Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Three blazing suns slowly rose behind the old monk, golden brilliance spreading endlessly in all directions…

This power was not merely of Law, nor merely of Dao—it was a spiritual-level transformation.

Unnoticed, it could instantly draw anyone with an unstable soul into the Buddhist gate.

“Your Majesty, fine weapons are ominous tools; sages do not wield them lightly!”

“From your brows like flame and the fierce glint in your eyes, I can tell… you must be an emperor bent on conquest.”

“If so, the world shall know no peace, and all beings shall suffer…”

The old monk spoke, his face tinged with pity.

“This humble monk is willing to use his own body to stabilize the nation’s fate, to save the world from needless disaster…”

“What say you, Your Majesty?”

As the monk’s words fell, golden lotuses surged from the ground, Sanskrit chants descended from the heavens, and everything nearby was bathed in gold, with waves of sandalwood incense wafting through the air.

Not a few civil officials of weaker will showed signs of struggle in their eyes.

Some ministers with lower cultivation even instinctively pressed their palms together.

“Hmph!! Master! My Great Qin Empire requires no state religion! My word is final!!”

“Can’t you understand that, Master?!”

Su Zheng let out a cold snort.

In an instant, the boundless national fate transformed into a pitch-black ancestral dragon coiling behind him, sheltering all the ministers within.

Under the protection of national fate, they were finally rescued from the brink of being transformed.

Had Su Zheng not acted, in just a few more moments, they would have been bathed in Buddha-light, have their worldly hearts extinguished, and one by one become Buddhist disciples.

This was precisely the most terrifying aspect of the Western Buddhist Kingdom.

Ordinary cultivators may fight to the death, but the monks’ methods strike at the heart and soul— forcing one into submission, turning them into members of the Buddhist sect.

Your original self remains, your divine soul still watches, but you can no longer control your body— forced to watch yourself become a so-called merciful monk.

No different than a puppet— no, more tragic than a puppet!

“Your Majesty, you are too fixated. Even among the Four Divine Nations, two are stabilized by our Buddhist sect. Why cling to resistance?”

The old monk shook his head in helplessness.

“Master! I have no patience left for idle talk!”

“Retreat!!”

Su Zheng’s dark eyes were deep, and his royal robe billowed without Qin.

The ancestral dragon of fate lifted him into the skies.

With a Moon Grasping-level cultivation, he faced a Sun Veiling-level powerhouse head-on—yet his momentum was in no way inferior.

Having cultivated alongside his empire and completed the Fengshan Ceremony atop Mount Tai, his imperial aura and national fate had both reached terrifying heights.

Within Great Qin, he was the emperor—he was the law!

Even when facing a sealed-king powerhouse, the dignity of an emperor permitted no retreat!!

“If Your Majesty insists on stubbornness, then we can only settle this through battle… and discuss later.”

“Alas… fine weapons are ominous tools indeed…” the old monk said wearily, as if forced to do something he greatly disliked.

Yet as he spoke— his palm came crashing down, and within it, it was as if ten thousand Buddhas chanted scriptures, with waves of Sanskrit disturbing the soul.

“Buddha Kingdom in the Palm!!”

As the palm descended, it was as though a celestial Buddhist kingdom pressed down from above!

With unimaginable might, it made the surrounding space tremble.

“Before me, all kingdoms bow—even the Buddha Kingdom!!”

“I am Emperor—I shall swallow the Nine Heavens and suppress the Ten Earths!”

“Dao of the Emperor: Sweep Across the Six Directions!!”

Facing that palm, Su Zheng did not retreat but charged forward— with one punch through the void, a black dragon exploded forth, roaring against the heavens, aiming to overturn the Buddha Kingdom!

Boom!!!

In the instant that Buddha Kingdom and black dragon clashed, an unimaginable shockwave erupted.

Laws collided in all directions.

“As expected, His Majesty is extraordinarily gifted,” the old monk said with surprise in his eyes.

Though Su Zheng was only at the first stage of Moon Grasping, he had actually blocked this strike—

Even though the monk hadn’t used full power, as a sealed king of Sun Veiling rank, even a casual palm of his carried the weight of Dao Rhythms.

And yet Su Zheng had stopped it—proving his fearsome combat power.

