Chapter 1554: Compassion

Chapter 1554: Compassion

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Outside Ling Shan, thunderous roars shook the heavens.

This land, once bathed in the light of Buddha, was now shrouded in darkness without a trace of illumination. The laws of the universe were overturned, and the heavens and earth were in chaos.

The ground had collapsed, and the sky was torn apart.

Blood fell like rain, drenching the world and seeping into the pure land, only to bring forth annihilation and unbreakable karma.

What was once a harmonious world had turned into turmoil, where bloodlust danced with serenity, and demons battled Buddhas in a legendary slaughter.

In the midst of the onslaught, Ye Chen's mouth overflowed with blood, and his heart throbbed with pain. A distant call had momentarily clouded his mind.

He did not know that Ji Ningshuang was in the Wangchuan River, nor that she carried his child. Her cry reached him not.

In that brief daze, Shijia Zun Zhe's Buddha finger struck.

Ye Chen's sacred body instantly cracked, and he staggered back, each step shattering the void.

"Benefactor, your killing intent is too strong; it will become karmic obstacles in the end," Shijia said softly, still standing guard before Ling Shan.

"My intent is both killing and obsession," Ye Chen wiped the fresh blood from his mouth. "I only know that blood debts must be repaid with blood."

"All of this stems from desires. Why not enter my Buddhist path, meditate on the Dharma, and help you escape the sea of suffering?"

"Dare I ask the supreme venerable one, does Buddhism have desires?"

"The Buddhist gate empties the four elements and severs the seven emotions and six desires. Desires are mere illusions; true tranquility is the way of Buddha."

"Then dare I ask the supreme venerable one, do you have great aspirations?"

"To save all beings." Shijia Zun Zhe smiled faintly.

"Do you not see, venerable one, that your words on the Dharma contradict themselves?" Ye Chen said lightly, his voice echoing through the nine heavens. "Your aspiration to save all beings—is that not a desire? Your wish to protect Feng Xian—is that not a desire? Your intent to lead me into Buddhism—is that not a desire?"

"The desires of the benefactor harm the harmony of heaven and earth; the desires of this old monk save all beings." Shijia's Buddhist tone rang like a great bell.

"So, even the tranquil Buddha has desires. You can have them, so why can't I, a junior? If you cannot even save yourself, how dare you try to save me?"

"The Buddha is compassionate; endless cycles of vengeance must end someday."

"Compassion? Ha ha ha..." Ye Chen laughed as he spoke, his laughter wild and manic, until it suddenly stopped. His blood-red eyes fixed on Shijia as he roared, "Where were you during the blood calamity of Zhutian Mountain? If you knew of the suffering inflicted on living beings, why did you not intervene? Where was your compassion then? When will your so-called cycles of vengeance end? Must my loved ones deserve to die?"

"Hatred has blinded you, benefactor; you have fallen into the sea of suffering."

"To hell with your sea of suffering." Ye Chen roared furiously, shattering the void and charging at Shijia with demonic energy.

"What karma!" Shijia sighed and raised his hand again.

Their clash sent sacred blood spraying, illuminating the starry sky with brilliance, each drop like a vast star.

Ye Chen had gone mad, amplifying his combat power tenfold, then unleashing the demonic path, followed by Tian Ji and various forbidden techniques to boost his strength, regardless of the cost.

He was truly insane, burning his lifespan to fuel his sacred body and bones, pushing his potential to the limit in an attempt to revive the peak of his form.

Once more, he recaptured the sensation of battling the Tianmo Emperor, a supreme state of mind.

In those fleeting moments, that mindset allowed him to soar above Shijia, fueled by the aura of an emperor.

Shijia's eyes lost their serenity, furrowing in frown several times.

Even his immense power could not help but be shocked.

He deeply suspected that Ye Chen had fought a true emperor, not merely imperial laws, for that aura could not be imitated—it was etched into his very bones.

"Gods will be slain, and Buddhas will be executed." Ye Chen roared, his fist shattering the eight desolate regions and piercing through the eternal sky.

For the first time, Shijia was wounded, his golden Buddha palm exploding in a shower of radiant Buddha blood across the stars.

"This..." The cultivators from all sides were instantly stunned.

That was Shijia Zun Zhe, a genuine Zhundi-level figure commanding infinite faith—yet he was bleeding.

The myriad Buddhas of Ling Shan were equally shocked; Shijia, with his indestructible diamond body, had his form broken by the sacred body.

The battle escalated instantly. Ye Chen fought like a frenzied madman, attacking relentlessly without defense, each punch drawing blood.

