Jijue grew tense as well and whispered, "I can leave at any time. When do we set off?"
Xu Ying smiled. "We wait a day. Once the Evil Buddha enters secluded meditation, we can make our move."
Unable to conceal his excitement, Jijue then asked, "Jieputi's World of Ultimate Bliss is so formidable. How can we possibly break out?"
"Even I have no way of breaking his World of Ultimate Bliss," Xu Ying replied. "However, not even he can do anything about the Heavenly Sea. Our only path is to cross that water and leave this world across its surface."
The following morning, Jijue was about to begin his customary morning prayers when Jieputi suddenly came to mind. *Did the Evil Buddha tell me all those things so I would go to the Ancestral Court and attain buddhahood? He also said he was going into seclusion. Could he be intentionally offering me a chance to flee?*
Having little experience with the world, he found it thoroughly baffling. Jieputi was the Buddha Ancestor who ruled this great world. He could have simply released Xu Ying and him outright, so why resort to such convoluted maneuvers?
When the sun hung high in the sky, Xu Ying sought him out. "If we leave together, it will easily arouse suspicion. You go first, and claim you are descending the mountain on the Buddha Ancestor's orders. Once you are clear of the mountain, head toward the East Sea. I will follow behind you and set out around noon. When you reach the East Sea, if you don't see me by sunset, seek out the Heavenly Sea and look for a demonized realm. That place is called the Yuanchu Great World. Walk to its very edge, and you will find the Ancestral Court."
It was the first time Jijue would ever be traveling on his own, and he felt deeply uneasy. "I am no good at lying."
Frowning slightly, Xu Ying said, "In that case, I will use the Gourd Heaven Dao-Attainment Scripture to conceal you within the void and send you down the mountain. My mastery of the scripture is still unrefined, however, so I fear I cannot send you very far."
Jijue nodded hurriedly. "As long as you can get me out of Mount Sumeru, that will be enough."
Easy though it sounded, Mount Sumeru was vast beyond measure, encircled by three orbiting suns. Hiding Jijue in the void and sending him past its bounds would demand an enormous amount of magic power and divine consciousness!
Xu Ying raised a hand and made a gentle slice. Space tore open like a sheet of cloth cut down the middle, revealing an opening taller than a man. Jijue hurriedly stepped inside.
"Just keep walking forward," Xu Ying instructed. "When my magic power is exhausted, you will naturally tumble out of the void. Remember, if you don't see me by sunset, make for the Ancestral Court on your own!"
Jijue gave a solemn assent and began walking toward the mountain's exterior. Strangely enough, as he moved forward, the spatial rift advanced along with him. It was a narrow opening, a slender slit through which he could faintly glimpse the outside world.
Pressing his eye close to the gap, Jijue peeked out cautiously. The defenses around the Great Thunderclap Temple were exceptionally tight. The sect masters from across the entire Taishi Great World had all converted to Buddhism and become Venerables guarding this sacred mountain. They patrolled the skies, not only barring external foes from intruding, but also guarding against anyone attempting to escape.
In a moment of carelessness, Jijue poked his head out through the rift. Panicking, he jerked it back inside and dared not look again, thinking, *Benefactor Ah Ying's divine power is truly half-baked. After tearing open the void, he couldn't even make it seal shut again.*
As he pressed further on, apprehension gnawed at him. *I wonder how long Benefactor Ah Ying's divine power can hold out, and how far it can carry me?*
Just as he was about to pass beyond the perimeter where the Venerables were stationed, Xu Ying's voice boomed from the depths of Mount Sumeru: "Disaster has struck! Jijue is trying to escape! Catch him at once!"
Buddhist Child Jijue fell into utter panic and accelerated forward in a frantic dash.
Hearing the shout, the Venerables immediately cast their eyes around in search of Jijue. Xu Ying's voice bellowed once more from afar, "Look closely! Jijue is hiding in the void, and he left a crack behind!"
His panic mounting, Buddhist Child Jijue desperately grabbed both edges of the rift with his hands, trying to pull the seam closed.
Finding him might have proven difficult at first, but with several fingers suddenly poking out of empty air, how could the crowd possibly miss him? Thousands of Venerables swarmed toward the spot, roaring in unison, "Traitor Jijue, come out! We will escort you back to face trial before the Buddha Ancestor!"
With no room for hesitation, Jijue tore the void open, burst out with all his might, and sprinted eastward as fast as his legs could carry him. Countless Venerables gave chase behind him, hurling curses. Never in his entire life had Jijue heard so much foul language.
His mind was a complete blank. *Why did Benefactor Ah Ying sell me out? Could his magic power have run dry? Yes, that must be it.*
Back on Mount Sumeru, Xu Ying dispersed his divine power, broke into a wide grin, and chuckled aloud. "A bunch of fools. With all of them chasing Jijue, it'll be far easier for me to slip away."
He stood in place without taking a single step.
After a short while, Xu Ying murmured to himself, "The cultivation and strength of those Venerables are far inferior to Jijue's. They won't catch him, and I'll rendezvous with him at the East Sea. Still, there's no telling whether the Evil Buddha is only pretending to be in seclusion. I ought to wait a bit longer."
