Chapter 313 - 254 Subjugation

Dark clouds loomed over the city, and a fearsome red dragon stretched its terrifying body, slowly revealing its ferocious head from the dense thunderclouds.

A silent pressure descended suddenly, leaving people gasping for air.

In that moment, the air between heaven and earth seemed to freeze, and deep within everyone’s hearts, an involuntary fear of the terrible pressure arose.

The mortals living in the city had never seen such a fearsome sight, and as they gazed at the divine dragon swirling its claws in the sky, they blindly fell to their knees, ceaselessly praying for mercy.

In their simple beliefs, surely someone had angered the divine spirits to bring forth the divine dragon into the mortal world.

Lord Chi looked down at the mortals prostrating on the ground, their ant-like figures failing to spark any interest in him. Instead, his attention was wholly on the little monk below and the Purple Gold Alms Bowl in his hands, still radiating a golden glow.

"I, Faming of the Buddhist Sect, have met Lord Chi!", said Faming very politely.

The divine dragon in the sky paused in surprise; he hadn’t expected that after so many years, a junior could still recognize him.

"Little monk, you are quite bold to still strike out at me after recognizing my identity!", Lord Chi’s voice boomed, echoing across the heavens, filled with endless arrogance.

To him, humans were creatures with such brief lifespans that they seemed to sprawl across the land in the blink of an eye, but this did not afford them any gravitas in his heart. To him, humans were no different than ants.

Even facing Faming, a man who had stepped onto the path of immortality, he still proudly considered him to be nothing more than a slightly larger insect.

Therefore, his words carried only disdain.

"Amitabha Buddha, the Flood Dragon harms the Mortal World; this monk merely seeks to enforce Heaven’s will!", Faming replied with neither humility nor arrogance, his voice echoing in the air with an inexplicable strength.

"Enforce Heaven’s will, ha! Today, I will show you what Heaven is!", Lord Chi suddenly roared.

With a low growl, endless thunder fell continuously from the clouds, rushing towards Faming, making the thunder summoned previously by the Flood Dragon seem like child’s play in comparison.

The relentless thunder, dense and fast, rained down from the sky, instantly enveloping Faming’s body, and the whole land seemed to turn into a sea of thunderbolts. Everywhere was the terrifying lightning, with only Faming’s figure standing firm amidst it all.

Black scars now covered Faming’s body; the terrifying thunder had struck through his Golden Body in the first instance.

Lord Chi’s actions lacked finesse, preferring brute force to subtlety, crushing Faming’s Golden Body instantaneously.

With just one strike, Faming was seriously injured, with fresh, red blood slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth, the scorched areas on his body faintly giving off the smell of roasted flesh.

Yet the Buddhist Disciple did not yield; he still stood tall and looked up at the powerful Divine Dragon in the sky, reciting Buddhist scriptures.

For some reason, seeing Faming like this, Lord Chi felt an inexplicable irritation. He sensed a special power within Faming, the power of firm belief, a man who already possessed the potential to reach higher summits, while he himself was still barred from this step.

If this hadn’t been the case, how could he have been defeated by the Jade Emperor, that young lad, and turned into the laughing stock of the Three Realms? At this moment, the emotion known as jealousy was taking root and growing in the depths of his heart.

The arrogant dragon now found himself envious of such an insignificant ’insect’, a realization that sent him into an uncontrollable rage. He wanted to utterly destroy the little monk who stood defiantly in the face of death.

Lord Chi opened his gaping maw and a fearsome Breath surged from his mouth, rushing towards Faming.

In that moment, Faming felt the crisis of impending death, but in his heart, there was no trace of fear, only utter tranquility, his eyes calm as still waters, gently gazing at the Divine Dragon dancing in the sky.

Inexplicably, this made Lord Chi, the Divine Dragon who had lived for countless millennia, feel fear. This kind of power was intimidating, stirring within him feelings of shame.

Lady Wu, witnessing this scene, spoke with a look of compassion, "Won’t you help him? This little monk seems to be a good person."

She inquired curiously to her husband, knowing that someone like Faming would have caught his eye. Despite Lord Chi’s extraordinary power, Lady Wu believed that her husband could help save Faming without any problems.

Ding Xiao, however, laughed and said, "If he had no background, I would intervene; but this little monk hails from Mount Ling, and might even be a Buddhist Disciple. Lord Chi is deluding himself if he thinks he can kill him."

He continued with a sneer, "Lord Chi must have slept too long; his mind isn’t sharp anymore. To think he dares to challenge the Buddhist Sect in its current state, truly ignorant of life or death."

No sooner had he spoken, a compassionate and dignified voice rang out across the sky, "Amitabha Buddha, the sea of suffering is boundless; turn back, the shore is near!"

The voice resonated, lingering at the edge of the heavens, when suddenly an emaciated, bone-thin elder monk slowly emerged from the dense forest.

He wore a worn Kasaya covered in patches, seemingly made from scraps borrowed from various homes. On his head, he donned a straw hat that appeared to be quite old, and in his hand, he carried an ordinary bamboo staff. Barefoot, he walked upon the earth.

Yet this very unremarkable-looking Ascetic Monk displayed a terrifying power in that moment.