Chapter 618 - 53: The Clear Heaven Shall Rise, Amitabha Buddha Falls

Chapter 618: Chapter 53: The Clear Heaven Shall Rise, Amitabha Buddha Falls

"Trying to sever the very foundation of my Buddhist Sect?"

Amitabha Buddha coughed up a mouthful of blood. He gazed at the Western Pure Land in his hands, on the verge of total collapse, and managed a difficult smile.

"In your dreams!"

The Western Pure Land was the source of all Buddha Lands.

If the Western Pure Land were utterly destroyed, the countless Buddha Lands, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, would also perish.

Amitabha Buddha let out a tremendous roar.

He ignored the terrifying power radiating from the Qing Ping Sword, ignored his own dying body, and threw with all his might!

"Fellow Daoist! Take hold of the Pure Land!"

The Western Pure Land smashed through the Great Heaven and Earth and the River of Time, landing unerringly in the hands of the Purple Cloud Palace Master.

Amitabha Buddha had proactively severed his connection to the Western Pure Land, abandoning this half an Illusory Dao Fruit. As a result, the sins of Heaven and Earth no longer targeted the Western Pure Land,

and so, this Pure Land... was preserved.

Albeit in a shattered state.

By the same token, however, with the sins of Heaven and Earth no longer aimed at the Western Pure Land, they naturally surged toward Amitabha Buddha instead!

He was not shocked, nor angered, nor worried. He seemed to have accepted his fate,

allowing the Qing Ping Sword to remain embedded in his chest, allowing the infinite sins incurred from nearly destroying the Great Heaven and Earth to wash over him.

Amitabha Buddha placed his palms together and sighed softly.

"One wrong step, a single move behind, and it all falls apart at the last second!"

"If I do not enter Hell, who will?"

As his voice faded, under the deluge of infinite sins,

this Dao Fruit plummeted to the level of an Ancient One and was even... dying.

The Qing Ping Sword flared with light. A Dao Fruit had fallen.

Yu Yu withdrew the Qing Ping Sword. Blood rained down, soaking the Earth with the infinite Essence of a Dao Fruit.

The Buddha Corpse sighed softly, raised its head, and gazed at the spirit of Lu Xuan that had walked out of the future. It spoke faintly,

"Fellow Daoist Lu, a fine scheme indeed."

’In his eyes, this Lu Xuan, despite not yet being a Dao Fruit, already possessed power comparable to a Fake Dao Fruit or even an ordinary Ancient One within the Great Heaven and Earth.’

’Considering he had been so thoroughly defeated, Lu Xuan was now qualified to be addressed as a Fellow Daoist.’

After a pause,

Amitabha’s corpse continued, "Houtu fell because of your scheme, and I have fallen because of it as well. But... a victor does not win forever. The Buddhist Sect will restart the Journey to the West. That move will decide the final outcome."

With that,

the corpse of the Dao Fruit, body hunched, began to walk step by step, slowly ascending above the River of Time. It paused, not forgetting to cast a cold, sideways glance.

"Taiyi, you’ve watched the show long enough. Everyone knows your intentions. Since you wish to devour Fellow Daoist Lu to empower yourself, do not lose your sense of proportion.

Fellow Daoist Lu has seized the Creation of Heaven and Earth; within the Great Heaven and Earth, he can rival an ordinary Dao Fruit. Be careful you don’t end up breaking your own teeth!"

Taiyi emerged from nowhere, casting a deep glance at the vast expanse of Heaven and Earth before turning his gaze to the Buddha Corpse.

"Since Lu Xuan can already rival a Dao Fruit, and his next step is to achieve his own Dao Fruit, then..."

He paused, then slowly walked over to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Buddha Corpse.

"Lu Xuan, in the next round, victory will be mine."

As his voice faded, the Buddha Mother followed. The two Ancient Ones, flanking the Buddha Corpse, walked out from the River of Time and into the depths of Chaos, their desolate figures slowly vanishing.

They had lost, completely and utterly.

"Although the Western Pure Land can no longer become a Transformation Dao Fruit, it at least has not been extinguished. The foundation of our Buddhist Sect remains! There will be another round!"

The Buddha Corpse’s final words echoed from the depths of Chaos, shaking all of existence.

The dust had settled.

High above the River of Time, the six Supreme Beings also ceased their battle. Bodhi and the Demon Ancestor fled with Fu Xi.

The Three Pristine Ones, however, all smiled as they gazed down upon the Great Heaven and Earth.

Supreme said, stunned,

"That little rascal actually managed to pull it off..."

Beside him, the Lame Daoist smiled as well. "Amitabha’s mistake was having Xiaoxuan try to kill Xiaoxuan."

"Haha," the Blind Daoist chuckled. "He never would have guessed that even with the four bodies merging into one, that still wasn’t the whole of Xiaoxuan. There was still Purple Cloud, and Shakyamuni..."

After a moment, his gaze grew profound.

"It’s just... those few Fellow Daoists haven’t given up yet. They still want to play another round. But... can they really win?"

The Three Pristine Ones exchanged glances, and all broke into meaningful smiles.

’The struggle between Daoists and Buddhists... One of the current leaders of the Buddhist Sect is one of our own. One of the three Buddha Lords is one of our own. And we even hold the Western Pure Land, the very foundation of the Buddhist Sect...’

After a moment,

Supreme let out a slow breath.

"But we mustn’t let our guard down. The Demon Ancestor and Fu Xi have joined forces. Even before truly merging, they’ve already surpassed the level of ordinary Enlightenment. If they were to truly become one, I suspect..."

He paused, his expression turning solemn.

"I suspect they would be infinitely close to a Perfect Dao Fruit."

The Blind Daoist and the Lame Daoist also grew solemn. Infinitely close to a Perfect Dao Fruit... though still not Perfection itself.

The problem was, while all three of them could achieve Perfection, they each had their own limitations.

Primordial could only manifest Perfection at the dawn of the Heaven Opening, while Lingbao could only do so in the final instant at the End of all things.

And while Supreme could exist as a Dao Fruit of Perfection for most of Time, he was bound by a great restriction: he had to abide by the principle of Non-action...

After a moment of silence, the Blind Daoist let out a soft breath.

"We’ll deal with what comes later, later. I’m actually quite curious about the relationship between Fu Xi and the Demon Ancestor. Are they really brother and sister?

But when I look back upon Ancient History, upon the past of those two, I always get a sense of fragmentation. It’s as if things have always been this way, yet at the same time, they haven’t."

"Who cares about them," the Lame Daoist said with a smile. "This round is won, the dust has settled. First, let’s see how that child, Xiaoxuan, handles the aftermath. As for Fu Xi and the Demon Ancestor..."

He paused, then continued,

"The Goddess’s injuries should be almost healed by now, shouldn’t they?"

At these words, smiles appeared on the faces of Supreme and the Blind Daoist. Yes, the Goddess was probably almost healed.

The Goddess was in no way weaker than the Demon Ancestor or Fu Xi.

As for Taiyi...

A single Ancient One, in the end, couldn’t make any waves.