Wisps of white smoke permeated the heavens and earth, released from the black-robed youth. After seizing a certain Buddhist light, the pervasive mist then gathered back onto him.
The Great Wrathful Vajra, its divine position usurped by Ji Xiang.
As for the old monk in red, he had completely vanished from the mortal realm, not even a wisp of his will remaining.
"It seems the methods of the foreign monks differ from those of the Han Chinese Buddhists. Did the powerful aspirations of Buddhism not remain because his willpower was exhausted from summoning the Great Black Heavenly God earlier?"
"Oh my, I truly don't understand. Great Khan, what do you think?"
Ji Xiang's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and the lightning flashing across the sky cast fleeting shadows on his black robes, making his appearance even more ferocious.
Buyan's face was ashen, and he remained silent.
The National Preceptor, who was commanded by the Buddha to descend to the mortal realm to help him unify Mongolia, possessed profound Buddhist teachings and was blessed by the true Buddha's phantom. This venerable being had just disappeared before his eyes, yet his enemy, the black-robed Daoist who clearly did not believe in the Buddha, possessed a form of the true Buddha even more powerful than the old monk in red!
Buyan was not foolish. He understood perfectly what his fate would be after the old monk in red was annihilated. Without hesitation, he lowered his head, which he considered proud, and knelt, beating his chest in the manner of the grasslands.
"The Great Khan of the grasslands, who established his camp in the east, surrenders so easily? I thought you would put up some resistance."
Seeing Buyan Tsetsegan Khan act so pragmatically, Ji Xiang suddenly lost interest.
He had prepared his killing blow, eager to witness the sight of his opponent refusing to yield and being utterly annihilated. Instead, the man surrendered and bowed directly. It was too undignified.
"I heard that the warriors of the Tatars do not surrender so readily."
"I have not surrendered; I merely submit to a stronger warrior," Buyan replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his words already perfectly crafted.
Surrendering to an enemy was out of the question, but he was merely submitting to a stronger warrior, so it didn't count as surrender.
However, the law of the jungle was the iron rule of the grasslands. The previous khan had died, and the next khan might not even be his son but could be replaced by someone else. This was the rule of the grasslands; they only obeyed the current khan. This was also why the Eastern Royal Court's power was so weak at present.
"How interesting. Can you deceive yourself by changing your words?"
Ji Xiang almost burst into laughter. "Didn't you say you wanted to be the king of all of Mongolia! Didn't you say you wanted to restore the Yuan Dynasty?"
"To kneel before a cultivator of unknown origin now, Mongolia truly has a pitiable king like you."
Buyan buried his head in the ground, not daring to retort.
Grand ambitions were meant to be spoken with one's life intact. If he lost his life here, what future could there be?
Buyan was not uncultured. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols had been highly Sinicized, so they understood some Han Chinese allusions, such as Han Xin's humiliation under the crotch. Whatever humiliation he suffered today, he could earn it back with his own abilities tomorrow, but if he died today, there would be no tomorrow.
Being insulted was merely losing face temporarily; it was something insignificant. In this era, how much was dignity worth? It could not compare to his own noble life!
It was just...
How did this person know what he had said?
"Hand over the divine positions you seized from the Ming Dynasty."
Ji Xiang's eyes were filled with disappointment as he demanded the divine positions of the Three Realms Patrol Envoy from Buyan. The latter did not dare to hold back. As he was about to hand over the divine positions, he added:
"All divine positions can be returned. The helmet of the Ming Dynasty's General is also in the Royal Court. I can send someone to retrieve it and return it to the High Sage as well."
"I implore the High Sage to spare this humble one. From now on, the Eastern Royal Court and the Ming Kingdom will never have any friction. The previous battle was deliberately instigated by the Chaohua tribe. My Royal Court is guilty of failing to discipline its subordinates. I offer my apologies to the High Sage here."
Ji Xiang stared at him and suddenly blurted out, "That's it?"
"This... the Royal Court still has many cattle and sheep, which can be given to you as well..."
"No."
Ji Xiang directly refused Buyan's offer of compensation! He sternly warned him:
"If you kill someone, you must pay with your own people. A life for a life. You plundered in Liaodong. From the first raid this year until this very moment! I don't care which tribe of your subordinates did it, or who you shift the blame to. For every person who died, you must pay with that many lives."
