Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 370

Volume 3 - Chapter 86: The Power of Immortals and Gods - Part 2

Li Hao once again raised his foot and stomped down. The massive Heavenly Avatar appeared slow, but every punch and step drew upon the power of the heavens and earth, carrying destructive force capable of annihilating the world.

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Heavenly Avatar was pierced by the stomp, its chest ruptured, and the divine flames on it extinguished.

At this moment, Li Hao surged out from his own Heavenly Avatar, transforming into a streak of silver light. With consecutive instances of instantaneous movement, he charged directly into the Boundless Buddhist Lord's Heavenly Avatar.

Inside the head of the avatar, the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s true body was coughing blood. His entire aura was in chaotic disarray, and before he could react, Li Hao instantaneously arrived before him. In the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s astonished and furious gaze, Li Hao struck a fierce punch to his face.

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Dao Force surged outward to shield his face, but in the next moment, the force was shattered, slamming back into his own head. His skull exploded on the spot.

Dao Force cannot be destroyed—it merely dissipates.

What Li Hao targeted was not the destruction of Dao Force but the destruction of the Boundless Buddhist Lord himself.

Once the Boundless Buddhist Lord perished, his Dao Force naturally dispersed into the heavens and earth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Li Hao unleashed dozens of punches in rapid succession, but they were blocked by the Dao Force, unable to land directly on the Boundless Buddhist Lord.

However, this power was overwhelming. With the synergy of the Half-Step Invincible Fist and Transcendent State, the sheer tremors of the energy crushed the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s body despite the protection of Dao Force.

“Die...”

From within the broken and mutilated body, a faint consciousness struggled to speak.

Immediately, the surrounding Dao Force surged, and the laws descended abruptly.

But in the next instant, Li Hao raised his hand and waved. The wisp of Immortal God Power within him emerged, tearing apart all these laws.

The extreme Transcendent State merged with the heavens and earth, allowing his body to generate a sliver of pure Immortal God Power.

It was precisely this sliver of power that enabled Li Hao to transcend his realm and slay the Boundless Buddhist Lord. Without it, the mere Dao Force of his opponent would have crushed him outright, leaving no room for resistance.

...

Dao Force was far beyond the power within Li Hao’s body. It represented a qualitative transformation. Even though Li Hao could easily dominate others of his level, in the face of true Dao Force, he was like an infant—a difference in fundamental strength.

Be it the Fourth Pillar Realm or the Three Immortals Realm, these relied on the natural forces of heaven and earth, akin to water. Dao Force, however, was condensed like a solid rock.

No matter how ferocious the water, it cannot shatter a stone.

Dripping water can wear through stone, but it takes an incredibly long time. This is akin to standing unresisting in the Dao Seeker Realm, allowing oneself to be attacked by those in the Fourth Pillar Realm for ages before sustaining damage.

The higher one ascends in martial realms, the greater the gap between each stage, and the less likely it is to overcome realms in battle.

In the early stages, a Tongli Realm cultivator might use divine weapons and treasures to kill a Zhoutian Realm opponent, even contend with the Soul Fusion Realm. But as realms progressed, the qualitative changes became insurmountable.

For example, in the Three Immortals Realm, ambush and assassination could still kill someone in the Dao Heart Realm.

After all, while the Dao Heart Realm’s physical body was stronger than that of the Three Immortals Realm, it had not undergone a qualitative transformation.

However, the Dao Seeker Realm was a truly different level altogether.

Had Li Hao not pushed both his Heaven and Man Realm and Three Immortals Realm cultivation to their ultimate extremes, he would have been unable to cross this chasm and would have faced certain defeat.

“You lured me here, and you achieved your goal. So, are you satisfied now?”

Li Hao gazed coldly at the tattered and bloodied Boundless Buddhist Lord lying on the ground, his kasaya in shreds.

“The demonic star descended from the heavens... It’s a pity... Two thousand years of incense I accumulated, and yet I couldn’t use it. The sea of suffering in this world... humanity cannot cross it. I... I can do no more...”

