Dark, churning clouds seemed to press down upon the towering skyscrapers. A mournful whistle—a gust of wind—screamed down through the gaps in the clouds to slam against the ground. Snowflakes, the size of a child’s palm, struck the glass curtain walls of the buildings with sharp pat-pat sounds.

The Gu Tower, soaring to a height of nine hundred and ninety-nine meters, stood like a razor-sharp sabre at the edge of Manhattan Island.

Occasionally, the searchlights of distant ships swept across the Gu Tower, faintly illuminating the colossal ink-dragon stepping through clouds painted on its facade, a hundred meters high. The menacing dragon’s foreclaws clutched a blood-red Dragon Pearl and a sharp sword. Light caught the demon dragon's head, making the two eyes inlaid with minute sapphires glitter, while a stifling aura of malevolence subtly coiled around its massive body.

A sudden explosion ripped through one of the upper floors of the tower. Gu Xichen leaped out from the blaze, wreathed in smoke and fire.

The fierce wind, laced with snow, lashed Gu Xichen, chilling him to the bone. A few snowflakes sliced diagonally across his cheek; the icy sting jolted his senses, and he suddenly roared skyward, "Gu Juechen, I will not let you go!"

The ground approached rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Gu Xichen landed heavily on the pavement. He slammed his knees and hands hard onto the ground. Countless fissures immediately split the earth within a hundred-meter radius. Vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy transformed into countless intangible, invisible blades that shot out from the cracks with a chi-chi sound.

Dozens of burly men, clad in heavy armor and armed with weapons, who were charging toward him, were caught off guard and shredded by the erupting Vital Energy. Gu Xichen’s long hair whipped around him, the evil light in his eyes blazing fiercely. With a sudden sweep of his hands, the air around his body exploded, and an invisible shockwave swept in all directions.

Hundreds of gunmen pouring out of the Gu Tower shrieked as they were blasted away by the shockwave; their fragile bodies shattered within the invisible force.

The shockwave swept up street benches and parked cars, tearing everything into fine fragments that sprayed outward.

Gu Xichen turned back, looking toward the towering Gu Tower with slight confusion. He frowned, shook his head hard, and muttered perplexedly, "Why did I flee? Gu Juechen? Can he possibly defeat me? Or can the people he hired even stand against me?"

"I am Gu Xichen, that is correct! I am Gu Xichen! But why would I run away?"

He snatched at the empty air in front of him with his right hand. A car several hundred meters away suddenly flew up and smashed heavily into the main entrance of the Gu Tower, precisely as two large-caliber rockets shot out from the entrance, blasting the car to smithereens.

With a cold hiss, the evil light in Gu Xichen’s eyes intensified. His vision easily pierced through the fireball from the car explosion, revealing the scene within the main doorway. Gu Juechen, draped in black robes, fierce and imposing like a demon god, was slowly advancing toward him, wielding a Zen staff, flanked by Elder Wu and a cohort of hired experts. Behind them marched nearly a thousand fully armed gunmen.

"You unfilial, disloyal wretch! You murdered your own father, plotted to violate your birth mother, and even raped your nephew's wife! A sinner whose wickedness defies heaven, what right do you have to live on this earth?"

Through the firelight, Gu Juechen's hoarse, unpleasant voice traveled clearly. Gu Xichen subconsciously frowned. Had he committed so many evil deeds? How could that be? Such vague memories. Everything felt both real and illusory, as if true, yet perhaps false.

Were those crimes truly his? Or was Gu Juechen framing him?

Gu Xichen shook his head and said coldly, "Nonsense. How could I have done those things?"

Gu Juechen chuckled with a chi-chi sound. He said sinisterly, "I saw it with my own eyes. Everyone beside me witnessed you commit those evil acts. You won't be able to deny them. Elder Wu, wouldn't you agree?"

Elder Wu, whose face was withered and skin dark, hastily nodded, "Yes, yes, Gu Xichen did all these things! He is truly a shameless degenerate whose madness and depravity defy heavenly conscience. How can such an evil person deserve to live on this earth?"

Gu Juechen fiercely slammed his Zen staff down. He roared sternly, "What right do you have to live on this earth?"

The Zen staff struck the ground heavily, making the earth tremble. A faint golden light emanated from beneath the surroundings, and majestic Sanskrit chants echoed in the void. Gu Juechen relentlessly repeated Gu Xichen's list of crimes. As he enumerated them, the chanting in the void grew more distinct.

Gu Xichen felt a turmoil in his mind, as if it had been boiled into a porridge. He could not focus his attention at all. He gradually began to feel as if he had done it all—that he truly was the ultimate villain who had slain his father, attempted to violate his mother, and raped his nephew's wife.

