123: Chapter 123 The Sword Immortal Captures the Proud Sun in the Great Ruins, The Crown Prince Kneels Before the Buddhist Temple in the Dark Night

"Ka ka ka!"

From the Sun-Herding Clan Holy Land in the south to the Silent Crater in the north;

From the Dark Swamp in the east to the Ancient Battlefield of Gods and Demons in the west.

The ten-thousand-mile Great Ruins, at this moment, was bright throughout the night.

The night vanished. All deep-seated ailments were swept away.

The exotic beasts and Monsters that had lived in The Great Ruins for ten million years, and even those reclusive Cultivators who were barely surviving here, all stopped what they were doing at this moment.

Every person and every beast looked up at the sky in shock.

At that man standing on the bow of the ten-thousand-foot golden ship, dressed in white, laughing wildly while carrying a flask.

Upon this Wasteland where countless gods and demons were buried, Ye Xiu used the most brutal and unreasonable method to establish his own rules.

...

And while The Great Ruins welcomed its first ray of light in ten million years,

The Yankang Capital, tens of thousands of miles away, was shrouded in a continuous miserable wind and cold rain.

The night was deep, and dark clouds pressed down heavily.

A low-profile, pitch-black carriage without any royal insignias ground through the mud.

It silently drove out of the heavily guarded Eastern Palace and raced all the way toward Mount Sumeru in the western suburbs of the capital.

Inside the carriage, there was no heater, nor were there the stunning palace maids who usually served him.

The dignified Crown Prince of the Yankang Kingdom was currently huddled alone in a corner of the carriage, wearing an unremarkable black straw raincoat.

His face was as pale as paper, his eye sockets were sunken, and his bloodshot eyes revealed an irrepressible terror and exhaustion.

Ever since he received the bloody report that Prince Zhenbei had been decapitated by a single sword strike from the Imperial Preceptor and that the three hundred thousand-strong army had been disarmed by Ye Xiu's single cry of "Sword, come!"

This Crown Prince Your Highness had not closed his eyes for three full days and nights.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he would dream of that white-clothed madman.

Holding that lard-stained Pig-Butchering Knife, kicking open the gates of the Eastern Palace, and smilingly coming to take his head.

The three thousand Shadow Guard Death Warriors could not stop Ye Xiu, and the towering palace walls could not stop Ye Xiu.

Even his proud status as the Crown Prince wasn't even worth a fart in the eyes of that madman who even dared to slaughter a Prince in public!

He was afraid.

He was completely and utterly afraid.

The power struggles and schemes of the court were as fragile as a layer of window paper in the face of absolute martial suppression.

He had to find a stronger backer, a martial Holy Land that even the Old Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor were wary of, one capable of suppressing that mad Dragon!

"Whoa—!"

The carriage came to a sudden halt at the foot of Mount Sumeru.

"Your Highness, we have reached the Great Leiyin Sect.

There are rules at the mountain gate; carriages and horses are restricted, and we can only ascend the steps on foot," the Death Warrior driving the carriage reported in a low voice.

The Crown Prince lifted the carriage curtain.

He looked up.

In this dark night of miserable wind and cold rain, the ten thousand ancient temples of the Great Leiyin Sect atop the cloud-piercing Mount Sumeru were brightly lit.

The Buddha's light shone everywhere, and the echoes of Sanskrit chanting carried a compassionate yet loftily majestic air.

The Crown Prince took a deep breath, wrapped his straw raincoat tightly around him, and stepped into the cold, muddy water.

Leading to the Great Leiyin Sect's mountain gate were exactly nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine bluestone steps.

The Crown Prince, who usually traveled in imperial carriages and palanquins, now gritted his teeth and climbed up step by step against the bone-chilling cold rain.

The cold rain soaked his hair, and mud splashed all over his boots.

But he did not dare to stop, much less use True Essence to protect his body, for fear of annoying those arrogant old monks on the mountain.

He walked for over an hour.

The Crown Prince finally finished the last step and arrived, panting heavily, before the ten-zhang-high gilded mountain gate of the Great Leiyin Sect.

The mountain gate was tightly shut.

Under the eaves outside the gate stood two grey-robed Novice Monks holding staves.

"I ask the two little masters for your understanding. I... this humble one has a matter of extreme urgency and begs to see Abbot Fanyin."

The Crown Prince endured the soreness in his legs, lowered his posture, and bowed with his hands clasped.

The novice monk on the left pressed his palms together, not even lifting his eyelids.

"Amitabha. Please return, benefactor. The Abbot Grandmaster is currently practicing Silent Zen and is not seeing outside guests."

"Presumptuous! Standing before you is the current..."

The Death Warrior following the Crown Prince was furious and was about to draw his blade.

"Shut up!"

The Crown Prince whipped his head around, slapped the Death Warrior across the face, and shouted sternly. Then he turned back and, with a thud,

Knelt heavily on the cold, waterlogged bluestone slabs outside the mountain gate.

The dignified Crown Prince of the Great Yankang Kingdom, the future Dominator of the world,

Was now kneeling outside the gates of an ancient Buddhist temple like a stray dog!

