The mysterious figure who stepped out of the void had Dao rhythms flowing around him. His aura was ethereal, yet it carried an indifference that looked down upon all living beings. He gave Niu Ben no chance to catch his breath, not even bothering with a single word of nonsense before attacking directly.
There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor was there any world-destroying power unleashed.
He simply reached out a hand.
An ordinary-looking, even somewhat withered palm lightly reached out toward Niu Ben.
However.
To Niu Ben's senses, that hand was more terrifying than an entire universe collapsing upon him!
Upon that palm were scenes of suns, moons, and stars being born and extinguished, along with the sounds of countless laws intertwining. It seemed less like a hand and more like a Great Thousand World about to come crashing down!
Before that palm, space was as fragile as thin paper, easily crushed and folded.
Even time seemed to have fallen into eternal stagnation beneath that power.
Damn it!
A thunderous curse erupted in Niu Ben's heart.
At that moment, every hair on his body stood on end. A deadly crisis from the depths of his soul stabbed into every one of his thoughts like billions of steel needles!
Strong!
Too strong!
This was absolutely a supreme existence at the Quasi-Saint level!
A terrifying great expert who had already severed one corpse, perhaps even two!
But so what!
He, Niu Ben, was an Innate Divine Being with noble foundations!
And behind him stood the future Saint Taishang, who would look down upon all ages, wield the Heavenly Dao, and act without acting while leaving nothing undone!
Did he think he could suppress me with one hand?
Dream on!
"Roar—!!!"
A furious roar unlike that of an ox, more like the unwilling howl of a Chaos Demon God before death, exploded from the depths of Niu Ben's throat!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
In an instant!
The two thousand Earth Fiend Divine Ox Shadows within him, long fused with his flesh, soul, and True Spirit, all opened their scarlet eyes and roared toward the heavens!
Moo! Moo! Moo!
Two thousand overlapping roars converged into a terrifying sonic wave powerful enough to rip apart the Ninth Heaven and shatter the universe!
Endless power erupted like a volcano that had lain dormant for billions of years!
That power was so pure, so domineering, so utterly unreasonable!
Just a trace of its escaping aura instantly reduced the surrounding land for tens of thousands of miles to dust, while the void became like a shattered mirror, covered in savage, horrifying cracks!
All that power converged upon Niu Ben!
At that moment, it burst forth with divine radiance billions of times brighter than the Sun Star. Earth Fiend Dao Principles and the Law of Strength intertwined madly within it, forming a fist seal like World-Creating itself!
"Break—for—me!"
Niu Ben's eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged across his body. With all his strength, he threw a ferocious punch at the terrifying giant palm that blotted out the sky!
Bang!!!
An indescribable explosion erupted between heaven and earth!
In that instant, the entire world lost its sound and color. Only a rapidly expanding point of destructive light remained where fist and palm collided!
An energy storm capable of vaporizing a Grand Unity Golden Immortal and his Dao Fruit into nothingness transformed into billions of ring-shaped shockwaves and swept madly in every direction!
Mountains, rivers, the void, laws...
Everything was annihilated before that storm!
Crack!
Crack, crack, crack!
Crisp cracking sounds rang out beside Niu Ben's ears like heavenly music.
That giant palm, containing the might to suppress a world, was forcibly blasted full of cracks by his strongest punch. It then shattered inch by inch, turning into a rain of light that dissipated into the void!
"Interesting."
A voice carrying both amusement and surprise echoed from the void.
"Truly interesting."
The mysterious figure was in truth the good corpse incarnation severed by Western Saint Zhunti. As he looked at Niu Ben below, who was panting heavily but still standing firm, two beams of nearly tangible golden divine light shot from his eyes!
"Innate Divine Being foundations!"
He saw it!
Through the violent energy, he clearly saw Niu Ben's true nature!
It was an incomparably pure mass of Innate Origin. Its foundations were so noble and its aura so ancient that even among the Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Heaven Palace, it would rank near the top!
Such foundations, such talent—across the entire vast and boundless Primordial World, it was still considered superior!
"Such foundations, such uncut jade, are destined to join my West and become the cornerstone of Western prosperity!"
A stormy sea instantly rose in Zhunti Good Corpse's heart.
"You have a connection with the West. Why not quickly cast aside your attachments and take refuge in me!"
In an instant, Buddhist chants filled heaven and earth!
Mysterious and unfathomable Divine Sounds of Salvation were born from the void. They transformed into countless golden lotuses, each bearing the shadow of a kind-faced Buddha seated atop it, all chanting the supreme Sutra for Salvation.
The Golden Lotuses fell like rain, covering the heavens and earth. Ignoring the distance of space and the barriers of flesh, they descended straight toward Niu Ben's sea of consciousness.
At the same time.
A colossal Buddha Dharma Form, billions of zhang tall, solemn and majestic, with three heads and six arms, manifested behind Zhunti Good Corpse!
Buddha Light illuminated the Three Thousand Worlds!
That vast Buddha Light seemed intent on saving all slaughter, conflict, and attachments in this world, transforming everything into a peaceful Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss!
"Om... ma... ni... bei... mi... hum..."
That divine sound seemed to carry a strange magic from the Origin of the Great Dao. It penetrated directly into his soul, seeking to completely dismantle and erase all of Niu Ben's will to resist, all his memories, and all his past!
Niu Ben felt his Primordial Spirit sway violently beneath those terrifying Buddhist chants, like a candle flame in a raging wind that could be extinguished at any moment.
Illusions even appeared before his eyes.
He seemed to see himself abandoning everything, kneeling before the Buddha with a smile of great enlightenment on his face, about to take refuge in supreme Buddhism.
But!
Just! At! This! Moment!
Buzz—!
A brilliant, vast, supremely sacred pillar of golden light suddenly shot up from the crown of Niu Ben's head, piercing through the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!
That golden light was so pure, so dazzling!
It carried supreme Dao rhythms of being Invulnerable to All Laws, Indestructible Through All Calamities, untouched by karma, and before which All Evils Retreat!
It was precisely the Power of Merit unique to the Primordial Wilderness!
A full hundred thousand units of Power of Merit were completely activated at that moment!
Once the Golden Light of Merit appeared, heaven and earth fell silent!
Every Divine Sound of Salvation that had invaded his soul, and every one of those golden lotuses, became like snow meeting the blazing sun. They were instantly purified completely, leaving not even the slightest trace behind!
The Buddhist chants filling the sky came to an abrupt halt!
Before that Golden Light of Merit, the Buddha Light illuminating heaven and earth dimmed completely, like fireflies before the bright moon!
"What?!"
A shriek of utter shock burst from Zhunti Good Corpse's mouth. Not a trace of his previous bearing as an enlightened master remained.
Before you continue