Chapter 289: Half-Step Soul Transformation? Old Bald Donkey, Watch Me Smash Your Fake Buddha to Pieces!

"Whelp! Do you think there is no one left in our Righteous Path?!"

An ancient and majestic voice resounded like a ten-thousand-ton bronze bell echoing in the sky above the Sunset Plain.

Accompanied by this voice, the massive, hundred-zhang-tall golden Buddha avatar in the sky, radiating blinding golden light, slowly opened its eyes.

Two beams of near-solid golden Buddhist light pierced through the layers of devilish clouds, locking firmly onto the tiny figure of Gu Lan below.

The old monk sitting cross-legged at the center of the Buddha's brow was as thin as a skeleton, clad in a faded, tattered kasaya. Yet, the terrifying pressure radiating from him—belonging to a half-step Soul Transformation Stage Peak—was like a hundred thousand mountains, weighing down so heavily that everyone present gasped for breath.

"That is… the Grand Elder of the Wanfo Temple! Divine Monk Konghai?!"

In the camp of the Righteous Path, an extremely elderly Elder let out an incredulous cry of surprise, which was immediately followed by wild joy.

"Divine Monk Konghai has actually ended his secluded meditation! His Holiness is a living fossil who has lived for eight hundred years, and is only a hair's breadth away from the true Soul Transformation Stage!"

"Fantastic! With the Divine Monk taking action, even if this Devil Head had three heads and six arms, he would still be reduced to ashes today!"

The Righteous Path coalition forces, who had just been routed and utterly defeated by Gu Lan, now looked as if they had seen their savior. They knelt on the ground one after another, crying out for the Divine Monk's mercy.

Meanwhile, on the demon god ship.

Saintess Ji Wushuang's face instantly turned deathly pale. She gripped the ship's railing tightly, her fingernails digging deep into the wood.

"Half-step Soul Transformation Peak… This old bald donkey actually isn't dead! Gu Lan has completely exhausted his true essence now; he can't even block a single strike from him!"

She abruptly turned her head to look at Ye Hongzhuang, who sat high upon her throne.

"Sect Master! Please act quickly! If you wait any longer, Gu Lan will lose his life!"

Ye Hongzhuang remained lazily reclined on her throne, playing with a crystal-clear spiritual fruit in her hand. Her narrow, phoenix-like eyes watched Gu Lan, who was struggling desperately below, a deep, mysterious glint flashing in the depths of her gaze.

"What is there to panic about?"

Ye Hongzhuang parted her red lips slightly, her tone flat and devoid of any emotion.

"If he cannot even deal with an old bald donkey who already has one foot in the grave, he does not deserve to be my Sword-Wielding Envoy."

"But…"

Saintess Ji Wushuang wanted to say more, but Ye Hongzhuang's cold gaze forced her to swallow her words.

Amidst the ruins of the arena.

"Crack, crack, crack…"

Under the pressure of that half-step Soul Transformation power, the obsidian ground beneath Gu Lan's feet cracked inch by inch.

He felt as if two massive mountains were weighing down on his shoulders. The bones in his legs groaned under the unbearable weight, and his knees wanted to bend and kneel uncontrollably.

"Amitabha."

Divine Monk Konghai looked down upon Gu Lan from on high, his cloudy old eyes filled with a lofty mixture of pity and coldness.

"Vile creature, your slaughter is too heavy, and your demonic roots run deep. You have already become a great plague to the common people of the world."

"Today, this old monk shall act as the Wrathful Vajra to completely suppress your demonic soul in the eighteen levels of Hell, never to be reincarnated!"

No sooner had he spoken.

Divine Monk Konghai slowly raised his skeletal right hand and pressed down through the air!

"Boom!!!"

The hundred-zhang-tall golden Buddha avatar behind him also raised its massive golden palm and slammed it down viciously toward Gu Lan, carrying a terrifying force capable of sweeping away obstacles and obliterating all evil!

"Great Luo Vajra Palm!"

The massive golden palm print blotted out the sky, completely sealing off the space for hundreds of zhang around Gu Lan. The air was frantically compressed beneath this palm, producing a series of deafening sonic booms.

This strike was more than ten times stronger than the previous Nascent Soul Early Stage inescapable net!

This was a true fatal blow!

Hiding behind the ruins in the distance, Jiang Wanqing watched the falling golden giant palm, her eyes instantly turning red.

"Junior Brother!!!"

She wanted to rush out regardless of the consequences, but found that under a pressure of that level, even moving a single finger was a luxury.

Facing this certain-death predicament.

Gu Lan, however, suddenly smiled.

Bearing the pressure that was enough to grind him into meat paste, he raised his head bit by bit with extreme difficulty.

On that face covered in blood and dust, there was not the slightest hint of fear. Instead, a crazed, almost neurotic, and ferocious grin blossomed!

"Old bald donkey!"

Gu Lan spat a mouthful of bloody saliva fiercely onto the ground.

