Chapter 325: The Shattered Temple and the Divine Awakening

Scorching, searing, annihilating.

A dreadful shockwave lingered within the Bizarre Temple, impervious even to the endless, rolling mists that surged from its unfathomable depths—as though a wave of scorching energy had completely cut them off.

Li Che stood amid the ruins of the Divine Temple, where the Golden Heavenly King Statue had melted into flowing streams, and the true Temple Spirit—embodied by the Seven-Treasure Shеli Ruyi Heavenly King Tower—had been utterly shattered.

It was smashed to pieces under the crushing blow of Big Black Dog’s claw.

The Heavenly King Tower harnessed the Golden Heavenly King’s power at the peak of Martial Sage level, while the manipulated ranks of Temple Protection Incantation generals boasted similar strength. Li Che had planned to combine his many Spiritual Confinement techniques to block the Temple Protection Incantation and even the Temple Protection Corpse King, coordinating with Big Black Dog to swiftly overcome the Heavenly King Tower. However…

Big Black Dog was incredibly fast!

It was nothing short of a crushing, overwhelming display of strength—a total obliteration!

Yet Li Che’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement as he watched Big Black Dog, who had just unleashed that palm strike and then completely retracted its energy.

Big Black Dog had become uncharacteristically subdued, resembling an ordinary mutt rather than the awe-inspiring demonic beast that had once dominated the stars. It seemed to be deliberately conserving its energy.

Li Che wasn’t stupid; he instantly sensed the unusual change in Big Black Dog.

“Pup, your move… might just attract the attention of certain entities,” Li Che asked intently.

The pup’s eyes, dark as black dates, met Li Che’s gaze. It had been called ‘Dog Master’ when striking out, but now…

After acting, it dares to call itself a pup?! How infuriating!

XiXi, how could you have such a father?!

The pup bristled with anger, but in response to Li Che’s questioning stare, it only nodded reluctantly—a sight that filled Li Che with a touch of regret.

There was no doubt the pup was formidable. In fact, it was quite possible that the entity present was not its true form; in the pup’s dreams, the horrifying, colossal demonic beast that once loomed over the stars might well be its real self.

And the Boss… must be even stronger!

Up to this point, Li Che couldn’t determine Boss’s full strength, for it was always the pup who struck. Yet as the pup’s superior, Li Che had a gut feeling: Boss must be tremendously powerful.

Clearly, like the dog itself, Boss was restrained—either due to certain constraints or cautious reasons. Dog, on the other hand, could act because it was slightly weaker than Boss.

The pup glared at Li Che, as if it could sense that he was calling it a phantom dog! Li Che gently ruffled the pup’s head, his expression softening.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Li Che believed that both the pup and Boss should refrain from excessive action—perhaps it had something to do with XiXi. Though this was mere speculation, it was enough for him.

The pup grinned proudly, curling up in Li Che’s embrace, waving its paw in a defiant little gesture.

Li Che chuckled and buried the pup’s head deep within his robe.

Then he turned his gaze to the shattered Golden Divine Temple. His five fingers spread wide.

“Summon the Divine——!!!”

In that moment, Li Che’s eyes deepened as if entwined with interlacing threads of black and white, and it felt as though a heart within the cosmos began to pound—invoking the Pure Heart Summon!

BOOM——!!!

Fragments of the shattered Temple Spirit and Heavenly King Tower began to pulsate relentlessly, tumbling like boiling water. The very void around them seemed to twist and distort.

An immense aura of divine energy surged upward like mist from the ground, warping the air itself!

It gradually coalesced into a towering pagoda-shaped form—massive, awe-inspiring.

In the next moment, from within the Mud Pellet’s inner realm at his brow, a terrifying vortex-like pull erupted, wrenching the pagoda-like Temple Spirit violently into the inner landscape of the pellet.

Yet this Temple Spirit was far mightier than the one in Jin Guang Mansion’s Heavenly King Tower—inside the Mud Pellet’s inner realm.

The Cosmic Chessboard materialized, its lines intertwining and crisscrossing, while Pure Heart Divine Chess Pieces cascaded like clattering chains, binding the summoned entity tightly to the board!

A sealing suppression!

This wasn’t Li Che’s first time suppressing and sealing a Temple Spirit. In the past, he had employed Summon the Divine to draw a Temple Spirit from the Bizarre Temple and then slowly suppress it within the Cosmic Chessboard to refine it—it was just a different process now.

