Western Ox Continent, Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.
Li Xingtian's expression was calm as he looked down at the great city built by the sprawling, magnificent Buddhist temples below.
Monks chanted sutras with serene, fulfilled faces, their gazes looking up with longing at the unmoving Buddha statues.
Yet they did not look at the starving refugees behind them who were already on the brink of death.
This City of Ten Thousand Buddhas had also raised high walls, shutting out everything and everyone beyond them.
There was no compassion to be seen, nor any humanity.
Following his master's instructions, Li Xingtian led the cultivators of the Tianyan Sect, with Wang Lin's squad from their previous collaboration also assigned to his command.
This made issuing orders particularly smooth.
As a mid-tier Nascent Soul cultivator of the Tianyan Sect, in this wild land of the Western Ox Continent, his cultivation alone could earn him the title of patriarch.
And above all, the cultivator leading this force was Yanyun.
This generation's core disciple of the Tianyan Sect.
A hundred cultivators stood in the high sky, and Nascent Soul cultivators made up the great majority of them.
This force might not push across the entire Western Ox Continent, but easily crushing this Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, which had no reinforcements at all, was a trivial matter.
The abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, a plump old man with a kindly face wreathed in golden light and at the early stage of the Spirit Transformation realm, came alone toward the cultivators led by Yanyun.
He performed a Buddhist greeting upon meeting them:
"Greetings, sirs. May I ask what brings you here?"
Yanyun's gaze swept below, and her tone was cold:
"The Ten Thousand Buddha Temple has received the offerings of the mortals of the Western Ox Continent for over a hundred years."
"Setting aside how many mountains of gold and silver they donated, at the very least they fed you until you were round and plump."
"Today you shut your gates and pretend to see nothing at all?"
The abbot's face remained calm: "I take it you are the current core disciple of the Tianyan Sect — Lord Yanyun?"
Yanyun did not reply, only glancing over with disdain.
"When the Tianyan Sect severed the spiritual veins, did you consider that cultivators of other continents would thereby lose their path to immortality?" The abbot's face was still kind.
He reached out toward the gaunt refugees below:
"At the very least, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple sheltered them, sparing them from the demon beasts' attacks outside. Feeding tens of thousands is not something the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple can do."
"By comparison, I have only eaten a little more. I have never taken anyone's future from them."
"Naturally, you may also cut me down with a single sword stroke now. After all, the rules are all in your hands."
"Whatever you say goes. Who would dare refute, and who would dare expose the truth?"
Yanyun slightly lifted her eyes. She naturally understood that this monk was merely twisting concepts.
The Buddhist sect proclaimed boundless great love, yet they too occupied the spiritual vein leading to the Western Ox Continent.
And the Central Continent had never barred people of other continents from coming.
She herself was not born in the Central Continent, but came from the Southern Jambu Continent.
Nor had the Tianyan Sect ever raised a hand against mortals — though it must be said that evil cultivators who struck at mortals were the ones who received the heaviest blows.
The path of cultivation was perhaps difficult. But as long as one's temperament and talent were sufficient, one could still climb it.
Mortals were not so. At the very least, they should be allowed to live stable lives, to have their most ordinary happiness.
Yanyun was just about to open her mouth to refute him, when she saw Li Xingtian beside her cup his hands to her.
This was a gesture asking for orders — meaning he wished to handle matters here himself.
Her impression of Li Xingtian was mostly of a silent, reticent man. Among Chu Xingchen's disciples, aside from the righteous Lin Luoyu, he was the least likely to provoke anyone.
Yanyun hesitated briefly, then gave a light nod.
After all, this was a disciple brought up by Chu Xingchen. Even if he had not trained his glib tongue, having stayed by Chu Xingchen's side for so long, he should have heard enough to reach the pinnacle of the art.
If Chu Xingchen were here, he would likely have mocked this monk until his face turned red and his ears burned.
Seeing Yanyun agree, Li Xingtian turned his gaze to the abbot. Without another word, the spiritual treasure Ghost-Head Blade in his hand instantly took form.
With a single stroke, he brought the blade down upon the monk.
