When one reaches an impasse, one must change; when one changes, one finds a way through. When the Bull Demon King was overwhelmed by Nezha’s relentless assault, feeling as if he had been thrown back to the days of the Journey to the West, he realized that unless he exerted all his strength and used every means at his disposal, he would not only fail to achieve victory today but might even be captured once again.
Under normal circumstances, when facing an opponent who can be omnipresent while one cannot, the best strategy is to divide the two realms, establish one’s own world, replace the will of heaven with one’s own, and create a small universe where one can move freely. This would serve as a battlefield to neutralize disadvantages or influence the opponent. This is similar to how the four divine envoys of Luo Sect used the power of Wusheng Heaven and the Vacuum Homeland’s projection to recreate a realm, preventing Meng Qi from escaping their encirclement by omnipresence. It is also akin to how Maitreya separated the Fengtian Platform from Changle before descending to act.
Naturally, this also takes into account the prevention of collateral damage that could severely harm the real world and provoke terrifying repercussions against oneself. Just as the existence of the Brocade Mountains and Rivers Scroll implies that damaging it equates to damaging the territory of the Zhou Dynasty, which in turn harms the core of the real world. To damage the core of the real world is to damage the hub of countless worlds, inevitably triggering a multiversal-level backlash. Except for those who have reached the ultimate shore or are evil spirits favored by the Nine Nether, no one dares to believe they can withstand such a backlash.
When reaching the legendary and transformative realms, during a battle, either both sides precisely control their strength to deliver the most effective blows, with collisions neutralizing each other, resulting in only storm-level collateral damage, or they become completely enraged, losing control. At such times, merely destroying cities, slaughtering humans, moving mountains and rivers, or altering the weather is insufficient. The numerous stars floating high in the sky, comparable to the bright moon, are the precursors of fragments from the real world, clearly demonstrating the consequences!
Since the extent of collateral damage cannot be controlled, beings of immense power would undoubtedly exercise considerable restraint. They would use their inner universe as a foundation to create a self-contained battlefield that operates as an independent world. Engaging in combat within such a realm is not merely a clash of divine abilities and martial techniques, but also a contest of inner universes, cultivation realms, raw strength, and elemental suppression.
This is the normal scenario and the effort the Bull Demon King tried to accomplish. Unfortunately, being within the Zhuxian Sword Formation, how could he easily replace the will of heaven with his own? How could he easily create a world of his own? Such an idea would be an insult to the reputation of the most formidable ancient killing formation, even if it is incomplete!
Therefore, the Bull Demon King was completely on the defensive, helpless against Nezha. The collateral damage from the battle was neutralized by the intersecting sword qi of the Zhuxian Sword Formation and did not damage the real world.
His divine consciousness sensed the surroundings and noticed Sha Xuan and Xi E preparing to use their omnipresence to join the attack. He could still hold his ground, but what about his brothers?
The Peng Demon King and the Jiao Demon King had just recovered to the peak of the legendary realm but were suppressed by the Zhuxian Sword Formation. Already in a precarious situation under Nezha’s multi-directional assault, the addition of Sha Xuan and Xi E, who possessed the talisman decree and were unaffected by the sword formation, might indeed lead to their demise here today.
This could not continue!
The Bull Demon King let out a deep snort, no longer concerned about his condition, and decided to use his most powerful technique.
This technique would consume a great deal of his current strength and could not be sustained for long. Originally intended for use at a critical moment, he had to deploy it right from the beginning due to the unexpected difficulties.
Facing Nezha’s Fire-Tipped Spear, the Hun Tian Ling, and various treasures, the Bull Demon King suddenly let out a furious roar.
The roar shook the surroundings, causing the sword qi to recede slightly and delaying Nezha’s attack by a moment.
At that instant, the Bull Demon King crashed to the ground, radiating eerie light as he transformed into a gigantic white bull—its horns piercing the heavens and hooves crushing the Nine Netherworlds. Every inch of his flesh pulsed with vast, majestic seven-colored clouds, while countless auspicious clouds and radiant lights coalesced into distinct figures. Among them stood a bull-headed deity wielding justice, a monstrous demon bull capable of shattering immortal mountains, and most strikingly, a phantom-like white divine bull towering above all. Upon its back sat an even more elusive four-eyed, four-armed god of destruction, above whose head shimmered the faint visage of a Heavenly Venerable.
