Saints Clash, a Game Across Space

The Three Talents Return to Origin Void-Locking Formation shimmered with circulating radiance, trapping Qiu Shou Immortal firmly at its center.

The invisible pressure within the formation was like ten thousand mountains pressing down upon him. It not only sealed his body and mana, but also continuously battered the "Buddha Heart" he had only recently stabilized.

"I... I..." Qiu Shou Immortal's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling as he looked at Xuan Chuan, Zhao Gongming, and Yunxiao standing in the air beyond the formation.

Especially when he met Xuan Chuan's icy, penetrating violet-gold eyes, as though they could see through every scheme, he felt his very soul about to freeze.

The storage pouch in his arms burned like a branding iron, while that jade slip containing the fake formation diagram had become the most damning evidence of his crime.

Lady Yunxiao held the phantom of the Primordial Golden Dipper, maintaining the formation eye in the "Earth" position. Frost coated her pretty face as she said,

"Martial Uncle Qiu Shou Immortal, you infiltrated the chief disciple's cave residence in the dead of night, stole an important formation diagram, and even intended to defect to the Western Teachings. You were caught red-handed. What else do you have to say?"

Zhao Gongming stood at the "Human" position, the phantom of the Sea-Calming Pearl rising and falling around him. He glared furiously. "Bah! You are one of the Seven Immortals who attended Master!

"Didn't you see what became of Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal after he colluded with the Western Teachings? And yet you dare follow in his footsteps! Today, we will drag you before Biyou Palace and ask Master for a Saint's judgment!"

The last shred of hope in Qiu Shou Immortal's heart utterly collapsed, and despair surged over him like a tide.

He knew that once he was brought before Master Tongtian, the Saint's gaze would see through this forcibly converted "Buddha Heart" of his with ease. By then, his body and soul would both be obliterated, leaving him not even a chance to enter reincarnation!

Just as all hope had died within him, and Xuan Chuan was about to activate the formation, completely imprison his Primordial Spirit, and escort him back to the island—

"Amitabha."

A peaceful, distant Buddhist invocation, seeming to drift from the Blissful World beyond the heavens, suddenly rang across the skies above this sea region sealed by the formation!

The voice was not loud, yet it possessed an uncanny penetrating power. It ignored the blockade of the Three Talents Formation and rang directly within everyone's souls.

A gentle, compassionate, yet boundlessly vast Saint's pressure spread soundlessly, like spring wind turning into rain, like moisture nourishing all things without a sound.

The formation's glowing patterns stalled slightly, and its circulation actually became faintly sluggish!

Xuan Chuan's heart tightened, and he abruptly looked up.

Above Qiu Shou Immortal's head, the space some ten feet away rippled like water. A cluster of soft seven-colored Buddhist light bloomed from the void, swiftly condensing into a figure.

The same gray monk's robes, the same compassionate face, and a seven-colored halo revolving behind his head—it was none other than Saint Zhunti's incarnation!

He had actually descended here in person! Though it was merely a wisp of an incarnation, the might of a Saint, even projected across endless space and time, was enough to alter heaven and earth!

"Saint Zhunti!" Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao's expressions changed drastically as they cried out in alarm. Even an incarnation of a Saint was far beyond anything they could resist!

Qiu Shou Immortal, meanwhile, was like a drowning man clutching at a life-saving straw. Wild joy and hope burst from his eyes as he struggled to shout, "Save me, Saint!"

Zhunti's incarnation did not look at him. His calm gaze merely swept across Xuan Chuan and the other two before finally settling upon Xuan Chuan. His voice was mild. "Little friend Xuan Chuan, I trust you have been well.

"This child shares an affinity with this poor monk. He has already made a great vow to take refuge in my Buddha, and ought to enter my Western Paradise to enjoy purity and freedom.

"I ask that you do this poor monk a favor, withdraw the formation, and allow me to take him away."

He spoke lightly, as though he were merely asking for some insignificant object rather than a traitor of Jiejiao.

