Above the Buddha statue, a great sun slowly rose.

In an instant, the world was filled with pure and majestic Buddhist light, transforming the entire realm into what seemed like a Buddha’s paradise.

The radiance of this great sun pierced through the vortex in the sky, dispersing the clouds and halting the wild sandstorm. The dust transformed into molten rain falling from above.

The sky rained fire, but most of these burning droplets turned to ash before reaching the ground, floating gently in the air.

The scene was both magnificent and spectacular.

Under the Buddhist light, the Vajra manifestation began rapidly “melting,” from its skin to its flesh, turning to ash inch by inch, only to regenerate in an instant, repeating this cycle endlessly.

“ROAR!”

Shen Shu’s furious and tragic howl shook the eight directions.

Boom, boom, boom… The ground trembled as Shen Shu’s manifestation strode forward toward the great sun.

His pace was not quick; each step seemed weighted with an immense burden, shedding countless ashes. Gradually, a trail of pitch-black, oil-like footprints appeared on the ground.

He was enduring unimaginable pain.

Nalan Tianlu closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face:

“It’s said the Buddha has nine great manifestations, so why can he only deploy the Mahavairocana manifestation? Is it because of the seal? The Witch God doesn’t seem capable of releasing such a powerful force.

“This indicates that Buddha has broken free from his seal far more than the Witch God – this isn’t good. Killing the Karura Tree will be difficult now.

“The Mahavairocana manifestation can easily kill any Transcendent below the Half-Step Martial God realm…

“Hmm, Shen Shu has just reconstructed his body, his combat power isn’t at its peak. If he can get close to Buddha, there might still be hope. Otherwise, today’s appearance of a Half-Step Martial God will be nothing more than a fleeting moment.”

While Da Feng and the Monster Nation had meticulously planned to recover the head, the Buddhist sect had been waiting for them to walk into their trap.

“Now, it’s a matter of who has more trump cards, who has stronger techniques. When two tigers fight, one must be injured – for our Witch God Sect, this is a win-win situation.”

Nalan Tianlu wiped his tears and activated his Blood Spirit Technique to ease the pain in his eyes.

After taking more than ten slow but determined steps, Shen Shu’s pace began to slow. Each step now required several seconds to gather strength. Unimaginably high temperatures scorched his body, but more terrifying was the Buddhist force within.

This power, existing at a microscopic level, penetrated Shen Shu’s body, destroying his cellular structure and breaking down the finest elements of his genetic makeup as a living being.

Gradually, the pitch-black Vajra manifestation burned down to its skull, eye sockets empty save for two flames of soul fire burning within.

He hadn’t taken a step forward in a long while.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox gazed into the distance, beautiful eyes streaming with tears, delicate brows furrowed as she urgently said:

“This great sun is much stronger than the previous one.”

Her tears weren’t from concern for Shen Shu, but rather because the Buddhist light had injured her eyes as she watched directly.

Asura, also with tears rolling down his face, said in a deep voice:

“It doesn’t matter, we still have trump cards!”

Despite his words, he couldn’t help feeling anxious. Not for Shen Shu’s safety – having returned to the Half-Step Martial God realm, even a Transcendent couldn’t easily kill him.

But their opponent was still Transcendent, and no matter how detailed their plan, it couldn’t be completely foolproof.

…

A figure appeared above Shen Shu’s head, unclothed.

Any clothing had been incinerated the instant he materialized by the power of the Mahavairocana manifestation.

Li Miaozhen, Asura, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, and other Transcendents all stood up, staring intently despite their rolling tears and the unbearable pain in their eyes. They didn’t want to miss any detail.

This was the trump card Asura had mentioned – in their plan, this was their final move.

Success or failure would be determined here.

“Xu… Xu Qi’an?”

Watching from afar, Nalan Tianlu was stunned. He thought to himself that this was suicide – no matter how strong a First-Rank Martial Artist was, they couldn’t continuously withstand the “scorching” of the Mahavairocana manifestation.

If even a Half-Step Martial God was nearly exhausted, what could a mere First-Rank Martial Artist do?

But what happened next left Nalan Tianlu dumbfounded – Xu Qi’an, standing atop Shen Shu’s head, was absorbed by him.

Though the Mahavairocana manifestation’s light was blinding, he still caught this detail.

Nalan Tianlu saw correctly, but this wasn’t absorption – it was a temporary fusion.

In the realm of First-Rank Martial Artists, this was called “Physical Possession” – merging with the target’s flesh and occupying their body.

Unlike soul possession, physical possession wasn’t as cruel. The possessor could choose to lie dormant, returning control to the host. They could also choose to coexist with the host, sharing control of the body.

After possession, they could forcibly separate by controlling their flesh.

This technique could only be used by martial artists of the highest caliber – this was how Shen Shu’s right arm had originally affected Xu Qi’an.

The only drawback of “Physical Possession” was that while life force and physical strength could complement each other, combat power and realm boundaries were difficult to enhance.

Because Shen Shu was stronger than Xu Qi’an, it was downward compatible – incorporating a First-Rank Martial Artist couldn’t raise the upper limit of a Half-Step Martial God.

