Backlash

The originally radiant golden Buddha statue lost all its light in an instant.

After the golden hue faded, what was revealed was endless darkness.

Within that darkness surged black malevolent energy, as thick as ink, seeping, dripping, and flowing out from every inch of the Buddha's surface.

The once sixteen-foot golden body that illuminated everything with its golden light had now turned into a massive, pitch-black Buddha statue, exuding a black, decaying, and nauseating aura.

Countless streams of black malevolent energy surged from within the black Buddha, transforming into countless ghostly heads that continuously danced around it.

The monks of the Great Wheel Ming Temple were completely dumbfounded upon seeing this scene.

One second it was the golden Buddha they worshipped, and the next it had turned into this monstrosity.

But there was no time left for them to be shocked.

Because those phantom evil spirits moved.

Like sharks smelling the scent of the living, they turned around in unison, their countless hollow eyes locking onto the Buddhist cultivators of the Great Wheel Ming Temple below.

Then—they charged.

Hundreds and thousands of phantom evil spirits lunged at the Buddhist cultivators like a bursting flood.

"Ah—!!!"

A middle-aged monk was the first to be entangled by the black malevolent energy.

The energy burrowed into his nose and mouth; his body instantly stiffened, his facial muscles began to twist, and a guttural gasp escaped his throat.

His skin began to change color, turning from a normal complexion to an ashen white, from ashen white to a bruised bluish-black, and from bluish-black to a charred black.

His cultivation base, his spiritual energy, and his life force were being devoured bit by bit by the malevolent energy.

The other monks fared no better.

The malevolent energy darted through the crowd, taking away the life force of a Buddhist cultivator with every pass.

Those enveloped by the energy, without exception, fell to the ground and turned into withered, bone-like mummies.

Screams, cries, and the sounds of chanting intertwined, yet they did absolutely nothing to halt the advance of the evil spirits.

Seeing this, the abbot and the other elders turned pale with fright. They immediately circulated their full Buddhist power, summoning thick barriers of golden light in an attempt to block the invasion of the malevolent energy.

However, the moment the malevolent energy touched the golden barriers, the holy light was instantly assimilated and turned black, as if corroded.

In just a few breaths, the barriers shattered, allowing the malevolent energy to pierce through unhindered and infect their bodies.

Their faith and cultivation began to be devoured the very moment the malevolent energy approached.

The abbot's face completely twisted; his benevolent countenance turned into a hideous grimace, and his compassionate eyes were replaced by endless terror.

He wanted to shout and defend himself, but his throat was already locked tight by the malevolent energy.

His cultivation, his power of faith, his thousands of years of bitter asceticism—were all being eaten away bite by bite by the black energy.

"No... impossible..."

He had cultivated Buddhism his entire life, worshipped the Buddha his entire life, and in the end, that very Buddha was taking his life.

All things in the world possess Form and Substance.

Form is the appearance, the shell, the outward presentation; Substance is the core, the essence, the deeply hidden truth.

Cultivators can disguise their Form, making themselves look benevolent, righteous, and illuminated by golden light, but they cannot change their Substance.

The Great Wheel Ming Temple had long ceased to be the holy land of Buddhism it once was.

Thousands of years ago, the Great Wheel Ming Temple was indeed a pure place of cultivation.

The monks practiced asceticism and saved sentient beings. Although the incense offerings were not abundant, every wisp of smoke was sincere and devout.

But as time passed, everything changed.

It was unknown starting from which abbot, the Great Wheel Ming Temple began to expand.

Relying on their powerful cultivation, they started suppressing surrounding factions.

The spirit stones, spirit herbs, and magical artifacts in the treasuries of the annexed sects were all seized by the Great Wheel Ming Temple.

Those cultivators who refused to relocate were suppressed, exiled, or killed under the pretext of disturbing the peace of the Buddhist gates.

Spirit veins.

The Great Wheel Ming Temple occupied the three best spirit veins of this city, two of which were forcibly snatched from other factions.

Mineral deposits.

Seventy percent of the Heavenly Profound Stone mines produced in this region were controlled by the Great Wheel Ming Temple.

If other factions wanted to mine, they had to pay exorbitant tributes to the temple.

Those believers who came to worship were no longer treated as believers.

They were treated as mere crops to be harvested.

Their Guardian Vajras were spread all over the Western Continent, and any remarks detrimental to the Great Wheel Ming Temple would be purified at the first opportunity.

What they cultivated was no longer Buddhism.

It was power, profit, and the thrill of standing above all living beings.

On the outside, it was a resplendent Buddhist holy land; on the inside, it was a filthy, unbearable Asura slaughterhouse.

Therefore, when Gu Changyuan executed Truth and Illusion: Insight into True Form, forcibly stripping away all their disguises.

That Buddha revealed its true face.

The golden Buddha turned into a black Buddha; solemnity turned into ferocity, and compassion turned into greed.

And those evil spirits formed from malevolent energy were, in fact, the karma they had sown themselves.

The observing factions in the surroundings did not even dare to breathe loudly at this moment.

The oppressive aura exuded by the black Buddha made all cultivators within a hundred miles feel a suffocating terror.

If that black energy were to spread, let alone the Great Wheel Ming Temple, all living creatures within a hundred miles would be entirely devoured by it.

They only prayed that Gu Changyuan could resolve it; otherwise, all the surrounding factions would face extermination by this monster.

Gu Changyuan originally wanted to quietly watch the black energy completely backlash and devour all those Buddhist cultivators, letting them die under the backlash of their own faith.

Unfortunately, when the black Buddha saw that its malevolent energy could not affect him, it unexpectedly raised its massive black arm.

Gu Changyuan scoffed coldly, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

A streak of golden light slashed down from the sky, directly severing the enormous black hand.

At the stump, faint golden light continued to devour the black Buddha's malevolent energy, causing the black Buddha to let out a low, guttural roar, its aura slightly stagnating.

Feeling immense pressure, the black Buddha accelerated its speed in devouring those Buddhist cultivators.

Soon, all the Buddhist cultivators of the Great Wheel Ming Temple, regardless of their cultivation levels, were completely consumed by the black energy.

Yet, even without the support of those Buddhist cultivators, not only did this black Buddha not dissipate, but its aura actually became a bit heavier.

The severed arm regenerated from the stump.

It slowly clenched its fist, the cluster of eerie green ghost fire leaping even more violently within the black Buddha's eye sockets.

It seemed to be mocking Gu Changyuan, showing him just how regrettable the consequence of setting it free would be.

Gu Changyuan raised an eyebrow.

He looked at that black Buddha, looked at its triumphant appearance, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Heh, did I give you a bit too much face?"

Using Truth and Illusion: Insight into True Form again at this moment would be useless.

The opponent's Form and Substance had already merged into one; even if reversed ten thousand times, it would still look like this.

But so what?

Gu Changyuan took a step forward.

With just this single step, the entire world trembled.

A massive golden formation lit up in the sky above, and a gigantic pillar of golden light crashed down from the heavens, blasting directly toward the black Buddha.