Chapter 991: Forging the Immortal Body Through Faith
The Divine Knight had fallen. His dragon spear thrust into the ground, he sat cross-legged, motionless, his life force slowly dissipating.
The various sects of the Western Lands could not accept this. It was a burden too heavy to bear. The Demon walked the West—who could stand against him?
"Why is this happening? He was the number one prodigy of our Western Lands in tens of thousands of years, his talent astonishing past and present, praised even by the departed sages. Why did he lose?"
People could not accept it. Especially the few who knew the truth—they could not bear it. One who had bathed in the blood of gods, whose physical body was indestructible and had reached the pinnacle, was now covered in cracks, his life on the verge of ending.
Ye Fan stood in the arena, unmoving, staring at the Pope beneath the cross on the Sacred Mountain. Perhaps this would be his final opponent in the Western Lands.
Suddenly, divine horses galloped across the sky. A group of young people, surrounding a golden-haired maiden who shone like a blazing sun, burst forth from the primeval forest. All rode on strange beasts, but the maiden in the center rode a unicorn carved from pure white jade, radiating holy radiance.
The many knights came from different families, a group of young heroes of the present age. They had formed a team with the Holy Maiden of the Vatican, standing in different positions, chanting ancient incantations together.
This was the most sacred prayer of the Western Lands. These young people possessed the most devout faith. Each wore a gleaming silver holy cross, and they were performing an ancient forbidden art.
The Holy Maiden had a slender figure, draped in light gauze. Her skin was like solidified fat and beautiful jade, her beautiful face filled with sanctity. Her long golden hair shimmered as she rode the unicorn, like a daughter of the gods.
Together, they used their most devout hearts to draw upon the sacred power of faith from the entire Western Lands. Overwhelming, vast as an ocean, the telepathic force rumbled across the heavens.
The scene was terrifying, sacred and immense. Heaven and earth seemed about to collapse!
Not only Zhang Qingyang and the Phoenix Heavenly Maiden changed expression, but even Ye Fan's face grew solemn. This was the collective will of the Western Lands' living beings, drawn forth by them. Boundless and infinite, no single person could resist it!
The very sky was pressed down and sinking. It was a silver ocean, holy as moonlight. The boundless telepathic force, strand by strand, intertwined to form an ocean of life.
"Boom!"
The Vatican Holy Maiden waved her jade-like hand, and a bolt of lightning ten thousand zhang long descended from the sky, intending to strike Ye Fan dead with the power of the living beings' faith.
Undoubtedly, this was the purest and most sacred power. For those who believed in the Vatican, bathing in this radiance could cure all ailments and eliminate all calamities.
However, for a mortal enemy with no faith at all, this was the most terrifying poison. Touching it would cause one to burn fiercely, turning to ashes in the sacred radiance.
This was the fundamental reason why dark creatures, when opposing the Vatican, would ultimately be executed by fire and reduced to dust in the eternal holy light. Without faith, this was the most lethal harm.
Ye Fan could not possibly possess faith in the Vatican. The Pope ordering the Holy Maiden and the most devout believers to strike at this moment was undoubtedly terrifying and deadly.
Overwhelming holy light poured down, as if tens of thousands of divine moons hung above his head. This place became an ocean of gathered starlight, and he was completely enveloped.
"God is not omnipotent, but our Church is all-powerful," the Pope said, standing on the Sacred Mountain. He was as oppressive as a mountain, and deep within his eyes lay vast starfields, as if a heavenly god were looking down upon the mortal world.
Many believers sang hymns, like the sounds of heaven. Their bodies were bathed in peaceful radiance, each one transcendent and refined, like divine messengers from the celestial realm.
The Holy Maiden was the most ethereal. Her golden hair flowed like a waterfall, her white face was filled with sanctity, and her blue eyes sparkled like gems. She chanted incantations, drawing upon the pure ocean of telepathic force to refine Ye Fan.
At this moment, everyone held their breath. This was a killing strike. Activating the Vatican's accumulated power over the long ages, using the ocean of will to refine the Demon of the Central Lands was perhaps the only way.
Ye Fan was indeed enduring a heavenly might. The vast sky pressed down entirely upon him, threatening to shatter his bones and flesh.
