Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm

Wu Hong was taken aback by Wu Songran's words, thinking to himself, "Indeed! We share no blood relation whatsoever; she is not my biological sister. Why am I so incapable of understanding a maiden's heart?" Yet a voice in his heart kept telling him: "So what if she isn't your biological sister? You grew up together; there can only be sibling affection between you, never romantic love."

While Wu Hong's mind was in turmoil, he suddenly overheard people in the distance discussing: "That Wu Hong is truly shameless! I'd heard before about the incestuous affair between Wu Hong and his sister, but I didn't believe it then. Now, in broad daylight, he's openly molesting his own sister right before everyone's eyes—this is an outrage that even gods and men would condemn!"

The crowd in the distance had clearly witnessed the pair's subtle gestures and openly voiced their criticism.

Wu Songran's expression suddenly turned furious as she glared venomously at the gossiping crowd in the distance.

Those who could still remain standing on their feet in the distance were all experts among experts.

Seeing Wu Songran look their way, they whispered among themselves with even greater audacity. They were unafraid of Wu Hong throwing a tantrum because, though detestable, Wu Hong was not the ruthless, bloodthirsty demon of the martial world—that impostor Wu Hong.

They believed that even if Wu Hong were to scold them, at most he would shout a few reprimands; he couldn't really do anything to them.

But what they never expected was this—they suddenly discovered that over a thousand martial artists who had been sitting in meditation had all turned to glare at them with furious eyes.

Instantly, those who had been criticizing Wu Hong felt an immense pressure bearing down on them! Cold sweat poured from their brows. It was as if they were weak little creatures suddenly stared down by a thousand wild beasts.

"Brothers, these people have all fallen into demonic possession—they've been assimilated by Wu Hong's evil techniques! We should leave!"

Those gossiping in the distance suddenly saw thousands of furious eyes glaring at them and began to panic.

Although Wu Hong bore the infamy of having slain his own father, he had repeatedly performed good deeds throughout the martial world! This was now common knowledge among the current generation of martial artists.

Through the battle at Blackwood Cliff, all those in the martial world now understood that two Wu Hongs existed in the jianghu—one who was loyal and righteous yet bore the infamy of patricide, doing good deeds wherever he went.

And another, a false Wu Hong who had appeared from who-knows-where and committed evil at every turn! He slaughtered the innocent everywhere, inciting boundless hatred and terror among countless people.

Though the true Wu Hong's martial prowess was even greater than the impostor's, his heart was kind. Indeed, up until this very moment, everyone had begun to harbor doubts about the accusation of patricide against Wu Hong.

But no one could clear Wu Hong's name—the implications were far too great.

Wu Hong's good reputation in the martial world was somewhat that of an overly kind, pushover sort of man.

This emboldened the crowd of onlookers to discuss Wu Hong with reckless abandon.

Wu Songran was extremely angered by the surrounding gossip. Had they been praising the beloved brother in her heart, perhaps she would have been thrilled—but these people were spewing nothing but sour, spiteful remarks.

"Brother, you should teach these people a lesson; they've gone too far!" Wu Songran said indignantly.

Wu Hong shook his head and said to Li Ruolan, "Sister Ruolan, you were absolutely right. I truly have been far too lenient with wicked people in the past."

Wu Hong happened to want to test it out—the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm after his breakthrough! Wu Hong attempted to circulate the true qi within his body.

"Ah! Wu Hong is a true Buddha descended to the mortal world; we are the blessed people he has delivered!" The people seated cross-legged around him, seeing Wu Hong's true qi radiate brilliantly and the Thousand-Hand Tathagata that had vanished moments ago condense once more in all its sacred glory, fell to their knees again in utter devotion and reverence.

Even Wu Songran and Li Ruolan were stunned, their bodies trembling—it was the sensation of mere mortals encountering a deity. All they felt was awe and reverence!

Wu Hong's appearance was solemn and majestic! His face was as fair as polished jade. Suddenly he let out a mighty roar, and the Thousand-Hand Tathagata behind him extended over a thousand hands, all pointing simultaneously at the watching crowd in the distance. The vertical eyes on each palm burst open, shooting forth hundreds of beams of golden light that flew toward the onlookers.

It was only at this moment that the crowd felt true terror—their bodies could not move! Everyone was enveloped by an invisible force field, unable to shift even a fraction.

All they could do was watch helplessly as the golden light hurtled toward them! Before their expressions could even change, they were all engulfed in golden radiance.

It was then that their bodies could finally move again, but they were drenched in cold sweat, desperately resisting the invasion of the golden light! The beams of golden light enveloping them were like maggots, relentlessly burrowing into every orifice of their bodies.

"Ah! My cultivation? How can this be?" Some who had collapsed and were writhing on the ground suddenly discovered that the golden light had burrowed into their bodies and was racing straight for their dantian to devour their true qi. Those with lower cultivation could only struggle for a few moments before their true qi was completely devoured.

