Chapter 861: Chapter Fifty-One: Summoning the Entertainment Demons from the Nine Heavens

Cao Cao Xuanwei, hearing that cry, finally lowered his gaze and faced the thangka painted by Brother Qian Chen.

He froze in place.

Instantly, the thirty-five Buddhas within the Great Treasure Radiant Cloud merged into one, forming a perfect circle of Buddha-light suspended behind the Golden Body—this great divine skill finally revealed a sliver of its true power; that layer of Buddha-light resembled a pure land world, capable of suppressing all demons and monsters.

With this Buddha-light enveloping the Golden Body, the remaining demonic nature rapidly faded.

The Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Eight Heavenly Beings etched onto the Golden Body's skin, the Buddha-light behind its head, the Golden Body's flesh, and even the thirty-two Buddha-phenomena all fused into one, firmly suppressing the Womb-Treasury Demon within.

Cao Cao Xuanwei knew this Great Treasure Radiant Cloud was not cultivated by himself—it was the thangka painted by Brother Qian Chen that had seized thirty-four layers of Buddha-light, using the unity of body, light, and dharma to reach this state.

"Huh!" Cao Cao Xuanwei took a deep breath, slightly dispelling the frustration in his heart.

"After all, I achieved thirty-four Buddha-lights only by relying on my master's power, taking a shortcut—borrowing external forces to augment the Buddha-light, not through true inner awakening and radiance. When faced with stronger external force, it's inevitable it will be stolen!"

"Though I haven't advanced further in Buddhist doctrine, suppressing Little Murong Chui and rendering his schemes useless is still a good thing!"

"What are you thinking?" Brother Qian Chen seemed to see through his thoughts, speaking calmly: "Little Murong Chui is by no means an easy target to suppress—this thangka is merely a precaution!"

Cao Cao Xuanwei shook his head: "The thangka Master painted truly grasps the essence of all Buddhas, enhanced by the Golden Body and stupa—such a Golden Body thangka, even a Nascent Soul-level great demon would be firmly sealed and suppressed!"

His tone carried a hint of regret—such a scroll of the Buddhas, if in the hands of the Cao family, could suppress the great calamity left by Lin Zu!

At least half of the Cao clan's burdens stem from that great calamity; if resolved, the clan would be far freer.

Cao Cao Xuanwei gazed at the Golden Body's back, where the scene resembled the Twenty-Eight Heavens in full splendor.

A Buddha wrapped in boundless starlight rested at the center of the Twenty-Eight Heavens, holding a lotus, speaking the Dharma.

This Buddha was mysterious and unfathomable—the true Buddha form, concealed beneath the Vajrayana's triple mysteries of body, speech, and mind.

Cao Cao Xuanwei could only sense the Buddha's boundless compassion and great vows, vast as an ocean.

But he recognized the other Buddhas—the Mahavairocana Buddha, painted with solar gold essence, solemn and divine, its head wreathed in golden flames, riding a golden crow at the very top.

The Eastern Medicine Buddha, embroidered in gold and silver, flanked by two Bodhisattvas whose light burned through all impurity—just one glance seemed to scorch away all defilement.

The light of sun and moon converged upon the Medicine Buddha, transforming into lapis lazuli, pure and transparent.

There was also a Western Buddha, seated upon the Wheel of Rebirth, guiding all beings—limitless light, limitless life.

Cao Cao Xuanwei saw that Buddha seated upon a stone disc representing the Six Realms of Rebirth; his soul trembled violently, his gaze seemingly sucked into the ancient, broken stone disc, boundless karmic fire burning as the Six Realms turned slowly…

Only after great effort did he wrench his gaze free—he drew a deep breath. Just a painting had nearly plunged him into the Wheel of Rebirth.

"The Western Buddha of Guidance, the Boundless Light King!"

The three horizontal Buddhas were, respectively: the Eastern Medicine Buddha, the unknown Buddha draped in starlight at the center, and the Western Buddha of Guidance.

The three vertical ones were: the highest, sun-like Mahavairocana Buddha.

Below was the Buddha draped in starlight; beneath that, another lotus pure land—again, that mysterious Buddha, surrounded by endless deep starlight, billions of stars collapsing, a scene of apocalypse.

"If I'm not mistaken, these three vertical Buddhas represent past, present, and future. But why, among the two patriarchs of Buddhism, is Mahavairocana—the present Buddha's manifestation—placed at the top, when shouldn't that be the past Buddha's position?"

"If the present Buddha is in the past, then who is that mysterious Buddha?"

Cao Cao Xuanwei's expression turned grim. Tan Tan Wuchen couldn't see the back of the Golden Body, but he felt as if he bore the weight of the Central Saha World.

Both men were shaken by the mural of Buddhas on the Golden Body's back, yet blocked by the Golden Body itself from sensing the changes within the Womb-Treasury Demon. But Brother Qian Chen's perception could pierce through the embroidered Twenty-Eight Heavens, the Three-World Buddhas, and delve deep into the unfathomable, utterly demonic core beneath the skin.

The seven bone nails were the stakes Brother Qian Chen had embedded within.

Concealing a subtle spiritual thought…

He sensed that the Womb-Treasury Demon he had created was indeed gestating—Little Murong Chui had seemingly poured into it the most fundamental demonic essence mirrored from the billions of disparate hearts he had conquered as his "outer self."

This root evil, this demonic essence, was the Womb-Treasury Demon.

Three hundred sixty million most devout followers had already birthed a Womb-Treasury Demon of terrifying power—originally created by Brother Qian Chen, and with his skill in subduing demons, ordinary demons attempting to manifest through it were merely sheep walking into a tiger's mouth.

No matter how they refined it into a heavenly demon, none could withstand Brother Qian Chen's single thought.

But this time, Brother Qian Chen had misjudged.

