109: Chapter 68: Battle Against the Buddha Statue

After Zhang Fan finished speaking, the Buddha statue smiled.

It was not an illusion; that dilapidated stone figure had truly smiled.

The curvature of its mouth widened by thirty percent, and its drooping eyelids lifted slightly, allowing the blood-red light within the gap to pour out.

Chen Xuan's hair stood on end instantly.

He reached out to draw his sword, but before his fingertips could touch the hilt, an invisible force pressed down.

It was like a mountain pressing on his shoulders, forcing his knees to bend and his bones to creak.

Senior Sister Wen Yao's situation was no better.

Veins bulged on her forehead, and the twin swords at her waist hummed and vibrated, yet they could not be drawn from their sheaths.

Zhang Fan knelt before the Buddha statue, tears streaming silently down his face.

"It knew you were coming."

"It says your flesh and blood are enough for it to recover thirty percent of its power."

His voice trembled, and the clarity in his eyes was being devoured by a blood-red hue.

The kind Zhang Fan was disappearing.

The evil Zhang Fan was waking up.

Chen Xuan gritted his teeth, his mana circulating frantically within his body.

The pure mana refined by the Nine-Turn Sea-Steaming Method broke through the invisible pressure on his shoulders, and he forcibly straightened his back.

"Senior Sister, can you suppress it?"

The three red lotus petal marks on Senior Sister Wen Yao's brow lit up, flickering with red light as if struggling against some force.

"I can suppress it for a quarter of an hour."

"That is enough."

Chen Xuan drew his sword.

Sword Light Differentiation; nine sword lights condensed into one before him, Nine Heavens Unity.

The power of this strike was comparable to the full-force blow of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, and the Sword Qi whistled as it slashed toward the Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue did not dodge.

A blood-red light shield expanded from the Buddha statue, blocking the sword light.

The Sword Qi collided with the blood shield, producing a harsh grating sound as sparks flew everywhere.

The blood shield remained motionless, while the Sword Qi shattered inch by inch.

Chen Xuan's pupils constricted slightly.

The defense of this Buddha statue was even stronger than that of the Golden Core remnant soul, Founding Emperor Xie Yuan.

Senior Sister Wen Yao moved.

Her twin swords were drawn, one to the left and one to the right, transforming into two silver Dragons that slashed toward the Buddha statue.

The sword momentum was fierce, carrying the unique evil-breaking power of the Liu Clan's secret techniques.

The silver Dragons crashed into the blood shield, and finally, cracks appeared on it.

But the cracks only existed for an instant before healing.

The Buddha statue's smile became even more compassionate.

A voice resonated in Chen Xuan's mind, peaceful and warm, as if coaxing a lost child.

"Put down your sword and take refuge in me."

"The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is your true destination."

Chen Xuan sneered and bit the tip of his tongue.

The sharp pain kept him clear-headed.

He took out his protective jade Talisman and probed it with his Divine Sense.

There was only one last wisp of Sword Qi left behind by the Grandmaster of Sword Concealment in the jade Talisman; once used, it would be gone.

But if he didn't use it now, he might not have another chance.

The cyan Sword Qi flew out from the jade Talisman, as thin as a hair and as faint as green smoke.

With a gentle swirl of the Sword Qi, the blood shield shattered as if it were made of paper.

The Buddha statue's smile froze.

The Sword Qi did not stop, slashing straight toward the center of the Buddha statue's brow.

The Buddha statue finally moved.

It raised its right arm, and its mutilated palm struck toward the Sword Qi.

There was a blood-red eye in the center of its palm, the pupil rotating and shooting out countless blood-red threads.

The threads entangled with the Sword Qi, emitting a hissing corrosive sound.

The Sword Qi was being consumed, and the threads were being consumed as well.

Chen Xuan realized that while this Sword Qi could injure the Buddha statue, it was not enough to destroy it.

The Grandmaster of Sword Concealment's true body was far away in the Central Plains, and the Sword Qi left in the jade Talisman was just a casual wisp, limited in power.

He needed to strike again.

Mountain Lifting.

Chen Xuan mobilized all his mana, communicating with the earth beneath his feet.

Bihai Immortal City was built by the sea, and the Earth-elemental Spiritual Qi in the earth veins was thin, but it was not non-existent.

He forcibly drew upon the power of the earth veins, condensing it into the phantom image of a mountain.

The phantom mountain pressed down, smashing onto the Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue's body swayed, and several cracks opened up.

