Becoming a Buddha

Xu Bao felt that since the opportunity was here but had yet to reveal itself, the time probably had not come. So he simply chose to remain on the Holy Demon Continent. Thus, the Holy Demon Continent welcomed its strictest father.

Relying on his terrifying combat power, Xu Bao slapped everything he encountered to death, whether magical beasts or magical beasts. After all, compared to the Holy Demon Continent, Xu Bao's cultivation was so overwhelming that even if the Creation God came back to life, he would still get slapped.

"My son sure knows how to have fun. A healer who kills all the enemies is the best kind of healer, right?"

Xu Feng had imagined his son taking any profession, even becoming a summoner who dragged people from the Celestial Court over as thugs. But he had never expected him to choose healer. If all the enemies were dead, no one would get hurt, so that made him a healer, right?

"Come to think of it, what relation is Feng Xiu to me?"

Xu Feng suddenly thought of a question. The female version of Long Haochen in there was most likely his daughter-in-law, which meant Bai Yue was his in-law. Then didn't that make Feng Xiu...

Xu Feng suddenly realized that another person had appeared above him in the hierarchy. He himself did not think much of it, but the List of Gods in his hand clearly did. The Celestial Emperor's authority should have been supreme. There was no Dao Ancestor in this world, so Xu Feng, who possessed it, was supreme.

Meanwhile, Feng Xiu, far away on the Divine Demon Continent, was directly locked onto by the List of Gods because of that sudden thought.

The List of Gods even crossed time and space to arrive in the era Xu Bao had already traveled to, unleashing a wave of heavenly punishment upon Feng Xiu. Feng Xiu was almost struck to death on the spot.

"Big Brother!"

Agares had come as usual to report on military developments at the demon clan's border. Who would have thought that the moment he entered, he would smell an intense scent of scorching?

He immediately rushed inside, only for the sight before him to freeze him in place. The entire palace was nearly collapsed, and its roof had vanished without a trace.

His elder brother, Feng Xiu, was slumped beside the throne, blackened like charcoal. His robes had long since turned to ash, and his exposed skin was covered in cracked lines. Faint arcs of electricity could still be seen, while the air was thick with the pungent smell of burnt flesh.

"Big Brother, are you all right?!"

Agares lunged toward him. Healing magic poured from his palm and covered Feng Xiu's body.

He could sense that his elder brother's demonic power was in terrifying disarray. His meridians seemed to have been torn apart by violent lightning, and his life force was draining away at a visible rate.

Cold sweat streamed down Agares's forehead. While maintaining the healing magic, he turned toward the hall entrance and shouted, "Quick! Get the court physician! The one best at treating lightning injuries! Immediately! Right now!"

The guards outside were jolted awake by the roar and hurried off to summon someone. Agares gritted his teeth, his hands trembling slightly. He had never seen his elder brother suffer such severe injuries.

Feng Xiu was the lord of the demon clan. There were only a handful of people on the entire continent who could hurt him, much less strike him into such a state. He was now hanging by a thread.

At that moment, Feng Xiu's tightly shut eyes trembled. In an incomparably weak yet venomous voice, he forced out several words. "That inherently evil God of Heavenly Condemnation... It must have been him!"

Before his words had faded, he completely lost consciousness, his body going limp in Agares's arms.

Feng Xiu did not think there was anything wrong with his guess. After all, apart from the God of Heavenly Condemnation, there could not possibly have been a second person capable of injuring him like this. Even if the entire human race were tied together, they could not have beaten him into such a state.

At Exorcist Pass, Xu Bao also sensed the familiar aura of the List of Gods in his father's hand. He almost thought he had snuck out and his father had come looking for him. Only after waiting for a long time and seeing no one arrive did he let out a sigh of relief.

"All right, let's discuss our business. You three are pretty arrogant, huh?"

Xu Bao slapped the demon god Xier across the face, producing a sharp crack in the air and knocking Xier's head to one side.

That slap was not merely humiliation. It was also a declaration. Before absolute power, the dignity of so-called demon gods was nothing more than a joke.

Xier's face rapidly swelled, but he did not even dare raise a hand to cover it. He merely lowered his head, not daring to lift it at all.

Xu Bao's gaze then shifted to Saigon and Anluoxian beside him. These two demon gods were likewise kneeling on the ground, deliberately suppressing even their breathing to the faintest degree.

