“Cannot be saved…”

These three words fell into Jian Chou’s ears with complete clarity, as if carrying a hint of pity and irony. Yet what echoed in her heart was the sound of great bells and drums—the sigh-like verse from when she first achieved the first realm of the Burning Lamp Sword:

Like a single lamp that can dispel a thousand years of darkness; a single wisdom that can eliminate ten thousand years of foolishness.

The pain she perceived was intense, yet also numb.

Jian Chou gently extended her palm forward, and the Deer-Cutting Blade sensed her intention, automatically drawing itself from her back with a spray of blood before falling into her grasp.

The sharpness of the Deer-Cutting Blade—in just that moment of distraction, it could penetrate the shell of her body refined through the Human Vessel technique…

Truly worthy of being a blade once used by the great power Buyu Shangren.

For the first time, this blade was stained with her own blood.

Also for the first time, she unexpectedly didn’t refute Xie Buchen, but calmly and peacefully agreed with his viewpoint: “…You’re quite right. At least, this method cannot save them.”

Just this one sentence had already revealed her complete attitude.

Although in that moment of mental confusion, she had been stabbed by Sangyang and suffered some injury, she didn’t regret coming here to save people, nor did she regret coming here to kill the Precious Mirror Dharma King. Moreover, though she agreed with his words, there was an underlying implication—

People could be saved, but not at this time, in this place, with this method.

Xie Buchen simply watched her, also observing how the wound on her back slowly healed after the Deer-Cutting Blade departed, but he made no further comments or remarks on the matter.

He and Jian Chou had never been on the same path regarding these matters.

Now that the Precious Mirror Dharma King had perished, although the other two Dharma Kings were not in the sacred hall, discovery was only a matter of time. The more critical the moment, the less they dared to relax.

Jian Chou’s daze lasted only a moment.

After that moment, she didn’t even wipe the blood from her blade before putting it away, directly saying: “The matter is finished. Let’s go.”

Before leaving, Xie Buchen glanced at the already deceased Precious Mirror Dharma King.

When Jian Chou killed this person, her methods were quite peculiar, seeming unlike her original techniques—likely some killing move left by Fudao Shanren.

Originally appearing as a young man, the Precious Mirror Dharma King now had a greenish complexion all over, his skin wrinkled like old tree roots.

At the point between his brows where the green light had penetrated, a tender green sprout had quietly emerged.

Legend spoke of an ancient “Heart-Eroding Mystical Plant” that sprouted one leaf every thirty years.

If obtained through proper methods, carefully preserved, forged and refined, it could be rolled into a bean-sized projectile. When ejected during battle, it would enter through the space between the eyebrows, taking root and multiplying, instantly trapping the soul and binding the Nascent Soul. Those with weaker cultivation would be reduced to ash in moments; those slightly stronger could only hold on a little longer.

After death, the body remained intact, but a leaf would emerge from between the brows.

Later cultivators gave this fearsome and terrifying object a rather elegant name: Eyebrow Leaf.

Even though the Precious Mirror Dharma King’s cultivation had been damaged, he shouldn’t have been weaker than Jian Chou.

But under the surprise attack of this single “Eyebrow Leaf,” he had almost no power to resist. Within moments, under the pincer attack, both his spirit and soul were annihilated. The power was tremendous, the speed incredible.

This thing had now fallen upon the Precious Mirror Dharma King, but who could say whether it had originally been meant for him?

Xie Buchen watched, and finally withdrew his gaze.

By this time, Jian Chou had already concealed her form and escaped some distance. Though wounded, it seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever. Logically, this should have been the perfect opportunity for him to strike her down.

But he didn’t act.

The two departed as silently as they had come, slipping away without a sound.

Outside the Dharma King Hall, the moon hung high and the night was deep.

Cold wind blew past, and the eaves of the great hall were all frosted with snow-white ice. The patrolling disciples were walking right past them without detecting their presence in the slightest.

At this moment, they only needed to cross the small plaza ahead to descend the mountain directly.

But just as Jian Chou was about to emerge from the shadows of the Dharma King Hall to cross the plaza and head down the mountain, a strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart.