He shook his head violently. An endless wave of remorse and guilt rose spontaneously in his heart. He slowly knelt down and suddenly burst into heart-wrenching sobs, repeatedly banging his forehead against the ground, screaming that Gu Juechen should kill him to atone for his sins.

Gripping the heavy Zen staff, Gu Juechen slowly walked over to Gu Xichen. He looked at the weeping Gu Xichen and smiled condescendingly, "Repentance is a sign you can still be saved. In the Six Paths of Reincarnation, you may first wander the path of beasts for ten thousand generations to cleanse your sins."

Accompanied by Gu Juechen's jarring, unpleasant laughter, a fierce image of a wrathful Vidyārāja suddenly materialized on his Zen staff. The staff, previously pitch black, now shone with iridescent colors, emitting a faint purplish-gold aura. Gu Juechen swung the staff down toward Gu Xichen's head with the force of a deity cleaving the heavens and earth.

With a tremendous clang, the Zen staff struck Gu Xichen's skull heavily. Every strand of Gu Xichen's long hair snapped, and large sparks erupted from his scalp. The Zen staff leaped dozens of feet high in Gu Juechen's hand, and the recoil force transmitted from Gu Xichen's body pulverized both of Gu Juechen's hands into dust.

Clutching his two bloody, mangled arms, Gu Juechen stumbled backward rapidly. He glared at Gu Xichen and roared, "What a hard head! You actually... also practiced body-forging techniques?"

Gu Xichen blinked, touched his slightly throbbing scalp, and subconsciously nodded, "Yes, I practiced body-forging techniques!"

Suddenly, a jolt went through Gu Xichen. When had he ever cultivated body-forging techniques? Back when Gu Juechen drove him out of the Gu Corporation on Manhattan Island, he hadn't been practicing any such methods. Furthermore, what exactly was a body-forging technique? And what was that strange phenomenon manifesting on Gu Juechen’s staff?

One thought triggered ten thousand others. A stream of mysterious, yellow-brown Xuanhuang Qi shot up from atop Gu Xichen’s head, enveloping his entire body in a blink. A cool energy circulated within him, instantly restoring all his memories.

His body trembled, and the imposing evil light in his eyes abruptly receded. Gu Xichen glanced around with eyes as cold as ice, then coldly laughed at the injured Gu Juechen, "Master Monk, what impressive divine power, what powerful illusion, to actually shake this Venerable One’s spiritual awareness. Truly difficult."

Gu Juechen drooped his eyelids and suddenly sighed, "A slight miscalculation. I did not expect the Evil Dragon Venerable, Gu Xichen, to possess such a tough skull!"

Incense fragrance swirled in the void around them, and threads of golden light erupted from the void, slowly converging toward Gu Juechen's arms. His mangled limbs healed rapidly, soon returning to normal. Golden light flared brilliantly around Gu Juechen, gradually restoring him to the appearance of the Great Dragon Zen Master.

Grabbing the air with his right hand, the shattered staff flew back into his grasp. The Great Dragon Zen Master stared at the staff and gasped sharply. On the staff, thick as the mouth of six seas, was clearly imprinted the mark of Gu Xichen’s forehead. Such a hard piece of Zen wood had been dented by his forehead, leaving a four-character mark. What material was his skull made of?

"A very formidable body-forging technique, alas. Buddhist divine powers do not rely on physical resilience for victory."

The Great Dragon Zen Master smiled, nodded toward Gu Xichen, and said, "Venerable One, are you prepared? The Poor Monk's Secret Realm of Three Thousand Buddhalands—is it truly time to activate it?"

Gu Xichen steadily held onto his true mind, merely nodding with a faint smile. Chaotic spiritual light subtly flashed in his eyes. Before the Samsara Dharma Eye, with sufficient preparation, what illusion or apparition could deceive Gu Xichen?

The Great Dragon Zen Master chuckled lightly. The chanting in the surroundings suddenly ceased. The surrounding seawater instantly swelled into colossal waves a hundred miles high, easily submerging all of Manhattan Island. Gu Xichen felt his body lighten, involuntarily swept up by the pitch-black surge, and flung into the distance.

His body floated weightlessly for an unknown distance. All around him was dark seawater. Suddenly, a small point of light appeared ahead. Gu Xichen firmly held his true mind; the Haotian Pagoda in his Sea of Consciousness continuously emitted Xuanhuang Qi, circulating through his body. His body deftly flew toward that light point.

