RUMBLE!
At that moment, as the halo formed by [With the World] slowly rotated, a clap of thunder suddenly echoed between Heaven and Earth, causing Buddha's Son Guang Ming to frown.
The Buddha's Palm faltered.
If it were truly the Bhagavat himself present, he would naturally pay no mind to such a threat. However, Guang Ming was not the Bhagavat, and he found himself hesitating, wary of the consequences.
On the other side, in the center of the halo, Lü Yang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes fluttering. His gaze was locked onto Buddha's Son Guang Ming... After all, just over a decade ago, he had been forced into a corner by this same man, coming within an inch of being struck down and killed on the spot.
The memory was still fresh in Lü Yang's mind.
But he had a different identity now, with no karmic links to his old Sword Dao Avatar. Buddha's Son Guang Ming didn't recognize him, and simply smiled.
"May I be so bold as to ask your name?"
Lü Yang grinned back, a savage smile spreading across his face. "My surname is Lü, and my given name is 'Daddy.' Full name, Lü Daddy. It feels like we're old friends, fellow Daoist. You can just call me Daddy!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a dead silence fell over everything.
Even though they were out at sea, the wind died down, and the ocean's surface became as still as glass. An invisible pressure filled the air.
Nearby, Xiang Ye and Great Undertaking were utterly dumbfounded.
'He's definitely a Saint Sect Zhenren... No, even among them, he's got to be one of the unhinged ones!'
'When did Lord Hongyun get so brazen...?'
'He's insane!'
Everyone in the world was resentful of the Bhagavat's shameless behavior—a supreme being stooping to crush the weak. But until now, who had ever dared to actually say it out loud?
Forget cursing him to Buddha's Son Guang Ming's face—people didn't even dare call the Bhagavat shameless in private. They could only resort to euphemisms to soften the reality. Everyone knew the Bhagavat was petty. If he sensed the insult and decided to make things difficult for you, you were done for.
And yet, Lü Yang had just done it.
And he'd opened by claiming to be his senior. Calling him fearless was an understatement; not even a Perfected Lord would dare speak to Buddha's Son Guang Ming that way!
The sheer audacity!
What an outrageously arrogant man!
Did he have a death wish?
...
At that, the smile on Buddha's Son Guang Ming's face finally began to fade. Behind him, the Dharma Appearance lowered its eyelids, its gaze fixed squarely on Lü Yang.
"Even if I dared to call you that, would you dare to answer?"
As the words fell, Lü Yang felt an invisible mountain crash onto his spine, threatening to buckle his back.
But he just smiled.
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
As he spoke, not only did Lü Yang not bend, but he straightened his back even more, becoming like a sharp sword pointing to the heavens. He met Buddha's Son Guang Ming's gaze across the distance.
The gaze from the Dharma Appearance was powerful enough to make even a Great Trueman in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment bow their head, and anyone at Foundation Establishment Perfection would feel deeply suppressed.
To Lü Yang, however, this was child's play.
[Sword Intent]!
Though it was still nascent, not yet honed and perfected like the Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's [Non-Killing Sword Intent], it was more than enough to resist the pressure.
'You think you can crush me as easily as you did more than a decade ago?'
Times had changed!
FWOOSH!
Lü Yang stood with his hands clasped behind him. The [With the World] halo behind him bound itself deeper and deeper with Heaven and Earth, giving him an air of absolute fearlessness.
Finally, Buddha's Son Guang Ming spoke.
"Do you truly believe your Abilities are invincible?"
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, he pressed his palms together. The [Earthly Buddha Country] behind him suddenly expanded, merging as one with the [Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata's World Appearance].
BOOM!
In an instant, the entire [Victorious Will-Born Clarity Tathagata's World Appearance] expanded violently. From within the [Earthly Buddha Country] behind it, countless monastics began to chant in unison:
"Good! Good!"
"Our Buddha is merciful!"
"Namo Shengyi Shengming Tathagata!"
Amid the thousands of shouts, the Dharma Appearance slowly extended its arms. One became ten, ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand... In the blink of an eye, it had forty-eight thousand arms!
In the center of each palm, a Dharma Eye opened.
Within each Dharma Eye, endless images were reflected: temples, Zen Forests, Slaughter Treasure Towers... It was a true Mahayana Supreme Marvelous Realm, a Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
"Amitabha!"
The next second, the Dharma Appearance's forty-eight thousand arms began forming a flurry of hand seals and signs, shifting through countless techniques. Then, a sudden CRACK resounded through Heaven and Earth.
CRACK!
Seeing this, Lü Yang's expression changed abruptly.
He saw the halo behind his head—the [With the World]—suddenly dim, its illusionary colors fading. Its intimate connection to Heaven and Earth had been forcefully severed!
'As expected...'
Lü Yang's expression was grim, but he didn't panic. After all, [With the World] was at its most powerful when he remained hidden, lying in wait.
Once he was exposed, it was natural that his opponent would find a way to counter it.
After all, there was no such thing as an unbeatable Ability, nor a perfect Daoist Skill.
Furthermore, his opponent was the Buddha's Son, a tool the Bhagavat used to crush lesser foes. It was no surprise that he had managed to crack [With the World] with prior intelligence.
'If this were me right after I'd returned, my only option would have been to use the Fake Golden Position.'
'But things are different now...'
