“Zen Master, save me!”
“The Space-Time Sword Saint is on a killing spree, trying to prove his Dao and reach the Sky-Reaching Realm. Aren’t you going to stop him?!”
Dragon Subduing controlled the Fiend Dragon, burning his essence blood to escape frantically. However, a bizarre scene unfolded. No matter how advanced Dragon Subduing Arhat’s escape techniques were, he kept circling in place.
Taking a step forward made him move backward, retreating caused him to ascend into the sky. Space was completely chaotic, and the principles of time had collapsed. Within a hundred-foot radius around Dragon Subduing Arhat, the living turned to ashes, the dead revived. His lifespan and inner universe cycle were continuously plummeting, and his condition was deteriorating.
“Zen Master! Are you really going to watch me die?!”
“Please, intervene, even if it’s just to expel Meng Qingzhou! Don’t let the Buddhas lose heart!”
Dragon Subduing Arhat lost control of his emotions and roared to the sky.
A pseudo Sky-Reaching Realm was still just pseudo.
Even though he was rooted in the Sky-Reaching Dao of the Buddha, he could only harness a sliver of its power. He had brute strength but his techniques were no different from Morning Glow, like a brute swinging blindly.
Meng Qingzhou set up a simple cyclical time-space passage, rendering Dragon Subduing Arhat helpless, making him crash around like a headless fly.
“Die.”
Meng Qingzhou spread his five fingers, slowly closing his palm towards Dragon Subduing Arhat from a distance, clenching into a fist.
Crack, crack…
Blood flowed, and the golden body and jade bones fractured inch by inch.
Seeing Dragon Subduing Arhat’s form becoming unrecognizable, the Sword Sense of Time and Space invaded his inner universe, ready to sever his principles with one strike.
“Benefactor, please show mercy.”
Suddenly, a sigh echoed, and an old monk appeared out of thin air in front of Dragon Subduing Arhat.
In the blink of an eye, the near-dead Dragon Subduing Arhat broke free from his restraints, the Sword Sense in his inner universe was erased, and even his severe injuries healed instantly.
Meng Qingzhou was not surprised at all, calmly saying, “Finally willing to show yourself?”
The old monk clasped his hands together, his face sorrowful:
“Benefactor, I warned you days ago not to kill Arhats indiscriminately, not to break through to the Sky-Reaching Realm, yet you trampled on both these precepts.”
“Why?”
“Must you oppose me? You know well that I have incarnated into the Buddhist Kingdom. Surely you understand that within the Buddhist Kingdom, even if another Sky-Reaching cultivator descends, they would hardly be a match for me.”
“And you, even if you manage to break through, you won’t escape being converted by me.”
Meng Qingzhou’s lips curled into a mocking smile:
“Oh? Is that so.”
“Do you really dare to kill me?”
“As long as the Space-Time Sword Saint lives, the targets of Sky State and Heaven-Watching Pavilion will always be on Great Jin. Once the Space-Time Sword Saint dies, the Great Jin Dynasty will launch an all-out attack at any cost. By then, one side will surely perish, and you will lose your shield that attracts fire. The focus of Heaven-Watching Pavilion and Sky State will all be on the Buddhist Kingdom.”
“Surely, you can’t bear that.”
With that, Meng Qingzhou paused.
His statements were, in fact, his subjective speculations.
Since he stationed himself in Langya, without waiting for the Buddhist Kingdom’s backlash, he had suspicions. Then, seeing the incarnation of the Buddha, he discerned the truth of the Buddhist Kingdom’s transformation. Meng Qingzhou concluded that the Buddha must have a scheme!
On the surface, this old monk obeyed the Heaven-Watching Pavilion, but in his heart, he was clear. Once the Great Jin Dynasty fell, the Western Buddhist Kingdom would become a stepping stone for the Sky State overlord—Ji Wushuang.
This was why, during his first meeting with the Buddha, Meng Qingzhou deliberately mentioned ‘Heaven-Watching Pavilion choosing the Human Emperor,’ to confirm the old monk’s suspicions.
The Buddha was unwilling to see his lifetime of cultivation end in such a manner, so he needed time! He needed someone to stand in the forefront and attract fire.
Therefore, the Great Jin Dynasty could not fall, and the Space-Time Sword Saint could not die!
But the concept of the Space-Time Sword Saint being invincible in the same realm was well-known. He couldn’t die, nor could he break through to the Sky-Reaching Realm, otherwise, it would be hard to control him.
“Benefactor, you overthink.”
The old monk was silent for a moment, his sorrow deepening, and said:
“I am merely following Heaven-Watching’s orders to let you live temporarily. When Sky State unifies, the new Human Emperor will come for your head.”
Meng Qingzhou frowned.
He didn’t know how much truth there was in the old monk’s words.
But thinking about the abnormal actions of the Heaven-Watching Pavilion, he was uncertain.
According to the original text, since the disappearance of the first Human Emperor and the establishment of the Heaven-Watching Pavilion, they had been secretly searching for promising talents. Over thousands of years, they had recruited thousands of ‘Human Emperor reserves,’ with Ji Wushuang being the most outstanding among them.
The Heaven-Watching Pavilion cultivated Ji Wushuang’s [World’s Dao] through a process akin to raising Gu, where he eliminated other competitors in one battle after another, gradually absorbing the principles of thousands of ‘Human Emperor reserves.’
But there was a doubt.
Could it be that I, Space-Time Sword Saint Meng Qin, am a mediocre person?!
