Chapter 268 : Great Lotus Temple
Chapter 268: Great Lotus Temple
Countless Evil Souls spread across the sky, blotting out the sun until daylight was nearly extinguished.
“Freedom! We've finally escaped that suffering! I didn't want to stay in there for even a moment.”
“La la la la! It's finally time for some fresh air.”
“The major powers of the Northern Spirit Domain have already been dealt with. Why has that guy released us again? Could there really be someone capable of contending against him?”
“Ahhh... This is the Western Spirit Domain...”
The Evil Souls emerging from the Sun–Moon Banner shouted with delight.
Among them, the Union Realm Ancestors were the most excited. Previously, they had dragged the cultivators of the Four Sacred Lands and every major force into the banner with them.
Their former mortal enemies had all met the same fate as themselves. Just thinking about it filled them with excitement.
Unfortunately, ever since Li Tianwei had completely cleansed the Northern Spirit Domain, they had never enjoyed such happy moments again. They did not even have opportunities to leave the banner for a while.
They could only watch helplessly as, under Li Tianwei's control, their own souls continuously taught others all of their knowledge and countless years of experience.
Among them, many self-important cultivators had even watched their own souls teaching the mortals they had once looked down upon.
These actions squeezed every last bit of value from them, leaving absolutely nothing unused.
The more this continued, the deeper their fear of Li Tianwei became.
No matter how terrified or unwilling they were, they could only obey Li Tianwei's commands and do whatever he ordered.
Many cultivators had already believed they would never again have the chance to leave the banner.
After all, Li Tianwei had already pacified the entire Northern Spirit Domain.
Yet now, seeing this unfamiliar place and its unfamiliar Spiritual Energy, some cultivators who had once traveled through the other Spirit Domains immediately recognized it.
“The Western Spirit Domain! It's finally those bald monks' turn.”
“Hahahahahaha...”
“This time, I'm dragging a whole batch of them into the banner.”
“That's right! Those bald monks have lorded over everyone for far too long. Now it's finally their turn.”
Those cultivators familiar with the Western Spirit Domain were filled with anticipation.
The Sun–Moon Banner fluttered continuously as countless soul shadows poured forth without end.
The momentum unleashed by this pack of wild beasts breaking free from their cage was unimaginably terrifying.
Such an overwhelming disturbance was enough for every perceptive cultivator throughout the Western Spirit Domain to immediately realize that something was terribly wrong, filling their hearts with fear.
If the previous appearance of the Evil Demons' Heavenly Eye had brought about the Evil Demons' rampage, gathering endless resentment and evil thoughts,
then the aura released by the Sun–Moon Banner was even more terrifying, driven by nearly one hundred million Evil Souls together with the power of an immortal artifact.
The negative forces it carried were even greater. The Evil Souls commanded by the Sun–Moon Banner were tangible and real, whereas the Evil Demons were still gradually transforming heaven and earth, and the Evil Thralls nurtured from heaven and earth still required time to form.
Besides, who had ever seen a Soul Banner refined with so many souls? Even if every Demonic Cultivator in the cultivation world were gathered together, they probably still could not compare to this Soul Banner.
Thus, when the Sun–Moon Banner fully unleashed its might, the endless tide of Evil Souls pouring forth resembled the opening of a gateway leading into the land of the dead.
Dense Supreme Yin and Supreme Evil aura spread throughout the entire Western Spirit Domain.
The strength of the Western Spirit Domain was not much different from that of the Northern Spirit Domain, though it was somewhat stronger. Besides its three Sacred Lands, it also possessed the Buddhist Sect.
The Buddhist Sect was even stronger than the Sacred Lands. It was said that they still maintained a connection with the Upper Realm.
Within the Immortal Realm, one of the Buddhist Sect's members occupied an eminent position and governed an entire immortal domain, while the Buddhist Sect here was merely one of its branches.
Its background alone was enough to show that it stood above the Sacred Lands.
Although many members of those Sacred Lands had ascended to become immortals, it had never been said that they still possessed the ability to communicate with immortals in the Immortal Realm.
Precisely because of this, the Buddhist Sect wielded tremendous influence throughout the Western Spirit Domain.
It could be said that throughout the Western Spirit Domain, there might not always be a government office, but there would certainly always be a temple.
At this moment, as the sky filled with Evil Souls, within the sacred land of the Buddhist Sect, the Great Lotus Temple, solemn bells, chanting scriptures, and the sound of wooden fish echoed continuously throughout the pure Buddhist land.
Though it was called a temple, it more closely resembled an entire Buddhist kingdom. The Great Lotus Temple was composed of countless pagodas and temples, and everyone there was a monk.
Throughout the Western Spirit Domain, every monk who believed in the Buddhist Sect came there on pilgrimage.
Continuously accumulating Buddhist Power and Merit within the Great Lotus Temple.
