I Have a Sword

Qiu Baiyi was furious, but there was no longer any response from the orange planet.

Qiu Baiyi went silent silence.

After a long while, he looked at the orange planet and solemnly said, "I know you're missing something, and I've brought it for you."

Qiu Baiyi opened his palm, revealing a small altar in his hand.

"The Fengshan Altar, you've got some skill to find this thing."

Qiu Baiyi asked, "Are you going to do it or not?"

"No."

Without another word, Qiu Baiyi turned around and left.

"Wait."

And that was when the voice said, "If you give me that, while I won't help you fight Ye Guan, I can guarantee that I definitely won't help Ye Guan against you."

"Damn it!" Qiu Baiyi turned around and roared, "Are you crazy?! Huh?!"

"If you don't give that to me, I'll go and tell Ye Guan your true plans. I'll make sure that your scheme fails and that your efforts will all go to waste."

Qiu Baiyi stared coldly at the orange planet, and his gaze radiated intense killing intent.

The voice said, "So will you give it to me or not?"

"Isn't this beneath you?" asked Qiu Baiyi.

The voice nonchalantly replied, "No one knows my identity anyway, so why would I care?"

Qiu Baiyi had no idea what to say.

"I'll ask one last time, will you give it to me or not?"

Qiu Baiyi fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

The voice suddenly chuckled and added, "Don't even think about silencing me. You know as well as I do that even you, or those above you, can't kill me.

"Even that Evil Dao has to escape and merge with her lifetimes to stand a chance against me."

After a long silence, Qiu Baiyi sighed. "Won't this weigh on your conscience?"

"Second Hall Master, I believe everyone should have a conscience. You came here with ulterior motives, trying to drag me into the muddy waters. Have you considered your own conscience?"

Qiu Baiyi stared at the orange planet but said nothing.

The voice spoke again. "I have no grudge against Ye Guan, nor do I have any enmity with your Evil Dao Alliance. I don't want any enmity between us as well.

"However, your visit today has crossed a line. Here's the deal. Give me the Fengshan Altar, and I'll stay neutral. If you don't, I'll have to sell you out to Ye Guan in exchange for a favor."

After a brief silence, Qiu Baiyi suddenly laughed. "The older you are, the wiser you become. I've learned a lesson today."

With that, he opened his palm, and the Fengshan Altar flew into the orange planet.

Qiu Baiyi gave the planet one last look before turning to leave.

"Wait!" The voice called out, "Second Hall Master!"

Qiu Baiyi stopped in his tracks.

"I know you won't listen, but I still want to offer some advice. The only one who can destroy the Yang Family is—"

Swoosh!

Qiu Baiyi had already disappeared into the vast expanse. Clearly, he didn't want to hear the voice's advice.

***

Ye Guan stood under the Tianxing Life Tree within the tiny pagoda, and he was surrounded by a vibrant green energy. The energy was even better than Eternal Crystals.

Jing An and Yi Nian walked up to Ye Guan. Jing An was licking her candied hawthorn while gazing at the massive tree, whispering, "I wonder what's going to happen if I ate this tree."

Ye Guan was dumbfounded.

Yi Nian glared at Jing An. "Jing An, how could you think such a thing? That's just outrageous."

Jing An giggled. "I was just joking."

"Any news from the Second Hall Master?" asked Ye Guan.

Jing An replied seriously, "Just received word that he visited the Beauty's Time World. He's probably gone by now."

Yi Nian added, "He's looking for allies."

"That's right." Jing An nodded and looked at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan closed his eyes and said, "An You."

A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Ye Guan.

In addition to Qin Feng, An You had come along as well.

Ye Guan ordered, "Contact my mother."

"Understood," An You said, bowing respectfully before retreating quietly.

***

After leaving the Milky Way, Qiu Baiyi made his way to a vast mountain range.

The peaks of the mountains here seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

Qiu Baiyi took a step forward, and in the blink of an eye, he stood atop one of the peaks. There was a small straw hut and a vegetable garden in front of it.

A monk dressed in coarse robes was in the middle of uprooting the weeds in the garden.

Qiu Baiyi walked up to the garden's gate and bowed slightly. "Master Guiwu, long time no see."

The coarse-robed monk put down his hoe and turned to look at Qiu Baiyi. HE sighed softly and said, "Second Hall Master, my humble house cannot bear the burden of the karma you carry."

The Second Hall Master opened his palm, and an ancient, yellowed scripture appeared in his hand.

When the monk saw the ancient scripture, ripples of emotion flickered in his calm eyes. His grip on the hoe tightened involuntarily as well.

Swoosh!

The wind picked up.