Her gaze swept across the ground, and she felt that tonight’s moonlight seemed somehow wrong.

It was not yet midnight.

The moon on the horizon hung at an angle, shining from the direction of the Saint’s Hall. Long shadows were stretched out, winding down and falling not far in front of Jian Chou.

She didn’t move, focusing intently for a long moment, and actually discerned a human silhouette from those shadows altered by the changing angles!

In that instant, she truly forgot all her pain.

Jian Chou suddenly turned around, her gaze directly passing over the slightly lower eaves of the Dharma King Hall and falling upon the roof of the highest Saint’s Hall in this snowy domain!

The cold moon hung high, and the snow-white hall roof sloped downward, forming a dark silhouette.

A figure of modest height stood within this crescent moon, stood upon this silhouette! Wearing snow-white monk robes that seemed to glow in the moonlight, a pair of bare feet seemingly impervious to the surrounding cold, solidly planted on the hall roof.

He seemed not to have noticed anyone at the Dharma King Hall, simply standing on high, gazing distantly toward the back of the sacred hall.

It was the strange youth she had once encountered at the sacred lake.

Even though he was turned sideways to her, how could Jian Chou easily forget this deeply impressive youth? Or rather, the Saint Son Jiye!

As for the direction of his gaze, it was undoubtedly toward the sacred lake on the ice plains behind the sacred hall.

At this moment, Jian Chou stopped for some unknown reason.

But the youth still seemed not to have discovered them, not even changing his posture, never turning back even once.

He simply watched like this, as if waiting for someone to come from the direction of the sacred lake.

Under the night sky, the calm lake showed no waves.

Behind the broad lake surface lay vast, endless ice plains. Through these ice plains, straight ahead was the Yang Sect, left was the Yin Sect, right was the Eastern Sea, and beneath the great peach tree of the Eastern Sea was the entrance to the Extreme Domain.

It was said that these ice plains were the northernmost point of the snowy domain, and also the northernmost point of the Northern Domain—even the most cold-resistant birds and beasts could not cross them.

But tonight, on those distant, seemingly endless ice plains, a group of people came flying in mighty formation, all cultivators, yet making almost no sound as they advanced.

From their attire, this group was divided into two factions.

One faction wore deep red monk robes, their heads shaved to show only blue skin—these were Esoteric Buddhist monks. The other faction mostly wore loose gray-blue or gray-yellow monk robes, also with shaved heads, but most had ordination burn scars on their crowns—six of them, clearly identifying them as Chan Buddhist monks.

The practice of burning ordination scars was a Chan Buddhist tradition; Esoteric Buddhism had no such rule.

All along, the outside world had claimed that the Chan and Esoteric schools of Buddhism were like fire and water.

Yet now people from both schools were traveling together across this desolate ice plain. Though they maintained clear distinctions between themselves, they were obviously traveling the same path toward the same destination.

If any outsider were present, they would surely be astounded.

But fortunately, there were no outsiders at the moment.

Especially not Liao Kong.

In his eyes, all beings were one body—he would treat no one as a stranger. Even ants crawling on the ground or sparrows flying overhead, he would seize any opportunity to strike up a conversation.

As for Chan and Esoteric schools traveling together at this moment?

That was nothing!

Soon, when they reached the sacred hall, they would be fighting side by side. What did it matter whether fire and water were compatible? Liao Kong couldn’t even think that far.

In any case, those now traveling with the Chan school were from the Old Esoteric faction.

Over the years, not only had the Chan and Esoteric schools been in constant conflict, but the struggle between Old and New Esoteric had never ceased.

The conflict between Chan and Esoteric stemmed from disagreements during the Yin-Yang Realm War, became evident during Buddhism’s northern migration and division, but the real battles in recent years had not occurred in the Nineteen Continents, but on the isolated human islands.

Because Buddhism had reincarnation, they had the opportunity to connect the isolated human islands with the Nineteen Continents.

