The first to strike was the Sword Lord.
This Dao Lord, who had just suffered a massive loss at the hands of Lu Yang and whose seat was barely warm, strikingly charged to the frontlines against the Primordial Saint at this moment.
Thus, the sky was filled with celestial light.
An illusory river of destiny flowed from the unseen depths, the sound of its rushing waters manifesting as sword chimes. Like a divine blade, it lay horizontally across the [Paramita].
The Primordial Saint was on the seventh layer, while the Sword Lord was on the fourth; therefore, if the Primordial Saint wished to interfere with the current world, his majesty falling from the seventh layer would inevitably pass through the Sword Lord's territory. The moment she struck to block him, the [Inevitable Fate] the Primordial Saint had bestowed upon [Sky-shrouding] immediately wavered, and seventy to eighty percent of his ten-tenths majesty was sliced away.
However, that was not the end of it.
Almost simultaneously, two other vast majesties from the fourth layer of the [Paramita] responded. A boundless light and the rosy clouds of Dao Arts blossomed forth at once.
Cang Hao, Myriad Laws.
These two Dao Lords joined hands, further weakening the light cast down by the Primordial Saint. They did not seek a frontal confrontation, focusing solely on preventing the Primordial Saint's interference with the current world.
On the other side, the World Honored One slowly rose to his feet.
Before him, a boundless ocean of dharmic power was boiling and roaring, from which a silhouette was vaguely revealed, staring fixedly at him.
"Myriad Treasure, do not lead yourself astray."
The whistling spiritual power transformed into a voice as resonant as clashing metal. Yet, the response he received was the World Honored One's disdainful, cold sneer: "Du Xuan, you think you can stop me?"
As the words fell, the World Honored One's silhouette vanished, replaced by a perfectly flawless and towering holy statue. In its hands, it held countless spiritual treasures; behind its head, forty-eight rings of Buddhist light rotated. Furthermore, the voices of countless Buddhist believers were lifted up, vast and mighty, crashing thunderously into the [Paramita].
"Amitabha!"
To those who do not understand Buddhist cultivation, there is often a question in their hearts regarding the four-character Buddhist invocation that practitioners frequently chant.
What does it actually mean?
There is no Buddha in the world named [Amitabha]; at the very least, the World Honored One does not go by that name. Aside from the World Honored One, who else could refer to themselves by a Buddha's name?
This is where the misconception lies.
The so-called [Amitabha] is not a specific Buddha's name, but a title. In Buddhist scriptures, A means [Non] and Mitabha means [Measured].
Amitabha is the Infinite Buddha.
Infinite Light, Infinite Life, broadly guiding infinite sentient beings—this is Amitabha. The invocation itself is a symbolic concept used by Buddhist practitioners to refer to the World Honored One's majesty!
In the next second, the golden-bodied Buddha moved.
Stepping out, it trod squarely upon the boiling ocean of spiritual power, instantly calming all waves and appearing to suppress Du Xuan, the Dao Lord of Spiritual Power.
Of course, that was not the case.
The gap in stature within the [Paramita] was insurmountable. The reason the World Honored One could advance against the current and suppress Du Xuan was actually due to Du Xuan himself.
At this moment, although Du Xuan held a higher stature and stronger combat power, he could not even exert seventy percent of it. His aura was withered, allowing the World Honored One to suppress a superior from below.
The root cause lay in the Primordial Spirit.
"If I hadn't struck to assist you back then, you likely would have failed to maintain the transformation of your Primordial Spirit, and your thoughts of good and evil would have disintegrated. Today, you actually dare to block me?"
The World Honored One's cold sneers did not cease.
Simultaneously, the golden-bodied Buddha entangled with the ocean of spiritual power. Both sides cycled through birth and extinction in a stalemate until, finally, a single ray of Buddhist light leaked and fell.
Seeing this scene, thoughts raced within the Primordial Saint's eyes.
'Myriad Treasure... he has truly gone all out.'
