371: Chapter 358 The Peacock King's Backstab

Smoke filled the air, permeated by the characteristic scorched smell of high-energy particle cannon fire, along with a faint, lingering scent of sandalwood.

Dipankara Buddha's Physical Body had been completely vaporized by three anti-matter beams, leaving not even a speck of dust behind. However, he was an ancient powerhouse after all, one who had survived ten thousand tribulations without perishing. At this moment, a greyish, yet extremely cold-aura-exuding Life Sarira was enveloping his terrified Primordial Spirit, darting back and forth in the Void Realm in an attempt to find a gap to escape.

"Kong Xuan! Lin Feng! You bunch of heretical demons!"

Dipankara's Primordial Spirit let out a shrill curse like a night owl, "I am the Buddha of the Past, burdened with great Karma and protected by the Heavenly Dao! You cannot kill me! Once I return to Spirit Mountain, I will surely invite the two Saints to come forth and grind your bones into ashes!"

This was not just a threat, but a slogan Dipankara used to embolden himself. He had lived for so long by relying on this shameless tenacity and his escape skills.

However, this time, his calculations fell through.

"Protected by the Heavenly Dao? Heh."

An extremely contemptuous cold laugh, carrying three parts laziness and seven parts dominance, rang out from behind Lin Feng.

Kong Xuan slowly raised those narrow Phoenix eyes, his gaze reflecting the Sarira that was fleeing in panic, as if he were looking at a grasshopper jumping around on a plate.

"Dipankara, have you forgotten whose home field this is?"

Kong Xuan took a step forward.

As this step landed, the originally calm Void Realm suddenly trembled.

"Li——!!!"

A sharp, high-pitched bird cry, capable of piercing the Soul, instantly drowned out the clamor of the battlefield.

The Five-Colored Divine Light behind Kong Xuan suddenly surged, no longer in its previous restrictive form, but instead transforming into a multicolored ocean. Within that sea of light, Kong Xuan's handsome human form began to twist and alienate, and amidst a burst of dazzling divine light, he revealed his true form, large enough to blot out the sky.

A Chaos Peacock with a wingspan of ten thousand zhang, every single feather shimmering with the Innate Five Elements Law!

Those magnificent tail feathers were like a galaxy in full bloom, capable of stirring the winds and clouds with a gentle shake; those sharp claws seemed able to tear through the firmament; and those massive pupils were filled with the ferocity and greed from the ancient primordial era.

This was Kong Xuan's true form—the first peacock in the world, the son of the Phoenix!

"You... what do you want to do?!"

Dipankara's Primordial Spirit felt an unprecedented fear. It was a suppression originating from the depths of his Bloodline, the despair of being targeted by a predator.

"What do I want to do?"

The massive peacock lowered its head, its mountain-like beak opening slightly to emit a thunderous voice, "Back then, when that fatso Tathagata cultivated the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, he was swallowed into my belly in one gulp. Does a mere rotten Sarira like you, reeking of decay, even deserve to clamor before me?"

Kong Xuan took a sudden, deep breath.

"Hoo——"

A terrifying suction force was generated out of thin air, as if a miniature Five Elements black hole had formed within his mouth.

The surrounding air, Spiritual Qi, and even light were forcibly pulled toward that suction.

Dipankara's Sarira, which had still been fleeing desperately, instantly lost control. Like iron filings attracted by a magnet, it flew toward that abyssal giant maw without any power to resist.

"No!!! Kong Xuan! You dare eat me?! I am the Buddha of the Past of the Buddhist Sect! I am..."

*Gulp.*

A crisp yet dull swallowing sound interrupted all of Dipankara's nonsense.

Kong Xuan elegantly closed his mouth, the feathers at his neck twitching slightly. The Sarira, symbolizing ten thousand years of Dipankara Buddha's cultivation, was swallowed whole just like that.

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stopped their movements, staring blankly at this scene.

Kong Xuan transformed back into that elegant Young Master dressed in five-colored feathered robes, standing by Lin Feng's side. He even extended a slender finger to pick his teeth with lingering interest, a look of distaste appearing on his face.

