Ever since she had accidentally entered the Killing Red Small Realm back then, Jian Chou had already experienced the abilities of this “Little Wise Monk” Liao Kong from Western Sea Chanzong. Barriers that others couldn’t pass, he somehow managed to get through inexplicably, and his luck was always so good it was outrageous. Compared to him, what were her abilities or Xie Buchen’s talents? They were nothing worth mentioning.
She actually hadn’t expected that Chanzong would bring Liao Kong along.
After reacting for a while, she suddenly laughed and returned the courtesy: “Junior Brother Liao Kong, it’s been a long time. It looks like your injuries have healed?”
“All healed, all healed. I was lucky enough to wake up.”
Liao Kong had also participated in that battle atop the Snowy Realm’s Sacred Temple last time. At that time, not wanting to see Jian Chou and Xie Buchen fight to the death when faced with a great enemy, he had opened his Mustard Seed Sumeru to take them both in. Who could have anticipated being secretly attacked by the demon Jian Chou? As a result, he took a direct hit from Dharma King Baoping, was severely injured and fell unconscious, remaining unconscious for a full twenty years.
When Jian Chou visited him last time, he was still completely unconscious.
At that time, Monk Yichen had said that Liao Kong was already out of danger, his injuries weren’t serious, but because he was wounded by Baoping’s foul and evil energy, he had fallen into a delusion and no one knew how long it would take for him to wake up.
Unexpectedly, not long after that, she was already seeing him awake.
Hearing this, Jian Chou felt much more at ease.
But Liao Kong was still afraid she would worry, so he touched his bald head and explained: “This little monk feels like I just had a big dream. It’s truly Buddha’s blessing – not only did I not sleep myself to death, but after waking up my cultivation even surged dramatically. I jumped from Nascent Soul directly to Soul Separation. Even now, this little monk still hasn’t recovered from it. I don’t even know how to use this increased cultivation level.”
Upon hearing this, the several people nearby all fell silent.
Twenty years ago, this Little Wise Monk Liao Kong from Western Sea Chanzong was only at early Nascent Soul cultivation. Now looking at him, his realm had indeed skyrocketed – he was already at early Soul Separation.
If people knew about this, wouldn’t this little monk get beaten to death?
Even Jian Chou, whose cultivation progress was already heaven-defying, couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion upon seeing this, thinking that there were indeed some differences between people.
Master Xuelang remained quite calm.
He was one of the Three Masters of Chanzong, and his temperament was unlike Abbot Wugou and Monk Yichen, so he rarely concerned himself with mundane affairs. However, at this time and place, he was considered a senior, so he still needed to speak up and explain when necessary: “When Daoist Yang Jin came to Chanzong, she had already explained the situation. Junior Brother Yichen sent a lightning message back from the Star Sea, saying we must bring Liao Kong, so we brought him.”
It was still the great monk Yichen who specifically told them to bring him. Jian Chou immediately understood and felt much more relaxed. Firstly, it was because of the arrival of Liao Kong, this extremely lucky auspicious star, and secondly, it was because Master Xuelang, who had the strongest cultivation and combat power among the Three Masters of Chanzong, was also traveling with them.
The first time she met Master Xuelang was in the back mountain of Western Sea Chanzong. She was returning from the Ember Pool, while Master Xuelang was coming down from the mountain. They had briefly encountered each other, but at that time she still couldn’t see through his cultivation level.
Even now, she still couldn’t sense it.
This could only prove one thing – Master Xuelang’s cultivation was even higher than hers currently, and even emanated a sense of perfect integration and understanding, faintly giving people a feeling very similar to Master Hengxu.
What was Master Hengxu’s cultivation level?
If Jian Chou remembered correctly, Master Hengxu’s name was ranked high on the eighth level, first place of the Nine Heavens Tablet in Western Sea Plaza – he was genuinely a powerful being with a realm!
The strength of Western Sea Chanzong was indeed as the great monk Yichen had said – they had preserved the most and accumulated the deepest foundations.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but remember the Thousand Cultivators’ Tomb overgrown with wild grass on the riverbank of the Nine-Headed River tributary of Yashan, and her heart slowly became oppressed.
