Unlocking Divine Ability, Buddha Kingdom in the Palm

Ghost Douluo slowly straightened his body.

A wisp of gray-black mist seeped from the crack in his mask and slowly drifted apart before him.

Those dim eyes stared at Bai Yi for a long time, the surging emotions in his pupils gradually settling.

He took a deep breath, his voice returning to its original hoarseness and calm.

"What a pity."

Bai Yi raised an eyebrow.

Ghost Douluo continued.

"Your talent truly is unparalleled in this world. I have lived for over seventy years, yet I have never seen a young man like you. But heretics who cannot serve His Holiness the Pope must all be purged. Next, I will use my full strength."

The instant his words fell, his eighth soul ring suddenly lit up.

Black light flared brilliantly.

Ghostly Phantoms.

Countless gray, ghost-like spheres of energy poured from his body, spreading in all directions like a swarm of bees.

As those energy spheres swept past the positions of Bai Yi's twelve clones, every clone they touched instantly exploded into golden motes of light.

All twelve Bai Yis vanished at once.

Only Bai Yi's true body remained standing in the center, his expression turning slightly more solemn.

He calculated rapidly in his mind.

That Thunder Fire Wing God Strike just now had already been his strongest offensive move. Even with four soul rings fused together and all-out output of his mana, he had only barely scraped Ghost Douluo's skin.

Defeating a Title Douluo who had gotten serious was simply impossible with his current cultivation.

The gap in Soul Power was too vast—so vast that no technique could bridge it.

Fortunately, the mana within him was several times more abundant than it had been when he was a Soul Elder, enough to support the prolonged consumption of Seventy-Two Transformations.

Lasting five hours should not be a problem.

Unless his luck was truly terrible.

Bai Yi suppressed his thoughts, his figure flickering as he directly used the Invisibility Technique.

His body rapidly turned transparent in the air, and his aura vanished with it.

Ghost Douluo's gaze narrowed slightly.

His senses spread out in full. Title Douluo-level spiritual power swept through every inch of the surrounding space like a tide.

Yet he sensed nothing.

That figure had completely disappeared, without leaving even the faintest fluctuation of Soul Power behind.

Ghost Douluo stood silently where he was for a moment.

He had lived for over seventy years and experienced countless battles, yet this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

A Soul Ancestor had vanished without a trace right before his eyes, and he could not find even the slightest clue to track him.

Bai Yi did not hurry to leave.

He hid in the air ten zhang away from Ghost Douluo, secretly observing his every move.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Invisibility Technique could deceive even a Title Douluo's senses. That meant his next actions would be much safer.

He voluntarily dispelled the Invisibility Technique and revealed himself before Ghost Douluo once more.

With a mocking smile, he said, "Is this all the Title Douluos of your Spirit Hall can do? You can't even handle a child like me?"

Ghost Douluo moved almost at the exact instant he appeared.

That gray-black ghost claw tore through the air with a piercing shriek, accurately reaching for Bai Yi's throat.

But Bai Yi tilted his body slightly, avoiding the claw by a hair's breadth.

With a light tap of his heel against the ground, his entire body sank downward.

Earth Traversal Technique.

Like a drop of ink dissolving into water, his body instantly disappeared into the soil.

Ghost Douluo's claw struck empty air, his five fingers digging deeply into the ground behind where Bai Yi had just stood.

Bai Yi emerged from the ground ten zhang away, dusted the dirt from his body, and beckoned at Ghost Douluo. "If you've got the skill, come catch me, old ghost."

Before his words had even faded, he turned and fled into the depths of the forest.

A low, cold snort came from beneath Ghost Douluo's mask.

His body transformed into an illusory black shadow and sped after him.

Time passed slowly amid the chase.

Every attack Ghost Douluo launched was evaded or neutralized by Bai Yi through all manner of unbelievable methods.

Sometimes, Bai Yi would suddenly burst out of the ground, turn, and run in another direction.

Sometimes, he would transform into a stone or a dead tree, then revert to human form and flee the instant Ghost Douluo swept past him.

At times, he split off several clones to confuse Ghost Douluo's vision; at others, he used the Fog-spreading Technique to create a dense fog that obscured his opponent's senses.

He even kept using light-generating techniques to disrupt Ghost Douluo's sense of direction during his escape. Each flash of golden light caused a brief hitch in Ghost Douluo's movements.

The pursuit continued for several hours.

