“How dare you?!” The Past Buddha glared, appearing slightly flustered.
However, Gu Hai controlled countless sword qi with the Immortal Executioner Sword Ritual Array manifested by the Life Trapper Saber. He had blocked off everyone’s escape path.
Whoosh! Swords filled the surroundings, looking exceptionally fierce.
Past Buddha’s expression changed dramatically.
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva had once defeated the Immortal Executioner Sword Ritual Array. However, Kong Xuan, Shangguan Hen, and the Mosquito Daoist could handle them.
The openly hostile Gu Hai had a ferocious expression, ready to attack. Even the spies from the other factions in the city felt a chill in their hearts when they saw Gu Hai’s murderous intent.
The Unborn Man, Ao Shun, and Chang Ming also showed ferocious expressions.
While there were many invaders from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, the Han Nation also had as many experts as there were clouds. Neither side feared the other.
“Amitābha!” A loud Buddhist greeting suddenly rang out of nowhere.
At the Buddhist greeting, all the Immortal Executioner Sword Ritual Array’s sword qi instantly exploded and shattered.
Boom!
When the sword qi exploded, a thirty-kilometer-odd-tall golden figure with the Present Buddha’s appearance loomed in the south.
“Lord Buddha?” The Past Buddha and the others felt startled at the Present Buddha’s presence.
“The Present Buddha?”
“Jiang Gautama?”
“The Lord Gautama Buddha?”
…
Anxious cries came from the city.
However, this was not the Present Buddha himself. It was just an image, a dharmic incarnation.
Even though it was just a dharmic incarnation, its aura suppressed Borderless Heavenly Capital into shaking.
“Gu Hai, the Lord Buddha is here. It’s time for you to die now!” Di Shitian suddenly sneered.
Gu Hai glanced at Di Shitian, radiating a murderous intent that sent a chill through Di Shitian and deterred him from interjecting further.
“Han Imperial Dynasty’s Gu Hai!” the Present Buddha’s image said with palms held together.
“Hah! Present Buddha? Why aren’t you here in person?” Gu Hai asked coldly.
“I came to resolve a grudge, so I don’t need to be here in person,” the Present Buddha’s dharmic incarnation replied indifferently.
“Resolve a grudge? You won’t tell me you want us to just release them, right?” Gu Hai countered coldly.
The Past Buddha’s face sank. “Gu Hai, how dare you be so audacious when the Lord Buddha is here?”
“Audacious? The audacious one is you lot. So what if the Present Buddha is here? This is the Han Imperial Dynasty, our Borderless Heavenly Capital. Do you think you can run?” Gu Hai’s eyes turned cold.
Then Gu Hai waved his hand.
Boom!
The Life Trapper Saber activated, and a black hole appeared out of nowhere. The Present Buddha raised his eyebrows as he looked at the black hole.
This black hole is familiar. The other Sect Master Heavenly Access came out from it back then? Is Gu Hai going to bring out another one?
Indeed, Gu Hai could now bring another person over from the Sa’s Immortal Firmament. After sending Long Shenwu over, he had made up the numbers, so he could bring over another expert from Earth’s immortal realm.
Facing the Present Buddha’s dharmic incarnation, Gu Hai did not dare to be careless. Since Long Zhanguo was wary of him, Gu Hai had to be wary of even a dharmic incarnation.
“Gu Hai, my esteemed self said I was here to resolve a grudge. Do you want this soul?” The Present Buddha waved, and a soul body appeared above his palm.
The soul body seemed dazed; then it trembled. Suddenly, the soul body’s eyes lit up.
“Father, this child has brought trouble to you!” That soul knelt with a bitter and sorrowful expression.
“Gu Tang? It’s Gu Tang?” Gu Qin exclaimed.
Gu Hai’s heart trembled, but he did not say anything.
“How about using this soul body to exchange for the Future Buddha’s damaged body?” the Present Buddha said with a smile.
“Hah! How would we know that is truly Gu Tang?” Gu Hai asked seriously.
