Chapter 779: Seizing the Art from the Buddha
The silver moon slanted westward, mountain winds gusted, and the fragrance of secluded orchids drifted from the cliff. The peerless beauty had departed, leaving behind a pure and elegant silhouette that vanished at the horizon.
The charm of a flower-picking smile, a meeting after ten or a hundred lifetimes—what the Buddha called fate—was it the instant of a backward glance, or an endless distance?
"Eternity, or an instant? Invincible in this era, what do I have to fear? What karma, what entanglements, what karmic force—I'll shatter them all!"
Ye Fan did not believe in a future life, only in the present. This was not only the difference between Dao and Buddhism, but also his own conviction.
"All of this can be broken through. I have the power to battle the heavens, the merit to defy fate—nothing is a problem."
Even as he said this, a momentary tremor stirred in his heart. In this world, many people and matters could not be resolved by strength alone.
"I rule this era—why fear the future!" In the end, he steeled his conviction, fearless. His gaze pierced into the distance, as if it could penetrate the heavens.
In the east, the first rays of dawn appeared, cutting through the mist and illuminating the vast grasslands.
Misty vapors stirred, and a layer of moisture covered the entire prairie. Under the surging morning sun, it shimmered with myriad colors.
*Dong!*
A great bell boomed. The majestic ancient temple became even more solemn and sacred, like an immortal monument standing quietly, exuding a grand and inviolable sense of dignity.
In the morning glow, this ancient temple no longer emitted its own light but was coated in a layer of golden radiance, as if a great Buddha sat cross-legged within.
Ye Fan returned and witnessed a surprising scene: Yan Yixi, Li Tian, and Little Tongtong stood motionless before the temple, as if in deep meditation.
Enlightenment—their divine senses approached the Dao, their minds entering the ancient temple. This was their state.
What surprised Ye Fan even more was that Little Tongtong was also "spacing out" along with them.
This ancient temple was extraordinary, left behind by a sage. Within, traces of the Dao flowed, making one feel as if standing at the edge of an abyss or entering a vast ocean, as if transported to another world.
"A sage's temple, surely left by a disciple of the Buddha," Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Legend had it that Amitabha's fifth disciple had once entered the Northern Plains to spread Buddhism, teaching in the northern lands, and ultimately passed away in the boundless grasslands, leaving behind an immortal ancient temple containing supreme Buddhist teachings.
Soon after, Li Tian awakened and muttered, "How bizarre. That Bodhisattva was truly beautiful, but there was no way to get close."
Ye Fan felt like slapping him. This guy was too perverse—he wanted to defile even the imprint of someone who had attained Bodhisattva status.
"Don't judge my pure true nature with your twisted thoughts. I was just savoring the Dao realm from earlier, nothing else," Li Tian said.
"I didn't say anything. Are you confessing without being accused?" Ye Fan smiled.
Li Tian said, "Hurry up and tell me—what did you do last night? Where's the person? Why didn't she come back with you? That girl is comparable to Yi Qingwu!"
"Wah... pervert uncle, let me go. I really hate you," Little Tongtong said, waking up and bursting into tears.
"This kid is becoming more and more unlikeable. A dashing fellow like me is always being put down by him," Li Tian said, glancing sideways at the little one.
Yan Yixi stood before the temple, still motionless. He seemed connected to the ancient temple, enveloped in golden morning light, empty and clear, entering the Dao.
"Brother Yan seems to have gained something," Ye Fan said.
The master of this temple was undoubtedly a sage, who left not a single word or character, carrying an air of unrestrained freedom.
"A sage spreading the Dao, with a lofty nature, suits my senior brother's style of a dashing libertine—like him passing through ten thousand flowers without a single leaf touching him, all the same mold," Li Tian said with a curl of his lip.
After a long time, Yan Yixi revived, his expression solemn. He claimed to have touched a vague Dao but could not precisely grasp it.
"Junior brother, sense it with your heart. There is a Dao here close to our sect—you must obtain it!"
"Are you sure? Can it be compared to the Path of Human Desire?" Li Tian was shocked.
"Yes!" Yan Yixi nodded.