After merging with Xu Qi’an, the black Vajra manifestation visibly changed – the burned skull regrew flesh, and blood and flesh rapidly regenerated throughout the body.

He gained Xu Qi’an’s power, as well as the spiritual essence of the Immortal Tree.

The Mahavairocana manifestation’s power continuously melted flesh, but the regenerative ability created a relative balance between the two forces.

In the short term, this great sun could no longer grievously wound Shen Shu.

Boom, boom, boom… Finally, he walked before Buddha, and the black manifestation’s twenty-three arms clasped together, gripping the great sun above Buddha’s head.

Then, the last arm stretched backward, and Xu Qi’an’s voice echoed across the Western Region’s wilderness:

“Knife!”

The scholar’s carving knife in Zhao Shou’s hand whistled through the air.

During its flight, it transformed from emitting a faint clear light to a meteor-like orb of light, its pure radiance surging, filling heaven and earth with clear energy.

This carving knife rarely unleashed such powerful force.

At this moment, it truly seemed like a Transcendent-grade artifact.

Clear light reflected in Zhao Shou’s eyes as his emotions grew complex. He looked toward the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and said:

“Earlier, weren’t you curious why I opposed Xu Qi’an summoning the Confucian Sage’s spirit?”

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox kept her gaze fixed on the distance, her fair and beautiful face marked with two clear tear tracks, as she said softly:

“Summoning the Confucian Sage would bring him irreversible damage.”

Zhao Shou gave a sound of agreement and slowly said:

“The price of summoning the Confucian Sage is the backlash of Heaven’s Way rules – not ordinary injury. The Flower God’s spiritual essence could heal physical wounds, but not rule backlash.”

He paused, then continued:

“In my hands, the Confucian Sage’s carving knife has always been like a pearl covered in dust. Except for the two times Wei Yuan and the Overseer summoned the Confucian Sage’s spirit, it has never shown power worthy of a Transcendent-grade artifact. Do you know why?”

Li Miaozhen and the others looked at each other, shaking their heads.

Zhao Shou said:

“The Confucian Sage was a person of great destiny, and throughout history, accumulated the most profound destiny of all.”

Everyone instantly understood.

To truly unleash the power of the Confucian Sage’s carving knife, one must be a person of great destiny.

Though Zhao Shou walked the path of Confucianism, he had previously been buried in obscurity, and now serving in court was still too recent – insufficient to ignite the Confucian Sage’s carving knife’s power.

“After the Chaos-Command Hammer opened his meridians, Xu Ning Yan could freely control the nation’s destiny within him,” Zhao Shou smiled and said:

“Therefore, there’s no need to summon the Confucian Sage’s spirit.”

As he spoke, that clear light delivered itself into Shen Shu’s palm.

The righteous qi flowed along the arm, covering the black manifestation, effectively resisting the Mahavairocana’s scorching heat.

“Buddha!”

Shen Shu roared in fury, thrusting the Confucian Sage’s carving knife with all his might.

Across the Western Region’s wilderness, a golden halo rapidly expanded like ripples, spreading hundreds of miles outward.

It resembled the prelude to a star’s explosion.

Immediately after, a deafening boom began to spread, accompanied by suddenly expanding golden light. The golden rays shot out in all directions like flowing fire, scattering into the distant wilderness.

Although Li Miaozhen and the other Transcendent experts had already distanced themselves from Alanda, they were still injured by the collapsing force of the Mahavairocana manifestation.

Sun Xuanji had no choice but to endure the searing pain and teleport everyone away.

…

After the violent, chaotic golden light dispersed, the black manifestation stood alone between heaven and earth. His twelve pairs of arms had been shattered, his chest and abdomen nearly blown apart. Whether the arms or the chest wounds, though the flesh writhed, it struggled to heal.

The blurred Buddha figure collapsed again into a mountain of flesh, stubbornly and slowly crawling up the black manifestation, trying to devour him.

The black manifestation slowly raised his foot, stomping hard on the flesh mountain.

It looked like two exhausted, wounded combatants, supported only by hatred, struggling to crawl toward each other, trying to bite the other to death.

Nalan Tianlu, who had secretly snuck back, saw this scene and suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

But rationality helped him suppress his impulse, recognizing his limitations.

At this moment, the flesh mountain split open in one area, revealing three cross-legged Bodhisattvas. Their auras were weak, and they didn’t appear to be in good condition.

“Let’s go!”

Xu Qi’an’s voice came from within the black manifestation.

Buddha couldn’t stop them from leaving now.

The mission’s objective had been achieved, and staying to continue fighting was meaningless – they couldn’t kill Buddha, and both he and Shen Shu were extremely weakened now.

Besides, there was still a watchful Second-Rank Rain Master nearby.

The two-hundred-zhang-tall manifestation slowly departed, walking across the wilderness toward the distance.

Behind them lay the ruins of Alanda, and atop those ruins, Buddha sluggishly writhed, appearing utterly exhausted.

