Chapter 1068: Lesser Divine Power

"So... those native gods didn't fully trust me either!"

"What they truly want to resurrect is, in fact—the Weave Goddess!"

"My mission to save the chosen of the War Master this time, while not exactly a discarded pawn, is merely a diversionary force meant to draw the attention of the Secret Teachings gods!"

A moment of careful thought reveals that although the God of War governs war and can provide immense bonuses to it.

The subject of any war, however, is people!

Once the Weave Goddess is resurrected and the Weave is rebuilt, those low-level mages who had become useless could instantly regain their ability to cast spells!

Not only that, the gods could also utilize the faith network at the core of the Weave to develop more believers and clerics, while saving even more Divine Power!

The change this brings to the gods is simply a multiplication of their strength!

Far more important than a mere God of War!

【Divine Attribute: Strength 15, Dexterity 27, Constitution 13, Intelligence 20, Wisdom 21, Charisma 19】

And to unleash any Godhood Ability, one must consume Divine Power!

Godhood Ability—Control Life and Death!

In Aaron's view, it is a quickened Legend spell—Finger of Death!

Any opponent who fails the check has only one outcome: immediate death!

"This should at least belong to a 【Greater Divine Power】 Godhood Ability, or only be possessed by a deity with the limited Divine Duty of 'Death'..."

He knew that he had finally caught a glimpse of the dawn of victory over a powerful enemy!

The Buddha Son Maitreya actually possesses Legend-level strength!

And this is merely the most insignificant of the opponent's trump cards!

Thinking of the scene just now where the 'Lord of the Charnel Ground' appeared and bestowed an empowerment initiation, Zhuoma felt like crying.

Aaron looked toward a shadow and smiled.

On a battlefield, intense psionic light instantly transformed into a barrier.

"This is the best opportunity."

However!

Just at this moment, more images surfaced before his eyes:

That is the vast, boundless, and dangerous region that only Legend-class professionals and the Floating City of Arcanists can traverse—the Astral Plane!

Within the Astral Plane, there are wandering God-Spawn, corpses of ancient gods, Unknown cosmic wonders, and even various Astral races—many of which represent danger!

Aaron's eyes brightened slightly!

It is common knowledge—to slay a god, no matter how many avatars or clones of the opponent you kill, it is useless; the most brutal battle of god-slaying must involve invading the Divine Kingdom to kill the deity's true body!

However, not to mention the terrifying cost involved, even finding the location of the Divine Kingdom of 【Vairocana】 is a huge problem!

"This scheme to steal the heavens and replace the sun, if not for the 'Secret' of the Silent Venerable Secret Lord Buddha, plus conducting it within the Underworld under the very nose of the Lord of the Charnel Ground, would likely be very difficult to complete!"

In an instant, Aaron understood that the Underworld had now become the focus of all the gods' attention!

"I am neither, yet I awakened early; perhaps it has to do with the Lord of the Charnel Ground?"

【Divine Value +30!】

This husky had just torn apart the demon mastiff and feasted, growing much larger in an instant; it could no longer be held, and could only lie at his feet, even letting out a satisfied burp, clearly having also gained huge benefits.

【Godhood Ability—Comprehend Languages, Immunity to spells below 3rd circle, Change Shape, Control Life and Death】

Watching the Lord of the Charnel Ground leave, Aaron did not move.

"Finally taken the first step toward usurping the throne of 【Vairocana】!"

Utilizing psionics and the psychic network, major Mind Flayer Elder Brains can instantly share all battlefield information.

Aaron could only guess as much.

【Hit Points: 140/140】

Then, an indescribable palm reached out from the void, plunged into the Divine Kingdom of the three-headed, six-armed deity, grabbed the true body of an unspeakable deity, and pulled it into the 'Secret Treasury Heaven', where it vanished!

This is also the most unacceptable scene for the native gods when they war against the gods of the Secret Teachings—whenever they pay a terrifying price and finally manage to break into a Divine Kingdom, wearing down a divine body to the brink of death, 【Vairocana】 always intervenes with inconceivable power to snatch away the dying gods of the Secret Teachings!

Aaron opened his eyes.

Great Sun Divinity—Dominion over all Dharmas!

【Greater Divine Power】—Great Mani Pearl King Wisdom Buddha!

And in the outside world, Great Black Heaven transformed into a domain of gloom, like a ferocious and terrifying Astral beast, devouring one starship after another!

—'Black Heaven Fighting Victory Buddha'!

Even, high above the Astral Plane, a Great Sun suddenly manifested!

With just the radiance of its light, it caused a level 50 Mind Flayer Elder Brain to explode into countless brains.

Defeated in the very field where one is most proficient!

"As for Zhuoma... she is but a casual move; if the Spider Queen is still obedient, she can be resurrected... such a scheming woman must die once to recognize the situation! Otherwise... having someone completely replace her would also be a good method..."

