Chapter 297: Worldview Crumbles
For those outside of the eighteen levels of hell, this was just a cruel slaughter.
Ma Huaizhen held his chest and retreated several zhang away, his eyes turning red with anger as if they were about to bleed.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Miaofa would never come out. Before going into seclusion, the elders of various sects, including Ma Huaizhen, had discussed with the Buddha.
Miaofa's inner demons were incredibly strong, and Ma Huaizhen was well-prepared for it.
But he never could have imagined that it would come to this...
Ma Huaizhen remained silent for a moment as he looked at the bloody battlefield in front of him.
He never expected things to become this intense.
With a blood-stained robe draped over him, the Buddha's long blue hair fluttered in the air. As he walked, his hairtips were also stained with blood and bits of flesh.
Apart from the rotating crimson sun behind him, there was no other brightness to be seen.
Qiao Wan stared at the Buddhist known as Feng with half-closed eyes. With a sword in hand, the spinning wheel resembled a flying crimson sun, causing blood and flesh to splatter wherever it passed.
He had a dark and grim face with a green complexion and protruding teeth. Three eyes were on his forehead, and the skull-shaped hair ornament in his tied-up hair seemed to be grinning. Strands of hair fell down his cheeks, adding a touch of softness.
He looked like a ghost, yet also like a god.
The Buddhist walked slowly, his eyes showing clear awareness. However, wherever the wheel spun, both creatures from the demon realm and cultivators perished beneath its blades.
The wheel traveled ceaselessly, crushing everything in its path. It exploded into bursts of blood mist, showering the jade-green robes with shredded flesh.
The Buddhist's eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a long shadow in the dim light. He raised his hand, gripping the moist, soft organs tightly, and closed his fist, continuing forward.
The robes swept through the white snow and withered grass, dancing against the backdrop of a bloody sunset.
The land was desolate, bleak, and even absurd.
It felt like clearing a battlefield, with nothing but sentient beings reflected in my eyes.
Su Rui, a young demon general, was sent flying with a single strike from this spinning wheel. His expression turned serious as he immediately raised his hand to retreat, but no matter how quickly this warrior from the demon realm retreated, he couldn't stop the demon soldiers from being crushed inch by inch by the spinning wheel! Countless demon soldiers and cultivators were ground into a pile of flesh beneath this wheel!!
Su Rui was stunned for half a second, astonished to find that this monk in front of him was launching indiscriminate attacks?
Ma Huaizhen, clutching his chest, coughed up blood as his energy surged. When he lifted his eyes, he suddenly locked gazes with a few smaller figures thrown out like a stack of Arhats, and he instantly collapsed.
He roared in anger, "Run!! Run fast!!"
Fang Lingqing was taken aback, run? Run from what? Isn't that Venerable One Miaofa?
Ma Huaizhen nearly choked on his anger once again, spitting out blood, wishing he could curse angrily, What a load of crap!!
In front of Qiao Wan, she felt a sudden rush of coldness as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. The Venerable One Miaofa's hand was reflected in her eyes, holding the gory, bright red, and seemingly still beating organs.
What in the world is this?
An indescribable chill and fear filled her heart, and at the same time, her hands and feet turned icy cold. Her eyes met the gaze of Venerable One Miaofa.
The Venerable One Miaofa's eyes fell upon Qiao Wan, Fang Lingqing, Xiao Boyang, and the rest. It was clear that he recognized them. But in an instant, he made a hand gesture, and the Dharma wheel flew straight towards them!!!
It was as if the scorching sun had fallen from the sky, reflecting in her eyes. Qiao Wan absurdly felt a pressurizing force from the heavens, and her ears were filled with the swirling Dharma wheel and thunderous roars, as if the heavens themselves were in motion.
The thunderous Dharma and the radiant electricity.
It felt like someone hit her on the head, and in that moment, she saw countless bloody images in her mind. It was as if she had traveled through a long, ancient time, accompanied by the sound of a mournful flute.
These images were chaotic and varied in location and time, but they all had one commonality – "she" was the one killing people. There was a middle-aged cultivator whose dantian was shattered by "her" sword, staring at her with wide eyes filled with disbelief. There was a cultivator whose legs were cut off by "her" sword...
Countless cultivators, demonic soldiers, and strange beasts all died by her sword.
The girl, dressed in pink, pursed her lips and blinked, causing blood drops to fall from her eyelashes.
Then, there were more unfamiliar men and women, each with different appearances – tall, short, fat, thin, beautiful, and ugly. They were all involved in killing, injuring, and slandering others.
Qiao Wan wanted to move, but she didn't dare. She could only stand straight in her place, forced to endure this "judgment."
No wonder, the cultivators and magic soldiers in the pit just now couldn't resist this divine wheel.
