In Immortal Heaven, Yanshi held a ball of blue fire in his palm. Within the flame, two ancestral treasures of the Palace of Grand Beginning gradually melted, dissolving into a cluster of blinding light.
Zhu Yan stood beside him, channeling a continuous stream of immortal power into the formation to aid Yanshi in refining the two immortal treasures. His expression was solemn; this act was tantamount to selling off the ancestral estate, leaving his heart extraordinarily heavy.
Yet those capable of ascending to immortality all possessed wills of steel. Knowing that failing to deal a crushing blow now would only embolden the Pure Land to act with even greater impudence, they deemed no cost too high.
Thus, the moment they decided to act, they wasted no time. Once the formation and ritual were prepared, they refined the two immortal artifacts into primordial source power.
The blazing light in Yanshi's hand was not large, yet he seemed to bear the weight of an entire mountain; his hand trembled slightly. Fortunately, the formation was potent and bolstered by Zhu Yan's assistance, allowing the light to take shape smoothly, transforming into a burning sword.
Melting down two immortal artifacts to forge an immortal sword that could be used only once was equivalent to concentrating the entirety of both artifacts' might into a single strike. Its power was peerless, and only through this could a fruition be severed and erased.
Before Yanshi stood three golden statues of Arhats, each bearing a distinct expression—two glared in wrath, while one appeared dignified. But as Zhu Yan observed them, he suddenly said, "Why do these three fruitions seem somewhat lacking in spiritual vitality? They look rather rigid."
Yanshi was already exerting every ounce of his strength. The blazing sword of fire shone so fiercely that strands of karmic threads manifested across the surrounding Immortal Heaven, and its heat rivaled the deep interior of a scorching sun. Every second Yanshi held it aloft, an immense ocean of immortal power drained away.
Hearing Zhu Yan's remark, Yanshi snapped in exasperation, "Have you ever seen a fruition before?"
"Uh, no, I haven't."
"Then that's that. A fruition is an inanimate thing, not the person occupying it. Isn't it only natural that it lacks spiritual vitality? Besides, it's been decades since anyone heard news of the Arhats occupying these fruitions. Most likely, they've all departed into reincarnation."
This explanation sounded reasonable enough. On Pure Land Spirit Mountain, fruitions were plentiful, yet most stood vacant; many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas manifested incarnations to cultivate in the cycle of reincarnation.
Zhu Yan began pouring his immortal power into the formation with full strength, illuminating all the karmic threads across the surrounding Immortal Heaven. Countless strands of karma attached themselves to the three golden Arhat bodies before them.
"Go!" Yanshi barked, pointing forward. The blazing immortal sword shot forth immediately, circling above the heads of the three golden bodies.
Though Yanshi had locked onto three fruitions, the immortal sword could only destroy one. Exactly which one it struck depended entirely on the pull of karma; even Yanshi could not control it. Only by operating this way could the fruition-severing immortal sword align with the Heavenly Will of the Great Dao, thereby successfully cleaving through a fruition.
Seeing the sword successfully launched, Yanshi and Zhu Yan exchanged a glance. Both let out a breath of relief, yet both also noticed the ashen, decaying pallor creeping across each other's faces. The karma involved in striking down a fruition was simply too immense—it incurred guilt against Heaven and Earth, as well as against the ancient Buddhas and great powers of the Pure Land throughout history. The ashen aura on their faces was the backlash of this strike, and this mere harbinger was already manifesting in their features.
Once the fruition was truly severed, the backlash might plunge either Yanshi or Zhu Yan straight from their immortal status. Even at the very least, one of them would be severely wounded and bedridden, requiring a thousand years to recover. Yanshi and Zhu Yan were both well aware of this, yet neither had spoken of it, leaving everything to Heavenly Will.
Now that things had reached this stage, they could speak freely instead.
Zhu Yan gave a faint smile and said, "In the past, I only thought you practitioners of Tianji arts were black-hearted. Now the blackness has spread right onto your face."
Yanshi retorted peevishly, "Can't you see the two dark circles around your own eyes? Your lips have turned purple, yet you still have the nerve to mock me."
Zhu Yan chuckled, then said, "In all seriousness, if I'm the one who falls shortly, Yuanjin will succeed me as hall master. But she comes from a background of assassins, so some within the hall might object. I'll need your backing for her."
"Rest easy. If I'm the one who falls... well, doesn't seem like there's anything I need you to do."
