Uh!

Feeling the massive influx of Spiritual Power being infused into his body.

Zen Master Huihang's eyes suddenly widened, and he gritted his teeth, "Demon Head, don't think you can buy me off like this. You've destroyed my Lanning Temple to such a degree, I am irreconcilably opposed to you..."

Thump!

A crisp sound.

Duge's finger slid across, poking a hole in his stomach and pulled out his stomach, incidentally cutting off the Spiritual Power supply to him.

"Scoundrel!" Zen Master Huihang held his own stomach, cursing through gritted teeth.

"Nourish it with Spiritual Power to keep the stomach alive, and I'll help you reattach it in a moment." Duge said with a smile, handing the stomach back to him, "Zen Master, don't be so despondent. At least for now, Lanning Temple still stands. If you act rashly and provoke me to fire, and I slaughter Lanning Temple, you would be the biggest sinner of Lanning Temple..."

Me?

A sinner?

Zen Master Huihang was stunned by this shocking logic.

"Why don't you ask the people in the heavens if they want to die with you?" Duge said with a grin, "Haven't you noticed that Hong Ren and Hong Jie, the two big shots, aren't saying anything? Isn't it because they don't feel my malice? Several hundred years of cultivation isn't easy; everyone is seeking Longevity. To die over a moment's righteousness---it's just not worth it..."

Hong Ren and Hong Jie, the two Mahayana Stage practitioners, remained silent. For one, they were influenced by the Doctor's Benevolence;

Secondly, they indeed did not know how to deal with Duge;

First came the Illusory Image of Buddha, then Duge's rapidly increasing strength, followed by the "Forbidden" character on the ground that could trap them. These two Mahayana Stage practitioners were starting not to recognize the world they lived in...

Of course.

They hadn't died from the start, so their will to die wasn't so strong. Just as Duge said, after thousands of years of arduous cultivation, it'd be too much to just die a pathetic death, or to seize another body to be reborn and start all over. It simply wasn't worth it!

Meanwhile.

The cultivators of the Supervisory Academy were explaining the principles of the Spirit Power Mutual Aid Alliance vociferously and, coupled with the torture endured by Zen Master Huihang, the monks of Lanning Temple were gradually persuaded.

On the other hand, Zhuo Shaoan of the Heavenly Demon Palace became increasingly panicked.

With the way the Spirit Power Mutual Aid Alliance operated, those below indeed would not object, and on the contrary, they would reap more benefits. But it was them, the ones at the top, who were the unfortunate ones!

He was at the Mahayana Stage!

Who else was qualified to transmit their power to him, to improve his Realm...

Dammit!

He had trapped himself. The two old bald heads from Lanning Temple were right; such an evil fellow should be put down by everyone...

Ignoring the noisy Supervisory Academy members in the sky, Duge turned his attention to Zhuo Shaoan, whose complexion was changing unpredictably, and smiled, "Senior Zhuo, thank you for your help. Without Senior Zhuo, taking down Lanning Temple would indeed have taken a bit more effort..."

"Wang Chong, since I've helped you, does that mean the Heavenly Demon Palace does not need to join the Spirit Power Mutual Aid Alliance?" Zhuo Shaoan asked tentatively.

He could feel Duge's Realm getting higher and higher, steadily stepping into the Mahayana Stage. Just now, Wang Chong at the Integration Realm could already stand his ground against two Mahayana without falling short.

Now, with the two Mahayana Stage monks from Lanning Temple starting to slack off, only he remained in the Mahayana Stage, and his heart was really pounding.

After all.

The fellow in front of him was too sinister; he could not be measured by normal standards.

"How could that be?" Duge frowned, "As you said earlier, I am a Buddha Child; if Buddha can guide and save all beings, why can't the Demon learn and follow to become Buddha? Spirit Power Mutual Aid is also about guiding and saving all beings!"

"..." Zhuo Shaoan's face paled.

The two old monks whose power was being extracted by Duge looked at him with schadenfreude.

I'm really such an idiot!

