Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

The heavens turned a bloody scarlet, and meteors fell like rain.

The Sea of Suffering tore open. Boundless conceptual waters poured out, transforming into billions of radiant beams before converging into a single force—a thunderous boom that shook the Immortal Pivot.

"RUMBLE!"

At the very moment the Golden Core Perfected Lords heard the thunder, lightning had already torn across the horizon. Its speed was so absolute that spiritual perception could no longer capture it.

Aside from a handful of Perfected Lords like World Purger Fei Xue and True Monarch Gangxing, the rest of the Early Stage—and even Middle Stage of Golden Core—Perfected Lords could not clearly see the true form of the lightning arrow. Even if they pushed their spiritual perception to the absolute limit or relied on the Profound Mysterious of their Fruit, they could only barely glimpse the residual trajectory left by the speeding arrow.

"It’s unstoppable!"

In the East, within the Dao Court’s Celestial Wu Hall, Emperor Jia You’s expression turned exceedingly grim. He could vaguely make out an arrowhead, yet he was utterly powerless to contend with it.

He wondered, "What if this arrow is aimed at me? If I have the blessing of the Immortal Dao Law, I might be able to block it... but this arrow is too fast. I wouldn’t even have time to activate the Immortal Dao Law!"

This was the most terrifying aspect of this arrow.

Its extreme, god-like speed!

In truth, Bao Lian Hidden Buddha’s strength was absolutely not that weak. Even if she couldn’t block this arrow, she certainly possessed the capability to put up a brief struggle.

However, she never had any opportunity to deploy her techniques. Long before she could act, the light of the arrow had already struck her down, resulting in this terrifying feat. Two Bodhisattvas were instantly killed, and Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva, who had fled back to the Pure Land, similarly had no time to resist. He would inevitably suffer the exact same fate!

"RUMBLE!"

In an instant, endless brilliance exploded above the Great Leiyin Temple on the Pure Land’s highest peak, radiating in all directions like a massive tidal wave.

Wherever the brilliance passed, Spiritual Qi fell silent, and Buddha Light dissipated. All Phenomena and all things melted away, and at this moment, the entire land of the West showed very faint signs of sinking!

And this was merely the anomaly occurring in the West alone.

At this moment, fragments of the Golden Bodies belonging to the two Bodhisattvas—Bao Lian Hidden Buddha and Bhumba Bodhisattva—scattered across the sky, raining down upon every corner of the world.

For a time, across the Immortal Pivot Land, every single Sect entered a state of emergency. The radiance of Arrays shot into the heavens as, without exception, they all activated their grand protective Arrays. Yet, this was merely to withstand the shockwaves spreading from the West. Even so, many Sects were still engulfed by the blinding light.

The protective Grand Wards they took so much pride in proved as fragile as wet paper.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Like exploding fireworks ringing the perimeter of the West, Arrays shattered one after another under the shockwaves simply because they were too close.

"Treasure Pestle is dead for sure!"

Witnessing this scene, Emperor Jia You immediately drew a conclusion. "Bao Lian and Shui Yue might still be able to rely on the Netherworld to reincarnate and return, but Treasure Pestle has nowhere to run..."

However, right at this moment.

"DONG!"

A melodious bell chime suddenly rang out. Ancient and resonant, it instantly spread across the entire West, sorting the Lay Lines, lifting the continents, and smoothing out the turbulent Spiritual Qi.

Such a sudden change immediately caused Emperor Jia You’s pupils to shrink, overturning his previous conclusion. In various other regions, Golden Core Perfected Lords also manifested the light shadows of their Dharma Bodies.

In the South, atop Sword Pavilion’s Zenith Cliff.

True Monarch Gangxing, his entire Qi trace restrained and internalized, suddenly opened his eyes. He then gazed toward the Pure Land, a look of shock surfacing in his eyes. "What a formidable thundering arrow..."

It was almost on par with a strike from his own Great Perfected Lord!

He analyzed, "However, its essence doesn’t seem to have reached the level of a Great Perfected Lord. It looks more like it relied on external forces. Even so, the attacker must stand at the absolute Peak of the Middle Stage of Golden Core. Where did such an expert come from?"

At this thought, True Monarch Gangxing’s mind raced, eventually culminating in a light chuckle. "Interesting... Unfortunately, this person picked the wrong opponent."

