This land, once serene like a pure Buddhist realm, was now shrouded in dark clouds, with lightning and thunder raging, the entire space seething with turmoil.
It was as if demons had invaded the sacred soil.
“Tick-tock!”
Black raindrops fell, making the already dark world even gloomier and colder.
The wind howled across the land, its piercing sound chilling to the bone.
The raindrops, heavier than sacred iron, struck the ground, which was incomparably hard, creating deep craters.
Each raindrop was like an arrow.
The pure Buddhist realm had suddenly become immensely dangerous.
Zhang Ruochen held a dual-element king-grade sacred iron umbrella, standing in the rain, gazing ahead.
In his field of vision, everything was vast and hazy, the scene dim.
The rain formed intermittent lines, falling from the sky to the ground.
Most of the rain lines were black, but occasionally, a golden line appeared, and when it hit the ground, it created bottomless craters, carrying a penetrating force capable of slaying saints.
A strong sense of danger arose in Zhang Ruochen’s heart. If not for the faint Buddhist light emanating from a bronze temple on the Sleeping Buddha, he might not have dared to continue forward.
“What is this place? A Buddhist realm, or a demonic domain?”
The path to the Sleeping Buddha Mountain was treacherous.
The road up the mountain was even more perilous.
The chains of the Dao in the heavens and earth grew denser, and even with Zhang Ruochen’s Great Saint cultivation, he found climbing the path extremely taxing.
“Swoosh!”
A ghostly gate, deep and eerie, swiftly drifted past in the rain not far from Zhang Ruochen.
It appeared as a gate but was, in truth, a five-to-six-metre-long spatial rift. The rift moved quickly, with a force of nothingness emanating from its other end.
“Rumble.”
Demonic lightning struck a cliff, splitting massive boulders the size of houses, sending them tumbling down the mountain.
“Caw, caw!”
A strange, chilling cry came from a bronze tree. Perched on it was a crow with blood-red feathers, its eyes like those of a human, glaring at Zhang Ruochen with a bloodthirsty ferocity.
It flapped its wings and flew towards him, shrieking sharply, “Blood! Blood! Blood…”
“I haven’t even drawn blood, and you dare to crave mine?”
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger, unleashing a vigorous, masculine sword qi that surged forth.
The blood-red crow flapped its wings, transforming from one into a flock, charging at Zhang Ruochen from all directions.
The sword qi only killed three of them.
“It can even split itself.”
Zhang Ruochen was quite surprised. White Purifying Divine Fire burst from his body, forming a massive fireball.
The blood-red crows collided with the fireball, their feathers igniting.
“Boom.”
The fireball expanded with the space, turning into a shockwave that, like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, blasted all the crows away, their bodies shattering.
Only one blood-red crow escaped, fleeing into the darkness.
The darkness held too many dangers, so Zhang Ruochen did not pursue. He muttered to himself, “To think that a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint-level Nine Lives Blood Crow thrives here. This is no sacred Buddhist land.”
A place holding opportunities could never be without danger.
Ordinary beings could not reach such a place of fortune.
Zhang Ruochen held his umbrella and continued climbing.
In the Sleeping Buddha Mountain, the only place still somewhat holy was the bronze temple at the Buddha’s crown.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen stood outside the temple, facing three hundred and eighty-four bronze steps, grand and majestic, as if ascending them would lead to another world.
Faintly, he could see the outline of the bronze temple and the massive bronze pillars before it.
Stepping onto the stairs, Zhang Ruochen ascended slowly.
On the steps, there were fresh bloodstains and fragments of sacred weapons. The blood marks seemed fused with the bronze stairs, unwashed by the rain. Not long ago, a fierce Great Saint-level battle must have erupted here, with someone injured, perhaps even fallen.
The rain fell harder.
The umbrella’s fabric thudded under the downpour.
Reaching the top of the bronze stairs, Zhang Ruochen, clad in blood-soaked robes, stood between two bronze pillars and turned to look at the pillar on his right.
The pillar, as thick as a millstone and over twenty zhang tall, bore a towering, majestic statue with three eyes, each arm wielding a sword, posed as if slashing the heavens.
