Chapter 2451 - Strange Developments at the Sword Shrine, the Great Yin Divine Race

It was the Outsider Celestial Demons who’d suffered the heaviest casualties beneath the Tribulation of the Five Witherings.

Did that mean that they were Di E’s true targets?

Of course, there was another possibility: that Di E wanted to take the Outsider Celestial Demons and Li Fuyou’s old friends all out at once!

The more the group thought about it, the harder it was to stay calm.

The Buddha of the Future might have been powerful, but in the Boundless Battlefield, Di E, the man who controlled the Tribulation of the Five Witherings, was unquestionably the most dangerous!

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The Dipankara Buddha’s plans were deep, far-reaching, and thorough, but this time, he ultimately fell short compared to Di E,” sighed Su Yi. “I’m sure there’s someone helping Di E. Otherwise, there’s no way he could have used the Boundless Battlefield to plot against the former experts of the River of Destiny like the Dipankara Buddha and the Buddha of the Future.

He could roughly guess what Di E was thinking. He wanted to use the Tribulation of the Five Witherings to weaken the Buddhas!

After all, if the manifestations of their negative karma, the Demon Progenitors, suffered beneath the Tribulation of the Five Elements, the Buddhas surely would too!

This was what they meant when they called karmic fetters inextricable; your karma and your life were connected, so they flourished and withered as one.

Unfortunately, Di E hadn’t anticipated that the Dipankara Buddha would use Su Yi’s power of reincarnation to shatter these karmic fetters without creating a backlash.

In this regard, Di E had lost, but he wasn’t the only one. Su Yi had lost, too!

But in another sense, Su Yi had won. He’d successfully saved a group of his old friends, and he was in the process of killing every last remaining Outsider Celestial Demon to repay his blood debt.

That aside, his cultivation had broken into the Undying Realm!

He’d defeated both the Buddha of the Future hidden within the Well of Turbulent Daos and Di E, the one controlling the Tribulation of the Five Witherings!

“I just didn’t anticipate that the death trap in the Boundless Battlefield would be so complicated,” sighed Wen Qingfeng.

When the group thought back to everything that had happened since Su Yi’s arrival in Dao-Seeking City, they were overcome with emotion.

They’d initially assumed that the trap outside Dao-Seeking City was the work of the Demon Progenitors, and that they were working together to defeat Su Yi.

The trap was layered, inscrutable, and full of hidden perils.

It was only much later that they realized that the Buddha of the Future and the Dipankara Buddha were arranging things from behind the scenes!

Old Man Heart Demon and the other progenitors might have died, but their deaths had actually helped the Buddhas rid themselves of their karmic fetters.

But just as they thought the death trap was winding down, everyone suddenly realized that Di E had been controlling the situation from behind the scenes!

They didn’t even need to think to know that if Su Yi hadn’t grasped the truth behind the Tribulation of the Five Witherings and startled off that mysterious blood-red gourd, the Tribulation of the Five Witherings might well have ambushed them at any moment!

“If not for Brother Fuyou, we... would have died a long time ago,” someone sighed.

“That’s right. If not for him, we would have died years ago,” someone else said ruefully.

Everyone exchanged glances. They couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

That was the truth of the situation. Both Di E and the three Buddhas had plans for the Boundless Battlefield. They, the old-timers trapped in Dao-Seeking City, were no more than bait.

“The Dipankara Buddha and Di E are no ordinary people. Suffering a loss at their hands is nothing to be ashamed of.” Su Yi swept his gaze across his old friends. “When I return to the God Domain, I’ll slaughter them both sooner or later!”

“Brother Fuyou, when should we head back to the God Domain?” asked Wen Qingfeng.

“A month from now,” said Su Yi without even pausing to think.

He’d considered this question before, too.

Over the past year, they’d all but eradicated the Outsider Celestial Demons. Even if a few had somehow survived, they could no longer turn things around. Their race would never recover its former glory.

For all intents and purposes, they’d been annihilated already, and any survivors would ultimately perish in the Boundless Battlefield.

...

The outside world, the entrance to the Boundless Battlefield.

Di E sat cross-legged beneath the cracked dome of heaven.

And two others sat cross-legged on a nearby hill, the Buddha of the Future and the Dipankara Buddha.

Di E had used the power of the seal to welcome the Buddha of the Future back a year ago.

They’d been waiting here for Su Yi to return and cast themselves into their net ever since!

A year might have sounded like a long time, but to people like Di E and the Dipankara Buddha, twelve months passed in a flash. Compared to their endless lifespans, that was nothing at all.

“Your Excellency Di E, did you hear about the major incident that happened in the God Domain recently?” the Dipankara Buddha asked suddenly.

Di E frowned. In the past, he’d thought nothing of it when the Dipankara Buddha addressed him as “Your Excellency.”

But ever since learning the Dipankara Buddha’s true origins, Di E couldn’t help but feel as if the Dipankara Buddha were making fun of him whenever he used that title.

He took a moment to calm himself, then said, “Are you talking about the changes to the Tianxiu Sword Shrine?”

The Tianxiu Sword Shrine was a supreme sacred ground in the eyes of the God Domain’s sword cultivators. Throughout the ages, countless dazzlingly talented sword cultivators had used the powers of the Dao of the Sword they took the most pride in to carve their mark on the Tianxiu Sword Stele.

