At that moment.
A golden radiance suddenly appeared in the churning, blood-red night sky.
This golden radiance was immensely vast, just like the Immortal Dao's pristine white light—both sacred and pure, pure and holy. The difference was that the Immortal Dao's pristine white light was more severe, enveloping the world as if purifying all things, while this golden-yellow radiance was more compassionate, enveloping the world as if redeeming all things.
When the cultivators present saw the golden radiance, they might have found it unfamiliar. However, immortals who had cultivated for thousands of years knew that this golden-yellow radiance was none other than the vast Buddha-light.
Sure enough.
As the Buddha-light bloomed, a group of over a dozen monks in kasayas descended from the sky.
To be precise.
These were not ordinary monks, but Buddhas from the Western Heaven.
The leader, an old monk with a compassionate and benevolent expression, was none other than the sovereign of the Buddha Dao in this world—Pudu.
Seeing the Buddhas from the Western Heaven descend, the cultivators present might have found it strange, as they rarely saw these Buddhas. Not only in the Present-Ancient Era, but even in the Ancient Era, few had ever seen them.
They felt this way.
As for Female Sect Leader Ye Tianlan and the three mysterious titans, when they saw the Western Heaven Buddhas descend, they all furrowed their brows, inwardly sighing that this matter was becoming increasingly complicated. Even the Western Heaven Buddha Dao, which had always stayed away from the conflicts of the Great Daos, had now gotten involved.
Of course.
Sighing aside.
The descent of the Western Heaven Buddhas did not surprise them. Not only were they not surprised, but they also felt it was expected.
Although the Western Heaven Buddha Dao did not participate in the conflicts of the Great Daos, it had always protected all living beings in the world with compassion. Throughout the heavens and earth, whenever there was a threat to the world or harm to all living beings, the Western Heaven Buddha Dao would always personally appear at the scene. This had been the case since ancient times, which was why the Buddha Dao was revered as the leader of the Great Daos and the fundamental reason why the Three Thousand Great Daos respected it. This time, with the Calamity Star descending in the Present-Ancient Era, such a major event naturally would not be ignored by the Western Heaven Buddha Dao.
The only thing that puzzled Ye Tianlan was that since the beginning of the Present-Ancient Era, the Immortal Dao, in its bid to seize the position of leader among the Great Daos, had been showcasing itself everywhere, setting examples everywhere, meddling in matters it should and should not handle, effectively doing the work of both the Heavenly Dao and the Buddha Dao.
The Buddha Dao was not unaware of the Immortal Dao's ambitions, but it had not said anything. Moreover, if a crisis arose and the Immortal Dao was willing to step in to resolve it, the Buddha Dao would not intervene.
Now, Cloud End had already stepped in, and Cloud End represented the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao. Since the Immortal Dao had already intervened, why had the Buddha Dao descended?
Was it a lack of confidence in the Immortal Dao?
Or was there another reason?
For a moment, Female Sect Leader Ye Tianlan could not quite figure it out.
"May I ask why the Venerable Pudu has graced us with his presence?"
Lie Shan did not seem very welcoming of Pudu and the other Western Heaven Buddhas, and his words were filled with displeasure.
"Amitabha."
Pudu pressed his palms together, first reciting a Buddhist phrase, then looked at the blood moon in the night sky, then at Xiao Jinr within the crimson light column, before turning to Lie Shan and saying, "This old monk has come to ask all of you to show mercy."
"Oh?
Show mercy?
Heh."
Lie Shan laughed. "Does the Venerable Pudu know who she is?"
"She is both the Calamity Star descended in the Present-Ancient Era and the Calamity Star of the Daoless Age, and perhaps...
even more complex..."
"Since the Venerable knows, why ask this official to spare her?"
"World Enforcer misunderstands. This old monk is not asking you to spare her. This old monk merely wishes to ask you to show mercy."
"What do you mean?"
Lie Shan was somewhat confused.
"This girl cannot be killed. At least, not now."
"Why can't she be killed?"
Faced with Lie Shan's questioning, Pudu responded, "There are three reasons. First, this girl's relationship with Fellow Daoist Gu is extraordinary. If she is killed, Fellow Daoist Gu will certainly not let the matter rest."
As soon as the words fell, before Lie Shan could speak, Shangguan Yu said, "He's nothing but a bearer of Original Sin. What is there to fear!"
"Hmph!
It's just a mere Gu Qingfeng. If that Gu Qingfeng dares to come, I, Shi Tian, will make sure he never returns!"
Then.
Lie Shan spoke up, "Whether it's Gu Tianlang or Gu Qingfeng, Cloud End rules the world. Naturally, we do not fear him!"
Pudu paid no attention to these people and continued, "Second, this girl is the Calamity Star of the Daoless Age, and the Calamity Star of the Daoless Age is beyond our imagination."
"Third, killing her does not equate to eradicating the Calamity Star. Moreover, with our power, I'm afraid we may not truly be able to exterminate her."
"Therefore, this old monk asks the esteemed officials of Cloud End to show mercy and hand this girl over to this old monk to take back to the Western Heaven and seal her away first."
Pudu seemed very anxious and worried. He did not beat around the bush but spoke directly, "This way, we can both give Fellow Daoist Gu an explanation and avoid unforeseeable and terrible consequences resulting from a blind, erroneous decision."
Seeing Lie Shan hesitate, Pudu added, "Where Fellow Daoist Gu is now, this old monk does not know. Whether he is in this world or not, this old monk similarly does not know. However, that is not important. What is important is Fellow Daoist Gu's relationship with this young girl, and what Fellow Daoist Gu will do after learning of this matter."
Although Lie Shan claimed that Cloud End ruled the world and did not fear Gu Qingfeng.
That was merely lip service.
When Shangguan Yu and Shi Tian said they did not fear him, they truly did not fear him—because they did not know how terrifying Gu Qingfeng was.
But Lie Shan was different. He knew how terrifying Gu Qingfeng's existence was. Even though he was an Arbiter of the Immortal Dao and a World Enforcer, holding the Immortal Dao Command Token that could mobilize the power of the Immortal Dao and the World Command Banner that could mobilize the power of World Law, he still had no confidence facing Gu Qingfeng—not even a shred.
When even the Divine Judgment, hailed as the judgment of the gods, could not erase Gu Qingfeng, who could guarantee that World Law could erase him?
What if he couldn't be erased?
Lie Shan had not thought about this question.
Not that he didn't want to think about it, but he dared not.
The reason he dared to step forward today was not because he wanted to, but because Gu Qingfeng's whereabouts were currently unknown, as if he had disappeared.
But it was only that his whereabouts were unknown. As Pudu said, where Gu Qingfeng was now, or whether he was in this world, was not important. What was important was what terrifying things Gu Qingfeng would do after learning of this matter. That was the most crucial point.
This principle was not unknown to Lie Shan.
Nor was he unafraid.
But fear was useless. The Immortal Dao's decree had already come down. As both an Arbiter of the Immortal Dao and a World Enforcer, he could only brace himself and step forward.
Lie Shan did not respond. Instead, he looked up at the Day of Radiance hanging in the sky. He felt it necessary to seek instructions from the Immortal Dao regarding this matter.