"Two patriarchal immortal artifacts, one person sacrificing their immortal path, and the other gravely wounded and entangled in karma—is it worth it?" Zhu Yan asked suddenly.
Yanshi replied without hesitation, "Worth it! Why wouldn't it be? We are essentially severing an entire lineage of the Pure Land! Who knows how many future immortal seats will be cut off from here on? Not to mention several of them are formidable dharma idols. This is equivalent to wiping out your Haotian Abbey altogether, rather than merely killing an abbey master. Think of it as solving a problem early for our juniors. In any case, my immortal path has flaws; consider it paving the way for those who come after."
"Quit using my Haotian Abbey as an example! We are a lineage of three immortals, after all. If you want an example, use your Hall of Heavenly Secrets!" Zhu Yan grumbled.
Yanshi smiled and continued, "Danming has already prepared himself and can ascend to immortality at any moment. Our death would be the very catalyst for his ascension. Xuanyue isn't far behind either, though that old rascal has been eating too well lately and grown a bit complacent. But if one of us falls, it should spur him into action."
"Complacent? How come I heard he's polishing his foundation to patch up the final flaw in his mindscape world?"
Yanshi immediately sighed in mock outrage, "That old thief's mindscape world is already gaudy beyond belief! What else is there to patch? If that isn't eating too well with nothing better to do, then what is it?"
Zhu Yan laughed heartily and said, "Well, who told him to take on such disciples? With all those disciples and grand-disciples chasing after him every day to spoon-feed him karmic luck and merit, I bet that old thief Xuanyue is about ready to vomit from overeating. Hah, if nothing else, even that junior Fenhai has hopes of reaching the true spirit of Scenery Command. Where can anyone find justice in that? It truly is a case of 'when one person achieves the Dao, even their dogs and chickens ascend to heaven.'"
As the two chuckled, they suddenly fell silent.
After a moment, Zhu Yan finally spoke up, "Has something gone wrong with time? Why is that sword still circling up there?"
Yanshi also stared at the sword, at a total loss.
This sword had already distorted the surrounding time and karma. Though it appeared right before their eyes, it was actually completely untouchable, its connection to Yanshi's divine sense long severed; all that remained visible was a faint conceptual manifestation.
It circled round and round, its power and brightness showing no sign of waning, as if time had frozen still.
Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, the immortal sword plunged, cleaving open the central Arhat fruition!
As the golden body split open, inside was nothing but molded clay, carved wood, a lacquer shell, and straw padding. At this sight, Yanshi and Zhu Yan both paled. This was merely cleaving an ordinary Buddha statue—where was the apocalyptic imagery of heaven collapsing and earth crumbling that should accompany the striking down of a fruition?
Fortunately, after splitting the figure open, the immortal sword did not dissipate. Instead, it circled in the air once more before swooping down like lightning again, cleaving open the two Arhat statues on the left and right at the same time. Yet the cross-sections were still ordinary mortal materials. Let alone severing the fruitions, this sword strike had not even grazed their edges!
The dark aura on Yanshi's and Zhu Yan's faces began to recede, yet they felt not the slightest bit of relief, utterly bewildered as to where things had gone wrong. Just then, the immortal sword tore through the void and vanished without a trace.
Yanshi and Zhu Yan stared at each other in dismay. After a long silence, Zhu Yan finally said, "I always felt your Hall of Heavenly Secrets was unreliable, but I never imagined you were this unreliable."
Yanshi gritted his teeth. "A great power must have intervened!"
"And where is this great power?" Zhu Yan pressed. Just now, neither he nor Yanshi had sensed the slightest trace of karmic interference. When it came to insight and discernment, the two of them far surpassed ordinary immortals. Even if a great power had laid a scheme, it should not have escaped their spiritual perception.
Yanshi was unable to answer. Clearly, the sword had struck the fruitions, yet somehow it had cleaved nothing but air. Even he did not understand the underlying cause. Far from not knowing, he did not even know where to begin calculating. Faced with Zhu Yan's questioning, he had no words.
Fortunately, without incurring guilt against Heaven or against the ancient masters, both their immortal paths were spared. But the flying sword refined from the two ancestral immortal treasures had vanished into parts unknown.
At that moment, Spirit Mountain suddenly shook. A colossal boulder broke loose, rumbling down to the base of the mountain and crushing three lotus pedestals in its path. However, this corner of Spirit Mountain had long since collapsed, and the three lotus pedestals had lost all their spirituality; even in breaking, they were merely smashed into a few more pieces.
Chapter 1323