A massive pulling force suddenly assailed him from all sides, and Gu Xichen’s body grew heavy. He broke through the waves and shot out of a lake. Immediately, the familiar, ecstatic cry of "Long live the Master!" reached his ears. Dozens of beautiful young women, swaying their ample bosoms, rushed past him like a whirlwind, carrying heavy bombs.

Ahead lay a fortress. Gu Xichen, Peng Hua, and Siren were engaged in a fierce battle before the fortress. These young women, carrying bombs, continuously charged into the fray, and the intermittent explosions left Gu Xichen and Peng Hua in utter disarray.

Glancing at Gu Xichen nearby and then at himself, Gu Xichen shook his head. Another illusion? Too bad, this time his mind was completely clear, completely unaffected by the phantom scene. The Great Dragon Zen Master’s scheme had not worked as intended.

With a wave of his hand, a Feiyang Xiu strike lashed out into the distance. The Gu Xichen, Peng Hua, and Siren on the other side, along with the fortress, shattered like an egg before a giant wave, countless fragments being swept into the distance.

A low voice echoed from the void: "Benevolent, benevolent. Such great killing intent from the Benefactor!"

Gu Xichen frowned and commanded in a low tone, "Monk, stop playing these parlor tricks. They are mere illusions, why speak of killing intent?"

The voice sighed mournfully, "Even if they are illusions, the Benefactor still killed them. This killing intent is real."

The ground beneath them suddenly collapsed, and Gu Xichen found himself instantly transported to a world of ice and snow. Behind him loomed a nuclear power plant, while before him advanced great tides of Spirit Race soldiers commanded by Pol Pot, along with Roman warriors.

Back when Pol Pot attacked the nuclear plant, he only deployed a few thousand soldiers. Here, there were tens of thousands of high-ranking Roman warriors, and the number of Spirit Race warriors was countless. At a glance, the area was teeming with dense green-skinned figures surging forward—at least over a million.

Before Gu Xichen could react, two lightsabers whistled down, slashing toward his waist. Pol Pot suddenly appeared beside him, wielding two light swords, grinning as he attacked. While slashing down at Gu Xichen, Pol Pot roared with laughter, "Long time no see, Gu Xichen!"

Gu Xichen allowed the two lightswords to strike him. The swords shattered, but not a single hair on his body was singed.

Pol Pot stared blankly at the broken hilts in his hands, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed boisterously, "Hahahaha, what an indestructible body you have!"

Gu Xichen swept his hand, and Pol Pot’s body exploded into four pieces, spraying pale golden blood onto the ground. Then, he unleashed a Feiyang Xiu strike. Countless Roman warriors and Spirit Race soldiers were instantly enveloped by an invisible, immense force, squeezed into a chaotic slurry of blood and gore, much like citrus fruit in a juicer.

Having killed over a million beings in a single move, even knowing they were illusions, Gu Xichen’s heart trembled as he stared at the gruesome scene of flying flesh and blood, feeling a faint sense of reluctance. Even if illusory, the illusion was far too real.

"Great Dragon Zen Master! Is this what you call Buddhist divine power?"

Gu Xichen was furious. He abruptly manifested the Pangu Banner and struck the void before him heavily. What a supreme treasure the Pangu Banner was! This strike unleashed a roaring current of chaotic energy that tore open the void, suddenly revealing a mountain range blanketed in endless white snow ahead.

He took a step forward and his vision cleared; he was back at the pre-snowfall scene of Huiyan Peak. Behind him stood the boundless army of the Nine Underworlds Path. Before him stood the stunned Great Dragon Zen Master, who was holding Fuya?Ming by the neck.

Upon seeing Gu Xichen appear, the Nine Underworlds Path army erupted in a cheer like a landslide and tsunami. Gu Xichen, however, froze abruptly, staring wordlessly at Fuya?Ming, held captive by the Great Dragon Zen Master. The army of the Nine Underworlds Path also sensed that something was wrong, and their cheers gradually subsided. They looked at each other, while Monkey, Yang Jian, and others gripped their weapons, ready to fight.

The Great Dragon Zen Master looked at Gu Xichen and smiled, "Did the Venerable One come for this woman?"

His fingers tightened fiercely, squeezing Fuya?Ming until she struggled for breath, her face turning purplish-red.

Gu Xichen slid forward a few steps and roared fiercely, "If you dare harm a single hair on her head, this Venerable One will wash Snowy Mountain clean with blood!"

Without a word, the Great Dragon Zen Master drew a monastic razor and slashed viciously at Fuya?Ming’s leg. The blow was so severe it nearly split her leg bone. The Great Dragon Zen Master roared with laughter, "Wash the Great Snowy Mountain in blood? If you don't fear your lover's death, feel free to try!"

