Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 536: Chapter 536: The Sword Strike That Overturned the World

Just as Lü Yang’s voice thundered across the world, Ang Xiao made his move.

He was proud, but not arrogant. He knew that if this came down to a battle of raw power and abilities, he was currently no match for Lü Yang, who was temporarily wielding the Fruit of Celestial Fire.

So when he attacked, he used his full strength!

’I don’t need to kill him. I just need to force him to exhaust his Gold Attribute energy. Once he can no longer wield that power, I’ve won... He can’t possibly break through the Pure Land without it.’

With this in mind, Ang Xiao immediately changed his Daoist Hand Seal. He channeled Ten Thousand Transformations, the Outer Dao Fruit of the Dragon and Snake Coiling Shadow Bodhisattva, and poured into it the Splendid Light woven from the concepts of the Fruit of Pewter Metal and the Fruit of Sand-Within Earth. Finally, a beam of Buddha Light burst from his palm.

”Amitabha!”

At that moment, chanting erupted from all eighty-four thousand ancient temples, large and small, across the vast Pure Land in the West. The Buddha’s Name rolled like Thunder Sound, echoing throughout the West.

’I’ll just borrow your strength for a moment...’

Ang Xiao exhaled deeply and cast the Ten Thousand Transformations fruit into the air. Bathed in the Buddha Light, it transformed into a colossal Golden Buddha!

In the past, he had achieved the righteous fruit of a Bodhisattva simply by sending a single Split Soul into the Earth of Shixiu. This showed the profound depth of his research into the Pure Land’s Joyful Nirvana Dao. He had only refrained from using this knowledge out of fear of the Bhagavat. But now, with the situation so dire, he held back no longer in his bid to unleash his full power.

’Unity. This is its true strength.’

’This Mighty Power, capable of suppressing even the Fruit of Rampart Earth, is remarkably similar to the Immortal Dao Law. Or perhaps, the Bhagavat simply copied it from the Dao Court...’

”Rise!”

The next second, the giant Buddha that was Ang Xiao’s incarnation raised its palm. The Buddha Light within it flickered with ten thousand illusions before coalescing into a single swastika-shaped Mantra Charm.

The palm rose. The palm fell.

The Buddha’s Palm descended from an impossible height, seeming to contain All Phenomena and enveloping the entire West. Immeasurable currents of air churned into a howling gale that raged at its fingertips.

RUMBLE!

This palm was not a physical substance, but a manifestation of will!

On the full, jade-like Buddha’s Palm, every line and crease was a mountain range or river of the West. Every inch of its skin contained the trillions of Monks and Buddha Followers in the West.

As the palm descended, the vast expanse of the West transformed into a chessboard. Lü Yang stood upon it, the lone player with the black stones, surrounded by the trillions of Monks of the West holding the white. The terrifying Intention born of their Unity crashed into his Spiritual Space, seeking to overwhelm and convert him through Enlightenment!

”This... Can... can he possibly withstand this?”

Witnessing such a world-ending scene with his own eyes, Celestial Python was the picture of despair. Minor Metal’s expression was grim. Only Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s face showed a flicker of hesitation.

He had a way to deal with Unity. Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s hesitation didn’t last long, soon replaced by resolve. He took a step forward, about to intervene... but was stopped just before he could act.

”Demon-Vanquishing Perfected... Daoist, wait a moment.”

It was Lü Yang’s voice.

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected froze, astonished. ’He knows what I was about to do...’ ”But, Daoist,” he asked, ”are you certain you don’t need my help?”

”I don’t.”

Lü Yang’s voice came again. Even under such crushing pressure, it still held a hint of pride and delight, which then swelled into soaring confidence:

”Daoist.”

’Master.’

’This is what you taught me in my Previous Life. Today, I’ve finally mastered it.’

”Now, listen to my sword’s song!”

At almost the exact same moment, Ang Xiao’s eyebrow twitched.

And in Jiangnan, within the Ancestral Hall of the Sword Pavilion, the Jade Pivot that recorded every Sword Cultivator’s Sword Technique began to tremble, as if it had sensed something.

