Insolent!How utterly insolent!The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant had never witnessed such a contemptible wretch. Just moments ago, he was clearly frail and weak. Did he truly believe he had achieved some new destiny after that incomprehensible "Heavenly Mechanism Loading"? Can one truly bestow destiny upon oneself? What a joke! It was fortunate no one else was here; otherwise, an uninformed observer might mistakenly believe this ignorant human before them had inherited the Ancestral God's divine fate!
"Reincarnation Seeds!" The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant flung its branches skyward, scattering clumps of thick, moist seeds imbued with potent life force. The seeds clung to the void and rapidly hatched, giving birth in the blink of an eye to countless life forms she had previously devoured.
To Dao Qiongcang, these individuals were all too familiar, their information readily available at his fingertips:"Half-Saint Qishan, Necro-Wood affinity, born in the Southern Domain, skilled in dark arts and life-manipulating spells.""Half-Saint Changyi, Ghost Beast Host, born in the Northern Domain, one of Beihuai's failed experiments.""Half-Saint Baiyu, Saint Rainbow Ring...""Half-Saint..."
Without exception, the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant was serious this time. All the Dao Embryos she produced were at least Half-Saint level, clearly demonstrating her deep apprehension toward the mysterious and awe-inspiring "Six Paths of the Firmament" mode.
Yet, under such serious targeting, Dao Qiongcang of the Sword Immortal Path merely glanced around, completely disregarding the changes occurring around him. He slowly raised the long, broad, Buddha-light-infused greatsword that covered most of his body, his fingertip gently stroking the blade as he murmured to himself:
"It's been thirty years since we last met, hasn't it? Thirty years of mortal strife, fame and glory all turned to dust. Now, people only remember the divine sword Xuancang and the four fiendish swords, perhaps long having forgotten your renown..."
The sword blade vibrated indignantly, and instantly, the Buddha light surged. The dazzling golden light illuminated the evil-infused seed-humans rooted in the void, making each face glow with an almost transcendent, sacred purity.
"Uhh—""Ergh...""Die, die, die!!"
Under the extreme catalysis of their hyper-Dao-transformed life attributes, the seed-humans rapidly matured, reaching full growth in mere moments. Conceiving, bearing fruit... Once the fruit ripened, the seed-humans detached from the void, each randomly imbued with a wisp of the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's soul-fragment, gaining a flicker of sentience.
"Kill him!" The beautiful tree-mother's thick roots withdrew from the ground, segment by segment, as she issued her sole command: Annihilate this deceptive charlatan at all costs.
Piercing wails erupted from an unknown source, echoing the movements of the thirty to forty seed-humans. Like a charge horn, numerous figures shrieked as they simultaneously rushed toward Dao Qiongcang.
"Clang—" At that moment, the greatsword's blade flipped, and a profound Sanskrit chant resonated through eternity.
Dao Qiongcang lifted his eyelids, casting a distant gaze upon the dozens of frenzied, pathetic seed-humans. His sword-robe billowed without a breeze. A voice emerged from the void, letting out a soft sigh:
"No noble spirit in life, yet such audacity only found in death?" A trace of mockery played on Dao Qiongcang's lips, his contempt utterly unconcealed in his gaze as he scoffed: "How pathetic!"
With that, facing the dozens of Half-Saints, he unhurriedly raised the sword in his hand. Whoosh! The Pseudo-Sword Dao Array beneath his feet stirred up waves of dust, and invisible ripples of power swept outwards. Brilliant Buddha light spread from the sword to his hand, then from his shoulder to his body, finally coating Dao Qiongcang's entire sword-robe in a layer of pure, scaly radiance.
"Great Buddha..." Dao Qiongcang parted his lips, and myriad powers converged into a single sword. Suddenly, a Great Buddha materialized from the void, descending to stand guard around Dao Qiongcang, barring the approaching Half-Saint seed-humans from getting close. Without a discernible movement, the greatsword previously held before his chest was now swept across to his left hip, then drawn fiercely to his right...
