Within the arena.
When the Immortal Dao Sovereign Wu Yuan demanded that Gu Qingfeng hand over the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship in exchange for allowing Jin'er to be handed over to the Western Heaven, many waited for Gu Qingfeng's response.
Yet, Gu Qingfeng did not respond. Strangely, he didn't even seem to react. He remained standing quietly in mid-air, holding little Jin'er, his stern face expressionless from beginning to end, his dark eyes as still and profound as ever.
Neither the Immortal Dao Sovereign Wu Yuan nor the Heavenly Dao Sovereign Po Yun appeared anxious.
Po Yun simply closed his eyes, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
Wu Yuan maintained his lofty, all-seeing demeanor.
Da Xing the Mad Monk glanced at them, then at Gu Qingfeng, before turning his gaze to the blood moon sealed by the Buddhist swastika mark in the sky, his heart filled with deep concern.
At this moment, the blood moon trembled incessantly, slowly rotating as it did so. The Buddhist swastika mark sealing it grew increasingly faint. Clearly, the seal could not hold much longer. Once the blood moon broke free, the unconscious little Jin'er would once again be shrouded in crimson light. In other words, Jin'er's bloodline and soul might fully awaken.
This was something no one wished to see.
Not the Immortal Dao, not the Heavenly Dao, and certainly not the Buddha Dao.
The reason the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao were not in a hurry was because they knew Gu Qingfeng was even more anxious than they were.
It was precisely because they recognized this that they chose this critical moment to coerce Gu Qingfeng into surrendering the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship.
"Do not blame this sovereign for reminding you," Wu Yuan said, a faint smile playing on his lips as if he had Gu Qingfeng completely figured out. "Once the blood moon breaks the Buddhist swastika seal, the Calamity Star in your arms could awaken at any moment. And if the Calamity Star awakens... well, by then, heh... even if you were willing to hand over the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship, it would be too late. For the sake of all living beings under heaven, our Immortal Dao would never allow an awakened Calamity Star to exist in this world."
"Presumably, you also do not wish to see an awakened Calamity Star bring calamity upon the world? This sovereign has heard that this Calamity Star was once a well-behaved, lovely, and innocent little girl. It is also said she always regarded you as family. For such an adorable child to lose her life because of your selfishness... that would be truly tragic."
Gu Qingfeng still did not respond. He merely held little Jin'er, gazing at the blood moon in the sky, lost in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke, his tone indifferent. "If I hand over the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship, will the Immortal Dao spare little Jin'er?"
"Spare her? No! This sovereign never said such a thing. I only said that if you hand over the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship, our Immortal Dao will permit the Calamity Star to be temporarily suppressed and sealed within the Western Heaven. But it is only suppression and sealing. She is the Calamity Star of the Daoless Age, a grave danger. Our Immortal Dao would never gamble with the lives of all living beings. That is our bottom line."
"Is the Immortal Dao trustworthy?"
"Of course it is trustworthy. If the Immortal Dao is not trustworthy, who in this heaven and earth can be?"
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng spoke with detached calm. "If I recall correctly, over a decade ago in the Great Northwest, the Immortal Dao promised me that if I handed over the Original Sin Blood, they would let me go. Yet, after I handed it over, how did the Immortal Dao treat me?"
"What happened over a decade ago was merely an exception. Back then, for the sake of all living beings, our Immortal Dao had no choice but to act as we did. Moreover, if our Immortal Dao truly wished to eradicate you, how could you have survived until now?"
Perhaps to convince Gu Qingfeng, Wu Yuan added, "If you harbor doubts, I can immediately report to the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao, have a sacred Immortal Dao decree descend, and proclaim it to the world. Would that suffice?"
"No need. Whether the Immortal Dao is trustworthy or not, I have my own judgment."
As soon as Gu Qingfeng finished speaking, the previously silent Heavenly Dao Sovereign Po Yun suddenly opened his eyes. "If you are willing to hand over the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship, this sovereign can represent the Heavenly Dao and promise you this: as long as this Calamity Star does not bring calamity upon the world in the future, our Heavenly Dao will never eradicate her. Our Heavenly Dao has always been as good as its word. If you cannot trust the Immortal Dao, surely you can trust our Heavenly Dao?"
The Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship was the unique fortune of the Human Dao. Obtaining this fortune essentially meant dominating the Human Dao. And he who masters the Human Dao masters heaven and earth, becoming the foremost of the Great Daos.
The Immortal Dao coveted the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship, and the Heavenly Dao was no exception. This was precisely why the Heavenly Dao envoys had descended.
In the distance, listening to the words of the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao envoys, Su Hua's heart burned with fury and disappointment, especially toward the Immortal Dao. Their hypocrisy knew no bounds, constantly preaching about acting for all living beings while their true aim was to covet Gu Qingfeng's Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship.
The Heavenly Dao was no better. In fact, it was even worse. At least the Immortal Dao hypocritically went through the motions. The Heavenly Dao couldn't even be bothered with pretense, almost outright stating that in its eyes, the Myriad Living Stupas and Myriad Phenomena Worship was far more important than the lives of all living beings.
The only thing that gave her solace was that the Buddha Dao had not fallen into depravity, that it truly acted with compassion and concern for all living beings. At least, it appeared so. Su Hua hoped in her heart that this was indeed the case.
Just then, another voice echoed from the sky.
"Amitabha."
A Buddhist chant resounded. As Buddhist light shimmered in the air, over a dozen Buddhas clad in pristine white kasayas descended.
Seeing these white-robed Buddhas, Su Hua was first shocked, then her first instinct was a sinking feeling of dread.
For these white-robed Buddhas were from the Western Heaven's Pure Land Sect. The Pure Land Sect was the foremost of the eight Buddhist sects of the Western Heaven, holding extremely high status and prestige. This was especially true for their leader, the Formless Holy Monk. Like the White-Browed Holy Monk of the Chan Sect, he was renowned not only in the Western Heaven but throughout the Great Desolate Celestial Realm.
However, unlike the White-Browed Holy Monk, who was widely known for his compassionate heart, this Formless Holy Monk was infamous for his hypocrisy.
Yes. Hypocrisy.
Almost anyone who had heard the name Formless Holy Monk knew that this holy monk and Buddha was most adept at one thing: using the name of compassion, the name of good and evil, the name of karma, to stand upon the moral high ground and dictate the life and death of others. What he declared good was good, what he declared evil was evil. If he said an immortal was a demon, they became a demon. If he said a Buddha was a demon, they became a demon.
In the Nine Heavens, many immortals hailed as heroes and champions had been morally coerced by him, ending up either driven mad or dead. Even many Buddhas of the Western Heaven had fallen victim to his schemes, forced to degenerate from Buddha-hood into demon-hood.