top‑level Dao arts cultivated by Wu Tie were also unconsciously perceived and absorbed by the Wu tribesmen.

However, this group of Wu tribesmen are all straightforward, coarse fellows.

Imbuing them with such profound secret arts as One Qi Transforms into Three Purities, Vertical Earth Golden Light Method, and Nail‑Head Seven Arrows Book, only a few dozen Wu tribesmen could comprehend them…… This ratio truly almost moved Wu Tie to tears.

On the contrary, the Pangu Scripture, Heavenly Gang Transformations, Earth Fiend Transformations, and even the ways of weapons such as 'sword', 'spear', 'blade', 'halberd', as well as the killing arts of 'fist', 'palm', 'leg', 'finger', etc. —any great Dao or side‑door related to combat and slaughter—they grasped each one swiftly and mastered it thoroughly.

Just as Wu Tie had cultivated before, once a weapon, fist‑foot, or any killing side‑door is understood, natural power from heaven and earth pours in, forcibly raising a certain attribute of the body to an inconceivable level.

The various killing great Daos and side‑doors that Wu Tie understood were easily digested and absorbed by the Wu brothers, transformed into Dao patterns inscribed on the divine fetus and divine body.

Stream after stream of heavenly and earthly mighty power poured down, driving the Wu brothers' divine fetus and divine body to rapidly fuse.

Thus, one saw the golden Buddha statue inflate and deflate repeatedly; in the great formation behind Wu Tie, with each breath tens of thousands of Wu brothers exploded with a boom into fragments, then swiftly re‑condensed their flesh.

Stream after stream of white vapor, golden light, purple haze, blood mist and other phenomena swirled down from the sky like rain, continually pouring into the bodies of the Wu brothers led by Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong.

On these Wu brothers' bodies, strange lights flickered, and phantom images of swords, spears, swords, and halberds constantly swayed.

Their bodies swelled, their power surged, and amidst the countless strange lights flickering in their eyes, their comprehension of heaven and earth, of all things, and especially of combat, leapt forward by leaps and bounds.

Low, rumbling howls never ceased; some Wu tribesmen manifested the Pangu True Form, some directly became three‑headed, six‑armed, some expanded their bodies via the law of heaven and earth to tens of thousands of zhang high, some activated their bloodlines and turned into true ancient‑god bodies.

Moreover, a few dozen Wu tribesmen with keen perception had their pupils flash with spiritual light; a sudden twitch of the body, and they directly severed out a three‑corpse avatar.

Although they did not, like Wu Tie, use an innate spiritual treasure as the foundation of their three‑corpse avatar, these Wu tribesmen merely stirred their spirit and, relying on the immense killing aura gathered from the military formation, severed out an avatar.

Now the power gathered in this military formation is terrifying; in an instant it condensed for them an avatar nearly a hundred times stronger than their true selves, almost like a true primordial divine spirit body. Receiving the power feedback from these three‑corpse avatars, the Wu tribesmen's breath surged, and their combat strength instantly increased more than tenfold.

The more they fought, the stronger they became; Wu Tie and the Wu tribesmen behind him grew stronger the more they battled.

The vast military formation had already been enveloped by a mass of chaotic clouds and mist, transforming into a chaotic vortex hovering behind Wu Tie.

The 120,003 Wu tribesmen differed in perception, opportunity, and the branches of Wu tribe blood they possessed; thus their insights into the Great Dao also varied.

What they comprehended, pieced together from the Dao resonance transmitted from Wu Tie, exactly added up to three thousand great Dao and eighty‑four thousand side‑doors.

They also became one qi through the Wu tribe grand formation, and Wu Tie together with several hundred other brothers guided them by manifesting their Pangu True Forms.

Gradually, a wondrous, indescribable thing occurred.

From all directions, within the void, from the mountains, rivers, seas, and the vast continent, faintly there rose infinitesimal light specks, hundreds or thousands of times smaller than a sesame seed, drifting upward and streaming toward Wu Tie's great formation.

Those light points trembled, dim to the extreme, yet they were suffused with an inexplicable ancient, primordial majesty.

Wu Tie and the Wu brothers merely glanced at those light points and inexplicably knew their origin—after Pangu the Sage cleaved heaven and earth and perished, his body became the Mu Dalu continent, yet a portion of his essence‑blood remains to this day; the fine specks before us are precisely that remaining essence‑blood of Pangu the Sage.

The essence‑blood is not much; altogether it is about the volume of a water tub.

This essence‑blood was evenly and fairly divided into 120,004 shares, injected into Wu Tie and all the Wu tribesmen's bodies.

Wu Tie and the others' blood instantly ignited, burning wildly.

In the blink of an eye, the plasma within their bodies was burned away completely, leaving only three or five drops of mutated viscous essence blood.

