Chapter 414: Not Entirely Unacceptable

Golden Buddha Sea.

Monk Burning Karma moved swiftly through the landscape, shrinking the earth beneath his feet.

“Amitabha! Why the hell did that old hag Real Person Yuyao have to build Jade Pool Holy Land so damn far away?!”

He was anxious—but not panicked.

After all, no one knew better than him just how formidable the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus was in terms of concealment and defense.

Still, reputation precedes reality.

He didn’t know what was up with this Sword Pavilion Patriarch. The guy wasn’t even at the Great Ascension Stage, yet somehow managed to sabotage the plan between him and Yuyao.

At his level, Burning Karma believed in karma—and in fate.

If that sword freak could make Yuyao lose her cool, then he could do the same to him.

Better safe than sorry...

Just as he was thinking that—

CRACK!

The string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand suddenly shattered.

His heart sank with it.

At his cultivation level, and with his deep study of Buddhist principles, a karmic aura lingered around him at all times.

Even the smallest incident could carry deeper meaning.

And for a Buddhist cultivator—broken prayer beads were never a small matter.

Narrowing his eyes, he reached into the brilliant stream of Buddha light ahead and drew out a single thread of karmic fate for interpretation.

The result made his face go pale.

“The Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus was broken?!

Impossible!”

Back when Real Person Yuyao and Zhang Yibai tried to force their way into Burning Purity Holy Land, they couldn’t even budge the lotus without his permission.

Now this Sword Pavilion Patriarch, still just at Void Fusion, had shattered his Spiritual Treasure?

How?!

No matter how he tried to wrap his head around it, Monk Burning Karma just couldn’t understand.

He had no choice but to speed up even more.

…

Golden Buddha Sea.

The sea surface roared with chaotic true essence and sword energy, bubbling like it was about to boil over.

The towering seawater cliffs formed by the formation had already vanished.

But the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus still stood tall over the sea.

Only now—

its once-perfect petals were covered in cracks, scattering golden dust with every gust of wind.

The lotus’s divine glow had dimmed significantly.

Behind it, a sword scar wide as a hundred zhang cut across the sea, straight toward the edge of the sky.

Within the scar, sword qi still raged.

The sea it had split could not close, even after all this time.

“Sword of Dao’s Birth… No wonder it’s so unparalleled.”

Zhang Yibai shook his head in admiration as he gazed at the scar.

“Before it even struck, it was already peerless.

Now that it’s landed… it truly stands alone beneath the heavens!”

Chen Huaian sheathed his sword.

He could see the lotus had been breached; the fog over the pool within had cleared, revealing the entrance to the Holy Land.

“So we can go in now?” he asked Zhang Yibai.

“Of course~” Zhang Yibai smirked, stroking his beard.

“That Monk Burning Karma always thought the lotus alone was a sure thing.

He never even bothered setting up killing or trapping formations inside the Holy Land.

So don’t worry—just charge straight in!”

Chen Huaian felt relieved hearing that.

He turned to the assembled cultivators behind him and shouted:

“Burning Purity and Jade Pool have committed countless evils. Today, This Venerable One enacts Heaven’s justice. Join me in storming the Holy Land—repay blood with blood, and hatred with revenge!”

“Yes—!!”

The crowd roared in unison.

Be it Alchemy Sect, Lingxi Valley, Sword Pavilion, or Zhenwu Holy Land, they’d all been wronged by Burning Purity Holy Land in some way.

Sword Pavilion was lucky—they’d saved their core disciples.

But Lingxi Valley’s young master was still imprisoned there.

Zhang Yibai, Real Person of Zhenwu, had been betrayed by Monk Burning Karma.

And Alchemy Sect? Many of their best disciples had been refined into Human Pills.

Now they finally had their shot at revenge—and they were ready.

Seeing their fiery response, Chen Huaian didn’t hesitate.

He pulled out the Holy Chariot from Nine Dragons Pavilion he’d bought long ago.

Nine black dragons swooped down from the sky.

Chen Huaian leapt onto the head of the largest one, and the other cultivators quickly boarded the chariot.

With a resonant dragon cry, the nine dragons surged forward, pulling the chariot directly into the secret realm within the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus.

The Golden Buddha Sea fell silent once more.

Only the sword scar that had torn through the ocean remained, raging ceaselessly across the sea surface.

…

Inside the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus—as expected of Monk Burning Karma’s proudest Spiritual Treasure.

Entering the Sumeru Realm felt like diving into a sea of Buddha light.

Every bubble within the water was its own miniature world, and Burning Purity disciples had built caves and spiritual fields inside them, basking in spiritual energy far richer than anything in the Cangyun Realm.

The main Holy Land sat in the largest of these worlds.

At the center of the Sumeru Realm, glowing like a golden sun.

Even from afar, the chanting of Buddhist hymns could already be heard.

As they neared the Holy Land, so too came the risk.

Chen Huaian turned to his disciple and said:

“Qingran, I’ll be fighting some major experts from Burning Purity soon. I may even face Monk Burning Karma himself. When that happens… I may not be able to protect you.”

“Master, I’m not a child anymore!”

Li Qingran puffed her cheeks and protested,

“You just go fight. I’ll stay behind Uncle Zhang Mengchu. I won’t run off.”

Zhang Mengchu and Li Ziping were among the strongest of the cultivators present.

Li Ziping would lead the main assault force,

while Zhang Mengchu would anchor the rear, in case Monk Burning Karma pulled a surprise return.

“Good! Don’t forget what you just said.”

Chen Huaian clasped his hands behind his back, playing the stern master.

“I didn’t want to bring you today, but since you insisted—then you better behave!

If I find out you’ve been running around… I’ll give your butt a proper beating!”

“Okaaay~”

Li Qingran answered sweetly, then tilted her head and asked softly,

“But if I do mess up… how exactly will Master ‘punish’ this disciple?”

Without thinking, Chen Huaian blurted:

“Hmph! I’ll make your butt bloom like a flower!”

Li Qingran fell silent, her head lowering as her cheeks turned red.

Chen Huaian couldn’t help feeling smug.

For girls like Qingran, the shy type, you had to lay it on thick.

Otherwise, one day she'd end up climbing on top of him and flipping the heavens.

Meanwhile, Li Qingran was remembering the things Zhao Ying had told her.

Some men liked breasts. Some liked legs.

And apparently… some liked butts.

Could Master be one of those?

If that’s what Master liked…

Even though it was embarrassing…

She fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled softly:

“W-Well… It’s not like I can’t accept that…”

“What!?”

Chen Huaian was stunned.

He was about to turn around and ask her what she meant—

when the nine dragons suddenly roared in unison.

They had arrived.

Before them stood a veil of light like rippling water—

and a single speck of light blocked their path.

It was an elderly monk in a kasaya.

So aged his white eyebrows drooped to his chin,

and the Buddha light he emitted was nearly blinding.

The old monk sat cross-legged, hands slowly spreading apart.

From his shriveled arms, countless rays of Buddha light spread and shaped into a massive Bodhi Tree behind him.

The tree blocked the veil of light, barring the way of the Nine-Dragon Holy Chariot.

Though the old monk looked tiny,

the nine dragons felt as if they were frozen in place—unable to move forward at all.

“This monk’s Dharma name is Burning Light.”

The old man opened his eyes and put his palms together.

The Bodhi Tree behind him continued to rise.

His kind face wore a benevolent smile—

but his words were filled with killing intent.

“Those who trespass into Burning Purity Holy Land… shall be killed without mercy.”

…

…