But at this time, Qu Zhengfeng had already begun negotiating with them about the situation on the Snowy Realm side: “This trip, we can be considered to have four powerful cultivators launching a surprise attack together, plus Little Master Liao Kong who should be quite useful. No matter what, this should be foolproof. I have already deployed the cultivators from Mingri Xinghai properly. We just need to find a suitable place inside the Snowy Realm to set up a teleportation array, and they can come to provide support. On Yashan’s side, Daoist Jian Chou has also made arrangements. I wonder how things are with Chanzong and the Old Tantra?”
Dakini Yang Jin had experienced too many things and was actually a person of few words. Perhaps because she had seen the filth of the Snowy Realm early on, her eyes actually revealed some deathly silence.
She wasn’t familiar with anyone and spoke in a rather distant manner.
At this moment, she only replied: “Our Old Tantra has been in constant conflict with the New Tantra for twenty years. Our strength has been severely depleted, and several Dharma Kings have already fallen. I am the only powerful cultivator left. The remaining ordinary cultivators are now sheltered in Chanzong. Once the surprise attack is launched, over three hundred cultivators above Golden Core level will all come.”
The Snowy Realm was originally the territory of the Tantric sect, but the New Tantra was powerful and had become irreconcilable with the Old Tantra, so this faction had to flee to avoid disaster. Once this surprise attack truly wiped out the New Tantra completely, the Snowy Realm should naturally be governed by the Old Tantra.
Yang Jin raised her head, looking at the continuous shadows of those high mountains and snowy plains.
“In this battle, our Old Tantra is already betting everything. If we cannot survive, then we can only perish.”
The conflict between the Old and New Tantra had a long history. Jian Chou and the others had heard about it early on and knew they had long reached a life-or-death situation. Hearing Yang Jin’s words, they also felt quite heavy.
Master Xuelang remained as calm as ever.
The various disturbances of the world seemed not to enter his eyes. Even when he spoke, there wasn’t half a trace of emotional fluctuation: “On Chanzong’s side, because we need to prepare for potential incidents at the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate and might need to attack simultaneously with the Snowy Realm side, we only allocated one-third of our strength to the Snowy Realm. But several hundred people are all above Nascent Soul cultivation. Combined with the remaining forces of the current New Tantra and coordinating with the personnel you’ve all deployed, it should be sufficient to handle things.”
“Then what remains is how we plan.” Jian Chou pondered for a moment, then actively asked Yang Jin first: “Senior Yang Jin has stayed in the Snowy Realm for a very long period and understands the Snowy Realm best. Do you have any suggestions or plans?”
“Let’s walk and talk.”
Yang Jin didn’t want to waste time here. After identifying the direction, she first pointed out a direction for everyone. Then she spread her five fingers, and a snow-white conch shell the size of a palm appeared in her palm. With a surge of spiritual power, it spread out a soft white light spanning two zhang.
“The entire Snowy Realm is now covered with arrays. If we enter from the outside world, we might be detected. So please, everyone, stay within the light of my conch shell as we advance. We can withdraw it after we enter populated areas of the Snowy Realm.”
Everyone acted according to her words.
When Jian Chou went to the Extreme Realm last time, she had seen similar conch shells, though they looked more ornate than Yang Jin’s, but didn’t have the snow-white luster and moist feeling of Yang Jin’s conch shell.
In the Snowy Realm, this should be a common type of magical artifact.
Yang Jin was in the center, Master Xuelang and Liao Kong from Western Sea Chanzong were on the left, while Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng naturally positioned themselves on the right. The five people traveled through the night, advancing deep into the Snowy Realm.
Halfway through, Yang Jin explained the current situation in the Snowy Realm to them.
“The New Tantra now only has two Dharma Kings left: Baoping and Baoyin. Friend Jian Chou should have seen Dharma King Baoping’s strength – that’s nothing much. But Dharma King Baoyin wields the Houtu Seal and has formidable strength, making him one of the variables in our trip. The other variable is the Holy Son who has been missing for about twenty years. Originally, the Holy Son had stood on our Old Tantra’s side many years ago, but now he can’t be found. There are rumors that the New Tantra people have already controlled the Holy Son, which is why he cannot appear. But in my heart, I feel this is not the case.”
