D.C.Haenlien

So...there won't be a chapter Friday. I'll explain more Monday, hopefully, the situation will have resolved itself by then. And if you're wondering, it's not about tests.

Anyways, my good friend recently released their book on Amazon. It's called Mark of the Crijik. If you are a reader on Royalroad, you've probably already seen it on the front page. It's also an audiobook, so you can listen to that too while waiting for the next chapter. Or not, since it now costs money.

The newly renamed Ksitigarbha Yama Palace had tens upon tens of chains descending down from the flying palace and embedding themselves onto Youdu. The chains exuded a black and gold light, and they were taut with tension.

Tianyi could see that the walls of Youdu were slightly higher than before. He could even see a line of dirt where the ground had once reached. 

'Someone had the same idea as me!' Tianyi thought.

He waved his arm, and a miniature sun appeared in his hand with eight more suns trailing behind it. Tianyi launched all nine of them.

The suns began to revolve and expand like exploding balloons over a hundred meters long each. As they neared Ksitigarbha Yama Palace, more specifically the lower half where the chains originated from, nine monks wearing kasayas appeared in front of each Stellar Silence Tianyi unleashed.

Their hairless heads gleamed as they clapped their hands together. They gleamed even more when a golden hue covered the Buddhist monk's entire body, turning their skin bronze. 

Some of the monks placed their palms in front of them as if to block the exploding suns, others chopped down, and more punched at Tianyi's attack.

Tianyi sneered. 

He could tell that all nine monks were all in the Mahayana Realm, the Buddhist equivalent of the Immortal Realm. Like the Immortal Realm's four sub realms: Pathfinding Immortal Realm, Seamless Immortal Realm, Extremity Immortal Realm, and Origin Immortal Realm; the Mahayana Realm was also split into four sub-realms: Sotapanna Realm, Sakadagami Realm, Anagami Realm, and Arahant Realm.

Those in the Mahayana Realm were christened bodhisattvas, and bodhisattvas in the Sakadagami Realm were known as returner bodhisattvas. 

The nine returner bodhisattvas were all blown back by Tianyi's nine Stellar Silences. Even though the Sakagagami Realm was equivalent to the Seamless Immortal Realm, Tianyi wasn't a normal immortal monarch. He could even be said to be the most abnormal lifeform in all of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System.

If he could even be classified as a lifeform.

Over half the chains pulling Youdu had been destroyed, but Tianyi's attack didn't finish off the nine returner bodhisattvas. Cracks appeared on their bronze bodies, and some even seemed to melt as if they really were made of metal.

As if on prior agreement, the nine Buddhist cultivators all charged at Tianyi, wanting to prevent him from unleashing the same technique. Unfortunately for them, Tianyi didn't even need time to form his attack or worry about consumption.

Before the nine returner bodhisattvas could even reach the halfway point, Tianyi unleashed his technique again. Nine suns flew towards the nine Buddhist cultivators. For the first time, they showed panic on their faces.

Tianyi didn't rest on his laurels and unleashed eighteen more Stellar Silences. If nine returner bodhisattvas were just the first ones dispatched, Tianyi didn't want to know who else they would dispatch. Best to cut the chains and take Youdu away as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, reality did not go as he wanted.

Before the first set of Stellar Silences landed on the nine returner bodhisattvas, nine giant chains erupted from Ksitigarbha Yama Palace and around them. When the Stellar Silences landed, the chains burned red from the heat and cracked, but they didn't shatter.

Almost immediately afterward, the cracks healed, and the red color receded as the chains cooled. Without missing a beat, the chains flailed and appeared in front of the eighteen other Stellar Silences Tianyi unleashed. 

Of the eighteen exploding suns, only three managed to break through the giant chains and land on the chains connecting to Youdu. 

At this, Ksitigarbha Yama Palace sent out a hundred more chains that embedded themselves into the walls of Youdu. It also retracted the giant chains containing the nine returner bodhisattvas into itself. After that, it released a brilliant golden radiance.

Anyone basking under the light would hear thousands of Buddhist monks chanting sutras in their ears. They would involuntarily feel a soothing sensation as if they had found their final destinate and converted to Buddhism.

