Fierce Counter-Kill

In the corner of the great hall, Liaoyin Buddha took in all of this, and his withered face finally revealed a barely suppressed glee and greed.

"A Saint-King grade life-saving jade pendant! And that Saint-King seal containing the momentum of mountains and rivers! Excellent! Excellent! Truly a man of vast wealth!"

Watching as the group, under the puppet's assault, staggered on the verge of collapse, grievously wounded, with no life-saving measures left, he laughed wildly in his heart.

"Having spent all their trump cards in succession, they are spent arrows at the end of their flight!

That mysterious guardian has yet to appear, so either he truly is not here, or he simply cannot enter this core imperial tomb!"

He carefully sensed the wilted, chaotic aura of Xiao Ruobai and his three companions—an aura that could not be faked—and the last shred of doubt in his mind dissolved like smoke.

"Amitabha. You benefactors are steeped in blood and karma, stubbornly lost in delusion. Your repeated use of forbidden artifacts has already brought backlash upon yourselves.

It seems that only this old monk, acting personally with supreme Buddhist doctrine, can ferry you to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss—only thus can this karmic debt be settled."

Liaoyin Buddha slowly stepped out from the corner, his face wearing a hypocritical smile of compassion for all sentient beings, as the terrifying oppressive might of his Saint-King realm spread forth like a tidal wave, locking firmly onto the spent and exhausted Xiao Ruobai and his companions!

He no longer concealed his intent—his killing lust was stark and bare!

The mantis stalking the cicada was about to strike!

"Wicked monk! Shameless!"

Xiao Ruobai forced himself to rally, glaring with fury, struggling to rise—only to spew another mouthful of blood.

Fang Hanyu steadied himself with his sword, his gaze as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, fixed unyieldingly on Liaoyin.

Fatty Wang, meanwhile, was ashen-faced, despair swelling in his eyes.

Liaoyin Buddha regarded all of this as though it were nothing. His eyes held only the three sacred treasures within arm's reach, and the vast, intoxicating fortune of fate that radiated from Xiao Ruobai and the others.

He slowly raised his right hand, and Buddhist light coalesced in his palm, forming a giant "Swastika" seal that emanated a terrifying pressure of purification and suppression.

"The sea of suffering has no shore; turn back and reach the other side. Allow this old monk to see you off!"

The moment his words fell, the enormous swastika seal expanded, carrying the force of thunder and lightning, pressing down inexorably upon the seemingly helpless Xiao Ruobai and his three companions!

He intended to suppress and refine them all in one strike!

Yet, in that hair-trigger instant, when all seemed determined to be over—

Ling Xi, who had kept her head bowed, her aura the faintest of them all, as if she might slip into unconsciousness at any moment—suddenly snapped her head up!

Her eyes, once clear and calm, had now become deep as an ancient starry sky—within them there was no despair, no fear, only an absolute coldness that looked down upon all living things and held dominion over life and death.

"Now."

A thought colder than ice flashed through her mind.

Facing the swastika seal that could slay an ordinary Saint Lord, Ling Xi did not retreat—she advanced. Against the immense Buddhist might, she slowly raised the slender, jade-white index finger of her right hand.

Her motion seemed unhurried, yet it carried the profound truth of heaven and earth; wherever her fingertip passed, even space itself seemed to freeze!

In the next instant, she pointed gently toward the descending swastika seal—and at Liaoyin Buddha, who stood behind it, certain of his victory.

The Finger of Severing the Dao!

There was no earth-shattering spectacle, no dazzling brilliance.

Only an invisible, intangible force—one that seemed capable of cutting through karma and annihilating the very foundations of the laws—silently burst forth from Ling Xi's fingertip!

"What?!"

The compassionate smile on Liaoyin Buddha's face froze instantly, replaced by unparalleled shock and terror!

His Buddhist heart, honed over a thousand years of cultivation, screamed warnings in this moment, as though it had encountered some supreme natural predator!

He wanted to retreat, to defend—yet he found that his Buddhist light, his laws, even his connection to heaven and earth, had all become fragile and brittle before this single finger!

"Crack!"

