After speaking those words, the Golden Lion fell silent, devoting all its energy to forging its golden body. Though in beast form, it now sat cross-legged in the lake, emanating a solemn and sacred aura.
Like a blazing sun, it radiated golden light, with Buddhist energy surging behind its head, forming a mysterious halo accompanied by faint chanting sounds!
“This little lion is extraordinary. I’ve heard that among the ancient monks, only those with immense potential—destined to become Buddhas or patriarchs—can manifest the radiance of Buddhist light and summon sacred chants. Yet it has achieved this!” an elder marveled.
The Fearless Lion was forging an invincible dharma body, striving for the highest perfection before descending into the lake to undergo the Eighteen Strikes of the Ancient Buddha, ensuring its battle form would be flawless!
At the bottom of the lake.
Waves churned, golden mists swirled, and auspicious light erupted like a volcano, surging endlessly.
All of this was stirred by the golden skeleton!
Seated atop an endless pile of bones, it emitted a blazing light, its Buddhist chants thunderous and divine, as if an immortal monk had been reborn to illuminate the world.
It was sacred and serene, yet for Shi Hao, it was terrifying. He coughed up blood, his body on the verge of collapse.
Though the golden skeleton remained seated, it had immobilized Shi Hao, striking him with a single palm—a blow of unbearable weight.
The golden hand bone was countless times more formidable than any artifact. Each strike left his newly forged indestructible body riddled with cracks.
Blood seeped out in streams, staining Shi Hao crimson as it flowed from the deep fissures in his body.
This was only the third strike, yet he was already on the brink of shattering!
It wasn’t that he was weak, nor that his indestructible body was merely a facade. The golden skeleton was simply too terrifying, its former realm beyond comprehension.
Even in death, the residual power within its golden bones could effortlessly slay cultivators at the Void Path realm!
Clearly, the skeleton wasn’t striking to kill—otherwise, the situation would have been far worse.
After three strikes, the skeletal hand paused, ceasing its assault.
“Hmm?”
Shi Hao was surprised but wasted no time pondering, quickly healing his wounds. As he did, he inspected his body and discovered something peculiar.
The strikes had targeted his weak points, as if “picking at flaws”!
A realization struck him—was the golden skeleton acting with deeper intent? Was this a form of guidance, pushing him to refine himself further?
Moments later, Shi Hao employed his strongest techniques to recover, committing those weak points to memory and immediately beginning to cultivate them.
“Ah!” Shi Hao gasped in astonishment. When he fully activated the Indestructible Scripture to reinforce those areas, a surge of hazy light erupted, instantly solidifying them.
He believed this wasn’t solely the scripture’s effect—the golden skeleton’s strikes had played a role as well.
As calm returned, Shi Hao wore a strange expression. Was the golden skeleton helping him refine his physique?
Boom!
At that moment, a burst of golden light erupted as the skeletal arm lifted, striking Shi Hao again—this time with greater force.
Another round of strikes had begun!
Unsurprisingly, Shi Hao coughed up blood once more, suffering even graver injuries than before.
Yet, he felt no fear. Instead, he was eager, hoping these strikes would reveal more of his weaknesses.
Three more blows landed, wracking his body with agony as his bones cracked, forming dense networks of fractures—a horrifying sight.
After the third strike, the golden skeleton stilled again.
Shi Hao frowned. Could he truly harbor so many flaws? That shouldn’t be possible.
Upon closer inspection, he realized the “flaws” were being exaggerated beyond normal detection. Even with divine vision, he wouldn’t have noticed them unaided!
By magnifying imperfections and then delivering crushing blows, the skeleton had left his body drenched in blood.
“Of course. In this world, what is truly flawless? What is perfect? If one searches hard enough, flaws can always be found. With the golden skeleton’s insight, spotting weaknesses in a cultivator of my level is effortless.”
With this understanding, Shi Hao relaxed his mind, devoting himself entirely to studying and repairing his body, mending every flaw.
