Chapter 682 375: Lotus of the Sublime Method (Part 2)

"Brother Hai Xin, did you think escaping the cage of the Eternal Prison meant you could escape the Great Virtue Temple?"

"For a demon like you, the world itself is your cage. You might as well surrender and serve the Great Virtue Temple. Become part of the future Buddha, and your name will be forever engraved on the monuments in the Land of Great Virtue and Goodness."

At this moment, Hai Shu had completely transformed into a Buddha—or at least, what he believed was a Buddha.

This Dharma Body, which gathered all the power of the Great Virtue Temple's Insect Dao, was the foundation for his future ascension to the Immortal Platform. All he needed now was the right opportunity.

And one such opportunity was currently in Hai Xin's hands.

If Hai Xin chose to submit, Hai Shu wouldn't mind devouring him as well. The more solid the foundation, the greater the chance of reaching the Immortal Platform in the future.

"Hai Xin, hurry and become one with us! We'll ascend to the Immortal Platform together!"

"Don't be so stubborn! The future of the Great Virtue Temple rests on us. This is the only way to Buddhahood."

"Once we reach the Immortal Platform and enter the Central Continent, the entire world will be under our control! It will be our Land of Ultimate Bliss!"

A continuous stream of voices echoed from Hai Shu's Dharma Body. Hai Xin recognized every single one as they tried to lure him in.

"Shut up!"

Hai Shu let out a furious roar. An expression of rage appeared on the compassionate Buddha's face. The effigy raised a hand, grabbing a head that jutted out from behind it, as if fighting the urge to rip it off.

"Heh heh... The likes of you want to become a Buddha? A bunch of delusional fools. You don't actually believe that fusing all the Insect Dao cultivators together is enough to break through to the Immortal Platform, do you?"

Just then, Hai Xin slowly rose from the deep crater, scoffing with disdain.

At that moment, it wasn't just him; Yang An, who was hiding in the shadows, also noticed that something was off.

'No wonder I always felt Hai Shu's aura was off. It had clearly surpassed the Insect Dao realm, yet it was still stuck at that level, unable to compare to the Immortal Platform.'

'So that maniac Hai Shu had actually fused the other Insect Dao cultivators of the Great Virtue Temple in an attempt to reach the Immortal Platform.'

'I have to say, his idea is both ridiculous and cruel. If the Immortal Platform were that easy to reach, neither the Great Virtue Temple nor the Golden Soul Sect would have gone so long without producing a single expert at that level.'

'Besides, how could it be so easy to fuse so many Insect Dao cultivators?'

'According to the laws of cultivation, the price for doing so would be terrifying. Forget reaching the Immortal Platform—it's questionable whether he can even sustain this form for long.'

'But clearly, Hai Shu has gone mad, willing to do anything to reach the Immortal Platform. The root cause is still the immense pressure from the Golden Thread Pavilion.'

'When your enemy has an Immortal Platform expert, the upper limits of your two powers are simply incomparable. No matter how many Insect Dao cultivators you have, they are nothing but ants in the eyes of an Immortal Platform expert.'

'The other factions that came to support the Great Virtue Temple aren't their own people, after all. If you want an equal voice, you must possess supreme power.'

'But why does this technique look so familiar?'

Yang An mused to himself. Everything Hai Shu was doing gave him a sense of déjà vu; he must have seen it somewhere before.

Suddenly, Yang An remembered.

In the Bow Lady's memories, the first time Yang An saw the Forbidden Calamity, Hai Shu had also emerged from within its body!

'It seems the Forbidden Calamity did the same thing, but the outcome must have been disastrous. Otherwise, it wouldn't have chosen to perish and ultimately reincarnate.'

'In that case, Hai Shu has merely inherited the Forbidden Calamity's old technique.'

'To walk a path he knows is a dead end... either he had no other choice, or he has found a solution.'

'Don't tell me this guy is actually going to break through to the Immortal Platform?'

'Absolutely not!'

Yang An immediately rejected the thought. If Hai Shu broke through to the Immortal Platform, how would he ever get his revenge?

He wasn't the type to wait ten years for revenge. If the opportunity was right and he could kill his enemy, he would definitely strike.

The Piglet possessed by Liu Feifei struggled in Hai Xin's arms. The impending battle between the two titans made her tremble with fear, but she had no idea what to do.

'I'm just a pig, what can I do?'

"Rest assured, Bodhisattva. I will escort you away from this place."

Sensing the Piglet's unease and agitation, Hai Xin spoke in a deeply reverent tone. Even though he knew this was only a Dharma Body and the Bodhisattva's own will had not yet returned, Hai Xin's attitude remained unchanged.

As an Insect Dao expert, it was natural that he had mastered more than one Power of Rules. He activated another of his Powers of Rules, forcibly dragging several Demon Fiends over from a distance.

Before the Demon Fiends could even react, they shattered into countless pieces under Hai Xin's Power of Rules, Black Pupil. Then, under another Power of Rules, they were forcibly pieced back together, forming a cage filled with blood and filth.

He placed the Piglet inside the cage and left it where it was.

As long as his Mana was not depleted, or as long as he wasn't dead, the cage could not be broken.

After doing all this, he looked up at Hai Shu again. Though he had to tilt his head up, Hai Xin's black pupils were filled with derision.

Although he had fallen to demonic ways, it was only because he had been imprisoned in the Eternal Prison for countless years, tainted by foul energy and Demon Fiends. He'd had no other choice. Yet, through it all, he remained a steadfast follower of the Great Bodhisattva.