Although Gu Hai did not say much, he was incredibly worried about his son. However, he did not wish to show it.
“We trust you, so we will hand him to you to check first,” the Present Buddha said indifferently.
After the Present Buddha spoke, he tossed over Gu Tang’s souls.
Whoosh!
The Unborn Man reached out and grabbed, pulling over Gu Tang’s souls.
“Father!” Gu Tang’s souls immediately knelt upon approaching.
“This soul body suffered from the burning of Buddhist fire. The three spiritual souls are still present; fortunately, they can be repaired!” the Unborn Man said immediately.
“Gu Tang? It’s you?” Gu Qin went forward to check.
“Eldest Brother, it’s good that you managed to return safely!” Gu Tang said with a bitter smile.
“You would not have become like that if not for me!” Gu Qin responded, feeling guilty.
Gu Hai looked at Gu Tang’s souls. Then he extended his hand to check. After checking for a while, he showed a complicated expression.
“Gu Hai, how about it?” the Present Buddha prompted.
Gu Hai ignored the Present Buddha. Instead, he raised his head to look at outer space.
Sha and that black-figured sword cultivator were still fighting extremely ferociously in outer space, shattering countless stars.
“Release the Future Buddha!” Gu Hai shouted.
“Yes!” Chang Ming waved his hand.
The Future Buddha immediately came flying out.
The Past Buddha waved his hand, pulling the Future Buddha over. Now, the Future Buddha had already shriveled up, left with a dry body and a final breath.
“Many…many thanks, Lord Buddha,” the Future Buddha said with difficulty.
“Lord Buddha, we have failed. Lord Buddha, please correct our mistakes!” The Past Buddha bowed to the Present Buddha.
The Present Buddha looked at Gu Hai. Eventually, he shook his head. “Let’s leave it at this for now. Let’s go!”
“Ah?”
“Let’s go!” the Present Buddha said solemnly.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
Kong Xuan and the others looked at Gu Hai, waiting for Gu Hai’s command. However, Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. “Let them go.”
“Yes!” everyone answered.
Boom!
The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s people immediately shot into the distance, vanishing into the horizon.
Boom!
The black-figured sword cultivator seemed to have received a signal. After one intense clash, he turned around and flew off, leaving with the Present Buddha’s group.
Gu Hai flung out his wide sleeves, closing the passageway between the two immortal firmaments.
Sha stopped in the sky. After some silence, he flew down.
Boom!
Sha landed on the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza in the blink of an eye.
“Gu Hai, I’m very sorry. I got delayed,” Sha said with a frown.
“No. You have already done very well. Many thanks for today. Can you wait first? I’ll look for you later?” Gu Hai said.
“Alright!” Sha nodded. He frowned heavily, appearing to have something to tell Gu Hai.
Gu Hai turned to the weakened Bodhisattva Lian Sheng. “Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, Gu Hai is endlessly grateful for your assistance today!”
“Cough! Cough! Cough! I came to help? That’s because I’m here to ask you for help. Gu Han…he… The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s people captured him!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said anxiously.
“Oh?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“However, Jiang Gautama will only suppress him at worst. Jiang Gautama won’t kill him, but…,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said bitterly.
“I got it. Rest first. We’ll speak again later,” Gu Hai said gravely.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng looked at Gu Hai with some shock. Gu Hai brushed it off? Doesn’t he want to know about the situation?
“Alright!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded with a slightly bitter expression.
“Meng Tai, bring Bodhisattva Lian Sheng to rest,” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Meng Tai answered.
Gu Hai looked at Borderless Heavenly Capital, which had already calmed down.
“Han Nation citizens, we abandoned our official duties for selfish reasons. We let the evil villains go to save our son. However, we promise to deal with these evil scoundrels and repay this a hundredfold!” Gu Hai called out.
“Your Reverence, there’s no need to blame yourself!”
“You managed to save the prince; this is to be expected!”
“We trust Your Reverence!”
“Your Reverence, many thanks for saving our lives.”
