# 1040
Chapter 1041: Buddha and Demon as One
When Andre lowered his palms, his originally normal eyeballs had vanished, replaced by a pair of red-pupiled Earth's Eyes.
The process of transforming one's organs into Earth's Eyes was irreversible, which meant that once the power of the Earth's Eyes was exhausted, Andre's eyes would be permanently blinded, never able to return to their previous state.
But he had no other choice.
The sight of Lin Qiye, the embodiment of Buddha and Demon as one, brought him too overwhelming a sense of crisis. If he still thought of preserving a trump card now, there would be no chance to act at all.
Swoosh—!
Before Andre's palms could even lower, a massive figure bathed in Buddhist light had already stood before him.
A Buddhist hand seal howled down from the sky and crashed down. Before the palm even touched the ground, inch after inch of dark golden patterns adhered to its surface, and in an instant, a world-burning furnace ignited from nothingness.
The nine-armed black giant漠然 gazed down at Andre beneath its feet, without sorrow or joy, like a Buddha among demons.
Andre's诡异 red pupils contracted sharply.
His form turned into a streak of light, ignoring the flames as he dove directly into the ground. Immediately after, a rock-earth giant no less formidable than the nine-armed giant slowly rose from the earth.
Atop the giant's head, Andre pressed both palms against a protruding rock on its forehead, his red eyes pushed to their limits.
The nine-armed black giant's eyes narrowed slightly, its body twisting at extreme speed as several more Buddhist hand seals consecutively slammed into the surface of the rock-earth giant!
The rock-earth giant's hands evolved into two mountain-sized massive hammers, retaliating with crushing blows.
Boom boom boom—!!
Deafening explosions rang out as sand, gravel, and dust flew across the arena's center. The two massive silhouettes battled within the dust and debris, shaking the very earth.
Six breaths later, Lin Qiye's eighth hand seal shattered half of the rock-earth giant's body.
Sitting atop the rock-earth giant, Andre's eyes had already dimmed completely. A strand of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his face full of unwillingness.
No... this simply won't do.
Even if he had deployed all his techniques simultaneously, activating both Earth's Eyes at once, he still couldn't match this nine-armed giant.
Facing Lin Qiye was like confronting two top-tier "Klein" experts—one Buddha, one Demon—attacking together. The discomfort was indescribable.
As the ninth Buddhist hand seal completely shattered the rock-earth giant's body, Andre violently spat a mouthful of blood. His eyes completely lost sight, and he plummeted from the heights.
At the same moment, the nine-armed black giant also dissipated.
A figure cloaked in demonic energy, wearing half a cassock, swept across the sky like lightning, precisely appearing above the falling Andre mid-air.
Lin Qiye tightly clenched his right fist, murderous intent surging in his golden eyes.
"Nineteen..."
He aimed at Andre's chest and threw a punch.
Boom—!!
A dull thunderclap rang out. Andre's chest instantly caved in, his entire person sent hurtling down like a sandbag, smashing heavily into the earth.
Lin Qiye lightly landed on the ground. His blazing golden eyes swept over Andre, who had completely lost all signs of life, and he spoke calmly:
"Twenty."
A soul departed from his body. The demonic energy around him completely receded, and the half-cassock on his body gradually faded into nothingness.
Lin Qiye, draped in that deep crimson cloak, stood quietly in the center of the arena.
"Well done!"
"Fought beautifully!"
"Worthy of being that monkey's successor—his fighting style is truly ruthless."
"That Western wretch truly didn't know his place. This end is already便宜 him."
"..."
The seated Gods of Great Xia, seeing Lin Qiye's decisive killing of Andre, immediately applauded, their faces filled with joy.
On the main seat, the Queen Mother of the West gazed at Lin Qiye in the arena, a smile gracing her features as she nodded approvingly:
"Excellent work, Lin Qiye. Please take your seat for now. The reward this palace promised you will naturally be delivered after the gathering."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Lin Qiye slowly raised his hand, bowing respectfully to the Queen Mother of the West, then moved his somewhat stiff legs toward his seat.
With Lin Qiye's decisive elimination of the suddenly appearing Andre, he had become merely an interlude at the Peach Banquet. In the eyes of the Gods of Great Xia, it was simply a case of a Western wretch acting presumptuously, then being taught a lesson by a fellow mortal junior.
He slowly made his way back to the Second Seat in the Lower Immortal District. Just as Yang Jian beside him was about to speak, Lin Qiye's legs went soft and he collapsed directly onto the ground.
Yang Jian reacted instantly, supporting him immediately and helping him to his seat.
"Are you alright?" Nezha frowned slightly at the sight.
"I'm fine. Just... some soul depletion..." Lin Qiye waved his hand dismissively, his complexion somewhat pale.
He hadn't expected that merely hosting Sun Wukong's soul for twenty breaths would already bring his soul to the brink of collapse.
Not that Sun Wukong's soul intensity was far greater than Nyx and Merlin's combined, but rather the collision between the completely different demonic energy and the sacred Buddhist intent had tormented Lin Qiye unbearably.
In those brief twenty breaths, his soul had felt as though it had first been roasted over a fire, then violently shocked and plunged into ice water, then bounced back and forth between fire and ice.
If subjected to this torment much longer, Lin Qiye would probably be not far from soul dispersal.
It seemed that Sun Wukong's instruction to quickly end the battle from the beginning wasn't merely for the Great Xia Gods' face... Sun Wukong knew well that with Lin Qiye's soul intensity, he simply couldn't sustain hosting Sun Wukong's soul for long.
"For a mortal, your performance just now was already quite magnificent." Nezha couldn't help but praise. "When you step into godhood, you'll surely be a worthy opponent."
"Stepping into godhood... it isn't that easy." Lin Qiye苦涩ly shook his head.
The moment his words fell, he erupted into violent coughing.
"Soul injuries are of great consequence and must not be underestimated. Simply sit here and meditate to recover." Yang Jian advised.
Lin Qiye hummed in agreement. After sitting down at his seat, he closed his eyes and cultivated stillness.
Celestial music rose once more. Graceful figures draped in sheer silks returned to the arena's center, and to the melody of the immortal music, they began to perform enchanting dances.
Within the arena, glasses clinked, and conversation flowed freely.
At the same time, outside the arena's entrance, a serving woman in a red dress slowly walked out, standing before the gathered Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. With a pair of beautiful eyes gazing calmly forward, she coldly snorted at the Singh before her.
"Her Majesty decrees: this person is an accomplice of the villain who intended to disrupt the Peach Banquet. He shall immediately be escorted to the Heavenly Prison, and in five days, executed by divine thunder."
As the red-dressed serving woman's decree fell, she drew a heavy wooden lock from behind her, directly shackling Singh's wrists.
The instant the lock clicked shut, Singh felt his spiritual power suddenly stall. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't mobilize even an ounce of it, let alone use his God's Ruins.
"Come. I will personally escort you to the Heavenly Prison." The red-dressed serving woman said coolly.