Chapter 395

Chapter 395: Amitabha Emperor

Dao King sat in lotus position as overwhelming luck poured into the Enlightenment Tree. The divine tree’s branches swayed, its leaves revealing exceptionally clear veins resembling divine patterns that concealed the profound truths of the Great Dao.

The Enlightenment Tree had already become inseparable from Dao King’s primordial spirit.

This tree was his foundation.

Remember, on the day of the transformation, even the Heavenly Emperor expressed admiration upon seeing the Enlightenment Tree, clearly demonstrating the extraordinary nature of the Enlightenment Tree under Dao King’s control.

"The Patriarch has descended to the mortal realm. He will surely seek me out. Returning to Taihao Heavenly Sect is no longer possible. I must find a refuge immediately," Dao King thought.

Mo Yuheng had groomed him to lead Taihao Heavenly Sect solely because Mo Yuheng required the strongest mortal realm figure to gather luck for him.

Simply put, Dao King was a storage vessel.

The moment Mo Yuheng descended, he would drain the vessel’s luck. Dao King’s luck had been absorbed by the Enlightenment Tree—taking the luck meant seizing the tree. How could Dao King possibly consent?

Thus, the moment signs of the Great Calamity in the Immortal Realm appeared, Dao King secretly departed from Taihao Heavenly Sect and vanished without a trace.

He refused to be someone’s pawn.

"If I can enter an alien universe, I might completely escape the Patriarch," Dao King contemplated inwardly.

Suppressing his cultivation aura, he journeyed toward the far west.

The Sea of All Realms churned mightily, turbulent with chaotic energy. Ancient ferocious beasts roiled the waters, stirring chaos and mayhem.

Dao King proceeded with extreme caution.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, the sea’s currents stilled. Ancient ferocious beasts froze mid-motion; several even hovered above the waves, their colossal bodies suspended in mid-air.

Time itself seemed to stop.

Even Dao King’s gaze shifted with immense difficulty.

"Wuyou, I labored so intensely to descend. Why flee?" An eerie voice echoed behind Dao King as Mo Yuheng materialized like a phantom.

"Patriarch!"

Dao King shuddered in terror. Whirling around, he knelt and bowed, not daring to lift his eyes toward Mo Yuheng.

"A misunderstanding, Patriarch! This disciple intended to eliminate Nangong Zhandao and consolidate the luck of the Yuan Realm to present you with a grand gift," Dao King hastily explained.

Mo Yuheng’s gaze darkened, his aura chilling. "If so, hand over the luck now."

"This disciple is incompetent. Nangong Zhandao escaped. I beg your forgiveness," Dao King pleaded, face deathly pale. His entire body trembled—whether from genuine fear or feigned panic was unclear.

"Truly, my judgment never failed me."

Mo Yuheng sighed. "You slain your master to seize power—that proved you possess no principles. Now you deceive me? It seems even this Patriarch holds little value in your eyes."

Having cultivated to the proof of the Second Primordial Spirit, Mo Yuheng possessed unparalleled intellect. Dao King had reached the Immortal King realm with vast luck—he’d undoubtedly eliminated Nangong Zhandao.

"Life or death—either way, I must fight," Dao King resolved silently.

Boom!

He surged upward abruptly. The Enlightenment Tree resonated sharply. Phantoms of celestial and demonic beings proliferated wildly as his great divine ability, Ten Thousand Immortals Bowing, erupted once more. Terrifying power crashed toward Mo Yuheng.

But he was too feeble. Without lifting a finger, Mo Yuheng shattered the legion of phantoms.

A terrifying aura pressed down on Dao King, immobilizing all his magic power, great dao, and primordial spirit, rendering him utterly powerless.

"Deceiving superiors and subordinates, slain his master to seize power, betraying your ancestors—such scum like you would only bring calamity to the Taihao Heavenly Sect sooner or later," declared Mo Yuheng with swirling murderous intent. "Today, I shall execute heaven’s judgment and grant you utter annihilation."

"Nonsense!" roared Dao King. "Master sent the order for me to kill my master! I deceived you only to survive! Don’t think I’m unaware that I’ve been your pawn all along! Kill me if you will, but spare me your lofty justifications!"

Mo Yuheng remained expressionless.

He channelled his power, plunging a hand into Dao King’s Purple Palace and seizing the Enlightenment Tree. He sought to uproot it entirely, claiming Dao King’s fortune and primordial spirit.

"Ah…"

Agony wracked Dao King. The Enlightenment Tree was fused with his primordial spirit—if Mo Yuheng refined it, only ash would remain of him.

"Amitabha."

A sudden Buddhist chant echoed forth.

