In the Three Realms, only the Demon Clan and the Heavenly Court are capable of crafting cannons.

Now that both sides are caught in the throes of war and short on cannons themselves, where would they find additional cannons to support the Heavenly Court?

The more Mara thought about it, the more frightened he became, feeling that the Buddhist Sect was like a bottomless abyss that sent chills down his spine.

During his contemplations, countless Demon Heads were buried in cannon fire, brightening the sky.

Mara knew that this time he was completely powerless to break through Mount Ling, so he wisely chose to retreat, leading the surviving Demon Heads away from Mount Ling to recuperate and regain strength elsewhere.

This time he didn’t even care about the pact with the Jade Emperor, preparing to head to Dongsheng Shenzhou instead, to return once he had gathered a sufficient number of Demon Heads.

But how could the people of Mount Ling let him do as he pleased?

After great effort to eliminate the vast number of Demon Heads, if they could not detain Mara, wouldn’t all their previous achievements be wasted? If this Demon King were to return later, they would have to face the same situation as today.

No sooner had Mara escaped Mount Ling than he saw nine beams of light rising around the Xiniu Continent, forming nine glass Pagodas adorned with mysterious runes and enshrining Buddha statues.

Grand chanting sounds echoed between heaven and earth, as the golden Power of Faith instantly enveloped all of Xiniu Continent’s land, transforming it into a Buddha Kingdom on earth.

The sight instantly astounded everyone in Xiniu Continent; devout followers fell to their knees with tears in their eyes, kissing the ground. They had witnessed a miracle, they had seen hope.

After careful planning, the Buddhist Sect had finally laid down the Array and trapped Demon King Mara within Xiniu Continent.

From the beginning, the Buddhist Sect had not intended to let Mara escape Xiniu Continent. The karmic entanglement between the Buddhist Sect and Mara was too deep; should he manage to escape, the Sect would likely never know peace.

"You’ve really gone to great lengths to capture me," Mara said with a sneer.

"The benefactor should stop trying to escape. Come back to Mount Ling with this old monk and listen to me preach the Buddhist Law." Maitreya said with a smiling face.

Seeing his smiling face, Mara was filled with the urge to rush over and punch him.

However, he calmly restrained the impulse in his heart, knowing that the best course of action for now was to make a quick escape.

Mara then transformed into a black mist flying towards the outside, but the endless brilliance shining from the nine Glazed Pagodas wove a vast net in the sky that firmly trapped him.

"Amitabha Buddha, the benefactor should not waste his efforts; it would be best to promptly accompany this poor monk to Mount Ling to chant scriptures," Maitreya said as he closed in, with Mara wearing a look of exasperation.

Without engaging with Maitreya, Mara turned his head towards the North, thinking it wouldn’t be bad to escape to Luzhou in the North. As it was in the midst of chaos, he might be able to use this opportunity to strengthen the Demon Clan.

Just then, a compassionate and majestic figure appeared in the North; it was the Southern Seas Guanyin Bodhisattva.

As soon as she appeared, she gently waved her Willow branch, and a rain of sweet dew fell upon the land. The earth, ravaged by the Demon Heads, suddenly sprouted green grass and dead wood burst into new life.

The entire land began to recover, new life thriving once again, and the people of Xiniu Continent were even more moved by this sight.

"Namo Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva! With great Divine Skills comes the capacity to compassionately enlighten All Living Beings!"

At the same time, it seemed as though a terrifying will surged towards Mara from all directions; it was the rejection of him by all living beings of Xiniu Continent.

At that moment, Mara’s face turned extremely unsightly. He seemed to understand the Buddhist Sect’s strategy—they wanted to make him despised by all beings, and then rejected by Heaven and Earth, so that he could never set foot on this land again.

"Such a clever scheme!" Mara shouted angrily.

He had to admit that the Buddhist Sect was no longer the small faction it had once been, now full of talented individuals. He had been careless, not realizing that the other side had already done so much in secret. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The actions of the Buddhist Sect continued steadily advancing, and the souls of those who had perished at the hands of Mara seemed to be accusing the Demon King of his terror.

Upon seeing this, Mara hurriedly headed south.

Another figure appeared, riding the Truth-listening Beast, with a full moon behind their head.

It was none other than Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who had made the great vow that he would not become a Buddha until Hell was empty and all living beings were liberated to realize enlightenment.

"Mara, benefactor, the sea of suffering is boundless, turning back is the shore!" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said softly, his words filled with compassion.

"It’s you!"

Of the Four Great Bodhisattvas, Mara was least willing to see Ksitigarbha, who, although capable of ascending to Buddha’s fruit position, resolutely gave it up to save all the evil spirits in the world. The Demon King found Ksitigarbha very difficult to deal with since his abilities to disturb people’s minds were completely ineffective against him, and thus Ksitigarbha was highly recognized in the Three Realms for his great perseverance.

Without any hesitation, Mara turned around and left, heading west.

"Benefactor Mara, this path is blocked!"

Manjushri Samantabhadra stood in front, blocking Mara from moving forward even half a step. Although both were of Bodhisattva fruit position, their strength was far beyond that of an ordinary Buddha, and their will was firm, their knowledge of the Buddhist Law profound. They were renowned powers in the Three Realms, and facing such opponents, Mara was greatly troubled, unable to defeat them in a short time.

He then tried to turn eastward but saw Maitreya had already arrived from there. At this point, the Four Great Bodhisattvas and Maitreya had surrounded him, leaving him with no escape to the heavens above or the earth below. It seemed that this time, the Demon King could not fly away, even with wings.

The grand chanting echoed between heaven and earth, and the endless Buddha’s Light enlightened all suffering and adversity. Without the Demon Head ravaging, the Buddhist Sect finally maximized their advantage and completely surrounded Mara.

Nine Glazed Pagodas shone brilliantly, constructing a powerful sealing array in the sky, with the intent to seal Mara once and for all.

At this moment, the Demon King seemed to be at his wit’s end, unable to resist any longer.

"It seems you all are determined to have me!" Mara roared furiously.

"Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, it’s better for you to return with me to Mount Ling. I will expound the scriptures and the dharma for you," Maitreya said, still with a smile on his face.

Seeing that his demonic power was quickly waning, Mara gritted his teeth and said, "Dream on if you think you can seal me!"

Then, the Demon King flew towards the sky, the demonic aura vast around him. His voice suddenly resounded in the ears of all living beings: "I am the Demon King, there should be a Demon Realm in the world to harbor the evil thoughts of all living beings. Any cultivator must face demonic challenges!"

As soon as these words were spoken, heaven and earth trembled, and Mara’s body suddenly burst, transforming into a pitch-black space, with the surviving demons instantly rushing into it.

Afterward, the pitch-black space flew towards the sky, as if aiming to fly beyond the Nine Heavens.

Some Buddhas saw this and were about to interfere when they were stopped by Maitreya, who said, "Let him go. Mara has become the Demon Realm, bringing trials to cultivators. This is the will of Heaven and Earth, and not something we can stop."

"But..."

The Buddha still wanted to speak, but only saw Maitreya gently shaking his head.