The young monk drove the Nine Dragon Dharma Staff fiercely forward, his gaze passing through those furiously roaring Buddha Realm Arhats, staring directly at the Faceless Great Buddha.
The Faceless Great Buddha seemed to sense the gaze. Its face turned slightly toward the young monk.
For some reason, even though the Great Buddha couldn't form any expression — didn't even have eyes — the young monk felt... that the Great Buddha was actually mocking him. Scorning him.
The young monk gave a thunderous shout, thrusting the Nine Dragon Dharma Staff through the vow-power Arhats and Bodhisattvas that pressed forward.
No matter what, this Evil Buddha could not be allowed to escape from the Orthodox Sound Dharma Temple.
He didn't need to defeat the Evil Buddha. He only needed to stall for time. Even Bai Xuanling couldn't stop the Great Thunder Sound Temple from sending reinforcements here.
This was Buddhist territory, not her Heavenly Derivation Sect.
But in the next moment, the young monk suddenly sensed a heaven-piercing sword intent behind him.
He let out a heavy sigh in his heart and turned his Buddha Eye to look back.
As expected, it was Xu Jin approaching with sword raised, the azure-blue sword light illuminating the surroundings.
The young monk had no choice but to stop his attack and prepare to block Xu Jin's strike. Still, he shouted furiously, expressing his outrage:
"Xu Jin! And you have the gall to call yourself a disciple of a renowned sect..."
Before the young monk could finish, Xu Jin had already streaked past his side, the surrounding sword light surging toward the Evil Buddha.
He saw it clearly — as Xu Jin flew past him, he gave him a look. It was a look of utter contempt, as if to say — What are you screaming about? Look at yourself.
The young monk looked back and saw Xu Jin deliver a single slash. Those Arhat phantoms that had been so tenacious before him were like dreams and illusions before Xu Jin's sword.
This wasn't because Xu Jin was vastly stronger than the young monk. It was because the Evil Buddha itself was also a Buddhist cultivator, and it exerted a senior's suppression over the young monk who shared the same Buddhist origins.
The young monk breathed a sigh of relief. Though he didn't know why Xu Jin had suddenly changed his mind, at least the chance of keeping this Evil Buddha contained had now reached nine out of ten.
Xu Jin's single slash cleaved through the phantom Arhats and Bodhisattvas guarding the Great Hero Hall.
The azure-blue radiance pierced through layer upon layer of vow power. With just one sword strike, Xu Jin had arrived before the Faceless Great Buddha.
Vow power was, in the end, still vow power. The Buddhist sect might be trapped within it.
But the Mystic Clarity Heavenly Sect still pursued the cultivation of the self. Vow power could not affect him.
The young monk watched Xu Jin enter the Great Hero Hall and quickly called out:
"Strike down the Buddha Son! That Evil Buddha hasn't broken free of the dharma chains yet."
"It can only control the vow power through that Buddha Son. Just slay the Buddha Son and sever the connection, and that Evil Buddha won't be able to run amok."
Xu Jin ignored him. He couldn't trust more than a fraction of what this monk said.
If that were truly the case, then why had they gone to such lengths to protect Yuan Kong and this Orthodox Sound Dharma Temple in the first place?
His words contradicted themselves — there had to be deception. Moreover, he was only here at Chu Xingchen's request anyway.
[Fellow Xu, I'm already on my way. If possible, please protect that Buddha Son. I'll buy you a drink afterward.]
Perhaps it was to leave a good impression on the Son of Heavenly Fortune. Perhaps it was simply for that cup of wine. Or maybe Chu Xingchen's words had been sufficiently carefree and bold, striking a chord with Xu Jin's temperament.
After only a brief moment of thought, Xu Jin chose to try protecting Yuan Kong this once.
The Faceless Great Buddha's featureless visage faced Xu Jin. Beneath it, lotus flowers formed from vow power bloomed, shielding half of the Great Buddha's form.
Xu Jin paid it no mind. Instead, he carried his Spirit Treasure longsword to Yuan Kong's side. He saw the seated Yuan Kong with his brows tightly furrowed, then rested the longsword against Yuan Kong's shoulder.
The Buddhist sect had no shortage of means to confuse the mind. The Spirit Treasure longsword had the ability to protect its master, making it the most effective tool for probing the situation.
"I see the benefactor's kind heart. Surely you wouldn't truly abandon this pure-hearted Buddha Son."
The Great Buddha continued controlling its Buddha Realm behind it to block the young monk who was trying to enter. But it spoke to Xu Jin.
Xu Jin roughly understood Yuan Kong's condition. This Evil Buddha had been a Buddha for roughly a thousand years. Even after being imprisoned for a millennium, it should still possess a top-tier Buddhist realm state of mind.
