He clearly remembered the scene of slaying Wisdom Sun Bodhisattva in the territory of the Wansheng Sword Sect when he achieved his Daoist Golden Core.
The World Honored One Tathagata of the Puchen Pure Land was notoriously petty.
Killing one of them was enough.
If he were to kill Ksitigarbha here today—who, despite being a bit of a renegade, was clearly of the Puchen lineage and still held the title of Bodhisattva—Xu Yunfan could already foresee what would happen. Before long, some enlightened Saint Monk, carrying the will of the World Honored One Tathagata, would cordially appear before him like an overpowered boss farming a Newbie Village, and then mercilessly pound him to dust.
It wasn’t as if this kind of thing hadn’t happened before.
Back then, neither the Daoist Lord of the Wansheng Sword Sect nor the Primordial Daoist Lord had much of a reaction.
The three Daoist Lords clearly had some sort of tacit understanding.
In other words, if you killed a Golden Core True Monarch from any Sect who was under the watch of their Daoist Lord, you were naturally slapping the Daoist Lord in the face. And they would, of course, find a way to kill you.
Until he could fully clarify Ksitigarbha’s true relationship with the World Honored One Tathagata and was certain he could completely distance himself from the fallout, forcing his opponent to retreat was the safest option.
The Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit, still hanging from the gnarled branches of a strange tree in the distance and glowing with a cold light, was the ultimate goal of his trip.
However, upon hearing this, the heavily injured Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva showed no sign of retreating. Instead, he straightened his back with great difficulty and slowly brought his palms together before his chest.
Seeing this, Xu Yunfan sighed inwardly. ’Looks like this won’t end peacefully.’
He looked up at the sky, his eyes quickly turning cold.
’I’m also someone under the watch of the Primordial Daoist Lord, you know.’
Although Ksitigarbha’s movements were sluggish and golden blood still trickled from the corner of his mouth, his voice was exceptionally firm, suffused with an unshakeable obsession.
"Amitabha Buddha..."
He did not praise the "World Honored One Tathagata" but directly chanted the Buddha’s Name.
"I appreciate your kind intentions, Benefactor. However, this Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit is no mere external object to me. It is the key to my attainment of the Dao, the bridge upon which my great vow rests!"
He raised his pale face, his gaze bypassing Xu Yunfan to lock onto the Dao Fruit radiating a cold light. A near-fanatical reverence erupted in his eyes.
"I once made a great vow: ’As long as Hell is not empty, I swear not to become a Buddha.’ With this great Wish Power, I moved the Sea of Suffering Origin and attained the ’Earth Store Light Lotus Round Light Dao Fruit,’ ascending to the position of a Bodhisattva."
"But Reincarnation is vast, the souls of the dead are endless, and their grievances blot out the heavens. With only my current power, how difficult is it to sort out Reincarnation, pacify resentment, and guide all beings across their sea of suffering? It is like an ant trying to shake a tree, or trying to extinguish a blazing cart of firewood with a single cup of water!"
His voice carried a hint of sorrow, yet also a firm conviction.
"Only with this Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit—which contains the Supreme Yin essence of this world’s Reincarnation and shares the same root as the Sea of Suffering Origin—can I achieve a deep resonance with this realm’s Reincarnation Law. If I obtain and refine it, my Daoist Cultivation will advance greatly, allowing me to step directly into the Mid-Stage Bodhisattva realm."
"At that time, the speed at which I can sort the order of Reincarnation will more than double, and my great vow to deliver all the vengeful souls and fierce ghosts of Hell will finally have a true chance at Perfection. When my work reaches Perfection and the Celestial Dao senses it, a new opportunity for a Dao Fruit will naturally descend, helping me take another step forward and completely transcend the Sea of Suffering."
Xu Yunfan’s cold gaze flickered slightly as he listened to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s nearly obsessive declaration.
The other party repeatedly said "Amitabha Buddha" but never once mentioned the "World Honored One Tathagata." This confirmed his earlier suspicions, and he relaxed slightly.
This Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was not following the mainstream path of the Puchen Pure Land—the World Honored One’s Dharma, which preached that "everyone is the World Honored One Tathagata, and everyone can become a Buddha."
