"Speak, what is it?" The real Maitreya Buddha smiled calmly, still gazing at the pond filled with white lotuses, especially the only one that had bloomed.

“Buddha, Dazhi is dead. A mortal Arhat named Cao Ya has appeared and killed many monks. His strength is comparable to that of the Overlord. He may be Ananda’s ‘fish’.” King Yellow Eyebrows was extremely respectful, seemingly terrified of this Buddha.

“Cao Ya?” Maitreya Buddha’s eyes flickered, and boundless Buddhist light flowed from the depths of his eyes.

"It's alright. This person has nothing to do with Ananda. Unlike the Overlord, he doesn't have many karmic ties with important figures."

After finishing his calculations, Maitreya Buddha smiled and said...

"Go then, guard the mountain gate carefully, recite Buddhist scriptures in peace, restrain your disciples, reduce their outings, and avoid causing trouble." Maitreya Buddha smiled kindly.

King Yellow Eyebrows lowered his head, not daring to look at him for long, as if the person in front of him was not the future Buddha, but the most terrifying demon.

"Buddha, I'm leaving." King Yellow Eyebrows, carrying the bag of human seeds, departed from Maitreya's Pure Land hidden in the river of time and returned to the Buddhist Pure Land of Hanchan Temple.

After the Yellow-Eyebrowed King left, the smile on Maitreya Buddha's face finally disappeared.

"It seems that Cao Ya is connected to the Heavenly Emperor?! Those who have recently arrived in the Middle Ages must also be involved in the game between the Other Shores..." Maitreya Buddha murmured, then suddenly sighed.

What does fate matter? Below the other shore, all are but ants!

“Amitabha Buddha has a saying that I will suffer a defeat during the reign of the Human Emperor, and a death calamity at the end of the Middle Ages. I must cut off my physical body and give it to someone else so that they can suffer the consequences and bear the calamity in my place.”

"I will retreat to the Pure Land, hide in the river of time, and avoid the gaze of all the great figures until the end of time arrives. Only then will I emerge from this world, hoping to reach the other shore, step out of the river of time, illuminate the end of Dharma, and become the master of Buddhism and the emperor of the Buddhist realm!"

"If we cannot reach the other shore..."

"Namo Amitabha Buddha".

Maitreya Buddha's thoughts were in turmoil. Finally, he put his hands together in prayer and softly chanted a Buddhist mantra.

******

******

Meanwhile, Cao Ya rushed to the tomb of Chunyangzi. He thought to himself that before the arrival of the God of Creation, he had to be careful of Hanchan Temple and guard against Maitreya Buddha.

There was nothing he could do; he simply couldn't defeat Maitreya Buddha.

In such a vast universe, the power of a four-star level is ultimately somewhat weak...

Cao Ya sighed inwardly and quickened his pace. As he approached the tomb of Chunyangzi, he sensed the aura unique to the Overlord.

In addition, there was a bewitching demonic aura, and another rather familiar aura belonging to the Heavenly Punishment Axe.

Overlord, Guldo, Su Daji of Jin'ao Island... well, those fighting them should be Master Lu, Daoist Chonghe, Meng Qi, and the others...

Cao Ya raised his hand and tore through the void, directly traversing thousands of miles, and ruthlessly descended outside the tomb of Chunyangzi.

In fact, he didn't dare to act recklessly inside the mausoleum.

Cao Ya knew Chunyangzi's true identity all too well; he was one of the incarnations of the Azure Emperor!

The reason Meng Qi and others were sent to the Middle Ages was because the Celestial Venerable of Morality and Amitabha Buddha were engaged in a game of strategy regarding the Azure Emperor's attainment of enlightenment.

Cao Ya was sent by the Heavenly Emperor, who did not interfere in the matter, but simply offered him an opportunity.

Well, perhaps not... The Azure Emperor was one of the Five Emperors of the ancient Heavenly Court. His relationship with the Heavenly Emperor might have been quite good. The Heavenly Emperor, hiding within the Time Blade, might have been happy to see the Azure Emperor attain enlightenment and ascend to the other shore, which is why he sent me here... Given my relationship with Meng Qi, I would definitely help Meng Qi, which would indirectly help the Azure Emperor...

