What… was this situation?

Even for someone as experienced as her, Jian Chou was encountering such a sudden large-scale scene for the first time, not to mention that these newcomers had started attacking without a word, directly calling the Esoteric practitioners “running dogs” and demanding they come forth to “die.”

She was momentarily surprised, then her brow furrowed: “It looks like leaving now won’t be so easy.”

Xie Buchen obviously thought the same thing, his expression similarly grave rather than relaxed. He didn’t respond, merely gazing toward the direction from which that voice had come.

Sure enough, after those arrogant eight words spread throughout the entire sacred hall, the owner of that voice appeared.

She unexpectedly came from behind the sacred hall, wearing a brilliant peacock-blue long dress. Moonlight illuminated her slender figure and revealed her beautiful face to everyone present.

Her almond eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips curved in a smile. If not for that pair of eyes revealing their cold gleam, one might mistake her for someone kind and easily bullied.

But at this moment, it was precisely such a woman who stood high above the sacred lake’s void, looking down upon the majestic sacred hall!

In the depths of her eyes, there was not a trace of the devotion that snowy domain believers held for the sacred mountain and hall, nor any fear of the powerful Dharma Kings and masters within the sacred hall—only disgust, only—

Contempt!

Behind her, the silhouettes of a group of monks finally appeared…

Zongzan of the Master Hall had reached late Entering the World cultivation and was considered the foremost person beneath the three great Dharma Kings.

With the Precious Mirror Dharma King severely injured and the other two Dharma Kings absent from the snowy domain, the sacred hall naturally fell under his supervision. After that terrifying incident last night, people were already on edge, so he hadn’t even called for his consort, instead quietly meditating alone in his quarters.

Therefore, when that attack covering almost half the sacred hall arrived, he had already sensed it keenly.

In that moment, he jolted sharply awake from his meditative state.

Zongzan instinctively teleported to stand atop the Master Hall’s roof, and only then did that arrogant voice reach him. Upon hearing it, he couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

Others might not understand, but as the leader of the seventy-two masters who had remained in the sacred hall for years, how could he not know, how dare he not know?

This voice was all too familiar!

Who else could it be but that Dakini who had turned against the Precious Mirror Dharma King during the recent conflict between Old and New Esoteric Buddhism?!

This woman was named Yangjin, originally one of the Precious Mirror Dharma King’s consorts.

Because of her exceptional talent and gentle nature, she was very compatible with the Precious Mirror Dharma King when practicing dual cultivation. Therefore, the Precious Mirror Dharma King favored her greatly, frequently guiding her cultivation and even granting her residence in the “White Banner.”

But unexpectedly, once Yangjin achieved Returning to Void and became a Dakini, she repaid kindness with vengeance!

At that time, the Precious Mirror Dharma King was battling the Old Esoteric Liyan Dharma King. Thinking Yangjin had come to help him against Liyan, he was so overjoyed that he didn’t maintain any guard, only to be struck by Yangjin’s palm, leaving him severely injured and near death!

Only through the intervention of the other two Dharma Kings was his life barely preserved.

Though his realm remained unchanged, his cultivation suffered severe damage, truly falling several levels.

From that point on, who in the sacred hall didn’t know?

The New Esoteric Dakini Yangjin had defected to Old Esoteric Buddhism. With Old Esoteric forces severely suppressed, she naturally became the person with the highest cultivation in the current Old Esoteric faction—a thorn in New Esoteric Buddhism’s side!

But Zongzan never expected she would dare return, and so arrogantly at that!

In that instant, he almost immediately wanted to shout in anger.

But when he looked up and around, he suddenly saw clearly: Yangjin hadn’t come alone!

Behind her were actually several hundred people! With Zongzan’s eyesight, he could almost instantly discern their origins, breaking into a cold sweat!

Not only were there the Old Esoteric practitioners they had previously expelled from the sacred hall, but also monks from the distant Western Sea—

Chanzong!

How had these two factions come together?

For a moment, Zongzan couldn’t think through the cause and effect, only shocked into confusion by the facts before him, forgetting even to step forward to respond and stop them.

It wasn’t until another prestigious master angrily shouted: “Some days ago we mercifully allowed you heretics to escape. Instead of being grateful, you dare ally with Chanzong to attack our sacred hall—seeking death!”

“Hahahaha…”

Yangjin, suspended in mid-air, immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this. Such dismissive contempt appearing on her gentle face had a strangely alarming quality.

“Grateful? Don’t worry, this seat has come to ‘repay the favor,’ haven’t we?”

“Amitabha!”

The old monk Huinian standing nearby also chanted a Buddhist invocation, but his face was completely peaceful, showing no anger. He simply pressed his palms together and bowed toward the New Esoteric masters standing high on the sacred hall.

“This humble monk comes today on the orders of the Three Masters to settle the past grievances between Chan and Esoteric Buddhism. If there are any offenses, please be understanding.”

