All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 410 The Method of Breaking the Scales
The underworld, the Buddhist realm.

At this moment, Ji Ran walked across the bridge, his eyes reflecting the flow of cause and effect, sensing the changes. The bridge seemed ordinary, just a stone arch bridge, but as Ji Ran touched it with his toes, he discovered that it was made of thick paper ash. Within it, lines of cause and effect were also permeated.

Those threads of cause and effect hung down from the ground and sky of the underworld, like an invisible beaded curtain, enveloping everyone.

The entire outer perimeter of the Buddhist kingdom is a net woven from cause and effect and destiny. The earth draws upon the good karma, while the sky fishes away suffering and evil.

However, the web of fate drawn by cause and effect could not touch Ji Ran and Shuanghua Honggun in the slightest.

They are not from this world; their cause and effect, their reincarnation, do not exist in the universe.

Under the influence of karma, Hu Yao unleashed a surge of powerful spiritual energy that directly dispelled the karma!

Her beautiful and charming face held a hint of doubt, her delicate features slightly furrowed. Clearly, she sensed the existence of the causal threads, though she couldn't see them. And the terrifying strength of a fifth-grade celestial demon was already at the Celestial Realm in this world; such strength was no longer affected by the Buddhist Kingdom.

As for Li Hanzhang, at this moment, a noble aura of crimson and purple emanated from him, and those evil causal forces were unable to do anything about it!
At this moment, Ji Ran also thought of what Hu Yao had said when he gave him the Qingcheng Sword Intent.

"What an air of nobility!"

This young man has probably been unrestrained and free-spirited for over twenty years. In other words, Li Hanzhang's willpower is like a straight, tall tree that has never been bent. Such willpower, if not broken, can forge ahead without hesitation.

Born into wealth and following his heart, he is immune to the consequences of his actions at this moment—because he has not been corrupted, retains a youthful spirit, and remains untainted by worldly affairs.

Without evil, there is no cause.

This is what Hu Yao meant by "noble aura nourishes the body." No wonder the great demons regarded it as a top-grade delicacy.

Ji Ran sighed slightly.

The four entered the Buddhist kingdom, yet none of them were seen by any evil spirits! However, at that moment, no one paid attention to this issue; everyone looked up at the sky.

"That...that's?!"

Li Hanzhang was immediately dumbfounded!

It wasn't that he lacked vision; as a member of the royal family, he even had glimpses of the celestial realm during rituals. Last night, he entered the Little Void in a dream again and witnessed the true form of the Dragon Lord, a fifth-rank celestial demon.

But at this moment, I am still losing my composure!
Fox Spirit Lord's pupils trembled violently as he stared at the sky in disbelief: "The Southern Han's... Earth Vein Dragon!"

Wisps of smoke rise, and the majestic shadow of a dragon looms.

Above the underworld, mist and paper ash intertwine to form a curtain.

Deep within the churning gray haze, an endless, purplish-black shadow slowly emerged—it was an immeasurable black dragon, its very existence shrouding the entire sky.

It did not fully reveal its true form; its enormous body was faintly visible amidst the ashes. The four people standing in the Buddhist kingdom could only glimpse a corner, like glimpsing the ridge of a mountain range, stretching endlessly in the mist.

What truly sends shivers down your spine are the countless purplish-black scales on its body.

Each scale is not an inanimate object, but a mirror reflecting the myriad aspects of life. Within it, light and shadow shift, reflecting a person's life—joy and sorrow, birth, aging, sickness and death, love and hate, youthful righteousness... Countless lives, countless destinies, intertwine with the myriad causes and effects on those scales covering the sky, imprisoning the vast number of departed souls.

This earth vein dragon itself is a living mortal world. It uses all living beings as its scales and karma as its armor, silently watching over the mayfly-like souls shrouded in mist.

field!

Ji Ran and Shuanghua Honggun exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, yet both understood each other's meaning. This so-called Buddhist kingdom, including the ghost temple in the mortal realm, encompassed the entire area refracted by the ghost dragon—it was all a domain!

Seeing the leyline dragon isn't as the two monks claimed, that it's reflected in the ground. Rather, it's because this is a closed realm, invisible from the outside; only those who enter can see it.

Can it be stretched open?

The meaning of "Double Flower Red Stick" is whether one can use their own and another person's domain to directly disrupt the structure of this domain.

"It's no use."

A seven-colored light flickered in Ji Ran's eyes as he shook his head, gazing at the boundless expanse of cause and effect. The foundation of this domain was the karmic destiny of all living beings. Expanding the domain, at best, allowed them to come and go freely, but it could not destroy that ethereal fate.

Of course, I can interfere, because I also have the causal skills I obtained from Yingzhou—the False Register Position.