Hey, who can say for sure what those on the other side are planning?

The thought flashed through Cao Ya's mind, but he showed no emotion on his face. He calmly stepped into the tomb of Chunyangzi. The cave door opened wide, and countless divine lights flashed and thunder roared.

Amidst the chaotic battle among numerous Dharma bodies, a figure entered without any attempt at concealment, startling everyone who immediately extended their divine senses to perceive him.

Upon seeing Cao Ya, everyone's expressions immediately changed.

"Uncle-Master Cao Ya?!" Meng Qi's surprised voice rang out.

"Cao Ya." The Overlord suddenly stopped what he was doing, turned his head to look, and his fighting spirit grew even stronger.

He had previously been wielding the Absolute Blade, single-handedly overpowering Master Lu, Daoist Chonghe, and Su Wuming, and still maintained a firm upper hand!

If it weren't for the fact that both Master Lu and Su Wuming possessed legendary characteristics and an omnipresent nature, making them far more powerful than ordinary Earth Immortals, and that they also had formidable defensive and regenerative abilities, plus Daoist Chonghe, who was also an Earth Immortal and had mastered the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation and was proficient in the peerless divine power of "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones," then relying on the Primordial First Killing Formation of the Heavenly Venerable Lingbao and the peerless divine power of the Heavenly Venerable Daode, the three of them could barely hold off the Overlord.

This was because the Overlord was excited by the sight of these three, thinking they had great potential and might become formidable rivals in the future. Therefore, he did not go all out, only using the first few strikes of the "Overlord's Six Slashes". Not only were the later strikes useless, but he also did not reveal his domineering aura. This also shows the Overlord's attitude.

Otherwise, if the Overlord had used the same skills he had displayed in his previous battle against Cao Ya in the outer regions, Master Lu, Su Wuming, and Daoist Chonghe would probably have already perished under the Overlord's Absolute Blade.

Meanwhile, Meng Qi and He Qi joined forces to intercept Guldo and Su Daji. Thanks to Meng Qi's Other Shore special ability, they barely managed to maintain a stalemate.

Meng Qi's trip to Jade Emperor Mountain brought him great fortune, allowing him to become an Earth Immortal with formidable strength. Even though Gu Erduo was also an Earth Immortal and wielded the Heavenly Punishment Axe, it was difficult to say whether he could defeat Meng Qi.

However, Su Daji is a celestial being and extremely powerful. When she attacks, Meng Qi must be extremely cautious.

Compared to the three of them, He Qi, who was still a human immortal, appeared much weaker.

If he hadn't reached the threshold of Earth Immortal, and his sword light hadn't been so sharp and deadly that it could have appropriately distracted Guldo and Su Daji... He Qi, a dignified high-level cultivator, might not even have been qualified to participate in the battle!

"Cao Ya!"

When Cao Ya entered, everyone reacted with a mix of surprise, delight, and wariness, and simultaneously withdrew their hands and stood apart.

Meng Qi, Master Lu, Su Wuming, Daoist Chonghe, and He Qi were naturally pleased.

With Cao Ya's arrival, the Overlord has an enemy, and Master Lu, Su Wuming, and Daoist Chong are freed to help Meng Qi and He Qi deal with Guldo and Su Daji first.

The precarious situation was instantly reversed, and the situation is now much better!

Guldo and Su Daji looked quite grim. They exchanged a glance and both decided to retreat.

He had intended to take this opportunity to severely damage the righteous path's Dharma body and seize the peerless divine power of "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones," but now it seems that all his plans have been wiped out by Cao Ya's sudden arrival.

"It's time to run away..." The two men's eyes flickered slightly.

Unlike the other two, the Overlord held his Absolute Blade in his right hand, faced Cao Ya, and laughed heartily:

"Cao Ya, in our last battle, neither of us won. Today, let's fight again and see who is stronger! Who truly deserves the title of 'Number One Immortal of This World'!"

"Catch the knife!"