As Pudu and the dozen or so other Western Heaven Buddhas began chanting their scriptures, the crimson beam of light enveloping Xiao Jinr became inexplicably unstable. It seemed to be condensing, transforming, and yet also on the verge of dissipating. The slowly rotating crimson full moon in the night sky above was similarly affected.
The cloud cover in the night sky, resembling a sea of blood, also grew increasingly violent, churning like a tsunami.
"No!"
"Don't!"
A sudden, inexplicable cry.
From within the crimson beam came Xiao Jinr's agonized screams.
"I don't want to awaken!"
"I don't want to go back to how I was before!"
"I don't want to hurt anyone... I don't want to!"
"Ah—I'm in so much pain! So much pain!"
Xiao Jinr's pain, heart-wrenching and soul-rending, reached the ears of the onlookers, making her seem utterly pitiful and the situation unbearably cruel!
Within the scene.
Ye Tianlan watched with growing confusion and listened with mounting alarm. More and more, she felt that the scriptures chanted by Pudu and the other saintly monks were not ordinary scriptures, but rather...
Rather, they were scriptures of deliverance.
At this thought.
Ye Tianlan couldn't help but be startled by her own speculation.
Pudu and the others kept saying they wanted to take Xiao Jinr back to the Western Heaven to be temporarily sealed. So why were they chanting scriptures?
And these chanted scriptures sounded exactly like scriptures of deliverance.
Could it be that Pudu and the others' claim about taking Xiao Jinr to the Western Heaven was merely an excuse, their true purpose being to deliver her?
But that didn't make sense either!
If Pudu truly wanted to deliver Xiao Jinr, the Immortal Dao would be more than happy.
The Immortal Dao was already worried about provoking Gu Qingfeng, which was why they had been waiting for Xiao Jinr to perish on her own.
If the Buddhist Path stepped in to deliver her, the Immortal Dao would naturally be delighted. It would solve the problem and shift the blame onto the Western Heaven—a win-win situation.
Furthermore, if the Western Heaven truly intended to deliver Xiao Jinr, Pudu wouldn't have needed to say anything about taking her back to the Western Heaven for sealing.
Just what was going on?
Or was she mistaken? Were Pudu and the others not delivering Xiao Jinr?
Ye Tianlan observed carefully for a while longer. She was quite certain these were the Western Heaven Buddhist Path's scriptures of deliverance. To verify, she inquired with the Great Palm Reserve, who confirmed that Pudu and the others were indeed delivering Xiao Jinr.
"No—no—no—" The crimson beam grew increasingly unstable. The blood moon trembled violently. Within it, Xiao Jinr, who had long since lost consciousness, seemed to come alive again. Inside the crimson beam, she clutched her head, tore at her hair, rolling, screaming, and roaring in agony.
Suddenly.
Whoosh! A figure appeared out of thin air.
Clad in snow-white robes, with long, flowing hair.
A peerless woman, ethereal as mist and smoke, transcendent and breathtakingly beautiful—it was none other than the celestial Su Hua.
"Saint Monk Pudu, didn't you say you would take her to the Western Heaven? You... you all... Why! Why are you delivering Xiao Jinr! Why!"
After leaving her cave abode, Su Hua had searched the entire world for Gu Qingfeng. For this, she had exhausted every method, even resorting to forbidden secret arts. Alas, it was useless. She had searched every corner of the world, drained her spirit, exhausted her divine sense, and depleted all her strength, yet she never found any trace of Gu Qingfeng.
Su Hua was broken, truly broken, her consciousness even growing hazy. In her search for Gu Qingfeng, she had pushed herself to utter exhaustion. Not only was her spirit shattered, her destiny was weakened, and her power dried up. Her entire being was at its weakest point. Especially when she discovered Pudu and the others were delivering Xiao Jinr, she felt as if the sky itself was about to collapse.
She wanted to stop them.
But in her extremely weakened state, even her voice was feeble. How could she possibly stop them?
Even so, she charged forward recklessly.
However, it was utterly futile. In her severely weakened condition, she couldn't even get past the two Golden-Bodied Arhat wrath incarnations.
"Why! Why are you delivering Xiao Jinr... Why!"
Su Hua's eyes were bloodshot, her face ashen, looking utterly disheveled.
"Fairy Hua need not worry. As this young girl's soul has already begun to awaken and has fused with the blood moon, we old monks cannot forcibly take her back to the Western Heaven, nor can we forcibly seal her. The only way is to temporarily suppress her awakening soul through deliverance, thereby seeking an opportunity for sealing later."
Saint Monk Pudu's voice reached her. Su Hua didn't know whether to believe him or not, but she had no choice but to believe. Because at this moment, aside from believing, she could do nothing else.
"No! Don't—"
"I'm in so much pain—"
"I don't want to awaken!"
"I don't want to go back to how I was before!"
"I don't want to hurt anyone... I don't want to!"
"Kill me! Kill me quickly... Kill me!"
Xiao Jinr's agonized screams continued incessantly. As the crimson beam grew more unstable, the terrifying power contained within seemed ready to explode at any moment. The full moon in the night sky trembled more violently, its rotation speeding up. The clouds in the sky, like a sea of blood, boiled and churned!
A thunderous roar echoed through the air. Lightning flashed continuously, howling winds swept through, and nature itself began to descend into chaos.
Then, with a crack, space itself seemed to shatter.
"Kill me! Kill me quickly—I can't hold on much longer! She's about to awaken!"
Within the crimson beam, Xiao Jinr's white hair whipped about wildly. Her crimson eyes were filled with killing intent. Her originally cute and obedient face was now contorted with extreme fury as she roared, "Kill me! Or you will all die—"
Boom! Crack!—
The crimson beam emitted crisp cracking sounds. The terrifying power contained within, like a ferocious beast about to break free, seemed ready to burst forth at any moment. The blood moon in the night sky above trembled more and more violently, as if it might explode at any second.
Witnessing this scene, the cultivators of Weiyang Great Domain no longer dared to stay. They fled the area one after another.
The leaders of the various great sects, along with those Immortals, were no exception.
Female Sect Leader Ye Tianlan and the three mysterious titans also seemed particularly wary and began to retreat as well.
"Saint Monk Pudu, are you certain you can suppress this?"
Watching the seemingly demon-possessed Xiao Jinr within the crimson beam, Lie Shan tightly gripped the Immortal Dao Command Token and the World Command Banner in his hands. At the first sign of trouble, he would act immediately.
"I implore everyone to trust this old monk. No matter what happens, do not act rashly. Otherwise, not only will our previous efforts be wasted, but it could also trigger terrifying consequences. She is the Calamity Star of the Daoless Age. She cannot be killed, nor can she die... She can only be delivered. Remember, do not act recklessly!"
Having said that.
Pudu and the dozen or so other saintly monks, their bodies shimmering with golden radiance, formed hand seals with their fingers, casting forth Buddhist seals one after another. Suddenly, a golden Buddhist swastika seal condensed and shot into the sky, imprinting itself upon the blood moon.
Within the crimson beam, Xiao Jinr grew increasingly frenzied, screaming and roaring incessantly. As her rage intensified, the full moon in the night sky trembled with ever greater ferocity.
"Kill me—kill me quickly—"
"Or you will all die!"
"Go to hell! All of you!!"
Xiao Jinr's earth-shaking scream echoed. Pudu and the others struck the Buddhist swastika seal with over a dozen beams of golden Buddha light. As the swastika seal flashed, vast Buddha light immediately sealed the blood moon. At that very moment, with a thunderous explosion, the crimson beam instantly exploded.