598 Buddhism vs Taoism (3)
‘I wonder whether the Duyi Realm will evolve into Dao Will after I reach the Tenth Extremity? Or, at least, a pseudo version of it,’ thought Wang Wei as he looked at Monk Wuzhi and Zhang Yucheng’s clash of the Duyi Realm. They were on the 9th stage–which is normal for most people who attempt to complete the Nine Extemity Foundation.
For example, he was currently in the 8th stage since he was in the Saint Realm. From the Body Tempering Realm to the Primordial Spirit, he ensured that each of the realms was unique, allowing him to reach the 6th stage.
As for the Void Shattering Realm, he entered the 7th stage after his first incarnation entered the same realm. This is because he now had two Law Alter/Law Trees, and his incarnations were connected through his [Existence].
However, back then, he could only use the Duyi 7th Stage after fusing or borrowing the power of his incarnations. Wang Wei’s main body truly entered the 7th stage after his Law Tree turned silver.
The uniqueness of his Saint Realm was the fact that he had nine Domains and that his Domain exceeded the limit of 1.269 trillion kilometers. This was after hearing his ancestors preach.
Regarding the future of the Duyi Realm after achieving the Ten Extremities Foundation, Wang Wei did not know what would happen. He had no information regarding this level of foundation as no one probably ever reached this level–at least, not in the Eternal Ascension World.
Once he succeeded, he was still undetermined about what would happen. There was a chance that nothing occurred since the tenth extremity was nothing but a foundation and since nothing in the realms became “unique.” But there is also the possibility of an unknown transformation after a mortal truly breaks the boundary between mortal and immortal, acquiring the power of a Great Emperor.
‘I guess we will wait and see.’
For a moment, he ignored Monk Wuzhi’s desperate attacks as his gaze pierced through the void, and he saw an even more destructive battle. More than ten Dao Ancestors and an Immortal Venerable faced each other.
‘The mercenaries are holding up better than expected,’ thought Wang Wei after noticing that the people the sect hired could keep up with the people working with Zhang Yucheng.
Wang Wei had prepared for the unexpected and gave these people some talismans to help them in an emergency. He tasked them with keeping the enemy at bay for as long as needed. However, these mercenaries’ display of power was better than he anticipated, given they were loose cultivators.
After checking the situation, he focused on the current battle. Monk Wuzhi had a few more scars on his body, but they were minor compared to the first two. He closed his eyes as he used palm attacks, directly clashing against Zhang Yucheng’s Chaos-Grade magic artifact sword.
Monk Wuzhi opened his eyes, which were profound as if he was a man who saw through the veil of existence.
[Higher Consciousness]
Monk Wuzhi’s eyes became clearer as he could now see the world differently; he was not limited by sight, sense, soul, spirit, or mind. He elevated his internal and external senses to a higher essence, allowing him to see things he could previously not see–for example, the unknown, the unmanifest, or the nonexistent.
He raised his palm in one direction, generating a powerful shockwave that made the void tremble. Although it appeared Monk Wuzhi attacked empty air, he and Zhang Yucheng knew he targeted the Wuji Sword.
“Impossible,” said Zhang Yucheng, unable to comprehend what had occurred. In their previous battle, the monk was forced to tank all his attacks once he used the Wuji Sword. But now, he could detect and possibly evade his attack.
Monk Wuzhi was not in the habit of giving his opponent the time to think or brief. Although he was benevolent at heart, Buddha also had a wrathful side.
[Essence-Spirit Attack]
Bang!
Monk Wuzhi’s palm landed on Zhang Yucheng’s chest, caving it inward. The Taoist priest flew a dozen meters away, coughing blood. Adding to that, he had a massive headache.
The palm affected his body (Essence), and the injury was transferred to his soul (Spirit). Luckily, he used a body refining technique that used the constant revolution of Yin and Yang to temper the flesh.
Nevertheless, his soul was more fragile than his body, making injuries even harder to deal with.
