Chapter 1061: Law-Enforcing Heavenly Phenomenon

Meng Jingzhou stared at the giant set of clothes Lu Yang had produced, his mind plagued by a barrage of questions.

Where on earth did you manage to scrounge up a set of clothes like that?

"Ahem, this happens to be a supreme, peerless robe that I refined through endless painstaking effort and many days of dedicated cultivation. Your Dharma Idol looks rather unseemly with its bare backside, so I crafted this specifically for it to wear."

In reality, upon discovering that the grand art of the Sleeve Universe had inadvertently caused the clothes to enlarge, Lu Yang had continuously practiced the spell in an attempt to revert them to their original size, all to truly master the technique.

As it turned out, he never did learn the true Sleeve Universe; instead, his clothes had repeatedly expanded until they could no longer be shrunk back down.

Since Lu Yang had absolutely no use for a garment of such immense proportions, he figured he might as well let his good brother benefit from it.

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes, utterly convinced that only a ghost would buy into such nonsense.

Still, there was no harm in putting the clothes on.

Meng Jingzhou commanded his Dharma Idol to don the robe, and to his surprise, it was a remarkably perfect fit.

The originally awe-inspiring Dharma Idol, which brandished a shield in one hand and a dagger-axe in the other, took on a subtle aura of refined elegance once clothed, resembling a thoroughly erudite scholar marching onto a battlefield.

The Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol flickered with a terrifying crimson flame of pure solar energy; a single wisp of it could incinerate a horde of lesser ghosts, possessing an appalling level of destructive might. Any ordinary clothing touching the Dharma Idol would instantly be reduced to ashes.

Yet how could a garment crafted by Lu Yang be anything ordinary? The fabric was completely impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire, entirely unbothered by the flames of the pure solar energy.

All things considered, this was a free gift from Lu Yang, meaning Lu Yang was the one taking the loss.

"Not bad at all." Meng Jingzhou was highly satisfied with the current appearance of his Dharma Idol, finding it significantly more cultured; before this, the idol had resembled a butcher, which poorly suited his status as the young master of the Meng clan.

On the journey back, the more Lu Yang pondered the matter, the more skewed it felt. He had spent so much time learning the Sleeve Universe, yet in the end, he had gained absolutely nothing for himself, while old Meng had reaped all the rewards.

"What if I make my own body grow larger? Immortal, do you know of a way to expand one's physical form?"

Recalling the battles he had witnessed among high-stage cultivators, they typically involved moving mountains, draining seas, and swelling in size to bash one another. Acquiring a method to enlarge his body would surely prove useful in future combats.

"Then you ought to learn the Phenomenal Transformation of Heaven and Earth."

The Phenomenal Transformation of Heaven and Earth was a supreme divine ability far more renowned than the Sleeve Universe; even among Body Integration stage cultivators, very few could master it. Lu Yang was merely in the late Soul Formation stage, making it even more impossible for him to comprehend. However, taking into account Lu Yang's extraordinary talent, the Immortal Essence felt it might not hurt to give it a try.

In any case, if he botched the training, it had nothing to do with her.

"Then that is exactly what I shall learn!"

Lu Yang returned once more to the clearing where he had previously studied the Sleeve Universe, receiving direct instruction from the Immortal Essence herself.

"The Phenomenal Transformation of Heaven and Earth, as the name implies, involves emulating the primordial forces of 'Heaven' and 'Earth' to achieve a state of perfect harmony with the natural laws of the universe, thereby allowing the physical form to become immensely colossal, grand as the world itself!"

"You must form the Mudra of Heaven and Earth within your mind; the hand gesture goes like this..."

"Little Yang, calm your mind and feel the presence of the heavens and the earth."

The reason this divine ability was so notoriously difficult to master lay in the absolute lack of short-cuts; it relied entirely on innate enlightenment.

Great cultivators who successfully mastered the Phenomenal Transformation usually went out of their way to refine a massive set of clothes to wear after expanding, an issue Lu Yang had already inadvertently resolved.

As night descended, a cold, silvery radiance washed over the grassy glade, casting a tranquil and serene vista across the landscape.

Lu Yang sat cross-legged upon the ground, his five centers facing the sky, drawing a deep breath before slowly exhaling, as though in this exact moment, all stray thoughts were utterly banished, leaving only a communion between himself and the universe.

A gentle breeze swept past, laced with spiritual energy, bearing the crisp scent of distant mountain forests, as if even the spiritual energy itself was responding to his summons.

Lu Yang likewise felt the deep thrumming pulse of the earth, seemingly synchronizing with his own heartbeat; the earth felt solid and potent, harboring an inexhaustible reservoir of might.

In the blink of an eye, three days drifted past. Lu Yang neither ate, drank, nor slept, completely merging his entire being with the heavens and the earth.

The midday sun broke through the fractures in the clouds to strike Lu Yang's cheek. He opened his eyes and stood up, his entire demeanor entirely refreshed. Communing with the universe was an unprecedented experience that had granted him a wealth of profound insight.