Then the golden light burst out of their bodies—*swish*—and flew back into one of the vertical eyes of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata.

"Swish, swish, swish—" In the blink of an eye, several hundred beams of golden light flew back, each returning to the arm that had originally shot it forth.

Wu Hong only knew he had broken through to a new realm; he never imagined the result would be so horrifying. These several hundred returning beams of golden light were considerably thicker than when they had shot out moments ago, and all of them returned to Wu Hong's Thousand-Hand Tathagata form!

Yet the Thousand-Hand Tathagata was but a manifestation of Wu Hong's true qi—of course Wu Hong knew what had happened.

The thousand beams of golden light that had shot out moments ago had returned, bringing with them the cultivation of those they struck! This caused Wu Hong's true qi to surge dramatically in an instant.

Before long, several hundred more beams of golden light returned.

Wu Hong was utterly stunned! "This..." was too terrifying.

Wu Hong knew that his ascension to the Late Heaven Grand Perfection realm would be formidable, but he absolutely never imagined it would be like this.

The Thousand-Hand Tathagata he had manifested had a vertical eye in each palm that could emit golden light! The light would enter a person's body and devour their cultivation. Once fully devoured, those who had their true qi consumed would for the most part become ordinary people.

Aside from being somewhat physically stronger, they would be no different from any commoner.

The light would then return safely to its main body, adding to its energy.

This was practically demonic arts! Even demonic arts were not this terrifying, were they? To forcibly devour another's inner power and claim it as one's own?

The over a thousand martial arts experts who had been gloating in the distance moments ago all collapsed weakly to the ground in just an instant, groaning in agony!

Every one of them wore an expression of utter terror, checking their bodies over and over again, secretly circulating their inner energy—only to discover, to their horror, that there was not a trace of true qi left within them.

Instantly, all their faces turned ashen and deathly pale, their expressions horrible beyond measure.

Wu Hong stood frozen in place, staring at the thousand-plus martial artists sprawled on the ground in the distance, his heart crying out, "I didn't know it would turn out like this! Why did this happen?"

What do martial artists value most? True qi! Cultivation! An ordinary martial artist must train for decades to reach the Marrow Refining realm! For a martial artist to lose their true qi and cultivation is worse than death itself.

Though they could begin cultivating anew and perhaps recover their original martial realm quickly, this was still an absolutely cruel fate. Those without tremendous willpower and extraordinary fortitude might well sink into despair and waste away for the rest of their lives.

"Wow, brother is amazing!" Wu Songran looked at the thousand-plus martial artists lying weakly in the distance and nearly jumped for joy.

Li Ruolan was also extremely delighted.

The crowd beside Wu Hong who had been meditating with him all along shouted at the top of their lungs: "A true Buddha has descended to save all living beings! Unrivaled under heaven!"

Their impromptu slogan rang out loud and clear.

Wu Hong was utterly bewildered and said, "Ran-mei, Sister Ruolan—don't you think what I did was a bit excessive? In that single strike just now, I drained the inner power of a thousand people into myself!"

His voice was even trembling as he spoke.

"Brother, what of it? Even if you did this to me, I would accept it willingly! This is their fortune. Brother didn't kill them—that's already letting them off easy!" Wu Songran replied casually with great nonchalance.

"Milord, these villains have opposed you at every turn; this is the fate they deserve! There's nothing to make a fuss over!" Li Ruolan chimed in agreement from the side.

"The true Buddha is invincible, saving all living beings!" The thousand-plus martial artists who had entered meditation with Wu Hong also shouted in unison.

Wu Hong's heart grew colder and colder! Wu Songran! Li Ruolan! And these thousand people who had cultivated with him—what had happened to them all?

How had they all become so cold-blooded?

"No—how can I strip others of their right to cultivate like this? How am I any different from a bandit? Are all of you cold-blooded creatures?" Wu Hong's heart had always been kind; he would only resort to extreme measures against the truly wicked. He felt he had gone too far today. Yet everyone around him gave him their full support, with not a single voice of dissent. This made him deeply uneasy—it felt like he was dreaming.

Wu Hong let out a thunderous shout, and the scene immediately fell silent. Everyone lowered their heads, expressions full of shame.

Wu Hong thought his loud rebuke had awakened these people, but no sooner had they quieted down than they began confessing their faults all over again.

"The true Buddha of the world, Lord Wu Hong, has taught us correctly! We are cold-blooded! We are beasts!" The very same people who had been celebrating Wu Hong's actions moments ago did an instant one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in attitude!

Each of them declared themselves beasts, declared themselves less than human.

Even Wu Songran wore an expression of shame and said, "Brother, I was wrong! I truly am worse than a beast. In the future, whatever you command, I will obey without question!!!"

Li Ruolan likewise confessed her faults to Wu Hong in the same manner.