Chaotic World Book
Chapter 422 - 411: The Eight Directions Hunting Meet

Chapter 422: Chapter 411: The Eight Directions Hunting Meet

Maitreya evidently couldn’t hold out.

But at least he wouldn’t be instantly killed...

Maitreya awkwardly braced himself against the pincer attack from both sides, and just one strike caused his insides to churn tumultuously, nearly spewing out a mouthful of blood.

He staggered to the side, the esteemed fifth on the Heavenly List, a regional overlord, now using all his might to bellow a roar that carried for miles,

"May the Bodhisattva bless me!"

His muscles suddenly bulged—a minor power boost from the "Bodhisattva"...

Although it was just a hurried blessing rather than the helping hand he received last time, Maitreya was ecstatic.

In a high-stakes battle, a hair’s breadth could make a difference, and any increase in strength meant a better chance at survival.

And since the "Bodhisattva" could still respond, it meant that the invaders in the Secret Realm hadn’t caused too much trouble for the "Bodhisattva." It was evident that the Bodhisattva had noticed the situation in Huiji, and by now, the monk soldiers manning the defenses should have started receiving their blessings too—something that only required a thought from the Bodhisattva.

There might be salvation!

At least now there was a chance to make it back...

Luring Maitreya out of the Secret Realm was undoubtedly his greatest mistake. If he had holed up in the Secret Realm, Maitreya believed that no matter whom the Alliance Army brought, it would be as secure as Taishan.

Those who invaded the Secret Realm couldn’t possibly comprehend the terror of the Bodhisattva, and they would soon perish under the boundless Buddhist Law.

"Do you really think that breaching the Third Layer Secret Treasure makes you so great? Vermilion Bird, you’ll soon realize it’s the power from that ancient night you seek that will leave you utterly prostrate!"

"Bang!" Vermilion Bird’s palm struck the side of his broadsword, throwing Maitreya’s balance off completely, "How dare you blaspheme the Heavenly Vault? Once I’ve killed you, I’ll personally take the head of your false god!"

Tang Wanju had no interest in the religious dispute that was starting to emerge between the two. Her sword strikes were faster than the last, each one aimed at taking Maitreya’s life.

Inside, she felt a touch of anxiety.

Considering that Maitreya was still receiving blessings, it seemed that the city’s defenses were likely enhanced as well. The dream of seizing the opportunity to break the siege and overwhelm the enemy was just wishful thinking.

She had anticipated this; from the beginning, Tang Wanju had never expected this battle to be easy. Along the way, she and Zhao Changhe had discussed countless times, overestimating this unknown divinity as much as possible.

The reason why a formidable opponent like Vermilion Bird appeared to be making an excessive effort in joining her to besiege Maitreya was to speedily eliminate Maitreya and then turn to face this god or Buddha together.

Although Maitreya was decidedly at a disadvantage now... even so, faster, just a little faster.

If the battle dragged on for too long, Zhao Changhe and the others might not be strong enough!

...

Ying Wu entered the Secret Realm.

This time, the composition of his "companions" was quite amusing to him.

Vermilion Bird, the woman he had pursued years ago when he had failed to break through the Third Secret Treasure, who had even beaten him up... oh well, let her be.

Although seeing her now stirred no emotions, while his brothers and subordinates teased him about it, he took it all in good humor without minding. But unexpectedly being on the same team with her felt a little strange.

Then there was Xuanwu.

Yuan Sanniang, when not wearing a mask, would pester Ying Wu at every turn, "Fifth Master, we’re out of money at Yellow Sand Market; please allocate some. It’s bitterly cold beyond the border; you need to give more support." Now, with a turtle’s face, she coldly referred to herself as "this Venerable" in her greetings, "Fifth Master, it’s a pleasure to meet you. When you’re free, we should exchange a few moves."

The key point was that Ying Wu felt Yuan Sanniang actually knew that he could guess she was Xuanwu, yet she insisted on acting all serious.

It was both amusing and annoying.

This also included Cui Wenjing and Yang Jingxiu, whom he had not been too fond of originally. Now looking at them, both seemed fair and handsome, stirring memories of past adventures together with brothers and sisters.

There was also an old monk and an old Taoist... not too strong, but they were excellent support. For the characteristics of this battle, they might hold significant meaning. It seemed Zhao Changhe was quite considerate, though when he had called them was unknown...

They were all solemnly observing the environment, yet Ying Wu knew at a glance there was nothing much to observe here.

He had seen far too many secret realms; this one wasn’t particularly special.

