205: Fellow Daoist, return!

Xu Le opened his attribute panel:

【Name】 Xu Le

【Class】 Contract God (Divine-Grade)

【Rank】 1

【Talent】 Innate Divinity, The Gift, Raven Emissary, Heavenly Dao Authority (Blue Star)

【Physique】 1+0.2

【Mana】 1+0.2

【Divine Soul】 1+0.2

【Skill】 〖Divine〗 Divine Eye, Contract Divine Domain

〖Mortal〗 Mind Link, Life Recovery, Conceal Aura, Mental Shock, Earth Spike, Hurricane Howl (Equipped), Reapers Scythe, Void Evasion, Chain Lightning, Charged Strike (Equipped), Heavens Mandate Regeneration, Wormhole Shuttle, Indestructible Battle Staff

【Equipment】 nanshan pure land, scythe of death staff, Shadow Ghost Ring, space ring, traceless ring, soul of the black bird, demon moth wings

【Items】 god-protecting spirit jade, god-stabbing dagger, Black Meteor yanyue saber, Drum-Beating Sky-Shattering Hammer, Clone Puppet, Dark Moon Mysterious Set, space ring...

"No way!"

"I've already become a god, and you're making me start over?"

"And the attribute panel has changed, too."

Xu Le was feeling depressed when he suddenly heard a compassionate Buddhist chant.

"namo amitabha buddha, Fellow Daoist, return!"

This "Fellow Daoist" didn't sound like it was calling out to a peer; it sounded more like it was greeting him.

A sense of foreboding welled up in Xu Le's heart. He immediately returned to his Sea of Consciousness and was shocked to find that it had undergone a complete transformation.

A quick glance revealed that his Sea of Consciousness had expanded by nearly a hundred times.

The originally clear water had turned golden, coating his spirit in a layer of gold.

The vast golden water bubbled, and a massive golden Buddha emerged from the sea, nearly filling the entire space of his spirit.

It was actually the Heart Buddha!

However, unlike the Bald Donkey appearance from before, it now possessed a golden divine body, with its head touching the sky and feet planted on the seabed. If Xu Le didn't know he was the master of this place, he would have thought he had entered the Heart Buddha's Sea of Consciousness.

A brief contact with his subconscious revealed that the other party had taken advantage of the time he was dealing with the Heavenly Dao to secretly refine his Sea of Consciousness.

When he ascended to godhood, it had taken advantage of the wild expansion of his Sea of Consciousness to continuously plant its mark.

This was nothing but the work of a thieving bandit!

With three minutes left on Destiny Link, Xu Le immediately activated the 【Soul Scourge】 Skill, and a golden whip appeared in his hand.

"A mere Mortal-Rank Skill, something that doesn't even count as a Divine Ability—why must you embarrass yourself by bringing it out, Fellow Daoist?"

A clear, compassionate voice echoed, like the evening drum and morning bell. Xu Le developed the illusion that "I have attained enlightenment" and nearly dropped the whip.

Xu Le had never cultivated whip techniques, but the Soul-Devouring Demon Spirit was an expert in this area.

The whip lashed out from his hand. The Heart Buddha dodged in time, but the tip of the whip circled back and struck the Heart Buddha squarely on the back.

"namo amitabha buddha~"

Even though it had cultivated a golden body, the Heart Buddha was still assaulted by pain that pierced to the bone.

After all, it was only a fragment of consciousness; if its true body were here, he wouldn't even be able to break its defense.

Xu Le lashed out again. The Heart Buddha endured the pain and tried to dodge, but it was ultimately a step too slow and was struck by the whip again.

Crack!

The Heart Buddha gritted its teeth against the pain, not even chanting a Buddhist name, and immediately dodged the next wave of pain.

But the whip in Xu Le's hand seemed to have eyes; it always caught the flaws in the Moves and struck successfully.

Crack! Crack! Crack, crack, crack...

The Heart Buddha gave up.

Seeing cracks beginning to appear on the opponent's golden divine body, Xu Le lashed out with even more vigor!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, it's too painful!"