At this thought, the old monk’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

If he could withstand a Sun Veiling-level strike at just Moon Grasping Stage One, then once he advanced… killing the monk would take no more than a flip of the hand!

That very thought caused a surge of murderous intent to rise in the monk’s heart.

“Your Majesty, you are a great inauspicious omen for the world.”

“You will shake the order of nations and invite boundless taboos.”

“This humble monk shall now send Your Majesty… into reincarnation and rebirth!!”

As he spoke, a chilling murderous gleam burst forth from his eyes.

He no longer held back at all.

The blazing suns behind him became dazzling beyond measure.

“Buddha suppresses all life!”

“All beings suffer!!”

The old monk brought his hands together and recited scripture.

A colossal golden Buddha body emerged from the heavens.

Palms together and eyes filled with false compassion, it came crashing down upon all living beings.

“Speaking of compassion with every breath—how laughable!”

“One day, I shall destroy you all, slaughter all Buddhas beneath the sky, and launch a campaign against the Western Buddhist Kingdom!!”

Su Zheng’s eyes widened— the power of the ancestral dragon converged into him.

The black dragon of fate behind him transformed into blazing power and merged into his body.

In an instant, his strength surged to an unimaginable peak.

“I am the Heavens!!” he whispered.

At the moment of merging with the divine beast of national fate, his understanding of the Dao of the Emperor deepened immensely.

He was speaking softly— but all citizens, all soldiers, all ministers— heard his voice in their hearts.

“Qin!!”

“Qin! Qin!!”

“Great Qin! Great Qin!! Great Qin!!!”

In an instant, every minister felt it in their hearts.

They rose to their feet, roaring and howling.

At that moment, the Buddha-light that once transformed all beings… seemed to lose its luster.

Those who belonged to the emperor— worshipped no heaven, bowed to no god— from this moment on… they would not bow before Buddha, nor look upon Guanyin*!

[*The Bodhisattva of Compassion in Chinese Buddhism, often worshipped widely. Saying “见佛不拜，不看观音” marks absolute defiance of Buddhism.]

The people howled, crying out “Long live the Emperor!”

Mountains and rivers roared like his subjects.

Everything in the Tiandu Domain— at this moment— seemed to become Su Zheng’s power.

ROAR!!

Suddenly, a magnificent path appeared in the heavens.

That path was lofty and radiant, filled with endless imperial aura.

All beings, the heavens, and the myriad races were inscribed upon it.

Yet only half the path existed.

The other half was dim and long broken…

This was the Emperor’s Path— a path already severed.

The Four Divine Emperors had once awakened it, but their national fates were sealed by unimaginable beings.

The Emperor’s Path was broken.

“The Emperor’s Path… aside from the rulers of the Four Divine Nations, someone has reawakened it again?”

“What a shame… the path is broken.”

“Broken? Even broken, those Emperors are still the strongest beings in the myriad realms!”

“But with fate sealed, walking the Emperor’s Path is useless!”

“A pity—what a monstrous genius. To summon a path like this… only to walk a broken one.”

One by one, the great powers sighed at the sight.

Even the rulers of the Four Divine Nations looked up at the broken path, their gazes deep and unreadable.

“All beings are not dust beneath the emperor’s feet!”

Su Zheng felt it in his heart, raised his head, and looked at the golden Buddha pressing down.

There was no joy, no anger in his eyes— only the eternal sky, as if he sat above all heavens.

“I shall tread upon ten thousand corpses to grasp the world, all life, and all races in my palm, and raise them high!”

“As Emperor, I want peace in the four seas, clear skies and calm rivers!”

“I want all living beings to understand my will— I want the myriad races to submit to me!”

“There is no Emperor’s Path?”

“Then I am the Emperor’s Path!!”

Su Zheng’s voice drowned out the heavens, drowned out all living things.

His voice drew the attention of the Four Emperors.

They looked at Su Zheng— and then at the Emperor’s Path.

In that moment… under the gaze of countless mighty beings across the myriad realms…

The broken Emperor’s Path— was forcibly lifted again by a shadowy yet majestic figure.

The Emperor’s heart is revealed, and the heavens acknowledge it!

The severed Emperor’s Path— was restored today, by this Emperor.

“What!! That’s impossible!! Impossible!!!”