Chapter 2793: All Gods Gather
“Kong Yinxue’s fourth-generation granddaughter, Kong Juemiao, comes to pay respects to the Sixth Patriarch.”
Entering the Three-Life Gate, Hai Shui stood on the white water surface in her azure robe and jade-like skin, ripples spreading in circles beneath her feet.
She raised her left hand before her chest, her slender jade fingers naturally extended, palm facing outward.
This was the “Fearless Seal” among the seven great hand seals of Buddhism!
Forming the Fearless Seal, a Buddha light radiated from her back. Hai Shui resembled a peerless Buddhist sage of the Western Buddha Realm, ethereal and exquisite.
“Whoosh——”
On the water surface, the shadow of Yunqing Ancient Buddha appeared, sitting cross-legged in meditation, and said, “You may leave now.”
“Paying respects to the Ancestral Master.”
Hai Shui performed a bow and said, “Upon seeing the Three-Life Gate, I knew that although the Ancestral Master’s Dharma body has perished, your Reward Body must still exist. May I ask the Ancestral Master, where is the Sixth Patriarch?”
“Amile is not here,” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
Amile was the Dharma name of the Sixth Patriarch.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha was unwilling to lie, yet also unwilling to expose Zhang Ruochen’s secret, so he could only utter this ambiguous statement.
The words “not here.”
Could mean he had left, or it could mean he had passed into nirvana!
Hai Shui said, “Ancestral Master, why do you speak falsely? Earlier, I personally saw the Sixth Patriarch’s true body. Why is the venerable Sixth Patriarch unwilling to see me? I only wish to inquire about the whereabouts of my ancestor Kong Yinxue. After she entered the Abyss of Darkness, she never came out again.”
Yunqing Ancient Buddha said, “Kong Yinxue did indeed come to the Abyss of Darkness, but after a brief meeting, she departed.”
Hai Shui was naturally unwilling to give up. Her pupils blazed with divine light as she surveyed the surroundings, but found nothing. She began to wonder if the golden Buddha shadow of the Sixth Patriarch that had appeared earlier was manifested by Yunqing Ancient Buddha to deliberately rescue those gods of the Kunlun Realm.
Had Yunqing Ancient Buddha, dead for eight hundred thousand years, truly retained such divine power?
Hai Shui said, “Ancestral Master, your Reward Body will never be able to reincarnate and cultivate anew while trapped in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City. Why not let Juemiao take you away from this place and escape the darkness?”
“No need,” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
A hint of a smile finally appeared in Hai Shui’s eyes. “It seems the Ancestral Master trusts Zhang Ruochen more.”
Yunqing Ancient Buddha remained silent.
Hai Shui said, “Is this Three-Life Gate of the Ancestral Master also intended to be passed on to him?”
Yunqing Ancient Buddha said, “Although you cultivate Buddhism, you harbor demonic obstacles in your heart and act with sinister cunning—this is not the true heart of Buddhism. Zhang Ruochen, though he does not cultivate Buddhism, is open-minded, humble, and sincere, and possesses a heart that can resolve grudges and hatred. How to choose—isn’t it clear at a glance?”
Hai Shui said, “The Ancestral Master should know that I am Kong Yinxue’s fourth-generation descendant, while Zhang Ruochen is nothing at all. Since you are passing on the Three-Life Gate, you should pass it to your own people, not to an outsider.”
“Amitabha!” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
Hai Shui stood on the water’s surface, now even more certain that the Sixth Patriarch who had appeared earlier was connected to Yunqing Ancient Buddha. Thus, her wariness diminished somewhat. She said, “Since my ancestor met with the Ancestral Master, did she entrust the two volumes of the Nether Book and the Udumbara Flower to the Ancestral Master for safekeeping?”
“No.”
Hai Shui said, “Can I still trust the Ancestral Master’s words?”
“Whether you trust or not depends on you, not on me,” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
Hai Shui recalled that Zhang Ruochen had seemed to be holding something in his hand earlier and speculated, “The Ancestral Master couldn’t have entrusted such important items to Zhang Ruochen as well, could you?”
