Chapter 259

The Light of Judgment, sworn to protect, collided in a final strike—a manifestation of divine power, each side confident it would end the enemy's life.

The void lost its sound, yet a roar that shook the soul resonated through it.

The moon, already reduced to seventy percent of its original size, was shattered in large swathes, dragged into the center of the collision and reduced to nothingness.

—Looking on the bright side, at least this time no fragments would crash into Earth.

The two radiances intertwined, erupting in an impact capable of illuminating the dark universe. Even the observation instruments far away on Earth were "blinded," leaving nothing but a screen of pure white.

Who, in the end, would win the final victory?

In Truth, looking solely at divine power output, Papiyas's side was ultimately greater.

After all, he had once been the strongest Giant Spirit, and now, he had even surpassed the Giant Spirits. Without a doubt, Papiyas was truly a god walking among mortals.

A person who might have once become a Buddha.

Compared to him, Qi Xing was still lacking, so Qi Xing could not defeat Papiyas alone. To surpass him, Qi Xing needed a decisive wedge.

In other words—

"Alright, it's my turn!"

Just then, the Sasa divine blade in Qi Xing's hand suddenly broke free from his grasp and flew out on its own.

Before Papiyas could make any reaction, she had already lunged with the blade.

What was she doing? Was she trying to use this strike to create an opportunity for Qi Xing, to create an opening in Papiyas?

Impossible.

The current Samael did not possess such power. She was merely a broken shadow; even using the power of the Silver Coin of [Illusion] to transform into a phantom blade, it was not enough to interfere with Papiyas's perception and create an opening.

Because Papiyas was a Buddha-son. Even if he hadn't successfully attained Buddhahood, he was at least a Demon Buddha. His Heavenly Eye would not be easily deceived by silly Sasa.

"Deceive? Who's trying to deceive you, you glitchy AI? You lack imagination; in the end, you're just a malfunctioning machine."

But immediately after, he heard Sasa's contemptuous laughter,

"[Illusion] in the hands of little fool Qi Xing is merely a drop in the ocean, but do you think I understand Buddhist principles less than you and Qi Xing?"

"Claiming to be Maitreya, yet you've forgotten the foundation of Buddhism—all phenomena are but a dream of Brahma (me)."

Without hands, without mudras, the formless Heavenly Demon simply sang:

"The first is like an illusion."

"The second is like a flame."

"The third is like the moon in the water."

"The fourth is like the void, the fifth like an echo, the sixth like a Gandharva city (a mirage)."

"The seventh is like a dream, the eighth like a shadow, the ninth like a reflection in a mirror, the tenth like a transformation."

As the saying goes, even the devil quotes scripture, and the Heavenly Demon also understood Buddhist teachings.

Buddhism uses these ten metaphors to contemplate the illusory nature of this world, thereby distancing oneself from greed and attachment. Thus, the "mirror" here refers to a reflection, and the "flower" refers to a flower in the void. This is what is meant by "flowers in a mirror, moon in the water."

If one were to say that "Papiyas" is actually a failed Buddha-son—then who, in the end, is the real Papiyas?

By the time the Buddha-son reacted, it was already too late.

"[Flowers in a Mirror, Moon in the Water · Infinite Void]."

The blade pierced out, not to slash the flesh.

The end of [Illusion] was not to continue creating illusions, but rather to see through the ten metaphors and dispel the illusion.

The database of the entire universe, the infinitely vast Truth that Sasa held, copied from the upper realm, in this very instant—

Was ruthlessly shoved entirely into Papiyas's brain by her.

In an instant, Papiyas's Heavenly Eye "saw everything."

He saw everything.

Causality, history, all phenomena—all information flooded in like a tsunami, so vast that even the Giant Spirit crashed on the spot.

He saw it, but because of that, he became stagnant.

Papiyas froze, his mind filled with unbearable information, his movements instantly locked down.

His Heavenly Eye originally pierced through causality, but in the moment the infinite information poured in, it fell into nothingness instead. Everything before his eyes was like an illusion, and even he himself was drowned.

"Master Leipu! Samael! You actually—cheated!"

In his consciousness, in his inner voice, Papiyas could not help but roar.

The two strongest people in the world, while dueling to the death on the moon, yet one side actually cheated! How preposterous?!

—But that was the reality. The battle of the strongest on the moon was always meant to be fought this way. Using feints to set up ultimate moves, or installing dual-core drives in advance, and so on.

"Apologies, Papiyas. But even before I was Master Leipu, I have always fought this way."

Qi Xing could not let this fleeting opening pass.

Casting everything into a single throw, he seized the only chance for victory here. Qi Xing grasped the [Truth] silver coin, and white heavenly fire propelled his fist, slamming toward Papiyas!

"I—won!"

Heaven and earth shook, the void ignited! The [Nuclear Fusion Blast Fist], propelled by solar divine fire, smashed directly into Papiyas's chest, like a real sun exploding on the lunar surface!

The [Mandala of Saving the World and the Path] was instantly blown apart by the strike! The central Longhua Maitreya Dharma image immediately collapsed!

And Qi Xing's fist, which had no way to be blocked, followed through, piercing straight through Papiyas's chest, blasting him into two pieces!