He actually sat down and waited.
After waiting for some time until noon arrived, Xu Ying finally strolled away from Mount Sumeru at an unhurried pace, still muttering aloud, "It seems Jieputi truly went into seclusion. In that case, I can safely leave Mount Sumeru."
Though ostensibly in seclusion, Jieputi had been quietly monitoring the movements of both Xu Ying and Jijue all along, and this spectacle left him utterly baffled.
*Why does this brat keep muttering to himself? Who is he talking to? Does he know I'm watching him in secret? Isn't he being a bit too paranoid?*
As Xu Ying walked down the mountain, he continued talking to himself: "To reach the East Sea, my best route is a straight line. Once Jijue's escape is known, Venerables or Arhats are bound to try alerting Jieputi. If Jieputi awakens, given his vast divine abilities, I would certainly be doomed. That is why I must save as much time as possible, and why I have to take a straight line."
Observing in secret, Jieputi realized after a moment, *So that's why.*
Xu Ying strode grandly out of Mount Sumeru without encountering the slightest resistance, traveling all the way toward the East Sea.
When he reached the central region of the Taishi Great World, ethereal mountains loomed ahead, towering amidst clouds and mist. Though not as colossal as Mount Sumeru, their peaks were far more graceful and steep, blessed with picturesque hills and crystalline waters.
There were nine mountains and a thousand peaks, resembling a celestial paradise.
Walking among them, Xu Ying could not help but sigh in admiration. "Such beautiful scenery makes for an ideal burial ground. If I die, I definitely want to be buried here."
The moment the words left his mouth, the mountains shook violently. The earth shattered into powder, churning into earth, water, wind, and fire. The sky above suddenly caved in, countless collapsed voids fragmenting to their absolute limit, transforming into an all-annihilating millstone that ground downward!
The heavens were ninefold, and all nine layers collapsed; the earth had ten strata, and all ten were pulverized to dust as heaven and earth spun in reverse!
A grand cataclysm swept through the cosmos. Nine Heavens and Ten Earths shattered to eradicate all existence. Caught between them, Xu Ying managed only a single bloodcurdling shriek before he was ripped to shreds and ground into paste!
After a short while, the churning Nine Heavens and Ten Earths slowly ground to a halt.
"Xu Ying, you lured the tiger from the mountain, but you never expected the mantis stalking the cicada, did you?"
Young Master Yuchuan emerged from behind the formation, smiling. "Jieputi didn't kill you; he wanted to let you two go, so he entered seclusion on purpose. But how could he have anticipated that while he spared your life, I would take it!"
Stepping into the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation, he looked around, searching for Xu Ying's indestructible true spirit as he continued, "I knew you would take this path. Fearing that Jieputi might wake up, you were bound to travel in a straight line straight toward the East Sea, intending to use the mysterious sea to escape the Great World of Ultimate Bliss."
Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly. He could not find Xu Ying's indestructible true spirit anywhere!
When the Imperial Monarch imparted the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation to him, he had stated that this formation was the fruition of more than forty thousand years of contemplation. It should be capable of breaking Xu Ying's indestructible true spirit and refining him to absolute death.
Yuchuan remembered very clearly that the Imperial Monarch had used the word *should*!
Yet the formation had ground Xu Ying to death with exceptional ease, leaving not the slightest trace of an indestructible true spirit behind. That was deeply strange.
Just then, he noticed a second shadow falling beside his own.
A chill ran through his heart, his entire frame tensing up.
Xu Ying's voice sounded from right behind him: "Bai Yuchuan, what you know is only what I let you know. What I don't let you know, you will never discover."
Young Master Yuchuan's eyes flickered. "Transforming the One Qi into the Three Pure Ones?"
He finally understood. The Xu Ying who had walked into the immortal formation earlier was not the real Xu Ying, but his Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit!
Xu Ying had used a Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit to draw out his ambush, then slipped behind him while his guard was down.
Yuchuan grew gripped by sheer panic, feeling the surging killing intent radiating from Xu Ying. With his back turned and Xu Ying right on his heels, any sudden movement would invite a fatal strike!
"Xu Ying, you are inside the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation as well," Young Master Yuchuan said. "With your discernment, you must see the extraordinary nature of this treasure. It was designed specifically to target you, harnessing the wrath of heaven and earth to extinguish your indestructible true spirit!
"You may strike and kill me, but you might not finish me before this Imperial Monarch formation grinds you to dust as well."
Xu Ying stood quietly behind him, taking in his surroundings.
The Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation truly posed a threat to him.
It was an overwhelmingly intense sense of peril. Stepping into the array made him feel as if eternal damnation awaited in the very next moment, even stirring an impulse to flee!
Before this all-exterminating power, he felt utterly minuscule!
It was the instinct of facing a natural predator—a sense that entering the formation meant certain death and no survival!
The Imperial Monarch had tailored this immortal array precisely to exploit his weaknesses, creating it with the sole purpose of utterly destroying him!