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s voice was weak.

“Without Buddha, there would be no demon. Without the Other Shore, how could you distinguish the sea of suffering? If you truly wanted to deliver humanity from suffering, how could you lack compassion for the weak? If sacrificing one life could save a hundred or a thousand, what difference is there between you and a demon?”

Li Hao’s gaze was icy, his entire being exuding power. His Primordial Spirit manifested behind him.

The Boundless Buddhist Lord, upon seeing Li Hao summon his Primordial Spirit, knew escape was impossible.

If Li Hao did not possess a Primordial Spirit, he could have used the unique traits of his own to flee. But against someone who also wielded a Primordial Spirit, he had no chance of escaping.

“You can never comprehend the great aspirations of my Buddhist Sect. The sea of suffering engulfs humanity, yet how many are truly worth delivering? My Buddhist Sect saves only those who endure suffering, not those who seek it. What would you know of such distinctions?”

The Boundless Buddhist Lord sneered faintly, as if unwilling to continue debating these truths with Li Hao. Instead, he asked, “How many ultimate extremes have you mastered?”

A flicker of complexity crossed his gaze as he spoke.

The two thousand years he had walked were still surpassed by this youth’s ten-odd years.

Although much of his time over those two millennia had been spent on Buddhist Sect planning and gathering incense, this defeat was still hard for him to accept.

His greatest regret was that the two thousand years of incense he had painstakingly accumulated for sainthood were now utterly useless.

Hearing the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s words, Li Hao sneered coldly and naturally did not reply.

“Whether you are Buddha or demon, let the people judge. You colluded with demons, conspired with nobles, and sought to use the hands of monsters to gain fame and fortune. Now, you force me to break the Great Yu’s laws. If I were to truly sever ties with the Great Yu Divine Dynasty, do you think that would benefit the common people who believe in you?”

As Li Hao spoke, his Primordial Spirit charged forward.

This was not a question seeking an answer but an outright rebuke.

The Boundless Buddhist Lord was silent. If he could have killed Li Hao, his actions would have been justified as righteous.

“You are young and headstrong, disloyal and unfilial, lawless. What does your prodigious talent matter? I stepped into the Supreme Dao Realm long ago and possess the strength to challenge the Dao Seeker Realm, but without incense, I cannot achieve sainthood. Without sainthood, all efforts are for naught. Beneath saints, all are mere ants!”

“You are an ant too, just the most lively one at the moment. Your path is already cut off. You cannot attain sainthood; ultimately, you’ll end up as nothing but ashes.”

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Primordial Spirit drifted out of his body, abruptly igniting with intense solar essence, rushing toward Li Hao’s Primordial Spirit.

The two Primordial Spirits clashed fiercely, scattering divine flames in all directions. Li Hao’s Primordial Spirit, infused with a wisp of Immortal God Power, delivered strikes as sharp as blades. Each attack inflicted severe damage upon the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Primordial Spirit.

A single wisp of Immortal God Power was like the ultimate blade, capable of severing the sun, moon, and stars. Beyond Dao Force, it could even cut through laws.

Boom!

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Primordial Spirit was torn apart, its aura withering. The Buddhist light and divine flames flickered weakly, as though they might extinguish at any moment.

“I’ll wait for you in the River of Death, to see you trapped in eternal damnation!”

The Boundless Buddhist Lord roared in fury as his Primordial Spirit was completely torn apart by Li Hao, dissipating into countless sparks that faded into the heavens and earth.

The scattered solar essence was swiftly absorbed by Li Hao’s Primordial Spirit, transforming into clusters of golden flames adorning it, enhancing its power and presence significantly.

The Boundless Buddhist Lord’s aura had completely vanished. This figure, who had sat atop the Great Yu for two thousand years, whose followers spanned nineteen provinces, fell not only at the threshold of sainthood but also beneath Li Hao’s feet.