Understanding?

Though his voice wasn’t loud, it easily carried throughout the entire sacred hall. For a moment, everyone who heard these words was amused by their audacity. Even Jian Chou, who stood motionless secretly listening, couldn’t help but show a somewhat strange expression.

She felt that these Chan Buddhist monks were really quite different from what she had imagined.

What did “if there are any offenses, please be understanding” mean?

They had already fought their way to someone’s doorstep in just a few moves, clearly standing with Old Esoteric Buddhism against New Esoteric Buddhism, yet still spoke so “politely.”

She really didn’t know whether to call it too face-saving or not face-saving at all.

Jian Chou pondered this and suddenly developed some interest in what was about to unfold. She continued carefully concealing her tracks while observing from the shadows.

New Esoteric Buddhism had been showing off in the snowy domain for so many years. Even Old Esoteric Buddhism could only flee the sacred hall miserably under their suppression. When had they ever been confronted so seemingly politely yet actually contemptuously to their faces?

Several masters, including Zongzan, were livid with rage.

As the current person in charge, Zongzan’s anger built up until he stepped forward directly. Without wasting words, he shouted: “All disciples listen to my command—quickly form the Ten Heavens Great Formation!”

“Yes!”

At such a dangerous critical moment, all New Esoteric disciples who heard his order took no chances. They immediately stepped forward, sat cross-legged on the ground, formed hand seals, and directly used themselves to create the formation, connecting into the “Ten Heavens Great Formation.”

Instantly, a layer of dazzling golden light spread over everyone’s heads, covering the entire sacred hall!

New Esoteric Buddhism’s strength was indeed formidable, but Old Esoteric Buddhism wasn’t weak this time either.

Not to mention, they had Chan Buddhist assistance this time. They had come prepared and caught their opponents off guard—how could they give New Esoteric Buddhism too much reaction time?

Yangjin’s earlier chatter with them was only to buy time for the cultivators behind her to prepare their attacks.

Almost the instant the New Esoteric “Ten Heavens Great Formation” was completed, Old Esoteric and Chanzong’s new round of attacks was ready. With a “clang,” the sound of great bells rang out across thousands of miles of night sky!

It was the monk Huinian who had spoken earlier, summoning his magical artifact!

A massive bronze bell!

The moment the bronze bell appeared, it began vibrating. Its sound spread across the wilderness and directly penetrated the New Esoteric cultivators who had no defense against it. The entire “Ten Heavens Great Formation” immediately began shaking. Many monks who heard this sound turned deathly pale, and those with weaker cultivation directly spat out mouthfuls of blood!

“How despicable!”

Seeing this, Zongzan immediately cursed furiously, clearly not expecting that Chanzong, supposedly upright and honorable, was even more skilled at underhanded tactics than they were. He was infuriated beyond measure.

But his reaction wasn’t slow either—he immediately brought out his own magical artifact.

Golden light flashed brilliantly.

What he produced was actually an item of the same type as Huinian’s bell—an Immovable Vajra Bell. However, compared to Huinian’s great bell, this thing was much more compact.

“Ring ring ring…”

He circulated the dense Buddhist power within his body, directly injecting it into the vajra bell and shaking it vigorously. The crisp sound carrying distant meaning went straight toward the opposing side!

“Boom!”

A tremendous crash!

The surface of the sacred lake at the intersection of both sides’ magical artifact sounds immediately exploded into massive waves, piling up like white snow under the cold moonlight.

Both sides’ attacks became completely unreserved, all following behind their respective sound waves as they hurled toward the opposing side!

At this moment, the spectacular scene far exceeded what came before!

When Old Esoteric and Chanzong had attacked earlier, it was one-sided action that had already shocked people with its power. Now both sides were attacking simultaneously, and instead of targeting the sacred hall, they were targeting each other’s cultivators—naturally their force was more vicious, their techniques more powerful!

At first glance, almost the entire sky above the sacred hall was shrouded in various colored brilliant lights—a truly magnificent sight!

When cultivators fought, especially when both sides clearly understood the situation, there was almost no idle chatter. A moment’s distraction could mean life or death, so everything was extremely swift and earth-shaking!

Not to mention there were two Entering the World level experts confronting each other in mid-air.

Even at Jian Chou’s level, listening to the sound collision between the bronze bell and vajra bell gave her a sense of mental disturbance—how much better could others fare?

Before long, both sides had suffered casualties.

On one side were the numerous Old Esoteric monks and Chan Buddhist monks above the sacred lake, on the other were New Esoteric monks forced to gather on the sacred hall in the deep night. Neither side was having an easy time.

Especially Zongzan and Huinian—the two had comparable strength, and their magical combat seemed evenly matched.

But in fact, Zongzan’s heart had already turned cold!

Even if everyone else forgot or overlooked it, he wouldn’t forget, couldn’t overlook it! What they were facing now was not Old Esoteric Buddhism’s full strength at all!

