The heavens and earth were enveloped by a glazed Buddha palm radiating dark gold. In every direction, golden bolo flowers bloomed. Each flower represented a world, each leaf a universe, within which sat countless Sansheng Buddhas, Heavenly Bodhisattvas, and Arhats from all directions, manifesting layers of pure lands.
At the heart of the Pure Land, a solemn dark-gold Buddha statue sat in meditation. Beneath it rested a pristine lotus throne, encircled by wrathful deities. Above its head soared a colossal roc with wings outstretched, while behind it radiated a halo of Buddha light—like the moon’s glow—rippling outward in waves, illuminating all Pure Lands. This was indeed the golden form of Ananda.
Ten thousand Buddhas paid homage, jointly subduing the malevolent. When this palm descended, it suppressed all!
Beyond the realm of the palm’s pure land, Meng Qi sighed inwardly. At this moment, Ananda had only reached the pinnacle of the Celestial Immortal level. Indeed, without relinquishing attachments, each reincarnation weakened him further, causing his imprints to gradually fade. If left to its natural course, this lifetime would only allow him to reach the initial stage of the Legendary realm. In the next life, even attaining the Legendary level would become an unattainable luxury. Without the Legendary realm, his imprints would completely disintegrate during reincarnation. No wonder Ananda released the remains of the Thunder God in this life, attempting to cultivate a Thunder God fish and then merge it with his Buddhist form to break through these limitations.
Unfortunately, his strength was too weak. His past was severed by the Overlord’s Slashing Annihilation, forcibly breaking free. In the future, they would both ascend to the Legendary realm. After painstaking efforts forcing the Overlord to self-destruct, A’nan saw his path blocked, transcendence impossible. Finally, he fully succumbed to demonic transformation, reversing the Tathagata Palm, becoming the source of the ancient great calamity.
“The sea of suffering is boundless; repent and the shore is at hand.”
“Lay down the butcher’s knife, and instantly become a Buddha.”
A majestic and solemn voice resounded. The crystal-clear Buddha’s palm descended with unstoppable force. Han Guang, as if seized by the obsession of the Heavenly Emperor, suddenly stepped forward. His gaze became detached and awe-inspiring, as though surveying the river of time like a supreme sovereign—impartial, devoid of hatred, favor, or indifference—radiating an overwhelming sense of ultimate greatness and power that surged toward the heavens.
Splash! Clear water sounds arose. Somehow, Han Guang now held a long saber formed from shimmering water. As he took this step forward, he slashed upward against the current!
A phantom river appeared, filling every corner of the world, submerging the layers of pure lands.
The Emperor of Heaven treads time, dominating this era!
Meng Qi witnessed the Glazed Buddha Palm lose its dark golden luster, now reduced to mere black and white. The Pure Lands shed their sanctity, becoming rigid and lifeless. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas fell into stagnation, transforming into ink-washed scrolls.
Boom!
The heavens and earth quaked. Golden lotus blossoms and faint watery radiance scattered in all directions, sweeping across the ruins of the Heavenly Court.
As the encroaching black and white desolation drew near, golden bodhi flowers carrying layers of pure lands swirled chaotically with immense weight. Meng Qi’s eyes faintly reflected an ancient glazed lamp, while phantom rivers coiled around him.
In his hand, the Li Xian Sword floated forward, cleaving through waves and splitting currents, flicking away golden bodhi flowers. He resisted the residual force by leveraging the nature of the Other Shore and the Sword Method of Slaying Immortals.
Bi Jingxuan glanced at Meng Qi, raised his right palm, and summoned countless swirling Golden Cauldrons of Primordial Unity.
The cauldrons hovered high. With each rotation, golden light dispelled surrounding residual force.
Above the Heads of the Sages also appeared a tortoise shell, filled with black and white motes dancing, revealing the profound mysteries of heaven and earth, allowing them to narrowly evade the residual force each time.
Splash!
