The Flame Wave lasted quite a while before it dispersed, revealing a dark void and a semi-translucent White Lotus.

The White Lotus Saint Mother stood within the void, her plain white robe scorched in large patches, yet the exposed skin underneath remained unharmed.

After merging with the Dharma Manifestation, even without specialized strengthening, the body of a Buddha Country cultivator still possessed remarkable durability. The Arhat Golden Body alone was enough to withstand a fifth-rank move; the Bodhisattva Undying Body that White Lotus Bodhisattva possessed was far superior.

Jiang Li's "Sunshine in the Sky" was indeed formidable, but after confronting the True Void Home and Dragon Flower Treasure Tree, it still failed to injure the White Lotus Saint Mother.

However, being unharmed did not mean there was no loss.

The Precelestial Human Species Bag had been taken, and the Joyful Arhat inside it was gone too. Even if the other party could not control this bag, keeping the Joyful Arhat inside would inevitably lead to death.

Although cultivators gradually stopped needing food as they advanced in realms, replenishing what was consumed was still necessary. Previously, cultivators lived on wind and dew and survived on Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, but now, without the spiritual mechanism, they had to rely on eating.

Ordinary food was completely insufficient to replenish their needs; cultivators typically used elixirs or Spiritual Medicine to do so, and without significant consumption, they could go a long time without eating, creating a sort of perpetual motion effect.

If the Joyful Arhat were to remain trapped, he would eventually use up all his elixirs and literally waste away in the Precelestial Bag.

And this was also deemed the responsibility of the White Lotus Saint Mother.

Without the Precelestial Bag, losing an Arhat, and even unable to retrieve her Dao Fruit, the previously compassionate face of the White Lotus Saint Mother now wore a frosty expression.

She stood behind the True Void Home for a full quarter of an hour before she dissipated her divine skills and descended with the Dragon Flower Treasure Tree in hand.

"Send a message to the Taiping Sect," she instructed, "informing them that the Buddha Country's Precelestial Human Species Bag has been taken by Jiang Li. This treasure can contain living beings; it could solve the issue of a million refugees. If they do not wish to lose this leverage against the refugee crisis, they should attack soon."

The White Lotus Saint Mother landed on a mountaintop that had been sheared off, and directed the remaining Arhats, "Also, quickly locate Guangli Bodhisattva and ask him to return."

Mentioning Guangli Bodhisattva irked the White Lotus Saint Mother.

If Jiang Li could impersonate Hui Lun and come here, what was Guangli Bodhisattva doing? Surely he couldn't just be aimlessly searching everywhere?

If Guangli Bodhisattva had returned in time, Jiang Li wouldn't have been able to leave so easily.

Knowing the White Lotus Saint Mother was in a bad mood, the Arhats didn't delay and immediately sent someone to carry out the orders. After giving her commands, the White Lotus Saint Mother's surroundings turned into a dark void again, and she retreated into the True Void Home. The void then closed up, disappearing from sight.

...

...

Elsewhere, a rainbow streaked across the sky and soon entered Peng'an County, flying towards the area densest in water vapor.

Peng'an County was mountainous, but most mountains were on the outskirts while the county town and many villages lay in more gentle terrains, typical of a basin landscape. Thus, the court currently stationed its forces in Donglin County, at the borders of the county domain, northward to defend against Taiping.

As Jiang Li approached Donglin County, he sensed a majestic Qi surging up from the earth and filling the sky with divine grandeur.

This must have been brought by Feng Manlou and his one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers. Their Dao Fruit abilities and divine power merged their momentum and Qi into a vast sea-like domain.

As the common saying goes, accumulated earth becomes mountains, accumulated water becomes depths. Before the End of Dharma, individual splinters of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism would be just a tiny wisp of Primordial Qi. However, when amassed to a certain volume and wielded by cultivators, it possessed the capability to move mountains and fill seas.

The hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers were no different. Individually, a Soldier was merely Ninth Grade, and even the step above to an Eighth Rank Merit wasn't enough to intervene in battles of fifth or fourth rank. However, connected by their Dao Fruits, communicating with each other, the momentum of a hundred thousand Soldiers could mimic the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, unleashing extreme force under the guide of a stronger leader.

In essence, these hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers also acted as a type of Daoist Soldiers, able to assist the strong, either by overwhelming foes with force or by boosting power through borrowed strength.

Jiang Li even believed that the reason why the Heavenly Court in mythology often mobilized one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals was due to a similar effect.

Of course, this was when there were strong figures in charge, without a key core, no matter how many Heavenly Soldiers there were, they could not withstand continuous attacks from fifth-rank or even fourth-rank opponents.

The same principle applied to the Yellow Turban Warriors of the Taiping Sect, the Vajra Warriors of the Buddha Country, and even their followers.

The reason the Taiping Sect gathered refugees was not just to disgust the court and try to make the court hesitant, but to also turn these refugees into believers, into a supporting force. Otherwise, why would they bother to rebel at all? They could just gather masters and go directly to the court for a fierce showdown.

Jiang Li entered the area surging with Divine Power and looked down from above, spotting rows of white tents neatly arranged on the ground, with Heavenly Soldiers in silver armor patrolling. In front of the camp was Donglin County, also enveloped in Divine Power.

The scene indeed had somewhat the appearance of mythical Heavenly Soldiers.

He glanced for a few moments and then tried to sense the Qi of Tianxuan, seeking its location.

Had it been anyone else, this naturally would have been impossible, but for the beloved disciple of Tianxuan, Jiang Li had a few unique aspects. With a focused sensing, he should be able to find it.

Of course, while finding Tianxuan, he would also be detected by Tianxuan; this sensing itself was bidirectional.

However, before Jiang Li could sense anything, a sudden strong wind rose in the sky, visibly carrying cumulus clouds swirling towards Donglin County. Below was a mix of disordered Qi.

That was the Qi of the refugees.

Ordinary people naturally did not have as distinct a Qi as cultivators, but once their numbers reached a certain level, it could be completely captured by the Qi Observation Skill.

At the same time, the ground trembled, faintly carrying the sound of shifting mountains. From the northwest direction, between the mountain ranges, a Giant Spirit was approaching with seemingly slow steps. His upper body and head were exposed above the mountains, draped in heavy armor, highly conspicuous and immensely shocking.

Although the Giant Spirit's steps were slow, with his size, one step could completely span a small mountain. In just a few dozen steps, he had already approached the vicinity of Donglin County.

'The Wind God of the Taiping Sect, and the Giant Spirit...'

Jiang Li murmured to himself, already beginning to search for traces of another existence.

In reality, the power of the Giant Spirit was not up to par with the fourth-rank powers like those of Primordial Lord Rain Master, but he was a Daoist Soldier of Zhang Zhixuan, growing alongside him. With Zhang Zhixuan's support, his power was sufficient to be classified among the peak of the fourth-rank, even surpassing Primordial Lord Rain Master in strength.

For him to exert such power, Zhang Zhixuan needed to be nearby.

'The Buddha Country wants to stop me because the Taiping Sect is going to attack Peng'an County, or maybe because I stole the Precelestial Human Species Bag, their offensive has started earlier,' Jiang Li thought to himself.

Although these two sides were competitors, sometimes they could also cooperate, as now.

Whether for one side or the other, the Nine Provinces must be in chaos.

Without chaos, how could they recruit believers?

Without chaos, how could they spread their faith?

Although the Taiping Sect had been operating in the Nine Provinces and preaching throughout the world for years, if people could really survive, who would want to rebel?

Belief and the fanaticism to rebel were two different matters.

The common people might not be well-educated, but they were not truly foolish; they could still distinguish their interests. Faith could drive a few, but it could not drive all, and even the help of mind-bewitching Divine Skills might not work, after all the court was not just a foolish entity that only took hits.

Therefore, to spread faith and incite rebellion, one first had to make people's lives unbearable.

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