Don't Even Think About Going

Chu Xingchen's Mahayana realm aura was quickly captured by the Buddhist Tribulation Transcendence cultivators stationed outside.

His aura was completely undisguised, and his Mahayana cultivation clearly indicated that he was not a native of the Western Niuhe Continent.

In the sky, a streak of Buddhist golden light rapidly closed in.

Chu Xingchen stood his ground, watching the golden light approach and transform into a human figure.

If Wukong were present, he would have recognized the newcomer—True Buddha Huawu.

Wukong had once taken Donggua to seek help from this Buddha of Karma.

True Buddha Huawu looked straight at Chu Xingchen, his eyes showing no surprise.

"I truly didn't expect you to come here in person."

"After all, my coming here yields the best results," Chu Xingchen said with a calm expression. "Besides, there is only this one chance."

True Buddha Huawu's expression remained tranquil, but he spoke at a rapid pace.

"Your scheme worked. Honored Buddha Runan has already led nine Buddhas to find Huang Miao and Chen Xiao."

"Including me, there are seven Buddhas left here. Aside from me, there is only one other Buddha of Karma."

"However, his stance on the Evil Buddha is unclear to me. I advise you not to count on him."

"Right now, there are two other Buddhas nearby, and they are rushing over as reinforcements."

"Where is the Evil Buddha? Are you planning to have him leave through my route?"

Chu Xingchen smiled and said, "If he leaves, what will you do, Senior?"

"Naturally, I'll go discuss Buddhist principles with Ruzhong," True Buddha Huawu said with an indifferent look. "I am a Buddha of Karma. Even if Runan is displeased, he won't do anything to me."

"If Runan stops supporting the Buddhas of Karma, then the Buddhist sect will merely be a secular sect in disguise."

"He is most skilled in the art of balance. If he wants the Buddhist sect to be stable and to develop, I will simply go along with his wishes."

Chu Xingchen cast his gaze toward the east.

"In that case, being the Honored Buddha isn't easy for Runan either. He is just someone who has to swallow his grievances."

True Buddha Huawu spoke in a calm tone.

"Being overly cautious naturally leads to grievances. Wanting to have everything naturally leads to grievances as well. Time is running out. Do you still refuse to trust me even now?"

"If you are counting on me to step in and stop the other Buddhas, then you are overthinking."

Chu Xingchen shook his head.

"Of course not. It's just that you can't go discuss Buddhist scriptures with Ruzhong just yet."

True Buddha Huawu glanced slightly in the direction Chu Xingchen had come from.

"Then you can go intercept the two Tribulation Transcendence Buddhas all by yourself."

Chu Xingchen smiled and nodded, then stood right where he was.

In just a moment, two streaks of golden light landed on the ground.

"Chu Xingchen! Hand over the Evil Buddha!"

Before their figures even fully descended, an angry roar arrived first.

A Tribulation Transcendence Buddha with a robust physique and the appearance of a middle-aged man, holding a golden whip and clad in golden armor, directed his oppressive aura straight at Chu Xingchen.

The other was a slightly more refined middle-aged man whose temperament did not resemble a Buddha at all, but rather a scholar. He wore a golden kasaya and looked at Chu Xingchen with an indifferent expression.

Standing together, they looked very much like a pairing of a civil official and a military general.

Chu Xingchen's gaze swept over the two of them, and he said calmly,

"Why don't you ask me for Runan while you're at it? What do you take me for? Do I have to have whatever you demand?"

As soon as his voice fell.

The Golden-armored Buddha swung his golden whip, and Buddhist golden light pierced through the sky with terrifying might.

Chu Xingchen's expression showed no fear at all.

"If you make me lose even a single strand of hair today, or if this piece of junk of yours touches me even a little, you better be prepared to somehow escape from the hands of Bai Xuanling and Huang Miao and make it back to the Great Thunderclap Temple alive."

The Golden-armored Buddha narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Do you think I don't know about Bai Xuanling's condition? Could she possibly be here?"

Instead of retreating, Chu Xingchen took a step forward, looking straight at him with a disdainful gaze.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Just make your move and see what happens."

The Buddha beside the Golden-armored Buddha gently reached out to stop him and said in a calm tone,

"Fellow Daoist Chu, I am Buddha Wenliu."

Being stopped, the Golden-armored Buddha glared angrily at Chu Xingchen, but he didn't actually dare to strike Chu Xingchen with his whip.

According to the intelligence, Chu Xingchen had supposedly been hit by an attack as well.

Yet looking at Chu Xingchen face-to-face now, he couldn't see anything wrong with him. Instead, his cultivation had even climbed another realm.

What Heavenly Demon? It didn't seem to be a problem for Chu Xingchen at all. It was more likely that it had delivered a fortuitous encounter to him.

Since Chu Xingchen's condition was like this, it wasn't impossible for Bai Xuanling's condition to have improved as well.

