The elders from Eternal Life Pavilion and Violet Mist Immortal Realm immediately froze in place, as if they had lost their souls. The greed, resentment, and delusion in their hearts, along with all the thoughts in their consciousness, vanished at this moment, leaving their minds completely blank, their very consciousness disappearing.
Not only were they affected, but the Purple Poison Ghost Emperor, Eastern Peak Great Emperor, Pure Robe Bodhisattva, and Lord Lingyin, who had originally appeared beside the Seven-Colored Lotus intending to seize it, also stood frozen in mid-air like statues.
The thoughts in their consciousness also vanished at this moment, their minds equally blank. Though their consciousness had not disappeared, it had grown numb, their eyes especially vacant as they stared at the Seven-Colored Lotus before them, no longer harboring any trace of greed.
They all knew it must have been Water Moon Bodhisattva who had acted, unleashing the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk.
This was especially true for the Purple Poison Ghost Emperor, who had fought Water Moon Bodhisattva before and had been enveloped by the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk, experiencing exactly this kind of numb, void-like feeling where all thoughts vanished, as if falling into a state of emptiness.
The reality was indeed so.
While engaging the Three-Eyed Demon Lord, Water Moon Bodhisattva desperately unleashed the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk to restrain the Purple Poison Ghost Emperor and the others. However, she had been continuously using the whisk to suppress the Three-Eyed Demon Lord. Although that single sweep temporarily restrained the Purple Poison Ghost Emperor and the others, it was only momentary. She knew full well that with their cultivation levels, they would soon regain clarity.
Sure enough!
Not long after, the blank minds of the Purple Poison Ghost Emperor, Eastern Peak Great Emperor, and the others began to generate thoughts again, their consciousnesses awakening accordingly.
"Five Seniors! I implore you to stop them!" Water Moon Bodhisattva shouted loudly. Yet, the Five Monsters of Black Mountain in the distance seemed not to hear her, still occupied with their own affairs.
The Five Monsters of Black Mountain were not only strange in appearance but also eccentric in temperament, acting solely according to their whims. They also seemed to lack a certain mental faculty. Earlier, when Water Moon Bodhisattva had asked them to deal with the others, the Five Monsters had complied, tormenting beings like Green-Tusked Ghost King, Blood-Toad Monster King, and others to the point of agony and mental collapse. They had played with their physical bodies like kicking a ball back and forth, and their souls like blowing smoke around. They had even started fighting amongst themselves over the Great Dao Destiny Hearts as prizes.
In the end, not only had they played Green-Tusked Ghost King and the others to death, but they had also ended up fighting fiercely amongst themselves. The reason was simple: those they had played to death included Green-Tusked Ghost King, Blood-Toad Monster King, another Ghost King, plus two Ghost Lords. After playing these Great Dao Destiny holders to death, the Five Monsters of Black Mountain had been continuously discussing how to divide the spoils.
Fire Head Tuo claimed his contribution was the greatest, so he felt he deserved one Great Dao Destiny Throne Heart.
Thunder Lord and Lightning Mother felt their contributions were also significant and should each receive one Great Dao Destiny Throne Heart.
This displeased Feng Si Niang, because there were only three Great Dao Destiny Throne Hearts, the remaining two being Great Dao Destiny Star Lord Hearts. Everyone knew that a Great Dao Destiny Throne was a higher rank than a Great Dao Destiny Star Lord, and naturally, she also wanted a Throne Heart.
Thus, the Five Monsters of Black Mountain had been arguing incessantly, none willing to yield, each wanting a Great Dao Destiny Throne Heart. In the end, Fire Head Tuo's temper flared, and he grabbed his twin hammers and started fighting. Even Lord Earth, the leader of the Five Monsters, intervened to persuade had been useless in mediation.
Water Moon Bodhisattva called out several times without response and finally had to give up. Watching time tick away, as Eastern Peak Great Emperor and Purple Poison Ghost Emperor showed signs of awakening, Water Moon Bodhisattva grew extremely anxious. Yet, she had been continuously using the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk to suppress the Three-Eyed Demon Lord and simply could not free herself.
One must say, the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk in Water Moon Bodhisattva's hand was truly formidable, worthy of being a treasure forged by the Lamp-Lighting Ancient Buddha. When she unleashed it, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord was completely restrained, also frozen in mid-air like a statue of a demonic god.
The thoughts in his consciousness vanished, his mind went blank, and his consciousness became paralyzed.
However.
The Three-Eyed Demon Lord was not completely restrained by the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk. His will appeared extremely steadfast, his consciousness remarkably tenacious. Soon, thoughts began to emerge one after another in his consciousness, his mind began to recover, his consciousness gradually cleared, and his physical body could move again.
Seeing this, Water Moon Bodhisattva chanted scriptures, and the Three-Eyed Demon Lord was restrained once more, the thoughts that had just emerged in his consciousness scattering again.
Under the Three-Eyed Demon Lord's intense will, his consciousness birthed various thoughts once more, but they were quickly purified and scattered again.
And so it went: the Three-Eyed Demon Lord's consciousness continuously generated various thoughts, only to be purified and scattered by the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk in Water Moon Bodhisattva's hand. The two were locked in a stalemate, and the Three-Eyed Demon Lord's body trembled intermittently in mid-air.
Although Buddhism is the natural bane of all demons, ghosts, and monsters.
There is also an old saying: When the Dao rises by a foot, the demon rises by ten.
Although the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk in Water Moon Bodhisattva's hand was formidable, it could not convert the evil Heavenly Demon Heart of the Three-Eyed Demon Lord.
"Hehehe! Trying to convert this lord... is truly... a deluded fantasy!"
The Three-Eyed Demon Lord's Heavenly Demon Heart grew increasingly firm, increasingly intense. The thoughts birthed in his consciousness grew more and more frenzied, so frenzied that the Great Pure Great Still Empty Gate Whisk in Water Moon Bodhisattva's hand could not keep up with converting them, nor could it convert them all.
Water Moon Bodhisattva's face turned ashen. She gradually realized that even with her utmost effort, she could not purify the Three-Eyed Demon Lord. Not only could she not purify him, she even discovered that his Heavenly Demon Heart was growing increasingly evil under the whisk's influence. In a sense, far from restraining the Three-Eyed Demon Lord, Water Moon Bodhisattva was aiding his evil, making his Heavenly Demon Heart ever more malevolent and powerful.
In the distance.
Da Xing the Mad Monk watched this scene, shaking his head and sighing, "Junior Sister, oh Junior Sister, why do you still not understand? Buddha is also demon, demon is also Buddha. This brat Three-Eyed Demon Lord is a demon, moreover a Heavenly Demon, a very pure Heavenly Demon."
"He was born without humanity, without any sense of morality. What he possesses is innate demonic nature. He does not know good or evil, does not understand life and death, and has no seven emotions or six desires. He acts entirely according to his whims. The myriad thoughts birthed in his consciousness are evil to you, but to him, they are pure and holy, even sacred, because this is his innate nature."
"To you, he is a demon. To him, you are the demon."
"He is by nature such a pure and holy demon. How could you possibly convert him?"
The reason Heavenly Demons are terrifying is precisely because they are demons by birth, their demonic nature being their innate nature—they are innate demons.
However, many Heavenly Demons change after entering the mortal world due to various reasons, such as refining treasures, seeking fortune, pursuing destiny, and so on. Once tainted by these, they gradually become less and less pure.