Chapter 674: Battle at the Peak of the Clouds

Upon hearing the word "Resurrected," the three men from the Mount Shu Sect were stunned.

After a long pause, Wang Xuanling said, "An individual at the seventh realm would be borrowing the power of the Great Dao while an individual at the eighth realm would take control of that Great Dao. However, an individual at the ninth realm would merge with the Great Dao... If someone was able to reform the Great Dao again, then it is theoretically possible to resurrect the ninth-realm existence within that Great Dao... I just have never heard of such rumors. It is truly astonishing."

"Merge?" Xu Ziyang asked. "With so many Great Daos in existence, why can there only be one cultivator at the Profound Realm at any given time?"

As young cultivators, they naturally didn't have the same deep understanding of the Great Dao as Wang Xuanling, who had spent many years studying it.

"It's likely because the world lacks enough spiritual energy..." Wang Xuanling explained. "To merge with the Great Dao, a cultivator must elevate the Great Dao of the Profound above all the other Great Daos and complete the act of 'proving their understanding of the Dao.' Only then can one stand at the pinnacle of heaven and earth. Reaching the ninth realm demands an immense amount of spiritual energy from the world itself..."

Chu Liang remained silent.

Upon hearing this, a spark of realization flickered in Chu Liang's mind. Questions he had long pondered now seemed to have answers.

Was this why all traces of the ninth-realm existence would always be erased after their fall?

There were those who did not want the ninth-realm beings from being resurrected. They worked to erase every trace of their existence and diminish their influence, ensuring future generations could not revive them.

A force powerful enough to erase the ninth realm's existence must be ancient and overwhelming. They subdued figures like the Southern Shaman God and the Jiuli Evil God, who had countless followers, and turned them into nothing more than myths in history.

As Chu Liang thought further, he wondered if they had something to do with the fall of the other ninth-realm beings?

No. Impossible. Even if they were powerful, there had to be limits to their powers. They couldn't truly compare with an actual ninth-realm being,

Chu Liang thought.

At the very least, the two Hallowed Ones of the human race, the sea demons' Hallowed Mother, and the land demons' Demon God still had a vast number of followers.

Perhaps no one had dared to take such dangerous actions so far. However, should this hidden force learn of any attempts to bring the ninth-realm beings back, those involved would face a devastating strike.

This reminded Chu Liang of the collapse of the Ancient Dragon Lair.

After the fall of the Dragon God, it wasn't until several thousand years later that the Ancient Dragon Lair was destroyed, as though struck by divine punishment.

Did some dragon try to reform the Great Dao again and resurrect the Dragon God? And that caused the destruction of the Ancient Dragon Lair?

Chu Liang wondered.

Chu Liang couldn't help but think of the place he had heard of but never seen—the Divine Ruins Monastery.

Are they the ancient force behind all of this? But why would they do this?

Though Chu Liang pondered deeply, he couldn't find the answer to these questions.

Meanwhile, Princess Liange continued reading her translation. "Only the soul of the Hallowed Mother will be revived. A physical body is required as a vessel, and it must be a merfolk with pure divine blood..."

At this point, she stopped reading and said, "Pure divine blood is very rare among the royal family—only my mother and I possess it!"

"The merfolk queen..." Chu Liang pondered aloud. "Maybe she plans to use herself as the vessel..."

He fell silent, not expanding on the thought.

If the goal was to resurrect the Hallowed Mother, the merfolk queen, despite knowing it was part of the Sea Master's conspiracy, would likely agree.

The Ruins of Return Cult had originally intended for Princess Liange to serve as the vessel for the Hallowed Mother's resurrection, which was why men of the West Sea Diabolical Sect had been sent to capture her.

After all, this was not something that could be made public. Until the Hallowed Mother was truly resurrected, it had to remain a secret from all the other sea demons. Otherwise, it could trigger a powerful strike from that hidden, ancient force.

If not for this condition, the sea demons would never have allowed harm to come to the merfolk princess. This was why the outsiders from the West Sea Diabolical Sect were permitted to take action.

If Senior Brother Xu hadn't helped, Princess Liange would likely be in that pavilion now, staying in the room next door to that large toad.

After learning about these matters, the merfolk queen likely didn't want her daughter to serve as the Hallowed Mother's vessel. After all, infusing the soul of a ninth-realm being into a body would destroy the original soul, much like a candle being snuffed out.

The queen wasn't trying to imprison Princess Liange; she was likely trying to protect her daughter.

Now, she must be using this time for something else, something important.