Zhang Yucheng used his Duyi Realm to try his best to remove his opponent’s effect so he could heal. Unfortunately, they were in the same stage and had similar levels of control and application. As such, the process would take time–something he did not have.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
He swung his sword nonstop, but Monk Wuzhi easily dodged.
‘Danmit,’ thought Zhang Yucheng in frustration. The Wuji Sword Will was one of his most potent attacks as it gathered the best from his two physiques. And now that it was not working, he became frustrated–especially since there were many tactics he could not use because of the restraint in the lower dimension.
Regardless, he decided not to easily give up as he had one last trump card.
Secret Technique: Physique Burning
Zhang Yucheng did not hesitate to sacrifice his two physiques for a drastic increase in power. Usually, this would result in severe destruction of the foundation and potentially losing one or both physiques. However, he did not care since he had a master that could instantly heal such a minor injury.
With this secret technique, Zhang Yucheng’s strength increased from the peak of 7-Leaf to the middle of 9-Leaf.
[Wuji to Taiji: Stillness to Motion]
Wuji represented the state of the universe before its birth, a state of stillness that embodied the concept of nonexistent. Then, from nothingness was born something; Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to myriad things in existence.
These words perfectly encapsulated the process of Wuji transforming into Taiji, a process in which nothingness (stillness) created something (motion).
After using this technique, Zhang Yucheng’s surroundings moved in slow motion, as if time was slowed down, whether it was the air, the Spiritual Qi, the clouds, or Monk Wuzhi.
However, the technique did not use the power of time per se: it used the very concept of motion and stillness to accomplish a similar feat, and maybe one even more impressive.
Zhang Yucheng looked at Wuzhi, slowly moving some of his fingers and mouth. His red eyes gleamed with sneering as he marveled at his god-like power. He flew before the monk, looking directly into his eyes.
He smirked before moving his sword, heading directly for the heart–a vital organ. Unfortunately, before he succeeded, a powerful sonic wave came from Monk Wuzhi’s mouth, pushing him away.
Then, the sound echoed with so much vigor that it shook and disturbed the power of [stillness] affecting him and the surrounding.
‘That was closed. If I did not open my Throat Chakra and developed a new ability, I might not have made it,’ thought Monk Wuzhi with relief. Although he was not afraid of death as he would just reincarnate, it did not mean he wanted to die.
Reincarnations met more Buddhist monks since their philosophies revolved around achieving enlightenment through trial and error in each life. Each monk must fully use any life–even if they reincarnated into an animal or plant.
“How can you become so powerful?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Zhang Yucheng gritted his teeth, thinking about an explanation for the current situation. He did not believe the latter was using some powerful artifact since they were not back home. He did not sense any secret techniques.
As for other people helping Wuzhi, he never considered this aspect. When it came to Wang Wei, Zhang Yuceheng was impressed that the latter could reach 6-Leaf Strenght in the lower dimension as it indicated his talent.
However, without knowledge of the Nine Extremity Foundation, he believed the latter would remain at that level until the Heaven Will Battle. He never fathomed the latter could help his enemy reach such a level.
In Zhang Yucheng’s preparation, he only had to be on the lookout for possible sneak attacks or disturbances from Wang Wei. After all, the strength difference between 6 and 7 Leaves was vast, meaning the latter could only be an aid to Monk Wuzhi and a nuisance to him.
He never imagined, in his wildest dream, he would lose without any help or interference.
“Let’s end this rivalry,” Monk Wuzhi said with a sigh. Then, an enormous golden Buddha image appeared behind him. The Buddha’s face seemed painful, full of regret and sorrow.
[Palm of Sorro]
The Buddha’s enormous palm descended on Zhang Yucheng. And in the process, countless red glow flew from different corners of the void, turning into a red aura around the palm.
From the aura, Zhang Yucheng could sense an intense amount of regret, pain, sorrow, and hatred directed at him. He analyzed this technique and gathered the negative emotions of all the Buddhist monks killed by the Absolute Beginning Emperor.
‘I cannot survive this attack,’ thought Zhang Yucheng as he watched the descended palms, unable to move an inch.
“Master, save me!”