Chapter 452 : Fixed Fate

Chapter 452: Fixed Fate

The heavens and earth across the Four Realms fell into utter silence.

Lü Yang froze completely in place, his face turning ashen as he stared toward the spot where 【Ang Xiao】 had just vanished. Inwardly, he was already cursing furiously:

‘That beast!’

No wonder that guy could reach the late stage of Golden Core and even petition the 【Underworld】—that reaction speed was absurd! The World-Honored One hadn’t even fully descended before the man had decisively fled.

What should he do now?

‘Activate the 【Book of a Hundred Lives】?’

Lü Yang took a deep breath, quickly calming his mind. The panel of the 【Book of a Hundred Lives】 beside him was his greatest confidence—no one could stop him from restarting!

After all, even though he currently held a False Golden Fruition, his position was already standing at the pinnacle of this heaven and earth. If the World-Honored One knew of the existence of the 【Book of a Hundred Lives】 and had arranged something against it, then perhaps even immortals couldn’t save him.

But since the 【Book of a Hundred Lives】 had not been exposed, who could imagine that he could commit suicide to restart?

However, Lü Yang soon realized something was wrong.

The World-Honored One wasn’t looking at him.

Those eyes, overflowing with Buddha Light, swept across the surroundings in calm indifference. Wherever His gaze passed, ghosts wailed and gods sobbed, blood rain fell from the heavens—it was as though the very world itself trembled in fear!

‘He’s not looking at me.’

In that instant, Lü Yang was enlightened—it was like a mortal staring at an anthill.

Who would care about what the ants inside looked like?

Golden Core? Foundation Establishment?

Merely the sizes of ants—utterly beneath notice!

What truly drew His gaze was the entire anthill itself—this heaven and earth.

As for everything else, they had never been within His concern from the beginning!

“Boom—!”

The entire Jiangxi region quaked violently. The World-Honored One stood with His hands clasped behind His back, surveying the surroundings, as if reminiscing about the glory of bygone ages.

The next second, He spoke.

“Come back.”

Just two calm words—spoken even with the voice of the 【Bodhisattva of Vase and Water Moon】—yet in that instant, they drew the response and resonance of the entire heaven and earth!

However, that resonance was clearly unwilling. The phenomena throughout the heavens showed contradiction—on one side, blood rain fell; on the other, golden lotuses blossomed from the ground. Disaster and auspice coexisted, a scene both bizarre and terrifying.

After a moment, all those strange signs faded simultaneously.

In their place appeared a beam of golden light.

This golden light had already hidden itself between heaven and earth, yet was now forcibly drawn forth. Within that light, endless visions unfolded—

Dragons coiled around golden cities, Tianjing Jade Ramparts stood tall.

Hundred officials paid homage; ten thousand households shone with light.

At a glance, it was not a mere ray of light, but an entire nation condensed a billionfold—vast and weighty beyond words.

【Chengtou Soil】!

Because the 【Buddha Kingdom on Earth】 had perished, and the “Unity of All Beings” had been severed, the escaping 【Chengtou Soil】 from the Pure Land had now been pulled back by a single word from the World-Honored One!

‘That’s shameless…!’

Lü Yang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but he immediately restrained himself, not daring to reveal even the slightest emotion—this was no mere Buddha Child.

This was the Dao Lord Himself descending!

‘Holy Sect, Sword Pavilion, Dao Court… what are you all even doing?! How could you let the World-Honored One act personally?! Is there no rule of law left?!’

None of the mighty ones in this damned realm had a shred of immortal virtue!

Though his heart was filled with curses, Lü Yang, in reality, didn’t hesitate to use 【Wall Earth】 to seal his qi, desperately diminishing his presence.

Of course, it was useless.

He was only comforting himself.

“Boom—!”

The next instant, the 【Chengtou Soil】 was seen trembling in the palm of the World-Honored One—one loose grip, and it would vanish into nothingness.

Yet soon, the World-Honored One extended His other hand, pointing downward lightly. In that moment, the entire Pure Land of Jiangxi shimmered with hazy, illusory radiance.

Immediately after, Lü Yang saw the entire Jiangxi—the monks, birds, beasts, even heaven and earth itself—being stripped of a mysterious layer of light and shadow.

