Chapter 2353 The Twenty Devas
This world was originally as peaceful as the purified land of the Buddhist kingdom. However, black clouds covered the ground and lightning flashed at that moment. The entire space began to boil.
It was as if an evil demon had invaded the Buddhist kingdom.
Drip-drop!
Black raindrops fell, causing the pitch-black world to become even darker and colder.
The wind blew on the ground with a chilling whistle.
The raindrops were as heavy as saint iron. When they landed, they left deep holes in the hard ground.
A drop of rain was like an arrow.
The purified land of the Buddhist kingdom suddenly became extremely dangerous.
Zhang Ruochen held up the Class Two Regal Artifact, Metal Parasol. He stood in the rain and looked ahead.
In his field of vision, it was hazy and dim.
The curtain of rain was like intermittent lines that fell from the sky to the ground.
Most of the raindrop lines were black, but occasionally, a golden line would appear. When it landed on the ground, the hole it created was bottomless and contained the penetrating power that could kill a saint.
Zhang Ruochen felt a strong sense of danger. If it weren’t for the faint Buddhist light in the temple on the Reclining Buddha, he might not have wanted to continue forward.
“What is this place? Is it the Buddhist kingdom or the demonic realm?”
The path to the Reclining Buddha Hill was difficult to traverse.
To climb the mountain was even more difficult.
The Path Locks between heaven and earth were even denser. Even with Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation as a Supreme Saint, he felt that the path to the mountain was very difficult to traverse.
Whoosh
A Death’s Door flew through the rain not far from Zhang Ruochen.
It appeared to be a door, but it was actually a five or six-meter-long Dimensional Rift. The rift flew very fast. On the other side, the Power of Oblivion spread out.
Boom
Another demonic thunder hit the cliff, cutting down the huge rocks the size of houses and falling down the mountain.
CAW! CAW!
A strange and cold cry came from a copper tree. On the tree, there was a crow with blood-red feathers. Its eyes were like human eyes. When it stared at Zhang Ruochen, it had a bloodthirsty look.
It flapped its wings and flew toward Zhang Ruochen. It screamed sharply, “Blood! Blood! Blood…”
“I haven’t even sucked any blood yet, and you want to suck my blood?”
said Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen raised his hand and pointed. A strong and absolute Yang finger power turned into sword qi and flew out.
The blood-red crow flapped its wings and turned from one to a group. They rushed toward Zhang Ruochen from all directions.
The finger sword only killed three of them.
“I can’t believe it can split into two,” said Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was surprised. The white Divine Purification Flame spread out from his body and formed a huge fireball.
The blood-red crows hit the fireball and their feathers burned.
Boom
The fireball expanded with space and turned into a shockwave. It was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. All the crows were sent flying and their bodies shattered.
Only one blood-red crow escaped and flew into the darkness.
There were too many dangers in the darkness. Zhang Ruochen didn’t chase after it. He muttered to himself, “There are Nine-lives Blood Ravens of Thousand-Koan Realm here. It really isn’t a treasured land of the Buddha realm.”
Since it was a place to store opportunities, how could it not be dangerous?
Ordinary people couldn’t reach a place of opportunity.
Zhang Ruochen held the parasol and continued to climb higher. The only sacred ground on Reclining Buddha Hill was the copper temple atop the Buddha’s head.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen was standing outside the copper temple. There were 384 bronze stairs in front of him. It was magnificent. If he climbed it, he could reach another world.
Faintly, he could see the outline of the bronze temple and the thick bronze pillars in front of the temple.
Zhang Ruochen climbed the stairs one step at a time.
There were fresh bloodstains on the stairs. There were remnants of sacred artifacts. The bloodstains seemed to have merged with the bronze stairs. Even the rain couldn’t wash them away. Not long ago, a fierce battle between Supreme Saints must have broken out here. Some were injured, and some might even have died.
The rain fell even faster.
The parasol made a popping sound. At the top of the bronze stairs, Zhang Ruochen, dressed in blood clothes, stood between the two bronze pillars. He turned to the right and looked at the bronze pillar on the right.
The bronze pillar was as thick as a millstone. It was more than 200 feet tall. There was a tall and mighty statue on it. It had three eyes and held a sword in each arm. It was in the posture of raising its hand to cut the sky.
