novelraw Chapter 328 - 301: The Fall of Furious
Chapter 328 - 301: The Fall of Furious
At the northernmost tip of Yue Country, there stands a towering peak that rises into the clouds, its mountain ridges winding and unbroken, majestic and magnificent. Yet, at its very summit, a single sword strike has cleaved the peak, the cross-section smooth and level, abruptly halting its grandeur and leaving behind an indescribable discomfort.
At the cut summit, a man in white robes lounges half-reclined amid the clouds and mist, legs idly crossed, a sword in his arms. The wooden sword scabbard seems plain and unremarkable; as for the man’s face, it is shrouded in a haze, his features obscured and indistinct.
The biting north wind at the mountaintop is sharp and bone-chilling, yet he wears only simple white robes, idly fiddling with the jade pendant on his sword, murmuring softly:
"Furious Maha..."
From below, a woman in fluttering robes flies up, her hair coiled like cloud and moonlit jade, dharma light flowing around her form, her step-shaking ornaments crystalline and translucent—clearly no mortal trinket. She descends on radiant light, and greets him gently:
"Shangyuan."
"Mm."
Shangyuan Perfected Person answers, lost in thought as he gazes into the distance, as if he can peer through the layers of mist to see the situation at Bianyan Mountain. He speaks lightly:
"The Wrathful Countenance will soon perish; this gluttonous feast should at last come to an end. Pity the millions dead in Xu Country, not even causing the faintest ripple."
"Hai."
The woman’s dark brows knit together; she sighs softly and responds:
"That’s true... From the Buddhist Practitioners’ eastward surge to the great battle in Xu Country, then to the encirclement and killing of the Furious Maha—it has all been a grand feast. Of the Seven Paths, three Mahas wagered their fates and reaped their steeds; the Demon Race gained two new Great Demons; we reclaimed lost lands, slew that unruly Wrathful Countenance, and each side profited. It’s time things calmed down."
Just as the female cultivator spoke, golden light flared in the distance. Chains burst from the void, locking Furious Maha’s golden body in place. Furious Maha threw his head back and howled to the sky; Shangyuan Perfected Person’s brows arched as he murmured:
"Golden Bridge Lock."
"Correct."
The female cultivator fixed her gaze, replying:
"That is the Magical Treasure bestowed by the Immortal Mansion upon Lu Shui Perfected Lord of Qingyuan for merit rendered in times past... It seems the Perfected Lord seeks utter extermination, not sparing even a shred of true soul."
Hearing this, the fog on Shangyuan Perfected Person’s face surged, as if wrestling with some inward struggle. Abruptly, he spoke, his tone brimming with deep rancor:
"That old bastard... Someday, I’ll tear his Immortal Body asunder, shatter his Golden Core, and let him taste..."
"Shangyuan!"
The female cultivator turned pale on the spot, hurriedly grabbing his sleeve and whispering:
"However he may be... he’s still a Golden Core Cultivator! You can’t speak so recklessly."
"Mm."
Shangyuan Perfected Person curbed his emotions, nodding as if nothing had happened. His Dharma Eye tracked the cultivator falling into the forest until he landed safely, whereupon Shangyuan Perfected Person patted the Green Peak at his chest, replying:
"I’ll go take a look."
────
Bianyan Mountain.
Chains densely filled the sky, golden radiance interwoven. The Magical Treasure’s light blazed like the grand sun, with an inviolable and awe-inspiring might, easily severing the golden sashes on Furious Maha and winding about his brass-tinted skin, hissing as it burned.
"Awooooo..."
The Golden Bridge Lock lashed Furious Maha’s body, leaving scorched black marks wherever it touched; it seemed imbued with some unique force, making the pain unbearably intense and drawing pained howls from him.
"Taoist Fellow... so this is a Magical Treasure..."
Changxi Perfected Person stared blankly, his face tingling from the Magical Treasure’s radiance. Beside him, Xiao Chuting could only click her tongue in awe, while the Zifu cultivator—who used to bicker with Changxi Perfected Person back in the Great Void—let out a cold laugh and replied:
"Small sect, little vision."
"A Magical Treasure, after all, is endlessly potent. This is just a Golden Bridge Lock; if you had seen the Immortal Mansion’s Sun and Moon Two Poles Xuan Guang of old, would you not have fainted on the spot?"
Perfected Tianyuan nodded gently. Noting Changxi Perfected Person’s embarrassment, he hastened to smooth things over with a laugh:
"Our master specifically instructed us for this journey, saying the Green Pond elder holds this matter in high regard and has already deployed Magical Treasures. But who would have expected this Magical Treasure to be so mighty—it beggars belief."
