The little novice monk swayed slightly.
A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Countless arrows flew toward him. The holy army meant to shoot him dead in a hail of arrows!
The little novice knelt before the abbot, his head lowered and his back deeply bowed, arrows bristling from it like a hedgehog!
Blood soaked his robes.
Urgh...
He forced a hoarse sound from his throat.
He began vomiting blood uncontrollably.
Blood gradually stained the prayer beads around his neck!
The holy army attacked again. Suddenly, traces of a fierce presence emanated from the little novice.
It came from the prayer beads around his neck!
As the little novice's blood stained the ink-black beads, their blackness gradually receded, revealing a crimson sheen.
Boom!
A world-shaking sound rang out.
Ten thousand rays of golden light burst forth within the Buddhist temple, accompanied by waves of terrifying Buddhist chants!
The phenomenon came from the little novice!
The prayer beads rapidly turned red. At the same time, the little novice underwent a tremendous transformation. His yellow robes became blood-red, and his eyes turned crimson!
Until...
The beads around his neck turned completely blood-red!
He, too, became a blood-colored Tathagata!
A torrent of savage killing intent erupted, its power crossing time and space, freezing yin and yang, shaking heaven and earth, and roiling the wind and clouds!
The prayer beads blazed with light.
Dozens of enormous phantoms emerged from the beads. All wore crimson kasayas, their palms pressed together and their eyes glaring furiously. Their immense willpower condensed into a towering storm that swept toward the holy army.
They were twenty-eight eminent monks, saints of ages past!
As the storm arrived, countless soldiers of the holy army instantly disintegrated!
The little novice's eyes blazed with fire. World-shaking Demon Qi swirled around him. Apart from his monk's face, his entire body had taken on a bizarre and terrifying demonic form!
Before absolute power, the holy army felt terror and despair!
At that moment!
The golden ranking was revealing sixth place. When the holy army saw the entry, their souls nearly scattered in fright!
"The beads around that monk's neck are the Blood Tathagata Beads!"
"We can't stay here!"
"Hurry back and report to Her Majesty the Empress!"
The holy army was frightened out of its wits. They wanted to retreat, but it was already too late. Wherever the storm passed, no life remained for a thousand miles!
At that moment!
The Heavenly Ranking bestowed its reward. The little novice reached out and grasped the Ancestral Buddha Relic.
The relic radiated brilliant light.
The little novice's figure grew increasingly ethereal until he vanished completely...
Dong-
The world-cleansing bell rang once more.
[Fifth place] Name: Fate Cauldron Grade: Immortal artifact Owner: Qi Wuyan Assessment: A creation formed over thirty million years, calculating every heavenly secret, supreme among divinations.
In the video...
Atop a mountain wreathed in clouds and mist, amid a mass of chaos, nature's workings nurtured a bronze cauldron.
The cauldron's mouth symbolized the vastness of heaven, and its legs symbolized the breadth of the earth.
The Fate Cauldron divined heavenly secrets!
"Something born of nature's workings is far more exquisite than anything human hands could make. The Fate Cauldron absorbed thirty million years of creation power to reach the immortal-artifact grade. Wouldn't it be even more terrifying after another few tens of millions of years?!"
"Qi Wuyan again! Fifth on the artifact ranking and eighth on the aptitude ranking. This woman is terrifying!"
"But isn't the Fate Cauldron ranked too low?!"
"The Soundless Disc was so powerful, yet it only ranked seventh. The Fate Cauldron is even stronger, but it's only two places higher!"
"Does Heaven truly never miscalculate?!"
Azure Cloud Holy Land.
Upon seeing the Heavenly Ranking, Ye Yuan raised his brows, a rare occurrence.
"That shouldn't be..."
"If the Fate Cauldron ranks fifth, what else could appear above it?"
"Does this era truly conceal so many extraordinary people and things?!"
Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
Heavenly Master Qi stared at the Heavenly Ranking and fell silent.
He had never anticipated this result. As someone who already stood at the pinnacle of this world, however detached or low-key he might be, he still harbored pride deep within.
