Chapter 976: Old Thief

In the void, from left shoulder to right hip, Gongsun Sanyang was almost split into two by Wu Tie's sword. The sword mark was extremely deep; the two halves of Gongsun Sanyang's body were only connected by a thread of skin and flesh.

Blood kept gushing from the wound, its color pitch black, vitality completely gone; the flowing blood resembled the corrupt water of a dead swamp that had rotted for hundreds of millions of years, devoid of any trace of life.

That golden myriad-character pendant saved Gongsun Sanyang, but the black sword in Wu Tie's hand was a murderous holy weapon of terrifying menace; that chilling, all-living-beings-exterminating killing intent, in a frenzy, ravaged his body and destroyed his vitality.

The sword scar was merely such a thin line, yet Gongsun Sanyang felt his whole body turn icy; his life force was obliterated by over ninety percent in the span of a single breath.

A mouthful of black blood spurted out; Gongsun Sanyang let out a long howl, and his body violently exploded.

The lingering vitality within him mixed with a clump of barely intact essence blood, quickly separating from the sky-filling shattered black blood and his ruined body.

A golden core the size of a fist, covered with thirty-three golden lines and enveloped in layers of purple mist, flew out of the void; Gongsun Sanyang's remaining vitality and that pea-sized drop of essence blood quickly merged into the golden core.

The golden core burst, and a tremendous surge of vibrant creative life force spewed out, quickly merging with Gongsun Sanyang's vitality and essence blood. In the snap of a finger, Gongsun Sanyang was reborn with an intact body, standing unharmed in the void.

But how could Wu Tie's black sword be so easily dodged?

Gongsun Sanyang reassembled his body, recondensed his vitality; in the dark, a murderous intent as vicious as ever followed the karmic link between him and Wu Tie, slashing fiercely at his newly condensed body.

Gongsun Sanyang looked at Wu Tie with heart-wrenching pain; a crystal-colored lotus seed flew from his fingertip, spraying a golden light that quickly turned into a third-grade golden lotus blossom, swaying gracefully before him.

In the void, a fleeting glimpse of extraordinarily vicious killing intent flashed by.

With a 'hiss', that third-grade golden lotus was torn to shreds by a strand of killing intent that had solidified into substance; Gongsun Sanyang's body shuddered, and another mouthful of old blood spurted out.

Compared to the previous black blood that gushed out, devoid of vitality, this mouthful of blood was bright red and steaming, brimming with surging life force like a newly opened flower, exuding a rich bloody odor.

That third-grade golden lotus contained an extremely subtle divine power; the subtle karmic link between Wu Tie and Gongsun Sanyang was replaced by that lotus.

The killing intent of the black sword crushed that golden lotus; Wu Tie could no longer feel any karmic entanglement between himself and Gongsun Sanyang.

However, who needs karma when killing someone?

Wu Tie's body returned to normal human size; with a flash, he rushed before Gongsun Sanyang, shaking his black sword to release a black sword-light that multiplied—one into ten, ten into a hundred, a hundred into countless billions—in an instant the sky filled with flickering black starlight, descending to envelop Gongsun Sanyang's entire body.

"You, you're going too far!" Gongsun Sanyang roared angrily: "Relying on such a murderous divine weapon, it's clear you're no righteous good person."

As Gongsun Sanyang shouted in anger, a foot-high light-gold exquisite pagoda appeared out of thin air before him; the nine-tiered exquisite pagoda was adorned on all sides with thousands of exquisitely delicate, lifelike carvings of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

As the pagoda appeared, the surrounding void became arduous and heavy; an immensely powerful suppressive force descended, making Wu Tie feel that the space before his sword tip had turned into a vajra relic harder than refined steel by hundreds of times; even with his strength and the black sword's edge, swinging forward to chop and thrust met tremendous resistance.

"What a treasure!" Wu Tie snorted angrily, raising an eyebrow at Gongsun Sanyang; a flash of five-colored divine light behind him flicked, and with a 'swish', the exquisite pagoda in Gongsun Sanyang's hand vanished without a trace.

"I... damn..." Gongsun Sanyang exclaimed in utter shock, involuntarily blurting out a vulgar curse.

Sky-filling black sword-light surged and rolled toward him; Gongsun Sanyang shouted hoarsely: "Wu Tie, don't be reckless, this seat here..."

Wu Tie's sword-flying speed was astonishing, the black sword's edge terrifying; before Gongsun Sanyang could finish his sentence, the sky-filling sword-light raised by the black sword submerged his body.

Gongsun Sanyang let out a furious roar; a mass of rich seven-colored Buddha light burst from within him, a head-sized lump of seven-colored divine mud writhed, forming a round mud shield that blocked the sky-filling black sword-light.

A dense 'ding ding ding' of impact sounds rang out continuously.

Wu Tie's sword-light split, and in an instant thousands, then tens of thousands of swords rained down.

