Young Noble Be Monster Slaying
Chapter 941: The History of the Hallowed Ones (II)

The monastery overseer pointed outside. "Our monastery guardians are all cultivation prodigies recruited from external parties. Lu Cang came from the Mount Shu Sect, so he's biased toward the Mount Shu Sect. Yang Buwei is from the Penglai Supreme Sect, so he's biased toward the Penglai Supreme Sect. Without our strict rule prohibiting outside contact, they might have gotten involved in the power struggles between the Mount Shu Sect and the Penglai Supreme Sect."

"The schemes and web of interests in the mortal world are far too complex. Even Hallowed Ones cannot avoid getting involved. The only way to remain truly pure is to withdraw from the world entirely," Chu Liang commented with a sigh. "Hallowed Li wasn't just unmatched in cultivation. He was also profoundly farsighted."

"Hallowed Li was the first Hallowed One and a true sage." The monastery overseer sighed as well. "Sadly, there has never been another like him since."

"After Hallowed Li, have any Hallowed Ones Li managed to ascend successfully under these strict Laws of Ascension?" Chu Liang asked.

"Enduring the heavenly tribulation alone is incredibly difficult. Having to fulfill the Laws of Ascension as well makes it all the more impossible," the monastery overseer replied. "Back then, Hallowed Yang perished during the heavenly tribulation. She fell from the sky, and her Dao dissipated. Only one person has ever truly succeeded in ascending."

"Who was it?"

The monastery overseer said, "It was the Ancient Nameless Buddha from the distant past. He attained the Great Dao of Primordial Origin through Buddhist teachings. He wasn't as extraordinary as Hallowed Li, but he cleaved a divine Buddhist kingdom from the higher realm. He brought it down from above the clouds to replenish the world's spiritual qi. 

"Then he left his corporeal body behind without taking the Great Dao of Primordial Origin with him. And before ascending, he erased all traces of his existence and legacy, leaving behind no backup plans for his return. In terms of character, he was not inferior to Hallowed Li."

"Ancient Nameless Buddha?"

Chu Liang recalled a legend of a human-shaped figure deep within the clouds beneath the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. No one had ever been able to approach that figure. Could it be the ninth-realm corporeal body that the Ancient Nameless Buddha left behind?

…

Lin Poyun followed the Noble Dharma up a massive mountain in the netherworld and eventually arrived at a ridge leading to the mountaintop.

"I only ever dared to think about using the Breath of the Yellow Springs to awaken the Evil Ksitigarbha briefly, but you actually want to release him? That's completely insane," said Lin Poyun.

In spite of his words, his eyes gleamed with excitement. He was thrilled. As a professional diabolical cultivator and a born miscreant, he was ecstatic to see what would happen next.

The Noble Dharma stepped onto the mountaintop and suddenly sliced open his palm. The wound was so deep it exposed the bone, and golden blood gushed out. The blood pulsed with pure spiritual qi, so it wasn't an insignificant loss of blood. 

However, the Noble Dharma seemed unsatisfied with the speed at which the blood was flowing out. He pressed his hand onto the black stone covering the ground. 

As the golden blood flowed, it carved a strange enchanted formation into the ground around the Noble Dharma. The enchanted formation resembled an altar.

Whoosh.

"What is this?" Lin Poyun asked in surprise.

The enchanted formation appeared to be a powerful summoning formation. The blood that the Noble Dharma had offered up imbued a terrifyingly huge amount of power into the enchanted formation. However, this was just a summoning. Why did it require so much spiritual qi?

"Back then, the Buddhist kingdom beyond the Far West acquired an enchanted formation from the Divine Ruins. They believed it was meant to summon a divine Buddha from the higher realm. But when the king built a grand altar and activated the enchanted formation, the being that descended was a celestial devil. This formation was actually designed to summon celestial devils from the higher realm," the Noble Dharma said softly.

His voice was weak and unsteady. More of his blood essence spilled out, illuminating the enchanted formation with an explosion of red light. He was expending a tremendous amount of blood essence and spiritual qi.

"How could something like this be part of the Ancient Nameless Buddha's legacy..."

Lin Poyun questioned what the Noble Dharma said, but he trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

He realized the Noble Dharma was hiding something from him. Nevertheless, there was no need for him to pry. Regardless of what secrets the Noble Dharma kept, the two of them were still tied together for now.

