Chapter Thirteen: The Convergence of Buddhist, Taoist, and Demonic Arts

Around Zhang Xiao, black, silver, and gold energies intertwined. Behind his head, a demonic wheel, symbolizing the slaughter of the demonic path, churned with roiling demonic energy. A phantom of an ancient shield, inscribed with the image of a Black Tortoise, was slowly taking form. Yet, within that very demonic wheel, a Buddhist wheel flickered, radiating the benevolence of the Dharma.

As the Buddhist wheel pulsed, rays of Buddhist aura wove together to manifest four divine Buddhas sitting in lotus position. Each bore a different expression: one laughing, one weeping, one furious, and one compassionate. However, this Buddhist wheel appeared faint, far less substantial than the dense, near-tangible demonic wheel.

To an outsider, Zhang Xiao appeared to have cultivated a peerless divine art amidst the convergence of Buddhist and demonic light. But the risks involved were unimaginable. Zhang Xiao felt as if he were trapped between two tornadoes, struggling to maintain his balance and prevent himself from tipping toward either side.

A single misstep would result in his soul being scattered and his physical body instantly pulverized by the turbulent spiritual energy—a scenario from which he knew he would have no chance of resurrection.

Before long, a grimace of agony distorted Zhang Xiao’s face. The aura surrounding him began to clash uncontrollably. His heart sank, and he secretly lamented his own impatience. A clone, after all, was just a clone; it was not his true second primordial spirit, and therefore lacked the same origin as his core self.

Under normal circumstances, this was not an issue, but now that the flaw had surfaced, it proved fatal. In short, the clone was fundamentally incapable of merging with his true source.

Just as Zhang Xiao teetered on the brink of a cultivation deviation, a milky-white light suddenly erupted from the attribute interface on his wrist and poured into his body.

This light was the power of merit—a resource Zhang Xiao had been reluctant to use. To use an analogy, the power of merit was like an omnipotent cheat code; it could facilitate anything from alchemy to the advancement of cultivation with ease.

Of course, merit was not easily acquired. The mission to establish a nation had yielded only three thousand points, and the rescue of one hundred thousand Chinese people in the Americas had granted a mere eight hundred. With a total of only three thousand eight hundred, the scarcity of such power was evident.

Zhang Xiao had intended to hoard this energy until his Seven Transformations of the Profound Heaven reached the fifth stage. Yet, faced with the current crisis, he had no choice but to use it to remedy the defect. With the intervention of the power of merit, the three types of spiritual energy within him gradually began to stabilize.

The Pure Yang energy, previously the weakest of the three, began to surge in strength. A new silver halo appeared between the demonic and Buddhist wheels, acting as a barrier to separate them. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

***

The Sea King Palace was one of the seven great hegemons of the seas, governing one-seventh of the ocean territory. Under its jurisdiction were thirty-six grottoes, each controlling hundreds of thousands of miles of sea. The masters of these grottoes were, for all intents and purposes, local despots.

No demon dared to defy them. At this moment, the atmosphere within the Myriad Spirit Grotto, which governed a vast expanse of sea, was heavy and oppressive. A sharp, resounding slap echoed through the grand hall.

A demon at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm was sent flying, crashing into a giant coral formation on the side of the hall. As the demon lifted his head, his left cheek was hideously swollen, turning his once handsome features into a grotesque caricature. "Useless trash! How much time has passed? Why is there still no news?"

A thunderous roar erupted from the hall. Upon hearing this, the demon who had been struck scrambled to his knees and pleaded, "My King, forgive me! Forgive me! Your subordinate has already dispatched three hundred thousand disciples, each capable of controlling a school of nearly thirty million fish. These schools have cast a net across our Myriad Spirit Sea. Furthermore, the sky is being monitored by eight hundred thousand flying fish. Unless that human dares to fly tens of thousands of miles high, I will receive word the moment he appears."

The grand hall was adorned with inlaid gold and precious jade, even more opulent than the palace of the First Emperor of Qin. Seventeen demons of various forms stood in the hall. The Myriad Spirit Grotto possessed eighteen commanders in total, the weakest being at the late Nascent Soul stage, while the strongest had reached the peak of the early Spirit Refining stage.

Yet, these seventeen commanders did not dare to breathe. They stood with lowered heads, eyes fixed on the figure seated upon the throne. The man, though human in shape, had long, writhing tentacles protruding from his face. Clad in golden robes, he sat with a cold, piercing gaze.

The Great Squid King was one of the thirty-six masters of the Sea King Palace. While there were many existences of higher rank above him, he was the undisputed king of the Myriad Spirit Sea.

Though he had not yet fully transformed into a human, the Great Squid King was a descendant of the ancient Blue Sea Squid bloodline. His strength was rumored to have reached the Great Perfection of the late Spirit Refining stage, just one step away from the Fusion stage.

The Shell Demon tribe was not a large race, but one of their members was the King’s favorite concubine—a fact known to all in the Myriad Spirit Sea. Recently, his brother-in-law had come to him in tears, claiming the entire Shell Demon tribe had been wiped out by a single human cultivator.

This had sent the local despot into a rage. Even without his concubine’s pleas, this was a direct slap to his face. For both public and private reasons, he could not suffer such an insult. He had immediately ordered the commander of the Spirit Fish tribe to exhaust all resources to hunt down the wretched human.

However, as time dragged on, the Great Squid King’s patience grew thin. Upon hearing the commander’s report of failure, he had lashed out, sending him flying. But now, hearing the commander’s desperate explanation, the Great Squid King fell into a sullen silence. The Spirit Fish tribe, despite their limited combat power, possessed the innate talent to control ordinary fish; with them, every eye in the sea acted as his scout—a feat even a demon at the Tribulation Transcendence stage might struggle to match. Where on earth was that accursed human hiding?

Just as the Great Squid King felt a wave of frustration, the commander outside the hall suddenly shivered. He had just received word from his descendants: someone was undergoing a tribulation on a small island in the Myriad Spirit Sea. It did not appear to be one of the three standard demon tribulations—the Morphing Tribulation, the Golden Core Tribulation, or the Great Heavenly Tribulation of the Tribulation Transcendence stage. If it was not a demon, it could only be that wretched human cultivator.

Realizing this, the commander scrambled into the hall and shouted to the throne, "My King! We have found him! That accursed human is undergoing his tribulation on a small island!"

The hall went silent for a moment before the other commanders surged forward, clamoring, "My King, allow me to capture that human! I will rip out his heart and lungs to avenge you!"

Seeing a golden opportunity to earn merit, they were eager to act. They had heard the human was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. By the time he finished his tribulation, he would likely be half-dead from the lightning strikes—a perfect chance to reap the rewards without effort.

The Great Squid King’s gloomy expression softened into a sneer. "A tribulation! Hahaha! I thought that human was formidable, but he is merely a fool. To dare undergo a tribulation in my Myriad Spirit Sea—he is courting death."

The King gestured to a commander with a human body and a shark’s head. "Iron Tooth, go. Bring me that wretched human. Do not fail me, or I will pluck out your demon core for a snack."