Chapter 863: Chapter Fifty-Three: The Final Three Stages of the Baiting

Li Zhong watched as the twenty-eight devas, countless bhikkhus, dozens of bodhisattvas, and five Buddhas of the three ages suppressed the altar beneath a churning blood sea, which constantly dissolved under Buddha light yet continually reborn and grew.

Thus, it pounded endlessly against the lotuses beneath the Buddhas' thrones.

Brother Qian Chen reached out and pointed at the tattoo, and four nāga serpents suddenly descended.

Those four serpents, originally with single horns raised above the twenty-eight devas, upon Brother Qian Chen's point, instantly activated a trace of dragon blood embedded beneath the golden body's skin, causing twin curled horns to pierce through their skulls, five claws to tear through scales and expose themselves, heads raised and coils spiraling—transformed into ancient celestial dragons.

The four celestial dragons spiraled, each forming the Xiao Xie Xuan Water, Zhong Water, Ruo Water, and Wan Water arrays, then merged into one: the Hong Hong Sihai True Water Array.

Instantly, the entire blood sea's waves were suppressed!

Cao Cao Xuanwei's eyes brightened—he thought Brother Qian Chen had finally acted, and with a rare Buddhist mind-art: the so-called "mind-art," which alters external phenomena through one's thoughts, transforming a single thought into form, bordering on illusion.

"Celestial Dragon Mind Art!"

Cao Cao Xuanwei, born a crown prince, naturally possessed dragon qi and had once sought to cultivate this Celestial Dragon Mind Art, but visualizing the true dragon proved impossibly difficult—even when Northern Wei gathered countless master painters and even summoned the imperial family's preserved dragon remains, they could not help him visualize the celestial dragon.

After all, the four-sea dragon clans wielded immense power, and true dragons were exceedingly rare in the Central Lands—even an imperial house could not secure one.

Now, seeing Brother Qian Chen's painted nāgas transformed into dragons with a single point, Cao Cao Xuanwei was unexpectedly stirred, gaining a faint insight into the essence of the Celestial Dragon Mind Art.

Li Zhong also stirred, his Great Xia Long Que sword ready to manifest the Green Dragon cut.

"I merely made a slight move, and I suppressed the blood sea!"

Brother Qian Chen sighed inwardly—his painted nāgas were indeed refined from the Eightfold Division's essence, but the true power lay in that single point: the Celestial Dragon True Form, cultivated through his comprehension of the true dragon's Dao fruit.

He had also grasped a fraction of the essence of the Hong Hong Sihai True Water Array.

Combined, they formed the Celestial Dragon Mind Art, terrifying all demons…

But soon, within the blood sea torn apart by the four true dragons, countless blood spirit threads woven by blood spirits interlaced, reaching 129,600 in number, instantly forming a sea of interwoven blood spirits that entangled into a blood cocoon.

Nine boundless demon dragons pierced into it; as the cocoon pulsed, the entire blood sea began gestating a demon god.

Brother Qian Chen's expression turned uneasy.

"I've manifested ancient celestial dragons, mimicking the Dao resonance of the dragon fruit! That's something on the level of the Five Ancient Emperors—how is your blood sea still capable of countering it?"

Brother Qian Chen's eyes darted; he immediately pressed his ear to the golden body's skin, eavesdropping on the Yu Jiuyou demon tongues echoing within its hollow cavity…

"Ancient Celestial Dragons!" a demon shrieked: "Aren't these things supposed to be extinct?"

"It seems the Earth Immortal Realm still keeps a few…"

"Damn it, why didn't the Supreme Dao Ancestor exterminate them?"

"After all, they're the lineage of the Five Emperors—they've done great service to postnatal beings!"

"What do we do? The blood sea is still a sea—this Celestial Dragon's Hong Hong Sihai True Water Array truly restrains us. Did the demon who summoned us have a counter?"

A Yu Jiuyou elder demon's demonic consciousness echoed in the darkness, asking.

Another elder demon growled bitterly: "That bastard only recites the Blood Sea Demon Scripture, forcing us to reassemble the blood sea demon embryo!"

"The blood sea demon embryo can do it—after all, the blood sea is the manifestation of life's abundance and prosperity, the very body of the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor. Countless demon embryos emerge from its waters; stirred by the ancient celestial dragons, they always evolve creatures that counter dragons—like the ancient dragon-eating eel, or those few Nie creatures that suppress all life, or even the Bone-Eating Demon Owl…"

The primordial lunar demon snorted: "What if we summon a taboo ranked among the top three thousand within the blood sea demon embryo?"

"Those are all incarnations of the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor—if they manifest, we'll have no chance at all!"

Another elder demon spoke: "An entity of this soul-transcending demonic avatar—if any one of us claimed it, we could roam freely in the Earth Immortal Realm! In Yu Jiuyou, such an opportunity may not come again in a million years. Do we really have to summon the Demon Ancestor and leave nothing behind?"

Finally, the demons reached consensus: "First, evolve a powerful demonic avatar to get through this phase!"