The Puchen Pure Land’s World Honored One’s Dharma could truly and arbitrarily allow even a Little Novice Monk to become a Dharma Body descended from the World Honored One Tathagata. It was exceptionally bizarre.
Ksitigarbha, on the other hand, was a true practitioner of Mahayana Buddhism. Or rather, he was an outcast, rejected by that system where everyone could become a Buddha, left to make his vows alone, trapped in the Sea of Suffering.
’It seems he really is an outcast, abandoned outside the core of the current Puchen Pure Land.’
This judgment instantly alleviated most of Xu Yunfan’s concerns.
The entanglements behind a Ksitigarbha who was rejected by the mainstream and struggling in the Sea of Suffering were far less profound than those of an orthodox Puchen Bodhisattva. The probability that the World Honored One Tathagata would personally intervene for such an outcast was greatly reduced.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, a cold arc formed on Xu Yunfan’s lips. He no longer hid his intentions and directly exposed Ksitigarbha’s ambition, his eyes filled with mockery.
"Heh, deliver all the vengeful souls and fierce ghosts of Hell? What a magnificent, high-sounding vow. Ksitigarbha, what you truly covet is the long-vacant sovereignty of the Netherworld, isn’t it?"
His gaze was like a torch, as if it could pierce through Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s facade of weakness.
"Once you refine the Taiyin Dao Fruit, use your power as a Mid-Stage Bodhisattva to sort out Reincarnation, and accumulate immeasurable Merit... when the time comes for what you called ’the Celestial Dao to send down a new Dao Fruit opportunity,’ I’m afraid that will be your moment to strive for the Supreme Fruit Position that rules the Netherworld and commands the Six Paths of Reincarnation: the Nine Netherworld Reincarnation Ten-Directional Misfortune-Alleviating Netherworld Dao Fruit, right?"
These words struck Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s heart like a clap of thunder.
The blood instantly drained from his pale face, only to be replaced by an unnatural flush. Even his clasped hands couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
He had never imagined that Xu Yunfan could so accurately perceive the ultimate goal hidden beneath his great vow.
That Nine Netherworld Reincarnation Ten-Directional Misfortune-Alleviating Netherworld Dao Fruit was none other than one of the top three Supreme Fruit Positions among the Heavenly Spirits and Earth Evil One Hundred and Eight Dao Fruits.
Once one was favored by it and achieved it, forming a Great Celestial Cycle, one would become the true sovereign of the Netherworld, the master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
At that point, the reincarnation of all living beings in the Three Realms—whether as humans, beasts, ghosts, or gods... would all depend on a single thought from him.
The authority would be so immense that it could rival the Three Sects and establish a truly new orthodox lineage.
This was the true motivation for which he had willingly stood a lonely and perilous guard in the Sea of Suffering for ten thousand years.
With his deepest secret laid bare, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s brief shock gave way. The last trace of compassion in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by a near-frenzied resolve and the confidence of someone betting everything on a single throw.
He forcefully suppressed the roiling of his qi and blood and the excruciating pain in his Divine Soul. His voice suddenly rose, laced with an immense, chilling aura.
"Xu Yunfan, your insight is truly like a torch, to have seen through to my ultimate goal. That’s right. Reincarnation is in chaos, and the Sea of Suffering is sinking. It is in dire need of a true sovereign to restore order."
"The Lord of the Netherworld has been vacant for ages untold. This is a flaw in the Celestial Dao. I made my great vow here, enduring countless calamities without regret, precisely to act in accordance with heaven’s destiny."
"This Dao Fruit is meant to be the foundation for my ascension. It seems, Benefactor, that you are determined to block my Heaven-Reaching Path today?!"
Although he was heavily injured, when he spoke of that Supreme Dao Fruit, his tone was brimming with confidence, as if the Fruit Position was already in his grasp and any who stood in his way were defying heaven itself.
"Block you?"
Xu Yunfan let out a cold laugh, the sound grating in the dead silence above the Sea of Suffering.
"This True Monarch has no interest in who becomes the lord of that damned Netherworld. But you want to refine this Taiyin Dao Fruit, reach the Middle Stage, and then scheme for that Supreme Fruit Position? In your dreams!"