Though Yuan Kong was a Buddha Son, he was facing a Buddha — the gap at the same realm was enormous. His divine consciousness had been entranced by some unknown method of the Evil Buddha. Aside from his core consciousness, the rest had been co-opted by the Evil Buddha to control the vow power.
This was partly his own fault, and Bai Xuanling's as well. Since neither of them were Buddhist cultivators, they had momentarily overlooked the fact that a high-ranking Buddha held absolute suppression over lower-ranking Bodhisattvas and Arhats.
This was also why Arhats and Bodhisattvas were willing to serve Buddhas like servants.
A proper orthodox cultivator — a Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation expert — would rarely be willing to bow and scrape so humbly.
"The Buddha outside calls you an Evil Buddha. I don't think you look like one either."
Xu Jin's gaze locked onto the Faceless Great Buddha. "Why not release this Buddha Son's consciousness first, and then we can chat about how the Buddhist sect slandered you back then?"
The Faceless Great Buddha lifted its head slightly upon hearing this. After a moment, it spoke:
"This Buddha Son's heart is pure and wholly devoted to the Buddha. I would naturally not harm him. I only need him for a little while longer."
The Faceless Great Buddha's tone was relatively calm, but it had already secretly gathered vow power, guarding against the possibility of Xu Jin suddenly attacking.
After all — was this Xu Jin genuinely trying to save the Buddha Son, or was he looking for an excuse to make it lower its guard, then slash it and eliminate its chance to escape?
It had been nearly a thousand years...
He thought at least three thousand years must have passed. A thousand years, and this was the only opportunity.
The reason the Buddhist sect used such overwhelming vow power to suppress this place was primarily to use the vow power to shatter the Buddha Realm in his mind, causing him to sink into the worldly passions and never achieve liberation.
Buddhas... feared vow power even more.
The Faceless Great Buddha remained wary for a moment, but saw that Xu Jin merely kept the sword resting against Yuan Kong, as if agreeing to his proposal — so long as Yuan Kong's safety was ensured. He couldn't read what Xu Jin was truly thinking.
But... this opportunity must not be lost.
From behind the Faceless Great Buddha, its Buddha Realm continued to produce Arhats and Bodhisattvas. Some were tasked with blocking the young monk, who was still outside the Great Hero Hall, while others attacked the precariously swaying golden chains with furious force.
The sound of shrieking metal had never faded, and the young monk's loud exhortations hadn't stopped either.
"Xu Jin! If that Evil Buddha truly breaks free, neither of us may be able to retreat safely from its hands! Why take the risk!"
Seeing that his words couldn't persuade Xu Jin, the young monk hurriedly added:
"Xu Jin! You actually believe what that Evil Buddha says?!"
"That Buddha Son's cultivation is meager — he can't possibly withstand divine consciousness manipulation at the Buddha level!"
"Before long, that Buddha Son will become a mindless human husk!"
Xu Jin remained deaf to it all. He only kept the Spirit Treasure longsword pressed against Yuan Kong's side, monitoring his condition.
Time slowly passed.
The golden chains' radiance gradually faded. On the horizon, a faint white light seemed to bloom.
The Faceless Great Buddha looked toward the light at the edge of the sky. Perhaps from being imprisoned too long, his sense of time was muddled, but he felt... dawn was coming rather early.
But it was almost time. Just a little longer, and he would see the sunrise with his own eyes.
Xu Jin's gaze also turned toward the white light at the horizon, and then he withdrew the Spirit Treasure longsword that had been resting on Yuan Kong's shoulder.
The young monk was still battering the Arhats and Bodhisattvas before him. The golden light in his eyes was nearly turning crimson — it was clear that his divine descent carried a cost.
But the young monk was now very close to entering the hall.
Suddenly, the young monk's gaze also turned toward the white light at the horizon, and his brows instantly furrowed.
"Apologies. I'm late."
A white rainbow light streaked from the horizon, spiritual energy surging and shaking violently.
A thread of white light shot through, directly blasting apart the Arhats and Bodhisattvas, sending the layers of vow power guarding the Great Hero Hall flying.
The young monk looked over and saw a handsome white-robed youth standing atop a translucent greatsword, spiritual energy rolling violently around him — clearly having rushed here at full speed.
Chu Xingchen's gaze first fell upon Yuan Kong, then shifted to the Faceless Great Buddha. His tone carried a light laugh, as if offering a casual greeting:
"I'm not entirely clear on the situation right now, but let me give you a suggestion — release this foolish monk first. Otherwise, I'll have you and this monk achieve nirvana together, and go find his senior brothers."
[
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