Two suns appeared in the sky, one in the east and one in the west.

The eastern sun hung tepidly, while the newly risen western sun blazed with ten thousand golden rays, painting the entire sea of clouds in brilliant aureate splendor.

Beyond light and heat, it brought an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure that made one feel as if standing at the edge of an abyss, inspiring innate awe and submission.

Xu Pingfeng, Black Lotus, and even the gravely wounded White Emperor heard illusory, magnificent Sanskrit chanting in their ears.

Compared to Galaruksha Bodhisattva’s “Immovable Wisdom King” and “Vajra” manifestations, this great sun existed on an entirely different level. It seemed to be the manifestation of heaven and earth’s power itself, carrying an unstoppable force.

“Ah…”

Black Lotus screamed first, his body streaming with a black viscous liquid, smoking as the golden light scorched it.

The “Earth, Wind, Water, Fire” four great manifestations dissolved one after another into nothingness.

Under the universal illumination of Buddha light, no power of different attributes was permitted to exist.

“The Mahavairocana manifestation…”

Xu Pingfeng muttered.

He only looked once before violently averting his gaze, blood streaming from his eye sockets.

The Mahavairocana manifestation, is the foremost of the Nine Great Manifestations.

Black Lotus Daoist screamed as he transformed into a surging black stream, entering Xu Pingfeng’s body. The latter raised defensive formations and numerous top-tier magical artifacts, barely blocking the Buddhist light’s scorching.

“Retreat, quickly retreat…”

Black Lotus’s terrified, urgent voice echoed in Xu Pingfeng’s mind.

Xu Pingfeng glanced sideways at the Supervisor and the scholarly heroic soul behind him.

Only a transcendent could deal with a transcendent.

The Mahavairocana manifestation was Buddhism’s specific counter to the Sage’s heroic soul.

After Wei Yuan’s feat of sealing the Shamanic God in Jingshan City, how could they not account for the Confucian engraving knife and scholar’s cap?

But unlike Wei Yuan’s case, at least Wei Yuan was a Rank Two martial artist with formidable physical prowess, far beyond what a Fate Master could match.

With the Sage’s heroic soul manifested, the pressure on the Supervisor was naturally heavier than what Wei Yuan had faced.

Forcing the Supervisor to summon the Sage’s heroic soul was half the victory… Blood tears streamed down Xu Pingfeng’s cheeks, but his lips curved in a smile.

He didn’t stubbornly resist the Mahavairocana manifestation’s radiance but teleported away to a distance.

“Sizzle sizzle…”

White Emperor’s scales quickly blackened and smoked as it let out another agonized roar.

The Supervisor flicked his engraving knife upward, and with a “splat,” White Emperor’s skull cap flew off, its screams cutting off abruptly.

White Emperor’s body went limp and, like Galaruksha Bodhisattva, plummeted toward the vast earth below.

After completing this, the Supervisor slowly turned sideways to face that blazing sun, the Sage’s heroic soul behind him making the same motion.

The Mahavairocana manifestation’s silhouette reflected in the Supervisor’s gaze, its intense light scorching his pupils until Sage’s heroic soul rippled with clear light, blocking the manifestation’s radiance three zhang away.

“Buddha…”

Like Xu Pingfeng, the Supervisor’s lips curved upward.

He drew a deep breath, raised his hand to tap the scholar’s cap, and ceased suppressing the Sage’s heroic soul’s power.

In an instant, the Sage’s heroic soul’s form expanded explosively from over six zhang tall to a giant of twenty zhang.

This realm immediately split into two distinct parts under these two powers—one filled with pure qi throughout heaven, the other shrouded in intense golden light.

This… Seeing the Sage’s heroic soul’s aura surge, Xu Pingfeng’s heart sank as he realized the Supervisor had deliberately suppressed the heroic soul’s might earlier, not fighting at full power.

Was the Buddha his true target?!

As this thought flashed by, Xu Pingfeng’s vision was restored just in time to see the Supervisor step forward into the domain of universal Buddhist light.

The Mahavairocana manifestation reactively burst forth with even more scorching, more dazzling light, the golden radiance turning into white-hot light that engulfed the Sage’s heroic soul.