The three of them had once been lofty demon gods, commanding countless demons and stirring up endless bloodshed beyond Exorcist Pass.

Yet now, kneeling before Xu Bao, they did not dare entertain even the slightest thought of resistance. Just moments ago, Xu Bao had taught them what despair was in the cruelest way possible.

Behind Xu Bao, Sheng Lingxin was completely dumbfounded. He had only wanted to test the character of the man his daughter Cai'er liked. To prevent him from suffering an accident outside, he had even been prepared to risk his life. But the scene before him had completely exceeded the scope of his understanding.

Xu Bao could so easily beat the three great demon gods into this state? Those were demon gods! Sheng Lingxin had guarded Exorcist Pass for many years and fought the demon clan countless times. He knew all too well how terrifying demon gods were. Any single demon god could make Exorcist Pass's defenses teeter on the brink of collapse.

Yet Xu Bao treated them like flies, swatting them until they could not even lift their heads.

Though Xier had been slapped, he did not feel the slightest resentment. It was not that he did not want to lash out, but that he did not dare. This fat man before him was simply too absurd.

The three of them might not have been the strongest among the demon gods, but they were still ranked demon gods. Yet just moments ago, Xu Bao had killed them, revived them, killed them again after reviving them, and tortured them over and over dozens of times.

Every death had been real enough to drive them mad, and every revival meant another round of torment. Whenever Xier closed his eyes now, all he could see was the agony of his soul being torn apart and forcibly stitched back together.

The little pride they had possessed as demon gods had long been crushed into dust and scattered on the wind. All they wanted now was release. Even complete death would be ten thousand times better than being repeatedly tortured by this madman.

"Demon gods, huh? How impressive..."

Xu Bao dragged out his words, his voice thick with mockery. When he had first heard the words "demon god," he had nearly thought he had accidentally entered the Demon Domain.

After all, in the Demon Domain, those demon gods were Demon Ancestor Rahu's subordinates. Every one of them was outrageously powerful and required the entire Celestial Court to mobilize in order to suppress them.

But after personally taking action, he discovered that these three so-called demon gods before him could not possibly have come from the Demon Domain.

Even the weakest demon god in the Demon Domain required a notable immortal to deal with. But these fellows could be destroyed with a casual gesture and revived just as easily. Even their resistance seemed half-hearted.

For trash like this to actually rank among the demon clan's strongest on this continent, one could only imagine that the so-called demon gods here merely carried an impressive title. In reality, they were not worth mentioning.

"Father-in-law, ask whatever you want. Once you're done, I'll send them to die."

He handed the initiative to Sheng Lingxin. Although Cai'er was extremely dissatisfied with this father and did not even wish to mention him, Xu Bao knew clearly that no matter what, Sheng Lingxin was a hero who defended Exorcist Pass.

Over the years, he had borne the burden of Exorcist Pass alone, wandering the edge of life and death countless times. Such dedication deserved respect. Xu Bao was not someone who failed to understand social etiquette. He would not withhold the respect that was due.

"Oh..."

Sheng Lingxin finally recovered from his shock. Looking at Xu Bao's back, he suddenly felt that this fat man radiated an indescribable sense of security.

The man Cai'er liked was truly too fierce. Sheng Lingxin could not help imagining that even if the Demon God Emperor personally came, he would probably get slapped several times by Xu Bao. At that thought, Sheng Lingxin's eyes suddenly grew hot.

For countless centuries, the war between humans and demons had continued without end. The blood of innumerable soldiers had been spilled across Exorcist Pass's walls, and countless families had been shattered because of it. Yet now, he faintly felt that it was finally about to end.

Sheng Lingxin took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and put on his usual cold expression as he looked at the three demon gods kneeling on the ground.

"Speak! Aside from the three of you, what else did you prepare for this attack on Exorcist Pass?"

"Nothing."

Saigon was telling the truth without the slightest concealment. The three of them truly had not prepared any other backup plan. The original plan had been simple: the three great demon gods would strike together, and with overwhelming power, they would certainly take Exorcist Pass.

After all, in the past, any single demon god setting out alone could force Exorcist Pass into a bitter battle, much less three joining forces.

