The True Self, Supreme Above All!

The smoke and dust have not yet settled.

The thunderous roar of the Buddha's Dharma Aspect falling to the ground still echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

When that foot stomped down, it wasn't just the Buddha's Dharma Aspect that fell; the entire world trembled violently at that moment, exceeding the scope of "human power."

Staring intently at the person before him, Mietian suddenly recalled the young man who had broken into his Buddhist Pure Land that day and ultimately helped him break free from the net of entanglement.

"So it was you."

"My benefactor, you have severed the shackles of the net of iniquity for me. How can I ever thank you enough?"

"It's a pity you didn't refine those relics, otherwise we wouldn't be so formal with each other."

Mietian's eyes were cold, showing no anger at the previous defeat, but rather surprise and a vague unease about something beyond his control.

He tried to uncover the secrets of Yu Tunzhou, using his rudimentary understanding of cause and effect to deduce the causal relationship between Yu Tunzhou and others. However, the more he deduced, the more alarmed he became, because all he saw was emptiness!

Even if one draws upon the very source of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth to empower their own path, the result remains the same!

Just as Mietian was about to open his mouth to probe, he saw a palm strike casually sweeping across from the front, its force capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers, its power restrained yet as heavy as a world.

The Yu Tunzhou, abruptly abandoning the Buddha's Dharma Aspect, and charged straight at his true form.

Mietian's figure swayed, forcefully suppressing his instinctive attempt to retreat. Visible ripples of energy spread out from him, and the ground beneath his feet trembled violently.

He raised his hands, and the Buddha Dharma Aspect had appeared behind him at some point also raised its arms, its palms suddenly clasped together, and layers of golden ripples exploded from its palms, accompanied by the lingering sound of Buddhist chants!

"Youngster, do you think you can contend with me by borrowing the remaining power of heaven and earth? The true source of the Great Dao lies in my hands!"

Mietian said in a low voice, and also pressed down with a palm.

The Demon-Subduing Great Mudra!

The heavens and earth changed color, and golden Buddhist light surged like a tide, transforming into dense Sanskrit characters, carrying the Vajra's wrath to subdue all demons.

The Void within a thousand miles solidified under this palm strike, transforming into a cage that firmly locked the rapidly approaching figure within.

This palm strike is undoubtedly at the Dharma Aspect level; where it lands, it is both subduing demons and destroying the world!

However, the man in the green robe did not retreat even half a step, nor did he hesitate in the slightest. Like a fish swimming upstream, he ignored the principle that this palm strike could suppress all evil spirits under heaven, as if he were in an empty place.

Mietian's pupils suddenly contracted.

It wasn't a matter of resisting or resolving; rather, the principles contained within his palm simply didn't apply to him at all!

What exactly is the great path this person walks...?

Suddenly, a hand appeared between Mietian's brows. It was long and powerful, yet heavier than anyone could imagine. The surroundings were dark and gloomy, as if the hand itself had crushed the Void and shattered the universe.

Yu Tunzhou had already broken through the encirclement and was right in front of his true form!

The palm strike seemed extremely slow when it came down, but by the time Mietian had finished thinking, it had already grabbed his face and slammed him hard into the ground, ploughing the earth.

Boom--

In the blink of an eye, a straight, sword-like ravine was carved out of the earth, as if it were a mark left at the beginning of time.

Near the capital, everyone froze in place, looking up at the figure in blue robes beneath the sky.

That figure wasn't towering, but it was like a pillar supporting the heavens, forcefully holding up this world that was about to collapse.

"That's... Young Hero Yu?!"

Jingchen's usually serene and compassionate face was filled with shock. He subconsciously uttered a Buddhist chant and whispered,

"Could it be that Young Hero Yu is also an ancient Buddha, immortal, or god incarnate?"

Today, a Ancient Buddha Dipankara has already appeared. If another ancient Immortals and Gods appears, they can accept it.

In comparison, how could they possibly accept that Yu Tunzhou, whom they hadn't seen for just a few days, had suddenly gained the power to directly confront Immortals and Gods?!

The usually fiery Fuhu finally managed to utter a sentence after a long pause. "Good heavens, that Demonic Monk's Demon-Subduing Great Mudra has reached the level of Immortals and Gods, yet Young Hero Yu completely ignored it? What level of Divine Ability is this?"

Bao Ruyin was standing to the side, had already been repeatedly pondering Yu Tunzhou's true identity in her heart. To be able to have the Buddhist disciple by her side in the cave, and even be addressed as her senior brother by the Buddhist disciple...