As he did, the Indestructible Scripture glowed, rumbling like thunder within him.
Soon, the golden skeleton struck again—three more palms, confirming Shi Hao’s theory. This was truly “nitpicking.” This time, finding no obvious weaknesses, it targeted the “gates” within his body, throwing them into chaos.
Brilliant cyan light erupted as immense power surged from the gates!
Shi Hao trembled—this was undeniably cultivation guidance!
The golden skeleton lacked consciousness. Its actions were driven by an instinctual rule, woven from mysterious order, making this behavior a primal response.
It was interfering with the gates within Shi Hao’s body, attempting to make them unleash more power.
Yet, even as mighty as this skeleton was—once a monk who could be called a Buddha—it wasn’t omnipotent. It couldn’t truly alter everything.
In the end, the gates stabilized, unaffected, continuing to glow faintly like ancient caverns, steadily releasing their hidden power.
In the next strike, the skeletal hand seized Shi Hao, crushing and grinding him like clay, nearly drawing a scream from his lips.
Golden light flashed as his body was mangled!
Yet, he quickly recovered, only to be rolled and pressed relentlessly within the skeletal grip.
From then on, the skeleton no longer delivered three strikes at once but one by one, giving Shi Hao ample time to heal.
Even without obvious flaws, the skeletal hand would still wound him severely, driven by its instinct to relentlessly seek imperfections.
“Not good!”
Shi Hao sensed danger as the skeletal hand pulled out his soul, lightly striking it—a dire situation.
But he overestimated the threat. At his current level, his soul power was already monstrous, far surpassing his peers, with no fatal weaknesses.
Now, his soul was being tempered. Though golden light and radiant mist swirled around it, no lethal damage was inflicted.
He had feared that lacking a soul-cultivation method akin to the Indestructible Scripture would be disastrous. Yet, no issues arose—the skeletal hand was merely refining his soul.
Though his soul seemed slightly smaller, it grew purer and more resilient. Overall, his power didn’t diminish but increased!
When the skeletal hand released his soul, it shattered his body again, forcing out a Dao Flower, which bloomed to reveal a tiny figure.
The being that seemed to live in the distant past, separated from his true self by endless time!
On this tiny figure was a cycle mark. Ever since shielding Shi Hao from the Immortal-Slaying Guillotine, it had been bound, never freed.
Now, the golden skeletal hand struck it, triggering a startling transformation.
Faintly, Shi Hao heard a roar from the ancient past, accompanied by chanting, as chaotic light and immortal mist billowed forth.
“Smack!”
Another strike landed on the tiny figure, and the cycle mark was shaken loose, detaching before re-embedding itself into Shi Hao’s own palm.
He originally had five cycle marks on his hand. Now, the one that had left returned from the tiny figure to his palm.
Simultaneously, Shi Hao felt lighter, as if a shackle had been undone. His entire being grew more ethereal, suffused with unparalleled ease.
It was like emerging from a dark prison into sunlight—his body and mind felt liberated.
His heart trembled. Clearly, he felt more attuned to the Dao, more suited for cultivation than ever before!
“Indeed, a true shackle has been broken. Now, if I break through to the Severing Realm, it will be with complete freedom!”
Shi Hao finally understood why his subconscious had resisted advancing before—his body had still harbored imperfections, now rectified.
In the time that followed, the golden skeleton struck intermittently, tempering Shi Hao as if he were being forged a thousand times!
Eventually, there were no more flaws to pick, yet the skeletal hand didn’t relent, still leaving him coughing blood with each strike.
Shi Hao counted—the golden skeleton delivered eighteen strikes in total before finally stopping.
“Hmm, it’s time for me to descend. My golden body is complete. Now, I shall undergo the Eighteen Strikes of the Ancient Buddha to achieve perfection!” Above the lake, the Fearless Lion opened its eyes.
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