Wayfarer

Chapter 628: The Primordial Altar

Yin Shenhua's Rulai eidolon fell to the ground, obliterating countless mountains and causing the earth itself to rumble violently.

"The Thousand Palms of Rulai? How could you use that technique after just having reached the realm of a Boundless Immortal?" Yin Shenhua's eidolon exclaimed.

The Venerable Buddha's eidolon flew toward Yin Shenhua steadily, a thousand arms spreading out along its sides. Each clasped a treasure.

"Buddhist techniques are used not for senseless fighting, but to invoke transcendence. Such too is the case for the Thousand Palms of Rulai. Those compassionate Buddhas of history have ever been able to command such techniques, even in the form of mortal bodies, yet those steeped in evil would never gain access to them in earnest. Today, let me end the disaster of your life once and for all! Thousand Palms of Rulai!" the Venerable Buddha's eidolon shouted again.

Its thousand palms magnified in size and extent, covering up heaven and earth as they struck at Yin Shenhua's eidolon.

"How incredibly strong..." the watching cultivators murmured. They felt an overwhelming sense of despair.

"I don't believe that you'll be able to overcome me. I should be the Rulai!" Yin Shenhua's eidolon howled, meeting those thousand palms with incandescent golden light.

In the resulting commotion, huge furrows lined the ground. Rubble and dust flew into the air in such quantities that the skies turned dark.

Even from afar, an oppressive pressure could be felt. The Martial Aspects shuddered, while those hidden in the forests further back attempted to flee, worried that the shockwaves from the fighting alone would overwhelm them.

"How can the Venerable Buddha possess such strength as a newly minted Boundless Immortal? This is crazy!" Ao Canghai exclaimed, a complicated expression on his face.

Zhang Lingjun likewise retreated when faced with such waves of energy, only to have Xiao Nanfeng hold tightly onto her hand and stabilize her. She instantly felt a sense of comfort and safety.

After the initial shockwave, plumes of dust rose up from all around. Everyone could sense that the Venerable Buddha still boasted incredible energy, though Yin Shenhua was far weakened.

"Yin Shenhua's Rulai eidolon has been shattered!" someone cried out.

Indeed, the mountain range in the distance had been razed into flat land. Lying atop those ruined mountains was Yin Shenhua's eidolon, body spiderwebbing with cracks. It was clear that he was no match for the Venerable Buddha.

The Venerable Buddha's thousand arms waved, extracting strength from the void and charging up for an ultimate blow.

"Yin Shenhua, your choices led you down this path. Serving as the claws and fangs of the heavens, you chose to take on the world. For this crime, on this day, you shall die," the Venerable Buddha's eidolon exclaimed coldly.

"The claws and fangs of the heavens? Ha! The whole world belongs to the heavens; the heavens can do as they please. So what if they reap the lives of the common people? In the end, there shall always be a few seeds left over for subsequent propagation. It's just like how farmers till the land, planting crops in anticipation of reaping them. Don't forget that the only reason you were able to live is because of the mercy of the heavens. Just as the heavens can control whether you live, so too can they control whether you die. I choose not to die. All I can be is the scythe of the heavens, reaping the world and leaving a few seeds behind. Such is the heavens' mercy. If you resist the heavens, your only fate is death," Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

"You really have forgotten that you were once a human yourself," the Venerable Buddha exclaimed.

"Say whatever you want. The heavens are my shield; I am the heavens' scythe. The heavens have granted me strength. I wasn't planning to use it, but now that you've forced my hand, I'll reap you on behalf of the heavens above."

Yin Shenhua raised a hand. "Heaven's Hands!"

Dayin's capital rumbled as an incredible surge of white fog gushed out.

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"Help!"

"No!"

"Save me!"

Piteous cries could be heard all over Dayin's capital.

Everyone looked over to see a cloud of white fog rising up from Dayin's capital, obscuring the scenes that lay within. Ten Buddhas and bodhisattvas flew out of the fog in fear. When the common people took to the air, they were sucked back into the city. All that could be heard were their chilling screams.

"What happened?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Your Majesty, a huge pit suddenly appeared within Dayin's capital, and white fog is gushing out of it. It's absorbing everyone in the vicinity. Some spectral guards attempted to escape, but were unable to flee in time. They were instantly sucked into the pit and killed!"

"Your Majesty, the pit within Dayin's capital is devouring the whole city—not just cultivators, but any relics that possess even the slightest trace of spiritual energy. Some formations, halls, houses, and city walls have been absorbed as well."

Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates rapidly conveyed what they were observing from afar, as were the Martial Aspects' subordinates within Dayin's capital.

"It's a ritual to summon Heaven's Hands!" the Martial Aspects gasped from beside Xiao Nanfeng.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The Martial Aspect of Lightseeking explained, "This isn't the first time that such a sight has been seen. Invoking Heaven's Hands is a boon that the heavens grant to their subordinates, a seal of natural law that encapsulates a Heaven's Hand. Once the seal is broken, a fearsome suction will devour all spiritual energy in the vicinity, fill the seal, and manifest a Heaven's Hand that the heavens' subordinates can control."

"You mean that Yin Shenhua has unleashed this seal and is using all the people and spiritual energy within his capital to manifest a Heaven's Hand? He's willing to kill off all that remains of his citizens to deal with the Venerable Buddha?!"

"Indeed," the Martial Aspect of Lightseeking replied.

