“Not all have been massacred?”
Jiang Lichen saw that Li Hao had ceased his attack and raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised and, as if with a touch of regret.
Li Hao shook his head slightly, aside from those with immense strength who might commit evil under the Buddha Lord, slaughtering these weaker common disciples was meaningless.
The Buddhist sect had stood for two thousand years, impossible to completely eradicate, as outside the boundaries of Mount Wuliang in the Nineteen Provinces, there were countless Buddhist disciples.
How could one speak of total annihilation.
If he remembered correctly, that old lady from the Divine General Mansion was also a devout Buddhist.
Li Hao came to slaughter the Buddha, targeting the manifested Buddha, the Buddha that had fallen into evil, not the Buddha in people’s hearts.
After all, in the hearts of the suffering masses, finding “Buddha” as a faith offered a sense of peace and tranquility; how could they be completely eradicated.
“You’re still too soft-hearted.”
Jiang Lichen discerned the kindness in Li Hao’s heart and shook his head slightly, “But slaughtering these mortals like pigs and dogs is meaningless, the weak do not deserve the sword.”
Li Hao glanced at him, the Prince was always startling in his remarks, no wonder he had been imprisoned.
“If you spoke less, your life might be much smoother,” Li Hao said.
“Some speak less but do much, I just tell it as it is. The ignorant masses are but stepping stones for the powerful to stand upon, whether they live or die makes no difference,” Jiang Lichen said.
Li Hao shook his head slightly, not arguing with him, but turned his gaze to a certain place. His figure flickered, and he disappeared instantly.
Outside among the peaks, crowds surged.
Many disciples who had shed their monks’ robes fled like converging ants along the mountain paths beneath the ridges, escaping beyond the Brahma Pure Land.
And those who had cultivated to the Fifteen Li Realm were flying through the air, fleeing at full speed.
Li Qianfeng, wearing rough clothing, was mixed in among the fleeing crowd, his face smeared with dirt, looking as if he had rolled down from a rocky hill, filthy.
He had abandoned the guards of the Divine General Mansion, only that old monk accompanying him, both inconspicuous among the throng.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure appeared in an instant, cutting off the crowd of runners.
The surging power toppled the fleeing mass, and everyone looked at the youth in horror and changing colors.
Some hurriedly knelt on the ground, bowing their heads to beg for mercy.
As a large part of the crowd knelt down, Li Qianfeng’s complexion changed, looking somewhat ugly, but he also obediently followed the crowd and knelt down.
The thought that he, the young master of the Divine General Mansion, the Buddha Lord’s Direct Disciple, and the future True Dragon of the mansion, had to endure such humiliation filled him with rage, but he dared not show any of it. He only thought of what many of his elders had said, “A true man knows when to yield…”
A moment of endured humiliation means nothing.
An ancestor had once suffered humiliation under a horse, faced desperate odds, brought intelligence back to the army—compared to that, this mere kneeling was nothing.
Li Hao’s gaze pierced through the crowd like a sword, landing on the figure of the young man. The young man’s aura was retracted, extremely concealed, but now that Li Hao was in the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, such trivial concealment couldn’t escape his eyes.
“Li Qianfeng, aren’t you the Buddha Lord’s Direct Disciple? Aren’t you going to avenge your master?”
Li Hao said coldly.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, Li Qianfeng, whose heart had just jumped, changed his expression and looked at him in fear.
Clearly, his disguise had been exposed.
“Young master, run!”
The old monk beside him reacted extremely quickly and let out a loud yell, standing in front of Li Qianfeng.
He had been a general under Li Qianfeng’s father and had entrusted his life to this widow and orphan, vowing to defend them to the death.
Bang!
The body he had stepped forward with, not yet fully bursting with the Grandmaster’s power, exploded suddenly.
Blood splattered, covering Li Qianfeng who was about to rise, drenching his clothes red.
The scalding blood left Li Qianfeng stunned.
And the knee he had just raised, now slowly gave way again.
“Spare my life…”
Li Qianfeng hurriedly kowtowed, kneeling on the ground.