[False Register Holder]

1. You manipulated cause and effect, causing lower-level beings to overthrow higher-level ones, thus affecting four Rank True Persons. In each world, you will be able to influence the cause and effect of four beings above your level. (Maximum: Level 6)
2. Your causal consumption will result in a double increase in Daoist energy.

3. You can silently influence cause and effect at a level one level below your own.

"It's a bit troublesome."

Ji Ran frowned slightly. None of the four of them had been reflected, which somewhat disrupted their plans.

A great monk from outside the Buddhist community once said that breaking through the scales and armor and defeating evil spirits is almost an impossible task.

However, after hearing the method, Ji Ran already had an idea for how to make the dragon fall. He could use his own causal path to influence a person's karma, making that person his "pawn" to break their scales.

Of course, he didn't have the ability to influence these countless souls and break off each of the tens of thousands of scales. But he still possessed the Karma Technique: Crossing Life and Death!
If one can connect the causal threads of everyone together, then when one person breaks through their scales, all living beings will break through their scales!

This is the only way I can think of to break the deadlock!

"Let's go."

Ji Ran looked ahead, stepped off the arched bridge, and completely entered the domain overlooked by the Ghost Dragon.

Paper money fluttered like golden butterflies, mingling with the swirling incense smoke.

Along the long street, young men with their hair tied up and swords in hand sparred. Under the eaves, a scholar in white robes recited poetry by the street.

At the corner, a middle-aged man lifted his young son high on his shoulders. The child smiled and reached out to catch the falling paper money, while also clutching a chicken leg in her hand. Beside her, the mother bent down to straighten the little girl's clothes and tied a newly acquired amulet around the child's wrist.

Ji Ran walked across the glazed tiled bridge where merchants gathered, listening to the wonderful blend of noise and chanting.

The entire city was shrouded in mist, like a grand and devout dream.

"Where to go?"

Looking at the scene before him, Li Hanzhang felt a pang of reluctance.

As royalty, the pursuit of lasting glory is for the world to be at peace and prosperous. The scene before him, though bearing the shadow of Buddhism, still stirred something within him: the peaceful, happy, and bustling life of the people.

"Go and see that guru."

Ji Ran immediately headed towards the depths of the Buddhist kingdom. He only had the direction for breaking the scales, but he still needed to ask the mysterious master for the specifics.

"oh oh!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanzhang took a step forward and followed, but his gaze remained fixed on the bustling, peaceful, and joyful surroundings.

"This...is this what a true era of peace and prosperity looks like?"

Snapped!
Fox Spirit tapped Li Hanzhang's head with her knuckles and chuckled, "A peaceful and prosperous era, indeed~"

"Who knows, if the rain outside continues for another month or so, a million people will die in your peaceful and prosperous world."

Fox Fairy breathed warmly on Li Hanzhang's ear and laughed, "Now that the world is at peace, whose offerings will this Daoist priest rely on?"

Such a world will never exist.

"Look at that pass over there. It's only been a year since the rain stopped, yet the Taoist priests have become so fat from the offerings of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Giggle..."

Fox Spirit casually lifted Li Hanzhang's chin, gave it a gentle tug, and gracefully chased after Ji Ran and the other man, saying, "You young man, just wait and see what you'll look like when your noble air fades, you grow old and sick, and you're sixty years old~"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanzhang watched Hu Yao's retreating figure, his knuckles turning slightly white as he gripped the hilt of his sword. A hint of apprehension flickered in his eyes.

"Peace! Peace!"

Suddenly, a boy's voice came from beside her. He pointed to the amulet on the girl's wrist and clapped his hands happily.

Li Hanzhang chuckled softly and muttered to himself, "Then you shall see."

He glanced around, took off his jade pendant, and, under the strange gaze of the middle-aged man, traded it with the boy for a chicken leg.

"Well!"

After taking just one bite, Li Hanzhang grimaced; the chicken leg tasted like waterlogged paper, completely devoid of flavor.

But he continued eating, step by step, as he followed Ji Ran into the fictional mortal world of the underworld.

……

"When I traveled to the Buddhist kingdom, I suddenly witnessed a prosperous and peaceful world. On that day, I made a vow: May the world be prosperous forever, free from the knowledge of famine; may all people live in peace and tranquility, and may war be forever quelled."

—From "The Annals of Emperor Wuzu: A Journey to Seek Immortality"

Sixty years have passed since I parted from the Dragon King. I ventured alone from the capital region, entering the ancient ravine of the Fallen Dragon at night. The beauty, her rosy robes still radiant, smiled as I pointed to my frosty temples and asked, "How do I appear?" She smiled gently, "Your bearing remains as elegant as ever, your heart unchanged, still that of a young man."

—From "The Annals of the Martial Ancestor: The Manual of Sword Immortals"

(End of this chapter)