Simultaneously, the Sanskrit chanting grew denser and clearer, as if hundreds or thousands of monks were chanting sutras together, Buddhist sounds resounding throughout heaven and earth.

In the white-hot, endless ocean of Buddhist light, the Supervisor’s white robes caught fire, his flesh showing black-red burn marks, and even Sage’s heroic soul showed signs of melting.

The engraving knife in his hand burned red-hot and glowing.

But this couldn’t stop the advance of the Supervisor and the Sage’s heroic soul. These two human powerhouses, rooted in destiny, pressed forward with unwavering determination.

With each step forward, the pure qi throughout the sky eroded the Buddhist light’s domain by another fraction.

Twenty zhang, fifteen zhang, ten zhang, five zhang… But when the Supervisor and the Sage’s heroic soul advanced to within three zhang of the “blazing sun,” the now white-hot Mahavairocana manifestation suddenly manifested a golden body.

This golden body’s features were indistinct, its form slightly plump, sitting cross-legged with hands forming the flower-holding mudra.

Behind its head was a blazing sun—the Mahavairocana manifestation that had been releasing light and heat.

This manifestation slowly opened its eyes.

Boom… Facing the manifestation’s direct gaze, the Supervisor’s mind exploded like thunder, his soul seemingly shattering into countless pieces, consciousness instantly lost.

This was the Mahavairocana manifestation, foremost of the Nine Great Manifestations, the foundation of Buddha’s enlightenment.

At this moment, the Sage extended his hand, gripping the Supervisor’s hand that held the engraving knife, and gently thrust forward.

The red-hot engraving knife pierced the golden body manifestation’s brow.

Crack… A fissure burst open on the indistinct golden body manifestation’s forehead, quickly spreading until it covered the entire body.

The next moment, the Mahavairocana manifestation collapsed.

It imploded into a golden ball of blazing sun, paused briefly, and then exploded.

Looking up from the ground, one would see a golden tidal wave expanding layer upon layer above the sea of clouds, covering half the sky.

Xu Pingfeng violently shut his eyes, feeling his soul tremble as his protective formations and top-tier magical artifacts shattered one after another, as fragile as glass.

As all his protections shattered, he had already teleported even further away.

…

Alantuo.

From the depths of this Buddhist holy mountain came an earth-shattering roar, indistinguishable between anger and pain.

Then the entire mountain range began to shake as if in an earthquake, the snow at the summit collapsing and rolling together to form a sizeable avalanche.

The mighty avalanche had barely begun when it was blocked by an invisible barrier. Tens of thousands of tons of accumulated snow crashed “rumbling” against the barrier, below which lay the area where Buddhist monks resided, filled with halls and meditation courtyards.

Guangxian Bodhisattva, sitting cross-legged under the Bodhi tree, changed expression and suddenly turned to look toward Alantuo’s depths.

Liuli Bodhisattva’s beautiful face lost its color, her delicate brows furrowing, no longer maintaining her usual calm serenity.

By the cold pond, Du’e Arhat sitting on the lotus platform and the ugly handsome Asura standing by the pool simultaneously turned to look toward Alantuo’s depths.

“Who do you think it was?”

Du’e Arhat asked in a deep voice.

He meant the screaming from earlier.

The Buddha? Shenshu? Or perhaps that is possible transcendent?

Asura shook his head slightly:

“I don’t know.

“But it’s clear that our scheme backfired this time. Perhaps we played right into the Supervisor’s hands.”

The blazing sun that had risen not long ago had vanished into the void.

Even without prior notification, both could guess it had gone to deal with the Supervisor.

Du’e Arhat nodded:

“One should never underestimate the Supervisor. A Rank One artificer’s true strength lies not in combat, but in scheming.”

After a pause, the old monk pondered:

“We just don’t know how badly we’ve lost this time.”

Asura nodded once, then added:

“Since the Mahavairocana manifestation was deployed, it means the battle in Qing Province will soon see results.

“Also, the one who manifested the Mahavairocana five hundred years ago wasn’t Shenshu.”

This mystery had now been solved.

Du’e Arhat fell into silent contemplation.

