The grand array sealed the heavens. The majestic Mount Sumeru and the grand Great Thunder Sound Temple both vanished from sight, leaving only primordial chaos mist swirling in their place.

This display made every single person’s back run cold. Could this truly stand against the Buddhist sect? Had this human Sacred Physique defied heaven itself?

Boom!

Clearly, those on the mountain could no longer remain composed. They channeled their faith power and launched an active assault in an attempt to shatter the formation. However, the outcome was never in doubt — the boundless killing energy of the Emperor Artifacts directly refined the surging thought-force as it poured out.

“I have not yet made my move, and you have already struck first,” Ye Fan said coldly. He activated the formation runes one by one — the Emperor Artifacts unleashed their might and began to refine and consume Mount Sumeru.

Rumble—!

The immense mountain shook. It could no longer remain tranquil as it once had — as though it were on the verge of collapse — as boundless Buddhist radiance poured forth.

The aura of an Ancient Great Emperor spread across this place, causing even great saints to furrow their brows. The assembled powerhouses were aghast, retreating in an instant — fleeing as far as they could, terrified of being caught in the aftermath.

Throughout all of history, who had ever besieged Mount Sumeru? When it came to true combat, the Buddhist sect had never been the weaker party. Yet now they found themselves at a disadvantage.

The mountain shook and the earth moved. The ancient temple trembled, its purple-gold roof tiles clattering and rattling as though taking flight — giving Mount Sumeru no peace.

“Could they truly be on the verge of breaking through the mountain gate?”

The guardian heavenly kings and golden-bodied arhats atop the mountain all furrowed their brows. None could remain transcendent or composed — every face revealed a hidden anxiety.

Wave after wave of Emperor Artifact fluctuations surged forth, combining into a single vast tapestry of laws that fell upon Mount Sumeru — like divine punishment raining down from the heavenly realm.

The sky was splitting. The stars were trembling. It was as though the end of the world had arrived.

A Source Heavenly Forbidden Formation draws upon the primal source of all things — and now, with Emperor Artifacts as that source, the power was simply beyond imagination!

The enormous fluctuations rolled upward through nine layers of heaven and downward through nine depths of the underworld — waves of divine power surging in enormous crests and troughs, flooding everything beneath the sky.

The serene and sacred Mount Sumeru had become a battlefield, transformed into a place of calamity. It shook continuously — rocks were even rolling down the mountainside, as though it might collapse at any moment.

Yet this state persisted for two full hours without any breakthrough. Mount Sumeru could not be broken through, and the rock slides gradually died down as well, the violence lessening.

The crowd was astonished and overwhelmed. Was this truly a mountain gate — or an immortal gate? Even after all of this it still could not be breached. Mount Sumeru’s depths were too unfathomable. What kind of formation runes had the Amitabha Great Emperor left behind? There was almost certainly more than one kind.

Ye Fan let out a quiet sigh. Even after all of this, they still could not take Mount Sumeru down. It was truly maddening.

Given the current situation, the only paths forward would be either a Great Emperor’s killing formation used to attack, or the appearance of a Quasi-Emperor to oversee and direct everything here.

“Amitabha Buddha. Well and good, well and good,” the voice of Great Saint Mo Ke rang out again. His words carried the tone of compassion, but in circumstances like these they were entirely provocative.

Even using several Emperor Artifacts as the source of power for the assault, it was still not enough.

However, these forbidden formation runes had ultimately severed the connection between Mount Sumeru and the outside world, trapping this place like a cage — the Buddhist sect had no power to break out.

The Buddhist sect’s mountain gate was sealed. The entirety of Mount Sumeru had vanished from the world, hidden within the swirling chaos mist. Even this outcome was staggering — it left the assembled powerhouses staring blankly.

After this battle, whatever the result, Ye Fan’s name would resound across the Burial Emperor Star, intimidating the powerful of every clan. He had sealed even Mount Sumeru — what would he not dare to do?

“Circumstances demand it. Now that the Sumeru Buddhist sect is sealed, we shall grind them down with softness — dissolving their foundations!” Ye Fan said coldly.

Since the battle had already come this far, pulling back now would be utterly anticlimactic. His next step was to “deliver salvation” to the entire Western Desolation.

“Let the roots of the Heavenly Court take hold in the soil of the Western Desolation — let it take root and grow!”