"Slash!" The sword light soared, radiating from inside out. The circular golden light instantly expanded, even cleaving the protective Great Buddha itself in two, splitting it into upper and lower halves.
"What?!" The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant, recoiling far away, turned pale with shock at the sight. She only managed to spring into the air, leaping high over the instantly arriving golden sword light, avoiding being cleaved. As for the seed-humans...
The combat awareness of these Half-Saints was no longer at their former living levels; they were now uniformly controlled by the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant. As the Great Buddha Slash swept across, every seed-human was still driven by the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's prior intention: to break through the Great Buddha's protective barrier and resist its attacks, with no thought of retreating. Consequently, all were struck, not a single one escaped!
"Boom—" Following the sword light, a thunderous roar was heard. The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant recovered and looked back, horrified to see that heaven and earth themselves had been cleaved by the golden sword light. The vines covering the walls were all severed... The high walls of the Divine Fates Temple itself were diagonally split... Even her own body!
The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant felt a chill below her, and only when her divine sense swept downwards did she realize that the sword light she thought she had evaded by leaping was merely an illusion. She had already been severed at the waist by the Great Buddha Slash!
"Hiss—" Agony assailed her soul. The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant discovered wisps of purple evil energy and black demonic energy on her body being evaporated, purified, and transmuted by the power contained within the golden sword light! This was pain beyond being physically severed. The inherent power of the greatsword itself had a natural suppressive effect on evil god power, her corrupted Medicine Ancestor power, and indeed, all powers inherently tainted with "demonic nature"!
"This is..." The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant, disoriented by the purification, forcibly dragged her consciousness back and realized that what was truly powerful was not Dao Qiongcang's Sword Dao itself. But the sword! And the terrifying power contained within it! She carefully identified the greatsword in Dao Qiongcang's hand: it was entirely golden, with nine gilded Buddha figures on the guard, some bowing, some unrestrained, some sleeping, some praying, or...
No need to look further; with just a glance, the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant suddenly remembered the true nature of this sword and why it had a natural suppressive effect on her: "One of the Five Divine Artifacts of Chaos, the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword?"
For a moment, the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's thoughts reeled. Indeed, Dao Qiongcang had previously mentioned "Immortal-Wrath." But shouldn't "Immortal-Wrath" merely be a name chosen by the wielder? How was it connected to the "Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword"?
"How could you possibly gain its recognition?" The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant shrieked, her voice tearing. The Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword not only demanded a high level of sword intent from ancient sword cultivators, but also an even higher standard of character. Without a karmic connection to Buddhism, without the will to save the world and its people, without the concept of "Buddha traversing the world peacefully, Buddha's wrath crossing immortals, all realms equal, immortals and mortals as one"... the wielder would struggle even to draw the sword! Yet Dao Qiongcang before her, whose Sword Dao comprehension seemed grand, was clearly strong on the outside but hollow within, patched together from disparate sources. Essentially, it was impressive for him to even possess a Grandmaster-level sword intent. How could such an unremarkable individual gain the favor of the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword?
"Thump, thump..." Segments of the seed-humans' upper and lower bodies successively hit the ground, twisting and writhing in the Buddha light. Though not perished, they groaned in agony. Upon closer inspection, the sword light that severed the seed-humans' halves contained profound sword intent, embodying the reality of spatial and temporal separation. Faintly, one could also discern extremely faint golden "votive power" clinging to the wounds, preventing the hyper-Dao-transformed life attributes from regenerating.
