Chapter 301: Angry Demise

At the northernmost tip of Yue State, a majestic peak soared into the clouds. Its winding and extensive slopes were grand and magnificent. However, the highest point of the mountain bore the mark of a sword cut, leaving a smooth, flat surface that seemed to halt its imposing presence, creating an indescribable sense of unease.

At the smooth, severed peak, a man in a white robe lay half-reclined amidst the clouds and mist, his legs propped up. He held a sword with a plain, unremarkable wooden scabbard. His face was obscured by mist, rendering his features indiscernible.

Despite the sharp, biting wind at the mountain's summit, he wore only a simple white robe. He idly toyed with the jade pendant on his sword, murmuring, "Furious Maha..."

From below, a woman ascended, her robes fluttering. Her hair was styled like clouds and her complexion like jade. Divine light flowed around her, and her hair ornaments gleamed with a transparent brilliance, clearly indicating her extraordinary nature. She descended on a rainbow light and spoke softly, "Shangyuan."

"Hm," replied True Immortal Shangyuan, gazing abstractedly into the distance, as if he could see through the layers of mist to the situation at Bianyan Mountain. He said faintly, "The Angry Deva is about to die; this feast of carnage should conclude. It's a pity that the millions who died in Xu State didn't even make a ripple."

"Alas," the woman sighed, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. She replied, "Indeed... From the eastward advance of the Buddhist cultivators into the great war in Xu State, to the encirclement and killing of the Furious Maha, it was always a grand feast. Three Mahas from the Seven Paths fulfilled their destiny and acquired mounts, two demon lords achieved great demon status, and we regained our territory, eliminating the destabilizing Angry Deva. Everyone profited, so things should settle down now."

As the woman spoke, a golden light erupted in the distance. Chains emerged from the void, binding the golden body of the Furious Maha. The Furious Maha was howling up at the sky. True Immortal Shangyuan raised an eyebrow and murmured, "The Golden Bridge Lock."

"Yes," the female cultivator replied, gazing intently. "It's a magic treasure bestowed by the Immortal Mansion to True Monarch Qingyuan Lüshui for his past achievements... It seems the True Monarch intends to completely eradicate him, not even leaving a single true spirit."

Upon hearing this, the thick mist on True Immortal Shangyuan's face swirled for a moment, as if he was struggling to suppress something. He suddenly spoke, his voice filled with deep hatred: "That old scoundrel, sooner or later I'll dismantle his immortal body, shatter his golden core, and make him taste..."

"Shangyuan!" The female cultivator's face paltered. She quickly pulled his sleeve and whispered, "No matter what he is... he's still a Golden Core cultivator! How can you speak so recklessly?"

"Hm," True Immortal Shangyuan acknowledged, regaining his composure and nodding nonchalantly. His spiritual eye watched the cultivator descending into the forest until he landed safely. Only then did True Immortal Shangyuan pat the Qingfeng sword in his arms and say, "I'll go take a look."

Bianyan Mountain.

In the sky, countless chains interwoven with golden-yellow light shone like a brilliant sun, exuding an inviolable majesty. They easily broke through the golden streamers on the Furious Maha's body, wrapping around his bronze-colored skin with a sizzling sound.

"Aoooohhh..." The magic treasure's golden chains burned black marks into the Furious Maha's body, seeming to possess a unique power that intensified the pain, causing him to howl in agony.

"Fellow Daoist... is this a magic treasure?" True Immortal Changxi stared blankly, his face flushing from the artifact's immense power. Xiao Chuting beside him secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. The Purple Mansion cultivator, who had previously bickered with True Immortal Changxi in the Great Void, sneered and replied, "After all, you're from a minor sect; you haven't seen much of the world. Magic treasures, by nature, possess infinite power. This is merely a Golden Bridge Lock. If you were to witness the Sky-Piercing Sun-Moon Duality Profound Light of that Immortal Mansion from back then, wouldn't you faint?"

True Immortal Tianyuan, standing nearby, nodded slightly. Seeing True Immortal Changxi's embarrassment, he quickly intervened, smiling, "My master specifically instructed us on this trip, saying that the one from Green Pond attached great importance to this matter and had already deployed a magic treasure. We never expected it to be so formidable; it's truly unbelievable."

True Immortal Changxi's expression softened considerably. True Immortal Tianyuan then turned back to the Purple Mansion cultivator and echoed, "True Immortal Xianyao is indeed very knowledgeable. I've heard that the Immortal Mansion's magic treasures flow with the essence of the sun during the day and spew forth the radiance of the moon at night. Naturally, the Golden Bridge Lock cannot compare."

