Li Xuanfeng held his bow level. A radiant crimson-gold poured from the arrow, and several streaks of scarlet light brushed past his cheek. The dark arrow’s luminescence flowed, and before it even descended, a bead of blood like a red bean had already welled upon Tang Shedu’s forehead.
Matters having reached such a pass, Li Xuanfeng gave Tang Shedu no chance to speak, nor did he utter a single word himself. His fingers loosened slightly. Crimson gold flared bright against the azure sky.
Buzz—
The crimson-gold dark arrow leaped in midair, vanishing abruptly into nothingness, as the rustling azure rain once again blanketed the azure waters.
Tang Shedu could not budge within the green light. His full magic power churned, erupting from the surface of his body. His pupils dilated. He managed only to lift his hands a palm’s width from his sides, his eyes filled with nothing but that crimson-gold glow.
“You...”
Only now did he understand why Real Person Yuansu was held in such high esteem, why a mere early Purple Mansion cultivator who had formed a single divine ability could command such dread among peers. The might of the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal was truly chilling.
“Damn it.”
Even if the crimson-gold arrow were loosed with room to dodge, he might not have escaped it, let alone now, pinned by this azure light. Between his brows, a sharp, piercing ache flared as if an iron spike were being hammered into his skull.
Surging astral qi inflated his physique like a balloon, scouring him clean inside and out.
His dharma body was like stretched hide, tearing apart bit by bit along lines of golden light. Tang Shedu slowly opened his mouth wide. Gushing crimson-gold radiance erupted from his lips, ears, and nostrils, surging into the air in a dazzling blaze of color.
Yet Li Xuanfeng did not halt. Seven golden dark arrows leaped up again, falling into his palm in sequence. The azure light before him twisted and warped; Li Xuanfeng’s eyes throbbed with agony as a hazy radiance fell from the heavens.
That sound thundered. Li Xuanfeng held his golden bow level. From the sky descended a mist-like rainbow radiance, drifting down upon Tang Shedu. Blessed by this empowerment, Tang Shedu’s flesh and skin turned translucent and crystalline.
Those words echoed heavily in the air. A chill rose in Li Xuanfeng’s heart, accompanied by an inexplicable urge to weep; the chorus of ten thousand voices rippled continuously across the sky, growing increasingly shrill.
This hazy radiance was merely the stairway by which the Mahas and Lianmins guided Tang Shedu. Sweeping lightly through the Heavenly Pool, its power was largely blunted by the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal, drifting down gently and brushing over both men.
Tang Shedu’s mangled flesh and skin slowly knitted together. Li Xuanfeng had merely been grazed by it, yet the spiritual armor upon him let out a sharp grinding screech. Across his entire body, it felt as though ten thousand blades were piercing him; his magic power drained away as if poured into a bottomless abyss.
His eyes shut tight. Dense, rapid tapping sounds came from within his body, the humming clatter of gold and iron ringing out. With a pop, a rupture burst across his face, from which a howling golden wind blew forth, peeling back two flaps of plump flesh. Li Xuanfeng coughed incessantly as thick gold powder rustled down from between his lips and teeth. Dark blood seeped from his eyes, solidifying on his cheeks into round golden pearls that rolled down with a tinkling clatter.
Clink... clink-clink...
At that moment, the five rainbow clouds Tang Shedu had dimly glimpsed grew clearer and clearer. Five radiant stairways intertwined and clashed in midair, but all were brought to a momentary halt by the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal.
Dimly, everything before his eyes shattered. Boundless, ethereal golden clouds came into view, wherein sat statues of varied expressions—some male, some female, some smiling seductively, some glaring with wrath, some beaming with joy.
Tang Shedu struggled to open his eyes. The voice from above descended, harmonizing with the lingering echoes from before, resounding as though within a vast hall filled with ten thousand people chanting:
“You have overcome poisonous perils, quelled jealousy, endured ten thousand blades upon your flesh, and suffered the torment of past karma. Now, having attained great awakening, leaving malice behind to enter righteous practice, a speck of golden light returns to your heart. You may enter our Shakya path.
“Enter our Northern Shakya; from one path obtain one fruit, and a great karmic fruit may be achieved.
“Shedu, do you see clearly?”
“I see clearly... I see clearly... I see clearly!”
Tang Shedu fell to his knees. The colors on his armor faded, leaving only two specks of light flashing. In the Lushang Heavenly Pool there was neither up nor down; having lost the magic power to control his flight, he knelt suspended between the azure waters and the azure sky.
The Tang Shedu before him shed his golden armor. His brow was smooth, bare, and pure white, seemingly restored to the original state of a mortal. His palms pressed together, and just as he was about to speak, he stopped abruptly.
“Hm?”
The hazy rainbow light before him was suddenly severed, cut straight in two. A slender, jade-white hand breached the Great Void and emerged into the azure rain, deftly catching the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal in midair.