Holy Son Jiye!
This was undoubtedly another name that left a deep impression on Jian Chou. However, she didn’t quite understand Yang Jin’s last sentence and said: “Why does Senior Yang Jin feel the rumors are false?”
“The Holy Son is a Hundred-Life Buddha Child, not an ordinary person. The New Tantra went through great hardships to summon him from reincarnation. Even when several Dharma Kings were at their peak, they couldn’t resist his power and suffered greatly at his hands. Only then did our Old Tantra have the opportunity to compete with the New Tantra and struggle for such a long time.”
When Yang Jin spoke of that Buddha Child, her heart was somewhat complex, but she also couldn’t hide her deep worry.
“If the Holy Son could be controlled by them, he wouldn’t be the Holy Son. But his long absence must mean some change has occurred. You come from outside the realm and might not know – although the Snowy Realm is vast and factional struggles are numerous, the vast majority of ordinary believers originally worshipped the Holy Son. It was only later when the New Tantra acted perversely and worshipped evil Buddhas that this portion of believers was weakened. It’s said that the Holy Son depends on the power of incense and faith to exist. No one knows what his current condition is.”
After saying this, she dropped this topic and turned to explaining in detail the rules and power distribution of the New Tantra in the Snowy Realm, as well as their support speed if a real fight broke out.
Summarized in four words: swift decisive victory.
If a surprise attack turned into a prolonged war, firstly they might be surrounded and attacked by monks from various temples around the Mandala Sacred Temple, and secondly, if their tracks were exposed and they leaked information to the Extreme Realm, allowing the Extreme Realm to prepare in advance, both outcomes would be counterproductive.
The five people continued forward like this, discussing as they went, and soon arrived at a small town before dawn, completely unnoticed.
It was somewhat coincidental – it was a place Jian Chou had been to before.
Last time when she came with Xie Buchen, they had lodged at an inn in this small town, then met that little girl named Sangyang, and were later selected by New Tantra monks who were choosing bright consorts for the Sacred Temple to impersonate a bright consort and enter the Sacred Temple.
But Jian Chou hadn’t expected that returning to this old place would reveal earth-shaking changes. The small town that was originally somewhat run-down but at least could be considered peaceful and harmonious was now filled with debris on the streets, desolate and cold.
Walking on the main street felt like walking in a ghost town.
Apart from the five of them, not a single person could be seen anywhere. Some shop doors were open, some closed. The streets had wind rolling fallen leaves, some shops had visibly broken tables and chairs, and occasionally fresh blood could be seen in corners.
After walking only a few steps, everyone had already discovered the abnormality.
Qu Zhengfeng stopped beside a pool of dried blood at a street corner, lowered his head to stare carefully for a long time, then said: “This is already an empty town. There are traces of fighting, but the cultivation levels weren’t very high. It’s more like struggles between low-level cultivators and ordinary people. There isn’t much blood, not many people died. They should all have been captured. The larger remaining portion all seemed to have left on their own.”
Jian Chou and the others didn’t know what this meant.
After Yang Jin saw the situation in this town and heard Qu Zhengfeng’s quite certain judgment, her complexion changed.
However, she didn’t speak immediately, but instead led everyone to quickly head to the next town.
One town.
Another town.
Yet another town.
Not a single person! Every town was empty, every city was empty! It was as if people had been living in the towns one moment, then vanished into thin air the next.
With each town they visited, Yang Jin’s complexion grew paler. By the thirteenth city, which was one of the ten major cities of the Snowy Realm, she finally couldn’t walk anymore. Her entire being slumped down, her exquisitely beautiful face became like a sheet of white paper, revealing a kind of desolate despair.
“They’ve made their move…”
In such a vast Snowy Realm, they had already penetrated at least halfway, yet couldn’t find a single living person. There wasn’t even a single corpse to be found. It was truly hair-raising!
Everyone had long noticed Yang Jin’s expression was wrong, but they hadn’t disturbed her before.