"This immortal array is indeed extraordinary," Xu Ying remarked at an unhurried pace. "The Imperial Monarch went to great lengths to refine such an odd treasure just to kill me. It gives me a feeling of impending doom, as though I were caught in the cataclysmic destruction of heaven and earth itself—a disaster capable of laying waste to a supreme figure's bodhimanda, let alone a frail human like me."
Young Master Yuchuan broke into a smile. "Since you lack the confidence to withstand this formation, why don't we both take a step back? I will let you walk out, and you must not strike at me. Once outside, we can wage a fair battle and decide our fates!"
Xu Ying remained motionless, his tone utterly flat. "Master Daoyuan died by your hand. Do you remember what I said before Jieputi? I said I would beat you to death. Beat you alive until you were dead."
Young Master Yuchuan laughed loudly. "I've heard that Young Master Xu's words are like drinking water and passing wind—never to be taken seriously."
"You are the exception," Xu Ying replied. "For you, I can break my habit and keep my word."
Suddenly, the Purple Nether Saber manifested above their heads. Though broken, it radiated a saber might that threatened to cleave through all creation!
The moment the weapon appeared, Xu Ying felt as though his entire body were tearing apart, piercing pain surging from every limb and bone.
The Purple Nether Saber was what had dismembered his first life. That agony was indelibly branded into his indestructible true spirit; whenever the blade appeared, the excruciating memory returned with full force!
Yet Xu Ying remained remarkably composed. His posture did not waver in the slightest, nor did his aura fluctuate.
"This blade, coupled with this array, can execute you," Young Master Yuchuan said, fine beads of cold sweat pooling on his forehead before dripping from his eyelashes. "My earlier proposal stands. I will give you the chance to withdraw from this array, and we will duel fairly."
"Fine," Xu Ying said.
The moment he heard that single word, Young Master Yuchuan's mind relaxed by the faintest sliver. Yet that tiny lapse was all it took for him to feel a horrifying sword intent erupt behind him!
Grief, fury, and outrage overwhelmed Young Master Yuchuan as he roared, driving both the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation and the Purple Nether Saber!
*Boom!*
Heaven and earth abruptly collapsed, grinding downward, while the dazzling light of the Purple Nether Saber poured down, pervasive and inescapable.
Yet before any of that could land, Xu Ying's Zhuxian sword qi had already pierced into Young Master Yuchuan's flesh. The world-cleaving sword intent tore through everything like rotten wood, obliterating his consciousness and reducing it to primordial chaos!
His Primordial Spirit, his bodhimanda, and his soul were all shredded to dust by the sword intent, vanished without a trace!
A single misstep, regardless of how overwhelming one's advantage, cost him his life!
Right on the heels of that sword strike, however, the triggered Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation and the descending blade light crashed down. The supreme saber intent slashed, and the crushing power of the nine shattered heavens and ten broken earth transformed their location into a realm of unfolding doom!
In the outer layer of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, space and time had already degenerated into a swirling vortex of chaotic qi, churning frantically. Inside, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and violet saber qi tore through the storm.
Standing within it, let alone a mortal, even immortals and gods would be torn to shreds!
Yet amid the blade light and grand cataclysm, a small figure stood firm. Behind him, the six great cave-heavens, the five great magic treasures, the immortal mountain, the Jade Pool, and the multi-storied pavilion erupted with startling divine and Dao power.
Standing inside the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation, Xu Ying's eyes filled with dread, which rapidly turned into mad frenzy!
He lashed out wildly against the saber qi slashing from every direction. His slender frame swelled with terrifying sinew and muscle.
His Primordial Spirit loomed behind him, deploying every technique alongside his physical body, pouring forth every ounce of power to withstand the formation and the Purple Nether Saber!
His flesh ruptured, blood pouring from him as though he were suffering death by a thousand cuts.
He was like a god of war defying destiny itself, a crazed demon god unleashing his combat power with sheer madness to battle an invincible force, waging war against death!
After a short while, the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Formation ceased its churn. The array dissipated, leaving only an unfurled scroll floating in midair.
The Purple Nether Saber also hovered quietly, motionless.
Drenched in blood, his knees trembling and buckling, Xu Ying fought to stay on his feet. There was scarcely an inch of intact flesh left on his body.
The onslaught unleashed by Young Master Yuchuan's activation of the formation and the saber had finally subsided.
"Thank you, Evil Buddha."
With those words, Xu Ying collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Far away on Mount Sumeru, Jieputi offered a faint smile. Xu Ying was thanking him because the Great World of Ultimate Bliss had severed the Imperial Monarch's sensory connection to the formation chart and the Purple Nether Saber.
Had the Imperial Monarch been the one controlling the blade and the chart, Xu Ying would have been doomed beyond doubt!
Even if he had somehow survived, the cultivation of this lifetime would have been refined away, forcing him to start over from scratch.
"Said he'd beat him to death, and he actually beat him to death," Jieputi murmured with a smile. "An interesting kid. Not so repulsive after all."
Chapter 446