Lin Poyun was more concerned with how much of a commotion the enchanted formation was causing. The enchanted formation was now active, illuminated with explosions of red light.

The mountain began to tremble. It felt like something was about to awaken!

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

A series of deafening explosions rang out all around them. Towering figures large enough to hold up the sky descended one after another, surrounding the mountain with the enchanted formation.

Some of those figures had three heads and six arms, and others had green faces and sharp fangs. Some wore flowing white robes, and others were clad in full battle armor. Nevertheless, they all had one thing in common… They were all malevolent ghosts with boundless magical power.

The ten ghost kings of the netherworld had descended together.

Back when the Ancient Nameless Buddha sealed Evil Ksitigarbha's primordial spirit there, he had informed the ghost kings of the netherworld that they bore the duty of guarding it. Should this celestial devil ever escape, the realms of the living and the dead would both suffer.

The ghost kings of the netherworld had been replaced several times since then, but each new ghost king upheld the duty without question, vigilantly guarding this mountain. At the first sign of disturbance, they had all descended at once.

"Pick up the pace," Lin Poyun said. "The ten ghost kings are absurdly powerful. What else have you prepared?"

The Noble Dharma's face was deathly pale, and he was swaying, unable to hold steady. The enchanted formation was active, but there was still no sign indicating the summoning had been made. Lin Poyun was starting to worry that before they could even extract Evil Ksitigarbha's primordial spirit, the Noble Dharma might get drained dry of his blood essence and spiritual qi and die right there.

However, now that the ten ghost kings had arrived, the Noble Dharma had no choice but to reveal another trump card.

Noble Dharma replied weakly, "You."

"What?" Lin Poyun uttered, thinking he had misheard.

"I've been planning for this day for many years. It wasn't easy, but I finally waited until the weakest ninth-realm cultivator in history emerged. As long as Evil Ksitigarbha is resurrected, we can eliminate the Demon God. You think I didn't account for the ten ghost kings?" The Noble Dharma chuckled darkly. "You are what I've got planned. Go hold them off. Once Evil Ksitigarbha's primordial spirit appears, we'll be free to leave."

"Fuck you and your plan!" Lin Poyun cursed.

The ten ghost kings were supreme beings in the netherworld, each one comparable to someone on the brink of ascension to the ninth realm in the realm of the living. They had long lifespans and had likely cultivated for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years.

He wants me to stop all ten ghost kings alone? How is that any different from sending a soul subjugator to assassinate the Mount Shu Sect's leader?

I only followed this old dharma bugger down here because he seemed so confident. Who would have thought that when a huge threat arrived, this would be his so-called plan?

Lin Poyun immediately considered using his greatest skill—ditching and slipping away.

As the Dao Master of the Profound Darkness, Lin Poyun moved freely between the realms of the living and the dead. He could open a gate in the realm of the living to the realm of the dead. No one would be able to stop him from leaving. Likewise, he could open a gate in the realm of the dead and freely escape to the realm of the living.

"What are you so anxious about?" The Noble Dharma raised his hand, and a glowing ring spun off his wrist. "It's not like I'm sending you to fight them empty-handed. I've exhausted too much of my strength and can't wield this legendary artifact anymore. Take the Celestial Cosmic Ring. Use it to separate the heavens and the earth, and delay the ghost kings for a moment. That's all we need."

Lin Poyun caught the Celestial Cosmic Ring. With it in his hands, he finally felt reassured.

Everyone had thought the Noble Dharma had perished and that the Celestial Cosmic Ring had vanished after the Demon God broke out of it. All the immortal sects searched for the Celestial Cosmic Ring afterward, but its whereabouts remained a mystery. Many believed that the mysterious space-type legendary artifact had ended up in some hidden realm, lost forever.

However, the Noble Dharma had faked his death, so the Celestial Cosmic Ring had never gone missing. When the battle against the Demon God continued on without him, he had simply gone to pick up the Celestial Cosmic Ring.

The netherworld, on the other hand, had the ten ghost kings but no legendary artifacts. 

As the Celestial Cosmic Ring spun, it instantly expanded into a glowing ring of light that enveloped the entire mountain, splitting the heavens from the earth with a deafening rumble.

Lin Poyun flew into the sky, floating high above the mountain. As he bathed in the power of the legendary artifact, he cast an arrogant gaze over the ghost kings.

Ghost King Qin Guang's voice boomed through the world like muffled thunder. "Dao Master of the Profound Darkness… you have chosen the path of death!"