Chapter 278: Unity of Buddha and Demon

"Then so be it, as you wish!"

Boom!!

Li Hao's eyes shone like pitch-black stars, and the might emanating from his body suddenly surged to its peak.

After the tenfold Dao Domains, another fivefold Dao Domains surged forth one after another!

In an instant, all the Dao Domains he currently possessed were superimposed on top of each other. The two opposing forces that had been facing off were instantly overwhelmed and crushed.

The Buddha Lord's Dao Domain was suddenly torn apart, and under the crushing pressure of the Dao Domains, the two Bodhisattvas protected by the Dao Domain had their bodies explode, their souls annihilated without even a chance to scream.

The superimposition of fifteen Dao Domains was the limit of Li Hao's current mastery.

Jiang Licheng's body was also enveloped by the Dao Domain, but instead of being invaded by the rules, he found himself immobilized within the domain, unable to even move his eyes.

His heart was filled with shock. Although he knew that Li Hao had deliberately avoided him, the might of this Dao Domain far exceeded his imagination. It was beyond the level that his current sword skills could hope to challenge.

Swoosh!

The moment Li Hao's body appeared in front of the Buddha Lord as if he had teleported, the Buddha Lord's Dao Domain was torn apart. The cassock treasure on the Buddha Lord's body, under the suppression of the fifteenfold Dao Domain, actually emitted a hazy Buddhist radiance, enveloping the Buddha Lord's body and protecting it from harm.

Seeing this, Li Hao's eyes grew even angrier. As the Buddha Lord showed a slight loss of composure, Li Hao suddenly raised his hand, grabbed the cassock, and burst into a dazzling crimson golden light. He lifted the massive body and slammed it onto the purple golden lotus platform where the Buddha Lord had been seated!

Boom! The entire purple golden lotus platform exploded.

This lotus platform was originally a top-notch divine weapon, capable of withstanding attacks even within a Dao Domain. However, under the pressure of the fifteenfold Dao Domain, it was penetrated by the rules to the brink of collapse, and now it shattered into pieces.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Li Hao pulled on the Buddha Lord's cassock and continued to slam the body onto the ground, smashing the entire spiritual realm's Buddhist hall and creating a deep pit in the ground. The entire Spirit Mountain trembled and shook.

This majestic divine mountain seemed to be held by a god who was hammering it with all his might. The vibrations started from the mountain's peak and spread downward, causing the entire mountain to shake. The structures and stairs on the mountain crumbled and collapsed into dust.

In the distance, countless Buddhist experts on the numerous peaks were startled by the tremendous shaking, and they all looked towards the Spirit Mountain where the Buddha Lord was seated.

Boom!

Li Hao raised his fist and slammed it towards the Buddha Lord's head, which had sunk into the ground. The entire ground tore apart, and the Buddhist hall was completely destroyed, crumbling away.

However, amidst the smoke and dust, the Buddha Lord's body remained unharmed. The cassock treasure on his body emitted Buddhist radiance, enveloping and protecting his body. Golden light flowed, and a mighty power of the Great Dao protected him.

Li Hao's eyes turned icy cold. He flipped his palm, and a sharp divine sword appeared—the same one he had taken from Qingzhou City, the Extreme Sword.

As Li Hao drew out the Extreme Sword, the Buddha Lord seemed to regain his senses. His eyes turned solemn and calm, and he pressed his palms together. A vast and overwhelming pressure erupted from within his body, and one after another, Dao Domains emerged from him.

In the blink of an eye, they climbed to thirteenfold!

At the same time, his hair and face turned crimson-golden, as if illuminated by the light of the Buddha. His eyes also shone brilliantly, just like Li Hao, reaching the extreme realm of divine power!

"Buddha's Merciful Hand!"

He chanted softly, and suddenly, a palm strike was unleashed. Although the thirteenfold Dao Domain was not as powerful as Li Hao's, it restored the Buddha Lord's ability to act within Li Hao's Dao Domain. At this moment, a Buddhist palm as vast as a majestic divine mountain pressed down, aiming to suppress Li Hao.

The oppressive might of that Buddhist palm, combined with the thirteenfold Dao Domain, actually pushed back Li Hao's Dao Domains and pressed down with a palm!

This palm strike's power was no less inferior to Jiang Licheng's sword.

"Die!"

