Chapter 1045: Divine Lord Sichen, Embryonic Form of the Time Dao Fruit

"The Divine Lord Sichen? The sovereign who governed time during the Great Qian Epoch?!"

Master Mingyu instantly recalled the legends of the Divine Lord Sichen, a monumental figure from three hundred thousand years ago.

The crisis engulfing the Western Heaven Temple, which he had constantly dreaded—had it finally come to pass?

"It seems the Master is broad in learning and deep in lore; I had thought no one in this world remembered me anymore," the Divine Lord Sichen said with a beam, his demeanor contemptuous, utterly disregarding Master Mingyu.

"You deceived me!" Xinzhen cried as the realization struck him, mocking his own foolishness for thinking the discovery of the storage ring was a fortuitous encounter, and that the other party had genuinely sought to cultivate him by the standards of an eminent monk.

It had all been a fraudulent conspiracy, solely to enable him to breach the Three Gates of Buddhist Breath!

"When have I ever deceived you? Everything you desired, I have given you, have I not?" the Divine Lord Sichen said, smiling at Xinzhen with a gaze that was not meant for a human being, but rather for a tool—this boy no longer possessed any utility.

The ultimate treasure of the Western Heaven Temple had caused no small amount of trouble for the Great Qian Dynasty during its era, with the dynasty launching several military expeditions to no avail.

Upon awakening during the Great Xia Epoch, the Divine Lord Sichen had swiftly set his sights on this supreme temple treasure.

He discovered that Master Mingyu had never gained the recognition of the treasure and was unable to wield it, which was nothing short of a godsend.

The treasure of the Western Heaven Temple was enveloped in Buddhist breath; seizing it by force was impossible, and one had to pass through the Three Gates of Buddhist Breath to reach it, which was why he had concealed himself within an immortal-grade storage ring, allowing a little monk of the Qi Refining Stage to find it.

The Secret Realm of the Western Heaven possessed the power to discern cultivation realms; only an immortal artifact capable of concealment could deceive it, while even a second-tier immortal treasure would fail to do so.

Through a century of endeavor and a hundred attempts, he had finally breached the three gates this time and beheld the Sky-Cleaving Axe.

These three gates had depleted a massive amount of the Buddhist breath, leaving it at its weakest, and providing the perfect moment for him to wrest the Sky-Cleaving Axe away!

"It is time for this Sky-Cleaving Axe to have a master."

The Divine Lord Sichen had governed time during the Great Qian Epoch, condensing the embryonic form of the Dao Fruit of Eras; the handle of the Sky-Cleaving Axe was a part of the body of the Immortal of Eras, meaning he shared an ancestral lineage with the axe, so even if he could not become its true master, merely carrying it away would pose no issue.

"How dare you!"

Master Mingyu roared in fury, manifesting a wrathful countenance as a Buddha bearing raging flames upon his back and clutching a sharp sword materialized.

It was none other than Acala, the Wisdom King of Buddhist legend!

The manifestation of Acala appeared, its sheer movement threatening to tear heaven and earth asunder.

"Why should I not dare?" An hourglass appeared in the palm of the Divine Lord Sichen; as the grains of sand slipped away, time slowed to an absolute crawl!

He directly snatched the Sky-Cleaving Axe resting upon the altar, and with a gentle swing of the axe, he shattered the spatial fabric, carving out a path to the outside world.

He had not fully won the acknowledgment of the Sky-Cleaving Axe; he was merely utilizing a fraction of its might.

"Do not think of escaping!"

The Divine Lord Sichen could not sustain the deceleration of time indefinitely; the moment the flow of time snapped back to normal, Master Mingyu instantly gave chase!

"Who dares to act wantonly within my Western Heaven Temple!"

The commotion of rending the Secret Realm of the Western Heaven was too vast, and all the monks of the temple noticed the disturbance.

Two silhouettes soared out from two corners of the Western Heaven Temple, intercepting the Divine Lord Sichen.

"Minghuai, Mingtian?" the Divine Lord Sichen murmured, looking at the two old monks with a half-smile—one at the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence, the other at the mid-stage.

"Junior brothers, halt him!" Master Mingyu bellowed from behind, his face flush with rage, as though the true Acala had descended upon the mortal realm!

"Vajra Demon Subjugation!"

"Mani Padme!"