The Esoteric school, especially the New Esoteric faction, was ambitious. With such convenience, how could they pass up the opportunity to “spread the Dharma”? If even one mortal on the isolated human islands were willing to believe in New Esoteric Buddhism, New Esoteric’s power would strengthen by one measure, and correspondingly, Chanzong’s power would weaken by one measure.

Under such mutual growth and decline, the two schools would not need long to determine a victor.

But Chanzong wasn’t foolish enough to let Esoteric Buddhism develop freely.

It could even be said that in competing for believers on the isolated human islands, Chanzong’s methods were a thousand times more sophisticated than Esoteric Buddhism’s. Not only did they quickly see through their intentions, but in the eleven cycles since the end of the Yin-Yang Realm War, they gradually squeezed out Esoteric Buddhism’s missionary space, forcing their sphere of influence to shrink to the northeastern corner of the isolated human islands.

Thus, Chanzong could continuously gain new believers and disciples from the isolated human islands, while Esoteric Buddhism gradually weakened.

So six hundred years later, today, they could unite with the Old Esoteric faction that had been driven out, and together set foot on this ice plain leading to the snowy domain’s sacred hall.

Liao Kong flew in the lead, and thinking of this, he couldn’t help but look back, his admiration and respect for his master deepening another layer. He had heard that the chess game between Chan and Esoteric Buddhism on the isolated human islands was orchestrated by his master.

“How can Master be so amazing, thinking so far ahead?”

He couldn’t help but mutter with some emotion.

Also flying in the lead were three other monks and one woman.

The woman appeared quite young, but her eyes held hidden brilliance. She wore a peacock-blue dress that was gorgeous yet had a strange otherworldly quality, her slender fingers holding a string of fine prayer beads.

Hearing Liao Kong’s words, she simply laughed.

“Master Yichen entered the Way through ‘heart’ and ranks first among the Three Masters. His thoughtful planning naturally far surpasses us common folk. Little Master Liao Kong has a crystal-clear glass heart and studies under Master Yichen, with further guidance from Master Xuelang and Abbot Wugou—he is the foremost among the new generation of Chan disciples and will surely surpass his teachers one day.”

“No, no, no, I wouldn’t dare say such things.”

Hearing this woman’s words, Liao Kong’s face immediately reddened, waving his hands repeatedly in extreme embarrassment.

“This humble monk has always been dull-witted. Since entering the school, I’ve been scolded many times by Master for being stubborn and inflexible. Abbot Master-Uncle has caught me several times and thrown me into the Discipline Hall for many beatings. As for Master-Uncle Xuelang, he… this humble monk has tried to seek his guidance, but he never pays attention.”

“Ah…”

The woman was immediately surprised, as if she had never expected Liao Kong to give such an answer—so different from what she had imagined, or what the world imagined of the Chan school’s “Little Wise Monk.”

Even the other three traveling monks couldn’t help but look up at Liao Kong.

One of them, whose shaved head bore nine ordination burn scars—three more than Liao Kong—and whose cultivation was more than a realm higher, shook his head helplessly without speaking.

Yichen entered the Way through “heart,” so naturally he couldn’t stand his not-yet-clever-enough disciple and would always criticize him verbally. Abbot Wugou valued rules above all, and Liao Kong was the most talented disciple of this generation, so naturally he had to prevent problems before they arose, fearing his nature might lead him astray onto some heretical path—thus even though he wasn’t his own disciple, his requirements were extremely strict. As for Senior Brother Xuelang…

The single word “emotion”—emerging from demons to enter the Way, his temperament was unlike others. Not paying attention to people was perfectly normal.

This boy simply didn’t understand.

Everyone in the entire Chan school could see that as long as he didn’t make mistakes in his cultivation, even if he wasn’t as clever as Master Yichen, he could gather the strengths of the Three Masters, and his future achievements would definitely not be lower than theirs.

Even the Esoteric people could see this clearly, yet he remained confused.

But perhaps… it was precisely because of this confusion that everyone regarded him so highly?

The old monk thought this and couldn’t help but smile and sigh, shaking his head.

Liao Kong was chilled by the snowy domain’s wind until his nose was red. Though he saw the old monk shaking his head, he couldn’t figure out why despite much thought, but strangely didn’t ask more questions.

