Chapter 413: The Fire of Vermillion Bird, Incinerating the Spiritual Sea

Chapter 413: The Fire of Vermillion Bird, Incinerating the Spiritual Sea

The city gates were engulfed in battle.

Tang Buqi had arrived with his forces and, together with Xue Canghai and Wan Dongliu, launched simultaneous attacks on three of the city’s gates.

In a world where there was not an insurmountable gap between individual and army strength, military forces still played a decisive role. Just as Zhao Changhe needed to hold off Fa Chi and the other protectors, Tang Buqi also needed to launch a fierce assault to suppress the over ten thousand warrior monks within the city. If one or two thousand fanatical believers managed to overwhelm them, then even if Zhao Changhe brought along numerous Ranking of Heaven and Ranking of Earth experts, they would be forced to retreat. If the Bodhisattva managed to block them a few times, they might not even be able to retreat.

Likewise, the warrior monks could not let Tang Buqi’s forces breach the city walls. Otherwise, no matter how powerful Maitreya or the Bodhisattva were, an overwhelming army would crush them. No god or demon could withstand such a force. So, even though Fa Zhen had not yet fully organized the defenses before Tang Wanzhuang decapitated him, the various levels of followers that the cult still had spontaneously formed a resistance.

However, due to the lack of organized leadership, no one was able to allocate forces to manage the situation inside the city. They were blindly focused on holding the defenses, leading to a highly fragmented battle between the inside and outside forces. Tang Wanzhuang’s beheading of Fa Zhen not only drew Maitreya out but also significantly disrupted the city’s defenses.

Those who remained steadfast in defending the isolated city were all fanatical believers who had been thoroughly brainwashed. As long as they had the invulnerability blessings, they truly feared nothing.

Even though there was precedent showing that the thousand warrior monks who had been blessed in this way were rendered cripples afterward—this stemming from the fact that that average follower’s body could not withstand such Buddhist blessings—that did not matter to them.

They all believed that they had passed the tests of the Buddha, and if they died, they would certainly enter the Realm of True Void.

The brainwashing of a cult could make otherwise shrewd individuals appear like lunatics in the eyes of others. Zhao Changhe had seen many such cases even in the modern world, including celebrities.

However, faith could not be eaten, and with all the main generals and their deputies dead in the council hall, this completely unorganized resistance, impervious to weapons or otherwise, was of little consequence.

Tang Buqi had braced for heavy casualties, but instead, the siege turned out to be far easier than when they had gone to “rescue” Zhu Huan at dawn.

Back then, there were only a thousand warrior monks, but they were in proper formation and struck with precision. Now, the city walls were filled with glowing, invulnerable monks, but they were a disorganized mess, each of them fighting independently without any cohesive strategy or tactics. To a military commander like Tang Buqi, this was as easy as picking fruit from a neighbor’s tree. No matter how troublesome individual soldiers were, they were not a real threat.

Amidst the thunderous battle cries, the scaling ladders were smoothly set against the walls. There were no arrows, rolling stones, logs, or hot oil. It felt so easy that Tang Buqi wondered if it was a staged fight.

General Wu Weiyang of the Demon Suppression Bureau, clad in armor and wielding a saber, was the first to scale the wall.

It was only then that the disorganized monks seemed to snap into action, shouting in unison as several jiedaos simultaneously slashed toward Wu Weiyang.

Wu Weiyang did not rush to kill them. With a sweep of his long saber, he deflected several jiedaos at once.

In the next moment, several more soldiers climbed up behind him. They thrust their spears simultaneously into a single warrior monk, yet it only resulted in a loud, metallic clang.

As expected, their spears could not penetrate the monk’s body.

The soldiers remained calm and withdrew their spears. They then cast a noose over the monk’s head and simply yanked him off the wall.

Other soldiers had not scaled the wall and were waiting below. They jabbed their spears in a chaotic flurry, producing a cacophony of clanging sounds. They poked the monk so many times that he may as well have become a pincushion.

While Tang Buqi’s forces methodically tested various approaches, the Blood God Cult was presenting an entirely different spectacle.

This side was filled with true martial arts experts!

Xue Canghai did not even need a scaling ladder. He ascended the wall with ease using Traceless Soaring Blood, and with a sweeping move, he unleashed Scattering the Gods and Buddhas, slashing three warrior monks in front of him into six pieces.