Human power has its limits. He was, after all, only a being of flesh and blood, not a proven immortal.
This was heavenly might!
At this moment, he was alone, opposing the fundamental power of the entire Western Daoist tradition, enduring a tribulation unimaginable to ordinary people. The telepathic force drawn by the Holy Maiden and the others was unparalleled.
"Master!" Zhang Qingyang cried out in alarm. He thought he had seen a corner of the future, establishing an immortal sect, but never expected such a scene.
Ye Fan gritted his teeth. This was not only the power of faith but also the Vatican's destructive holy light. It was so vast and immense that it exceeded his expectations.
A single mortal might be very weak, like an ant in the eyes of cultivators. But if there were tens of thousands, even millions, or billions, that would be terrifying. Boundless telepathic force pressing down would be enough to destroy a sage.
Ye Fan's golden blood boiled. His entire body radiated immeasurable precious light. He chanted ancient scriptures, his mind empty and clear. He endured the pain of his bones and flesh being crushed, struggling with all his might against this heavenly sacred might.
He tried to charge outward, but it was like being trapped in a quagmire, unable to move. The Dao Scripture, the Western Emperor Scripture, the Eternal Universe Scripture, and others all roared, producing sounds of harmonizing with the Dao from every secret realm of his body.
"Vast as a starry sea, but it cannot be concentrated into a single point. This cannot pierce through and dissolve me."
Ye Fan calmed down. Though he was in great tribulation, and the holy light formed from the living beings' telepathic force was deadly, after such a long time, it still had not reduced him to dust.
"If this boundless telepathic force were concentrated into a single holy sword, it would be enough to destroy a Great Sage. But spread out strand by strand, it might be able to grind me down, but it would need enough time!"
Ye Fan grew calm, without fear. He treated it as a form of training, because he recalled a legend that was now being manifested—Karmic Fire!
"Evil karma harms people like fire..." He suddenly understood. His heart became peaceful, with no more ripples.
He had no faith in the Vatican. To the Western Daoist tradition, he was a heretic, a sinner, filled with sinful power.
Conversely, the pure faith power of the Vatican was, to him, karmic fire. He was now suffering the pain of body and spirit being burned.
Regarding karmic fire, Buddhism has the most detailed and terrifying legends. It is said to be the most fearsome supreme flame!
It is a flame condensed from the karmic power of all living beings. It can burn ancient Bodhisattvas and Buddhas to ashes, extinguish ancient gods, and nothing can stop it.
All the sins of the world, gathered together, become karmic fire. Ye Fan's opposition to Western faith meant he was opposing the living beings of this land. The endless will pressing down on him became his karmic fire.
Legend has it that when Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, he experienced the burning of karmic fire. He took upon himself the sins of all his believers, drawing forth the karmic fire of living beings. Relying on a single Bodhi tree, he withstood all karmic forces. When the fire was exhausted, he remained undying and achieved the fruit of the Dao.
And when Laozi left the West through Hangu Pass, Yin Xi is said to have seen purple qi coming from the east, surging for thirty thousand li, blotting out the sky. Though it is traditionally described as auspicious and noble, it is also possible that he was using the karmic fire of living beings to refine his body.
The so-called "Laozi's Western Journey to Convert the Barbarians" might also have another interpretation and explanation.
Thinking of these things, Ye Fan naturally calmed down. He treated this as a form of tempering. Ancient sages only had such an opportunity when they were about to step into the Quasi-Emperor realm, daring to use the karmic fire of living beings to burn their bodies.
And he, at this realm, had encountered such a trial. If he could pass through it, it would be a kind of fruit of the Dao, using his divine powers and Dao conduct to oppose the most vast faith power of the Western Lands.
Fortunately, the pure telepathic force, like a galaxy, did not form into a sword, did not form into a spear, and was not concentrated into a single point. It was only diffused outward, unformed, spreading into every corner.
This gave Ye Fan a chance to resist. Later, he summoned the Primordial Qi Cauldron, letting it undergo the boundless karmic fire with him.