However, now they had to ask: “Senior Yang Jin, what exactly has happened?”
“Sacred Sacrifice…”
Yang Jin stood in this empty city, gazing toward the deeper parts of the Snowy Realm. A few traces of mocking smile appeared at the corners of her lips, while tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
“They’ve gone mad.”
Jian Chou had been cultivating for less than a century. Even though she was well-informed, she had never heard the words “Sacred Sacrifice” before. But both Liao Kong and Master Xuelang, who originally came from Buddhism and had considerable connections with the New Tantra, immediately frowned tightly.
Even Qu Zhengfeng’s eyes couldn’t help but reveal some horror.
Although he had no relationship with Buddhism, he had cultivated for a long time and had personally experienced the Yin-Yang Realm War, having witnessed Sacred Sacrifice scenes with his own eyes.
However, at that time it was only a few hundred people. Now, it was the entire Snowy Realm, involving everyone regardless of whether they were cultivators or mortals!
Master Xuelang had the highest cultivation and looked toward the Sacred Mountain of the Snowy Realm whose outline could already be faintly seen in the distance. He had obviously sensed the seriousness of the situation and couldn’t spare time for explanations, only saying: “Let’s go to the Mandala first. The situation should have only started two days ago. We might still be able to catch up.”
The Mandala was the sacred city of the Snowy Realm, located at the foot of the Sacred Mountain. Standing in the city, one could look up and see the snow-white Sacred Temple.
Jian Chou had also been to this place.
Although she didn’t know what kind of existence this “Sacred Sacrifice” was, she could tell from the expressions of the others that this news was a kind of catastrophe for everyone – it wouldn’t be anything good.
On the contrary, this was something bad that made even Master Xuelang feel apprehensive, a very terrifying thing.
Throughout the entire journey to the Mandala, Jian Chou kept thinking about the two words “Sacred Sacrifice” in her heart. But when they crossed the final high mountain and saw that scene with her own eyes, she was still shocked into standing motionless on the spot, unable to move at all.
The fierce mountain wind of the Snowy Realm blew everyone’s robes.
All five people stood on this high cliff, looking down below, and no one could say a word.
On a broad ice plain, three sides were surrounded by solitary high snow peaks. The Sacred Mountain was the one in the very center, with the magnificent Sacred Temple built on the mountain peak, possessing the creation of ghosts and gods, ingeniously crafted.
The enormous Mandala prostrated at its feet.
Looking down from the heights, the streets and buildings of this city perfectly formed the “Mandala” pattern depicted in Buddhist scriptures, which should have represented the supreme enlightenment of Buddhism. But at this moment, falling into everyone’s eyes, it presented a scene of sinister evil energy!
Countless people who had disappeared from the various towns of the Snowy Realm had all appeared here, in the center of the Mandala, on every street, in every square. There were too many, too many, densely packed like a tide, filling every gap in the entire city…
Even outside the city gates, they were covered with human figures!
At a glance, there was no end in sight.
Everyone was kneeling on the ground, as if they had long lost their own consciousness. Their hands were pressed together at their chests, and from their cracked lips that hadn’t touched food or water for days, they still chanted unknown Buddhist scriptures.
Thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions!
Countless tiny voices gathered together, strangely condensing into one force in this heaven and earth – mysterious and obscure, grand and vast, impacting people’s eardrums and echoing in everyone’s hearts.
They believed that even if they shouted from this high cliff right now, not a single person below would hear their voices.
Not because their voices were too small—
But because all these believers kneeling on the ground devoutly chanting had already become walking corpses without their own consciousness!
Above each person’s head, a golden thread emerged, like the wispy smoke rising from burning incense, converging toward an array in the sky that was identical to the Mandala pattern on the ground!
The color of the golden threads changed as they rose in height.
Initially they were pure gold, but the higher they went, the more the golden color faded, replaced by a shade of blood red so eerie it was heart-stopping!
The entire array high in the sky was dyed crimson red by these countless golden threads!
The once snow-white Sacred Temple, under the reflection of this sinister and terrifying array, no longer had its former purity and cleanliness. Instead, it revealed a somewhat ferocious evil!