The azure rain pattered down softly. In the sky, the feathered serpent shut its eyes; the shining azure characters of Eastern Sea Lushui Feather slowly guttered out, and the pillar of azure light scattered into falling rain.
She emerged, casually holding the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal. The spiritual artifact glowed submissively in the female cultivator’s hand. Her red lips parted slightly, and she murmured, “The old bald donkey has come to play his ghostly tricks again.”
In an instant, the Sanskrit chanting of ten thousand voices vanished into nothingness. The golden clouds dimmed. Standing amid the azure rain was a female cultivator in purple robes, her slender eyes gazing coldly. Her tone was placid, as though merely stating a fact, showing not the slightest deference to Pijia Maha. Within the rainbow clouds, no reply came—only a terrifying silence.
With her words, the azure pool beneath their feet churned violently in an upheaval, boiling and leaping across thousands of li, sweeping the rainbow light clean and sending up billows of purple mist.
Once the purple mist rose, Li Xuanfeng’s ears and eyes felt considerably relieved. He recognized the purple-robed female cultivator in the sky; he had seen her before—she was none other than Real Person Ziyun of Ziyan Gate.
This Real Person had old ties with Real Person Yuansu; it was she who had placed the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal into Ning Heyuan’s hands. She was a female cultivator at the peak of the Purple Mansion, the pillar of Ziyan Gate.
The azure rain pattered into the green water, rippling outward in colliding circles. The Maha and the Purple Mansion cultivator stood at an impasse within the Lushang Heavenly Pool summoned by the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal. At last, the unison of ten thousand voices spoke from the rainbow clouds:
“Fellow Daoist Ziyun, this person has an affinity with Northern Shakya.”
Real Person Ziyun was on the verge of breaking through, and Pijia Maha clearly did not wish to tangle with her too much, saying in a heavy voice:
“What does Fellow Daoist intend?”
The clash between the northern and southern orthodoxies had plunged Daxu into turmoil. Tang Shedu had resolved his karma and sought a higher connection here, relying on the conflicting qi of the two factions to attain breakthrough—prompting this Maha to come deliver him in person!
Real Person Ziyun watched him quietly. Pijia Maha’s rainbow clouds drifted up and down. After two breaths of silence, a vast voice echoed: “What does the Real Person mean?”
Real Person Ziyun tossed the jade seal in her hand and said softly, “You say he has an affinity, but I say he has none. Why does Pijia not test this affinity with me, to see whether this person truly has any affinity with your Northern Shakya?”
Pijia Maha was not angered by her words. His voice dragged out slowly, instead gaining a bit more confidence in her proposal. He droned:
“So Fellow Daoist invites me to resolve this affinity. That, naturally, is splendid.”
Pijia Maha’s voice grew noticeably gentler, evidently confident in the matter. Shakya cultivators were masters of manipulating karma and affinity—why would he fear a mere Purple Mansion cultivator? Sneering inwardly, he spoke gently with the voice of ten thousand:
“Fellow Daoist possesses vast divine abilities and naturally stands outside this affinity. Provided Fellow Daoist does not personally strike him dead, if three breaths pass, he shall naturally be guided by numerous dharmas and ascend to my Lianmin seat.”
Real Person Ziyun looked deeply at him, nodding slightly.
“I shall not strike him. If in three breaths this man cannot ascend to the Dharma Realm, he shall be deemed devoid of affinity.”
“And if he does?” Pijia Maha’s voice paused, turning cautious as he asked.
“This seat wishes to view the Great Xu Book of Purple Qi.”
“Then the Purple Qi Splendor Canopy shall be the wager,” she replied, though she also intended to take back Qi Wangxuan’s Xuantian Ting.
“Good.”
Pijia Maha nodded heavily. At once, a burst of purple light sprang from Ziyun’s hand, sweeping toward the rainbow clouds. The dense purple qi that had imperceptibly filled the entire Lushang Heavenly Pool rose in unison, crashing into the rainbow clouds.
“What is the meaning of this!”
Yet Pijia Maha was prepared. Several streaks of golden light rose within the rainbow clouds, undulating back and forth, instantly battering aside the boiling purple mist and stirring waves in the Great Void.
“The Real Person merely wishes to obstruct my Dharma Realm! In the end, it is a duel of techniques! You think to trap my welcoming dharma for three breaths? You truly underestimate this old monk’s boundless greed. Even if I offered it, would you dare look upon it?!”
Her sudden strike sent purple qi and purple light pressing forward together, violently slamming into the rainbow clouds and throwing the Maha’s welcoming dharma into chaos. Far from alarmed, Pijia Maha was delighted:
“This seat has long been waiting for you, Real Person!”
In the hands of a Real Person, the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal was worlds apart from when wielded by Ning Heyuan. Azure radiance trailed nine plumes of flame, condensing in the air into the form of a grand formation that pressed down slowly.
