The Eastern Emperor of all Heavens did not wish to become a Buddha.

Chapter 42 The Blade of Cause and Effect
With his Heavenly Eye operating at full power, the world before Zhong Xu's eyes changed completely. Everything external disappeared, revealing a world that seemed like an illusion.

Countless black and white star lines flowed and evolved in his eyes, shining like a galaxy, weaving a strange world that belonged only to cause and effect.

The true meaning of "Ananda's Breaking the Precepts Knife" flowed through his heart. Everything about the external demon, Benboerba, became illusory in Zhong Xu's eyes, leaving only lines of cause and effect extending outwards, like a vast illusory starry night.

Zheng!
The long sword in his hand emitted a faint, ethereal sound, then traced a mysterious trajectory as it fell towards Benboerba.

Benboerba felt the white-robed monk in front of him become dark and empty, and saw the brilliant star lines flashing in the other's eyes, but he had no idea how to defend against this seemingly ordinary slash.

Buzz

Zhong Xu's longsword seemed to have stirred some kind of rule, and all the causal star lines on Benboerba's body were attached to his sword, making the longsword in his hand unusually heavy.

Benboerba's eyes were slightly dazed, and he vaguely felt as if he had suddenly lost something very important, but he couldn't remember it. It was strange and terrifying.

It turned its gaze blankly and looked at the white-robed monk holding a long knife in front of it.

Zhong Xu exerted all his strength to control the long sword in his hand, looking at it with deep eyes, and said calmly:

"You are already dead!"

The past remains constant, but the future holds many possibilities, branching into various different paths and influenced by numerous complex factors.

With Zhong Xu's strike, the threads of cause and effect on Benboerba's body were temporarily removed, creating an illusion that it did not exist in the world at all. This also amplified the future evolution of this cause and effect, causing Benboerba's future to lead directly to only one outcome: death.

The past remains constant, but the future is unpredictable!
This is part of the insight that Zhong Xu gained from the true meaning of the "Ananda's Cracked Knife" inheritance after he opened his Heavenly Eye and began to understand the Way of Cause and Effect.

'Am I already dead?'

With those words echoing in his mind, Benboerba looked back at himself, but he could no longer sense his own existence, as if there had never been any trace of him in the world.

'So I really am dead.'

A sudden realization dawned on Benboerba, and his consciousness instantly plunged into darkness.

On the other side, Zhong Xu's eyes shone like a galaxy, reflecting the causal lines on his longsword, trying his best to select the weakest and least influential causal line.

Just then, a causal star line, faintly emanating Buddhist light, drifted out and landed directly on him.

Having chosen the cause and effect to bear, the remaining causal star lines detached from Zhong Xu's longsword, echoing continuously, trying to return to Benboerba.

However, Benboerba had already died, and most of the causal star lines lost their support and dissipated into nothingness. Only a small portion of the causal star lines related to the afterlife and the next life returned to Benboerba.

Buzz

Zhong Xu's vision changed, and before his eyes appeared a 'Buddha treasure' surrounded by Buddha's light, like a relic.

The next moment, the Buddhist treasure appeared in the hand of a fish-headed monster, none other than Benboerba.

All that could be heard was it muttering to itself, "The opportunity to find the Great Sages has finally fallen to me!"

Immediately afterwards, the image disappeared, and Zhong Xu's vision returned to normal.

At the same time, the contents of this thread of cause and effect also surfaced in his mind:
Entering the sacred Ling Mountain.

'Gone? ’

Zhong Xu frowned slightly, feeling that this cause and effect shouldn't be so simple, but he couldn't sense anything else for the moment.

With a wave of his hand, a 'Buddhist treasure' enveloped in Buddhist light and a black demon core surrounded by surging water appeared from Benboerba's body, both falling into his hand. Hmm.

At the same time, a muffled groan sounded, and Zhong Xu couldn't help but hold his forehead, feeling an indescribable exhaustion, as if the blow had drained his spirit.

Clearly, with his current cultivation level, wielding this Blade of Cause and Effect is still far too difficult for him.

He silently contemplated the golden Buddha formed from the true meaning of the "Buddha's Palm," and the Bodhi seed also emitted a clear light of wisdom.

Like flowing water, the ripples circulated within Zhong Xu's mind, temporarily restoring some vitality to his depleted spirit.

Zhong Xu glanced casually at the 'Buddha Treasure' and the demon core in his hand, then put them away and looked into the distance.

Within his divine eye, three black clouds radiating powerful demonic energy were reflected, each containing a demon king of the outer realm level, rapidly flying towards this place.

It was only after discovering these three monsters of the Outer Realm level that Zhong Xu was able to use the "Ananda Breaking the Precepts Blade" to eliminate Benboerba as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, while Zhong Xu was fighting Benboerba, Jiang Zhiwei and the others finally killed three half-step Outer Realm level bull demons.

However, they were all injured and paid a heavy price.

Seeing the monk Fahai slay the demon in the outer realm with a single strike, they disregarded their own injuries and stood frozen in place.

With their seven orifices of cultivation, they were able to slay a demon from the outer realms—something they had never heard of in the main world.

This completely overturned their perception of outdoor shooting experts.

At the same time, they couldn't help but glance at Meng Qi.

That last strike was very similar to the "Ananda Breaking the Precepts Sword" that Xiao Meng practiced, as if it were a different evolution of the same sword technique.

Meng Qi's mind went blank for a moment, and a storm of emotions surged within him.

As someone who had truly practiced and mastered the essence of the "Ananda's Breaking Knife Technique," he naturally knew very well that the Zen Master Fahai was using the "Ananda's Breaking Knife Technique," and it was very likely the most essential move in this technique:
Be tainted by karma!
Meng Qi's mind became somewhat chaotic at this moment, with countless thoughts surging in his mind.

From the very beginning of his spiritual practice, he had a deep worry in his heart: was he the reincarnation of Ananda?
Ananda!

The name haunted him like a ghost, giving him the feeling that he was possessed by this ancient 'evil spirit'.

Because of his fear of Ananda, Meng Qi consciously avoided using the "Ananda's Cracked Knife" technique.

But now, he has met another monk who has mastered the true meaning of the "Ananda's Breaking the Precepts Knife," and has also mastered the most essential part of the "Ananda's Breaking the Precepts Knife"—the knife of cause and effect.

At that moment, Meng Qi had the feeling that 'he', who had been shrouded in mist, had suddenly 'appeared'.

In mid-air, Zhong Xu turned his gaze to Meng Qi and the others, his expression turning serious: "Three Outer Realm level demons are about to attack. I cannot stop them all. You all need to be prepared. Don't be stingy with the rare items you exchange for at critical moments, and deal with them as soon as possible."

"what!"

Jiang Zhiwei and the others were startled and quickly took out various healing pills to adjust their condition.

They couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. It truly was a world where demons wreaked havoc, with so many strange creatures gathered around them.

Meng Qi couldn't care less about Ananda at this moment. He took a deep look at the white-robed monk in the air and quickly circulated his internal energy to heal his injuries.

(End of this chapter)