Even Immortals Are the Same

The Buddhist Kingdom stretched across ten thousand miles in resplendent golden splendor. Black-and-yellow wish-force surged up from the earth and shot straight into the Buddhist Kingdom, while azure sword intent churned like a sea as it tore its way toward them.

The trident in Bolo’s hands strained against the sword intent cleaving down from Bai Xuanling’s Azure Nether Sword. Excitement and fear mingled in his eyes.

“Your words may deceive the others, but they can’t deceive me.”

“This world has imprisoned all living beings for ten thousand years precisely for our sake.”

“How could you possibly be an exception? Chu Xingchen isn’t an excuse.”

Bai Xuanling’s expression was cold, the disdain in her eyes undisguised.

“Something on the verge of death, and this is your final speech?”

Bolo raised his hand. The trident in his grasp seemed to be devoured by the black-and-yellow wish-force, transforming into flames. With a single strike, he cleaved open the heavens. The wish-force boiled and burned, the desires of all living beings becoming an inextinguishable fire that ignited from nothing and scorched his immortal body.

The fire of wish-force surged and burned, incinerating the incoming sword intent, the probing hand of Buddha, and the Buddhist techniques that continued to assault him.

“I have no final words. If you have the ability, then kill me outright.”

Bolo stood amid the fire of wish-force. That fire, capable of burning everything to nothing, was scorching his body as well, and he calmly savored the pain.

Bai Xuanling did not continue her assault. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the Buddhist Kingdom in the sky.

The next moment.

More than half of the Buddhist Kingdom shattered, and golden radiance fell like a curtain of rain.

Two crimson streaks of light crashed down and landed silently before Bolo.

Meiyu held a long whip of red-and-black shattered bone in her hand. Her source power had taken the form of close-fitting battle armor, constantly radiating terrifying might.

The new-faced Bai Bo seemed not yet accustomed to this body. He held a long spear and stared at Bai Xuanling with uncertainty. It seemed that fragments of his former memories still remained, leaving him with an instinctive fear of Bai Xuanling.

Bai Xuanling calmly questioned the Bright Buddha, “Why is your Buddhist Kingdom as flimsy as paper? One poke and it breaks.”

The Bright Buddha looked at the Buddhist Kingdom, which was already beginning to recover, and replied with complete justification, “It recovers quickly too. Besides, my opponent’s cultivation isn’t any lower than mine.”

As soon as his words fell, the five figures clashed.

Spiritual power exploded into dazzling, shattered radiance.

The Bright Buddha’s multicolored techniques formed an impenetrable curtain of light, completely enclosing the center of the battle.

Now and then, several streaks of azure sword intent would pierce through the techniques. Crimson light would erupt like thunder, blasting apart the curtain of spells. Only then could one glimpse the peerless bearing of the combatants within.

The Bright Buddha’s Buddhist Kingdom was extraordinarily formidable when fighting outnumbered. His techniques came one after another without pause, and the hands of Buddha reaching out from within the kingdom were no less powerful. Once even a single Buddhist hand entangled an opponent, escaping became extremely troublesome.

Most terrifying of all was the frequency with which the Buddhist Kingdom unleashed its techniques and methods. It had already surpassed all reason. Even a Tribulation Transcendent cultivator would grow exhausted in consciousness if they disregarded their spiritual power entirely.

Yet the Buddhist Kingdom only made it seem as though its techniques were being cast faster and faster, its probing Buddhist hands becoming more numerous, and its recovery growing swifter than before.

However, even though Bolo now had the advantage in numbers, he was still suppressed by Bai Xuanling’s azure sword intent.

Wherever the azure light flowed, all things were severed.

Outside the Lotus Pond, countless arcs of rainbow light were racing toward them from every direction.

One streak of white aura was the fastest of all.

It smashed straight through the Buddhist Kingdom that concealed the heavens and joined the battle with overwhelming force.

As a certain person’s unmistakable aura revealed itself, the battle, which had reached a fever pitch, abruptly paused. The combatants each pulled away from one another.

The white light drew inward, revealing the newcomer’s identity—Chu Xingchen.