Previously, it was only believed to be a matter of past and present lives, and that the Buddhist disciple had not yet awakened. But now, looking at it again...?

Thinking of this, she felt a chill run down her spine.

The true identity of the Buddhist disciple is Ancient Buddha Dipankara, known as the source of Buddha Tathagata. What kind of great Divine Ability being could be respected by him as his senior brother?

In an instant.

Dozens of local and outside External Scenery looked up at the distant battlefield in complete silence, until they saw Yu Tunzhou suppressing Mie Tian and forcibly Mietian the land a hundred miles away.

Finally, someone couldn't help but exclaim, "This child... could this senior truly be the reincarnation of an ancient Immortals and Gods?!"

The person who spoke was Chen Dingxin.

Compared to those from this world, these outsiders knew very well about Yu Tunzhou's background, having thoroughly investigated his origins and found nothing amiss.

If his guess is true... then the problem with the [Spark Instruction] will be easily solved!

There is no such thing as a Method Formula containing the true inheritance of the Human Emperor; rather, it is everything from this person's previous life! It is even something he deduced himself based on the Spark Instruction!

If that's not the case, then what exactly allows Yu Tunzhou to suppress a Dharma Aspect at this moment?

Daoist Qingzhi seemed to have noticed something, took a deep breath, and whispered:

"The upper limit of this realm is the External Scenery Fourth Layer, corresponding to Quasi-Grandmaster. Grandmaster has already stepped one foot into the realm of Immortals and Gods, so the upper limit of this realm corresponds to the ancient records of [the distinction between immortals and mortals]."

"[There is a difference between immortals and mortals]?"

"Indeed, ancient texts record that in the lower realms, Immortals and Gods are considered the upper limit of heaven and earth." Daoist Qingzhi gazed at the figure in green robes in the distance and said softly, "Mietian has been plotting for decades, stealing and controlling the origin of this realm, and using an unorthodox method to break through to Immortals and Gods. Such a heaven-defying act will inevitably provoke a backlash from the Heavenly Dao. Yu Tunzhou must have been chosen by the Heavenly Dao of this realm."

"What we are seeing now is most likely the Yu Tunzhou empowered by the Heavenly Dao, but even the Heavenly Dao cannot defy its own rules, so its maximum potential is still only... the External Scenery Fourth Layer!"

Upon first hearing this, Chen Dingxin and the others did not understand its deeper meaning.

Because Yu Tunzhou's previous display of strength was enough to rival that of the External Scenery Fourth Layer, in their eyes, Yu Tunzhou himself was already a "External Scenery Fourth Layer".

What does it mean to...?

Everyone's expression suddenly changed.

They realized the key to it.

Although Yu Tunzhou was previously comparable to someone at the External Scenery Fourth Layer, his own cultivation level was still stuck at the Divine Ability Realm!

Daoist Qingzhi murmured, "What we are seeing now is the Yu Tunzhou on the External Scenery Fourth Layer..."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Only at this moment did Chen Dingxin and the others realize with absolute clarity that this young man, who had already ascended to the Earth Ranking Grandmaster, was merely at the Divine Ability Realm.

He could rival External Scenery Fourth Layer Realm while already at the Divine Ability Realm, so his External Scenery Fourth Layer...

What level is it?

Can they overcome the legendary, insurmountable barrier between immortals and mortals?!

"This is the only explanation," Daoist Qingzhi murmured, her gaze fixed on the Buddha statue.

The Buddha resided in the Mortal Realm, his presence so majestic and unmatched.

Without a doubt, Kou Ziling's projection, the Demon Demonic Monk of Mietian, has reached the level of Immortals and Gods, corresponding to the Martial Dao Dharma Aspect.

But in the exchange just now, they suffered a crushing defeat!

It wasn't that they were outmatched or suppressed; it was a complete rout!

Even if Mietian attained enlightenment through unorthodox methods and his combat power was incomplete, the blessing of the source of this world would be enough to complete it. How could he be completely powerless to resist?

Daoist Qingzhi involuntarily tightened her grip on the sword in her hand.

Even her senior brother, or the Heavenly Demon Kou Ziling from back then, after becoming Grandmaster, never directly confronted the Dharma Aspect. They only managed to fight and retreat, briefly putting up a standoff.

Unless they rely on divine weapons, they cannot fight the Dharma Aspect Image head-on.

A direct confrontation and a rout are two different things!

besides.

Qingzhi still had a question: why was Yu Tunzhou's Fist Intent so powerful, shining like the sun in the sky?

The Fist Intent is a person's Martial Dao will.

For ordinary martial artists, being able to condense a form is already extremely rare.