Though merely a bronze statue, it exuded a terrifying aura, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Standing before it, even Zhang Ruochen could only hold his breath, feeling immense pressure.
A lesser Great Saint would not dare gaze upon it directly. Those below Great Saint level would likely have knelt before even reaching the bronze steps.
Such bronze pillars numbered twenty, encircling the temple.
Each pillar’s statue was unique.
There was a shimmering Bodhi Buddha tree, a giant wielding a battle axe, a divine maiden with a human body and fish tail, a nine-headed celestial dragon…
Walking beneath the pillars, Zhang Ruochen dared not study their forms closely, for even a brief glance caused his head to throb, as if they were all forbidden figures, beyond what his Great Saint realm could behold.
“Who are they? Why are their statues cast on the pillars of this bronze temple?”
In the Seven-Star Imperial Palace, Zhang Ruochen had studied countless texts, yet he could find no record of figures matching these.
“They are the Twenty Heavens.”
Yan Huangtu’s imposing figure emerged from behind the pillar bearing the nine-headed celestial dragon.
His divine aura was restrained, lacking its usual sharpness, and despite facing an enemy, he showed no trace of killing intent, appearing as an ordinary burly man.
Yet, the more he seemed so, the more Zhang Ruochen knew Yan Huangtu’s cultivation had broken through again, becoming even more formidable.
A Great Saint of the Hundred Shackles Realm must not only break their shackles but also cultivate the rules of the Saint Path.
Some at the peak of the Hundred Shackles Realm possess only three billion Saint Path rules, while others reach ten billion. The difference in their combat strength is naturally vast.
Even at the peak of the Hundred Shackles Realm, there is still room for growth.
Seeing Yan Huangtu appear, Zhang Ruochen was unsurprised, as calm as if meeting an old friend, saying, “The Twenty Heavens, such an unfamiliar name.”
“You find the name unfamiliar only because they existed far too long ago,” Yan Huangtu said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “How long?”
“At least three hundred thousand years, perhaps longer.”
Yan Huangtu stood by the pillar, gazing at the pitch-black mountain below, saying, “Roughly three hundred thousand years ago was when they vanished completely. As for when the name first emerged, perhaps only the greatest gods of today would know.”
“The Twenty Heavens represent the twenty most powerful gods of your universe.”
“Before the Heavenly Court was established, they ruled everything, maintaining order across the myriad realms, intimidating the ten clans of Hell. Even gods bowed to them. In that era, the cultivators of the Hell Realm could only dwell in darkness, far from the glory they have now.”
Zhang Ruochen listened quietly, as if a lost history was being unveiled page by page.
Yan Huangtu continued, “Each era has its own Twenty Heavens. What remains constant is that they represent the strongest of their time. The statues on these twenty pillars are actually the earliest Twenty Heavens, from an era countless millennia before ours.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Then why not tell me about the last Twenty Heavens? Why did they vanish completely three hundred thousand years ago?”
Yan Huangtu seemed in no hurry to fight Zhang Ruochen, saying unhurriedly, “Legend has it they went to undertake a great task, all twenty together, but only two and a half returned.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed, shocked yet puzzled, saying, “Why two and a half?”
Yan Huangtu turned, glancing at him, saying, “You’re likely more curious about the ‘half,’ aren’t you? That half refers to the Sixth Patriarch.”
“When the Sixth Patriarch fled back to the Western Buddhist Realm, only half his body remained. It’s said the calamity he faced not only severed half his Buddhist form but also half his lifespan, which is why he perished in the previous cosmic cycle.”
Zhang Ruochen said firmly, “Impossible.”
“What’s impossible?” Yan Huangtu asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The Sixth Patriarch was the most powerful Buddhist cultivator in the universe in recent millions of years, the sixth Buddha. Who could sever half his body and lifespan?”
Yan Huangtu’s gaze grew distant, saying, “I know why you don’t believe it, because even your master, Saint Monk Xumi, was inferior to the Sixth Patriarch. In your heart, Saint Monk Xumi must seem invincible, right? Unfortunately, the Twenty Heavens included the Sixth Patriarch, not him.”
