History's Strongest Senior Brother

“As time moved on, his condition became weirder and weirder?” After repeating her sentence, a flicker appeared in his gaze, “Did he transition into another one of the six paths?”

Tong Xinlin said solemnly, “After fighting for decades, the Sword Buddha’s condition became weirder and weirder. From his original stubbornness, he was slowly filled with bloodl.u.s.t.”

“… Infernal Realm.” Yan Zhaoge curled his lips.

Among the Sword Buddha’s six paths, the Infernal Realm was the most dangerous path to the outsiders.

In comparison, while the Asura Realm’s stubborn compet.i.tiveness and the Preta Realm’s vile greed were all negative emotions, at the very least, there was still room for negotiations.

As for the Infernal Realm, whose bloodl.u.s.t caused carnage to every lifeform, turning the entire mortal realm into purgatory, its degree of destruction and threats were much straightforward. He would be like a Great Devil in the form of a Great Buddha.

No matter if it were the orthodox Buddhism’s Sword Bodhisattva of the past, or after he entered the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus, the Sword Buddha would automatically seclude himself from the world for a thousand years before entering the Infernal Realm.

The past central Blessed Lands of Saha or the current Blessed Lands of the White Lotus would monitor him, preventing him from going on a rampage in case he lost his mind.

After all, the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus prioritized the faith power as well. Even after it fought against the Immortal Court for so many years, only experts had ever gone against the opposition’s experts. Rarely were any mortals swept into their conflict.

If the Sword Buddha entered the Infernal Realm, he would instantly become a Devil wielding a sword of ma.s.sacre.

His bloodl.u.s.t would surpa.s.s most Nine Underworlds Infernal Devils, and he wouldn’t have any sense of reasoning.

According to the Sword Buddha’s plan, he would descend upon the Jade Spring World with his own Buddha physique. Unless the Jade Cauldron Cultivated Deity was still alive, he could easily bring the Immortal Trapping Sword away and bring away the inhabitants from the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus along with him. He had an abundance of time.

However, his Asura Realm’s stubbornness made him waste decades on Yan Xintang and Di Qinglian.

As time flew by, the day of Asura transforming into Infernal came.

His compet.i.tiveness disappeared, replaced by his jarring bloodl.u.s.t.

The Sword Buddha had no more intentions of dueling with Yan Xintang and Di Qinglian any further. He also gave up the thought of bringing the Jade Spring World’s inhabitants back to the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus. Instead, he intended to commit genocide, settling everything in one go!

“The Samsara Sword Manual…” Yan Zhaoge lifted his forehead with his hand.

Naturally, he could neglect the Animal Realm, as the Sword Buddha would be in a blurry half-awaken state, which will lead to his seclusion.

If he was in the Divine Realm, he might bring the Immortal Trapping Sword away.

Unfortunately, when he arrived at the Jade Spring World, he wasn’t in the Divine Realm but the Asura Realm.

However, it was precisely due to the Asura Realm’s compet.i.tiveness that Yan Xintang and Di Qinglian could agitate him into the sword duel.

Perhaps, if he transitioned into the Human Realm or the Petra Realm, the Sword Buddha might just forcefully bring everyone back to the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus instead.

But, if he entered the Infernal Realm, his carnage would only end when one side dies completely.

Facing this situation, Yan Xintang and Di Qinglian were unable to stall him any further.

The seals they prepared in secret were activated. The two performed a blood ritual on themselves, successfully suppressing the Sword Buddha who had entered the Infernal Realm.

While the two led to inevitable death, they managed to keep the inhabitants of the Jade Spring World safe.

After Tong Xinlin and Guang Tongzi finished speaking, their tone seemed a little grim.

Yan Di shut his eyes and remained silent.

Daoist Qing Zhang sighed after hearing their narrations.

Yao Yuncheng pursed his lips and remained silent. He never experienced that calamity personally, and his understanding of the Sword Buddha’s immeasurable killing intent wasn’t as deep as Daoist Qing Zhang and Tong Xinlin. While he had heard of the numbing sensation of tragicness it brought about, he still couldn’t let go of his master’s death.

“You’re saying as if they sacrificed for our Jade Spring World. However, they were merely seeking death!” At that moment, Daoist Qing Zhang snorted.

Yan Di looked at him, causing a chill down Daoist Zhao Zhen’s spine.

However, he still forced himself to say, “When the Sword Buddha was in the Asura Realm, without the two’s stubborn hindrance, the worst-case scenario would be us entering Buddhism. Without them, will it even lead to this?”