Yet the supreme Saintly might and unquestionable will contained within his words were like an invisible tide, battering the minds of Xuan Chuan and the others, as well as the foundation of the formation.

The Three Talents Formation hummed, its glowing patterns flickering erratically. Cold sweat had already appeared on Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming's foreheads, and maintaining the formation had become exceptionally difficult.

Xuan Chuan took a deep breath and suppressed the tremor in his heart. Before a Saint, even one who was only an incarnation, he felt an absolute suppression that came from the very level of life itself.

But he could not retreat! The evidence of Qiu Shou Immortal's betrayal was irrefutable. If Zhunti were allowed to take him away, where would Jiejiao's dignity remain?

Where would his authority as chief disciple remain? Worse still, it would only embolden the Western Religion's efforts to infiltrate Jiejiao!

"Saint Zhunti." Xuan Chuan held his sword and cupped his hands, neither servile nor overbearing. His voice remained clear despite the Saint's pressure.

"Qiu Shou Immortal is a disciple of my Jiejiao. He has committed the grave crime of betraying the sect, and he was caught red-handed. He should naturally be dealt with according to Jiejiao's rules.

"If Saint insists on taking him away, I fear that would be improper, nor would it be the conduct expected of a guest."

"Oh?" Zhunti's incarnation raised his brows slightly, seemingly surprised that Xuan Chuan dared rebut him face-to-face. Then he smiled. "Little friend, you are mistaken.

"Affinity is ordained by Heaven. Since Qiu Shou is willing to enter my Buddhist gate, he shares an affinity with the West.

"Jiejiao's rules bind only Jiejiao disciples. He is no longer one of Jiejiao, so what punishment can there be? This poor monk will naturally explain matters to Senior Brother Tongtian. Little friend, do not lead yourself astray."

The final four words remained peaceful in tone, yet faintly carried the majesty of a Saint and a trace of warning.

The Buddhist light around them seemed to thicken, while the formation's hum grew increasingly urgent. Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming's faces had already gone pale.

Xuan Chuan knew words were useless now. Before a Saint, reason sometimes had to yield to strength. A fierce glint flashed through his eyes, and he hesitated no longer.

"Then... forgive Xuan Chuan's discourtesy, Saint!"

Before his words had faded, Xuan Chuan abruptly raised the Fate-Cutting Sword high above his head! The violet-gold Fate-Cutting Dao patterns and the silver-white lightning patterns upon the blade simultaneously blazed to their utmost brilliance!

He did not attack Zhunti's incarnation. Instead, he frantically poured all his mana, Merit and destiny, even the Dao resonance of The One That Escaped, into the sword.

At the same time, he used the sword as a guide to sense and call upon that profound connection, existing somewhere in the unseen, between himself and Biyou Palace, between himself and Master Tongtian—a connection born from the Supreme Clarity Lineage and the Purple Lightning Hammer!

The Fate-Cutting Sword let out an impassioned sword cry like metal piercing stone!

At its tip, a point of murky gray Sword Qi appeared by force. It seemed utterly inconspicuous, yet contained an unsurpassable sharpness capable of splitting heaven and earth!

This mark was precisely a wisp of Saintly sword intent that Master Tongtian had left within Xuan Chuan's body and fused into the Fate-Cutting Sword when he drove back Winged Immortal before Biyou Palace!

Now, Xuan Chuan used himself as the medium and the Fate-Cutting Sword as the bridge, activating it with all his strength!

"Hm?" Zhunti's incarnation was moved for the first time. Seven-colored Buddhist light flowed through his eyes as he stared at that murky-gray Sword Qi mark.

The next instant!

That point of Sword Qi mark suddenly swelled, transforming into a solid, murky-gray phantom of a giant one hundred zhang tall!

The phantom's features were blurred, save for a pair of eyes like cosmic abysses containing endless galaxies, gazing down indifferently upon all living beings.

There was no physical sword in its hand, yet that supreme sword intent—to sever karma, destroy all laws, and seize a single thread of life—filled heaven and earth, making all things bow their heads!

