Chapter 611: All Covered in Pink

The vast, dark-purple bowl pressed down on the sky, its round, cavernous blackness shimmering with colorful light like branches and leaves, enveloping the entire heavens. Pale golden, swirling clouds permeated the air, settling in place.

With the manifestation of the Asura-Subduing Bowl (Kongsik Jiangmo Bo), no one across the land could remain airborne; all were forced down to the ground. Even Li Qinghong, who rode sky lightning and was empowered by a feathered robe, could only hover twelve *zhang* (approximately 40 meters) above the earth.

She watched with raised brows as the rumbling sound from above slowly descended. Her grip on her spear tightened. All the cultivators around her were wounded. Li Qinghong turned to Si Yuanli and whispered:

"Senior, do you possess any treasure capable of ascending?"

Si Yuanli was observing the Asura-Subduing Bowl, a bitter feeling in his heart. Just as Si Boxiu's gifting of the Huaijiang Map hadn't counted as direct intervention, the Mahā's monks summoning the Asura-Subduing Bowl from above was likewise not considered a direct move. However, the Mahā's control over the monks was not on the same level as a Zifu's. The monks who resisted to the very end claimed they were eradicating demons, but what could anyone really say to that?

"The Asura-Subduing Bowl is nurtured by the Mahā... Now that it has been unleashed... who can possibly ascend...?" Si Yuanli murmured: "He is set on sacrificing these monks to bring forth a capable 'Merciful One'... Those who arrive too late won't get a share of the treasures from the Anhuai Heavens, so this is also a decent advantage..."

Although Li Qinghong didn't fully grasp the intricacies of Buddhist cultivation, she had heard that when Tang Shedu had caused chaos, the Mahā were deeply stirred and had personally offered guidance. At this moment, Li Xuanfeng's allure was likely even more profound.

No sooner had Si Yuanli finished speaking than the sky-obscuring Asura-Subduing Bowl began to transform once more. The two black bands on the bowl slowly lit up with golden light, and immediately, ethereal pronouncements echoed through the air.

"Compassionate Karma Fire, burn evil and punish wickedness!"

The voice drifted down, resounding for only an instant, causing everyone to instinctively cover their ears. The dark-purple sky morphed into a deep red, and the colorful clouds transformed into fiery, burning twilight.

The entire sky appeared to burn with flickering flames, and then a mighty roar erupted: "The Karma Fire has arrived! The fiend is doomed!"

As this voice echoed, Si Yuanli's heart sank. He began to pray silently: "Please, let nothing go wrong..."

Inside the Asura-Subduing Bowl.

"Boom!"

Li Xuanfeng was inside. Intense, deep-red flames ignited within the Asura-Subduing Bowl, following him like a shadow and creeping up his armored robes. As the tongues of fire licked at him, they surprisingly emitted a clanging sound.

Seeing the fire, the eight monks exchanged glances, then erupted into relieved laughter, shouting: "The Karma Fire has arrived! The fiend is doomed!"

Li Xuanfeng's spiritual sense churned in the flames for a moment before being driven back into his body. A searing heat washed over him, making the spiritual energy within him sizzle. He observed the situation for an instant, then sneered: "What Karma Fire! It's merely a fusion of three distinct fires!"

Yet, with the three fires combined, his golden energy instantly diminished. His previously indestructible white armor began to crackle and groan under the overwhelming force of the three flames.

The eight monks, however, were thriving in the fire, lunging at him from all sides. Even as he spoke, Li Xuanfeng drew the golden spear from his chest; the white bowstring hummed, releasing five white arrows.

Not only was the Asura-Subduing Bowl suppressing him, but the three gold-burning fires also raged fiercely. The white light flashed, its power significantly diminished compared to before.

"Bang!"

The spiritual energy emanating from Li Xuanfeng's white bow slowly dwindled in the fire, and the white arrows only managed to impede five of the monks. The remaining three swiftly advanced, forming hand seals: "Acharya, teach me! Empower me with the Susikong Dharma, the Sakya technique..."

"Clink..."

Three intricately patterned golden ropes flew simultaneously from their hands, interlocking as they entwined Li Xuanfeng's body, sparking as they climbed up his arms. But Li Xuanfeng had anticipated them; his golden energy condensed into large hands, seizing the golden ropes and yanking them sharply:

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."

The sound of the golden ropes striking his white armor thundered. The three monks felt an immense force and were momentarily stunned. The golden ropes in their hands rubbed violently, sparking brightly, and pulled them towards the white-armored man in the center.

Their spiritual senses flickered, and they saw that the other five monks were already close to Li Xuanfeng, with five magical artifacts pointed at his back. A sudden realization dawned on them, and they thought: 'His spiritual sense has been incinerated by the Karma Fire; he can no longer perceive the situation clearly!'

Thus, instead of alarm, they felt joy, seizing the opportunity to lunge forward. As the face with its flickering, bone-white patterns rapidly enlarged before them, they shouted: "Fiend, prepare to die!"

"Boom!"

Li Xuanfeng's eyes had turned entirely bone-white. His large hands shattered their spiritual bodies. As these three monks were pinned below, golden light suddenly erupted behind him.