"With your mouth full of 'the common people' and 'great mercy and compassion,' when it comes down to it, aren't you just relying on your high cultivation to bully the weak?!"

"You want to suppress me?!"

"You are not fucking worthy!!!"

Gu Lan let out a roar like an ancient Vicious Beast, and violently stabbed the soul-devouring demon sword in his hand deep into the rock beneath his feet!

"Rise for me—!"

Rumble!!!

At this moment, the ten-pattern purple extreme golden core that had been dormant in his body for a long time was frantically detonated by Gu Lan without reservation, and even in an almost self-destructive manner!

A surge of Devilish Qi, a hundred times darker and more brutal than before, erupted from his body like a reverse-flowing black waterfall, soaring into the sky!

This Devilish Qi was so pure that it even forced the dazzling Buddhist light in midair to recede by dozens of zhang!

"What… is that?!"

Divine Monk Konghai's expression changed dramatically in midair.

For he saw that within that soaring black Devilish Qi, a terrifying phantom over sixty zhang tall was slowly condensing!

The phantom had no facial features, with two ferocious demonic horns on its head, and its entire body was clad in heavy black armor that looked like cooled magma. What made everyone's skin crawl the most was that within the hands of this demon god phantom, two terrifying flames of completely different colors were burning!

In its left hand was the Green Lotus Core Flame, green and eerie like a lotus, capable of incinerating all things!

In its right hand was the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, deep red like blood, specializing in burning the Divine Soul!

"Ancient Demon God Avatar?!"

On the demon god ship, the Grand Elder's eyes almost popped out of his head as he stared at Gu Lan below as if looking at a ghost.

"This kid has only just reached Core Formation, so how could he possibly condense an avatar?! This is a method that only Soul Transformation Stage powerhouses possess!"

A brilliant light finally erupted from Ye Hongzhuang's phoenix eyes, and she suddenly sat up straight.

"He has fused the ancient Demon Gods True Blood within his body!"

"This kid actually forcibly blended the Demon Gods True Blood with his own exotic flames, giving rise to this monstrous form!"

On the arena.

Gu Lan's eyes had completely turned into an eerie purple-gold.

Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust his hands violently upward.

The massive demon god phantom behind him moved in perfect sync with his actions. Wielding the violent green and red exotic flames with its arms, it clashed fiercely against the descending golden Buddha hand!

"Today, I will smash your fake Buddha to pieces!"

"Bang!!!"

One golden and one black, the two avatars representing the pinnacle forces of the world collided fiercely in midair!

At that instant, the entire Sunset Plain seemed to lose all sound.

Immediately after, a blinding sun exploded violently at the center of the collision!

A terrifying shockwave visible to the naked eye, carrying a tearing astral wind and an energy storm mixed with Buddhist light and demonic flames, swept frantically in all directions.

"Retreat quickly! Activate the defensive array!"

The Righteous Path camp instantly fell into chaos. The thousands of Cultivators in the front row did not even have time to scream before they were blasted away by the aftermath, falling several miles away like dumplings into a pot, their fates unknown.

The demon god ship also shook violently, its defensive barrier emitting a piercing alarm.

At the center of the collision.

Gu Lan felt the muscles in his arms tearing apart inch by inch, blood spraying wildly. That power, which far exceeded the limits of what his Physical Body could bear, was frantically destroying his internal organs.

But he did not retreat!

Gritting his teeth hard, he poured the last trace of Pure Yang Qi in his body entirely into the exotic flames.

"Burn for me!!!"

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!"

In midair, that originally indestructible golden Buddha hand actually began to show signs of melting under the dual frantic burning of the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire!

Once those dazzling Buddhist lights came into contact with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, they withered rapidly, as if meeting their natural bane.

"Impossible!"

Divine Monk Konghai could finally no longer maintain his lofty posture.

He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his wrinkled face filled with terror.

"How could this old monk's half-step Soul Transformation avatar be ignited by the Devilish Qi of a Golden Core Stage?!"

"What kind of demonic fire is this?!"

"The fire that will burn you to death!"

Gu Lan let out a hysterical laugh and kicked off hard with both legs inside the deep pit.

Boom!

He actually pushed against that massive Buddha hand and soared straight into the sky!

The demon god phantom behind him let out a silent roar and exerted violent force with both arms, actually tearing that golden Buddha hand—already riddled with holes from the burning—apart right down the middle!

"Rip!"

The Buddha hand shattered, golden light dancing all over the sky.

Suffering a severe backlash, Divine Monk Konghai screamed and fell straight down from the center of the Buddha's brow.

Transforming into a black meteor burning with green and red flames, Gu Lan instantly appeared before the falling Divine Monk Konghai.

He grabbed the soul-devouring sword stabbed into the ground with one hand, its blade wreathed in a despair-inducing purple-black Devilish Qi.

"Old bald donkey, in your next life, when you chant scriptures…"

Gu Lan's eyes were icy cold as he slashed down with the longsword in his hand without a shred of mercy!

"Remember to open your goddamn eyes!"