Li Hao roared in anger and swung his sword to slash at the dazzling Buddhist hand.

Sword Extremes of Spring and Autumn!

It was like endless spring rain drifting, and also like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves. The vitality of spring and the death of autumn intertwined, representing both life and death, as well as yin and yang.

Boom! A terrifying vibration resounded, and Spirit Mountain shook once more. The Buddha Lord's body sank deeper into the Spirit Mountain beneath the Buddhist hall, and the surroundings cracked and caved in.

Li Hao's body was pushed back by the Buddhist palm, and before he could strike again, he saw the Buddha Lord surge forward and leap into the air. The brilliant golden hand was slashed open, but it quickly healed.

"Fifteenfold Dao Domain. I didn't expect that when you killed the avatar of the Wild God in Qingzhou, you still had so much strength left."

The Buddha Lord stood there, his cassock fluttering. He fixed his gaze on Li Hao for a moment, then said softly, "It seems that only I can personally enlighten you. Your sins are heavy. You killed the meritorious Bodhisattvas of my Buddhist sect and slaughtered innocent nobles. Do you know that those nobles are descendants of famous generals?"

Li Hao remained silent, but the might emanating from his body continued to climb to frenzied heights. Strands of silver-white began to appear amidst his golden hair.

Transcendence!

Li Hao had expected that this Buddha Lord had been hiding his strength. After all, even after Li Hao had revealed his power in Qingzhou City, the Buddha Lord still dared to lure him here and provoke him. There must have been a foolproof plan. However, he hadn't expected the depth of this hidden power.

At this moment, Li Hao had no mood for words, only the killing intent that had condensed to its utmost extreme.

Seeing Li Hao's surging aura, the Buddha Lord's eyes turned even more solemn, and he also fell silent. At this moment, aside from the sword-crazed Ninth Prince, no one else could approach, and there was no need for further words.

He had actually unblocked his meridians and refined the Heavenly and Earthly Meridians!

Even among the ancient sacred tribes, this was considered a top genius level. He had been a genius in his youth and with two thousand years of cultivation, he had profound insights into every realm of martial arts.

"Nascent Soul!"

As the Buddha's chant echoed, his soul floated out, radiating endless, intense light like a scorching sun. It had absorbed infinite solar essence, vast and majestic.

Another realm of extreme! As the Buddha Lord's soul appeared, he pressed his hands together. At the same time, the soul behind him suddenly howled and shot out, directly attacking Li Hao's soul with the intention to sever it.

There was a qualitative difference between the Nascent Soul and the Divine Soul, with the former possessing overwhelming crushing power in both defense and offense.

In the instant the Buddha Lord's soul attacked, a Nascent Soul also burst out from the top of Li Hao's head. However, Li Hao's Nascent Soul had only recently been refined and hadn't absorbed enough solar essence, thus falling short of the brilliance exhibited by the Buddha Lord's soul.

Boom!

The Nascent Soul clenched into a fist and smashed down, while the Buddha Lord's soul pressed forward with a palm strike, the solar spiritual fire in his palm ready to burn any ordinary soul to ashes.

But Li Hao's Nascent Soul was unafraid of this solar spiritual fire. When the fist and palm collided, it retreated back to Li Hao's body, immediately absorbing the solar spiritual fire that had landed on his arm, thus increasing his own might.

"Hmm?"

The Buddha Lord's eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected Li Hao to not only reach the extreme of Divine Power and Heavenly and Earthly Meridians but also possess a Nascent Soul!

This young man was only sixteen years old, yet he had traversed the path that took the Buddha Lord two thousand years in a mere fraction of the time?!

With the qualitative strike of the Nascent Soul failing, the Buddha Lord's soul retreated back, no longer taking the offensive. At the same time, he noticed that the might surging from Li Hao's body seemed to be endlessly increasing without any signs of stopping.

A realization seemed to dawn on him, and his face changed drastically.

At this moment, Li Hao had already devoured the power of the heavens and earth within a radius of several kilometers.

Transcendence, fifty percent!

In the depths of Li Hao's golden eyes, an extreme silver radiance blossomed.

He raised his head, and the might of the heavens and earth surged into his Dao Domain, causing the original fifteenfold Dao Domain to swell violently. With the boundless power of the heavens and earth pouring in, the Buddha Lord's Dao Domain was relentlessly pushed back.

