Mystic Spirit World Realm.
Surrounding the half-dead Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm, Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer frowned deeply. A piercing pain between her eyebrows made it impossible for her to steady her mind.
"What is happening?"
"Could this Unorthodox world realm possibly have some means to threaten us?"
"Impossible."
On the other side, Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon shook her head decisively. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Could it be the fiends of the Saint Sect setting a trap, looking for an opportunity to ambush us?"
Hearing this, Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer thought it over and gave a slight nod. "Indeed. After all, this is the outer heavens. If Feixue, Hanguang, and Qiluo were to strike simultaneously, I would certainly be outmatched. But it doesn't matter. I already linked myself to the Pure Land before coming here. Even if I die, my soul won't scatter."
Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon: "Then I can rest easy."
On the other side, Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory: "..."
What about me?
As the third Bodhisattva of the Pure Land, he always felt like the other two had formed their own little clique. It was clearly a Pure Land of three people, yet he didn't even get a mention.
Fortunately, he was used to it. If worse came to worst, he just had to run a little faster when trouble struck. In a pinch, he could just use the other two Bodhisattvas as meat shields. They could infinitely resurrect anyway, so as long as he was careful, he wouldn't die. After all, it wasn't like someone had nothing better to do than specifically target him for the kill.
With this thought, he quietly took a few steps back.
This was the only way to ensure that if they truly encountered an ambush, he could flee back to the Pure Land at top speed without worrying about his life being in danger.
Both of the other Bodhisattvas noticed Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory's little movement.
However, Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer didn't really care. Although she verbally preached caution, she didn't genuinely believe the Saint Sect would come out in full force just to set an ambush.
As for the warning throb of danger between her eyebrows...
To be honest, as a Perfected Lord of the Immortal Nexus, she had experienced similar situations at least seven or eight times. Calling it 'dangerous' didn't mean it was a rare occurrence.
"We'll face soldiers with generals, and stem water with earth."
Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer took a deep breath. Brilliant Buddhist light erupted behind her, projecting the vast imagery of a Buddhist kingdom. Zen chants filled the sky—the blissful scenery of the Pure Land.
"Amitabha!"
With the chanting of a Buddhist name, the three Bodhisattvas cast aside their concerns. They pooled their strength for a joint strike, intending to completely finish off the Mystic Spirit World Realm and then refine its Dao Fruit to empower themselves.
Buzz...
At this moment, all living beings in the Mystic Spirit World Realm seemed to hear the mournful cry of their world. Mixed within it was an intense calling—the concept of a desperate plea for help howling outward.
Witnessing this, the dying Supreme of the Mystic Spirit World Realm couldn't help but force a bitter smile. "Calling for help... If you ask me, better not drag that guy into this. It'll just be one more body for the grave, completely unnecessary. Besides, who knows, he might already be beaten half to death over at the Star Palace..."
Before his voice faded.
Boom!
In an instant, an aura suddenly surged forth. It was like a torch being lit in absolute darkness, its blazing, radiant flame instantly illuminating the sea of light.
"...Who!?"
It wasn't just the three Pure Land Bodhisattvas. At this moment, every Golden Core Perfected Lord within the Immortal Nexus felt a resonance. They all raised their heads in unison, looking toward the outer heavens.
[The Sea of Bitterness].
Lu Yang had completely unleashed his Dharma Body, transforming into a towering giant with the sun and moon resting on his shoulders. Holding a longbow in his hand, he silently gazed at the present world of the Immortal Nexus.
Rumble!
Instantly, the winds and clouds within the Immortal Nexus changed colors. As if sensing the intent within Lu Yang's gaze, countless anomalies spawned out of thin air, shifting the celestial phenomena.
This was the current Lu Yang. He was only a single step away from the Great Perfected Lord realm, practically at the absolute pinnacle of the mid-stage Golden Core. Even a mere glance from him possessed an overwhelmingly high stature. For a world realm, this was an indescribable weight. If it had been a minor world realm, it might have been at risk of outright collapsing!
Hoo...
Lu Yang slowly exhaled. Simultaneously, the waves upon the [Sea of Bitterness] churned and rolled. After breathing out entirely, he gently rested his hand against the bowstring.
Thrum!
With an explosive twang, the bow was drawn into a full moon!