Ye Fan suddenly understood. An Miaoyi had been here, surely valuing this Dao as well. It indeed contained the method they needed—perhaps a great opportunity.
This time, they entered the temple together, stopping at every corner, sensing with their hearts. Ye Fan was no exception.
*Dong...*
The ancient bell tolled. In the rear hall hung a ten-thousand-jin bronze bell, rusted and stained, ringing on its own without anyone pushing it.
"Pity. It's not a sage's weapon, just an ordinary bell, not a weapon."
"Hmm, that's not right either. This bell was empowered by a sage, containing Buddha light within; otherwise, it couldn't have endured so long in the human world."
The group noticed the anomaly. They examined it carefully, extending their divine senses to probe. But in the end, they were disappointed—they found nothing.
It seemed merely a bell that a sage had often empowered and personally struck, leaving behind no law-like divine patterns.
In each hall stood great Buddha statues. Li Tian and Yan Yixi finally found the source, focusing on a central ancient Buddha whose gilding had peeled away, leaving only mottled green rust.
Soon, they entered a meditative state, sinking into a lofty Dao realm, unable to extricate themselves. Before long, they obtained a flawless Dao technique.
Ye Fan did not go elsewhere. He stood before the ancient bell. After an unknown time, he suddenly threw a punch!
*Dong!*
The bell's sound was deafening. The entire grand temple trembled, as if on the verge of collapse.
In the main hall, Yan Yixi and Li Tian were startled. Little Tongtong quickly covered his ears, hiding within the divine light emitted by Li Tian.
"What is that Ye kid doing?"
"One punch didn't shatter that ancient bell—it's definitely no ordinary item. That was a punch from a Sacred Body!" Yan Yixi exclaimed in shock.
*Dong...* Ye Fan struck again. Golden blood energy surged into the sky. The great bell erupted with endless Buddha light, emitting an even more immense sound that traveled over a thousand li.
All around, on the boundless prairie, every blade of grass was flattened by the sound waves, becoming a green carpet. Several lakes also stirred with waves.
"Break for me!"
Ye Fan roared, striking again. The great bell instantly cracked. Buddha light shot into the sky, flooding the entire land.
"What a waste! That's a Buddhist treasure, and he's broken it," Li Tian stamped his foot.
*Hum!*
At that moment, a great Buddha emerged from the cracked bronze bell. Amid the boundless Buddha light, it was lifelike, solemn and dignified, sitting cross-legged.
"Fall back!"
Ye Fan shouted, sacrificing a damaged saint weapon—the Purple-Gold Hammer.
Li Tian and Yan Yixi felt their hair stand on end. They grabbed Little Tongtong and turned to flee, vanishing from the hall in an instant.
*Om!*
A Zen sound, not very loud but spreading across the entire prairie, seemed to cross the barriers of ancient times, penetrating through and shaking the surroundings.
The entire ancient temple silently disintegrated. This ancient sound struck the Purple-Gold Hammer in Ye Fan's hand, producing a crisp *crack*, leaving a fissure on its surface.
In the distance, Li Tian and Yan Yixi were horrified. What was the Purple-Gold Hammer? It was a damaged saint weapon—holding it allowed one to roam the world freely.
Yet now, a single roar had cracked it. This was like a fairy tale, utterly unbelievable.
"That was just an imprint, yet the divine sound he uttered was so terrifying. Truly horrifying," Yan Yixi and Li Tian said, their hair standing on end.
However, after emitting such sound waves, the great Buddha's form instantly faded, unable to replicate its previous might.
Ye Fan put away the Purple-Gold Hammer, stepped forward, and struck at the great Buddha, reaching directly for its brow—intending to grab it in one go.
"That Ye kid is seizing the art from the Buddha. Instead of paying homage, he's forcefully taking it. This is really..." Even someone as perverse as Li Tian was shocked.
*Om!*
Ye Fan uttered this sound, impacting the golden great Buddha, making it revive and react.
Though he was aggressive, his heart was excited. He knew he had encountered a heaven-defying opportunity—he had stumbled upon one of the six true words of Buddhism.