As a result, throughout the Great Lotus Temple's grounds, which spanned nearly a thousand li, endless rosy light, lotus flowers encircling the sun, and all kinds of miraculous phenomena surrounded the area.
At the same time, after arriving on pilgrimage, the visiting monks naturally sat together with the resident monks to discuss the Dao.
At the center of the Great Lotus Temple, upon a lotus platform, stood an enormous golden Buddha statue radiating boundless Buddhist light.
Seated upon lotus thrones beneath it were monks whose robes and ordination scars revealed that they possessed extremely high status within the Buddhist order.
At that moment, they continued chanting scriptures as usual while gently striking their wooden fish.
“Namo...”
“Aye...”
Solemn, dignified, orderly...
Just as the chanting continued to echo, within the boundless rosy glow and Buddhist light, a faint trace of another color gradually began to spread.
In an instant, the seated monks below seemed to sense something. Slowly raising their heads, they pressed their palms together.
“Amitabha.”
As their voices sounded in unison, the atmosphere became increasingly solemn.
Meanwhile, that strange color continued to deepen, scattering through the heavens like drifting catkins.
“Has a Great Demon descended?”
“An existence even more terrifying than the Evil Demons. The Buddha statue is warning us.”
The monks below immediately realized what this sign meant.
“Where Buddha and demons intertwine, we should descend the mountain carrying the Buddhist Treasures.”
“The Evil Demons have appeared, and now this mysterious Great Demon has emerged. This is also an opportunity for our faith to spread.”
“Among the four great domains of the cultivation world, only the Western Spirit Domain enjoys the radiance of Buddha. The remaining three domains should also offer incense to the Buddha.”
“The time has come.”
“Amitabha.”
The monks chanted together, seemingly having already reached their decision because of this omen.
The phenomenon of Buddha and demons intertwining also filled many monks who had come on pilgrimage with deep unease.
Compared to the outside world, the Great Lotus Temple was truly a pure land.
There were no Evil Demons here, nor were there any of the so-called Evil Thralls.
Even if they did appear, they would be completely exterminated by the Great Lotus Temple's experts.
It could be said that this place was the Western Spirit Domain's paradise, completely isolated from the chaotic world outside.
However, from this moment onward, that was no longer the case.
The endless evil thoughts and sinister radiance overwhelmingly suppressed the Buddhist light of the Great Lotus Temple.
Moreover, if someone carefully observed the towering golden Buddha, they would discover a sinister light faintly flickering within the Buddha statue's lowered eyes.
——
Although the countless Evil Souls were indeed terrifying in number, once scattered throughout an entire Spirit Domain, they no longer seemed so numerous.
Under the guidance of the Sun–Moon Wheel, every Evil Soul spread toward every corner of the Western Spirit Domain.
According to Li Tianwei's orders, their only tasks were to completely eradicate the Evil Demons and bring those burdened with sin into the Soul Banner.
“The Evil Demons are to be taken inside as well.”
At that moment, Li Tianwei seemed to remember something and immediately instructed the Sun–Moon Banner to pass on one more order to the Evil Souls.
Li Tianwei had almost forgotten that before coming to the Western Spirit Domain, he had already specially created an entire level within the Sun–Moon Banner, tailor-made as the perfect place for Evil Demons to cleanse themselves of their sins.
Evil Demons hid deep within human bodies, and even powerful cultivators found it difficult to detect those who had already been completely possessed by them.
However, such an ability was useless before Li Tianwei. He possessed one thousand five hundred Dao Intents, among which the completely negative Dao Intents—such as Evil, Resentment, and Death—served as the perfect guideposts for locating Evil Demons.
After all, within the cultivation world, aside from Demonic Cultivators, almost no one cultivated such completely negative Dao Intents.
Even if someone did, it was impossible for them to comprehend so many at the same time.
Unfortunately, someone as unreasonable as Li Tianwei had appeared. By relying upon these Dao Intents, he was able to identify the Evil Demons disguised among humans.
With the support of Li Tianwei's power, combined with the Sun–Moon Wheel's former ability to illuminate everything beneath heaven,
there was no longer anywhere for the Evil Demons to hide.
However, within the Western Spirit Domain, the Evil Demons were no longer the greatest threat. Instead, because of the giant eyeball in the sky, countless lingering souls, Vengeful Ghosts, and all kinds of miscellaneous residual thoughts merged together to form utterly twisted and grotesque beings known as Evil Thralls.
It was precisely these creatures that had drastically reduced the population of the Western Spirit Domain. Whenever a person was killed, their stray thoughts and lingering souls merged back into heaven and earth, giving birth to yet more Evil Thralls.
Thus, these Evil Thralls were almost impossible to exterminate completely. They continued growing stronger every moment.
The Evil Demons relied precisely upon this method to continuously eliminate every living force within the cultivation world.
In the eyes of cultivators, mortals were not truly considered people, and their deaths meant little.
But in the eyes of the Evil Demons, things were entirely different.