The seemingly indestructible swastika seal, upon contact with that invisible finger force, dissolved and dispersed without so much as a ripple—like snow thrown into a blazing fire!

The finger force did not stop. It crossed space in an instant and drove toward Liaoyin Buddha's brow!

"No—!"

Liaoyin Buddha let out a despairing howl. At the precipice of death, he unleashed every last drop of his potential!

His essence blood burned madly, his lifespan was fed into the flames like kindling, and several Buddhist treasures he had nurtured for a thousand years flew out one after another, blooming final blossoms of light to shield him!

Yet before that seemingly faint force, laden with the rule of severing origins, everything was futile!

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

With a few soft sounds, like a hot knife cut through butter, those treasures—enough to make sages' eyes turn red—dimmed one after another, cried out in mourning, and shattered on the spot!

The finger force only paused for a fraction of a breath, then continued along its destined path toward his brow—bringing annihilation in its wake!

Liaoyin Buddha's eyes were already filled with the ashen hue of utter despair!

In that final, critical moment, he bit his tongue hard and spat out a mouthful of golden blood—blood infused with his very nature as a Buddha—and roared hoarsely:

"I beseech the Patriarch's blessing! Buddha relic—manifest!"

A low hum filled the air!

A relic the size of a pigeon's egg, its luster dull yet pulsing with Buddhist power, emerged with immense difficulty from the acupoint between his brows!

Upon the relic, the faint phantom of an ancient Buddha sat cross-legged, emanating a trace of imperial might—thin but supreme!

This was an ancient relic tainted with the breath of a Buddhist Emperor!

It was Liaoyin's final, deepest card of survival!

"Dong!"

The Finger of Severing the Dao finally struck that Buddha relic!

A note like an ancient primordial bell resounded!

The relic shuddered violently; its radiance dimmed by more than half in an instant, and the phantom of the ancient Buddha let out a soundless sigh as it dissolved.

A fine crack appeared upon the relic's surface!

And the unstoppable finger force of Ling Xi, at last, was expended—slowly dissipating into the air.

"Pfft!"

Liaoyin Buddha was crushed as though by ten thousand mountains. His body flew backward, blood pouring uncontrollably from all seven apertures, countless bones shattered throughout his frame, his aura dwindling like a candle in the wind—tumbling into the abyss!

But thanks to that heaven-defying artifact, he had managed to preserve a sliver of life!

And in the corner, Fakong—who had been waiting to claim his share of the spoils—never even understood what had happened. A single, inconsequential wisp of the residual force from Ling Xi's finger grazed him.

"Master, save—!"

He couldn't even manage a full scream. In endless terror, his body and spirit were extinguished, reduced to ash!

Liaoyin Buddha stared at the pale-faced woman who still stood proudly, his eyes filled with boundless fear and lingering dread, and let out a hoarse, unwilling challenge.

"Who, in the hells, are you?!"

Ling Xi showed no emotion. She withdrew her trembling finger, swallowed back the bitter sweetness rising in her throat, and swayed almost imperceptibly.

Executing this finger—one that exceeded the limits of her current realm—had nearly drained every ounce of her power. But she still stood straight, her cold, clear eyes looking down upon Liaoyin like a deity gazing upon an ant.

She did not answer. She had no need to.

Liaoyin Buddha cast one last, venomous glare at Ling Xi and Xiao Ruobai, then crushed a blood-red talisman with every last shred of strength.

"The Buddhist sects will not let you go!!"

A streak of blood-light wrapped his broken body, tore through the void, and vanished in the blink of an eye!

He actually used a secret technique, fleeing at any cost!

The great hall fell into dead silence instantly.

Only the thick smell of blood and the heavy breathing of those who had survived remained.

Ling Xi stared at the direction where Liaoyin had vanished, her brows slightly furrowed. Her cold, clear voice carried a hint of regret and icy murderous intent:

"A pity. My cultivation is still too low—this 'Severing Dao Finger' couldn't unleash even ten-thousandth of its full power. To completely keep a Saint King Realm expert here, I'm still lacking."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the ashes of Fakong on the ground, and her tone turned frigid:

"The Western Regions Buddhist Sect. Very well, very well indeed. This debt is noted."