Sea of Death

[Beep. Host question detected. System response: Anything the system can accomplish can be granted, but you only have one chance. Once it's gone, there will be no more.]

"Hmm...!" Chen Tong hesitated. The words "anything the system can accomplish" made him think carefully, especially since the next sentence said he had only one chance. In other words, if he asked for something the system couldn't accomplish, he would lose his opportunity.

He was in an extremely dangerous place, and the system's reward was his only hope of survival. If he chose wrong, he'd die without even a place to be buried. He couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake.

As Chen Tong struggled with his decision, Guanyin and the Jade Emperor were also locked in a tug-of-war. One considered himself the ruler of heaven and earth; the other believed she had the Buddha Ancestor backing her. Neither was willing to yield an inch, and they were already arguing so fiercely that their faces had turned red.

"Guanyin, I respect you as a distinguished figure of the Buddhist faith. Don't push your luck."

"Heh... Your Majesty, for all your status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth, you go back on your word and break your promises. You show none of the dignity a ruler should have."

"Hmph! Aren't you afraid I'll order my forces to level Spiritual Mountain?"

"Though our Buddhist faith values peace and has no love for conflict, that doesn't mean we're afraid of trouble."

"Ha ha ha!" The Jade Emperor laughed in fury. "Fine! Even if Tathagata were here today, I'd like to see him try to take this boy away."

Chen Tong pursed his lips. Was he a person or a treasure? They were fighting over him as if he were some priceless object.

Still, he felt completely at ease now, because he had taken his fate into his own hands! He didn't know where the system's limits lay, but if he simply asked it to get him out of there safely, it could surely do that.

He just didn't want to waste such a good opportunity, which was why he'd been unable to make up his mind.

"Guanyin, have your people come out. What do I have to fear?" the Jade Emperor said calmly.

Guanyin froze. "..."

"I don't understand what Your Majesty means."

"Heh!" The Jade Emperor sneered. "Tathagata's two great guardians, the Four Great Vajras, and the Eighteen Arhats are all hiding inside the South Heavenly Gate. Do you really think I'm blind?"

The Jade Emperor's words left Guanyin even more confused. Even Chen Tong was completely baffled!

"What... could there really be people belonging to that Old Thief Tathagata hiding here?"

Just as Chen Tong was wondering, the Jade Emperor swept his hand through the air. Golden light shimmered all around them, and Buddhas and Vajras appeared. Chen Tong stared in astonishment. "Holy crap, that Old Thief Tathagata really came prepared. He had a backup plan after all!"

Chen Tong was stunned, but Guanyin was even more surprised. To be honest, she hadn't known so many people were hiding there. If she hadn't recognized several of them, she might have suspected that the Jade Emperor had concocted some sort of scheme.

"Hmph!" the Jade Emperor said coldly. "You've been hiding long enough. It's time to come out and get some air."

The Vajras and Arhats exchanged glances. Their two leaders, Anan and Ayou, however, remained calm. They neither bowed nor knelt, simply standing there in silence.

Guanyin glanced over them and understood at once that this had been arranged by the Buddha Ancestor. In Spiritual Mountain, only he could command Anan and Ayou.

She was already starting to regret not taking Chen Tong away sooner! If the Jade Emperor resorted to force now, it could very well spark a conflict between the Heavenly Court and Spiritual Mountain, and that was the last thing Spiritual Mountain wanted at present.

Chen Tong swallowed. Just standing there, he could feel the immense pressure. Before, he'd still had a chance to think over his request while the Jade Emperor and Guanyin confronted each other. But now, it seemed there was no time for that.

"System, please take me somewhere safe." Chen Tong's heart sank as he made his request. It felt like a waste of such a good opportunity, but he had no choice. He didn't know where the system's limits lay, and he only had one chance, so he had to be careful.

[Beep. Checking host's request! Beep. Check complete. Taking host away now.]

"Phew..."

The system's announcement let Chen Tong breathe a sigh of relief. At last, he could escape this damned danger zone. It was frustrating that he'd completed the mission this way and that the reward was so disappointing, but after facing the threat of certain death, nothing felt better than having a chance to live.

Chen Tong's figure slowly began to turn translucent. There was no surge of power, nor any strange phenomenon. Everything changed quietly...

Guanyin, who had been thinking about how to deal with the Jade Emperor, suddenly narrowed her eyes and turned toward Chen Tong. His figure was already growing transparent, and a faint smile lingered on his face, as if he were saying, Just wait. One day, I'll strip you of all your clothes.

Guanyin had no time to think. She immediately pressed her palms together, unleashing a brilliant Buddhist radiance. One after another, Buddhist sigils surged toward Chen Tong, but all that remained was his complete disappearance and a slender willow twig floating in the air.

Guanyin's brows furrowed. Then she waved her hand, transformed into a streak of white light, and vanished.

Anan and Ayou quickly exchanged a glance, then led the Four Great Vajras and the Eighteen Arhats away in a flash.

From beginning to end, it had taken only a few breaths. It had all happened so quickly that even the powerful Jade Emperor could do nothing.

"Th-this... what on earth happened?" The Jade Emperor stared blankly at the places where Chen Tong and Guanyin had disappeared, still wearing a look of astonishment.

But soon, he locked onto Guanyin's aura with his divine sense. Then he, too, disappeared.

In the Northern Darkness Sea Domain, deep beneath the endless ocean, a figure sat cross-legged in the lifeless waters. At times, his brows knitted tightly; at others, they relaxed. His face was as pale as paper, and it twitched from time to time as if he were enduring tremendous pain.

That man was Chen Tong, saved by the system. At first, he hadn't known where he would be taken! He'd imagined many possibilities, but he'd never expected the Northern Darkness Sea. This place had another terrifying name: the Sea of Death.

Legend had it that not a living thing could be found for ten thousand miles in the Sea of Death. The deathly energy produced by its waters could even devour a saint's body! It was also a place where demons and monsters were born and gathered. You could say it was a forbidden zone for life, a forbidden ground for all things.

And yet, he'd been brought here... "Damn it, you call this somewhere safe?"

Chen Tong's anger seethed. If he weren't so badly injured that he could barely speak, he would have given that damned system an earful.

High above the Northern Darkness Sea, above the thick clouds stretching for ten thousand miles, dozens of figures stood in the air. They stared gravely down at the waters below. Wisps of pale-white vapor blanketed the entire surface, exuding the aura of death and rising more than a thousand miles high.

"Guanyin, you'd better give me an explanation for this." The Jade Emperor glared at her.

"What? Does Your Majesty think I did this?" Guanyin replied calmly. Chen Tong's sudden disappearance had left her with countless questions.

"Hmph! You know perfectly well." The Jade Emperor flung his wide sleeve aside and turned half away, his fury plain to see.