In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Upon Chonglou's appearance, countless demons gazed at the figure atop the black lotus with expressions of adoration.

He once fought against the Ten Demon Kings alone, and now he rules over the Three Realms. He is a legendary figure, so how could they not admire him?

"Everyone, please get up!"

Chonglou looked at the leading demons: the Golden-Winged Roc, the Three-Headed Lion, the Leather-Armored Dragon Elephant, and the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon were all beings that surpassed the top-tier demons, with strength comparable to that of a Great Luo Immortal.

The remaining countless demons are divided into ten top-tier demons: the Bull Demon King, the Three-Headed Rhinoceros, the resurrected Jiao Demon King, the Peng Demon King, and hundreds of other first-rate demon kings, all of whom are no less powerful than the gods and Buddhas of the Taiyi Realm.

"Now that I am in charge of the Heavenly Realm, although the Demonic Path is causing chaos, you must not be careless."

The demons born here can increase their strength very quickly, and the best way to do so is to gather fortune and faith from all the heavens.

Golden-winged Roc, you are the guardian of the celestial realm, commanding 100,000 demons and monsters.

Venerable Lion Demon, Venerable Rhinoceros, Venerable Ghost Chariot, Venerable Bala Snake, you are messengers of the four directions, patrolling the four continents. Anyone found who believes in Buddhism may enter your bellies as your food, to prevent the future Buddha's reincarnation from returning to Vulture Peak.

Dragon Elephant Venerable, you shall command the Bull Demon King, the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, the Yellow Wind Venerable, and the Great Roc Venerable to guard Mount Ling and prevent the heavenly gods from escaping.

"Venerable Poison Dragon, you lead the Venerable Overturning the Sea, commanding the demons of the ten directions, guarding the Underworld, and maintaining its order."

"Yes, Demon Lord!"

With the four super demon kings leading the way and top-tier demon kings assisting them, they were naturally full of confidence.

"Furthermore, you must restrain your demon subordinates and prevent them from disturbing the human world."

This time, I have ruled the Three Realms for thirty-three years, which is to cultivate by relying on the fortune of the Three Realms. You (Noli's) can also use faith and fortune to speed up your cultivation and easily break through the realm.

"It's not that karma and cause are at play, but that ten thousand years of cultivation can be wiped out in a single day."

"Thirty-three years? Does the Demon Lord mean that after thirty-three years, the position of supreme ruler of the Three Realms will be returned to the Heavenly Court?"

"When the Tao prospers, the demons diminish; when the Tao declines, the demons prosper. This is the predetermined fate of Heaven."

In this cataclysmic event of the decline of the righteous path and the rise of the demonic path, you all benefited the most from leaving the mountain, and at the same time laid the foundation for the demonic path to return to the righteous path.

But whether this is a calamity that will end in disaster, or a recurrence, you must understand the gains and losses in your hearts. Do not let this moment of triumph lead you to indiscriminate killing, for in the end, you will not escape your fate.

"Yes, I understand!"

The demons were greatly alarmed, not expecting that this calamity would have a time limit.

However, there is also an advantage: when the evil forces rise and the righteous forces decline, they can return, and this cycle repeats itself, which is the long-term benefit.

As for invading the Heavenly Court? And ruling over the Three Realms?

It was also because of the first great calamity between Buddha and demon that the Heavenly Dao rewarded those who were the first to try something new.

Chapter 167 The Final Madness at the Peak of the Seventh Transformation

Thirty years is but thirty days in the celestial realm; it passes in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Chonglou seized the time to cultivate, and with the help of the immense fortune of the Three Realms Supreme, he accumulated merits. In just thirty years, his realm broke through again, reaching the peak of the seventh stage.

This tremendous breakthrough was the result of Chonglou absorbing the accumulated evil energy of the Nine Netherworlds during his thousand years in the Buzhou Abyss. Later, with the blessing of the Three Realms' fortune, he quickly digested the massive evil energy accumulated in his body, allowing Chonglou to advance from the early stage of the seventh level to the peak realm in just thirty years.

Chonglou even sensed that this time he might be able to use the power of the Great Tribulation to break through the eighth level of the Profound Technique and truly step into the realm of a Quasi-Master.

At this point, his quasi-leader level does not refer to profound skills.

He had refined his physical body with profound skills, and at this moment, his potential leader was at the level of a Demon Lord.

The fact that he was a Demon Lord was also the reason why Chonglou's cultivation progressed so quickly.

"Demon Lord, the reincarnations of Tathagata and the Great Heavenly Venerable have been discovered!"

