69: Chapter 69 The Assembly of Ten Thousand Buddhas

Gu Sheng sat on the grandmaster's chair in the Star-Plucking Tower, his fingers tapping on the red sandalwood armrest. 2.7 million destiny points was quite a windfall. The situation in the Eastern Region was trickier than expected; that Old Beggar from Lingxu Pavilion had lived for eight thousand years, and without some hard currency, he wouldn't be able to control the situation.

“System, open the card pool. The Laws of the Eastern Region are fragmented, and Saints cannot descend, so get someone who can hold down the fort. If you try to fool me with junk, I'll dismantle you and reinstall you.”

[Host, the Advanced card pool costs 100,000 per pull, and the Supreme card pool costs one million per pull. It is suggested that you act within your means. At your current spending speed, even a landlord's family would go bankrupt.] The System's mechanical voice was laced with mockery.

“Less talk, give me two Supreme ten-pulls. I want high utility. In that god-forsaken place like the Eastern Region, the Heavenly Dao shackles are much heavier than in the Central State. Even if you give me a Great Emperor, he'd be struck into ash by the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder the moment he landed. What use would that be?”

[Deducting two million destiny points. Supreme card pool opening.]

In his Sea of Consciousness, a grand wheel began to spin. Golden light flashed repeatedly; the first dozen pulls were all Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique Incomplete Manuals and high-grade Medicinal Pills. Gu Sheng didn't even bat an eye. On the nineteenth pull, the wheel stuttered, and a blinding purple-gold light burst forth.

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Peak-grade Character Card: Broken Saber Guest · Nie Xiao. Cultivation: Half-Saint.]

Gu Sheng sat up straight. On the card, a man with disheveled hair and a single arm holding a broken-backed saber stood with his back to all living beings, surrounded by thick, inseparable Evil Qi.

[An ancient saber cultivator who once split the Nine Nether Yellow Springs with a single strike. He had one arm severed for violating the Heavenly Dao, yet while the saber broke, the man remained.]

“A Half-Saint.” Gu Sheng tapped the table. “He might not be considered top-tier in the Central State, but in that backwater Eastern Region where the Laws of the Heavenly Dao are in tatters, a Half-Saint is the living Law.”

[The Laws of the Eastern Region are severely fragmented; the forced descent of someone in the Saint Realm would invite Heavenly Punishment. Nie Xiao's Half-Saint cultivation is at the extreme edge of the Heavenly Dao's tolerance, making him the optimal solution. Notably, his Saber Intent carries the effect of shielding heavenly secrets, allowing him to evade the backlash from the Laws to the greatest extent.]

Gu Sheng toyed with the jade orbs in his hand, his Divine Sense connecting to his Clone, Ye Yuan, far away in Tianshui City in the Eastern Region. “Time to work.”

Eastern Region, second floor of the Haiyue Inn.

Chu Kuangren stood at the top of the stairs, his hand on his sword hilt. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead and cheeks, splashing onto the wooden floor. The Old Beggar's words were too devastating; there was no such person in Lingxu Pavilion, which meant the Ye Family and Gu Family were mere fabrications. If the Penglai Sword Sect followed a fraud to provoke the hidden old monsters of the Eastern Region, the only outcome would be the destruction of the Sect.

“Fellow Daoist Ye,” Chu Kuangren spoke, his voice dry. “The Penglai Sword Sect has a small foundation but many lives to consider; we cannot afford such risks. Regarding the cooperation, please allow me to return to the Sect and discuss it with the Elders before deciding.”

A tactful refusal.

Ye Yuan sat at the table, spinning an empty wine cup. He didn't try to make him stay, nor did he get angry; he simply watched the long street outside the door.

“Sect Master Chu.” Ye Yuan turned the empty wine cup upside down on the table. “Do you believe that beggar?”

Chu Kuangren remained silent. Should he not believe a living fossil of the Lingxu Pavilion who had lived for eight thousand years, and instead believe a junior at the Nascent Soul Stage?

“Very well.” Ye Yuan stood up. “The Ye Family does not force anyone. If Sect Master Chu walks out of this door today, the threshold for boarding the Ye Family's ship in the future won't be as simple as just being a guide.”

Chu Kuangren cupped his hands and turned toward the stairs.

The moment he took his first step, the entire Haiyue Inn sank three inches without any warning.

There was no gale, nor any fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

The clouds above Tianshui City were forcibly smoothed over by an invisible power, revealing a clear blue sky. In the inn's backyard, three Atavistic Silver Flood Dragons that had been napping suddenly collapsed onto the ground, their scales standing on end as they let out whimpering moans. The Dragon Clan Bloodline was most sensitive to danger, and these three Silver Flood Dragons at the Soul Transformation Stage had lost even the courage to raise their heads.

Chu Kuangren remained in a walking posture, his leg unable to descend. The sword box on his back vibrated violently, and his natal Flying Sword let out an overburdened wail—a primal reaction of a high-grade Magic Treasure encountering superior suppression.

Another person had appeared at the top of the stairs.

He had disheveled hair draped over his shoulders and wore coarse hemp clothes. His left sleeve fluttered empty in the wind, while his right hand held a rusty, broken-backed great saber. The saber was not unsheathed, and no Saber Intent had leaked out, but his mere presence caused a slight sense of displacement in the surrounding space. The wooden handrail of the stairs silently turned into fine powder, unable to withstand the pure pressure emanating from this body.

