123: The power of Buddhist cultivators and the violence of demonic cultivators

Garuda Remnant Soul's roar was filled with shock, anger, and madness after his true nature was completely exposed!

The monstrous Devilish Qi was no longer held back, gushing out from his shadow-like body like a breached dam!

The entire altar plaza was instantly enveloped in an even deeper, more despair-inducing darkness, and the eight Vicious Beast statues seemed to come alive, letting out excited and bloodthirsty silent growls!

"Demonic Devouring of the World!"

The black shadow suddenly spread his arms, and countless pitch-black tentacles, condensed from pure Devilish Qi, shot towards Great Master Ku Zhu like demonic pythons from the nine Hells, covering the sky and earth!

The tip of each tentacle split open into a giant suction cup mouth filled with sharp teeth, emitting a piercing Soul roar, not only devouring matter but also directly attacking the Divine Soul!

Facing an offensive several times more terrifying than before, Great Master Ku Zhu's withered face finally showed an unprecedented solemnity.

He took a deep breath, and his slightly hunched body suddenly straightened, a formidable Buddha Power, as stable as a deep pool and a towering mountain, not to be desecrated, burst forth!

"My Buddha is merciful, yet also roars like a lion! Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle!"

He rapidly formed hand seals, and the string of ebony prayer beads flew up again, but instead of scattering, they connected end-to-end, spinning at high speed, erupting with golden Buddha Light more dazzling than the sun!

The Buddha Light flowed like molten gold, instantly forming a golden halo with a diameter of several feet, surrounded by countless Sanskrit 'swastika' characters and Buddha phantom images flying around it, centered on him!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!!!

Countless Devilish Qi tentacles fiercely crashed into the Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle!

It was like a red-hot branding iron meeting ice water, emitting a grating, intense corrosive sound!

The Buddha Light and Devilish Qi consumed each other wildly, with black smoke billowing!

The Demon-Subduing Circle trembled violently, its light dimming at a visible rate, but it stubbornly and firmly blocked all the tentacles outside!

"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Garuda Remnant Soul shrieked, increasing the Devilish Qi output again!

More and thicker tentacles surged from all directions, layering and coiling around the Demon-Subduing Circle, frantically contracting and squeezing!

At the same time, at the position of the blurred vertical eye between his eyebrows, a point of extreme darkness began to condense!

"Demonic Eye: Void Breaker!"

Whoosh!

A dark ray, as fine as a hair but utterly pure, shot out silently from between his eyebrows!

This ray seemed to ignore spatial distance, directly piercing through the frantically attacking Devilish Qi tentacles and the violently fluctuating Buddha Light of the Demon-Subduing Circle, striking directly at Great Master Ku Zhu's main body!

This strike was insidious and vicious, containing terrifying power that could pierce the Void Realm and annihilate the Origin!

Great Master Ku Zhu's pupils constricted slightly, seemingly not expecting the opponent to have such a bizarre Divine Ability!

At the critical moment, he suddenly pushed his clasped palms forward!

"Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum!" A more ancient and obscure secret mantra burst from his lips!

The Void Realm in front of him rippled like water, and a phantom image of a Vajra Pestle, ancient and simple, as if made of bronze and covered with countless patterns of Arhats subduing demons, suddenly appeared!

Clang—!!!!!!!!!!

The dark ray accurately struck the center of the Vajra Pestle!

It emitted a Soul-shaking clang of metal!

The phantom image of the Vajra Pestle shook violently, the Arhat patterns on its surface flickering, and it was actually struck backward by that tiny ray, crashing heavily into Great Master Ku Zhu!

"Pfft!" Great Master Ku Zhu suffered a heavy blow, his body trembled violently, his face turned pale, and he ultimately couldn't completely dissipate the force, being knocked back several steps, with golden blood once again spilling from the corner of his mouth, clearly having sustained a serious internal injury.

The Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle also dimmed in light as a result, and the surrounding Devilish Qi tentacles took the opportunity to frantically erode it, appearing on the verge of shattering!

"Great Master!" The Cultivators watching from afar cried out in horror, their hearts in their throats.

"Heh heh! Bald donkey, your Buddhist Divine Ability indeed restrains Demonic Technique, but the gap in Realm cannot be compensated by mere restraint!

Even if I am only a Remnant Soul, my understanding of the Law of space is far beyond what a monk from the Lower Realm like you can achieve!" Garuda Remnant Soul let out a triumphant strange laugh, his attacks becoming even more ferocious.

Great Master Ku Zhu stabilized his body, wiped away the golden blood from his mouth, and instead of fear, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

He clasped his hands together, his voice becoming grand and solemn: "Amitabha.

What the benefactor says is not wrong; my cultivation is indeed not even one ten-thousandth of yours at your peak.

However, the boundless Buddha Dharma is not merely about brute force!"

Before he finished speaking, his footsteps suddenly became profound and unpredictable!

With each step, pure golden lotus phantoms bloomed beneath his feet!

His figure became elusive, as if existing in multiple directions simultaneously, skillfully avoiding the densest attack points of the Devilish Qi tentacles.

"Hmm? Little Thunderclap Temple's Step-by-Step Lotus? Hmph, it's merely a superficial imitation!" Garuda Remnant Soul snorted disdainfully, his demonic eye between his eyebrows flickering again, attempting to lock onto Great Master Ku Zhu's true body.

However, Great Master Ku Zhu's steps became faster and faster, and his chanting grew louder and more urgent!

It was no longer a single scripture, but a mixture of countless different Buddhist mantras!

"Great Compassion Mantra!"

"Shurangama Mantra!"

"Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra!"

...

The power of various scriptures was not chaotic, but began to resonate and superimpose in a strange way!

The vast Buddha Power was no longer merely used for defense and evasion, but began to spread and permeate the entire altar plaza!

He was actually using himself as a guide, and Buddhist mantras as a foundation, to perform a ritual of transcendence for this land that had been infected by Devilish Qi for hundreds of thousands of years!

To transcend the countless vengeful Souls that had been devoured!

And even more so... to purify the Eight Fiend Spirit Devouring Array itself!

"Bald donkey! How dare you!" Garuda Remnant Soul finally realized his intention, both shocked and enraged!

This altar was the foundation of his recovery; if it were purified by Buddha Power, his wisp of Remnant Soul would have nowhere to attach itself and would completely dissipate!

"Demonic Devouring the Universe!"

He completely went mad, holding nothing back!

The entire black shadow suddenly expanded, transforming into a colossal demonic mouth covering half the plaza!

Within the mouth was an endless black vortex, emitting a terrifying suction force that could devour all things in heaven and earth!

He wanted to completely swallow Great Master Ku Zhu along with this annoying Buddha Power!

All the Cultivators in the plaza felt their bodies uncontrollably being pulled towards the demonic mouth, scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

Facing this ultimate strike, Great Master Ku Zhu stopped, standing upon a giant golden lotus.

His face was solemn, his hands slowly raised, as if holding up a myriad of towering mountains.

"The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and you'll reach the shore.

Benefactor, your obsession is too deep."