Only sword cultivators could sense the marks on the stele.

The Tianxiu Sword Shrine had other mysteries, too.

Rumor had it that the shrine had existed since the earliest days of the God Domain’s history, and that it contained the most ancient of chaos sources. Furthermore, they said that this source energy gave rise to a supreme Law of the Grand Dao connected to the Dao of the Sword!

Anyone who acquired it could trace their Dao of the Sword back to its most ancient and primeval source!

There were even rumors that those who found that chaos source could touch the threshold of the River of Destiny and point their swords at Eternity!

Of course, there were also rumors that since the earliest days of the God Domain’s history, no one, no matter who they were, had ever managed to find that chaos source.

Not even Yi Daoxuan and Li Fuyou, both unparalleled sword cultivators who’d dominated their respective eras, had ever managed it.

But just half a year ago, the Tianxiu Sword Shrine changed dramatically.

The stele that had stood in the shrine throughout the ages had suddenly given rise to a mysterious diagram formed entirely out of criss-crossing gashes. Its interior was full of endless mysteries.

Some sword cultivators had, after contemplating the diagram, proclaimed that anyone who grasped its mysteries could acquire that chaos source thought only to exist in legend.

When word spread, it instantly triggered a worldwide uproar.

Sword cultivators from all across the God Domain rushed to the Tianxiu Sword Shrine, and even some experts who pursued other Daos.

“The mysterious diagram that appeared over the Tianxiu Sword Shrine is wondrous indeed, but that isn’t what I’m talking about,” said the Dipankara Buddha, shaking his head.

Di E was briefly stunned. Then, his brow furrowed. “Quit trying to build suspense. What are you trying to say? Whatever it is, speak directly.”

The Dipankara Buddha smiled. “I’m not trying to keep you in suspense. If you’re paying any kind of attention to current affairs, I’m sure you’d have noticed the enormous trouble that the Qilin Race of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent has run into.”

Di E seemed to recall something. “Are you talking about the Great Yin Divine Race’s marriage proposal?”

The Great Yin Divine Race.

They weren’t of the present day, and they’d come to the God Domain through a spacetime forbidden zone.

They’d yet to fully arrive in the present day, but some of their experts had used a supreme treasure capable of deceiving the heavens to arrive in the God Domain.

The Great Yin Divine Race called themselves the descendants of the Eternal Divine Moon, and their origins were incomparably mysterious. In the present-day God Domain, those who knew of them could be counted on the fingers.

But secrets like these couldn’t possibly escape the notice of Di E and the Dipankara Buddha, who had eyes all across the God Domain.

Di E had even heard that a year ago, an emissary of the Great Yin Divine Race had visited the Qilin Race to suggest a marriage alliance!

The Dipankara Buddha smiled faintly. “The marriage alliance is but a pretext. Their real goal is to force the Qilin Race to submit!”

Di E’s brow furrowed. “In the present-day God Domain, such situations aren’t the least bit unusual. How is that worthy of notice?”

Numerous spacetime forbidden zones had arisen throughout the God Domain over the past few years. All of them were owned by powerful factions not of the present day.

These factions were all employing various methods to recruit followers and make arrangements in the God Domain in preparation for the Dark Days of Legend.

In light of that, the Great Yin Divine Race’s attempts to force the Qilin into submission through a marriage alliance wasn’t the least bit unusual.

“The Qilin race’s origins are incomparably mysterious,” said the Dipankara Buddha. “Haven’t the old-timers backing you told you that they aren’t based in the God Domain?”

Di E’s eyes flashed. “I’ve heard rumors, but I still don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

The Dipankara Buddha laughed. “All I can tell you is that the Qilin have an extraordinary relationship with Su Yi’s past life.

“And the Great Yin Divine Race is extraordinary, too. They aren’t of the present age, and they really are descendants of an Eternal Dao Lord.”

“In fact, the Great Yin and Qilin Races actually got acquainted a long time ago.

But unlike the Qilin, the Great Yin Divine Race and Su Yi’s past life weren’t allies, but rather... irreconcilable enemies!”

“You’re saying that the Great Yin Divine Race is using the marriage alliance as a pretext to force Su Yi to submit in order to target Su Yi?” asked Di E.

The Dipankara Buddha inclined his head. “I’m sure of it. Furthermore, I can already foresee that the Qilin Race will find it difficult to refuse this marriage alliance.”

He spoke with incomparable certainty.

Di E instantly fell silent.

“If you don’t know about the Great Yin and Qilin Races, you can go ask your backers,” said the Dipankara Buddha. “Once you understand, you’ll realize that when the Great Yin Divine Race descends fully into the God Domain, seizing Su Yi’s Epoch Spark and secrets of reincarnation will become far more troublesome.”

Di E’s brow furrowed.

It sounds like their foundations are far mightier than I could have imagined!

He said calmly, “Haven’t you effectively gained another powerful competitor, too?”

The Dipankara Buddha nodded. “That’s indeed the case, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Su Yi somehow manages to escape us with his life, I might well cooperate with the Great Yin Divine Race.”

Di E laughed coldly, but just as he was about to say something, his expression shifted. He felt a terrifying impact, and his seated figure quivered.

A line of fresh blood dripped from the corner of his mouth!