Dao Qiongcang chuckled softly, flicked his sword, and rested it on his shoulder. Suddenly realizing this gesture was highly undignified and unfitting for a Sword Immortal, he reluctantly lowered the greatsword, holding it diagonally with an air of proud defiance. To the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's astonished question, he, a man born of riddles, despite now being Dao Qiongcang of the Sword Immortal Path, had no intention of providing a detailed answer. Instead, his reply was even more concise, even more dismissive:
"A summer cicada's lament is enough. To ask about autumn and winter? You merely invite ridicule!" He then shook the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword downwards. A dense stream of votive power surged forth like a golden torrent, spreading along the Pseudo-Sword Dao Array, instantly transmuting the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's soul-fragments within each seed-human, causing them to cease struggling and peacefully pass on.
It must be said, just these two sentences, just this action, ignited the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's fury to its absolute peak. Audacious! Such presumptuous audacity! You merely severed thirty-some Reincarnation Seeds with one sword. Do you truly believe that merely possessing the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword makes you lawless and invincible?
"Dao! Qiong! Cang!" The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant roared in a fit of rage, actually stimulating swollen, nameless seed-embryos from her severed points. These seed-embryos were utterly formless, imbued only with the most potent Medicine Ancestor power, transforming into raw vitality, then abruptly bursting open. With a "sizzle," purplish-green life fluid splattered like pus from a ruptured wound, stretching upwards and downwards, connected yet broken. In an instant, the votive power was eroded. The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's upper and lower halves reconnected, as if at the start of the battle.
Such a repulsive method of "reconnection" made even Dao Qiongcang frown. This time, without waiting for the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant to act, he had already traced a finger across the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword, staining it with nine drops of sacred blood, breaking the Buddha-sword's restrictions, and unleashing a deadly light. Immediately, the sword erupted with brilliant golden light, and Dao Qiongcang began chanting:
"The way of the sword, named 'Nine,' Nine presides, cleansing my roots of wisdom...""The way of the sword, named 'Myriad,' Myriad swords return, saluting the Western Heaven Buddha...""The way of the sword, named 'Heart,' Heart without fear, eyes without myriad dharmas...""The way of the sword, named 'Don't'...""The way of the sword, named 'Emotion'...""The way of the sword, named 'Nothingness'..."
Multiple voices layered together, as if he had nine mouths, all murmuring simultaneously, producing nine distinct sounds. The nine sounds resonated with the nine drops of blood, the nine drops forming a return array. The array cleansed him, and the Buddha's true root was born!
Two symbols appeared in Dao Qiongcang's eyes, and by the end, his words became indistinguishable, but layers of light intensified on his body, enveloping him in golden radiance, making him blurry and ethereal. Suddenly, he tossed the Immortal-Wrath high, and the Buddha sword spun horizontally upwards. He clasped his hands together, fingertips touching the descending blade. The Sanskrit chant finally converged, delivering a single phrase:
"The world holds no grudges, the three realms are empty; emptiness also exists, giving rise to nothingness. Buddha has wrath, hell should be full; when the underworld is full, the human realm is sparse."
His body hunched, then fiercely straightened again. "Heavenly Liberation possesses wrath!"
Behind Dao Qiongcang, a colossal Buddha image materialized, reaching into the heavens. The image had half-closed eyes and a sorrowful expression. Its left hand, attempting to pacify the heavens, hung limply, powerless. Its right palm, seeking to quiet the earth, held very little force, conveying a sense of helplessness, as if "this realm is difficult for humans, and humans struggle to pacify this realm." But in the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant's eyes... this seemingly passive Buddha image was, astonishingly, flowing with golden liquid—a surge of potent faith power, the enlightened thought of the second generation, votive power!
His sorrow, her anguish. Yet, even with her compatibility with the Ancestral God's fate, upon the sudden appearance of this image and power, the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant still felt utterly insignificant, not even a fraction of the world-saving intent embodied by that form.
"Boom!" Her roots suddenly shattered, and her upper body abruptly prostrated itself on the ground, as if kneeling like a human. Impossible! This is impossible! The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant, prostrated on the ground, was now in a state of utter madness. She tried to lift her body, refusing to bow before the Buddha image, but the more frenzied her thoughts became, the greater the suppression she endured. Like a mountain pressing down! Like an ocean submerging her shoulders! Even across such a vast distance, without any physical touch, the Buddha image, having been summoned, was already imbued with votive power, "slowly" transmuting her evil energy, demonic energy, and various mutated powers. This "slowly" indicated its serene and unhurried nature, not its actual pace.
