"Then why did Buddhism come to the Mysterious Realm? What happened in the Martial Realm?"

  Xia Li wanted to know what had occurred on Earth during the Spiritual Era—what exactly had caused the collapse of the cultivation age.

  "According to ancient texts, it was the Five Signs of Celestial Decay—the extinction of all dharma."

  "The Age of Dharma Decline?"

  Xia Li did know Earth's perspective. Current Earth research indicated that the rise and fall of spiritual energy might be a phenomenon similar to tides.

  With ebbs and flows.

  It was just that something unknown had happened on Earth, causing the ebb to last too long and too completely. As a result, even after spiritual energy revived, aside from a golden window period right at the start of revival, spiritual energy afterward fell back into scarcity.

  Fortunately, humans had invented the Spirit Fusion Reactor, which could create and generate spiritual energy. Otherwise, there would be no way to supply the spiritual energy needs of the new era.

  But even so, with humans building reactors on every spirit vein on Earth, spiritual energy was still far from sufficient—they even needed to mine resources from other planets.

  "Perhaps, perhaps not. But may I ask what purpose brings the benefactor here?"

  Within a hundred-thousand-li radius, there was nothing but endless yellow sand, with the only sectarian force being Vajra Temple. The old monk was naturally curious about Xia Li's destination.

  "To visit Vajra Temple and learn the Great Sun Golden Body."

  "Those with affinity to my Buddha, who can study the sutras, can naturally learn the Great Sun Vajra Body."

  "Isn't it the Great Sun Golden Body Technique?"

  "It is, and it isn't. Those without affinity cannot enter the door. Minor affinity may grant some subtle dharma. Great affinity can forge the golden body. If affinity is complete, one may obtain the divine ability—Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth, transforming into Vajra."

  "Buddhism is this generous in transmitting the Dao?"

  Xia Li couldn't quite understand. This technique that came with a divine ability had probably exceeded Heaven-grade and reached Dao-grade.

  In Earth's standards, it would be "Supreme."

  Meaning the highest known quality—nothing better exists.

  A standalone divine ability and a divine ability inherent to a technique were not the same concept. The former had limited use and a fixed ceiling. But a technique's inherent divine ability could grow stronger as one's own realm increased.

  "When affinity arrives, what is there that cannot be transmitted?"

  The old monk smiled. Just then, a powerful tremor suddenly came from not far away, as if something was swimming beneath the sand sea.

  Seeing this, Xia Li immediately prepared to flee.

  This disturbance was recorded in the Desolation Continent gazette. An extremely terrifying monster existed on Desolation Continent's land—the Desolation-Devouring Worm.

  According to records, this worm was gigantic. There had even appeared Worm Kings as massive as mountain ranges, devouring heaven and swallowing earth with extreme terror. Unlike other insect monsters that won through numbers, the Desolation-Devouring Worm was one of the rare insect monsters whose individuals were extremely powerful.

  "Haha, fear not, benefactor. Walk with sincerity, traverse on foot, and passing through the sand sky, you shall naturally see Great Vajra Temple."

  After the old monk spoke, from a distant sand dune suddenly burst forth a massive worm, its body rising from the surface alone standing over a hundred meters tall—like a skyscraper rising from level ground.

  "It's this enormous?"

  Xia Li had underestimated the Desolation-Devouring Worm. The Heaven Chip was now scanning it—this was a monster with an extremely unique body structure.

  But what surprised Xia Li more was yet to come.

  The old monk walked toward the sand worm. With each step forward, his figure expanded. After several steps...

  A sandstorm struck. Xia Li instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, only to see a giant emerge from the yellow sand.

  It was a muscular, equally hundred-meter-tall figure, face showing boundless wrath, body colored golden-black—an Wrathful Vajra!

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  With each step the Vajra took, it kicked up endless yellow sand to the sky. It rapidly approached the sand worm, seized it, and forcibly wrenched it out from the sand dune, then grappled with it.

  To Xia Li, all of this was like watching a movie.

  Then...

  The sand worm opened its great maw, emanating terrifying suction. In an instant, sun and moon lost their light. Boundless sand and dust came rolling in. The mournful howling wind, wrapped in sand and dust, struck Xia Li's body like a thousand cuts.

  "What the... is going on!"

  In his alarm, Xia Li hurriedly retreated into the Cave Heaven Gourd. He occasionally extended his divine sense to observe outside, but the sand wind could actually damage divine sense, forcing Xia Li to stay huddled in the gourd, hoping the giant worm wouldn't swallow it.

  After sending out his divine sense more than ten times to probe outside and sensing the storm had subsided, Xia Li finally emerged from the Cave Heaven Gourd. Now the wind had stopped and the sand had settled—no trace remained that a great battle had occurred here.

  Only a golden bowl covering the gourd told of this wondrous encounter being real.

  "That old monk... who exactly is he?"

  Xia Li collected the golden bowl. Thinking of the old monk's methods, he now felt he'd come to the right place.

  That was one of the top three divine abilities—Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth!

  Divine abilities numbered in the thousands—Shrinking Earth to Inches, Scattering Beans to Become Soldiers, Summoning Wind and Calling Rain—all existed. But three stood above the rest.

  Word Becomes Law, Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth, Temporal Transformation.

  Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth represented breaking all dharma with pure power.

  These three supreme divine abilities—Earth currently possessed none of them. Even the Heavenly Dao Computer couldn't create them from nothing in a short time.

  The power of Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth had shocked Xia Li.

  And a hundred meters was merely the starting point for Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth. Ancient texts recorded thus...

  An immortal's dharma form, a single pointing finger could topple falling stars—with just one finger, an entire continent could be destroyed.

  How enormous was that?

  The entire body could probably rival a planet in height.

  "Cultivators—the higher the realm, the more unreasonable, the more exaggerated... If Earth one day encounters a true great power, what would happen?"

  Xia Li couldn't help but feel worried.

  [The Heavenly Dao Computer possesses countermeasures, but specific measures are classified as top secret]

  The Heaven Chip told Xia Li not to worry—humanity wasn't that fragile.

  "I hope so..."

  Xia Li didn't know what else to say. His greatest hope now was that the two realms would not have any large-scale contact.

  Good for Earth, good for this world too.

  Earth was currently preparing to enter the interstellar age, confidence soaring. Seeing such a spiritually abundant world, they would most likely implement invasion.

  And the great powers of this world would certainly act. Then would come another bloody war.

  How would he position himself then?

  Stand firm for justice and firmly say no to invasion, or submit to racial destiny and become the spearhead of humanity's invasion?

  Humans and the human race...

  Which one was truly the orthodox humanity?

  Perhaps...

  In the end, there would only be one conclusion.

  Whoever wins is human, not an ant.

  Thinking these idle thoughts, Xia Li strode forward, wandering through the sand sea. That vastness and desolation stirred melancholy in Xia Li, yet he still didn't choose to retreat into the gourd.

  The wind howled mournfully as if heaven and earth were weeping. The sky was sometimes clear, sometimes covered with yellow sand.

  The footprints behind him couldn't last more than a few breaths before being scattered by the wind. The path ahead was shrouded, with no road back.

  Wanting to walk to Vajra Temple on foot was itself a test of one's mental state—a form of affinity.