The Elder frowned in contemplation, then shook his head helplessly:

“I’ve never heard of such a method. It was likely created during the Dao Sovereign’s later period and wasn’t passed down.”

After a pause, he looked at Xu Qi’an and said:

“Though I’m not clear on the details, the general process involves shedding the old physical shell. While this carries an immense cost for Dao sect transcendents, it’s not impossible to bear. But you’re a martial artist…”

For a first-rank martial artist, essence, qi, and spirit are unified—the physical body can’t simply be discarded.

Like Wei Yuan, whose primordial spirit was at the second rank, but his physical body remained mortal, preventing him from unleashing his true combat potential.

The Dao sect was different—as long as the primordial spirit, or rather the Yang spirit remained, combat ability wouldn’t be impaired.

Li Miaozhen consoled:

“At least it’s a method worth learning from. If there’s a chance, we should try to acquire it.”

Asura, standing to the side, said flatly:

“Xu Ningyan is in his prime, no need to consider such things. Moreover, with the Shaman God and Poison God about to break free from their seals, dealing with them is the most pressing matter.”

If they couldn’t handle that, Xu Ningyan wouldn’t need to worry about longevity—the transcendent beings wouldn’t let him live.

Xu Qi’an pinched between his brows and said:

“Let’s end here for today. If anything comes up, send word through the Earth Scroll.”

…

In the night, Nalan Tianlu rode auspicious clouds back to Jingshan City, the headquarters of the Shaman God Sect.

This mighty city, which gathered most of the Shaman God Sect’s elite, slumbered in the quiet moonlight, with the desolate Jing Mountain as its backdrop.

Nalan Tianlu descended from his cloud and floated into the Shaman Hall.

Classical stone pillars supported the soaring dome, yet the hall remained absurdly spacious rather than feeling fragmented.

On either side of the crimson carpet were rows of candlesticks with red candles burning.

At the end of the hall was a platform several meters high, upon which sat a massive stone chair, like a throne built for giants.

Beside the throne stood Grand Shaman Salun Agu, holding a lamb and wearing the cloak that symbolized his status as a shaman.

“How goes the battle in the Western Regions?”

Salun Agu looked down at the Rain Master who had entered the hall, his deep voice echoing in the vast space.

Nalan Tianlu stopped at the base of the platform and shook his head:

“Shen Shu recovered his head, the Great Feng forces achieved their goal and withdrew, and no transcendent experts were lost on either side…”

He detailed the course of the battle to Salun Agu.

“With a semi-Divine Warrior returning to the mortal realm, the Central Plains and Southern Borders have gained some foundation. If Xu Qi’an successfully advances to become another semi-Divine Warrior, combining the power of two such beings, the Central Plains might truly be able to contend with transcendent beings.”

Salun Agu sighed.

While semi-Divine Warriors were indeed fearsome, what Salun Agu saw was Xu Qi’an’s formidable nature. Without his leadership and assistance to Shen Shu, today’s outcome might have been different.

Unknowingly, this minor figure had risen to such heights.

From locally famous to peerless under heaven, he had taken only two and a half years.

A terrifying member of the rising generation.

“Becoming a semi-Divine Warrior isn’t so easily achieved.” Nalan Tianlu showed no concern.

“This seat remains uneasy.” Salun Agu shook his head slightly:

“The Supervisor’s support of Xu Qi’an isn’t merely to help him become a first-rank martial artist. I don’t believe he hasn’t left some contingency. However, throughout history, only Shen Shu has reached the level of semi-Divine Warrior.”

“For Xu Qi’an to reach this realm, it’s impossible at least in the short term.”

The Grand Shaman didn’t know the method to advance to semi-Divine Warrior, but due to his understanding and respect for the Supervisor, he believed the Supervisor must have a way.

Nalan Tianlu asked:

“Grand Shaman, do you know why the Buddha has become so strange?”

Salun Agu said flatly:

“To become monster-like, naturally it’s because he severed his emotions, lacking the feelings of a living being. Among all the systems, except for martial artists, the higher the rank, the easier it is to cut away emotions. To think the Buddha would make such a grave error…”

Regarding the Buddha’s abnormality, he could only explain it as an “error.”

Cutting away emotions is a grave mistake… Nalan Tianlu silently noted this information, then asked:

“What about the Buddha’s Dharma form?”

He was referring to how the Buddha could only manifest the Mahavairocana Dharma form and no others.

Salun Agu pondered for a moment, then said:

“I suspect it was when the Supervisor borrowed the Confucian Sage’s power that day and wounded the Buddha.”

“The Buddha had broken free from the Confucian Sage’s seal earlier, even faster than the Poison God and Shaman God. He could very well have seized the initiative to swallow up the Central Plains.”

Nalan Tianlu’s expression immediately became grave.

…

In the capital, at Haogi Tower.

“That’s how things went down.”

Xu Qi’an finished his long exposition and took a sip of flower tea, feeling the rich fragrance spread across his taste buds.

“So the Buddha was the Dao Sovereign’s Human Realm avatar.” Wei Yuan first sighed, then continued:

“He sent the Emotion-Comprehending Arhat to silence the ancient corpse—there must have been a necessary reason for the silencing.”

Xu Qi’an frowned:

“Though this matter is secret, even if leaked it wouldn’t greatly impact the Buddha. I still can’t figure out why He needed to silence the ancient corpse. Does Sir Wei have any thoughts?”

Wei Yuan smiled:

“When your line of thinking is wrong, step back and don’t get stuck.”

