Chapter 653 - 648: The Terror of Bhagavat
The Sea of Suffering.
What should have been a Vast Ocean now contained a stretch of solid ground. It looked like a lonely island, but a closer look revealed it to be a massive gravestone.
On and around the gravestone, Taiyin Immortal Venerable and Si Chou stood facing each other.
The very moment Lü Yang suppressed Du Xuan Immortal Monarch with the Yellow Court, both Taiyin Immortal Venerable and Si Chou sensed it, and peculiar expressions appeared on their faces.
’This junior brother of mine... he’s truly capable!’
Taiyin Immortal Venerable was amazed. She clearly hadn’t expected Lü Yang to be able to suppress the Du Xuan Immortal Monarch; she had only hoped he could stall for time while she secured a swift victory on her end.
This, however, was a pleasant surprise.
At this thought, Taiyin Immortal Venerable immediately looked at Si Chou and chuckled. "Daoist, it seems your plan has failed. There’s no need to continue this futile resistance."
She stood atop the gravestone. Below it, Si Chou’s entire body was glowing with Dharma Light, his Qi trace in turmoil. This caused the gravestone to shake continuously, as if he were trying to throw off the heavy soil burying him. However, the power of Taiyin was too immense. He tried time and again, but his Abilities were suppressed and he was forced back down.
This made Si Chou’s expression even uglier.
"Du Xuan... useless trash!"
A dignified Mid-stage Immortal Monarch had actually lost to someone in the Early Stage, and had even been suppressed in turn!
At this moment, Si Chou began to regret not having killed Lü Yang earlier. Who could have imagined that a junior as insignificant as an ant would be the one to ruin his grand plans?
’If this continues, is all this effort truly going to be for nothing?’
A hundred thoughts raced through Si Chou’s mind as he continuously plotted a path to survival. This was the only chance he would get in his entire life; he couldn’t give up, even if it meant death.
As he thought, resentment grew in his heart:
’I still haven’t settled my score with the First Saint.’
’Am I to be suppressed by his disciples without even seeing his face, becoming a stepping stone for their own ascension to the Other Shore?’
’Preposterous!’
Si Chou’s expression flickered between light and dark. As the situation grew more perilous and defeat seemed imminent, the ruthless glint in his eyes intensified:
’I’ve reclaimed my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. Though I’m still missing the final piece, my Divine Will, and haven’t recovered my former Great Dao... if I disregard the consequences and detonate all five, I might be able to turn this situation around. It’s just... the price is too steep. It would be nearly impossible to ascend to the Other Shore again...’
At this thought, Si Chou’s expression grew heavier.
He was weighing the pros and cons. He couldn’t be sure just how strong the Bhagavat’s Spirit Platform seal on the 9th Layer was, or if self-destructing would even be enough to break it.
’My greatest fear is that I’ll detonate my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, only for the seal to hold.’
’Then I would have only succeeded in weakening myself. Without my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or body, and with no way to escape, Taiyin could suppress me completely with ease.’
Si Chou wanted to stall for more time.
Unfortunately, time was not on his side. He could clearly sense the seal from the 9th Layer’s Spirit Platform slowly stripping away his Divine Effect.
’Before long, my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body will be suppressed once again. And since I can’t escape, Taiyin will find a way to obliterate my very existence.’
Time waits for no one!
His intense anxiety and unease instantly rippled out into the Current World. The form composed of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, now fully condensed into a humanoid shape, threw back its head and let out a sudden, ferocious roar.
"Break!"
The terrifying sonic wave crashed against the level above, only to be completely blocked by the Buddha Light Talisman hanging from the 9th Layer. The six True Words, "Om Mani Padme Hum," flared with light.
’You’re really forcing my hand.’
’You’re really forcing my hand!’
Si Chou gritted his teeth, finally abandoning all illusions. He understood that if he didn’t risk it all now and just allowed himself to be suppressed, he wouldn’t even have the chance to fight back later!
At this thought, he finally made his decision:
"Detonate!"
Almost simultaneously, Taiyin Immortal Venerable seemed to sense something. Panic flashed across her cold, aloof face, yet a hint of a smile flickered in the depths of her eyes.
The next second, an absolute silence fell.
