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Chapter 971: Chapter 971: The Great Thunderclap Temple

In the east, Sima Yuan led his forces against Su Afo\'s defenders. Originally, it seemed that the battle had reached its inevitable conclusion—Su Afo was already on the brink of death, and victory was assured. But whether it was Sima Yuan\'s misfortune or Su Afo\'s previous life\'s identity being too significant, something extraordinary happened.

Su Afo\'s previous life\'s fate was so powerful that it could influence his current life. Generally, all that remains from a previous life are memories, but in Su Afo\'s case, his fate had persisted—even more, it was an incredibly formidable fate.

As Su Afo\'s fate manifested, the heavens and earth suddenly changed. Countless golden Buddhist symbols shot into the sky, enveloping not just the imperial palace, but the entire Qingqiu. The vast spread of Buddhist symbols shook all of Qingqiu to its core!

The citizens stared in astonishment, their mouths agape. The three other attacking armies abruptly halted as well, and almost everyone looked up at the sky.

**"What\'s going on? How could there be a Patriarch Immortal here? No, a Patriarch Buddha in Qingqiu?"** Sima Qing, another of Sima Yuan\'s relatives, looked up in shock.

There were no Patriarch Immortals in Qingqiu, but this aura—this wasn\'t something even an Ancient Immortal could emit. Who was this Patriarch Buddha? Was he an enemy or an ally?

The sky was filled with resonant Buddhist chanting, and amid the chants, one phrase stood out—**"Amitabha."**

Sima Qing gazed up at the sky and said to those around him, **"Amitabha... isn\'t that the mantra chanted by monks from the vast eastern regions?"**

**"A Patriarch Buddha from the east? Could it be from the Great Thunderclap Temple? The Tathagata Buddha?"**

**"It\'s not the Tathagata Buddha. He never strays far from the Great Thunderclap Temple. But then, who could this be?"** Sima Qing frowned in worry.

**"Someone, go investigate where the Buddha\'s voice is coming from!"** Sima Qing ordered.

**"Yes!"** His subordinates quickly flew off in all directions.

The one who felt this the most profoundly was Sima Yuan, who had been plagued by misfortune for so long.

Sima Yuan couldn\'t even begin to describe his feelings. Who had Su Afo been in his previous life?

The celestial weapon that had been thrust into Su Afo\'s body was now mysteriously turning entirely golden, transformed into a Buddhist artifact by the aura emanating from Su Afo\'s previous life\'s fate. What\'s more, it had even ascended a level, becoming a celestial Buddhist artifact!

How could this be happening?

Sima Yuan realized that this time, he had truly kicked an iron wall—one that he couldn\'t possibly move.

**"How could I be this unlucky?"** Sima Yuan thought to himself in despair.

The same sense of doom that had overwhelmed him during his encounter with Ran Deng now filled his mind. To think that killing a mere wastrel could invoke such a world-shaking Buddha—his luck was truly abysmal.

Even from a distance, Sima Yuan could feel the overwhelming aura radiating from Su Afo. Despite not invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao, Su Afo still exuded an untouchable and domineering presence.

Slowly, Su Afo opened his eyes, and as he did, Sima Yuan\'s eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Su Afo\'s eyes had changed. His pupils were no longer round; they had transformed into the shape of lotus flowers, each pupil a nine-petaled golden lotus!

Staring into those eyes, Sima Yuan felt as though he were being drawn into their depths.

**"Retreat!"** Sima Yuan turned and prepared to flee.

At this point, what was the use of fighting? Su Afo\'s previous life\'s fate had taken over his current body, and even the faint aura it emitted was invincible. To continue fighting would be suicidal!

**"What sorrow is there in life, what suffering in death? You and I have no enmity, but in this life, our paths crossed in conflict. The cycle of cause and effect is endless and without beginning or end,"** Su Afo said calmly.

But if one listened closely, they would notice that Su Afo\'s tone had completely changed—it was nothing like his previous self.

"Senior, we had no...!" Sima Yuan immediately turned around to apologize.

He knew that escape was impossible, and begging for mercy was his only chance. Sima Yuan had been so beaten down by his recent streak of bad luck that he was convinced that when misfortune struck, there was no escaping it. It was better to just plead for forgiveness.

Unfortunately, Su Afo didn\'t give him the chance. The lotus-shaped pupils in Su Afo\'s eyes contracted slightly.

Before Sima Yuan could finish his sentence, everyone around him suddenly disappeared, disintegrating into golden dust that settled on the ground. Sima Yuan was no exception. In his final moment, only one thought crossed his mind: "Why am I so unlucky?"

"Boom!"

A thunderous crack resounded across the sky, which became densely covered in dark clouds, as if repelling the aura emanating from Su Afo. Powerful bolts of lightning flashed wildly.

Su Afo looked up at the sky and sighed softly.

Behind him, Hong Xiao was already in a state of shock. It was said that when Su Afo was born, the air was filled with Buddhist chants, the scent of sandalwood, and celestial phenomena. This had led the old Marshal Su to speculate that his grandson might be the reincarnation of a powerful being. But this was beyond anything he could have imagined!

With just a glare, Su Afo had obliterated Sima Yuan—a Patriarch Immortal, no less—even though Sima Yuan had been injured!

"Your name is Hong Xiao?" Su Afo turned to look at him.

Seeing his familiar young master suddenly speaking in a different tone, Hong Xiao felt a bit unsettled, but he quickly nodded. "Yes, Senior!"

"Would you be willing to follow me?" Su Afo asked calmly.

"Huh?" Hong Xiao was momentarily taken aback, surprise flickering in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

"Yes, I am willing to follow you, Senior!" Hong Xiao quickly replied.

"Good." Su Afo nodded.

Su Afo looked around at the surroundings.

"Is this Qingqiu?" Su Afo asked.

"Yes!" Hong Xiao answered immediately.

Su Afo nodded again. "The karmic ties in Qingqiu are too great—I cannot become entangled with them. The obsession of this present life was to protect the eastern side of the palace. The eastern threat has now been dealt with, so I will set up a barrier here."

As he spoke, a golden barrier suddenly rose behind the two of them. The barrier was filled with countless glowing "田"(Tian) characters, exuding a strong Buddhist aura.

The sky grew darker as more black clouds gathered, forming an overwhelmingly powerful thunderstorm. It was as if the sky itself was collapsing, pressing down on everyone below to the point where they could hardly breathe. The aura of absolute destruction filled everyone\'s minds—it was so powerful that even Sima Qing, an Ancient Immortal, felt as though he could hardly endure it. Within this aura, Sima Qing sensed the unmistakable presence of divine retribution.

"Alright, now let us go to the Great Thunderclap Temple," Su Afo said, glancing at the sky.

"Yes!" Hong Xiao responded respectfully.

Then, with a flash, both Su Afo and Hong Xiao vanished from where they stood.

The moment they disappeared, the endless golden Buddhist symbols in the sky scattered, and the oppressive thunderclouds, unable to find their target, slowly dissipated as if they had never existed. However, many of the powerful cultivators below were still drenched in sweat.

The aura had been too terrifying!

Even after the dark clouds had completely vanished, the people remained in a daze, unable to fully process what had just happened.

The rebellion temporarily came to a halt because the recent celestial phenomena had left everyone deeply unsettled. No one would be at ease until they could make sense of what had just transpired—it was simply too terrifying!

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8