The giant hand paused, but still grabbed downward. Whoosh!
Amid the Taming Tiger Arhat's shrill scream, the giant hand yanked him into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the horizon.
"My lord, I refuse to accept this~~~"
The Taming Tiger Arhat's scream still echoed through the void.
But he was already gone.
"...!!"
The gods looked at one another and frantically wiped away their cold sweat.
Why did the Taming Tiger Arhat refuse to accept it?
The gods knew perfectly well.
It was because Great Emperor Zhenwu, Nezha, and Marshal Tianpeng had all knelt and begged for mercy—and been spared.
Why, then, had the Taming Tiger Arhat also knelt and begged for mercy, yet still been taken away?!
The gods, Sangharama, and the Arhats were horrified and trembling. Their minds began racing as they tried to find the slightest difference, so they could learn their lesson and never make the same mistake again. If they did, it would mean certain death!
No one wanted to die.
Gods who had enjoyed longevity through incense offerings were greedy to their very bones and souls, and terrified of death.
The gods had been corrupted by the desires of mortals.
Their hearts had long since ceased to be pure.
Compared with mortals, their desire to avoid death was even more intense.
They had been corrupted by the desires of countless mortals. Although they had stripped away ninety-nine percent of the negative emotions within those desires, they could not completely remove the remaining fear of death, because that emotion had penetrated their bones and souls. It was extremely difficult to truly strip it away in full.
Thus, over the endless passage of time, after absorbing the incense offerings of too many people, the fear of death had also seeped deep