Lu Yang pointed one finger toward the heavens, seeking to mimic the supreme posture of the World-Honored One, who stood unique between heaven and earth.

"Phenomenal Transformation of Heaven and Earth!"

Lu Yang vanished into thin air, leaving only his clothes draped upon the ground.

He felt as though he were a high and mighty celestial deity, looking down upon all living creation, which appeared as nothing more than tiny ants in his sight.

"Is this what it feels like to become a giant? It truly is a completely different sensation."

The Immortal Essence flew up into the sky to search for Lu Yang.

"Immortal, I have succeeded!" Lu Yang proclaimed with boundless excitement. It had not been easy; after studying spells for so long, he had finally gotten one right for once.

The Immortal Essence scratched her head, entirely at a loss for how to describe Little Yang's current state.

Invoking a spell, the Immortal Essence conjured a mirror out of thin air. Lu Yang peered into the mirror, yet he could not see his own reflection.

The Immortal Essence finally deduced how to articulate Little Yang's condition: "Second Chief, it appears you have transformed into spiritual energy."

"!"

A cloud of spiritual energy drifted listlessly in the sky; it was what Lu Yang had become.

Terrified out of his wits, Lu Yang hurriedly dissolved the spell, reverting to his human form stark naked, and rushed back down to hastily don his clothes.

"Frightened to death, absolutely frightened to death, I thought I was a goner." Cold sweat poured down Lu Yang's face, as if he had just taken a stroll through the gates of the underworld.

A cultivator turning into spiritual energy was known as Dissolution into the Dao, an occurrence that only happened upon death.

"The steps for invoking the spell just now must have been flawed. I shall try it once more."

There was no such thing as absolute safety when cultivating techniques. As a cultivator and a seeker of the Great Dao, Lu Yang would never allow a minor setback like this to stall his progress.

"Phenomenal Transformation of Heaven and Earth!"

Differing from the previous attempt, Lu Yang felt himself seamlessly blend with the earth, experiencing a profound sense of absolute security.

The Immortal Essence watched from the sidelines, observing as Little Yang vanished into thin air, only to be replaced by a mound of dirt.

"So the first time was emulating Heaven, and this time is emulating Earth?"

The Immortal Essence hissed through her teeth; Little Yang's emulation of heaven and earth was altogether too thorough.

Upon discovering the grim truth, Lu Yang attempted the spell several more times, only to realize that he either turned into the heavens or turned into the earth, but never into a giant human.

Lu Yang lay spread-eagled upon the ground, his vacant eyes staring blankly at the sky. Was it truly this difficult to become a giant?

Just as the Immortal Essence was about to step forward to offer some comfort, Lu Yang abruptly bolted upright.

"Ah, I have conceived a solution!"

Lu Yang immediately put his thought into action, invoking the Phenomenal Transformation just as before to turn into a cloud of spiritual energy.

Following that, Lu Yang unleashed the Taotie clan's innate divine ability, "Devouring Heaven and Earth," frantically swallowing the surrounding spiritual energy to expand his own volume.

"Dispel!"

Lu Yang canceled the spell and returned to his human form. This time, he had actually become a giant!

"Haha, I knew this method would work!"

Lu Yang leapt into the air with sheer exhilaration; his line of reasoning had proven correct. When transformed into spiritual energy, he would use Devouring Heaven and Earth to consume spiritual energy, and when transformed into earth, he would use it to eat dirt. Upon reverting to human form, he would remain in his giant stature!

Upon the Peak of the Heavenly Gate, a stark-naked giant bounded and capered about, the giant harboring absolutely no awareness that there was anything amiss with his behavior.

...

"Old Meng, manifest your Dharma Idol. Let us duel one-on-one."

With so many days having passed, Meng Jingzhou's complexion had returned to normal, and his strength had fully recovered to its usual peak. Lu Yang's challenge could hardly be considered bullying him now.

"Do you truly believe you can best my Dharma Idol?" Meng Jingzhou scoffed with a contemptuous smirk. He had been absorbing the solar essence directly from the sun every single day, and his Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol had already evolved to a quite terrifying degree.

"If you are afraid, then do not fight."

"Who is afraid of you?" Meng Jingzhou replied without the slightest courtesy. He instantly manifested his supreme, pure Yang avatar, a majestic divine being of unadulterated light that enveloped and shielded him.

"Phenomenal manifestation of heaven and earth!"

Lu Yang transformed into a small earthen mound.

"Devourer of heaven and earth!"

Lu Yang began to frantically consume the soil at the very entrance of Meng Jingzhou’s cave dwelling.

"Dispel!"

Lu Yang released his manifestation.

"Universe within the sleeve!"

Lu Yang caused his own garments to expand grandly.

A colossal Lu Yang now stood before Meng Jingzhou, matching the towering height of the divine avatar.

Meng Jingzhou cast a thoroughly bewildered look at his good brother.

"Why are there so many steps for you to just grow bigger?"

"You talk too much!"