Zhang Ruochen knew Yan Huangtu was trying to unsettle his mind.
In the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm, Zhang Ruochen had read extensively, gaining deeper understanding of Buddhism, the Kunlun Realm, and his master, Saint Monk Xumi.
Records state that even when Saint Monk Xumi reached the peak of his cultivation, he gained insights and often felt inferior when debating with the Sixth Patriarch.
Before the Sixth Patriarch, Saint Monk Xumi was but a junior.
Though Zhang Ruochen deeply respected Saint Monk Xumi, knowing his boundless Buddhist powers made him a rare and mighty figure, he also held awe for the Sixth Patriarch,不敢轻易评判。
Zhang Ruochen said, “In the battle ten thousand years ago, how many gods of the Hell Realm fell to Saint Monk Xumi’s hand? Beyond the Kunlun Realm, how many stars remain blood-red to this day?”
Yan Huangtu nodded, saying, “It cannot be denied that at the moment of his fall, Saint Monk Xumi had reached the level of a Buddha. The gods who joined that battle gave him such praise. But that was his final brilliance, extinguished in an instant, never to become the seventh Patriarch.”
As he spoke, Yan Huangtu walked into the bronze temple.
Inside, a bronze statue was enshrined, with a dragon’s body but three heads.
One head was that of a child.
One was an elder.
The middle head bore no features, only a “” character on its forehead.
Yan Huangtu bowed to the statue, saying slowly, “He is one of the Twenty Heavens from three hundred thousand years ago, the Dragon Lord.”
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the statue, feeling it grow taller, exuding an increasingly oppressive force.
“The Dragon Lord was the master of the dragon clan, revered by all dragons, with nine wives and nine sons, each extraordinary. His ninth son, Jiwang, was the most gifted and accomplished.”
“As a cultivator of the Kunlun Realm, you must have heard his name, haven’t you?”
Zhang Ruochen had indeed heard of Dragon Lord Jiwang.
Legend holds that he wielded the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, one of the ten divine artifacts of the Kunlun Realm, a figure who dominated the myriad realms.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You mentioned that three hundred thousand years ago, two and a half of the Twenty Heavens returned. Besides the Sixth Patriarch, who were the other two?”
“One was the Lord of the Heavenly Palace in your Heavenly Court,” Yan Huangtu said.
The Lord of the Heavenly Palace was mysterious, and Zhang Ruochen knew little of him. But to command the Heavenly Palace and rule the myriad realms, he was undoubtedly extraordinary.
Yan Huangtu continued, “The other, no one knows. Perhaps only the Lord of the Heavenly Palace and the Sixth Patriarch knew his identity.”
“Some speculate it was the Ten Tribulations Heaven Lord of your Kunlun Realm. Others guess it was the Ancient God Panyuan of the Pangu Realm. Some even think it was the former leader of my clan.”
Zhang Ruochen squinted, saying, “A god from the Hell Realm could be among the Twenty Heavens?”
Yan Huangtu fell silent for a moment, then said, “In fact, there’s a legend that the Twenty Heavens were not just twenty, but twenty-four, with the additional four from the Hell Realm.”
He laughed loudly, shaking his head, saying, “These are just legends. How could we, mere youths under a thousand years old, unravel the secrets of events hundreds of thousands of years past? How could we know the mysteries of such celestial figures?”
“Times change, worlds shift, the rise and fall of the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm are but idle talk for you and me. The Twenty Heavens, or Twenty-Four Heavens, are long gone, their past glories vanished like smoke.”
“Swoosh, swoosh.”
Outside the temple, sharp gusts of wind sounded.
Yan Zhexian appeared at the gate, her stunning figure casting a long shadow on the ground under the Buddhist light. Behind her, more shadows loomed on the floor.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Yan Zhexian, saying, “So, you’ve told me all this just to buy time.”
…
Note: In the previous chapter, I got carried away and made an error with a figure! Yan Zhexian told Zhang Ruochen that the number of Yanluo Clan Great Saints stationed here was 2,700, but it’s been corrected to 270.