He had sealed the summoned entity within the Cosmic Chessboard, allowing the powers of Fa Tian Xiang Di Luminous True Primate Dao Pill and other Golden Pill divine images to refine and ingest the Temple Spirit’s force! Rumble——!

A Fifth Elder-level pagoda now stood embedded in the Cosmic Chessboard.

In an instant, the board’s lines buckled as if they were collapsing, retreating to encircle the pagoda. The summoned Temple Spirit was now locked, sealed within the board, while the Pure Heart Divine Chess Pieces worked to refine it.

Li Che could sense that with this act, the maturity levels of his 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit and 【Pure Heart】 Dao Fruit would gradually increase as the Temple Spirit was refined.

Tendrils of divine essence flowed invisibly under the control of his Summon, streaming relentlessly into the inner landscape of his Mud Pellet, where they were devoured one by one by Divine Essence Golden Pills.

Not only the Luminous True Primate Golden Pill, but also the Lv Xuan Sword Immortal Golden Pill and the Six-Desire Golden Pill were absorbing this sacred energy. Of course, the Luminous True Primate Golden Pill had the highest priority!

This was not only due to its attainment of the Breath Retention Transformation but also because it was sculpted upon the foundation of Pure Heart’s divine image—a cornerstone of Li Che’s cultivation.

The Lv Xuan Sword Immortal Golden Pill and the Six-Desire Golden Pill were mere embellishments.

The main Golden Pill remained the Fa Tian Xiang Di Golden Pill!

Rumble, rumble, rumble——

Inside the Mud Pellet’s inner realm, as if a divine storm had been unleashed, Li Che could feel his very soul vibrating. Each breath carried an unusual rhythm and resonance—as if he could hear the heartbeat of the cosmos.

BOOM——!!! Suddenly,

Li Che abruptly severed that sensation as a Feilei Chess Piece materialized in his hand.

Between heaven and earth, the swirling mists erupted, shattering the invisible barrier generated after Dog Master’s attack—like a tidal surge bursting forth, smashing everything in its path!

Everything was breaking apart, everything exploding!

Li Che drew a deep breath. It had arrived!

Every time he used his divine skill to summon a Temple Spirit, it triggered a tremor throughout the Bizarre Temple—as if a dreadful presence from its depths had been provoked. A suffocating wave of terror surged in from all sides!

In that instant, Li Che felt as if his very soul had been frozen, every fiber of his being under control—a colossal horror!

A terror emanating from the depths of the Bizarre Temple!

This time, the sensation was utterly different from previous summonings—a much stronger, more horrifying terror! Li Che looked up to see the sky of the Bizarre Temple seemingly torn apart!

A force that froze space and time descended through the rift, like the burst of an ancient tomb, as a torrent of overwhelming energy poured in!

Then Li Che saw a massive cyan hand—deep, dark blue and covered in intricate patterns. Compared to before, when only a thick, sky-obscuring cyan finger was visible, this time the entire palm…

It was even more terrifying!

As if instead of merely a finger, the entire hand had come crashing down in rage—tearing the void to shreds!

Unbridled winds howled and fierce shockwaves tore through the air. Li Che felt as though his very breath had turned to stone.

The pup in Li Che’s arms looked up in alarm, eyes wide open. What was happening?

Why… would such a presence suddenly emerge?! The pup had no idea what Li Che had done.

It knew Li Che’s five fingers were outstretched towards the Temple Spirit fragments, but what then? How else could Li Che alter the Temple Spirit’s fate?

Dog Master hadn’t sensed any fluctuation in Spiritual Confinement…

He only assumed that the terrifying cyan palm was aimed at him! Humm—

Yet Dog Master only experienced a brief blur—the oppressive force of that cyan palm disappearing as quickly as it came, replaced by a gentle breeze.

The deafening explosions, the oppressive pressure, and the freezing grip on time within the Bizarre Temple all faded away, leaving only heavy, labored breaths!

“Hah, hah, hah——”

Li Che collapsed onto the snow-laden ground, panting heavily.

Dog Master poked its head out from Li Che’s arms and gazed at a nearby Restaurant glowing with an orange light, standing silently as if time itself had settled around it—untouched by the passage of ages.

Deep within Li Che’s chest, the 【Pure Heart】 Dao Fruit thumped, unleashing its power to purge the terrifying aftermath from his spirit.

That awful, overwhelming force of the cyan palm had nearly made him suffocate—it cast a shadow even over his soul.

Li Che knew that the cyan palm carried a spiritual corruption that invaded one’s very being.

