Peace and serenity. As soon as Xinzi's flash of holy force blew past them, the 3rd and 29th Horde's leaders all felt a sense of peace and serenity sweep through their souls and quiet their ire. The will to fight left their body, replaced by an irresistible need to kneel and pray alongside the Ascendant that blessed them with his presence.
'This is...the Karmic Order. You gotta be kidding me. How did one so young become an Ascendant?' Unlike her subordinates, though Holy-Road wise she was only an Enlightened Monk, Zhiji Jing could rely on her Holy Beast Sovereign cultivation to preserve her will to fight.
One must know that while they each followed their personal Creeds of Liberation, due to the precepts, mantras and sutras that they all had to master before establishing their paths, all Lianist monks had certain abilities in common.
For example, Enlightened Monks or above could all use the Mantra of Prurient Madness to get glimpses into the future.
The Karmic Order was another such shared ability, available only to Ascendants and above, and enabling them to outright strip their opponents of the will to fight. The Ascendant's abilities could impact as many people as they led into enlightenment. In Xinzi's case, that meant 11 million. Ascendants, Great Gods and Great Devils aside, only people with Supreme Clarity tier Soul Force or above were able to resist an Ascendant's Karmic Order.
This meant that, unless Xiao Hu got back to pipa playing, among the Myriad Beast Gang's troops, Zhiji Jing was the only expert capable of resisting Xinzi's Karmic Order.
Needless to say, since he could only impact about 11 million, Xinzi focused on the Myriad Beast Gang's experts at the Ordained Beast level or above. A sizable chunk of the 3rd Horde, plus all the leaders of the 29th thus became his victims.
The surviving Nameless Sword Mountain disciples watched in awe, unable to accept that with a single flash of light, the teenaged newcomer had managed to suppress their invincible foes. Xiao Hu and Haoyue's eyes beamed at Xinzi, the former due to a rising tide of emotions that she couldn't comprehend, the latter due to the recollection of events that till now still controlled her heart.
Likewise, Qiu Meng and Zuixian also stared at Xinzi, but for completely different reasons. Despite his best efforts, as his eyes shifted between Xinzi and Haoyue, Qiu Meng couldn't restrain the flames of jealousy swelling in his veins.
Zuixian had it better, more focused on the flabbergasting abilities that Xinzi arrived with than the bitter feelings churning his stomach.
"We have neither grievances nor enmities. May I ask Your Excellency why you choose to intervene in the affairs of the Myriad Beast Dominion?"
"Grievances and enmities are so overrated. Why does our abbot need any to intervene in a conflict that puts the lives of thousands at risk? Your faction has gone from rogue to crazed, outright sentencing over 1,000 innocent lives to death. Hundreds have died already, and for what? So your boss can enact her revenge under the cover of some false righteous cause? Our abbot cannot allow innocent lives to go to waste because of your leader's selfish motives." Focused on Haoyue and Xiao Hu, Xinzi didn't answer. Instead, Tusha stepped forward, reciting the script that she'd received from her abbot.
At first, getting ignored so completely by Xinzi made Zhiji Jing's eyes twitch. But after getting a closer look at the enemy troops, she not only recognized Dong Ling, Chun Xu, the Zhi-Zhu twins, Li girls and Yan Le, but also noticed that, while none on the other side reached Supreme Clarity cultivation, the pressure of their auras signaled heaven-defying battle-prowess.
Even the most random of the white-winged soldiers at the enemy leader's back was a force to be reckoned with. Further, Xiao Hu's reaction didn't escape Zhiji Jing, forcing her to reconsider her stance.
"We've given them an opportunity to give up the guilty and save their innocent sect members. They refused to comply, preferring to die alongside the monsters that hide in their sect than embrace the righteous path. That being the case, they're all guilty by association and deserve to be damned! Don't think that just because you have an Ascendant in your ranks, you can single-handedly suppress the Myriad Beast Domin—"
"Gang. You're a gang. A big-ass gang, but a gang all the same. This, Zhiji Jing, means that you're just a mini-boss, and My Humble Self has no time to waste on side characters," Zhiji Jing had not finished her speech that Xinzi chimed in, not only cutting her speech short but breaking all her momentum.
Veins pulsed on Zhiji Jing's forehead, and for the second time since she'd arrived on the scene, she lost her composure.
"How impressive. For someone whose abilities can only impact those under Supreme Clarity, your confidence is simply inspiring," with clear sarcasm all over her voice, Zhiji Jing said and stretched her hands out.
Her Holy Force gushed out, spreading to the affected Third Horde leaders while her Holy Sense connected to all unaffected beast soldiers.
'Ximei, I don't know what connection you have to that person, but if you don't make your move, we might both fail Daji today,' Zhiji Jing said through a mental message, forcing Xiao Hu to snap out of her torpor.
The pipa demoness' hands trembled in a mix of shock and fear, but powering through those emotions, Xiao Hu grabbed her instrument and started playing. The Soul-Grafting Stone kicked in, fueling Xiao Hu's infernal melody with gallons of Soul Force and Evil Qi, thereby enabling her to spread her boon to the entirety of the Myriad Beast Gang's forces.
Once more, all Holy Shadow Beasts or below saw their cultivation bases increase by an entire realm. Anointed Holy Beasts rose by three levels, the 24 Holy Beast Kings under Zhiji Jing rose by two, becoming Holy Beast Sovereigns, and alongside their leader, all reaching the mid-stage of that rank. Zhiji Jing alone approached the late stage, now standing at the helm of a squad of 25 Beast Sovereigns that could all shrug off Xinzi's Karmic Order and help their weaker subordinates resist its hold.
[Scattered Energy Fusion]
Once again, under Zhiji Jing's leadership, the Myriad Beast Gang's troops united in the Scattered Energy Fusion. Colorful energy beams raced across the scene, merging into a boulder-sized ball that united the forces of thousands of species and millions of beasts.
In that instant, all individual Myriad Beast Gang soldier had access to the innate skills of the other mysterious beasts that made up the Scattered Energy Fusion. At the same time, the colorful energy ball not only acted as the formation's eye but also as an extra expert whose strength combined that of all the other beasts.
Convinced that this lineup could bring down even a Loose Immortal, Zhiji Jing's lips curled up, and with a defiant stare, she locked her sapphire-colored eyes on Xinzi.
"Actually, the Karmic Order was for your own good. Without, you're all swelling with killing intent, and all manners of dark and negative emotions. The potential for evil in your armada of 200 million is too much for you to control.
So...why not let me borrow some of it?" Following these cryptic words, Xinzi stepped forward, departing from the Liberation Temple's ranks to appear above the Myriad Beast Gang's troops.
Boundless Evil Qi masked by his pulse as Immortal Qi erupted from his Sinshifter Heart, sweeping through Zhiji Jing's 200 million troops. Instantly, from the lowest of cannon fodders to the strongest of Holy Beast Kings, all felt their hearts beat at an alarming speed and their monster cores shake, threatening to rupture as their eyes became a mix of red and black.
