They were in the thick of a messy battle right before Wu Yu's eyes.
Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha were fighting back to back, defending their four divine sarira.
The other immortal buddhas were each fighting for themselves, under a temporary alliance with each other but not fully trusting of each other.
They were not like Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha, who were as good as one, united against countless immortal buddhas up to this point.
Not even Calico Bag Arhat's name was as feared as this pair.
Even these Arhats would avoid them usually.
As disorderly as the battle was, it was obvious that these two immortal buddhas held the advantage.
The Nanwu Essence Evolution Buddhas remained as the only united force in a divided skirmish.
Even if they were being assailed from all sides, they could isolate fights calmly, and were handling the situation with ease.
Immortal buddha worlds were constantly being smashed in the fight!
As more immortal buddhas fell, the number of divine sarira up for grabs continued to increase.
Initially, there were only four divine sarira available, but now there were eight divine sarira floating around. The temptation was immense.
The battle had reached white-hot intensity.
With so many immortal buddhas already dead, others were apprehensive to join the fray.
The Nanwu Essence Evolution Buddhas cracked identical, nasty grins. Together, they were unstoppable!
They had crushed the most immortal buddhas of all the contenders present.
The number of divine sarira rose to 10. The other immortal buddhas saw that if these two were not taken down, then they would all fall to them.
Finally, only a few stragglers were left fighting against Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha.
However, they had realized their position too late.
The two evilly smiling immortal buddhas were unstoppable now. Which of the injured assailants could hope to compete?
At the same time, they began to burn the lives of the mortals on their buddha worlds. It dramatically increased their buddha world power!
Their combined power sent the remaining immortal buddhas fleeing for their lives.
They were all largely spent, and all sporting injuries.
As they ran, they were all overtaken by the grinning pair's powers, which wiped them out. Wu Yu was amazed at how powerful they were.
Still, although the two immortal buddhas had won, but their strength was half spent.
And while they were chasing down the last three stragglers, Wu Yu made his move.
Along with the newly fallen, there were buddha world corpses and 12 divine sarira littering the ground. A huge windfall in one swoop.
"Heaven Devouring Calico Bag!"
Wu Yu flung it out without hesitation, sucking up all of the corpses.
And alongside them, the divine sarira as well.
In the heat of battle, the immortal buddhas had no time to pick up the divine sarira. Besides they would have been immediately turned on by the others.
However, Wu Yu had been hidden up to this point, and no one could predict his strike.
And so what, even if they did?
Only Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha stood facing the three heavily injured immortal buddhas. None of them posed a great threat to Wu Yu.
"Time to go!"
Wu Yu legged it without a second thought.
"Calico Bag Arhat?"
Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha whirled with a threatening expression, but did not chase as they watched Wu Yu's disappearing figure.
They continued to take down the last three immortal buddhas, smashing their buddha worlds to pieces!
The ground was littered with buddha world fragments, but the two immortal buddhas ignored them. They flew away swiftly after Wu Yu!
This time, Wu Yu had gotten a huge bounty.
About a dozen immortal buddha corpses, and 12 divine sarira. It was a treasure hoard indeed.
He planned to lay low for a while, and changed into the Longbrowed Arhat Immortal Buddha, feigning ignorance about the battle.
A wise move.
Before long, Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha came charging over, as though in pursuit of somebody.
They saw Wu Yu, but ignored him completely.
After all, he was now in the form of Longbrowed Arhat Immortal Buddha.
"These Heavenly Buddha's Domain immortal buddhas are really something......"
Wu Yu shivered.
He could feel how powerful they were, and how callous their methods were. The cruel and uncaring expressions on their immortal buddha trueforms never failed to send a chill down Wu Yu's spine.
If he fell into their hands, Wu Yu would be completely unable to escape. He would be tortured to death.
Next, Wu Yu planned to avoid them, flying away in the opposite direction of where they had gone. He continued to watch more mantis-on-cicada action.
[TN: Comes from a Daoist classic. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."]
Wu Yu's speed was supernatural.
There were times when he was the mantis being stalked by an oriole.
But Wu Yu had taken the divine sarira and fled so fast, that no one could catch him.
He struck swiftly, surely, and by the time the Pilgrimage of 10,000 Buddhas was about to begin, he had more than 50 immortal buddha corpses in the Heaven Devouring Calico Bag, and more than 30 divine sarira!
When he sensed danger, Wu Yu would change into the form of the Longbrowed Arhat Immortal Buddha.
However, he moved in Calico Bag Arhat's form by default. After all, the Heaven Devouring Calico Bag belonged to him. It was more suspicious if he harvested corpses as Longbrowed Arhat Immortal Buddha.
"The Pilgrimage of 10,000 Buddhas will begin in a few years' time. I can think about going to Expanse of Nirvana now." Wu Yu decided after collecting so many divine sarira and immortal buddha corpses.
As the desperation of the fighters grew more and more cloying, he found it harder to reap benefits.
Compared to the outset, the risk was much higher now, and the rewards much less. It was no longer worth it.
Therefore, he decided to use the Insignia of Nirvana within Calico Bag Arhat's body to enter Expanse of Nirvana!
It was a patch of space with golden bodhi qi. Wu Yu was surprised to find that this bodhi qi was quite the same as immortal essence qi in the Heavenly Domain.
"When the Pilgrimage of 10,000 Buddhas begins, Buddha Above All will appear. I wonder what kind of person Xuanzang is?"
Wu Yu mused to himself as he scouted out the area.
Within the vast space, immortal buddhas gathered in twos and threes all across it.
He could actually see Nanwu Essence Evolution Military Buddha and Nanwu Essence Evolution Joyful Buddha some distance away, but they did not dare to attack him for no good reason within Expanse of Nirvana.
For safety reasons, he went looking for the other Eighteen Arhats as Calico Bag Arhat.
These arhats were all gathered within Expanse of Nirvana already. They were all the personal lieutenants of the Buddha Above All, and were in charge of maintaining order during the Pilgrimage of 10,000 Buddhas.
No one dared to cross them in Expanse of Nirvana.
After all, all the immortal buddhas here had the same attitude: fervent respect for the Buddha Above All, and fervent desire to stay here!
The arhats were in a tight cluster, discussing something seriously.
Wu Yu went over to join them.
Still, they quickly discovered that they were missing an arhat.
"Where is Longbrowed Arhat?"
"I heard that he was still snatching divine sarira outside in the last few days?"
"He wouldn't be empty-handed and too ashamed to come in, would he? Ha!"
Some derisive laughter and contempt.
It was pathetic that a fifth tier Supreme Immortal Buddha Realm cultivator could not even get one divine sarira.
Of course, Wu Yu was not about to tell them that he was dead.
After all, it was his alternative persona, and might come in handy in the future.
More and more immortal buddhas were streaming in to Expanse of Nirvana, and each of them had at least one divine sarira.
Otherwise, there was no point coming in, since they would be kicked out again sooner or later.
As more and more immortal buddhas entered Expanse of Nirvana, finally 10,000 was reached, and they waited right outside the core area of Expanse of Nirvana, awaiting Xuanzang's arrival.
The true core area of Expanse of Nirvana was Xuanzang's own territory, and no one dared to enter.
The immortal buddhas who had come on their pilgrimage could only wait outside anxiously.
Finally, the time came.
A flash of golden light from the core area, and then nine huge golden buddha worlds appeared!