The entire Zhen Mo Ravine shook as if tectonic plates were shifting, heaven and earth overturning. The towering walls of flesh on both sides oozed thick crimson blood, creating a horrifying spectacle.

When the Mahavairocana Dharma Image arose, Xu Qi An advanced instead of retreating—was he truly seeking death?

Of course not. He wanted his injuries to be even more severe, preferably bringing him to the brink of death.

Only then would the damage returned by Jade Shatter be truly effective.

Given a First-Rank martial artist’s abundant vitality, one could imagine how terrifying an attack capable of threatening such a powerful being’s life must be. And precisely because of this level of power, when returned, it could effectively damage even a Beyond-Mortal expert.

This plan had been formulated before the attack on Alantuoyi. Xu Qi An’s confidence came from two factors: first, Buddha had slumbered for five hundred years and was certainly not at peak condition; second, his efforts at cultivation had allowed him to accumulate some spiritual essence.

The spiritual essence of the Immortality Tree, combined with a First-Rank martial artist’s tremendous life force, gave him the courage to take this risk.

Yet even this couldn’t guarantee success. After all, the power of Beyond-Mortals existed only in legend. Even though Xu Qi An had entered the first rank, he still couldn’t estimate their true limitations.

The plan could easily fail, possibly ending with Silver Gong Xu leading his fellow cultivators to attack Alantuoyi, only for Buddha to strike and Xu Qi An to perish on the spot.

A vivid demonstration for Nine Provinces’ cultivators of the saying: “Try and die.”

As for why he hadn’t used Jade Shatter immediately after awakening, he needed to assess the situation carefully. Trump cards were only truly powerful when used at the right moment.

But he couldn’t delay too long either, as the longer he waited, the weaker Jade Shatter’s return effect would become.

Jade Shatter… Having crossed paths with Xu Qi An numerous times, Jialuoshu was the first to realize what was happening, his expression turning ugly.

It wasn’t that he’d forgotten Xu Qi An possessed this ability; he just hadn’t expected it to be used here.

Jialuoshu didn’t fear powerful enemies, but he was wary of those who were both powerful and cunning.

A crude martial artist wasn’t frightening, but when that martial artist was also calculating, that was truly troublesome.

The devastatingly beautiful Bodhisattva Liuli’s willow brows furrowed, while the young monk Guangxian’s face turned dark as water. Though Buddha, as a Beyond-Mortal expert, wouldn’t be severely injured by a First-Rank martial artist’s “counterattack,” the problem was that His rhythm in suppressing Shen Shu had been suddenly disrupted.

From the dark red flesh walls, fresh blood gushed forth. The walls that had been frantically compressing Shen Shu momentarily fell into chaos, like someone whose actions were interrupted by an attack.

Without needing any prompting, Shen Shu seized this rare opportunity. He whirled around, thrust both hands into the flesh walls on either side of his head, and let out a deep roar as his muscles bulged with terrifying power.

During the “monster’s” moment of pain, he pulled back with all his might, extracting his head embedded in the flesh wall.

Plop, plop… Countless blood vessels snapped in succession, like breaking tough tendons.

Finally, Shen Shu had reclaimed his head.

He cradled it in both hands, gently placing it on his neck.

Hope he doesn’t put it on backwards… Xu Qi An, witnessing this through his divine sense, used humor to calm his inner excitement.

He knew that a true quasi-fighting God had been reborn.

The flesh of the head and neck writhed and reconnected on their own. In the blink of an eye, Shen Shu’s head merged with his body, leaving no scars, as if it had never been separated for five hundred years.

The eyes on that martial, prominent-browed face suddenly opened!

Heaven and Earth underwent an abrupt transformation.

In Zhen Mo Ravine, Xu Qi An, Jialuoshu, Liuli, and Guangxian instinctively looked up, seeing through the ravine’s opening how dark clouds pressed down from above, the thick layers forming a vortex.

This whirlpool, possibly over ten li in diameter, rotated slowly, but its seemingly gentle movement unleashed terrifying hurricanes in the mortal realm.

Sand, stones, cattle, sheep, people, houses… everything on the ground was swept into the sky.

Only the surviving monks in Alantuoyi, relying on their cultivation, could resist this mysterious force.

This was no mere elemental disturbance—it was a heavenly phenomenon, like the end of the world.

The elemental chaos created by First-Rank martial artists paled in comparison.

Within a hundred li of Alantuoyi, all living beings prostrated themselves, as if at the edge of an abyss.

Terror rose in their hearts, unclear whether from seeing the horrifying vortex in the sky or from being suppressed by the quasi-fighting God’s presence.

The only ones who didn’t prostrate themselves were the powerful cultivators from Great Zhou and Rain Master Nalan Tianlu, though this was probably their last vestige of dignity.