Back when Yu Tunzhou was in the cave, he was still in the Qi Ingestion Realm, yet he already possessed Fist Intent that could shake heaven and earth.

At the time, they all assumed it was Lu Huaiqing's doing, or that Yu Tunzhou had been blessed with good fortune in Martial Fortune.

However, after leaving the cave, Yu Tunzhou's Fist Intent did not decrease but increased.

Logically speaking, he far exceeded the standard of his peers; this "far exceeded" is the difference between a pond and an ocean.

This means that his "I" and his "God" are completely superior to everyone else.

According to my senior brother, even if one has a thorough understanding of the "Nature-Seeing Heaven," one can only realize the true self, but cannot directly increase the weight of the "true self."

To increase the weight of one's "true self," one must condense the Primordial Unity.

Only those who Primordial Unity are condensed into one, independent of external things, and their true selves are not lacking.

Could Yu Tunzhou truly be the reincarnation of some Immortals and Gods?

Only in this way can we ensure that our true selves are not lacking.

At that moment, a grand and ancient chanting arose from the horizon, causing countless beings in this world to feel an urge to prostrate themselves in worship, including Jingchen, Daoist Qingzhi, and others.

They looked up in horror.

Above the heavens, the clouds surged and retreated to both sides, revealing a vast and boundless sky, and behind that sky, an even deeper, dark Void.

In the center of the Void, the silhouette of an even more majestic and ancient Buddha slowly coalesced and took shape.

"This is... the Buddha's physical form?"

Jingchen Jingchen's expression changed. He could sense that the purity of Buddhist principles and the vastness of the realm contained within this Buddha's illusory image were something he could never reach even a fraction of in his entire life!

Faced with such a massive display of power, everyone paled and felt a sense of despair.

These are the Immortals and Gods!

The wrath of the emperor can cause the deaths of millions.

But the wrath of the Immortals and Gods and immortals can cause the heavens and earth to collapse!

Mietian emerged from the rubble, his once-new monk's robe now torn in several places, and golden blood flowing from all seven of his orifices. Yet, his aura, instead of decreasing, increased, becoming even more terrifying.

He looked up at the figure in the distance, standing with his hands behind his back, dressed in a blue robe.

"Since I began refining the origin of the Buddha Kingdom, you are the first person to have driven me to this state."

"But—do you think that by severing the incense offerings and destroying my divine Dharma Aspect, you can defeat me?"

The sound of Mietian overlapped with the chanting of Brahma in the heavens and earth, creating a grand and eerie atmosphere that echoed throughout the entire world.

"The incense offerings and the net of worship are merely branches and leaves; the true source of Buddhism is the root. You have pruned away the tangled branches and leaves for me; I should be thanking you!"

"Today, I'll show you what I'm made of—"

"The true Great Arhat Dharma Aspect!"

At this moment, the outline of the ancient Buddha's phantom in the Void was fully formed.

It was an indescribably large phantom of Buddha, whose face alone occupied a large part of the sky. His eyes were slightly closed, his face was compassionate, and his body radiated a gentle and vast Buddhist light.

Yu Tunzhou looked up.

If I'm not mistaken.

This is Venerable Rahula.

In Buddhist School, this person never flaunted his abilities, and his strict adherence to the precepts was even praised by the Buddha, who said that he had no flaws in the three thousand rules of conduct and eighty thousand minor practices.

Such beings are a whole realm higher than Immortals and Gods. Even if they are just a wisp of the residual will of heaven and earth, their power is far beyond what other forms of Dharma Aspect like the Mietian can compare to.

But what Yu Tunzhou cared about was only the face of this Dharma Aspect, which was different from the old monk he had visited at Mind Aspect Temple that day.

As for other aspects...

At that moment, he didn't care.

Golden Bora Flower bloom in the Void.

The phantom of Buddha in the Void slowly opened its eyes.

His eyes were calm and still, showing no emotion, only a cold, clear understanding of cause and effect.

The Buddha's illusory gaze pierced through everything and landed on Yu Tunzhou.

The entire world fell silent.

The wind stopped, the clouds dispersed.

Even the lingering dust and smoke seemed to freeze in mid-air, as if awaiting the judgment of "Buddha".

Mietian stood beneath the phantom of the Buddha, his arms slowly outstretched, his monk's robes fluttering in the wind, and compassion returned to his expression.

"The world all believe that this poor monk has fallen into demonic ways."

"But little did they know, only by first walking the righteous path can one step onto the demonic path!"

Before the words were finished...

The phantom of Buddha above slowly raised a palm and slammed it down. This palm strike was so slow that it seemed to have traversed endless Void and countless years before finally arriving in this world.