This lump of seven-colored divine mud was miraculously wondrous; not to mention the mud shield it formed was extremely hard, it even left Wu Tie momentarily dazed. Wu Tie completely forgot to attack Gongsun Sanyang, focusing all his attention on the mud shield.

The sword-light fell like rain, sweeping downward.

Gongsun Sanyang clutched his head and fled, turning from behind the mud shield into a white escape light that flew thousands of miles away. The black sword-light frenziedly pierced the mud shield; after a series of dense 'ding ding' sounds, the seven-colored mud shield 'popped' open, its seven-colored light dissipating, and the entire mass of seven-colored divine mud was utterly destroyed by the black sword's annihilating sword intent.

"My... Merit Eight Treasures Divine Mud..." Gongsun Sanyang cried out in anguish, his voice hoarse with grief.

Wu Tie gave a cold snort: "What a fine Buddhist sect marvelous object, a pity, a pity, you've used it in the wrong place."

Wu Tie also felt quite heartbroken.

This mass of seven-colored divine mud was extremely marvelous; Wu Tie was dazzled by the seven-colored divine light it emitted, causing him to forget to attack Gongsun Sanyang and focus all his attention on this seven-colored divine mud.

Before he could withdraw his hand, Wu Tie acted as if this mass of seven-colored divine mud had a deadly feud with him, pouring all his power into it.

Such a fine Buddhist sect supreme treasure was thus destroyed outright.

If this treasure fell into Wu Tie's hands, he might well be able to refine something good from it.

Thinking again of the third-grade golden lotus destroyed earlier, Wu Tie couldn't help but shake his head.

"Gongsun Sanyang, what other good things do you have? Don't waste them. Hand them over honestly, or else I'll destroy them in my hands—what a shame!" Wu Tie turned, swept through the void, straight to Gongsun Sanyang, and brought down another sword.

"Hold on!" Gongsun Sanyang shouted loudly: "Wait before you act!"

Gongsun Sanyang looked at Wu Tie with a solemn, sacred expression, his stature like a mountain, standing motionless in the void.

Wu Tie gave a 'hehe' laugh, completely ignoring Gongsun Sanyang's pretense, and continued to bring down his sword.

Gongsun Sanyang's face turned ashen; he gritted his teeth and shouted hoarsely: "Wu Tie, this is you forcing me…… you, you…… you're going too far, it's just a broken sword, isn't it?"

That sentence of Gongsun Sanyang's was both foul and long.

By rights, the time it took Gongsun Sanyang to utter that sentence would be enough for Wu Tie to hack at him at least tens of thousands of times.

But rings of pale golden light rippled from Gongsun Sanyang's chest; although Wu Tie and Gongsun Sanyang were only a little over a zhang apart, that stretch of void seemed to turn into a heavenly moat, and as Wu Tie's sword inched downward, the distance to Gongsun Sanyang grew ever greater.

When Gongsun Sanyang finished speaking, his complexion suddenly waned; his originally plump and full body instantly became withered and unsightly, like a persimmon left to bake in the sun for half a month, turning from a fresh, juicy fruit into a blackened, shriveled persimmon cake.

Gongsun Sanyang's essence blood and magical power instantly drained by ninety-nine percent; a mass of golden light burst from his chest.

The void trembled, waves of tremendous roaring echoed; Wu Tie felt a heavy pressure weighing down on his whole body, and in the next instant he and Gongsun Sanyang simultaneously appeared in a strange little world.

All around was a vast expanse of white Buddha light, within which patches of pale golden clouds floated.

This little world spanned only about a hundred li in radius, its surroundings all white light and golden clouds.

Before Wu Tie stood a thousand-zhang-tall golden Buddha seated cross-legged, its left hand forming a seal before its chest, its right hand spread open resting on its abdomen; the withered, breathless Gongsun Sanyang stood panting on the palm of the Buddha's right hand, glaring angrily at Wu Tie.

Ten Dao seals flickered faintly above Wu Tie's head.

Wu Tie felt astonished; the Dao seals he had condensed had lost over ninety percent of their sensitivity to the laws of heaven and earth here.

Moreover, a tremendous pressure surged in the void; Wu Tie tried to swing his black sword, only to feel his right hand as if pressed down by countless mountains, making it extremely difficult to wield the sword.

After glancing around, Wu Tie looked at Gongsun Sanyang and said in a low voice: "A formed Palm Buddha Kingdom? In the primordial mythic era, those Buddhist venerables condensed inner small worlds? Where did you get this good thing?"

Gongsun Sanyang couldn't keep his footing and plopped down onto the giant Buddha's palm.

He panted, gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice to Wu Tie: "Couldn't this be something I cultivated myself?"

Wu Tie shook his head with a cold smile: "When I first saw you, you said that, and I believed it…… but after what just happened, you claim that someone with demonic hearts like you could cultivate this supreme Buddhist divine ability…… you think I'm an idiot?"

