Chapter 144: Chapter 280: No Longer Mount Wu Liang
Li Hao quickly took out a pill and brought it to Feng Lao's mouth.
As a Golden Core pill slid down his throat, Li Hao could clearly see golden veins appearing in Feng Lao's body, like a dazzling light entering through his throat and illuminating his chest cavity, revealing the intricate network of meridians within.
With the illumination of the golden light, dark blood oozed from his wounds. However, upon closer inspection, these dark droplets were countless tiny worms, wriggling like maggots and being expelled from his body.
As a large number of black worms were forced out of the wounds, the fresh blood around them gradually turned clean again, returning to its original vibrant red.
And under the powerful self-healing ability of his physical body, the wounds began to slowly heal.
In addition to the whip and slash marks all over his body, his destroyed senses were also gradually recovering.
Li Hao's face turned gloomy, and with a surge of power, he eradicated the worms in the blood, leaving only a small number of them, which he collected into the Heavenly Space.
"What kind of gu worm is this? This method is too vicious!"
Xiyuan shrank back onto Li Hao's wrist, speaking with lingering fear.
"These bald donkeys sure have a lot of tricks up their sleeves," Jiang Licheng said, narrowing his eyes. However, he wasn't overly surprised. Aside from martial arts and swordplay, very few things could startle him, as he simply didn't care or pay attention to them.
Li Hao remained silent, his fist clenching slightly.
"You actually used up your chance to defy fate for him. That's quite generous of you." Jiang Licheng turned to Li Hao, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He had met many people in his life, but this was the first time he had encountered someone who would offer a chance to reverse fate to a stranger so willingly.
And it was done proactively, without any coercion.
This was equivalent to giving away a life! What kind of relationship could warrant such selflessness? He couldn't even begin to imagine.
Moreover, the recipient was a thief despised by the world.
"If it were him, he would have done the same for me," Li Hao said softly. "Besides, I can't use it now anyway. Even if I had ten chances, it wouldn't matter."
With his current strength, the only ones who could push him to a desperate situation were those at the Hearing the Dao realm, or even half-saints.
And for cultivators at this level, the power to defy fate had little significance and could be obscured.
The so-called defying heaven and changing fate was just a fantasy for mortals.
In the face of the Great Dao and the Saints, such attempts would be crushed and rendered insignificant.
Moreover, if there was ever a special circumstance in the future where he needed to use this power, Li Hao still had the Ten Thousand Merit Treasury in the Heaven and Earth Space, which could exchange ten chances to defy fate.
Previously, he had exchanged one portion under the Prisoner Heaven Island, but it had been wasted due to the abyssal power isolating it.
"Hmph."
Jiang Licheng didn't deny Li Hao's words. Indeed, with Li Hao's current strength, the power to defy fate wasn't as crucial, but it was still an extremely precious resource.
If one were fighting an equally matched opponent in a life-or-death battle, and both were at their last breath, when would the opponent have the ability to obscure the heavens? That would be the perfect time to use the power to defy fate and escape.
Although Xiyue felt distressed about Li Hao giving up a chance to reverse fate, she could only accept it at this point. She continued to stroke Li Hao's wrist with her small red whiskers, seemingly comforting him.
As the three were talking, Feng Boping's body gradually healed, and his eyes, eye sockets, nose, and other features regenerated.
However, as his physical body recovered, his eyes held a vacant look, and his movements were slow. He stared blankly at his surroundings and then turned to look at Li Hao with a familiar yet distant expression.
"Feng Lao."
Li Hao immediately grabbed his hand, guilt filling his heart. "I'm sorry I came back too late and let you suffer like this."
Feng Boping stammered, "Li… Little… Little Hao…"
"It's me."
"Li… Little… Little Hao…" Feng Boping repeated, still dazed.
Li Hao paused, his expression changing as he realized something was wrong.
He looked into Feng Lao's eyes and noticed that it wasn't surprise or confusion he saw, but a slow, blank gaze.
"Feng Lao?"
Li Hao tensed up and quickly examined Feng Lao's body, but he couldn't find any signs of injury or anything amiss.
"Little… Little Hao…" Feng Lao murmured, still repeating the same words in a dazed manner.
Li Hao's heart sank, and the blood in his body seemed to burn with anger once more. Without a doubt, Feng Lao's condition was caused by that Buddha Master, and not even the power to defy fate could fix it!
"Hmm?"
Jiang Licheng also sensed something was off with Feng Boping and asked in surprise, "Was he like this before?"
"No," Li Hao replied.
"I don't think so either. It feels more like a missing soul," Jiang Licheng said.
Li Hao was taken aback, then immediately asked, "Missing soul?"
"That's right," Jiang Licheng explained. "The divine soul is composed of three souls and seven spirits. If one is missing, this kind of situation will occur, like a person who has lost their wits. In layman's terms, they've lost their soul."
Li Hao's heart trembled, and the killing intent that had momentarily subsided began to rise again.