"Of course, soldiers who died in battle are considered failures in fair combat, so this time I will not count the soldiers' heads. I will give you a little leeway and only count civilians."
"A life for a life!"
Buyan's expression changed instantly. However, he thought about how many people he had killed, and how could he possibly count them clearly? This cultivator had traveled from afar and could not possibly know. If he just named a number, it would be enough to have some of the Chaohua tribe's population eliminated.
He had just raised two fingers, intending to say over two thousand people. He thought this number was not small and should be enough to save his life. Little did he know that as he spoke, Ji Xiang let out a cold smile.
"I don't believe you."
Buyan's face turned completely pale.
"Does the High Sage intend to... slaughter us all?"
"Don't be absurd. Do I look like someone who kills indiscriminately? I merely said, a life for a life."
The voice that seeped from between Ji Xiang's teeth sounded somewhat eerie, and the surrounding world had, at some unknown time, lost all its color.
The voices of the demons gradually receded, and Buyan heard various sounds of the underworld:
"Guang Du Chen Lun Tian Zun."
Ji Xiang's appearance transformed into that of a Heavenly Venerable. He grabbed Buyan's head with one hand, and instantly, all sorts of resentments transformed into illusions, constantly manifesting around him. Phantoms of the deceased surged out like a storm. When Ji Xiang released his hand, Buyan staggered, his face pale. When he looked up again, he saw a world of departed souls!
Like an ocean tide, they looked at him with extreme resentment!
"No... no... these are all false visions... My Buddha protects me..."
Although Buyan was a Great Khan and had killed enough living people, and had seen and dealt with monsters formed from the souls of the dead, he was not afraid of these illusory monsters at this moment. What he feared was that the lie of two thousand he had just spoken had been completely exposed!
How could this person summon the departed souls from people's memories!
"Two thousand is probably not enough, is it? Great Khan?"
Ji Xiang sneered. "When cultivating Buddhist teachings, Buddhism values aspiration the most. Can't you sense the resentment within you? You say the Chaohua tribe attacked. I don't know what this tribe is, nor its relationship with your Royal Court. I only know that you haven't killed much less."
"Then the result is obvious. I don't think the Eastern Royal Court needs to exist anymore. Showing you these departed souls is just to tell you one thing."
"I am not a bloodthirsty person. If I were to kill indiscriminately..."
"There would be a valid reason."
Ji Xiang raised his hand, and a lightning array struck the mountains. The mountains and rivers were leveled, and the soldiers of the Eastern Royal Court who were retreating within were also turned to ashes under the lightning. Buyan's heart turned to ash, and despair began to sprout. Just as Ji Xiang was about to drag him into the sea of suffering.
"What a pity. Bagana was one of the eighteen Anointing National Preceptors during the Yongle era and was even enfeoffed by your Ming Dynasty. To be killed like this now, his hope of achieving perfect enlightenment, ascending to the Buddha Kingdom, and becoming a Bodhisattva of the Ten Stages has all turned into a dream."
"Let this Eastern Royal Court be destroyed by you, but I must take this Khan with me."
Suddenly, a Buddhist might descended from the heavens and pulled him towards the horizon!
This Buddhist might did not originate from the outer landscape.
It came from the inner landscape!
A Great Buddha had sensed the disappearance of the old monk in red and the Great Black Heavenly God, and had used a mysterious method to cross realms and cast a spell to save him!
That Buddhist might was surging, possessing a power different from any Buddhist follower Ji Xiang had encountered! This was not a realm of the mortal world, but had reached a level comparable to a flying immortal!
Ji Xiang's gaze sharpened, and his entire body's magical power surged. He transformed from the Heavenly Venerable form into the divine form of the Ghost Exterminating General!
The heavens and earth trembled, and the vital energy became chaotic. Even the Buddhist might was obstructed. The nameless Buddha heard a great roar from the heavens and earth:
"I kill people, and even the Heavenly Heart is useless! I killed his proxy under the eyes of the Yuan Emperor. What are you, to dare to save someone before me!"
Ji Xiang locked down this piece of heaven and earth, suppressing the Buddhist might, and a sense of hostility gradually emanated from the void. The entire world was about to be split in two by this great power!
The Inner Scenery Divine Tablet manifested text, and the first four characters that appeared declared the opponent's cultivation realm.
Deng Jue Bodhisattva!
His cultivation was above that of a Bodhisattva of the Ten Stages, a true peak existence among the flying immortal level!