The Womb-Treasury Demon he left behind had truly been seized by Little Murong Chui, using an extremely subtle, Dao-fruit-level power!

Moreover, Little Murong Chui continuously nourished this demon with the root evils of his conquered "outer selves."

Now the Womb-Demon was mighty, having absorbed the most fundamental "evil" from at least tens of billions of sentient beings!

"Little Murong Chui has conquered at least four small worlds, turning their billions of sentient beings into the outline of his 'outer self'—he has proven these beings are part of him, belong to him!"

Brother Qian Chen, sensing the Womb-Treasury Demon's condition, vaguely grasped the weight of Little Murong Chui's Dao-fruit.

"The Conquest Dao Seed has already bloomed into three flowers—if he truly conquers even a portion of the Earth Immortal Realm, he may form a Dao Fruit!"

Brother Qian Chen's heart grew heavy: "I sense the myriad heavens and worlds calling for the Conquest Dao Fruit to emerge! Has this Dao Fruit gained favor from part of the Earth Immortal Realm's heavenly Dao? Why…?"

As his perception sharpened, Brother Qian Chen suddenly understood: "It's the Earth Immortal Realm's primordial essence calling!"

"The Earth Immortal Realm has been shattered too many times—its fragments became the myriad worlds of the Heavenly Sea, even the Nine Heavens were once part of it. Its primordial essence calls for these fragments to return—the Conquest Dao Seed arose in response, needing someone to root it in the Earth Immortal Realm, conquer the myriad heavens and worlds, and bring back all the fragments to reunite them!"

Brother Qian Chen frowned slightly, displeased with the Earth Immortal Realm's heavenly Dao for its lack of sense: "Wait till I become Lord Pangu and I'll carry you!"

"Reopening heaven and earth, merging the Celestial Realm and the Nine Heavens again—wouldn't that be better than eating leftovers?"

Brother Qian Chen calculated the person who would later emerge to inherit the Conquest Dao Seed.

"It seems the Earth Immortal Realm's destined Conquest Dao Lord won't be Little Murong Chui!"

"This Dao Fruit is not meant for me—it clashes violently with my nature. The only thing Little Murong Chui shares with me is the title Great Supreme Supreme Tian Mo Lord!"

…………

At the peak of Longcheng, countless shadows manifested beside Little Murong Chui.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas appeared within golden light; the heads of the black and white dragons and the Twenty-Eight Heavens descended, pressing down so heavily Little Murong Chui could barely breathe.

Qiongqi the Great Saint opened his horizontal demonic eyes, glancing warily at the floating shadows beside Little Murong Chui: "Great Supreme Supreme Tian Mo! What's happened?"

"Did something go wrong at Wuchuan?"

Little Murong Chui, drawing on Longcheng's power, pushed back the layered, descending shadows.

He opened his eyes, expression calm, indifferent: "A little… unexpected joy!"

With a thought, Little Murong Chui's demonic army unleashed ten thousand chess banners, each painted with the true forms of demons, all consecrated with living blood.

These banners were forged by the demonic army after slaughtering four small worlds—nearly ten billion sentient beings. The banners depicted grotesque demons: naked entwined figures, tiger-headed goat-bodied beasts, various monstrous, human and non-human forms, vivid and lifelike, radiating a strange power that bewitched the mind and stirred the soul.

As the banners swayed, Little Murong Chui's "outer self" extended a hand far across space, plunging it into the Great Nirvana Golden Body at the base of the Wuchuan Town pagoda.

With the power of ten thousand banners, the hand inserted into the Golden Body opened its fingers, tearing open a rift leading to the Nine Heavens.

Instantly, countless heavenly demons sent curious demonic thoughts downward.

Upon seeing the gestating Womb-Treasury Demon, nine out of ten Nine Heavens demons abandoned their thoughts, swiftly retracting their awareness back to the Nine Heavens.

"Another human demon fishing?"

"Awakening the Womb-Treasury Demon—the root evil within all sentient beings—is no small matter! Human demons are cunning and cruel, using our brothers from the Nine Heavens as expendable material—their reputation is terrible!"

"I'd rather earn small coins from alchemists than invest in human demons refining heavenly demons!"

"Never invest in the Earth Immortal Realm! That's the ultimate truth of the Nine Heavens' demonic path…"

"Did you hear? Last time some alchemy demon tried stealing a Dao furnace from the Earth Immortal Realm, they got boiled alive in the pot—lost their entire capital!"

"Human demons are too ruthless! No wonder they produced two Demon Ancestors—what a vile place!"

The remaining few Nine Heavens demons, treating it as entertainment, attached faint demonic thoughts, transforming into countless demons that flowed through Little Murong Chui to absorb the endless scattered thoughts of Earth Immortal Realm beings, then poured them into the Golden Body's skin for refinement.

One heavenly demon, curious, touched the boundary of this dark world, rich with the Womb-Treasury.

Suddenly, it saw a solemn pure land: the Central Saha World, the Eight Heavenly Beings, five Buddhas, hundreds of Arhats, dozens of Bodhisattvas—all waiting for it.

Without even a cry, it fell into the pure land, transformed into a tiny Yaksha.

Curious demonic awareness surged forward.

In an instant, demons crowded together—no one knew how many "entertainment demons" from the Nine Heavens had slipped in.

At the peak of Longcheng, Little Murong Chui ordered his demonic army to restore the banners and form the Great Array of Ten Thousand Demons Falling Together, forcibly tearing open the barrier between the Nine Heavens and the Earth Immortal Realm—the true forms of ten thousand demons manifested on the banners as the army waved them.

Each time a banner was waved, several strands of demonic thought descended.

Besides these demonic awarenesses shaken loose by the demonic magic, ten times as many minor demons followed down just to watch the spectacle.