Changxi Perfected Person’s expression eased. Tianyuan Perfected Person turned to Zifu, echoing:
"Perfected Xianyao, your breadth of experience is well-known. I’ve heard the Immortal Mansion’s Magical Treasures flow with Taiyang Day Essence by day, and at night pour forth Taiyin Moonlight—naturally, the Golden Bridge Lock is nothing in comparison."
Upon hearing this, Perfected Xianyao, too, was stunned—plainly this was news to her—her heart filled with awe at the Magical Treasure’s wonders. Xiao Chuting nodded gently, replying:
"That ought to be called an Immortal Artifact, not a Magical Treasure."
The various Perfected Ones pointed and discussed above, while below Furious Maha’s agony intensified. His deep golden eyes bulged, the greater his pain, the fiercer his wrath; his aura surged ever higher, yanking the Golden Bridge Lock until it creaked and groaned.
The Zifus all unleashed Divine Skills, pounding his Golden Body relentlessly. For a time, divine light and mana streamed across the land, earth shook, mountains quaked, stirring the earth veins beneath Bianyan Mountain and sapping the Spirit Mechanism.
"Cease!"
The Zifus were each displaying their might when, unexpectedly, a faint voice drifted from above. Though soft and undefended, it brushed past their ears with an unyielding edge, making all stop and look up in silence.
"That rat wants to oppose me..."
Zhang Tianyuan’s expression sharpened, but he suddenly glanced skyward and spotted the sword-hugging figure, hastily ceasing his actions and forcing a smile:
"Shangyuan Taoist Fellow, this matter was agreed by the Three Sects..."
"Mm."
Shangyuan Perfected Person nodded, offhandedly replying:
"I know well enough. Only, with you great ones abusing your Divine Skills so, you mar this entire range, then dust off your hands and leave—the Spirit Mechanism here will be desolate for centuries."
"This..."
Tianyuan Perfected Person paused; he genuinely had not thought of that, and hurried to say:
"Then let me offer compensation..."
"No need."
Shangyuan Perfected Person answered softly, resting a hand on his sword and speaking gently:
"I’ll kill him with a single sword."
The air instantly grew still all around.
Though Furious Maha’s reincarnated form had lost its fate, was suppressed by the Golden Bridge Lock, and battered nigh to death by the Zifus—left with only a single breath—Buddhist Practitioners excel at survival. To slay him with a single sword was by no means simple.
"Please, Taoist Fellow."
Tianyuan Perfected Person’s smile became more sincere, but in his heart, he sneered:
"Arrogant fool."
Shangyuan Perfected Person stared at Furious Maha’s Golden Body in silence for several breaths. The monk panted, eyes bulging in fury as he cursed:
"You skulking wretch, you..."
Shangyuan Perfected Person fixed him with a direct gaze. In the murky view of Furious Maha, the fog shrouding Shangyuan’s face thinned steadily. The monk’s fury cut short, dazedly staring at his face.
"It’s you..."
Furious Maha stared in disbelief, his lantern-sized eyes glued to the visage. As his rage drained, his aura too collapsed like a breached dam, as Shangyuan Perfected Person slowly drew his sword.
"Ching!"
The longsword left its sheath—fallen leaves stilled; birds dropped from the sky. All the world was left in a blaze of white.
...
"Boom!"
Far away at Duanchen Temple in Zhao Country, the old abbot tapped his wooden fish beneath the wrathful Vajra’s statue. A piercing crackling ripped through the silence, and the old abbot paused, raising his head with trembling hands.
The wrathful Vajra’s statue before him blossomed with cracks, starting at its neck, shattering piece by piece, scattering across the floor.
"Maha... has perished..."
...
At Yunmo Stone Cliff in Zhao, the ochre wind howled. A procession of monks marched at the base of the cliff, above which countless vajra statues glowered in wrath, assuming myriad poses—some brandished short staves, some rode tigers, leopards, whales, or jiao dragons—stretching for a hundred miles, magnificent to behold.
The lead monk lifted a torch, illuminating the statues one by one, wiping the dust away when, suddenly perplexed, he looked up.
"Crack... crack... crack..."
At the very top, the wrathful vajra’s eyes shattered with a pop. Fine stone dust rained down, covering the monk’s face and head.
"How... can this be..."
"How can this be!"
The monks scattered in panic like headless flies, shoving and wailing, as if the sky were collapsing. The thunder of shattering statues continued unbroken, limbs and rubble littering the ground amidst their lamentations.
...
Xu Country’s underworld cave.
Beiliang Buddhist Grottoes.
...
Wrathful Demon Emperor Shatra Aspect, Maha of Nine Lives, has fallen at Zhenhui Monastery in Bianyan Mountain.