A long time passed. The people outside were dumbfounded. They saw only one man and one cauldron rising and falling in the silver ocean of faith. Though the holy light burned, he remained undying. Everyone grew afraid.
In the past, a single holy light from the Vatican could reduce any dark enemy to ashes, impossible to resist. Yet now, the entire faith power of the Western Lands had been drawn forth, continuously surging in, but it could not grind down the Demon from the Central Lands. This was too terrifying.
Ye Fan's heart grew increasingly empty and clear. Though he was suffering great tribulation, it was beneficial. Tempered a thousand times, his body and spirit were forged. Burning without dying, his life would become even more vigorous.
"What is being burned away is not my body, but the various thoughts in my heart. All sins press down, burning away the past. The Dao is eternal within me," Ye Fan murmured to himself. His physical body was injured, but it continuously recovered. His will was like iron, unyielding in its resistance.
The cauldron, no more than an inch tall, underwent the tribulation with him. It flickered before his brow, like an immortal monument, recording the fragments of his past enlightenment of the Dao.
This was not a tribulation, nor was it severing the Dao. But it surpassed these. In a sense, he had already severed the Dao, reborn in the fire. However, he had not received the recognition of heaven and earth.
Because his strength had long been in place. What he needed was to obtain a fruit of the Dao, to step over the great Dao of heaven and earth, and to sever and create his own Dao.
Ye Fan and the cauldron rose and fell, becoming an eternal light, even more brilliant than the blazing holy fire formed by the boundless ocean of telepathic force.
After two hours, he also took out the Black Arrow and other items to undergo the baptism together. He even took out the Bodhi Sacred Tree seed, refining it repeatedly.
Back in the Big Dipper Star Domain, he had once given this item to Tong Tong and the others to use. But later, when he retrieved it and used it in the Fire Domain, he discovered an anomaly. It bore the imprint of Shakyamuni. Finally, with the help of immortal fire, he erased it completely and imprinted his own mark. But he was still somewhat uneasy, so he did not give it to his disciples again.
Now, in this place, he used the boundless karmic fire for the ultimate burning, refining it completely. He felt that this object was connected to his body and mind, without a trace of anyone else's imprint. He was completely at ease.
Then, using his mind as a seal, he refined this object tens of thousands of times. Finally, the patterns on it became as if naturally formed. Reborn in the fire, his figure revived upon it, like a god or a demon!
"Boom!"
Ye Fan's entire body burst forth with immeasurable immortal light. The cauldron at his brow merged with him, indistinguishable from each other. Around him, the Black Arrow, the Bodhi seed, the Dao Scripture, the Source Heaven Scroll, and others rose and fell, displaying myriad phenomena, emitting an aura that devoured heaven and earth.
Finally, he stood up tall. Even the vast, pure ocean of faith power could not burn him. He broke free, his entire body bathed in undying holy radiance.
"Hum!"
The cauldron at his brow trembled slightly, flying into the distance, hovering above Zhang Qingyang's head. Then, the Bodhi seed in his hand also flew out, appearing above the Little Heavenly Master's head.
"Before I enter the star domain, these two sacred objects will be in your charge. They are the sacred objects for transmitting the Dao of our sect, to carry forward the legacy of the Heavenly Court."
Then, Ye Fan instructed Zhang Qingyang in secret words, warning him that the cauldron was engraved with his Dao and was the foremost sacred object, while the Bodhi seed was merely an outward symbol, not to be confused.
Everyone in the Western Lands was stunned. The vast power of faith, the infinite holy light, had not burned Ye Fan to ashes. What could be done now?
The Holy Maiden of the Vatican and the other devout believers were momentarily dazed. The pure telepathic force naturally dispersed, no longer usable by them.
Ye Fan pointed with his finger. The boundless holy radiance scattered, enveloping everyone before him. On the unicorn as white as jade, the Holy Maiden was lost in thought. The light in her beautiful eyes shifted and changed. Then, together with all the other young people, she was converted. They chanted the name of the Heavenly Emperor and walked toward him.
"Two thousand years. It has been two thousand years since I last fought anyone," the Pope murmured to himself. Like an ancient heavenly god, he looked down from above. In his eyes, suns were destroyed and stars fell—a terrifying sight.