Crack!
Some of these figures spat out ox bezoars, some lowered their heads to display their horns, and some opened their third eyes. Instantly, the nearby sword qi shattered and disintegrated, spreading colorful light and forcefully creating a small universe. Stars shifted, neutralizing the subsequent sword qi invasion, allowing the Peng Demon King, the Jiao Demon King, and others to recover their normal state, enabling them to be omnipresent within this realm.
Glaring with his bull eyes, he saw that Nezha had stopped just outside the universe, not entering it. As if anticipating this, the Bull Demon King scraped his hooves and charged forward directly, bringing along his vast universe!
Rush past him, drive him back, and beyond lies the western province!
At that point, whether to occupy or slaughter to eliminate the power of all beings would be entirely up to his choice!
Nezha sneered coldly, and immediately, numerous blue lotuses emerged around him, slowly blooming and flying into the Bull Demon King’s domain, replacing the stars.
…
A fragment of Maitreya’s golden form had been ripped away, leaving visible damage to his divine body. Moreover, the glazed light spread sluggishly, signaling a slow recovery process—clear evidence that Xiang Tianquan’s bite was no ordinary attack.
He still maintained his pleasant smile, reciting a Buddhist chant once again:
“Namo Amituofo.”
Radiant beams emanated from his head, within which manifested an immaculate and transcendent white lotus. As the petals of the white lotus unfurled, they revealed a golden Buddha statue seated at its core—twenty-headed and sixteen-armed, resting upon a foundation of constellations, adorned with resplendent jewels, exuding both brilliance and serenity. In its hands, it held various sacred objects such as a vajra, a sword, cymbals, and lamps. This was the “Future Star Buddha Golden Body,” a supreme form cultivated by Maitreya through the harmonious fusion of the Tathagata Golden Body and the Bodhi Golden Body paths.
Previously, it was a reward body; now, it was a Dharma body!
As the Dharma body appeared, the Buddha opened his mouth and spat out three sariras.
The sariras were translucent and crystalline, containing white lotuses, with Buddhist light rolling like waves around them. One was ancient and weathered, seemingly unchangeable, filled with the aura of time. One sat centrally, emitting boundless light, rescuing all beings. One shimmered with specks of stars, hazy and illusory, possessing both the subtle aura of the Buddha and the Zen meaning of emptiness and annihilation. They seemed to symbolize the past, present, and future respectively—this was the “crystallization” of Maitreya’s exploration toward the ultimate shore.
Just in this aspect alone, he surpassed the Bull Demon King and Nezha.
As the three sariras appeared, they immediately stabilized the storm clouds over ten thousand miles, halted the sword qi of the four colors—red, green, white, and black—and clarified the heavens. The pure land expanded, and the areas south of the Jiangdong became a Buddhist realm, free from restrictions. Fahu Lin, Da Miao Xiang, and other Bodhisattvas and Arhats could now exert their full strength and move freely within this range.
Compared to the Bull Demon King, Maitreya’s move was truly effortless and devoid of any trace of struggle.
At this moment, Nezha and the Bull Demon King were locked in fierce combat, their universes merging and neutralizing each other, isolated from the sword formation, unable to focus on Jiangdong. Xiang Tianquan could only retreat to the edge of the Buddhist realm, hiding again, waiting for the next attack.
Its bite had inflicted serious injuries on Maitreya, forcing him to seek an outbreak, striving to occupy several provinces as soon as possible to weaken the Brocade Mountains and Rivers Scroll, strengthen his own Buddhist realm, then shift to defense, wait for the recovery of his injuries and the power of the sariras, and then continue advancing.
Observing the overall situation from the formation’s eye, Meng Qi realized that the battle had entered a critical moment. Without Nezha’s mobility, a reassignment was necessary.
He sat here, seemingly calm and composed, but in reality, to maintain the suppression of the Zhuxian Sword Formation, his main body was also bound to the pivot point, unable to be omnipresent and directly intervene.