Xiao Boyang looked horrified, just like Qiao Wan and everyone else present. They were all trembling in fear, wondering what the hell is going on?
How could one person exude such a tremendous pressure, as if they were the heavens themselves?
They couldn't escape, no matter how hard they ran.
As they watched this group of people about to be crushed into a pile of flesh by the divine wheel, Ma Huaizhen couldn't bear it any longer. In an instant, he took a deep breath and desperately used his spiritual threads, along with Li Pan, to resist the pressure from the divine wheel. Veins popped on his forehead as he forcefully grabbed hold of the others and managed to snatch Qiao Wan and her group from under the wheel!
A loud crash!
Qiao Wan felt everything go black before finding herself thrown in front of a wheelchair. She heard a hoarse roar coming from Hall Master Ma above her.
"Didn't I tell you to run?!"
"Didn't you hear?!"
As Qiao Wan opened her mouth, she was hit with a backlash and coughed up blood.
Ma Huaizhen almost broke a tooth while attempting to snatch someone under the flying wheel. It was truly a terrible thing to do.
Crash!
A man spurted hot blood from his mouth and unfortunately, Qiao Wan, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, got sprayed in the face by Ma Huaizhen's blood!!
Qiao Wan and a few others were clearly frightened by the scene in front of them. Even though she had blood all over her face, she just stood there in a daze.
It wasn't until Lu Pihan regained his senses and managed to stand up with the help of a wheelchair that he asked in a complex tone, "What's going on?"
Ma Huaizhen glanced at the battlefield, where Venerable Ones and soldiers were spinning the wheel, and sighed deeply as he saw the cultivators and demons who had been crushed into a bloody mess under the wheel, with their eyes closed.
"This is why Venerable One Miaofa suppresses his inner demons," Ma Huaizhen explained.
Only a few higher-ups in the cultivation alliance knew how terrifying Miaofa's inner demon was.
His inner demon was indiscriminate in its slaughter.
Ma Huaizhen focused his gaze on the girl in the blood-stained dress.
Even Qiao Wan, who was known to be on good terms with Venerable One Miaofa, did not show any mercy just now.
If Venerable One Miaofa had lost his rationality while doing all this, it would have been understandable! But now he had regained control of his inner demon. He was consciously aware of Qiao Wan, recognized Ma Huaizhen, and recognized everyone.
Qi Feidao's careless expression finally disappeared completely. Without blinking, he stared directly at Ma Huaizhen with a serious and even oppressive demeanor.
"Hall Master Ma, now that things have come to this, you must tell us what happened to Venerable One Miaofa, right?"
Li Pan carefully examined Qiao Wan, then calmly looked up at the Buddhist monk walking slowly under the blood-red sunset.
To be honest, the flowing robe sleeves and the dancing long hair in deep blue created a long and thin shadow on the ground, which was strangely beautiful.
"Everyone's inner demons are different, and they show themselves in different ways." Li Pan and Ma Huaizhen exchanged a glance, ignoring the curious looks of the younger ones, and finally spoke out the long-hidden secret of the cultivation alliance in a serious tone.
Some people's inner demons torment themselves, while others torment others, but most of those trapped by their inner demons lose their clarity of mind.
But Venerable One Miaofa is different.
"His inner demon is like a deadly move, like a weapon."
"It's specifically meant for killing."
Xiao Boyang's voice was slightly hoarse, and he couldn't help but speak up: "But... it's obvious that he doesn't distinguish between friend and foe."
Ma Huaizhen, with an expressionless face, said, "In the eyes of the heavens, there is no distinction between me and anyone else. Humans, demons, ghosts... sentient beings and non-sentient beings, there is no difference. The heavens are impartial, allowing nature to take its course. All things are born and die, governing themselves."
Seeing the bewildered expressions of Qiao Wan and the others, Li Pan couldn't help but laugh, "Do you find this unbelievable? Do you feel wronged?"
Lowering his voice.continued, "The ones who should feel the most wronged in this world are ordinary mortals."
"If there were no cultivators in this world, the cycles of nature would continue as normal. But unfortunately, something went wrong." Li Pan raised his hand and made a gesture, "A group of people appeared who were too domineering. They stole the vitality of heaven and earth, plundering the spiritual resources of this world. Twisting the natural order, seizing power for their own selfish desires of 'ascension'. The balance of this world has been disrupted."
"Practitioners, who selfishly steal the energy of heaven and earth for their own gain..."
Qiao Wan suddenly froze in shock.
Xiao Boyang and the others were also shaken by these words.