"No—" The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant roared, her head buried. Her entire body was festering, losing its essence. Yet, the more frantic and resistant she became, the more she struggled to lift her head. Her extraordinary experience, stretching from ancient times to the present, allowed the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant, in her terror, to quickly realize that the "thought" and "goodness" of this image... surpassed her own! Its Dao truly possessed the bearing of a Ten-Ancestor! How could such suppressive might be broken free from through terrified resistance? One could only escape this "transmutation" by turning one's heart towards fundamental goodness.
But... quiet? Calm her heart? Single-mindedly pursue goodness, no longer deviating from it? —How could that be possible! The Sacred Embryo-Root Plant was practically going insane. She had already joined the Path of Malevolent Yin; if she were to follow the way of that Buddha image, her own Great Dao would surely collapse. But if she didn't comply, how could she break free from this terrifying might and gain freedom? Furthermore! How could such a sword strike be achieved by that despicable Dao Qiongcang, who was skilled only in thievery and borrowed such power from unknown sources?
"Buddha Sword, Buddha Sword, lend me the Buddha Sword... I need not possess, it comes of its own accord..."
While she lay prostrate, footsteps sounded from ahead, accompanied by a few melancholic notes. Dao Qiongcang's Heavenly Liberation, as the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant had suspected, was indeed not a normal form of Heavenly Liberation—he was never a Sword Immortal to begin with. He was indeed merely borrowing someone's power, entrusted with holding a certain sword, and when encountering impurity, he would summon this sword, unleash this power, and fulfill someone's wish.
"You are a natural-born Ancestral Tree, the root of creation. The root says: In this life, you exist to protect the world... Heavenly fate cannot be defied! Your fate is thus. How could the stolen Ancestral God's opportunity help you achieve 'delusion'? Know that delusion is inherently nothingness, and nothingness is merely imagination. How can a madman's wild fantasy compare to a naturally endowed 'Ancestral God's divine fate'?"
Dao Qiongcang spoke softly as he stepped, slowly approaching the Sacred Embryo-Root Plant. He extended his hand into the void, and without needing to summon it, the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword returned from the "Heavenly Liberation" and settled into his palm.
He raised the sword. Dao Qiongcang shook his head gently. "My friend, to save the world and its people, to suppress the demonic fate, willingly abandoned their innate destiny and fell into the inverted Buddha Tower; this is 'truth.' And you, my other friend, started on shaky ground, usurped heavenly mechanisms, built castles in the air, tried to catch the moon in the water; is this 'Ancestral God'? This is 'falsehood.'"
He gripped the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword, its tip spiraling downwards. Behind him, the colossal Buddha image, devoid of compassion or sorrow, forgetting life and death, seemed no longer bound by the Heavenly Dao, transcending the three realms. Om... The Buddha image converged, transforming into golden light that poured into Dao Qiongcang, actually flowing through Dao Qiongcang's hand into the Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword. The Immortal-Wrath Buddha Sword shot a pillar of golden light skyward, burning away votive power like an incense stick.
Dao Qiongcang was like a Heavenly Mechanism puppet that, once given a command, could wield astonishing power simply by executing it. He aimed the sword—that incense stick—at the prostrate Sacred Embryo-Root Plant, at its massive, trembling crown, at its heart filled with unwillingness, endless resentment, and malevolence capable of bringing disaster to the world...
And suppressed it!
"Today, evil is vanquished, votive power expended, like a single stick of incense, the world purified and empty... You may depart."
[11 minutes ago] Chapter 1700: Those Born as Humans Have No Faults, How to Abandon Those Without Faults?
6166 · 0 · 13
