"You feel it too? Then it must be real. It wasn't my imagination."
Jiang Jiushan said softly.
"Saint Awakening?"
Zhou Yuanjue's expression changed for an instant, but he quickly cald down. He lowered his gaze, his Spirit condensing into a brilliant golden orb to resist all interference.
"Saint Awakening is just what we humans call it. They have a different system and path of advancent. For a Celestial Demon, I suppose the equivalent would be a 'Celestial General' or 'Demon General'?"
Jiang Jiushan speculated.
"His state isn't quite right. It seems to be because he just possessed this body. There must be so restrictions on his use of Power."
Zhou Yuanjue nodded and said.
"Should we fight? He hasn't made a move this whole ti, so the restrictions must be significant. If the two of us wanted to leave, they wouldn't be able to stop us."
Jiang Jiushan asked.
"What do you think? Haven't we cast everything aside in pursuit of a glimpse of that realm? Now a living signpost is standing right before us. How could we possibly retreat?"
Zhou Yuanjue's expression was grave. His Heart Fire burned, eternally bright. All distracting thoughts were thrown into its flas and incinerated into nothingness, leaving only a psyche that sought transcendence, growing ever purer and more brilliant.
"Your answer is just as I expected. 'To hear the Dao in the morning and die content in the evening.' The turns of life are sotis so wondrous. No one can predict where their turning point will be."
Jiang Jiushan raised his head, the bright moonlight spilling onto his face. Zhou Yuanjue thought he could see Jiang's Niwan Palace glowing faintly, exuding a sense of tranquility.
Although it was their first ti eting, looking at him, Zhou Yuanjue felt as if he were seeing an old friend of many years.
Under the sa starry sky, striving for the sa goal.
"I have a premonition. I will die here tonight, but I will also get what I want."
Jiang Jiushan said with a laugh, seeming quite cheerful.
In that mont, he had reached a certain realization.
The previous battle, one against four, was no different from a suicide mission. That was why he had held back his strength, waiting for the right mont.
And now, that mont had arrived.
The moon was bright, the stars were few. A friend was by his side.
Would he transcend himself, or would he march to his death?
"Are you two performing a cody routine?"
Just then, a voice spoke up. The young man leaning by the roadside lowered his arms, straightened up, and walked step by step toward Zhou Yuanjue and Jiang Jiushan.
As he moved, a terrifying wave of Psychic Power emanated from him.
The shadows on the ground, ford from Psychic Power, instantly ca to life.
Zhou Yuanjue's and Jiang Jiushan's pupils contracted sharply as a powerful sense of crisis washed over them.
SCREEE!!
HMMMM!!
In that instant, both n's Psychic Power flared out, ready to resist so terrible threat.
SHING SHING SHING!!
From the bog of living shadows on the ground, countless shadow spikes suddenly erupted—so dense they were impossible to dodge.
This was a powerful Spiritual Attack ford from Psychic Power, its Attack Power nearly on par with the "Flying Sword Skill" Dai Yisheng had once used!
Under this terrifying Psychic Power, Tang Chen and Tao Long's Spirits were instantly crushed, and they fell unconscious.
And while Zhou Yuanjue and Jiang Jiushan hadn't suffered a fatal blow, they were still injured.
"A Saint Awakening Level attack?"
Zhou Yuanjue murmured.
"No, it hasn't crossed the boundary yet. The Power of a true Saint Awakening Level is far from this simple."
Jiang Jiushan said in a low voice.
"My lord… you're going to act yourself?"
Seeing this, the three Celestial Demon People were startled and asked in grave voices.
"You're all too useless, and the other Celestial Beings are no help either. If we drag this out any longer, their reinforcents will only grow, and the situation will beco very disadvantageous for us. Even if acting now causes so damage and affects my condition later, it doesn't matter. I need to get rid of these nuisances as quickly as possible and et up with Xin You."
The young man spoke slowly, his gaze falling upon the formidable pair of Zhou Yuanjue and Jiang Jiushan. A terrifying smile crept onto his face.
"You want to fight ? You're not worthy!"
The young man's eyes snapped open.
BOOM!!
Shadows like toppling mountains and overturning seas poured from his body, crashing down on Zhou Yuanjue and Jiang Jiushan like an avalanche.
