Inside the Gold Soul Clan Sacred Land's palace, the Qi Tian Statue atop the altar radiated dazzling golden light. Gold gradually spread across Stone's body, as if he were being gilded.
"Crack."
"Crack."
"Crack."
As the sounds of joints shifting rang out one after another, Qi Tian finally moved for the first time in decades.
"I can move. I can finally move."
Qi Tian was overwhelmed with emotion. He controlled his ten-meter-tall body, now completely coated in gold, and rose from his seated position.
Hearing Qi Tian move, the three Jin Shis immediately looked up at the ten-meter-tall giant before them.
"Greetings, Buddha Lord!"
"Greetings, Buddha Lord!"
"Greetings, Buddha Lord!"
Seeing Buddha Lord Qi Tian rise before them, the three Jin Shis reached the pinnacle of fervent devotion. All three spoke at once, paying their respects to Qi Tian.
As the golden Life Crystal Core appeared, a golden apparition of Qi Tian towering ten thousand miles high emerged above the planet. Its faint golden light spread across the entire world.
"How warm!"
"Is this the power of Buddha Lord?"
The planet's inhabitants felt the golden light suffusing the entire world. In that instant, their minds grew clear, while their physical fatigue and discomfort vanished.
Even the savage beasts revealed a rare softness in their eyes. Their intelligence improved slightly, and the restlessness in their minds eased.
Qi Tian's ten-thousand-mile-tall golden apparition wasn't especially large compared with the enormous planet. Yet every living being in every corner of the world could see the colossal figure, as if it had been imprinted in their minds.
As the golden light around Qi Tian slowly withdrew, it transformed into a loose, golden robe that covered both shoulders, revealing his full appearance.
The skin exposed beneath it was golden, and his hair was styled in the same spiral curls. His sturdy golden body seemed to contain an inexhaustible well of power.
Feeling the terrifying strength within his body, Qi Tian was overcome by the illusion that he was invincible, as if one punch could shatter an entire planet.
It was a delusion caused by his body affecting his mind as he suddenly received power far beyond his understanding. But Qi Tian's consciousness had also grown stronger, and the illusion of invincibility vanished in an instant.
At the same time, information entered his mind: the Innate Secret Technique that came with his Life Crystal Core—Universal Sanskrit Sound.
This ability allowed Qi Tian to unconsciously radiate a Sanskrit chant that reached the soul, making others feel favorably toward him and subtly influencing how they perceived him.
If he actively used the ability, the chant's power would increase significantly, making anyone with a weaker will than Qi Tian think of him as the "World Honored Buddha Lord."
This Innate Secret Technique wasn't especially powerful, since it couldn't directly enslave living beings. It could only make them believe in him, worship him, and submit to him.
As their faith grew stronger, so would their obedience to Qi Tian, until their faith reached the point of "revering none but Buddha Lord Qi Tian." That would take time.
But this Innate Secret Technique also had a terrifying aspect: although it began as a suggestion directed at the soul, it acted as a "shackle" upon the will.
"Hm? What's this?"
As soon as Qi Tian descended onto the altar, while still sensing the changes within himself, he noticed a golden bead bracelet floating before him. Judging by its size, it was meant to be worn on the wrist.
He reached out with his right hand, and the bracelet, forged from nine Sealing Stars, drifted into his grasp. The instant his consciousness touched it, information flooded into his mind.
At the same time, a terrifying killing pressure emanated from the bracelet. But sealed by secret patterns, it affected Qi Tian alone.
In Qi Tian's mind, a figure sat upon a Blood-Colored Throne. The figure wore a blood-red battle robe, had a pair of golden curved horns growing from his head, and wore a mask.
The boundless aura of slaughter he radiated made Qi Tian tremble. His pressure felt almost tangible, vast and unfathomable, as if he were the greatest existence in the world.
Zuoshanke had done this to show Qi Tian how powerful the Blood Cloud Palace Master was, leaving him with the impression of a mighty expert who had bestowed an opportunity upon him.
"I am the Blood Cloud Palace Master. I bestow upon you this treasure that guards the soul."
After the Blood Cloud Palace Master finished speaking, the terrifying pressure dissipated, leaving a coordinate and an image in Qi Tian's mind.
The image showed several thousand strange beings. Their auras varied in strength, but even the weakest among them radiated a terrifying presence that Qi Tian felt could crush him.
"Blood Cloud Palace Master?"
At the sound of that name, memories flickered through Qi Tian's mind. He felt as if he had seen or heard it somewhere before.
As he pondered, he recalled the formation of a galaxy within the Life Crystal Core in his sea of consciousness while his flesh-and-blood body was being nurtured, as well as the scene of his strength increasing along with it. Combined with the name "Blood Cloud Palace Master," he seemed to remember a novel he had read in his previous life.
"Is it the Swallowed Star World? Or Stellar Transformations? Or some other world?"
Qi Tian wasn't sure. He'd read plenty of web novels about people transmigrating into anime and novel worlds, but those had been a hobby in his youth.
Those memories had grown hazy by now. He only vaguely remembered the cultivation system involving the evolution of galaxies.
He turned his consciousness toward the Life Crystal Core in his sea of consciousness once more. Only then did he realize that it had undergone a drastic transformation.
His sea of consciousness, once filled with golden mist, was now divided in two. One side remained filled with golden mist, while the other was a dark crimson.
The two sides were sharply divided. His Life Crystal Core lay at their boundary, alongside the Lotus Throne Buddha Statue.
The Lotus Throne Golden Body had originally been entirely golden, but now it, too, was divided into two colors down the middle.
The left side, within the golden mist, remained entirely gold and radiated waves of Universal Sanskrit Sound. It made the mind feel as though it were beneath the blazing sun, warmed by its gentle light.
The half on the right, shrouded in dark red mist, had turned red and black. Just one glance made Qi Tian feel as though he had been plunged into an endless sea of blood and slaughter, leaving him ice-cold all over.
Qi Tian also noticed that the golden liquid, which had been completely used up in the region of golden mist, had begun to liquefy again after his descent, forming a small pool.
In the altered space on the right, where the mist had turned dark red like blood, a new Sanskrit Phantom had appeared.
Unlike the previous Sanskrit Phantom, which had glowed gold and radiated Universal Sanskrit Sound, this one was blood-red and emanated darkness, slaughter, and destruction.
"Is it the character for 'Demon'?"
Unlike before his descent, when he hadn't understood the mysterious Sanskrit character at all, he could now understand its meaning, even though he still couldn't read it.
He also recalled the meaning of the golden Sanskrit character he had seen earlier. It was the character for "Buddha."
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