Chapter 273: Surrounded By Infinite Ghosts of Equal Power
“Ravenous Wolf Swallows the Sky!”
Sage Ravenous Wolf unleashed a thick black gas which morphed into a ma.s.sive wolf that pounced straight at Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus.
But the staff in Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ hand expanded to thousands of feet long and immediately swept the air clear of that black gas wolf.
Sage Ravenous Wolf retreated, hoping to join forces with Sage Seven Kill and Sage Broken Army to attack Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus.
A pity that Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus was not alone.
As the Kill Broken Wolf Realm shattered, more and more figures appeared in the Netherworld Yellow Springs domain.
Nine Heavenly Venerables and 108 Supremacies had arrived and stood in over a dozen powerful formations.
These formations could concentrate the powers of the Nascent Soul Supremacies, such that they would be able to fight against a Heavenly Venerable. This was a core legacy technique that belonged to the cultivation sects.
If there were enough members inside the formation, it was even possible for them to fight against a peak-level Heavenly Venerable or half a Sage!
At this moment, the main troops of the cultivation sects had received the Sacred Leader’s message and hurried over. They had completely surrounded the enemy.
Such a ma.s.sive troop, plus Heavenly Venerables Crimson Lotus and Scarlet Dance, was enough to suppress Sage Seven Kill and Sage Broken Army.
“d.a.m.n it, is this how a so-called righteous cultivation sect behaves? If you are so good, you should be fighting us one on one?”
Five Heavenly Venerables and 54 Supremacies surrounded Sage Seven Kill. Meanwhile, the more powerful Sage Broken Army was being surrounded by six Heavenly Venerables and 54 Supremacies.
The troops completely shrugged off the attacks of those two Sages. It was like hitting a pile of candy floss—frustrating and annoying.
Of course, the most frustrated one of them all was Sage Ravenous Wolf.
After all, as Sage Seven Kill and Sage Broken Army were being surrounded, he was being thrashed by a Heavenly Venerable.
He had lost all dignity as a Sage.
“Supreme Ocean Staff: Hitting A Dog On The Head!”
The golden staff swirled around at lightning speed, giving Ravenous Wolf such a sound beating that he flew across thousands of feet before landing heavily on the floor.
His face was pale and extremely grim. “d.a.m.n it. How dare you treat me in this manner. I must tear you into pieces!”
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus propped his golden staff across his own shoulder and grinned. “I am standing right in front of you. Come and get me then!”
His manner was extremely arrogant and aggravating.
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ face suddenly changed, and he quickly retreated.
Unfortunately, he was too late. A huge palm suddenly appeared and squeezed Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus tightly within its hand.
This hand was gargantuan and exuded a dazzling golden light. The palm also had a sparkling Buddhist swastika in the center, as if it was really the hand of Buddha himself.
But the strange thing was the surface of this palm was covered in dense black cursed scriptures, which exuded an extremely bizarre aura.
It made the whole palm look both evil and good, like a demon but also a deity. It was extremely contrasting.
“A high-level Sage dares to launch a sneak attack on me? Get off me! Get off me!”
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus struggled relentlessly as his golden staff radiated powerful divine power.
A pity that three tribulations made a True Sage, while five tribulations made a Great Sage. The cultivation level of the owner of this palm was unfathomably deep and advanced.
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus would find it very difficult to escape.
A strange chanting could be heard as golden lotus flowers appeared in mid-air. But every single flower was imprinted with black cursed scriptures.
A figure appeared in mid-air, stepping onto those lotus flowers.
His left side was dressed in a white monk’s robe, looking like a pure and saintly monk.
But his right side was garbed in a malevolent black armor, looking very much like a battle-thirsty demon from h.e.l.l.
His get-up was both contrasting and rather comical. However, his aura was terrifying, and no one smiled.
There was no doubt that this was an extremely powerful great demon!
“Humble greetings, my fellow pract.i.tioners. I am the Lifeless King.”
The Lifeless King bowed as he held a string of prayer beads in his left hand.
He looked extremely humble and courteous.
But the moment he uttered the words “Lifeless King”, the faces of everyone instantly changed.
This was because this name was just too infamous.
The Lifeless King was one of the four great Evil Spirit Sect kings. He hailed from the Sonic Thunder Sacred Ground.
He was a prodigy from the same generation as Huang Shi, and he had made his name 8,000 years ago as the Great Prajna prodigy.