…
The citizenry immediately bowed towards the palace. They were extremely understanding of Gu Hai’s choice to save Gu Tang.
Gu Hai looked at Gu Tang’s spiritual souls. “Little Tang, you have suffered at the hands of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land.”
“This child was incapable. This suffering is nothing. I have brought trouble to Father!” Gu Tang said bitterly.
“Unborn Man, I’ll trouble you to help me repair Gu Tang’s spiritual souls. After they have completely recovered, I’ll help him restore his body. Gu Qin, go and help,” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Gu Qin and the Unborn Man answered.
“Mosquito Daoist, Kong Xuan, Shangguan Hen, Ao Shun, and Chang Ming, you have worked hard. Treat your injuries first. We will speak later!” Gu Hai looked at the five.
“Yes, Your Reverence!” the five answered.
Gu Hai made further arrangements for his officials before bringing Sha to his study. Mo Yike, Chen Tianshan, and the new Seventh Corps commander, Sima Changkong, followed them.
In the study:
Gu Hai looked at Sha, and Sha frowned heavily.
“There are no outsiders here. You can speak,” Gu Hai said.
Chen Tianshan, Mo Yike, and Sima Changkong felt slightly puzzled.
“The person I fought earlier seemed like…seemed like…,” Sha said with a frown.
“Who?” Gu Hai asked.
“The Six Paths Veritable Lord’s metal deity body!” Sha said with a frown.
“The Six Paths Veritable Lord? That’s impossible!” Mo Yike’s expression suddenly changed.
However, Sha did not say anything more.
Why would the Six Paths Veritable Lord’s metal deity body listen to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s orders? That is the Six Paths Immortal’s body. Furthermore, the Six Paths Veritable Lord’s metal deity body was already destroyed in the past.
“This is why we decided to stop fighting the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Gu Hai said sullenly.
“Did you notice something?” Sha asked.
“The earlier Gu Tang’s spiritual souls are fake,” Gu Hai replied.
“What?” Chen Tianshan’s expression immediately changed.
Fake? That was not Gu Tang earlier? Then why did His Reverence exchange the Future Buddha for those spiritual souls?
“It is exactly the same as Little Tang’s spiritual souls, even down to the memories. However, he does not have emotions. Little Tang had been obsessed with his mother all these years. However, he mentioned nothing about his mother, not even a word.” Gu Hai’s eyes turned cold.
“Then this is…” Everyone appeared confused.
“We agreed in order to stabilize the situation with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Hah! They left these spiritual souls behind to monitor us? This is good. The real Little Tang’s spiritual souls must have suffered endless torture,” Gu Hai sighed.
“You mean I truly fought the Six Paths Veritable Lord’s metal deity body?” Sha said in shock, suddenly raising his eyebrows.
“How do you think he compares to the metal deity body?” Gu Hai looked at Sha.
“He is unusually strong, and his sword Dao is extraordinary. However, he lacked that unrivaled determination, that mentality of looking down on the world, killing anyone in his way. That was why I could maintain a stalemate with him,” Sha said, his brows knitting pensively.
“Your Reverence, what are your thoughts?” Mo Yike asked with a frown.
“We aren’t sure. However, we have a guess,” Gu Hai said somewhat worriedly.
“What guess?”
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land, rather, Jiang Gautama has a special ability. Perhaps he can clone DNA. No, if he can also do it with souls, it is not just DNA but replication. Can he replicate all the experts in the world, including the Six Paths Veritable Lord from eight hundred thousand years in the past?” Gu Hai said with a frown.
“What?” Everyone’s expression suddenly changed.
Even Sha’s pupils constricted. Replicate? Replicating all the experts in the world? What a horrifying scene that would be!
“We are still not sure. We only made this guess because of the Six Paths Veritable Lord’s metal deity body’s and Little Tang’s replicas. Long Zhanguo told us that what we have seen of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land is just the tip of the iceberg. Could this ability to replicate all the experts in the world be the whole iceberg?” Gu Hai said sullenly.
All of them in the study felt their hearts skip a beat.
