Chapter 254: A Great Path Forged from the Essence Blood of Thousands

The man with the severed arm and dragging spear climbed onto the divine platform.Meng Qiuliang had put on a faceless mask moments before.

He spoke: “What’s your name.”

The pale-faced man used his spear behind him as support to straighten up and answered, “Mu, Mu Cang.”

Mu Cang stared at the masked priest before him, and another figure dressed like a Green-Robed Gentleman. He felt confusion, his mind clouded.

“Good.”

Meng Qiuliang uttered. Then, he looked up towards the sky.

“Someone will come for you afterward,” Meng Qiuliang said.

Gou’er looked down at the dead bodies beneath the city platform. He recognized many faces.

The young follower who had called him a good man, the man who gave him a baked pancake, and many, many others…

They were all dead.

Gou’er’s gaze was hollow. For a moment, he didn’t know where to go or what to do.

He fell silent, questioning Heaven for the first time.

Lost in thought,

He suddenly felt an immense tremor shake heaven and earth.

The massive formation array beneath the city platform suddenly activated. Strands of spiritual energy pulled every dead body along the ground towards it.

At that moment, Chen Changsheng saw countless wandering spirits soaring into the sky.

“Rumble…”

The city platform quaked, the earth seeming ready to split open.

Tens of thousands of corpses converged on the spot, swallowed by the array.

Under Chen Changsheng’s watchful eyes, the corpses shriveled at an astonishing speed. Their remaining life force and essence blood were sucked out, condensing into droplets of blood that surged towards the central platform.

“Hum.”

The blood essence and life energy flooded into the array, filling it to completion.

Meng Qiuliang, standing beside him, hunched over at the same instant.

Meng Qiuliang laughed – a sound like release, yet tinged with deep resentment.

Like the corpses below the platform, he transformed into a blood bead and dissolved into the array.

Mu Cang watched this unfold, wide-eyed, though his shock quickly settled.

Chen Changsheng, however, frowned, his gaze fixed on the array’s core.

“So it is…”

This formation array was indeed not born of the righteous path, no wonder it felt so sinister.

Chen Changsheng paused, recalling a phrase he had once heard.

‘Piles of a million corpses grant immortality!’

Chen Changsheng’s brows knitted slightly. He thought to himself: “Surely not…”

Not just the bodies, but the grass, trees, and flowers for miles around withered in a blink. Their vegetal essence was drained in an instant, sucked into the voracious array.

Several blood lines crawled up the city platform like vines, converging beneath Mu Cang’s feet.

In a single instant, Mu Cang’s eyes snapped wide as saucers.

“Aaah!!”

With a ragged howl, veins bulged on his forehead. Boundless energy, fusing bloody essence, vital life force, and vegetal power, poured into him.

“Boom…!”

A violent shockwave erupted, reducing the drained corpses nearby to pale ash.

Gou’er instinctively raised his arms to shield himself. Suddenly, a protective golden light flared around him, holding back the force.

Gou’er blinked, stunned. He saw everything vanishing – plants withering completely, corpses dissolving into dust. Within the blink of an eye, the lush surroundings had turned desolate.

His nerves stretched taut. Witnessing such a nightmarish spectacle, he blacked out.

“Rumble…”

The city platform collapsed, crumbling into powder.

Where the grand array had been, only a flat, barren plain remained.

At that moment, heaven and earth fell utterly silent.

Chen Changsheng scanned the surroundings: no bodies, no forest, no city platform – just an empty flatland.

He exhaled slowly. Looking at the scene, it seemed like nothing had ever happened.

As if no one had ever come here.

Tens of thousands of lives, including the priest, had vanished completely within mere breaths.

Within Mu Cang’s body, the mingling energies – bloody essence, vital essence, and vegetal life – completed their fusion. Miraculously, his severed arm began to regrow.

But the overwhelming surge of power knocked him unconscious.

Chen Changsheng sat down.

His gaze lifted to the sky, murmuring: “The smaller the world, the bolder the deeds. How true.”

Chen Changsheng gave a derisive snort, finding it absurd.

After all traces faded away,

A sword’s light flashed from the distance. The man standing upon the blade also wore a mask.

Seeing the relaxed Green-Robed Gentleman – the Man in Blue Robe – sitting beside the unconscious Mu Cang, the Sword Cultivator frowned.

“May I ask…” the Sword Cultivator began cautiously.

Chen Changsheng replied lightly: “Just someone watching the commotion.”

The Sword Cultivator glanced at the unconscious Mu Cang. “This man…”

“Take him.”

Chen Changsheng stated, unconcerned.

Relief washed over the Sword Cultivator. He cupped his fists respectfully. “Thank you, Senior.”

With one hand, the Sword Cultivator grabbed Mu Cang, then immediately flew northward without a backward glance.

Chen Changsheng surveyed the bleak wasteland. He rose and walked towards the other unconscious figure, Gou’er.

He sat cross-legged beside Gou’er and took a swig from his wine gourd.

“Care to come out and chat?” Chen Changsheng asked calmly.

As the words faded, a wisp of golden light emerged from the center of Gou’er’s forehead.

The light coalesced into the figure of a thin, emaciated monk. A golden lotus rested on his brow, and a precious bead bracelet adorned his wrist.

“Amitabha Buddha.”

“This humble monk, Wunian, greets you, benefactor.”

Chen Changsheng observed the monk. “A remnant sliver of thought, persisting until now. Impressive.”

Monk Wunian placed his hands together. “When the Spirit Cage was near completion, I foresaw suffering descending upon this land. I vowed not to turn back until I eased it.”

Chen Changsheng met his gaze. “This sea of sorrow originates from the very nature of Heaven and Earth. Could the Buddhist way truly offer passage? After all your time, master, have you not understood?”

Monk Wunian murmured softly, “Desire and ignorance shall fade with time.”

Chen Changsheng shifted tactics. “I believe destruction must precede new order. Not patching what’s broken.”

Monk Wunian shook his head firmly. “Destruction brings unspeakable suffering. Such a sin…”

“A small sacrifice paves the way for greater gain,” Chen Changsheng countered, taking another sip. “Without sacrifice, how can gain be known?”

Monk Wunian said, “Compassion for all sentient beings. The Buddha is merciful.”

Chen Changsheng realized then the monk was utterly resolute.

He paused. “Since you are so certain, master, why not make a wager with me?”

“We’ll gamble on him.”

Chen Changsheng pointed to the unconscious Gou’er. “If he truly guides humanity to redemption in the end, I shall grant you peerless scriptures. If he fails… his next life will belong solely to his own choices. Agreeable?”

Monk Wunian shook his head gently. “I do not gamble with the Will of Heaven, nor probe the hearts of men.”

Chen Changsheng waved his hand dismissively. “Enough. The Buddhist Sect remains ever tedious.”

Monk Wunian studied Chen Changsheng. Fragments of a memory surfaced in his mind, an impression puzzlingly familiar.

He spoke unexpectedly: “Might I ask, benefactor… has the seed planted in the past born its fruit?”

Chen Changsheng froze. “Karma from where?”

Monk Wunian offered a serene smile. He shook his head again and voiced no further questions.

“This humble monk understands.”

With those words, he dissolved back into the golden light and retreated into Gou’er’s brow.

Chen Changsheng frowned deeply. An uneasy feeling prickled him.

This monk… does he truly know something?