Seeing that Duge's attention was temporarily on the two old monks of Lanning Temple, Zhuo Shaoan sprang into action and fled towards the outside of Lanning Temple, but before he got far, he suddenly felt a chill on his body, as his clothes and limbs were already severed from his body.

At the same time, Duge's voice rang in his ear, "Senior Zhuo, where are you off to?"

Zhuo Shaoan exclaimed in shock, "You... Wang Chong... I've helped you..."

"If you help someone, you should help them all the way. Don't move around, or you might not keep your head!" Duge held Zhuo Shaoan, taking him back while flying, extracting his power as they went, and said, "You said it yourself just now, I'm the Buddha Child of the Heavenly Demon Palace, so you should at least cooperate with me in taking over the Heavenly Demon Palace!"

"You..." Zhuo Shaoan's insides turned green with regret, "Wang Chong, how can you be so shameless? With such behavior, then who would sincerely help you?"

"The Medical Immortal Sect, the Supervisory Academy, and now Lanning Temple... Do you think they all just came over willingly?" Duge said with a slight smile, shaking his head, "Senior Zhuo, it's because of you, never quite demon, never quite Buddha; swaying back and forth, that's why you've lost so miserably in your struggle with the Heaven's Path Institute!"

"The Heavenly Demon Palace and the Heaven's Path Institute have always been rivals; where is this utter defeat you speak of?" Zhuo Shaoan retorted angrily.

"Once I take charge of the Heavenly Demon Palace, believe it or not, there will only be the Heavenly Demon Palace known in the world, with no such thing as the Heaven's Path Institute or the Longevity Residence anymore." Duge lamented, "Senior Zhuo, don't be too sad. Whether or not you stepped in, sooner or later the Heavenly Demon Palace and the Heaven's Path Institute would come to this. By lending me a hand, I owe you a favor, and this is a good thing for the Heavenly Demon Palace. I will give it special consideration..."

You owe me a favor, yet you've dismembered my arm?

Zhuo Shaoan glared at Duge with anger, his heart filled with sorrow and bitter reflection on how to make amends for the wrongs he had done.

"By the way, Senior Zhuo, why did you suddenly come to Lanning Temple?" Duge suddenly asked, "Don't tell me you were just dropping by..."

"I was deceived into coming here." Feeling the ebbing of the Spiritual Power within his body, Zhuo Shaoan was immensely oppressed in his heart. He couldn't comprehend why things had ended up like this.

"By whom?" As Duge spoke, he opened his personal panel and killed off Zuo Zhonghou. He wanted to see who would be next in line.

But to his surprise, upon checking, the top ten list was missing two people.

Not only was Zuo Zhonghou gone, but Chi Shiwen had also disappeared, replaced by one called Qi Zongwang, an Inner Sect Disciple of Blue Sea Palace, and another called Lang He, an elder of Gold Crow Hall.

At this moment, his spiritual power value had already reached 27,000. It was unclear whether this was due to his promotion to the Mahayana Stage or a reward from Pan-Universe Entertainment.

Either way, he was now likely to catch up with Nan Youlong.

Nan Youlong had also entered the battlefield during the rotating examination system. However, he went up in the third round and participated in two Alien Battlefields in succession to acquire a spiritual power of 78,000.

Moreover.

Having stayed in the Alien Battlefield for countless years, compared to him, I was already far superior.

With the example of the two Mahayana warriors from Lanning Temple before him, Zhuo Shaoan was completely disheartened. He sighed and said, "Two months ago, a man named Chi Shiwen joined the Heavenly Demon Palace and caught my attention with his outstanding talent.

I cultivated him as the next Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Palace, hoping that he could lead the Heavenly Demon Palace to stand equal with Heaven's Path Institute.

Who would have thought, not long ago, when news about the Seven Star Gate reached the Heavenly Demon Palace, Chi Shiwen suddenly found me and said that great changes were coming to heaven, and evil men roamed the world. He bewitched this old fool, saying that you must be eliminated..."

