But this thundercloud wasn’t the Divine Sky Purple Gold color that Xu Yunfan usually wielded. Instead, it was a sinister, purplish-black.
Countless terrifying thunderbolts, each as thick as a barrel and possessing vastly different properties, crashed down like enraged World-Ending Thunder Dragons.
Its range shockingly enveloped all of them: the heavily wounded Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the dying White-haired True Daoist, and the barely breathing Qiu Long.
"Purple Mansion Destruction Celestial Spirit Thunder Control Technique!"
Xu Yunfan let out a low cry, his hands forming a Dharma Seal as he activated the Array Formation.
This Thunder Technique was of the Supreme Yang and Firm, specifically designed to counter yin, evil, and ghostly apparitions. It could shatter the Ten Thousand Laws, striking directly at the core of a Divine Soul like a brilliant Celestial Punishment.
Then, he used Earth Evil Abyssal Yin Thunder as the foundation. This thunder, black as ink, erupted from the depths of the Sea of Blood. It carried a sinking, corrosive power, weaving Law Chains that gnawed at bone, destroyed the soul, and froze all Vitality.
Next came the Nine Nether Profound Yin Evil Thunder. This thunder was a ghastly, deep green, suffused with the Profound Yin Evil Qi from the depths of the Nine Netherworld. It corrupted the Spiritual Light of Magical Treasures and eroded Protective Gang Essence.
Finally, at the core, he used the Yellow Springs Soul Summoning Soul Thunder. This thunder was a synthesis of the Law of the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation, condensed using the authority over all thunder granted by his Divine Sky Dao Fruit. It was ghastly white and bizarre, silent and traceless, and specialized in attacking the Divine Soul—triggering Heart Demons and pulling the soul from the body.
This was precisely the killing Array Xu Yunfan had meticulously designed. It was governed by the Destruction Celestial Gang Thunder Method of the Divine Sky Purple Mansion as its General Outline, fusing the characteristics of multiple types of Earth Evil Yin Thunder, and crafted specifically for the Bitter Sea Environment.
"NO!!!"
Engulfed by the myriad bolts of thunder, the White-haired True Daoist let out a shriek even more shrill and desperate than before.
His Grotto Heaven was already shattered and his Dao Foundation was ruined. He was clinging to a final sliver of life only through his Life and Death Reincarnation Secret Technique.
Now, submerged in this storm of multi-layered Divine Thunders—which covered all directions and had properties that both countered and generated one another—his thin, grayish-white protective layer of Death Qi was instantly vaporized.
Within the purplish-black Thunderbolt, his decaying body was like deadwood cast into a Melting Furnace, visibly carbonizing and disintegrating.
The White-haired True Daoist truly never expected that Xu Yunfan would lay such an unparalleled Grand Array in this place.
’This man... he’s also a supreme Array Dao Grandmaster.’
"ROAR!!!"
The thousand-zhang Qiu Long skeleton let out a final, weak, and resentful wail.
Its bones, already heavily damaged by Ksitigarbha’s Prison Guardian seal, shattered inch by inch as they were torn apart by the frenzied Thunder Prison.
The blood-red flames in its eye sockets, already dim, were completely extinguished.
Its massive skeletal body was pierced and torn asunder by innumerable thunderbolts. It finally collapsed with a great crash, sinking into the churning Sea of Blood and kicking up monstrous, murky waves before falling silent forever.
This overlord of the Sea of Suffering, a Fierce Beast born to accompany a Dao Fruit, was thus annihilated in both body and soul.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s situation was the most dire.
His Buddha Country Cave Heaven, already pierced by Xu Yunfan’s sword and on the verge of collapse, was now being carpet-bombed by the overlapping Divine Thunders.
He barely managed to maintain his remaining Buddha Light Shield. His Glazed Golden Body was covered in a dense web of cracks, from which golden Buddha’s Blood continuously seeped, only to be instantly evaporated by the Thunderbolt.
His once-compassionate and solemn face was now filled with pain and fury, and the Buddha’s Name he chanted was rendered intermittent by the roar of the thunder.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva tried to invoke the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation Law to resist, but the Array Power sealed the area off from the outside. Under the relentless bombardment of destructive thunderbolts—gold, black, green, and white—his Buddha Light was like a candle in the wind, flickering unstably and mere moments from collapsing.
This was a completely indiscriminate baptism of destruction.
