Chapter 1698: Hell on Earth, No Buddha Remains
The ancient god monk's eyelids twitched. He kept his eyes lowered, nose aligned with his navel, and walked past the sleeping War Void Tathagata, entering the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm.
At the same time, Qin Mu was racing straight toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery, thinking to himself, "Senior Brother Wei is leading the Imperial Guard. They have the strength to fight a Heavenly Lord, so they can protect themselves for now. The two Emperors Xuanwu are entrenched in their ancestral lands, their power immense enough to hold off the two avatars of the Spirit Official Hall Master for a while! I can't afford to delay. I have no time to hunt down the three Spirit Official ancient god avatars here. Let them hold the line for now!"
The Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm were vast beyond measure.
The Twenty Heavens represented the realms of Buddha. The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha used his great wisdom to pioneer the study of the mind, reaching the Tathagata realm. From the Yama Realm all the way to the Great Brahma Heaven Realm, his state of mind improved, and his cultivation advanced accordingly.
For example, the Shakradeva Heavenly King Buddha Li Youran had cultivated his state of mind to the Shakradeva Heaven Realm, which was second only to the Great Brahma Heaven Realm.
Cultivating to the Great Brahma Heaven Realm was extremely difficult. Although Shakradeva Li Youran had reached the Imperial Throne realm, he had not yet attained the Great Brahma Heaven Realm. He was still far from it.
Improving one's state of mind was the most difficult task of all.
The ancient god monk passed through layer after layer of the Buddhist heavens, arriving at Shakradeva Heaven. Suddenly, his heart tightened. He quickly looked up and saw, beyond the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm, a colossal head slowly rising. Behind it, rings of reincarnation light spun, their halos enveloping the entire Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm!
That body was even larger than the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm, taller than Mount Sumeru. Just the head alone was bigger than an entire heaven!
"Seventh Young Master..."
The ancient god monk's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly steadied his mind. He had changed his appearance and was confident that even a Dao-achiever wouldn't be able to see through him.
"I have too many avatars. They've already scattered to different places. Reassembling my true body to fight the Seventh Young Master now is impossible. There's only one path forward. If the Seventh Young Master is delayed for even a moment, he'll be one step slow, and then every step will be slow."
He was very confident. This ancient god avatar of his was certainly doomed; sooner or later, Qin Mu would catch him. But if Qin Mu wasted even a moment here, it would trigger a chain reaction!
In that moment, his other avatar could enter the Daoist Sect and kill the Dao Ancestor!
By the time Qin Mu reached the Daoist Sect, his other avatars would have already killed Wei Suifeng and the Northern Emperor Xuanwu. By the time Qin Mu reached the Kan Region in the Northern Frontier, Earth Virtue Primordial Lord Gongsun Yan, Emperor Yanfeng, and the others would be dead!
That was the meaning of one step slow, every step slow!
If Qin Mu was delayed even a little, the consequences would be disastrous!
Suddenly, Qin Mu's figure faded and disappeared.
The ancient god monk was stunned: "Has the Seventh Young Master given up? Is he planning to abandon the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's life and go to the Daoist Sect or somewhere else to hunt down my other avatars? Hmph, the Seventh Young Master is too naive. If he can't find me here, he won't find my other avatars elsewhere either! He'll still end up one step slow, every step slow!"
He relaxed and walked toward the Great Brahma Heaven Realm.
The ancient god monk found the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha, greeted him, and said, "King Buddha, Spirit Official pays his respects." Then, in a single move, he reaped the life of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha.
The ancient god monk killed the King Buddha, extinguished his soul, and even the black sand of his soul ceased to exist. He chuckled, "The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's skills are nothing special... Hmph, the Seventh Young Master is too naive. If he can't find me here, he won't find my other avatars elsewhere either! He'll still end up one step slow, every step slow!"
He relaxed and looked up. Above the Shakradeva Heaven Realm, the Great Brahma Heaven Realm was in sight.
The ancient god monk found the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha and killed him with a single blow, shattering his soul into chaos. He laughed, "The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's skills are nothing special... Hmph, the Seventh Young Master..."
After a while, the ancient god monk looked up at the Great Brahma Heaven Realm and walked toward it.
...
"World Honored One, there's a foreign monk here."
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha was sitting in the Netherworld within the Great Brahma Heaven Realm. Hearing this, he manifested an avatar and went with a group of Buddhas to the Shakradeva Heaven Realm. There, they saw a fierce-looking big monk standing frozen, a smile plastered on his face, completely motionless.
