Chapter 398

Chapter 398: Substantial Merit and Great Accomplishments

Li Hui stepped back, his face filled with helplessness.

How high was the cultivation of the Grand Princess? How powerful was her spiritual sense? If she had been possessed by a ghostly being, how strong must that being be? Despite her changing expressions, it was clear she was struggling; even a casual strike from her could possess immeasurable power.

“It’s really not the right time!”

Suddenly, the Grand Princess plunged her sword into her heart, angrily declaring, “I am extreme in my emotions, allowing you to take advantage of my weakness. But when I am extreme, I scare even myself. Then I will lock you away and annihilate you.”

“Buzz…”

Two medals surrounded by golden light appeared; these were imperial treasures. The Grand Princess grasped them tightly and struck her forehead repeatedly, causing blood to flow.

Thirty-two imperial edicts flowed around her body. She withdrew her sword, aimed at her heart again, and thrust it forward, witnessing powerful words seep from the edicts along the blade towards her heart.

Her long hair flew wildly, exhibiting a tragic beauty, and she released ancient sacred artifacts, shouting, “I can only suppress to this extent; from here on, it relies entirely on you!”

Time was of the essence, and Li Hui wasted no time; he hastily threw a small gourd to Jieyin, saying, “We can only forcefully guide these souls and strive to collect the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm.”

His incarnation activated all Buddhist powers, delving into the ground while grasping the small gourd, preparing to gather the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm.

The Cold Armor Emperor had a great desire to obtain them from within the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd. When Zhang Daoheng experienced calamity, he had used the gourd to withstand the backlash; it was unclear whether the emperor’s spirit had forgotten that.

All the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm beneath the cold palace were absorbing dark energy to transform into ghostly beings, but it was not going smoothly as the ancient sacred artifacts fiercely suppressed the malevolence.

“Purify, purify, purify…”

“Collect, collect, collect…” Jieyin held the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd like a fishing rod; although the Cold Armor Emperor had previously mentioned needing nine kinds of soul attributes to construct a Nine-Square Grid, there was no time for such details now; any Remnant Soul would be sent directly into the gourd! Let the Cold Armor Emperor figure it out—this old fellow was quite capable and knew many profound methods, so he should be able to handle it.

Once the Remnant Souls of the All-Manifestation Realm entered the gourd, losing the ancient sacred artifact’s suppression, they immediately turned violent. However, a sudden silence fell, and Li Hui had no time to spare.

“Master, be careful! The Arhat fruit is reaching its limit for carrying malevolence, and it’s generating boundless fierce energy, transforming into ominous qi. Can it withstand this?”

“It can withstand! Don’t forget about this vase.” Li Hui took out the heavenly mansion ceramic vase and stepped up to the throne, sitting side by side with his incarnation.

“I see! The profound qi can suppress the ominous qi; this is our strongest backup.” Jieyin ceased to elaborate, as there were endless Remnant Souls at this location…

Li Hui contemplated quietly for a moment before suddenly unleashing energy, feeling the pull of karma. The Arhat fruit quickly locked onto him. A black sun appeared over his head, resembling a colossal, ancient beast opening its mouth to devour.

“Here it comes!” The terrifying ominous qi descended; to an ordinary cultivator, just a touch would be immediately fatal.

Profound qi surged forth, perfectly suppressing the fierce energy, preventing Li Hui from succumbing to the murderous intent. Even so, the window of safety was fleeting.

“Buzz…” The Primitive Shell Symbol erupted in vast golden light.

Suddenly, a towering figure stood above the cold palace, originally possessing two heads and six arms, but a third head materialized in an instant, achieving the form of three heads and six arms. Then, each head sprouted a vertical eye, and six Buddha hands faintly manifested Buddhist artifacts, including a demon-slaying staff, a prayer wheel, a pagoda, and a cleansing vase.

“Now is the time! Arhat, unleash your punch!” Li Hui relied on his strong spiritual sense to drive the Arhat fruit, as if pushing a snowball from the summit of a snow-covered mountain, booming sounds erupted as the snowball rolled downwards, growing larger until it triggered an avalanche.

“Boom, boom…” In the blink of an eye, the Primitive Shell Symbol dimmed, while the Arhat fruit raged, releasing fierce energy. Even a slight pulse of its power was enough to shake the heavens, having no idea how many ghostly beings had been crushed.

