Fang Han knew that his current situation was still somewhat dangerous. Although he seemed glorious on the surface, his strength was still insufficient.
With his current cultivation, encountering a true Saint, he only had the possibility of protecting his life.
This was only a possibility. The certainty was only fifty percent.
Moreover, among Saints, there were also various grades and ranks. Against a beginning-level Saint, he had the certainty of escaping, but if he encountered top experts among Saints, middle-level, or even high-level, peak Saints, or even half-Emperor experts, he would probably have to die immediately.
Therefore, only by refining the body of this Supreme Immortal Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor could he truly contend against a Saint.
Fang Han even wanted to refine the corpse of this Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor into an avatar of his own.
In the turbulent flows of space-time in the core center of the Ascension Heavenly Kingdom, after opening up a stretch of dojo, he began to cultivate quietly. With a grab of his large hand, the body of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor appeared in front of him.
This Buddha Emperor was lifelike, without the slightest sign of decay, and the Great Causal Art circulated endlessly throughout his entire body. The Great Causal Art that Fang Han cultivated himself was far less than one ten-thousandth of this Buddha Emperor's.
The moment Fang Han made the body of this Buddha Emperor manifest, instantly, the entire dojo was bathed in Buddha light everywhere.
The dozens of demons shook all over, instinctively feeling an intense terror.
Demons were inherently restrained by Buddha light. However, these demons were somewhat better off; after being subdued by Martial Tyrant, their demonic Qi had been washed away by martial dao divine thoughts. Otherwise, being illuminated by this Buddha light now, streaks of green smoke would emerge from their entire bodies.
The body of this Buddha Emperor contained peerless power within. Although he was already dead, his arrogant aura overflowed the heavens, his single hand covering the sky. If the palm formed a dharma seal and grabbed towards the sky, it could tear down the entire firmament.
Through consecutive calculations, Fang Han had pretty much deduced that the power within the body of this Buddha Emperor was simply boundless and limitless. Even adding his Thirty-Three Heavens Supreme Treasures and the Eight Division Pagoda together, it would not equate to one percent of the power within this body.
It was a pity that all this power was locked within the body by the Great Causal Art. No matter how he refined it, not a single bit would leak out.
This was a true "Flawless Body."
"Leakless Corpse."
Sizzle!
Fang Han circulated his magic power, and the power of a stream of the All Things Turned into Dragons formula swept over. Not only was there no refining magic power at all, but instead, the power of the dragon transformation formula was completely devoured.
A stream of sword light shot out intensely, and was devoured just the same.
Powers such as Origin, Creation, and Freedom blasted out, but still had no effect. Instead, the more Fang Han attacked this Buddha's corpse, the more flourishing the Buddha light upon it became.
Only the talisman of the World King Buddha was able to suppress the Buddha light.
"Time flows on, the departed are like this."
With a flick of Fang Han's finger, the time within the entire dojo began to operate at an accelerated pace. The time and space rules of the Heaven Realm were extremely stable; only those who had cultivated to the Golden Immortal realm could shape and alter them. However, Fang Han was now at the "half-Saint" realm, and shaping time was a matter of a flick of the finger.
He burned a massive amount of Origin Genesis Qi, adjusting the time to a terrifying degree where one hour outside would be equivalent to the passing of a thousand years inside.
Quietly and peacefully, he began to calculate and sacrifice-refine the corpse of this Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor.
This Buddha Emperor was the most difficult treasure he had ever attempted to sacrifice-refine in history. With his current strength, he actually felt somewhat at his wit's end.
It could be said that with his current "half-Saint" realm, even if he seized a King Grade Immortal Artifact, it wasn't impossible to refine it. But now, he simply had no way to deal with the of this Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor.
His original calculated result was to use the Great Causal Art to slowly nibble away at it, like water drops penetrating a stone or a rope sawing through wood. However, during the subsequent sacrifice-refining, he discovered that his calculated result was actually wrong.
An hour had passed outside, and he had used the Great Causal Art to urge the World King Buddha talisman to sacrifice-refine this body for fully over a thousand years. It was a pity that there was still not the slightest effect. Not only that, but his own Great Causal Art power had been consumed quite a lot and all sucked away by that Buddha Emperor's body.
The complexion of the Buddha Emperor's body became increasingly rosy and increasingly vibrant with life, seeming as if he could resurrect at any moment.
"Terrible. I have sacrifice-refined this for over a thousand years, and not only is there no effect at all, but instead I am helping the Buddha Emperor recover. The power within the body of this Buddha Emperor is unfathomably deep, and who knows what marvelous existences are still concealed within. Just what should I do?"
Fang Han abandoned the sacrifice-refining and thought bitterly.
The three great magic treasures—the Universal Astrolabe, the Incomplete Heaven Diagram, and the Heavenly Destiny Sphere—along with his own crystal divine countries, began to calculate fiercely. The light of wisdom flashed consecutively.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration appeared in his heart.
"Burning lifespan, the might of destiny!"
An aura of massive lifespan burning emerged from his body. He urged the Minor Destiny Art. The aura and power of that Minor Destiny Art had already begun connecting with true destiny.
In an instant, Fang Han felt again the existence of the boundless Gate of Eternal Life in an unknown, distant depth within the Heaven Realm. This time, the completely unclear form of the Gate of Eternal Life seemed a bit clearer, but it still looked like viewing flowers through an intervening fog, unable to be seen clearly.
"Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor, your life has vanished, your future path has been severed, and you have no destiny. You are a person without fate. You have already vanished into the dust of history, originally not supposed to appear in this world. But I master destiny, communicate with fate, perceive the Gate of Eternal Life, and can once again call forth your primordial spirit that vanished in the past."
Fang Han's gaze was like that of an immortal heavenly god. He stood up abruptly, his body actually identical to the body of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor.
His both hands waved fiercely, displaying magic power to its highest realm.
A long river of destiny appeared in the air. As the river flowed, hundreds of millions of life faces bobbed up and down unpredictably within it. Some floated on the surface of the river, while others slumbered at the riverbed. This long river of destiny had no source and no end, flowing ceaselessly, piercing through the past, present, and future.
This long river represented the destiny of countless living beings.
If Fang Han could truly master the Great Destiny Art and successfully cultivate it, then he could casually alter the destiny of all figures throughout the ages. He could even shape a completely new civilization and create the next epoch.
However, Fang Han was still separated from this realm by an unknown and vast distance. Right now, he was merely a mayfly, his fate uncertain from morning to night.
Finally found it!
Fang Han suddenly let out a long howl in his heart, seeing a streak of intense golden light flickering uncertainly, flowing in the deepest bottom of the river of destiny. However, it was at the deepest part of the river and had gradually drifted far away.
Amidst his long howl, the lifespan-burning power on his body instantly increased tenfold. The long river of destiny expanded out, billowing and surging. Seeing such a scene, the dozens of demons in the entire dojo couldn't help but fall to their knees, prostrating on the ground, motionless.
"Exactly what kind of Dao art is this! Could it be the Great Destiny Art, the head of the Three Thousand Great Daos in legends? Only the Great Destiny Art could have such might."
"Lord, this is the true Lord, he is our master."
"Compared to him, Martial Tyrant Huangfu Fei is simply worthless."
"Fundamentally unable to contend against him."
These demons prostrated themselves on the ground, motionless, truly submitting to Fang Han in their hearts. In their eyes, the current Fang Han was even more formidable than a Saint.
"The vanished soul of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor, come forth from the long river of history!"
Using all his power, Fang Han roared loudly. A streak of brilliant light from the long river of destiny flew out, resembling a golden sun, and entered the body of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor.
"Buzz!"
The eyes of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor instantly snapped open. Countless halos behind his head began to surge wildly, and the entire dojo showed signs of rupturing, beginning to collapse everywhere. This was the true "Majesty of a Supreme Immortal Emperor."
"It is you who awakened me? You used lifespan, urged destiny, and awakened my soul that had already vanished!" The moment the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor opened his eyes, he saw Fang Han. Infinite wisdom circulated within him, and he understood everything in an instant.
The power of this Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor right now was that of a true Supreme Immortal Emperor. With a single palm strike, he could completely slay Fang Han.
However, Fang Han did not have the slightest bit of timidity. Because the reason the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor was able to awaken right now was entirely due to him displaying the Minor Destiny Art and burning his lifespan to sustain it.
If he stopped displaying the Destiny Art, the primordial spirit of this Buddha Emperor would vanish immediately. Life and death were just this simple, allowing no reversal. Things that had vanished could not return again.
Fang Han was exchanging his life for a life.
For every breath that the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor now existed in the world, he had to consume almost a hundred, or even a thousand years of his lifespan. Fortunately, his lifespan was lengthy, having already exceeded hundreds of millions of Heaven Realm years. Although he could not reach the supreme realm of living as long as heaven and earth, although this kind of consumption was massive, it would not completely exhaust him until his oil completely dried up.
"Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor, correct, it is exactly I who am exchanging a life for a life, allowing you to return to this world and view this world once more!" Fang Han said: "However, my cultivation is insufficient, and I cannot sustain it for long. You will soon die once again. I have come bearing the will of the World King Buddha. If in the future, I cultivate to a realm surpassing heaven and earth, I can allow you to return to this world for a very long time."
"Relying on others to exist holds no meaning for me. Even if it were the true Master World King Buddha, to make me awaken, he would have to continuously consume lifespan." The Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor glanced lightly at the talisman of the World King Buddha, a trace of an emotion that no one could decipher revealing itself in his eyes: "My wisdom has already reached the realm of operating the Heavenly Dao, but unfortunately, I did not become a Heavenly Monarch, and fell all the same. Your intention is very clear to me; it is exactly to awaken me to fight for you."
"Correct, I am proficient in destiny and control everything. In the distant future, I have hope of cultivating to attain eternal life, surpassing the Immortal Kings. At that time, you will be completely resurrected."
Fang Han's intent flashed.
He was making his final exchange with the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor.
"Eternal life, eternal life… Throughout the ages, across how many epochs, there have also been supreme paramount experts who grasped the profound mysteries of destiny and learned the Great Destiny Art, but still fell in the end." The Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor said: "Eternal life is but an unreachable hope, like a flower in the mirror or the moon in the water."
"The flower in the mirror and the moon in the water reflect reality. Without a real flower and real moon, where would the flower in the mirror and the moon in the water come from?" Fang Han shouted fiercely.
"Good! Good! Good! A sharp blow to wake me up!" A trace of a smile manifested in the eyes of the Heavenly Zen Buddha Emperor, and both his eyes instantly closed. Suddenly, it vanished once again, leaving only the Yanbu-nada gold-like body standing in the air.
It was Fang Han who stopped urging the Minor Destiny Art.
During that brief exchange of flashing divine thoughts just now, the burned lifespan was too intense, and even he found it somewhat unbearable.