this infinite world

—Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

"……what?"

Hearing Melkor, who had suddenly arrived, utter two incomprehensible words as if he had gone mad, even Yang Yun was momentarily taken aback... After all, no matter what, it sounded rather strange for a novice saint from the Lord of the Rings world to proclaim that he had been enlightened by Buddhism.

Of course, doubts about the current situation did not affect Yang Yun's actions. After annihilating the original physical body of Jieyin with a sword, he swung upwards, and the Heavenly Crystal Divine Sword immediately shone with infinite brilliance, slashing vertically towards Milko!

—I don't care about any enlightenment or anything, just cut them down!
Faced with Yang Yun's relentless and terrifying sword strikes, Melkor displayed a response unlike any he had before. The previously grotesque and twisted dark shadow now clasped its hands in solemn prayer, like a venerable monk. Even more astonishingly, a dazzling Buddhist light, identical to that of Jieyin, suddenly emanated from his body—only this light contained power a hundred times greater than before.
"Amitabha--"

The chanting of Buddhist hymns reverberated through the heavens, causing the entire world to tremble slightly. Melkor's originally twisted, dark body was now being reshaped into its true form in the dazzling Buddhist light—its entire body was as clear as glass, yet it was also covered with mysterious dark golden patterns, resembling a dark golden Buddha awakened from the depths of the netherworld.

Within a three-zhang radius around him, a pure land appeared out of thin air. The shadow of the Bodhi tree swayed and pierced through the void, ancient Sanskrit inscriptions etched on its golden leaves; the Eight Merits Water flowed gently from the sky, each drop reflecting the image of the three thousand worlds… and the Heavenly Crystal Divine Sword that Yang Yun had unleashed melted away like snow falling into a furnace the moment it entered the Buddhist realm, along with the power attached to the sword, all of which was completely cleansed and purified by the flowing water!
This is the true "Buddha Kingdom in the Palm of Your Hand," an eternal pure land transcending birth and death! Compared to how easily it was shattered before, it's like night and day... It's as if this is the true power of this move!
"This is troublesome..."

Looking at the radiant light surrounding "Milko," clearly a Buddha statue, Yang Yun felt a deep sense of unease. He could see that the will of Jieyin had just taken over Milko's body, and with this body, Jieyin could now act as a "substitute fighter," making his strength far greater than before…

...But compared to Yang Yun, there was another person at this moment who was clearly more anxious.

"Jieyin, how dare you...!"

Almost instantly, the sky over Middle-earth changed color.

As an overwhelming will descended from the heavens, mountains began to crumble, oceans churned and boiled, and even the finest dust motes groaned under its oppressive force. It was the manifestation of Ilúvatar's wrath—in this world she had created, every breath of air responded to the Creator's fury, and her will was the supreme law!

Under such pressure, even the "Buddha Kingdom in the Palm" that had just blocked Yang Yun's attack began to tremble, clearly powerless to withstand the wrath of a high-level saint. But under this earth-shattering pressure, and with Ilúvatar's clearly expressed anger, Jieyin showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he calmly clasped his hands together and bowed slightly to the will of the heavens... and the next moment, a golden light slowly emerged from between his brows, directly meeting Ilúvatar's will.

—That was a relic, perfectly round like a goose egg and as radiant as a pearl.

"This is..." Upon seeing this object, Ilúvatar's angry will immediately faltered.

If it were merely a simple relic, it wouldn't warrant Ilúvatar's reaction. But this relic shimmered with golden Buddhist light, yet within it emanated a chilling dark mist. At times, it appeared as solemn and sacred as a Buddha, and at other times as ferocious and terrifying as a demon… The object within was none other than the essence of Melkor's holy path! "Is this what you require, Your Excellency?"

Holding the radiant relic in his hands, Jieyin calmly gazed up at the heavens. Although Ilúvatar's oppressive aura distorted and shattered the surrounding space, his voice remained as calm as if he were recounting a casual conversation: "If you obtain this to complete your path, your path to sainthood will be perfected. Within ten thousand years, you may even reach the Innate Realm..."

As he spoke, Jieyin slightly raised his head, his gaze piercing through layers of space, looking directly at the invisible will of creation: "I wonder if such a price could be exchanged for remaining an observer?"

silence.

There was a long silence.

It was clear that Ilúvatar was very hesitant. On one hand, the scheme to guide them was obviously a long-term project, and it was possible that someone had interfered with Melkor's fall and reversal; on the other hand, the relic in Ilúvatar's possession was exactly what she needed most. With it, she could fill the final gap in the Great Music of Creation…

—And after a moment, Ilúvatar finally made her own decision.

As the relic containing the essence of Melkor's holy path disappeared into the void, Ilúvatar's will also vanished, and the world returned to peace, as if none of this had ever happened...

No, it didn't never happen! Ilúvatar not only lifted the restrictions on the surrounding environment, allowing the guide to draw power from her body indefinitely; but this creator god of the Lord of the Rings plane also specially spent her power to reinforce this world, just like the "Ten Directions Reincarnation Array" used by Luo Yinglong during the final battle of the original timeline, firmly confining the aftershocks of the battle between the two within a certain area!
On the surface, this was just Ilúvatar's way of preventing the aftermath of their battle from affecting the surrounding environment. After all, the power of a saint is unmatched, and the scene of their battle would be incredibly grand. If they fought with all their might, it wouldn't be impossible for all creatures below the fourth rank in the Lord of the Rings to be wiped out... But upon closer inspection, wouldn't it also be extremely disadvantageous to Yang Yun?

After all, Yang Yun is here in his true form, while the guide is merely a descending will. Even if the guide's will is completely annihilated here, it will only suffer a minor setback and will not have a significant impact on the main body; but if Yang Yun fails, this world will turn into a cage, preventing him from escaping!
"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Jieyin clearly understood Ilúvatar's intentions, and seeing this, a smile finally appeared on his previously troubled face. Only then did this will, which had just completed a "dirty deal," finally look at the ashen-faced Yang Yun and speak, "Sorry to keep you waiting, fellow Daoist..."

"Next, it's round two."

Then, his figure suddenly grew infinitely taller. (End of Chapter)