“Young Lord.” The one-armed man walked up to Ye Yuan and knelt on one knee. The wooden floor was dented by his knee but did not shatter; his control over his power was perfected to the extreme.

Ye Yuan reached out to support him. “Uncle Nie, no need for such formalities.”

Nie Xiao stood up and retreated half a step behind Ye Yuan, his eyes half-closed, standing as still as withered wood.

Chu Kuangren turned his head with great difficulty, his neck making a mechanical grinding sound. He looked at the one-armed man, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

He couldn't see through him.

With his Late-stage Soul Transformation cultivation, looking at this man was like staring directly into a bottomless abyss. There was no fluctuation of Spiritual Qi and no vital signs; even his breathing rhythm was completely synchronized with the pulsation of heaven and earth.

Mahayana? Undergoing Tribulation? Or...

Chu Kuangren didn't dare think further. The Eastern Region hadn't seen a monster of this level in thousands of years.

Ye Yuan sat back down, flipped the wine cup over, and filled it with wine. “Sect Master Chu, the door is that way. I won't see you out.”

The sweat on Chu Kuangren's forehead ran into his eyes, causing an unbearable sting, but he didn't even dare to blink. He turned around, walked quickly to the table, picked up the cup of wine, and drained it in one gulp.

“Young Lord Ye must be joking.” Chu Kuangren set down the wine cup and bowed to the extreme. “The Penglai Sword Sect is willing to serve the Ye Family with the utmost loyalty. Within three days, I will personally deliver the map of the Eastern Region and the sleeping grounds of those old monsters to your desk.”

Ye Yuan tapped the table. “I don't want a map. I want you to dig up graves. Changsheng Pavilion, Yanyu Pavilion, and that Fishing Sea Guest—unearth them all. Tell them the Great Era has arrived, and if they don't want to die in their coffins, they should crawl out and see me.”

Chu Kuangren responded repeatedly in agreement and backed down the stairs. When he walked out of the inn, the back of his clothes was soaked through, and the sea breeze chilled him to the bone.

At the end of the long street.

The Old Beggar was squatting in front of a bun stall, staring at the freshly steamed meat buns.

His movements froze, and he looked up toward the Haiyue Inn. A sharp light flashed in his cloudy eyes, and his originally hunched back straightened slightly.

“What overbearing Saber Intent.” The Old Beggar rubbed his sparse beard. “It even sliced through the Laws of the Heavenly Dao. A Half-step into Sainthood? No, a full-fledged Half-Saint. How can a backwater like the Eastern Region accommodate such a Great Bodhisattva?”

He pulled a copper coin from his broken bowl, tossed it to the stall owner, grabbed two meat buns, and stuffed them into his robes.

“The Ye Family...” The Old Beggar chewed on those words. “I've lived for eight thousand years, yet I misjudged them. This pond is truly about to be overturned by a dragon crossing the river. Lingxu Pavilion has been in seclusion for too long; these Karmic Threads are becoming too deeply entangled.”

“Hidden in the Ling Peaks, not involving oneself in disputes, single-mindedly comprehending the Dao, protecting all living beings.”

“Lingxu Pavilion has been in seclusion for too long; these Karmic Threads are becoming too deeply entangled.”

He turned and walked into a dark alley, his pace no longer sluggish. With every step he took, he appeared thirty meters away.

Central State, Star-Plucking Tower.

There was a knock on the door of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Su Jiuer pushed the door open and entered, holding a gold-embossed invitation.

“Pavilion Master.” Su Jiuer presented the invitation. “It was sent by someone from the Western Wasteland Buddhist Sect. On the eighth of next month, the Buddhist Sect will host the Ten Thousand Buddha Dharma Assembly and invites the Master of Tianji Pavilion to attend the ceremony.”

Gu Sheng took the invitation and brushed his fingers over the Swastika Buddhist Seal on it. Golden light flowed, carrying a peaceful aura of universal salvation for all living beings.

“The Western Wasteland Buddhist Sect.” Gu Sheng sneered. “They sent someone to the Great Xia enthronement ceremony, but didn't say a word. Now they've proactively sent an invitation. Those bald donkeys usually talk about compassion, but they're more ruthless than anyone when it comes to snatching benefits behind the scenes. This Ten Thousand Buddha Dharma Assembly is likely a Hongmen Banquet.”

Su Jiuer lowered her head. “The martial monk who delivered the message said that the Buddhist Sect has a heavy treasure concerning the Luck of the Central State that will be revealed at the assembly, and they specifically invite the Pavilion Master to appraise it.”

“A heavy treasure?” Gu Sheng threw the invitation on the table. “They're fishing. The Western Wasteland has been closed to guests for years; this grand display means their schemes are no small matter.”

[Host, are you going?] the System asked.

“I'm going. Why wouldn't I?” Gu Sheng sat back down. “If someone has set the stage, I, as a spectator, should certainly show my support. I'll also see if those bald donkeys in the Western Wasteland can contribute some destiny points to me. Xuan Kong will stay in Heavenly Saint City to oversee things, while I take Luo Qingxue with me to the Western Wasteland.”