The Dipankara Archaic Buddha’s standing in the Western Pure Lands was about the same as Dao Monarch Lu Ya’s standing in the Demon Race.

Amitabha refrained from interfering with worldly matters most of the time. Instead, he passed all interactional relations and planning matters to the Dipankara Archaic Buddha, making him the Archaic Buddha second in command for the Western Pure Lands.

Generally speaking, he rarely showed himself in the world, just like Dao Monarch Lu Ya. Even during the great war between the Western Pure Lands and the Demon Race, he rarely participated.

Now, this mogul listed among the top-three strongest of orthodox Buddhism finally showed himself. His target was neither the Demon Race nor the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus, but the Awakened Sky Cosmos.

“Sea Suppressing Pearl. That’s quite the item.” Yan Zhaoge smacked his lips, “But, other than the Dipankara Archaic Buddha and the Sea Suppressing Pearl, there might still be other experts working together with him.

Xue Chuqing, Xu Fei, and Yan Zhaoge stared at each others’ faces, and a name surfaced within their minds.

The Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles.

Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles held grudges against them because Immortal Extermination Formation slew Fuluo Zi in the past.

While the Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles had been fighting against the Buddhas of the Western Pure Lands most of the time, he wouldn’t let go of a chance to find the Awakened Sky Cosmos.

The Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles was considered the pinnacle of “speed” among the Grand Heavenly Realms in terms of spatial shifting.

With him and the Dipankara Archaic Buddha working together, it was no wonder that such huge commotions would be made.

If it wasn’t for Yan Zhaoge remaining cautious all the time and taking action immediately upon sensing something, they might have been surrounded by their enemies.

“As long as Senior Long and the others are received by the Incongruence Divine Mother and the Southern Extremity Longevity Emperor, there’s no need to worry,” said Xu Fei.

A Grand Heavenly’s physique could vanish and appear as they will, so the possibility of one obstructing them would lower by a considerable margin. Just by coming in contact with the Awakened Sky Cosmos for a short instant, they could immediately escort Long Xingquan and the others back.

“The key here is that we won’t be able to leave the Awakened Sky Cosmos as conveniently as before, and the increased difficulty in entering the void’s boundless outskirts. Otherwise, we might be noticed by them again.” Xue Chuqing sighed, “Other than the Dipankara Archaic Buddha and the Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles, there might still be other Grand Heavenly Realms around. With this group of enemies scattered about, those with cultivation beneath the Grand Heavenly Realm might find it extremely hard to conceal themselves.”

Even among all other Grand Heavenly Realms, the Dipankara Archaic Buddha and the Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles were the strongest few.

The deterrence imposed by these top-notch bigwigs wasn’t just displayed during the battle but in all things they do. It made them ubiquitous-like existences, which permeated suffocating pressure just by looking at them.

In the past, the two had always been going against each other, which gave orthodox Daoism a lot more room for freedom.

But now, even when the war between the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus and the Immortal Court continued, the Western Pure Lands and the Demon Race seemed to have made a temporary pact.

With this, the orthodox Daoism’s situation took a turn for the worse.

The reason why Yan Zhaoge forged the intel of the Taiyi Nirvana Heavenly Lord and the Humanly Essence Stone fragment was to incite the war between the two heretic factions, which will, in turn, give orthodox Daoism more space and time.

The fake intel ended up becoming true, and the Taiyi Nirvana Heavenly Lord’s remains were found along with the Humanly Essence Stone fragment. It resulted in the battle between the two heretic factions, which flames of war burned on until now.

To Yan Zhaoge and the others, this was the ideal situation.

However, the good times seemed to be reaching their end.

The Immortal Extermination Formation’s blueprint and three ancient swords had returned to orthodox Daoism, and the Immortal Extermination Formation might be unleashed into the world once again. Even Dao Monarch Lu Ya and other Demon Race Great Sages felt pressured by it. As such, they accepted the Dipankara Archaic Buddha’s proposal and decided to oppress Yan Zhaoge and the others first.

“How ironic.” Xu Fei shook his head, “Thanks to the fight between the Immortal Court and the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus, the Western Pure Lands’ Vajrapramardi Buddha had even commanded a portion of Buddhist Bhantes to confront the Demon Race’s Great Sages.

Currently, the war with the Vajrapramardi Buddha had yet to end. Yet, the Dipankara Archaic Buddha, the Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles, and other affiliates decided to establish another battlefield at the same time.

This manifested this absurd yet grave situation.

On one side of the battlefield, the Western Pure Lands’ Buddhas were busy fighting against the Demon Race Great Sages.

On the other side of the battlefield, another group of Buddhist Bhantes teamed up together with other Great Sages and were working together to search for orthodox Daoism.

“There’s nothing wrong with the Demon Race’s actions.” Yan Zhaoge said, “These are expected actions.”

The Immortal Extermination Formation might be unleashed upon the world once again.

With Suo Mingzhang and Feng Yunsheng’s successful confrontation against the Origin Heavenly Tribulation, two Grand Heavenly Immortals had been added to orthodox Daoism.

The Fallen Deity Sword invented by Yan Zhaoge was considered a pioneer in its attributes, and his cultivation was growing stronger and stronger.

Three Golden Bodies of the Great Sage presiding over the Awakened Sky Cosmos, with the capabilities of harnessing the Great Sage Equalling Heavens’ true form. Moreover, they even had the Ru Yi Golden Cudgel.

During the past century, the growth in strength of Daoism’s Three Clear Lineage was truly baffling to others.

Such situations would naturally arouse feelings of danger and attention from other forces.

To a certain extent, their foes could even come to an agreement of temporary concord and focus on oppressing orthodox Daoism first.

“But, the Dipankara Archaic Buddha and the others’ actions hold a somewhat different meaning.” Yan Zhaoge chuckled, “Setting aside whether the Western Pure Lands’ Buddhas were aware or not, the Dipankara Archaic Buddha most likely knew of the Immortal Ending Sword’s actual location. His current actions fit into the boundaries of common sense and were tantamount to assisting the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord. By hiding the truth, he teams up with others to further repress us, pushing us to jump straight into the bait in the future.”

“Of course, if they could locate us this time, they’d be even happier.”

Xue Chuqing sighed, “Being targeted by them like this, our desire for the Immortal Ending Sword to present the complete Immortal Extermination Formation becomes greater than ever.”

“But, if this situation continues after the next forty-nine years, how will we look for the sword?” Xu Fei frowned, “If they suddenly relaxed their surveillance, won’t that arouse suspicions?”

Yan Zhaoge rubbed his temples softly, “If we didn’t know that the Immortal Ending Sword was with the Immortal Court, then we’d have to do something to secure our chance to search for the sword.”

The others nodded silently. Their opponents just had to go along with the flow.

If Yan Zhaoge and the others made no actions and didn’t even attempt to search for it, it equated to announcing that they knew the Immortal Ending Sword was a bait.

Ultimately, everyone was acting. It now boiled down to who qualified as the better actor.

To Yan Zhaoge and the others, the worst outcome would be their foes being made aware that their plans were already exposed. If so, the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord could choose not to lay the bait down.

To him, while being unable to obtain the Immortal Extermination Formation was a pity, it wasn’t as despairing as Yan Zhaoge and the others not being able to obtain the Immortal Ending Sword.

Snatching something in the hands of a Dao Ancestor was undoubtedly an onerous task.

Using their opponent’s bait as a counterplan was the orthodox Daoism only chance.

“Life is just like a performance, and everything depends on our skills in acting. Now, the time for us to compete in acting skills.” Yan Zhaoge patted his head.