The jade lake stretched for ten thousand acres. A small skiff broke through the water, and a man of average build stood upon it — the rain cape old and worn, the bamboo hat battered and faded, concealing his face entirely.
“Who is this person? He’s coming from the depths of the jade lake — did he enter ahead of us somehow?” Many were confused and suspicious.
The surface of the lake shimmered with reflected light. The skiff slowed its pace, drifting leisurely forward. The man set down his long pole and stood with his hands clasped behind his back — yet still his face could not be seen.
At that moment, the more than ten supreme figures overhead were the first to sense something was wrong. The emperor-lords of the divine dynasties of the Central Region, the demon-lord and war-lord of the Southern Range, the divine monks of the Western Desert — all felt a tremor in their hearts, their expressions shifting.
“Who are you?” one peerless emperor-lord asked. He had lived close to three thousand years, standing above all beneath the heavens — yet now he felt a chill of terror.
On the bamboo raft, the man did not stir. Hands still clasped behind his back, he drove the skiff silently forward, unmoved by anything in the world outside.
“Who exactly are you? My sovereign is speaking to you — can you not hear?” An old man stepped forward, white-haired and -bearded, a supreme elder of immense power.
Pop!
The man on the skiff glanced over coldly. He raised one hand and pointed forward. A jet of blood burst from the old man’s forehead — he collapsed into the lake, dyeing the emerald water crimson.
Uproar!
Everyone was in an uproar. Who was this? How dare he kill in front of an elderly emperor-lord — the sheer arrogance was staggering.
“Scoundrel!” A half-step great power strode across the waves, stepping forward with wide strides. He opened his mouth and sent a great cauldron soaring — a black mountain of a vessel pressing downward.
Crack!
The cauldron was shattered with a single poke of the rain-cape man’s finger. Fragments rained down like crumbling sand into the lake.
“A weapon forged through the interweaving of the Dao and reason — shattered with a fingertip, just like that. How powerful is this person? What kind of background does he have?!” Everyone was afraid. The chill reached their bones.
A cry rang out. The half-step great power could not help but fly forward — his feet skimming the lake surface, water splashing in all directions. Clearly he was struggling with everything he had, yet unable to resist — he was drawn onto the small skiff.
The man in the rain cape reached out one hand and seized his throat. The other hand remained clasped behind his back. Everything was utterly casual.
“Ahhh—” The half-step great power cried out, appearing to have encountered the most terrifying thing imaginable. Lifted off the ground, he dangled in the air, writhing.
Spray!
A soft sound. The half-step great power’s skull burst apart. Blood and brain matter flowed down together, soaking into that powerful forearm. The rain-cape figure showed not the slightest revulsion.
Splash!
He released his grip. The corpse dropped into the lake, staining a great swath of water crimson — the headless body bobbing, ghastly to behold, impossible to look at directly.
With that, no one remained calm. Everyone fell back. What kind of person was this — seizing a half-step great power’s throat with one hand? The method was horrifying!
“He’s the one from the ancient tomb — he’s come here too…”
Someone cried out in terror, finally recognizing who this was — the mysterious figure that had appeared after Ye Fan shot down eighteen stone mountains.
Yet even now, no one had realized this was a Divine Spirit Thought rather than a person — not everyone had the breadth of knowledge of Duan De and the Old Blind Man.
The skiff moved through the water without haste, yet it commanded the hearts and silenced the voices of all. The mysterious man stood with hands clasped behind his back, sleeves stained with blood and brain matter — and cared not at all.
Swish!
Overhead, one emperor-lord of the Central Region and the war-lord of the Southern Range moved simultaneously. Each formed a hand seal and pressed downward.
Boom!
Heaven and earth erupted. Emerald water surged toward the sky. Each of them manifested a great seal and a great bell forged from divine force, interwoven with primordial inscriptions.
“Central Emperor’s Seal!”
“Southern Demon’s Bell!”
The crowd cried out. These had been formed in haste — yet these were weapons of principle constructed by unparalleled experts, terrifying in their might, capable of effortlessly slaying ordinary great powers.
