This happened without any warning!
The Corpse Puppet Daoist, who had been locked in battle with Chen Ku, suddenly froze. Dumbfounded and bewildered, he stared at the ten-thousand-acre auspicious cloud hanging in the void.
"What... what is this now?!"
The Corpse Puppet Daoist was completely numb!
Chen Ku was merely a Grand Luo Golden Immortal, yet the various methods he had displayed earlier were already shocking enough.
And now there was a ten-thousand-acre auspicious cloud?!
Just how many unknown methods did this brat possess?!
The Corpse Puppet Daoist looked utterly bewildered, standing there in a daze.
Old Toad Ancestor, hiding in the shadows, was equally stunned and rooted to the spot.
Could Chen Ku be planning to use the ten-thousand-acre auspicious cloud for defense?!
In the understanding of all beings, auspicious clouds inherently possessed defensive properties. Once manifested, they could ward off all techniques and grant one an innate position of invincibility.
The auspicious cloud golden lamp bestowed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun upon Yuanshi served precisely the same purpose.
However, that thought vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Old Toad Ancestor immediately shook his head, dismissing the speculation.
After all, Chen Ku had held the absolute upper hand earlier. There was no need for him to abandon offense for defense.
Then, a shocking thought surfaced in Old Toad Ancestor's mind.
"Is this brat trying to break through in the middle of battle and advance to a higher realm?!"
Old Toad Ancestor suddenly realized that the high-hanging auspicious cloud was precisely the phenomenon of Severing the Three Corpses.
For cultivators who practiced Severing the Three Corpses, every additional corpse they severed would raise their cultivation accordingly.
Old Toad Ancestor had already suspected that Chen Ku was a Quasi-Sage pretending to be a Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
If he continued breaking through now, did that not mean he was attempting to reach the middle stage of the Quasi-Sage realm, or even the late stage?!
"No!"
"We absolutely cannot let this brat break through again!"
Chen Ku had already been beating the Corpse Puppet Daoist senseless.
If he broke through another realm, then even if Old Toad Ancestor intervened personally, he might not be able to take Chen Ku down.
The moment that thought arose, Old Toad Ancestor made his move.
"Treasure Accumulation Pot!"
With a sweep of his hand, a Treasure Accumulation Pot gleaming with golden light appeared. Its radiance stretched for millions of miles, illuminating the universe.
This was a Top-Grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure, obtained by Old Toad Ancestor from Treasure Distribution Rock in the past.
The effects of this spiritual treasure were astonishing as well.
As long as one controlled it, one could suppress the spiritual treasures of other powerful cultivators, even absorb them and claim them for oneself.
Furthermore, the Treasure Accumulation Pot itself seemed forged from immortal gold and possessed immensely formidable offensive power.
As torrents of laws poured into it, the Treasure Accumulation Pot swelled with the wind. Endless immortal light cascaded down, releasing an enormous oppressive aura.
Boom!
Then, the Treasure Accumulation Pot crashed down like a colossal star plummeting from the heavens, its momentum vast and terrifying beyond compare!
Wherever the Treasure Accumulation Pot passed, space shattered inch by inch, completely collapsing back into nothingness!
Old Toad Ancestor intended to use this attack to smash Chen Ku to death outright.
Even if he could not accomplish that, he would still disrupt Chen Ku's state and prevent him from successfully severing a corpse.
At this moment, Chen Ku stood beneath the ten-thousand-acre auspicious cloud, his body utterly motionless. Even his eyes were slightly closed, as though he had entered a meditative state.
Seeing this, Old Toad Ancestor sneered even more coldly!
To dare divide his attention like this in the middle of battle—he was truly courting death!
As the Treasure Accumulation Pot pierced through the void and was about to smash into Chen Ku's head, Old Toad Ancestor seemed to have already foreseen Chen Ku's body exploding and his corpse lying across the chaos.
The Treasure Accumulation Pot had revealed its might, and the sight left the Corpse Puppet Daoist even more shocked, beyond words.
There was another powerful expert?!
He knew very well that his side consisted of only five people, including Linglong Ancestor. They had no other helpers.
Regardless, this was clearly unexpected good news for the Corpse Puppet Daoist.
With this, the pressure on him was greatly reduced.
The Corpse Puppet Daoist had no time to think further. While regulating the surging aura within himself, he stared intently at the descending Treasure Accumulation Pot.
