Chapter 55: True Heavenly Sovereign Fist

“We’ve found Feng Wuxie!”

Yue Hongling had mobilized the full power of the human race. It had taken considerable effort, but they had finally tracked down Feng Wuxie’s whereabouts.

Yue Hongling stared at the information in her hand, brows tightly furrowed.

She let out a laugh—of sheer exasperation.

Still pulling this same trick, huh?

She had acted like a dumbass once, and now everyone just assumed she was a permanent dumbass?

“This time it’s the gods taking the lead?” Yue Hongling asked.

“According to the reports, yes—it’s the god clan leading things,” Luo Yuan replied.

Yue Hongling sank into thought.

“Never mind them for now. If the gods are using Feng Wuxie to lure me back into the game, then the longer I stay out of it, the more they’ll keep torturing him.” A shrewd gleam appeared in Yue Hongling’s eyes.

Luo Yuan hadn’t yet spoken when Feng Longxiang suddenly gasped in admiration.

“Fairy Yue’s strategy is truly astounding.”

Luo Yuan: ???

Yue Hongling: ...

“Old Feng!”

“If you don’t know how to give compliments, maybe just... give fewer of them.”

Feng Longxiang’s big eyes filled with puzzled innocence. What? Wasn’t that a good compliment?

That was exactly the kind of flattery his master loved to hear...

Yue Hongling made her decision.

Temporarily, she would let Feng Wuxie go—she’d focus all her energy on cultivation.

Time passed, moment by moment.

Meanwhile, on the gods’ side, it became clear that Yue Hongling wasn’t taking the bait. One by one, their tempers began to fray.

“What the hell is going on? Wasn’t Yue Hongling supposed to be brainless? We already leaked Feng Wuxie’s location—why hasn’t she made a move?!”

Shui Ye smiled faintly.

“What do you think?”

“If she really doesn’t react, then that just proves Feng Wuxie means less than dirt to her. Let’s just kill him and be done with it. Watching «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» him stroll around like nothing’s wrong every day pisses me off.”

“Hahaha, now you’re thinking clearly!” Shui Ye laughed loudly.

“Yue Hongling probably figured we’d torture Feng Wuxie ourselves if she stayed out of it. Hell, even someone like you, who doesn’t have much of a grudge against him, can’t stand looking at his smug face—do you really think she can?”

“From this moment on, don’t just not mistreat Feng Wuxie—spoil him. Give him resources, let him cultivate, hand him pretty little bird demons. Let’s see who breaks first!”

Yue Hongling had indeed been watching Feng Wuxie’s situation all along.

And when she realized things weren’t going as expected—rage surged in her chest.

Watching Feng Wuxie live such a comfortable life... it was even more unbearable than death.

“If you people are going to try to kill me, then don’t blame me for declaring war on you!”

To Yue Hongling, combat was the best kind of cultivation.

She left alone. She didn’t go to kill Feng Wuxie—instead, she began striking directly at the god clan.

Any god clan member she encountered—she killed. After killing, she fled.

The smell of gunpowder grew thicker by the day.

Lu Ye, on the other hand, remained in secluded cultivation. In the distance, a group of Buddhist monks stood far away, looking at the twenty-odd corpses sprawled across the ground. Their faces were filled with fury.

But the wounds on those monks made them deeply cautious.

Every one of them had been killed with a single strike.

Each and every one—instantly slain. Even Du Zeng, a half-step into the Void Refinement realm who had already begun to solidify his vajra dharma body, had been cut down with a single sword.

That level of strength was truly horrifying.

Yet the Dao Comprehension Tree was a treasure coveted by the Buddhist sect. Now that there was animosity between both sides, by all reason and principle, they had to fight for it.

But the opponent’s power... was unfathomable.

If they launched a full assault, there was a real possibility the entire Buddhist force would be wiped out.

