Ru Nan was draped in a kasaya of flowing golden light, his right hand gently pinching a golden prayer bead as his gaze locked onto Huang Miao.
"This seat will definitely cross this river today. Are you alone in stopping me, or is the Xuanqing Heaven Sect stopping me?!"
Ru Nan's voice carried the solemn weight of Buddhist chanting.
As he spoke, the golden prayer bead in his hand bloomed with brilliant radiance, gradually shifting through seven colors before settling into a colorless state.
Following Ru Nan's words, the thirteen Buddhas behind him all revealed their true forms.
Each held a weapon or dharma treasure, taking positions on either side of the Venerable Buddha Ru Nan.
Huang Miao's expression remained calm.
He could naturally hear that Ru Nan's question was an indirect inquiry into the Xuanqing Heaven Sect's stance.
For Huang Miao to stand here naturally represented the stance of the Xuanqing Heaven Sect.
However, a stance did not necessarily mean a fight to the death.
For Ru Nan to come in person and bring thirteen Buddhas was the strongest possible display of attitude.
If the Xuanqing Heaven Sect merely wished to needle the Buddhist gates a little, then they should retreat now.
Otherwise, they would be drawn fully into this matter.
Huang Miao stood his long sword upright and gave a carefree laugh.
"Both. I block you, and the Xuanqing Heaven Sect blocks you. If you wish to cross the river, let your strength do the talking."
Hearing this, Ru Nan said no more.
Once those words were spoken, there was no longer any room for compromise.
The prayer bead in his right hand turned completely transparent, and a nine-petaled lotus wove seven-colored divine light within it.
The Buddhas behind him each released their own imposing auras.
It seemed as though, in the next moment, the greatest tribulation-crossing battle since the Great Calamity would erupt upon the Pudu River.
Suddenly, a translucent white sword pierced through the heavens and descended directly between the two sides.
An extremely terrifying sword intent silently rippled outward.
Though the person had not yet arrived, the sword alone was impossible for anyone to ignore.
A white silhouette swept across, alighting gently upon the long sword.
Bai Xuanling cast a deliberately surprised look toward Ru Nan's side, sighing as if in wonder.
"As expected of the Buddhist gates—what a grand display, so many tribulation-crossing cultivators. Even if more than half are a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates, only the Buddhist gates could scrape together this many crooked melons and cracked dates in one place."
Ru Nan's expression turned solemn.
"Bai Xuanling, the Great Thunder Sound Temple did not press you too hard at the Pudu River last time. What is your intention today?"
Bai Xuanling first glanced at Chu Xingchen some distance away, then turned back to Ru Nan.
"My intention? I was about to ask what all of you intend to do."
"Huang Miao has been a senior for how many years now? Yet today, more than a dozen of you are ganging up on such an old man. As a younger generation, I really cannot just stand by and watch."
Huang Miao cast a displeased look at Bai Xuanling.
"Calling me old? Bai Xuanling, shall we compare our ages?"
The Xuanqing Heaven Sect and the Tianyan Sect had never gotten along in earlier years.
Only recently had they connected, and that was because of Chu Xingchen.
As the Fierce God of the Xuanqing Heaven Sect, Huang Miao had naturally crossed hands with Bai Xuanling, the Killing God of the Tianyan Sect.
There had been no mutual admiration between experts back then—only the sincere desire to kill the other side.
If anything, the two of them had the look of mortal enemies meeting face-to-face.
At the very least, Ru Nan had never personally fought either of them.
Bai Xuanling looked at Huang Miao with a mocking expression.
"Why bother comparing? My peerless elegance shows no sign of age. Look at yourself, with that old man appearance of yours—it is a wonder you can even bring yourself to say it."
Naturally, Ru Nan did not care about the bickering between Bai Xuanling and Huang Miao.
After all, Bai Xuanling's habit of teasing her own sect master for fun was already well known to everyone.
Arguing with Bai Xuanling was itself a laughable affair.
Ru Nan's gaze first went to Chu Xingchen across the river before returning to Bai Xuanling.
"Bai Xuanling, this seat knows your divine soul has yet to stabilize. This seat will also take a step back."
"If you take Chu Xingchen and withdraw, the Buddhist gates will no longer pursue this matter. The affairs of the Western Ox Continent can then be discussed in detail."