The Golden-Winged Roc is responsible for suppressing the Heavenly Realm, but in reality, Chonglou resides there, so the Golden-Winged Roc doesn't need to guard the Heavenly Gate. Therefore, the Golden-Winged Roc often descends to the mortal realm to find food—lost Buddhas and deities!

For the Golden-Winged Roc, as long as it is not a master at the level of a quasi-leader, or a practitioner of profound skills like Sun Wukong, once it enters its belly, digestion is only a matter of time.

If it were before, the Golden-Winged Roc would have devoured the reincarnations of the two supreme beings upon discovery.

However, having learned from the peacock's previous experience, the Golden-Winged Roc did not take immediate action. Instead, it immediately returned to report to Chonglou.

"The return of the two Venerable Ones is the will of Heaven; you need not obstruct them."

There are still three years left in the thirty-three-year period. The last year should be spent preparing for the aftermath; other matters should not be concern themselves with.

Fighting them head-on will only lead to your demise.

A stubborn resistance?

Knowing full well that defying the will of Heaven is difficult, and that Chonglou is no idiot, he used his demonic cultivation to fight them head-on.

Taking advantage of their return, he led his men away from the Heavenly Palace and Mount Ling, intending to preserve his foundation in the demonic path and deal with the Heavenly Realm and Mount Ling, in addition to attempting to break through to the eighth level.

In this way, Chonglou remains the Demon Lord, still at the level of a quasi-leader.

This is the difference between having a full meal at one meal and having a full meal at every meal.

"My subordinate understands!"

If you know it's impossible to do it, it's better to go with the flow and retreat gracefully.

"In addition, all Buddhist temples and temples of righteous gods in the four continents will be destroyed, including the Xuanzhen Temple."

Over the years, Chonglou has secretly supported the Xuanzhen Temple, which has now spread throughout the four continents.

After these temples of righteous gods and Buddhist monasteries were destroyed, Xuanzhen Temple undoubtedly had the greatest advantage in the restoration process.

After all, Taoist sects are self-sufficient and self-reliant.

In contrast, in Buddhism, aside from being eloquent, nine out of ten monks are supported by others. Once a temple is vandalized, they beg for alms, and building a magnificent temple is not something that can be done simply by collecting money.

After all, in the era before advanced technology, the golden body of the Buddha could only be cast using gilding, and gold leaf was rarely used.

Forging thin gold sheets also requires skill.

"My subordinates know."

The Golden-Winged Roc naturally understood Chonglou's meaning, so he ordered his demon subordinates, thirty lesser demons in a team, to descend to the mortal realm and destroy temples.

In particular, all the gold used to create the golden body was collected and used to forge a golden body of a demon lord.

In no time, a massive "Destroy the Four Olds" campaign was launched in the lower realm.

Any temples were smashed.

Upon seeing the gleaming gold on the statue, they immediately withdrew their attention, not even sparing the gold dust.

This move can be considered a radical solution.

Without gold, Buddhism's rise lagged behind Taoism, especially since Xuanzhen Temple held an absolute advantage at that time.

···

"General Monkey King!"

Mount Taiyi, the last stronghold of the Xuanzhen Temple disciples, was now crowded with ten thousand disciples.

If it weren't for the fact that the three great sword immortals and ten elders had been restraining their disciples from acting rashly, they would have already unleashed ten thousand swords and fought to the death with the demons.

"Cultivators of Celestial Immortal rank or above, please follow me into the Ancestral Hall!"

The Six-Eared Macaque is a protector of the Xuanmen sect. In particular, his six ears can listen to the four continents, and even the thirty-three heavens and the underworld. Therefore, the Six-Eared Macaque is responsible for monitoring the corruption of the Xuanzhen Temple in Dongsheng Shenzhou.

Once someone is found to be doing evil, the Six-Eared Macaque will take action and punish them.

Therefore, the Six-Eared Macaque's status in the Xuanzhen Temple far surpasses that of the Ten Elders. His strength is even more formidable; his Six-Turn Profound Technique surpasses that of a top-tier demon king.

As a demon king who dominates the Eastern Continent, he works in the open and in the shadows with the Xuanzhen Temple to protect the Eastern Continent.

This time, he is also the overall commander of Xuanzhen Temple, guiding Xuanzhen Temple's next strategy.

"General, what brings you here? Is there some upcoming change?"

"That's right. Before Master left, he told me that this catastrophe would last for a total of thirty-three years."

Now that thirty years have passed, these final three years will be the opportune moment for the demons to vanquish the Taoist priests and overthrow them. However, this is not yet the best opportunity; the final year will be the starting point for the counterattack.

