263: Chapter 263 Tensions Rise, Each with Their Own Hidden agendas!

That eerie aura of life swept out in all directions like an invisible wave.

An Junru's expression changed slightly, and she was about to circulate her spiritual energy to resist.

Gu Changsheng, however, took a step forward, shielding her behind him, and then simply gave his sleeve a gentle flick.

A majestic surge of spiritual energy completely dissipated the incoming aura of life.

However, the other Cultivators with insufficient cultivation were not so lucky.

Screams of agony rose and fell.

One Cultivator after another was rapidly assimilated the moment they touched that life aura, turning into lifeless trees.

Eerily, in the face of this tragic scene, all the long-renowned Seniors present—

including the few hidden Guixu Realm powerhouses in the sky—actually chose to look on with cold indifference.

Not a single person was willing to step forward and save them.

Even Venerable Liuyun of the Dafan Zen Temple, who claimed to be compassionate and have the heart of a Bodhisattva, merely pressed his palms together and closed his eyes to chant sutras, his face showing not a hint of emotion.

"Venerable! Save me! Save me!"

An Early Stage Myriad Laws Realm expert, about to be completely assimilated, used the last of his strength to cry out in desperate plea toward Venerable Liuyun.

Venerable Liuyun slowly opened his eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well.

"Benefactor, everything is fate, and nothing is up to man. Your worldly ties have ended; this is your destiny, and this poor monk is powerless to help."

After speaking, he ignored the expert and simply continued chanting the Rebirth Sutra for his transition to the afterlife.

The last glimmer of hope in that expert's eyes was completely shattered.

His face filled with endless despair and malice, and finally, amidst unwilling roars, he turned completely into a twisted tree.

This scene sent a chill through the hearts of everyone present.

This was the cruel world of cultivation; when self-interest was involved, so-called compassion and morality were nothing but hypocritical empty talk.

Soon, that majestic aura of life finally began to dissipate.

This sudden disaster ultimately resulted in over a hundred experts being assimilated into trees.

"Could it be... that all the trees in this forest were formed by Cultivators who came here to explore in the past and were assimilated?"

A Myriad Laws Realm expert thought of this possibility and was instantly pale with fright, breaking into a cold sweat.

While everyone was trembling with fear, their gazes all shifted toward the emerald-green palace floating in mid-air.

At this moment, the palace gates had swung wide open.

Through the gates, everyone could clearly see that within the palace—

there actually grew several miraculous medicinal herbs that were shimmering with light and emitting a dense medicinal fragrance.

Those herbs had clearly gained spirituality, even moving about, playing, and frolicking within the palace like humans.

"immortal divine medicine!"

An experienced old monster cried out in shock.

Only then did everyone realize the truth.

It turned out that the lethal aura of life from earlier was exactly the aura accumulated by these few stalks of immortal divine medicine over the long years.

immortal divine medicine was a supreme treasure of heaven and earth; legend had it that consuming just one stalk would allow one to achieve Ascension in broad daylight.

Although the rumors were somewhat exaggerated, their Heaven-Defying efficacy in significantly boosting cultivation and even helping Cultivators break through Bottlenecks was beyond doubt.

For a moment, all the Cultivators present, including those Guixu Realm powerhouses hidden in the Void Realm, showed expressions of extreme greed.

"Amitabha."

"This divine medicine has a predestined affinity with my Buddhist sect."

While everyone was still hesitating, Venerable Liuyun of the Dafan Zen Temple was the first to strike.

In the next instant, a golden Buddha ten thousand feet tall coalesced behind him.

The golden Buddha extended a giant palm that blotted out the sky, grabbing directly toward the stalks of immortal divine medicine inside the palace.

"Hmph! Old bald donkey, you wish!"

At that moment, a cold snort rang out.

Another Guixu Realm powerhouse summoned an ancient, simple tripod and slammed it fiercely against the giant golden palm.

Boom!

With a thunderous bang, the giant golden palm was knocked aside on the spot by the tripod.

"Liuyun, this immortal divine medicine is a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, shared by all who see it. For your Dafan Zen Temple to want it all is simply looking down on us too much!"

Two more Guixu Realm powerhouses appeared one after another, making their stances clear.

For a time, four Guixu Realm powerhouses stood in opposition to Venerable Liuyun from a distance, their auras clashing and causing the void to distort.

The atmosphere on the scene instantly became daggers drawn, on the verge of erupting.

"Amitabha."

Venerable Liuyun's face looked a bit grim as he looked at the four other Guixu powerhouses confronting him.

Although he was confident in his great strength, he did not dare to take on four experts of the same rank at the same time.

His eyes flickered, and then he pressed his palms together, saying with a face full of compassion, "Fellow Daoists, you have misunderstood. This poor monk does not wish to monopolize the divine medicine."

"It is just that these stalks of divine medicine have long since developed intelligence. Earlier, they even proactively sent a voice transmission to me, saying they admire the Great Dao of my Buddhist sect and are willing to take refuge in the Buddha. This poor monk only wishes to fulfill their wishes."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other Guixu powerhouses all showed undisguised mockery on their faces.

"Hahaha! Old bald donkey, that lie you spun wouldn't even fool a three-year-old!"

"Take refuge in Buddhism? You have the nerve to say that! How come I didn't hear the divine medicine transmit its voice to me?"

"Stop being so hypocritical here. If you want the divine medicine, use your skills to seize it!"

While the Guixu powerhouses were engaged in a war of words and mocking each other—

in the crowd below, a young powerhouse at the Peak of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm couldn't help but chuckle because he found Venerable Liuyun's rhetoric far too ridiculous.

"Pfft..."

This light laugh sounded exceptionally piercing in the tense atmosphere.

Venerable Liuyun's face, which had originally worn a hypocritical smile, instantly darkened.

He didn't even use his magical power or perform any Divine Ability; he simply cast a faint glance at the young powerhouse with those eyes.

In an instant, a Buddhist sound containing supreme Dao Heart attainment exploded directly within the young powerhouse's Sea of Consciousness.

The smile on the young powerhouse's face froze instantly, and his eyes became hollow and dull, as if all his Soul had been sucked out in an instant.

A cold smile curled on Venerable Liuyun's lips as he flicked his finger, and a beam of golden light sank into the young powerhouse's forehead.

In the next moment, the young powerhouse's body actually began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It rapidly shrank, finally turning into a golden figurine only the size of a thumb, which was taken directly into the space between Venerable Liuyun's eyebrows.

He had actually refined a living human being directly into his Puppet!

This move was a hundred times more malicious than direct murder!

Everyone present was horrified.

Many slightly weaker experts, fearing they would also meet a fate worse than death—

all began to harbor thoughts of retreat, quietly withdrawing from this place of conflict.