Xu Yunfan didn’t care who the targets were. He simply wanted to take this entire area, along with the enemies within it, and completely erase it from the Sea of Suffering.
The lightning raged for a good dozen breaths.
When the final, ghastly white Soul Thunder struck and the thundercloud slowly dissipated, the center of the battlefield was a scene of utter devastation.
A massive crater had been evaporated out of the Sea of Blood, and the murky seawater roared as it poured back in to fill the void.
The White Bone Island had completely vanished. In its place was only a massive, bottomless, charred black crater from which wisps of green smoke drifted.
The air was filled with the smell of char, sulfur, and the strange aroma left behind by the purification of Buddha Power and Death Qi.
Even the eight hundred li of the Sea of Blood below had been blasted clean, preventing it from flowing back in for a moment.
The White-haired True Daoist’s figure had long since vanished.
All that remained was a single, almost undetectable wisp—a True Spirit wrapped in a faint sliver of Immortal Golden Nature. In the brief lull between thunderclaps, it relied on its last, tenuous connection to the Law of Life and Death Reincarnation. Like a startled fish, it shot into the depths of the churning Sea of Blood below, escaping into the unknown abyss of the Netherworld’s Reincarnation.
His thousands of years of Daoist Cultivation had all come to nothing. Only a fragment of his True Spirit, carrying with it an endless and venomous hatred, managed to escape into Reincarnation.
Xu Yunfan was unmoved by this sight. A True Spirit was difficult to capture, especially that of a Golden Core True Monarch. With his opponent dead set on escaping, and this being the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation within the Netherworld, it was impossible for Xu Yunfan to intercept it.
The conditions were not in his favor for a capture. The Array he had laid was designed for pure offense, with minimal capabilities for trapping or restraining.
Besides, now that the White-haired True Daoist had entered Reincarnation, it would be nearly impossible for him to ever recover. His Golden Nature would eventually be ground away by countless lifetimes, causing him to fade into the endless sea of ordinary souls.
As for the Qiu Long’s massive skeleton, not a single trace remained. Only the lingering whirlpools in the Sea of Blood and the residual aura of Extreme Yin proved that it had ever existed.
However, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s figure reappeared at this moment.
This made Xu Yunfan raise an eyebrow.
’He’s still not dead?’
’The vast majority of the Array’s power was focused on Ksitigarbha.’
The Eight-Treasure Lotus Platform beneath his feet was now dim and covered in cracks.
His black Golden Threaded Kasaya was charred and tattered in many places, stripped of its former solemnity.
The Buddha Light that had shrouded his face was completely gone, revealing a face as pale as paper with golden blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Not a trace of compassion remained—only the lingering shock of survival and a bone-deep, icy hatred.
Behind him, the Grotto Heaven Illusion of his Buddha Country was reduced to crumbling ruins. Its light was incredibly faint, a clear sign that it had suffered a devastating blow.
Moreover, his aura was utterly depleted. He had plummeted from the Pseudo-Golden Core Mid-Stage, and was now even weaker than when he had first entered the Golden Core realm.
But Xu Yunfan didn’t dare let his guard down. To underestimate him now would be a death sentence.
The monks of the Puchen Pure Land had many tricks up their sleeves, let alone a Bodhisattva at the Golden Core level.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva stared fixedly at the figure within the Yin Nether Cloud Qi, his eyes burning with a hatred so intense it was as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Xu Yunfan met his gaze with equal coldness.
He had naturally sensed the escape of the White-haired True Daoist’s True Spirit, the complete annihilation of the Qiu Long, and the grievous injuries Ksitigarbha had sustained.
Although his True Martial Sword was now destroyed and the decades of Fury Killing Sword Intent accumulated by Han Shi had been completely drained by the last two attacks, he had still achieved his goal.
The deafening roar of the thunder finally began to subside, leaving only a dead silence in the wake of the energy’s rampage.
Xu Yunfan’s voice cut through the dead space, reaching Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s ears with perfect clarity.
"Ksitigarbha, this battle is over. The White-haired True Daoist has fled into Reincarnation, and the Qiu Long is annihilated, body and soul. If you know what’s good for you, retreat now, and I will let you live."
His words were not born of mercy, but were a choice made after weighing the pros and cons.
Honestly, if conditions permitted, Xu Yunfan would not want to let Ksitigarbha escape. Given that the Bodhisattva couldn’t be reincarnated, there was a chance he could have added another Golden Core True Monarch to his Star Spirit Banner.