His sacred bones were enveloped in golden light, every drop of sacred blood and inch of his body absorbing essence.

Shijia possessed profound Buddhist arts and commanded boundless faith.

The two clashed in the void, exchanging secret techniques with every collision, each impact collapsing the sky.

Shijia was bathed in sacred body blood, while Ye Chen was soaked in Buddha blood; blood met blood in their falls and assaults.

"The sacred body's combat power is truly dominant," the people below remarked, gazing upward in awe and astonishment.

"This is the first time I've seen Shijia get beaten so badly." That old Zhundi elder could not help but grimace.

"How is this possible?" On the mountain peak, Feng Xian's face changed, so absorbed in the sight that she forgot her act.

"Have you ever considered that if even Ling Shan cannot protect you, where else could you hide?" Xi Zun said casually.

"Death is ultimate bliss." Interrupted by Xi Zun's words, Feng Xian quickly resumed her performance, hiding the shock in her eyes and adopting a false air of enlightenment.

However, Xi Zun's words had reminded her.

She believed Shijia would not lose, knowing that Ling Shan still held ultimate emperor weapons, making defeat unthinkable.

But what if Ling Shan truly fell? Where could she flee?

In Xuanhuang, the super great sects had all sealed themselves, and forces with ultimate emperor weapons were left only with Ling Shan.

If Ling Shan fell, who could shelter her?

This was a grave issue; one misstep would lead to utter destruction, with a miserable end.

"What is that?" As Feng Xian pondered, cries of surprise echoed from all sides, everyone looking toward the void.

There, Shijia stood amidst the sea of sentient beings' faith.

Behind him materialized a ten-thousand-zhang golden Buddha, towering like a mountain, with a benevolent face and kindly eyes.

The golden Buddha radiated brilliant light, dazzling and ethereal, with faint traces of imperial might, solemn and peaceful.

It loomed like an eight-thousand-zhang giant peak, standing between heaven and earth, compelling all to bow in reverence.

Faintly, supreme Buddhist chants could be heard, resonating from the heavens above to the depths below, carrying a mesmerizing power that left all who heard it in a trance.

"Buddha ancestor!" Shouts rose from Ling Shan, as the myriad Buddhas knelt and recited the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra.

"Is that the Buddha ancestor?" The onlookers gazed with reverence, unable to resist kneeling, their souls trembling.

Buddha ancestor, Great Sun Tathagata—one of the one hundred and thirty emperors of Xuanhuang, the most mysterious among them, revered by all, commanding the faith of the masses with endless imperial laws.

Legends said the Buddha ancestor still walked the world, living in the hearts of every devout believer, perhaps to reappear one day.

"He's forced Shijia to summon the Wanfo Golden Body—Ye Chen, you're impressive!" Not everyone knelt; the old Zhundi elder remained standing, clicking his tongue in amazement, his Zhundi-level composure shaken.

"With the Wanfo Golden Body unleashed, the sacred body is likely done for." Someone sighed, unable to watch.

"The Buddha is compassionate," Shijia intoned, and the ten-thousand-zhang golden Buddha echoed, its voice like a thunderous bell.

"Your compassion is something I cannot bear." Ye Chen roared, standing in a sea of demonic blood, his eyes blood-red and forehead veins bulging with unyielding defiance.

The Wanfo Golden Body was overwhelmingly powerful, its pressure making the heavens tremble.

His sacred body could not withstand it, cracking with fissures from which sacred blood spurted.

Yet he refused to yield, his inner self roaring, calling upon the ancient sacred body forebears to help him break this shackles.

Ultimately, his devotion awakened the Dacheng sacred bones.

The sacred bones hummed and glowed with crystal clarity; the fading aura reignited, responding to the call of the later sacred body, ready to aid in this reverse battle against the Buddha.

Suddenly, an ancient and mysterious force surged forth, flooding into every vein of Ye Chen.

His eyes visibly shifted from blood-red to gold, and his flowing blood hair turned strand by strand to golden.

At his brow, a divine pattern emerged, a totem unique to the sacred body, a symbol of its essence.

Instantly, a golden sacred shadow manifested behind him, also towering and majestic as a mountain.

The golden sacred shadow had hair like a cascading waterfall, each strand shimmering with divine light, eyes like the vast cosmos encompassing heaven and earth.

It surveyed the world with an aura dominating the eight regions; every wisp of its golden blood energy felt as heavy as a mountain, intertwined with faint imperial might and sacred blood.

Its presence dimmed the heavens, making the universe quake, as if it were a supreme emperor itself.