Therefore, you should now quickly recall your disciples scattered across the four continents, and at the same time, do not resist the destruction of demons, but rather be patient and forbearing.

The closer we get to the end, the less we can afford to lose our composure.

"Is what the general said true?"

All the sword immortals of Xuanzhen Temple looked at the Six-Eared Macaque in disbelief, never expecting that the demonic forces would only have two years left before they could launch their final counterattack.

"I would never deceive you or joke about the foundation of my Xuanmen sect."

Moreover, the Demon Lord was none other than the former Imperial War God, Venerable Chonglou, who sacrificed himself to avert calamity and restrain all demons, thus preventing chaos in the human world.

Otherwise, if you truly believe that demons are benevolent and would spare the Eastern Continent, it would only be out of consideration for the past and the constraints imposed by Venerable Chonglou. Therefore, I can also obtain some information that you are unaware of.

Alright, you all, quickly recall your disciples from all regions and prepare for a counterattack against the demons two years from now.

"General, rest assured, we will immediately recall our disciples from all over the country."

One began to cause destruction, while the other recalled his disciples, plunging the entire world into chaos.

Especially Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, who were searching for the reincarnated spirit child, were furious at the rampant demons and monsters as they saw the temples destroyed all over the four continents. However, their main task at the moment was to find the spirit child and they should not alert the monsters.

"Brother Monkey, I don't think something's right. Look, the Xuanzhen Temple has been destroyed."

Buddhist temples are one thing, but Sun Wukong knew that Chonglou was Chunyangzi and Donghua Dijun. Smashing Xuanzhen Temple was like smashing his own rice bowl.

For a moment, even Sun Wukong was somewhat puzzled by Chonglou's strange actions.

Moreover, what they saw was not just one temple being destroyed, but all the temples, which were completely destroyed by these demons.

Sun Wukong watched the demons' frantic actions, but failed to grasp the crucial point, assuming it was the demons' final struggle.

Two years passed quickly.

After finding the reincarnated child, Sun Wukong joined the group of Buddhas.

Similarly, after Erlang Shen found the reincarnation of the Great Celestial Venerable, he immediately went to Mount Taiyi.

Because the Six-Eared Macaque intervened in the past two years, he saved most of the righteous gods in the Heavenly Realm.

Erlang Shen looked at the immortals and gods on Mount Taiyi, and finally his gaze settled on the 100,000 sword immortals outside.

These sword immortals include three Taiyi sword immortals alone, and nearly ten thousand other sword immortals at the Heavenly Immortal level. Other sword immortals also have the ability to control swords and subdue demons.

"What a plan!"

Erlang Shen recalled the scene he had witnessed underground and immediately understood Chonglou's final scheme.

With 100,000 sword immortals as the main force of the counterattack, it is conceivable that, regardless of success or failure, the Taiqing lineage will ultimately win.

Moreover, the influence of these 100,000 sword immortals during the blank period is self-evident.

The emergence of 100,000 sword immortals from the immortal mountain would inevitably spread their fame far and wide, making Xuanzhen Temple even more renowned. In fact, as the story was passed down, it became the version where 100,000 sword immortals emerged from the mountain to vanquish demons and save the three realms.

This immense fortune and its karmic consequences were all observed by Xuanzhen.

The gods gradually came to understand everything, but they did not expose them.

Ultimately, Xuanzhen Temple not only worships the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors, but also these other deities. Furthermore, Xuanzhen Temple does not exclude temples that worship these deities; in fact, the temple keepers of these temples have graduated from Xuanzhen Temple in recent years.

Therefore, it is better for Xuanzhen Temple to grow bigger than for Buddhism to grow bigger.

The Xuanmen (Taoist sect) only worships Buddha.

Chapter 168 The Return of Tathagata: The Final Battle

"Sword Immortal Taibai, lead 30,000 sword immortals to the Southern Continent to suppress demons and restore the Daoist tradition."

"Azure Nether Sword Immortal, you shall lead 30,000 sword immortals to take charge of the Northern Continent, suppress the rebellious demons, and restore our lineage."

"Dao Xuan Sword Immortal, you lead 30,000 disciples to be responsible for clearing out the demons and monsters of Dong Sheng Shen Zhou."

The remaining disciples will accompany me to the Southern Heavenly Gate to vanquish the demons of the Heavenly Realm!

···

"Yes, Protector!"

The 100,000 sword immortals, who had been preparing for a long time, were overjoyed to finally hear that they could slay demons and monsters.

Demons and monsters wreak havoc in the world; they all yearn to display their might.

However, due to the overwhelming power of the demons, and not wanting to make unnecessary sacrifices, they could not remain secluded on Mount Taiyi.