"Oh? Then should I not be thanking you?"
Bai Xuanling drifted lightly backward, raising a hand as the long sword returned to her grasp.
She gave a soft laugh.
"Though I do not get along with Old Huang, and this would be our first time joining forces, if you truly believe your numbers give you victory over us, you are thinking a bit too highly of yourselves."
The Eighth-Turn True Buddha, standing to the right of the Buddhas, spoke sharply.
"Venerable Buddha, do not hesitate! Bai Xuanling's divine soul is unstable, and her current aura is only at the middle-to-lower stage of tribulation crossing. With so many Buddhas here in person, they will only yield after we cross the river—if we delay further, who knows who else might show up!"
Hearing this, Ru Nan did not respond.
Instead, he gestured for the Eighth-Turn to be silent, and turned a calm gaze toward Chu Xingchen, who had not spoken a word.
The Buddhist gates had sufficient intelligence.
Whether it was Bai Xuanling or Huang Miao who had come, neither could be separated from Chu Xingchen's involvement.
If Bai Xuanling could come in person, how could one be sure the Tianyan Sect's other tribulation-crossing cultivators had not come as well?
Only two being visible on the surface did not mean only two were truly present.
One had to remember—Lu Xuan was not someone just anyone could deceive.
That Ru Nan held the position of Venerable Buddha meant he naturally understood—a fight could break out at any time, but at what cost?
As long as there was even a sliver of a chance for negotiation, Ru Nan would still choose to try.
A smile appeared on Chu Xingchen's face as he flew out over the Pudu River, honestly tucking himself beside Bai Xuanling.
He cupped his hands in greeting.
"I am Chu Xingchen. I have long heard of Venerable Ru Nan's great name."
"This seat has also heard your name for a long time."
Ru Nan withdrew his imposing aura as a gesture of goodwill, and continued.
"This one does not understand why you harbor such prejudice against the Buddhist gates. Now that a Wicked Buddha has emerged in the Western Ox Continent and great calamity is at hand, rather than stopping it, you seem to be fueling the flames."
"This seat observes you to be upright and kind. Is there perhaps some misunderstanding?"
Chu Xingchen looked surprised.
"Wicked Buddha? Western Ox Continent?"
Ru Nan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"The Buddha beneath the True Sound Dharma Temple that you personally released—the Buddhist gates did not make things difficult for you over that matter, did they, benefactor?"
"He is a Wicked Buddha?"
Chu Xingchen's surprise did not diminish.
"But I later heard from the presiding Buddha of the True Sound Dharma Temple that the Buddha beneath the temple was comprehending the true meaning of the Buddhist gates and had already attained Mahayana."
"Furthermore, I personally read the teachings he was preaching. They were bright and virtuous, which is why I did not stop him."
"I had no idea that preaching righteousness was considered so grave an offense within the Buddhist gates. Or perhaps that wicked Buddha wrote in such veiled terms that I failed to grasp his meaning."
So saying, Chu Xingchen retrieved a scripture from his spatial ring and extended his hand as if to offer it.
"This was written by the wicked Buddha you speak of. Would the Venerable Buddha care to look, and perhaps offer some instruction? Point out where it is written wrongly, and why the people of the world should not act according to what is written within."
Ru Nan did not reach out to take it.
Chu Xingchen spoke with a face full of sincerity, yet every sentence struck directly at the critical points.
The offer to explain was false; the intent behind it was what deserved execution.
The sharp tongue he was rumored to possess truly lived up to its reputation.
"A wicked Buddha who deceives the masses must naturally feign righteousness. If he bared his fangs too early, he would hardly deserve the title of wicked Buddha."
Ru Nan answered simply, his gaze steady.
"However, this is likely not what you wish to ask. Since you have come, you must have something to say to me."
"Given your character, there should not be only two tribulation-crossing cultivators here."
Chu Xingchen withdrew the scripture.
"I did not expect Venerable Ru Nan to understand me so well."
"Then I have a question. Do you know what I have been doing lately?"
A smile surfaced on Chu Xingchen's face.
"Perhaps I understand the abnormalities within the Buddhist gates far better than the Venerable Buddha. I only wonder if the Venerable Buddha..."
"...is interested in hearing it."
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