Gu Xichen was struck dumb, staring blankly at Fuya?Ming, suddenly recalling the scene when he first met her.

At that time, he was adrift in the vast sea of stars, while Fuya?Ming was still a proud, ambitious little queen who sought to raise her weak homeland to the pinnacle of the cosmos. Strange as it seemed, they instantly felt like kindred spirits and naturally ended up together.

It seemed not a single vow of eternal love was exchanged. They simply came together naturally.

He spared no effort to accumulate strength and capital in his hands, while she managed and administered everything behind the scenes. Though they spent much time apart, they worked with such implicit understanding that they elevated the weak Federal Earth and the Aphic Kingdom to a level where they could contend with the heroes of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

The greatest music has no sound. This supreme earthly love was also like this—without grand declarations or fiery passion, only enduring companionship and mutual understanding, like a cup of weak tea.

That woman, as elegant as an Epiphyllum flower, had always stood behind Gu Xichen, managing all the complex affairs for him.

He only needed to lead a group of brothers charging forward, as he never needed to worry about the rear.

"Fuya!"

Gu Xichen’s eyes reddened. He stared at the drops of blood staining Fuya?Ming’s feet, and the profound currents of yellow and brown energy surged violently around him.

He snatched at the air with his right hand; five strands of dragon-like Xuanhuang Qi sprayed out from his fingers. The void trembled, torn open by five deep fissures. Immense, rope-like power enveloped the Great Dragon Zen Master’s body, intending to drag him and Fuya?Ming toward Gu Xichen.

The Great Dragon Zen Master laughed loudly. Suddenly, a relic orb the size of a bowl shot out from his brow and slammed heavily onto Fuya?Ming's head. The terrifying impact instantly blasted Fuya?Ming into a mist of blood, within which a flicker of spiritual light vanished—Fuya?Ming’s soul was also shattered into dust.

"Damn you to a thousand cuts!" Peng Hua, Siren, and the others cursed in unison. Their wings burst forth from their backs, and they suddenly soared past Gu Xichen toward the Great Dragon Zen Master.

The Great Dragon Zen Master threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Evil Dragon Venerable, I await you to come and destroy my entire clan on Great Snowy Mountain!"

Gu Xichen’s body trembled. A wave of excruciating pain suddenly flooded his heart. He stared at the slowly dissipating blood mist, suddenly screamed, and spat out blood. The enormous sound wave tossed Siren and the others, who were flying past him, far away.

"Until this day, until this moment, until this very second, I realize how deeply I love you!"

Gouts of blood poured from his mouth. Gu Xichen stared at the lingering blood mist left by Fuya?Ming; the surging power within him nearly destroyed his heart meridian. Uncontrolled power raged through his body. If not for his Xuanhuang Indestructible Body divine power having reached minor completion, this chaotic force alone would have disintegrated him.

"How could it be like this..."

Large patches of white flashed before his eyes. Gu Xichen seemed to see the sea of white flowers in the Aphic Imperial Palace again.

The soft moonlight, and the quiet woman beneath it, peacefully listening to his rambling.

Gu Xichen was like a raging fire, and she was like a pool of clear spring water, the only thing that could temper the fire capable of burning and destroying everything, preventing it from harming others and himself.

He was a flood dragon soaring through the skies, and she was a pure harbor. Only beside her could he feel true calm and tranquility, as if staying by her side meant he would never again perceive the scheming and bloodshed of the world.

Centuries of companionship, imprinted over ten thousand years beyond erasure, had carved the name and image of this woman densely into Gu Xichen's heart.

The Great Dragon Zen Master had delivered a heavy blow right to Gu Xichen's heart.

A single strike wounded him so deeply.

Gu Xichen spat blood, and even without the Great Dragon Zen Master’s attack, he was already severely injured.

He looked at the Great Dragon Zen Master, speechless for a long time. The Great Dragon Zen Master also looked at Gu Xichen, then suddenly smiled strangely.

Peng Hua, Siren, and the others, who had just rushed past Gu Xichen, suddenly flew back. They transformed mid-air into the appearance of the Heavenly Guardians of Buddhism. Buddhist divine weapons, shining with various golden lights, descended upon Gu Xichen's body with heavy roars.

With a crisp sound, the Xuanhuang Qi around Gu Xichen flared brightly. All the weapons were repelled.

The Great Dragon Zen Master was startled. Suddenly, a tiny image of a Bodhi branch materialized on the weapons of these Heavenly Guardians. The various weapons struck Gu Xichen's body again. This time, an irresistible, terrifying power surged into Gu Xichen's physical form, shattering his body into pieces; only the surface barely maintained the shape of a person.

