Inside the Five-Wheel Pagoda, a thunderous sound suddenly erupted.
A violent surge of spiritual power blasted out from within, instantly sending the guards stationed in front of the tower flying. Even the fierce Xie Zhi statue in front of the tower was pulverized by this shockwavecof power.
Xiao Shuang stood up from the ground, his gaze momentarily pausing: “The restrictions inside the tower have been breached.”
The Five-Wheel Pagoda was previously guarded by a Xie Zhi, and they had refrained from rashly entering, staying outside the tower. Now that the stone sculpture was shattered, it meant they could all enter the Five-Wheel Pagoda.
“Lord Xiao Shuang!” A panicked voice of the Skeleton Woman came through: “Something’s happened!”
Xiao Shuang abruptly turned around. Before entering the tower, Zanxing had instructed them not to come up, and the remaining demon clan members were still here. At present, at least half of the demon clan members had collapsed on the ground, silent and lifeless. The other half seemed to have their primordial souls slowly being drained away, drifting towards the towering white pagoda.
“What’s going on?” His heart tightened.
It wasn’t just the demon clan members in trouble. The Demon Extermination Army was also affected. Many of the Demon Extermination Army had died quietly. The remaining cultivators were anxious and began to lose their composure.
Countless souls were flying towards the pagoda.
The small rotating wheel continued to spin with a creaking sound, but this time it spun even slower than before.
Mu Cengxiao, Meng Ying, Tian Fangfang, and Mingjing stood together, each gripping their magic tools and struggling with the rotating Buddha Wheel.
The Buddha Wheel was about to come to a halt, but due to the countless souls flying in from outside the tower, it seemed to have been suddenly infused with new power, causing it to slowly spin again.
“What’s going on?” Tian Fangfang gritted her teeth and looked at Mingjing. “Why is this never-ending? The four of us combined can’t even handle one Buddha Wheel. Is this even reasonable?”
Mingjing’s eyes were also filled with shock: “Not good! Someone inside is activating the Buddha Wheel.”
“Activating?” Meng Ying frowned. “What does that mean?”
“The Two-Life Buddha Wheel is a supreme treasure of the Three Realms, but it is inherently a defiance of the heavens, reversing the laws of time and altering the past and future, which contravenes the natural order. The Buddha Wheel doesn’t spin continuously unless someone constantly activates it. And to activate the Buddha Wheel,” Mingjing said through gritted teeth, “requires the souls and spirits of the living!”
The group was taken aback.
Mu Cengxiao seemed to sense something: “So, the desolation inside Yue Mountain and the barren land before the tower are due to this reason?”
Mingjing nodded: “It should be so.”
When they arrived, they were puzzled. Outside Yue Mountain, the vegetation was lush and flowers were in full bloom, yet within the inner mountain, it was much more barren. The Sui You Clan people planted flowers and trees every day, but the forest was not as dense as outside the mountain. By the time they reached the tower, it was a desolate wasteland. It was clear that this was all because of the Buddha Wheel.
The Buddha Wheel, simply by existing, had almost depleted the surrounding spiritual energy, and now that it was being forcibly activated, it naturally required human lives to replenish it. As long as the person inside kept the Buddha Wheel activated, the wheel would continuously drain the spiritual essence from those around it, until there was no one left to use.
“This must be the work of Gui Yansheng!” Tian Fangfang said bitterly, his gaze fixed on the spinning Buddha Wheel. She grew anxious again, “My junior sister and Martial Uncle must be inside the Buddha Wheel fighting that demon. Master, is there really no way for us to get inside the Buddha Wheel as well?”
He and Meng Ying had tried to enter before, but as soon as they approached the Buddha Wheel, they were repelled by invisible restrictions.
Mingjing said, “The Buddha Wheel has already recognized Gui Yansheng as its master. The young princess could enter because they both have the Heavenly Demon bloodline. Immortal Gu and the young princess were summoned together by the Buddha Wheel. We do not have the Heavenly Demon bloodline and thus cannot be recognized by the Buddha Wheel, so it’s impossible for us. Even if we had the Heavenly Demon bloodline, we shouldn’t rashly enter the Buddha Wheel. The wheel spins continuously, and the time spent inside varies. If you choose the wrong time…”
Then they would be stuck in the Buddha Wheel forever.
“Junior Sister.” Meng Ying looked at the Buddha Wheel, her gaze slightly troubled.
For now, their only hope was that Zanxing could stop Gui Yansheng quickly.
On the riverbank, Zanxing gripped the Wuyou Staff tightly, channeling all her demonic power. The Wuyou Staff, wrapped in cascading floral energy, charged toward Gui Yansheng.
The golden-robed youth’s eyes filled with malice, and his Asura Umbrella became even more dazzling. The next moment, a silver spear thrust from an angle, piercing through the umbrella.
A mark appeared on the beautiful umbrella’s surface as it was sliced.
Gui Yansheng sneered, retreating with Xiao Chun in his arms. “Why rush to your death? Soon it will be your turn.”
“You’re insane!” Zanxing shouted angrily. “The Two-Life Buddha Wheel is powered by human lives. Even if you can save her for now, time will still advance! Are you going to use the lives of the Three Realms to fuel the Buddha Wheel?”
“What’s wrong with that?” His golden eyes gleamed with a sinister light under the sunlight, his madness as intense as a demon’s: “What does the Three Realms have to do with me? What does the common people have to do with me? Even if she is destined to die, I will make the lives of all beings in the Three Realms accompany her in death!” As he spoke, the demonic energy within the Asura Umbrella in his hand surged suddenly, and Zanxing felt another fragment of the life pearl at her waist shatter. Meanwhile, the bloodstain on the chest of the girl in Gui Yansheng’s arms stopped spreading.
“One isn’t enough, so I’ll kill two. Two isn’t enough, so I’ll kill three. Even if I have to kill hundreds, thousands, or wipe out the entire world, what of it? Mercy is just an excuse to restrain the strong. In this world, strength reigns supreme. Since they are useless, they are destined to be manipulated by the strong! Don’t try to lecture me with your boring principles. The rules are not up to you to decide!”
He roared, his brows furrowed with a dark, ink-like bitterness. Countless fierce demonic energies erupted from his body, quickly adding to the souls around him. Zanxing felt a sharp pain in her heart again. Gui Yansheng’s demonic energy was shared with her, and for some reason, every time he used his demonic power, the pain was unbearable.
At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed Gui Yansheng’s sleeve.
“Yansheng.” The girl in Gui Yansheng’s arms—Xiao Chun—held his sleeve and gently called his name.
Gui Yansheng looked down, the malice in his golden eyes slightly dissipating. He grasped Xiao Chun’s hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Chun stared at him seriously, paused for a moment, and then asked, “Am I already… dead?”
The surroundings fell into silence.
The silver spear tip of Gu Baiying did not advance any further.
“I heard you talking,” Xiao Chun said intermittently. When the Buddha Wheel was no longer being actively powered, the wound on her chest began to slowly spread. She clung to Gui Yansheng’s sleeve, preventing him from continuing his actions.
“You’re not Yansheng, are you?” She looked at Gui Yansheng and smiled faintly, her eyes hiding a clever cunning, as if she had caught a friend’s slip. “You’re the Yansheng of the future, aren’t you?”
Gui Yansheng’s expression froze.
The girl’s hand gently caressed his face, tracing his features as she spoke with a mix of sighs and satisfaction, “So, this is how our Yansheng will look in the future.”
“Indeed, you’re much more imposing than you are now,” she said with a smile.