"Think about it," Li Pan continued calmly, "humans, plants, birds, and animals thrive and prosper thanks to the constant flow of spiritual energy in this world. But what happened after the appearance of practitioners? They exploit the spiritual veins, plunder the spiritual energy, and disrupt the delicate balance of the world. Countless plants wither, and countless birds and animals go extinct. In their battles, the earth shakes, and innocent mortals lose their lives."
"They have long been burdened with heavy sins," Li Pan said, "they cause the imbalance of yin and yang in the world, yet they still dare to aspire to ascend as immortals?"
The middle-aged practitioner's gaze looked towards the demon realm war god on the other side of the battlefield.
"Perhaps to balance the existence of practitioners, demons were born. Practitioners and demons fight endlessly, but both ultimately disrupt the harmony as foreign entities."
As the war ravaged and brought disaster to all corners, it seemed impossible to end. And so, Venerable One Miaofa's inner demon emerged.
Both types of creatures disturbed the natural order, creating suffering for all living beings. Venerable One Miaofa's inner demon was the desire to "kill". Since its birth, it existed solely to "kill", targeting both cultivators and demons indiscriminately. Its purpose was to restore order to this world and bring back peace.
As soon as the words were spoken, silence fell. Only the sound of the bloody wind and snow whistling through the air remained.
Qiao Wan and the others were completely stunned by Li Pan's words.
Yu Xingzhi was shocked. Cultivators were the main culprits? All this talk about the "Way of Heaven" was actually a disruption to the natural order?
Decades, even centuries of belief were shattered in just a few sentences. Yu Xingzhi was thrown into chaos and couldn't help but take a step forward. But before he could, someone unexpectedly grabbed his right hand.
The woman corpse looked at him anxiously, "Are you... are you alright?"
Yu Xingzhi's throat rolled, and when his gaze fell on Wang Ruyi's face, he finally regained clarity for a short while.
"I'm fine, little zombie, I'm fine."
As Ma Huaizhen observed the reactions of the young ones in front of him, his expression slightly changed, becoming colder.
Their reactions were no better than these youngsters when they first realized this.
They were even less capable than these younger people.
Mainly because they had spent more time cultivating, hundreds or even thousands of years' worth of beliefs shattered in an instant.
They were the heretics of the heavenly path, even the enemies of the heavenly path. The heavenly path had been adjusting everything for hundreds or thousands of years, resulting in fewer and fewer people ascending.
Many elders couldn't accept this reality and chose to end their own lives.
After a moment of shock, Qiao Wan quickly composed herself.
She was more accepting of this matter compared to Fang Lingqing and the others.
One, because she never thought about becoming immortal, and two, because she received similar teachings since she was little.
In the past, humans believed they were the masters of nature, but later discovered that humans were actually enemies of the Earth.
At this moment, when Qi Feidao was pale with shock, Qiao Wan had a sudden thought and quickly proposed a new idea.
"Why can't we... um..." After organizing her words, Qiao Wan spoke in a deep voice, "Protect all things in this world and maintain order within it?"
"By using resources in a controlled and planned manner, coexisting with magic, and reintegrating into this order."
What has appeared, has already appeared. Kill everything and let the world return to peace.
This is too ridiculous, Qiao Wan couldn't agree.
Since the situation is already set, let's find a way to make amends, let's find a way to cooperate and win together. Otherwise, how is this any different from Thanos?
Qiao Wan widened her eyes, "Isn't there any other way for the Cultivation Alliance?"
Having lived for hundreds of years, it would be absurd if they couldn't come up with a solution.
Ma Huaizhen and Li Pan looked at Qiao Wan in surprise. They didn't expect her to be the first one to react.
Her quick response even surpassed many elders in the sect and caught both of them off guard.
"Indeed. " Li Pan nodded slightly, "The natural order goes with the flow, and going against it leads to enlightenment. In cultivating the path of immortality, we are supposed to return what we have taken from the world. If we can restore the qi to the heavens and the earth, it follows the principle of the Dao creating one, one creating two, two creating three, and three creating all things. In reverse, it means all things return to three, three return to two, two return to one, ultimately merging into a harmonious unity."
"There must be a way to give back what we have taken."
"I believe we have deviated from the true path of cultivating immortality. The path of cultivation should be about embracing the natural order, merging with the Dao, instead of seeking to surpass or plunder others for their qi. If we continue down this path, it will only become narrower and eventually cut off our connection to the heavens," Li Pan explained.
"However, we are still figuring out how to reverse this situation among the three."
What's the difference between this and what was just said?
Yu Xingzhi couldn't help but smile bitterly.
In short, after cultivating for decades, someone suddenly tells you, "Sorry, you've been cultivating the wrong way. You can never become immortal like this."
How can you possibly accept that?!
Qiao Wan felt a slight sinking in her heart as she looked towards Venerable One Miaofa in the distance.