"No!" Princess Liange shouted anxiously.

Chu Liang replied, "If we want to save both of you, we can only rescue the golden toad and expose the schemes of the Ruins of Return Cult."

"But if we do that, the Hallowed Mother won't be resurrected..." Princess Liange murmured sadly.

"If the Hallowed Mother, who sees all sea demons as her children, were alive today, do you think she would want to sacrifice so many of her followers for her own resurrection?" Chu Liang suddenly asked.

The question made Princess Liange freeze for a moment.

If the Hallowed Mother was willing to sacrifice the entire sea demon race to revive herself, she would no longer be worthy of being their deity. If the Hallowed Mother did not wish for the resurrection, then forcing it would be an act that defies her will.

Princess Liange felt that something was off, but then it all seemed to make sense. The compassionate Hallowed Mother who wished to die—she was the deity who truly deserved their worship.

With this revelation, it became clear that stopping everything from unfolding was the right choice, and Princess Liange's eyes lit up.

As the thought crossed her mind, Princess Liange's expression darkened once more. "But my mother has trapped us here. We can't escape."

Chu Liang shook his head, glancing toward the cave entrance and let out a deep sigh, "

Haaaaaa.

"

...

"Why the sighing?" asked a sturdy young man with three purple markings on his face as he stood amidst the sweeping winds, gazing at the towering temple in the distance.

This man was none other than Changfeng, the Demon King of the Great Marshlands from the Far West.

Amidst the clouds beside him stood a woman who exuded a natural allure. She gazed at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery in the distance and let out a few sighs.

She was Caiyi, the Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills.

"I sigh for this temple at the peak of the heavens. It took so much to build, yet today it will be destroyed in a mere moment," she said gloomily.

"It's just a few stupid buildings. If they're destroyed, so be it, what's the big deal?" Changfeng said with a wicked smile. "When we rule the land of the nine provinces, we can just build another one on top."

Caiyi paused in silence as she realized how impossible it was to make these barbaric greater demons understand the deep culture embodied by this temple.

After a moment, she spoke again, "Let's do it."

"Hehe." Changfeng chuckled. "This is the first time in three thousand years we've openly fought back against the immortal sects in the Divine Nine, isn't it?"

With hearty laughter filling the air, his body twisted midair, and in a flash of blinding light, he transformed into a massive, colorful purple-azure serpent. The speed of his transformation sent a deafening roar echoing through the air!

In the blink of an eye, the monks of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery saw a massive serpent stretching across the sky. It was almost bigger than the entire monastery itself and it descended with a deafening rumble!

"Demon!"

A large group of monks in the temple square shouted upon witnessing this scene. However, their voices quickly caught in their throats as a fragrant, colorful wind and smoke swept over the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, causing everyone's vision to momentarily brighten.

Boom.

From the sea of clouds, a massive white jade pillar rose, and upon it, a glowing figure sat, radiating light like a bodhisattva. Upon seeing the figure, one instinctively felt compelled to step forward for a closer view.

Boom boom boom boom boom.

Soon, eight jade pillars rose one after another, with the Buddha lights of arhats and bodhisattvas shining brilliantly. A divine glow cast over the area, transforming it into a sight that resembled a sacred mountain. The sight stirred the monks' devoutness, and many felt an overwhelming urge to renew their faith.

Right then, a voice rang out, as loud and thunderous as the tolling of a great bell.

"Demon! Reveal yourself!"

A gigantic hand, reaching from the depths of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, extended and grabbed one of the white jade pillars. The pillar twisted and transformed into a fluffy white fox tail!

Upon closer inspection, the eight jade-white pillars, glowing with the Buddha's Light, were revealed to be eight fox tails! One of them collided with the massive hand, bouncing off with force, while the other seven coiled around the sea of clouds that surrounded the Buddhist Cloud Monastery!

Boom boom boom...

The tails were not attacking; they were locking the entire Buddhist Cloud Monastery in place while the massive purple-azure serpent in mid-air crashed down on the temple.

BOOOOOM!!!

The cluster of temple buildings on the sea of clouds shattered under the impact, half of them crumbling and the ground breaking apart! Yet, the seemingly ethereal vast sea of clouds only rippled slightly from the strike.

The other half of the temples remained intact because they were protected by this old monk in tattered robes. His towering figure stood firm, bearing the crushing weight of the massive serpent's tail.

With a frail and withered appearance, he seemed insignificant, much like a monk who had just discarded his broom after sweeping the back mountain.

