Not True

Outside the Lotus Pond.

The instant Wukong saw the glow in the sky, he understood that things might have taken a turn for the worse. He immediately began using every means at his disposal to evacuate as many mortals as he could.

Then he saw a Buddhist kingdom that blotted out the heavens and covered the entire earth. Even when Wukong gazed into the distance, he could not see its end.

This was already a display of power far beyond Wukong’s comprehension.

When Wukong saw that overwhelming power of origin surging forth, he stopped hesitating and decisively activated the emergency talisman Lv Xuan had given him from the Tianyan Sect.

As for Bright Buddha’s instruction to wait until his golden body had arrived before activating the talisman, that naturally had to be taken selectively.

If the situation had been a little less serious, Wukong might have listened. But with a spectacle of this scale, he could simply pretend he had heard nothing.

If someone truly wanted him to obey without question, Wukong felt Bright Buddha would have been better off finding a dog to handle the matter.

Wukong understood the principle of expediency in times of crisis.

Without hesitation, Wukong poured his spiritual power into the talisman. It transformed into spiritual light and scattered in all directions.

The instant the talisman’s radiance dispersed, Wukong looked up and saw countless hands of Buddhist truth reaching out from the supreme Buddhist kingdom. Each hand employed a different technique, pressing down as they reached forth and bearing down upon the mountains and rivers.

Wukong unleashed his full cultivation and retreated wildly, barely managing to withstand the aftershocks of the clash between the two.

When he looked up again, what he saw was a scene far beyond his understanding.

The Buddhist kingdom had been cleaved apart by some unknown existence. Then black-gold faith power shot into the heavens, shaking the Buddhist kingdom.

Wukong also heard every word spoken by Boro.

Reason told him that the battle to come was absolutely not something he could take part in. He should leave immediately.

But his heart held his feet in place.

He knew he could accomplish nothing, yet he still could not bring himself to leave.

In the distance, faith power and the power of origin condensed into a mountain-sized sword that pierced the firmament. It churned the Buddhist kingdom in the heavens as though it were an illusion, scattering its radiance while multicolored light flowed down like a cascading river.

Bright Buddha’s figure flashed through it all, each movement of his hands and feet displaying boundless might.

Yet beneath the ground of the Lotus Pond, unknown monsters began climbing out. Stained with faith power, some detonated themselves against the Buddhist kingdom, contaminating it, while others transformed into nourishment for Boro.

It was clear that the Lotus Pond was a place Boro had prepared long ago. Fighting here, Bright Buddha was destined to suffer the disadvantage.

Wukong exhaled heavily, his heart burning with anxiety.

He did not know whether the talisman Lv Xuan had given him would actually work, nor whether the Tianyan Sect truly intended to send reinforcements.

What frightened him even more was the possibility that Chu Xingchen understood everything happening here, but had already reached an agreement with the Great Leiyin Temple. Perhaps he had chosen to sell Bright Buddha—and Wukong himself—for a handsome price, squeezing every last bit of value from them at this very moment.

At that thought, Wukong suddenly wanted to turn back and find Chu Xingchen at once, forcing him to send reinforcements no matter what.

But just as the thought arose—

A streak of azure light came from the south. From afar, it seemed to move extremely slowly, but after only two blinks, it had already crossed the distance. What had appeared to be a mere streak of light was, upon drawing near, a colossal pillar.

Boom!

A razor-sharp sword intent shook the air, cleaving through the Buddhist kingdom and striking directly at Boro’s true body.

The white and peerless Xuanling sword intent carried a murderous pressure that was vast and terrifying. Spiritual power erupted in all directions, and this single sword from the arriving expert seemed to drive the entire Lotus Pond deep beneath the earth.

When Wukong saw this, his heart instantly relaxed.

Bai Xuanling had arrived.

That meant all subsequent reinforcements would certainly follow.

Within the Lotus Pond.

The Green Nether Sword rang out.