The Heart Buddha tried to dodge suddenly a few times, but failed every time, and instead got whipped even harder because it relaxed its spirit.

Later, it just endured it, until it couldn't take it anymore and held its arm to rub the wound.

The last minute!

Xu Le gritted his teeth and activated the 【Possession】 Skill again. His Divine Soul surged, doubling in strength as he rushed toward the Heart Buddha's golden body.

The Heart Buddha smiled slightly, formed the Flower-Plucking Mudra, and pressed out a palm.

Swastika!

Golden Buddhist light shone everywhere, and the gold throughout the Sea of Consciousness space shimmered in response.

Before Xu Le could react, he was struck in the chest by a palm!

He opened his mouth to howl silently and instantly activated 【Despair Howl】.

The invisible, silent sound waves spread outward, disrupting the circles of golden radiance, but the Heart Buddha still hung a smile on its lips and threw its head back to howl loudly!

Lion's Roar!

The golden sound waves collided with the invisible sound waves, rebounding onto Xu Le.

Xu Le was blasted away again, blood seeping from his eyes, ears, and the corners of his mouth.

He finally understood that in battles between True Gods, unless there is an overwhelming disparity in attributes, they aren't that important; Skills are more critical.

He then began to wave the whip formed from his Divine Soul, barely managing to halt his decline.

Time passed.

The last second vanished. Xu Le immediately felt his keen sense of his Divine Soul disappear, and the Divine Soul whip in his hand vanished along with it.

He was about to activate the "traceless ring" to refresh his Skills and reconnect with Kunpeng, but unfortunately, the Heart Buddha waved its hand, and the Sea of Consciousness space was sealed off.

"Fellow Daoist, don't struggle. I have used the Divine Locking Method; no one can enter, and no one can leave."

"Don't resist. You and I are one and the same; why be so distant?"

As the Heart Buddha spoke, it pressed down with a palm that covered the sky.

The entire Sea of Consciousness space trembled, as if unable to withstand such power.

It seemed as if only this palm remained in the world. All of Xu Le's attention was drawn to it; he couldn't think, couldn't dodge.

Just as Xu Le was preparing to attempt 【Mental Shock】, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

He followed suit, raising his hand to strike with a palm, and a black lightning bolt flew from his hand, slamming into the massive golden palm.

Boom!

The golden palm was torn into pure Mental Energy without the slightest resistance. Before the Heart Buddha's massive body could react, it was struck by the black lightning.

Lightning specifically counters the Divine Soul.

Its massive body, like a shoddily made soap bubble, instantly vanished into nothingness.

"Heavenly Dao Authority, interesting. We will meet again."

After leaving these words, the Heart Buddha completely dissolved into pure Mental Energy, which was absorbed by the vast Sea of Consciousness.

【Divine Soul +0.1】

"Is it really dead?"

Xu Le felt uncertain. After a careful inspection, he quickly refined the Impurities in his Sea of Consciousness.

He had previously coveted divinity, but he hadn't realized that the gap between Mortals and gods was like a chasm; how could it be so easy to refine?

Divinities like those of the Serpent Mother or the God of Assassins were fine as long as one didn't run into the original owners, but weird deities like the Heart Buddha were impossible to shake off once you touched or encountered them.

Xu Le didn't dare to delay. He activated "nanshan pure land" and spent a year finally refining all the Impurities in his Sea of Consciousness.

He understood that he had finally paid off the debt incurred from recklessly refining divinity during his Mortal period.

Feeling relaxed, a brand-new Skill emerged in his mind.

【Universal Salvation】 (Divine-Grade)

Use great wisdom and great divine power to influence all living beings, allowing them to attain great liberation.

???

What the hell is this Skill?

After completely killing off the Heart Buddha's thought, he inherited one of its Skills?

Liberation, how to liberate?

With a thought, Xu Le entered the Contract Space. Seeing the dense crowd of ghosts, he cast it upon them.

"namo amitabha buddha!"

The few ghosts at the forefront looked dazed. Just as Xu Le thought the Skill had no effect, one of them suddenly had a clear gaze and bowed respectfully to Xu Le.

"God, I have attained enlightenment."