Although it was a bronze statue, it gave off terrifying power. It had a terrifying aura.
Zhang Ruochen could only hold his breath in front of it. He was under extreme duress.
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A Supreme Saint wouldn’t dare to look at it like that. As for cultivators below the Supreme Saint Realm, they’d most likely be kneeling on the ground before they reached the bronze stairs.
There were a total of 20 bronze pillars that surrounded the bronze temple.
The bronze statues on the bronze pillars were all different.
There were golden Bodhi Buddha trees, giants holding battle axes, celestial maidens with human bodies and fishtails, and heavenly dragons with nine heads.
Zhang Ruochen walked under the bronze pillars. He didn’t dare to look at their figures carefully because he felt a splitting headache just by looking at them. It was as if they were all forbidden figures that he could look at without being a Supreme Saint.
‘Who are they? Why are their bronze statues cast on the pillars of this bronze temple?’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
Zhang Ruochen had read countless ancient books in the Sevenstar Imperial Palace, but he couldn’t find their corresponding figures.
“They’re the Twenty Devas,” said Yan Huangtu.
Yan Huangtu’s burly figure walked out from behind the bronze pillar with the nine-headed heavenly dragon.
The divine light on his body was restrained. He lacked his usual sharpness, but he lacked any killing intent when confronted by his adversaries. He looked like any other strong man.
However, the more he did so, the more Zhang Ruochen knew that Yan Huangtu must have made a breakthrough and become even more terrifying.
A Supreme Saint in the Hundred-Shackle Realm not only had to break the shackles but also had to cultivate the Precepts.
Some Supreme Saints in the Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm only had three billion Precepts in them. Some of them had ten billion Precepts. The difference in combat power between the two was like heaven and earth.
Even though they were both at the Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm, there was still room for improvement.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised at all when he saw Yan Huangtu. He looked calm like meeting his old friend. He said, “The Twenty Devas. What an unfamiliar name.”
“The reason you don’t recognize this name is that they’ve been around for too long,” Yan Huangtu explained.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “How long?”
“At least 300,000 years, maybe longer,” said Yan Huangtu.
Yan Huangtu stood by the bronze pillar and looked down at the pitch-black mountain. He continued, “About 300,000 years ago, they disappeared completely. How long ago was this name first born? Perhaps only the greatest gods know it now.
“The Twenty Devas represent the 20 most powerful gods in your universe.
“Before the Celestial Court was established, they ruled over everything, maintaining order in the world and intimidating the ten races of the Infernal Court. The gods had to bow to them. In that era, the cultivators of the Infernal Court could only live in darkness. How could they have the glory of today?”
Zhang Ruochen listened quietly. It was like a lost history book being flipped open page by page. “Every era had different Twenty Devas,” Yan Huangtu said. “In the same way, they represent the strongest of that era. The bronze statues on the 20 pillars are actually the first Twenty Devas. Who knows how many tens of thousands of years have passed since our current era.”
“Then why don’t you tell me why the last Twenty Devas completely vanished 300,000 years ago?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Yan Huangtu didn’t appear to be in a rush to fight Zhang Ruochen. “Legend has it that they went to do a big thing,” he said leisurely. “All twenty Devas set out together, but only two and a half returned.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed. He was shocked and confused. He asked, “Why two and a half?”
Yan Huangtu turned around and stared at Zhang Ruochen. “You’re most curious about the half, right? That half refers to Sixth Buddha.”
“When Sixth Buddha fled back to the Western Buddha Realm, he was only left with half a body. According to legend, the calamity he faced not only cut off half of his Buddha body, but also half of his lifespan. That’s why he died in the last Yuanhui period.”
Zhang Ruochen said firmly, “Impossible.”
“What’s impossible?” Yan Huangtu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Sixth Buddha is the most powerful Buddha cultivator in the entire universe in the last ten million years. He’s the sixth Buddha. who can cut off half of his Buddha body and half of his lifespan?”
Yan Huangtu’s eyes were dazed, “I know why you don’t believe me,” he said. “It’s because your master, Saint Monk Xumi, isn’t even as powerful as Sixth Buddha. In your heart, your master should have invincible influence, right? Unfortunately, Sixth Buddha was among the Twenty Devas, but not him.”