Within Dao King’s Purple Palace, a golden radiance manifested, transforming into monastic robes that shielded his primordial spirit.

"Hm?"

Mo Yuheng’s expression shifted slightly. At his cultivation level, he hadn’t sensed any anomaly within the Enlightenment Tree nor detected this divine technique. "So you had a powerful being backing you—explaining your audacious words before me," he remarked, gaze sharpening.

"Benefactor, mercy prevails where mercy is due."

The void split abruptly as a golden Buddha descended over the Sea of All Realms. Bare-chested and amiable-faced, he resembled a Laughing Buddha. Yet his aura was undeniable.

Three swirls of mysterious light crowned the Great Buddha’s head, embodying the might of past, present, and future—clearly a peak expert who had attained the Three Yuan Proof.

"Immortal Emperor?"

Mo Yuheng’s heart skipped a beat. "No cultivator within the Pangu universe has ever mastered Buddhist Dharma to such profound depths! You are not of this cosmos!" Instantly, he discerned the Laughing Buddha’s origin.

"I am Amitabha Emperor, hailing from the Qing Xuan plane," declared the Buddha Emperor.

Mo Yuheng’s expression turned icy. He knew well the formidable beings of the Qing Xuan plane had only just departed.

Dao King stared blankly, then lit up with the elation of escape from certain doom. Though unsure why a supreme being’s power resided within the Enlightenment Tree, he understood this Great Buddha’s arrival guaranteed his survival. "Well now… very well indeed."

Mo Yuheng roared with bitter laughter in his fury. "Never did I expect you to collude with beings from an alien universe. This betrays your master and repudiated your ancestors, shattering your very lineage – it’s far beyond mere heresy!"

"Grand Patriarch, strike me down if you wish." Dao King spoke coldly. "A grand patriarch of your stature should act, not prattle."

"Daoist brother, how is he connected to you? Why shield him?" Mo Yuheng’s voice turned icy. "Do you know this brat betrayed his master and repudiated his ancestors – he’s utter scum!"

"How can a pure sanctuary of the Buddhist sect harbor such a treacherous, heinous fiend?"

"The Buddha says: ‘Put down the butcher knife, and find instant enlightenment.’"

Amitabha Emperor declared. "If he truly commits, why bar him from the Dharma?"

"Your disciple, Di Wuyou, pays homage to Master."

Dao King seized the moment, bowing deeply to Amitabha Emperor. "This disciple wishes to renounce the world, follow Master faithfully, forsake meat in piety forever, turning away from secular concerns."

"…"

Mo Yuheng’s face twitched. He’d underestimated Dao King’s thickness of face.

"From this day forth, you cease to be of the Taihao Heavenly Sect." Taking a deep breath to suppress the murderous impulse, Mo Yuheng continued, "Today, I grant you a reprieve."

"Amitabha."

Clasping his hands, Dao King bowed. "Gratitude for your mercy, noble benefactor."

"…"

Veins bulged on Mo Yuheng’s forehead. He snorted and vanished.

"Master."

Dao King looked at Amitabha Emperor.

"I have not agreed to take you as a disciple."

Amitabha Emperor smiled.

Dao King froze. "Then why rescue me?"

"And… what of the Enlightenment Tree?"

"This humble disciple begs you to solve this riddle."

"When Pangu cleaved chaos and created the heavens, the Three Thousand Chaotic Demon Gods perished. Their pooled resentment and force breached the cosmic barriers between the Qing Xuan plane and the Pangu universe for a moment."

Amitabha Emperor explained. "I placed the Enlightenment Tree within the Pangu universe at that very moment."

"You attained that tree, linking us by fate."

"Thus, today, I intervened to save you."

A tremor of awe shook Dao King.

Both the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion and the Heavenly Emperor had sought his Enlightenment Tree. Yet both peerless cultivators respected bounds – knowing from then how extraordinary the tree was.

Yet never had he fathomed origins stretching back to an Immortal Emperor’s act in a realm-birthing dawn.

"Truly, I am utterly worthless."

Dao King mocked himself. Possessing such a treasure yet requiring millennia to reach just the Immortal King realm – proof of utter mediocrity.

"Honored senior, since fate binds us… Could you take me from the Pangu universe to the Qing Xuan plane?" Dao King beseeched earnestly.

"Accepted."

Amitabha Emperor replied. "I shall escort you back to Lingshan. Pass the tests, and enter the Dharma as my disciple."

"The humble junior kowtows his boundless thanks!"

Dao King exulted. Amitabha Emperor swept a sleeve. Light enfolded Dao King as master and supplicant disappeared from the Sea of All Realms.

The sea surged once more. Ancient ferocious beasts roared their clarion calls into timeless depths, as though nothing profound had ever stirred those waters.