She might very well be nearby. If he made a move, and Bai Xuanling came at him with a lethal sword strike...

Chu Xingchen shifted his gaze and revealed a somewhat perfunctory smile on his face.

"I've heard much about you."

Wenliu first cast a sidelong glance at Huawu, who remained silent and motionless. Understanding the likely stance of this Buddha of Karma, he stopped counting on him and turned his gaze back to Chu Xingchen.

"May I ask why Fellow Daoist Chu concealed your whereabouts to come here? I believe Fellow Daoist should know what we are doing here, right?"

Chu Xingchen's tone softened a bit, but his words showed not a hint of weakness.

"Where does this talk of concealing my whereabouts come from? I have never liked being ostentatious. I don't need to report to your Buddhist sect if I want to come here, do I? However, speaking of the past by the Pudu River, the Honored Buddha's promise regarding our agreement seems... to have been just empty words."

"If Fellow Daoist Chu has any issues with the agreement with the Honored Buddha, you can naturally discuss it with him. But for now, Fellow Daoist Chu must know the whereabouts of the Evil Buddha, right?"

"If I know, must I tell you?"

"Naturally, you don't have to tell us. However, before this matter is resolved, we ask that Fellow Daoist Chu take your leave first."

"Just because you said so, I have to leave?"

Hearing this, the smile on Buddha Wenliu's face deepened.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, when Tribulation Transcendence experts fight, it is naturally a life-and-death struggle. If you stay here, it will be hard to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

"If you do not wish to leave, in the spirit of mutual assistance among immortal sects, I will naturally have to personally escort Fellow Daoist Chu back. I heard that Yuyang has recently been looking forward to meeting Fellow Daoist again."

"Once this matter is concluded, Fellow Daoist Chu can roam and play around here however you please."

The smile faded from Chu Xingchen's face. Myriad streams of light shuttled over and materialized into a deep blue longsword in his hand.

"Speaking pretty words while doing ugly deeds. Truly worthy of the Buddhist sect's style."

A hint of joy appeared on the Golden-armored Buddha's face, and he pointed his golden whip at Chu Xingchen once more.

Being good with words really did have its advantages!

True Buddha Huawu looked at Chu Xingchen with a calm gaze.

Although he had said that it was absolutely impossible for him to step in and intercept them for Chu Xingchen, if worst came to worst, he wouldn't let the light perish here.

It was just that...

Along Chu Xingchen's journey, all the intelligence described him as meticulous, possessing unparalleled eloquence, being ruthless in his methods, and always having multiple backup plans.

Why did it seem like he had been pushed into a corner after just a few sentences this time?

Buddha Wenliu raised his hand and drew a golden longsword from the void.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, it is always better to go back with some dignity."

"The gap between the Mahayana and Tribulation Transcendence realms is like a heavenly chasm. Why don't you think it over carefully?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Chu Xingchen's mouth.

"Thinking things over isn't something a heaven-chosen genius like me needs to do. I don't believe anyone intends to take me back."

"Oh?" True Buddha Wenliu's tone held a hint of doubt. "Are you trying to say that besides Bai Xuanling, there is another Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who can come here?"

Chu Xingchen shook his head, the smile remaining on his face.

"No. Naturally, it means you won't have the time to bother with me anymore."

Seeing this, Wenliu chuckled softly. Just as he was about to speak, a stream of golden light suddenly flowed out from his body.

Likewise, streams of golden light also emerged from True Buddha Huawu and the Golden-armored Buddha.

Wenliu's expression turned solemn as he looked toward the west.

Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow and said,

"Now, which Tribulation Transcendence expert plans to take me away?"

Wen Liu paid no heed to Chu Xingchen's highly provocative words. His gaze swept past the expressionless, silent Hua Wu before immediately landing on the Golden-Armored Buddha.

"You shall remain here."

With that said, he turned his attention to True Buddha Hua Wu and spoke.

"True Buddha Hua Wu, the news has arrived. Please accompany me to investigate."

Wen Liu kept his eyes fixed on True Buddha Hua Wu.

During the Mahayana Turmoil of the past, True Buddha Hua Wu had practically thrown his full support behind Mahayana Buddhism.

The news was not necessarily true. Chu Xingchen possessed a Mahayana realm cultivation base, after all; he could at least stall for a moment.

To leave Hua Wu here as well might just be inviting him to stab the Golden-Armored Buddha in the back.

Observing Chu Xingchen's expression, True Buddha Hua Wu seemed to realize something and proposed an alternative plan.

"Why should we leave? It is three against one here. Chu Xingchen looks exactly like a man whose scheme has succeeded; I wager whatever is happening over there is a fake."

"Let us stay right here and see what tricks he has up his sleeve."

Hearing this, Wen Liu's heart sank, his suspicions deepening even further.