"Looking at it this way, I have directly become a 【Lesser Divine Power】? Fine... although I still lack a deification Ritual and a Divine Kingdom..."

This is the authority of 【Vairocana】 as the common true body of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Dharmapalas of the Secret Teachings!

Even those Dharmapalas of the Secret Teachings do not know the location of the true body of 【Vairocana】!

But at this moment, Aaron only slightly closed his eyes, and it was as if he saw a Divine Kingdom hanging high above the Astral Plane, emitting boundless light!

It exists between reality and illusion, carrying the authority of 'Secret'.

Zhuoma did not say much, only kneeling down: "Please, Buddha Son, grant me the empowerment initiation!"

He first patted the dog's head, then looked at Zhuoma: "You took the class 'Shadow Assassin'? By performing 'Shadow Walk' just now, were you intending to use your core ability—'Shadow Kill'—to ambush the final victor?"

This Secret Teachings Buddha, in the end, only counts as one of our own when the second personality appears.

And during this process, from within the Kapala Bowl held by the Lord of the Charnel Ground's bone hand, drops of Red Blood nectar continued to fall, transforming into extremely pure soul power.

【Divine Attribute: Strength 13 (+3), Agility 15 (+2), Constitution 12 (+2), Intelligence 23 (+2), Perception 16 (+3), Charisma 21 (+2)】

She knew very well that saying anything at this moment would be wrong!

——【)( )*%¥】 (Divine Kingdom assault suicide squad in position!)

"The so-called 'Secret Treasury Heaven' is the Divine Kingdom of 【Vairocana】! Where His true body resides!"

……

——【@#*&¥】! (Psionic domain expanding! Neutron star golem activating!)

——【{)¥#@! }】 (Divine energy shockwave level III alert! Countdown 3, 2, 1!!!)

Boom!

Aaron beckoned, letting the husky return to his feet.

A Coalition composed of elves, dwarves, humans, halflings, and half-orcs also marched out of the Frozen Great Rift, engaging the Secret Teachings army on the plains outside...

And at this moment, on a battlefield somewhere in the Astral Plane, a terrifying war was underway!

"Only visited once, did not obtain the true Great Sun Domain!"

"Very good!"

The attacking side possessed dense, star-like starships, and controlling them were 9-foot-tall, over 200-pound Mind Flayers, each with an octopus head, four soft, pale tentacles near their mouths, and draped in black robes!

——Astral Plane Mind Flayer Empire!

On each starship, strange and mechanical tones rang out; those were the Astral Plane languages of the Mind Flayers:

【Upgraded to Lesser Godhood!】

'Once completed, the benefits will be quite significant!'

"Secret!"

【Name: Aaron】

'While I was infiltrating the Underworld, other adventurers were also taking action? What a heavy price they must have paid to finally send a small team into the Underworld?'

"If the gods want to counterattack, they must invade the Secret Treasury Heaven!"

——【**……%……#】! (God-slaying plan initiated!)

A curve appeared at the corner of Aaron's mouth: "But in reality... this is also under the gaze of Vipasyin Buddha. If it weren't for the fact that there is still a side of the Lord of the Charnel Ground within him, sparing them, those adventurers would have been dead as hell long ago!"

This is also the might of a main god of a pantheon!

To survive, one must become the other's loyal dog!

The next moment, a figure walked out from the shadows, with a hot body; it was none other than Zhuoma!

"Are you... ultimately the Buddha Son of the 'Silent Venerable Secret Lord Buddha'? Or the Buddha Son of the 'Lord of the Charnel Ground'?"

Sangji and Zhaxi died truly unjustly!

To actually fight to the death in the Underworld with a Buddha Son of the Lord of the Charnel Ground!

If this isn't courting death, what is?

"You are very smart..."

However, within this network, there were also materialized Wisdom Mani Pearls, intercepting individual neural network nodes!

Aaron probably also knew how that Drow elf who worshipped the Spider Queen died—she must have been played to death by the 'Silent Venerable Secret Lord Buddha'!

【Due to the 'Great Sun Divinity' trait, you have gained the special feat—Mastery of All Dharmas (Epic)!!!】

【You have gained the Godhood Ability—Control Over Life and Death!】

Aaron's thoughts raced as he looked at the attribute panel:

【You have forged 'Great Sun Divinity'!】

"When the resurrection plan began, the native gods joined forces with the Mind Flayer Empire of the Astral Plane to launch a massive counterattack, wanting to attract attention?"

Only Secret Teachings monks who have condensed 'Great Sun Divinity' and visited the 'Great Sun Domain' can sense the existence of the Divine Kingdom.

Its name—Secret Treasury Heaven!

This deity avatar vanished instantly!

Not only that, the weird cannonballs even followed some kind of connection, directly tearing through space to bombard His Divine Kingdom, causing heavy damage to His true divine body!

