The golden light was in his grasp, and the Refinement began instantly!
Qi Yun's will was ironclad; he did not hesitate.
The moment the gentle palm of the Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body firmly grasped the golden Flowing Light containing the essence of a Vidyārāja, a tyrannical and overwhelming Refining Power erupted from its palm. This power originated from the very source of the Magic Technique Panel, yet it was driven by his will!
However, this golden light, transformed from the World Honored One's Handwriting, was ultimately no ordinary Spiritual Object.
OMMM—!!!
The captured golden light suddenly erupted with unprecedentedly fierce resistance!
It was no longer trying to flee unconsciously as before. With each tremor, it unleashed a shockwave of Buddhist sound, sharp as a physical blow, trying to pry open the Dharma Body's hand and counter-burn the invading Refining Power!
Furthermore, an illusion was directly branded into the shared Heart and Spirit of Qi Yun's true self and his Dharma Body:
It was the same backdrop of a void filled with golden light.
The figure of the World Honored One in white robes, once seen sitting on a golden lotus, pointing to the sky and touching the earth, had manifested once more!
Only this time, he was no longer a static Dharma Aspect. Instead, he slowly rose to his feet from within the void.
His face was still indistinct, but his aura of supreme authority, of reigning over the Ten Thousand Laws, was more real than before—more... oppressive!
He seemed to cross the boundary between reality and illusion, walking step by step toward the "self" manifested by Qi Yun's Heart and Spirit.
His pace wasn't fast, yet it carried a sense of destiny, of crushing time and space, of a strike that was fated to land.
Finally, he stopped in front of Qi Yun and slowly raised his right hand. It was that same index finger, gently tapping toward Qi Yun.
This single poke, though seemingly slow, appeared to seal off any possibility of evasion.
Before the fingertip arrived, a will so potent it caused even Qi Yun's Daluo Heaven to tremble slightly had already descended.
Had it been anyone else, their Heart and Spirit would have surely suffered a grievous blow when faced with this manifestation of will, one that originated from the scripture's source and pointed directly to the Great Dao.
They might even have had an indelible Buddha Seal planted within them.
But Qi Yun merely "watched" the approaching finger coldly. Deep within his Heart and Spirit, not a single ripple stirred.
'An illusory afterimage thinks it can stop me?'
His true self murmured indifferently from within Daluo Heaven.
The next instant—
The Refining Power doubled!
HSSS—!!!
It was like a red-hot iron pressed against thin ice, or an invisible grindstone crushing gravel!
Under the crushing force of the Refining Power, which had suddenly multiplied several times over, the "wail" of the fiercely resisting golden light came to an abrupt halt!
Countless fine golden Sanskrit characters and wisps of Dao Rhyme were forcefully extracted and stripped away. They were turned into the purest "nutrients" to be rapidly analyzed, absorbed, and reconstructed!
Meanwhile, in the illusion of his Heart and Spirit, the World Honored One's finger, which had been about to touch the spot between Qi Yun's brows, disintegrated in an instant like a sand painting blown away by the wind. It broke apart into specks of golden dust devoid of any spiritual nature and vanished into the void.
Only in the final moment, as the illusion completely shattered, a faint, almost imperceptible echo seemed to drift from the endless depths of the void:
"Eh?"
...
In the outside world, on the battlefield of Heaven and Earth.
Although the True Monarchs and Bodhisattvas were embroiled in a new round of chaotic fighting, at least half of their attention remained firmly locked on the situation within the Emperor's Weapon Realm.
The Buddhist Cultivation Bodhisattvas, in particular, focused the majority of their Divine Thought on the Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body.
Then they saw "Fa Hai" grasp a streak of World Honored Golden Light, only to be locked in a stalemate for less than a single breath!
Immediately after, the golden light was like frost under a blazing sun. It dimmed, was tamed, and vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally merging completely into his palm!
And after absorbing the golden light, the aura around "Fa Hai" clearly became more complete and profound. The Light Appearance behind his head seemed to brighten a fraction, and a faint hint of majesty was now subtly present!
"This...!!"
The Dragon Elephant Wisdom Bodhisattva's tattered Buddhist body rippled with Buddha Light in his excitement!
The light seal on the Heart Lamp Shining Glass Bodhisattva's brow flickered wildly!