"You, will, die!"

Li Hao stepped forward, and the heavens and earth trembled. The entire Spirit Mountain beneath his feet seemed to split apart, a massive fissure forming in the mountain.

Fierce oppressive might swept through the heavens and earth as Li Hao arrived in front of the Buddha Lord in almost an instant. A punch infused with endless might smashed down. Boom! The Buddha's cassock radiated a seven-colored glow, and then the Buddha Lord's body was sent flying like a meteor, crashing into a distant peak.

Li Hao pursued relentlessly, his body rushing into the mountain. His ferocious fists rained down, continuously slamming into the Buddha Lord's body. The cassock's radiant Buddhist light flickered under the relentless assault, its vibrant seven-colored glow rapidly thinning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The peak shook violently, collapsing from the middle, the entire mountain crumbling.

Seeing the seven-colored glow on his cassock fading, anger flashed in the Buddha Lord's eyes, and he struck out once more, unleashing the Buddha's Merciful Hand to suppress Li Hao.

But Li Hao grabbed his palm and forcefully twisted.

Crack! The wrist was broken, bones shattering.

Li Hao yanked on the wrist, slamming the Buddha Lord's body into the ground and creating deep pits.

However, the cassock treasure acted like a turtle shell, protecting the Buddha Lord's body from harm, even as the Buddhist light emanating from the cassock grew thinner and lost its former brilliance.

Li Hao's eyes widened in anger, and the Heavenly and Earthly Meridians suddenly inhaled, swiftly devouring the power of the surroundings.

Transcendence, seventy percent!

Boom!!

A punch smashed down with the force of a collapsing mountain.

The Buddha Lord's body was pummeled into the ground, sinking hundreds of meters deep. The violent shockwave caused the Buddhist light on his cassock to dim significantly.

"You want me to fall into demonic ways?"

Li Hao plunged into the ground, grabbing the Buddha Lord's cassock and pulling him back into the air. Staring at the Buddha Lord's gloomy expression, Li Hao said coldly, "If I become a demon, the first thing I'll do is exterminate all Buddhists!"

The Extreme Sword flew into Li Hao's palm, and with one hand gripping the Buddha Lord, his eyes filled with icy killing intent. With his other hand, he brandished the sword and slashed down.

The extreme sword light, combined with Li Hao's strength, viciously slashed at the treasure cassock, causing the seven-colored glow to reappear, but this time, it was tainted with a grayish undertone.

"I underestimated you. We all did."

As the sword light intensely scraped against the cassock's Buddhist light, the Buddha Lord's expression remained unchanged. He fixed his gaze on Li Hao and said, "To push me to this extent and shatter my aspiration to save the world... I will forever suppress you under my seat, preventing your reincarnation!"

A rare killing intent flashed in his eyes as he spoke.

The calm Buddhist light in his eyes dissipated, and at the same time, a surge of extreme and hideous demonic energy emerged from within the cassock on his back.

As the cassock opened up the space of the heavens and earth, a mass of black demonic energy drilled out from within.

"Heh, in the end, you still have to rely on my power. I told you that you weren't up to the task."

"Transcend the world, and sacrifice to the Dao. The people of this world are so foolish, and you seek to enlighten them. You are even more foolish!"

"What a pity. You shouldn't have provoked this young man. You've forced us to act sooner than planned. The incense and faith have not been gathered enough, and I wasn't able to reach Sainthood in one go. What a shame!"

The disheveled figure spoke mockingly, with a sinister smile, addressing the Buddha Lord.

However, his body gradually merged with that of the Demon Lord, their bodies fusing together as if becoming one!

As Li Hao watched the sword light scrape against the Buddha's radiant cassock, his expression grew even colder.

Recalling Jiang Licheng's earlier words, it seemed that the Demon Vein and the Buddhist Sect had formed an alliance, or perhaps this Buddha Lord was merely pretending. Unexpectedly, it turned out that this was an incarnation of the Buddha Lord himself!

Without a doubt, with such overwhelming demonic energy and the Grand Peace Realm, this was the Demon Vein that Jiang Licheng had mentioned.

When a cultivator breaks through from the Three Immortal Realms to the Four Establishment Realms, some choose to cultivate a secret technique that allows them to cultivate two separate yet complementary Dao Hearts. The Buddha Lord had chosen this path, cultivating both a Buddha Heart and a Demon Heart within his incarnations.