It was said that when he was born, he had been lit by tens of thousands of Buddhist lights. The sound of Buddhist chantings could be heard as if the true Buddha had been reborn.
Because of that phenomenon, he had entered a monastery from a young age and had been chosen as the Sonic Thunder Sacred Ground’s Bodhisattva.
Meanwhile, his talent for cultivation was completely on par with his reputation.
He instinctively knew all the common Buddhist skills and techniques and became an instant master at all of them. He could even refine the techniques and come up with new ones.
Very soon, whether it was Buddhist philosophy, scriptures, skills, or techniques—Lifeless was able to grasp them all to the highest levels, surpa.s.sing even the Buddhist Lord.
But precisely because he was too talented, too exceptional, and advanced too quickly—he had come into contact with the forbidden.
He had started to doubt Buddhism’s true meaning and suspected the sacred ground of deceiving its followers.
He even suspected whether Buddha was truly benevolent.
As the saying went, “Good and evil can be different sides of the same coin.”
Lifeless’ exceptional talent was also the source of his demonic notions.
Youngsters like Bodhisattva Kuduo wouldn’t overthink things. But Lifeless had gone over to the dark side during one of their attacks against the Evil Spirits.
Perhaps he had thirsted after a new power. Perhaps he had obtained the answers to his doubts and queries from the Evil Spirits. Perhaps...
Anyway, during their attack campaign against the Evil Spirits, Bodhisattva Lifeless had turned and caused a ma.s.sive bloodbath in his monastery.
A Sage-level monk going to the dark side. It was a devastating loss to the Sonic Thunder Sacred Ground.
Meanwhile, Lifeless had officially pledged himself to the Evil Spirit Sect, becoming one of their leaders—one of the four highly-esteemed kings!
Eight thousand years ago, the Lifeless King had already been ranked as one of the top most outstanding Sage monks in the entire Eastern Wilderness.
In his prime, he had even fought Huang Shi.
This was many years ago, and no one could estimate just how high his current cultivation level was.
By right, the Lifeless King was one of the four great Evil Spirit Sect kings and should be overseeing the headquarters of the sect in Middle Ground.
Why had he appeared in the Seven Kill Sect, which was just one of the sub-sects? And he had even gathered Sage Seven Kill and Sage Broken Army.
Could it be the Evil Spirit Sect was preparing to fight to the end this time???
It was a crazy notion. Had all the mafia gangs gone insane now?
The sacred grounds allied troops had already arrived. Instead of taking this opportunity to flee, they were counterattacking?
It was truly illogical!
...
The Lifeless King seemed very pleased with the reactions of the crowd. He gazed at Shen Tian.
Shen Tian had already stored his Six Paths of Reincarnation Disk and the Hurricane Lily King. But their aura still lingered on his body.
The Lifeless King’s gaze was profound as he smiled. “I have no intention of making enemies of you guys. Please don’t misunderstand me.
“It’s just that this young man has stolen the Hurricane Lily, which I have cultivated over many years. It is very unreasonable. Please, return the flower to me.
“I promise that I will not seek revenge and torture everyone. I will try my best to send you guys to the netherworld as painlessly as possible. How about that?”
The Lifeless King’s body exuded a faint Buddhist glow as he spoke, making him look very benign.
But the moment he said the word “netherworld”, the demonic aura on his right half surged and roiled.
Another huge Buddha palm covered in cursed scripture suddenly appeared behind Shen Tian.
It was the same as when Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus had been attacked!
The Lifeless King’s attacks were faster and more agile than anyone had ever seen. No one was able to defend.
By the time the Heavenly Venerables snapped out of their trance, his palm was nearly closing over Shen Tian. There was no chance of escape at all.
However, at that moment, a bolt of lightning shot through the air. A mild voice sounded out.
“Senior Lifeless, it’s not right of you to bully my disciple!”
That lightning bolt morphed into a dazzling sword and sliced open the huge palm.
A figure enshrouded in lightning and heavenly aura appeared before everyone. Who else could it be but the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader?
Beside the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader was another lovely lady covered in a misty divine light. It was the Jade Lake’s Sacred Leader, Yao Qiuyue.
The one who sliced open the Lifeless King’s palm was indeed the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader. His face was grim to the extreme.
After all, he knew better than anyone present just how powerful the Lifeless King was!
The appearance of these two Sages instantly boosted the morale of all the Heavenly Venerables.
Meanwhile, the Lifeless King still wore his mild smile. “The new generation overtakes the previous one, like waves crashing upon the sh.o.r.e.”
