Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 840: Tathagata

Chapter 840: Tathagata

A breeze swept across the "ruins" of the three islands of Penglai, lifting a lone, withered leaf into the air.

The backs of the three Eminent Ones appeared especially desolate in the wind. As they gazed upon the scene before them, they were momentarily stunned into silence.

Before them lay nothing but a vast, chaotic sea of clouds. In their memories, a towering mountain known as Mirage Mountain should have stood right here.

The Penglai Supreme Sect had passed down its cultivation legacy for several thousand years, and this was their first time seeing the sunlight so clearly shining on the land below as there was no longer any shade.

Where's my mountain? That grand mountain of mine! Where is it?! Daoist Cangsheng screamed inwardly. His pupils contracted sharply and he was filled with a swirl of shock, fury, and disbelief.

The state of the three islands of Penglai was even more absurd. As their name implied, they had been three separate land masses. Yet now, only countless fragments of stone floated and sank in the frothy sea below.

Mirage Mountain was a literal mountain. While it wasn’t impossible to move such a mountain with great divine power, the three islands of Penglai were vast beyond compare. How could they have vanished?

This should not be possible for even an eighth-realm cultivator to achieve, right?

Judging by the scene, it didn’t seem like the islands had been carried away whole. It looked as though the islands had been dismantled, taken away chunk by chunk. But how could someone hollow out all three islands in such a short time?

How did they do it?!

"Wait..." Daoist Cangqiu said calmly as he raised his hand. "Sect Leader, don’t worry. Based on my analysis, this isn’t Penglai at all."

"Right, I distinctly remember that we had a mountain gate?" Daoist Cangyun muttered, scratching his head. He was starting to doubt his memories of the past few centuries.

"Who did this?!" Daoist Cangsheng roared. "Who could have done this?!"

He immediately activated the East Sea Chrono Wheel. With its power, he invoked the Shadow of Radiance. Not much time had passed, so with the legendary artifact enhancing the power of the technique, scenes of the past quickly replayed in full before their eyes.

The rebels of Mount Mang attacked, the Dark King Sect appeared, the True Form of Ksitigarbha was unleashed against the Azure Dragon, and Grand Ancestor Fuyou turned everyone into puppets. In the end, as the fight for the Celestial Cosmic Ring raged on, it was the Noble Dharma who reaped the benefits.

In the end, the leader of the Dark King Sect vented his anger on Mirage Mountain and simply moved the entire mountain away.

When Daoist Cangsheng was wreaking havoc on Mount Shu, he never imagined that the disaster awaiting his own sect would be a hundred times worse.

After all, the wealth of the Mount Shu Sect was primarily concentrated on Red Cotton Peak. The other peaks could easily be rebuilt if destroyed.

However, the riches of the Penglai Supreme Sect were all stored on the three islands and Mirage Mountain. And now, both the islands and the mountain were taken, with only a few scattered stones left floating on the sea...

Where on earth did these bandits come from?!

Daoist Cangsheng was filled with rage, but he didn’t even know who he should seek revenge against first.

The members of the Dark King Sect came and went like the wind. They had always been mysterious and secretive. If they were that easy to find, Daoist Cangsheng wouldn’t even need to lift a finger—they would have been eliminated long ago.

The Noble Dharma had stolen the Celestial Cosmic Ring. He was already a human cultivator on the brink of ascension, and now, with his power enhanced by the legendary artifact, his strength had reached its peak. At this point, only a ninth-realm cultivator could bring him to justice.

As for the powerful individual controlling the red mist... Being the only one of the three without a legendary artifact, he seemed to be the easiest to deal with. However, he was the worst of the three. He had been the one who packed up and carried off every chunk of the Penglai islands. He had been the one who controlled the members of the Penglai Supreme Sect and the Penglai Secondary Sect to work together to achieve this.

It would have been fine if he had only stolen the treasures. But this guy had also taken their people, and not just the people, but the islands too!

He had seen bullies before, but never anyone this outrageous! Even if it was just to rescue his disciples, this man had to be eliminated as soon as possible. But where could he even begin to look for this man?

The old man controlling the red mist was clearly an experienced scoundrel. With the mayflies in the mist, he had absorbed every scent and trace of qi that could reveal his location. There was simply no way to track him down.

They could either scour the vast seas with divine sense in search of the faintest clue or consult the Celestial Pivot Pavilion to locate his hideout through Omniscience. However, neither of these solutions would yield results quickly.

Just then, a streak of light shot in from the distant sky, revealing the figure of Yang Shenlong.

"Sect Leader!" Yang Shenlong shouted. He stopped midair, casting a complicated look at Daoist Cangsheng before continuing, "I secretly tracked them just now and found the hideout of one group of these thieves. A large number of Penglai disciples, along with the spirit veins from the three islands, have been taken there. I ask that you come with me to rescue them!"

