"You… how did you get here?!"
Perfected Qinghe was already struggling against Nun Dairou.
The phantom of his nine-headed green dragon was suppressed by Buddhist light, and his poison arts could barely touch the Bodhisattva's body.
He had never expected Li Yaoqing to arrive, bringing with her four Daoist allies from Highsun City.
For a brief moment, he was stunned.
Then came overwhelming relief.
Li Yaoqing simply gave him a slight nod before turning to the four cultivators from Highsun City.
"Everyone, let's hold the line for Perfected Qinghe. Don't hold back. We cannot let the demoness escape."
"Understood."
Zhou Chengli agreed immediately. There was no need for further explanation—they all knew retreat was no longer an option.
They spread out at a distance, carefully staying beyond the reach of Body Integration Spiritual pressure.
Everyone present was perceptive. No one blamed Perfected Qinghe for siding with Fei Heng earlier.
After all, facing a Body Integration expert, hesitation could mean death.
If Qinghe had made the first move against them, they would have been the first to fall.
In an instant, the clouds churned violently, the sky transforming into a boundless void.
Within it, a massive jade Bodhisattva stood in solemn silence, radiating brilliant Buddhist light.
The void beneath their feet shifted into a vast lotus pond.
Fish leapt through the water—and wherever they surfaced, lotus flowers bloomed.
A wooden bridge stretched across the pond. Any fish that leapt over it seemed poised to transcend into rebirth.
This had become Nun Dairou's Dao arena—the domain of her Bodhisattva of Rebirth.
The moment one stepped inside, a deep sense of calm settled over the mind.
The steady knocking of a wooden fish echoed throughout the space, amplifying the force of Buddhist chants.
Perfected Qinghe's poison arts were immediately suppressed.
Within this domain, the nine-headed dragon phantom weakened, and the toxic mist he created dissolved into clear water under the pervasive Buddhist light.
Aside from his Dao, Perfected Qinghe had already deployed both Spirit and Dharma Treasures.
His Spirit Treasure—a deep green pearl—hovered before him, its radiance controlled by his divine soul.
The green energy within it transformed endlessly, taking on hundreds of shapes as it pressed toward Nun Dairou.
Yet the wooden fish in her hand was even more formidable.
With a single strike, it effortlessly repelled the pearl's power.
Behind her, the Bodhisattva statue from the Dusheng Nunnery descended.
It was a statue she had cultivated for years.
And yet, once revealed, it resembled not a Buddha, but a demon.
From within it came the sounds of purgatory—the wails of countless souls.
No one could tell how many souls were sealed beneath it.
"This is… Demoness, where did you gather so many souls?!"
Perfected Qinghe's expression darkened.
Even from a distance, the five cultivators assisting him struggled to steady their minds. Their expressions twisted with strain as their Spiritual power wavered.
"Everyone, be careful!" he shouted. "Seal your five senses!"
"Amitabha."
Nun Dairou spoke with a gentle, compassionate expression.
"My Dusheng Nunnery seeks to deliver the world and save all living beings. There is no true Buddha in this world—nor anyone to guide the Netherworld.
This poor nun wishes to rebuild the Buddha's Paradise… to preserve the souls of the mortal realm for tens of thousands of years."
Her gaze swept across them calmly.
"You resist the true Buddha and incur the resentment of all living beings. You have brought this fate upon yourselves."
"Enough!"
Perfected Qinghe's expression turned grim. He had no interest in debating doctrine.
Now that Nun Dairou had revealed her true strength, he was even less capable of matching her.
At that moment, a soft green halo spread across the Dao arena.
Vegetation began to grow.
Even Perfected Qinghe felt his Spiritual power recover slightly. His eyes widened in surprise.
He turned—
It was Li Yaoqing.
Holding her bamboo pole, she released her Spiritual power. Beneath the halo, green leaves drifted down endlessly.
Each falling leaf carried her presence.
She was everywhere.