“You think it wouldn’t affect the Buddha based on your understanding, but you’re not the Buddha, much less can you represent other transcendent beings. Perhaps the Buddha simply didn’t want certain people to figure it out.”

Xu Qi’an raised his eyebrows, pondered for a moment, then shook his head:

“Let’s not dwell on this. There are more urgent matters to handle. Now that Shen Shu has completed his body, the Buddha does not need to remain in slumber. He may seek revenge against the Central Plains. Sir Wei, we must be on guard.”

Wei Yuan glanced at him:

“You’re only thinking about this now?”

Xu Qi’an returned the Great Blue Robe’s look with a “what’s wrong with that” expression.

“Asura said long ago that with the Confucian Sage’s statue destroyed, the Buddha’s five-hundred-year slumber was to suppress Shen Shu’s head. Since you were determined to recover the head, the first thing you’d face after succeeding would be the Buddha’s revenge.”

“I don’t expect you to see ten steps ahead, but surely you can manage two?” Wei Yuan looked exasperated.

Xu Qi’an sighed heavily:

“Of course, I thought about all this, but I didn’t have any good ideas. At worst, we’ll unite with Shen Shu and the other transcendent experts to face the Buddha in battle again.”

With Shen Shu’s greatly increased strength and the support of so many experts, they could confront the Buddhist sect head-on—this was Xu Qi’an’s strategy.

“That’s… acceptable!”

Wei Yuan gave reluctant praise, then changed the subject:

“I made a promise to the Enlightenment Arhat on your behalf—that Great Feng will make Mahayana Buddhism the state religion in the future and allow Western Region Mahayana Buddhist believers to migrate to the Central Plains. This will both weaken the Buddha’s fate and strengthen Great Feng’s foundation.”

“Since we must face transcendent beings as enemies, the corresponding arrangements should begin preparation beforehand.”

*Damn, you old fox, you turned the Enlightenment Arhat?!* Xu Qi’an was shocked.

According to Asura, the Enlightenment Arhat was a devout Buddhist monk who always put the Buddhist sect first—how could he be so easily turned?

Wei Yuan said calmly:

“All people have desires, pursuits, and ideals. Grasp what they want, and opportunities will present themselves. Where there’s opportunity, people can be won over.”

“Also, at this juncture, we can try allying with the Shaman God Sect.”

Xu Qi’an made an affirmative sound:

“Although the Shaman God Sect despises Great Feng, now we have sufficient reasons to convince Salun Agu.”

Wei Yuan was right—if the Buddha were to encroach upon the Central Plains, the Shaman God Sect absolutely wouldn’t stand idly by.

“Yes, the Shaman God Sect will do anything to delay time until the Shaman God returns to the mortal realm. And we too need to delay time until you advance to semi-Divine Warrior, or at least mid-stage first rank,” Wei Yuan said.

“Do you have any ideas about how to advance to semi-Divine Warrior?”

Xu Qi’an shook his head.

The long-absent sense of urgency surged in his heart again. Since advancing to transcendent, he had been constantly driven by this “urgency.”

He hadn’t dared relax for a moment.

Yet even so, he was still far from his goal.

At the first rank, advancing further was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

But the time left to him was even shorter than what remained for the national football team.

To stand firm in the coming great calamity and protect the Central Plains, he had to advance to semi-Divine Warrior.

Throughout history, only Shen Shu has reached this realm.

The difficulty was self-evident.

Wei Yuan pondered:

“Let me point you in a clear direction—go to sea!”

“The Desolation couldn’t have killed all descendants of gods and demons. It probably only targeted the powerful ones. The ‘Netherworld Silkworm’ you encountered is an example. Didn’t the Nine-Tailed Fox go to sea before? Just get a map and detailed intelligence from her.”

Xu Qi’an nodded:

“I had the same thought.”

After failing to hunt the Garuda Tree, his only path was to go to sea and hunt descendants of gods and demons.

“By the way, Sir Wei, there’s something I’ve never told you.” Xu Qi’an took a deep breath:

“The Poison God told me that originally, the Central Plains’ first-rank martial artist should have been you. The Supervisor’s initial choice was you.”

He told Wei Yuan about the future the Poison God had foreseen.

Wei Yuan sat quietly for a long time, then slowly nodded. He gazed deeply at Xu Qi’an:

“The Supervisor chose me—he might not have been right. But both the Supervisor and I chose you, so that must be correct.”

He then smiled:

“I’m very satisfied with my current life. Ningyan, just consider yourself suffering in my place.”

Xu Qi’an gave a bitter laugh, “Perhaps this is fate.”

…

Western Regions.

The Enlightenment Arhat hurried back to Alanta under the stars, only to find ruins before him. Collapsed stones and mounds of earth formed hills of varying heights.

The ground seemed to have been scraped away several layers and was covered in fissures. Signs of the great battle stretched dozens of li in all directions.

On the plains before the ruins, over three thousand monks sat cross-legged, chanting sutras in the darkness to guide departed souls.

The Sanskrit sounds merged into one.

The Enlightenment Arhat had been mentally prepared, but seeing Alanta’s tragic state firsthand still filled him with intense sorrow and desolation.

Alanta, this sacred mountain of the Western Regions, was destroyed in an instant!

For devout followers, this was tantamount to destroying their faith.

The Enlightenment Arhat was also a devout Buddhist disciple, and his feelings were exceptionally complex.

“Amitabha!”

The Enlightenment Arhat joined his palms, his face full of grief.

“Who defeated you?”

At this moment, a voice that could not be distinguished as male or female, young or old, sounded behind him.