Li Fei was immersed in an inexpressible epiphany.
In a trance, it seemed as if a decade had passed before he gradually came to his senses—
He had witnessed the fall of a sun.
At Daluo Peak, the golden pillar of light that pierced the sky suddenly collapsed!
The magical formation that enveloped most of Ming Province also disintegrated.
The ten-thousand-meter-long golden giant dragon let out a mournful howl as its body broke apart piece by piece!
At the boundaries, Qing Yun, the True Master, shouted and, with his Lifebound Flying Sword, propelled himself frantically towards the Daluo Sect.
The president of Mo Yun University, whom he had been suppressing in combat, did not stop him.
He couldn’t even if he wanted to.
"Such an extraordinary character has finally ended his play."
The Great Grandmaster, with more than a dozen sword wounds on his body, looked towards the direction of Daluo Peak and lamented.
In several other directions throughout Ming Province, the strong members of the Daluo Sect also realized that Qing Xu, the True Monarch, had failed.
Some chose to return to the Daluo Sect; others turned their heads and fled elsewhere.
Outside of Jinshan Prefecture City, having witnessed the collapse of Tao Country, Yun Shu finally let go of his concerns.
But he still didn’t disperse the Emperor’s Dragon Qi around him, instead, he maneuvered the Purple Golden Dragon into the collapsing Tao Country, beginning to devour the scattered Dragon Energy.
The national fortune lost in this battle was substantial, and now Yun Shu was trying to recover as much of it as possible.
Beside him, the golden Buddha statue intoned a Buddhist chant, then brought his hands together and began reciting scriptures.
Golden texts flowed out from the Buddha’s mouth, flying towards all corners of Ming Province.
These texts landed on the cities sacrificed by blood, starting to console the souls.
The Buddha statue was chanting the Rebirth Sutra.
Although Li Fei had defended Chong City, there were many other cities that had not been defended.
In a single night, dozens of cities were sacrificed by blood. Each city suffered casualties as high as forty to fifty thousand, with a total death toll nearing nine hundred thousand!
In some cities where people weren’t assembled quickly enough to ensure the speed of the blood sacrifice, the disciples of the Daluo Sect who had entered decided to set fires.
The fires completely engulfed the cities!
Thus many cities sacrificed by blood had large residential areas reduced to ruins.
When the fires were put out, charred corpses lay scattered amongst the rubble. Many people, as they searched for the bodies of their relatives, collapsed and wept...
The golden scriptures landed on the ruins, and the people around felt their spirits greatly comforted. Many who had harbored thoughts of death finally calmed down. They wept while kneeling on the ground to pray for the souls of their loved ones, hoping for their rebirth in paradise.
Because the Daluo Sect was located in Ming Province, many of the believers there followed the teachings of the Tao.
But after this battle, at least a million of those believers converted to Buddhism!
Yun Shu, while using the Tao Rule to control the Emperor’s Dragon Qi to devour the scattered energies, was also distractedly observing the Buddha statue using his Analyze Dao Rules.
Others couldn’t see, but he saw streams of golden particles, like countless stars, converging from all corners of Ming Province towards the Buddha statue.
Yun Shu understood they were intentions of sentient beings.
The court transformed the intentions of all living beings into the Emperor’s Dragon Qi, whereas the Buddhist faith transformed the intentions of all living beings into Merit Power!
Pudu Temple didn’t hesitate to spend a thousand years’ worth of accumulated Buddhist fortune to intervene in this battle, certainly expecting some gains afterwards.
Yun Shu did not stop the Buddha statue from collecting Merit Power, but he spoke,
"I hope Abbot Wuzhao can accompany me to the Daluo Sect."
Wuzhao was the dharma name of that living Buddha.
Now Yun Shu was severely injured, and even his Lifebound Magical Treasure was greatly damaged, leaving him in a poor state.
Even though Qing Xu, True Monarch, failed to Breakthrough, his life or death remained uncertain, and besides, there was a Martial Saint in the Daluo Sect.
To be cautious, Yun Shu invited Abbot Wuzhao to activate his Lifebound Magical Treasure and continue to accompany him to the Daluo Sect.
"Om Amitābha, State Preceptor, please proceed."
The compassionate voice of Wuzhao came from the Buddha statue.
Yun Shu, seeing that the scattered energies were almost entirely absorbed, drove the Purple Golden Dragon, carrying himself towards the Daluo Sect.
The golden Buddha statue swiftly followed.
Tai Yu had already broken the restrictions that confined him and quickly arrived on the edge of a cliff.
Qing Xu, the True Monarch, dressed in a Taoist robe, stood with his back to Tai Yu, gazing heavenward.
The True Monarch did not turn around.
The next moment, in Tai Yu’s sight, Qing Xu’s body began to dissipate bit by bit!
This previous Master of the Daluo Sect, a True Monarch of this world, thus vanished from the mortal realm.
Tai Yu stood in place and suddenly let out a roar of fury.
This roar, like ten thousand thunderclaps, reverberated across the Twelve Peaks of Daluo!
The howl of a Martial Saint, shaking heaven and earth!
Tai Yu’s boundless rage was vented through that roar.
It was unclear if he was furious at Qing Xu for his great treachery, leading the Daluo Sect into rebellion.
Or if he was incensed that Qing Xu had exhausted eight hundred years of the Daluo Sect’s fortune and yet still failed.
Not long after Tai Yu’s roar, a figure arrived swiftly on the wind.
It was Qing Xia, the True Master.
She looked around, but seeing nothing, her face turned pale.
"Uncle-Master Tai Yu, he..."
"His life ended and his Tao dissipated, turned to dust."
Tai Yu turned and looked at Qing Xia, regaining his composure.
Qing Xia’s body swayed, and her eyes reddened:
"It was all for naught in the end..."
"He is gone, but the Daluo Sect must continue on its path. You need to recover your spirits quickly."
Tai Yu looked at Qing Xia, speaking word by word.
His words were intended for Qing Xia, but also served as a reminder to himself.
For now, he was Daluo Sect’s final and only pillar.