——【&…%%¥##@%】! (Divine energy anchor locked!)

——【()&……%##】 (Two-phase shockwave preparing... countdown 0.003!)

Bang!

A weird energy cannon hit the three-headed, six-armed Secret Teachings deity instantly.

Aaron scanned his attribute panel:

She had planted a tracking spell on the two brainless monks, followed them all the way here, and was immediately stunned!

"Although I knew it was an open conspiracy, the attention of 【Vairocana】, 'Black Heaven Fighting Victory Buddha', 'Great Mani Pearl King Wisdom Buddha', 'Eastern Immovable Victorious Buddha', and other 【Greater Divine Power】 beings was still drawn into the Astral Plane."

"Zhuoma... come out!"

【Profession: 10th-level Spider Queen Warrior/5th-level Shadow Assassin/2nd-level Monk】

【You visited the 'Great Sun Domain' once, you obtained partial information about 'Secret Treasury Heaven'...】

【Divine Value: 50 (Lesser Divinity) (All Attributes +2)】

——Tracking Spell!

Zhuoma asked with a slightly pale and fearful expression.

【Name: Zhuoma】

Aaron felt slightly excited inside.

As for the deities who enter the "Secret Treasury Heaven," some return to the battlefield in perfect condition very quickly, while others vanish completely and never appear again... but believers can still offer Prayer to them and receive a response!

Meanwhile, in another location, on the northern battlefield of the Material Plane.

【Alignment: Lawful Evil】

Aaron's face did not show much joy at this moment; instead, he immediately formed a seal, using the divine seed of the "Silent Venerable Secret Lord Buddha" to draw in a thread of Buddha power, masking the 【Great Sun Divinity】 and transforming it into the Buddha nature of a Secret Buddha!

"In this way, on the surface, I am a true Buddha Son who has cultivated the Buddha nature of the 'Silent Venerable Secret Lord Buddha,' while in secret, my Secret Cultivation Honored One has already been changed to 【Vairocana】?"

【Class: Level 20 Bard / Level 2 (+6 Godhood) Secret Teachings Monk】

Following that... surrounded at the core by a large number of starships resembling bees, a Secret Teachings deity with three heads and six arms roared violently, its terrifying Divine Power shockwaves spilling out and destroying enemy after enemy, only to be blocked in the end by a psionic barrier, like a reef being struck by giant waves!

Within every Astral Plane fleet, there is a Mind Flayer Brain manipulating and commanding (Class Level 50 or above)!

They are cold and ruthless, their computing power surpassing any intelligent computer, and they do not care at all about the casualties of batch after batch of cannon fodder and servant units, exhausting the power of the Secret Teachings gods.

What truly moved Aaron was the last piece of seemingly inconspicuous information:

【You have visited the "Great Sun Domain" once, and you have obtained partial information about the "Secret Treasury Heaven"...】

Divinity can comprehensively amplify a professional's attributes, and Godhood can give birth to Godhood Ability and determine the upper limit of Divine Power.

【Divine Power Value: 60】

"Facing 【Vairocana】, without the Controller Level authority of Secrecy, the outcome will inevitably be miserable..."

In Aaron's eyes, everything about Zhuoma had nowhere to hide:

With the help of this peerless soul power, Aaron's progress in the practice of Refining Spirit, Divinity, and establishing the view of emptiness was simply advancing by leaps and bounds!

A thread of Divinity resembling the Great Sun, after being cultivated through the three channels and seven chakras, finally manifested between his brows!

It was Supreme and great, vast and infinite, and it even seemed to have the power to suppress and Shock all the gods of the Secret Teachings!

【Upgraded to——Lesser Divinity! (All Attributes +2)】

Even a 【Great Divine Power】 would find it difficult to discover the entrance to a Divine Kingdom!

"So that's how it is..."

【Race: Human】

【Race: Drow Elf】

"Looking at it now, the effect seems quite good..."

Aaron sighed in his heart and watched the Lord of the Charnel Ground disappear.

However, the Godhood promotion that native gods craved was, in his view, not the most important thing.

Two spiders were pierced through and turned into a mass of black gas.

Aside from mastering his own power, he looked at the corpse fragments of Sangji and Zhaxi, suddenly smiled, and flicked his finger lightly.

……

【Godhood Value: 6】

"However... the Great Sun Domain is the foundation of 【Vairocana】!"

【Great Divine Power】——【Vairocana】!

It merely displayed its radiance casually, as if stepping an ant to death.

【Godhood Value 3→6!】

Aaron had always been very satisfied with smart people who didn't require much talk; he walked over and pressed his right hand onto Zhuoma's head: "I will plant a Spell-Binding on you; you shall never betray me for all eternity, and you shall never leak my information..."

A Secret Teachings monk can only accept the 'Spell-Binding' of one master in their entire life.

And within Zhuoma's body, there was no 'Spell-Binding' from any other master!

(End of chapter)