Chapter 139: The Asura Path of the Lesser World (Part 1 and 2 Combined)

After handling Jiang Xing's affairs, Zhou Bai did not hesitate and immediately departed. Although his cultivation was temporarily restricted, he had his natal protection, so he remained safe.

The thin horse pulling the carriage had now become a dragon species, its physique growing stronger day by day. This weight was no longer a challenge for it.

Zhou Bai sat quietly inside the carriage, while Ah Huang rested peacefully beside him.

He planned to wait until he found the third incarnation before feeding Ah Huang the divine ability fruit, to prevent any unexpected accidents. The demonic divine ability "Wanli Qiuxiong" (Ten-Thousand-Mile Scent Tracking) was still very useful during pursuits.

His consciousness entered his lower dantian. The miniature world inside no longer looked as it originally had; the island had collapsed, the lake water was turbid, and the living beings formed by the human dao divine abilities appeared listless and withered.

A few days ago, the Ghost Mother had been sealed beneath the island by dozens of chains, but it continued to struggle incessantly. Every struggle caused the miniature world to tremble, bringing it to the verge of collapse several times.

As the divine ability of the Great Treasure Lapis Lazuli Medicine was unleashed, the Ghost Mother was subsequently forcefully suppressed and slain, but the aftermath was still fermenting.

There were as many as seven hundred and sixty-three lonely ghosts and stray spirits within the Ghost Mother's body. Although the main body of the prison had been destroyed, these lingering souls were released, and they became even more unbridled.

The miniature world was overflowing with lingering souls, covering the sky like locusts and destroying everything within.

The living beings formed by the human dao divine abilities gathered together, countless runes surging from their bodies and merging into the miniature world to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

Zhou Bai believed that the miniature world currently lacked the power to completely grind down and obliterate the lingering souls, leaving him with no choice but to take some risks to see if the Buddhist dao divine abilities could be integrated into it.

However, the priority was to further stabilize the miniature world. He planned to use the points gained from slaying the Ghost Mother to upgrade two newly acquired human dao divine abilities.

Both had been obtained from the Crude Dog Gang: one was the "Sugar Maker," and the other was from Butcher Zhang’s ancestral pig-slaughtering craft, named the "Eighteen Pig-Slaughtering Methods." It was somewhat similar to the Flesh-Eating Method, but recorded more of the techniques of pig slaughtering.

As for the rest of the martial arts obtained from Songdu, Zhou Bai did not have surplus points to upgrade them at the moment, so he had to set them aside for now.

As the points were invested, the Sugar Maker was the first to upgrade. The resulting human dao divine ability was named "Sugar Making." When unleashed, it formed a honey-like liquid; consuming just a tiny bit would keep one from needing food for days.

In the lower dantian's miniature world, the Sugar Making divine ability transformed into a swarm of honeybees, somewhat similar to the wasps formed by the Curse Killing ability, but with a more docile nature.

When the divine ability reached the third level, the lower dantian's miniature world was indeed somewhat stabilized, and its internal space expanded slightly.

Next was the Eighteen Pig-Slaughtering Methods. After this human dao divine ability was upgraded, it exceeded his expectations.

Breaking the usual pattern, countless rune characters were first conceived. These rune characters actually integrated into the Curse Killing divine ability, continuously splitting and merging as if preparing to incubate something.

After waiting for a moment, the part of the Curse Killing divine ability concerning the Flesh-Eating Method was forcibly stripped away and merged with the Eighteen Pig-Slaughtering Methods.

The remaining part was centered around the Rebirth Mantra, and this portion consciously absorbed the information regarding runes from the dao cultivation techniques.

After a blur of the words "Curse Killing" on the system panel, this human dao divine ability transformed into "Runes," and its effects differed from before.

The original Curse Killing divine ability directly amplified speed. The current Rune divine ability was slightly different; it allowed a choice among "Strength, Agility, and Intelligence" for enhancement.

If Agility was chosen, the effect was similar to Curse Killing, bursting forth with tremendous speed in an instant.

If Strength was chosen, physical strength would be multiplied several times instantly, though the duration was relatively short.

The final option, Intelligence, was even more profound. Once enhanced, Zhou Bai could enter a state of pseudo-epiphany, with his cultivation speed and comprehension undergoing a certain degree of improvement.

The wasp form of the Runes in the miniature world also underwent a slight change, shifting from alternating black and yellow to pure yellow.

Meanwhile, the human dao divine ability formed by the Eighteen Pig-Slaughtering Methods was named "Slaughtering." As long as Zhou Bai used a blade to slay living beings—excluding ghostly entities—a portion of their vitality and blood would be absorbed to recover his own injuries.

With this divine ability, if he encountered a large-scale siege by demonic entities, he could grow stronger the more he fought. At least to his enemies, the speed at which his injuries healed was visible to the naked eye.