As his true self and his incarnation merged, their Dao Hearts, one of Buddha and the other of Demon, also combined.

"Is this your biggest secret?"

Li Hao's eyes flickered with increasing murderous intent as he watched the Buddha Lord's ongoing fusion. Suddenly, he swung his sword again!

Boom!

At that moment, the Buddha Lord within the cassock suddenly opened his eyes. Although the fusion with the Demon Vein was not yet complete, a chilling murderous intent already filled his eyes.

He raised his hand, extending it out from within the protective Buddhist radiance of the cassock, and grabbed Li Hao's Extreme Sword!

"I originally intended to reach the Realm of Hearing the Dao and then immediately ascend to Sainthood with the Grand Peace Realm. You've ruined my plans, and for that, you must die!"

His eyes were pitch-black and icy, surrounded by demonic energy, and the golden light emanating from his body was no longer pure. As the Demon Vein merged with his body, a formidable aura suddenly burst forth.

Boom! A violent shockwave sent Li Hao flying backward.

A palm strike infused with Buddhist radiance and demonic energy followed, carrying the power of the Realm of Hearing the Dao. It struck Li Hao and sent him crashing into Ling Mountain.

The mountain trembled, and a massive hand appeared, pressing down on the mountain peak and sinking it dozens of meters deep.

A fierce sword intent suddenly tore through, slashing apart the palm strike that fused Buddhist and demonic power. Li Hao looked up.

The Buddha Lord had silently appeared in the sky above Ling Mountain.

The Demon Vein that had been behind him had completely vanished, absorbed into his body. Pure golden light shone from him once more, like an ancient Buddha, radiating boundless pure Yang Buddhist radiance. However, his eyes were calm and devoid of emotion as he looked down at Li Hao on the ground.

"Die!"

He chanted softly, as if reciting a Buddhist sutra.

But as his words fell, boundless Dao Rules coalesced in the heavens and earth, responding to his command.

The Dao Rules swept through the area, and with his utterance, his will became law. Endless killing intent surged from all directions, engulfing Li Hao's body.

This power seemed like a heavenly mandate, irresistible and unshakeable.

Boom!

With a single word, Li Hao's body exploded.

The fifteenfold Dao Domains were utterly powerless in the face of this ultimate Dao.

He was blown into a cloud of bloody mist!

At this moment, the Buddha Lord had not only reached the Realm of Hearing the Dao but had also attained the Law within the Dao Realm!

The Dao became Law, and as he spoke, his will was enacted.

Seeing Li Hao's body explode, a hint of regret flashed in the Buddha Lord's eyes. If only he had been given more time, if only he had gathered more incense power, he could have achieved Sainthood during this fusion of Buddha and Demon.

He was also a peerless genius, pursuing goals beyond the imagination of ordinary cultivators, and he had no interest in the slow path of cultivation.

However, all his plans had been exposed prematurely, and the path to Sainthood would now be more challenging.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, a gust of wind stirred on the ground. This wind grew stronger, turning into a violent hurricane.

"Hmm?"

The Buddha Lord lowered his eyes, and a surprised look appeared on his face.

He saw the endless hurricane swirling and condensing, with strands of energy converging towards it.

These strands of energy compressed and condensed until they became almost tangible, like strands of silver light!

Behind these silver strands was a faintly visible heavenly meridian, extending like a spider web and absorbing the power of heaven and earth.

At the center of the hurricane was the bloody mist that had been Li Hao's exploded body, including his shattered bones.

However, at this moment, the bloody mist began to coalesce, and the blood gathered into a fist-sized mass. Suddenly, it rapidly grew, and Li Hao's body reappeared, his entire body glowing with a reddish-gold light like a divine being.

This sight caused Jiang Licheng, who was hiding behind the ruined Buddhist hall on Ling Mountain, to stare in shock, his eyes bulging.

Li Hao's hair, which had been golden, was now turning silver-white.

The explosion of his flesh seemed to have pushed his Vitality Absorption technique to its limit.

"Realm of Hearing the Dao..."

Li Hao slowly raised his head, his silver-white eyes cold and filled with murderous intent.

"Have you heard the saying, 'He who hears the Dao in the morning can die at dusk'?"