On the surface, this place captured the essence of ’Chaos before the beginning,’ a mixture like an unhatched egg, with a lotus platform blossoming in its center, where countless life essences originated.

This perfectly matched the "True Home of Emptiness" described in the teachings of the White Lotus Sect and Maitreya Sect. The so-called True Home of Emptiness did not refer to an absolute void where nothing existed; instead, it was about the primordial, pre-Chaos origin of all life from which had evolved the concepts of Heavenly Realm and Heaven in their doctrines.

Given the strong and vast life energy here, if believers entered this place, they could indeed be utterly misled.

The fundamental teachings of Maitreya were likely derived from here.

However, in reality, this place was merely part of an ancient Buddhist Dharma Temple. Maitreya’s understanding was based on incomplete teachings, likely missing the core Buddhist laws. Consequently, their entire doctrine was distorted.

A secret realm must be maintained by the energy of treasures to carve out an independent space that would not perish amidst the collapse of an epoch. And it was the lotus platform before them that maintained this space, a life-related treasure containing an ancient Residual Soul hiding within, trying to revive itself by exploiting its properties.

Ying Wu’s eyes held a tinge of melancholy.

He had experienced similar events.

A naked Heavenly Girl sat cross-legged at the center of the lotus platform, likely Maitreya’s "Bright Consort," and Maitreya’s so-called healing involved being with her. At present, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, she projected the compassionate and solemn aura of a Bodhisattva. However, her bareness lent the solemnity an eerily strange quality.

And there were protectors around her as well, essentially military leaders of Maitreya’s forces who had previously come here for healing. Ying Wu recognized among them a Human List powerhouse; it was the same Magic-addled man who had broken free when Tang Buqi comprehensively defeated Maitreya’s army at Tai Lake a bit more than a month ago.

Ranked thirty-eight on the Human List, his strength was extraordinary... It would not have been easy for such a strong individual to escape from the encirclement of a large army otherwise.

It was uncertain if the Bright Consort had bestowed her favors upon him, but one would think his injuries should have healed by now, given how long it had been.

While it seemed like a lengthy consideration, in reality, the assessment of the environment was instantaneous; the Bright Consort in the lotus platform opened her eyes.

Her eyes held no sclera, only dazzling golden light.

Whether it was Maitreya’s cries for help that reached her at that moment, the golden light in the Bright Consort’s eyes intensified. Maitreya received the blessing, and the Magic-addled and others seated around the secret realm also glowed with golden light, rising together like an assembly of Dharma protectors.

A voice, devoid of any emotion, began from the lightly parted red lips of the Bright Consort, "A bunch of fools unaware of death... I have my concerns outside, thus I refrain from acting rashly... yet you dare to come willingly into my realm of True Void, seeking death..."

"True Void Realm..." Ying Wu did not respond, but a reckless voice from behind him inquired, "Are you referring to your attire?"

The Bright Consort exhibited a mocking demeanor, "The physical body is nothing more than a vessel, only fools and ruffians care. Among all here, only you seem to mind..."

Zhao Changhe was about to feign agreement and admit his ruffian status, but Ying Wu spoke up, "You naturally don’t care about others’ bodies... However, I am quite curious, when this body engages in Dual Cultivation with these men, is your soul a part of it?"

"How does it matter if they are present or absent?"

"If present, the Bodhisattva’s realm indeed surpasses ours... No matter how we disregard the flesh, as men, we can’t just enter a woman’s body and participate in Dual Cultivation..." Ying Wu cupped his hands and said, "Is this the Heavenly Person’s Realm of No Self? I’m truly impressed."

Zhao Changhe: "???"

The imperial consort spoke indifferently, "To possess such insight in this world is not easy. Since that is the case, I’ll leave you with an intact corpse. Perhaps this body is somewhat better than that of the Maitreya..."

As her voice trailed off, a lotus flower appeared out of nowhere beneath Ying Wu’s feet, poised to engulf him in an instant.

Ying Wu gave a slight smile and, without any visible action, detached himself from the spot.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, he reached the imperial consort in a flash, and his heavy Fist Power ferociously aimed for her brow!

The imperial consort uttered a surprised "Oh?" and slapped her hand onto the incoming fist.

Ying Wu flipped back to his position, and the imperial consort did not pursue the attack but looked visibly shocked, "Which one from the Heavenly List are you, sir?"

Ying Wu landed and took half a step back to dissipate the force; he was slightly at a disadvantage in this exchange. But instead, he laughed heartily, "Businessman Ying Wu, honored to experience the power of an Ancient Demon!"