Others, hearing the name Li Qianfeng, quickly crawled away on their knees, not daring to approach him.
The Buddha Lord’s Direct Disciple?
That was the esteemed Buddha Child; mingling among us, was he trying to cause our deaths? Many people cursed inwardly, blaming Li Qianfeng’s ancestors, having gained little on good days, and now dragging them down in flight—it was a trap!
“The rest of you, get out!”
Li Hao, hearing the cries begging for mercy, wrinkled his brow and said.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, the people found it as delightful as celestial music, tearing up with gratitude, and they quickly kowtowed a few times before fleeing rapidly.
In a blink, only Li Qianfeng remained.
“Spare my life, although I have been apprenticed to the Buddha Lord, I belong to the Li Family of the Divine General Mansion, we’re only allied with Mount Wuliang for mutual benefits, not genuinely…”
Li Qianfeng’s face turned pale, realizing that great danger was imminent, hoping by bringing up the Divine General Mansion he might deter Li Hao.
“How is it, don’t you recognize me?” Li Hao said indifferently.
Li Qianfeng startled, looked up at Li Hao, and only then did he realize that there was something familiar yet alien about Li Hao’s appearance.
So young… Li Qianfeng’s pupils suddenly constricted, staring at Li Hao in horror, “You, you, is it really you?!”
“It seems you remember now.”
Li Hao nodded his head, then raised his hand, and waves of force bore down, seizing Li Qianfeng’s body, crushing his bones.
At twenty years old and still in the Heavenly Human Realm, not yet reaching the Three Immortalities, his physical injuries could only be treated by Divine Pills.
The severe pain all over his body could not overshadow the shock Li Qianfeng felt at that moment; he forcibly widened his eyes, incredulously saying:
“You? How is it possible, my master was killed by you?!”
Whether out of fear or pain, he let out a hoarse scream.
The person I most wanted to eliminate is actually the one who killed my master?!
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I knew Li Hao was strong, his fame skyrocketed after the battle in Liangzhou, and he was considered as a force to be reckoned with even among those in the Four Stands Realm.
But as one’s realm gets higher, the cultivation becomes slower. How much time has passed since then, and Li Hao actually killed the master I looked up to?!
That was the Buddha Lord!
In my heart, his status could even be compared to the ancestor of the Li Family. How could such a person die at Li Hao’s hand?!
“It’s impossible, absolutely impossible!!”
Li Qianfeng roared, tears of blood streaming from his eyes, not just because of his ruptured internal organs being squeezed, but also because of the pain and madness.
His pride as a heavenly genius was completely shattered at this moment.
Coughing up blood and fragments of organs, Li Qianfeng felt a sense of sorrow, as if he had been abandoned by the heavens. If he was a heavenly genius, then what was the youth before him? A monster?!
“My master could not possibly lose, he was the second strongest in the world, invincible except for that True Person…”
Li Qianfeng gritted his teeth, seemingly losing his mind.
Li Hao didn’t waste words with him, he crushed his hands and feet and took him into the Heaven and Earth Space.
The young man who practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard with a resolute look in his eyes at the age of five, who later gained the fame of a heavenly genius, has now fallen to such a state. Perhaps it all changed at the moment when that noblewoman fed me the Poison Pill.
And now, the other party was crippled, and I had also left the Divine General Mansion.
All of this karma started with a single Pill and also ended with it.
Li Hao turned back to the Candle Flame God’s side, after swallowing the Pill, aside from his Soul which couldn’t be gathered back, his body was completely unharmed.
“Let’s go back then…”
Li Hao said softly.
Looking at the Spirit Mountain, full of scars from the great battle, pretty much destroyed, Mount Wuliang was essentially ruined.
Without the Buddha Lord, even if millions of Buddha believers gathered in the future, it would be difficult to form any significant power.
As Li Hao was preparing to return, a figure arrived rapidly from beyond Mount Wuliang.
That figure swiftly approached Li Hao.
“Hao Er!”