These powerful cultivators’ hearts were filled with terror and dread, experiencing a long-forgotten feeling of being mere insects.

“This, this aura…”

Li Miaozhen’s lips trembled as she asked fearfully:

“Is it Buddha or Shen Shu?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox sat cross-legged, her world-toppling beauty flickering with mixed joy and sorrow:

“It’s Shen Shu, it’s Shen Shu. He’s finally reconstituted his body.”

Since the fall of the Myriad Beasts Kingdom, she had constantly dreamed of breaking Shen Shu’s seal, truly reviving her father, and giving the Myriad Beasts Kingdom an unshakeable pillar of support.

Today, five hundred years later, she has succeeded.

“Xu Qi An has done it.”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox took a deep breath, quickly suppressing her excitement, returning to her usual unflappable, smiling demeanor as the ruler of the Myriad Beasts Kingdom.

But the joy in the corners of her eyes and brows would take time to fade.

Looking back now, supporting Xu Qi An’s growth and investing in him had been her wisest decision in five hundred years.

Back when she first heard that Ye Ji was being constantly freeloaded off by a human male at the Entertainment Bureau, and had secretly given her heart to that man, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox had been filled with killing intent.

Later, when she secretly possessed Ye Ji, intending to make that man die silently, the Overseer gave her a warning.

It was during that communication that she chose to cooperate with the Overseer, secretly laying plans, and trying to invest in Xu Qi An.

Sending Shen Shu’s right arm to his residence had been one such “investment.”

“A quasi-fighting God is truly terrifying. It feels like directly facing a Shamanic God…”

Nalan Tianlu stood slightly hunched, his white hair and clothes whipping in the chaotic airflow. The sandstorm and various flying debris made distant Alantuoyi appear hazy.

The Rain Master could sense an overwhelming power awakening in Alantuoyi’s depths.

If even Nalan Tianlu could sense it so clearly, how much more so the three bodhisattvas and Xu Qi An currently in Zhen Mo Ravine.

Within the mountain’s belly, that terrifying presence rapidly climbed, ascending without limit, as if nurturing some horrifying monster.

To counter such a monster, the entire Alantuoyi had fully awakened.

Landslides occurred, cliff faces split, halls were swallowed by ground fissures, and forests sank into the earth. In the opened cracks, tender red flesh writhed—perhaps merely stirring, yet causing apocalyptic disaster for mortals.

In the deep red cave, layers of flesh writhed endlessly, continuously compressing and trying to devour Shen Shu.

“Boom!”

The flesh wall not far behind Xu Qi An exploded, flesh spraying out dramatically like minced meat for pastries, tearing open a huge gap.

Then another “boom” as the qi that had torn the flesh wall crashed into the towering flesh wall opposite.

What frightening power—so this is a quasi-fighting God… Xu Qi An’s pupils contracted. He had experienced this flesh mountain’s terror firsthand; the Imperial Sword could only cut insignificant wounds, unable to forge a path.

Even with all his strength, he could barely pry open the flesh seam.

Yet Shen Shu’s simple punch had directly opened a passage, blasting Buddha’s flesh apart.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, the flesh walls quickly writhed, soon repairing the gap.

Boom boom boom… The towering flesh walls continuously exploded open, spraying flesh like heavy rain, showering Xu Qi An and the three bodhisattvas.

This flesh seemed alive, spontaneously growing blood vessels, trying to penetrate their skin.

But their power was too weak to affect a First-Rank martial artist. Xu Qi An casually wiped them away, and they fell to the ground, merging back into the tender red flesh, returning to their source.

Boom boom boom!

The flesh mountain continuously deformed from the explosions, sometimes swelling, contracting, like a trembling jelly.

It was no longer composed—every moment of suppressing the quasi-fighting God seemed to be an enormous drain.

Boom!

This explosion was far stronger than any before. A huge figure burst through the flesh—skin black as ink, twelve layered pairs of arms, features ugly yet martial, a black flame mark on his brow.

Behind his head was a blazing fire ring.

Shen Shu’s Vajra Dharma Image.

The moment this dharma image manifested, the world trembled. The vortex of gathering clouds in the sky expanded and spread, creating an apocalyptic scene.

“Buddha” was no exception—endless flesh climbed Shen Shu’s body, trying to wrap around and devour him.

Ten zhang, twenty zhang, fifty zhang, a hundred zhang… Shen Shu’s Vajra Dharma Image quickly “expanded” to two hundred zhang tall, like a giant reaching from earth to heaven.

During this rapid growth, his twelve pairs of arms either pounded the flesh mountain or tore away the flesh clinging to his surface, actually suppressing the flesh mountain that was presumably Buddha.

