Xuanqing Battles Indra

This was a wound left behind from the ancient Dao and Devil Conflict.

Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, in order to drive the God-Slaying Spear to its ultimate power, did not hesitate to detonate the Spiritual Veins of the entire Western Lands, sacrificing the resentment and despair of billions of living beings to his supreme treasure.

From then on, the Western Lands became the Honghuang's infamous "impoverished backwater."

Yet, within this land that had long been eroded to the bone, there existed a hidden realm.

Inside the realm, it was the complete opposite of the outside—here, vitality flourished, and spiritual energy flowed without end.

Looking up at the sky, it was clearly a separate world.

A colossal tree, reaching to the heavens and spanning the earth, stood silently at the center of the realm.

Its height was immeasurable, its crown blotting out the sun and sky.

The trunk was a pale gold, as if cast from crystal.

Every leaf was translucent and sparkling, radiating a soft Buddhist light.

This was the Bodhi Tree, one of the ten great Innate Spiritual Roots of the Honghuang.

Unlike other spiritual roots, the Bodhi Tree bore no immortal fruits that could enhance one's cultivation.

Its sole purpose was to aid living beings in comprehending the Dao.

Sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree, one could calm the mind and focus the spirit, warding off all evil, and greatly accelerating the speed of enlightenment regarding the Great Dao.

At this moment, two figures sat cross-legged beneath the Bodhi Tree.

One was gaunt and sallow-faced, his expression perpetually etched with an unshakable sorrow.

The other was slightly shorter, his face bearing a look of suffering, but his eyes frequently flashed with shrewd calculation.

These were the two leaders of the Western Lands, Jieyin and Zunti.

Ever since returning from listening to the Dao at the Purple Cloud Palace, they had been cultivating bitterly here, using the wonders of the Bodhi Tree to comprehend the method of attaining sainthood passed down by Hongjun Dao Ancestor.

Suddenly, an immeasurable aura of merit surged from the east, sweeping across the entire Honghuang.

This light of merit was so pure and vast that it instantly startled the two from their meditation.

Jieyin and Zunti opened their eyes simultaneously.

"Senior Brother!" Zunti's face lit up with an incredulous joy. "Did you feel that? Such immense merit!"

Even Jieyin's bitter, gourd-like face relaxed for once, and he nodded heavily.

"I felt it. This aura of merit is pure and vast, and its source seems to be... in the direction of the Nether Blood Sea?"

For ten thousand years in the Western Lands, aside from the occasional small merits earned by the two brothers, no living being had ever stirred the Heavenly Dao's reward.

Now, with such a phenomenon suddenly appearing, how could they not be excited?

"The Blood Sea? Could it be that bastard Styx?" Zunti immediately guessed.

In the entire Blood Sea, the only one who could cause such a stir seemed to be that Lord of the Blood Sea.

Hearing this, Jieyin slowly shook his head, the joy fading from his face as it returned to sorrow.

"It shouldn't be him."

Jieyin sighed. "Styx created the Asura Clan, which followed the Heavenly Dao by adding a new race to the Honghuang, earning him a share of merit. But the Asura Clan is naturally warlike and bloodthirsty, going against the Heavenly Dao's love for life."

"He walks a path of slaughter, entangled in karmic sin. How could the Heavenly Dao bestow such pure merit upon him?"

After listening, Zunti also came to his senses.

That was true.

That old Patriarch Styx spent all his days holed up in the Blood Sea, either creating beings or studying how to kill people—hardly the type to accomplish great merit.

If he could earn this much merit, then all the hard work the two brothers had put into running around the Western Lands over the years would be a joke.

"Senior Brother speaks sense. Then who exactly earned this merit?" Zunti's eyes gleamed with sharp light.

Jieyin pondered for a moment, then slowly stood up.

"I do not know. But such a variable, for our barren Western Lands, may be a tremendous opportunity."

"We can no longer sit here in meditation. We must go and see for ourselves!"

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Zunti nodded in deep agreement.

"Senior Brother is right! If we can invite this master of merit to the Western Lands, how could our West fail to thrive?"

The two exchanged a glance, seeing the resolve in each other's eyes.

They bowed respectfully to the Bodhi Tree, then unhesitatingly stepped out of the hidden realm.

Once outside, they transformed into two streaks of light, speeding swiftly toward the direction from which the aura of merit had come.

Above the Nether Blood Sea, the atmosphere was frozen solid.

Xuanqing looked at the blood-haired demon general before him, feeling no fear in his heart.

He spoke again: "Daoist, the Honghuang Heaven and Earth is vast—where can one not go? This Humble One is merely passing through and means no harm."

Indra heard this, his brow slightly furrowing as he replied.

"Passing through? My Blood Sea is no thoroughfare. You purified my clan's demon soldiers, and now you want to walk away?"

He took a step forward, the full force of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal peak bearing down on Xuanqing without restraint.

"Today, if you don't explain yourself clearly, you'll stay in this Blood Sea."

Indra stepped forward, his tone shifting abruptly. Before the ancestor could respond, he had no intention of letting Xuanqing go.

Xuanqing's brow twitched slightly.

This fellow was dead set on picking a fight.

"It seems the Daoist is unwilling to reason."

Indra laughed heartily, his laughter dripping with disdain.

"Reason? In my Asura Clan, fists are reason!"

Before his words faded, his four arms moved in unison, four weapons of varying forms carrying dense Blood Fiend Qi, striking straight at Xuanqing's vital points.

Indra moved swiftly, giving Xuanqing no chance to react.

Xuanqing sneered inwardly but remained calm.

He tapped his foot, his form drifting backward, while with a thought, the Jing Shi Sword was already in hand.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Xuanqing's long sword danced, its sword light like water, blocking all four weapon attacks.

As he defended, he secretly circulated the Purification True Art, converting the sparse Heaven and Earth spiritual energy around him into Xuan Qi, storing it in his body, ready to flee at any moment.

Going head-to-head with a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal peak—wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Seeing his strike fail, Indra's eyes flashed with surprise.

He hadn't expected that this Daoist, who appeared to be only at the Golden Immortal Realm, could so easily parry his attack.

"Interesting. You're certainly no nobody."

Indra's battle intent grew stronger, his assault becoming fiercer.

Blood-colored blade lights and sword shadows enveloped the hundred-zhang space around Xuanqing.

As he dealt with the onslaught, Xuanqing grumbled inwardly.

This guy was getting carried away, wasn't he? I didn't even announce any title—why must he pick on a passing cultivator like me?

He spoke again: "Daoist, This Humble One says once more, I have no intention of being an enemy of the Asura Clan. I'm just passing through."

But Indra scoffed: "Less talk! If you dare to make trouble in my Blood Sea, you'd better be ready to die!"

When the Asura Clan fought, their killing intent gradually increased, and so Indra was blinded by it, losing his reason and craving only battle.

"Don't think that just because you have some backing, my Asura Clan fears you! Never mind an unknown wandering immortal—in this Honghuang Heaven and Earth, who dares to disrespect my clan's ancestor?"

The more he spoke, the more worked up he became, his voice growing more arrogant.

"Even those Three Pure Ones on Kunlun Mountain, when they see my ancestor, have to weigh their own worth!"

At these words, Xuanqing's expression instantly turned cold.

The Jing Shi Sword in his hand shifted its momentum abruptly.

What was once an ethereal and agile sword light became sharp and fierce.

"What did you say?" Xuanqing's voice was calm, but anyone could hear the suppressed fury within it.

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