"What kind of technique is this? What level of aptitude does she possess?"
Even Nun Dairou's expression shifted.
Buddhism spoke of "one flower, one world."
Yet each of Li Yaoqing's leaves contained the Spiritual power of a Void Refinement space—enough to resist even her Buddhist light.
Wherever a leaf fell, Li Yaoqing's form flickered and shifted.
Her presence was boundless.
As the leaves drifted toward the four cultivators from Highsun City, their strained expressions gradually eased.
Their minds stabilized.
Most notably, Perfected Qinghe himself felt a steady flow of healing energy restoring both his body and Spiritual power.
Nun Dairou's plan for a swift victory was instantly broken.
"Li Kuanghua is already monstrous—possessing a rare dual Buddha-Demon body and unmatched physical cultivation.
And this Li Yaoqing…"
Nun Dairou's gaze sharpened.
"She's even more terrifying?!"
Without hesitation, Nun Dairou made her move.
A golden alms bowl appeared in her hand and shot toward Li Yaoqing, expanding as it descended to trap her.
"Hmph!"
Perfected Qinghe reacted instantly.
He mobilized the green pearl, intercepting the Dharma Treasure midair as he stepped forward to shield Li Yaoqing, his eyes blazing with renewed confidence.
With her here, what did he have to fear?
He would even dare to face the Nirvana Sage Elder!
But just as relief settled in, a thought struck him.
His expression faltered slightly.
"Miss Yaoqing… you came to aid me, but what about the rest of your Li Clan?"
Fei Heng was still, in the end, a Body Integration expert.
Li Yaoqing was clearly one of the Li Clan's greatest assets in this expedition—yet she had chosen to assist him instead.
The others…
Void Refinement cultivators could only hold the line.
How could they possibly defeat someone at Body Integration?
Li Yaoqing remained silent.
Over the years, she had refined countless medicinal pills, reaching the mid-stage of Void Refinement.
Her Divine Arts allowed her Mountain God body to sustain near-endless Spiritual power.
Her technique, "One Leaf, One Domain," gave each leaf the strength of a Void Refinement space.
Yet even so—
She glanced at the golden alms bowl above.
Nun Dairou's Dao suppressed her laws directly.
If she were alone, she likely wouldn't last even a moment.
Her fingers brushed against her bamboo pole—and the bracer on her wrist.
The bracer, the supreme-grade Dharma Treasure known as the Mountain-Suppressing Demon-Subduing Ring, carried the weight of mountains.
Even so, she knew.
It wasn't enough.
"It's because she's already stepped into the Questioning Dao realm…"
Li Yaoqing's thoughts deepened.
"That's why she's so difficult to deal with. And Dao Integration… will be even more terrifying."
At this moment, a noisy voice sounded in her ear again; it was Perfected Qinghe.
"Miss Yaoqing, why not summon your clansmen? The Crown Prince is no longer human nor ghost—leave him be.
Your clansmen cannot match him.
We should join forces and kill Nun Dairou first. With the two of us, she will surely fall!"
Li Yaoqing glanced at him and said in dissatisfaction,
"How do you know my clansmen are no match for him?"
Perfected Qinghe sighed, choosing not to argue further.
The Li Clan was known for its stubbornness.
Void Refinement against Body Integration…
Holding the line was one thing.
Winning was another matter entirely.
He turned his focus back to Nun Dairou, thinking to himself:
"A genius like Li Yaoqing is rare in this world. If she were aiding her clan, they might still stand a chance.
Oh well, the Li Clan has an elusive Ancestor. Once they suffer a loss at the hands of the Crown Prince, they will naturally understand that coming to help me is the right choice."
Li Yaoqing ignored him.
She focused instead on healing the others—using her medical arts and the first-turn "Healing" technique of the Primordial Azure Jade Bamboo.
It had been many years since she last saw him.
But her eldest brother had said—
"It'll be over quickly."
And he had never disappointed her.