In the Celestial Realm’s Buddha Kingdom, the once-peaceful great hall was now completely shrouded in violet. Countless monks’ expressions grew inexplicably strange. They abandoned their prayer beads and sutra scrolls and scattered in panic. Even the sacred lotus, symbol of profound Dharma, withered away.
Ye Yu stood alone at the center of the hall, slowly clenching his fists. The truth had been proven: no matter the place, only strength commanded respect. He had fulfilled his promise—using the body of a ghost to transcend the monks of the Buddha Kingdom. This incredible feat was now complete, and in the process he had amassed ample negative-emotion points.
Once he finished converting them all, a column of black light erupted from thin air and completely enveloped Ye Yu. The air thickened with ghostly qi, suffusing the entire Buddha Kingdom. At last, he could shatter the void once more.
Having gained experience from his last breakthrough, Ye Yu stood calmly, waiting to ascend into the Divine Realm. But at that moment a piercing aura suddenly appeared! Perceiving the anomaly, Ye Yu immediately cast a defensive formation. A colossal ghostly gate bearing a skeletal visage materialized before him—but in the next instant it shattered to fragments!
A tall, dragonlike martial monk burst onto the scene. He wore no Buddha’s kasaya, yet his profound aura betrayed the strength of a Buddha sovereign. Ye Yu’s eyes lit with interest. Ever since arriving in the Buddha Kingdom, every Buddha he’d encountered had seemed the wizened form of an elderly monk, leading him to assume that only Dharma-practicing monks could become Buddhas—and that the martial monks’ ceiling was at most the golden-body Arhats. This newcomer utterly upended that assumption: a martial monk at the Immortal-Emperor Domain—how intriguing!
Before Ye Yu could speak, the monk’s voice rang like a great bell: “Bold ghost! You violate our Buddha Kingdom, slay our Buddhas, and now dare flee? Such impunity cannot stand! I am the monk Wuguo. I vow, even unto death, to transcend you!”
At his declaration, Wuguo assumed a profoundly ancient boxing stance. In an instant, a thousand Buddha phantoms emerged behind him, their mighty Buddha-energy causing Ye Yu’s black light column to tremble. Such audacity angered Ye Yu to his core. Having broken the void with such effort, he would not allow anyone to ruin his good fortune!
Forming a hand seal with one hand, he unleashed “Blazing Nine-Underworld Flame!” Black ghost-fire instantly swept the field, devouring Wuguo and the myriad Buddha phantoms. For added security, Ye Yu overlaid two more layers of formation seals before him.
As he completed these steps, his soul body began dissolving into motes of starlight, ascending heavenward. He believed he would quietly enter the Divine Realm. Yet unexpectedly, another fist of piercing punch energy struck, fracturing the light column around him. How could this be?
Wuguo, still shrouded in black celestial flame, had broken through the formation’s confines. After delivering one punch, he prepared to launch another. Ye Yu instinctively moved to counterattack—but at that moment his figure vanished along with the entire light column. He had succeeded in shattering the void and ascending to the Divine Realm!
Watching Ye Yu’s disappearance, Wuguo clutched his fist in fury and silently recited the Heart Sutra. Countless characters of Buddhist script flew from his mouth, encircling him and suppressing the black celestial flame. Though his body was scarred and grim, he seemed unaware of pain. He lifted his gaze skyward, and murderous rage flickered in his eyes.
After a long moment, a Buddha sovereign in tattered kasaya arrived, accompanied by several golden-body Arhats. They bowed in unison to Wuguo. “Thank you, Ancient Buddha, for saving us today. Had you not intervened, our casualties would have been far worse!”
Wuguo withdrew his gaze, surveying the sovereign. Coldly he said, “Fools! In only ten million years, the Buddha Kingdom has weakened so severely that a single ghost invades its gates—that is a disgrace beyond measure!”
Buddha of Kind Water was rendered speechless with shame. His strength paled by comparison—it was the truth of power. Wuguo flexed his wrist, and his wounds visibly healed before their eyes. As he strode toward the exit, he muttered, “Find a way to awaken the other Ancient Buddhas. Soon I shall ascend to the Divine Realm and slay that reckless ghost. From then on, the Celestial Realm’s fate rests upon you!”
Buddha of Kind Water’s heart trembled. “Ancient Buddha, what of the grand plan for the Celestial Realm?” he asked urgently.
“That is for you to consider, not me,” Wuguo replied. “There is but one principle I heed: the honor of the Buddha Kingdom must never be trampled by ghosts!”
With that, his figure slowly faded, though his voice echoed through the ruined hall. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Kind Water frowned and instinctively glanced at the mural beside him. The wall that once depicted the martial monk’s portrait was now bare and pristine as fresh paper. Is it time to awaken the next Ancient Buddha? he wondered.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm, Ye Yu arrived once more in a world that was far from unfamiliar, yet his mind still raced with thoughts of the recent events in the Buddha Kingdom. Since stepping into the Ghost Emperor Domain, his strength had rendered those Buddhas powerless—but Wuguo the martial monk proved different. His terrifying power far exceeded the Immortal-Emperor Domain’s limits, enough to crack even the pillar of light sent from the Divine Realm.
What sort of being was he? And why had he appeared so late? Had he shown up earlier, Ye Yu’s harvest of negative-emotion points in the Buddha Kingdom would never have been so smooth. After much contemplation, Ye Yu found no answer—and decided to cease unnecessary internal struggle. After all, he was now in the Divine Realm; matters of the Celestial Realm no longer concerned him.
He resolved to focus on exploring the Divine Realm itself. Yet he reminded himself: having just arrived, he must not act recklessly. His scheme to manipulate others’ emotions could be dialed back for a time—here, he was the weakest. Offend the wrong powerful being, and he would be forced to restart everything. Better to proceed with caution.
With that decision made, Ye Yu took flight and soon spotted a familiar figure ahead.
