Chapter 117: The Supreme Demonic Sutra

The phantom of the colossal deity pressed down upon Zhou Bai and his companions like a mountain. While the two who had mastered their true forms managed to hold their ground, Daoist Hou was crushed directly to the earth. He lay sprawled on the ground, his limbs splayed, as his entire body emitted the agonizing creaks of bones reaching their breaking point. However, the moment the phantom appeared, Daoist Hou had reacted by retrieving the last remaining Yellow Pill from his shoe and swallowing it, barely sustaining his life with its medicinal power.

Zhou Bai struggled to remain upright, leaning on his slaughter blade as if it were a cane. The immense pressure was so palpable it felt physical, nearly depriving him of the ability to breathe. A thunderous roar emanated from the deity’s mouth—the sound of breathing fueled by extreme rage. He had not intended to manifest his Fruit Status Dharma Image, but having been caught off guard and seeing his avatar destroyed by a group of ants far weaker than himself, he had been forced into a passive position. He cast a wary glance toward the direction of Xuzhou; the commotion was simply too great. Originally, it would have at most drawn suspicion toward the Buddhist sects from the Ministry of the Underworld, but now, there was a risk that the trail could lead directly to him.

Yet, with the arrow already nocked, he had to fire. The matter concerned his fifth-life Buddhist destiny, and the deity knew its importance. Such risks were worth taking, provided he could end the battle quickly. He grew resentful toward Zhou Bai and the others for causing this trouble; his eyes glowed with golden light, and pure malice radiated from him without reservation. His massive face peered down as he leaned toward the city of Hangzhou, releasing a torrent of golden light so intense that Zhou Bai could not even open his eyes.

"The lot of you shall remain in this city and be refined into my palm-held Buddhist treasures."

As he spoke, the Buddhist light pierced their bodies like needles. The tree-man form of Bai Wanming began to fracture inch by inch. He struggled to rise, but another searing beam of light struck him, causing his massive frame to collapse and disintegrate upon the ground. Zhou Bai was forced back into his original form, unable to maintain even his Bone Dharma Image; he felt as though he were losing control of his very body. Facing such a formidable enemy, he refused to give up. He channeled his demonic energy, attempting to force a transformation into his Demon Dao true form, much like he had done when dealing with the corpses.

However, he soon realized his efforts were in vain. Due to the Heavenly Tribulation, his heterodox aura and his physical body had fused into one, leaving no opening to exploit. Even if he could force the transformation, what good would it do? There was not a shred of demonic energy left in all of Hangzhou; it would be nearly impossible to combat the deity.

The deity’s expression shifted to one of "joy." He sat cross-legged in mid-air, his body encompassing the entire city of Hangzhou. The sound of chanting sutras resonated throughout heaven and earth, and the Buddhist light became so substantial that it began to bore its way into Zhou Bai’s body. Even the Great Treasure Glazed Medicine struggled to refine these needle-like intrusions, requiring a slow, grinding effort. For a moment, he was rendered completely passive.

The deity opened his right palm, and a faint light gathered in the center. "One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi. I shall refine the city of Hangzhou into a world within my palm."

With that, he closed his eyes and continued to chant. The entire city of Hangzhou began to shake violently, and cracks appeared across the area covered by the Buddhist light. Remarkably, the entire city began to drift upward into the sky like a floating island.

Zhou Bai’s consciousness began to blur, and his body was slipping further from his control. Yet, in his final moments, he was moved by an inexplicable impulse to use his fingernails to carve into the ground. While the deity continued to chant, Zhou Bai used his nails to forcefully etch the sutra into the earth. When one fingernail snapped, he switched to another. Just as he was about to collapse, the entire sutra was completed, with blood flowing into the grooves as if written in his own life essence.

The system’s notification pinged, and Zhou Bai immediately confirmed the selection. As the ground cracked further, the section inscribed with the sutra turned to ash. The deity above let out a soft sound of surprise. He had noticed Zhou Bai’s actions but did not understand the significance of the carving. Buddhist sutras are as vast as the sea; a hundred monks might derive a hundred different techniques from the Diamond Sutra alone.

This particular sutra was originally called the "Supreme Great Annihilation Sutra." It was considered heterodox within the Buddhist faith, advocating for attaining Buddhahood through slaughter. Few had mastered it, and the deity was the only one to have attained his Fruit Status based upon it. His expression suddenly changed; the light radiating from his palm abruptly dimmed as he watched Zhou Bai with a mix of shock and suspicion. His aura began to fluctuate; if he was not mistaken, it was indeed related to the Supreme Great Annihilation Sutra.

"Can an 'innate Buddha bone' truly be this monstrous? To comprehend the technique after only a few readings..."

The deity’s face cycled through four different emotions before settling on "rage." "What was the point of my hundreds of years of bitter cultivation? I cannot even survive my fifth life, yet you can derive the methods from the Supreme Great Annihilation Sutra in such a short time."

"It is truly infuriating!!!!"

He roared, his Buddhist light becoming unstable—a sign that his state of mind was on the verge of shattering. It would have been fortunate if the deity had died of sheer anger, but he quickly regained his composure, his resolve to refine Zhou Bai into a Buddhist treasure hardening.

Zhou Bai, meanwhile, was suffering in silence. He had resorted to this desperate measure to break free from the pressure, but perhaps because the deity’s chanting had been so distorted, what appeared on his system panel was not the "Supreme Great Annihilation Sutra," but the "Supreme Great Demonic Sutra." This left Zhou Bai feeling utterly miserable. However, in his current predicament, he had no choice but to see it through to the end. At the very least, once the system recorded this strange sutra, the pressure upon him eased slightly.

He spent 20 points to raise his proficiency to one hundred percent, and a flood of sutras surged into his brain, threatening to tear it apart. These texts were the polar opposite of orthodox Buddhist scriptures—the former urged benevolence, while the latter urged malice. Zhou Bai took time to digest them; had he not previously comprehended the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra and the Medicine Master Sutra, his mind might have been completely warped by the meaning of these texts.

He took a deep breath. Once he had fully mastered the Supreme Great Demonic Sutra, the pressure on his body reached a bearable level. Time was of the essence, and he poured in more points to initiate the promotion of his divine ability.

A sudden, sharp ache surged through his entire body, from the depths of his bone marrow to his muscles and skin—a sensation so excruciating it felt as if his soul were being pierced. The deity sensed that Zhou Bai was becoming uncontrollable within his Buddhist light and increased the intensity of the illumination. Zhou Bai remained pinned to the ground; the gap in their cultivation realms was an insurmountable chasm. He was merely struggling to survive, hoping to hold on long enough to find a glimmer of hope. Although this new divine ability had yet to appear on his system panel, the physical transformation it promised had already begun.