At the exact moment Ye Fan plucked the Break-Stage Grass, the entire massive mountain began to shake violently.
The members of the righteous and demonic factions, who had been locked in a life-and-death struggle, instantly had their attention drawn to it.
“Good job, Ye Fan... Hehehe...”
Xue Wuya of the Blood River Demon Sect looked at Ye Fan clutching the Break-Stage Grass with an excited expression and praised him happily.
Meanwhile, the members of the Haoran Sect stared at Ye Fan with cold, murderous intent. That damn brat had exploited a loophole again.
Even the demonic cultivators of Wuhua Palace stared at the Break-Stage Grass in Ye Fan's hand with unreadable expressions.
“Ye Fan, come, hand the Break-Stage Grass over to me for safekeeping...”
Xue Wuya spoke up just then.
Hearing this, Ye Fan's eyes flickered slightly.
He had originally planned to keep this Break-Stage Grass for himself in secret.
But now that the Sect Master was demanding it, if he didn't hand it over, he probably wouldn't make it back alive!
Just as Ye Fan was trying to think of a way out, the mountain suddenly began to shake even more violently.
Then, an indescribably terrifying aura erupted.
“Boom...”
In an instant, the entire mountain shattered. The shockwave sent the crowd of cultivators flying.
“Pfft...”
Some cultivators were severely injured by the sheer force of the pressure, while others died on the spot...
“What's going on?”
“Ye Fan, what did you do?”
Everyone glared at Ye Fan in fury.
Having just escaped using his movement technique, Ye Fan was also deeply shocked...
He frowned and looked in the direction of the trembling mountain.
“The aura of a Human Immortal?”
“What?”
“The aura of a Human Immortal!”
As Ye Fan's words fell, several old monsters couldn't help but cry out in shock.
They spun around to look in the direction of the trembling mountain.
How could there be a Human Immortal on the Xuantian Continent? Weren't they beings that only existed in the Immortal Realm?
Feeling this aura, Ye Fan turned and fled without a second thought...
Seeing this, the others didn't hesitate either and scrambled to escape...
At this moment, this was the exact scene that greeted Lu Ming and his group as they ran out of the cave.
A crowd of people fleeing in sheer panic...
“Run!”
Lu Ming bellowed, immediately pushing his speed to the limit to escape...
He had no desire to stay here and court death.
“Amitabha...”
Just then, a Buddhist invocation that shook heaven and earth echoed through the sky.
As the invocation resounded, Lu Ming instantly felt the spiritual energy inside his body lock up, as if bound by an unseen force.
Not only was his temporary Nascent Soul stage cultivation gone, but even his original cultivation had vanished...
His body became incredibly stiff and difficult to move...
“Where is my spiritual energy?”
“Why can't I use my spiritual energy anymore?”
Hearing the panicked cries around him, Lu Ming realized he wasn't the only one.
It had to be the work of that Buddha of All Beings Equal.
Some of the cultivators who had been flying in mid-air plunged straight to the ground.
Ye Fan was one of them... He crashed headfirst into the dirt.
It took him a great deal of effort to pull his head out of the soil.
“Ptooey...”
Spitting out the dirt in his mouth, Ye Fan swore silently.
Once he regained his cultivation, he would definitely bury this damn bastard alive.
Damn it, a mere Human Immortal dared to act so arrogant in front of him...
He looked up and stared at the place where the mountain had just collapsed.
A massive monk, radiating a dark glow, emerged from the mountain.
Watching this, Lu Ming's eyes widened in disbelief.
Holy crap... If he hadn't seen Buddhas on television in his previous life, he would have been totally fooled...
You call this a Buddha?
He had a colossal body, completely enveloped in a black radiance, sitting cross-legged atop a giant black lotus.
Behind his head floated a halo that also shimmered with dark light.
His withered face looked incredibly sinister and terrifying amidst the black glow...
If you said you were Wutian, I'd totally believe you...