Yet, he paid no heed. His fists, like streaks of light, slammed down onto the three monks below, sending glass-like fragments of limbs flying. Three heart-wrenching screams erupted: "Li Xuanfeng... you're asking for death!"

At that very moment, golden energy relentlessly pounded his massive spiritual body. The three monks, already wounded and now missing heads and limbs, were torn asunder by Li Xuanfeng. Only three pained cries of regret and hatred could be heard.

"You! How utterly foolish!"

The three monks could never have imagined that the man before them would be so unyielding. They instantly dissipated, turning into a ground littered with glass-like fragments and a shower of petals. Meanwhile, Li Xuanfeng let out a muffled groan.

"Crack!"

Five magical artifacts pierced through his body, releasing a surge of intense golden energy. His white bow swept horizontally, but it now seemed sluggish and heavy. The five monks agilely leaped away, retreating as they laughed in unison: "Good!"

"Splat..."

Bone-white golden energy flowed out like blood, streaming down the armor's patterns. Mid-air, it transformed into a white, misty color and dissolved into the fire. Li Xuanfeng slowly straightened his body.

Two long spears had pierced through his body: one entered through his left rib and exited from his back, while the other penetrated his chest and abdomen. Both were adorned with magnificent golden patterns, emitting colorful light that permeated his being.

His left leg bore shattered, cobweb-like marks, inflicted by the great hammer of the monk to his front-left. His abdomen also had two large wounds, and one could vaguely see the hollow interior of his white armor, where Karma Fire pulsed and burned.

"Hahahahaha!"

The five Buddhist monks retreated together, wary of his dying counterattack. Yet, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief; there was little joy, but rather a profound sense of relief.

Li Xuanfeng had seen correctly: the Karma Fire within the Asura-Subduing Bowl was indeed forged from three distinct flames. However, all three of these flames were at the Zifu level. As the five monks saw the Karma Fire unleashed, they knew Li Xuanfeng was doomed.

"No matter how formidable your white armor is, it is ultimately a rootless weed! How can it withstand the scorching of such flames!"

Li Xuanfeng, unable to see the situation clearly and having sustained such grievous injuries, had stubbornly dragged those three monks down with him. Now, the remaining five only needed to guard against his approach and wear him down a few more times; Li Xuanfeng was surely doomed.

The five felt exhilarated, and secretly began to plot. Ideas emerged one by one, and they quietly increased their distance from each other. The colorful light emanating from their bodies not only kept watch on the white-armored man before them but also on each other: "If we could eliminate a few more... wouldn't we gain a greater share of the karmic fortune!"

As the colorful light behind their heads grew denser, their gazes slowly shifted, their peripheral vision constantly monitoring each other's movements. Li Xuanfeng, however, stood still, raising his white bow.

He was shattered from head to toe, his insides hollow and spewing Karma Fire. His aura steadily dwindled, yet he remained standing, a heavy presence, the bowstring in his hand humming.

'What is he doing?'

The five monks were slightly startled. Seeing him hold his bow and slowly draw the string to full moon, they all chuckled. One hammer-wielding monk even laughed aloud: "Engulfed in Karma Fire, what could you possibly shoot?!"

Despite the words, all five simultaneously raised their guard, their internal spiritual power circulating, ready to defend at any moment.

They were not careless; rather, none of them were willing to be the first to engage, fearing a treacherous attack from a companion. For a moment, they all froze.

Li Xuanfeng, moreover, pointed his long bow directly at the clamoring hammer-wielding monk, causing his expression to darken. The other four immediately smiled, activated their magical artifacts, and ascended higher.

"Hum!"

As the white light on Li Xuanfeng's bowstring vanished, a violent roar erupted almost simultaneously. The other four monks all struck the hammer-wielding monk with their magical artifacts. His face changed drastically, and he exclaimed in horror: "You are all terribly careless!"

"Hum..."

The white light in Li Xuanfeng's hand flickered, but a white arrow suddenly appeared on the face of another monk. This monk, with a furious Vajra gaze and holding a long sword, wore an expression of shock and rage, his voice like thunder: "How dare you!"

"Sowing discord..."

"Good!"

The hammer-wielding monk's expression was grim, while the other three were overjoyed. For the first time, a sense of admiration for the white-armored man before them arose in their hearts: 'What a pity, how many more arrows does he have the strength for? No matter how he schemes, he is still doomed to die!'

Li Xuanfeng was currently engulfed in Karma Fire, an undeniable fact. The profound arrows he unleashed were already utterly weak and powerless. The three monks, instead, relaxed, sneering inwardly: 'Mere petty tricks! You're only futilely ensuring our success!'

The five monks were embroiled in a chaotic struggle in the air. Li Xuanfeng drew his bow once more, and a golden-red arrow appeared on the string.

This arrow was somewhat slender yet brightly luminous. It was the profound arrow forged long ago in the Mirage Heaven of Qing Song Temple by Concurrent Fire and Stop Conflict, making it remarkably resistant to scorching. The other five profound arrows had long since melted in the Karma Fire, and even this one was only slightly reddened.

