Ten Tailed Fox

Chapter 2178 The Sutra of Asceticism

The enormous bell transformed into a meteor, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, and hurtled straight towards the Queen Mother of the West in mid-air at ten times the speed of its descent.

"Um?!"

The Queen Mother of the West's pupils trembled violently, and she only had time to summon her protective golden lotus.

"boom!"

The Taiming Bell slammed into the golden light protecting the Queen Mother of the West, and the golden lotus that was strong enough to withstand a full-force attack from a Celestial Venerable shattered after only half a breath.

The enormous impact struck Xi Wangmu directly in the chest.

"puff!"

The high and mighty Queen Mother of the West spat out a mouthful of golden blood, and her whole body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. Her luxurious phoenix carriage was also smashed to pieces, and she fell in a sorry state in the dust thousands of feet away.

There was a deathly silence.

The Six Immortals of Kunlun were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, even forgetting to breathe.

And in the place where the Taiming Bell originally suppressed, the dust has settled.

Vimalakirti slowly walked out.

At this moment, her aura changed drastically.

Her original dark red killing intent had completely disappeared, replaced by blood-red battle patterns covering her entire body, which seemed to breathe like living things.

Her aura was many times stronger than before, and the terrifying sense of oppression even caused the surrounding space to collapse inch by inch, forming black void cracks.

If she was a powerful warrior before, then she is now a war goddess who reigns over life and death.

Immortal Realm!
The three Ghost King hearts allowed Vimalakirti to break free of his shackles once again, enabling him to advance to become a Celestial Venerable in one fell swoop.

Vimalakirti raised his head, glanced at the disheveled Queen Mother of the West in the distance, and then his gaze swept over the trembling Six Immortals of Kunlun.

She didn't speak, but slowly opened her mouth, revealing a pale and cruel smile.

"In this war, who is the real prey?"

Tianku City, Main Hall.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood, so viscous it was almost dripping with water.

The ancient fluorescent stone that was originally embedded in the dome of the main hall was now dim and lifeless, as if even this inanimate object was afraid of the overwhelming pressure of the celestial king below.

"Cough cough..."

A violent, hoarse cough broke the silence, accompanied by the sound of large mouthfuls of blood splattering onto the cold ground.

In the center of the hall, two figures lay disheveled, their breaths as faint as candles flickering in the wind.

At this moment, Yanguye Tuo's once-proud body was covered with countless cracks, like a porcelain vase about to shatter. Dark red blood seeped from the cracks, staining his tattered robes. He knelt on the ground, his hands gripping the ground tightly, his ten fingers digging deep into the stone bricks from the excessive force, his knuckles white and veins bulging.

Not far from him, another person was in an even more miserable state.

Khalo Qian Tuo slumped against the wall, a shocking palm print on his chest, which was even slightly sunken, and countless ribs were broken.

His face, which was always hidden in the shadows, was now as pale as paper, with black and red blood foam at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were unfocused, but still held a fierce resentment as he stared intently ahead.

In contrast, the garlands and flowing robes of the woman were spotless, creating a stark contrast with the bloody mess that filled the hall.

Hua Man did not rush to make a move. He was like a cat toying with its dying prey, with an elegant yet extremely cruel smile on his lips. His gaze swept over the two people on the ground, his eyes filled with condescending pity and contempt.

"Khāraqāntāra." Hua Man's voice was soft, yet it was like a thunderclap that exploded deep in their souls, making their eardrums ache. "I told you long ago that your Ghost Shadow Lacquer Blade is nothing but a child's trick. Hiding its head and tail, it is ultimately not worthy of being called elegant."

He shook his head slightly, extended a long, slender, white finger, and lightly flicked non-existent dust off his sleeve. His tone was filled with undisguised sarcasm: "A sneak attack? Under the cover of my Celestial King's mental power, your laughable concealment techniques are as conspicuous as fireflies in the dark. They couldn't even pierce through my protective Celestial Light. You dare to call yourself the number one assassin of the Asura Clan?"

Upon hearing this, Khalo Qiantuo's chest heaved violently, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with resentment.

Just now, he burned his primordial essence and blood, unleashing the strongest assassination attack of his life, but Hua Man was blasted away by Hua Man's protective immortal light alone.

After breaking through to the Immortal King level, the abundant protective immortal power will transform into protective immortal light.

When two Immortal Kings clash, their protective immortal light is not an indestructible defense, but for those below the Immortal King level, breaking through their protective immortal light is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

This insurmountable chasm between the Immortal Kings and those below them was so despairing that it utterly extinguished any thought of resistance.

Hua Man stopped looking at him and turned her gaze to Yan Gu Ye Tuo, who was still struggling to hold on.

“As for you… Yangu Yetuo.” Hua Man took a step forward and walked slowly. With each step, the ground of the main hall trembled slightly, as if a ferocious beast was approaching.

"The ascetic practices, huh, they do have some merit." Hua Man stopped five zhang away from Yan Gu Ye Tuo, looking down at him condescendingly. "To survive a palm strike from me, your physical strength is indeed impressive, but unfortunately..."

A hint of regret flashed in Hua Man's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, turning into a deeper coldness: "You've been stuck at the peak of the fifth level of the Ascetic Scripture for too long. The fifth and sixth levels are only a hair's breadth apart, yet they are worlds apart."

"If you were to reach the sixth level, you might be able to hold your own against me for a few moves, but right now, your body, which you are so proud of, is nothing more than a slightly harder piece of rotten wood in my eyes."

Yanguye Tuo gritted his teeth, almost breaking them. His meridians felt like they were being burned by a raging fire, and his internal organs had shifted.

He practiced asceticism in order to cultivate both immortality and spirituality, and his physical body was so tough that it was rarely seen in the world.

But when faced with the true power of a Celestial King, he understood what it meant to be an ant trying to shake a tree. It was a crushing defeat caused by differences in cultivation levels, a merciless suppression due to the gap in Celestial Power.

"Why..." Yan Gu Ye Tuo roared like a broken bellows, each word dripping with blood, "Hua Man, you are the king of the Asura clan, why did you betray me!"

"betray?"

Hua Man seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and burst into laughter. The laughter echoed throughout the hall, causing stone chips to fall from the surrounding black stone walls.

"Yangu Yetuo, how many times do I have to tell you before you understand?" The laughter stopped abruptly, and Hua Man lowered her head sharply, her eyes flashing with cold light. A boundless killing intent instantly locked onto the two of them, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet to freezing point.

"In this world, what betrayal is there? It's just a matter of choosing the right tree for a good bird, and survival of the fittest." Hua Man opened her arms as if embracing some indescribable great being in the void, her face showing a fanatical expression. "The unification of the universe by all the heavens and myriad realms is an inevitable trend. The Asura race has long since declined. Holding onto this barren land will only lead to death. The only way out for us cultivators is to submit to the heavens and merge into the vaster Great Dao."