“I have heard that the current Divine Firmament Sacred Leader, Zhang Longyuan, possesses exceptional talent and single-handedly brought the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground back to its former glory. I can see that you are indeed extraordinary.
“The two of you remained hidden for so long but revealed yourselves because of this young man. It looks like he is very important to you two.”
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader’s lightning and heavenly aura rippled gently. He said, “Tian’er is my disciple. He is, of course, very important to me.
“By attacking my disciple, you are bullying someone weaker than you. I am afraid we might have to fight it out today!”
With that, a golden sutra appeared in the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader’s hands.
Countless wondrous lightning talismans shot out from the sutra, instantly covering the Lifeless King from head to toe. The talismans summoned the natural power of lightning to attack the Lifeless King.
However, the Lifeless King didn’t display a single ounce of fear. He just smiled impa.s.sively, as if he was really Buddha himself.
“The world is so beautiful, but you are behaving so violently. Not good. Not good at all.”
The heavenly lightning struck the Lifeless King straight on but was unable to incur any damage.
The Lifeless King morphed into an illusory shadow, dissolving under the attacks of the lightning. The fabrics of s.p.a.ce were distorted, and he disappeared before everyone’s eyes.
“Fled? He actually fled?”
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus exploded angrily from the Buddha’s palm after the Lifeless King disappeared.
He jumped up and down in rage with his golden staff. “Junior Brother, didn’t you see me being captured earlier? Why didn’t you step in to save me then?”
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader smiled. “I just arrived and didn’t manage to intervene in time. Senior Brother, please don’t misunderstand.”
I didn’t. I wouldn’t. Don’t make blind accusations!
The corners of Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ lips twitched. No way will I believe a miserable, black-hearted sc.u.m like you!
As if he felt Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ grievances, the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader’s lightning and heavenly aura rippled gently.
He said in a gentle manner, “To be honest, if the Lifeless King had not attacked Tian’er, the Jade Lake’s Sacred Leader and I didn’t intend to reveal ourselves.”
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader nodded solemnly. She surveyed the area. “This domain is very strange. We must leave here as soon as possible.”
...
Everything suddenly changed.
The Evil Spirit Sect’s Seven Kill, Broken Army, and Ravenous Wolf laughed coldly.
They had been trapped by the cultivation sects’ array formation and couldn’t escape.
But now, the three Sages morphed into streaks of blood-red light and merged into the earth, or rather, merged into the Netherworld Yellow Springs domain.
In the next second, a clear and bizarre chanting sound echoed throughout the entire Netherworld Yellow Springs domain.
Countless strange, cursed scriptures floated in the sky as a mult.i.tude of blood-red divine emblems crisscrossed on the ground.
Illusory ancient Buddha figures suddenly appeared. But every single one of them was covered in a dense blood-red demon pattern.
They exuded a faint glow, looking like Buddhas but also like demons. It was all very creepy.
After those Buddha figures appeared, the faces of all the Heavenly Venerables and Supremacies instantly changed.
“My cultivation level has been suppressed to the Golden Core stage. How is that possible!?”
“Me too. I am unable to access my Soul Formation stage. How is that possible!?”
“Demon-Destroying Fire, activate! d.a.m.n, why is my great fiery phoenix just a little chicken now!?”
...
The troops were in a panic. Even the auras of the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader and Jade Lake Sacred Leader were flickering wildly as if they were being forced back into their bodies.
“Oh no, it is the long-lost forbidden Buddhist skill: All Are Equal Domain!”
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader looked extremely grim.
As the leader of her sacred ground, the Jade Lake Sacred Leader knew more secrets than a normal cultivator.
This so-called All Are Equal Domain was the invincible creation by an exceptional Sage Buddha tens of thousands of years ago.
This domain was similar to the Primordial Battlefield in that it could suppress the enemy’s cultivation levels. But some minor details about the domain were different.
The Primordial Battlefield’s suppression was formed by a natural power with everyone being suppressed to a fixed level.
For example, in the Primordial Battlefield near the Country of Fire, everyone’s cultivation level was suppressed to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Meanwhile, the All Are Equal Domain would suppress the levels of everyone in the domain to the lowest level.
So to say, all cultivators’ powers in the All Are Equal Domain would be maintained at the same level.
Of course, it was no easy feat to set up such a ma.s.sive domain that could encompa.s.s so many cultivators within.