Having received the full backing of the True Dragon Race, Lü Yang had already refined a Blessed Land. Thanks to this fundamental transformation, he was no longer helpless against Buddha's Son Guang Ming!
'This is a perfect chance... to test out my newly acquired Golden Talent!'
Facing the immense pressure radiating from Buddha's Son Guang Ming, Lü Yang flicked his sleeve and stood tall. A splendid light shone from between his brows, and within it, images of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers were reflected.
'[Profound City Blessed Land]!'
For a Great Trueman at Foundation Establishment Perfection, the presence or absence of a Blessed Land's power created a massive gap. Only a Blessed Land could allow one to see the true nature of things.
Now, empowered by his [Profound City Blessed Land], Lü Yang looked again at Buddha's Son Guang Ming and was instantly horrified by what he saw.
The man's skin and flesh, inside and out, seemed to melt away from his perception. How could that be called human? He was clearly just an empty shell of skin, tethered by a thread of golden light to the Dharma Appearance behind him.
No wonder the rumors of the Bhagavat possessing his followers were so widespread.
No matter how the Pure Land "debunked" them, no one ever believed their denials.
After all, once you had refined a Blessed Land, you could see the truth of it at a glance—whether it was possession, whether there was some foul play. It was impossible to hide from the world's Immortal Cultivators. The Pure Land's denials were just a case of burying their heads in the sand.
Suddenly, from beneath the layers of Buddha Light, the young Daoist extended his right hand, palm open. The [Profound City Blessed Land] within it forcibly pushed back the oppressive radiance!
Instantly, Buddha's Son Guang Ming sensed it. 'Something's wrong!'
His thoughts raced. The towering Dharma Appearance had already raised a palm and brought it crashing down. Empowered by [Telepathy], it intended to forcibly bring Lü Yang to Enlightenment!
But seeing this, Lü Yang showed no intention of dodging.
The next second, the Buddha's Palm struck his Dharma Body dead-on. But at that very instant, a brilliant, iridescent jade stone with seven apertures popped out from the top of his head.
[Separation and Union Jade Gui]!
The full, mighty power of the Buddha's Palm was transferred to this protective treasure Lü Yang had acquired from the Dragon Palace. In an instant, six of the stone's seven apertures sealed shut.
But Lü Yang himself was completely unharmed!
Meanwhile, he hadn't stopped the motion of raising the Blessed Land in his palm.
'[Heavenly Order]!'
The small world created by his Ability combined with his [Profound City Blessed Land] to launch a counterattack, instantly trapping Buddha's Son Guang Ming inside. In a flash, tens of millions of sword-edges materialized.
But upon seeing these blades, Buddha's Son Guang Ming only frowned. They weren't very strong. While they could inflict some minor damage on his Golden Body, that was the extent of it. It was like a minor scrape; he could recover fully with just half a day's rest.
But just then, as Lü Yang recreated the intentional appearance of death by a thousand cuts upon Guang Ming's form, an invisible, mighty power suddenly arose from the image!
'[Dragon-Stripping Platform]!'
[Dragon-Stripping Platform: A talent cultivated from blood and hatred. Recreates the scene of the White Chilong being dismembered and devoured, allowing one to seal the fate of another's life.]
This was the Golden Talent refined from the White Chilong's Golden Attribute!
Of all the talents Lü Yang had acquired, this was the most unique... because it offered little utility. It was a talent purely for slaughter!
'The Dragon-Stripping Platform... As long as I can perfectly recreate the scene of the White Chilong being dismembered by a thousand cuts and devoured by the great houses, I can create a resonance of fate. It will impose the White Chilong's death upon my target. The more realistic and perfect the recreation, the more powerful the effect, and the harder it is to escape!'
PSSH!
The next second, the Daoist Skill that should have only left superficial scratches on Buddha's Son Guang Ming's Golden Body now tore straight through his flesh and into his very organs.
He couldn't block it!
Through the resonance of fate, Buddha's Son Guang Ming had been reduced to the "White Chilong," suffering death by a thousand cuts. The more despair the original White Chilong had felt, the more powerless Guang Ming was now!
BOOM!
In an instant, Buddha's Son Guang Ming's Golden Body was torn to shreds. Under the assault of a thousand cuts, it exploded into a brilliant crimson light that stained half the sky!
When that vivid crimson light fell upon the [Earthly Buddha Country], it was like a single ruining stroke on a once-flawless scroll. The sacred imagery was shattered, and the entire construct was reduced to something mundane. Losing its divinity, it plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ocean below!
On the distant horizon, Xiang Ye and Great Undertaking stared at each other, the same look of utter disbelief mirrored in their eyes.
'The Pure Land Buddha's Son... actually lost?'
'This can't be Lord Hongyun!'
The next second, a streak of Buddha Light shot into the sky and vanished over the horizon.
Watching this, Lü Yang narrowed his eyes. 'An avatar?'
'That makes sense. The [Dragon-Stripping Platform] wasn't perfectly executed. Only an avatar with a tenuous life force could be killed in one blow. If his true self had been here, he would have been injured at most…'
"Friend, we will meet again... But next time, I will be here in person."
The voice of Buddha's Son Guang Ming echoed faintly in his ear.
Lü Yang let out another savage grin.
"I'll be waiting anytime."
'This was just collecting a little interest and chumming the waters. If you dare show up in person, I'll just use the Fake Golden Position and kill you for real!'
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