After passing through the light gate, everyone felt the space become distorted. A powerful spatial force descended upon each cultivator. Even those who had mastered the Great Dao of Space could not resist this force, and over a hundred Void Returning cultivators disappeared from their original positions.
When they reappeared, Zhang Fan found himself in a world filled with ice and snow. For a thousand miles, everything was frozen, white snow fluttered, and runes formed by countless ice and snow rules created a massive array that enveloped the entire world.
At the same time, other cultivators encountered similar situations, falling into different rule worlds. Zi Shan Kun Ming entered a world filled with flame power, also shrouded by an array formed by flame rules.
"Break through seven Great Dao rule worlds to observe this venerable one's Dao."
A vast voice echoed in the minds of every Void Returning cultivator. Only then did they realize that each of the endless palaces was a rule world. How many Great Daos had this Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable comprehended, and to what extent had his Dao reached? It was simply unimaginable.
Among the many cultivators, even those in the Dao Origin realm were deeply shocked. In the face of such a powerful being, their own cultivated Dao was like a drop in the ocean, utterly insignificant.
Only Zhang Fan appeared relatively calm. He looked up at the rule array of the ice and snow world and murmured, "This Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable has dabbled in a wide range of Great Daos, but most have only reached the level of Dao's true meaning, not fully mastering the Great Dao."
Breaking through such rule arrays was like child's play for Zhang Fan, posing no difficulty whatsoever. However, for other cultivators, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Even if it was only comprehending the true meaning of a Great Dao, it would be manageable if it were their own specialized Dao. With a sufficiently high realm, they could eventually comprehend it with enough time.
But if they were unlucky and found themselves in more profound Dao worlds like Space, Time, or Darkness, it would not be easy to even grasp their true meaning.
"The Dao of Ice and Snow?" Zhang Fan extended a finger and gently tapped the void. Countless ice and snow rules were stirred, as if a hidden mechanism had been triggered. The rule array that enveloped the ice and snow world instantly dissipated.
The space shifted again, and this time Zhang Fan appeared in a void world. Here, one could not see anything with the naked eye. It appeared even more empty and dead than a dark space. This was a world filled with the rules of void.
In just a few breaths, the void rule array disappeared, and Zhang Fan was teleported to another rule world.
Zhang Fan spent no more than three breaths in each world. After consecutively breaking through seven worlds, Zhang Fan appeared in a vast grand hall.
On either side of the hall stood thirteen massive stone pillars, stretching upwards to the sky, their ends lost to sight. Far ahead, there was a colossal Buddha statue tens of thousands of feet tall, and beneath it were ancient stone steps.
Zhang Fan ascended the steps. With each step, Great Dao rules emerged – these were the Great Daos comprehended by the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable. Zhang Fan paid them no mind, stepping forward step by step until he reached the stone statue of the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable.
With a rustle, as Zhang Fan took the final step onto the stone platform, boundless Buddha light and Great Dao rules intertwined. A spectral image of a bald man clad in a black robe emerged from the Buddha statue.
His skin was like white jade, his face handsome and refined, and his eyes filled with both wisdom and an eerie brilliance. His black robe further accentuated this sinister aura.
He stared at Zhang Fan for a long time before speaking, "I never expected that a wisp of this venerable one's remnant soul would linger for a million years, only to encounter a person of reincarnation here. The karmic ties of the world are truly wondrous."
Zhang Fan was slightly surprised that the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable could see through his past and present lives at a glance. He then couldn't help but ask, "Since Immortal Venerable can see through my past life, you must have cultivated the Myriad Buddha Dao among the three main Daos of Buddhism, right?"
There were three mainstream Great Daos in Buddhism: the Myriad Buddha Dao, the True Buddha Dao, and the Universal Buddha Dao.
The Myriad Buddha Dao emphasized cultivating all methods in the world and integrating them into one's own Buddha Dao. This was an extremely arduous path, much like the countless rule worlds in his Evil Buddha dojo, which represented the Daos the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable had comprehended.
The True Buddha Dao, on the other hand, focused on cultivating oneself, using oneself as the seed to comprehend the purest Buddha Dao.
As for the Universal Buddha Dao, it required a benevolent heart that encompassed all under heaven and a Buddha heart that could embrace the universe to achieve anything.
Each of the three mainstream Daos of Buddhism was exceedingly difficult, and achieving success in any of them posed a great test to one's Dao heart.
The Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's ability to see through Zhang Fan's past and present lives indicated he had comprehended the Dao of Karma. The Dao of Karma was ethereal, even more difficult to comprehend than the Daos of Space, Time, and Darkness. Zhang Fan himself held some respect for the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's achievement in this Dao.
After all, among the myriad karmic threads of the world, it was incredibly difficult to untangle even one, let alone comprehend it. Even a powerful being like Zhang Fan had only dabbled in the Dao of Karma, achieving no significant success.
It was Zhang Fan's former follower, Heavenly Lord Tian Hua, who had shown considerable talent in the Dao of Karma. Even as an Nascent Soul cultivator, he could use karmic threads to vaguely deduce the future, something Zhang Fan could not do.
"Myriad Buddha Dao?"
Hearing Zhang Fan's words, a complex emotion flickered in the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's eyes, a mixture of reminiscence and regret.
The Myriad Buddha Dao had earned him the title of Immortal Venerable, but it had also led to his downfall. This made him question before his death whether the Myriad Buddha Dao was a righteous path or an evil one.
"Fellow Daoist, you have been able to break through my rule worlds in such a short time. I presume the Great Daos you dabbled in during your past life were no less than mine. Entering my dojo now likely holds little benefit for you." Although Zhang Fan's current cultivation realm was still low, the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable treated him as an equal.
"No," Zhang Fan shook his head and said, "I came here with mere hope, but since you cultivated the Myriad Buddha Dao, it holds significant value for me. Although my past life's realm was higher than yours, in terms of the breadth of my Dao comprehension, I am not your equal."
"My realm was higher than yours?" the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable stared at Zhang Fan and asked softly, "May I know what realm fellow Daoist reached in your past life, and how long ago was it?"
"Heavenly Dao Realm," Zhang Fan gently uttered the three words.
"Mahayana Immortal Emperor?" The divine light in the Evil Buddha Immortal Venerable's eyes trembled slightly. His usually calm gaze showed ripples for the first time. He then asked, "Since you had already reached the Heavenly Dao Realm, why would you enter reincarnation again?"
The Mahayana Immortal Emperor was already the pinnacle existence in this myriad domain of stars. Even he, in his prime, had to look up to such figures. How could such a person willingly enter reincarnation?