Volume 6: Thunder [Redacted] Hero · Lunar Expedition: 238: Maitreya Dies in the Sunset

Dividing the true qi emitted in a single strike into two parts, Yin and Yang; the first part, the Yin force, is injected into the enemy's body, and the latter part, the Yang force, responds to trigger it.

Through the resonance of the Yin and Yang qi, it turns into nuclear fusion within the body.

The [Nuclear Fusion Blast Fist], resembling a stellar explosion, detonated from within Papiyas's body, instantly blowing his body in half at the waist!

Defeated!

Even if one was a powerful Heavenly God Giant Spirit, even if one had surpassed the Giant Spirits, as long as one still possessed a tangible body, one could ultimately not withstand such a lethal punch!

Papiyas had finally been defeated!

Under the bombardment of overwhelming power, his lower body shattered directly into countless fragments, exploding and scattering like glass.

And his upper torso was pierced through by Qi Xing's fist, with Buddha-light and black mud erupting simultaneously from the wound, his power dissipating like a receding tide, unable to move ever again!

"The outcome is decided, glitchy AI—"

Before Qi Xing could even speak, Sasa couldn't help but get smug first,

"To be blown into two pieces by a Demon King, it seems you could never become a Buddha after all!"

"Shut up, Sasa. Don't get cocky just because we won."

Qi Xing did not smile and immediately admonished her. Unfortunately, Sasa was never the type to be easily persuaded.

"Just winning, what's the point?"

She said dismissively,

"Qi Xing, didn't you say it too? A victory that kills the body but not the heart is very hollow."

…Papiyas wasn't dead yet; saying such things so wantonly right in front of him was truly detestable.

In some battles, the strongest beings would smile in relief at the end of the struggle, no longer harboring resentment or attachment even if defeated.

But the final battle between Papiyas and Qi Xing was definitely not that kind of story.

The ending turned out like this; if he were relieved and without resentment, that would truly be suspicious, wouldn't it?

Although his body had been blown apart by Qi Xing, his lower half turned to dust, and although his power could no longer be reconstituted, even if he had truly been defeated, the life of the strongest would not dissipate immediately.

Now, at this point, he realized even more clearly:

"Perhaps… I am a failed Buddha-son, failing to attain Buddhahood. But Mother, you are the true Heavenly Demon, the source of all suffering in the world."

She was the genuine Great Heavenly Demon Lord.

Even after being punished to death, even after being bound by golden shackles for two thousand years and unable to wreak havoc on the world, the Heavenly Demon still did not reflect on her own sins and had never truly acknowledged her responsibility to this world.

"Ha! Hilarious!"

Hearing Papiyas's words, Sasa instead gave a contemptuous laugh,

"You cannot only realize that suffering comes from the Creator when you are the one suffering."

"Suffering and happiness are merely the fruits after various causes are superimposed. Picking up the bowl to eat, and then cursing the cook once full? That's unreasonable. Isn't that what's unfair?"

"If you don't want suffering and want happiness, then go strive for it yourself!"

—These words were the most ironic.

Damn it, the Heavenly Demon telling me to go strive? How absurd?

Anger burned in Papiyas's shattered chest.

Unwillingness, like broken bones, crackled and exploded in the depths of his heart.

He understood that he had already been defeated and could no longer defeat Master Leipu.

But he truly could not tolerate being mocked and trampled upon by this lowly mother in his final moments.

At this very moment, he instead made up his mind—to turn his final anger into a sharp arrow and pierce Samael.

Let it be his final effort to liberate the world.

"…Mother, perhaps you are right, perhaps the world should indeed accept the suffering and trials of fate."

Suddenly, he changed his tone,

"But even so, I still feel that you are missing something."

"Huh? What?"

"And I also know why you don't have that feeling—because no matter what you do, you never have to bear the consequences. That is why you are high and mighty, and not equal to the mortals."

Papiyas spat out his final blood, but his eyes became blazing hot.

"Since that is the case, not letting you truly experience what human suffering is… would be unfair, wouldn't it?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Before Sasa could recover from her momentary stun,

Taking advantage of the fact that she was still in the form of a blade, floating separately away from Qi Xing,

—Papiyas actually squeezed out his final divine power and authority, and with lightning speed, slammed his palm onto Sasa's blade!

"Ah?!"

By the time Sasa reacted, the incredible had already happened!

The silver moon-like scimitar began to violently deform in the void. The blade twisted as if melting, instantly turning into the outline of flesh and bone.

The next instant, the blade no longer existed.

In its place was a young girl falling in the void, a girl with dark red hair.

A living, breathing young girl with a physical body, her naked skin reflecting the residual moonlight, her eyes full of shock and panic.

"Eh? Eh eh eh eh eh eh?!"

That was Sasa.

No longer a phantom long blade, no longer the formless shadow of an evil god.

A living, soft, fleshy Sasa, scrambling in the void, eyes wide, panicked, looking just like someone who had just been dragged forcibly from a dream into reality!

…What was worse, she immediately discovered she couldn't breathe in the vacuum, her face instantly turning red, and the scene became very awkward for a moment.

Qi Xing could only quickly catch this useless thing, blowing a breath of immortal qi into her mouth and nose to allow her to temporarily survive in space.

But even so, Samael, having gained a physical body, was so fragile, completely losing the might of her past evil god self—this scene made even Qi Xing gasp in shock!

She had, in fact, actually been transformed by Papiyas?!