Chapter 894: The Martial Saint of Yesteryear, Peak Posture

Deep penetration into enemy territory, fighting against superior numbers.

This has always been a great taboo in the art of war.

Yet, the "God of War," Wenren Zheng, is doing exactly that at this moment.

One man against a nation!

"Raise the formation—"

Jing Heng did not waste words with Wenren Zheng; he made a decisive choice and issued the order.

At Pudu Temple, tens of thousands of disciples were already standing in various positions, chanting scriptures.

Following Jing Heng's command, every disciple performed their duty, either circulating their internal strength or casting spells.

This great formation of Pudu Temple originated from spells, but once activated, martial artists could also inject their own power into it to enhance its might.

This is a manifestation of the integration of Dharma and martial arts; many of the world's top-tier formations share this characteristic.

In the Eight-Treasure Pond outside the main hall, a nine-grade golden lotus suddenly bloomed, its petals covered in Sanskrit characters flowing like living things.

The pond water boiled, rippling with golden-red waves, and the bronze demon-subduing pestle cast a thousand years ago began to hum!

Seventy-two stupas manifested in the air, followed by one hundred and eight scripture pillars appearing out of thin air, distributed within a three-thousand-meter radius of Mount Pudu.

Each scripture pillar was wrapped in seven-layered, seven-colored banners, and the vajra bells hanging from the tails of the banners chimed without wind, their sound waves condensing into visible "swastika" symbols in the air.

"Roar—"

The phantom of the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons appeared, and the seven-colored Buddha light poured down like a heavenly river, illuminating the world!

A magnificent Buddha statue, ten thousand meters tall and reaching the heavens, appeared, enveloping the entire Mount Pudu within it.

This is—the Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Nirvana Formation!

Pudu Temple has been passed down for a thousand years; this formation has undergone constant improvement over the millennium, accumulating a thousand years of Buddhist power and receiving a thousand years of incense offerings.

Among the formations of the current age, aside from the Profound Vault Imperial Dragon Formation in the Great Lan Dynasty's palace—which gathers the power of a nation to condense Dao principles via national destiny—

This formation of Pudu Temple can be called the second in the world!

The Profound Vault Imperial Dragon Formation uses national destiny to condense Dao principles, allowing those without any cultivation to possess peak combat power within the formation, and can even bestow national power upon others from ten thousand miles away.

This Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Nirvana Formation of Pudu Temple cannot condense Dao principles, nor can it bestow power from ten thousand miles away.

This formation has only one function—defense!

Lanling City has a population of over a million, and besides the imperial palace, there is the imperial city, the inner city, and the outer city, covering a vast area.

Therefore, when the Profound Vault Imperial Dragon Formation was constructed at the founding of the nation, the founding Emperor never considered including the entire imperial capital.

But Pudu Temple is different.

What it needs to protect is merely a single mountain.

Thus, relying on the Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Nirvana Formation, coupled with more than one peak expert presiding over it, it can be said to be as solid as a golden fortress!

Even if Lin Tianyi arrived in person, Pudu Temple would not fear him in the slightest!

But today's situation is different.

Pudu Temple is no longer just a sect; it is the core of the Buddhist nation.

The Western Extreme Nation has been established, and those tens of thousands of devout believers at the foot of Mount Pudu are the precious "wealth" of the Buddhist nation.

The town at the foot of the mountain will also expand in the future and will become the capital of the Western Extreme Nation.

One cannot simply stand by and watch the enemy kill one's believers and destroy one's future capital on the very first day of the nation's founding.

If that were to happen, not only would the prestige of the Western Extreme Nation plummet, but it would also affect the national destiny!

The weaknesses that the Great Lan Dynasty has, the Buddhist school now has as well.

Therefore, Jing Heng expanded the range of the Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Nirvana Formation at the first opportunity, covering a radius of three thousand meters.

What he is guarding today is not just a mountain.

Beside him, Qin Zi also activated the divine ability he had just condensed.

His entire body erupted with dazzling golden light, which then merged into the halo behind the head of the ten-thousand-meter Buddha statue.

Immediately following, a majestic Golden-Winged Garuda appeared within the halo.

Its wings spread wide, as if within the great sun!

This is Qin Zi's divine ability; it is no longer transforming into a dragon, but embodying the Buddhist holy beast, the Garuda.

As the ruler of the Western Extreme Nation, he wielded the national destiny and infused his own power into the formation, adding even more might to it!

All these changes were completed in the blink of an eye.

As the formation appeared, Wenren Zheng shattered the barrier in front of him with three consecutive punches.

