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Chapter 475: The Powerful Artifact

Impossible! How could he have such a thing?

To his horror, Golden Cicada Buddha realized that soon he and his Seven-colored Buddha Beads would be sealed by Zhong Shan. It couldn't be happening. Why was it like this?

Desperation took hold. Only death awaited him if this continued. If he had to die, he would drag Zhong Shan down with him. A frenzied gleam flashed in Golden Cicada Buddha's eyes.

"Roar—!"

Golden Cicada Buddha exerted all his power, channeling it entirely into the Seven-colored Buddha Beads. He aimed to destroy the Black Jade Talisman by detonating the beads, hoping the massive explosion would obliterate the talisman.

When refining the Seven-colored Buddha Beads, Golden Cicada Buddha had linked his spirit with them. Their destruction would severely injure him, but it would also involve Zhong Shan in the devastation caused by the talisman's destruction. Even if Zhong Shan didn't die, he would be close to it.

"Not good!" Nearly everyone saw the madness in Golden Cicada Buddha's eyes and began to brace themselves.

"Boom—!"

A deafening explosion, a hundred times louder than before, erupted from the Seven-colored Buddha Beads. The power was immense, creating a black hole a hundred times larger than the previous one, engulfing everything.

The three great saints exerted all their might to shield their respective holy cities. The three Feng Shui masters strained to sustain the derived world, resisting the celestial artifact's self-destruction's powerful shockwave. The entire Elysium shook violently, as if on the verge of collapse.

"Father—!" Zhong Tian screamed in terror. But amidst the cacophony in Elysium, his voice was inaudible.

Nian Youyou's eyes were filled with anger and concern.

Was Zhong Shan dead?

The saints and the assembled Buddhas watched closely. At the last moment, they all saw the Seven-colored Buddha Beads explode, shattering into pieces. Simultaneously, the Black Jade Talisman also disintegrated into powder in the massive explosion. Celestial artifacts, both the beads and the talisman, were gone.

Everyone showed a look of regret.

The black hole began to shrink rapidly. Although the three holy cities managed to resist, it was an arduous struggle. However, the Buddha altar without a Feng Shui master had reverted to its original state. From the initial three altars, only one remained, with the three Buddhas leading all the Bodhisattvas and Arhats to their feet, staring at the vanishing black hole.

Golden Cicada Buddha wasn't dead, but he was gravely injured, lying on the altar, covered in blood. This time, he had suffered a tremendous loss. But as long as Zhong Shan was dead, it would all be worth it.

To everyone's surprise, Zhong Shan was still alive, encased in the same light sphere from before. This sphere had been reinforced by eight Celestial Realm experts, layered with prohibitions to pull Zhong Shan apart.

The reinforcement by eight Celestial Realm experts was not something that could be easily overcome by the explosion's aftershock.

Whoosh!

Zhong Shan was pulled back by an ancient divine power.

"It's impossible! How can you still be alive? You can't be alive!" Golden Cicada Buddha lay in a pool of blood, unable to believe that Zhong Shan was unharmed.

How could this be?

Not only the Buddha, but all the saints also looked at Zhong Shan. After Gu Shentong lifted the restriction, Zhong Shan was indeed unharmed. The supposed mutual destruction of the Black Jade Talisman had not occurred. The talisman had shattered into powder, so why was Zhong Shan unaffected?

No one knew that Zhong Shan had never refined the Black Jade Talisman. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he simply lacked the capability. The talisman had chosen him as its master on its own, so there was no spiritual link to cause him harm.

"My apologies, Emperor of Great Qin. That Black Jade Talisman was something I happened upon at your residence last time. I intended to return it to you, but it was lost in the earlier explosion," Zhong Shan said, addressing Ying in the distance.

Zhong Shan's words served multiple purposes. First, by admitting to taking Ying's item, he publicly apologized, making it unlikely for Ying to pursue the matter further. Second, he announced to everyone that the artifact was gone, deterring anyone from coming after him. If anyone wanted the artifact, they would have to seek out Ying.

"The artifact? I acquired it by chance as well. Since it's gone, it's gone. For your primary role in this campaign against Elysium, I won't hold you accountable," Ying replied magnanimously, glancing at Zhong Shan with mild curiosity.

Zhong Shan exhaled deeply, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.

Meanwhile, countless people furrowed their brows.

Artifact? What was an artifact? When a human transcends life and death, they become an immortal; when a ghost does so, they become a ghost immortal, also known as a "Weird." Their treasures are as powerful as celestial artifacts and are thus called artifacts.

