Meanwhile, Styx and Tathagata were already locked in combat in the void. Both were late-stage Quasi-Saints, second only to the Saints. Yet, as they fought, nothing around them stirred, not even the wind or clouds.
The Buddha didn't use any weapon; he punched the Styx repeatedly, while the Styx returned the blows with its staff. The impact of their fists and staffs produced a series of muffled thuds.
Thousands of feet away from where the two were fighting, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a series of sounds of the void being torn apart came from the void, almost creating a black hole.
Buddha was unarmed, while Styx wielded two top-tier innate spiritual treasures—swords—which neutralized most of the power in Buddha's fists. Therefore, with each exchange, Styx merely swayed, while Buddha had to take a small step back, clearly at a disadvantage.
Styx coldly said, "Buddha, if this is all you've got, you'll be leaving empty-handed today!" Although he said this, Styx was also very surprised. The sharpness of his twin swords was unparalleled in the world. Even when facing the Four Swords of Zhuxian, they were not at a disadvantage. Yet now, Buddha was able to fight against him with just his bare hands. Although it seemed that he was at a disadvantage, it was clear that Buddha's cultivation was very high.
How could the Tathagata be someone to be easily bullied? He was the chief disciple of the Jie Sect, and his name was Duobao (meaning "many treasures"), which was no exaggeration.
Duobao was originally a stone in front of Zixiao Palace. Hongjun preached, and through a tremendous stroke of luck and with profound fortune, Duobao listened to a portion of it, developing sentience. Later, Tongtian helped him transform into human form and took him as his personal disciple, where he has been in charge of the major affairs of the Jie Sect for many years. Duobao is no ordinary person; his name, Duobao (meaning "many treasures"), is no exaggeration. Duobao has a passion for collecting magical treasures, even more so than Yun Zhongzi. Duobao possesses a Duobao Pagoda, crafted for him by Tongtian, containing over a thousand magical treasures he has forged over the years. Later, when Laozi transformed into a Buddha, these thousand-plus treasures were transformed into the golden body of Duobao Tathagata. One can imagine how incredibly hard this golden body, formed from over a thousand magical treasures, must have been.
The Buddha snorted coldly, took two steps back, clasped his hands together, and looked up at the sky, saying, "Five Facing Kings! Appear!" Five figures flew out from above the Buddha's head; these were the five emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha, cultivated using the great methods of the Three Pure Ones and the great methods of Buddhist saints: Acala, Yamantaka, Kundali, Trayastrimsa, and Vajrayaksa. They were known as the Five Acala Kings.
The Five Immovable Kings bowed to the Buddha, stood before him, and chanted Buddhist mantras while raising their fists, striking Styx Ancestor with punches...
Styx's expression changed drastically. He secretly marveled at Tathagata's power. The Five Bright Kings all possessed the cultivation of Great Luo True Immortals and had incredibly strong bodies. Even with his arrogance, Styx couldn't withstand such a punch. However, the current situation didn't allow Styx to think too much. He simply roared, "You have clones, but what about my methods?" With that, he raised his twin swords to the sky, and the waters of the Netherworld Blood Sea surged up, transforming into countless blood-red figures that struck Tathagata.
Tathagata remained unmoved. Having led the Jie Sect for many years, he naturally had some understanding of these powerful beings and admired the Styx Ancestor's technique of transforming the sea of blood into his own body. However, this did not mean that Tathagata would be afraid. Although the blood shadow clone was wonderful, the Buddhist teachings he cultivated were the nemesis of these blood shadows.
Then, the Tathagata uttered a loud Buddhist chant, and a figure appeared above his head—it was none other than the Tathagata Prabhutaratna. The Tathagata Prabhutaratna bowed to the Tathagata Shakyamuni and stood behind him. The two stood cross-legged in the void, their seats appearing on a golden lotus. A relic the size of a fist appeared above their heads. The Tathagata Shakyamuni chanted, "Namo Amitabha Buddha." After speaking, his entire body emitted a surge of Buddhist light, and the flowing golden light completely blocked the billions of blood shadows.
The blood-red shadows, like locusts, relentlessly attacked the Buddha, only to be blocked by the Buddha's light halfway through, melting away like ice and snow meeting boiling water.
The Styx Ancestor roared angrily, and his twin swords transformed into a blood dragon, slashing at Tathagata. Tathagata's expression remained unchanged, and the golden light of the relic above his head intensified, forming a light screen that blocked the blood dragon formed by the twin swords of Avici Yuantu.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate, but the Netherworld Cult could not withstand the Buddhist attack. They could have held off the attack by relying on the malevolent energy of the Blood Sea, but the Blood Sea was used by the Styx Ancestor to deal with Tathagata. The Netherworld Cult collapsed like a defeated army, with screams filling the air. Many Asura Cult members were converted and flew to the west to become the Eight Legions of Devas and Asuras in Buddhism.
Seeing the Netherworld Cult members suffering losses, the Styx Ancestor was both shocked and furious. He was furious that the Buddhist sect had left him no way out, forcing him into a state of unbearable suffering; he was shocked by the profound cultivation of the Tathagata. The Tathagata had only achieved Quasi-Saint status a few hundred years ago, yet he could fight against a veteran Quasi-Saint like himself without being at a disadvantage, and even gain a slight advantage. How could this not astonish the Styx Ancestor? At the same time, he was also extremely envious of Duobao's good fortune. Duobao was the only person in the world who understood the cultivation methods of a Saint; his luck was undeniable.
Despite his envy, the fate of all living beings in the Blood Sea was at stake, so the Styx Ancestor dared not hold back any longer. With a roar, he retrieved his two swords, slapped his head, and revealed a twelve-petaled blood lotus. The Styx Ancestor threw the blood lotus into the Blood Sea, where it grew to tens of thousands of feet in size and sank into the Blood Sea. He then used his two swords as guides, throwing them into the air. The swords transformed into streams of light and sank into the Blood Sea. Instantly, the Blood Sea churned, the Nine Netherworlds changed color, and the entire world was filled with a sinister and terrifying aura, turning a blood-red color from the churning, foul-smelling blood.
The Styx Ancestor roared, "Blood Sea Reincarnation Formation, activate!" The Blood Sea surged with towering waves, rising into the sky tens of thousands of feet high, and then crashed down on the Buddhist camp with the force of a reverse flow, as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart, causing even Tathagata to change his expression drastically.
K
The Buddha shouted, "Form the array!" He patted his head, and something appeared—the Seven Treasures Tree. The Seven Treasures Tree transformed into a stream of light, forming an array in the void to protect the Buddhist disciples. The array shimmered with golden light, and chanting filled the air; it was the Buddhist sect's signature array, the "Bodhi Array."
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