Li Xuanfeng concentrated fully, golden light emerging from his white bow and converging in his palm. Intense spiritual energy poured out like water, actually forcing the surrounding Karma Fire back three feet, preventing it from advancing an inch.

At this moment, he didn't appear to be at the end of his rope; rather, he seemed three times more terrifying than before. The tattered edges of his white armor glowed fiercely like fire, captivating and unnerving.

"Hum..."

The five monks were all stunned as the familiar fear of death surged back into their hearts. Spiritual energy was still pouring out from Li Xuanfeng. They simultaneously let out sharp wails in the air, making the flames ripple: "Aghhh!"

A feeling of disbelief surged through the hearts of the five monks. A single thought simultaneously surfaced in their minds: 'How is this possible!'

Surging golden light had already burst forth, like a colossal pillar reaching from heaven to earth, cleaving through the Karma Fire and rushing forward. It converged on the golden-red arrow, emitting an extremely piercing shriek.

This arrow was precisely the culmination of the spiritual energy Li Xuanfeng had meticulously accumulated in his bow with every shot. Over twenty years ago, it had been used against Yu Muxian, nearly slaying that genius with a single arrow...

Now, over twenty years had passed; twenty years of late Foundation Establishment, twenty years of slaughter. Every arrow Li Xuanfeng had shot in the past two decades was comparable to the sum of several months of his former power. With such accumulation, how could it not be terrifying?

Scorched by the Karma Fire, he immediately understood that his white armor could no longer protect his body. But having engaged in more battles over the decades than these monks, who spent their days chanting, combined, he instantly formulated a plan and devised how to unleash this arrow.

"Hum..."

The five monks in the air were instantly submerged by the dazzling spiritual energy. They and their respective magical artifacts were swallowed one after another, vanishing completely in this intensely concentrated spiritual energy.

The bright golden light even filled the entire Asura-Subduing Bowl with iridescent colors. Its mountain-sized body trembled, emitting a terrifying thud.

The two closest monks didn't even let out a grunt. In an instant, their spiritual bodies and souls vanished, and their magical artifacts dissolved into a sky full of golden dust; they were utterly annihilated in body and spirit.

The next two monks, though shielded by the unfortunate ones in front, fared little better: the sword-wielding monk was impeded by a white arrow, and the hammer-wielding monk by his companion. Their spiritual bodies still turned to ashes. Fortunately, two streams of light remained, flickering in the Karma Fire, falling to the ground like meteorites, and veering north for rebirth.

The last monk only managed to shift half a body length. His entire body vaporized into nothingness, leaving half a head that fell to the ground, its two eyes wide with disbelief, but with no jaw to speak. With a plop, it tumbled into the Karma Fire.

"Mmm..."

He only managed to form a mouth, but not a single word escaped. Inside the Asura-Subduing Bowl, darkness descended. The white-armored man was already before him. Without a trace of hesitation in his icy gaze, he stomped on it.

"Crunch!"

Glass-like fragments scattered amidst the rolling flames. The head's eyes still held a lingering look of pleading, but it was already crushed to powder. The ultimate golden energy damaged his soul and annihilated his spirit, ensuring his demise.

Within the entire Karma Fire, silence finally descended. All that remained on the ground were the monks' bones and magical artifacts. Tongues of Karma Fire licked at the white armor, slowly consuming the golden energy within him.

"Drip!"

Rolling autumn dew flowed down Li Xuanfeng's armor, only to be incinerated into nothingness by the Karma Fire mid-air. Li Xuanfeng slowly withdrew the golden spear from his chest and tossed it with a clang before him.

"Crack..."

He crushed the glass beneath his feet and slowly sat down. Only a thin layer of his two immortal foundations remained within him.

The man's face, beneath its bone-white patterns, held a faint smile. He sat atop a small mountain of shattered spiritual bodies, as if enthroned on his own seat of power. His white bow was thrust into the chest of a corpse, resting against his palm.

Beneath his feet lay a continuous stretch of glass-like fragments of limbs—hands, legs, ferocious faces, and Vajra bodies—lying quietly in the Karma Fire. His white bow stood beside him, slowly glowing.

He slowly regulated his breath, awaiting the arrival of any remaining monks.

Perhaps they were blocked by other Mahā, or perhaps the monks were not fools and had already retreated. The Asura-Subduing Bowl remained stagnant in the air; without the monks to sustain it, it lingered for more than ten breaths before reluctantly returning to the void.

Li Xuanfeng sat atop the mountain of monk corpses. In his eyes, dulled and obscured by the Karma Fire's scorching, the scenery of Jiangnan finally reflected.

The surging river flowed eastward, its waters swirling, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, remaining unchangingly indifferent through the ages. Strange, jagged rocks jutted out, and waves surged. The entire landscape appeared no different from before he entered the array.

Only the water's surface was now crowded with petals, scattered widely. These petals, tightly packed, flowed downstream from west to east, surging towards the distant East Sea.

His eyes flickered, moving north—a hundred *li* (approximately 50 kilometers) north and south of the great river. Glass-like fragments covered the ground, all tinted pink.

"How beautiful."