This had already been discussed with Qi Luo and the others. What did the Buddhist sect value most? Their faith power, naturally — and that was exactly where the assault would be focused and their foundations dismantled.

The star domain was vast. The Amitabha Great Emperor had once spread his Dao throughout the myriad realms — his sacred grounds were not confined to one place — but clearly the Amitabha Ancient Star Domain and the Northern Dipper were the greatest of them all.

The Western Desolation in particular was where he had ultimately chosen to plant his deepest roots. Even the Great Thunder Sound Temple had been built here, and his Emperor Weapon had been left behind.

For Ye Fan to act this way was without question to strike at the very heart of the Buddhist sect — it would create within them a powerful sense of existential crisis.

“For this to succeed, it will inevitably be a long process. To truly achieve unification in a short span of time would be extremely difficult. We cannot afford to wait that long. Each person must manifest their divine powers, descend upon a territory, reveal divine miracles, and deliver salvation to all living beings.”

Delivering salvation to an entire pure land was different from the targeted conversion of a single individual. The former required giving and taking, building a land of peace and joy. What the old monk Mo Ke had practiced was the latter — pure suppression and enslavement.

“Some ancient texts reveal that the Western Desolation is of immense importance to Amitabha Buddha. He once walked its expanse on foot and regarded this place as his eternal kingdom — a land of immortality. Should the immortal realm ever open, the entire Western Desolation is meant to ascend as a whole. Mount Sumeru absolutely will not sit by and watch us dismantle everything here.”

“Unfortunately, Mount Sumeru is sealed. They cannot come out to interfere — they can only watch helplessly.”

“Cut the roots of the Buddhist sect!”

After deliberation, they split into groups and took action. Every one of them was a powerhouse — with this many saints, one person converting an entire region was more than sufficient.

Long Ma, the Ancient Golden Peng, and the others alone numbered eleven Saint Kings in their group — what an extraordinary force that was. Add to that Ye Tong, Qi Luo, Dongfang Ye, and the rest — there were far too many.

If the goal were merely spreading a teaching, deploying powerhouses of this caliber would be a tremendous waste — but that was precisely what they intended to do.

That day, a great teaching called the Heavenly Court appeared in the Western Desolation, delivering salvation to all ten directions. This was not ordinary preaching — the true forms of the saints manifested in person, spreading their teachings throughout the land.

Whatever was asked for would be answered.

In some places, drought had left the land parched and rain had not fallen for ages. Those who prayed to the Heavenly Court received an answer without fail — sweet rain would descend, and the moisture would nourish the dry earth.

In other places, great mountains blocked the way, and the common people prayed to heaven. Soon a saint would descend like a divine being, moving the mountains and clearing a path, building a wide and open road.

In still other places, war had broken out and the people suffered terribly. Those who prayed for divine intervention would find heavenly soldiers descending at once, quelling the chaos and restoring peace — turning those lands into pure territories.

…

Without question, it was as if a great stone had been hurled into a lake, sending waves in all directions. Word spread across the Western Desolation — all knew, all heard. A true Heavenly Court had emerged and was spreading its teachings.

Because it was so extraordinarily effective — wherever great disaster struck, so long as enough people prayed together to the Heavenly Court, a divine being was guaranteed to descend and resolve it — the Western Desolation erupted into fervent discussion.

“Is this real? The Heavenly Court of myth and legend has truly emerged into the world, delivering salvation to all living beings and bestowing blessings upon them.”

“It is remarkably effective — so long as there is great calamity in the world, one need only pray sincerely to heaven, and a divine being from the Heavenly Court will descend to help us resolve our difficulties.”

…

The Buddhist sect’s roots ran deep — an instant reversal was impossible. Yet with the assembled saints of the Heavenly Court manifesting divine miracles, the results were absolutely astonishing. The common people witnessed it with their own eyes and spoke of it eagerly among themselves.

At Mount Sumeru’s entrance, Ye Fan and the others used the Void Emperor Mirror to project these scenes into Mount Sumeru, letting the high-ranking Buddhist monks see it all — every single one of them changed color.

“This has only just begun, yet people are already pledging faith to the Heavenly Court. If this continues, with divine miracles manifesting again and again without end — what will the outcome be? You understand what kind of trend this will become!” Ye Fan called out.

Great Saint Mo Ke changed color. If Ye Fan and the others truly intended to persist, the consequences were unthinkable. They were sealed here and could not descend from Mount Sumeru — they could only watch helplessly as the Western Desolation became the Heavenly Court’s domain.

