Chen Changsheng's voice was like a death warrant. Every time it rang out, someone was eliminated.
The bewildered spectators simply could not figure out what Chen Changsheng was doing!
Did he really need to call out names to eliminate people?
Did he look down on them that much?
There was no shortage of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators among them. When they struck with all their strength, the puppets around them instantly shattered into countless fragments.
Yet the shattered puppets returned to their original state in an instant. They could actually regenerate endlessly!
How were they supposed to fight that?
The cultivators sank into despair. Neither spell arts nor Sword Qi had any effect whatsoever on the puppets before them.
Only Great Cultivators at Soul Departure or above could discern what was happening.
These hundreds of puppets actually possessed divine soul properties!
Properties that cultivators could only acquire upon reaching Soul Departure, when their divine souls could leave their bodies!
As long as their divine souls remained unharmed, these puppets could theoretically revive without end!
The elders and attendants in the Main Hall stared in horror at Chen Changsheng inside the Mustard Seed Space.
A mere Core Formation Realm cultivator had already comprehended something that could only be understood at Soul Departure or above!
No one would believe it if word got out. Had they not witnessed it themselves, they would have thought someone was playing a joke on them!
Even cultivators who reached Soul Departure had only begun exploring the mysteries of the divine soul. What kind of monster was this young man, to have already grasped it so thoroughly?
Moreover, all these hundreds of puppets possessed divine soul properties. Where had the divine souls within them come from?
Chen Changsheng in the Mustard Seed Space had now firmly etched himself into the memory of every elder and attendant in the Main Hall.
Even among the Nine Great Sacred Lands, they could not find a cultivator who could stand shoulder to shoulder with such a genius. At the very least, he was unprecedented!
Meanwhile, inside the Mustard Seed Space, fewer and fewer people remained, and Chen Changsheng spoke faster and faster.
When the hundreds of puppets scattered again, not a single surrounded cultivator remained. Chen Changsheng had cleared them all out.
Only the disguised Zu Yuan and the Buddhist Holy Son, Hui Zhi, remained in the entire Mustard Seed Space.
Chen Changsheng looked at the disguised Zu Yuan and said flatly, "Still going to keep pretending?"
Reluctantly, Zu Yuan reverted to his true appearance, drew his sword, and screamed himself hoarse. "What did I ever do to you? Why must you hunt me down and kill me?"
"You probably owed me in your previous life, so you have to die!" The stack of papers in Chen Changsheng's hand burst into flames and turned to ash.
Chen Changsheng looked at Hui Zhi. This so-called Buddhist Holy Son would be no decent man in the future either, but right now, he only wanted to kill Zu Yuan. He had no desire to get entangled with Buddhism yet.
"Monk, leave on your own. This has nothing to do with you!" Chen Changsheng told Hui Zhi.
"Amitabha. This humble monk only wishes to borrow the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure for a look. Please grant my request, benefactor," Hui Zhi said, pressing his palms together.
"You think you're worthy? The Great Spirit Mountain Temple must be blind as a dog!" Chen Changsheng sneered.
In his previous life, the monstrous crimes committed by this compassionate-looking Hui Zhi had been no less terrible than Zu Yuan's. Beneath that mask of mercy lurked an asura from a realm of demons!
Hui Zhi's expression turned sorrowful. He softly recited the Buddhist Invocation, then said coldly, "It seems you have no intention of settling this peacefully, benefactor!"
As Hui Zhi finished speaking, Buddha Light blazed around him. His Eighteen-Foot Golden Body swiftly expanded, and in the blink of an eye, a colossal Buddha appeared before Chen Changsheng.
The Buddha's features were indistinct, but the dazzling Buddha Light surrounding him was so brilliant that no one could keep their eyes open. He slowly raised one palm and pressed it toward Chen Changsheng.
In Chen Changsheng's eyes, the descending palm grew without limit, almost blotting out heaven and earth, as though that single palm was all that remained of the world.
Buddhism secret art: Great Compassion Palm!
Unhurriedly, Chen Changsheng slipped both hands into his sleeves and took out a wooden monkey puppet. He chanted, "At the soul's summons, come forth; at the divine invocation, descend. Divine monkey, enter this world and help me break this art. Go!"
Chen Changsheng flung the puppet out. Originally no larger than a palm, the wooden puppet swelled in the wind, instantly growing over ten meters tall. When the monkey saw the descending Buddha's palm, he shrieked wildly and hammered his chest.
It was as though he bore an immense, bitter hatred for the Buddha's palm before him!
Howling, the monkey stamped both feet hard against the ground, raised his hands high, and slammed them into the descending palm.
The ground beneath the monkey's feet instantly fractured. The Buddha's palm crushed his upraised hands downward and struck his shoulders.
Yet the monkey's eyes were bloodshot, hot breath spurted from his nostrils, and he stubbornly refused to fall.
His towering body looked extraordinarily tiny before that enormous palm, like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, yet he remained standing.
The two sides remained locked in a stalemate. Zu Yuan had just thought of trying to escape when hundreds of Nascent Soul Realm puppets instantly surrounded him, leaving no gap.
Zu Yuan was Chen Changsheng's most important target this time. How could he possibly let him escape so easily?
The hundreds of puppets merely trapped Zu Yuan without striking to kill. After all, Chen Changsheng refused to believe that the Devil Race Sacred Son had no means of escape. He had to make absolutely certain he was prepared to kill Zu Yuan.
Before that, he had to drive out the meddlesome monk!
Chen Changsheng took two Yellow Talismans from his sleeve, murmured an incantation, and casually flung them out.