And his pride was Qi Wuyan!
And the Fate Cauldron!
It was a treasure passed down through generations of his heavenly diviner clan!
It divined the past and present, its calculations never missing a thing. No other artifact in the world could rival it!
And yet!
It ranked fifth on the Heavenly Ranking!
Qi Wuyan stroked the Fate Cauldron and said with a faint smile, "Man's calculations cannot compare to Heaven's. As the saying goes, one dares not exhaust all divinations, for fear of the Heavenly Dao's capriciousness. Perhaps I divined too many heavenly secrets and depleted the Fate Cauldron's power!"
Heavenly Master Qi raised his eyes. "Who will take fourth place...?"
Qi Wuyan said, "It must be something extraordinary!"
The Heavenly Ranking had already listed six artifacts.
The power of a single artifact could replace an army of thousands. In a certain sense, it was also a faction's greatest cheat. Any artifact revealed on the Heavenly Ranking could shake the three thousand worlds.
Beneath the calm, undercurrents surged.
Jialuo Holy Land, Azure Cloud Holy Land, Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, Setting Sun Sect...
Faction after faction...
Mighty expert after mighty expert...
Countless eyes watched the treasures on the ranking, especially... the fourth-place entry about to be revealed! Just how powerful would something ranked above treasures like the Soundless Disc and Fate Cauldron be?!
Dong!
The deep sound spread throughout the world.
Countless people held their breath and focused, staring fixedly at the Heavenly Ranking.
Until lines of text emerged!
[Fourth place] Name: Beacon Cloud Hook Grade: Immortal artifact Owner: Xie Feng Assessment: Ninety million years of creation power, gathering the flames and smoke of war from the four wildernesses. A weapon of war, a top-tier immortal artifact!
The Heavenly Ranking began playing a video. It showed an era of chaotic warfare among immortals, with the smoke of battle rising everywhere. A vast silver light suddenly appeared, like an enormous silver sword, cleaving through the flames of war.
The silver light became a silver hook!
The Beacon Cloud Hook, imbued with Beacon Fire Qi!
Its terrifying power made people's scalps prickle, even through the video and the Heavenly Ranking!
[Fourth-place reward] Great Dao Luck [Great Dao Luck: An essence of one of the three thousand Great Daos, containing immense luck. A foundation for attaining sainthood!]
The crowd's emotions erupted.
"A top-tier immortal artifact!"
"And it absorbed ninety million years of creation power! No wonder it ranks above the Fate Cauldron. If the Fate Cauldron is a high-grade immortal artifact, then this-this is a top-tier one!"
"Does something so terrifying exist in this era?!"
"Xie Feng? Who is Xie Feng?"
"A name we've never heard, a figure we've never seen!"
"Heavens! The reward is actually Great Dao Luck! That's a foundation for attaining sainthood!"
Heaven and earth seethed.
Yet not a single person had heard of Xie Feng.
Even the previously most obscure figure, the monk Mo Ren of the Blood Tathagata Beads, had been known by some to come from Jialuo Holy Land.
But no one knew anything about Xie Feng, as though he were a blank slate!
He had simply appeared out of nowhere!
Completely unknown!
"Just who is this Xie Feng? He has a human surname. He might be human!"
"My grandfather was named Xie Feng! But he passed away ten years ago..."
"Then what the hell are you blabbering about?!"
"S-stop arguing! Look, the Heavenly Ranking is updating again!"
Just then!
The Heavenly Ranking immediately revealed the next entry!
[Third place] Name: Supreme Dream Robe Grade: Immortal artifact Owner: Xie Feng Assessment: Woven from moonlight and thunder, the ancient Supreme Dream Saint's garment. Untouched by wind or rain, unbound and unimpeded. The Great Dao is simplicity itself.
A video appeared. A figure in azure robes walked between heaven and earth, free and unrestrained, reigning supreme beneath heaven with every lowering and lifting of his head!
The Supreme Dream Saint!
[Third-place reward] Chaos Primordial Unity [Chaos Primordial Unity: An object of the ultimate Dao, containing vast soul power]