Abbot Dayu was far out on the South Sea with the Dharma Lotus Platform, so the only eighth-realm existence left to protect the temple was his senior brother, Dhyana Master Dawu—a Sweeper Monk in the area behind the hill.

With the activation of the Colossal Metallic Body, Dhyana Master Dayu became as large as the serpent, which was as tall as the heavens.

However, Changfeng's attack didn't end there. He flicked his long tail, and a mighty wind swept across, suddenly clearing the air.

The pure qi, impure qi, spiritual qi, yin qi, and yang qi... all dissipated, leaving the sky above as a vast, empty void.

Dhyana Master Dawu slowly murmured, the words barely escaping his lips.

"Severed Breath?"

The Great Dao of Wind, like all Daos, also has its dual aspects of yin and yang.

The Great Dao that the Blue Dragon controlled when it was alive was called "Governing Balance[1]." It was the Dao of Yang Wind, governing the flow of the heavens and earth, sweeping across the world.

The Great Dao that Changfeng controlled was Severed Breath. This was the Dao of Yin Wind, capable of severing the breath of the heavens and returning all things to the void.

At this moment, when he released it within the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, the space would be stripped of all spiritual qi, while the wind of destruction would rise from within the monks and tear through the monks' very flesh.

"

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

"

All the monks in the temple screamed in agony. Some of those with lower cultivation levels instantly shriveled up, turning into mummified corpses!

This wind was called "Bifeng[2]." This was not a wind that existed in the natural world, but a wind that existed within the organs, seeking to destroy the liver and intestines!

"As expected, demons are evildoers after all..." Dhyana Master Dawu said with a sigh. "You control the Great Dao only to bring death."

As he spoke, each word reverberated like thunder, echoing painfully in Changfeng's ears.

For some unknown reason, a surge of fury rose in Changfeng's heart, but there was no outlet for this rage. He simply felt overwhelmed by it.

A wave of sorrow and bitterness suddenly swept through him. At the same time, joy surged within him, and he couldn't help but guffaw wildly. Then an inexplicable fear filled him, making him feel as though he might cry in terror at any moment...

All these emotions collided at once, mixing together and exploding within him.

"Stop it," Dhyana Master Dawu uttered.

Overwhelmed by endless pain, Demon King Changfeng obeyed the command and ceased the use of his divine powers. Only then did he feel the turmoil of his seven emotions gradually ease.

Dhyana Master Dawu had used the Brahma Sound of Wisdom.

Pushan had once witnessed the Whale-Riding Immortal perform this technique. While using it against someone at the eighth realm was different from using it on others, the fact that it worked proved the strength of Dawu's cultivation.

The surviving monks of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery were freed and fled for their lives. After all, in this fight between eighth-realm existences, even the fish in the pond were better off than they were.

Golden light flashed in bursts, radiating outward and filling the space. It was Dhyana Master Shenyou, the one who never uttered a word, taking action. Wherever he went, groups of monastery disciples disappeared, whisked away to another place by his hand.

On this battlefield, not only were these monks incapable of offering help, but they would only become a burden to Dhyana Master Dawu.

Eighteen high monks, resembling Arhats, stood firm, each gripping a monk's staff as they led the temple-guarding formation. They invoked the projection of the Buddha's figure, its golden light shining brightly to block the rainbow light cast by the eight-tailed fox demon.

However, as the eight tails swayed, waves of colorful light rippled through the air, and the great formation seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Once the monks and disciples had been ferried away, Dhyana Master Shenyou flipped his hand and drew forth a vajra pestle. He threw it forcefully towards the sky, and as it flew through the air, it expanded to three zhang in length before crashing down with a thunderous clang!

Bang!

The vajra pestle struck the ground with a powerful impact, releasing a dazzling platinum light that cut through the sky like a sword.

In that moment, a thunderous lion's roar rang out from the sea of clouds, as if answering the golden light released by the pestle.

"Roar—"

With that, the roar shattered a corner of the cloud sea in an instant!

1. The raw being 司舜. 司 (Si) meaning governing and 舜 (Shun) might be related to the Emperor Shun? Refer to

Link

. ☜

2. The term 赑风 (pinyin: bì fēng) is a Chinese word that means "mighty wind." It refers to one of the great three calamities mentioned in Buddhism, specifically the calamity of wind. It is a storm of furious rage.This was also mentioned in the Journey to the West as a mighty wind that enters through the top of the skull, travels down through the midriff, and penetrates all nine apertures of the body. This wind causes the bones and flesh to dissolve, leading to the disintegration of the body. Refer to

Link

. ☜