'Want me to shave my head and become bald? Dream on!' Tianyi thought as he ignored the alluring sutras ringing in his ears. The golden radiance just made him squint in annoyance.

He spread both arms wide. In his right hand, a miniature sun appeared. Unlike the previous Stellar Silence, numerous rings like those of Saturn spun around it.

In his right hand, a black ball appeared. So black was the color that it seemed to rip a hole in reality. Tianyi hadn't named the technique yet, but it was a void ball that transformed into a black hole. 

Tianyi threw the Stellar Silence first, and the ringed sun spiraled towards Ksitigarbha Yama Palace. The giant chains returned and tried to block his attack. The ringed sun expanded into a disk of destruction, slicing apart the chains like a hot knife through butter.

He threw the void ball in his left hand next. Unlike the ringed sun, the void ball didn't expand. Instead, it sucked in all the shattered chains and surrounding debris, even the chunks of Youdu, into itself. Despite this, it didn't expand at all.

The void ball continued toward Ksitigarbha Yama Palace, which sent out numerous chains at it. The chains disappeared into the void ball as if sent into another dimension.

Then, it started to expand.

It had transformed from an empty void into an insatious black hole. The more chains it absorbed, the bigger it became until it was equal to the Ksitigarbha Yama Palace in size. Now, it wasn't the Yama Palace that was pulling Youdu but the black hole sucking the Yama Palace.

Ksitigarbha Yama Palace trembled as several of its chains snapped. Then, the palace doors opened, and a golden wheel shot out. It pierced the black sphere and flew out through the other end. Cracks appeared, and the pieces fell down, creating craters where they landed. 

'Couldn't be that easy, huh.' Tianyi thought as he spread out his hands again. Once more, a ringed sun appeared in his right hand and a void ball in his left. 

Tianyi launched them. Only this time, he launched nine of each at once.

While his Stellar Silences and embryonic black holes attacked Ksitigarbha Yama Palace, a voice entered Tianyi's ears. 

"What are you doing?" Youdu Spirit said.

"Can't you see? I'm fending off the thieves," Tianyi said. "And what took you so long to contact me?"

"The Buddhists took Broadclear Yama Palace and transformed it into their own. When they tried to take me, they also released Buddhist radiance to beguile me," Youdu Spirit. "Your attack broke their spell on me."

"And can you be gentler? Your attacks are affecting me, Youdu, as well," Youdu Spirit said. 

Tianyi glanced at Youdu. His nine void balls had emerged together to form one super black hole. The sheer attraction force was turning parts of Youdu into rubble and absorbing them.

"Would you rather follow them?" Tianyi asked.

Youdu Spirit had no words to say. He could follow the Buddhists and just wait for the Silent Timeline to end or gamble and follow Tianyi. Even a fool would know which option to choose. 

"At least try to be careful," Youdu Spirit said. "The more complete I am, the better it is for you, wouldn't it?"

"I know, but I have a bad feeling," Tianyi said.

Just as he finished speaking, golden begonia flowers appeared and floated down. Wherever they passed, Tianyi's Stellar Silences started to stagnate, and the super black hole's attraction force halted. Without replenishing its mass, the super black hole lost its power and fell down.

A monk walked out of Ksitigarbha Yama Palace. From his pressure alone, Tianyi could tell that he was in the Anagami Realm, the Buddhist equivalent of the Extremity Immortal. The departer bodhisattva turned to look at Tianyi.

Tianyi felt that the bodhisattva was extremely familiar, but he couldn't recall where.

A domain erupted from the departer bodhisattva, trapping Tianyi within. He felt his thoughts slow down to the extreme. He had only felt this sensation once.

"Emperor Begonia?!"

Tianyi looked closer at the bodhisattva and discovered that he bore some resemblance to Emperor Begonia. 'No way, Emperor Begonia was actually a Buddhist this whole time?'

Although he knew that the Buddhists and the Buzhou Immortal Sect had some cooperation, they were definitely not allies. They simply took what they needed from the others. 

Hundreds of golden begonia flowers smashed into Tianyi, fracturing his skin. Tianyi roared, and immortal qi of primordial erupted from his body. He turned into a cosmic giant over a hundred meters tall.

