The Victorious Return / Delivering Monsters to Buddhahood

Xilai a bitter laugh, "On the contrary, if I tell you now, you will definitely kill me. In order to save my own life, I have no choice but to keep the secret."

Don't think that just because of this I can't do anything to you.

With a burst of Henzhen Yuan Gong, Power of Anomalies surged in, tearing apart meridians and destroying Xilai's Foundation: "Now you're a cripple, no longer a threat. Since you want to live, I'll take you back and torture you severely. Let's see how long you can endure it!"

Chapter 388 The Triumphant Return

Henzhen had crippled Xilai's Cultivation Body and secretly hidden him away. This matter was not to be told to outsiders, so she reported back to the Spirit King that she had already reduced him to ashes.

The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King himself always destroyed the bodies of those he killed, turning them to ashes. Naturally, he wouldn't demand that his subordinates see the bodies, whether alive or dead. Moreover, this battle was a great victory. His plan succeeded and severely damaged the Glazed Temple. Although the appearance of the Heavenly Martial Alliance at the end was somewhat unexpected, and the rescue of the remnants prevented his plan from being completely successful, his strategic objective had been achieved, and it did not affect his pleasant mood.

The Spirit King glanced at the scene and found that a few warrior monks were still putting up a last-ditch resistance. So he opened his vertical eye Depleting Divine Light. Before these warrior monks could even scream, their flesh and blood were completely destroyed, leaving behind skeletons and human skins on the spot.

"Spirit King, my Precept-Breaking Glazed Saber only needs to kill two more high monks to achieve the Thousand Buddha Blood Sacrifice and transform into a true Buddha-slaying demon weapon. What do you mean by this?" Si Ming protested that the other party had stolen his kills.

The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King was in high spirits and didn't mind the monks' complaints about Buddha-Slaying Monk. He comforted them, saying, "These are all foolish monks, far from deserving the title of eminent monks."

"If the quality isn't good enough, you can make up for it with quantity. Otherwise, where am I supposed to find a thousand top-tier masters to kill?"

"I am somewhat interested. If the Thousand Buddha Blood Sacrifice is completed, to what extent will your Precept-Breaking Saber be able to overcome Buddhas?"

"It's roughly similar to the situation where the Spirit King was suppressed by the Twin Buddha Formation."

Si Ming's words were sarcastic, but Spirit King wasn't angry. He had even tolerated the Great Snake, so what was a little dissatisfaction with the Buddha-Slaying Monk? Besides, the Buddha-Slaying Monk had passed the test, hadn't leaked any information, and had even personally killed a high-ranking monk of the Dharma generation in front of him, which was enough to prove that his stance was indeed irreconcilable with the Glazed Temple. He didn't mind showing his kingly demeanor to such a useful subordinate.

"No need to rush. After resting for half a month, we will send troops to Glazed Temple to strike at its Yellow Dragon and wipe out all these foolish Buddhists and monks. At that time, you can kill as many people as you want and make up the number of a thousand Buddhas with ease."

The man with the Ghost Chariot hurriedly flattered, "The Spirit King possesses divine might, both in literature and martial virtue, destined to reign for eternity, unifying the martial world!"

The old man, not to be outdone, declared, "The Spirit King is invincible, reigning supreme in the martial world, unbeatable in every attack and battle, his might shaking the universe, unparalleled throughout history, may he enjoy eternal bliss and live as long as the heavens!"

The aloof woman, unable to bear her fellow cultivator any longer, retorted sarcastically, "Have you two no shame? Do you both have to gasp for air every time the Spirit King farts?"

The old man, with a stern expression, rebuked him. "What nonsense are you talking about? How can you breathe so heavily? Of course, you should inhale deeply and exhale slowly, only then can you absorb the essence of the sun and moon and share in the immortal energy of the Spirit King."

The man's face said, "Absolutely, absolutely. If one can only inhale without exhaling, storing the breath in the lungs and savoring it slowly, that would be the best."

The aloof woman couldn't take it anymore. "You two must have mastered the legendary Three Divine Skills—the Skill of Flattery, the Skill of the Conch Shell, and the Skill of Shamelessness, right?"

The man said with a serious face, "These three divine skills are not so easy to cultivate. Ordinary people are deeply tainted by worldly views, always feeling that some things are good and some things are bad. As long as you harbor such pointless thoughts of good and evil, right and wrong, in your heart, you will never be able to master the three divine skills. Only by embracing the awareness of abandoning everything, even dignity, can you reach the legendary state of being one thought between Gods and Devils, without mind or self."

Si Ming glanced at the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King and found that the man was expressionless, neither pleased nor embarrassed, as if he hadn't heard anything. Suddenly, he felt that just based on the fact that the King could tolerate such a silly subordinate, the Glazed Temple's defeat was not unjustified.

Wu Da changed the subject. "Four experts have died, including two Grandmaster. The Glazed Temple has suffered heavy losses this time and may not be able to gather enough people for the Ten Buddhas Nirvana Formation. The Spirit King can rest easy; victory in the next battle is assured."