The Black Jade Talisman, which had clashed with the Seven-colored Buddha Beads, turned out to be an artifact from the underworld?

Killing Zhong Shan seemed impossible now. The Buddhas felt a bitter sense of defeat. Zhong Shan was indeed Elysium's nemesis. Even an exploding celestial artifact couldn't kill him. Was he a demon?

Their initial rage had turned to bitterness. In hindsight, if they hadn't provoked Zhong Shan, would things have turned out this way?

Of course, there was one thing Zhong Shan hadn't mentioned. The Black Jade Talisman had shattered, but its fragments had mysteriously reassembled within his body, forming a talisman shape in his purple palace. Although its stored energy was greatly diminished, it was still intact, and Zhong Shan could now slowly refine it with his current cultivation.

"Gu Yuan Buddha, it's your turn now," Joyful Buddha suddenly said.

"Very well," Gu Yuan Buddha nodded. The celestial artifact behind his head began to rotate.

The Twenty-four Heavens Wheel.

Seeing another celestial artifact, Zhong Shan's heart tightened. The Black Jade Talisman couldn't withstand another celestial artifact explosion. If Gu Yuan Buddha was determined to fight to the death, Zhong Shan was surely doomed.

The Twenty-four Heavens Wheel consisted of twenty-four small worlds, each rotating and emitting eerie rays of light.

As Gu Yuan Buddha activated the wheel, everyone grew tense. The remaining three Buddhas looked bitter, as if this was a last resort.

"Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum," Gu Yuan Buddha chanted the six-syllable mantra. The Twenty-four Heavens Wheel in his hand grew larger and larger.

"Not good!" Nie Fancheng suddenly shouted and quickly led Li Huo Holy City in an assault on the Buddha altar.

The other two holy cities also began their assault on the altar.

The rapid assault caused Gu Yuan Buddha's bitterness to deepen.

Staring at the enormous Twenty-four Heavens Wheel, he let out a deep sigh.

"Break—!"

The Twenty-four Heavens Wheel emitted billions of green rays, shooting straight at the three holy cities.

"Boom—!"

The three holy cities collided with the Buddha altar once more, causing massive shockwaves. The altar immediately developed countless cracks, radiating outwards like a spiderweb, destroying its power completely.

However, after the collision, the three holy cities seemed to dissolve into nothingness. The green light emitted by the Twenty-four Heavens Wheel erased all traces of the holy cities, and the derived worlds created by the three Feng Shui masters were shattered.

"Boom—!"

The holy cities vanished, and everything returned to its original state. A faint green mist lingered in the air, a residual effect of the Twenty-four Heavens Wheel's light.

"Your Majesty, the derived worlds have been broken. The chaotic 'world energy' prevents us from creating new ones," Tianlao quickly reported.

"Attack—!"

Nirvana Dust waved his hand, and many of his powerful subordinates charged towards the altar, engaging in battle with the Bodhisattvas and Arhats.

With the derived worlds no longer deployable, both sides could only engage in direct combat, leader against leader, general against general.

At that moment, the Twenty-four Heavens Wheel seemed to lose all its spiritual power, falling like a heap of scrap metal.

"Gu Yuan Buddha released all the world energy within the Twenty-four Heavens Wheel to level the playing field," Tianlao explained to Gu Shentong.

Gu Shentong nodded, his gaze fixed coldly on Joyful Buddha in the distance. Now was the time to exact revenge. With a wave of his hand, Zhong Shan, who was nearby, was flung away.

Zhong Shan was a crucial figure and couldn't stay there. He was immediately thrown back to his original location by Gu Shentong.

"Father!" Zhong Tian shouted in delight upon seeing Zhong Shan suddenly appear.

Zhong Shan looked at the chaotic battle in the distance, his eyes filled with relief. It had been a close call, but he had finally escaped.

As for the melee in the distance, Zhong Shan had no intention of rejoining the fight. The people of Elysium were all madmen.

On a distant mountain peak in the black world, the woman beside Nian Youyou spoke with excitement, "Youyou, quickly, Zhong Shan is exposed now. Shoot him! Shoot him dead!"

"Master!" Nian Youyou protested reluctantly.

"Hurry! Isn't this why you came here? If he escapes back into the black world, you'll never find him again. Shoot now!" the woman urged, grabbing Nian Youyou's hand and lifting her peerless bow, aiming it directly at the exposed Zhong Shan.

Nian Youyou hesitated, torn between her master's command and her own feelings.