From the bog of shadows on the ground, countless ghostly figures stretched out their arms, constantly trying to climb onto their bodies.
'Give up! Just give up!'
'Perseverance is such a painful thing. There are no miracles in this world. You are not its protagonists. You are just like the teeming masses—nothing more than ordinary, unremarkable people.'
'You haven't inherited a powerful Bloodline, nor were you born with the Power to transcend mortals like the Celestial Beings. No matter how hard you try, everything is already set in stone.'
'Human life is so short. In the end, everyone dies. A fleeting century, then a handful of dust. A lifeti of bitter Cultivation, and what's left in the end? Why torture yourselves?'
'Look at the teeming masses. What's so bad about an ordinary life? You sever your emotions and attachnts, cast everything aside, live in constant fear as if treading on thin ice... but in the end, won't your fate be the sa as theirs?'
'It's all just foolishness. In this world, there are no miracles.'
'No miracles!'
Zhou Yuanjue's and Jiang Jiushan's bodies were entwined by the shadows. The ntal Power seeped in from everywhere. It seed to have no Attack Power, and was even accompanied by a decadent lody that made one's whole body feel comfortable.
Question after question echoed irresistibly in their minds, seizing upon the faintest trace of doubt in their instincts and magnifying it infinitely.
The voice of the Celestial Demon: it obstructs a person's virtue, despises the ways of the wise and holy, creates all manner of disturbances, and destroys the roots of goodness that lead to worldly detachnt.
This was a demonic tribulation ant to destroy their Dao!
Celestial General Chief Ba was using his own formidable Celestial Demon psyche as a guide to draw out the confusion, weakness, and depravity hidden in the depths of the human heart.
This was far more treacherous than any Psychic Power attack, because a single stray thought could lay a lifeti of Cultivation to waste!
A Martial Artist cultivates the heart. Only when the heart is fearless and presses ever forward can the fist move unhindered, shattering all obstacles.
If the heart holds doubt, the fist becos weak and powerless!
"Kill them."
Celestial General Chief Ba looked at the two n standing frozen in place, seemingly trapped in a quagmire under the influence of his psyche, and a scornful smile touched his lips.
'Humans… what weak creatures,' he thought. 'The most difficult trial they face always cos from within themselves. To crush them is, more often than not, a very simple matter.'
At his command, the three Celestial Demons flickered and instantly rushed toward Zhou Yuanjue and Jiang Jiushan.
'If there are no miracles in this world, then I will create one!'
Suddenly, Zhou Yuanjue's eyes snapped open.
SCREEE!!
The massive Flaming Giant Bird rose once more from behind him. It threw its head back and let out a long cry, beating its wings as if to break through all barriers and obstacles.
'If this world has no miracles, then I will create them. If this world has no path, then I will forge one.'
'Looking back at history, humanity has been creating miracles since ancient tis. But how many of those people truly knew they were creating a miracle in human history?'
'They simply had a wish in their hearts. They looked up at the stars, planted their feet on the ground, and took it one step at a ti, eventually scaling a peak that everyone else had deed impossible.'
'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; small streams converge to form rivers and seas!'
'If you don't even have the courage to take that first step, if you just trap yourself in the petty struggles of the dazzling world, how can you ever hope to see a miracle?'
He firmly believed that as long as he continued to surpass the self of today, one day, he would beco the miracle!
"As long as Hell is not empty, I vow not to beco a Buddha."
"Hell will never be empty, just as this world will never have a true pure land. It is a grand vow, and also a fool's errand. But it is precisely because of such foolish endeavors that miracles exist in this world."
Beside him, Jiang Jiushan also opened his eyes. His gaze was lowered and a smile was on his face. A dazzling jade light blossod from his body, and behind him sat an enormous Buddha, its radiance scattering the darkness and ushering in peace and light.
'What is a miracle? What is greatness?'
'Isn't it an ideal that you know is impossible, yet you still pursue it bravely, never giving up?'
'The Ksitigarbha King sits in Hell not only to suppress all ghouls and demons, but also for that ideal in his heart—the one he knows is impossible, yet still strives for without regret, even unto death.'
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