Blade light pierced through the pure land, filling the Buddha realm, saturating every corner of the ruins of the Celestial Court. Meng Qi felt as if he had entered the deep sea, surrounded by dim and heavy darkness, faintly seeing glimmers of light. He could barely hold on, unable to move freely.
Had Han Guang, possessed by the Emperor’s obsession, also ascended to the peak of the Celestial Immortal?
The following passage is translated into English:
This slash, “The Emperor of Heaven treads time,” was indeed mighty beyond measure. Without reaching the Legendary realm or possessing the characteristics of the Other Shore, the Sword Method of Slaying Immortals, the Seal of the Infinite, or other techniques involving time, or wielding supreme divine weapons or treasures, it would be nearly impossible to resist!
If A-nan were at his peak, this would certainly be trivial. But now, he might have to pay a price…
As this thought crossed Meng Qi’s mind, the surrounding “deep sea” suddenly trembled violently. The frozen world began to crack inch by inch, and a glazed Buddha’s foot emerged forcefully.
A towering dark-gold Buddha statue, hands forming mudras, stepped forward, shattering the shimmering waves. Anything it touched turned to emptiness.
Matter was emptiness, earth, fire, wind, and water were emptiness. All were false combinations!
The glazed Buddha light, tinged with pale gold, illuminated the ruins of the Celestial Court. As the statue advanced step by step, broken tree trunks, shattered stones, and scattered remains all lost their weight, floating upward. Among them were three jade scrolls glowing faintly.
Witnessing this scene reminiscent of a Buddha’s descent from the mythological era, the Heads of the Sages suddenly changed expressions. Lips trembling, he muttered:
“Broken limbs and severed arms, the Pure Land stained with blood, heaven and earth in decline, corpses strewn across the land, the blessed realm shattered, the great calamity begins, none shall escape…”
At this moment, drawn by the opportunity, he seemed to glimpse the scene of the great calamity from ten or twenty thousand years into the future, seeing the ominous ending. His voice quivered slightly.
Meng Qi turned his head toward him, sensing no correction from the heavens. It seemed the Heads of the Sages had indeed first glimpsed the Demon Buddha Calamity at Jade Emperor Mountain, and had since gradually verified it, seeking ways for the Wang family to survive the disaster.
The ruins of the Celestial Court seemed to transform into a Buddha realm. A-nan, manifesting his golden body and wielding the Tathagata Palm, joined his palms in reverence and reached out with his right hand toward the three jade scrolls.
At that very moment, a streak of light silently sliced through the pale golden glaze—distant and ethereal, ancient and unchanging, as indifferent as the flow of time itself.
Time as a blade, each stroke aging all.
Hazy blade light descended. The colossal dark-gold Buddha aged ten thousand years in an instant. Decay surged from within, his golden body succumbing to decline.
If heaven had feelings, even it would grow old. If a Buddha appeared in the world, even it would face decay!
Suddenly, A-nan crossed his legs and formed the Nirvana Mudra with both hands. Behind him, a Bodhi tree of withering and flourishing stretched across the sky—neither alive nor dead, neither perishing nor eternal. The blade of time could no longer sway him.
Crack!
The following text is translated into English:
The shimmering water-blade slashed onto the Bodhi tree of withering and flourishing, unleashing boundless Nirvana Will. One jade scroll was drawn in, first fading, then crumbling to dust.
Boom!
The Bodhi tree shattered. Leaves drifted down, obscuring Meng Qi and the others’ vision, leaving them to continue resisting the residual force.
When the leaves finally settled, Meng Qi saw A-nan holding two remaining jade scrolls in one hand, while the other held a flower. Han Guang had entered a state of sudden enlightenment.
Without delay, A-nan’s golden body transformed into glazed light, vanishing directly from the ruins of the Celestial Court.
Seeing this, the Heads of the Sages uttered an exclamation, hurriedly chasing after A-nan under the protection of the Luo Shu, seemingly eager to uncover the truth behind the great calamity he had just glimpsed.
