In the void,
Warrior Emperor Wuzang wore a silver crown, his face as fair as jade, eyes bright as morning stars, white robes purer than snow.
His hands were clasped behind his back, draped in a radiance that stretched ten thousand zhang, his presence as majestic as a rainbow, his person like a Great Sun, akin to a heavenly deity descending to the mortal realm.
Since his appearance, he had been gazing intently at Miao Tathagata.
After a moment, he spoke: "Wuzang pays his respects to the Tathagata Buddha Emperor."
No one had expected Warrior Emperor Wuzang would take the initiative to salute Miao Tathagata.
However.
Rather than a salute, it was more of a greeting—and a rather perfunctory one at that.
Because when Warrior Emperor Wuzang spoke, he neither knelt nor clasped his hands. Instead, he stood ramrod straight in the void, his handsome face showing not the slightest trace of reverence, only a composed calmness, as if casually and politely greeting someone he wasn't very familiar with.
Yet.
Miao Tathagata did not respond to him.
He remained seated cross-legged upon the palm of that sacred Great Buddha that blotted out the sky, one hand held vertically before his chest, the other turning prayer beads, his eyes slightly closed as he recited sutras.
He neither opened his eyes nor spoke.
This was his treatment of the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, and Warrior Emperor Wuzang was no exception.
No one knew what Miao Tathagata was truly doing, what he was thinking, nor what his real purpose was.
Warrior Emperor Wuzang was not angered by this. He continued: "I wonder how my brother has offended the Buddha Emperor?"
Miao Tathagata seemed not to have heard, still offering no response.
Warrior Emperor Wuzang spoke again: "If my brother has previously offended the Buddha Emperor, I hope the Buddha Emperor will forgive him."
At this moment,
the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, suppressed beneath the Furious Manifestation Buddha Statues of the Five Great Wisdom Kings, roared: "Wuzang! What are you wasting words with him for? Hurry up and destroy these Furious Manifestations of the Five Great Wisdom Kings!
First, free me from this predicament!"
Warrior Emperor Wuzang paid no heed to the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor. His eyes fixed on Miao Tathagata, he continued: "I wonder if the Buddha Emperor could, for my sake, show some leniency and withdraw the Furious Manifestation Buddha Statues of the Five Great Wisdom Kings?"
No response.
Still none.
This scene made the experts hiding in the shadows to watch the battle all feel rather strange.
They had been speculating earlier: was it Miao Tathagata using the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to draw out Warrior Emperor Wuzang, or was it Warrior Emperor Wuzang using the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to draw out Miao Tathagata?
But now, looking at this, it didn't seem to be the case.
If Miao Tathagata was using the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to draw out Warrior Emperor Wuzang, Wuzang had already appeared, yet Miao Tathagata showed no reaction whatsoever. If so, why would he use the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to draw him out?
If Warrior Emperor Wuzang was colluding with the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor to probe Miao Tathagata's depths, why didn't Wuzang strike directly?
Instead, he was pleading for mercy.
What kind of play were they performing?
What schemes were they each harboring?
Time trickled by. Miao Tathagata, from beginning to end, never responded to Warrior Emperor Wuzang—not even a single word.
The suppressed and immobilized Heavenly Dragon True Emperor had long grown impatient, constantly roaring: "Wuzang!
I told you not to waste words with him! First, destroy these Furious Manifestations of the Five Great Wisdom Kings and free me! Once I'm out, we'll join forces and annihilate Miao Tathagata!"
"I wonder if the Buddha Emperor could, for my sake, show some leniency and withdraw the Furious Manifestation Buddha Statues of the Five Great Wisdom Kings."
Warrior Emperor Wuzang continued his plea: "If the Buddha Emperor is willing to show leniency, I, Wuzang, will immediately take my brother and leave, never to offend the Buddha Emperor again!"
The radiance of the Great Sun shone universally.
Countless Buddhas in the sky paid homage.
Rolling Buddhist chants performed deliverance.
The sacred Great Buddha exerted its awe.