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha examined him carefully and said, "This man has been caught in the reincarnation and dream of the Mu Heavenly Lord, endlessly cycling through dreams. His cultivation and power are extremely high. With just this divine ability, the Mu Heavenly Lord cannot kill him; he can only trap him."
He looked up into the distance: "The Mu Heavenly Lord is conserving his strength. He can no longer unleash his most powerful divine ability to kill this big monk. Is it because he doesn't have time, or because he lacks the mana? Or perhaps both?"
A look of worry crossed his face. He instructed the Buddhas to descend the mountain, saying, "This monk is indeed not of our Buddhist sect. He is likely from the Heavenly Court or the Ancestral Court. Since he can come here, it means the power of the Heavenly Court has already invaded this place, not just from the Netherworld. Now, the mortal world is hell. All of you, go down the mountain. Until the hell of the mortal world is emptied, do not return."
The Buddhas paid their respects. One of them voluntarily extinguished the Buddha light behind his head and asked, "Can the Great Brahma Heaven alone block the demon gods of the Netherworld?"
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha replied, "As long as a Heavenly Lord does not come personally, I have my ways to survive. Do not worry about me. Go quickly!"
The Buddhas descended the mountain one after another, leaving the Buddhist Realm. When they arrived at the Great Thunderclap Monastery, they shouted, "Senior Brother War Void, wake up!"
The demon ape lying unconscious in the Great Thunderclap Monastery awoke. The Buddhas said, "The world has become a hell and is about to fall. We must set aside our compassion and subdue demons and monsters. Senior Brother, will you come with us?"
The demon ape said, "Let's go together."
He looked up at the Great Brahma Heaven Realm, where the Buddha light shone eternally, radiating brilliant brightness. But his fur bristled, and a hidden worry appeared on his resolute face.
The Buddhas surrounded him and left.
The entire Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm and the Great Thunderclap Monastery were suddenly empty, leaving only the ancient temples, ancient bells, and the ancient god monk standing in the Shakradeva Heaven Realm with a smile on his face.
The bells rang, clanging.
At the topmost level of the Buddhist Realm, the Great Brahma Heaven Realm, there was a place called the Netherworld. It was where Qin Mu had once transformed into the Little Earth Lord, wreaking havoc and declaring he would kill the old Buddha and become the Earth Lord of the Buddhist Realm himself.
Originally, the Buddhist Realm had no Netherworld, no birth, aging, sickness, or death. But after Qin Mu's great disturbance, helping the old Buddha purge the Heavenly Court's forces planted in the Buddhist Realm, a Netherworld appeared here. Demonic gods and monsters from the Netherworld could now reach this place directly.
At this moment, the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha sat in the Netherworld. Countless demonic gods and monsters surged like a tide, rushing toward this old Buddha!
The demonic gods and monsters of the Netherworld were the incarnations of the evil thoughts and impure thoughts of all living beings, the filth within their minds. Demonic energy was the most filthy type of primal energy. Seen from the Netherworld of the Yuan Realm and the Netherworld itself, the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha at this moment resembled a great, radiant Mount Sumeru, standing across the heartland of Yankang. Countless monsters and demonic gods surged toward him, but they could not budge his body!
Behind his head were seventeen halos, each halo representing a heavenly palace. The Buddha light purified the demonic nature and thoughts of many demonic gods and monsters, transforming the evil of all beings into karmic fire.
He was the last line of defense protecting Yankang from the invasion of the Netherworld!
If he were defeated, the army of demonic gods and monsters from the Netherworld would surge into the Great Brahma Heaven Realm, cascade down through the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm, drown the Great Thunderclap Monastery, and flood into every corner of Yankang!
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha was as steady as Mount Sumeru, unmoving, gradually entering a dream state.
His cultivation was being consumed more and more, but the number of monsters and demonic gods killed also grew. Gradually, the surging tide of monsters and demonic gods began to thin.
"Great Monk."
Suddenly, a voice rang out. The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha awoke from his dream and looked up. He saw an army of less than fifty thousand divine demons that had somehow arrived here from the Netherworld.
"The Divine Strategy Guard of the Heavenly Court?" The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha stood up and inquired.
The leading general bowed slightly and said, "Left Commander of the Divine Strategy Guard, You Bijun of the Eastern High Chancellor, pays respects to the Great Monk. His Majesty has decreed that I take your life. Gentlemen, form ranks!"
The fifty thousand divine demons of the Heavenly Court's Left Divine Strategy Guard deployed their formation. Heavenly palaces rose from the ground, as if the Void Heavenly Lord himself had arrived.