"But now, the most urgent matter is to stop this... Venerable One..."
Since the birth of his inner demon, he had been the embodiment of the heavenly path, eliminating worldly affairs and bringing peace to the world.
No wonder when she directly faced him earlier, she felt as if a judgmental axe was hanging over her head.
"Stop?" Ma Huaizhen asked in a deep voice, "How do you plan to stop him?"
Just then, the Buddhist practitioner raised his eyes and glanced over lightly, then unleashed the Dharma wheel!
In the blink of an eye, the scorching sun was deeply embedded in Ma Huaizhen's waist!
Everything happened in an instant!
The wind stopped, the snow stopped, and the flying boat stopped in mid-air. The dim yellow searchlight cast its light onto the ground.
Xiao Boyang suddenly shouted in anger, "Hurry!"
Following his shout, Qi Feidao calmly said, "In the back of the neck!"
In that instant, the black hair had already turned partially white, as if touched by frost.
Qiao Wan rose up on her tiptoes and flew up like a shooting star!
Fang Lingqing looked serious, and all his ten fingers were ready!
In this brief moment, Qiao Wan had already used her strength to reach the front of the Buddha. She lifted her hand and planned to strike directly!
Suddenly--
The strands of hair on the young girl's forehead gently lifted, revealing her shocked expression.
Time started flowing again--
Their eyes locked.
The corners of the Buddha's indigo eyes seemed to shimmer with a faint golden light. The fiery wheel of Dharma was already aimed at her neck.
"Qiao Wan?" Venerable One Miaofa asked in a deep voice, coldness flowing in his eyes.
Qiao Wan's heart sank.
It's over.
Today it seems like I have to explain things here.
The Buddha lowered his eyes.
Whoosh...
A blast of foul wind accompanied by a cold chill suddenly brushed against Qiao Wan's neck, causing her whole body to stiffen. She watched as the Buddhist wheel flew past her neck.
Qiao Wan hesitantly touched her neck.
A thin line of blood appeared, cool and fresh, dripping down.
But it wasn't as terrible as she imagined, with her head being moved away.
Xiao Boyang's heart-wrenching roar got stuck in his throat, leaving him stunned.
"Hall Master Ma." The Buddha frowned, closed his eyes, opened them again, retracted the Buddhist wheel, and quickly walked back to Ma Huaizhen. He supported the bloodied man with one hand, while infusing him with spiritual energy with the other.
Having narrowly avoided being beheaded, Ma Huaizhen didn't make a sound. A drop of his own blood splattered onto his eyelid, which he wiped away before speaking in a deep voice, "Are you awake?"
The Buddha remained silent for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "Before the Beginning Origin emerges, I will not exterminate all the cultivators. It's just that, just now, my killing instinct was difficult to control."
Ma Huaizhen lifted his eyelids and looked at the four hands behind the Buddha. He paused for a moment and said, "Do you need offerings?"
Ma Huaizhen smiled and said, "You can take a human bone bowl and fresh brain flowers, as you please."
Venerable One Miaofa remained silent for a moment. His robe rustled, revealing his pale and slender wrist. His veins were prominent, making him look frail and delicate. His long blue hair fluttered slightly, accentuating his thinness. "There is no need for that now."
Qiao Wan felt uneasy upon hearing this conversation!
How could the Buddhist cultivators in this world be so cruel? And it seemed like this senior even knew her.
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Wan quietly folded her hands and expressed her gratitude, "I am Qiao Wan. Thank you, senior, for not killing me."
Venerable One Miaofa nodded slightly and remained silent. His robes touched his thin and fragile skin, and his bare toes rested on the damp organs spread across the ground.
Because of the terrifying pressure from the Venerable One Miaofa, no one dared to make a sound in the room.
It wasn't until Lu Pihan bravely broke the silence, saying, "Is this the method that Venerable One Miaofa uses to slay his inner demons?"
"No," Ma Huaizhen spoke up, "It's much more terrifying than this."
"However, we can't talk about it now."
Compared to that thing which just happened, there was a huge difference like a vast chasm.
When that thing truly appeared, it was a display of the awe-inspiring power of the heavens, and no one in this world could stop it.
As for Immortal Emperor Shi Yuan--
Ma Huaizhen pondered deeply, thinking that even if he came, he wouldn't be able to stop it.
It was the unimaginably terrifying power that shocked countless old monsters when the Venerable One openly spoke about it to the Union of Cultivators.
At that time, the elders of the Cen family, the Lu family, and the Kunshan faction, as well as the Nascent Soul stage, Core Formation stage, and even the Unity stage old monsters, all turned pale in an instant.
Therefore, Venerable One Miaofa will become the last hope of the cultivation alliance, even if it means risking the lives of all cultivators.