"Then what?" asked Duge. "You just killed him!"

Zhuo Shaoan looked at Duge in surprise and said, "Yes, I killed him. In order to verify Chi Shiwen's words, I left the mountain with him to find out about your actions and then followed you here to Lanning Temple, where I happened to witness the fight between that Buddha Child and you.

Compared to you, Chi Shiwen had nothing to offer besides bravery and the ability to slay. Just now, he even attempted to influence my mind, getting me to ally with the people of Lanning Temple to kill you. Then, I conveniently disposed of him. Believing that you were more suitable for the Heavenly Demon Palace, I took action to help you..."

"He influenced your mind, and you killed him?" Duge asked in astonishment, "How did you kill him?"

"Originally, I didn't realize I was being deceived, and it was the Image of Buddha that helped me regain clarity in an instant. Unaware, Chi Shiwen was naturally slain by me," Zhuo Shaoan said with a self-mocking laugh. "My mistake was misjudging you and trying to steal a chicken only to end up with nothing, bringing calamity back to the Heavenly Demon Palace..."

What an unlucky fellow!

Duge inwardly sighed. He had to admit that Zuo Zhonghou was indeed his lucky star. A phantom image of Buddha had brought him a Mahayana warrior from Lanning Temple and indirectly took care of Chi Shiwen.

Without him, facing three Mahayana warriors would have surely been a tough fight.

What a good person!

If only I had known, I wouldn't have killed him.

"Chi Shiwen said that there are thousands of calamitous people like you, is that true?" Zhuo Shaoan asked.

"It's true," Duge said with a smile. "However, I call them people of chaotic times, pretty much the same meaning, right?"

"What do you plan to do next?" Zhuo Shaoan was momentarily stunned before asking.

"Of course, to unite all the sects and wipe out all the remaining people of chaotic times, to become the sole supreme," Duge said haughtily.

As they spoke, the two had already returned to Lanning Temple.

Seeing Zhuo Shaoan captured and limbless, the two old monks of Lanning Temple smiled so hard that even the creases on their faces bloomed.

"The wheel of karma turns, and retribution is certain!"

"Deservedly so!"

Zhuo Shaoan gave them a glance and turned to Duge, asking, "Buddha Child, where do you come from? Is there really a realm with gods and demons in your world?"

The two old monks held their breath as they looked towards Duge.

Duge said, "Certainly, there are gods and Buddhas, and even beings more formidable than them."

Zhuo Shaoan, disinterested in beings more formidable than gods and Buddhas, eagerly asked, "Is it possible to ascend to your world?"

Duge was taken aback, "Where do you usually ascend to?"

Zhuo Shaoan and the two old monks exchanged looks and chuckled bitterly, "The path to ascension has been broken for tens of thousands of years. If that were not the case, why would they desperately protect that Buddha Child showing Divine Skills? And why would I take the risk to vie for you, the Demon Child..."

"What do you mean?" asked Duge curiously. "You've never ascended before?"

"Perhaps in the last era!" Hong Ren said. "In some ancient texts and murals, there were records of ascension through gathering mists, and those ascensions involved surviving thunder tribulations, besides, the cultivators back then bore various Divine Skills. How could they be like now, where cultivation merely involves accumulating Spiritual Power within the body and transforming the flesh?"

"Our heritage has actually been cut off," Zhuo Shaoan said. "The ascensions of the ancient times were true ascensions to the Immortal Realm. But in our era, ascension means accumulating enough energy within the body to escape into the vast universe, in search of another chance at life, or the legendary Immortal Realm, to seek the true Method of Longevity..."

A main quest, huh?

The thought unexpectedly flashed through Duge's mind.

But this main quest seemed too elusive!

Could it be that Pan-Universe Entertainment severed their path of cultivation, evolving a new civilization for the enjoyment of competition among Alien Warriors?

If that was the case, it would indeed be grand!

Rather than searching for some lost path of ascension, it would be more straightforward to clear out all the Alien Warriors...