Real Person Ziyun stood with hands behind her back, her purple robes fluttering as she watched in silence. Her slender hand pushed lightly forward, and the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal before her flared with brilliant light, the radiance of Lushui rippling and drifting through the sky.
The Maha’s true body and rainbow clouds were pinned beneath it. A full breath passed before any movement stirred; the seal vibrated violently with thunderous crashes. A spark of golden light leaped out, and Pijia Maha sneered:
“The Real Person is truly arrogant, failing even to bring the Purple Qi Splendor Canopy! Did you think I was made of clay?!”
His rainbow clouds slowly flowed forth from the azure light, once again pressing atop the purple mist. Pijia Maha’s voice echoed like ten thousand voices chanting scripture:
“Though he has been interrupted by Fellow Daoist, his immortal foundation shattered and reduced to a mortal frame, all manner of karmic affinities have gathered upon this body. So long as he does not die, ascending to Lianmin is merely a matter of moments.”
No sooner had his words fallen than he extracted himself from the azure light. The rainbow glow seized the momentum to soar into the clouds, expanding to receive Tang Shedu. From start to finish, barely two breaths had elapsed.
Beneath the rainbow clouds, countless indistinct eyes emerged upon his true body, letting out a few low, hearty laughs. Yet before the laughter could echo within the seal, beneath the heavy purple mist came a faint sound:
Crack.
Boom!
The chanting of the Dharma Realm rose amid rolling seas of clouds. Purple light ascended in the air like a blazing sun with a resounding roar. But Pijia Maha’s words cut off abruptly, leaving only pervasive purple light and flowing golden radiance in the sky, finally revealing his true form.
A golden body in the likeness of a woman appeared in midair, hazily shrouded in purple smoke, casting hundreds and thousands of multicolored gazes. Chanting in ten thousand voices arose without cease, and lotus petals drifted down, turning the sky into an expanse of pink.
Plop!
That sound pierced Li Xuanfeng’s ears until golden blood flowed, yet he understood everything.
Li Xuanfeng’s mouth was drenched with golden blood streaming downward. Though he had been grazed by the rainbow light and felt as though ten thousand blades pierced his body, blinding his sight, he could identify locations by sound. He had long tracked Tang Shedu’s breathing.
Tang Shedu had watched Li Xuanfeng collapse. With colors clashing in the sky, he had managed only a single step backward. But he was now nothing more than a mortal—where could he flee? His throat tightened as he was lifted high, his head nearly wrenched off!
Tang Shedu had not even drawn a breath when his throat was crushed to powder. His eyes bulged in disbelief. As Pijia Maha swept aside the purple qi, that man’s head was already dangling limply!
Li Xuanfeng had seized Tang Shedu, his raised arm clamping around Tang Shedu’s neck. Without hesitation, his five fingers closed with crushing force, snapping shut with almost no resistance!
In less than a breath, Tang Shedu was reduced from head to toe into powder. Given ample preparation, Li Xuanfeng’s astral qi was potent enough to deny even a Master reincarnation, let alone unleashed against a mere mortal! In an instant, he was blasted into ashes and smoke.
Pijia Maha’s smile slowly faded as he seemed to finally understand why the purple qi had remained heavily draped below. Ziyun stood with arms folded amid the clouds, purple mist and light drifting back into her sleeves. Her voice was cool and crisp:
“Pijia, I said he had no affinity.”
Pijia Maha’s smile froze solid. Though light, her voice struck his ears like thunder. The purple clouds rolled and dispersed, revealing the green waters below.
Pijia Maha looked upon the scene before him, needing no explanation to understand. For a time, the Lushang Heavenly Pool conjured by the Xinyou Swimming Marsh Seal fell dead silent. The rustling sound of rain vanished, leaving only the howling of the golden wind echoing through the clouds.
His voice wove through the clouds, jostling against the purple qi and setting it churning:
“Sui Guan stood by with folded hands! Why have you stepped forward on his behalf? Ziyun! Qingchi lost a piece, and he in turn lost to this archer! Falling from euphoric madness into bitter jealousy, this piece was meant to pass from Jinlian into my hands! This has been the principle since ancient times!”
A thunderous rumble of slight fury echoed in Li Xuanfeng’s ears, though fortunately the various pressures were blocked by the purple mist, making it far easier to bear. Real Person Ziyun stood in the air with folded arms, remarking airily:
“I have been in secluded cultivation for many years and have rarely doubted affinity. Now that the day of my breakthrough approaches, I find myself unable to let it rest, so I took this opportunity to test it. What does principle have to do with anything?”
“Good... Fellow Daoist Ziyun’s strength has indeed advanced greatly!”
For the first time, a smile touched Real Person Ziyun’s face, dripping with mockery, as she answered:
“It seems this person still lacked a bit of affinity with your noble path after all.”
Chapter 574