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha sighed. "Cultivate both the original nature and the Buddha nature; enlightenment and delusion are not bound by time. Enlightened, you become a Buddha in an instant; deluded, you drift through countless kalpas. Demon ape, demon ape, it is about subduing the demon ape of the mind. War Void, you will understand this. Gentlemen, please proceed."
You Bijun bowed and said, "I once received a kindness from the Great Monk in my early years. Today, I will grant you a complete corpse!"
She straightened up, unfurled her command flag, and the formation of the Left Divine Strategy Guard surged forward, engulfing the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha!
At the foot of Kunlun Mountain in the Daoist Sect, Qin Mu killed another Spirit Official avatar. However, the Dao Ancestor was not at Kunlun. He was at the Yankang Arsenal, designing divine weapons together with Daoist Master Lin Xuan.
Qin Mu raced straight toward the Yankang Primeval Tree. As he traveled, his Netherworld divine ability had already erupted, arriving above the Yankang Primeval Tree and the capital city before him!
His divine ability transformed into a golden, radiant Book of Life and Death, shining in all directions. The moment the Book of Life and Death locked onto the two Spirit Official avatars that had already arrived here, Qin Mu's figure appeared. He killed one ancient god avatar in front of the Wen Dao Academy of the Earth Virtue Heavenly Palace, then immediately killed another ancient god avatar within the Imperial Palace of the Upper Capital.
His figure charged toward the Eastern Sea. At that moment, towering waves suddenly rose on the surface of the Eastern Sea. Amidst the surging waves, the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest exploded. This nest had arisen from the sacred land of the Ancestral Court, formed by the convergence of the universe's blood and qi.
In ancient times, the Creators had performed sacrifices there, and from this sacred land, a deity governing blood and qi was born: the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon.
Now, the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest had exploded. The torrent of blood and qi poured out, filling the sea surface, turning the towering waves crimson as they surged toward Yankang!
Amidst the colossal waves, two enormous divine dragons fought. Suddenly, one of the azure dragons shattered into four pieces and died!
Qin Mu flicked his finger. A lotus leaf appeared, landing on the crest of the wave. The great wave immediately calmed, and the ripples ceased.
Qin Mu flew away. He did not go to kill the Azure Dragon but instead headed straight for the army led by Jiang Baigui. There, many Yankang divine demon armies had formed formations, using various arrays to lock down a dragon-headed ancient god!
Jiang Baigui was the eye of the formation. Thirty-six heavenly palaces and seventy-two precious halls emerged simultaneously, combining with the various armies to form a complete Great Heavenly Court formation, working together to kill that dragon-headed ancient god.
Qin Mu immediately halted his charge and turned to attack the other divine dragon.
"Seventh Young Master, you have already lost this battle!"
The voice of the Spirit Official Hall Master came from the divine dragon's mouth. It shouted, "If you save the Northern Emperor and Wei Suifeng, you won't be able to save the Western Emperor, and you won't have time to rescue the Beast Realm Lord in the Southern Heaven! Even if you make choices, you can't save everyone!"
Boom!
Qin Mu shattered it into pieces. Without stopping for a moment, he strode away. As he raced toward the Kan Region, he suddenly saw, above the Great Thunderclap Monastery in the heartland of Yankang, the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm emerge. Twenty layers of heavens surrounded Mount Sumeru, the sky high and the clouds light, majestic and spectacular.
Suddenly, a spot of black ink appeared on the Great Brahma Heaven Realm. Then, like ink spreading, it dyed the entire Great Brahma Heaven Realm pitch black. This darkness then surged into the Shakradeva Heaven Realm, the Much Hearing Heaven Realm, and the Realm of the Guardian of the Nation!
Soon, the twenty layers of heavens surrounding Mount Sumeru were dyed completely black. The darkness surged downward, toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Qin Mu's body trembled slightly. He did not continue to watch. He pressed on toward the Kan Region in the Northern Frontier.
At the Yankang Jinjiang Arsenal, the Dao Ancestor looked up at that moment, gazing toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Suddenly, tears streamed down his aged face.
That old Buddha who had carried an iron begging bowl to beg for food for him, the great monk who had accompanied him for millions of years, was probably gone.
"Dao Ancestor?" Lin Xuan asked, a questioning look on his face.
The Dao Ancestor turned his head away. "It's nothing. Continue working."
And the Buddhas who had left the Buddhist Realm also turned back to look. War Void Tathagata did not look back at the situation in the Buddhist Realm. He continued walking forward, leaning on his staff, and said in a deep voice, "March west."
— Recommended: Chang Feng's new book, "Secret War Without a Trace." Those who like spy thrillers can check it out.