Because the most powerful person hadn’t acted yet!

The Dakini, Yangjin!

A Returning to Void great power with almost intact strength!

One had to know that the Baoyin and Baoping Dharma Kings were both absent, and the Precious Mirror Dharma King was still severely injured. If she acted, who could resist?

While they were all engaged in combat, Yangjin stood in front, watching coldly.

As if she hadn’t seen this heated battle at all, as if she hadn’t noticed the other side’s ugly expressions, her roaming gaze drifted around the entire sacred hall, lingered for a moment at the Dharma King Hall, then she suddenly laughed lightly, her voice clear and cold.

“At this point, how come I don’t see your New Esoteric Buddhism’s famous Precious Mirror Dharma King?”

As expected!

This woman only asked about the Precious Mirror Dharma King, not bothering to ask about the other two Dharma Kings. She obviously knew the two Dharma Kings were absent and had come specifically to catch them off guard!

Sinister, despicable, and extremely cunning!

Zongzan’s face had already turned black as a pot bottom—he wanted nothing more than to crush her with a single palm.

But at this critical moment, what could he do?

No one could have anticipated Chanzong suddenly intervening in this matter, much less their incredible speed. How many days had it been since they were driven out? Yet they dared to return for a surprise attack!

The Extreme Domain and Nineteen Continents were not in the same realm—even for the two Dharma Kings, traveling back and forth was quite troublesome. By the time they received news and rushed back, the sacred hall would probably already be razed to the ground!

While Zongzan increased his efforts in wielding the vajra bell, he anxiously sent out a strand of spiritual consciousness, hoping to ask the Precious Mirror Dharma King to come out and at least provide some support.

Otherwise, once Yangjin acted, the consequences would be unthinkable.

But at this moment, he was also quite resentful of this Dharma King.

What kind of situation was this?

The commotion was so loud that with this Dharma King’s cultivation, he should have noticed long ago, yet he stubbornly hadn’t appeared. Was he too entranced by that newly selected consort, or was he afraid of Yangjin who had come seeking revenge?

Zongzan felt stifled.

But what he didn’t expect was that when his spiritual consciousness reached out and arrived at the Dharma King Hall, he felt not a trace of the Precious Mirror Dharma King’s aura!

Not there?

That was impossible.

He had just emerged from seclusion during the day, and they had even met. Given the Precious Mirror Dharma King’s current severely injured condition, it was absolutely impossible for him to leave the snowy domain.

In his mind, an ominous thought suddenly flashed…

Detecting no aura could only mean two things: either the person wasn’t there, or…

The person was gone!

Zongzan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The next moment, his spiritual consciousness forcibly broke into the formation outside the hall, and the cruel and bizarre scene within the great hall immediately appeared in his spiritual consciousness’s “vision”…

The spacious hall, bright lamplight, the Precious Mirror Dharma King sitting upright on a meditation cushion, his entire body green, with a bright green leaf sprouting from between his brows.

Not far beside him lay the corpse of a consort.

Something had happened.

Something had really happened!

The ominous guess was confirmed by what he saw. Zongzan was completely unprepared—in that instant, his face changed dramatically in horror, his mind in chaos. He simply couldn’t suppress the sudden panic in his heart, crying out in terror: “Dharma King!”

“Boom!”

With just that one outcry, just that moment of distraction, Huinian on the opposite side immediately seized the opportunity and exerted his full force. The bronze bell’s sound immediately exploded, doubling like thunder as it crashed straight toward the sacred hall!

Zongzan had wanted to contact the Precious Mirror Dharma King to come help—how could he have expected to see the tragic sight of the other’s death?

His formation was already half in disarray, and being struck by Huinian like this, it immediately became useless.

The vajra bell he was wielding cracked with a “snap!” The golden fragments transformed into hundreds and thousands of spirit lights, scattering in all directions, even injuring nearby New Esoteric monks.

Zongzan himself was sent flying backward, falling from above the Master Hall and smashing the eaves!

“Tsk tsk, still no appearance in this situation—looks like your Dharma King is thoroughly dead!”

Seeing this from afar, Yangjin immediately guessed that something had happened to the Precious Mirror Dharma King, and without giving face, she covered her lips and laughed charmingly.

Her graceful figure trembled lightly, her curves undulating accordingly. Her face was exquisite and gentle, momentarily quite possessed of the demonic aura of heretical evil ways, yet extremely alluring.

Whatever the reason, since the Precious Mirror Dharma King wouldn’t act, she couldn’t be blamed for bullying the weak with her strength.

Her orchid finger lightly pinched, and blazing snow-light gathered like blade-light!

At this moment, Yangjin’s smile finally shed its previous gentleness, finally revealing sharp killing intent, though her voice remained sweet and ethereal: “Masters, be careful—this seat is coming to take your dog lives—”