Jiang Licheng sighed.
Although he was eccentric, he wasn't foolish. Having been involved in the imperial succession struggle back then, he quickly deduced what had happened.
Upon hearing his words, Li Hao knew that they were mostly true. He turned to the prince and asked, "Senior, what can be done to restore his missing soul?"
"The first method is to let the existing soul slowly split and fill the vacancy over a long period of time. In other words, it can heal naturally over an extremely long period."
"The soul, just like plants and trees, can regenerate, but it requires an extremely long time."
"The second method is to find the missing soul. The missing soul may be sealed somewhere in Mount Wu Liang or may have been eradicated and entered the River of Death." Jiang Licheng explained.
Li Hao's gaze immediately swept towards the spiritual mountain, his eyes cold and sharp.
"Feng Lao, get some rest. I will definitely find a way to retrieve your missing soul!"
Li Hao took a deep breath and said solemnly to Feng Lao.
Feng Lao looked at him blankly, his eyes showing a struggle within. "Run..." he muttered.
Li Hao's heart ached at the sight of Feng Lao's state. Even with his missing soul and impaired vision, the old man had recognized him with just a single touch.
"Feng Lao, it's safe now," Li Hao said softly, suppressing the sadness in his heart, his voice gentle as if soothing a sleeping child.
Hearing Li Hao's words, Feng Lao's lips twitched slightly, as if he was listening. The struggle in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a smile. However, due to his missing soul, he couldn't control his expression, and his smile appeared somewhat foolish.
"Okay, okay..." he seemed to be responding.
Li Hao couldn't bear to look anymore. He asked Zhu Huoshen to take care of Feng Lao and turned his gaze towards the spiritual mountain, his spiritual sense rapidly covering and searching it from top to bottom.
At the same time, outside the spiritual mountain, numerous disciples of Mount Wu Liang, Arhats, and Dharma protectors rushed over.
Seeing the cracked and broken spiritual mountain, they were shocked. The destruction of the Buddha Master's dharma form earlier had already left them incredulous, and now they felt a mix of shock and anger.
Despite knowing that the intruder was extremely powerful, the faith ingrained in their bones overcame their fear at this moment.
"Who are you, daring to intrude upon Mount Wu Liang!"
"This is the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty. Do you want to be wanted by the Great Yu?"
Shouts of anger rang out.
Li Hao, who was searching the spiritual mountain, had his previously restrained killing intent instantly transform into a formidable aura. He swept his gaze, and the killing intent in his eyes turned into tangible blades that swept out.
Bang! The Arhats and disciples who were shouting were shocked. Among them was an Arhat at the Three Immortality Realm, but under Li Hao's intimidating gaze, he felt his blood and qi surging, and his chest felt like it was being hammered. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even his invulnerable body couldn't withstand it.
"Scram!"
Li Hao's voice was filled with killing intent. Several explosive sounds rang out, and the few leading Three Immortality Realm Arhats had their bodies suddenly torn apart, dying on the spot.
The others who wanted to shout were scared stiff. The hot-blooded courage they had a moment ago was instantly extinguished, and they were now filled with fear.
Li Hao's spiritual sense searched the spiritual mountain but couldn't find any trace of Feng Lao's soul or anything suspicious. However, at the back of the mountain, he found a cave that had Feng Lao's aura. Inside, the magma fire pit, chains, and other torture devices all carried Feng Lao's residual aura.
Li Hao's expression turned ugly. Undoubtedly, this was the place where Feng Lao had been tortured before.
"You two, step back."
Li Hao said in a low voice to Zhu Huoshen and Jiang Licheng.
The two were puzzled but sensed the violent fluctuations in Li Hao's aura and realized something. They quickly flew away.
Boom!!
As soon as they retreated, Li Hao abruptly condensed a dazzling sword qi and slashed it out.
The entire spiritual mountain, from the peak to the body, was split in half by this sword!
This sight shocked the numerous disciples of Mount Wu Liang who had rushed over to chastise the intruder. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
They felt as if the spiritual mountain standing tall in their hearts had been destroyed, like their faith being torn apart!
Bang bang bang!
Li Hao's sword qi scattered and entered the magma pool, slaughtering the demons within.
Looking at the now-divided and incomplete spiritual mountain, the gathering spirit formation on it was also destroyed, no longer a sacred place for cultivation.
"Now, those who wish to leave Mount Wu Liang can take off your monk robes and descend the mountain!"
Li Hao turned around and looked at the numerous disciples of Mount Wu Liang before him. His cold voice resounded throughout the entire world of the Pure Land of Brahma:
"The Buddha Master is dead. From now on, there is no more Mount Wu Liang!"
"You have ten breaths' time!"
"Those who stay will die!"
As Li Hao's voice spread, all the disciples of Mount Wu Liang in the entire world, on all the peaks, and in the Buddha halls who were meditating or sleeping were startled and horrified.