But the flesh seemed endless—however tall he grew, the flesh mountain swelled to match.

The sky’s clouds formed a vortex like a heavenly leak. Under the dim light, the two-hundred-zhang giant wrestled with the twisted, terrifying flesh mountain.

To Li Miaozhen and the others watching from afar, this scene was no different from the chaos of gods and demons in ancient times, though they had never experienced that era.

“Shen Shu has recovered his true form. We can’t let him leave the Western Regions—we must seal him again,” Jialuoshu said gravely.

They suddenly felt the pressure.

For now, the battle between Buddha and Shen Shu wouldn’t be decided quickly, but although Buddha had accumulated power for five hundred years, for some reason, He couldn’t manifest the Nine Great Dharma Images.

Now His only usable Mahavairocana Dharma Image wasn’t at peak strength either.

Bodhisattva Guangxian squinted at the huge dharma image and the surging flesh mountain, saying thoughtfully:

“Buddha needs our power.”

Jialuoshu and Liuli exchanged glances, nodding in tacit agreement.

Bodhisattva Liuli’s jade-white left hand reached into her right sleeve, gently pulling out a slender black dragon.

The black dragon’s tail was hooked around an exquisite jade bottle.

The small dragon bit Liuli’s tiger’s mouth, greedily drinking the female bodhisattva’s essence blood.

As it drank, the dragon’s head turned golden, including its mane.

What are they doing? What is this dragon…

Xu Qi An, now riding the wind, saw this scene but didn’t understand their intentions. He knew he couldn’t let the bodhisattvas continue, wanting to stop them, but his martial artist’s danger sense warned him not to approach—getting close to the flesh mountain would be life-threatening.

While he observed, the black dragon had successively consumed Guangxian and Jialuoshu’s essence blood.

It transformed from a small black dragon into what appeared to be a small dragon of pure gold.

As the small golden dragon completed its transformation, the surrounding flesh mountain’s activity suddenly increased, as if growing impatient.

The small golden dragon danced and twisted, letting out a clear roar before diving down, shattering itself against the flesh mountain.

Bang!

The golden dragon exploded into sparks of golden light, merging into the blood-colored flesh mountain.

Then those golden light fragments demonstrated a wildfire-like spread, gradually turning the blood-colored flesh mountain golden.

Xu Qi An, floating in the air, immediately sensed an extremely masculine and solar energy—this flesh mountain, presumably transformed from Buddha, now resembled a volcano.

Jialuoshu, Guangxian, and Bodhisattva Liuli sat in meditation, their bodies slowly sinking into the flesh mountain like into a swamp.

The next moment, an amazing sight occurred.

This terrifying flesh mountain is no longer entangled with Shen Shu. Instead, it actively withdrew from the quasi-fighting God, consciously gathering and writhing. After a moment, the outline of a great Buddha formed, sitting cross-legged with fingers forming a flower mudra.

As this great Buddha’s outline formed, the golden coating perfectly covered its entire body, transforming it into a brilliant golden Buddha statue.

Several hundred zhang tall, even sitting cross-legged it was level with Shen Shu.

The Buddha statue had no features, being entirely indistinct, without emotion or divine sense emanating from it, as if it were merely a rule of heaven and earth.

The black Vajra Dharma Image ceased all movement, silently observing the equally tall golden Buddha.

In contrast to the Buddha statue, the black Vajra Dharma Image’s eyes were wide open, its aura wild, filled with the will to battle heaven and earth.

There seemed to be nothing in the world that could make him fear or hesitate, not even a Beyond-Mortal.

Like a war god.

On one side, Buddhist light encompassed all, majestic and sacred, with Buddhism’s highest saint Buddha sitting cross-legged; on the other, entirely black, muscles knotted, features somewhat fierce—the Vajra Dharma Image.

Behind Buddha, the sky’s clouds were pale gold, showering gentle Buddhist light as Sanskrit chants rang from the void, like a paradise on earth.

Behind Shen Shu was the massive vortex like a heavenly leak, and hazy sandstorms—an apocalyptic scene.

The world seemed split in two, distinctly divided.

Just like the yin and yang fish of taiji.

Buddha had truly manifested… At this moment, Xu Qi An almost called out “Sorry to disturb you!”

He narrowed his eyes, examining the indistinct Buddha.

His mind inexplicably recalled the Overseer’s words in “How to Advance to Quasi-Fighting God”:

“Step outside the Three Realms, dwell in formlessness.”

Song Qing’s explanation of the first half was—the higher one’s cultivation, the fewer emotions and desires one has.

As his heart pounded, the gold covering the flesh mountain began gathering in one spot, emanating dazzling light like a rising sun.

The Mahavairocana Dharma Image!

Again?

Before that sun could fully rise, Xu Qi An vanished with a shadow jump.