A flying boat unhurriedly sailed past the semi-abandoned snow mountain pass. Along the pass walls, several Liao soldiers were still busy repairing the damaged fortifications and collecting the corpses of their comrades. They all saw the flying boat in the sky, then bowed their heads in dread, choosing to turn a blind eye. After all, the people who had dared to intercept Qingming's flying boat last time were still laid out in the town square.
The flying boat passed over the mountain pass and headed straight for Jade Lake Pasture City, the largest city on the northern slopes of the snow mountain. This city was the stronghold of the Dunyan tribe. As the flying boat approached the city, several defending Liao generals immediately took to the air to intercept it. At their head was a Dharma Idol general, flanked by three Dao Foundation chiliarchs.
These Liao generals flew slightly higher than the flying boat, looking down upon everyone aboard. Several Qingming Golden Cores stepped out from the cabin. Looking up at the airborne Liao generals, one Golden Core said coldly, "I am Zhao Xian, Pacification Commissioner of Qingming, here on orders from the Realm Lord to inspect the northern slopes of the snow mountain. Why do you bar our way? Do you refuse to obey even the commands of the Silver Moon Great Khan?"
The Liao general wore a look of contempt. Spitting right in front of Zhao Xian, he scoffed, "A few human monkeys putting on airs! Fine, didn't you say you have the Great Khan's command? Take out the Great Khan's handwritten edict and show us. Without the edict, no one passes!"
A faint, somewhat eerie smile touched the corners of Zhao Xian's mouth. "You want to see the edict? Fine! Slay them!"
Every Golden Core cultivator behind him struck at once, each spitting four flying swords from their sword caskets. In an instant, dozens of flying swords cut down the three Liao Dao Foundation cultivators, then battered the Liao Dharma Idol into a desperate flurry of parries and dodges, instantly riddling his body with countless wounds. Yet relying on his tough physique, he fought back with all his might. Though the Golden Cores had many flying swords, their individual power was insufficient to land a fatal blow.
Only then did Zhao Xian point a finger. A Vajra Subduing Pestle shot out abruptly, draped in a layer of Buddhist light, and slammed violently against the chest of the Liao Dharma Idol. A single blow shattered the defense of his dharma body, breaking more than a dozen ribs and caving in half his chest.
The strike was immensely powerful, comparable to the full-strength blow of an ordinary Dharma Idol expert—even the Liao general at his peak was merely on that level. Never had he imagined this frail Golden Core before him could hit with such ferocity, leaving him grievously wounded on the spot.
Fierce and ferocious to the core, the Liao general had no intention of surrendering. He roared at the top of his lungs, "Enemy attack! Slaughter them all!"
Bells instantly tolled throughout the pasture city below, and countless warriors poured out from every direction. Many clad in nomadic herdsman attire also rushed out from the tents and yurt-like dwellings with bows and blades—virtually every adult Liao male could fight on horseback, a nation in arms. Taking high ground, they drew their bows and aimed toward the flying boat in the sky. Zhao Xian unleashed the Vajra Subduing Pestle once more, infusing it with Buddhist power. Buddhist light immediately flared across the pestle, making it exceedingly heavy and instantly doubling its power. This time, the vajra pestle punched straight through the Liao general's chest!
With a sweep of his hand, Zhao Xian drew the Liao general back onto the flying boat and said, "Everyone take a sword, and Xiao Wu will finish him off."
The Golden Cores drove their swords into the body in a chaotic flurry, sharing in this bestowal of heaven and earth.
Zhao Xian drew in a breath and projected his voice down toward the Liao people below: "Anyone who dares lift a hand shall be slain without mercy!"
An arrow shot straight toward his face in reply!
Buddhist light flashed from Zhao Xian's hand, turning into a wall of light that deflected the incoming arrow. This was his second empowered divine ability: the Boundless Golden Light Wall. A top-tier defensive divine ability, it could easily block a full-force blow from an early Dharma Idol expert—far exceeding his innate physical defense.
