In the four regions of the world, silence reigned supreme.
Lu Yang froze directly on the spot, his face ashen, looking towards the place where [Sky-shrouding] had just disappeared. He had already begun to curse loudly in his heart:
Bastard!
No wonder he could become a late-stage Golden Core and seek the [Netherworld]. This reaction speed was too fast; he ran away decisively before the World Honored One even descended.
What to do?
Activate [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]?
Lu Yang took a deep breath, rapidly stabilizing his mind. The panel of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] beside him was his greatest confidence; no one could stop him from restarting!
After all, he was currently in False Holding Golden Stature, his stature almost standing at the peak of this world. If the World Honored One knew of the existence of [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] and made targeted arrangements, perhaps even gods and immortals couldn't save him. But [The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] wasn't exposed; who would think he could commit suicide and restart?
However, soon, Lu Yang realized something was wrong.
The World Honored One wasn't looking at him.
Those eyes overflowing with Buddhist light calmly swept across the surroundings. Wherever the gaze passed, ghosts wailed and gods howled, and blood rain fell from the sky, as if heaven and earth were terrified!
He isn't looking at me...
At this moment, Lu Yang had a realization. It was like a mortal looking at an anthill; who would care what the ants inside the nest looked like?
Golden Core? Foundation Establishment? Just the size of the ants, he wouldn't care at all!
What truly drew his gaze was the entire anthill, this heaven and earth... As for the rest, from beginning to end, they were not within the scope of his attention!
Boom!
At this moment, the entirety of Jiangxi was shaking violently. The World Honored One stood with his hands behind his back, looking around, as if recalling past glorious years.
The next second, He spoke.
"Return."
Two calm words, even spoken using [Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon]'s voice, yet at this moment, they drew the perception and response of the entire heaven and earth!
However, this response was clearly unwilling, so much so that the strange phenomena arising in the world presented contradictory aspects: on one hand, blood rained down from the sky, on the other, golden lotuses sprang from the earth—disaster and good fortune coexisted, eerily bizarre. Only after a moment did these strange phenomena vanish simultaneously.
In their place appeared a golden light.
This golden light, which had already concealed itself between heaven and earth, was now forcibly brought forth, revealing countless scenes within it.
There were dragons coiled around golden cities, and the Jade Fortress of the Heavenly Capital.
There were officials paying homage, and ten thousand lights illuminating homes.
At a glance, it seemed not to be a beam of light, but a vast kingdom condensed billions of times, exuding an indescribable, heavy aura.
[City Rampart Earth]!
Because the [Buddha Kingdom on Earth] was destroyed and one mind was severed, the [City Rampart Earth] that successfully escaped from the Pure Land was dragged back by a single sentence from the World Honored One!
Too shameless...!
Seeing this, Lu Yang almost popped his eyes out, but quickly restrained himself, daring not to reveal even a bit of emotion. After all, this wasn't some Buddha t child.
This was a Dao Lord truly entering the fray!
Saint Sect, Sword Pavilion, Dao Court... what the hell are they doing? Letting the World Honored One enter the fray like this? Is there still justice? Are there still laws?
The mighty figures of this wretched place had no immortal virtue at all!
Although he had countless curses in his heart, in reality, Lu Yang did not hesitate to use [Wall-Top Earth] to block his aura, striving to reduce his presence.
Of course, this was useless.
It was mainly just to comfort himself.
Boom!
The next second, [City Rampart Earth] was held in the World Honored One's palm, yet it kept trembling. Clearly, as long as the World Honored One let go, it would immediately dissipate into nothingness.
However, soon, the World Honored One extended a hand and tapped lightly downwards. In an instant, the entire Jiangxi Pure Land rippled with a hazy and illusory glimmer. Immediately after, Lu Yang saw the entire Jiangxi, all Buddhist cultivators, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and all phenomena of heaven and earth being stripped of a layer of inexplicable light and shadow.
A new "Pure Land" appeared.
This completely exceeded Lu Yang's Dao comprehension, as if reading a heavenly book. However, holding the [Sword Dao Fruit], he could clearly sense:
The [Sword Dao] is entrusted on that!