The Mandate of Heaven protagonist Zhao Gou was indirectly forced to death by me, Ji Wushuang repeatedly suffered at my hands, and I am the only one in history with the principles of Time and Space, a peerless genius about to break through to the Sky-Reaching Realm at the age of twenty. What is the Heaven-Watching Pavilion thinking, why have they never recruited him?
“Old fox.”
Meng Qingzhou’s thoughts were disrupted, and he couldn’t help but sigh.
As a lama who survived from the Era of the Human Sovereign, rising in this golden age and achieving the Sky-Reaching Realm, his mind was extremely meticulous.
“Benefactor, you flatter me. The few Arhats you killed earlier, I am willing to let bygones be bygones, but from now on, you must not commit any more killings.”
“Dragon Subduing, I will take him away.”
The old monk’s tone became slightly forceful.
Meng Qingzhou drew the Cicada Song sword, flicked its blade with his finger, and said:
“What if I don’t allow it?”
The old monk was stunned.
Don’t allow it?
Buddy, where do you get the confidence to speak so arrogantly in front of me?
Whether you allow it or not, do you think you can stop me?
The old monk’s eyes showed confusion and bewilderment: “What do you mean, Benefactor?”
Meng Qingzhou tossed the Cicada Song sword to the old monk, smiling:
“Take the sword and kill Dragon Subduing Arhat yourself.”
The old monk was perplexed, instinctively touching his bald head, looking down at the Cicada Song sword in his hand, then raising his head:
“Forgive my dullness, Benefactor, speak plainly.”
Meng Qingzhou said calmly:
“Two choices.”
“Either you kill Dragon Subduing Arhat to vent my anger, so I can’t comprehend and break through to the Sky-Reaching Realm through battle, or…”
“The decisive battle is today. Believe me, every word is from the heart!”
“If you don’t believe me, try it.”
As his words fell, the wind was calm, and the old monk stared straight at Meng Qingzhou, then looked down at the cold Cicada Song sword, saying nothing.
Hiding behind the old monk, Dragon Subduing Arhat laughed heartily:
“Space-Time Sword Saint, have you lost your mind, asking the Zen Master to kill me? How dare you say that!”
“Bah!”
Just as Dragon Subduing Arhat was gloating, the old monk in front of him suddenly turned around, thrusting the sword into Dragon Subduing Arhat’s forehead, collapsing his inner universe in the process.
Instant kill!
Dragon Subduing Arhat died without any pain, not even realizing it, maintaining a joyful expression until his death.
“You win.”
The old monk returned the Cicada Song sword to Meng Qingzhou, a trace of fatigue appearing in his eyes.
Speaking.
The Buddha’s eyes were deep, looking at the young man before him, saying:
“I have lived for over ten thousand years, witnessing the rise of the first Human Emperor from obscurity, establishing a prosperous dynasty, cleansing the universe of gods and evils. Over the years, you are the first to force me to break my precepts.”
It was clear that the Buddha now took Meng Qingzhou seriously, no longer calling himself ‘this old monk’ with pretense.
Meng Qingzhou was surprised: “Really? You haven’t killed anyone?”
“Yes.” The old monk nodded sincerely.
Meng Qingzhou chuckled: “Do you think I believe that?”
The old monk shook his head, unwilling to argue further. This guy not only had high talent but also extraordinary vision and wisdom.
He had an aura reminiscent of the first Human Emperor’s rise from obscurity, no…
One could even say, far more formidable than the first Human Emperor before he claimed the throne!
“Farewell.”
The old monk was about to leave when suddenly, he sensed something…
“Wait!”
This fluctuation…
It’s a sign of breaking through to the Sky-Reaching Realm!!
The old monk turned back in astonishment, his benevolent and kind demeanor completely vanished, replaced by fierce darkness, angrily shouting: “What’s going on!?”
“Weren’t you supposed to comprehend through battle, accelerating the process of integrating the principles of Time and Space? Dragon Subduing Arhat was killed by me, he didn’t have a chance to fight you, so why…”
Meng Qingzhou’s lips curved into a smile, feeling immensely satisfied.
The integration progress of the principles of Time and Space had reached 80%!
Now, he had officially stepped into the half-step Sky-Reaching Realm! Just one step away from breaking through to the Sky-Reaching Realm!
His combat power skyrocketed, how much exactly, he couldn’t even measure.
Below the Sky-Reaching Realm, no one was his match, above the Sky-Reaching Realm, he could fight, but they would die.
Meng Qingzhou laughed:
“Old bald donkey, your state indeed has issues, is it the backlash from the Wilderness Heavenly Dao?”
“Daring to steal a sliver of the Heavenly Dao, integrating the Ten Thousand Mile Buddhist Kingdom as your ‘transformation,’ commendable courage.”
“So much so that you couldn’t even see that I was deceiving you!”
With that, Meng Qingzhou stopped.
Chatting was fine, but revealing his cards was unnecessary.
All along, he hadn’t been accelerating the integration of the principles of Time and Space through battle comprehension, but by experiencing the oppression of the ‘Sky-Reaching Dao Rhythms.’ Who could provide more ‘Sky-Reaching Dao Rhythms’ than a true Sky-Reaching cultivator?
Therefore, Meng Qingzhou deliberately talked a lot, intentionally delaying the killing of Dragon Subduing Arhat, just to wait for this old monk!
The principles of Time and Space became increasingly difficult to integrate. Since reaching 50% progress, he clearly felt that moving forward, there were only two paths: first, daily experience and hard cultivation through the System, second, experiencing the true Sky-Reaching Dao Rhythms.
Now, at 80% progress, it was even harder! No matter how much Sky-Reaching Dao Rhythms he experienced, it wouldn’t help. Even if he provoked the Buddha to kill, there would be no growth.
Only hard grinding!
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