This power was so ancient, so profound. When it rushed into Gu Xichen’s body, he felt the entire heaven and earth grinding down upon him—this force actually harnessed the power of the entire cosmos.

Irresistible, unstoppable, Gu Xichen bled from all seven orifices, blasted far away by this single strike.

Spitting mouthfuls of blood, Gu Xichen screamed hoarsely. His Three Corpses Primordial Spirit rushed out from his head. He exerted all his strength to manifest his three natal artifacts and struck the void heavily. He had already blasted through the Great Dragon Zen Master's Minor Secret Realm of Three Thousand Buddhalands and fled in disgrace with Gu Xichen.

That power circulated within Gu Xichen's body once, then suddenly surged into his Three Corpses Primordial Spirit.

A sharp, piercing wail erupted. Gu Xichen’s Three Corpses Primordial Spirit was also gravely wounded, almost annihilated. Fortunately, the Haotian Pagoda suddenly appeared and firmly protected his Primordial Spirit, thus preserving his ten thousand years of arduous cultivation from turning into wasted effort.

In the Nine Underworlds Path army, Peng Hua and the others squatted listlessly on the chariot shafts, anxiously staring at the void ahead. After the Great Dragon Zen Master brought Gu Xichen into the Buddhist Kingdom Secret Realm, no sound had been heard from them since. They were agonizingly anxious waiting.

Only Monkey stared menacingly at the void ahead, his brow tightly furrowed. He vaguely sensed some inauspicious aura, but he could not confirm whether the feeling he sensed was real.

Suddenly, a massive rift tore open in the void, and Gu Xiechen stumbled out, covered in blood, his body limp and doughy like a discarded potato. Behind him, the Twenty Devas, Dharma Protectors of Buddhism, charged forward, wielding blades and spears.

Before Peng Hua and the others could even react, the Great Heaven of Bliss surged to Gu Xiechen's side, driving his silver spear violently through the villain's lower abdomen. This silver spear was incomparably sharp; Gu Xiechen's Indestructible Yellow and Black Body offered it no discernible resistance, being pierced with chilling ease.

Peng Hua and his cohort roared in fury, hastily leading their sect’s masters to meet the onslaught of the Dharma Protectors. The sound of chanting arose, resonant as thunder. Peng Hua and his allies were swiftly routed by the Protectors; wherever their consecrated weapons passed, nothing could stand in their way. Even Peng Hua's innate supreme treasure, the Star Sword, sustained a hairline crack from the vajra held by the Great Brahma Heaven, causing Peng Hua to spew a mouthful of blood, nearly plummeting him from the Great Golden Immortal realm.

Grand Master Long Chan burst into a loud, unrestrained laugh, the sound brimming with unconcealed shock and triumph. With a sweep of his palms, he instantly encompassed an area spanning tens of thousands of miles. With a sudden whoosh, a significant portion of the dark creature army led by Blackjack was sucked into the Buddhist Pure Land manifested by his hands.

Gu Xiechen, barely managing to scramble back into the White Bone Demon Dragon Chariot, painfully raised his head, spitting blood as he rasped hoarsely, "Retreat! Everyone fall back!" He had felt the attack clearly; the weapons wielded by those Dharma Protectors carried the very aura of the Three Past World-Honored Buddhas of the Buddhist lineage! Those true masters of great divine power had decisively intervened!

The army of the Nine Nethers Path was utterly crushed, pursued for hundreds of millions of miles by Grand Master Long Chan and over a dozen equally seasoned monks and nuns who practiced the Small Sumeru Three Thousand Buddha Land Zen Technique. Only after they had chased the enemy beyond the Pāramitānpraamuda-sukha Heaven did the aged cultivators, exhausted from expending so much vital energy, gleefully call off the pursuit and return.

Gazing upon the dark creatures, of whom at least sixty percent had been lost, Gu Xiechen, slumped weakly in his cloud chariot, was truly on the verge of tears. Peng Hua and the others exchanged looks of utter dismay, rendered speechless. The Corpse Emperor emerged from the Grand Yin Profound Pearl, his face grim. He snarled through clenched teeth, "The weapons forged from concentrated psychic power in the hands of those Dharma Protectors are tainted!"

Gu Xiechen weakly nodded in agreement; having personally experienced the horror of those weapons, he knew for certain that they were infernal. The Corpse Emperor frowned, scanning his surroundings, when he suddenly spotted a streak of light bursting forth from within the Pāramitānpraamuda-sukha Heaven. Fua? Ming, along with every disciple under her command, was now fleeing at breakneck speed. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in to Heart. More chapters are available, supporting the author. Support legitimate reading! D