Ssssh! Ssssh!
The Divine Spirit Thought raised his head. Still standing with hands clasped behind his back, he made no other movement. From his eyes, two beams of cold light shot outward, leaving long brilliant trails — gorgeous and chilling.
Clang!
High in the sky, the Southern Demon’s Bell sounded, then rapidly fractured, a massive black void cracking open within it before vanishing from sight.
Crack!
The Central Emperor’s Seal suffered the same fate. Fractures split across it like a bone gnawed by a wild dog — breaking, shattering, blinking out into nothingness.
“Who is he — what kind of being is he?!” People cried out in alarm.
“Could it be the mad old man of the Eastern Desolation has come?” someone speculated. In the present age, only a saint of that caliber existed — otherwise, who could possess such ability.
With nothing more than two beams from his eyes, he had dissolved the law and order woven by two of the world’s supreme figures. It was almost beyond belief.
“The Divine Spirit Thought — he is the Divine Spirit Thought!” At last, one elderly monk of the Western Desert recognized what kind of being this was. His white eyebrows quivered, and he recited the Buddha’s name.
“The Divine Spirit Thought?!” Many people had no idea what that meant — but those who did understand went white-faced and felt their whole bodies go cold.
“How can such a thing exist in this world?” The four peerless emperor-lords of the Central Region were all shaken, involuntarily falling back. They had never in their wildest imaginings expected to encounter this kind of being.
“Has a divine being truly existed in this world? Otherwise, how could a Divine Spirit Thought be born?” The war-lord of the Southern Range could not say whether this was cause for joy or grief.
In that moment, other cultivators finally began to grasp, through what they now understood, what a Divine Spirit Thought truly was: a creature born after an ancient deity died — something that could rightfully be called a demon.
“Let’s see what they can do to resolve this…” Duan De fell back, wearing an expression that made plain this had nothing to do with him.
The Old Blind Man cast another handful of tortoise shells across the lake surface, divined a reading, and called out, “East, then south — the most auspicious sign possible.”
The barbarian had never trusted this charlatan in his heart. But seeing both Ye Fan and Jue Youqing follow the direction given, he went along as well.
Boom!
They had barely retreated when the rain-cape figure on the skiff erupted with dark light — like a black sun, incomparably terrible — that then transformed into a black void.
“Ahhh—”
In that moment, who could count how many cried out. People were pulled forward against their will, and midway through the air their bodies split apart. The black void on the skiff devoured everything.
Skulls, severed limbs, torsos — blood everywhere, saturating the air. This was the image of hell made real. In an instant, over a hundred people shattered, all of them consumed into that single point — the black void!
The dark light faded. The black abyss vanished. The Divine Spirit Thought reappeared on the skiff. Between his lips and teeth there were traces of blood; even his collar bore a few tiny white splinters of bone.
“He swallowed all those hundred-odd people in a single gulp!”
Many people nearly collapsed. Every last one of those cultivators had been at the Dragon-Transformation realm or above — not a single weakling among them — and he had consumed them all in one mouthful.
“In the ancient past, there were truly divine beings. He is the demon born after a god’s death!”
This was a demon standing before them. In this place, he was without equal, and no one in the world could contend with him — to step forward was death.
Eliminating over a hundred powerful cultivators in one stroke silenced everyone. Even the peak great powers fell quiet, every one of them seized by a deep chill.
“Unless the mad old man comes, or several of the primordial kings are summoned, no one can contest with him!”
Unfortunately, the mad old man’s whereabouts were unknown; no one knew where he had gone. As for the primordial kings — there was no point even thinking about it. Those ancient beings were an equally great threat.
“Amitabha.” One elderly monk of the Western Desert recited the title of the ancient Buddhist emperor and stepped forward. “The compassion of the Buddha is boundless. In ages past, an ancient Buddha encountered a Divine Spirit Thought and left behind a method to subdue demons.”
Everyone was astonished. The Divine Spirit Thought of ancient tales was incomparably mysterious and fearsome — spoken of only in legend, never confirmed real. And yet the Buddhists had encountered one in actual truth.