The fierce Vajra swung its fist to annihilate worlds.

It was devastating! The accumulation of malevolence in the previous moment was matched by the ferocity of the Arhat’s strike at this moment.

Six fists pressed down on the world, their force resembling a volcanic eruption.

“Boom, boom, boom…” The distant world seemed to crumble; it was said that the Arhat realm exceeded the Traveling Realm. What a high achievement and incredible transformation! Even a casual strike from an Arhat equated to the full force of innumerable All-Manifestation experts, the power beyond measure.

Outside the Heart Refining Branch, the ghost wave surged, morphing into a sea of ghosts.

Ahead, a Ghost Emperor emerged, with malevolence attracting dark energy from all directions, seemingly about to create a kingdom of ghostly beings; anything stronger would become the Abhisheka hell. The first to arrive could reap boundless rewards and for ghost cultivators, this was an irresistible allure, so they charged wildly.

But at this moment, a punch erupted to destroy worlds, the ominous qi reached the heavens.

Many ghost cultivators collapsed within moments, as increasing numbers of shattered specters emerged—hundreds of thousands, two hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, a million, two million…

Using fierce energy to tame fierceness, using poison to combat poison, Li Hui succeeded!

With six fists unleashed, they created six terrifying abysses. The weaker ghostly beings that had merely come to observe were inconsequential; the fierce and vengeful spirits rapidly diminished, and as Bai Ze’s divine eye swept over, over several tens of thousands of Bosa stage ghost cultivators were wiped out.

This was the Great Xia, vast and resource-rich with a multitude of cultivators; hence the ghostly beings were of high rank. In a smaller nation, even if one screamed to the heavens, it wouldn’t attract even a fraction of the ghosts seen here.

The plan had borne fruit; the benefits were in hand.

This kind of assault was unparalleled, and as the Arhat fruit dimmed behind the Primitive Shell Symbol, Li Hui quickly severed the connection, even employing dozens of marvelous method talismans to draw the calamity power, using Zhang Daoheng’s hands to erase the traces.

In just a moment, the Arhat fruit soared up again, resuming its voracious consumption of the cold palace’s malevolence, causing the Grand Princess to rejoice, “Good! This formidable Arhat fruit has removed at least half of the malevolence.”

Li Hui smiled wryly; what was there to celebrate about removing just half? Seizing the opportunity while the Grand Princess was still lucid, he said, “Your Highness, quickly give an order to clear out the cold palace! I still have twelve Buddha Treasures that can unleash the Extinguishing Buddha Light. Ordinary ghostly beings cannot withstand it, and even if it’s a Ghost King or Ghost Emperor, they will still suffer greatly.”

“Oh? You have quite a bit of good stuff on you.” The Grand Princess nodded, “Good, I will issue the command now. You should leave as well! Though you have caused harm to many princes and grandsons by touching the national fortune, your heart is set on alleviating disasters; if there are more cultivators like you, the world will be much safer.”

“Rather than block, one can guide; at the final moment, the Heart Refining Branch can clear a path, allowing the ghostly beings to enter the cold palace.” Li Hui stepped down from the throne, while the Grand Princess painstakingly made her way back to her seat, leaving behind her blood. The monk rose and bowed deeply, leaving behind twelve extremely dangerous Buddha Treasures and also departing from the throne.

At the same time, Li Hui waved his hand to forcefully draw the Arhat fruit into the heavenly mansion ceramic vase, not daring to get too close, sending it into his incarnation, using the essence of calamity power to suppress its hidden threat, all while thinking of how to resolve it.

After another round of consuming, the malevolence had receded by more than twenty percent.

The remaining fierceness would be left to the Heart Refining Branch to deal with! It was their duty.

Once Li Hui left the cold palace, Jieyin’s body radiated light, joyfully exclaiming, “Substantial merits are gathering! If it weren’t for the overwhelming ghost mist, there should have been golden clouds of merit raining down at this moment.”

Li Hui paused, pulling out the command token of the Jin Tian Sect, only to see a series of numbers rising on it. He exclaimed in astonishment, “This is clearly a fake token; how can it reveal accomplishments? Moreover, my ranking has risen to thirty-nine…”