In all fairness, facing such a divinely fast arrow, if it were Emperor Jia You, he would certainly be beyond saving and forced into reincarnation. Even World Purger Fei Xue would struggle to escape death. In fact, even True Monarch Gangxing himself might not have the time to elevate his Position under such incredible speed, inevitably suffering a severe injury at the very least.

It wasn’t that the major factions lacked means to combat a Great Perfected Lord.

For example, his Sword Pavilion possessed the Eternal Sword, the Stain Sect had the Thirty-Three Heaven and Earth Cross and Diagonal Array, and the Dao Court had its Immortal Dao Law.

But the speed of this arrow was far too fast.

At least in True Monarch Gangxing’s eyes, practically no one at the Middle Stage of Golden Core could react to this arrow. They simply wouldn’t have the time to deploy any defensive measures.

Therefore, whether this arrow was aimed at the Sword Pavilion, the Stain Sect, or the Dao Court, it was bound to succeed. Yet, against the Pure Land alone, it would struggle to be effective.

He thought, "Because the Pure Land is different."

Compared to the other factions, the Pure Land’s confidence in facing a Great Perfected Lord wasn’t rooted in some Array or Rare Treasures. It was their Master of Dao—who would actually descend personally to strike people!

Finally, the seething radiance within the Pure Land was pacified by the bell chimes ringing from the Great Leiyin Temple. As the light gradually dissipated, it revealed the true scene within: Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva wore a calm expression and a gentle smile. Extending a hand as if delicately plucking a flower, he lightly pinched the lightning arrowhead that was mere inches away.

"CRACKLE!"

The surging thunder coursed and violently churned at the Bodhisattva’s fingertips, slicing open his flesh and shattering his bones, yet it remained completely unable to breach the surrounding Buddha Light.

Broken bones could be reconnected; shredded flesh could regenerate.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate within a single square inch, enduring until two more streaks of Buddha Light returned from the Pure Land, stepping into the Great Leiyin Temple one after another.

"Amitabha!"

It was none other than Bao Lian Hidden Buddha and Bhumba Bodhisattva!

Of the two Bodhisattvas, one was at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, while the other was anchored to a Grotto Heaven. Both possessed the trait of being Immortal. At this moment, they had already reincarnated and returned to the Pure Land.

However, they did not make a move. Instead, wearing identically compassionate smiles, they simply sat down beside Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva and began chanting Scriptures. The three Bodhisattvas united their auras, their light and shadows reflecting across the Pure Land. This, in turn, spurred countless Monks, Novice Monks, and devotees to continuously kowtow in worship.

Every Monk wore an expression of absolute serenity.

They spoke in unison, their voices piercing through layers of the void and merging into one. The voices of men and women, young and old, ultimately coalesced into a brand-new, melodious laugh:

"Body and mind abide in the Wisdom of Equality..."

Before the voice faded, an endless amount of Buddha Light converged in the exact center of the three Bodhisattvas. It breathed in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, suddenly blooming with brilliance like a flower bud.

Immediately after, amidst that radiant light, skin, flesh, muscle, bone, and internal organs emerged one after another. They then combined, transforming into a flawless Dharma Body. The sky full of Buddha Light draped over his body, turning into a magnificent monk’s robe as a young Monk shockingly walked right out of the void.

In the next second, he pointed one finger at Heaven and the other at the Earth, smiling as he declared:

"In Heaven and on Earth, I alone am honored!"

CRACK!

As his words fell, above the Sea of Suffering, Lü Yang watched as the arrow he had struck out with all his might shatter explosively, crushed in the grip of the Monk who had suddenly appeared!

"Amitabha!"

"The End of Dharma approaches, and all forms shall fall into silence. I carry the Bhagavat’s Decree, descending today upon the Jambudvipa Great Thousand World to once again deliver mortals from torment. I shall serve as the Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata!"

As the declaration echoed, Lü Yang felt a sharp, intense pain sweep across the center of his brow. It was none other than that Vajra Realm Treasure-Born Tathagata, holding the broken arrow, who had spun on the spot and viciously hurled it back! Instantly, Buddha Light pierced the heavens, tearing open the Sea of Suffering as the arrow sped directly toward him!

"...Huh?"

At this moment, the corner of Lü Yang’s eye twitched violently, and his hands trembled with fury. Even though he had harbored a faint premonition, witnessing it actually happen made him curse inwardly, "Bhagavat, are you for real? Not only did you make a move, but you didn’t even bother trying to hide it? You’ve completely cast all dignity aside!"