Ghost Douluo was never able to inflict any substantial harm on Bai Yi.

But he was not impatient.

He had been observing throughout the chase.

He noticed that whenever those clones cast certain specific spells, they were just a fraction slower than the original body.

The difference was incredibly subtle. Without over seventy years of combat experience, it would have been impossible to catch.

But he had caught it.

Ghost Douluo began changing his strategy.

He no longer attempted to blanket every target with wide-range attacks. Instead, he picked them off one by one.

Whenever Bai Yi released a clone, he struck the instant it cast a spell, killing it with precise accuracy.

One.

Two.

Three.

The clones turned into specks of golden light and vanished one after another.

Bai Yi's expression grew increasingly grave.

He tried to speed up the switching between his clones, but every one of Ghost Douluo's attacks landed precisely within that tiny gap when his true body and clone exchanged places.

Finally, during one use of the Earth Traversal Technique, Ghost Douluo seized that fleeting opportunity.

His right hand shot out, his five fingers curling into a claw as he grabbed toward Bai Yi's true body.

Bai Yi had only sunk halfway into the ground when a dark force surging in from every direction firmly locked him in place.

Those dim eyes emerged from the darkness, regarding him with the scrutiny of a victor.

Ghost Douluo's voice was hoarse yet steady.

"Got you."

Bai Yi was frozen at the surface of the soil, half his body already submerged underground, yet the power of Ghost Douluo's fifth soul skill, Ghost Shadow Earth Pool Hand, forcibly held him in place.

His golden pupils met Ghost Douluo's, and his expression turned solemn.

He rapidly assessed the situation in his mind.

Ghost Douluo's combat experience truly was incomparably rich. Given enough time to observe, he could find flaws in any divine ability or spell.

After all, Bai Yi had only just begun learning the Seventy-Two Transformations, and he had yet to master more than half of its techniques.

The corner of Ghost Douluo's mouth curled up slightly as he turned toward a certain direction in the dense forest and called out.

"Yue Guan, make your move."

A soft, effeminate laugh came from deep within the forest.

A golden figure drifted down from the canopy. He was a man dressed in magnificent golden robes, his features so handsome they were nearly demonic.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan.

He had been lying in wait in the shadows for a long time.

His original plan had been to wait for the Title Douluo elder backing Bai Yi to appear.

As long as that hidden expert showed himself, he and Ghost Douluo could join forces and use the Bipolar Static Domain to trap and kill him.

But several hours had passed, and not a trace of a second Title Douluo's aura had appeared in that desolate forest.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's patience had finally run out.

Since they could not lure out the big fish, they would crush this little fish first.

Yue Guan held an enormous golden chrysanthemum in his hand. Its layered petals flowed with dazzling brilliance.

Nine soul rings lit up beneath his feet in succession, and the uppermost black soul ring shone with blinding radiance.

Yue Guan spoke with a teasing smile in his voice.

"Kid, you should feel honored that both Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo have joined hands to deal with you."

The instant he finished speaking, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand exploded apart.

Countless golden petals transformed into crescent-shaped blades, converging into an enormous golden tornado that swept head-on toward Bai Yi.

Ninth Soul Skill: Chrysanthemum Withers, Ground Full of Wounds, Flowers Fall and Hearts Break.

The golden tornado carried destructive force, plowing a deep trench through the ground wherever it passed and slicing the air with piercing shrieks.

Bai Yi was pinned in place by Ghost Douluo's soul skill, unable to evade.

He took a deep breath and pushed his Indestructible Diamond Body to its limit.

Golden light flowed across his body as Copper Head and Iron Arms covered him from head to toe, forcefully raising a layer of defense.

The golden tornado slammed straight into his body.

Countless sharp petal blades frantically sliced through his skin and bones, producing a dense clamor of metal striking metal.

With a thunderous boom, the golden tornado exploded, and a rain of flowers drifted down from the sky, glowing with a desolate beauty beneath the moonlight.

The dust slowly settled.

Bai Yi stood where he was, his clothes shredded into strips of rags, his skin covered in countless cuts.

Blood seeped from those wounds, dyeing his entire body dark red.

Yet his chest was still rising and falling.

Though his breathing was rapid, it remained steady.

His injuries looked horrific, but they were all superficial wounds of flesh and skin; not a single one had reached his bones or internal organs.

The magical power of the Great Immortal Art of Grand Quality circulated through his body on its own, and the wounds healed at a visible rate.