The figure who arrived was none other than Li Muxiu, who had rushed all the way from the Li Family. Upon reaching the outskirts of the Brahma Pure Land World, he witnessed fleeing figures, and immediately realized the situation inside.
Upon hearing the voice, Li Hao immediately recognized it was the Second Uncle.
“Where is the Buddha Lord, Feng…”
Li Muxiu scanned the surroundings and upon seeing Spirit Mountain split in two, his pupils shrank, shocked.
He had cast aside his status and rushed here as fast as he could, not only to attempt to rescue Feng Boping but also because he suspected that once the news spread, Li Hao would most likely come to aid as well.
Although he knew Li Hao was strong, he also knew that the Buddha Lord was unfathomable, and Li Hao now had glory and was a high-ranking official, all of which were hard-earned. He felt Li Hao had suffered enough and didn’t want to see his reputation damaged.
If he could use his own Half-Step Invincible Dao Realm to rescue Feng, everything would be resolved. At the very least, it would fulfill the promise he made to Feng Boping:
If we cannot share wealth and honor, then let’s share life and death!
“The Buddha Lord is dead.”
Li Hao looked at Li Muxiu, whose appearance and aura were completely different with a mask on, and instantly knew what he had in mind, feeling somewhat sad.
“Dead?”
Li Muxiu trembled inside, turned to look at Feng Boping, but saw his foolish demeanor, somewhat strange, and quickly said, “What happened to Feng?”
“His soul is missing.” Li Hao spoke softly.
Li Muxiu was shocked, hastily examining Feng Boping’s body, and indeed it seemed as Li Hao had said.
His expression turned ugly, fists clenched tight.
Li Hao knew he was distressed and softly said, “I will find the missing part of Feng’s soul, Second Uncle, this place is not suitable for you to appear, you should return soon as well.”
Li Muxiu looked at Li Hao, feeling a bitter ache in his heart, and said, “Child, all this shouldn’t fall on you to bear, it should have been me.”
His heart ached, somewhat dejected. He hadn’t been able to make it when his elder brother had fallen in Dragon City, and now, he had failed to make it again.
Although he seemed carefree in this life, he felt he had lived it rather unsuccessfully.
“Because of me, Feng was targeted by the Buddhist sect; naturally, I should be the one to handle it.”
Li Hao comforted him with a few words.
Li Muxiu’s mood slightly eased, and he immediately asked Li Hao about the details of the incident, to which Li Hao also briefly explained.
After listening, Li Muxiu had a complicated expression, “Child, the followers of the Buddha Lord are countless, spanning various families and officials, your actions, I fear…”
“It’s fine.” Li Hao smiled.
Li Muxiu, looking at the calm expression on his face, felt even more heartbroken, and suggested, “Why don’t you return to the Divine General Mansion? With the thousand-year reputation of the Divine General Mansion, and your own status, we can protect you…”
Li Hao shook his head slightly, “If His Majesty wishes to dismiss these honors, it does not matter; it will simply be a return to my previous life, where I still have delicious food to eat and chess to play. It has no impact on me.”
“But…”
Li Hao gave a slight smile and bid farewell to the old gentleman, then mounted the Candle Flame God and began his journey home.
Although victorious in this endeavor, he had lost as well, at least according to the Buddha Lord’s wishes.
The matters here will surely be reported to the Imperial Capital, to the ears of His Majesty. How that elderly man will react, whether he will understand or not, is uncertain; regardless, he will likely face difficulties and sorrow…
Causing him trouble… Li Hao sighed in his heart.
As Li Hao departed, Jiang Lichen also hastened his own departure, but before leaving, he glanced at Li Muxiu and laughed lightly,
“It seems the guts of the Li Family are growing bigger and bigger; the young are so bold, and so are the old, hahaha…”
Li Muxiu had long recognized this mad Ninth Prince, whose many deeds he had heard of, but did not take this madman seriously.
Watching the young man’s retreating figure, his eyes became melancholy, an unasked question in his heart.
That is, whether in the future, there would still be a chance, for the three of them to unite in shadow, to gather together again…
Time is heartless; it seems to only move forward, never pausing for anyone, let alone reversing…