Treasure Tree, Purifying World White Lotus... In the eyes of every Bodhisattva, that last shred of doubt and calculation, born from the bizarre situation, completely vanished at this moment!
Too fast!
Too smooth!
That was the fundamental Dao Rhyme formed from the World Honored One's Handwriting!
It contained the mysteries of a realm Above the True Monarch!
Even in its fragmented state, it was by no means something an ordinary person could easily touch or absorb!
An ordinary Cultivator would be incredibly fortunate just to hold it without suffering a backlash from its immense essence, let alone attempt Refinement!
And yet "Fa Hai" not only held it, but in the blink of an eye, he completely refined and absorbed it, turning it into his own Resources!
Who else could do this, aside from a Descent Body chosen by the World Honored One himself?!
AHAHAHAHA!!!
The Dragon Elephant Wisdom Bodhisattva ignored the damage to half his Buddhist body and let out a sudden, bell-like laugh, a laugh filled with ecstasy and conviction:
"Heaven blesses the Buddhist Dao! The eastward spread of the Buddhist Skill is unstoppable!
The World Honored One's Wisdom Eye selected this vessel long ago!"
The seven-colored Buddha Light around him surged once more, more incandescent and frenzied than before. The illusory Ancient Dragon Elephant he manifested threw its head back and roared, charging the nearest True Monarch with the resolute air of a guardian defending the faith!
"My Buddha is compassionate! Fellow Daoists, this opportunity is heaven-sent. Forcing the issue will only invite disaster!
Why don't you retreat at once? Do you truly intend to defy the heavens and bring about your own destruction?!"
The Heart Lamp Shadowing Bodhisattva's voice was clear and melodious, yet it carried an undeniable authority. Her lapis lazuli Buddha Light formed layer upon layer of light curtains, not only protecting herself but also showing a tendency to help defend the Emperor's Weapon Realm.
The other Bodhisattvas were also greatly invigorated. As they fought, their greed for the golden light lessened, replaced by a fervent sense of mission—to "guard the opportunity" and "welcome the World Honored One"!
In contrast, the faces of the True Monarchs from both the Righteous and Demonic factions turned grim.
Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch's sharp brows furrowed. He stared at the stately, white-robed monk within the Realm, whose aura was steadily rising. A sharp, electric glint in his eyes suggested he was trying to see right through him.
'Did we... really miscalculate?'
'Is this the real 'killer move' the Buddhist Cultivators have been preparing?'
'Could the appearance of the Imperial Soldiers also have been to coordinate with this?'
The figure of the True Monarch of No Dao Extreme Law flickered in and out of the shadows. Only his frozen eyes pierced through the chaotic battlefield to land on the Dharma Body. They showed no emotional fluctuation, yet the ambient temperature seemed to plummet.
"Is it really... the World Honored One?" the Floating World Star Inference True Monarch murmured. The Circulation of the stars around him seemed to stutter for a moment.
Doubt, like a gloomy haze, quietly settled over the hearts of the Righteous and Demonic True Monarchs.
If the World Honored One truly was using this as a vessel for his descent, then the meaning of today's conflict would be entirely different...
Within the Realm, the harvest continued. Qi Yun was fully aware of the psychological turmoil his Refinement speed was causing in the outside world—this was precisely the effect he wanted. To confuse the enemy, distract them, and buy himself time.
He didn't stop moving. The White Lotus swayed as his palm shot out again and again.
One after another, streaks of World Honored Golden Light, each of a different color and essence, were forcefully captured and dragged into that incomparably tyrannical torrent of Refinement!
With every streak of golden light that was refined and absorbed, the aura of the Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body grew more profound, its essence more condensed.
Within the clear Light Appearance behind its head, various phenomena began to evolve naturally. At times, the phantom of Jieyin Bodhisattva would manifest; at others, a Prajna Scripture Scroll would surface; and at others still, a golden light would flare like an immortal Vajra...
At the top of the Magic Technique Panel, behind the line of text representing the Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body, the originally slow-moving, gray progress bar had been dyed a layer of incomparably noble and resplendent gold after he refined the first streak of wrathful golden light.
Now, as streaks of golden light were refined and absorbed one by one, this golden progress bar was advancing at an unprecedented, ferocious speed!
Ten percent, thirty percent, sixty percent, ninety percent...