The golden begonias crashed into him, but they were absorbed inside and broken down. The consumption was egregiously high, but nothing he couldn't afford. 

With this, Tianyi finally had time to think. He was in a bit of trouble; he wasn't sure he could defeat Emperor Begonia. No, it should be the Begonia Bodhisattva. 

Before he could think of a solution, chains erupted from the Ksitigarbha Yama Palace and wrapped around the cosmic giant's four limbs. It spread them apart, trapping the giant in midair.

Tianyi wanted to break the cosmic giant's limbs to break free of the chains, but before he could, the Begonia Bodhisattva took out a tomoe-shaped jewel. He flicked the jewel toward the cosmic giant, and the jewel turned into a silver comet.

The silver comet shattered through the cosmic giant's stomach and smashed into Tianyi's chest, puncturing and entering.

Tianyi's Past Incarnation looked up from Ninth Heaven. His body disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was at the edge of the Nine Heavens System.

He waved his hand, and the silver comet that suddenly appeared lost all power and flew into the Past Incarnation's hand. Now, upon closer examination, the Past Incarnation nodded. "It's another half of the Spectral Rising Jewel, but why does the Begonia Bodhisattva have it?"

Outside, the cosmic giant broke free of the chains by discarding its limbs, but it soon regenerated them without any loss. From afar, the Begonia Bodhisattva frowned when he realized that he had lost the connection with the Spectral Rising Jewel in his position. 

However, Tianyi wasn't feeling well either. He had a gaping hole in his chest that led to his inner universe that won't heal. More chains appeared from the Ksitigarbha Yama Palace that captured the cosmic giant. 

He looked down at Youdu. If he tried the same tactic he tried last—ignoring whether the Begonia Bodhisattva would let him repeat the same trick—Youdu would be heavily damaged.

"Youdu Spirit, which part is your core, and what is the minimum requirement to transfer you?" 

"What are you planning?" Youdu Spirit asked. Even someone as long-lived and experienced as he did not like the direction this was heading.

"Just tell me," Tianyi said.

"The core palace and the thousand kilometers around it," Youdu Spirit said.

"Alright, brace yourself and prepare to discard everything else," Tianyi said.

"Wait, what are you–" Youdu Spirit never finished as Tianyi already started taking action.

"I hate myself," Tianyi muttered. "And I need better techniques."

Rays of radiance burst out from Tianyi's body and exited through the cosmic giant. The Begonia Bodhisattva frowned as he felt an ominous premonition. Without hesitation, he entered Ksitigarbha Yama Palace.

The moment he did so, Tianyi exploded.

An enormous amount of true qi of primordial chaos erupted and expanded over a hundred thousand kilometers with Youdu at the center. When the Begonia Bodhisattva could see again, he discovered that the Vast Void seemed to have been transported into the sky of the Nether Realm.

Furthermore, he could see nine celestial objects, one sun orbited by eight planets. He didn't have time to sightsee as numerous tribulation lightning shot towards him. 

The Begonia Bodhisattva controlled the Ksitigarbha Yama Palace to flee, but he discovered that it seemed to have been shackled in place by space itself. Stranger still, he could feel the energy fueling the Yama Palace continuously leaking out.

It was as if heaven and earth could not stand Ksitigarbha Yama Palace and wanted to destroy it at all cost. 

The Begonia Bodhisattva frowned and made a snap-second decision. The Ksitigarbha Yama Palace entered its highest performance state. He could already feel his qi draining at an extreme rate.

The Ksitigarbha Yama Palace broke free of its shackles and shot straight up. The space in front of it twisted and shattered, revealing the twilight sky of the Nether Realm. 

The Begonia Bodhisattva thought he could sigh in relief, but before he could, a bolt of punishment lightning struck the Ksitigarbha Yama Palace, damaging it and attracting more.

He was baffled. He looked down to see where once Youdu had stood, a giant sphere over a hundred thousand kilometers wide had engulfed the whole area. 

Nine Heavens Refining Formation.

D.C.Haenlien

Latest Chapter Available: 332

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