At the Spiritual Mountain.
It was already an ocean.
However, the ocean was gold.
The sky, mountains, land, and everyone in it were covered in a layer of gold.
Everyone bathed in the ocean of gold with blank minds. They were in a daze.
‘Who am I?’
‘Where am I?’
‘What am I doing?’
They kept asking themselves that. They tried hard to recall what they were doing.
They had to because their Insights were on the brink of collapsing.
‘Deluxe Merit, so much Deluxe Merit. Anyone would lose their minds over it. Life’s so unfair!’
Li Nianfan glanced at everyone for their reaction. He had to nod in satisfaction. He was pleased with himself. It was the pleasure of being cool.
‘Who would’ve thought that I, an ordinary man, can flex in front of all these bigshots? All thanks to my golden touch.’
It took courage for him to show up, too. He wanted to ensure no one dared to fight so he used his powers. Although it was harmless, the powerful aura was still one-of-a-kind. It instantly stopped everyone in their tracks.
The way he yelled ‘stop’ was strong and confident. It echoed in the ears of the Demons like a rumble of thunder. They did not dare to move.
The Big Lord Demon snapped out of it. He instantly went cold and felt his skin crawl. He was scared senseless. He yelled nervously, “Stop, all of you stop it! Drop your weapons, don’t use your powers. Don’t hurt anyone by accident!”
Then, to be safe, he added, “Back up, all of you back up!”
The Demons instantly backed up.
The Big Lord Demon calmed his quivering heart. He tried to sound friendly and said, “Sir, this is the grudge between us Demons and Buddhists. It’s none of your concern, sir. Please, don’t interfere.”
“The Demonic Religion causes havoc and makes the people suffer. How can I stand by and watch as a human? Which is why I’ll kill every single one of you, including whatever Lord Demon you got, even if it costs me my cultivation!”
Li Nianfan smiled. He put his foot down for justice. After all, he could be reckless since he had the protection of his Deluxe Merit Flesh. He could do whatever he wanted!
“Sir, you saw what Buddhism did just now. They’re all a bunch of fascists. Don’t be fooled by them!” Big Lord Demon forcefully repressed his anger.
Li Nianfan looked indifferent. He said, “Enough. I see through your cheap tricks with my wise eyes. You’re obviously framing them! You’ll have to step over my dead body if you want to destroy Buddhism!”
Big Lord Demon was troubled. “Sir, you’re troubling us!”
‘Step over your dead body?
‘By then, the Demons would already be extinct before Buddhism could be destroyed.’
He went silent for a while. He had an idea and flicked his wrist. Out came a black dagger.
He clenched his jaw and looked like he was in pain. He said, “Sir, this is an Ultimate Heavenly Spiritual Treasure. This dagger’s attack is incredibly powerful and it’s indestructible. It can also corrupt souls. It’s a rare and precious treasure. Please, leave us be, sir.”
Li Nianfan was baffled.
‘This Big Lord Demon’s something else, he knows bribery.’
“What are you doing? Are you looking down on me? This is an insult!” Li Nianfan said in a serious tone. “If you don’t leave, don’t blame me for lying down on the ground!”
“No, please, don’t. Let’s talk this out.”
Big Lord Demon jumped. He looked troubled. In the end, he sighed softly and backed away.
The Demons frowned. They asked dazedly, “Lord Demon, what should we do?”
“Sigh. This Deluxe Merit Saint’s such a pot-stirrer. Can’t he just play by the rules and let us fight fairly?
“This is too much. He went too far.”
“Lord Demon!”
Suddenly, Moyun spoke up with an unhappy face. He sounded sacrificial, “Let me have a go at it!”
Big Lord Demon was puzzled. “Go? Where are you going?”
“I’ll go die with that Deluxe Merit Saint!” Moyun looked righteous with a sanctified light on his face. He said slowly, “I’m just an ordinary man. I can totally kill him. I’ll die with them but for the Demons, it’s worth it!”
He was about to step out and sprint toward Li Nianfan. “Goodbye, everyone. I won’t be back!”
