677: A Clever Way to Become a Buddha

White Impermanence Xie Bian still took himself too seriously!

Even if his strength improved rapidly, as long as he had not reached the Saint Realm, he could not withstand the person before him; after all, Hongjun was one of the founders of the Original Universe and a powerhouse second only to Pangu.

Therefore, when he raised his Mourning Staff, he knew he was in for a miserable time!

This sword strike shattered his Mourning Staff, shattered all the spells and Magic Treasure he could cast, and even the Law of Ice that he had painstakingly comprehended was slashed into nothingness by this strike.

Pfft!

Spitting out a mouthful of black blood, White Impermanence's face turned even paler than when he was a hanging ghost, and his entire body suddenly fell apart, having been sliced into countless fragments by the Sword Qi.

Countless wisps of clear Qi swirled in the air for a while before finally reforming White Impermanence, but he looked like a wilted eggplant, staring at Hongjun in terror, his face full of disbelief.

You should be grateful; if my cultivation had recovered to even thirty percent, you wouldn't be this lucky!

Hongjun sneered.

He approached Li Chengqian step by step, but Li Chengqian showed no fear on his face. Instead, he stared at Hongjun's face and suddenly remarked: "Do you really think that you, without a shred of Luck, can take the imperial jade seal from my hands? Heh, I remember that panda once chatted with us about the New Saint..."

Hongjun finally stopped and said in a deep voice: "What are you trying to say?"

Nothing much, just that I have become a bit interested in the Law that the New Saint comprehended to become a Saint!

Li Chengqian scoffed, "I think you should understand what I mean!"

Hongjun stared at Li Chengqian, gnashing his teeth in hatred. That's right, the Law that Tang Ao had originally comprehended was very obscure, even unconventional, because his power of Law was called the "Law of Luck"!

Indeed, by using Luck as the Law, all the Luck in the world would be at his disposal, and his own fortune would also be greatly increased invisibly.

Heh, you're thinking correctly; you want to use your own Luck to resist me!

Hongjun suddenly smiled and said dismissively, "But you don't know that I have something in my hand that can cancel out the Luck on you. If it were Tang Ao using it, or even that Tang Sanzang using the imperial jade seal, I would really be in a bit of trouble. But you, a Mortal who knows no spells, do you really think you can resist me?"

As he spoke, he had already thrust his sword out, heading straight for Li Chengqian's chest.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but shake his head slightly, then calmly closed his eyes.

Hum!

A powerful energy descended from heaven and earth, accompanied by bursts of Buddhist chanting, forcefully suppressing Hongjun's killing intent.

Hongjun was startled and suddenly looked up, only to see ten thousand rays of Buddha light in the sky, golden lotuses blooming, and under the cover of auspicious clouds, Buddha Power filled the entire hall.

This is... a sign of someone becoming a Buddha on the spot?

Hongjun instantly took out the fragment of the creation jade plate, but the fragment actually had no reaction.

Parameters cannot be modified... Is this becoming a Buddha through a Great Vow and Karma?

Hongjun said in shock, "Who is it that actually has such momentum?"

The Qingping Sword in his hand could not advance even a fraction, and the immense Buddha Power forcefully pushed Hongjun back half a step.

Mid-air, a middle-aged monk wearing a kasaya and a Five-Buddha Crown stepped forward slowly, separating Hongjun and Li Chengqian.

Amitabha, Senior, you should retreat; the Dao of slaughter is ultimately not the right path!

The monk pressed his palms together, his face full of compassion.

You are Ksitigarbha? No, now it should be Buddha Ksitigarbha!

Hongjun said in a deep voice, "I heard that you once made a Great Vow: until Hell is empty, I will not become a Buddha. Now you actually dare to break your vow and become a Buddha; are you not afraid of encountering divine retribution?"

Who would have thought that Ksitigarbha would say with a hint of embarrassment in his smile: "Hmm, it's not that this Poor Monk broke the vow, but rather, I just used a clever method..."

Hongjun was stunned, then said: "Clever method? No... that's not right... I understand. Since you have become a Buddha, that means... Hell is already empty?"

Ksitigarbha nodded and chuckled: "Exactly!"

The people around finally breathed a sigh of relief, secretly sighing in their hearts that Heavenly King Li was unkind... couldn't he have let him become a Buddha a few minutes earlier? He had to pick this dangerous moment!

Who could have known that Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King currently in the Underworld, had his own bitter suffering to bear.

Before the war began, Tang Ku had already set the tone with everyone: if there was one person in this world who could temporarily block Hongjun, it would be Ksitigarbha... well, or more accurately, Ksitigarbha who had become a Buddha.

A Great Vow, becoming a Buddha through Karma—this merit of protecting all living beings was enough to push his strength to its Peak state, and even enough to contend with the current Hongjun.

So, how could Ksitigarbha be made to become a Buddha?

Tang Ku had said this to the panda at the time: "Have you watched 'My Date with a Vampire'?"

The panda instantly realized: if he won't become a Buddha until Hell is empty, then we'll just make Hell empty—wouldn't that be fulfilling Ksitigarbha's Great Vow?

Li Jing led the Li family's troops, entered the Underworld from the entrance at Mount Tai, and used every method possible to pack up all the suffering ghosts in Hell. They used almost all kinds of Magic Treasure they had that could contain things, and only then did they barely manage to take all the ghosts away. There was a small episode during this: under the system established by Tesla, although it could temporarily maintain the normal operation of the Underworld, there were still some ghosts with awakened consciousness who escaped from the Eighteen Levels of Hell when no one was guarding them. Some hid in Fengdu City, and some entered behind the Yin Mountains... In short, they hid in all sorts of ways, everywhere.

After all, Heavenly King Li had been a chief commander once, and he still had quite a bit of experience in management. He immediately had his ten thousand subordinates break into smaller units and searched the entire Underworld for half a day before finally catching all the ghosts near the Soul-Returning Road.

In this way, Hell was finally considered empty. Meanwhile, Ksitigarbha was meditating and practicing Zen in the human palace when he suddenly received a signal from heaven and earth. Buddhist sounds arose everywhere, and countless scriptures and deep, condensed energy fiercely bombarded his mind. In an instant, he felt that he had truly become a Buddha; with Karma added to his body, his magic power surged, and he finally reached a Realm that even he found unimaginable.

And just at this moment, he seemed to see Hongjun about to kill Li Chengqian, so he decisively took action and stopped Hongjun.

Heh... hehehe... hahahahaha... As expected of the successor to the order set by Tang Ao... It's normal to have this kind of cleverness... Heh, Luck... it really is a good thing...

Hongjun looked at Ksitigarbha and laughed loudly, "But... I have no need to go head-to-head with you... With your current ability, although you can't stop me, you would also make me lose a portion of my combat power, which wouldn't be worth it. So... heh, I intend to take the living people of this city as hostages... If you are sensible, hand over the imperial jade seal, otherwise, this Chang'an City... I'm afraid it will turn into a ghost city!"

Heh, is that so?" Li Chengqian jumped down from the back of his chair and sneered, "Do you really think that while we wait for death, we would let all the common people in the city accompany us?"