...

With Daoist Cangsheng's disgraceful retreat, the great battle on Mount Shu finally came to an end.

The clash between the Elder of Mount Lu and Baize ended with the Elder of Mount Lu conceding defeat.

After all, many of the powerful members of the Mount Shu Sect were glowering at him from the sideline. Even without the help of these powerful individuals, Baize could have dealt with him given enough time.

However, if the Elder of Mount Lu had actually given Baize enough time to win, it would have meant that Baize had shifted the balance of yin and yang. By then, it would have been nearly impossible for the Elder of Mount Lu to survive.

There was a reason why the Elder of Mount Lu could live to such an old age. He knew what was the right thing to do in every situation and immediately gave up on fighting back.

Still, Di Nufeng was furious. With her teeth bared and claws raised, she wanted to strike the old man a few more times, but the others stopped her.

They used a powerful divine technique to place the Elder of Mount Lu under control, intending to use him later as a key bargaining chip in negotiations with Penglai.

But as for what they could exchange with the Elder of Mount Lu, that would be hard to guess.

According to the messages spreading through the Circle of Immortal Friends, the three islands of Penglai had been struck by an unprecedented thief, and all the sect's wealth was now reduced to little more than a few floating stones in the sea.

With the members of the Penglai Supreme Sect gone, the Eminent Ones from the various immortal sects could finally sit down and speak in peace.

Venerable Wen Yuan clasped his hands in midair and expressed his gratitude. "Thank you all for your righteous assistance. The Mount Shu Sect will never forget such a great kindness. At this moment, our sect lies in ruins, the halls are gone, and we can’t even offer you a seat to talk. Please forgive us."

"It’s no matter," the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner replied with a smile. "Fortunately, though the Mount Shu Sect is now in ruin, your disciples are safe. That’s what matters. As for the next step... Ahem! Imperial Younger Brother, where are you going?"

It turned out that while they were talking, Chu Liang had quietly slipped off the Vessel of God and was sneaking away into the distance. However, the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner caught him with a single glance.

"Eh?" Chu Liang turned around with a smile. "Oh, you’re here too? You should have said something. I didn’t even notice you just now."

As he spoke, several Eminent Ones surrounded him. These elders, who usually had a good relationship with him, now wore grim expressions.

Di Nufeng immediately stepped in to protect Chu Liang, baring her teeth and snarling, "You bunch of old fogeys, what do you think you're doing? If you're tired of living, come at me!"

"Let’s all talk this out peacefully!" Chu Liang quickly added. "My esteemed teacher might bite you!!"

"Enough of this fooling around," the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner said sternly. "The matter of the Heaven-Devouring Bug is no trivial affair. You're not a careless person. Why did you raise such a creature in secret? Are you unaware of the danger it poses?"

"I didn’t know at first..." Chu Liang said as he smiled awkwardly. "Well, I found out about it later on... but even then, it’s not like I completely knew..."

"No need for all that nonsense. Just tell us what you’re going to do," Shentu Yang said impatiently.

"Well, about this matter... it’s not that it can’t be dealt with, but..." Chu Liang said in a troubled expression again. "There’s no such thing as an impossible task as it all comes down to effort..."

"Cut the nonsense!" the Heavenly Strategist snapped. "Did you bring the Heaven-Devouring Bug?"

Chu Liang hesitated for a moment, then he answered with two words: "It comes and goes, like the Tathagata.[1]"

"..."

Just as everyone was running out of patience, a voice suddenly came from behind. "Apologies, esteemed seniors. Please forgive my interruption."

Everyone turned toward the speaker and saw a familiar face.

It was Huyan Dong.

The former City Lord of Taotie City and current Lord of Mount Mang City flew over with a cheerful smile. "As for how to deal with the Heaven-Devouring Bug, the Noble Dharma of the Holy Mountain has a few ideas."

"Speak," said the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner.

In a setting like this, Huyan Dong had no right to speak, but the Noble Dharma certainly did.

Huyan Dong continued, "The Noble One’s point is this: even if we eradicate the Heaven-Devouring Bug today, we must remain vigilant against the return of the Demon God. As long as the Demon God’s origin remains, new Heaven-Devouring Bugs will continue to appear, and the crisis to mankind won’t truly be resolved. What the Noble One suggests is that we should use this opportunity to destroy the Demon God’s life essence!"

1. I don't know why he just said "??," which really means Tath?gata—used in Buddhism to refer to a person who has reached the highest religious goal. Maybe he is trying to reference the phrases: The Tathagata has nowhere to come from and nowhere to go, therefore he is called the Tathagata. ?