Zhang Ruochen knew that Yan Huangtu wanted to use this to mess with his mind.
In the Celestial and Infernal Court, Zhang Ruochen had read a lot of ancient books. He had a better understanding of Buddhism, Kunlun, and his master, Saint Monk Xumi.
According to the ancient books, even when Saint Monk Xumi had achieved great success in his cultivation, he had learned a lot from the debates with the Sixth Buddha. He often felt inferior.
In front of the Sixth Buddha, Saint Monk Xumi was only a junior.
Although Zhang Ruochen respected Saint Monk Xumi and knew that his cultivation of Buddhism was boundless, he was one of the few powerful figures in the world. However, he also respected Sixth Buddha and didn’t dare to judge him easily. Zhang Ruochen said, “In the battle 100,000 years ago, how many gods in the Infernal Court died at the hands of Saint Monk Xumi? Outside Kunlun, how many planets are still blood red?”
Yan Huangtu nodded, he said, “It’s undeniable that Saint Monk Xumi was indeed powerful enough to reach the level of Buddha when he died. The gods who participated in the battle against him all praised him. Unfortunately, that was his final glory. He died in an instant and didn’t have the chance to become the Seventh Buddha.”
Yan Huangtu entered the copper temple as he spoke.
There was a bronze statue in the temple. It had the body of a dragon, but it had three heads.
One was a child.
The other was an elder.
The middle one didn’t have any facial features. There was only a “Swastika” symbol on its forehead.
Yan Huangtu bowed to the bronze statue and said slowly, “He’s one of the Twenty Devas in 300,000 years, Dracopent.”
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the bronze statue. He felt that the statue was growing taller and taller, forming a stronger and more oppressive force.
Yan Huangtu continued, “Dracopent is the former leader of the dragons, the dragon supreme. He has nine wives and nine sons. All of them are extraordinary. The ninth son is the most talented and has the most extraordinary achievements. His name is Ji Wang
“As a cultivator in Kunlun, you should have heard of his name, right?”
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had heard of it. It was the Dragon Lord’s name, Ji Wang.
He was said to be in charge of the Shenlong Chaos Tower of Sun and Moon, one of Kunlun’s ten great Divine Artifacts. He was a person who roamed across myriad realms.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You said that 300,000 years ago, only two and a half members from the Twenty Devas came back alive. Who are the other two, besides Sixth Buddha?”
“One of them is the master of the Celestial Palace of Celestial Court,” Yan Huangtu said.
The master of the Celestial Palace was mysterious, and Zhang Ruochen knew very little about him. However, he was able to control the Celestial Palace and command all the realms, so he was naturally not a trivial existence.
Yan Huangtu said, “No one knows the other. Perhaps only the master of the Celestial Palace and Sixth Buddha know who he is.”
“Some guessed that he is Lord Wentian of the Ten Tribulations. Some guessed that he is God Panyuan of the Pangu Realm. Others guessed that he is the previous clan leader of our clan.”
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. “The gods of the Infernal Court can be listed in the Twenty Devas?”
Yan Huangtu was silent for a moment. Then he added, “In fact, there’s a legend that the Twenty Devas are not just twenty of them, but Twenty-four Devas. The other four Devas are from the Infernal Court.”
Then Yan Huangtu laughed and shook his head. He said, “They’re just legends. How can we juniors who are less than 1,000 years old figure out what happened hundreds of thousands of years ago? How can we possibly know the secrets of heaven-level figures?
“Time has changed, and the world has changed. The rise and fall of the Celestial and Infernal Court have changed. Now, it’s just the two of us talking. Whether it’s the Twenty Devas or the Twenty-four Devas, they’ve long been in the past. All the glory of the past has vanished.”
Whoosh
Outside the temple, the sharp sound of rushing wind could be heard.
Yan Zhexian appeared at the gate. Her beautiful figure was projected on the ground under the Buddhist light, leaving a long black shadow. Behind her, there were more shadows on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen looked back at Yan Zhexian and said, “I didn’t know you were just stalling for time by telling me so much.”