Master Minghuai and Master Mingtian struck simultaneously; the Vajra Demon Subjugation held boundless power, and the Six-Syllable Mantra resonated with the laws of heaven, their combination instantly causing the clouds to churn and the skies above the Western Heaven Temple to vibrate.

"Netherworld Sea of Blood!" the Divine Lord Sichen conjured, summoning a crimson ocean whose stench of blood soared to the heavens; during the Great Qian Epoch, human lives were treated as mere grass, making it easy to cultivate the Netherworld Sea of Blood.

The noble Buddhist dharma clashed with the crimson ocean; the Divine Lord Sichen was no match for the duo and momentarily fell into a disadvantage!

"Enemy attack!"

The Western Heaven Temple fell into utter chaos, the monks unable to believe that anyone would possess the audacity to assault their sacred grounds.

"Great Brightness Dharma Incantation!"

"Vajra Vajra-Pestle!"

Seeing their attacks take effect, Minghuai and Mingtian pressed their advantage, unleashing various demon-subduing arts with casual ease, yet gradually, the Divine Lord Sichen's offenses began to seize the upper hand, leaving them feeling inadequate to the task.

"What is happening? Why does it feel as though my strength is failing me?" Master Mingtian spoke with a voice that sounded thoroughly drained of vigor.

"Have you finally noticed?" the Divine Lord Sichen laughed, for his embryonic Dao Fruit of Eras could accelerate the depletion of an individual's physical strength; even those in the Tribulation Transcendence Stage could not withstand such consumption, leaving him utterly unqualified to engage him in combat before the embryonic fruit!

Only a half-immortal could serve as his opponent.

Utilizing the embryonic form of the Dao Fruit required minimal exertion, remaining virtually unaffected by the passage of physical vitality.

"The two of you fall back, I shall fight him!" The manifestation of Acala flew forth as Master Mingyu struck decisively, sacrificing his Sword of Wisdom.

Masters Minghuai and Mingtian gritted their teeth, knowing that remaining on the battlefield would only burden their senior brother, and turned to fly downward.

"Flee the Western Heaven Temple immediately!"

A battle between half-immortals was sufficient to annihilate everything; this vast Western Heaven Temple would likely not survive.

"What do you mean flee the temple? Flee the Western Heaven City immediately!" Master Minghuai bellowed, knowing that when encountering a clash of half-immortals, the further one fled, the better.

The Sword of Wisdom cleaved downward, intending to slice the Divine Lord Sichen directly in two!

As though he had long anticipated Master Mingyu's movement, the Divine Lord Sichen took a step forward in advance, perfectly evading the strike.

This was another capability of the embryonic Dao Fruit of Eras: predicting the future.

The future was inherently uncertain; the further into the distance one predicted, the more prone to error it became.

Conversely, predicting the immediate future—such as the events of the very next instant—was remarkably precise!

"Is this the embryonic form of your Dao Fruit?" Having evaded the blow, the Divine Lord Sichen dared not underestimate Master Mingyu further; the might of that previous sword strike was absolute, not something a standard Tribulation Transcendence cultivator could unleash!

"Immortal, what manner of embryonic Dao Fruit does Master Mingyu possess?"

The Immortal Buxiu knitted her brows, tilting her head from side to side in perplexity: "It is not an embryonic form that appeared in antiquity; I do not recognize it."

No one would ever know what Master Mingyu's embryonic Dao Fruit truly was.

For this was an embryonic form that had never manifested before, and Master Mingyu had named it the Acala Embryonic Dao Fruit.

Should he survive the Ascension Tribulation and attain immortality, Master Mingyu would become the undisputed Acala, capable of performing every miraculous feat attributed to the Wisdom King in Buddhist lore!

"Demon-Subjugating Pestle!"

The manifestation of Acala swung the pestle; a blow from this would leave any Tribulation Transcendence cultivator dead or severely maimed, and even the Divine Lord Sichen would be heavily injured if struck.

Two half-immortals battled amidst the clouds, their forms flickering out of sight, time and history distorting as if the mythical era of antiquity had been reborn!

"His embryonic Dao Fruit of Eras feels as though it is nearing consummation," the Immortal Buxiu remarked after observing for a long while.

"Nearing consummation?" Lu Yang gasped in astonishment; did this not signify that the Divine Lord Sichen was qualified to ascend to immortality?

"However, looking at the way he utilizes it, he is highly unpracticed, as though it were not something he condensed himself—could it be that he forcibly amassed it through incense and faith?"