The Buddha Emperor Tathagata recited sutras.
"Heh!"
A laugh rang out.
Not from Miao Tathagata, but from Warrior Emperor Wuzang.
"Since the Tathagata Buddha Emperor refuses to show leniency, I have no choice but to personally withdraw the Furious Manifestation Buddha Statues of the Five Great Wisdom Kings!"
It was clear Warrior Emperor Wuzang was being polite first, forceful later. A moment ago, he had been courteous and refined to the utmost; now, he was cold, stern, and confident, his tone of voice turning domineering.
As his words fell, Warrior Emperor Wuzang soared into the air. His person, like a Great Sun, gradually became dazzlingly bright. The originally pure white Great Sun gradually grew even purer, even more pristine and white, appearing crystalline, spotless, as if transparent—a truly wondrous sight.
The ten-thousand-zhang radiance it released was similarly pure and white, illuminating the Kan Palace Void with incredible brightness, almost overwhelming the golden Buddhist light radiating from the golden Great Sun above Miao Tathagata's head.
This jade-white Great Sun was as sacred as could be, as radiant as could be, like the legendary sacred, radiant blazing sun in tales, its sunlight shining universally, purifying all things in heaven and earth.
As is well known,
in the vast heavens and myriad realms of the Great Desolation, many so-called experts could manifest as a Great Sun.
However, the Great Suns they manifested were merely sun-like in form, and certainly incapable of universally illuminating the void.
Looking across heaven and earth, only one kind of existence, when manifesting as a Great Sun, contained both the form and essence of the sun, its majestic might, even its divine soul, and could indeed universally illuminate the void.
This existence was the Radiance Bloodline.
Legend has it that the first immortal Dao overlord to manifest as a Great Sun and illuminate the Nine Netherworlds, the Great Sun Radiance Emperor, possessed the Radiance Bloodline.
The second, the Buddhist Dao overlord who manifested as a Great Sun to deliver the Nine Netherworlds, Miao Tathagata, also possessed the Radiance Bloodline.
And, as it happens,
Warrior Emperor Wuzang also possessed the Radiance Bloodline.
The difference was:
The Great Sun manifested by the Great Sun Radiance Emperor was a scorching sun, an extremely domineering blazing sun, as if capable of incinerating all things.
The Great Sun manifested by Miao Tathagata was golden and resplendent, an extremely vast fiery sun, as if capable of delivering all things.
The Great Sun manifested by Warrior Emperor Wuzang was white as jade, an extremely dazzling blazing sun, as if capable of purifying all things.
One could say each was more sacred than the last, each more radiant than the last.
At some point, the entire void of the Kan Palace seemed to have been purified and distorted by Warrior Emperor Wuzang's manifestation as a blazing sun, becoming blurry and indistinct, appearing like a fantastical world amidst shifting winds and clouds—somewhat illusory, somewhat ethereal.
Suddenly,
beside Warrior Emperor Wuzang, who had manifested as a purifying blazing sun, five Light Spheres gradually appeared.
The Light Spheres spun wildly like whirlpools, growing larger and larger. As they spun, they released countless rays of blazing sun-light. The more they spun, the more distorted and blurred the Kan Palace Void became.
The first Light Sphere seemed golden; as it spun, it was serene and profound like an abyss, as if capable of devouring all things.
The second Light Sphere seemed azure; as it spun, it brimmed with endless vitality, as if capable of evolving all things.
The third Light Sphere seemed blue; as it spun, it displayed infinite transformations, as if capable of fusing with all things.
The fourth Light Sphere seemed crimson; as it spun, it burned fiercely, as if capable of incinerating all things.
The fifth Light Sphere seemed yellow; as it spun, it overflowed with vibrant life force, as if capable of nurturing and transforming all things.
The five Light Spheres slowly revolved around Warrior Emperor Wuzang, who had transformed into a purifying blazing sun. They appeared to be mutually generating and mutually restraining, like a dazzling star, or like five miraculous primordial sources.