The churning waters of the Sea of Suffering instantly fell calm, without a single ripple. Yet from the deepest part of the seabed, a series of deafening booms like Celestial Thunder echoed out.
This was the sound from the Current World.
This happened because the disturbance in the Current World was so violent that it had begun to affect the natural workings of the Sea of Suffering.
Lü Yang was, of course, keenly aware of this change. Standing on the 9th Layer, he felt the ground beneath him heave as if an Earth Dragon were Flipping Over, nearly throwing him into the air. The Position, Divine Effect, and imagery he normally relied on vanished completely. He felt dizzy and disoriented, as if trapped in a dream.
What’s going on!?
Lü Yang subconsciously tightened his grip on the sphere in his hand. Fortunately, the Yellow Court no longer required his Mana to sustain it, so the seal remained intact.
Immediately after, he pushed his spiritual perception to its limit and looked down.
However, all he could see was a blur. Endless, brilliant colors churned, forming a monstrous tide of rolling waves that surged upward!
"RUMBLE!"
At this moment, the entire 9th Layer was shaking so violently that it seemed it would shatter. Lü Yang could even see visible cracks spreading across it.
’This is bad!’
The Bhagavat’s Spirit Platform seal is about to break!
Lü Yang glanced around but saw no escape. He couldn’t help but give a bitter laugh. ’Is today the day I die and have to start all over?’
"CRACK! CRACK!"
The collapse of the 9th Layer continued. However, beneath the crumbling rock and stone, a layer of jade-colored brilliance gradually emerged, growing brighter and brighter.
As if dust and grime were being wiped away.
The dust vanished, and light was born!
"Om Mani Padme Hum!"
In an instant, a magnificent Buddhist chant resounded between Heaven and Earth. Only then did Lü Yang see the true form of the 9th Layer: it was a Dao Platform forged from blue-green jade!
The Dao Platform itself was as translucent as colored glass.
Lü Yang’s gaze passed through it unobstructed, allowing him to see the scene within the Spirit Platform at a single glance. Inside sat a young man, cross-legged, with a serene expression on his face.
He looked exactly like Si Chou.
’That must be Si Chou’s final Divine Will!’
The one in the Sea of Suffering was merely a splinter of consciousness; this was the Divine Will Body itself. It was also the last trace left in the world by Si Chou, the Nascent Soul Daoist Lord.
’Is he about to break free?’
Lü Yang now understood Si Chou’s plan. He was willing to detonate his own eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body just to rescue his most crucial component—his Divine Will. It was a shockingly ruthless move.
And judging by the results, Si Chou had succeeded. The power from the self-detonation of his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and the entire Celestial Mansion was simply terrifying. It wasn’t just raw destructive force; it was conceptually devastating. The self-destruction of a Master of Dao was, in itself, a world-shattering concept.
The Spirit Platform left by the Bhagavat couldn’t withstand it!
Lü Yang could see clearly that the Bhagavat’s entire Spirit Platform was cracking apart, inch by inch, amidst the surging tide below. A magnificent Qi trace was gradually emerging!
"Hahaha!"
In the Sea of Suffering, Si Chou laughed uproariously. He had won his gamble! By detonating his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, he had finally broken the Bhagavat’s Spirit Platform seal!
’Once my Divine Will is free, it can merge with me instantly. With our connection to the Great Dao, we’ll have enough power to shatter the chains of Taiyin’s Fruit of Money and reclaim the Great Dao. I can even make her pay some interest for her trouble. I’ll seize this opportunity to escape into the Outer Heaven Sea of Light, and then I can slowly plot my future...’
In a flash, Si Chou had a plan.
Everything was ready; he just needed the final piece to fall into place.
At this thought, Si Chou immediately turned his attention to the Current World. He looked toward his Divine Will Body inside the shattering Spirit Platform and watched as it slowly opened its eyes.
The two of them made eye contact.
With that one look, Si Chou used the connection between them to transmit the entire story—the cause, effect, and all that had transpired—directly into the thoughts of his Divine Will Body.
"Time is short! Return to me at once!"
Urged on by Si Chou, the Divine Will Body also stood up. Then, under his watchful gaze, it put its palms together, the corners of its mouth curled up slightly, and it actually uttered:
"Amitabha."