“Amitabha... This humble monk is willing to try alone. If I fall, then the Dao Comprehension Tree is not fated for us. But if I can hold my own, then perhaps the tree is meant for the Buddhist path,” said one monk.

The others turned to look at Dushan, then all murmured in unison:

“Amitabha.”

Dushan had incredible defenses, cultivating the Thirteen-Foot Golden Body.

If even he couldn’t hold up—then there was no point in continuing this fight.

But the boy seated among the glowing light feathers... he looked so young, absurdly young. How could someone like that possess such incomprehensible strength?

Dushan sat cross-legged.

His robes rippled.

His aura began to rise. From an already solid ninth level of Nascent Break—he now took another step forward.

Void Refinement!

Heaven and earth changed color.

From the skies above, immeasurable golden light cascaded down.

A torrent of spiritual energy howled toward Dushan. The thirteen-foot golden body manifested behind him, its shimmering golden form growing taller—until it reached three zhang in height.

The world was filled with golden brilliance.

Dushan chanted a resounding Buddhist mantra, his palms pressed together.

“Amitābha!”

The golden body behind him, identical in form, also pressed its hands together and chanted the same mantra.

One step forward.

The golden body arrived outside the Dao Comprehension Tree.

“This humble monk Dushan humbly asks for guidance, fellow Daoist!”

The golden body’s voice rumbled like thunder. Buddhist light blazed forth, and its immense aura surged toward Lu Ye like a raging tide.

Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked calmly at the three-zhang golden figure.

“Very well.”

Void Refinement—enough to make him take the fight seriously.

Yet he didn’t rise. He simply lifted one hand.

In that instant, the entire Dao Comprehension Tree began to sway.

If the Dao Comprehension Tree had a mouth, it would have screamed in astonishment.

Dao!

This was the Dao!

The Dao Comprehension Tree helped others comprehend the Dao, and it itself gleaned insight through the Dao of others. But the Dao within Lu Ye’s punch—it couldn’t understand it. Couldn’t grasp it!

That didn’t stop the tree from trembling with excitement.

It felt it.

It had found it.

He raised his hand. Curled it into a fist.

Elbow bent.

Heaven and earth joined forces!

As Lu Ye punched forward, all the forces of the world seemed to find their purpose in that one strike. They converged on it like mad.

If Lu Ye’s own strength were vast enough, he could have drawn tenfold, a hundredfold, even ten thousand times his own power—through Dao resonance, through the might of heaven and earth itself.

The fist imprint tore through the air.

Dushan’s golden body stood solemn and awe-inspiring—but at that moment, it froze.

Wait... seriously, bro?

Was this necessary?

Look at who I am, what level I’m at, what kind of measly cultivator I am—

And you throw this punch at me?

This punch shattered my Buddhist heart, shattered my Dao-seeking path.

It’s not that serious, really.

I’m just a minion. A small fry. You really didn’t need to go this far.

The golden body didn’t even make a move to defend. It wasn’t necessary—really, it wasn’t.

Dushan’s final thoughts... were pure complaint.

The last complaints of his life.

Boom!

The fist imprint struck. The golden body exploded.

Dushan collapsed backward. His body echoed with a deep crash, and blood flowed from all seven of his orifices.

The breath of life vanished in that instant.

Silence fell over the world.

Lu Ye exhaled lightly.

Not bad.

He was comprehending the Dao—not just for fun. As someone who had become a Heavenly Sovereign, his understanding of the Dao had already reached the absolute peak, second only to true saints.

Now, he was exploring a question—what did it mean to view the Dao in weakness, versus in strength? What was different?

It truly was different.

And yet... still the same.

Look at that. Even in the Nascent Break realm, his Heavenly Sovereign Fist was starting to take form.

Not a bad gain.

The Buddhist monks looked at Dushan.

Then they looked at Lu Ye.

No time to mourn. Time to leave. Immediately.

Whoever in the Buddhist sect dared provoke this man again—

They were inviting calamity upon Buddha himself.