Like a deity wielding ultimate fear, it assaulted him. Thankfully, Li Che’s unsullied Pure Heart Dao Fruit cleansed the infection, leaving him to sit calmly in the snow.

This maneuver was undeniably risky—but Li Che had prepared thoroughly.

He understood that summoning a Fifth Elder-level Temple Spirit was unlike any task before; he hadn’t anticipated such an extraordinary difference.

It wasn’t just a broken cyan finger from the Bizarre Temple—it was an entire, colossal cyan palm intent on crushing him! Fortunately, Li Che sensed the peril and the Feilei Chess Piece dashed to the Restaurant’s side.

Quickly, Li Che clutched the Feilei Chess Piece and teleported back to the Private Workshop Courtyard, reasoning that it might not withstand the cyan palm’s corruptive force. Instead, he chose to Feilei over to the Restaurant.

Boss sat beneath the eaves, not smoking his rolled cigarette but rather tending to a charcoal stove beside him as he brewed tea. He showed no surprise at the sudden appearance of Li Che and Dog Master.

As if in this world, the only matter worthy of his concern was…

Just what XiXi would have for dinner today—a truly momentous matter. “Better not stir up trouble with unclean forces,” Boss remarked with a smile after a sip of his tea.

Li Che rose, brushing off the snow, and joined Boss for a cup of hot tea. Boss, not stingy at all, poured him a modest cup.

It was simple tea—a few unfurled tea leaves floated at the bottom of the cup, the jade-green liquid rippling gently.

The aroma of tea filled Li Che as he sipped; he felt a rush of warmth wash down his throat, cleansing him of impurities—even the weariness of his soul vanished.

“Excellent tea!”

Li Che’s eyes lit up as he praised the brew for the first time.

He never really understood tea—he only saw it as a means to quench his thirst.

But now, Li Che truly grasped the significance of a fine cup of tea.

Still, he paused his drinking; one cup was enough to chase away the cold and lift the gloom from his soul, leaving him in high spirits.

Big Black Dog wriggled free from Li Che’s robe and sprawled on the ground in a deep, contented sleep.

Whether it was catching up on lost sleep or recharging after the fierce battle, none could tell.

Li Che turned to Boss, voicing the doubts lodged in his mind.

“When trouble arises, you’d best handle it by yourself. Dog Master and I can’t act too often… too many actions will eventually leave traces, and by then…”

“We might not be able to cook dinner for XiXi anymore,” Boss added evenly, his pale white attire and cold expression betraying no emotion as he idly toyed with his tea cup.

Li Che’s body trembled slightly as a heavy thought descended upon him.

“You’d better strengthen yourself. Only by relying on your own power can you truly protect XiXi.”

“One must be strong to forge ahead. In every matter, no one can substitute for your own strength—that is your true foundation,” Boss continued coolly.

At those words, Li Che suddenly understood.

After a gesture of respect and gratitude, Li Che left the Restaurant and rushed into the pitch-black Tinglei Alley.

Boss sipped his tea and watched as Li Che’s figure vanished into the darkened alleyway.

A look of solemnity gradually overtook his features as he murmured softly,

“What has become of XiXi…”

“Have you lost him?”

Rumble——!

Taibai Peak.

The snow covering Grand Plaza quaked violently, and in the next instant, countless clumps of snow exploded outward!

Not only Taibai Peak, but nearly every mountain within the Divine Sect felt the shockwave: after the impact, all vegetation and snow capping buildings disintegrated into powder, scattering across the ground.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The sound of the shattering void echoed as figures leaped from one mountain to another, suspended amidst the icy tundra.

Inside Taibai Hall, Lü Taibai was instructing XiXi in cultivation.

His heart pounded, his eyes narrowing.

In a flash, he transformed into a streak of sword light, appearing in the void with his arms folded and silver hair streaming wildly.

Fang Han Shu, Zhao Fangzhou, and Elder Ding Zi—three inner elders of Martial Sage level—raced to his side.

“Sect Master!” Zhao Fangzhou’s face held unprecedented gravity.

As Second Elder, his main duty was to monitor the bizarre happenings in the Bizarre Temple within the Divine Sect Mountain Gate.

This time, when the Golden Heavenly King Tower first showed signs of anomaly, he was the first to sense it.

Yet the impact was so immense that before Zhao Fangzhou could report, Lü Taibai and the others had already arrived.