"Tsk, the taste is too poor. A flavor of aged earth and scheming—truly an old antique."

"Pfft——!"

In the distance, Tathagata Buddha, who had just crawled out of the ruins with his already damaged Golden Body, witnessed this scene. Overcome with anxiety and rage, he immediately spat out a mouthful of golden old blood toward the sky.

"Kong Xuan!!!"

Tathagata's voice was trembling; it was the extreme anger of being betrayed, and the hysteria of a collapsed belief System. "This seat bestowed upon you the title of Peacock Great Bright King! Honored you as the Mother of Buddha! Allowed you to enjoy the endless Luck of Spirit Mountain! You actually dare... you actually dare to eat Dipankara?! This is betraying your master and ancestors! This is outrageous rebellion!"

At this moment, not just Tathagata, but the remaining Arhats and Bodhisattvas of Spirit Mountain had their Dao Hearts completely shattered.

Even their own 'Mother of Buddha' had defected and swallowed their 'Buddha of the Past' in front of the whole world. What hope was left for the Buddhist Sect?

Kong Xuan looked coldly at the enraged Tathagata, his eyes filled only with ridicule:

"Tathagata, save it. Don't mention 'Mother of Buddha' to me; it's disgusting. During the Investiture of the Gods war, I was forcibly taken away by that shameless old fellow Zhunti. I've been imprisoned in your pathetic Spirit Mountain for tens of thousands of years, listening to you drone on every day with that 'lay down the butcher's knife' bullshit. My ears have grown callouses."

Kong Xuan turned to look at Lin Feng, a rare flash of admiration and fanaticism in his eyes:

"The God Lord is right. Life lies in making a fuss, in breaking shackles. Instead of being a mascot for you to display on a pedestal, I'd rather follow the God Lord and punch a hole in this hypocritical sky!"

"From today on, there is no more Peacock Great Bright King in this world."

"There is only Tiance Mansion—Demon General Kong Xuan!"

*Boom!*

Following Kong Xuan's declaration, the last of Spirit Mountain's morale completely disintegrated.

The eight hundred Arhats who were still fighting to the death either threw down their demon-subduing pestles, fled on clouds, or simply knelt on both knees, shivering.

"It's over... it's all over..."

Bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra exchanged a look, both seeing the despair and confusion in each other's eyes.

Lin Feng looked at this scene and nodded with satisfaction. He pulled a cigar out of his pocket and handed one to Kong Xuan: "Nicely done. When we go back tonight, I'll have Chang'e give you an extra chicken leg—oh wait, a full vegetarian feast instead."

Kong Xuan took the cigar and bit it in his mouth, imitating Lin Feng. Although it wasn't lit, he had perfectly captured that rogue-like aura.

Lin Feng turned around, his gaze piercing through the layers of smoke to lock onto that massive, swaying golden figure in the ruins.

"Clearing complete."

Lin Feng cracked his neck, his entire skeletal structure emitting a series of popping sounds. He slowly took off his tattered trench coat and tossed it onto the ground, revealing his lean and powerful upper body.

"Tathagata, no one will disturb us now."

"Your subordinates have either run, died, or defected."

"Next, it's a private grudge between the two of us."

A terrifying black-and-red airflow began to surge around Lin Feng's body. It wasn't spiritual power or Immortal Qi, but a force filled with destruction, Chaos, and primal wildness.

"System, shut down all long-range weapons. I'll handle the rest personally."

"Turn my 'Chaos Demon God Body' up to maximum power!"

"I'm going to beat this fatso to death today!"

...

"You want to engage in hand-to-hand combat with me?"

Tathagata Buddha watched the approaching Lin Feng and laughed out of sheer anger.

Even though he was somewhat disheveled from the anti-matter cannon blast, even though Dipankara was dead, and even though Kong Xuan had defected, he was still Tathagata! He was an existence in these Three Realms second only to a Saint!

He was a top-tier powerhouse who had cultivated the 'Sixteen-foot Golden Body'! In terms of physical strength, besides the Twelve Ancestral Witches of old, who would dare say they could steadily suppress him?