Tongtian Sword Intent Phantom!

The instant the phantom appeared, the gentle Buddhist light radiating from Zhunti's incarnation seemed to encounter its nemesis and was forced back by that sword intent, pure to the utmost extreme!

The pressure of the Three Talents Formation instantly vanished. Yunxiao and Zhao Gongming felt their entire bodies lighten as they stared in horror at the towering phantom.

The Tongtian Sword Intent Phantom slowly lowered its head. Those galaxy-like eyes first swept over the trembling Qiu Shou Immortal,

who was nearly prostrating himself on the ground. A trace of cold disappointment flashed through its eyes before its gaze shifted to Zhunti's incarnation.

Without a word, the phantom merely raised the "arm" formed of pure sword intent, joined its fingers like a sword, and lightly slashed toward Zhunti's incarnation.

There was no radiance, no deafening blast.

Yet that patch of heaven and earth seemed to have been "cut" out of the Primordial World!

Space, time, spiritual energy, laws... everything, everything was severed wherever that fingertip passed!

A pitch-black, profound "scar," as though linked to the final end of all things, appeared soundlessly before Zhunti's incarnation!

The compassion on Zhunti's incarnation's face could finally no longer hold. It turned grave.

He pressed his palms together and chanted a true mantra. The seven-colored halo behind his head spun madly as immeasurable Buddhist light poured forth.

It formed a massive phantom of the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus—not its true body—before him, attempting to hold back and dissolve that sword intent which severed all things.

Hiss—!

The phantom Golden Lotus met the scar of sword intent with a soft sound. The lotus phantom visibly dimmed and melted away, while the scar of sword intent slowly closed as well.

In the end, the Golden Lotus phantom completely vanished, and the scar of sword intent disappeared. Yet Zhunti's incarnation had visibly faded by several degrees, as though he had expended an immense amount of power.

"Senior Brother Tongtian's Executioner Immortal Sword Intent... truly is formidable."

Zhunti's incarnation spoke slowly. His voice was still peaceful, but it had lost some of its former composure. "A mere phantom formed from a single wisp of its mark possesses such power."

The Tongtian Sword Intent Phantom did not respond. Its eyes merely shifted once more and settled upon Xuan Chuan.

Xuan Chuan sensed something, and stood solemnly with his sword in hand.

The phantom gave Xuan Chuan an exceedingly slight, yet exceptionally clear nod.

That nod contained a trace of recognition, a trace of approval, and even a sense of entrustment—this matter is yours to handle.

Then, like a sand sculpture weathered by the wind, the phantom slowly dissipated between heaven and earth. Only the lingering resonance of that sword intent which severed all things continued to faintly echo over the sea.

Zhunti's incarnation watched the phantom disappear, then gave Xuan Chuan a deep look, his gaze complicated.

He knew that although Senior Brother Tongtian had not descended in person, the appearance and nod of this sword-intent phantom had already made his stance clear—this child is under my protection; this matter will be handled by Jiejiao's rules.

If he forced the matter now, it would no longer be a dispute with a junior, but a clash across space with Master Tongtian. Qiu Shou Immortal was not worth it.

"Arising and fading of affinity all have their destined course." Zhunti's incarnation softly recited a Buddhist invocation, his figure beginning to turn illusory. "Qiu Shou, your mortal ties remain unresolved. Take care of yourself."

As his words fell, the Buddhist light completely faded. Zhunti's incarnation had already departed, as though he had never appeared.

The hope in Qiu Shou Immortal's eyes completely turned to dead ashes. He slumped within the formation, his face gray as earth.

Xuan Chuan slowly withdrew the Fate-Cutting Sword. That murky-gray mark upon the blade had completely disappeared, but he could feel it.

The invisible connection between himself and Master Tongtian had become clearer and closer than ever before because of that resonance and recognition.

Master's recognition... he had finally obtained it.

He looked at the despairing Qiu Shou Immortal within the formation, his gaze cold.

"Escort him back to Golden Turtle Island!"