Chapter 44: Return
Whether it was the desolate Xuanyuan Continent, the Seven Luminaries Heaven, or the Realm of Ten Thousand Puppets, all were real worlds. The ability of the Samsara Demon merely exiled my divine soul into these worlds! These worlds might have long since withered away, or perhaps they had not yet come into existence. In any case, they were entirely different times and spaces from Chixiao Heaven, where the Demon Talisman Sect resided.
Pang Yue pondered silently. Forgetting one “past life” after another, drifting aimlessly through “this life,” living again and again, endlessly. And his true self became nourishment for the Samsara Demon.
“I will not let you leave,” said Patriarch Wuhua calmly.
“Go and gather more sources of the heavens for me. Until I completely subdue this demonic corpse, refine it into a puppet, then the heavens will have no more worries…”
A bitter expression appeared on Pang Yue’s face. “Patriarch, you have many capable disciples. My presence makes little difference. Why not let me go?”
Patriarch Wuhua was unmoved. “You are destined by fate. If I miss your assistance, I may have to wait another ten thousand years.”
“You cultivate the Great Dao, seeking not only longevity but higher pursuits… Completing the Heavenly Way for the countless cultivators of the heavens—is that not a worthy goal?”
“Perhaps you will find your path in this realm!”
Pang Yue bowed and said, “Thank you for your guidance. I will remember it.”
“Hiding your true intentions,” the patriarch chuckled. “If you truly have the ability to break the Divine Talisman, then I concede defeat; I won’t stop you and everything will follow its course.”
...
Leaving Nine Gods Mountain, Pang Yue returned to the Palace of Extreme Cold and immediately led his people to campaign through the heavens!
...
Qingyun Realm.
The Primordial Demon Sect.
Within a thousand-mile radius, spiritual energy was shattered and surging. Chaotic auras drifted like smoke, disrupted by the aftermath of battle, unable to settle.
Across the land, a terrifying sword mark a hundred miles long had split the Primordial Demon Sect in two!
The sect’s great formation was broken, tens of thousands of disciples making their final resistance.
A golden glass giant Buddha, a hundred feet tall, sat in the void, Buddhist light radiating like a wheel behind it, turning slowly.
Chants of sutras spread across the sky, inducing detachment and renunciation, making one yearn to join the Buddhist path.
Under this chanting, all disciples below the Golden Core stage sat cross-legged, desperately circulating their energy to resist.
The Golden Core elders of the Primordial Demon Sect had already been slain by a dazzling sword light.
Convert… convert…
The chants drilled into their ears.
“You foreign demons will die a miserable death!” a demon cultivator shouted, suddenly igniting his own power in self-destruction.
Unable to escape. Unable to kill.
---
The chanting forced conversion. Unable to bear the torment, the demon cultivator chose death.
Affected by him, many nearby demon cultivators’ minds wavered, instantly subdued by Buddhist powers; golden Buddhist symbols appeared on their bodies, their demonic energies completely transformed!
Streams of light rose from the Primordial Demon Sect, plunging into the Buddhist radiance behind the golden giant Buddha.
Within that radiance, a paradise could be faintly seen, countless believers sitting cross-legged, silently reciting sutras, worshipping the golden Buddha.
Half a day later, the giant Buddha accepted ten thousand demon cultivators, then transformed into a golden light and moved to the next sect.
...
In less than half a year, all ten major sects of the Qingyun Realm were subdued by the golden Buddha; thirteen Golden Cores, forty thousand Foundation Establishments, and hundreds of thousands of Qi Refinement cultivators were converted.
As time passed, the Buddha’s power grew stronger.
Its rate of conversion accelerated; even Golden Core cultivators found it increasingly difficult to resist.
The golden Buddha’s strength reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, rivaling any great cultivator of the heavens.
As usual, the Bone Demon Sect’s cultivators deployed the Seizing Heaven Formation, absorbed the realm’s source, and hurried to the next minor world.
At first, Pang Yue personally suppressed rebellious forces.
Later, the Boundless Light Buddha puppet alone was invincible.
Wherever its radiance passed, all living beings converted.