The blood cocoon pulsed; countless demons became nourishment, and under the intervention of several elder demons at the Dao Lord level, they surged into the cocoon. Slowly, the blood sea dried up, entirely consumed by the cocoon, which then trembled like a beating heart.

The four ancient celestial dragons tore and clawed, destroying much of the cocoon—but instantly, the cocoon summoned boundless blood water from the void, swallowing it and restoring itself.

Soon, a bony claw tore through the cocoon!

The demonic entity emerging from the cocoon had forged its two bony claws from nine boundless demon dragons; barely protruding, it seized the neck of one celestial dragon, which coiled its body and summoned boundless thunder.

But the demon unfurled its wings, instantly engulfing the twenty-eight devas.

A colossal, immense roc, its two claws gripping two ancient celestial dragons, emerged from the blood sea—the entire blood sea was drained, becoming a blood roc occupying over half the back of the golden body.

"Sky-Piercing, Cloud-Draping Roc!"

The ancient enemy of the dragon clan, a primordial deity—precisely because such primordial deities devoured too many dragons that the Ancestral Dragon rose in fury against Heaven.

This roc, though merely a demonic imitation of the ancient primordial deity, still bore one-third of its former glory.

Brother Qian Chen had no choice but to point at the golden-winged roc—the Garuda division—followed by the Gandharvas, Kinnaras, and Devas descending together; the Gandharvas and Kinnaras were heavenly deities of sound and fragrance in Buddhism, while the Devas were native gods of the heavenly realm.

One was formed from Brother Qian Chen's usual Silent Thunder, the other from the Alaya Heavenly Fragrance Dao's manifestation.

The Devas were a trace of essence Brother Qian Chen simulated through the Woxuanzaohua.

Silent Thunder was indeed a potent killing art—originally from Buddhism, Brother Qian Chen had refined it into the Xi Yi Divine Thunder, surpassing its original power.

But Brother Qian Chen deliberately restrained himself, only unleashing the original Silent Thunder, yet it still carried twelve-tenths of its power.

Rolling Silent Thunder shattered the blood clouds transformed into the Sky-Piercing, Cloud-Draping Roc, even transmitting into the golden body's skin, violently shaking and shattering countless demonic thoughts within.

Eight Gandharva musicians each held drum, zither, cymbal, and gong, forming an array as wondrous flowers of melody rained around them.

With the vibration of drums, cymbals, and gongs, the entire golden body trembled silently; darkness beneath the skin surged chaotically, and the thunderous sound shattered countless demons within.

Four Kinnaras descended with the wondrous fragrance; Cao Cao Xuanwei, Li Zhong, and even Tan Tan Wuchen all smelled a mysterious, exquisite scent.

Though merely heavenly deities painted on the tattoo had descended, the fragrance was overpowering.

Upon smelling this wondrous fragrance, even Tan Tan Wuchen's hellish torment eased considerably, causing him to slightly relax his brow and murmur: "Is this Sumeru Fragrance?"

Beneath the vibration of Silent Thunder.

From the boundless darkness, a demon without eyes, ears, mouth, or orifices emerged—the wondrous fragrance and Silent Thunder, which killed on touch, passed before it like a gentle breeze, utterly unaffected.

Brother Qian Chen, seeing that demonic embryo, froze—his finger, poised to manifest two or three more bodhisattvas, halted.

"You've summoned Chaos? Looks like I can't push you further!"

Brother Qian Chen had no shortage of arts—he'd planned to manifest the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming and Five Elements Great Escape arts, calling forth a Dragon-Subduing Luo Han, Tiger-Taming Luo Han, and Kong Que Buddha Mother Bodhisattva to show these demons the might of perfected Five-Color Divine Light.

But these demons evolving into the Chaos Demon made him stop—not because the Chaos Demon wasn't powerful, but because if such a powerful thing appeared, what if the Kong Que Buddha Mother Bodhisattva shattered it too?

What if the demons retreated?

So Brother Qian Chen let the ignorant Chaos Demon slay the Gandharvas and Kinnaras, and the blood roc devour the four celestial dragons.

Cao Cao Xuanwei sighed helplessly: "In the end, the Dao rises a foot, but the demon rises a Zhang!"

"Senior, you've done your best!"

Brother Qian Chen glanced at him: "I haven't even tried yet! What do you mean 'done your best'?"

The demonic embryo beneath the golden body had absorbed the true forms of blood spirits, boundless demon dragons, nine-mother heavenly ghosts, the Sky-Piercing, Cloud-Draping Roc, and Chaos, along with the Five Plague Demons, Seven Emotions Demons, Six Desires Heavenly Maidens, Nine-Eyed Blood Demons, and others summoned and refined by Little Murong Chui.

As the demon army's banner waved, the gods and demons upon it likewise stirred and descended.

Within the golden body, myriad demons surged; the entire thangka had already fallen, save for the five Buddhas still seated on lotuses—all bhikkhus and bodhisattvas had been devoured.

Cao Cao Xuanwei's Great Treasure Accumulated Light Cloud had also been heavily tainted; even the fundamental mental force that shaped this art, from the thirty-four golden bodies, had been shattered.

His face grew pale, yet he still strained to devise a strategy to defeat the enemy!

