The Infinite Path and the Buddha’s Desperate Gambit

Ji Ning was a half-step Elder God. A previous passage had mistakenly written ‘half-step World God.’ It has been corrected.

Ji Ning held the divine sword, Violetlight Qiong, in his hand. The blood-colored divine sword swiftly expanded, soon growing to a size of tens of thousands of zhang in length.

“Break.” Staring at the hazy space before him, Ji Ning shouted, raising the enormous divine sword high and swinging it forward against the void.

Whoosh.

The Heavenbreaker Stance was unleashed. In terms of artistic conception, it was not too far removed from the legendary ‘Pangu,’ who had split apart Heaven and Earth in the primordial age. Pangu was born wielding the ‘Heavenly Dao of Chaos,’ and his act of splitting the heavens and earth was more an instinct than a conscious effort. Among World Gods, he was actually considered one of the weakest. A true cultivator who trained to become a World God through their own efforts would certainly be capable of opening a Chaosworld without having to sacrifice their own life and soul in the process.

Rumble… Wherever the divine sword passed, the surrounding area thundered and boomed.

“Hmph.” Ji Ning furrowed his brow. “It trembles, but this formation is extremely stable. Far more stable than that last one.”

Using pure force to break the formation was not an option.

What to do?

Whoosh. Ji Ning began to move, rapidly flying within the formation. He knew the battle outside must be incredibly fierce, and the Buddha, Tathagata, was facing a dire crisis. Yet Ji Ning suppressed all these thoughts deep in his heart. The only thing he could do now was to break this formation and get out as quickly as possible.

He flew for only a single breath’s time before coming to a halt.

“No danger at all…”

“I’ve flown hundreds of thousands of li in that single breath, yet no danger appears, no illusions arise. It’s just this endless grey haze.” Ji Ning was stunned. “Could this be… the ‘Infinite Path’?”

“Those six stone pillars… damn it. It truly is the Infinite Path Formation!” Ji Ning’s expression turned extremely ugly.

World God Northrest had taught Ji Ning a great many things. When traveling through the endless primordial chaos, one had to be aware of certain common knowledge. That included some very common yet troublesome formations… Northrest had certainly told Ji Ning about them, and one of them was a formation known as the ‘Infinite Path.’

In the endless chaos, there were worlds far larger than the Three Realms, and countless mighty cultivators…

These cultivators also needed to train, so bartering was perfectly normal. Many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were willing to purchase some of the more powerful formations. Among them was the ‘Infinite Path.’

The principle of the Infinite Path formation was actually quite simple.

It utilized the profound mysteries of the Dao of Space to transform an area of merely tens of thousands of li into a space spanning over a hundred million li! The trapped individual would be at the very center of the formation.

To escape the formation… one could only fly slowly. One would have to cover that enormous distance, and since void-shuttling was impossible within the formation, it required a significant amount of time. Such a long period was more than enough to stall an enemy or make a clean getaway! This was why the formation was so popular in the endless chaos. Every time a formation grandmaster put one up for sale, it would be snapped up instantly.

Of course, one could also try to break it with raw power!

But formations like this, though seemingly simple, contained incredibly profound and unfathomable mysteries of the Dao of Space. Even a World God or Chaos Immortal would need a moment to break it. For an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal, there was simply no hope.

“I have no choice but to fly.”

Despite his burning anxiety and grim expression, Ji Ning was helpless.

Swish!

Transforming into a streak of black lightning, he locked onto a single direction and flew at top speed.

“Save Tathagata.”

Outside the formation, the battle was utterly insane.

Fuxi led Kua Fu, Jade Cauldron, and the others in a ferocious assault. But the golden-armored, one-armed man, ‘Blademaster,’ had transformed into a being ten thousand zhang tall, wielding a single saber. Beneath that cold, savage saber light… Fuxi and the others simply could not cross the line! Although Fuxi was a True God with a very high level of Dao comprehension, his primary focus was on formations.

By utilizing formations, he could barely hold off the ‘Blademaster,’ but it was a desperate struggle, and he was at a distinct disadvantage.

Only someone like Ji Ning, a half-step Elder God with the divine sword Violetlight Qiong and a tremendously powerful divine body, could give the ‘Blademaster’ such a headache. It was even enough to force the Great Demon God Cixiu, unable to do anything about Ji Ning, to reluctantly bring out a precious ‘Infinite Path’ formation to trap him.

“Damn it.”

“Kill!”

Kua Fu, Jade Cauldron Daoist, and the others used their formations to launch long-range attacks, but these were all easily blocked by the ‘Blademaster.’

Meanwhile, the golden-armored servants under the Great Demon God Cixiu led the group of True Gods and Daofathers from the Ancient Ruins, maintaining their own formation to resist the Water-Fire World-Extermination Formation while occasionally launching attacks of their own.

For a time, Fuxi and his group of mighty cultivators were completely held back by the ‘Blademaster’ and his forces.

“That one-armed alien is far too powerful.” Fuxi gritted his teeth.

Among the mighty cultivators of Nuwa’s camp, Fuxi was usually the one who focused entirely on manipulating the various formations, influencing the overall situation. He was not used to fighting one-on-one duels!

“Hang on, Tathagata.” Fuxi moved with his will.