Ying Wu... Eighth on the Heavenly List?

The imperial consort’s expression turned grave.

Unable to easily leave the Secret Realm, her understanding of the world relied solely on what Maitreya had seen. Maitreya had never fought someone from the Heavenly List, so she was clueless about the actual standard of this so-called Heavenly List in the current world.

It now seemed that, if divided by the Ancient Times’ strength, Ying Wu’s level was only one below her own... Without full recovery, her strength wasn’t too much higher than his.

And he was only eighth on the Heavenly List; what if it were the top three? She hadn’t expected the standard of this era to have reached such heights...

Nevertheless, it didn’t really matter. Although she couldn’t overpower him with strength, they weren’t on the same level regarding their understanding of the "Magic". If only this Heavenly List Eighth was leading, they were still bringing death upon themselves.

How many could be on the Heavenly List... If there were that many participants from the Heavenly List in the battle, could Maitreya have been rampaging in Jiangnan for so long?

The imperial consort’s gaze swept past the few people behind Ying Wu, and another lotus flower silently blossomed beneath the feet of the woman with the turtle mask.

Despite Ying Wu easily dodging the move, it was a discrete attack with a strong binding effect – even the slightest weakness would leave one unable to escape its grasp upon detection.

She didn’t like the look of this turtle; no mere mask could hide from the eyes of gods and buddhas. She knew this was an exceptionally seductive beauty, so beautiful it incited envy.

Then it should be killed first.

The next instant saw the lotus shattering, as if it were indeed a lotus crashing against a hard turtle shell, shattering to pieces.

A Snake Whip silently slithered up from beneath the imperial consort’s own lotus platform, seemingly aimed at a sensitive spot.

The imperial consort nonchalantly flicked the Snake Whip away, which then coiled back into the hands of the turtle-faced woman as if it had its own Life.

"Four Symbols Sect’s Xuanwu, honored to experience the way of the Ancient Demons."

Xuanwu... Who said this one was second on the Earth List?

This was clearly the power of the Heavenly List!

Just as the imperial consort had this thought, purple energy surged ahead.

A Divine Sword ripped through the True Void, aiming straight for the imperial consort’s throat.

"The Bodhisattva needn’t test us one by one. Qinghe Cui Wenjing, please enlighten me with your instruction."

Cui Wenjing... Ninth on the Heavenly List? Another from the Heavenly List...

Yet another Divine Sword descended like a mountain, furiously cleaving down: "Hongnong Yang Jingxiu, pleased to be enlightened by the Bodhisattva."

Tenth on the Earth List...

A subtle Buddhist glow suddenly flashed, and a golden palm descended from the sky, chanting softly, "Huayan Temple’s Yuan Cheng, honored to learn from the Bodhisattva’s Buddhist Law."

Twentieth on the Earth List...

The sword transformed into Tai Chi, spinning yin and yang: "Taiyi Sect’s Gui Chen, honored to be taught by the Bodhisattva."

Twenty-seventh on the Earth List...

The words were followed by Ying Wu’s fist and San Niang’s whip, striking the lotus platform almost simultaneously.

Eighth on the Heavenly List, second on the Earth List.

Adding the ones currently besieging Maitreya, third and fourth on the Earth List.

Does Tang Buqi hand out spots on the Heavenly and Earth Lists wholesale?

What exactly has Maitreya been fighting this past year?

The imperial consort suddenly realized this wasn’t just a clash of leaders in a war.

It was a group of the new epoch’s top Martial Artists hunting the Ancient Demons!

Who could organize such a force? Could it be the contemporary Emperor Xia Longyuan?

The imperial consort’s Divine Thought glanced at the one youth who had yet to act, standing far back, neck craned to observe the battle, his eyes filled with an eager desire.

Meanwhile, Fa Chi and the others, as if waking from a dream, were flabbergasted by the names being declared; could the Bodhisattva truly handle this?

"Boom!" Qi Forces intertwined, kicking up dust above the lotus platform.

Fa Chi could no longer contain himself and led his group in a charge: "Protect the Bodhisattva!"

The excitement of battle blazed in the eyes of the young man.

An absurdly huge Broadsword clanged down onto the path of Fa Chi and his group as they rushed the lotus platform: "Your opponent is me..."

Seeing that Broadsword, the imperial consort knew who it was.

Among a crowd from the Heavenly and Earth Lists, the only one from the Human List.

Forty-fourth on the Human List, Blood Shura Zhao Changhe.