Their awareness and understanding differed from those of cultivators. To them, people were simply people. As long as humanity still existed and enough people remained alive, no one could say that an extraordinary individual would not emerge from among those countless ordinary people.
Therefore, the Evil Demons made no distinction between mortals and cultivators.
If they could be exterminated, they would be exterminated.
Since cultivators did not truly regard mortals as people, very few of them ever bothered to help or rescue them.
It could be said that this invasion by the Evil Demons had proceeded exceptionally smoothly, encountering very little resistance.
Outside the Great Lotus Temple, the Sacred Lands, and the various sects, corpses littered the ground.
Within the Sacred Lands, the Buddhist Sect, and the temples, however, everything resembled a pure land.
The two sides existed as completely different worlds.
Cultivators like Zhang Qingrou, who were willing to help mortals eliminate Evil Demons, were extremely rare.
Organizations like hers were even rarer.
But from this day onward, those Evil Thralls and Evil Demons were about to encounter the most terrifying opponent they had ever faced.
As the Evil Souls emerged from the Sun–Moon Banner, they charged directly toward the Evil Demons and Evil Thralls without caring whether they themselves would be utterly destroyed.
As for why they were so decisive and so ruthless—
One only had to spend some time inside the Sun–Moon Banner to understand.
The Evil Souls now had only two desires: either destroy the Evil Demons, or be destroyed by the Evil Demons and finally escape from the Soul Banner.
No matter how one looked at it, the latter seemed like the better outcome.
As a result, they became increasingly vicious.
“Die! You're coming inside with us too!”
“It's much better in there than living out here.”
The Evil Souls shrieked wildly. It was difficult to imagine what they had experienced that could make them disregard life and death to such an extent.
Indeed, to the Evil Souls, life and death no longer mattered.
What they truly desired was complete annihilation at the hands of the Evil Demons.
Only then would they finally be free.
What they did not know, however, was that Li Tianwei was far too reluctant to let them disappear so easily.
Every soul that entered his banner had already left its name within the Book of Life and Death.
Since their names had been recorded there, each possessed a Soul Imprint.
Even if they were completely annihilated outside, Li Tianwei would still find every possible way to restore them.
After all, he had gathered them into the banner so they could turn away from evil, cleanse themselves of their sins, and accumulate Merit.
How could Li Tianwei possibly allow them to disappear forever?
Li Tianwei was a good person.
How could he possibly do something so terrible?
All the Evil Souls surged forward without restraint.
Yet the Evil Demons were by no means weak. They possessed the Same-Origin Connection, and their thoughts were linked together. It could be said that at equal strength, if two Evil Demons fought against Evil Souls, the Evil Demons would certainly emerge victorious.
“Where did all these Evil Souls come from?”
“Damn it! They've been targeting me this whole time.”
Throughout the Western Spirit Domain, the Evil Demons felt utterly speechless as the Evil Souls relentlessly clung to them.
Most terrifying of all, no matter how they fled, the Evil Souls always found them again, as though something enabled them to perfectly identify the Evil Demons.
When faced with these Evil Souls, the Evil Demons had finally encountered opponents even more ruthless than themselves.
Just as Li Tianwei commanded the Evil Souls to battle the Evil Demons,
the Heavenly Eye high above the sky blinked gently several times before its gaze settled upon Li Tianwei's location.
“Oh? I sensed you!”
At the very moment the Heavenly Eye's gaze descended, Li Tianwei also raised his head and met its stare.
Yet in Li Tianwei's eyes, the Heavenly Eye remained nothing more than a phantom.
Clearly, some existence among the Evil Demons was observing through that projection.
The feeling resembled two people standing opposite each other while forever unable to truly meet.
Like the concept of infinitely parallel lines in mathematics that never intersect.
The only difference was that both sides could perceive the other's existence, yet neither could truly make contact.
“So it's him?”
Elsewhere, the three Demon Lords had gathered together, observing Li Tianwei through the Heavenly Eye above the Western Spirit Domain.
“Yes. The Red Demon died at his hands.”
“This fellow is extremely strange. By the standards of the cultivation world, he should only be in the Nascent Soul Realm. He's not even an immortal.”
“I still can't understand how the Red Demon ended up dying at his hands. According to the memories gathered from those little ones, this person swallowed the Red Demon whole.”
“I suspect he isn't human.”
The Evil Manifestation Demon Lord looked at Li Tianwei and spoke truthfully.
The Tianshu Demon Lord, who governed the Western Spirit Domain, however, remained skeptical and unconvinced.
After all, in the eyes of the three Demon Lords, each regarded the others as rivals.
With the Evil Manifestation Demon Lord's abilities, he could easily have altered the information obtained from the Northern Spirit Domain.
Precisely because of that, the Tianshu Demon Lord did not believe him.
“The Western Spirit Domain falls under my jurisdiction according to our agreement.”
“You have no right to interfere.”
“As for what kind of power he truly possesses... we'll find out by testing him.”