All eyes turned to a mountain on Grand Plaza, where a golden pagoda had surged from the ground. Cracks spider-webbed across it before it exploded into countless fragments, as if brilliant Buddhist light soared heavenward.

It sounded as though the anguished whispers of seven Buddhas—the sound of shattered relics—filled the air. Rumble!

Like a bolt of lightning from behind the clouds, everyone watched the mountain harboring the Golden Heavenly King Tower sway violently, as if countless shards of ice and snow were sliding off and bursting apart!

What had once been the divine visage of the sanctuary reappeared, growing larger and larger… until in everyone’s eyes it was no longer a sanctuary but a Bizarre Temple! An ominous vision emerged.

Finally…

It seemed to slowly dissolve into another dimension. Ultimately…

The Bizarre Temple vanished entirely.

With it, the Golden Heavenly King Tower and the bizarre Temple in the Divine Sect, suppressed for over a thousand years by Qianyuan Divine Sect, disappeared as well! “Gone…”

Fang Han Shu stroked his beard and said gravely,

“This situation… closely resembles when numerous Weird Sanctuaries belonging to the Su Family vanished into thin air!”

“This is no small matter.”

Second Elder Zhao Fangzhou’s blood roared as he glared, unable to help but exclaim,

“The Su Family once said that the disappearance of these Weird Sanctuaries was connected to the Underworld, but now it seems not so!”

“This Golden Heavenly King Tower’s bizarre Temple was suppressed due to an uprising—subdued by the Ancestral Patriarch’s Dao Essence… Could it be that the disappearance of the Weird Sanctuaries is the work of the Ancestral Patriarch?” Zhao Fangzhou marveled, “As expected of the Ancestral Patriarch… truly formidable!”

“It appears he knew this Temple, with its ties to Buddhism, was part of a calculated design, and so he eradicated it?”

After all, recently the only source of the Golden Heavenly King Tower’s Temple Spirit had been that overwhelming power from the Ancestral Patriarch’s presence in the Cosmic Dao Inscription Plaque! Zhao Fangzhou practically pinned the whole blame on the Ancestral Patriarch.

Of course, Zhao Fangzhou wasn’t just here to make the Ancestral Patriarch take the fall—he truly believed so, though Lü Taibai and Fang Han Shu exchanged glances displaying different thoughts.

Yet none could articulate anything further. “This is truly serious…”

Lü Taibai and Fang Han Shu closed their eyes simultaneously,

feeling the dramatic decline in the divine energy of Qianyuan Divine Sect’s Mountain Gate as if a water reservoir had lost its foundation and begun to recede.

Fang Han Shu remarked,

“The disappearance of a Fifth Elder-level Bizarre Temple directly reduced the total divine energy within our Mountain Gate by nearly twenty percent! This is monumental!”

If even the Fifth Elder-level temple could vanish, what if those at the Four Emperors or Three Purities levels were next to mysteriously disappear…

This could severely impact the cultivation and longevity of divine practitioners!

Lü Taibai stood with his arms folded, his silver hair billowing,

then looked to Fang Han Shu, Zhao Fangzhou, and Elder Ding Zi. This blame… would have to fall on the Ancestral Patriarch.

“Spread the word: The Golden Heavenly King Tower has been infiltrated by Buddhist forces and, under the stratagem aimed at our Junior Sect Master, was ultimately subdued by the Ancestral Patriarch’s Dao Essence and sealed in the Cosmic Niche!”

Lü Taibai declared.

A Fifth Elder-level Bizarre Temple vanishing into thin air—if this news spreads, it may trigger a cataclysm. For now, hold it back!

Lü Taibai had a vague notion of who was responsible.

Yet he could not fathom how they managed such a feat—vanishing a Bizarre Temple only to reappear elsewhere…

Unbeknownst to Li Che, the Ancestral Patriarch had taken the blame for him.

If word of this were to spread, the Ancestral Patriarch’s dark secrets would be unearthed by every divine cultivator in the land—after all, it was he who first dug into the very roots of divine cultivation.

Li Che returned to the Private Workshop Courtyard on Tinglei Alley. Once inside, he sat cross-legged at the center of the courtyard, letting the falling snow settle upon his shoulders and hair. In his eyes, golden light flowed continuously.

The glowing brilliance in his pupils slowly materialized into a set of textual prompts: 【Pure Heart Dao Fruit: (lv5 50%)】

【Chess Sage Dao Fruit: (lv5 30%)】

The maturity levels of his Dao Fruits were now clearly displayed before him.