In this era, *Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum* were nearly lost, like the Nine Secrets. Only a few ancient temples in the Western Desert each possessed one, making them hard to reassemble.
Encountering the *Om* sound here was a tremendous opportunity—provided he could obtain it.
Ye Fan had been evolving this sound himself, reaching only one-tenth of its power, yet it felt vast and terrifying. Now, seeing the true sound, he naturally did not want to miss it.
"Break for me!"
He unleashed the Six Paths Reincarnation Fist, driving it into the great Buddha's body. It was not solid, merely an imprint.
*Om!*
Then, infinite *Om* sounds echoed, accompanied by mysterious Zen chanting.
"Take refuge in the Buddha..." A vast divine sound came, making Li Tian and Yan Yixi in the distance lose focus. They involuntarily walked forward, wanting to bow down and kneel before the great Buddha.
If they were so affected from afar, Ye Fan, standing right before it, was drenched in sweat. He had fallen into this Buddha light imprint.
This was a salvation secret technique, invading his primordial spirit, forcibly converting him to Buddhism. It caused no harm but nearly washed away one's will, completely transforming it.
"Spread the Buddha's teachings, take refuge in our sect..." The sound, like Buddhist chanting, was deafening, assaulting the soul.
The *Om* sound revolved, entering Ye Fan's primordial spirit, now booming, aiding the salvation. Ye Fan involuntarily began silently reciting the *Om* divine sound.
This was a forced salvation. To learn this true word, one must enter the Buddhist gate. The power of this vow was terrifying, left by an ancient Buddha.
As Ye Fan chanted the *Om* sound, an immortal great Buddha appeared behind him, towering majestically, and several more appeared around him.
Buddha light shone everywhere, trying to make him bow down and enter the Buddhist gate forever.
"Such powerful Buddha light! No wonder it was left by Amitabha's fifth disciple. After endless ages, an imprint is still this terrifying!" Ye Fan gritted his teeth, drenched in sweat, but his will remained like iron, unshaken.
"Dissolve the Buddha!" Ye Fan roared.
At this moment, he activated the Battle Character Art of the Nine Secrets, discarding the Buddha light of the *Om* divine sound, preserving its power, and using the Nine Secrets to evolve it, dissolving the Buddha with the supreme Daoist secret technique.
"Sooner or later, I will be invincible in this era. Even if Amitabha himself came, he couldn't force me—I'll shatter it with one punch!"
Ye Fan's black hair danced wildly, his eyes like lightning. His clothes burst open, revealing his bronze, powerful physique.
He roared, still uttering the *Om* sound, but behind him, the great Buddha gradually dissolved, eventually giving way to a new figure—himself.
"This freak learns someone else's supreme art, but in the end, he only respects himself, even dissolving the Buddha."
"He doesn't worship the earth, doesn't bow to heaven, only believes in himself. That's a conviction! But refusing to yield even to the ancient great emperor Amitabha—that's truly freakish."
Li Tian and Yan Yixi muttered like this.
In the end, all the Buddha light was cleansed by Ye Fan. The great Buddha was completely replaced by his own divine image, becoming an immortal demon god.
Finally, with a great roar, the cracked ancient bell completely shattered into powder. The boundless Buddha light vanished, turning to ash along with the ancient temple.
Between heaven and earth, only he stood alone. Behind him, the demon god's radiance shone for ten thousand li, illuminating all directions, merging with him, becoming the sole sovereign ruler.
With the Battle Character Art of the Nine Secrets, he had completely transformed the *Om* sound, transcending the past and adapting it to himself.
Walking the path of invincibility in this era—this was his promise to An Miaoyi. From now on, he would shatter all obstacles!
...
"Human Sacred Body, where are you? I came specifically to kill you. Don't disappoint me." In the distant Southern Ridge, a young and terrifying ancient being spoke thus—a bloodline of an ancient emperor.
Wang Teng, Hua Yunfei, Li Xiaoman, the divine son and divine daughter of the two ancient assassin dynasties, and others were also waiting in the Southern Ridge, quietly awaiting Ye Fan's return.
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