Tong Xinlin and Guang Tongzi stared at Daoist Zhao Zhen in a displeased manner.

Daoist Zhao Zhen said in a deep tone, “My master’s life was nearing its end, and had lost all hopes of challenging the Profound Origin Tribulation. While I still have a long life ahead, I couldn’t break through my bottleneck, causing my progress to stop in this realm. I’ve already given up long ago and have no intentions of even challenging the Pure Profound Tribulation.”

He glanced at Yan Zhaoge and Yan Di, “You all and your ancestors were unwilling to join Buddhism. That’s your matter. However, you blocked even our paths ahead. Isn’t that detestable?”

“Thinking back about it, what’s so bad about the current Buddhism?” Daoist Zhao Zhen thoroughly lost any sense of fear and said aloud, “Cultivating is so much easier. No matter what methods they use, it doesn’t matter as long as they can ascend to a higher realm. While Daoism had depicted an enchanting future, the inability to reach such a stage rendered all other benefits moot. So what if we abandoned Daoism and joined Buddhism?”

Yan Zhaoge looked at him indifferently, “When you first started learning about the dao, did you choose our orthodox Daoism or the heretic Buddhism?”

Daoist Zhao Zhen became startled. He opened his mouth and wanted to speak but remained hesitant.

Yan Zhaoge didn’t bother looking at him anymore. He turned to Daoist Qing Zhang, “Two thousand and ninety-seven years ago when the Sword Buddha first descended upon the Jade Spring World, were you willing to abandon Daoism, and heed the Maitreya Buddha’s doctrine?”

“Of course not. If we weren’t forced, no one would even think of joining the Blessed Lands. However…” Daoist Qing Zhang shook his head and let out a sigh.

Daoist Zhao Zhen rebuked, “Even if my master wasn’t willing at that time and had no problems with it now, what qualifications do you have to look down on him? Abandoning Daoism to join Buddhism is still our matter.”

Yan Zhaoge coldly disrupted him, “Naturally, you do have the freedom of choice. However, my grandparents’ sacrifice didn’t just protect your master’s life. They also protected all your brethrens’ lives.”

“Your so-called freedom of choice was only preserved thanks to my grandparents. Otherwise, do you think you have any sense of freedom to speak of? For you, if you were brought to the Blessed Lands of the White Lotus, you will only have the choice of choosing the path of heretic Buddhism. Now, you’re telling me about your so-called freedom?”

“Unwilling to take any risks, yet coveting after all benefits. Who are you to act like that?”

Yan Zhaoge glanced at those from the Jade Spring World and suddenly laughed, “You all should be oblivious of the fact that other than heretic Buddhism, heretics also appeared in our Daoism.”

“After the Great Calamity, the two sides had always been clas.h.i.+ng against each other, robbing each other’s inhabitants and faith powers. A small clash would occur once every ten years and a huge one every century. Throughout history, countless experts have perished. However, in the eyes of those two factions, these were merely disposable cannon fodders. As long as the faith power sufficed, they could quickly replace their experts within a short time.”

“Being stuck in their warfare, you shouldn’t even think of remaining pa.s.sive, thinking that acting will grant you any accomplishments. Under the faith power’s Buddhism basking, it becomes apparent whether you put in the effort or not.”

He glanced at Daoist Qing Zhang, Daoist Zhao Zhen, and Yao Yuncheng, “Among all the experts active since two thousand years ago, other than those in the Grand Heavenly Realm, less than thirty percent of their Immortal Realm troops are still alive. I wonder if these odds of death were higher than you all challenging the Profound Origin Tribulation or the Pure Profound Tribulation?”

“As for the number of casualties for those beneath the Immortal Realm, there’s no need to mention any further.”

Daoist Zhao Zhen widened his mouth and wanted to say something.

Yan Zhaoge said indifferently, “You think I’m saying this purely to let you all weigh the pros and cons while still giving the chance to join Buddhism?”

“Why do you think you still have the choice of doing so? I want you all to die an unignorant death.”

Daoist Zhao Zhen got annoyed and said bitterly, “Why are you even showing off in front of us? As long as the seal prevails, we would be like a bird trapped in a cage. If you broke through the seal, what qualifications do you have to face the Sword buddha? Now that Daoism has weakened so much, what qualifications do you have to remain so arrogant in the face of Buddhism’s Blessed Lands?”

“Indeed, the Maitreya Buddha is strong, but the Sword Buddha… hehe.” Yan Zhaoge lifted his hand, causing a dark-red sword-light to fly straight toward the skies.

In the turbulent skies, the seal’s patterns showed themselves.