“Xu Qi’an can wield the Confucian Sage’s carving knife… A Half-Step Martial God has reappeared in the world… Buddha has broken free from his seal far more than the Witch God… The three Bodhisattvas aren’t dead – not suitable to take advantage of the situation, better to quietly leave.”

Nalan Tianlu briefly summarized the intelligence.

The first two pieces of intelligence were extremely important, equivalent to uncovering another of Xu Qi’an’s trump cards.

“Heh, how ironic that the one truly able to use the Confucian Sage’s carving knife isn’t a Transcendent from the Cloud Deer Academy, but rather a crude martial artist.”

Nalan Tianlu sneered, then fell silent.

Setting aside cultivation systems, the surnamed Xu did indeed qualify to use the knife.

…

Southern Frontier.

In the Monster Emperor’s palace, Li Miaozhen held a cup of hot tea, frequently glancing outside the hall.

“They haven’t separated yet? When will they recover?”

This was the third time she had asked the same question.

Two hours had passed since their return from the Western Region.

After entering the Seal Tower, Xu Qi’an and Shen Shu hadn’t emerged, while Li Miaozhen and the others temporarily stayed at Monster Mountain to rest and recover.

Reclining on a soft couch, serving tea and wine to everyone, the silver-haired enchantress radiated vitality, appearing delighted and energetic.

She said with a coquettish laugh:

“Don’t rush. At their level, separation takes time, and Shen Shu also needs to merge with the remnant soul in the head to restore himself to peak condition – how could it be so quick?”

Li Miaozhen snorted coldly.

She feared that Shen Shu might suddenly go berserk and “devour” Xu Qi’an.

Peak martial artists of the same domain could plunder each other’s blood essence.

In her view, Xu Ning Yan was taking too big a risk.

An ally isn’t one’s father – how could he be so wholeheartedly trusting?

“Master Dao, say something.”

Li Miaozhen transmitted to the Earth Sect Leader.

Golden Lotus shook her head and said:

“Have you forgotten about the nation’s destiny within Xu Qi’an?”

The nation’s destiny had merged with Xu Qi’an, and experts outside the术士 system would find it difficult to extract. If Shen Shu wanted to devour Xu Qi’an, he would have to refine his destiny – this Half-Step Martial God lacked such ability.

Blue Lotus thought about it and found it reasonable, feeling much more at ease.

After some casual chat, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox turned the topic to the recent battle, looking around at the Transcendent experts, and said:

“Something seemed wrong with Buddha?

“In the previous battle, besides the Mahavairocana manifestation, He didn’t deploy any other manifestations.”

Dao Master Golden Lotus pondered:

“Perhaps the seal hasn’t been completely undone?”

Asura shook his head:

“I can be certain that the Confucian Sage’s seal no longer exists. Rather, after separating from Shen Shu, He lost part of his power, thus could only manifest as Mahavairocana.”

The silver-haired enchantress immediately rejected her nominal brother’s guess, “But Shen Shu only knows the Vajra manifestation.”

What about the power of other manifestations?

Zhao Shou thought for a moment, then breathed:

“I have two theories: First, when the Overseer previously summoned the Confucian Sage’s spirit and destroyed the Mahavairocana manifestation, he caused some kind of injury to Buddha, damaging His combat power.

“Second, Buddha isn’t the real Buddha, but someone else.”

The Transcendents thought about it and felt both possibilities were likely.

Given the Overseer’s ability to plan, the possibility that he had held something back then, laying the groundwork for today’s battle, was extremely high.

As for the second guess, they would have to wait for Shen Shu.

Now that Shen Shu was whole again, his memories were no longer incomplete, any questions could be answered directly by him.

“Why did Buddha become like that?” Li Miaozhen asked a question she had long been curious about.

She referred to that exaggerated and terrifying mountain of flesh.

“Perhaps that is His true form.” Zhao Shou gave a chilling answer.

Asura shook his head:

“I’ve never seen Buddha, but in Asura clan legends, Buddha wore kasaya robes and had a body like cast gold – He had human form.”

“But that might have been just an avatar or an illusion,” the silver-haired enchantress said.

If it was an avatar or illusion, the cultivation level wouldn’t be too high… Zhao Shou looked toward Asura:

“What realm was the Asura King in back then?”

If the Asura King had already been a Half-Step Martial God or First-Rank expert then, Buddha’s avatar would have found it difficult to suppress him.

Asura frowned and shook his head, explaining:

“Ranks hadn’t been established then. The Asura King was killed by Buddha at Alanda while I was still in my mother’s womb. The clan only said the Asura King was an invincible expert in the Western Region.

“When Shen Shu wakes up, we can ask him.”

Sun Xuanji, with no monkey nearby, could only watch dejectedly as his companions discussed, unable to join in.

He had ten thousand ideas in his mind, various inspirations flashing, but his mouth couldn’t keep up with his thoughts.

At this moment, Qing Ji, with her cold and elegant temperament, and graceful figure like a noble lady, entered the hall with swaying skirts.

“Your Majesty, Master Shen Shu, and Constable Xu have awakened.”