Gongsun San Yang gave a dry laugh: "Wu Tie, just now this seat, I harbor no ill will toward you. Those Six Paths Treasure Wheels... actually..."

Wu Tie kept sneering: "Those Six Paths Treasure Wheels intend to erase my thoughts, annihilate my spiritual awareness, turning me into a walking corpse... You say, this is not ill will?"

Gongsun San Yang repeatedly shook his head: "What nonsense? This seat merely wants to test, to see if you are qualified to cooperate with this seat."

After panting for a while, Gongsun San Yang pointed at the surrounding white Buddhist light and golden clouds, gave a dry laugh: "But I didn't expect you to be overly agitated... to the point that things have become utterly uncontrollable."

Wu Tie gave a cold sneer and remained silent.

Was I overly agitated?

The Six Paths Treasure Wheel shattered, and the six beams of white light it released were indeed meant to erase the spiritual awareness within Wu Tie's single thread of innate spiritual light, indeed meant to turn him into a walking corpse.

There is absolutely no mistake about that.

No matter how Gongsun San Yang tried to explain, Wu Tie had clearly seen this scoundrel's true face.

If the Demonic Supreme is brute force and ruthless without brains, then Gongsun San Yang is a seemingly good person with hidden malicious intent, even more sinister and treacherous, and even harder to deal with.

If not for the Primordial Crown protecting his innate primordial spirit, Wu Tie would surely have suffered a great loss just now, possibly even perishing body and soul. Now Wu Tie has raised all his vigilance; no matter what Gongsun San Yang says, he simply does not believe or pay attention.

Gongsun San Yang gave a dry cough: "Listen to this seat. This seat truly is the Chief Grand Witch Priest of Bear Tribe Lei Ze City."

"This seat, acting on Nüwa Island's command, braved countless dangers, covertly crossed the cycle of reincarnation, was reborn, to seek a way out for humanity."

Wu Tie's expression turned very strange.

Although he had already aroused all his vigilance and absolutely did not want to believe a single word of Gongsun San Yang's, the latter's words were like a chunk of roasted meat exuding rich aroma, still making Wu Tie feel... a hint of interest.

No, too dangerous.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth and strained his whole body.

With a Boom, the small world within a radius of a hundred li trembled slightly; vast golden clouds in the high sky flickered, and an immensely strong pressure crushed down. Wu Tie felt as if sunk in a mire, and only with all his strength did he manage a Thud, taking a small step forward.

Wu Tie and Gongsun San Yang were tens of li apart; at this rate, for Wu Tie to walk up to Gongsun San Yang and slay him, who knows how many years and months it would take.

"After all, this is a Palm Buddha Realm." Gongsun San Yang gasped, speaking solemnly: "Calm down, listen to this seat."

Wu Tie remained silent, merely staring fixedly at Gongsun San Yang.

"This seat, acting on Nüwa Island's command, braved the risk of soul scattering and form dissolving, underwent reincarnation, emerging from the royal clan of the Supreme Demonic State." Gongsun San Yang spoke solemnly: "This seat expended endless ingenuity, sacrificed the flesh to nurture demons, with immense perseverance and great fortune, only then spending a few short millennia to ascend the Demonic Emperor's Throne."

"Sacrificed the flesh to nurture demons?" Wu Tie interrupted Gongsun San Yang's words, unable to help bursting into wild laughter.

For some reason, Gongsun San Yang's words made Wu Tie unable to stay solemn; after hearing them, he really just wanted to laugh.

Or perhaps, if Gongsun San Yang had spoken those words when he first appeared above Shanfeng City, Wu Tie might have believed half of it; now, every word and sentence from Gongsun San Yang, Wu Tie will not believe.

"Calm down, you damn old mother." Wu Tie strained desperately, and the Palm Buddha Realm spanning a hundred li continued to tremble.

The space around Wu Tie continually emitted piercing explosive sounds.

That sound was like a ten-thousand-year-old demon worm sealed in amber, suddenly awakening from sleep, straining to break free of the nearby obstacles, exerting all its strength to shatter that thick seal.

"You, listen to me." Gongsun San Yang no longer used the term "this seat", he shouted sternly: "I am sincere, for the future of all humanity, pouring out my heart and blood, racking my brains..."

Wu Tie again stepped forward heavily; the surrounding pressure grew ever greater, and the Buddha statue where Gongsun San Yang stood emitted an even fainter light.

"No matter what you say, your intention to erase my spiritual awareness is an undeniable fact."

"Since you intend to harm me, any of your words now are lies."

"Even if you truly are scheming for the future of all humanity... I, Wu Tie, how could I become your stepping stone? How could I become your ladder to the heavens? How could I become your tool for amusement?"

"For the future of humanity, I too can strive for it."

"I firmly believe that, compared to you, this old treacherous villain, even if I cannot improve much, I am not that bad."

"If that's the case... then please go die, and let me take over!"