At this moment, looking up again, he could already see the outline of the sacred hall.

Liao Kong immediately became somewhat excited, pressing his palms together and chanting a Buddhist invocation: “Amitabha, we can finally see it. But I wonder if Senior Sister Jian Chou from Yashan and Senior Brother Xie from Kunwu are still there. Master-Uncle Huinian, should we look for them first?”

“That’s not necessary.”

The old monk was the “Master-Uncle Huinian” that Liao Kong mentioned, currently at the peak of Entering the World realm, just one step away from Returning to Void. This time, on Yichen’s orders, he had specifically brought some of Chanzong’s elite disciples along with masters from Old Esoteric Buddhism to launch a night assault while the two Dharma Kings were away and the snowy domain was vulnerable.

“Those two are both heavenly prodigies. Once we act, they will immediately know. When the time is right, they will naturally descend the mountain.”

“That’s true.”

Although he had never interacted with Xie Buchen, Liao Kong knew Jian Chou and understood how terrifying this Senior Sister from Yashan had been during her Foundation Establishment period. There was no reason she would become weaker now that she had reached late Nascent Soul.

As for Senior Brother Xie from Kunwu, anyone who could be renowned alongside Senior Sister Jian Chou couldn’t be too weak.

Thinking this, Liao Kong felt much more at ease.

However…

His thoughts strayed, and he suddenly remembered that identical woman he had seen at the foot of the sacred mountain that day. His heart filled with some doubt, but with so many people present, it wasn’t appropriate to voice it.

After that incident, he had encountered the Old Esoteric monks expelled from the sacred hall through extraordinary luck, and they had brought him to reunite with his Chan school fellow disciples.

Thus he had naturally reconnected with his sect.

Regarding the matter of “another Jian Chou,” he had naturally inquired carefully with his master and had some understanding. But heaven knew whether this “Jian Chou” who was identical to Jian Chou might cause unexpected complications at this crucial moment.

Sigh.

Buddha, why can’t you give this humble monk a straightforward path?

Who knew why even a person’s past could become a “demon” through a single thought? It was all Master’s fault for sitting by the Ember Pool chatting with those pasts!

If he hadn’t chatted, there would be no enlightenment, and without enlightenment, there wouldn’t be today’s troubles!

If Senior Sister Jian Chou were to find out about this later…

Perhaps it was too cold, but Liao Kong suddenly shivered, and his expression while gazing at the vast sacred lake and majestic sacred hall ahead suddenly carried a hint of despair.

Others seeing his expression assumed he was thinking of something irrelevant again. They had grown accustomed to this over the past few days and paid no attention.

Seeing they had reached their destination, the group stopped with perfect coordination.

The woman in peacock blue was the least polite. Her originally warm eyes had turned completely cold when gazing at the sacred hall!

Her face was grave, but the smile on her lips was contemptuous and mocking.

She raised her left hand high without the slightest hesitation, directly spitting out those decisive two words: “Attack!”

“Whoosh—”

In that instant, hundreds of meteor-like lights roared up from the dark blue night sky, reflecting on the gently rippling sacred lake!

The brilliant light immediately illuminated the entire vast and magnificent sacred hall!

Jian Chou, still hidden with Xie Buchen in the shadows of the Dharma King Hall, hadn’t had time to think clearly about what the youth was watching when she felt a dense and terrifying attack descending from overhead like a sudden downpour!

Countless astonishments flooded her mind as she looked up.

The entire world was bright as day, but what illuminated the sacred hall was not meteor flames—it was clearly the brilliant light traced by wave after wave of formation and magical artifact attacks!

“Boom!”

The terrifying explosion, the moment they struck, swept outward. The tremendous force rampaged in all directions, nearly instantly overturning several great halls!

Even the highest and largest Saint’s Hall trembled!

The entire sleeping snowy domain, the slumbering sacred hall, all awakened at this moment!

What reached everyone’s ears was a long, ancient Buddhist chant, followed immediately by a cold, murderous female voice echoing across heaven and earth—

“New Esoteric running dogs, come forth and die!”