A new “Pure Land” was born.

This had already surpassed Lü Yang’s comprehension. It was like reading a heavenly tome.

Yet, holding the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】, he could clearly sense it—

‘The 【Sword Dao】 is now anchored upon that!’

Logically speaking, under the control of the Demon-Suppressing True Person, the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】 had already rooted itself into the Pure Land, bound to the “Unity of All Beings.”

If the 【Sword Dao】 perished, the Unity would cease.

But now, the World-Honored One had peeled away that very concept—as though a snake shedding its skin—separating the 【Sword Dao】 from the Pure Land!

‘No—more precisely, He severed the portion of the Pure Land that had been rooted by the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】 from that which hadn’t. The former was sent away; the latter preserved—thus, without damaging the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】, He restored the Unity of All Beings!’

Causality? Time? Concept?

Lü Yang could understand the change, but not how it was achieved. As he pondered, the World-Honored One suddenly shifted His gaze.

‘Hiss!!!’

Lü Yang drew a sharp breath.

He’s looking at me? No… not me—He’s looking at the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】!

The World-Honored One remained silent. Those eyes, brimming with Buddha Light, calmly fixed upon the sword rank in Lü Yang’s hand, and He extended a single finger to tap lightly.

“Boom—!”

In the next moment, the “Pure Land” He had personally stripped out—composed entirely of light and shadow—began collapsing.

All its myriad phenomena merged into the 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】, making it ever more complete and independent.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the monks of the Pure Land showed expressions of compassion.

“Amitābha!”

The unified chant of Buddha resounded once more. Every monk’s appearance became solemn and dignified, sensing the restoration of their unity. Their faces no longer showed joy or sorrow—

Only purity and peace.

When all was done, the World-Honored One withdrew His gaze. The restored Unity suppressed the rampaging 【Chengtou Soil】 and returned it deep into the Pure Land.

Everything returned to its former state.

The Demon-Suppressing True Person’s intricate schemes—turning the Sword Pavilion and the Pure Land into mortal enemies—had all turned to dust before the World-Honored One’s descent!

Then, the World-Honored One slowly closed His eyes.

When He opened them again, the overwhelming Buddha Light had faded. The consciousness of the 【Bodhisattva of Vase and Water Moon】 returned, only to dissolve like a dream or illusion.

She had once again gone into seclusion.

After all, the constraints of the 【Boundless Heaven】 still remained.

The 【Bodhisattva of Vase and Water Moon】 had descended only by burning her Cave Heaven. Now that all matters were concluded, there was no reason for her to continue exhausting it.

From beginning to end, the World-Honored One had not spoken a single word to anyone else.

‘That’s… it?’

Lü Yang’s expression was dazed. He hadn’t imagined that the descent of the World-Honored One would end so anticlimactically.

Yet soon, he sorted out the logic within:

‘Right. The Pure Land’s repeated misfortunes had already strayed from the Dao Lords’ ordained path, so it required correction. Hence, the World-Honored One intervened.

However, since the 【Sword Dao】 concerned the Sword Pavilion’s grand design, He couldn’t destroy it. That’s why, after descending, the World-Honored One refrained from further excessive actions.’

In an instant, divine insight dawned on Lü Yang.

The descent of the World-Honored One was by no means without limitation!

‘Strictly speaking, He represented the will of the four Dao Lords—the World-Honored One was but the executor of their compromise, sent to tidy up the loose ends!’

The Pure Land’s 【Chengtou Soil】 must be reclaimed.

The 【Sword Dao Fruitional Rank】, belonging to the Sword Pavilion, must remain intact.

As for the 【Buddha Kingdom on Earth】—that was left to fate. The other Dao Lords had given the World-Honored One a chance, but since He had failed, He could only accept the loss.

“This really is…”

Even after understanding the logic behind the World-Honored One’s descent, Lü Yang felt no relief—only a cold dread rising in his chest.

The reason was simple:

‘Each of the four Dao Lords has a red line for this realm. Touch any one of them, and it will draw their direct intervention!’

That was why the Holy Sect’s Patriarch had pitied Mu Changsheng to death.

That was why the World-Honored One Himself had descended to set things right.

In other words, from the very beginning, the future of this world had already been sealed by the hands of the four Dao Lords!