The Corpse Dragon King rushed in front. Right as it raised its head to let out a breath, the sea of fire swallowed it, which filled it with fright. It powered its corpse qi to block, and a white figure shot by it.
Xiao An fell straight down, splitting open the mountainous white bones. The Soul Stirring Bell rang out frantically as the Immortal Relinquished sword sliced through all the obstructions, refusing to become locked in combat with anyone.
As she approached the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, she suddenly felt a sliver of unease. However, if she could not destroy the ghost tower quickly and seal up the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, this battle would definitely end in defeat. As a result, she made up her mind and made a push straight for the core of the ghost tower.
However, Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings stepped out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts constantly. More and more enemies appeared in her way, and the attacks from the cultivators and Daemon Kings were all blocked by the ghost tower, struggling to provide her with any support. As a result, she infiltrated the ranks of the enemy alone. Even with the momentum from the fire, she could not avoid constant injuries. Many cracks appeared on her bones.
The Great Banyan Tree King understood the outcome depended entirely on this, so he lunged forward. Billions of roots penetrated the ghost tower, coiling around the undead and opening a path for her.
Xiao An finally reached the core of the ghost tower. With both swords in hand, she crossed them and slashed down as hard as she could.
Suddenly, the core of the ghost tower condensed to a single point, shining with a deep, distant light. The swords all stopped within an inch of it, unable to advance any further.
Sovereign Li’s voice rang out from within, “The fish has taken the bait.”
With that, the entire ghost tower collapsed inwards. The colossal bones rapidly shrank to a hundredth of their size, turning into a cage of white bones, trapping Xiao An inside and then rapidly falling downwards.
“Oh no, it’s a trap!”
The Great Banyan Tree King used his aerial roots to wrap around the white bone cage, but the closer they were to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, the faster they withered away. There were more than a hundred undead there too, all kings that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. They possessed a geographic advantage, and they all assembled formations, so not a single root could pass through.
Flames gathered in Xiao An’s eye sockets. She raised the Immortal Relinquished sword and the Buddha Slaying sword before lowering them slowly again.
It was impossible for the swords to cut through the white bone, regardless of which one, so there was no point in trying.
Perhaps she never had a chance at victory right from the beginning. Alone, how was she supposed to contend against the Hungry Ghost realm that was one of the six realms of sa?sāra?
She could make out the sparse stars in the night sky through the cracks of the cage. She thought silently, Sorry, Qingshan. I’m going to break our promise.
The Gate of Hungry Ghosts cracked open a little more as if it was eager to swallow her.
“Xuanyue!”
The Dark Queen brought her fingers together and formed a seal, shining with a dim, violet-blue light. Her figure began to fade, gradually blurring and turning faint. She suddenly vanished and appeared in the white bone cage.
Under the dim glow, Xiao An’s figure instead gradually appeared and faded into existence. She recovered her great beauty again. She was slightly stunned, “Mother!”
The Dark Queen turned around, looking at Xiao An with relief and delight. Her lips opened, but not a single sound or thought could pass through the cage of white bone.
The King of Southern Yue said, “It’s the Umbral Yin sect’s Positional Swap!”
“You bitch, you’re also a disciple of the Umbral Yin sect, so how dare you ruin my plans! I will definitely make your soul suffer all the torture in the world, never to be reborn again!” Sovereign Li’s furious roar rang out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts
The Dark Queen lowered her head silently. Xiao An took a step forward.
The white bone cage hovered about the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Sovereign Li asked, “Do you want to save her? If you come to the Hungry Ghost realm, I’ll release her!”
The Dark Queen waved her hands and gestured anxiously. Xiao An stopped where she was and turned around, taking off into the air.
Suddenly, a golden comet shot across the sky, right towards her.
In a daze, she was unable to dodge in time, so the golden light struck her right in the back. With the cracking of bones, she was like a bird that had been struck by an arrow, falling out of the sky.
The golden comet flew back, landing in the hand of an old monk. It was a mallet to a wooden fish, a buddhist instrument.
The old monk wore a buddhist crown on his head and a splendid kasaya. His long eyebrows were snowy-white like frost, yet his skin was as tender as an infant’s. Halos upon halos lingered behind his back as he shone with golden light, descending from above slowly with boundless aura and dignity.