Blessed by the Vajra status, Zhao Xian possessed twin divine abilities, allowing him to trade blows back and forth with an Earth-tier Dharma Idol in combat. Coupled with the assistance of eight fellow Golden Cores, they had slain this Earth-tier Dharma Idol Liao general in mere moments.
Facing the rain of heavy and sharp arrows shooting up from below, Zhao Xian's expression darkened, and he immediately called out, "Invite the Bodhisattva's Golden Body!"
Two Golden Core cultivators promptly brought out a Bodhisattva statue and placed it at the prow. The statue's features somewhat resembled Xiaoyu, yet differed in slight ways. It was not the Reception Bodhisattva, but the Bodhisattva overseeing reincarnation, currently without an honorable title. With this Bodhisattva statue brought out, most souls reincarnating in the surrounding region would be drawn into the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven.
Then, the Golden Cores' dharmic swords leapt from their caskets to strike back against the nomads below. Many template warriors also emerged onto the deck carrying large-caliber rifles, picking off the rioting nomads one bullet, one kill.
Trading blows against an armed-to-the-teeth flying warship like Qingming's, the Liao populace naturally suffered horrific casualties. Furthermore, Zhao Xian harbored no intention of holding back; whenever someone drew a bow, a flying sword met them right in the face!
"Stop!"
Amid a furious roar, a giant hundred-zhang hand descended from the heavens, clutching toward the flying boat!
Yet a great sun suddenly rose from the vessel, holding fast against the giant hand and preventing it from falling.
Xiaoyu stepped out from the cabin and said, "I've finally fished you out. Since you're here, don't bother hiding. Show yourself!"
Xiaoyu raised her left hand, her fingers blooming like an orchid. A cluster of light emerged from her palm, not overly bright yet capable of illuminating all realms and directions. As the light swept across the surroundings, a middle-aged Liao man manifested in midair. He was dressed in the plainest tribal furs, with no discernible aura, appearing no different from the tens of thousands of ordinary herdsmen in the pasture city.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, seemingly surprised at having been revealed. But he quickly regained his composure and said, "Leave. I won't make things difficult for you. Go back and tell Wei Yuan that the northern slopes of the snow mountain do not welcome him! As for the tribute and taxes that must be paid, I won't short you a single pelt, but you are not permitted to cross the snow mountains!"
Xiaoyu sneered. "You won't make things difficult for me, but I certainly want to make things difficult for you! Dunyan, what did you just say—we are not permitted to cross the snow mountains? You won't take those words back, will you? Such a shameless thing isn't something a Liao man would do, right?"
Dunyan was irritated by these seemingly bizarre questions and said, "Naturally, I won't take them back! If you doubt our tribe's determination and courage, feel free to come test it!"
"Very good! It's just routine—I had to ask. Since you refuse to surrender, this makes things simple." Xiaoyu's smile took on a ferocious edge.
Dunyan's expression darkened. "You aren't even at Scenery Command. Fighting me—do you want to die? Telling Wei Yuan to come would be more like it!"
"Heh, fool!"
Killing intent surged across Dunyan's face. In an instant, heavy snow swirled all around as Xiaoyu was drawn into his mindscape world. A snow mountain manifested behind him, from which a white steed several zhang tall galloped down. Dunyan leapt onto the horse and drew his giant bow, upon which three ice arrows immediately appeared!
Dunyan's aura climbed steadily. The snow mountain seemed to come alive, and sprawling palace complexes appeared atop the peaks. Those palaces were his spirit manors, unexpectedly massive in scale, clearly encompassing more than a single authority. However, some palaces still lacked roofs, as if the true spirit had not fully matured. Dunyan laughed boisterously: "Hahaha, didn't expect this, did you? I am already at the middle stage of Scenery Command! I hid this even from that old fellow Batu just to deliver a vicious blow to you all!"
He released his grip, and the three ice arrows shot from the string, locking onto Xiaoyu! Imbued with the true meaning of the great snow mountain, these three arrows would heavily wound even Batu; against anyone below Scenery Command, even an ordinary perfected Dharma Idol would be killed in an instant.