Under the augmentation of his Fifteen-layered Dao Domains, Li Hao noticed that as the Boundless Buddhist Lord’s Primordial Spirit dissipated, a faint remnant soul seemed to sink into the heavens and earth.

Or rather than dissipating, it appeared to submerge into a deeper space beyond his perception.

If not for the extreme sensitivity granted by the fifteen-layered Dao Domains, even that faint remnant soul would have escaped his detection.

“Is it sinking into the River of Death...”

Li Hao’s eyes flickered. If a Primordial Spirit represented the fusion of the three souls and seven spirits, then the destruction of the Primordial Spirit meant the total annihilation of these components.

In the mortal realm, this collective was also referred to as ghosts.

When a person died, they became a ghost. When a ghost died, they became a Nian, the residual soul within the River of Death.

Mortals could not perceive ghosts, just as martial artists struggled to see Nian unless within the unique environment of the River of Death, where they became visible.

Because of this invisibility, martial artists could only destroy a person’s Primordial Spirit when eliminating them but could not kill the Nian left behind, allowing the possibility of reincarnation in the next life.

This seemed to reflect heaven’s mercy toward the world.

This was the so-called “Heaven’s virtue of cherishing life.”

“If I could layer my Dao Domains even further, perhaps I could perceive that Nian completely...”

Li Hao’s gaze sharpened. If that were possible, would it mean severing the possibility of reincarnation entirely?

As his cultivation advanced, Li Hao realized that the powers he could wield grew increasingly potent. For instance, with the fifteen-layered Dao Domains, even fate could be temporarily obscured.

The earlier bodhisattvas, even if they had an opportunity to reverse fate, were unable to use it under the suppression of his domains.

Back when Ji Yunge had spoken of the Dao Seeker Realm, she had mentioned its ability to temporarily obscure destiny. The fate-reversing power of the Reverse Fate Realm, which was an absolute life-saving measure at the Fourth Pillar Realm, could be suppressed and destroyed in the face of a Dao Seeker.

This clearly demonstrated the vast gulf between the Dao Seeker Realm and the Fourth Pillar Realm.

“It’s a pity it happened too quickly. I don’t know which branch of the River of Death took hold of the Boundless Buddhist Lord. If I could locate it, I could annihilate him entirely...”

“With his obsession, it’s likely not an ordinary branch. There’s also the possibility that he reincarnated immediately. If reincarnated, the karmic ties of his past life should dissipate. According to the Divine General Mansion’s records, no one has yet appeared who retained memories from their previous life...”

Li Hao’s eyes gleamed. In this world, the Boundless Buddhist Lord was truly dead.

He glanced at the bloody remains on the ground. If he had reached the pinnacle of the Three Immortals Realm, the Boundless Buddhist Lord might have survived. But unfortunately, he had cultivated only the first four ultimate extremes.

Picking up the tattered kasaya, Li Hao noticed that while the treasure had dimmed and was now damaged, it was still the strongest treasure he had ever encountered. It felt distinct from the Sacred Heart Treasures he had encountered before.

Li Hao stored the kasaya, intending to visit the Myriad Treasures Pavilion when he had time to determine the level of this treasure. On the Boundless Buddhist Lord, it had been like an impenetrable shell. The kasaya alone had been enough to leave even Supreme Dao Realm cultivators helpless—a remarkable feat.

After stowing the kasaya, Li Hao crushed the remaining flesh with a palm strike, revealing a golden relic within.

Li Hao picked it up and noticed a wisp of black aura tainting one side, seemingly the remnant of the earlier Moruo’s energy.

The integration of Buddha and demon had not been fully achieved.

“Attempting to achieve sainthood in one step... and nearly succeeding...” Li Hao’s gaze flickered. Though the Boundless Buddhist Lord was much older than him, such bold ambition marked him as a remarkable figure.

The relic contained an incredibly potent energy, almost equivalent to a divine pill.

...

A profound sense of enlightenment surged through Li Hao’s mind. He instantly realized this was a Reverse Fate Power-induced destiny response, and the pills inside this box could heal Feng Lao.

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