A roar—the sound of dragon cries echoed, as if intimidating all living beings, soaring through a sea of hellfire.
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor stood amidst this dark sea of fire, one hand behind his back, the other toying with that black glazed sphere. He simply stood there, a sinister, ghostly smile on his devilish face, looking like a demon straight from hell.
"Ignorant fools who court death!
Come out and face this Emperor's judgment!"
As his words fell, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor raised a hand and pointed. With a thunderous explosion, the hellish sea of fire erupted violently, shaking the ancient ruins until they trembled fiercely and distorting the entire void into a blur, as if space itself had exploded.
Boom! Boom!
Two figures were blasted out. They were none other than Dharma King Jiujie and Pure Robe Bodhisattva, who had fled using blood escape.
At this moment,
Dharma King Jiujie was no longer the Dharma King Jiujie who wore a golden Buddha crown and a star-and-moon kasaya. His golden Buddha crown had long since vanished, the star-and-moon kasaya draped over him was tattered and torn, and even the nine-ringed golden staff and golden alms bowl in his hands had lost their luster, looking like mere scrap metal.
Dharma King Jiujie was in such a state, and Pure Robe Bodhisattva was no exception. Previously, his Buddha aura had been vast as the sun, sacred and radiant. But now, he was utterly disheveled, hair disarrayed, blood trickling from his mouth, his face ashen and filled with terror.
Neither of them had imagined that after using blood escape, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor could still detect them.
How Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had managed it, they did not know, nor did they have the mind to consider it now.
If fear had previously occupied their hearts, then now, besides fear, there was an even greater sense of despair.
Especially when the dragon cries sounded and that dark, evil dragon came swooping toward them. Both Dharma King Jiujie and Pure Robe Bodhisattva were so terrified they froze on the spot. They did not flee, nor did they even resist. They just stood there dumbly, as if waiting for death.
It wasn't that they didn't want to escape or resist. They had tried both, and failed. Now, they were at a dead end. Besides waiting for death, they could only wait for death.
Dharma King Jiujie, whether resigned to fate or already prepared to die, seemed to have completely lost his wits, as if consciousness had left him. Pure Robe Bodhisattva, however, was unwilling, yet at a loss for what to do. Seeing the Dragon of Darkness about to pounce, Pure Robe Bodhisattva suddenly knelt in the void, mustering all his strength to shout hoarsely: "Tathagata Emperor, save me!
Tathagata Emperor, save me—"
He was calling for help, beseeching Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata of the Western Heaven. This was his last lifeline.
He did not know if Miao Tathagata could hear his plea. The only thing he knew was that Miao Tathagata's Buddha Dharma was boundless.
"Hahahaha!
Do you think Miao Tathagata can hear your cries for help?"
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor looked down from on high, gazing contemptuously at Pure Robe Bodhisattva as he sneered, "Forget that he can't hear you. Even if Miao Tathagata did hear your plea, this Emperor dares say he wouldn't have the courage to come even if given three extra lives!"
Just as his words fell, a change suddenly occurred within the scene.
A pillar of light descended from the heavens, landing precisely to envelop Dharma King Jiujie and Pure Robe Bodhisattva.
The pillar was golden—a Buddha Light, a radiance containing pure, sacred, and luminous Buddha power.
When the Dragon of Darkness struck, touching the Buddha Light, it was as if struck by lightning. A series of crackling sounds erupted. The dragon's scales trembled violently from the explosions. It shook its head, claws bared, emitting dragon cries. But these cries no longer intimidated all beings; they sounded more like furious howls of agony.
In the distance,
the twenty-some Original Sin followers of Heavenly Dragon True Emperor were stunned by this sight. None had expected a pillar of Buddha Light to descend from the sky.
What was this Buddha Light?
Could it be that Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata of the Western Heaven had truly heard Pure Robe Bodhisattva's plea and descended?
They did not know.
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor did not know either.
Nor did he care.
Even if it truly were Miao Tathagata arriving in person, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor would not feel the slightest fear.
"Hmph!
A mere Buddha Light dares to contend with this Emperor? Overestimating yourself!
This Emperor will see if you are truly Miao Tathagata!"
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor raised a hand and pointed. The black glazed sphere at his fingertip shot forth, smashing against the Buddha Light. Dark flames rapidly ignited, spreading upward along the Buddha Light. In the blink of an eye, the originally pure, sacred, and luminous golden Buddha pillar transformed into a dark, evil pillar of fire.
Roar—the Dragon of Darkness let out an angry cry, coiling around the fiery pillar as it spiraled upward.
Suddenly,
something bizarre occurred.
The wildly burning dark flames ceased—more precisely, they froze, as if pinned in place. Not only the dark flames, but even the Dragon of Darkness, which had been coiling up the pillar, inexplicably froze in mid-air, similarly immobilized.
What was happening?
No one knew.
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor tried to control it with his divine sense, but to no avail. In that instant just now, his divine sense had inexplicably lost contact with the Dragon of Darkness—and it had happened silently, without him sensing any abnormality.
This was the first time Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had encountered such a bizarre situation. Just as he was about to step forward to investigate, the frozen pillar of fire began to change. A golden Buddha Light shone forth, followed by a second...
a third...
ten, a hundred, a thousand...
In the time it takes to snap a finger, the pillar previously engulfed by dark flames became riddled with holes. Countless beams of Buddha Light radiated out. The golden pillar of light reappeared in the void as if seeing the light again, while the dark flames had completely vanished without a trace.
Only that frozen Dragon of Darkness remained coiled around the Buddha Light. Yet, it no longer roared, no longer raged, was no longer dark, nor evil. Instead, it began to distort and blur.
With a whoosh, the Dragon of Darkness turned to ash and vanished.
Yes.
Without any warning, it simply turned to ash and vanished.
Like a piece of paper set aflame, it turned to ashes and disappeared.
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor in the distance, still unaware of what had happened, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
That Dragon of Darkness was not some mere technique he had cast. It was a Black Dragon avatar nurtured from his own Heavenly Dragon Absolute Body, a avatar refined over many years using his own Dark Original Sin blood. It was intimately connected to his mind, spirit, and even his physical body.
Now that the Dragon of Darkness had turned to ash, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, though not fatally wounded, was seriously injured.
The twenty-some Original Sin followers beside him, witnessing this, were terrified. They retreated one after another, vaguely sensing that it might truly be Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata who had descended.
At this moment,
though Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had spat blood and was seriously injured, that was all.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his furious eyes fixed intently on that golden Buddha Light.
He was not afraid.
Even if it truly were Buddha Emperor Miao Tathagata of the Western Heaven arriving in person, he still would not fear.
Even though the Black Dragon avatar refined over many years had turned to ash, he remained unafraid.
"West!
Heaven!
Buddha!
Emperor!
Miao!
Tathagata!"
Heavenly Dragon True Emperor spat out each word through gritted teeth.