Yet Xiaoyu was not in the least flustered. Chanting under her breath, she bowed toward the south. The firmament tore open, and Buddhist light poured down like a waterfall, dousing Xiaoyu relentlessly as if it cost nothing!
In an instant, Xiaoyu's dharma body, divine intent, primordial spirit, and dharmic power skyrocketed across the board like a rocket. Even the flames of the Immortal Sword Great Sun took on a golden Buddhist glow.
Xiaoyu swung the immortal sword, unleashing three ten-thousand-zhang sword lights in succession!
Rolling forth like the flowing flames on the surface of the sun, the sword light obliterated the three ice arrows with the first strike, melted the precious bow with the second, and carved a ten-thousand-zhang scorched scar straight through the snow mountain world with the third, smashing through Dunyan's defense in a single blow and nearly cleaving the mindscape world apart.
A fourth sword light flared up behind Dunyan, carving a deep wound across his back that cut nearly halfway through his body. Dunyan struggled to turn around, only then catching sight of Star Lord Shaoyang manifesting, also surging with intense Buddhist light.
Dunyan's face darkened. The difference in Xiaoyu's combat prowess before and after was simply astronomical, and he was almost certain it was due to that Buddhist light. But where had the Buddhist light come from?
Seeing Dunyan look up toward the sky above, Xiaoyu lightly brushed the edge of her immortal sword, utterly calm and nonchalant. "Didn't expect that, did you? I've got someone above me."
In the ensuing battle, Dunyan was given a thorough taste of true despair.
The Immortal Sword Great Sun was already renowned for slaughter, and when the True Fire of the Sun was augmented with Buddhist light, it produced an exceedingly bizarre effect. Before the sword light even made contact, the Buddhist light would first "persuade" the opponent's protective Dao techniques to "embrace virtue." This move proved unexpectedly effective—at least thirty percent of Dunyan's defenses were "persuaded toward virtue" in this manner by the Buddhist light, dissolving on their own.
Star Lord Shaoyang's manifestation essentially made it a two-on-one. The drawback to this tactic was that while power increased by half, the consumption of Dao power tripled; after all, sustaining Star Lord Shaoyang's presence was even more exhausting than wielding the Immortal Sword Great Sun.
However, under the ceaseless replenishment of Buddhist light from above, Xiaoyu's Dao power simply never ran dry, replenishing as fast as it was consumed. There was even a great excess of Buddhist power spilling over, transforming into falling blossoms, heavenly maidens, Buddhist chanting, and the like.
Dunyan wanted to flee, but whenever Xiaoyu raised her hand, the Microscopic Penetration Immortal Light would illuminate and expose him. In addition, Zhao Xian led the Golden Cores in forming a battle array aboard the flying boat, chanting under their breath. Amid murmurs like ten thousand buzzing flies, the surrounding space was continuously rattled by Buddhist light, forming rippling waves like water. In space unstable like this, if Dunyan dared to tear through the void to escape, different parts of his body would likely end up in different places.
As for Dunyan's attacks, if even Zhao Xian possessed the Boundless Golden Light Wall, how much more so Xiaoyu? The space around Xiaoyu was filled with pure radiance, suffused with a whitish gold. As soon as Dunyan's attacks entered this domain, they melted away layer by layer, unable to strike Xiaoyu herself in the slightest.
To show his esteem for Reception Miaoyue Bodhisattva, as soon as Wei Yuan developed the Immovable Golden Light Realm, he equipped Xiaoyu with it at the very first opportunity. From then on, unless one was at the late stage of Scenery Command, they could forget about breaking this Buddhist light domain. With this, the last remaining shortcoming in Xiaoyu's combat capabilities was eliminated.
Unable to break her defense, unable to defend against her attacks, and unable to flee, Dunyan's mindscape world was shattered in the blink of an eye, and he was captured alive.
In an instant, streams of karmic luck rose from the pasture city like dense yellow clouds, blotting out the sky and sun.
Chapter 1304