this infinite world

"You are no match for me."

Watching countless illusory Buddha images dissipate into the void, Yang Yun, who had annihilated the Buddha Kingdom in his palm with a single sword strike, casually waved his hand, causing the Heavenly Crystal Divine Sword, which seemed capable of piercing through heaven and earth, to dissipate into specks of blue light. Facing the body of the old monk who had aged three times over compared to before... or rather, who carried the will of the old monk, he spoke calmly.

Yang Yun's voice was soft, yet it carried a certain unwavering certainty, like a universal truth. It wasn't a preemptive strike to gain the upper hand, nor a victory declaration after a single decisive blow; nor was it the victor's mockery of the vanquished, or the strong's pity for the weak. Rather, it was more like a simple statement of "facts"... an inviolable fact, like water flowing downhill or the sun rising in the east.

"This body cannot bear your power."

Yang Yun's gaze pierced through the decaying shell, looking directly at the guiding will within. The vanished Buddha phantoms behind him flickered like bubbles, eventually disappearing completely without a trace: "So, is it still necessary to continue?"

Although they had only exchanged two moves, Yang Yun had already figured out Jieyin's strengths and weaknesses... Simply put, his low physical strength and insufficient energy limited his opponent's performance.

Everything in the world needs something to exist, and every great power must have a carrier. This is a very simple truth... Why do sages, who have already transformed into energy beings, still need to materialize a physical body to use their abilities? The reason lies here.

Without a vessel, it is like a soul without a body; no matter how great the power, it is difficult to exert it perfectly. Don't you see that even the human emperor Fuxi had to have a "human emperor's body"? And what other people have ever been an exception?

At this moment, the reason for Jieyin's defeat lies precisely in this. Although Yang Yun did not know where Jieyin had obtained a fresh corpse of a reincarnator, nor did he know how the other party had bypassed the protection of the main god's souls for the reincarnation team members and forcibly carried out a "possession", this corpse was at most at the third level when it was alive, and naturally could not withstand a strong power level.

Even with the will of the Guide trying its best to protect it, after the destruction of the Buddha Kingdom in the palm of its hand, the old monk's corpse was covered with spiderweb-like cracks. Tiny pieces of flesh and blood kept peeling off, turning into specks of ashes... like a leaky broken pot, it simply could not bear the full power of a being like the Guide.

Secondly, there is the issue of energy. It is important to know that energy cannot be created or created out of thin air.

If the battle had taken place in the void of the multiverse, or in other planes where the willpower of other worlds was weaker, things would have been better. With the power of the Guide, he could easily traverse countless planes and cross the vast distances of the starry sea, continuously channeling his power into this corpse to protect the physical body. Although he certainly wouldn't be able to unleash his full strength, he wouldn't have ended up in this state after just a couple of moves…

The problem is that the plane of the Ring that Yang Yun and Jieyin are currently in has an owner... and this owner is a rather powerful high-level saint.

It's obvious that unless Ilúvatar, the creator goddess of the Lord of the Rings, is an idiot, she would never allow the Guide to continuously pour energy into this body, just like no one would allow a stranger to dig a tunnel in their backyard... Better safe than sorry, what if the Guide were to launch an "internal explosion"? After all, Buddhism's reputation has never been very good.

"……Amitabha."

Sensing the faint fluctuations of some kind of will emanating from the surrounding space, Jieyin seemed to realize this as well. His extremely old face seemed to want to show an expression, but he ultimately gave up on this plan. His decaying Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he let out a hoarse sigh: "Indeed, what you said makes some sense."

Having said that, his face grew even more sorrowful, and drops of blood seeped from between his wrinkles. His already withered body now seemed as if it might be blown away by the wind at any moment, making him look like an ordinary old man, rather than the two renowned Western Saints. "But you don't feel like you've failed."

Looking at Jieyin, who seemed to have given up resisting, Yang Yun frowned. He could sense that the life force within Jieyin's body had completely dissipated; any further exertion of power would cause it to crumble and turn to ashes. At this moment, the fact that Jieyin was able to maintain its human form was already a result of Jieyin's best efforts: "Do you think you still have a chance to turn the tables?"

"Of course I wouldn't dare." Jieyin nodded slightly in acknowledgment: "This body may be able to exert the power of a novice saint for a short time, but like a tree without roots or duckweed without water, it is destined not to last long... Naturally, it will definitely not be able to last until the end."

"Then... wait a minute!"

Suddenly, Yang Yun realized something was amiss. Wasn't he supposed to be here to fight Jieyin? Why was he suddenly standing here, chatting with him?
Aren't they enemies?

"...Oh no!"

Realizing this, Yang Yun felt as if a layer of fog had been cleared away, and he suddenly understood.

Normally, Yang Yun would never have stopped there; he might even have said something boastful like, "You're no match for me." After all, members of the Reincarnation Squad from the God Realm are known for their decisiveness... But now, instead of destroying the opponent's body first, he's shown mercy?

"...Unfortunately, we can only seize a fleeting moment."

Seeing that Yang Yun had come to his senses, Jieyin sighed slightly. This was indeed the effect of the "Dream World Technique" he had created.

The Dream World Technique allows one to experience countless worlds and endless cycles of reincarnation through dreams; it is an extremely powerful mental cultivation method. It should be understood that there are no spatial or temporal limitations within dreams. Using this body, which had practiced the Dream World Technique in life, as a medium, the guide can employ countless methods without restriction, concealing senses, releasing goodwill, and turning enemies into friends—all are easily accomplished. Even so, this "Dream World Technique" only bewitched Yang Yun for such a short time…

"However, this amount of time is sufficient."

The jade sword light swept across, severing Jieyin's body almost instantly. But before that, Jieyin's gaze had already shifted, heading towards a black light shooting from afar.

That black radiance belonged to Melkor, who had been severely injured by Yang Yun's slap earlier, but was now once again following some unseen guidance, heading towards this place of entangled cause and effect. At this moment, as if sensing something, he looked down from mid-air and met the gaze of the guide—

In that instant, the golden causal line hidden within the black light above Melkor's head suddenly shone brightly. (End of Chapter)