Logically speaking, under Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's manipulation, the [Sword Dao Fruit] had already taken root in the Pure Land, forming a bound relationship with the Buddhist cultivators' one mind.
If the [Sword Dao] is not extinguished, one mind does not exist.
However, at this moment, the World Honored One stripped away this concept, like a snake shedding its skin, stripping the [Sword Dao] from the Pure Land!
No, to be precise, He cut apart the Pure Land rooted by the [Sword Dao Fruit] and the Pure Land not yet rooted by the [Sword Dao Fruit]. The former was sent out, the latter retained... thereby restoring one mind without damaging the [Sword Dao Fruit]!
Karma? Time? Concept?
Lu Yang could understand the changes within but couldn't understand how the World Honored One did it. Just as he was pondering, he saw the World Honored One suddenly shift His gaze.
Hiss!!!
Lu Yang instantly sucked in a breath of cold air.
Was He looking at me? No... not looking at me, looking at the [Sword Dao Fruit]!
The World Honored One still did not speak. Those eyes overflowing with Buddhist light just calmly gazed at the [Sword Dao Fruit] in Lu Yang's hand, then He extended a hand and tapped lightly.
Boom!
The next second, the "Pure Land" solely in the form of light and shadow, which He personally stripped out, began to collapse. Many phenomena all merged into the [Sword Dao Fruit], making it increasingly complete and independent. On the other side, expressions of compassion also appeared on the faces of the Pure Land's multitude Buddhist Cultivators.
"Amitabha!"
The uniform Buddhist chant sounded again. Every Buddhist Cultivator looked solemn and dignified, sensing the restoration of one mind. Their faces no longer held the previous joy or anger.
Only purity and freedom.
After doing all this, the World Honored One withdrew His gaze. The restored one mind suppressed the rampaging [City Rampart Earth] again, sending it back into the depths of the Pure Land.
Everything returned to its original state.
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had schemed painstakingly, plotting the Sword Pavilion and the Pure Land as sworn Dao enemies, yet now it all turned to nothing because of the World Honored One's appearance!
Immediately, the World Honored One closed His eyes.
When He opened them again, the overflowing Buddhist light had dissipated. [Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon]'s consciousness returned, but she vanished from the spot like a dream bubble.
She went back into seclusion.
After all, the containment of [Wu You Heaven] was still there.
[Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon] had relied on burning her Grotto-Heaven to forcibly descend to the lower realm. Now that matters were concluded, she naturally had no need to continue damaging her Grotto-Heaven.
From beginning to end, the World Honored One didn't say a word to anyone else.
Is this the end?
Lu Yang looked blank, completely not expecting the World Honored One's descent to seem so anticlimactic. But soon, he sorted out the internal logic:
That's right, the Pure Land suffered repeated losses, which exceeded the Dao Lord's established track, so correction was needed, and thus the World Honored One took action...
However, the [Sword Dao] concerns the Sword Pavilion's planning and cannot be destroyed, so the World Honored One didn't make more excessive moves after descending.
In an instant, Lu Yang had a flash of insight.
The World Honored One's descent was definitely not without restrictions!
Strictly speaking, He represents the will of the four Dao Lords. After the four Dao Lords reached a compromise, the World Honored One was responsible for the cleanup work!
[City Rampart Earth] was something the Pure Land was determined to obtain and must be reclaimed.
The [Sword Dao Fruit] was the Sword Pavilion's forbidden property and could not be destroyed.
As for the [Buddha Kingdom on Earth], that depended on individual means. The other Dao Lords gave the World Honored One a chance, but He failed to achieve it, so He could only accept defeat gracefully.
"This is really..."
Although he clearly figured out the logic of the World Honored One's actions, Lu Yang felt no relief in his heart. Instead, he only felt a chill piercing straight to his heart.
The reason was simple—
The four Dao Lords have a red line for the situation in this place. As long as anyone touches any one of them, it will probably invite direct intervention from a Dao Lord!
That was why the Saint Sect Patriarch pitted Mu Changsheng to death.
That was why the World Honored One personally entered the fray to correct the chaos.
In other words, from the very beginning, the future direction of this world was locked down by the four Dao Lords!