Blood-red light seeped out from the cracks, as if it were bleeding.

Zhang Fan suddenly stood up.

His eyes had completely turned blood-red, and there was no expression on his face, like a walking corpse.

The evil Zhang Fan.

He raised his hand and unleashed a minor Divine Ability secretly passed down by the Zhang Clan.

Stealing Heaven Great Hand Seal.

The pitch-black hand seal struck toward Chen Xuan, its power several times stronger than when the Wang Clan's Foundation Establishment Cultivator had used it.

Chen Xuan had no time to dodge and could only take it head-on.

He swung his sword at the hand seal; the sword light collided with the hand seal, exploding into a cloud of black mist.

From within the black mist, a hand reached out to grab his throat.

It was too fast.

The speed of the evil Zhang Fan was far faster than a Qi Refining Cultivator, almost approaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Chen Xuan only had enough time to tilt his head, and the palm brushed past his neck, with fingertips leaving a bloody scratch.

Senior Sister Wen Yao slashed over with her sword, forcing the evil Zhang Fan to retreat.

But she had to divide her attention to maintain the red lotus mark on her brow to suppress the Buddha statue, greatly reducing her combat effectiveness.

"Junior Brother, there is half a quarter of an hour left."

Half a quarter of an hour.

Chen Xuan wiped the blood from his neck and swept his gaze across the entire main hall.

The Buddha statue was cracked but not shattered.

The evil Zhang Fan stood in front of the Buddha statue like a loyal guard dog.

To destroy the Buddha statue, he had to deal with Zhang Fan first.

But Zhang Fan was the eldest grandson of the Southern Sky Zhang Clan; killing him would mean becoming an enemy of the Zhang Clan.

If he didn't kill him, the Buddha statue could not be destroyed.

Chen Xuan gritted his teeth.

Kill.

If the Zhang Clan wants revenge, let them come.

In his three lifetimes, he, Chen Xuan, had never feared anyone.

The sword light differentiated once again; this time, it did not merge into one but transformed into nine sword lights, slashing toward Zhang Fan from different directions.

The evil Zhang Fan sneered and clapped his hands repeatedly, sending out hand seals to meet the sword lights.

The sword lights and hand seals collided in mid-air, exploding into clusters of spiritual light.

Chen Xuan flashed and moved behind Zhang Fan.

He did not use his sword but took out a Talisman.

A Tier 2 Talisman, the Immobilization Talisman.

This was something he had exchanged for with contribution points in the Conquest Hall; he only had one, and it could only be used once.

The Immobilization Talisman turned into spiritual light and entered Zhang Fan's body.

Zhang Fan's body froze.

Only for an instant.

But for Chen Xuan, it was enough.

He held his sword and stabbed toward the center of the Buddha statue's brow, a wisp of Sword Qi condensed at the tip.

Nine Heavens Unity.

With this strike, he poured out all his mana.

The sword tip pierced into the center of the Buddha statue's brow, and the blood-red eye was punctured, emitting a shrill wail.

The wailing did not come from the Buddha statue's mouth but resonated from the depths of Chen Xuan's heart.

It was as if ten thousand insects were gnawing at his Divine Soul.

Chen Xuan gritted his teeth, and the sword tip continued to push deeper.

The cracks on the Buddha statue increased, and the blood-red light grew dimmer.

Senior Sister Wen Yao's red lotus mark shone brightly, and three beams of red light struck into the Buddha statue's body.

The Buddha statue emitted a muffled sound; starting from the center of its brow, cracks spread across its entire body.

Then, it shattered.

Stones flew everywhere, and golden light radiated in all directions.

The moment the Buddha statue shattered, a blood-red shadow flew out from the debris and rushed toward the door.

It was a wisp of Maitreya's Divine Thought, trying to escape.

Chen Xuan did not give it a chance.

He took out the Lava Treasure Bottle, and flames poured out from the bottle's mouth.

The imagery of Heavenly Fire transformed into a net of fire, enveloping that wisp of Divine Thought.

The Divine Thought struggled in the fire net, emitting a hissing sound like ice falling into boiling water.

A moment later, the Divine Thought dissipated.

All the oil lamps in the main hall extinguished, leaving only the moonlight shining in through the windows.

Zhang Fan collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

There were still tear tracks on his face, his breathing steady, as if he were asleep.

Chen Xuan sat down on the floor, gasping for air.

His mana was exhausted, multiple wounds on his body were bleeding, and the scratch on his neck was still oozing blood.