Rivers of blood flowing along the terrain, floating islands of Demon flesh, frenzied Demon Souls, chaotic Source Qi, out-of-control treasures... No matter which kind, it was not an issue for Master Shenxiu and the Vajra Monks to protect themselves, but to also shield a million people was simply impossible.
Observers from the Seventy-two provinces also realized this and could not help but feel pity.
"Qiantang Province City will sooner or later fall, and a million people will suffer."
No sooner had this thought arisen than a Buddhist chant sounded from a distant territory.
Approaching rapidly, it arrived in an instant.
Tao Qian and the others looked over and saw an imposing monk, an Arhat, rushing over. He bore whiskers like coiled serpents, a round face with large ears, a straight nose, and a square mouth. His muscles appeared as if they were coated in gold lacquer, and behind his head, a Buddha Ring glowed ominously. He was always in a wrathful state, and over his shoulder, he carried a Wolf Fang Club studded with lapis lazuli, relics, gold, and silver.
This Arhat upon arrival didn't greet anyone, but instead shouted:
"Amitabha!"
"With the humble monk here, Devildom, disperse."
After speaking, he stood with the Wolf Fang Club in front of the city.
He slammed it down, and as the ground shook and the mountains quivered, a giant pit large enough to contain a Great Buddha appeared in front of the city gates.
Golden Buddha Light surged, and the Arhat showed his Great Dharma Body, taking a seat in the pit.
Opening his Buddha Mouth, his lower jaw touched the bottom of the pit, and his forehead rose above the city walls, miraculously transforming into a gaping maw capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth, ingesting all the filth flowing from the Han Mountain territory into his belly.
Gulping sounds echoed throughout Qiantang Province City.
While everyone was still stunned, the Shipi Arhat laughed mockingly and mercilessly exposed the truth:
"Long Meng Arhat, why have you come alone? Where are Auspicious and Shanjian?"
"It seems you have finally realized the situation here is rotten and complex, the costs are high, and your Free Temple has weighed and calculated the matter, finding this idle trouble to be not cost-effective and very undesirable, thus sending you, this dead head, to minimize the loss and reluctant to take over."
"Am I right? Hahaha..."
Shipi spat out these words.
Instantly, the faces of those from the Free Temple soured.
Especially Master Shenxiu, who looked embarrassed. While he said nothing openly, in secret, he continually transmitted messages to his own Master.
No one knew what Long Meng Arhat's reply was, but Master Shenxiu's expression grew even worse.
Clearly, Shipi was right.
This was something that any cultivator with a little bit of wisdom and insight could discern.
However, Tao Qian also had some doubts:
The Free Temple had ostensibly already won, so why were they reluctant to take over?
Even if the cost was higher, wouldn't owning a province's land still be worthwhile?
Fortunately, at that moment, Yuan Gong transmitted an explanation:
"Major Buddhist Temples, unless they are actively scheming, usually do not want to be involved with karmic consequences. However, once involved, they will do their best to resolve them."
"But the Free Temple is different; this temple is most adept at calculation. Whether actively or passively involved, their participation depends entirely on what they stand to gain."
"This time, the Free Temple miscalculated several times."
"First, they did not anticipate that the [Great Abyss Zen Master] would trick them. This monk is extraordinary, daring to step on the greatest Buddhist Temple, quite audacious."
"Second, they did not realize that this place involved so many warlords and even the overall situation of the Northern Land and the Central Plains, potentially signaling the start of a great war. Too many forces are involved here; the Free Temple feels it's too much to handle."
"Third is the simplest, initially Long Meng, Auspicious, and Shanjian, the three baldies, might have thought it was three against three and were confident in their chances for victory. Later, they probably predicted the involvement of Nirvana Demon Buddha behind Shipi, with the stakes suddenly skyrocketing, they definitely did not want to pay a huge price to invite a True Buddha capable of contending with the Nirvana Demon Buddha."
"It's normal to calculate and then minimize losses. Fortunately, Long Meng still has a conscience; by rushing to protect the citizens of this city, he might also avoid the last bit of karmic debt."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen a scene like this in quite a while."
"Once the Northern Land is truly in chaos, I fear it will be a hundred times worse than here, too dangerous. You must withdraw quickly."
Hearing the urgent advice that followed, Tao Qian had wanted to discuss it with Yuan Gong.
But the sudden change outside the city forced Tao Qian to immediately hold his tongue.
Han Mountain Temple territory!
It was almost completely destroyed, the ancient Han Mountain Temple that had stood for a thousand years had also been completely razed by numerous demons, only the bare Biwu Divine Tree on the top remained.
The demons scrambled frantically to climb it, yet whenever a Great Demon came close, it would be promptly attacked by the rest of the horde.
Gao Tianci, Yelü Baoshan, and Zhu Xun had all nearly succeeded, but were quickly dragged down by the group of demons.
Because of their fighting, this territory was utterly filled with the stench of blood and foul odors.
To take a single breath was torture.
Yet an even more astonishing change occurred the next moment. After Zhu Xun, the Heavenly Eunuch Warlord, had his flesh pulled and eaten, leaving him covered in wounds, drained of energy and blood, he finally realized that he could not seize the Devil Concubine alone.
In desperation, he offered a price unimaginable to others, summoning a part of the "Six Yang True Monarch" from the Demon Cave of the Outer Realm.
His combat strength instantly surpassed Cavernous Mystery.
Although not the true Ultimate Happiness, to call it a "false Ultimate Happiness" was not far from the truth.
What was terrifying was that after he had taken the lead, the other warlords followed suit, each beginning to use their trump cards.
One should know that not a single warlord here was a pushover, each backed by a Major Sect.
And so, a cacophony of roars began to reverberate around Tao Qian.
Demon Sect, heresy and heterodoxy, Twelve Daoist Sects, ancient Divine Spirits... either treasures, Divine Skills, or the limbs of an Ultimate Happiness Realm monster.
Already fighting heatedly, with combat power finally raised half a realm higher, Han Mountain Temple finally changed completely.
Heaven and earth!
Mountains and rivers!
Being smashed over and over, reshaped time and time again.
At times a murky Blood River, at times a sea of stone, at times the heavens collapsing and the earth caving in...an intense sense of temporal and spatial chaos swept over the heart of every person.
At this moment, Tao Qian also truly had a moment of dizziness.
He seemed to foresee the spectacle that the many provinces of the Northern Land, no, all seventy-two provinces would have in the future.
In front of him was, in truth, just a miniature model, like a sand table Prediction.
The inevitable future battle of the Central Plains, the three-way dragontooth struggle, the war between north and south, the civil wars within the seventy-two provinces... countless battles.
Once fully unleashed, how many would die?
One hundred million? A billion? Or tens of billions?
With this thought, Tao Qian's heart grew even more urgent, and he became ever more convinced of the correctness of his actions.
"Fighting is allowed, but not like this."
"When mountains and rivers are both wrecked, the Human Clan will definitely return to the dark ages within a few years."
"We can't delay any longer. I must make the Forbidden Technique reshape things, the Barrier needs to be re-established."
"Even a temporary Forbidden Technique can avoid this unprecedented catastrophe of Human Dao."
The immense Human Dao Destiny within Tao Qian, upon having this thought, began to surge violently.
With this movement, the scattered Ancestor God Treasures in the seventy-two provinces also started to stir.
ps: Updating five thousand words seems to allow everyone a chance to win a prize, so everyone search and take care of your health, I'll come back to update more later, thanks for understanding, sleep well and goodnight.