The Slaughtering divine ability transformed into a black-haired wild boar within the miniature world, and the dantian finally stabilized completely, preventing it from collapsing bit by bit over time.

Zhou Bai breathed a sigh of relief, then shifted his consciousness from the lower dantian to the middle dantian, attempting to communicate with the two Buddhist divine abilities residing there.

Although he could not effectively control the divine abilities because he did not practice the fundamental arts of Buddhism, after a long period of familiarity, he could barely control a portion of the might of the Buddhist divine abilities.

However, when Zhou Bai tried to move the Great Treasure Lapis Lazuli Medicine or the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Scripture, he felt like a clay ox entering the sea—yielding no response whatsoever.

These two Buddhist divine abilities were like stubborn nail households, firmly rooted in the middle dantian with zero reaction to him.

After trying for a long time, he chose to give up. His original intention was to integrate the Buddhist, Demonic, and Immortal dao into the dantian's miniature world to perfect it.

Yet it seemed he had fallen into a vicious cycle: unless he slew the third incarnation, he could not practice the Buddhist fundamental arts, thus losing the opportunity to fully control the divine abilities.

Now Zhou Bai was left with only two methods. The safest was to individually obliterate the lingering souls in the dantian's miniature world one by one. The drawback was that it was far too time-consuming, and there was no telling how long it would take to finish.

The alternative was to take a step back and attempt to integrate the immortal dao or demonic dao divine abilities into the dantian's miniature world. The effect should be the same, but the risks involved were much greater.

The risk of the demonic dao divine ability lay in its uncontrollability. Even if it held no hostility toward him, it was still a divine ability far more sinister than heterodox abilities.

Once the immortal dao divine ability was integrated into the dantian's miniature world, his three souls and seven魄 would be exposed in the Niwan Palace, which might easily lead to deviation and demonic obsession due to the true soul.

Regardless, Zhou Bai had to give it a try; sitting idly and waiting for death was not his style.

First, he tried communicating with the Lingyun Dao Pearl, but just like the Buddhist divine abilities, it had no effect. While the latter at least gave some reaction, this divine ability showed no reaction at all.

Clutching the mindset of treating a dead horse like a living veterinarian, Zhou Bai attempted to communicate with the "All Disasters" entity. To his surprise, this divine ability immediately responded, though it was completely beyond his control.

The All Disasters entity took the form of a fiend, crawling out from the demonic dantian. It then opened its wide mouth and swallowed the black heart that had previously resided there in a single gulp.

Deprived of his second heart, Zhou Bai could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood, his complexion turning faintly pale—a sign of insufficient vitality and blood.

The fiend let out a strange laugh and darted into the dantian's miniature world at lightning speed, chasing the lingering souls as it flew up and down.

Because of the demonic dao divine ability, the entire miniature world became unstable once again, with a large number of cracks spreading across the dantian.

A trace of regret flickered in Zhou Bai's heart, but fortunately, after the fiend had finished playing around in the dantian's miniature world, it stopped making trouble.

A thought abruptly arose in his mind.

"Three incarnations' karma, six paths of reincarnation."

At that moment, the fiend transformed into thick black smoke that directly enveloped the miniature world, and its strange laughter still echoed from within the black smoke.

Shortly after, the black smoke gradually sank into the miniature world, forming an affiliated space beneath the earth that was only one-fifth the size. The lingering souls were dragged into it as if firmly bound.

Zhou Bai instantly sensed the circulation of yin and demonic qi within his body; his cultivation had ultimately returned, and over the past few days, it had even progressed slightly.

Of course, the most significant change was the dantian's miniature world itself. The six paths of reincarnation had actually been established within it—though only in a rudimentary form, it took a step closer to a true grand world.

The resulting affiliated world was named the Hell Dao, accommodating the seven hundred and sixty-three lingering souls as its foundation.

The All Disasters entity transformed into the core of the Hell Dao, retaining its fiendish appearance as it cackled strangely while chasing the lingering souls within it.

Naturally, the establishment of the Hell Dao did not mean the dantian's miniature world now possessed life and death reincarnation; for now, it merely formed a pseudo-world accommodating lonely ghosts and stray spirits.

Zhou Bai estimated that only when the complete six paths of reincarnation were fully established would life and death cease to be illusory boundaries within the dantian's miniature world.

Both the Ghost Tree and the Salted Fish eagerly burrowed into the dantian, beginning their repairs of the miniature world.

The turbid lake water gradually cleared up, the island began to stand tall once again, and the underground yin vein within it grew thicker and sturdier.

Moreover, as a blessing in disguise, a few of the originally dead weeds and algae had managed to leave behind remnants. Though only a smattering, they clearly adapted to the environment of the dantian's miniature world.

As long as the plants propagated, the dantian's miniature world would acquire the atmospheric foundation to house living creatures, though food would still need to be provided by Zhou Bai himself.