On a distant mountain peak, separated from Ling Shan, some disciples of Mount Wu Liang felt the impact of the earlier battle. However, due to their low cultivation and limited perception, they had no idea that the Buddha Master had perished.
Upon hearing Li Hao's voice, they were all shocked and astounded.
Li Hao remained silent, a sword tide gradually forming above his head.
His eyes icy cold, he stood above the split spiritual mountain like a youthful battle god, looking down at the countless Buddhist disciples before him.
The vast and mighty sword tide, like a swirling ocean, gathered and exuded a terrifying aura, with flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, causing fear and trembling in the hearts of all the Buddhist disciples.
It was as if doomsday had arrived.
"How could this be..."
"Mount Wu Liang has stood tall for over a thousand years, and now we face such a calamity..."
"Is the Great Yu Shenchow truly in decline? The Buddha is merciful, yet where is the heavens' justice..."
Many elderly monks stepped out of the Buddha Hall, gazing at the vast sword tide with a mix of awe and desolation.
"Quick, take off your monk robes!"
Many young disciples from aristocratic families, who had recently joined Mount Wu Liang, hastily removed their monk robes and fled down the mountain.
Some elderly monks, on the other hand, had deep faith in the Buddha's teachings. In the face of this calamity, they sat in the square, hands clasped together, chanting Buddhist scriptures as if to counter this demonic force with the power of their faith.
Following the lead of these elderly monks, more and more Buddhist disciples sat in the square, their chanting creating a hum like the sound of Brahma's voice.
The swirling sword energy expanded further, spreading from the peak of Ling Shan to over a dozen other mountain peaks.
A chilling aura of death filled the heavens and earth.
Among those rushing towards Ling Shan, some Buddhist disciples stood at a distance, hands clasped together, their expressions resolute as they faced death.
Others fled in panic, tearing off their monk robes and turning to run.
Amidst this great calamity, a myriad of expressions could be seen.
"Master... he's dead."
On one of the mountain peaks, Li Qianfeng stepped out of the Buddha Hall, staring at the swirling sword tide in the distance with a dazed look on his face.
Could it be that the master, who sat high above on his lotus platform, was truly... dead? He struggled to comprehend and believe it, but he knew it was true; otherwise, how could the master allow someone to desecrate Ling Shan?
"Young master, let's go. The Buddha Master is dead. We must leave quickly."
Another elderly monk rushed out, urging Li Qianfeng to flee.
Although he appeared to be a Buddhist monk, he was actually one of the Li family's men, sent to accompany and look after Li Qianfeng during his cultivation.
"Who did this?" Li Qianfeng asked, straining to see the figure beneath the swirling sword tide.
"It must be some demonic cultivator, maybe even that Demon Luo, the Buddha Master's old nemesis."
As the old monk spoke, he quickly helped Li Qianfeng remove his white kasaya and handed him some plain and coarse clothing. "Young master, put these on. Let's disguise ourselves as outer disciples and escape down the mountain. That person killed the Buddha Master, and he definitely won't spare you since you are the Buddha Master's direct disciple."
Li Qianfeng's expression changed slightly as he realized the gravity of the situation, and he quickly took the clothes and put them on.
"Let's go!"
He took one last look at the now-divided Ling Shan and quickly descended the mountain.
Meanwhile, Li Hao's ten-breath countdown was almost up.
"Die!"
Li Hao's gaze fell upon the Arhats and Dharma protectors who were chanting scriptures, attempting to use the power of their faith to save him. His eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion.
The swirling sword tide above suddenly rushed downwards, and in an instant, the Golden Body Arhats of the Three Immortality Realm were torn to shreds, their blood raining down on the divided and shattered Ling Shan, staining it red.
The sword tide spread further, and the surrounding mountain peaks were not spared. Sword energies shot out, tearing apart the Buddha Halls, shattering the statues of the Buddha, and leaving destruction in their wake.
Those who had been chanting scriptures in the square, hearing the destruction of the Buddha Halls, feeling the tremors beneath their feet, opened their eyes. Some, unable to suppress their fear any longer, tore off their monk robes and fled for their lives.
However, a large portion of them remained, continuing to chant the scriptures, their voices like the hum of Brahma, echoing across the mountain peaks.
Amidst the chaos and destruction, with the endless sword tide looming overhead, their chanting seemed like the last ray of hope for humanity in the face of doomsday.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless sword energies pierced through the square, leveling it and reducing the mountain peaks to rubble. They destroyed the Buddha Halls, statues, incense burners, and bronze offering cauldrons, leaving nothing but ruins in their wake.
The sword energies weaved through the chanting disciples, sparing their lives but reducing the surrounding structures to rubble.
Some of the chanting disciples opened their eyes, their expressions dazed.
The rampant sword energies ravaged the area but spared the lives of those who had been chanting. After leveling the mountain peaks, the sword energies returned to the sky and gradually dissipated.
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