The monk's cultivation was at the Spirit Transformation realm, true enough. But facing Li Xingtian, a Nascent Soul cultivator whose attributes far exceeded the norm, he had to give way before the strike.
Li Xingtian was at this moment wearing the illusion robe that Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing had given him.
The towering blood-qi at the edge of the blade was masked into a pure, snow-white radiance.
To the abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, this was naturally visible at a glance. But the mortals below could not see through it.
The waves of blood-qi spiraled and rolled, twisting toward the abbot to crush him.
Yanyun looked at Li Xingtian, who had not said a single word — or rather, who had used his blade in place of words.
Li Xingtian gripped the spiritual treasure and pointed it straight down at the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, his voice stern:
"Dead bald ass, trying to bewitch someone even at death's door? Let me ask you — do you truly believe this in your heart?"
"If you truly believe it, then the only thing to say is you died far too late!"
"Today, even if you could spit lotus flowers from your mouth, even if I could not out-argue you, I will still tear down this broken Ten Thousand Buddha Temple and destroy these idols of greed."
"As for whether it is just — let the world judge that. I seek only a clear conscience in my own heart!"
"Fellow Daoists!"
"What need is there to hesitate!"
Hearing this, Yanyun did not hesitate either. Her spiritual treasure long sword left its sheath, her form pressed forward, and with a single stroke she cut down the abbot who had been spouting reckless words.
In the next moment, many streaks of rainbow light poured down.
Yanyun did not personally go down to clean up. Instead, her gaze went to Li Xingtian, and she asked curiously:
"Did your master teach you to say that?"
"My master doesn't teach such things." Li Xingtian let out a heavy breath. "My master only teaches us how to be a person."
Yanyun's lips curled in a faint smile at this, and she did not deny it.
The Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, though large in the eyes of mortals, was not large in the eyes of cultivators.
Wang Lin personally led the team. Against the Buddhist cultivators who resisted with force, he showed no mercy. But those who did not raise a hand were not slaughtered to the last.
He also took down a number of Buddha statues along the way. However, the main halls and the places where people could live were not too heavily damaged.
There were still many mortals outside who slept in the open. Wang Lin would not make any irrational choices for the sake of a moment's passion — not to mention the next-generation sect master was watching from above.
Within the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, there were not many monks at the Foundation Building or Grain Fasting level of cultivation. Most were monks without any cultivation at all.
They chanted sutras with sincere hearts, supplying the wish-power in their hearts. As for the matter of cultivation, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple had never provided them any real help.
To sustain these pure human-shaped wish-power vessels, the temple naturally had to keep stores of grain.
And so the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple's grain stores were still considerable. Only, the entire temple had no land at all that had been opened for farming. These stores must have come from the offerings of believers.
One could only wonder whether any of the refugees outside were believers of this place, and whether they would feel their hearts chill at this.
No matter how great the stores, they were still limited. Relying on these stores alone would be far from enough.
The three great sects were all composed of high-level cultivators. They had very little grain on hand. Mobilization was underway, but progress was clearly not swift.
"Distribute all the grain stores. At the same time, explain clearly to the mortals below the maps of the areas already cleared."
"If their homes have been cleared, they may be sent back."
"Leave people here to guard the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple. Also, contact the logistics and let the professionals come to arrange order here. Should you encounter matters requiring flexibility, you may make the decisions yourself."
Yanyun did not enter the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple. Instead, she gave all her arrangements to the cultivator staying behind to guard the temple.
Her footsteps could not yet pause here.
Yuyang Dao Son had gone to the Righteous Sound Dharma Temple. Chu Xingchen's next step, it seemed, was to go to Pu Sa Man to find Xu Jin.
Last time, Uncle Master Bai had been able to block the Buddha at Pu Du River only because, at most, the Righteous Sound Dharma Temple would be damaged.
But this time, they were basically uprooting the Buddhist sect's foundations in the Western Ox Continent.
Though Huang Miao was here at Pu Du River, he likely would not hold out for long.
And so, time was still extremely urgent.
At the very least, they had to let Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin find something in the Western Ox Continent.
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