Chapter 577: Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage to the Sect, Compassion Remains Forever

This situation was not an isolated case; almost all the cultivators touched by the red light exhibited the same symptoms. Their complexions turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye, their bodies began to tremble, and those with lower cultivation levels had already started to sway unsteadily.

"What kind of evil art is this?" Although Guisha Laozu himself practiced the evil path, he could not help but feel terrified upon seeing the methods Yunxiaozi was employing at this moment. Even the fierce ghosts he had collected paled in comparison to this kind of evil power.

"Yunxiaozi, you've gone mad!" Taixuan Laozu shouted angrily, "We are allies! How can you strike at your own people?"

However, Yunxiaozi only let out an even more frantic laugh: "Allies? Hahaha! Old man Taixuan, you are truly too naive! In the face of absolute power, everything is false! Today, I will drain the essence blood of everyone present to achieve my demonic hegemony!"

His laughter was filled with contempt and mockery for everything, as if the people before him were nothing more than a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered. As the essence blood continuously gathered, the blood-colored radiance on Yunxiaozi's body became even more intense, and his aura climbed incessantly.

"Damn it!" Realizing the severity of the situation, Taixuan Laozu immediately circulated the Taixuan True Art, attempting to resist the erosion of the blood light. Yet, this evil art was extremely bizarre; even with his Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation, he could only barely protect himself and was completely powerless to save others.

"Master!" Seeing that her master Xingchenzi was also bleeding, Shuiyun Xianzi was so anxious that tears were about to fall. Although Xingchenzi was at the Nascent Soul Stage, he was likewise unable to fully resist this evil blood-draining technique.

"Xiao Yuan! Senior Brother Lin! Quickly think of a way!" Zhang Wuji pleaded for help from the two while desperately circulating his cultivation technique to resist the blood light. As the leader of the rogue cultivators, he knew deeply that if things continued like this, the rogue cultivators present would be drained into dried corpses in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan were also trapped in a predicament at this moment. Although they had just grasped the Dao Realm, this state was more of a sublimation on the spiritual level, and its effect was limited when facing such a direct and evil physical attack.

"We must join forces to resist!" Xiao Yuan gritted her teeth and once again circulated the Harmony Dao, attempting to dissolve this evil with the power of inclusion. However, to her shock, this Blood Magic seemed unaffected by any spiritual power, relying entirely on the most primitive force to forcibly plunder.

"The Harmony Dao has no effect on this pure evil," Lin Xuan also discovered this problem, "We need a more direct method!"

Enduring the pain of his essence blood draining away, he began to circulate the Taiji True Art. However, Taiji emphasizes borrowing force to strike back, while Yunxiaozi's Blood Magic acted directly upon the human body, leaving no "force" that could be borrowed.

"Hehehe... do you see? This is the terror of absolute power!" Watching everyone's struggle, Yunxiaozi's face revealed a twisted pleasure, "Your so-called righteous path, your reforms, your ideals—they are all jokes before me! Power! Only power is the eternal truth!"

As time passed, the situation on the battlefield became increasingly critical. Many cultivators with lower cultivation levels were already as pale as paper and swaying unsteadily. If they did not come up with a way, it was feared that Yunxiaozi would truly succeed.

At this critical moment, Huiming Fangzhang suddenly spoke: "Amitabha, fellow Daoists, this poor monk has an idea. Although this Yunxiaozi has practiced an evil art, his foundation is still human. Since he is human, there must be inner demons."

"What does the Abbot mean?" Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up.

"We join forces, not to attack his body, but to attack his inner demons!" A light of wisdom flickered in Huiming Fangzhang's eyes, "The Buddha Sect says: if inner demons are not removed, there is no liberation. Although he is powerful now, his inner demons must also be even more severe."

"Good idea!" Lin Xuan immediately understood Huiming Fangzhang's intention, "We will use spiritual attacks to awaken the conscience remaining deep within his heart!"

"But we are all being attacked by his evil art right now; where would we have the spare energy to conduct spiritual attacks?" Xingchenzi asked weakly.

"This requires someone to make a sacrifice," Huiming Fangzhang said with a grave expression, "It requires someone to completely abandon resistance and use their own essence blood as the price to trade for a momentary opportunity."

Hearing this proposal, everyone fell silent. Everyone knew very well what abandoning resistance meant. It was almost equivalent to suicide.

"I will do it!" Zhang Wuji was the first to stand out, "We rogue cultivators are the lowest existence to begin with; if my death can save everyone, then it is worth it!"

"No!" Xiao Yuan immediately opposed, "Our philosophy is that everyone is equal; we must never let anyone make a meaningless sacrifice!"

"Then what should we do?" The crowd fell into despair.

Just then, an aged but firm voice sounded: "Let this old man do it."

Everyone turned to look and saw Taixuan Laozu walking out slowly. The anger and majesty from before were gone from his face, replaced by a calmness that had seen through the vanity of the world.

"Senior Taixuan..." Lin Xuan looked at him in shock.

"This old man has practiced for hundreds of years, always pursuing a personal supreme realm, yet I neglected the true meaning of cultivation," Taixuan Laozu said faintly, "Seeing the realm of you two juniors today, this old man finally understands that the true Great Dao does not lie in personal strength, but in the well-being of all living beings."

He looked at the frantic Yunxiaozi in the sky, a trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes: "Yunxiaozi, you were once a leader of the righteous path, yet now you have fallen to this point. It is this old man's fault; it is because we old fellows were too obsessed with sectarian prejudices that we forced you onto this path of no return."

"Taixuan Laozu, you..." Feeling the change in Taixuan Laozu's heart, tears welled up in Xiao Yuan's eyes.

"Girl, this old man must atone for his own mistakes," Taixuan Laozu smiled slightly, "And, this old man believes that as long as everyone works together, we will definitely be able to awaken the conscience remaining in Yunxiaozi's heart."

The red light of the Blood Disk ravaged the battlefield like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, cutting off all life wherever it passed. Whether they were the opposing sides that had been fiercely battling just moments ago, they had all become prey under Yunxiaozi's greedy gaze.

Xiao Yuan exhausted all her strength to cast the "Harmony Dao," and pure white light radiated from her body, attempting to purify this evil power. However, in the face of the terrifying evil energy emitted by the Blood Disk, her power appeared so insignificant, like the desperation of trying to dispel the night with a candle flame.

"Junior Sister, do not force yourself!" Seeing Xiao Yuan swaying unsteadily due to excessive consumption, Lin Xuan hurriedly stepped forward to support her. He could feel that Xiao Yuan's spiritual power was being consumed rapidly; if this continued, she would very likely die from spiritual exhaustion.