Whether Chen Ku could be killed in one stroke would soon be revealed.
However, at that very moment, a sudden change occurred!
Within the ten-thousand-acre auspicious cloud, that figure abruptly took shape.
Immediately afterward, a gigantic palm formed from laws extended from the auspicious cloud.
This palm was like the hand of a god, wrapped in immortal light and immeasurable in power!
It moved with extreme speed, entering the battlefield in an instant and directly receiving the Treasure Accumulation Pot.
Rumble!
A muffled thunderous crash rang out as the Treasure Accumulation Pot was sent flying.
Yet that enormous palm of laws remained solid and substantial, as if it had done so effortlessly.
Only then did Chen Ku finally open his eyes.
He gazed deeply at the figure within the auspicious cloud, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Heh... the Three-Bodies of the Buddha Technique truly is remarkable!"
"Even this Law, Heaven, and Earth is far more powerful than the Three Corpses formed through Severing the Three Corpses."
Chen Ku could not help thinking to himself.
That was right!
This was precisely the Three-Bodies of the Buddha Technique.
Having used Severing the Three Corpses as his foundation, he had long since comprehended the Three-Bodies of the Buddha Technique. It was more profound, more powerful, and more suited to Chen Ku.
The figure within the auspicious cloud was the Dharma Body he had condensed.
Seeing Chen Ku's calm expression and faint smile,
the Corpse Puppet Daoist was horrified.
By now, how could he fail to understand that Chen Ku had broken through once more?
Moreover, from the fluctuations in that Dharma Body's earlier palm strike, the Corpse Puppet Daoist had sensed a powerful aura comparable to that of a Quasi-Sage.
"You... you broke through to the Quasi-Sage realm?!"
The Corpse Puppet Daoist cried out, his expression turning extremely grim.
When Chen Ku had only been a Grand Luo Golden Immortal, he might still have had a chance to defeat him and seize his opportunity.
But if Chen Ku had truly broken through to the Quasi-Sage realm, then the advantage the Corpse Puppet Daoist held in cultivation would vanish entirely.
More importantly, the Corpse Puppet Daoist vaguely sensed that Chen Ku, despite having just broken through, possessed fluctuations around him that seemed even deeper than his own.
All his plans for today would likely amount to nothing but drawing water with a bamboo basket.
Yet upon hearing the Corpse Puppet Daoist's words, Chen Ku said nothing. He merely cast him a gaze full of mockery and ridicule.
"Quasi-Sage?"
"The so-called Quasi-Sage realm is not worthy of comparison with my cultivation method."
That was what he thought.
That was right!
Chen Ku cultivated the Primal Chaos Sutra, which encompassed the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill, the Nine Revolutions Profound Skill, and the Hundred Bitter Sutra—three great cultivation techniques!
What he walked was the true Way of Hunyuan, the path once traversed by the Chaos Demon Gods.
Rather than calling him a Quasi-Sage, it was more fitting to say that he was now a Grand Golden Immortal.
On the surface, this realm appeared identical to the Quasi-Sage realm.
But in terms of combat power, the two were not on the same level at all!
Whether it was the strength of the physical body, the profundity of magical power, the depth of cultivation, or the Way of Hunyuan, all surpassed that of a Quasi-Sage.
Retracting his gaze, Chen Ku ignored the Corpse Puppet Daoist, who remained shocked and incredulous.
He suddenly turned and looked in another direction!
Next, it was time to see who had attacked from the shadows.
Chen Ku's gaze was piercing.
Having completed his breakthrough, his physical strength underwent another transformation. His blood and qi surged like an ocean sweeping forth, like mighty rivers roaring and crashing.
His aura had also increased severalfold.
All manner of obscure and unfathomable laws and orders intertwined around Chen Ku's body, making him appear ever more solemn and majestic, his presence vast and imposing.
"Hmph, you coward hiding in the shadows!"
"Come die!"
With a cold snort, Chen Ku brought out another spiritual treasure—the Plantain Fan he had acquired during his travels.
He fiercely swept the Plantain Fan through the air.
In an instant, fierce innate astral winds erupted from nowhere.
Like a chaotic torrent, the astral winds swept toward Old Toad Ancestor's location.
At that moment, Old Toad Ancestor's expression changed drastically.
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