Next, he glanced at Lu Yang outside the heavens: 'Xuande, this person remains unmoved. Is this trap laid by him? Is he trying to test me?'
He was not surprised that Lu Yang had grasped the critical point of [Sky-shrouding]; after all, he had proactively revealed intelligence regarding this during their previous conversation. What truly surprised him was that Lu Yang could actually persuade [Sky-shrouding], a core disciple of the Primordial Saint Sect, to proactively cooperate with his plan.
'Is it because of his cultivation method?'
The Primordial Saint thought of the Investiture of the Gods Method Lu Yang had proactively displayed. But after a brief deduction, he knit his brows again: 'It should be more than that.'
Possessing the Investiture of the Gods Method alone was useless.
With his insight, he could naturally tell that the method required the cooperation of an Dao Attainment Land. If one were lacking, no matter how great the profound wonder, they could not be manifested.
In other words:
'This person still hides an Dao Attainment Land?'
In the spark of a flint, the Primordial Saint's thoughts slowed infinitely. He stood quietly in the void of silence, as time granted him a gap for contemplation.
What should be done?
He had already reached the limit. Standing on the seventh layer, he could easily suppress other Dao Lords, but he could not bypass them to interfere with the current world on a large scale.
Abandon the chess piece— [Sky-shrouding]?
That was the most rational choice. After all, the current situation of wolves devouring the tiger was clearly designed by someone with the likely intent of forcing him to proactively drop his stature.
As long as he abandoned [Sky-shrouding], the other party's scheme would naturally fail.
However—
'Transcendence is right before my eyes; how can I retreat?'
The Primordial Saint's Dao Heart remained unshakeable, and it could not be allowed to shake.
'Furthermore, this is an opportunity—an opportunity to verify my previous guess. Whether Beast Taming has truly awakened can be verified exactly through [Sky-shrouding].'
'Therefore... continue!'
With that thought, the Primordial Saint stepped out from the crack in time, and the frozen flow resumed. He cast aside all doubts and decisively stepped down a layer!
"BOOM!"
In an instant, the defensive lines of the three Dao Lords—Sword Lord, Cang Hao, and Myriad Laws—were trampled through. The peerless light of [Inevitable Fate] once again shone into the current world.
Empowered by this [Inevitable Fate], [Sky-shrouding] acted decisively, striding toward the Netherworld. The Great Dao of [Inversion] surfaced, manifesting like a golden bridge spanning the distance between him and the Netherworld Lord's Palace. Drawing upon the profound wonder, the concept of his void attainment was clear!
The myriad changes occurred in a mere instant.
Until, in the deepest part of that ghostly realm, the towering gates slowly opened. Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a youth walked out from within.
The youth sighed, his hollow voice echoing:
"Master, I am still alive—I have disappointed you."
Before the words had finished falling, [Sky-shrouding] crashed and shattered before the gates of the Netherworld Lord's Palace. With the Netherworld already having a master, this was his only possible end.
However, before he shattered, [Sky-shrouding] looked up and shouted:
"Di Muni!"
As the rolling fog dissipated and [Sky-shrouding] died, a lingering sound resonated. The Buddhist light cast down earlier when the World Honored One suppressed the Dao Lord of Spiritual Power arrived as scheduled.
Thus, when the fog cleared, a spirited young man reappeared in the world. Abandoning the name of [Sky-shrouding], Ling Xiao's eyes were bright. Without the slightest hesitation, he decisively abandoned the path of attaining the Netherworld and switched to the Investiture of the Gods Method. Immediately following this, he disintegrated within the divine light, casting himself toward the heavens.
In an instant, a dead silence fell.
Every Dao Lord stopped their hands simultaneously. In the vast [Paramita], only the boiling aftershocks and the treacherous, intersecting thoughts of the Dao Lords remained.
And at the absolute peak of it all.
The Primordial Saint stood on the sixth layer of the [Paramita], feeling the loss of majesty due to the drop in his stature. He kept his eyes closed, and only after a long while did he sigh inwardly:
'Did you notice... my killing intent?'
(End of Chapter)