NOVPUBShen Yuan, having uncovered the secret related to strange phenomena on Emperor Xia’s body, would certainly have made preemptive arrangements.
Among the many forces at Shen Yuan’s disposal, the one that most effectively repressed strangeness was not humanity’s fate, but Dizang, the pagoda spirit who had sat in the 18 Levels of Hell suppressing strangeness for tens of thousands of years.
Even those parts of strangeness that had penetrated deep into True Spirits, which even the Six Paths of Reincarnation could not cleanse, could still be suppressed by Dizang in the Endless Hell.
Thus, as soon as the Netherworld dispatched the second batch of supernatural beings to the Imperial Capital, Shen Yuan had secretly used an Imperial Edict from the Fengdu Emperor to have Dizang covertly follow the supernatural beings to take a position in the Imperial Capital.
The seemingly critical Netherworld Commander Leopard Tail was merely a distraction; Dizang was Shen Yuan’s true contingency plan.
The moment Dizang, clad in his treasure-light cassock, appeared, divine merit treasure light descended from above the Imperial Capital, and massive amounts of golden divine merit emanated behind Dizang, forming into an immense Dharma wheel.
Inside the Imperial Capital, old monks from the Floating Temple Blessed Land stared in disbelief, astounded by the sight of Dizang appearing in the sky above the capital.
In the Primal Chaos Realm, Buddhism was far less prominent than the sects of the Dao, especially after the Great Schism those many eons ago, when Buddhism declined at a far greater rate.
The Floating Temple was not originally among the 72 Blessed Lands, but as various sects withered and their blessed lands became vacant, the temple managed to take a spot among the 72 Blessed Lands, with a Golden Body Arhat sitting in its sanctuary even now.
Buddhism was skilled in cultivating divine merit, but even the worldly-wise old monks of the Floating Temple had never seen a Dharma wheel of divine merit as immense as that of Dizang.
Even a Golden Body Arhat sitting in a sect would not possess divine merit as profound as that of Dizang.
"Could it be a Bodhisattva has descended to the mortal realm?"
Before the old monk from the Floating Temple could ascertain the reasons, Dizang had already stepped forward and ascended into the incense offering magic domain.
For other cultivators, the breath of strangeness was undoubtedly toxic; if not protected by humanity’s fate, they would instantly be assimilated by the strangeness, and this was even more so for the incense offering deities.
Yet, the presently manifested Dizang was indifferent to the chaotic strangeness within the incense offering magic domain, letting the massive breath of strangeness wrap around his body, and in an instant, bizarre creatures resembling supernatural beings submerged him.
Seeing the appearance of Dizang, Emperor Xia showed a moment of uncertain disturbance, but upon witnessing Dizang being easily overwhelmed by strangeness without any resistance, a certain mockery flashed in his eyes, and he let out a scornful laugh.
"Fool! Strangeness has eroded many realms; countless Emperors and Exalted Ones have fallen to it, and even immortals and Buddhas dare not disregard it casually.
This mere monk dares to be so arrogant, he has chosen the path to his own death!"
Amidst his words, Emperor Xia looked disdainfully towards Shen Yuan.
"Is this your trump card? It seems it’s nothing special after all."
Without responding, Shen Yuan watched the incense offering magic domain quietly.
He could clearly see that although Dizang was surrounded by strangeness, he was not harmed in the slightest, the breath of strangeness that tangled around him unable to corrode his Dharma body.
In fact, this was entirely within his expectations, as strangeness among itself also had certain differences.
The portion of strangeness that invaded the incense offering magic domain originated from the Eyes of Dusk, which Shen Yuan had previously subdued with the aid of the Sun Deity’s power, conferred by the Imperial Edict.
Dizang’s contact with strangeness was fundamentally transcendent, even capable of evading the cleansing of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, with an atmosphere that only a thousand years in a realm could cultivate a trace of.
Dizang’s Dharma body suppressed the 18 Levels of Hell for ten millennia, and in doing so, its essence had been eroded by strangeness and merged with it, ultimately undergoing a metamorphosis with Shen Yuan’s assistance.
Due to the suppression of his stature, the strangeness from the Eyes of Dusk simply could not corrupt him.
After gaining an initial understanding of the extent of the strangeness in the incense offering magic domain, Dizang finally took action.
"Suppress!"
With that command, the Hell Suppressing Force poured out from the projection of the Primal Chaos Nifty Pagoda in his left hand.
As a force that had suppressed strangeness for countless years, the Hell Suppressing Force even surpassed humanity’s fate in its effectiveness against strangeness. In a vague moment, it was as though a golden deity from the dark Hell surveyed the incense offering magic domain from above.
Massive amounts of strangeness were forcefully dissipated by the Hell Suppressing Force, and those bizarre creatures resembling supernatural beings instinctively crawled on the ground, trembling as they bowed and worshipped Dizang.
In an instant, the originally chaotic incense offering magic domain was purified.
"Impossible!"
"How can this be?"
Emperor Xia roared in anger, his eyes full of disbelief as he watched Dizang walking among myriad strangeness.
Within the Primal Chaos Realm, almost no one understood the nature of strangeness better than he did.
This force differed from Spirit Energy and Primordial Elemental Qi, and did not exist among the heavens; though lacking in offensive power, its extent of eeriness caused even the gods and Buddhas to shiver.
Especially the way strangeness restrained the wishing power of incense offerings, which caused the collapse of Divinity Paths across the heavens and the crumbling of many realms.
From the information he received from the Dusk Realm, he knew that powerful experts could suppress strangeness with absolute force and stature.
But the aura of the present Dizang, although fluctuating, was only at the level of a Return-to-Void Great True Being, nowhere near enough to suppress strangeness with force and rules.
This meant Dizang was achieving this effect solely by virtue of his own power, which was also why Emperor Xia found the current scene so shocking.
Before Emperor Xia could recover from his astonishment, the Eyes of Dusk within the incense offering magic domain could finally no longer remain calm.
The presence of Dizang had made it feel a distinct threat.
Dusk light flourished, enveloping the incense offering magic domain completely; it trembled at that moment, as waves of strangeness relentlessly battered Dizang.