In a trance, Jian Chou actually felt that what occupied that high place was not a lifeless Sacred Temple, but a gradually awakening, enormous monster about to devour people!
“It has already begun.”
Yang Jin’s voice had become somewhat powerless. The great array in the sky reflected in her eyes, turning even these clear pupils blood red.
“Unless the Holy Son reappears, otherwise this array, this sacrifice, cannot be broken by anyone…”
By this moment, how could Jian Chou not understand what this so-called “Sacred Sacrifice” was about?
It was clearly forcibly gathering all the believers’ incense and faith power, transporting and transferring it through the array. Whether it was to open the Yin-Yang Gate or borrow power for oneself, it would achieve extremely terrifying results!
But those participating in the Sacred Sacrifice would probably become nothing but withered bones.
Dakini Yang Jin had been in the Snowy Realm for many years – how could she not understand these methods of the New Tantra? Moreover, after she spoke these words, whether it was Qu Zhengfeng or Master Xuelang, neither contradicted her, which already proved the troublesome nature of this so-called “Sacred Sacrifice.”
Although Jian Chou understood arrays, what lay before them wasn’t merely an array – it gathered the devout power of countless believers. Breaking the array would be easy, but to break this power, even ten of her might not be able to do it.
At this moment, she tightly furrowed her brow.
“The Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate is frequently restless, and the Snowy Realm is launching a Sacred Sacrifice at this moment. They must have evil intentions and plan to do something in these two days.” She could almost clearly smell that scent of an approaching storm, and only asked Yang Jin: “Holy Son Jiye is now mysteriously missing without a trace. But I have heard before that the Holy Son is a Buddha Child, immortal and indestructible. As long as there is sufficient power, one can set up a sacrifice to invite him out from the Hundred-Life Reincarnation to descend upon the Snowy Realm. I wonder, does Senior Yang Jin know this method of inviting the Holy Son’s return?”
“It’s useless.” Yang Jin smiled bitterly, almost containing no hope whatsoever. “Friend Jian Chou doesn’t know – the Holy Son’s descent upon the Snowy Realm also has a time limit. The closer to this limit, the weaker his power becomes. But before the time limit arrives, unless he perishes, he cannot return to the Hundred-Life Reincarnation, and naturally cannot be invited out. Currently, the Holy Son is only missing, the time limit hasn’t arrived. Even if I knew the invitation sacrifice method, I couldn’t invite the Buddha Child to descend upon the Snowy Realm again. Moreover, each lifetime’s Holy Son is a new Holy Son. The Holy Son invited again might not necessarily be the current one who supports the Old Tantra.”
“Is there truly no method to search for or communicate with him?”
Jian Chou was really unwilling to give up. Seeing the magnificent scale of the Sacred Sacrifice in the Mandala below still proceeding, and speculating about the plans of the New Tantra monks colluding with the Extreme Realm in the Sacred Temple at this moment, she only felt a dark cloud of murderous intent in her heart that couldn’t be dispelled.
Yang Jin remained silent for a long time before self-mockingly shaking her head: “There’s no definite method, only a saying passed down from thousands of years ago, claiming that deities dwell in the Sacred Lake, and it was the deities who gave birth to the Holy Son. Seeing the deities would allow one to find the Holy Son. But it’s just a rumor. I lived in the Sacred Temple for hundreds of years and never saw any Sacred Lake deities manifest. Better to think about how we can stop the New Tantra’s plan now…”
Sacred Lake?
Jian Chou couldn’t hear the rest of Yang Jin’s words. Only the sentence “Seeing the deities would allow one to find the Holy Son” kept circling in her mind, finally converging like flowing water with a thunderous roar, condensing into that scene from the past under the moon above the Sacred Lake—
That dreamlike moment.
She remained quiet for a long time, and such quietness seemed so unusual at this moment.
Yang Jin didn’t know what was wrong with her and called her name once.
But Jian Chou blinked, turned to gaze at this Dakini whose eyes still contained traces of tears, and slowly, word by word, said: “What if I have seen this deity and still have a way to make her manifest?”