Liansheng Bodhisattva, the Second True Disciple!

At the very moment You Xuexin heard that soft sigh, everything had already come to an end. A devastating shockwave and boiling radiance, like a rising sun, instantly flooded the space within the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag. Wherever the wave of light swept, Youshen Temple—which had been drawn into the flag's space—was completely vaporized. Like an eraser wiping away words on paper, bricks, tiles, and buildings all vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a barren expanse churning with waves of searing heat. Nothing else remained. An ultimate slash. Naturally, even the projection of the azure dragon coiled around You Xuexin could not withstand this blow; it was shattered in an instant, its light collapsing like burst bubbles. Yet at that very moment— "Roar—!" As the azure dragon projection shattered, the jade-green divine light swirling around You Xuexin instantly shifted color, turning into a chilling, murderous gold and white. "Slay!" The instant the golden-white radiance appeared, it converged and solidified into a delicate, exquisite flying dagger, locking onto Wang Ping's position in the blink of an eye. This was the exact source of the lethal crisis Wang Ping had sensed. It was You Xuexin's defensive art, known as the Azure Dragon Hidden Form Divine Light. Wood qi formed its exterior while golden light lay concealed within, wood cloaking the golden form. The wood qi served to defend and absorb incoming attacks, channeling their power into the golden light. Once the wood qi broke, the golden light would emerge. Every attack the wood qi had absorbed would become the driving force behind the golden light, turning the enemy's own power back against them. The fiercer your assault, the stronger the counterattack. You Xuexin's choice of this spell was highly calculated, banking on the premise that Wang Ping, Shen Monkey, and the others lacked sufficiently diverse or lethal means of attack. After all, in her eyes, Wang Ping was merely the artifact spirit of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag; his greatest means of attack was nothing more than commanding fiends to swarm. Such attacks, lacking concentrated burst power, would only serve as nourishment for the Azure Dragon Hidden Form Divine Light—not to mention martial artists like Shen Monkey. Yet she had never imagined in her wildest dreams... A sub-light speed slash? What the hell was that? Boom! The moment the golden flying dagger manifested, it collided with the aftershocks of Wang Ping's sub-light speed slash. An attack that should have been lethal was instantly stripped of ninety-nine percent of its might. In the next second, a flash of light burst forth. Though heavily weakened, the golden flying dagger still tore through the sea of fire and heat waves to strike Wang Ping—yet it only left a faint scratch on his shoulder. Are you kidding me?! Daoist Nun You's face was filled with utter disbelief. She could hardly believe what she was witnessing. A mere artifact spirit had actually unleashed a strike on par with true swordcraft? Indeed, the power of Wang Ping's slash had undeniably reached the standard of swordcraft. Even if her true body had cast a spell here in person, it would only be at this level. But who was she? A dignified true disciple of an immortal sect! On what grounds could a petty artifact spirit stand on equal footing with her? Meanwhile, Wang Ping collapsed weakly to the ground. His physical body was grievously wounded, the magical power in the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag was reduced to less than ten percent, his transformed divine intent was drained completely dry, and the fiends were all extinguished. Fortunately, because the flag's spatial realm had been unfurled beforehand, the impact of the sub-light speed slash remained contained within the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, leaving the outside world completely unharmed. I've gone this far; don't let me down now. Wang Ping looked up, his gaze falling upon You Xuexin. While he was indeed at the end of his rope, her puppet body of Perfected Youshen was barely any better off. It only needed one final push. Just then— Bang! A crisp snap rang out, and blood suddenly blossomed across Perfected Youshen's chest, accompanied by a refreshing aroma of incense. Drifting white lotuses followed, along with a sacred woman dressed in white with bare feet, stepping gracefully upon lotus petals. Lotuses blossomed at every step she took. All the radiance of heaven and earth seemed gathered upon her; every smile, every frown, every movement captivated the eye, making it impossible to look away. Immediately after came three exclamations. "Liansheng Bodhisattva?" The first cry came from Shen Monkey and Xu Dog. As imperial enshrinees, they had long been curious about this Liansheng Bodhisattva whom Shouchong worshiped. After all, in the Enshrinement Hall's records, no such evil entity had ever appeared. "It's her..." The second exclamation came from Wang Ping. He had also seen Liansheng Bodhisattva, but the statue he had witnessed lacked distinct facial features. What stunned him was not Liansheng Bodhisattva herself, but her appearance. He had actually seen this sacred woman once before—during his third entry into the Immortal Sect, high above the celestial vault, she was the other true disciple who had battled Daoist Nun You, the woman in white bearing a sword on her back! She is also an Immortal Sect true disciple! In a flash, understanding dawned upon Wang Ping: The Immortal Sect isn't united on repairing the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd. That's why they were fighting! And finally came the third cry. "Lian Shengyue... It's you?!" This was You Xuexin's furious roar, corroborating Wang Ping's suspicion. The two indeed knew each other; Liansheng Bodhisattva was that very sword-bearing woman. In that fleeting instant, the newly appeared Liansheng Bodhisattva finally spoke. Her voice was gentle, soft, and soothingly magnanimous. "Don't shout so loudly. It only showcases your incompetence." She strolled right up before Perfected Youshen. Then, she slowly raised her hand. Incense smoke surged across her fair, slender palm. With a point of her finger, she drove it entirely into Perfected Youshen's brow. At the sight of this, You Xuexin grew even more enraged. For that incense was none other