Meng Qi glanced at Han Guang, now at the level of a Celestial Immortal due to the Emperor’s obsession. Considering the two-tier gap between them and the formidable power of the time-blade technique, his mind raced as he transmitted his thoughts to Bi Jingxuan:
“Miss Bi, let’s join forces! Let’s find a safe way back within the ruins of the Celestial Court!”
With the power of the Golden Cauldrons of Primordial Unity, we might still have a chance!
Bi Jingxuan nodded without hesitation: “Fine!”
Just then, the lofty and majestic feeling of Han Guang, as if possessed by the Emperor of Heaven, greatly diminished. His aura rapidly regressed, leaving only the level of an Earth Immortal.
Yet before Meng Qi could feel any joy, he noticed two more figures emerging from behind and the side, both dressed in wide robes, handsome and graceful—the “Demon Sage” Han Guang. One exuded a deep aura hinting at the destruction of all things, while the other was calm and peaceful, like a true great sage monk!
Upon learning of Han Guang’s failed attempt to infiltrate the Xuan Tian Sect, Meng Qi and Master Lu analyzed how he could appear simultaneously at the Jade Pond and the Xuan Tian Sect. Based on Su Wuming’s recollection of their battle with Han Guang, they speculated that he had utilized a certain treasure to sever a doppelganger manifestation, primarily embodying the Six Annihilation Yama technique.
Now it seemed he had severed more than one body-double. Another bore the Emperor of Heaven’s technique!
The tranquil and serene aura of the main figure reminded Meng Qi of the Tathagata Palm and its reverse within Ananda’s Pure Land. A thought arose in his mind—Qingdi’s Daoist incarnation, the Heavenly Venerable of Taiyi, and his Buddhist incarnation, the Medicine Buddha.
Could it be that Han Guang, emulating the ancient sages, had severed the bodies of Yama and the Emperor of Heaven by using the Tathagata Palm and its reverse as pivots, thereby completely eliminating the hidden danger of merging his techniques?
Meng Qi seemed to understand Han Guang’s state somewhat. Not any two divine techniques could achieve perfect fusion like the “Eight-Nine Mystical Art” and the “Primordial Golden Scripture.”
The calm and peaceful Han Guang lowered his right hand, signaling Meng Qi and Bi Jingxuan not to act rashly, smiling slightly: “This one bears you no ill will.”
His voice had changed compared to before—deeper yet magnetic.
Meng Qi dared not relax his guard. He remained fully prepared to draw the Ultimate Blade. Just as he was about to reply, he suddenly felt a stirring in his heart and grew solemn: “You are not possessed by the Emperor’s obsession.”
Looking at Han Guang’s clear-headed appearance, he clearly wasn’t possessed!
“Of course not. I merely pretended for A-nan and the Heads of the Sages to glimpse A-nan’s secrets.” Han Guang smiled, pointing to the body-double that had fought A-nan earlier, “The Emperor’s obsession served as my anchor, severed to form this Emperor body-double.”
Meng Qi suddenly understood. No wonder Han Guang had come to Jade Emperor Mountain—he had come seeking the Emperor’s obsession, useless to others but irreplaceable for severing his own body-double!
Thinking of this, Meng Qi suddenly recalled the Demon Sage’s display of Celestial Immortal power and asked gravely: “After severing the Emperor body-double, have you ascended to the Celestial Immortal level?”
“With perfected cultivation and ten more years of refinement, naturally I have ascended.” Han Guang smiled lightly. Both body-doubles took a step forward, merging simultaneously into his main body. The aura of a holy monk faded somewhat, replaced by a carefree and unrestrained demeanor, as terrifying Celestial Immortal energy spread around him.
Meng Qi remained cautious: “Since you bear us no ill will, why block our path?”
What was ten years of time?
Han Guang teased with a grin: “To lend you a helping hand, Third Brother.”
Third Brother? Meng Qi’s scalp tingled. He felt Bi Jingxuan instantly increase the distance between them, fearing being dragged into trouble.
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