He saw the sky-covering ‘Supreme Yin Essence’ and ‘Inextinguishable Flame’ near the Great Demon God Cixiu transform into two dragons, one of water and one of fire. These dragons furiously coiled around the Great Demon God Cixiu. This was the true ‘Water-Fire World-Extermination Formation.’ However, because Fuxi had to divert his attention to deal with the Blademaster, he could only maintain the ‘Water-Fire World-Extermination Formation’ in a single region, which he intended to use to tie down the Great Demon God Cixiu.

“Sssss…” The water dragon and fire dragon intertwined, but the Great Demon God Cixiu’s divine body was too powerful. He completely ignored them.

“So these Primordial Waters and Primordial Fires, when combined, possess such subtlety that they can even bind me.” The Great Demon God Cixiu soon realized the troublesome nature of the formation, then sneered. “But Tathagata is done for.”

Despite being bound by the water and fire, the Great Demon God Cixiu continued his furious assault on the Buddha, Tathagata.

Ever since the original grand formation had been broken, the Buddha, Tathagata, had stood up in an attempt to flee.

But…

The Great Demon God Cixiu was faster than him. The Buddha, Tathagata, simply could not escape.

“My divine power is nearly gone.” The Buddha, Tathagata, let out a soft sigh.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a merciful, kindly-faced monk, wearing a kasaya and a look of compassion, flew out from within the Buddha, Tathagata’s body. His entire body blazed with light as he burned his power, mustering all his strength to strike a palm blow at the Great Demon God Cixiu.

“Hahaha, a last struggle? Are you burning your Dharmakaya?” The Great Demon God Cixiu laughed wildly. Boom, boom, boom… In just three exchanges, the blazing Dharmakaya crumbled and dissipated entirely.

“It was the Medicine Master Tathagata’s Dharmakaya.” Fuxi, watching from afar, felt a pang in his heart.

Shakyamuni was the true body, and he possessed a total of four Dharmakayas.

This time, Shakyamuni had brought two Dharmakayas with him. In the earlier battles, the divine power of his true body and both Dharmakayas had been completely exhausted. At this point, Shakyamuni could only send one of his Dharmakayas to its death in order to buy him more time.

It had taken immense effort to train those Dharmakayas… and now, in a single moment, they were lost.

But the true body was the most important thing. As long as the true body survived, he could slowly train new Dharmakayas.

“Go.” The Buddha, Tathagata, struggled to flee while simultaneously sending another Dharmakaya flying out from his body. This Dharmakaya was wreathed in blazing flames, like the sun. This was the Great Sun Tathagata’s Dharmakaya. In terms of offense, this one was even more formidable than the Medicine Master Tathagata’s Dharmakaya.

But…

In reality, all Dharmakayas were slightly inferior to the true body. If the true body could not hold out, how could this ‘Great Sun Tathagata’s Dharmakaya’ possibly withstand the Great Demon God Cixiu?

“Still struggling.” The Great Demon God Cixiu was growing quite irritated. He attacked wildly, and in just a few exchanges, the Great Sun Tathagata’s Dharmakaya also dissipated into light, vanishing into nothingness.

Swish.

The Great Demon God Cixiu swiftly pursued the Buddha, Tathagata.

“Trying to regroup with Fuxi?” The Great Demon God Cixiu’s tail suddenly lashed out. Whoosh! A streak of light, exceeding the limits of the Heavenly Dao, shot directly at the Buddha, Tathagata. The Buddha, Tathagata, hurriedly tried to block, Boom! The impact sent him flying backward, where he stumbled and fell to the ground.

A look of dimness passed through the Buddha, Tathagata’s eyes, but it quickly settled into calm.

He placed his palms together and gazed quietly at the distant Great Demon God Cixiu.

“Tathagata!” Fuxi cried out in pain.

“Killing you was no easy task.” The Great Demon God Cixiu also breathed a sigh of relief. By now, the Buddha, Tathagata, should be completely out of divine power. The flesh and blood within his body had long been converted into divine power and exhausted, leaving only a basic layer of Golden Body. His method of training the Golden Body was very special. Once forged, the Golden Body possessed incredible power. However, the Golden Body could not be converted back into divine power. After death, the Golden Body alone would remain.

In the Buddhist faith, there were many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas who, after their death, left behind Golden Bodies.

Of course, the Buddha, Tathagata, had cultivated the Golden Body technique to its highest realm.

“In this great calamity, I am to be the first to fall.” The Buddha, Tathagata, looked calmly at the Great Demon God Cixiu.

“It seems you still intend to hit me with one last attack before you die?” The Great Demon God Cixiu did not dare let his guard down. Killing Tathagata had not been easy. He had paid a considerable price, with nearly all of his Four Emperors being wiped out. He had even used his ‘Infinite Path’ formation to trap the Darknorth Sword Immortal. Now, at the final moment, he would be damned if he let himself suffer some injury while killing Tathagata.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out. The hazy formation in the distance dissipated, revealing six stone pillars. At the same time, a figure emerged. It was Ji Ning, holding the blood-colored divine sword.

“Darknorth Sword Immortal?” When the Great Demon God Cixiu saw this, his expression changed drastically. His face twisted with fury as he charged at the Buddha, Tathagata, without a second thought. “DIE!” His sharp claws directly descended toward the Buddha, Tathagata. Ji Ning was too far away to intervene in time.

When the Buddha, Tathagata, saw Ji Ning emerge, a look of joy appeared on his previously calm face. With a low shout, he pushed both palms forward. BOOM! It was as if two massive, world-shaking forces were crushing down upon the Great Demon God Cixiu.