In that moment, Lu Yang felt all the physical strength in his body being siphoned away by the longbow in his hand, ultimately igniting a beam of resplendent light at his nocking fingertips.
It was a flaming light rising like fire, infused with the entirety of Lu Yang's mighty power. At the same time, it drew upon the waters of the [Sea of Bitterness], coalescing into streaks of prismatic light. The myriad colors fumed and churned, blending into a single, unified hue, finally condensing into a blindingly brilliant, pure-white arrow that rested on the bowstring.
Up to this point, there was nothing particularly special.
While powerful, it was merely at the level of Lu Yang going all out. That was, until a Dao Fruit leaped out with a throb, transforming into golden lightning that enhanced the arrow.
The [Divine Firmament Thunder]!
The compatibility between this Dao Fruit and the Sun-Shooting Bow was incredibly high. Activating it now, three profound concepts elevated the arrow's profundity even further.
[Resonance] to lock onto the enemy.
[Responding to Origin] to gather momentum.
[Manifestation] to ensure that once fired, the arrow would use the result of [Resonance] to instantly strike the target, bypassing every intermediate process entirely.
This was exactly why Lu Yang had deliberately released his killing intent earlier.
After all, only by making the target feel the crisis he brought upon them, forcing them to fixate on him, could the [Resonance] of the [Divine Firmament Thunder] take effect.
Clang, clang...
The arrow at his fingertips trembled slightly. Lu Yang steadied his heart and quieted his mind, continuing to charge the shot and letting the lightning amass while sensing the target's location.
At the same time, the nurturing wonder of the Placer Gold in Sand—[Gaining Momentum]—was deployed, amplifying the arrow's destructive power even further.
Finally, his eyes lit up faintly.
"Found you..."
Bang!
Before his words even fell, the arrow left the string. The howling divine light instantly streaked across the [Sea of Bitterness]. Wherever the arrow passed, the boundless waters of concept flocked to follow its wake.
Throughout this process, the Sun-Shooting Bow in Lu Yang's hand continuously cracked and pulverized.
Right at the exact moment the Sun-Shooting Bow completely shattered, the Sea of Bitterness waters accumulated by the arrow reached their absolute limit. In the blink of an eye, the arrow vanished without a trace.
Almost simultaneously, in the present world.
Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer, who had just been brimming with confidence and believing she could handle any crisis, underwent a drastic change in expression. The pupils of her beautiful eyes shrank to pinpricks.
"Not good...!"
That was the very last sentence Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer ever spoke in her life.
The next second, the arrow light flashed and vanished. Like a thunderbolt abruptly tearing through an endless night, it pierced straight through the Golden Body Dharma Aspect she had manifested with lightning speed.
Her Golden Body shattered explosively.
Next was Bodhisattva Precious Vase Water Moon. Her fate was even more pathetic; she wasn't even directly struck by the thunderbolt. The mere radiant backwash of the lightning was enough to pulverize her.
In an instant, countless living beings across the lands of the Immortal Nexus looked up at the sky, only to see a heaven-spanning crimson hue splashing across the firmament. What followed were the fragmented remains of the two Bodhisattvas' Golden Bodies plummeting downward, transforming into countless fiery meteors that stripped the world of its light, plunging everything in sight into darkness!
Yet, this still wasn't the end.
Because the very instant Bodhisattva Precious Lotus Hidden Subduer spoke, the already-prepared Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory reacted with godly speed, preemptively fleeing back to the Pure Land.
But before he could even heave a sigh of relief...
Rumble!
The arrow light followed him like a shadow.
He instinctively looked up, instantly falling into a dazed state of helpless bewilderment.
Crash!
At this moment, almost every Perfected Lord in the Immortal Nexus subconsciously stood up, their gazes fixed intently on the spectacular phenomenon currently unfolding above the Pure Land in Jiangxi.
Looking over, they saw the [Sea of Bitterness] torn wide open directly above Jiangxi. The waters of the [Sea of Bitterness]—which only an extreme few could ever normally witness—poured down in a deluge. These waters coalesced into a world-shocking bolt of lightning, tearing through the Pure Land with an unrivaled posture before smashing explosively onto Bodhisattva Precious Vajra Victory!