“Amitabha!”
Yunqing Ancient Buddha chanted the Buddha’s name once more.
Hai Shui turned and left, intending to pursue Zhang Ruochen.
“Rustle!”
The calm water surface suddenly rose with wisps of cloud and mist, like silk, like fog—all of them God Venerable divine patterns, entangling her and pulling her back.
“Didn’t you say you felt ashamed before the Buddha’s teachings, wishing to make amends for your state of mind and repent through bitter cultivation? The Ancestral Master will teach you,” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
Hai Shui let out a delicate snort. “The Ancestral Master has already passed into nirvana for many years. If you wish to detain me, I’m afraid you may lack the strength, no?”
A silver light point appeared on Hai Shui’s brow. Within that light point, the myriad forms of the universe manifested—stars flickering and dying, the Yellow Spring spanning the sky, myriad realms like boats… A mighty and majestic divine power erupted, snapping the divine patterns of the God Venerable one by one. She broke free and flew rapidly toward the Three-Life Gate.
Just as she was about to reach the Three-Life Gate.
From within the gate surged a golden torrent of rule divine patterns, like a Heavenly River descending, with endless divine power, blasting her backward.
“You are indeed very strong. If we were outside the Three-Life Gate, I could not subdue you. But within the Three-Life Gate, it is not necessarily so! To cultivate Buddhism, one must first cultivate the mind. Your mind has been filled with too many distracting thoughts of the Nether Clan, and your resentment surges to the heavens. Cultivating Buddhism in this way, with body and mind not unified, will surely bring great calamity. Only by unifying knowledge and action can you resolve the disaster. Listen to me as I expound the sutras!” Yunqing Ancient Buddha said.
Hai Shui said, “Ancestral Master, first defeat me, then speak your preaching words. It won’t be too late.”
…
“Didn’t I make it very clear to you last time? Your level is too low. You absolutely must not travel with two women, or else you’ll have big trouble,” Fengchen Sword God said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Sword God, you misunderstand. Hai Shui is a Buddhist cultivator. There is no romantic relationship between us.”
Fengchen Sword God glanced at Bore, who was walking ahead, and sighed inwardly. He had already hinted so clearly—why did Zhang Ruochen think of Hai Shui instead?
No choice. He couldn’t hint any further.
If he continued, he might anger Chi Yao.
Fengchen Sword God said, “You see her as a Buddhist, but she has ruined her Buddhist heart because of you. You do not harm people, yet love harms them.”
“And what about Tianque Shenji?” Zhang Ruochen asked this.
Fengchen Sword God smiled leisurely. “Tianque Shenji and I are both people who follow our hearts and impulses. We won’t develop true feelings. Rest assured, the thoughts of gods are definitely different from those of mortal commoners.”
“Gods pursue transcendence, powerful cultivation, the grand scheme of the universe, and eternal life—not romantic attachments.”
As they spoke, they were nearly out of Yunqing Ancient Buddha’s corpse, approaching the ear hole.
From outside came a piercing divine voice: “Where is Fengchen? You’d better confess truthfully, or else I’ll refine your divine sources and divine souls into divine pills, and your divine bodies into puppets, enslaving you forever.”
It was a woman’s voice.
Fengchen Sword God, who had been chatting and laughing moments before, immediately stopped in his tracks, his expression turning grave.
Xiao Hei set up a highly sophisticated concealment formation, covering the four of them, and said in a low voice, “This is bad. It’s Tianque Shenji and Gui Si. The six true gods of the Yama Clan have been surrounded by them! It seems there are gods from other forces too. What do we do?”
The frenzy of the strange beasts was an excellent opportunity to enter the Abyss of Darkness.
During this period, the Abyss of Darkness was relatively safer.
The scale of this strange beast frenzy was unprecedented. For the Dark Abyss Yan Clan, this was a golden opportunity. Therefore, they had deployed almost all their forces, sparing no expense to find the old clan leader. They had dispatched not only dozens of Supreme Realm Great Saints but also six true gods.