Li Zhong sat with his sword across his knees, looking utterly defeated.

He knew his brother's true strength—the Dao Dust Pearl hadn't even been used; Brother Qian Chen was holding back, no—he was holding back the entire ocean!

Cao Cao Xuanwei raised his head, gazing at Brother Qian Chen with bright eyes: "I have one more plan!"

"Ancient Bronze Sparrow? Northern Frontier Array? Or the Celestial Emperor Demon your Cao clan suppresses?" Brother Qian Chen, seeing Cao Cao Xuanwei's face turn pale from his revelation of a secret vital to the Cao family's survival, merely replied lazily, as if he'd given up: "Too late! The Celestial Emperor Demon arises from the people's accumulated sin—powerful, yes, but the Embryo Demon is the root of all. Now that it has absorbed countless demonic avatars and fused all demonic natures, it has already reached completion."

"Even if the Celestial Emperor Demon arrives, it won't be enough to restrain it!"

Brother Qian Chen sensed Little Murong Chui's fundamental mental force stirring, as if preparing to intervene; he urged Cao Cao Xuanwei: "If the crown prince wishes to risk it, use the ancient Bronze Sparrow to absorb the Great Sun Tathagata, transforming your Shakyamuni root body into the Great Sun Tathagata's Dharmakaya!"

"Use this demonic crisis to break through to Daoist Yangshen—if you achieve your root body's golden form, we gain another Daoist Yangshen's power, and still have a chance!"

He then turned to his younger brother: "You prepare beside him—strike when the moment comes!"

But in his heart, he calculated: "If the Cao crown prince plus the Bronze Sparrow Tower's key still isn't enough, then adding a remnant of Helian Bobo should finally force Little Murong Chui to descend himself!"

Li Zhong sat with his sword across his knees, behind the golden body, accumulating the Green Dragon sword technique.

He stole a glance at Brother Qian Chen and, seeing his brother give a slight nod, settled his mind and plunged into that single cut.

Cao Cao Xuanwei indeed used the Bronze Sparrow in his palm to absorb the Great Sun Tathagata, reversing its devotion to Shakyamuni, and under the crushing pressure of the demonic crisis, slowly poured the boundless mental force surrounding him into the treasure.

Then, the Great Sun Tathagata transformed into a blazing sun, crashing into the boundless darkness of the thangka.

At this moment, the Northern Wei crown prince finally risked breaking through to Daoist Yangshen!

At the peak of Longcheng, Little Murong Chui curled his lips into a cold smile: "Little dog, seeking death!"

As the demon who outwitted Cao Lin, assassinated Helian Bobo, and besieged the Heavenly King Fu He Jian, what were these people to him?

The Cao crown prince, a brat who got Helian Bobo's blade, the former followers of Fu He Jian's Heavenly King who commanded the Buddhist sects…

To Little Murong Chui—they were all the leftover scraps of defeated enemies!

With a single thought, his primordial demonic consciousness plunged into the long-prepared Embryo Demon.

With a chilling, all-conquering demonic will, the countless demons who had set traps and hidden spells to ambush him were instantly swept away; countless demonic thoughts were seized by that single consciousness, transformed into boundless demonic energy, and poured into the Embryo Demon.

In that instant, the demons forged from Chaos, demon dragons, and blood roc—all were devoured by the demonic embryo hidden deepest in the darkness.

Brother Qian Chen's eyes lit up—he'd finally taken the bait!

The strongest demonic thoughts struggled desperately; one demon said gravely: "Why? Even a true Demon Lord refining demons couldn't sweep us away so easily!"

The Lunar Demon Ancestor replied coolly: "What else? The title of Great Demon Lord—once uttered, all demons flee!"

Another demonic thought, tinged with regret, asked in pure Yu Jiuyou demon tongue: "What secret does the Great Demon Lord title hold? If demonic Dao encourages mutual slaughter, the strong ruling, demons seizing Dao, is the fundamental principle of demonic Dao, and all creation must be fought for—why, when the Great Demon Lord title is spoken, do we have nothing to fight for, nothing to seize?"

The Lunar Demon warned: "Who are you? Don't you know not to ask about things demons shouldn't know?"

The demonic thought replied proudly: "I am Prince Asura of the Mara clan of Yu Jiuyou, sent to bring calamity upon mortal cultivators. I've heard whispers of the Great Demon Lord title. Why does the Demon Ancestor favor the Earth Immortal Realm so much as to grant something that violates the very foundation of demonic Dao?"

The Lunar Demon sighed in relief, thinking inwardly: "So he's one of those unlucky fools turned into a pill by mortals a few years ago!"

Outwardly, he said: "Ah, Prince Asura of Mara! The Great Demon Lord title wasn't granted out of favoritism—it's…"

Suddenly, a deep, rumbling voice spoke: "You're not Prince Asura of Mara! Why are you impersonating me?"

Brother Qian Chen instantly fell silent, covering the golden body's skin.

He grumbled, "This unlucky thing dares to come to the Earth Immortal Realm? Does it really think my Brother Qian Chen's blade is dull?"