The Dauntless monk cried out, “Religious preceptor of the left!”
As it turned out, this old monk was the leader of all buddhist sects in the world, the abbot of the Spirit K?etra temple and the religious preceptor of the left of the Great Xia empire. His authority was paramount, and his strength was supreme. No one expected him to be hidden away the entire time, only launching a sneak attack now.
The Unraging monk flew into a rage. He took a step forward and questioned, “Aren’t you afraid of tarnishing the name of the religious preceptor of the left with such thuggish behaviour?”
The white eyebrows of the religious preceptor of the left leapt about. “I am executing the buddha nemesis for the buddha, so why would I care about these empty titles? Unraging, not only do you harbour daemons, but are you actually going to harbour the buddha nemesis as well? You really have gone too far with the demonic arts! I punish you to meditative self-reflection before a wall in the Spirit K?etra temple!”
He spoke calmly, but his voice allowed no room for defiance, much less any room for change. All disciples of buddhism in the world had to adhere to his orders.
The Dauntless monk said, “My junior brother is rude with his actions and has caused offence to the religious preceptor, so please forgive him! The buddha nemesis is a mortal enemy of our buddhism, but the Hungry Ghost realm is an even greater problem. How can we just forget about this and focus on the buddha nemesis?”
“The Spirit K?etra temple has its arrangements regarding the Hungry Ghost realm. My word is not the law, but very rarely has it not counted.”
The religious preceptor of the left threw out a wooden fish that swelled as it flew. The crack expanded and tried to swallow the Unraging monk. “If you dare to resist, your punishment will be made worse!”
“You wretched little man!” The Unraging monk transformed into a battle demon and sent the wooden fish flying with a punch.
Xiao An landed in the lush plants. The fresh smell of plants was laced with a flowery fragrance, which drifted in the night wind. The Great Banyan Tree King’s voice rang out in her ear, “Xiao An, the Spirit K?etra temple has already set up a tight encirclement. Many Monk Kings are hurrying over right now. The power of the Hungry Ghost realm is about to erupt. I can’t keep it restrained anymore.”
Before he had even finished what he was saying, streaks of golden light leapt out from the horizon as the barren landscape rapidly spread through the grassland.
In the blink of an eye, all the plants around her had withered away. Countless flowers wilted.
The Great Banyan Tree King fell silent too.
“Buddha nemesis? Hehe, a monster like you doesn’t belong to the world of the living or the death, the path of buddhism or the demonic. Do you still want to drag out a feeble existence? If you come to the Hungry Ghost realm right now to die, you can still save your mother’s life! Otherwise, if you end up in the hands of these bald asses, you’ll die the same, horrible death!”
Sovereign Li refused to simply give up like this. He ordered the undead to surround her.
The Daemon Kings all retreated far away, unable to withstand the corrosion from the power of death. The White Camel Sand King said, “I never believed what these bald asses preached, but this is retribution for Pearl city!”
The great cultivators all retreated back into the Silver Dragon King too. The King of Southern Yue’s eyebrows were firmly locked. He was rather hesitant.
An honoured guest said, “Your majesty, this child is heartless. Even when her own mother takes her place, she doesn’t even bat an eye, so why must we risk our lives for her? We’re better off pulling out quickly and leaving those damned ghosts to the bald asses.”
The King of Southern Yue let out a great sigh. The Silver Dragon King turned towards the south and sailed off, leaving behind the Dauntless monk wondering how he could stop the Unraging monk’s fury. He would glance at her occasionally, but his gaze was also cold and indifferent. A buddha nemesis was a buddha nemesis after all.
The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, “My dear master, don’t be sad. I definitely won’t abandon you like those bastards. I’ll definitely do my best to protect you. However, I’m also powerless in this situation. Why don’t you just commit suicide with the sword instead, just in case you end up going through all this humiliation for nothing. You know how sharp I am. You won’t feel any pain!”
She lay on the barren plains. Her empty eyes reflected the endless sea of stars.
The religious preceptor of the left took down the Unraging monk very quickly before raising the wooden fish mallet high into the air. “Amitābha, prepare to die, buddha nemesis!”