Rain flowed down the Crown Prince's cheeks, and it was impossible to tell if it was rain or tears of humiliation.

His fists were clenched tightly within his sleeves, his nails piercing his palms as blood flowed, mixing with the rain.

Humiliation!

Heaven-shaking humiliation!

But he did not stand up. Because compared to this humiliation, the fear of death Ye Xiu brought him made him feel even more like he had thorns at his back.

As long as he could use the Buddhist gate to kill Ye Xiu, for today's kneeling, he would surely trample this Mount Sumeru to the ground on the day he ascended the throne!

"This humble one is here with utmost sincerity and is willing to kneel and beg the Abbot to end his seclusion.

That Devil Head Ye Xiu has already established himself. If he is allowed to grow further, the common people of the world will suffer, and the Buddhist gate will not be able to escape unscathed!"

The Crown Prince knelt in the rain, shouting with a hoarse voice.

Time passed minute by minute.

Half an hour later.

"Creak—"

The heavy gilded mountain gate finally slowly swung open to both sides.

A thick scent of sandalwood mixed with a solemn Buddhist majesty wafted out.

An old monk dressed in a red kasaya, with a physique as burly as an iron tower, walked out slowly, surrounded by a group of martial monks.

His face was compassionate, but deep in his eyes, there was a hidden glimmer of shrewdness and calculation.

The Chief of the Arhat Hall of the Great Leiyin Sect, Zen Master Faxiang.

"Amitabha. Your Highness has a body of thousand gold, yet you have been kneeling here for so long; it is too much for this old monk to bear."

Zen Master Faxiang chanted a Buddhist name, but he had no intention of stepping forward to help him up.

The Crown Prince felt as if he had been granted a great reprieve. He scrambled up from the ground shivering, his legs so weak he nearly fell again.

"Great Master Faxiang! I have come this late at night to save the common people of the world, and also to save the Buddhist gate!"

The Crown Prince didn't care to tidy his appearance and spoke impatiently.

"Wait a moment, Your Highness. Let us go into the Great Hall of the Great Sage to have some tea before we talk further."

Zen Master Faxiang stepped aside.

Inside the Great Hall of the Great Sage, a hundred-zhang-high Golden Buddha Statue looked down compassionately upon all living beings.

The light of the Everlasting Lamps flickered, reflecting a magnificent golden glow within the hall.

The Crown Prince sat in the guest seat and took a sip of hot tea.

Once the chill in his body had slightly dissipated, he impatiently recounted everything Ye Xiu had done while adding his own embellishments.

"That Ye Xiu is arrogant to the extreme!

Not only did he publicly disdain imperial power and kill Prince Zhenbei, he even forcefully incorporated a group of Grandmasters from the Northwest and took over the Heavenly Demon Sect!

The technique he Cultivates is the extremely overbearing Nine Transformations of Dragonization; his Physical Body is incredibly tough, and he is bloodthirsty by nature!"

The Crown Prince stared at Zen Master Faxiang in the main seat, gritting his teeth.

"Great Master, the Heavenly Demon Sect has always been the mortal enemy of the Buddhist gate.

Now that Ye Xiu has taken power and consolidated the demonic forces, his next step will surely be to point his sword at the Martial Forest's Righteous Path, and the Great Leiyin Sect will be the first to be hit!

Imperial Preceptor Jiang Baigui has the intention of shielding him, and the imperial army is far away at the borders. Now, the only ones who can suppress this vile creature are the Buddhist Vajras!"

Zen Master Faxiang silently fiddled with the Bodhi Bead Bracelet in his hand as he finished listening to the Crown Prince's accusations.

There was no ripple on his thin, withered face; he only softly chanted a Buddhist name.

"Amitabha. Good and evil will have their reward in the end. That Benefactor Ye's killing intent is too heavy; it indeed goes against the harmony of Heaven."

On the surface, the old monk appeared compassionate, but in reality, he had already begun calculating in his heart.

The Great Leiyin Sect had been envious of the Heavenly Demon Sect's foundation for more than just a day or two.

Moreover, that Ye Xiu had achieved the legendary Nine Transformations of Dragonization Great Perfection!

Pure Yang Dragon Blood, Physical Body becoming a saint.

To the old monks who Cultivate the Buddhist Golden Body, this Ye Xiu was simply a walking, Peerless Humanoid Great Medicine!

If they could capture him alive, drain his Pure Yang Dragon Blood, and strip his Dragon Bone,

The Great Leiyin Sect could refine at least three 'Indestructible Golden Body' Arhats!

Furthermore, they could use this opportunity, in the name of 'subduing demons and devils', to rightfully and legitimately interfere in the court.

To make the future Yankang Sovereign a complete Puppet of the Great Leiyin Sect!

"Your Highness overstates the matter."

Zen Master Faxiang slowly opened his eyes, a flash of greed appearing deep within them.

"Subduing demons and devils is the duty of our Buddhist gate.

Since that Benefactor Ye has already fallen into the Demonic Path, this old monk shall naturally report to the Abbot..."