But it was precisely this slow movement that instilled in everyone in the world a sense of inescapable despair.

This is what is meant by "secret practice first, and perfect adherence to precepts."

Rahula was praised by the Buddha as the foremost in secret practice precisely because his practice was never outwardly revealed; he never showed off his abilities or displayed Divine Ability.

He upheld the precepts flawlessly in the three thousand rules of conduct and eighty thousand subtle practices. His teachings were simple and unadorned, yet profound and mysterious. Therefore, when he took action, all that remained was the simplest of principles.

As this palm struck, an invisible force descended from the heavens, distorting and inverting all principles of law.

At some unknown time, four completely withered Sal trees faintly appeared around the majestic and imposing image of the Buddha, corresponding to the principle of the four withered things. The branches were devoid of flowers and fruit, and were covered with "corpses" representing the inverted and obsessive thoughts of sentient beings.

In an instant.

Impermanence and delusion.

Suffering and joy are reversed.

No-Self is inverted.

Impurity and delusion.

The four inverted forces correspond to the physical body, mind, Primordial Spirit, and legal principles, respectively.

Once the foremost in upholding the precepts, now he's become the foremost in breaking them!

The endless, inverted power instantly engulfed the Yu Tunzhou. The four layers of inversion progressed in succession, breaking through the physical body, mind, Primordial Spirit, and laws simultaneously, like four giant nets tightening at the same time.

Yu Tunzhou felt as if he had fallen into a hellish abyss. All sorts of past scenes came rushing back to him, old friends and stories, life and death, weaving a vast net of Ignorance, trying to drag him into the abyss.

He slowly closed his eyes.

The roar of external doctrines, the howling of the wind, and the chanting of Buddha's name all gradually faded away the moment I closed my eyes.

He was forced to immerse himself in the deepest introspection.

They were lost in the inverted illusion of the Mietian.

Witnessing this, Mietian threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Even if one cultivates the inverted and depraved methods of Immortals and Gods beings with the incomplete fruition of Rahula's first precept-keeping, one cannot escape it. One will be entangled in Ignorance at the first moment and fall into eternal damnation!

Although he couldn't see through the Yu Tunzhou's roots, the other party ultimately failed to transcend the realm of Immortals and Gods.

With hands forming hand seals, Mietian showed no mercy, instantly drawing upon the very foundations of the laws governing the entire world to their extreme. The heavens and earth wailed, and mountains and rivers trembled.

The Demon-Subduing Great Mudra.

The seventh move of the Tathagata Divine Palm: All Conditioned Things Are Impermanent.

The Heavenly Buddha Descends to the World Seal.

All the Buddhist School Ultimate Art he had mastered transformed into incredibly powerful supernatural Divine Ability in an overwhelming manner, determined to crush the blue-robed figure entangled in Ignorance into dust!

But in that very instant...

Behind the Yu Tunzhou, which he saw as trapped in Ignorance, a faint phantom image quietly appeared.

The outline of the phantom was blurry, as if deliberately obscured by some force. It could only be vaguely discerned as the shape of a person, almost overlapping with the figure of Yu Tunzhou.

"This is..."

The pupils of the powerful figures from the outside world, led by Daoist Qingzhi, suddenly contracted as they recognized the object.

That was the rudimentary form of the Dharma Aspect!

Only martial artists who have touched the threshold of the Dharma Aspect realm can condense the rudimentary form of the Dharma Aspect. This thing should belong to a Grandmaster, and should never appear in a young man at the Divine Ability Realm!

"As expected, with the blessing of Heavenly Dao, he has reached the External Scenery Fourth Layer ahead of schedule!"

After seeing his true self through [Nature-Seeing Heaven], even if he fell into the Four Witherings Inversion, the Mingyue in his heart not only did not dissipate, but became clearer with each question.

At that moment, Yu Tunzhou looked up at the illusory image of Buddha.

Within his Dantian, the Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo swayed, and the illusory Dao fruit at its tip trembled slightly;

The Kunpeng Spirit Aspect within the Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth let out a clear and resonant cry, Fuyao.

The physical tempering of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, the Wuji integration of Fist Intent in the Wuji Fist, and even the various wonders of the Inner Heaven and Earth...

All spiritual practices, Cultivation Method, and Divine Ability flowed into the ocean, like rivers converging into the sea—

[I]

One Dharma Domain gradually revealed its true form, standing between Taiji and Wuji, unfolding with the Yu Tunzhou as its center.

Subsequently, the "spirit" of Nature Cultivation and the "form" of Life Cultivation also completely merged at this moment.