By the time Qi Yun grasped and began to refine the forty-eighth streak of golden light, the progress bar had already reached the critical point of ninety-nine percent!
The final streak, the forty-ninth, was in his grasp.
The Refining Power surged in like a final, cataclysmic flood!
OMMM—!!!!!
This time, the tremor and hum did not come from the outside world, but resounded directly within the Magic Technique Panel!
The sound was beyond comparison to any worldly music.
It was like the first note of the Dao when chaos shattered at the creation of the world, and like the intangible vibration of strings as the Great Dao gave birth to and wove together the Law.
Before Qi Yun's eyes, the vision of the Dharma Body was suddenly flooded with an endless, utterly pure golden light!
This golden light erupted from the progress bar that had now reached Perfection!
It illuminated his Sea of Consciousness, his Purple Mansion, and every inch of his Dharma Body's structure!
In the center of this boundless golden light, the Magic Technique Panel automatically appeared, its brilliance flowing.
The line of text representing the Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body, as if having completed its final mission, began to slowly blur and dim.
And below it, in a blank area, characters that were even more brilliant and majestic—as if condensed from pure Dao Principles and the golden light of the Buddhist Skill—were being sketched out, stroke by resolute stroke.
Finally, a line of brand-new, noble, golden-yellow text, exuding a majestic aura of supremacy, fully materialized:
[Magic technique auto-update complete. This is a major version update. Magic effect has been reworked.]
[Removed: Great Brightness Shizhi Dharma Body]
[Added: Great Sunlight King Bodhisattva].
The Dharma Body... was no more.
At this moment, the very essence of the figure standing in the center of the Emperor's Weapon Realm had undergone a world-shaking transformation. He was held aloft by a White Lotus, bathed in light, and the Light Appearance behind his head evolved with various Bodhisattva phenomena, such as a great sun hanging in the sky, flames of wisdom, and the sweet dew of Compassion!
The White Lotus gently supported him, and light cloaked his body.
Qi Yun lowered his gaze slightly.
Within his eyes, there was no longer just compassionate wisdom, but also the phantom of an intangible great sun, its core burning with pure golden flames.
Those were the flames of wisdom, the fires of light.
He quietly felt the new power coursing unceasingly through his body.
This power was vast and majestic, far surpassing anything he had ever felt before.
Deep within his Purple Mansion, the newborn Primordial Spirit had perfectly merged with this Bodhisattva's Golden Body, becoming indistinguishable from it.
The Primordial Spirit was the spirit of the Golden Body; the Golden Body was the vessel of the Primordial Spirit.
With a single thought, Divine Power surged;
With a single intention, light shone everywhere.
This was the true Unity of Man and God. His level of existence had leaped to an entirely new plane.
But...
Qi Yun slowly closed his eyes, blocking out the world-destroying roar of the battle outside. He immersed his entire Heart and Spirit in the most minute observation of his own state.
'The power is sufficient.'
'But there is something more fundamental that I still... lack.'
'What makes a True Monarch a True Monarch, and a Bodhisattva a Bodhisattva, aside from this overwhelming power that can shake the heavens and earth...' he recited silently in his heart, as if questioning the Great Dao itself.
'...is Status.'
'It is to grasp a Fruit Position that aligns with one's own Dao path, and to use that Fruit Position as a foundation to suspend the very essence of one's existence high above the River of Heaven and Earth Years, never to fall for all eternity.'
'And I...'
'...am still one step away... from reaching that Realm...' Before the thought could finish, Qi Yun sensed something and slowly raised his head.
Up there should have been the azure, empty sky, where the stars flickered in and out of view, the highest point of this world.
A vast will, one that overlooked the world from the supreme vault of the heavens, was condensing and descending from an unfathomable dimension!
RUMBLE...
The Celestial Vault, higher even than the airspace where the True Monarchs and Bodhisattvas battled, a sky that was normally clear, was now darkening at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Rolling black clouds formed a gigantic vortex that seemed to swallow the world.
The vortex spun slowly, its oppressive might growing heavier with every rotation.
His gaze, like two beams of condensed solar gold, shot straight toward the highest point of the Celestial Vault. A slight curve slowly lifted the corners of Qi Yun's mouth:
'You're here so soon... Perfect. I'll strike while the iron is hot...
Today, I will take this final step right here!'
...
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