They had even thought this was making a mountain out of a molehill, believing they could flatten Exorcist Pass in a day at most. Who could have expected Xu Bao, such an absurd existence, to be hidden within Exorcist Pass? Killing them was as easy for him as chopping vegetables, and even reviving them was just a casual wave of his hand.

After Sheng Lingxin confirmed that there was nothing more to ask, Xu Bao finally acted and thoroughly killed the three demon gods. When they died, their faces were filled with relief.

Xu Bao had indeed made his future father-in-law happy, but beneath the Skyscreen, his own father's mood instantly darkened because he saw Xu Bao's inner complaints.

Demon Ancestor Rahu had founded the demonic path, slaughtering heaven and earth, before fighting Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Daoist Yang Mei, Yinyang Daoist, Daoist Qiankun, and other innate mighty beings at Western Mount Sumeru. In the end, Rahu dragged the western spiritual veins down with him and self-destructed.

Although the one he had encountered was definitely not the original, the fact that in the future he could drag Xu Feng and the entire Celestial Court into the Demon Domain, even forcing Long Ji to initiate the God-Sealing War and scatter the other children across different planes, was enough to show that his strength was probably not weak.

"Troubled times indeed. I never expected so many things to happen in the future..."

Xu Feng had originally treated the Skyscreen mostly as entertainment. On one hand, he was a transmigrator who knew almost all the plotlines. On the other, his cheat was Currency War, which allowed him to pull people from Honkai: Star Rail over anytime and anywhere. Even if the plot deviated, it was no great matter to him.

But now, he could finally understand the tension Tang Wulin felt. After all, even with Currency War, he needed to bring everyone from the Celestial Court along just to deal with the Demon Domain.

That could only mean Demon Ancestor Rahu was either powerful enough to contend with an Emanator, or Xu Feng's luck was so bad that every character he had pulled over the years was a support. Surely it could not be that terrible.

In the future Douluo III Spacetime, Xu Feng once again drew an entire support lineup, cursed as he exited Currency War, and continued brawling with Demon Ancestor Rahu.

However, Xu Bao's next story developed somewhat beyond everyone's expectations. Possessing combat power that crushed the entire Holy Demon Continent, Xu Bao led his team across every inch of the continent in the days that followed.

During that long journey, Xu Bao witnessed the human race's misery firsthand. Ragged commoners struggled to survive amid famine and fear, their eyes filled with despair and numbness.

He also saw how the demon clan lived. They relied on plunder and slaughter to maintain a fragile balance, yet they were trapped by their own brutality and prejudice, unable to break free from the shackles of fate.

Yet what moved him most were the lives struggling in the cracks.

Some demons were willing to lay down the hatred they had been born with and extend hands of reconciliation to humans, while some humans cast aside the hostility accumulated over generations and tried to accept those demons who likewise yearned for peace.

But these two kinds of people often found themselves in the awkward position of being rejected by both sides. Humans regarded them as traitors, while demons saw them as cowards. They had neither a place to return to nor anyone to rely on.

These scenes were what changed Xu Bao. He began to comprehend deeper things: the meaning of life, the true essence of power, and the invisible thread that connected and moved all things.

He realized that true strength had never been about crushing and conquering, but about tolerance and protection.

Thus, following that indescribable impulse in his heart, Xu Bao slowly sat down cross-legged. From that moment onward, he entered a deep meditative state.

Whether fierce winds howled, torrential rain poured down, or his friends called to him anxiously, he remained unmoved, like a stone statue fused with heaven and earth.

He was feeling—feeling the wind's whispers, the rain's sorrow, the earth's pulse, and the joys, anger, sorrows, and delights of every living being.

He was searching—searching for his own "Dao." It was a path no one before him had taken, a path he needed to measure with his life.

Sheng Cai'er and Long Haochen stood guard beside him day after day and night after night. Watching Xu Bao neither eat nor drink while remaining in that mysterious state of meditation, they felt both worried and awed.

At first, they tried to wake him, but they soon gave up because Xu Bao began to emit a soft, warm glow.

That light contained no killing intent, only boundless compassion and peace. An unprecedented serenity appeared on Xu Bao's face.

Finally, Xu Bao opened his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet. He had walked a brand-new path. It was Buddhism—not a lofty deity, not a cold and merciless judge, but an awakened one who cultivated amid the mortal world, showed compassion amid suffering, and sought peace amid conflict.