Thus, it possesses both Spirit Form.

The illusory figure behind him gradually solidified, and he slowly raised his head to look at the vast and solemn illusory figure of Buddha above.

In comparison.

They were as insignificant as mayflies in the blue sky.

I still remember back then, someone deliberately showed pity, as if looking at a mayfly in a pond that lives only a day and dies at night—how could it dare to harbor any hope of peering into the sky?

[Yu Tunzhou, do you know how vast the world outside this town is?]

Yu Tunzhou, recalling the past, twitched the corner of his mouth.

What was my answer at the time?

He looked up—

The world is not as vast as my eyes.

What I see is heaven and earth!

This is his Martial Dao will.

This is his "true self in Martial Dao".

This is...

His most authentic self.

At this very moment.

Yu Tunzhou laughed loudly, his laughter filled with joy, like a jar of strong liquor that had been sealed for too long, finally being dug out. The soaring, invigorating aroma when the mud seal was broken was enough to sweep away all injustice!

He stepped out of the Four Witherings Domain and faced the overwhelming palm print Divine Ability of Mietian. He took only one step, but delivered the most satisfying punch of his life.

Under the fist.

The world was silent.

All things are in decline.

All the spectators felt a sudden darkness before their eyes, as if all the laws and brilliance of the world had been suppressed by that one punch!

Even the illusory image of Buddha that stretched across the Void dimmed slightly in that instant!

Mietian's pupils shrank sharply. He frantically activated the origin of the Buddhist Kingdom, trying to suppress Yu Tunzhou. But no matter how much power he activated, the Buddhist light entered the Dharma Domain Yu Tunzhou as if it were a mud ox sinking into the sea, not even causing the slightest ripple.

Within that Dharma Domain around the Yu Tunzhou, there was not a ripple, as simple and empty as a desolate world, with only that figure in a green robe standing alone there.

There was nothing else besides that.

It also cannot tolerate any foreign elements.

This is the unique Dharma Domain that Yu Tunzhou created after realizing his true self and temporarily entering the External Scenery Fourth Layer.

[The Outer Dao of No Self Under Heaven]

Throughout the world, Dao of Self Alone is the right way.

Apart from this, whether it is Buddha, demon, Immortals and Gods, they are all Outer Dao and have no basis in any right.

"No... it's impossible..."

Mietian's expression gradually twisted. His proud Four Witherings Inversion, which could distort the four foundations of the physical body, mind, Primordial Spirit, and laws, could not even be reversed in the slightest within this Dharma Domain.

The fragment of the Venerable Rahula that he obtained was unparalleled among all Arhat in its strict adherence to precepts and profound understanding of the Dharma, yet he couldn't even get close to the Yu Tunzhou!

The latter, though lacking any outward aura, was more suffocating than any Tongtian phenomenon!

"You--"

Mietian only had time to utter one word.

The next moment, the second punch pierced through the layers of Sanskrit, through the All Conditioned Things Are Impermanent, ignored the overwhelming majesty of the Buddha's descent, and went straight through his chest without any hindrance.

Golden blood splattered.

The wrath of the immortals can cause the heavens and earth to collapse.

Even the rage of a common man can spill blood five steps away!

This moment.

The ancient Buddha phantom of Venerable Rahula in the sky trembled violently, and Mietian was punched through the chest and staggered backward.

But he ignored the wound on his chest, his gaze fixed on Yu Tunzhou in disbelief, his eyes filled with unparalleled greed and burning desire.

He could sense that it was a supreme Dao Path that transcended the Great Dao of Cause and Effect that he had been desperately pursuing!

Within the opponent's Dharma Domain, his power, his methods, his path—

They are all "Outer Dao" sects.

It's all unacknowledged falsehood.

Yu Tunzhou casually swung his arm, shaking off the golden blood that stained it.

That overwhelming sense of unbridled arrogance and flamboyance stung more than just the eyes of the Mietian.

Jiang Household Jiang Chengfeng, who had lived in the Divine Capital for many years, felt a dry throat and a dazed look in his eyes.

The Old Wang's former Martial Dao title was "Madman," but after he inherited the Human Dao Fortune the Great Yan Dynasty, he changed his name to "The One-Nation Individual," implying that those who oppose him are like enemies of an entire nation.

This is not only a compliment to the immense fortune he possesses, but also an expression of awe for the magnanimity and breadth of mind he displays!

At this moment, they sensed a similar yet different aura emanating from Yu Tunzhou.

But they became even more unrestrained and arrogant, acting as if they were the only ones who mattered!

Even... overwhelming the heavens and earth!