Because they lost blood severely in an instant, Wu Tie and the others' bodies quickly withered, each becoming like a mummy—skin and bones—yet they showed no ferocity or ugliness; instead, they were filled with an inexplicable sanctity and solemnity.

In the next moment, the vast military formation drew up the heavenly and earthly primordial energy within a radius of ten million miles, continuously pouring it into Wu Tie and the others' bodies.

The primordial energy entered their bodies, making up the loss, and quickly turned into new blood.

The newly formed blood was viscous and pure, each drop brimming with immense energy. Every Wu clansman felt his body undergo an earth-shaking change, an indescribable sense of power filling his entire being.

Battle!

Battle!!

Battle!!!

120,000 people shouted in unison; Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong simultaneously manifested the Pangu Golden Body. Unable to grasp the Myriad Transformations Killer Hand, they could only employ the Three-Heads Six-Arms divine ability, wielding their heavy weapons as they stood shoulder to shoulder beside Wu Tie.

With the support of the vast military formation, the Pangu true forms of the three Wu Jin brothers also reached tens of thousands of feet in height; although they were considerably shorter than Wu Tie's Pangu true form, which was just under forty thousand feet, their aura was no longer inferior to that of Qingfeng.

Qingfeng stared wide-eyed in shock, blankly watching the anomalous changes in Wu Jin and the others, somewhat unable to comprehend what had happened.

"Master Dao, am I possessed or have I found a treasure?" Qingfeng muttered, "Why does Wu Jin exude such a rich imperial aura? This, this, this…"

Wu Tie gulped down the primordial energy surging from all directions, laughing loudly; the power the military formation provided him had increased a hundredfold or more over the initial amount. He felt his strength growing boundlessly—every gesture could destroy a small patch of the world before him.

The Primordial Crown turned!

Time and space stalled, then flowed backward.

Wu Tie extended his arms and grasped back to that moment just past.

The Vajra Sumeru Formation of the Red Lotus Temple was indeed formidable; even with Wu Tie's current power and the might of the Primordial Crown, he could only reverse this great formation to a short time before.

But that was enough.

Wu Tie reached out and grabbed; by the time he withdrew his hand, the relic jewel at the forehead of the Thousand-Armed Golden Buddha had already vanished.

Along with the relics on the Vajra Sumeru pedestal, nearly a thousand of the brightest relics also disappeared, and Wu Tie's huge palm was filled with sparkling Buddhist relics that glimmered.

Wu Tie reversed time and, before the Vajra Sumeru Formation was completed, snatched away the strongest batch of relics belonging to Fanlong and the other Red Lotus Temple disciples.

The Thousand-Armed Buddha statue let out a mournful cry, then with a 'Boom—' it exploded completely.

1,296 innate spiritual treasures flew wildly across the sky; Fanlong and the others all spat up blood, having no time to retrieve these treasures of theirs.

Without hesitation, Wu Tie caused multicolored divine light to surge wildly behind him, yin and yang qi roiling; a serene, elegant giant lotus bud slowly emerged from behind him, then opened its mouth with a 'gulping' sound and swallowed the 1,296 powerful innate spiritual treasures in one gulp.

Within the lotus bud, fierce sword intent churned wildly, and continual wails were heard; the swallowed innate spiritual treasures instantly shattered into pieces, completely devoured and absorbed by the lotus bud.

Fanlong and the others spat up fresh blood again, each losing their footing and collapsing onto the golden auspicious clouds.

Qingfeng stared, dumbfounded.

The Red Lotus Temple's Vajra Sumeru Formation had a fearsome reputation; over the years, countless generations of Red Lotus Temple disciples who formed the formation had no idea how many formidable demonic tyrants of the four directions of the Su Chao dynasty's four great states they had suppressed.

But this time… they finally suffered a loss at the hands of the more eerily wicked and more ferocious Wu Tie.

Moreover, look at the aura of those Wu clansmen behind Wu Tie—nearly half of them have actually broken through to the third heaven of the Divine Manifestation realm… The Qingluan Observatory's Myriad Tribulations Scripture truly is marvelously effective!

"I want to die!" Qingfeng, looking grim as he watched Fanlong and the others collapse onto the auspicious clouds, had nothing but murderous and silencing thoughts running through his mind.

Wu Tie slowly retracted his Pangu true form, returning to his original golden body of sixteen feet.

"Brothers, strip them bare!" Wu Tie snarled through gritted teeth, "Don't leave them even a loincloth… They surely still have plenty of cow-bezoar and horse-treasure inside; dig it all out!"

"Ours, ours, it's all ours!"

Wu Tie roared hoarsely.

He hated this bunch of bald monks who constantly mouthed compassion yet suddenly leapt out to obstruct him!