The sword-song rose from the West, but it was not contained there. It expanded, spreading faster than anything, and in an instant, it had swept across the East, the South, the North, and even Overseas. At that moment, throughout the world, it was as if every Sword Artifact heard that one, clarion call.

And amidst that sword-song, every Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the world instinctively turned their gaze toward the West. They looked toward the colossal Buddha’s Palm, and beneath it, they saw a slowly rising point of firelight—one of absolute power and supreme authority!

The firelight was resplendent and majestic.

It shone upon all creation like the Sun, boldly declaring its existence to the Five Domains of the World, as if it had become the one and only light between Heaven and Earth!

”Wrong... This is wrong!”

Ang Xiao’s brow furrowed. According to his calculations, this palm strike should have been more than enough to suppress Lü Yang’s Fruit of Celestial Fire. There should have been no unexpected variables.

After all, this was the same power that had suppressed the Fruit of Rampart Earth.

He could only unleash this palm because his Cultivation was sufficiently high and his comprehension of the Buddhist Dharma was profound enough. Even another Pure Land Bodhisattva might not have been capable of such a feat.

Yet now, a sliver of unease began to sprout in his heart.

’It seems... it’s more than just the Fruit of Celestial Fire!’

But besides the Fruit of Celestial Fire, what else could this brat possibly have?

Ang Xiao mused. During the assassination attempt on Emperor Jia You, he had caught a fleeting glimpse that suggested Lü Yang had another Outer Dao Fruit hidden as a trump card.

But what good was a mere Outer Dao?

Ang Xiao had no time to think. In the next instant, from within that blindingly resplendent firelight, Lü Yang slowly drew the Tribulation Wave from its sheath.

RUMBLE!

In that instant, an unimaginable impact—formless and intangible—violently halted the descent of the Buddha’s Palm. A light of extreme splendor erupted between Heaven and Earth.

”My eyes! My eyes!”

”That Sword Light... It wounded my Divine Sense from countless miles away?”

”Sword Intent? No, that’s not it... it’s more than just Sword Intent...”

The commotion was greatest in the South, for at Zenith Cliff, the Sword Cultivators of the Sword Pavilion were all too familiar with this sensation. They recognized the truth of it in a single glance.

In the Sword Pavilion’s Earth-Piercing Abyss, Exorcist Zhenren’s eyes were crimson and shot with blood, as if he were trying to stare his own eyeballs to pieces. He muttered in disbelief, ”A Sealed Title Sword Intent... Just like Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, and True Monarch Gangxing... A Sealed Title Sword Intent! How is this possible... Am I even worse than a Demon Dragon?”

In that moment, Heaven and Earth went dark.

The extreme brilliance robbed everyone of their sight and severed their Divine Sense from the outside world. All they could perceive was a boundless darkness.

Even their sense of time was stripped away.

After an unknown amount of time, a single light finally pierced the darkness. As it was the only light, it instantly became the focus of everyone’s attention.

It was a sword.

Molten fire flowed along its cracked body. With every inch it was drawn from the sheath, it let out a brittle groan, as if unable to bear the strain, yet it never shattered.

Its name was Unyielding!

This was the Sword Intent that belonged to Lü Yang alone, forged through ten lifetimes of arduous cultivation and condensed under immense pressure. A Sword Intent that would never break, that only grew stronger the more it fought!

Then, a vast ocean of water surged up from the earth, and howling gales swept toward the heavens. All of it was rising in defiance, following the sword as it was drawn. Their ascent might have been slow, but it never ceased, as if no hardship or obstacle could ever stop their inexorable advance.

In the next second, their vision suddenly cleared. Everyone could once again see the Current World.

”Gods...”

And then they saw it. In the West, the colossal Buddha’s Palm that had been pressing down was being parried upward by a single sword. Its five fingers, each larger than a continent, gushed with bloody light!

In that instant, heaven and earth were turned upside down!

It was as if an invisible, giant hand had seized the chessboard of the Five Domains of the World—a board where all living beings were mere pieces—and had violently flipped it over!