They could not help but marvel. The Western Desert’s Buddhist tradition was ancient, profound, and deep of foundation. That an ancient Buddha had truly subdued a Divine Spirit Thought — an unsurpassed demon — was extraordinary.
“Holy monk, begin the ritual quickly — subdue this demon!” One emperor-lord urged.
“We must act together. All must recite the sacred Buddhist prayer of rebirth together.”
Humph!
A cold snort. The Divine Spirit Thought — this demon — issued sound for the first time. Everyone felt as though they had been plunged into an ice cave, every pore exhaling cold air, their bodies shuddering uncontrollably.
The voice was like something rising from a bottomless hell — filling the soul with raw, trembling terror.
“Namu amituofo, duota jieduo ye, duodi ye tha, ami lidu po pi…”
In that moment, the divine monk of the Western Desert began to chant. He sat cross-legged in the void, solemn and serene, a vast spread of Buddhist light appearing behind him — as though an ancient Buddha had been reborn.
“Everyone — chant together to subdue the demon!” An emperor-lord called out loudly.
“Ba yi qie ye zhang gen ben de sheng jing tu tuo luo ni…” Everyone chanted together. The rebirth prayer resounded throughout the great lake.
It was clearly visible: from each and every person, a sheet of light arose, joining together, pressing toward the demon.
The demon had not yet struck out. He was clearly testing the prayer’s power — gauging its significance — and he revealed a cold smile, human in form yet utterly monstrous.
“The Buddhist divine prayer truly is extraordinary — it can actually hold that demon at bay!” Dongfang Ye was astonished.
Beside him, Jue Youqing held a Bodhi branch, her face full of compassion, Buddhist light emanating from her. She recited a different ancient scripture — the Great Compassion Mantra — voice soft, yet ringing throughout heaven and earth.
A bodhisattva descending to the mortal world — white robes like snow, the golden lotus-blossom mark at her brow radiating streams of radiant light. Combined with the rebirth prayer, the Buddhist resonance grew even more vast and powerful.
Not far away, the demon’s body gave a single tremor. His eyes shot two beams of cold light — devoid of any human emotion. The Buddhist radiance pushed the skiff back.
“Buddhist ancient scriptures are truly wondrous…” Duan De was astonished. He had not imagined they could truly exert pressure on the demon.
Every person contains boundless hidden potential. Some Buddhist methods can allow even an ordinary person to bring forth certain specific powers. The rebirth prayer was precisely such a thing — when recited by all together, it could cross over divine beings and demons.
But if used in single combat, it was too thin a thread — other ancient scriptures were needed to reinforce it before it could be made strong.
“Does the Daoist tradition have no similar ancient scripture? If there were also sacred texts, and they were recited together, wouldn’t that be even better?” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
“Hmph!” The Old Blind Man took offense at that. He slanted a look at Ye Fan and said, “The Daoist tradition doesn’t love founding religions — they prefer to drift like wild clouds. But today, I too shall recite a scripture, to subdue this demon together.”
“You’re not going to chant a fortune-telling formula, are you?” Dongfang Ye had no faith in this charlatan — he always struck him as a fraud.
“Accumulated yang becomes divine, and within the divine there is form. Form is born of the sun, and the sun is born of the moon. Accumulated yin becomes form, and within form there is the divine…” The Old Blind Man sat cross-legged on the lake surface, reciting a true scripture — and at once drew a group of people to involuntarily join him in recitation.
The old man was remarkably sharp. To hear a scripture was to grasp its meaning: this was meant to dissolve and transform this demon, who had been born of accumulated yin. His body began to flow with Daoist light — like a golden-bodied Dao Patriarch brought back to life.
“The mind’s source, clear and still, illuminates and shatters all things. The energy-battle, firm and strong, ten thousand feelings in a single breath. With one mind, observe ten thousand things…” The Old Blind Man sat in the void, growing more and more ethereal — as though his voice drifted from beyond heaven and earth.