“Come back here!”
Big Lord Demon had cold sweat all over. Thankfully, he was fast and agile enough. He tackled him and was shocked and angry. He gave two big slaps to Moyun before he said anything.
“Is something wrong with your brain?!”
Big Lord Demon was baffled. He said coldly, “You’ll kill the Deluxe Merit Saint for Demons but we Demons will all die because of karma! You stupid fool, you pig-head!”
Moyun did not get it yet. He said stubbornly, “I’m responsible for my own actions. I’ll be the one to kill him, what does it have to do with the Demons?”
“Who got this fool to work beside me?”
The Big Lord Demon was dumbfounded. He was so livid that he was even entertained at one point. “Come on, hurry up and drag him out of here. Oh yeah, for safety precautions, lock him up first for a hundred… No, wait, for a thousand years.”
Moyun found it unfathomable. He cried while he got dragged away. He sobbed, “Big Lord Demon, why would you treat me like this…”
“Sigh, don’t let fools be your teammates. They can easily jeopardize things!” Big Lord Demon sighed and groaned. He took out a black hexagon crystal in his hand. He cast a spell and the black crystal started to shine.
He decided to contact Lord Demon and asked for his opinion.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
‘Huh? Why’s it taking so long? Perhaps Lord Demon’s away at the moment?’
Suddenly, the black crystal shined.
Big Lord Demon instantly looked alive. He said, “Lord Demon, we have an emergency here.”
However, all he heard was frantic breathing coming from the black crystal.
The panting lasted for a while. Then, he heard Amon’s frantic voice, “Big Lord Demon, bad news, Lord Demon’s dead!”
“What?”
Big Lord Demon looked around. He thought he was hallucinating.
Then, he heard Backo sobbing, “Dead… Lord Demon’s really dead! Big Lord Demon, hurry up and come back. It’s too scary!”
‘Dead… Dead?’
The bad news struck him like lightning. Big Lord Demon was stunned.
Backo and Amon would not dare to lie.
He quivered and had a cold sweat. He yelled, “Everyone, listen to my orders! Retreat to the Demon Realm as fast as possible! Hurry up, hurry up!”
Fume!
Hundreds of Demons immediately soared to the sky. They were threatening as they came and quick as they went. They did not say goodbye to anyone. They disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
‘How should we put this? It’s kind of sudden.’
Everyone bafflingly looked in the direction where they disappeared. They could not understand why.
Xiao Chengfeng said smugly, “They ran fast. Otherwise, I would’ve killed them all with my sword!”
No one replied. They pretended they did not hear what he said.
Yuecha stood up and did the Namaste gesture. She bowed at Li Nianfan with respect, “Amitabha, thanks for the help, Mr. Li. You saved Buddhism.”
Li Nianfan shrugged it off, “The Demons weren’t good anyway. Helping you all would be helping myself. It’s not a big deal.”
Yuecha continued, “Mr. Li, I’m indebted to you for my conversion, for your advice, preachings, and for saving my life. I’m forever grateful to you. I’m afraid I won’t be able to repay you in my lifetime.”
Li Nianfan could tell what she meant by that. He arched his eyebrow, “Tara Yuecha, you…”
“Don’t call me Tara Yuecha anymore. My sins are heavy. I can’t give a bad name to Buddhism.” Yuecha paused and continued, “It’s not appropriate for my body to live in this realm. I can die in peace now that I have set up Buddhism. I shall disintegrate to wipe out the dirty stain in Buddhism.”
Li Nianfan asked, “Buddhism isn’t strong enough. Tara Yuecha, aren’t you worried that Buddhism would be bullied if you leave?”
“It’s all up to Fate.”
Yuecha bowed at Li Nianfan again. Then, she slowly levitated above the temple.
“I know that my sins are unforgivable. Today, I’m willing to disintegrate to pay for my sins. Please, witness it, everyone!”
She sat crossed-legged and soon after, she was engulfed in golden flames while everyone watched.
