Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhas

Descending several dozen yards, there emerged before his eyes a vast cavern beneath the earth.

Pang Yue, while passing through this area, had detected an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy beneath the ground with his nameless eye technique. So, he paused, opened up the surface, and ventured below to investigate.

Within this cavern, the concentration of spiritual energy was nearly comparable to the ancestral grounds on Zhuoguang Mountain of the Demonic Talisman Sect.

Yet, unlike the outside world, the cave was as warm as spring, with moist air, and lush vegetation covering the rocky walls and floor, as if he had entered another realm entirely.

From the ceiling, numerous stalactites shimmered with a gentle white glow that illuminated the vast expanse.

Everywhere, thick shrubbery, creeping vines, and towering trees gave the underground chamber the air of a hidden paradise.

The cavern spanned over a thousand acres. Its ceiling now bore an opening, blasted through by Pang Yue with his Flaming Demon Fist, through which cold mist poured down.

Standing atop the Bridge of the Netherworld, Pang Yue surveyed the cavern. On the northern side lay a natural grotto, seemingly leading into an even larger underground expanse.

On the east, south, and west walls, niches had been hewn into the rock, each housing Buddha statues of all sizes, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Most striking, in the southern direction, stood an enormous Buddha over a hundred yards tall, gazing down upon the entire cavern with a majestic and solemn presence.

Surrounding this immense statue were countless smaller niches, each containing images of Bodhisattvas and Arhats.

Beneath the statues, a verdant lawn embraced a small lake several acres across. Its waters were crystal clear, with spirit jades gliding leisurely within.

Upon the lake floated dozens of Ice Soul Snow Lotuses in full bloom, their breathtaking beauty seeming to gather all the spiritual energy of the cavern into their petals—vibrant and invigorating to the soul.

Pang Yue swept across to the lake and reached out to pick these Ice Soul Snow Lotuses.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He paused, deep in contemplation, and did not rush to leave.

“Let me leave a little trick here.”

He smiled faintly, recalling a past life experience from the online game “Doushuai Heaven.”

He produced a snow lotus, quietly infused it with a wisp of True Lunar Flame, and replanted it in the lake.

Only after completing this did he depart at his leisure.

Passing through the northern grotto, another immense underground cavern unfolded before him.

Everywhere he looked, Buddha niches lined the walls. As Pang Yue flew to the chamber’s center, a sudden chill crept over him, setting his nerves on edge.

Glancing about, he sensed countless statues watching him intently.

The serene, kindly smiles that once adorned their faces now seemed to twist into something uncanny.

Forcing himself to calm, Pang Yue circulated his divine sense, keeping his soul tightly guarded. The soul-forging trials he’d endured in the Demon Illusion of the Outer Void now proved invaluable, suppressing the disquiet within.

This cavern, too, held several lakes, each brimming with snow lotuses.

Pang Yue did not take them all, leaving several in each lake, each imbued with a thread of True Lunar Flame…

*

*

The fourth Buddha chamber.

Beneath the canopy of a massive, luxuriant banyan tree.

Pang Yue stood silently, his form flickering between reality and illusion.

Not far away, a silver lotus bud, over three feet wide, rose from a pool. The air about it was saturated with spiritual energy so dense it was almost tangible, motes of light flickering in and out among its petals.

This Ice Soul Snow Lotus was three times larger than a common lotus.

The spiritual energy here was more than ten times that of an ordinary blossom.

Even from a distance, Pang Yue drew a single breath, feeling his magical power circulate much faster—his power had grown, as if he had spent an entire night in dual cultivation with Jin Yuege!

“A sacred-grade snow lotus!”

His heart stirred.

If this truly was the legendary Sacred Ice Soul Snow Lotus, then he might achieve the fifth perfection of Foundation Establishment in a short time, perhaps even attempt to break through to the sixth. It could save him at least fifty years of bitter cultivation.

Yet he did not act rashly.

A faint, almost imperceptible sense of danger lingered nearby.

He scanned the area repeatedly with his nameless eye technique, but found nothing amiss.

Only deep within his soul did he sense a premonition of danger, compelling him to remain at the periphery and to stay his hand.

But just then—

A surge of crimson light flared behind him, emanating from the blood-hued halo. The scent of blood thickened, and within the ring appeared the silhouette of an armored figure…

Had he killed again?

The thought had barely flickered when a sharp warning blared in his heart.

“Not good!”

His expression shifted. Power surged through him as he transformed into a formless sword light, vanishing from where he stood.

Boom!

A pillar of golden Buddhist light crashed down upon his previous position, carving a bottomless pit into the ground.

This strike was pure force incarnate, far beyond what an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could withstand.

Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert would be gravely wounded, if not slain outright!

A Golden Core-level technique…

The thought flashed through Pang Yue’s mind as he caught sight of his assailant—

A frost demon, its body covered in flowing golden fur!

This being stood over twenty feet tall, its golden pelt smooth and lustrous. It radiated no bestial savagery, only an aura of tranquility and transcendence, almost as if it practiced Buddhist cultivation.

In its hand, it wielded a jade-green ring blade, standing poised and still, its presence vast and profound as the mountains and seas.

It was, unmistakably, a Golden Core frost demon.

The demon had concealed itself in the void. Pang Yue, whose soul sense rivaled that of a Golden Core cultivator, could sense its presence, but his techniques, still at the Foundation Establishment stage, could not pinpoint its exact location.

Perhaps the mutation of the blood-red halo behind him had startled the demon into action, thus revealing itself.

The demon’s divine sense had already locked onto Pang Yue, but with a calm twist of his own soul, Pang Yue slipped free.

Then, merging his formless sword body with his soul, he became an invisible, colorless ray of sword light, vanishing without a trace.

The Formless Sword had now been refined to the level of a supreme magical artifact, just one step short of becoming a true treasure. All its wonders, once known to him through the game in his past life, were now unfolding.

Even a Golden Core frost demon would find it hard to sense the sword’s presence.

One man, one demon—one hidden, one revealed—swapped roles in an instant.

After centuries trapped in the Demon Illusion of the Outer Void, Pang Yue had gained insights and experience equivalent to a hundred years at the Golden Core realm.

Now, facing a Golden Core frost demon, he felt no fear. Instead, a surge of boldness filled him, eager to test the mettle of this Buddhist-cultivating demon before him.

With a thought, he guided the formless sword light, which drifted like the wind, curling around toward the demon’s throat.

Moo!

The frost demon chanted a true Buddhist mantra.

A ring of golden light burst from its body.

Centered on the demon, a field three yards wide became as solid as iron—every direction sealed, not a gap to be found.

This was a classic Buddhist defense against sword cultivators.

But how sharp was the Formless Sword!

A clear, crisp sword cry resounded.

A faint white scar appeared in the air!

The frost demon’s face changed. With a flick of its jade blade, an ethereal arc of blade light swept forth, clashing with the formless sword light.

The sword light twisted and turned, employing unfathomable, ingenious techniques to dissipate the immense force of a Golden Core attack.

Then, with a sudden flick, the sword light broke the sound barrier, slashing toward the frost demon’s face!