“This is the legendary Scripture of Deliverance!” Many peak great powers changed color. Every one of them was deeply shaken.
The Scripture of Deliverance — not an ancient scripture of the human great emperors, but still possessing extraordinary power. Its combat strength was not great, yet it could cross over and transform all living beings.
When the Scripture of Deliverance rang out, more and more people joined in, reciting it together. All through that world, some unnamed power seemed to be stirred and drawn toward the sound.
“Roar—”
The demon let out a great roar. He transformed into a beam of dark light and vanished from where he stood. Buddhist radiance and this unnamed power were innately his counter.
“Everyone — do not stop. If you do, none of us survive. This demon can return at any moment.” A great power sent out a transmission.
In truth, there was no need to say it. Everyone had already found they could not stop. Once the Scripture of Deliverance sounded, even the rebirth prayer was partly subdued by it — the two scriptures chanted together, and the hidden divine power within each person surged out in an unending stream, impossible to halt.
The great lake blazed with light, brightness stretching for ten thousand zhang. Many people had fallen into a strange and wondrous state, lost in the ceaseless chanting.
“It seems every person truly carries within them a divine power this strong and this terrifying…” Ye Fan was motionless in contemplation. He had not been drawn in.
Swish!
At that moment, the peak great powers all moved. They charged up the celestial staircase and ascended toward the sky-reaching heights — they too had not been lost in the Scripture of Deliverance.
“Damn those old foxes — they had everyone chanting the scripture while they ran up to seize the ancient emperor’s divine treasury for themselves.” Dongfang Ye was furious.
“We can’t fly up there.” Ye Fan frowned. In that moment, only great powers were free of the restrictions on flight. No one else had any means of ascending the celestial staircase.
At that point, the Old Blind Man opened his eyes. He withdrew composedly from the strange state of the scripture recitation, tossed out a divination as casually as breathing, and the tortoise shells clattered in response.
“We can go up too — it all falls on him.” He pointed to Duan De after the reading.
The fat Duan De swore, “You old codger, you’re nothing but a swindler and a cheat, talking complete nonsense.”
“You useless fat man, stop wasting time! Wait any longer and everything up there will be stripped clean!” The Old Blind Man’s eyes went wide — utterly at odds with the ethereal, transcendent bearing he had shown while reciting the scripture.
“You charlatan!” The fat man’s brow flashed with light. A river of stars burst forth and stretched up to the celestial staircase — carrying all of them smoothly upward.
“This… could this be the treasure of the legendary River of Stars Daoist? But he sat in passing two thousand years ago — the sacred object of that undefeatable king was buried with him underground. You actually raided the tomb of the River of Stars King?” The Old Blind Man’s eyes went very wide. “You actually raided the River of Stars King’s ancient tomb?”
“Stop staring at me. I fell into a broken pit by accident and picked it up.” Duan De was somewhat guilty, then grew irritated again. “All my treasures were stolen away by some bastard — I’m severely short on goods right now.”
Ye Fan: “…”
The barbarian: “…”
Duan De cursed on without pause, but those two would not say a word in response — afraid he might realize something.
They ascended the celestial staircase at last, moving upward until they passed into the expanse of sky itself and arrived at a place where all things were just beginning to be born.
Here, spiritual energy moved like water — almost on the verge of liquefying. Spiritual medicines covered the ground, vegetation was lush, and pure Source energy was forming in plain sight — the process visible before their very eyes.
“This is a primordial world!” They were all utterly astonished.
“Be careful — since there is a Divine Spirit Thought, this place most likely entombs a divine being. Watch yourselves.” The Old Blind Man cautioned them.
Caw— A cry rang out. A streak of golden light flashed across the sky.
“That was… a three-legged golden crow that just flew past!”
At the same instant, Ye Fan’s expression shifted. In the distant mountains, he caught a glimpse of Xiao the Grand Preceptor alongside Xiao Zhi, flying through.
“This is a realm within a realm — small, not particularly large. We must find the ancient coffin that entombs the divine being!” Duan De ground his teeth and said.