Chu Xingchen had already been in the Southern Continent. He had received the news only a little later than Bai Xuanling and had hurried here at full speed, arriving just in time.

“I thought you could keep holding yourselves back.” Chu Xingchen held the long sword Wanban in his hand and landed beside Bai Xuanling. His gaze fixed directly on Bolo. “You didn’t think that after revealing yourselves today, you’d still be able to leave, did you?”

“I’m not leaving. You’re waiting for reinforcements, and so am I. You’ve traveled all this way and must be tired. How about we catch our breath together? If you kill the three of us outright, and the remaining Heavenly Fiends flee, you’ll only have to go to the trouble of hunting them down afterward.”

Bolo looked at Chu Xingchen.

“Could today be the day we wipe them all out? Having an opponent like you is interesting indeed. To make a True Immortal personally break their own immortal bones… It seems this world has finally learned its lesson. It understands that a mindless true dragon can’t accomplish anything. In the end, the one who truly gets things done is someone clever like you—someone capable of dragging others into the water.”

A True Immortal had broken their immortal bones?

Chu Xingchen’s expression did not change in the slightest. His eyes remained fixed on Bolo’s face.

“You didn’t know?” Bolo suddenly burst out laughing. “Within the fire of wishful desires, all emotions are magnified. Your shock is especially obvious.”

“You, Chu Xingchen, have seen through so many people, but you’re still too young. You failed to see through the peerless prodigy beside you.”

A streak of azure sword intent shattered everything in its path as it came slicing over.

The newly appointed Bai Bo did not hesitate. He immediately moved in front of Bolo and used his body to take the sword head-on. Blood from his source power sprayed through the air.

There was not the slightest ripple in Bolo’s eyes.

“I’m guessing Bai Xuanling must have told you that this world refuses to let anyone ascend, and that’s why she was able to remain here. That was merely an excuse, wasn’t it?”

“But if that were really the case, why would this world be so stingy as to keep everyone trapped at the peak of Tribulation Transcendence?”

“Even if this world couldn’t bear the existence of so many True Immortals, surely it could still produce at least one. Or was it truly willing to reserve that opportunity for Bai Xuanling alone?”

“The Heavenly Dao operates entirely according to rules. That is also why we have been able to survive until now.”

“For the Heavenly Dao to interfere with the world’s natural order, even occasionally, it must pay the price of shattering the Great Dao. That is why the Heavenly Dao is far more bound by rules than we are.”

“To become an immortal is to ascend. That too is a rule.”

“Bai Xuanling was able to remain because she broke her own immortal bones upon becoming a True Immortal. In the end, she fell from the realm of True Immortality and became only a half-immortal.”

“A half-immortal can naturally remain in this world. But a True Immortal who has broken their immortal bones will likely be a half-immortal forever. This place will become the burial ground of that once-great True Immortal.”

“What a pity. Someone so astonishingly gifted.”

“But speaking of that, Chu Xingchen, your judgment of people is indeed accurate.”

“Bai Xuanling truly is someone worthy of your trust. Consider this my repayment in kind: in order to protect you while you were gravely wounded, she understood that the great calamity of this world would ultimately fall upon you alone. She would rather break her immortal bones and remain here to help you.”

“After ascending, everything here would have had nothing to do with her ever again.”

“And yet she was willing to leave her life behind in this world. It is genuinely moving—and it truly frightened us half to death.”

“We would naturally be helpless against a True Immortal. But against a half-immortal, I believe we can still put up a fight.”

Chu Xingchen said nothing and asked no further questions. Bai Xuanling’s expression had remained calm from beginning to end, as though they were not speaking about her at all.

Bai Xuanling neither denied nor acknowledged his words.

She merely gripped the Azure Nether Sword and continued cutting down the enemies she needed to kill.

She wanted to save those who needed saving, and this world, which she did not find entirely detestable.

There were many reasons.

Her own master, her disciples, that Foolish Flood Dragon she had picked up, the not-so-bright sect master Lv Xuan, and Chu Xingchen beside her, who had once entrusted his life to her as well.

The younger sister she had regretted failing to save all those years ago was also reminding her of this.

Nothing was more important than these people.

Not even True Immortals.