Li Che abandoned the task of refining the Golden Heavenly King Tower Temple Spirit summoned onto the Cosmic Chessboard and focused on the feedback from the Dao Fruits!

Both Dao Fruits surged dramatically, causing Li Che’s heart to flutter. As expected, the Pure Heart Dao Fruit showed a marked improvement—climbing from 35% to 50% maturity, a 15% leap stimulated by the suppression of the Temple Spirit.

Likewise, the Chess Sage Dao Fruit advanced from 25% to 30%, also fueled by the refining process. To Li Che’s delight, the maturity of both continued to slowly increase.

Once a Dao Fruit reaches lv5, further advancement becomes exceedingly slow and challenging.

Li Che was pleasantly surprised by the significant gains from this summoning and suppression—it far exceeded the meager improvements from past attempts.

Could it be that this time the Temple Spirit was of the Fifth Elder level? Li Che pondered.

Judging by the horrifying counterattack after the summoning, it appeared to be linked. “Hah——”

“Ah——”

Li Che’s eyes blinked as his blood began to seep from beneath his skin. In that moment, the world fell silent.

Deep within his eyes, an even more brilliant cascade of golden light surged forth! This was his most significant breakthrough inside the Heavenly King Tower.

The true reward was not solely the increase in his Dao Fruits’ maturity—it was the effortless victory after relying on canine might!

With his full power unleashed, Li Che had not engaged in a fierce duel with the peak-level Golden Heavenly King Tower. Rather, Dog Master’s rapid strike had left Li Che with little time to fully contest the Temple Spirit’s assault.

Thus, this battle did not yield much improvement for his Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit’s maturity. However…

After the Summon the Divine, the terrifying, extraordinary cyan palm from beyond the Bizarre Temple struck down, stimulating a noticeable boost in his Dao Fruit’s maturity.

Previously, in his clash with the Heavenly King Tower in Jin Guang Mansion, Li Che had managed only a 5% increase in maturity.

But now, his Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit—already at 90% maturity after breaking through to Martial Sage—had surged to 95%! After contending with that fearsome cyan palm…

The Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit trembled violently! Crackle, crackle, crackle——!

Seated in the courtyard as snow silently fell and evaporated in an instant, Li Che exuded searing heat; his blood roiled like coiling serpents!

His jet-black hair whipped wildly as countless flakes of snow melted and evaporated, releasing a scorching heat that enveloped the entire courtyard! Behind him, five swirling vortices of blood emerged, like small blazing suns.

Scorching and searing, the vortex roiled and howled!

These were the five Qimen Divine Seeds Li Che had successfully drawn in! At that moment, another divine seed emerged along his spine, swirling into a vortex that grew ever more colossal—hinting at the appearance of an ethereal portal, only to be shattered by a sudden blow!

It was the very Transcendent True Martial Way of Huashen, fracturing the Southern Heavens!

And at that moment…

The divine seed, borne of that Transcendent True Martial Way, surged in tandem with the ever-quickening pulsations of the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit—drawn, as if by an invisible force, swiftly toward his spine.

BOOM——!!! Li Che’s eyes widened in shock!

Standing amidst wind and rain, his ink-dark robe billowing, his eyes flashed with electric brilliance as they danced wildly!

Every inch of his body, every pore, radiated an intense, blinding aura—as if he were ignited by a searing, resplendent light that threatened to illuminate all of Daocheng!

In that instant, Li Che felt as though he were undergoing a tremendous metamorphosis—arms outstretched, fingers clenching, causing the very air around him to ripple.

The melting snow and falling droplets burst into a shower of vapor, swept along by the energy to form a gigantic, fiery smoke dragon and a bellowing, thundering elephant!

Thud——!

A deep, muffled crash, like a boulder plummeting into an abyss, reverberated!

Li Che’s spine resounded with crackling sounds, his body as if inscribed with the finest, intricate traces of blood—his flesh enduring an unimaginable pressure!

Because… within his spine,

the Sixth Aperture of the Qimen Divine Seeds was ignited—a complex network resembling the intertwined patterns of mountains and rivers on earth, as yet another node was activated! The Sixth Qimen Divine Seed!

Successfully drawn out! His mouth opened wide.

He exhaled a searing blast of energy!

Within his chest, the pulsating Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit roared like an ancient bell atop a snow-capped mountain, its resonant chime interwoven with golden light that slowly formed into words before his eyes.

【Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit (lv6 0%）】

Dao Fruit… the Fourth Transformation!