The leading Buddha gritted his teeth, a resolute glint in his eyes—now that things had come to this, even if they couldn't win, they had to fight! Otherwise, after today, Buddhism would be utterly disgraced!
"Form the 'Ten Thousand Buddhas Slaying Demons Formation'!" he shouted sternly.
The other seven Buddha statues responded and moved instantly. The eight people changed positions in an instant, their Buddhist power intertwined, and golden light condensed into a huge Buddhist sword. The sword was covered with dense Buddhist characters and carried a terrifying aura of "purifying all things," which slashed down towards Lin Zhou!
Lin Zhou looked at the Buddhist sword, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Good timing."
His figure blurred as he advanced instead of retreating, his white robe leaving a trail of afterimages amidst the golden light, as he proactively met the Buddhist sword that embodied the power of eight Great Buddhas who had attained the Dao.
The air on the mountaintop froze instantly, and a collision powerful enough to shake the Western Regions officially erupted.
Su She, who was being protected by Lin Zhou, looked at his master's calm and composed back and felt an indescribable shock in his heart.
It turned out that his master's power was a thousand times more terrifying than he had imagined.
It turns out that the so-called "top forces" are so vulnerable in the face of true powerhouses.
He gripped the Tao Te Ching tightly, his eyes growing ever more resolute—the path he was to take might be fraught with thorns, but as long as he had the power of his master to "protect the Tao," he dared to continue until he spread the belief of "Confucianism and Taoism benefiting the world" throughout the four regions and eight wastelands.
Eight Buddhas in the early stages of the Dao Integration stage stood in formation, and the "Ten Thousand Buddhas Demon Slaying Formation" formed by the intertwining of Buddhist power had risen into the air.
That formation truly lived up to its reputation as a treasure of Buddhism. As the array patterns flowed, an ancient phantom appeared—an ancient Buddha wearing a tattered robe sat cross-legged in the void, his hands forming a mudra, surrounded by countless Buddhist figures chanting sutras, and a heavy pressure that transcended time and space spread out.
"This formation was passed down by the ancient Buddha Dipankara," the leading Buddha's voice carried a hint of pride, yet also concealed a last hope. "Back then, when the extraterrestrial demons invaded, the Buddhist sect relied on this formation to hold out for three months and preserve the sect. Benefactor, once this formation is activated, it will lead to mutual destruction. Do you really want to force us to this point?"
They brought out this trump card formation partly for self-preservation and partly as a final warning—if Lin Zhou knew better than to retreat, they could still save face by claiming that the formation had forced back a powerful enemy; but if Lin Zhou insisted on attacking, this formation would be their last resort.
Lin Zhou glanced at the ancient Buddha phantom and a mocking smile appeared on his lips: "Dipankara Buddha? Never heard of him."
He couldn't be bothered to care about the origin of this formation, nor did he care about "mutual destruction"—if anyone dared to touch his disciple, he would beat them up without hesitation, no matter if it was an ancient formation or even if celestial beings or Buddhas came.
"snort."
A cold snort, not loud, yet carrying an irresistible will, resounded outside the formation like a thunderclap from the heavens.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
Those Buddhist cultivators who had been injured and paralyzed at the edge of the square, whether they were ancient Buddhas in the late stage of tribulation or low-level monks in the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages, all exploded in the midst of this cold snort, turning into a sky full of blood mist, leaving not even a trace of their souls behind!
In an instant, only the eight large Buddha statues, arranged in formation, remained in the square.
What a blatant humiliation!
It was a blatant message to them: apart from the eight of you who are somewhat useful, the rest are less than ants in my eyes.
The eight Buddha statues' faces instantly turned purplish-red, their eyes filled with a mixture of killing intent and humiliation. The leading Buddha clenched his fist, the eyes of the ancient Buddha phantom suddenly snapping open, his voice hoarse as if tearing silk: "You've gone too far, benefactor! Today, I'll show you the power of my Buddhist grand formation!"
"All Buddhas Return to Origin—Slay!"
The eight people simultaneously activated their Buddhist power. The ancient Buddha phantom in the formation slowly raised its hand, and countless Buddha images condensed into a golden Buddha sword that was a thousand feet long. The sword was covered with the Buddhist seal of the character "卍" and carried a terrifying aura of "purifying everything and annihilating everything" as it slashed down at Lin Zhou!
This sword strike gathered the full power of eight early-stage Dao Integration Realm experts and even triggered the origin of the ancient formation. Just the sword wind swept across, turning the bluestone on the mountaintop into dust, and even the space itself was cleaved with fine cracks!
Su She stood behind Lin Zhou, his heart tightening as he watched—the power of this sword strike was stronger than all the previous attacks combined, and even a mid-stage Dao Integration cultivator might not be able to withstand it!
But Lin Zhou remained calm and composed.
He didn't even look at the Buddha sword that was coming at him; he simply bent down and casually pulled a withered yellow branch from the pile of rubble at his feet.
The branches were slender and inconspicuous, as if a gust of wind could break them.
Lin Zhou gripped the branch and flicked his wrist slightly.
There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling brilliance, only a faint cyan trajectory extending along the direction the branch had passed—that trajectory contained a trace of the purest "rule of the sword," which did not pursue sharpness or power, but only "breaking."
Destroy all things, destroy all illusions.
"Sizzle—!"
The cyan trajectory met the thousand-foot-long Buddhist sword, but there was no earth-shattering collision as expected; instead, there was only a soft sound like silk being torn apart.
The Buddha sword, which had gathered the power of eight Buddhas and activated an ancient formation, was as fragile as paper, breaking apart inch by inch from the tip! The golden Buddha seal vanished, and the ancient Buddha phantom let out a painful groan before slowly dissipating.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
The moment the Buddha sword shattered, the eight Buddha statues in the formation were struck by an invisible force, flying backward and crashing into the mountain wall of the Great Thunderclap Temple, causing the wall to collapse with a roar. When they landed, they all felt a sweet taste in their throats, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood. Their auras instantly weakened, and the golden robes on their bodies became dull and lifeless.
The branch fell from Lin Zhou's hand, landing lightly on the ground and breaking in two.
It was as if that earth-shattering sword strike from just now was merely dust that he had casually brushed away with a twig.
The mountaintop was deathly silent.
The eight large Buddha statues sat slumped in the ruins, staring at the withered branch broken in two, their eyes filled with despair.
They used the most advanced Buddhist formations and their most powerful techniques, only to have their opponents casually destroy everything with a roadside twig.
This is not a difference in strength, it is a crushing defeat in terms of realm, a dimensional reduction attack.
They finally realized that they had been wrong from the very beginning—not in besieging Su She, but in provoking someone they simply couldn't afford to offend.
Lin Zhou clapped his hands as if he were merely brushing off some dust, his gaze falling on the eight large Buddha statues, and said in a calm tone, "Now, do you still want to reason with me?"
The eight large Buddha statues opened their mouths, but could not utter a single word.
Reason? In the face of absolute power, reason is worthless.
Humiliation? They seem to need the other party's charity to even be humiliated.
The leading Buddha gave a bitter smile, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, cupped his hands to Lin Zhou, and said in a voice filled with unprecedented weariness: "Benefactor... you have won. My Buddhist sect... concedes defeat."
They lost, utterly and completely, their last shred of dignity crushed.
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