Just then, the monk pressed his palms together, his voice dripping with sorrow and compassion for the world:
“Amitabha. I am the Buddha of All Beings Equal... Having endured countless hardships, I have lived to see a second life. Now, I require your devotion to return to the Immortal Realm...”
He didn't specify what they needed to devote.
However, Lu Ming guessed it was nothing more than their flesh, souls, or faith.
Everyone turned deathly pale upon hearing this...
Obviously, they had reached the same conclusion.
Ye Fan's expression was exceptionally grim... He had never expected to run into such a disaster...
Was he going to die here again?
If he died this time, would he still be able to undergo rebirth?
After all, there was still a massive gulf between his current strength and a Human Immortal.
Right then, as the Equal Buddha finished speaking, he waved his hand, and countless black lotuses shimmering with ghostly light flew out.
The black lotuses surged into the minds of the cultivators, whose eyes instantly glazed over with fanatical fervor...
They pressed their palms together and began to chant:
“Amitabha... Follow the Equal Buddha. No birth, no decay, ascend early to the Western Paradise!”
Ye Fan forced his technique to circulate, trying to regain movement in his body so he could dodge the incoming black lotus.
However, because he was forcing his technique, although his body could move, it was sluggish.
His movements were not nimble enough, and he failed to prevent the black lotus from entering his sea of consciousness.
Immediately, he activated a blood-red shield inside his sea of consciousness.
This was the Blood Soul Shield he had prepared in advance to protect his soul...
“Pfft...”
The Blood Soul Shield only lasted for a brief moment before the black lotus shattered it.
Steeling his resolve, Ye Fan prepared to end his own life. If he committed suicide, perhaps he would have a chance to be reborn.
If he didn't, he might become a mindless puppet forever.
Just then, a brilliant golden light suddenly erupted within his sea of consciousness, instantly obliterating the black lotus...
Ye Fan was stunned. What was going on?
Why did his soul have the protection of the Heavenly Dao?
Having no time to overthink it, he quickly pretended to have fallen under the spell.
He pressed his palms together like the others, chanting the Buddhist invocation and shouting the slogan...
Meanwhile, Lu Ming, standing at the very back, was anxious out of his mind...
Hadn't they planted so much poison?
Why wasn't this guy showing any reaction at all?
Those were poison pills he had personally refined; there was absolutely no way they were fakes.
Just as Lu Ming was worrying, a black lotus shot straight toward Huang Tianbao...
“Old Third...”
“Woof, woof!!”
“Third Sect Master?”
Lu Ming and the others couldn't help but cry out in worry.
“Farewell, Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and all my brothers... Let's be brothers again in the next life... I'll take my leave first...”
Huang Tianbao wiped away a tear, bracing himself to be turned into a mindless idiot...
“Pfft...”
Just as Huang Tianbao braced himself for the impending storm, the moment the black lotus surged into his sea of consciousness—
A plume of black smoke suddenly puffed out from the top of his head...
Witnessing this, the anxious Lu Ming and his group stared in stunned silence.
Their jaws dropped. Why was Old Third reacting differently from everyone else?
No one else had smoke coming out of their head!
“Old Third... how are you feeling?”
Lu Ming couldn't help but ask with deep concern.
Huang Tianbao blinked, looking at Lu Ming in confusion.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I don't feel anything at all. I didn't turn stupid either...”
Huh?
Just then, Huang Tianbao realized that not only had he not turned stupid, but the restriction on him had also vanished. He could move his body again.
Seeing Huang Tianbao like this, Lu Ming felt a surge of joy. He hadn't expected Huang Tianbao to be completely unharmed...
But joy turned to sorrow before he could even celebrate...
A black lotus shot directly into Lu Ming's mind.
“Woof, woof!!”
“Eldest Senior Brother!!”
“Grand Sect Master!”
Big Yellow and the others cried out in tense worry once more.
At the moment the black lotus entered his sea of consciousness, Lu Ming didn't feel too worried.
He was the protagonist, after all. There was no way he would die here!
If even Huang Tianbao was fine, how could anything happen to him?
Rate on N.U.