How could the most formidable ancient killing formation be so easily controlled?
Therefore, Meng Qi’s main body could only strike remotely through the sword formation, but since the sword formation was incomplete, it mainly relied on the overwhelming power of the four Zhuxian swords to complete the suppression, lacking variation and having weak offensive capabilities.
As his thoughts turned, he transmitted his voice to Sha Xuan and Xi E:
“Senior experts, use your omnipresence to help block the Luo Sect envoys. On the demon side, as long as the Peng Demon King, the Jiao Demon King, and others dare to emerge from the universe created by the Bull Demon King, launch a fierce attack on them, but be wary of the possible awakening of the Demon Emperor’s Spear to the legendary realm, using the path of the Five Virtues to forcibly neutralize the sword formation’s influence.”
“Understood.” Sha Xuan and Xi E, having been deprived of their enemies by Nezha, were somewhat idle. Upon hearing this, they immediately appeared in the southern province, covering both fronts.
Amidst the entanglement with Jiang Zhiwei and Lu Wuming, and under the attacks of the Great Wisdom Sword and the Absolute Blade, the three divine envoys of the Luo Sect made slow progress, but this slowness was somewhat unusual, as if they were brewing something.
As for Jiang Zhiwei and the others, Meng Qi was quite confident. In the future, his other self was crushed by Ding Guang, likely because he did not dare to venture into the path of legends, did not set foot in Ling Mountain, and failed to receive Ananda’s goodwill. Consequently, he was unable to awaken the Peerless Blade to the legendary level, naturally creating an insurmountable gap.
After awakening to the legendary level, the Absolute Blade gained the confidence to survive against early-awakened powerhouses. Even when directly confronting the Bull Demon King and the Roc Demon King on Spirit Mountain, he stood his ground unshaken.
Although they had just been freed and were still quite weak, the Bull Demon King, the Roc Demon King, and the Crocodile Demon King were extraordinary demonic beings—powerful cultivators of the transformative path. Even a tiger on flat ground would not be inferior to early-awakened divine envoys like the Ritual Master and the Lantern-Bearing Envoy.
At present, Zhiwei was not as strong as before, but the three divine envoys were also suppressed by the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation. With the Absolute Blade, they at least had no fear of being overwhelmed, and their attacks could still pose a threat to the enemy.
Even more importantly, one side could be omnipresent while the other could not, meaning the three divine envoys could not even touch Jiang Zhiwei. No matter how powerful their strength, if they could not hit her, it was all in vain. Even if they attempted area attacks, how large could the range be? Jiang Zhiwei could always return to Changle!
She could be omnipresent, vanishing to the ends of the earth. Would the divine envoys of Fengdian dare to disregard a strike from the Absolute Blade?
If direct confrontation was impossible, guerrilla harassment was definitely feasible!
Moreover, Jiang Zhiwei possessed numerous projections and was fighting on familiar territory, unlike the divine envoys of Feng Dian, who feared successive strikes that would annihilate their projections the moment they manifested. Thus, even if she made occasional missteps and suffered blows from formidable opponents, she could be reborn without facing mortal peril. This was yet another reason Meng Qi felt assured in allowing her to engage the enemy.
Even the greatest gap can be significantly bridged if the conditions are right.
Are there any absolutes in this world?
The only absolute is that there are no absolutes!
With the assistance of Sha Xuan and Xi E, Meng Qi felt more confident about the situation in the southern province. Only with Maitreya was Xiang Tianquan alone and unable to make a difference.
Taking a light breath, another figure stepped out from the primordial celebration cloud above Meng Qi’s head, tall and mighty—it was the Eight-Nine Clone.
He took a step, leaving the Fengtian Platform, appearing outside the earthly Buddhist realm, standing on the void, overlooking Maitreya.
This was Meng Qi’s contingency plan against him!
As for the sword clone, Meng Qi did not act recklessly. While focusing on controlling the sword formation, he needed to keep a mobile force to guard against unexpected events, such as the Demon Lord and Water Ancestor.
Calculating the time, the next moment would be the turning point of victory or defeat. He just needed to hold out until the funny older brother brought back reinforcements!
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