Resolving the hidden dangers in his body left him feeling refreshed and clear-headed, and it also proved that the path he was walking was correct.

Next was to integrate the Buddhist and Immortal dao divine abilities, uniting all of Zhou Bai's power systems into one. From then on, a grand internal circulation would form within his body, and the Great Dao could be anticipated.

However, since his cultivation had returned, he no longer planned to stay inside the carriage. Naturally, he would slice through demons and devils all the way, collecting as many points as possible in preparation for breaking through to the true soul.

Zhou Bai mounted the thin horse, and Ah Huang resumed its miserable running-along career. The carriage was not wasted and was simply stowed away in his storage pouch.

He headed toward the place where the third incarnation had last appeared in his memory.

Three of the four avatars of Liaowu had already been destroyed, meaning there was completely no possibility of advancing his fruit status further. He didn't even need to exterminate them himself; they would turn to ashes within a century.

Traveling south along this path, seven days passed quickly. During this period, Zhou Bai struck out many times, and the number of demons dying under his blade grew increasingly large.

Possessing the Yin-Yang Eyes, which he could deploy unhindered across uninhabited wilderness, finding demons was not difficult, and points accumulated rapidly.

A few hazardous situations arose along the way, but Zhou Bai resolved them one by one utilizing his powerful true body.

He took the opportunity to upgrade the various martial arts acquired in Songdu into divine abilities, further enriching the foundations of both the demonic and ghostly paths and making them even more formidable.

The scales on the back of the Salted Fish had covered almost its entire spine and were beginning to spread toward the sides, while the divine ability leaves on the branches of the Ghost Tree had also increased significantly.

A few days later, the speed of the thin horse slowed down; Zhou Bai seemed to have arrived at his destination.

On the weed-grown imperial road lay the tracks of two cart wheels, while a giant boulder and strangely shaped pine trees in the distance matched his memories.

He dismounted from the thin horse, his right hand transforming into white bone as yin fire surged outward, reducing the weeds within a hundred meters to ashes.

Once the grass ash was blown away by the wind, shattered carts and horses lay exposed across the middle of the imperial road—precisely the caravan that had transported the golden Buddha.

Ah Huang bounded forward joyfully, sniffing the air continuously for scents. Regrettably, too much time had passed, and all traces of scent had long since dissipated.

Zhou Bai also stepped forward to investigate. The wreckage left by the caravan bore too many marks left by wild animals, with teeth marks everywhere.

Only a few white bones were covered by soil, though they long ago lost their pre-mortem appearances. Upon closer inspection, not even a complete skeleton could be pieced together.

As for the golden Buddha itself, it was nowhere to be found, leaving behind only a few footprints at the scene.

Due to the lapse of time, the footprints were no longer distinguishable. Had the golden Buddha not been extremely heavy, it probably would have vanished completely long ago.

Zhou Bai deduced that during the caravan's transport of the golden Buddha, Liaowu's memories likely awakened, causing him to suddenly lash out and attack the caravan, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries.

As to why they transported it deep into Xuzhou, it probably had some connection to Liaowu. Buddha light was inherently an aura with strong bewitching properties, and the fact that the caravan journeyed safely all the way might also be related to the radiating Buddha light.

However, since Liaowu chose this place, there must be a connection, possibly involving the White Lotus Sect.

In truth, Zhou Bai had always harbored some hesitation, as searching for the golden Buddha could easily plunge him into danger.

Yet the White Lotus Sect's secret method for rapidly attaining fruit status was intimately connected to integrating Buddhist divine abilities into the dantian's miniature world; giving up this opportunity was something he was truly unwilling to do.

Regardless, he had to try, but he must make thorough preparations.

When Zhou Bai clashed with Liaowu's fourth incarnation in Hangzhou, the opponent only recognized the Buddha bone after he revealed his white bone true body, indicating that flesh and skin could conceal it.

He poured his remaining points into the Disguise divine ability all at once, directly elevating it from the third level to the fifth.

As the first human dao divine ability to reach the fifth level, the dantian's miniature world expanded violently once more, stopping only after growing more than fourfold in size.

With a gentle flutter of the wings of the human-faced butterfly formed by the Disguise divine ability, a wisp of spiritual rhyme was released, causing the weeds on the island to grow rapidly.

Within moments, all the soil was covered. The blades of the weeds presented a grayish-green hue, subtly releasing wisps of air through imperceptible shifts.

The algae in the water also propagated swiftly, many sinking to the bottom of the water to transform into strands of aquatic grass.

The wisp of spiritual rhyme emitted by the human dao divine ability only briefly appeared upon breaking through the seventh level, propelling the dantian's miniature world a step further.

Naturally, the greatest change occurred within the Disguise divine ability itself.

Zhou Bai closed his eyes, and the aura around him gradually converged. Changes to his appearance were secondary; wisps of Buddha light began to radiate from his body.