Entering the formation alone!

"Thus have I heard: at one time, the Buddha was in the Trayastrimsa Heaven, preaching the Dharma for his mother. At that time, in the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions, inexpressible, inexpressible..."

Jing Heng chanted the *Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra*.

When the Sanskrit sounds arose, the projection of Mount Sumeru trembled in the void, and Sanskrit talismans wrapped around the mountain body like gilded chains.

Immediately after, thirty-three bronze hells hung upside down from the clouds, with hundreds of millions of vengeful ghosts wailing within them!

The thirty-three layers of hell trapped Wenren Zheng within!

Once the 【Buddha's Word】 was uttered, the contents of the Buddhist sutras manifested out of thin air; the law followed the word.

Wenren Zheng was in the midst of hell, and before he could break out, the karmic fire transformed into fire lotuses, burning all the vengeful ghosts in hell, using the infinite karmic force as fuel to turn into World-Purifying Fire Lotuses, sweeping toward Wenren Zheng!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

Wenren Zheng pushed out with both palms, accompanied by a roar like muffled thunder.

The Mount Sumeru in the air tilted accordingly!

The mountain peak crashed down, and countless giant boulders fell, extinguishing the karmic fire.

This is—【Pushing Over Mount Sumeru】!

When Jing Heng invaded the imperial palace, he had once used 【Buddha's Word】 to manifest the *Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra*.

Wenren Zheng was far away on the Bai Feng Plains at the time and did not see it with his own eyes. But after reviewing the event, he still created a targeted killing move.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

This is the true style of a military strategist!

With the momentum of pushing over Mount Sumeru, Wenren Zheng leveled the thirty-three layers of hell!

"What Buddha, nothing more than this—"

He stepped forward, tearing through space, and with the momentum of a million-strong army charging, he killed toward Jing Heng!

Jing Heng's 【Buddha's Word】 is similar to the River-Suppressing Heavenly King's 【Ganges Martial Suppression】; both are Dao principles cultivated with the help of the Buddhist school's thousand-year foundation.

The more Buddhist scriptures there are in this world, the more people study them, the more people chant them, and the more people believe in them, the stronger 【Buddha's Word】 becomes!

Therefore, the imperial court's blockade of temples and mass arrests of monks had a greater impact on Jing Heng than on the River-Suppressing Heavenly King.

Jing Heng was already suffering from unhealed wounds, and under such influence, his strength was at most sixty percent of his peak.

To face the Great Lan God of War, who now sits firmly as the second in the world, with only sixty percent combat power—

It was indeed too much of a stretch.

Fortunately, there was still a great formation to rely on.

The Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons, carrying seven-colored radiance and a sky full of scriptures, arrived one after another, blocking Wenren Zheng's path.

"Ananda! Do you see the void pervading the ten directions of the world!"

As the 【Buddha's Word】 rang out, the space developed layers of wrinkles, and the phantoms of countless small worlds flickered around Wenren Zheng.

Every acupuncture point on Wenren Zheng's body shone like a star, and the sun and moon rotated in his palms.

He pointed forward, and eight strands of gang-qi, carrying the killing aura of golden spears and iron horses, charged like eight heavy cavalry units, weaving through the phantoms of countless small worlds, piercing and tearing them apart one by one!

The eight strands of gang-qi fought with the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons, and Wenren Zheng sat in the center like a commander, directing the battle with composure.

It is said that he is a master of "Military Form and Momentum," but in terms of battlefield deployment and strategic planning, this "God of War" is also at the top level!

Soon, the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons bled across the sky, their bodies torn, severed, and shattered by the gang-qi!

Wenren Zheng broke through layers of spatial barriers and continued to move forward.

A golden dragon, a thousand meters long, flew out from Pudu Temple, circling around the ten-thousand-meter Buddha statue.

Qin Mingli had made his move!

If the Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Nirvana Formation were only used to guard the mountain, Jing Heng alone, with the assistance of the monks in the temple, would be enough to block Wenren Zheng.

But now the range of the formation had expanded, and its power was "diluted."

Jing Heng, who was not at his peak state, needed the help of the Martial Saint, Qin Mingli.

Qin Mingli did not charge directly at Wenren Zheng; he simply injected his own Dao principle power into the formation to help Jing Heng defend against the enemy.

"Thus have I heard—"

Jing Heng's voice rang out again.

This time, the Buddhist scripture he chanted was different from all the previous ones:

"Demon-Subduing Heavenly King, form the 【Vajra Demon-Subduing Seal】."