Yue Guan's gaze went completely blank.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand had already shattered and dissipated. His hands trembled slightly, and his lips moved for a long while before he finally forced out a dry voice.

"What? He took my Ninth Soul Skill head-on... and he's not dead?"

There was incredulous fear in his voice.

That youth was clearly only a Soul Ancestor, yet after directly taking the strongest strike of a Title Douluo, he had suffered nothing more than superficial injuries.

Yue Guan stared at Bai Yi's rapidly healing wounds, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said in an unprecedentedly grave tone, "He really is a terrifying monster."

Ghost Douluo's expression was equally grave.

He gave Bai Yi no chance to catch his breath. The ninth soul ring around him suddenly lit up.

Black light surged as the entire ground began to tremble violently.

Countless enormous gray-black hands stretched out from beneath the earth. Each was dozens of meters long, their five fingers spread as they reached for Bai Yi.

Ninth Soul Skill: Hellish Phantoms.

The giant hands covered an immense area, sealing off every possible route of retreat for Bai Yi.

But Bai Yi had already broken free from the restraints of the Ghost Shadow Earth Pool Hand.

Standing amid the giant hands descending from the sky, a glimmer flashed through his golden eyes.

That light came from an inheritance imprint that had long lain dormant in the depths of his consciousness.

The Fourth Trial of the Equal Heaven had been completed.

Under the immense pressure of two Title Douluo attacking at once, the trial conditions had been fully met.

A warm force flowed into his mind, transforming into a piece of ancient and vast information.

Bai Yi slowly closed his eyes, sensing the new divine ability within him.

He opened his eyes and looked at the gray giant hands about to fall upon his head, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Bai Yi raised his right hand and slowly spread his fingers.

Buddha Kingdom in the Palm.

An invisible, intangible force spread from his palm, silently enveloping the entire area.

The sensation was remarkably strange.

It was as if he could sense every wisp of wind, every speck of dust, and the path of every flow of Soul Power within this space.

Everyone's position, movements, and breathing appeared clearly within his awareness.

It was as though this entire world were held in the palm of his hand.

With a single thought, heaven and earth were in his grasp.

Bai Yi looked at the two attacks about to land on him and gently clenched his right hand.

Ghost Douluo's Hellish Phantoms and Chrysanthemum Douluo's Gate of Holy Light landed simultaneously where Bai Yi stood.

The gray-black giant hands merged with the dazzling golden light, blasting a massive crater into the ground.

Dust rose into the sky as shockwaves spread in every direction.

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo both halted their movements, their gazes falling into the bottom of the pit.

It was empty. There was nothing there.

There was no flesh, nor any lingering trace of Soul Power.

It was as if Bai Yi had been utterly annihilated by the collision of those two forces, leaving behind not even the slightest trace.

Chrysanthemum Douluo slowly withdrew his hand, and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his palm condensed into shape once more.

He let out a breath of relief and said with a sense of release, "Finally got rid of that brat."

Ghost Douluo did not speak immediately.

Standing at the edge of the crater, his gaze swept back and forth across its bottom several times.

His spiritual power had already scanned everything within a hundred meters. There truly was no trace of Bai Yi's presence left.

Yet something still felt wrong to him.

That youth had clearly been bound by his Ghost Shadow Earth Pool Hand just moments ago, only to suddenly break free the next instant.

Ghost Douluo fell silent for a moment before saying hesitantly, "There really is no aura left."

Chrysanthemum Douluo walked to his side and patted his shoulder. "Old Ghost, you're too tense. A Soul Ancestor took the full-force attacks of two Title Douluo head-on. How could he possibly still be alive?"

Ghost Douluo did not reply.

He gave the battlefield, blasted beyond recognition, one final look, then shook his head. "Let's go. We need to return and report to His Holiness the Pope."

The two figures transformed into streaks of light and shot northward.

The desolate forest returned to silence.

After a moment.

The air atop the crown of a dead tree in the distance twisted faintly.

Bai Yi's figure slowly emerged from the void.

Standing on a withered branch, he looked in the direction Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo had departed, a faint smile resting on his lips.

His right hand was still held in a loose grasp, his palm faintly warm.

He had used Buddha Kingdom in the Palm to draw the power of those two attacks into his hand, converting it into pure energy and storing it within his body.

The sensation reminded him of a word.

A god.

With every gesture, all things beneath heaven and earth lay within one's palm.