Of course, these six true gods were all deities who had not yet undergone their first Eon Calamity.
When entering Yunqing Ancient Buddha’s corpse, all the gods had separated, causing three of the six Yama Clan true gods to be ambushed and severely injured.
Zhang Ruochen’s perception was even greater than Xiao Hei’s, a true god. He said, “There’s also a lower-rank god with extremely dense ghostly aura, but with quite powerful energy fluctuations. It should be the Ghost Lord’s third son, Luo.”
“A strong dark aura—it’s Wujiang, along with true gods and false gods from the Darkness Temple and the Nether Hall. The total number is ten. Quite the grand gesture!”
Bore said, “The Darkness Temple has always wanted to eliminate the Dark Abyss Yan Clan. How could they miss this opportunity? Once they confirm that the Yama Clan’s old clan leader, Yan Huanyu, is dead, they will act immediately. The Yama Clan cultivators who entered the Abyss of Darkness are certainly all targets for extermination.”
“Besides that, you, a human-shaped divine treasure, are also a trigger, enough to provoke gods to fight, turning divine blood into rivers.”
Although they hadn’t seen the scene outside with their own eyes, the convergence of all those gods—the very might and spectacle—would be enough to make even Great Saints prostrate on the ground, unable to move.
“Eh! Why is he here?”
A strange expression appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
Bore asked, “Who?”
“Sikong Gongnanfeng of the Destiny Temple, along with another god traveling with him. They should also be from the Destiny Temple.”
Zhang Ruochen deliberately asked, “Now that the Ancient Desolate Ruins City is filled with gods, with a great upheaval imminent, why is your Destiny Temple also meddling? What is your purpose? Could it be for me as well?”
Bore hesitated for a moment, then said, “The three divisions and twelve divine palaces of the Destiny Temple are all independent of each other. How would I know what the Heavenly Fate Division intends to do? Strange, why is there no trace of Guye Jing?”
“Forget about her! Let’s first think of a way to break this situation. After all, most of these gods outside are targeting Zhang Ruochen. And we must ally with the Yama Clan to fight them. Once the Yama Clan’s gods fall or are suppressed, we will be isolated and without support.”
Xiao Hei’s thinking was clearer than ever. He nudged Fengchen Sword God, who had been silent, with his elbow. “Sword God, you have the highest combat power here. What’s your plan?”
Fengchen Sword God rubbed his chin with his finger. “I have injuries. My combat power hasn’t recovered yet. You’re the same, right? How about we play it safe, turn back, and go to the Three-Life Gate? With the Sixth Patriarch there, we don’t need to fear them?”
As he spoke, Fengchen Sword God began to turn back.
Zhang Ruochen said, “In my eyes, the former Sword Emperor of the Kunlun Realm was an unparalleled hero, unafraid of any danger. The Fengchen Sword God of the Shura Clan was also a figure of heroic bearing, able to slay a true god a thousand years after becoming a god. When has he ever retreated?”
Xiao Hei scratched his cat face, twirled his whiskers with his finger, and said with a mocking smile, “Sword God, you’re known as the invincible lover who makes all flowers bow. You’re not afraid of meeting Tianque Shenji, are you?”
Fengchen Sword God’s sword-like brows and starry eyes darkened as he was about to retort.
From outside came Wujiang’s voice: “Tianque Shenji, forget about the Fengchen Sword God for now. Asking about Zhang Ruochen’s whereabouts is the real priority. Can the Fengchen Sword God compare to Zhang Ruochen’s value?”
“Ten Fengchen Sword Gods are worth less than one Zhang Ruochen,” someone said.
…
The sword in Fengchen Sword God’s hand trembled violently. His gaze grew colder. “After careful thought, we cannot abandon our allies. We must first help the Yama Clan’s gods escape. Even if I’m injured, as long as I have a breath left, my sword remains sharp. Fight!”
With these words, Fengchen Sword God was the first to step out, his killing intent surging. He finally had the ferocity of a Shura Clan god.