…

Southern Frontier.

At Ten Thousand Demons Mountain, the newly renovated pagoda trembled slightly. Shenshu’s torso walked out of the pagoda, stood atop it, and gazed westward.

“What’s wrong, Shenshu!”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox appeared beside him, her appearance alluring, with silver hair and fox tails, her figure graceful and enchanting.

“I heard his call.”

Shenshu muttered: “He was calling for help, he yearns to be complete.”

Hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox smiled and said:

“It seems the battle in Qing Province will soon see results.”

Shenshu said nothing, only shifting slightly.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox said with a smile:

“I allied with the Supervisor long ago. He once said that as long as I helped Xu Qi’an in everything, aiding his growth, he would provide me some assistance in reclaiming my head.

“However, this must wait until after his disciple’s rebellion.”

Shenshu slowly asked: “Why?”

After his body was reassembled, his divine soul gained some completeness and was no longer so extreme, though, of course, he would still disregard all relationships if provoked.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox shook her head:

“The Supervisor is a born chess master. No one can guess his thoughts, nor does anyone know what he truly wants to do or achieve. But whatever he plans, Xu Qi’an always occupies an important position on his chessboard.

“Watching Xu Qi’an might reveal some clues about the Supervisor’s arrangements.”

As for what she had discovered, she didn’t say.

Shenshu wasn’t interested either, saying:

“That boy still has one of my arms, it can neutralize my violent qi.”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox said helplessly:

“That depends on timing. We can’t capture either Du’e or Asura unless we attack Alantuo directly.”

Shenshu nodded: “Let’s attack tomorrow.”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox scolded:

“No! Get back in the pagoda, your mind is starting to run wild again after being out too long!”

Shenshu fell silent, leaped down from the pagoda’s peak, and returned to it.

…

After the golden light dispersed, only a charred human form remained above the sea of clouds.

Seconds later, the charred dead flesh split open, revealing a naked Supervisor.

He casually reached into the air and grabbed a white robe to put on. The scholar’s cap and engraving knife in his hand had already transformed into clear light and returned to Yunlu Academy.

The Supervisor’s aura had weakened to the extreme, though he appeared unharmed.

His physical body showed some deterioration, his originally ruddy skin was now covered in wrinkles and age spots.

“Cleaner than a monk…”

The Supervisor muttered, raising his hand to lightly touch his brows, eyes, chin, and head, cultivating smooth white hair, white beard, and eyebrows.

After regaining the bearing of a Rank One artificer, the Supervisor turned his head to look at the sea of clouds below, then glanced to his right.

The sea of clouds parted as two mutilated figures returned to the cloudy heights—Galaruksha Bodhisattva and White Emperor.

The former’s neck was empty, the severed end a mess of flesh and blood, like a headless walking corpse.

The latter’s skull cap had been torn off, its brain vaguely visible like a walnut, intestines dragging from its abdomen.

Their bodies couldn’t regenerate, the Sage’s engraving knife’s power blocking the flesh’s renewal.

But with Galaruksha Bodhisattva being the strongest defender below transcendent rank, and White Emperor being an ancient divine demon that could be considered a Rank One martial artist, killing them was no easy task.

“What did you do to the Buddha!”

Galaruksha Bodhisattva’s voice came from the body.

“You’ll know in time.”

The Supervisor said indifferently.

At this moment, Xu Pingfeng teleported back, standing between the White Emperor and Galaruksha Bodhisattva.

Black Lotus Daoist “crawled” out from his body to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

A figure in white robes once again faced four peak masters.

But both sides’ auras had dropped precipitously compared to the start of the battle, with only Xu Pingfeng in relatively good condition.

“Not much use now.”

The Supervisor sighed: “If this were my peak condition, you could run away now.”

As he spoke, his right hand reached into the air again, grabbing an octagonal bronze disc. The disc’s back was inscribed with sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, while its front bore the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. As soon as it appeared, this realm began to boil.

The power of all living beings surged forth, converging into the Supervisor-like rivers flowing into the sea.

His aura instantly climbed to its peak.

His eyes flashed with clear light as he looked at the four:

“All together now!”