True Immortal Xianyao was also surprised by this revelation, clearly having just learned of it, and marveled at the artifact's mystic power. Xiao Chuting nodded gently and replied, "Perhaps it should be called an immortal artifact, not just a magic treasure."

As the True Immortals pointed and discussed above, the Furious Maha below grew increasingly tormented. His deep golden eyes were wide with agony, and his pain fueled his rage, causing his aura to surge and the Golden Bridge Lock to creak loudly.

A multitude of Purple Mansion cultivators unleashed their divine abilities, striking at his golden body. For a moment, the heavens and earth were filled with the flowing brilliance of their powers, shaking the ground and mountains, causing the ley lines of Bianyan Mountain to tremble and its spiritual energy to wane.

"Stop." As the Purple Mansion cultivators displayed their respective divine powers, a faint voice drifted from the air. Though devoid of harshness, it flowed into the ears of all the cultivators, causing them to silently cease their actions and look up.

"Which rat dares to obstruct me..." Zhang Tianyuan's expression hardened, but he suddenly caught sight of the figure holding a sword in the sky. He immediately stopped, offering a placating smile, "Fellow Daoist Shangyuan, this matter has been approved by all three sects..."

"Hm," True Immortal Shangyuan nodded, saying casually, "I naturally know. It's just that if you misuse your divine abilities like this, damaging this entire mountain range, and then simply leave, this area will have no spiritual energy available for three to five hundred years."

"This..." True Immortal Tianyuan froze, genuinely not having considered this point. He quickly said, "Perhaps I should offer compensation..."

"No need," True Immortal Shangyuan replied softly. He placed a hand on his sword and said gently, "I'll simply kill him with one strike."

At these words, everyone present paused. Although the Furious Maha had reincarnated and possessed a body, lost his destiny, was suppressed by the Golden Bridge Lock, and had been beaten to the brink of death by the Purple Mansion cultivators, Buddhist cultivators were masters of self-preservation. Killing him with a single sword strike would be anything but easy.

"Please, fellow Daoist." True Immortal Tianyuan's smile became a little more genuine, but he secretly sneered in his heart, thinking, "Arrogant fool."

True Immortal Shangyuan simply stared at the golden body of the Furious Maha before him, silent for several breaths. The monk gasped for air, his eyes wide with rage, and cursed, "You hidden coward, you..."

True Immortal Shangyuan gazed directly at him. From the Furious Maha's hazy perspective, the mist on True Immortal Shangyuan's face grew thinner and thinner. The monk's rage abruptly ceased, and he stared blankly at Shangyuan's face.

"It's you..." The Furious Maha stared at him in disbelief, his lantern-sized eyes fixed. As his rage vanished, his imposing aura rapidly collapsed like flowing water. True Immortal Shangyuan slowly drew his sword.

"Clang!" As the long sword left its scabbard, falling leaves froze in mid-air, and birds plummeted. Between heaven and earth, only a brilliant white light remained.

"Rumble!" Far away in Duanlong Temple in Zhao State, an old abbot was silently tapping a wooden fish beneath the statue of the Wrathful Vajra when he heard a series of piercing cracks. The old abbot instantly froze, then tremblingly raised his head.

Numerous cracks appeared on the Wrathful Vajra statue before him, beginning to shatter from the neck downwards, breaking into pieces with a clattering sound and scattering across the floor.

"Maha... has fallen..." At the Yunmo Stone Cliffs in Zhao State, brownish-yellow winds howled. A procession of monks walked along the base of the towering cliffs, where countless Vajra statues, each with a furious gaze and varied forms—some wielding short staffs, others riding tigers, leopards, whales, or dragons—stretched for a hundred miles, a truly magnificent sight.

The leading monk held up a torch, illuminating each statue one by one and wiping them clean for a while, when he suddenly looked up with a hint of confusion.

"Crack, crack, crack..." The eyes of the topmost Wrathful Vajra statue suddenly shattered, and fine stone powder drifted down, covering the monk's head and face.

"How... is this possible..." "How is this possible!" The monks stumbled about like headless flies, pushing each other and weeping as if the sky and earth were collapsing. The sound of statues shattering continued endlessly, mingling with their cries, turning into a scattered mess of broken limbs and stones on the ground.

Xu State Underground Caves. Beiliang Buddhist Grottoes. The Wrathful Four Demon Kings, the Ninth Incarnation of Maha, fell at Zhenhui Temple on Bianyan Mountain.