The surrounding warrior monks were stunned.

They had heard of this saber art.

Could this be Blood Asura Zhao Changhe?

Before they could react, several elders and protectors of the Blood God Cult had already leaped onto the wall, each executing the same Scattering the Gods and Buddhas.

In no time, the wall seemed to be overrun by several blood-red figures, leaping like frenzied frogs, causing blood to spray everywhere as warrior monks were sliced cleanly in two.

Where did all these Zhao Changhes come from?

However, the empowerment that Maitreya received was not limited to physical power.

He could genuinely bewitch and capture souls.

Of course, he could not directly control these two women, as they were both formidable. His only hope lay in launching a surprise attack during his desperate retreat, hoping to catch them off guard.

His target was Vermillion Bird, who he believed to be more susceptible due to her fiery temperament.

He had tried to use this technique on Tang Wanzhuang before, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea—there was no effect at all. Not only was Tang Wanzhuang’s spirit at the level of the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, but her practice of the Moonglade Sutra made her especially resistant to such attacks.

But Vermillion Bird was different. Her cultivation was fiercely aligned with the fire element, making her potentially more susceptible to mental influences.

He did not need to control her completely—just enough to cause a momentary lapse, which could be the opening he needed to turn the tide or at least escape.

His plan seemed solid, but his current strength did not allow him the luxury of careful execution. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he was already exchanging a powerful blow with Vermillion Bird. Her fiery, unstoppable energy surged through his veins, almost forcing a mouthful of blood from his throat.

Behind him, Tang Wanzhuang was relentless, thrusting her sword straight at his back.

Maitreya could no longer afford to be subtle. He quickly lifted his gaze.

A ripple spread through his eyes, his gaze meeting Vermillion Bird’s.

Vermillion Bird seemed to freeze for a moment, the cold, murderous intent in her eyes slipping past Maitreya and focusing instead on Tang Wanzhuang behind her.

Maitreya was ecstatic. His guess was right! Vermillion Bird harbored resentment toward Tang Wanzhuang, and provoking her latent hatred and anger toward Tang Wanzhuang had worked! Willing to take Tang Wanzhuang’s sword strike, he fully activated his bewitchment technique, aiming to direct Vermillion Bird’s next attack at her.

But as soon as he tried to exert the technique, he noticed the corners of Vermillion Bird’s red lips curl into a smile beneath her half-mask.

Maitreya’s heart sank.

In the next moment, his spiritual platform felt as if it was scorched by fire. It was as if flames had erupted directly from his spirit, turning his entire soul sea[2] into a raging inferno.

At the same time, Tang Wanzhuang’s sword pierced his heart.

Time seemed to freeze.

Maitreya looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest, then up at Vermillion Bird, who seemed utterly unfazed. He wanted to speak, but no words came out—he had lost the ability to speak as his spiritual platform was engulfed in flames, his soul ablaze.

Vermillion Bird, as if understanding his unspoken thoughts, kindly explained, “Unlike some women who simply defend their spiritual platform, I also retaliate. You aren’t qualified to control me.”

Maitreya could not utter a word. His eyes slowly lost their spark, his heart filled with regret...

The secret realm was so close, just a few li away—a distance he could have crossed in mere moments before, yet now an insurmountable chasm.

His dreams of dominating Jiangnan and the countless beauties he envisioned all turned into nothingness.

Tang Wanzhuang turned to Vermillion Bird and said, “Why waste time talking to him? We need to hurry and support the attack on the secret realm.”

Vermillion Bird was about to retort with a “why don’t you ask nicely again,” but before she could speak, her expression suddenly changed.

In the distance, the aura of the secret realm underwent a bizarre transformation, and even Maitreya, who was standing before them with his head drooping, began to transform.

His head drooped to his chest, and the once-fat back of his neck started to swell, growing larger and larger. His body bent forward, making it appear as if a new head was sprouting from the back of his neck, while the original head now appeared to be cradled against his chest. The transformation was so grotesque that it was clear he was no longer human.

1. I’m still not sure if this is any different from spiritual sense, but the author specifically used the character for divine here. ☜

2. At this point, I am almost certain that the author is using soul sea (魂海) and spiritual sea (精神识海) interchangeably. ☜