Whether orthodox Daoists, demon sects, monster clans, strange beasts, spirit beasts, or demonic creatures...
All were bathed in Buddhist light, became followers, entered the Realm of Boundless Light, recited sutras daily, and merged their Buddhist power with the golden giant Buddha.
The Boundless Light Buddha’s strength soon surpassed the Golden Core limit—not reaching Nascent Soul, but entering a peculiar realm.
Qingyun Realm... Little Cold Realm... Liyang Heaven... Absolute Demon Domain... Supreme Pure Profound Heaven... Myriad Rainbow Realm...
In every heaven, legends of the golden giant Buddha were left behind.
Ordinarily, the Nine Gods Sect prioritized seizing the sources of the heavens, resorting to slaughter only when obstructed.
But the golden giant Buddha was different; it seemed to prioritize seizing living beings, with the source becoming secondary.
*
*
*
In the blink of an eye, a hundred years quietly passed.
Xuanyuan Continent.
Grand Chasm of the Nine Netherworlds.
Before the Supreme Demon Idol.
The Boundless Light Buddha presided in the void, a hundred beams of Buddhist radiance forming a ring, spinning endlessly.
Now Xuanyuan Continent had entered the Era of Declining Law.
Spiritual energy was extinct across the realm; mortal emperors and nobles had replaced ancient Golden Core cultivators as the “masters” of the world.
The desert smoke rose straight and lonely.
The scenery remained, but people had changed.
Unknowingly, Pang Yue had been trapped in the demon’s illusion for centuries.
He could faintly sense that his true body still existed, not dead.
Perhaps due to the difference in the flow of time, which brought him some comfort.
Through the long years, his eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life.
He stood upon the palm of the demon idol.
---
The Boundless Light Buddha, floating in the sky, pointed, pouring Buddhist radiance into his soul.
Boom!
The purple chains formed by the Divine Talisman slowly melted within the Buddhist light!
Within the Realm of Boundless Light, hundreds of millions of devotees chanted sutras aloud; streams of golden Buddhist radiance gathered in the sky, surging into the Buddha’s body.
In the distant Realm of Ten Thousand Puppets, a bird-headed, human-bodied stone statue suddenly opened its eyes, gazing into the distance in surprise.
Across many heavens, she seemed to have seen something, her expression becoming extremely complex.
She flicked her finger, sending out a beam of light that vanished.
Upon the demon idol.
Pang Yue’s soul gradually felt lighter, the shackles dissolved!
With a thought, his consciousness rose, and his soul entered a strange time-space.
It was like a radiant corridor, or a river flowing endlessly.
A point of light flew from the void and entered his soul.
Pang Yue’s spirit trembled slightly, sensing an unparalleled inheritance.
The Nine Gods Puppet Secret Art!
Nascent Soul Chapter!
“Patriarch Wuhua…”
He sighed, and darkness suddenly enveloped him.
...
Within the void.
A group of Samsara Demons glided leisurely.
Upon closer inspection, these demons were twisted together from countless slender, glowing red flesh tendrils, resembling lanterns—strange and sinister.
Inside one demon.
Pang Yue suddenly opened his eyes, surveying his surroundings.
Countless flesh tendrils as thick as chopsticks formed a cave of blood and meat.
Within the cave, two cocoons wrapped in tendrils stood on the floor.
Pang Yue’s body glowed gold, thirty-three Dragon Elephant True Talismans flowed around him.
His flesh was as solid as a supreme magical artifact, resisting the tendrils’ draining of his blood and power.
Even so, his vital essence was nearly depleted, only one-tenth remaining!
His energy was exhausted.
Centuries of languishing in the demon’s illusion made it hard for him to regain his senses.
He let out a low cry, and the Invisible Sword and the Primordial Infinity Tablet appeared.
Symbols flowed on the tablet, clear light flickering.
“One hundred and three days…”
Pang Yue murmured.
In reality, only one hundred and three days had passed.
With a faint thought, the Invisible Sword flew over, cutting open the cocoon.
He staggered to his feet, took out a bottle of Heavenly Dust Pills, and began to restore his energy.