A figure appeared out of thin air, wearing a kasaya, with eyes of vajra fury—he was also a monk.

He formed a seal with his hands, his aura vast like the sea and heavy like a prison, and the heaven and earth energy condensed behind him into a giant demon-subduing pestle.

"Demon-Subduing Heavenly King?"

Wenren Zheng was startled, somewhat surprised.

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly King was a Heavenly King from the previous generation of Pudu Temple; Wenren Zheng had not even been born when that person became a Martial Saint.

Wenren Zheng had not expected that Jing Heng could "manifest" this Martial Saint through 【Buddha's Word】.

And this was not the end, as Jing Heng's 【Buddha's Word】 continued to ring out:

Holding an eight-sided purple-gold hammer, Venerable Tanluan, who swept across the pugilistic world three hundred years ago, appeared!

Five hundred years ago, Zen Master Jingangzhi, who had crossed hands with the founding emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty and lost by only a single move, appeared!

Following the Demon-Subduing Heavenly King, two more Buddhist Martial Saints were manifested.

A total of three Martial Saints stood directly in front of Wenren Zheng!

With the help of the grand array and the power of Qin Mingli, while consuming a portion of Buddhist fortune, Jingheng used 【Buddha Word】 to manifest three peak powerhouses!

Although these three were certainly far inferior to the peak combat strength of their original selves, these three peak powerhouses feared no death and dared to fight without reservation.

This was terrifying!

"Interesting."

A ferocious arc tugged at the corners of Wenren Zheng's mouth, his spinal column popped and cracked like a dragon, and his lifeblood surged like a volcanic eruption.

He charged straight toward the three Martial Saints!

Northern Barbarian lands.

A golden long river streaked across the sky, like a divine dragon whose head and tail could not be seen.

Only after the long river had swept past a certain distance did the dull sound of sonic booms come rolling in.

The speed of the River-Suppressing Heavenly King was not slow, but compared to the extreme speed of Li Fei's full-power 【No Distance】, which reached eight thousand meters per second, it was still far behind.

Thus, as the two sides chased and fled, the distance was quickly widened.

However, Li Fei's use of 【No Distance】 left behind spatial fluctuations, and the power of the Dao laws from the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King still lingered on him.

These were enough for the River-Suppressing Heavenly King to track him with ease.

Continuously using 【No Distance】 would consume a great deal of energy.

The River-Suppressing Heavenly King did not believe Li Fei could maintain such high speed indefinitely.

Hunting down a top-tier powerhouse who possessed spatial-type divine abilities and extremely high endurance indeed required patience.

The River-Suppressing Heavenly King could actually have chosen to stay behind and deal with True Lord Xuanxin together with the Buddha-Eye Heavenly King.

But without a successful sneak attack to start with, the difficulty of killing a peak powerhouse was immense.

Especially someone like True Lord Xuanxin.

As the Sect Master of the Shangqing Sect, no one knew what kind of life-saving trump cards he possessed.

And even if there really were a chance to kill Xuanxin.

Between killing True Lord Xuanxin and killing Li Fei, the River-Suppressing Heavenly King would choose the latter without hesitation!

Xuanxin's upper limit was already set there, whereas Li Fei had only just broken through to become a top-tier powerhouse and had already displayed such exaggerated combat strength.

Who would dare let him continue to grow?

So when Li Fei fled toward the depths of the Northern Barbarian lands, the River-Suppressing Heavenly King immediately gave chase.

To hesitate for even a second more would be a disrespect to the number one in history!

Amidst the rugged mountains and treacherous waters, on treetops, cliff edges, and rocks, Li Fei appeared and disappeared time and time again.

After putting some distance between himself and the enemy behind him, he would deliberately stop to use 【Heaven-Mixing Golden Palace】 at full power to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This was not just to replenish his consumption, but also to increase the upper limit of 【Blood Rage】.

Having consumed 6, 00 blood souls at once, the number of blood souls within Li Fei's Myriad Blood Bead had already dropped below 30%.

Thus, he entered the Blood Demon Extreme State from the Blood Demon State, and all active blood soul skills were no longer restricted.

【Blood Rage】 was no longer limited by physical strength and could be increased without an upper limit!

And 【Blood Rage】, once it condensed blood crystals, did not require the consumption of blood souls.

Therefore, Li Fei now only needed to consume a large amount of spiritual energy of heaven and earth to make the power of Blood Rage within his body rise continuously!

Breaking through the River-Suppressing Heavenly King's suppression earlier was indeed not his strongest moment.

He truly still had trump cards!