The Yellow Talismans became two streaks of golden light and struck the monkey struggling against the Buddha's palm.
The monkey had been straining to hold back the palm, defiance and resentment flashing in his eyes.
Once the Yellow Talismans stuck to his body, the monkey transformed into a stone pillar supporting the Buddha's palm. The instant the transformation occurred, the pillar pierced straight through the palm!
Golden Buddha blood became a golden rain of blood, scattering throughout the Mustard Seed Space.
The compassionate-looking Hui Zhi screamed and withdrew his palm. Staring at the wound piercing his hand, he demanded in shock and fury, "That wasn't a puppet! What exactly was that monkey?"
Chen Changsheng's gaze drifted casually toward a figure below, and he said softly, "He wasn't a puppet. That monkey has a name. He's called the Great Sage!"
He had fashioned this wooden monkey puppet using true essence borrowed from his eldest senior brother. Though crafted from lifeless material, the monkey had long since awakened spiritual intelligence.
The Great Sage-that was a story Ouyang had told him in his previous life, about a monkey who became a Buddha.
Originally wild and untamable, a Great Sage who could punch a hole through the heavens, he had ultimately ended up keeping company with the ancient Buddha beneath the dim glow of an oil lamp.
In his previous life, whenever he slacked off in his cultivation, Ouyang always used that monkey to lecture him.
"The Great Sage and the Victorious Fighting Buddha aren't the same monkey. If you don't want that Golden Headband put on you, cultivate properly!"
"Senior brother, if the Great Sage really punched a hole through the heavens and no one stopped him, wouldn't he be no different from the Devil Race?"
"Talking back to me? This Daoist master will beat you to death!"
Memories of the past unfolded before Chen Changsheng, scene after scene. Those had been the happiest days of his previous life.
In this life, I, Chen Changsheng, will protect it all!
Look, senior brother. In the end, the Great Sage still pierced the Buddha's palm instead of being crushed beneath the mountain it became. That means I can rewrite my fate too!
Chen Changsheng raised his hand, and a battered wooden monkey puppet landed in it. He gripped the monkey tightly, his resolve firming!
So Third Brother keeps borrowing my true essence to make this thing? It really does resemble Journey to the West. But I've never told that story. Is it a coincidence, or is Third Brother not only reborn, but also a transmigrator? Watching what unfolded inside the Mustard Seed Space, Ouyang felt a sudden flicker of surprise.
With his palm wounded, Hui Zhi stared resentfully at Chen Changsheng. He had lost twice in such a short time. He had thought himself the Child of Heaven's Chosen, certain that Buddhism would flourish.
He had never imagined that he had spent all this time in the Great Spirit Mountain Temple gazing at the sky from the bottom of a well. He had been at the Azure Cloud Sect for fewer than ten days, yet had already suffered two defeats.
And his opponent was an entire major realm below him!
Humiliation! As the Buddhist Holy Son, I've actually lost twice in a row to unknown disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect!
Such a defeat utterly destroyed Hui Zhi's long-held pride. In the past, he had always been the one challenging opponents above his realm. Never had he imagined that one day he would be defeated by someone of a lower realm!
There is always a heaven beyond heaven, always someone stronger. Have I spent all these years in the Great Spirit Mountain Temple merely gazing at the sky from the bottom of a well?
Hui Zhi let out a long sigh. The Buddha Light around him dimmed somewhat, and he bowed slightly to Chen Changsheng before leaving the Mustard Seed Space.
When only Zu Yuan remained before Chen Changsheng, Zu Yuan forced himself to say, "There are more than a dozen experts of the Mahayana Realm overseeing this place. They won't just stand by and let you kill me!"
Now, Zu Yuan could only pin his hopes on the guardians watching nearby, praying they would rescue him the instant Chen Changsheng moved to kill him!
It was laughable, really. As the Devil Race Sacred Son, he was actually hoping that righteous Human Race cultivators would save him!
Chen Changsheng raised both hands as though drawing a bow. His eyes blazed as he looked at Zu Yuan. "You think I haven't considered everything you can think of?"
Watching the radiantly glowing bow and arrow slowly appear in Chen Changsheng's hands, Zu Yuan was instantly scared out of his wits. He could clearly sense the threat of death emanating from them!
"Why does something feel wrong about this attack?" Dongxu Zi looked at the bow and arrow in Chen Changsheng's hands. He was confident he could save Zu Yuan when Chen Changsheng struck to kill him, yet the bow and arrow before him were clearly nothing more than ordinary flame spell arts.
Zu Yuan frantically dodged, only to discover in despair that no matter how he moved, the arrowhead remained fixed on him.
"Aaaaah!" Zu Yuan roared, devilish energy pouring from his body. With life and death hanging in the balance, he could no longer conceal his identity!
As long as I recover my Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, I'll have a way to leave immediately. So what if my identity is exposed?
At worst, I'll have failed this mission!
I can't die!
A heaven-blessed genius like me can't die here!
I'm the Devil Race Sacred Son, the future hope of the Devil Race. How can I die so easily here?!
I still have the Devil Race Supreme Treasure. It's more than enough to keep me alive!!!
Zu Yuan's body, wreathed in devilish energy, instantly stunned everyone present. Then an uproar erupted!
A member of the Devil Race had actually infiltrated such a grand gathering at the Azure Cloud Sect!
In the Main Hall, Dongxu Zi froze on the spot. As Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Holy Land, he had actually failed to recognize that Zu Yuan was a member of the Devil Race!
And he had even accepted him as a personal disciple!
Below, Ouyang laughed. Looking at Zu Yuan, he gloated, "Finally showed your devilish colors, haven't you, little hater?"
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