"Have you heard of contesting the will of heaven?" Zhang Fan asked.
"Heaven's will, is that the primordial origin of the Heavenly Dao spoken of in legends?" The Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable asked with surprise in his eyes.
"Precisely. If I refuse, no one can force me into reincarnation. However, my past self had a deep obsession. In order to contest the will of heaven, I gave up everything. Though I perished in the end, I was unexpectedly granted another life. I don't know if this can be considered success or failure, but since I have been reborn, no one can stop me this time." Zhang Fan spoke nonchalantly, yet the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable sensed an incredibly firm conviction from his words.
"Evil Buddha pays his respects to senior!"
Even though it was merely a remnant soul, the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable still held great reverence for figures of the Immortal Emperor level. It wasn't reverence for their power, but for their achievements on the path of cultivation.
Before this, the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable harbored doubts. But upon hearing the words "heaven's will," his heart became unwavering. For even he, in his prime, had only heard of it once from an Immortal Emperor, and knew nothing of the primordial origin of the Heavenly Dao. Heaven's will was not something a cultivator of his level could ever touch.
Zhang Fan could sense the will of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable and did not stop his prostration. Instead, he accepted it calmly and then couldn't help but laugh, "You are a remnant soul of a million years, and I am a person reborn from reincarnation. Yet, today, we are fortunate enough to converse and discuss the Dao here. Truly wondrous."
The Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable also revealed a smile and said, "It is Evil Buddha's honor to discuss the Dao with senior. If my Myriad Buddha Dao can be of any help to senior, then my life's cultivation would not have been in vain."
Zhang Fan nodded and said, "Since that is the case, then allow me to experience the marvels of this Myriad Buddha Dao."
Zhang Fan sat cross-legged before the stone statue. The remnant soul of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable lightly tapped Zhang Fan's forehead. Instantly, countless rule worlds within the dojo began to collapse and shatter, then converged into a single point, rushing into Zhang Fan's brow.
The Void Returning cultivators, who had been immersed in the rule worlds, struggling to comprehend and break them, found themselves bewildered as the rule worlds enveloping them suddenly disappeared.
Zi Shan Kun Ming, who had already mastered the true essence of the Fire Element Great Dao, was initially filled with joy. After spending some time, he broke through a fire element rule formation and was then teleported into a water element world.
"Does this Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable favor me so much?" Zi Shan Kun Ming was extremely excited. He had already mastered the true essence of the Five Element Great Dao. If things continued like this, breaking through the seven rule worlds might not be too difficult. With this thought, his movements quickened.
If he could be the first to break through the seven rule worlds and obtain the Dao pháp inheritance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable, his status within the family would likely skyrocket, surpassing even that of the Ancestor at the Dao Origin realm.
Just as he was engrossed in breaking through the water element rule formation, the formation suddenly dissipated on its own. He then saw countless rule worlds vanishing before his eyes like bubbles.
"What happened?"
"Why have all the rule worlds disappeared?"
"Could it be that someone has already broken through the seven rule worlds and obtained the inheritance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable?"
The more than a hundred Void Returning cultivators were all puzzled, and a hint of anxiety began to surface in their hearts. If this were the case, would they have come all this way for nothing, obtaining nothing?
"Quick, look in that direction."
Someone noticed the place where the rules were converging. Brilliant light illuminated the entire space. The cultivators present did not hesitate, transforming into streams of light and flying towards the direction of the stone pillar hall.
Cultivators from the Nine Abyss Star Domain and the Purple Heaven Star Domain gathered there, their eyes filled with astonishment. Even the powerhouses at the Dao Origin realm could not understand what was happening. They looked up at the Buddha statue at the end of the stone platform and saw a figure there.
"Is that Zhang Fan?"
Zi Shan Kun Ming and the white-haired elder recognized Zhang Fan. They exchanged glances, seeing utter shock in each other's eyes.
"Who is that person? I haven't seen him before."
Some Void Returning cultivators were confused. Although Zhang Fan was quite famous in the Starry Sky Battlefield, these Void Returning cultivators rarely paid attention to the happenings there, so it was normal for them not to recognize him.
"He is merely a cultivator at the Great Dao realm, yet why has he reached this place before us? Is that the remnant soul of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable?"
"Could that brat have already obtained the Dao pháp inheritance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable?"
This group of Void Returning cultivators became restless, rushing onto the stone platform one after another, heading towards the Buddha statue.
Like Zhang Fan, every cultivator who stepped onto the stone would activate the Dao rules contained within. These were the insights of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable during his lifetime, but at this moment, they had no time to comprehend them. Compared to comprehending these Dao rules, the Dao pháp inheritance of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable was clearly far more precious.
At this moment, Zhang Fan was immersed in the Myriad Buddha Dao. The boundless and majestic world of Dao left Zhang Fan in awe. The Myriad Buddha Dao lineage was indeed vast and profound. Even the rarest and most esoteric Great Daos were touched upon, and at the very least, they had reached the level of Great Dao True Essence.
"Hmm?"
The remnant soul of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable stood before the Buddha statue. His Dao being comprehended by a Great Ascension Immortal Emperor filled him with honor and pride. However, he suddenly noticed that over a hundred Void Returning cultivators had stepped onto the stone platform and were approaching him.
With a gentle wave of his sleeve, the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable caused the more than a hundred Void Returning cultivators to disappear from the stone platform, returning them to their original positions.
"Why have we returned to our original positions?"
"Is it because we haven't fully comprehended the Dao rules on this stone platform, and thus can never step onto it?"
Zi Shan Kun Ming shook his head and said, "Impossible. The Dao rules contained within this stone platform are the Dao insights of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable during his lifetime. How could we, at our realm, comprehend them? Moreover, Zhang Fan was able to step onto the platform and reach the Buddha statue, so why can't we?"
"Perhaps this stone platform is the final test. As for at what stage of comprehension one can gain the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's approval, we will only know by trying."
Someone speculated this and, after stepping onto the stone platform again, did not rush forward. Instead, they carefully began to comprehend the Dao rules left by the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable. The others could not think of any other solution for a while and could only follow suit.
The Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable was naturally aware of everything happening within the dojo and paid no attention to it. His sole task now was to ensure Zhang Fan's comprehension of the Myriad Buddha Dao was undisturbed. As for what the other cultivators did, he did not concern himself with it.
"This dojo of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable seems to pose no danger. Wasn't it rumored that in his later years, the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable fell into the demonic path and was capricious?" Some cultivators pondered this with confusion while comprehending the stone platform.
What they did not know was that if not for Zhang Fan's appearance, causing the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable to dissipate all the rule worlds, then the cultivators trapped within those worlds, unable to comprehend their Great Dao True Essence, would likely have been trapped forever.
...