However, the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King did not become complacent after a single victory, remaining cautious. "We must not be careless. It's hard to say whether the Glazed Temple is hiding other masters, such as the monk with the Dharma name Wutian who appeared that day. We must remember that pride comes before a fall. We should not underestimate any martial arts sect with a history of hundreds of years. Their ability to dominate the Southern Martial World and fight against us until now is by no means due to luck. We still need to carefully plan our next strategy."

A leader who is capable, wise, magnanimous, and knows how to reflect on himself after a great victory—as the opposing side, Si Ming felt immense pressure and a sense of suffocation.

If he hadn't known that he carried the hopes of many people on his shoulders, and that withdrawing would lead to their deaths, he would have wanted to turn back and travel thousands of miles away.

In the past, no matter how dangerous his situation was, he knew that he had a powerful organization behind him and his master Yan Jinghong to rely on. If he encountered danger, he could simply send out a Cloud Piercing Arrow to find experts from the Mohist Knight Guard to gang up on the enemy. But now he had no background to rely on, and he himself was the "background" that others wanted to rely on, because the Glazed Temple had very few cards left to play.

Bearing the weight of countless lives on his shoulders, Si Ming realized this for the first time and felt the immense pressure of this responsibility. Although he was a transmigrator, in his previous life he was just an insignificant person among the masses. After transmigrating, he simply lived as he pleased and had never experienced this feeling or stood in such an important position.

Do the heroes and saviors in myths truly understand the responsibilities on their shoulders and the consequences of failure, or are they simply being pushed along by the plot without any real understanding?

Si Ming didn't know what those people were thinking, or whether they all had a fearless heart, but he felt that he really should make a decision. Facing an unparalleled enemy with no weaknesses, he couldn't win by taking it lightly; he had to be prepared to die for his cause.

Just as Si Ming was undergoing his internal interrogation, Wu Da asked the Spirit King, "Your Majesty, shall we continue with the original plan and search for the hiding place of the Azure Mysterious Corpse King?"

The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King said, "No need. We must first pacify the internal situation before dealing with external threats. Let's consider the Western Martial World after we've wiped out those Buddhist School remnants in the Southern Martial World. We must take things one step at a time, and build our strength step by step. Our army has achieved a great victory and remarkable results. Once we release the news, those powerful members of the Monster Race who were originally observing will be tempted. After all, everyone likes to add to someone's success."

He still had many concerns about provoking a powerful figure of the same level, especially since this powerful figure also possessed an immortal body and had not been known to have any offspring. Once they became enemies, it would mean that he would have to be on guard against a sneak attack from a King of Monsters at all times in the future, and would be entangled with him forever.

If the goal is not to kill her, but only to seal her, then the situation would be no different from the current one. After all, the Azure Mysterious Corpse King sleeps for several years at a time, which is not much different from being sealed. There is no need to wake her up.

Since the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King decided to stop while he was ahead, the monsters dared not object and returned to the capital, spreading the news of the great defeat and loss of the Glazed Temple along the way.

As the Spirit King had predicted, many independent Monster Race clans flocked to his side in the days that followed, eager to gain a share of the spoils in the upcoming war that would determine who would unify the Southern Martial World. The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's military strength continued to grow, and his influence was unparalleled.

Chapter 389 Crossing the Monster to Become a Buddha

The fiefdom of Divine General Li, a residence where she strictly forbids outsiders from entering.

"I've brought you the twenty-year-old Daughter's Red wine you wanted. Now can you tell me the secret?"

Henzhen entered the courtyard carrying a wine jug, his face sour. He slammed the jug down in front of Xilai and asked him in a harsh tone.

"No rush, no rush, let me finish playing 'Xiao Xiang Shui Yun' first."

At this moment, Xilai was playing a piece on the guqin. It must be said that his guqin skills were extremely high, almost reaching the level of Daoism. The music was full of artistic conception, as if a landscape painting was slowly unfolding before one's eyes. The scene was of towering mountains with peaks shrouded in white clouds, rippling blue waves, and swirling mist. The rushing clouds and water were like the drifting of the times, hiding infinite sorrow and longing. As soon as one heard it, one would feel sorrow for one's hometown and loved ones, and one could not help but shed tears.

However, no matter how beautiful the music is, if the listener is not in the mood, it is no different from noise. Henzhen felt that the days were dragging on and he paced back and forth in the courtyard. Several times he wanted to interrupt the performance, but he restrained himself with willpower and told himself that it wouldn't make a difference if he didn't interrupt for a while.

Finally, the performance ended. Xilai looked up, closed his eyes, and looked on with deep emotion, as if his spirit had been elevated and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Henzhen suppressed her anger and said, "Now you can speak!"

"Oh, since you've brought such fine wine, wouldn't it be a shame to disappoint you if I didn't try it?"

Under Henzhen's almost murderous gaze, Xilai leisurely poured the Daughter's Red wine into a wine cup, took a small sip, and frowned, saying, "This tastes wrong. You've been deceived. This wine has only been aged for eighteen years and nine months, not even twenty years."

That's enough!

Henzhen, unable to bear it any longer, struck out with a palm, the surging air hitting Xilai's chest. Although she had restrained 99% of her strength, Xilai had lost all his power and was no different from an ordinary person. He was easily struck by this palm and vomited blood, which was directly into the wine cup.

"Are you going to talk or not? My patience has its limits!" Henzhen threatened sharply.