Bai Xuanling stared coldly at Boro, who had been split apart by her sword. With a raised hand, the flowing azure light of Green Nether entered her grasp. Without turning to look at Bright Buddha behind her, she still spoke:

“You monks certainly have some impressive methods. You cultivated your Buddhist kingdom to this extent, with karma filling the heavens. What kind of heaven-defying nonsense did you comprehend from Mahayana Buddhism? Luckily, the Buddhist sect suppressed you back then. Otherwise, your reputation might even have surpassed mine.”

“How could I compare with the bearing of a True Immortal?” Bright Buddha replied, his gaze also turning toward Boro. “Even if my disciple was disobedient, you shouldn’t have arrived so quickly.”

Hearing this, Bai Xuanling laughed.

“So, in that case, you’ll have to thank Li Yingling. She went to report back to Chu Xingchen, then worried that Cui Hao wouldn’t be able to handle the situation, that he couldn’t keep things under control and might be bullied, so she ordered me to come here.”

“I was still on my way when I received the talisman’s message. I’d only been traveling for a short while when I realized this place was ridiculously close.”

“I wonder whether you’re simply lucky, monk, or whether that little girl Li Yingling is the lucky one.”

Bright Buddha raised a hand. The soil beneath him was lifted by the radiance, and with a squeeze of spiritual power, it was fashioned into a hard, earthen staff.

“Lady Li is a person of great fortune. It should be her luck.”

Bai Xuanling raised her hand. Sword intent and astral wind pierced through the air, and then, gripping Green Nether, she brought her sword down from several hundred yards away.

A streak of azure light split the heavens and earth. Boro, who had been trying to close the distance, was forced to raise his hand and block. At the same moment, countless Buddhist hands and techniques from Bright Buddha swept toward him.

Bai Xuanling cast a brief glance at the earthen staff in Bright Buddha’s hand.

“You’ve been out here for so long and still haven’t managed to obtain anything useful? Do you really have to make a staff out of whatever you find on the ground?”

“I had a patched robe sewn for me by all living beings, but this brat destroyed it with a single move,” Bright Buddha said, his voice carrying a hint of anger. “I’m furious about it.”

Bai Xuanling held Green Nether in one hand and slowly twisted her neck. A slightly savage grin appeared on her face. In the next instant, her figure transformed into azure light, and her mocking voice rang out:

“You’re impressively poor, and proud of it, too. Still, with a Buddhist kingdom like yours, I suppose you have enough.”

“I never thought there would come a day when I’d have the chance to join forces with a monk.”

Bright Buddha watched the azure radiance surge before him like a clear sun. Razor-sharp sword intent slashed wildly like a storm, leaving not the slightest opening. Sword after sword forced Boro, whose body was wreathed in overwhelming faith power, into a sorry retreat.

“I never thought there would come a day when I’d have the honor of joining forces with the Only True Immortal,” Bright Buddha replied.

He raised the staff in his hand and pressed it gently downward. Within the Buddhist kingdom in the heavens, countless golden Buddhist hands once again reached out, unleashing a seamless barrage of techniques that sealed off every inch of space around Boro.

If Bright Buddha’s techniques were like being stabbed once with a small knife, then being struck by Bai Xuanling in close combat was like being pierced through several times by a massive greatsword.

And when facing Bai Xuanling’s attacks, there was no room for the slightest distraction.

With such an overwhelming disparity in power, Boro could only endure Bright Buddha’s techniques while relying on his seemingly inexhaustible faith power to resist Bai Xuanling’s attacks.

The vast faith power, like an unstoppable tidal wave, began to sway uncontrollably beneath Bai Xuanling’s sword.

Bai Xuanling attacked with merciless ferocity and held nothing back. It seemed she intended to cut Boro down before his reinforcements arrived.

Although Boro used his faith power in an almost wasteful manner, sending it surging toward Bai Xuanling in an attempt to crush her, Bright Buddha’s interference left him no choice but to suffer several sword strikes.

Blood of origin spilled from his wounds, only to be lifted by faith power and then crudely reabsorbed into his body by Boro.

Watching the sword intent that was nearly impossible to track, Boro fixed his gaze on Bai Xuanling. Yet the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile.

“Just as I thought… you’re not real.”