The Second Hall Master said, "The Heart Sutra, written by the Buddha Mahakasyapa. Since the disappearance of the Buddhist Universe—the origin of Dharma, this sutra has disappeared as well.

"Perhaps it was fate that it fell into my hands, but I am not fated to be a Buddhist, so this sutra ought to be passed on to someone destined for it."

Master Guiwu sighed softly, "Second Hall Master, you're setting me up for disaster here."

Qiu Baiyi smiled and explained, "I need to kill someone. There are three powerful swordsmen behind him. Master, all I ask is that you hold off one of them for me."

Master Guiwu asked, "How strong are they?"

The Second Hall Master thought for a moment before replying, "Probably a bit stronger than me."

"Second Hall Master, I'm a monk. You wouldn't lie to a monk, would you?" Master Guiwu asked.

"Of course not."

Master Guiwu hesitated.

Karma!

Buddhists ought to avoid unnecessary karma. Accepting the Heart Sutra meant obtaining a chance for a breakthrough, but it also meant incurring a karmic debt.

A karmic debt of an unknown scale!

Seeing Master Guiwu's hesitation, the Second Hall Master waited patiently.

After a while, Master Guiwu asked, "All I need to do is hold them off?"

Qiu Baiyi nodded and said, "Just hold them off."

Master Guiwu pressed his palms together. "I can do that for a day. Will that suffice?"

Qiu Baiyi nodded. "That will do."

Master Guiwu stretched out his right hand, and the Heart Sutra flew into his hand.

His hands trembled, and excitement flickered in his eyes.

It was real!

Without another word, Qiu Baiyi turned around and left.

Left all alone, Master Guiwu returned to his residence and opened a golden box inside of it, revealing a golden robe—the Karma Robe!

The Karma Robe was one of Buddhism's ten supreme treasures from the Buddhist Universe, and it was made by a great Buddha using karma itself. Not only was it impervious to all techniques, but it also shielded the wearer from karma.

Master Guiwu carefully wore the robe and prepared for what was up ahead.

The Second Hall Master's claim about how the swordsmen were only a bit stronger than him was a lie. In Master Guiwu's estimation, they were at least two or three times stronger than Qiu Baiyi, so caution was necessary here.

A day?

Master Guiwu glanced at his Karma Robe and smiled slightly. It would not be a problem.

***

After leaving the mountain peak, Qiu Baiyi arrived before a blood-red planet. The planet looked like a lump of solidified blood, and it was radiating an ominous aura of both violence and killing intent.

Qiu Baiyi gazed at the planet in silence.

This universe region was vast, filled with many unknown powerful cultivators. Over the years, Qiu Baiyi had been working to recruit as many of them as possible. The rapid development of the Evil Dao Alliance was largely due to his efforts.

Shaking off his thoughts, Qiu Baiyi suddenly smiled and said, "Slaughter Lord, long time no see."

A voice emerged from the blood-red planet, "Do you have what I want?"

Qiu Baiyi nodded and opened his palm, revealing a small tomb.

Boom!

A terrifying aura surged out from the planet, and a massive blood-red hand reached out to grab Qiu Baiyi.

Qiu Baiyi remained expressionless. When the blood-red hand descended, the surrounding spacetime was obliterated, but Qiu Baiyi had already moved tens of thousands of meters away.

Qiu Baiyi calmly remarked, "Slaughter Lord, I won't give you a second chance to strike."

"Hahaha!" The Slaughter Lord laughed boisterously. "I was just joking. Don't take it seriously."

Qiu Baiyi asked, "I need someone killed. Will you do it?"

The Slaughter Lord immediately replied, "I'll do it."

Qiu Baiyi nodded. "Come and find me in three days."

With that, he turned around and left.

Just as he was about to leave, a horrifying killing intent descended upon him.

The Slaughter Lord's voice filled the air. "Give it to me first."

Qiu Baiyi waved his sleeve, and the killing intent was shattered. The ominous aura of violence from the blood-red planet grew significantly weaker as well.

Qiu Baiyi threw a nonchalant glance back at the blood-red planet. "Three days. Do you understand?"

The Slaughter Lord did not respond.

Qiu Baiyi laughed. "It's just killing someone. It should not be that hard. Anyway, don't be too impatient; it's just three days."

With that, Qiu Baiyi turned around and vanished into thin air.

***

After leaving the planet, he arrived in a projection of the Time River.

He stepped forward and appeared in a small village. The next moment, his expression changed drastically. Before he could react, a horrifying energy had already forced him out of the small village.

Qiu Baiyi raised his head and caught sight of a lady in white.

"Clan Leader Jing, long time no see," Qiu Baiyi said with a smile, sounding respectful.