"Yin Shenhua truly is a blight on this world. Can we stop him?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

"No. For Golden Immortals to escape from the destruction is the limit. As for stopping them, that's impossible. The power inherent in this seal comes from the heavens above. It's too strong for anyone to be able to revert, not even a Boundless Immortal."

"Not even a Boundless Immortal?" Xiao Nanfeng grimaced.

"The ritual has a range limitation. It appears to be targeting only Dayin's capital. The people within can't be saved," the Martial Aspect of Lightseeking concluded.

Xiao Nanfeng clenched a fist.

Beside him, Zhang Lingjun interlaced his fingers with her own as she squeezed. She consoled, "You've done your best. After what happened in Dayin's capital last time, you warned everyone to flee. Those who listened to you have already done so; those who haven't, who chose to stick with Yin Shenhua, made their decision on their own."

Xiao Nanfeng sighed. He was upset not just for Dayin's citizens, but also a large number of spectral guards who had yet to leave. There was no saving them now.

In mere moments, there were no longer any screams coming from Dayin's capital. The rites had ended, leaving smoke and dust in their wake. The white fog was retreating back into the city.

"Yin Shenhua ought to die!" Xiao Nanfeng gritted out.

Afar, after the Venerable Buddha saw what Yin Shenhua had done, it fumed and shouted once more, "Thousand Palms of Rulai!"

A thousand palms shot toward Yin Shenhua. He tried to escape the blows, but was completely unable to do so. He was beaten up worse and worse.

Just then, amidst the palms that rained down like a storm, a pristine Heaven's Hand charged out and shot toward the Venerable Buddha.

The Heaven's Hand clashed against the Venerable Buddha's eidolon in a huge burst of flames and wind. The tremendous energy that radiated from the impact caused the void itself to shudder. Even from far away, Xiao Nanfeng and the others felt suppressed by the fearsome aura that was unleashed.

Almost half of the Venerable Buddha's thousand arms were scattered in an instant. It was flung back far into the distance before it was able to regain control of its own body.

As the smoke gradually faded, Yin Shenhua's eidolon was revealed with countless cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment. However, standing before him was a Heaven's Hand that was kilometers wide, facing off against the Venerable Buddha's eidolon.

Yin Shenhua's eidolon did shatter then, breaking off into countless pieces that were absorbed by the Heaven's Hand. As it did so, the Heaven's Hand suddenly grew even larger and released a stronger aura.

Yin Shenhua's body was revealed once more. Though his eidolon had been destroyed, his physical body seemed more or less unharmed.

He flew up to the Heaven's Hand and shouted coldly, "Venerable Buddha, despite all your techniques, you face naught but the heavens themselves. You are but a speck of dust in the face of the heavens. I didn't want to use the Heaven's Hand; you forced my hand."

"Is that all the strength it can bring to bear? It's hardly worth mentioning," the Venerable Buddha remarked, its eidolon slowly rising to its feet.

"Strength enough to kill you, you and everyone here present. This Heaven's Hand contains a mote of the heavens' spirit, and can immediately awaken the heavens above. When the heavens' gaze shines down, all those against me shall perish!" Yin Shenhua roared in laughter.

The Venerable Buddha suddenly blanched as it noticed Xiao Nanfeng in the distance. Its gaze grew stern. It clasped its hands together in an expression of benevolence. "Altar of yore, I invoke your presence. With my life as offering, I ask for the strength to shatter the mote of the heaven's spirit in that Heaven's Hand. I pray you accept this request."

The next moment, black fog gushed out of its body. A giant black altar appeared in sight, wreathed in black fog. The thickness of the fog meant that the cultivators could only catch glimpses of the altar, but the primordial aura it released caused their souls to shudder.

At the same time, suction could be felt from the altar. A black lotus was extracted from the Venerable Buddha's eidolon and absorbed into the center of the altar. Pitch-black energy gushed out into the Venerable Buddha's eidolon; then, with the transaction complete, the altar and the fog vanished together.

"Why did you suddenly make an offering to the primordial altar? Are you crazy?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

With a wave of his hand, the Heaven's Hand reached out for the Venerable Buddha's eidolon.

The Venerable Buddha's eidolon exploded with black smoke, as though it had suddenly grown far stronger. With a wave of its hand, the remainder of its thousand arms combined into a single pair. It infused its right palm with all its strength and met the charge of the Heaven's Hand.

The clash of black and white was so intense that even the void began to ripple. All that interacted with those void ripples vibrated violently. Mountains collapsed, rivers dissipated, clouds vanished entirely, and the gathered Golden Immortals were so shocked they were forced to protect themselves with relics.

Xiao Nanfeng shielded Zhang Lingjun and his subordinates with the power of the Imposing Avatar of Rulai. Despite his incredible physical body, the void ripples left his entire body vibrating, his internal organs hurt.

"Let me!" Zhang Lingjun shouted, invoking the praying mat.

Yin Shenhua's shout could be heard amidst the explosion. "You gave up your life for the strength to block the sight of the heavens? Just what are you protecting?!"

A huge crash could be heard from the skies.

The Heaven's Hand and the Venerable Buddha's eidolon were sent flying in opposite directions. The surfaces of both entities were riddled with cracks.

The Venerable Buddha's eidolon was sent flying back toward Xiao Nanfeng. When it landed, it shattered into fragments. A cracked black lotus appeared in sight, particularly fragile, as though it too would shatter at any moment.

"Attend to me, Xiao Nanfeng," the black lotus said weakly.

"Senior!" Xiao Nanfeng rushed over anxiously.