Even the Lifeless King had to pay a hefty price and expend a large amount of energy and resources to do this. To the point of harming his own qi.
In reality, he had planned to use other methods to delay the cultivation sect allied troops until the Heavenly Demon day before using the all-dominating Dark Yin Energy to set up this domain.
He could then annihilate all the cultivation sect allied troops in one sweep!
Unfortunately, he never expected the cultivation sect allied troops to have someone like Shen Tian, who managed to disrupt all his plans.
Bridge of Helplessness illusion—broken within seconds!
h.e.l.lfire Altar—completely destroyed!
Even the Hurricane Lily King, which the Lifeless King had cultivated for thousands of years, had been stolen by him.
It must be pointed out that the Lifeless King had planned this huge endeavor and was prepared to kill off the cultivation sect allied troops all because of that flower.
He hoped that the allied troops’ life energy would be able to nourish the Hurricane Lily King and have it bloom on the Heavenly Demon day so that he could officially refine it.
In this way, he would possess the powers of the Hurricane Lily King, controlling yin and yang, life and death. He would turn into an unstoppable force!
Now that his scheme was finally going to succeed, how could he possibly let Shen Tian sabotage it?
Who cared if he hurt his own qi? He must recapture that Hurricane Lily King!
...
“No way! This All Are Equal Domain combines the powers of four Sages. It is even more powerful than the Netherworld Yellow Springs domain and the Mountain and Rivers domain. It is completely unbreakable.”
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader’s divine aura had completely faded. Her beautiful face looked extremely grave.
The cultivation sect allied troops had been too careless.
All the previous smaller Evil Spirit Sect bases which they had ambushed had all fallen and tried to flee.
As a result, the two sacred grounds, six grotto-heavens, and 12 blessed-lands never expected the Seven Kill Sect to be so bold as to go head-on against them.
They were even trying to kill off the entire cultivation sect allied troops!
Were they not afraid that reinforcements from the sacred grounds, grotto-heavens, and blessed-lands would rush over and annihilate them all?
Careless. Too careless.
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader’s heavenly aura had faded by quite a bit but didn’t completely disappear. It still covered his entire body, rippling gently.
It gave off a profound feeling.
He said calmly, “Everyone, stay calm. Panicking is not going to solve anything.”
With that, he turned toward Shen Tian. “Tian’er, did he hurt you just now?”
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader’s behavior was a great shock to many people.
Sacred Leader, we are already in such dire straits. How can you still be so calm!?
Even if you care about your disciple, can’t you show your concern after everyone has escaped to safety?
We are all in mortal danger now. Shouldn’t you be trying your best to break this domain?
Why are you using this precious time to show concern for your disciple? Do you really think that just because your disciple is the Son of Providence, you can rely on pure luck to break this domain?
For a moment there, everyone felt on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Meanwhile, Shen Tian’s heart warmed upon hearing his master’s caring words.
He bowed. “Thank you, Master, for your concern. I am not hurt, and my cultivation level is not suppressed.”
What? The Divine Firmament Saint’s cultivation level is not suppressed?
For a moment there, everyone’s eyes brightened.
Could it be that this Saint was truly special and was immune to this All Are Equal Domain?
At this point, Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ sulky voice rang out. “You are only a Golden Body pract.i.tioner. Of course, your cultivation level is not suppressed.”
Silence fell over the entire area.
What a logical explanation...
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader’s face suddenly hardened. “Everyone, be careful. Something is approaching!”
A huge fissure gradually appeared in the earth, and countless dark shadows emerged from the darkness.
They were azure-colored and burned with a raging fire. Just one look, and anyone could see that they possessed a terribly lethal poison.
Yes, they were vengeful ghosts painstakingly cultivated by the Evil Spirit Sect cultivators!
It was worth mentioning that these vengeful ghosts were all at the Golden Core stage.
They numbered in the tens of thousands, and they ferociously charged toward the cultivation sect allied troops.
Compared to those tens of thousands of Golden Core vengeful ghosts, the cultivation sect allied troops, who had also been suppressed to the Golden Core stage, were like leaves being swept by a billowing ocean wave!
If everyone’s cultivation levels were still at normal levels, it would be a piece of cake for them to overcome this. But in the All Are Equal Domain, their cultivation levels had been utterly suppressed.
How were a few hundred-over cultivators able to handle an enemy force that outnumbered them several hundred-fold? It didn’t matter how experienced they were in battle.
Surrounded by infinite ghosts of equal power!
This was a hopeless situation!