than what had been plundered from her Youshen Temple—the very incident that had prompted her to refine her first attendant boy into a puppet. "It was you! You stole my incense!" In the Immortal Sect, incense was the raw material used to forge dharma coins. Had her incense not been stolen, would she ever have been reduced to emptying her pockets just to refine a magical artifact? My money! What infuriated her most was that Liansheng Bodhisattva was now turning this very incense back against her, using it as the trump card that sealed the victory at this pivotal moment! "Lian Shengyue, you are ruining Master's grand endeavor! Aren't you afraid of Master's wrath?" "Senior Sister needn't trouble herself over that." Liansheng Bodhisattva remained utterly indifferent and tapped her finger lightly. "Safe travels. I won't see you off." In the next second, You Xuexin's voice was abruptly cut off. The bronze mask on Perfected Youshen's face fell away, and the body shrank amidst the incense smoke. Before long, Perfected Youshen—who had displayed such overwhelming might under You Xuexin's control moments earlier, even withstanding the sub-light speed slash—dwindled into a palm-sized wooden puppet etched with dozens upon hundreds of incantation runes. It fell to the ground, and Liansheng Bodhisattva did not spare it so much as a glance. Her attention was entirely fixed on the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd. "Not bad, not bad at all." Before her words even faded, Liansheng Bodhisattva struck without the slightest hesitation. A single tap of her finger pierced the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd, shattering it on the spot! Rumble! In an instant, dazzling rays of light burst forth from the shattered gourd, yet they did not disperse; instead, they were drawn together and gathered inward. Not only the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd, but also the thirty-three Longevity Golden Elixirs amassed from the lifespans of Longxing County's myriad mortals, and even the previous dynasty's fortune were all smelted together. The radiant energies blended into a single mass and condensed, floating lightly into Liansheng Bodhisattva's hand. Whoosh! An evening breeze stirred, carrying a wafting pill fragrance. Wang Ping felt a gentle breeze brush against his face, and then the persistent, excruciating pain wracking him inside and out vanished into thin air. "This is...?" Wang Ping stood up in astonishment, only to discover that his body, which had completely broken down from unleashing the sub-light speed slash, was now restored to pristine condition. Not only him, but Shen Monkey and Xu Dog beside him also stood up in a daze, looking hale and hearty—not at all like people who had just suffered grievous injuries. "You three certainly chanced upon quite a fortune." Liansheng Bodhisattva glanced back at them. Unconcerned, she flipped her hand to produce a jade box and placed the pill, which brimmed with boundless radiance, inside. As the jade box snapped shut, the pill fragrance vanished at once. Having done all this, Liansheng Bodhisattva even let out a soft sigh: "What a pity I couldn't take this opportunity to integrate Dashun's fortune into it as well. "Otherwise, not only would the resulting Calamity-Dispelling Ageless Elixir be of even higher quality, but I could have also used this alchemy ritual to usurp a portion of the Eight Trigrams Furnace's earth hearth and human firewood to deliver into the Shennong Cauldron later. That would have been a truly immense achievement. Now, however, I must let it go..." Shennong Cauldron? What is that? Hearing these words, thoughts raced through Wang Ping's mind: An alchemy ritual... If I remember correctly, the Eight Trigrams Furnace is used for forging artifacts, isn't it? Eight Trigrams Furnace, Shennong Cauldron. Usurp the former, deliver into the latter. Earth hearth and human firewood... Does that refer to Longxing County? In the Immortal Sect, the Eight Trigrams Furnace is used for artifacts, and for elixirs... could they be using the Shennong Cauldron? Is this what caused the conflict between the two true disciples? In that instant, countless speculations swirled in Wang Ping's mind. Yet right then, Liansheng Bodhisattva, who had just been lamenting, suddenly turned her head. As if sensing something, she looked directly toward him. "What are you thinking?" ...Not good! The very moment Liansheng Bodhisattva's gaze swept over, Wang Ping hesitated not for an instant. Reining in his thoughts, his consciousness slipped straight into the Classic of Great Peace space. Immediately after, an overwhelming spiritual sense barged straight into the sea of consciousness of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King. ... Immortal Sect, before the Eight Trigrams Furnace. As her connection with Perfected Youshen was severed and she sensed the shattering of the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd, You Xuexin snapped her eyes open in blazing fury. "Elixir Courtyard, you have crossed the line!!" Her booming voice echoed across the starry void. As it rippled to another corner of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, it seemed to part a veil, revealing another flying boat. Aboard that flying boat, a woman in white bearing a sword on her back stepped out, her beautiful eyes holding a smile. "I already told you, Xuexin, don't shout so loudly... Rest assured, I have already refined the Calamity-Dispelling Ageless Elixir. Master's longevity will not be delayed; I will personally present the pill when the time comes. "However, none of this concerns you anymore, Senior Sister. Hurry along back to your cultivation." "You...!" You Xuexin ground her teeth in hatred. She had racked her brains and gone through so much trouble to secure access to the Eight Trigrams Furnace, intending to refine a dharma treasure to extend their master's life. Once successful, she would undoubtedly have earned Master's full cultivation support. At that time, let alone the Threefold Tribulation Crossing, even Refining Qi to Enter the Dao would have been well within reach. And yet, what was the outcome? She had merely slaved away for someone else to reap the harvest! At this thought, You Xuexin could no longer hold back. Her vast magical power erupted, condensing into sword light as she slashed directly at the white-clothed woman bearing the sword on her back. "Lian Shengyue, you seek death!!!"