Previously, Li Fei's Blood Rage limit was 2, 00 blood souls; in the Blood Demon State, it was 4, 00 units of Blood Rage power, which, added to his own physical strength, was equivalent to a total of 5, 00 units of Blood Rage power.

After being amplified ten times by the 【Dragon-Elephant】 divine ability, it became 50, 00 units of Blood Rage power, an explosive force exceeding 200, 00 tons!

Now, Li Fei actively dissipated the Dragon-Elephant power to re-enhance his "base strength."

A few minutes later, the power of 【Blood Rage】 increased from 2, 00 to 3, 00 units, and Li Fei's "base strength" increased from 5, 00 to 8, 00 units!

Li Fei stopped strengthening 【Blood Rage】.

At this moment, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth he consumed every second was already quite astonishing; the spiritual energy absorbed by 【Heaven-Mixing Golden Palace】 was almost entirely used to maintain 【Blood Rage】, and the consumption of other divine abilities could only be sustained by using the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability to convert blood souls.

If he continued to strengthen 【Blood Rage】, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Next, Li Fei once again activated the 【Dragon-Elephant】 divine ability.

Rumble—

It was as if a giant object were streaking through the void at high speed; the majestic Dragon-Elephant power surged out from the void like a torrent, blessing Li Fei's body!

Because his "base strength" had increased by a large margin, the required Dragon-Elephant power became greater, so the duration of the 【Dragon-Elephant】 divine ability's blessing became longer, and the consumption increased accordingly.

After more than ten minutes, Li Fei finally reached the level of "Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants," and the Blood Rage power within his body reached an unprecedented peak—eighty-six thousand units!

In terms of pure physical strength alone, Li Fei had increased by more than 70%!

Added to the 9, 00 blood souls he had consumed one after another to perform 【Sword Sacrifice】 to strengthen the 【Mixed Origin Sword Realm】.

Li Fei had reached an unprecedented "Peak Stance"—

His lifeblood flowed like a great river, his muscles and bones cracked like thunder, and his golden battle armor shimmered with brilliant light.

Li Fei stood atop a mountain peak; without him making any movement, cracks appeared in the rocks beneath his feet.

Boom—

The mountain body shattered, and dust filled the sky.

Just the power "overflowing" from him caused the mountain peak beneath his feet to collapse!

With every gesture, Li Fei felt as if he could prop up and break the heavens!

He really wanted to turn around right now and have another go at the River-Suppressing Heavenly King!

But he quickly regained his reason.

The price for maintaining such a peak stance was also enormous.

He had to maintain the continuous use of the 【No Distance】 divine ability, the extreme absorption of spiritual energy of heaven and earth by 【Heaven-Mixing Golden Palace】, and the terrifying blessing of the 【Dragon-Elephant】 divine ability.

Finally, the power gained from the 【Sword Sacrifice】 divine ability would also continuously weaken over time; to keep the power of 【Sword Sacrifice】 at its peak, he also needed to continuously invest blood souls.

Such terrifying consumption—if it were any other top-tier powerhouse, they would be "burned out" after holding on for at most a few minutes!

Fortunately, Li Fei had 【Blood Breath】.

Nowadays, he could recover 445 blood souls per minute, while he consumed nearly 600 blood souls per minute!

The remaining blood souls in the Myriad Blood Bead, plus the blood souls in his internal blood spring, totaled 5, 98.

It could sustain his peak stance for about thirty-plus minutes.

This was on the premise that he did not get injured and his blood souls were not knocked away.

"Cannot be impulsive."

Li Fei told himself.

Among the Three Evil Demons, Li Ming, as well as the Styx Ancestor, he had already crossed hands with them.

According to Ning Qingman's assessment, the Three Evil Demons could only be considered the bottom-tier among peak powerhouses.

And Li Fei estimated that even in his current peak stance, there was still a gap if he were to face one of the Three Evil Demons.

Let alone facing the River-Suppressing Heavenly King?

However, he had not intended to defeat the River-Suppressing Heavenly King anyway.

Finding his direction, he flashed once more through the rugged mountains and treacherous ridges.

A few seconds later, a continuous stretch of buildings appeared ahead.

A giant tree that pierced the clouds was located in the very center of the building complex.

The diameter of this giant tree exceeded fifty meters, and its height reached over a thousand meters—truly spectacular!

This was the sacred tree of the Wuri Tribe, the legendary Grade Nine exotic beast, the place where the Great Sun Golden Crow resided.

The Wuri Tribe headquarters, he had arrived!

(End of chapter)