Chapter 603 - 346: Return (3)
But for ordinary people who could only follow the crowd, it was undoubtedly a disaster, as if the sky itself were falling.
Normally, plenty of Cultivators would have dealt with the Demon Fiends and other evil abominations that appeared everywhere. But now, everyone was fighting for their own faction, leaving these Evil Demons and foul creatures completely unchecked. Chaos reigned everywhere.
After entering Little Buddha State and leaving the Land of Shattered Armor, Yang An traveled west for less than a hundred miles. In that short distance, he came across several instances of Demon Fiends wreaking havoc, and the carnage was appalling.
Yang An helped where he could, saving many people and slaying all the rampaging Demon Fiends. Yet, he could only save them for the moment; once he left, the same thing would just happen all over again.
These Demon Fiends were utterly irrational. They attacked everything indiscriminately—aside from their own kind—driven only by an infinite desire for slaughter.
Ordinary people were completely defenseless. An encounter with a Demon Fiend was a death sentence.
Even the Loose Cultivators traveling the world mostly fled for their lives when faced with such a scene. The few with a sense of justice still found it difficult to ensure the commoners’ Zhou Quan.
In a world on the verge of collapse, such turmoil was inevitable, no matter which way you looked at it.
When the sky is about to fall, the first sign isn’t necessarily a celestial omen, but the collapse of society itself, leaving every person to fend for themselves.
This was especially true when the powers that be no longer cared about such matters, focusing solely on their own interests. Only Cultivators had combat value; to them, ordinary people were worthless and dispensable—not even fit to serve as cannon fodder.
This was both the price of war and an inevitable symptom of a world that had become completely twisted.
Yang An’s primary goal right now was to reach a safe place and find a way to achieve a breakthrough in the Insect Dao as soon as possible. He couldn’t afford to attract unwanted attention, so even when he saved ordinary people along the way, he did so from the shadows.
He was deeply conflicted. On one hand, he couldn’t stand to watch these defenseless people be slaughtered by Demon Fiends. On the other, he couldn’t take them with him, or he would risk drawing attention and exposing his whereabouts.
After saving another small town and slaying every last Demon Fiend, Yang An hesitated. The rescued townspeople all fell to their knees, overcome with gratitude. Unable to simply watch any longer, he finally revealed himself.
"You must be a Bodhisattva from the Shangshan Holy Land, come to rescue us! All hail the Bodhisattva! All hail the Bodhisattva!"
Legend told of many Bodhisattvas within the Shangshan Holy Land. They rode upon Lotus Platforms, were shrouded in Buddha’s Radiance, and dedicated themselves to slaying Demon Fiends and protecting all living beings.
Having just witnessed the Demon Fiends being annihilated by a Golden Radiance that descended from the heavens, the devout townspeople naturally mistook Yang An for a Bodhisattva who had come to save their mortal souls.
"..."
Yang An was speechless, but he didn’t correct them. He even played along, manifesting the Buddha’s Light Wheel to hover behind him, filling the air with an aura of solemn sanctity.
Bathed in the glow of the Buddha’s Radiance, the crowd fell to the ground once more, prostrating themselves devoutly with tears streaming down their faces.
Yang An remained silent for a moment before asking a question.
"Is there a sanctuary nearby? You are all in grave danger. Do you intend to simply let these Demons slaughter you and surrender without a fight?"
’If these Demon Fiends are allowed to continue their slaughter,’ he thought, ’it won’t be long before there are no ordinary people left alive in the entire Treasure Temple Domain.’
His sense of justice flared, and emotion finally overrode reason. Yang An could no longer just stand by and watch.
’If I can save some of them without exposing myself,’ he reasoned, ’I’ll feel a little better about all this.’
’When it comes to other Cultivators, I can watch them die and do nothing. If a Cultivator runs into this kind of trouble, they can only blame their own lack of skill.’
’But I have no reason to blame ordinary people for being unable to fight back against Demon Fiends, for being nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.’
"To answer the Bodhisattva, yes, there is such a place. We’ve heard that in Nirvana City, over a hundred miles away, a Tripod Bodhisattva has appeared. He’s taking in common folk like us who’ve been tormented by Demon Fiends, ensuring the Zhou Quan of the entire region.
But for us... forget a hundred miles. We can’t even travel ten. Every step is fraught with peril."
One of the people below replied, his words filled with sorrow and hardship.
Yang An, who had only been wondering if he could save these people from the Demon Fiend attacks, was stunned by the reply.
’Tripod Bodhisattva?’