This was the eternal kingdom of the Amitabha Great Emperor — it must not be lost. It was the final teaching of the ancient forebearer, and they could not permit it.

Because if this continued, the Heavenly Court would truly take root and flourish — in time, this place would change its allegiance entirely, planted throughout with the banners of the Heavenly Court. The Buddhist sect would be extinguished.

The Western Desolation was the root of immortality — the cornerstone of Amitabha Buddha. If it were seized by the Heavenly Court, every arhat and bodhisattva on Mount Sumeru would be a sinner!

“You will not succeed,” the old monk Mo Ke said coldly — for the first time wearing an expression like this, no longer the unchanging look of sorrowful compassion he had maintained throughout. His eyes blazed with a terrifying light as he fixed his gaze on what lay before him.

In just a few days, the Heavenly Court’s name had spread across the Western Desolation. Whether one believed or not, everyone had heard of it — because it was simply too effective. Any natural disaster or man-made calamity, so long as enough people prayed together, was guaranteed to bring a divine figure descending from the heavens. The Western Desolation was in an uproar.

“Amitabha Buddha — who are you people, disturbing our Western Land and disrupting the peace of our sacred gate?” Some of the monasteries’ people finally could no longer sit still.

Today they had heard that Mount Sumeru was besieged. Each one was terrified — yet none had gone to help, because it would have been utterly useless. If even the Demon-Subduing Staff and the Great Emperor’s formation runes could not hold, then going up would only mean death.

But this group of cultivators appearing and manifesting divine power — that was something they could not bear to watch. Their roots were being destroyed.

Faced with the questioning, the Heavenly Court’s people went about their business as before — continuing to preach, answering every prayer, manifesting divine miracles without cease.

Eventually, some among the Buddhist sect’s stronger cultivators could no longer restrain themselves and sought to stir up trouble. The outcome, of course, was never in question — these were saints. No ordinary monk could compare.

Long Ma, the Black Bear Saint, and the others showed not the slightest mercy, suppressing their opponents directly with the Scripture of Salvation of the Primordial Heaven-Worthy of Numinous Treasure — following the Buddhist sect’s own example, absorbing them into their cause.

When the common people witnessed those once-venerated high monks bowing their heads and joining the Heavenly Court in reverence, it became a wave of tremendous force, directly drawing a great many people to begin honoring the Heavenly Court.

In just half a month, the Western Desolation already had a considerable number of Heavenly Court devotees!

This speed was astonishing — leaving many onlookers wide-eyed with disbelief. This was truly spreading the teaching by treading upon the Buddhist sect’s very foundations, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

Yet no one could find fault with it. The Heavenly Court was genuinely and wholeheartedly dissolving the suffering of the world and delivering salvation to all ten directions. Only when the Buddhist sect, unable to bear the sight of it, moved to condemn them did they suppress and convert those who came.

“Enough — stop!” the old monk Mo Ke cried out after seeing the scenes projected by the Void Emperor Mirror — he could not remain seated any longer. The Western Desolation, the most important future pure land, absolutely could not be encroached upon. If it were, he would become a sinner in the eyes of the entire Buddhist lineage.

“You say stop, so I stop?” Ye Fan said coldly.

This course of action was meant to apply pressure to the Buddhist sect — softness overcoming hardness. Simply seeing the direction of this change was enough to make them feel it was unbearable.

Yet inwardly Ye Fan sighed. To truly deliver salvation to the Western Desolation, this pace was still far too slow. Would they really need to wait decades or even a century before the Western Desolation could be fully converted?

He could wait — but could several Emperor Artifacts truly be kept tied up here indefinitely? It was a headache.

“Benefactor Ye, you should understand that in the long run, you have no chance. No matter what, Mount Sumeru cannot be broken through,” Great Saint Mo Ke said.

“Then let us wait and see — let us watch how the Heavenly Court takes root in the Western Desolation and blooms with the most resplendent radiance in all the world,” Ye Fan replied calmly.

“You—” Mo Ke’s expression turned icy. He had no desire to see the Western Desolation lost — yet he remained unyielding, hinting that things could continue this way indefinitely, and they would see who could outlast whom.

“Since that is the case, I have no choice but to give everything I have — we resolve everything today!” Ye Fan replied, his expression grave.