Chapter 1045: Timekeeper Divine Lord, Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit
“Timekeeper Divine Lord? The divine lord who governed time during the Great Qian Dynasty?!”
Master Mingyu immediately recalled the legends of the Timekeeper Divine Lord, a prominent figure from three hundred thousand years ago.
I’ve long feared that a crisis would befall Xitian Temple. Is it finally happening?
“It seems you are well-read and knowledgeable, Great Master. I thought no one in this world still remembers me,” the Timekeeper Divine Lord said with a condescending grin, dismissive of Master Mingyu.
“You deceived me!” Realization dawned upon Xinzhen. How laughable am I? I thought that finding this storage ring was a fortuitous encounter and that the being inside was training me according to the standards of an eminent monk.
All of this has been a ruse just to make me pass the three Buddhist aura trials!
“When did I ever deceive you? I gave you everything you wanted, didn’t I?” The Timekeeper Divine Lord smiled at Xinzhen, though his gaze wasn’t that of looking at a human, but at a tool. This kid no longer has any use.
During the Great Qian era, Xitian Temple’s main treasure had caused the Great Qian dynasty no small trouble. Great Qian had dispatched troops several times, but to no avail.
After awakening in the Great Xia era, the Timekeeper Divine Lord soon set his sights on this treasure.
He discovered that Master Mingyu had not gained the treasure’s recognition and couldn’t use it. He saw it as a godsend opportunity.
Xitian Temple’s main treasure was shrouded in a Buddhist aura. Snatching it by force wouldn’t work. One had to pass the three Buddhist aura trials. As such, he had hidden himself inside a storage ring of immortal artifact grade and ensured that a Qi Training monk would find it.
The Xitian Secret Domain had the ability to discern cultivation realms. Only an immortal artifact capable of concealing someone within could fool it. Even a lesser-grade immortal artifact wouldn’t suffice.
After over a hundred years and hundreds of attempts, he had finally passed the three trials and laid eyes on the Heaven-Splitting Axe.
These three trials had consumed a tremendous amount of Buddhist aura. At this moment, it was at its weakest—the perfect time for him to seize the Heaven-Splitting Axe.
“It’s time for the Heaven-Splitting Axe to have a master.”
During the Great Qian era, the Timekeeper Divine Lord had governed time, condensing an Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit. The axe handle of the Heaven-Splitting Axe was part of the Epoch Immortal’s body, so in a sense, he and the axe shared a connection. Even if he could not become its master, simply taking the axe would pose no problem.
“How dare you?!” Master Mingyu was incensed.
His wrathful manifestation appeared—a Buddha bearing fierce flames on his back and wielding a sharp sword in his hand.
It was none other than Acalanatha from Buddhist legends!
The dharma manifestation of Acalanatha materialized, threatening to destroy heaven and earth.
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” An hourglass appeared in the Timekeeper Divine Lord’s palm. As the grains of sand slipped away, time slowed to a crawl.
He snatched the Heaven-Splitting Axe from the altar. With a light swing, the axe shattered space, carving a passage to the outside world.
He had not fully earned the axe’s acknowledgement and was only able to deploy a fraction of its power.
“Don’t you leave!”
The Timekeeper Divine Lord couldn’t maintain the time-slowing effect indefinitely. When time returned to its normal flow, Master Mingyu immediately gave chase.
“Who dares cause a ruckus at my Xitian Temple?!”
The commotion from breaking open the Xitian Secret Domain was so great that every monk in Xitian Temple took notice.
Two figures flew out from opposite corners of Xitian Temple, blocking the Timekeeper Divine Lord.
“Minghuai, Mingtian?” The Timekeeper Divine Lord smirked at the two old monks—one at the Advanced Transcendent Tribulation Stage and the other at the Intermediate Transcendent Tribulation Stage.
“Junior brothers, stop him!” Master Mingyu hollered from behind, his face blazing with fury, as if the true Acalanatha had descended upon the world.
“Vajra Devil-Vanquishing!”
“Om Mani Padme Hum[1]!"
Master Minghuai and Master Mingtian struck simultaneously. The Vajra Devil-Vanquishing art held boundless power, and the Six-Character Dharani Scripture resonated with Heaven’s law. Combined, the two caused the winds and clouds to shift, and even the space above Xitian Temple trembled.
“Nether World Blood Sea!” The Timekeeper Divine Lord summoned a crimson ocean, its stench of blood filling the air. During the Great Qian era, human life was as worthless as grass, making it easy to cultivate such a sea of blood.
The vast and righteous Buddhist spells clashed with the ocean of blood. Overwhelmed by the two monks, the Timekeeper Divine Lord momentarily fell into a disadvantage.
“Enemy attack!”
Xitian Temple was thrown into chaos. The monks could hardly believe that anyone would dare assault their temple.
“Great Light Incantation!”
“Vajra Scepter!”
Seeing their attacks effective, Minghuai and Mingtian pressed their advantage, unleashing a barrage of devil-subduing techniques with ease. Yet gradually, the Timekeeper Divine Lord’s attacks began to gain the upper hand, and the two monks found themselves flagging.
”What's going on? Why can’t I muster my strength?” Even Master Mingtian’s voice sounded feeble.
“You’ve finally noticed?” The Timekeeper Divine Lord smirked. His Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit could accelerate the depletion of a target’s stamina. Even Transcendent Tribulation cultivators couldn’t withstand such a drain. Before my Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit, they’re not qualified to fight me at all!
Only half-immortals can be my match.
The drain from using an Incipient Dao Fruit was minimal. He was hardly affected by the stamina depletion.
“You two, fall back! I’ll fight him!” The Acalanatha Dharma Manifestation flew forth. Master Mingyu acted decisively, brandishing his Wisdom Sword.
Minghuai and Mingtian gritted their teeth. Aware that staying on the battlefield would only burden their senior brother, they turned and flew down.
“Quickly get away from the Xitian Temple!”
A battle between half-immortals could annihilate everything. Even this vast Xitian Temple may not survive.
“Leave the Xitian Temple? Get out of Xitian City right away!” Master Minghuai bellowed. When encountering a battle between half-immortals, the farther one fled, the better.
The Wisdom Sword slashed downward, aiming to cleave the Timekeeper Divine Lord in two.
The Timekeeper Divine Lord seemed to have anticipated Master Mingyu’s move. He stepped aside just in time to evade the strike.
The Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit had another ability—Clairvoyance.
The future was uncertain. The more distant the prediction was, the more prone it was to error.
But conversely, the closer the prediction was, such as what would happen in the next moment, the more accurate it would be!
“This is your Incipient Dao Fruit?” After dodging that strike, the Timekeeper Divine Lord no longer dared to underestimate Master Mingyu. The power from that sword strike just now is absolutely not something a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator should be able to unleash!
“Immortal Fairy, what Incipient Dao Fruit does Master Mingyu possess?”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy frowned, tilting her head one way and then the other, visibly perplexed. “It’s not an Incipient Dao Fruit that appeared in ancient times. I don’t recognize it.”
No one knew what Master Mingyu’s Incipient Dao Fruit was. As it was an unprecedented Incipient Dao Fruit, Master Mingyu had named it the Acalanatha Incipient Dao Fruit.
If he could overcome the Immortal Ascension Tribulation and become an immortal, Master Mingyu would be worthy of the title of Acalanatha, capable of all the powers attributed to this Immovable Vidyaraja in Buddhist legends!
“Devil-Subduing Scepter!”
The Acalanatha Dharma Manifestation swung its Devil-Subduing Scepter. A Transcendent Tribulation cultivator hit by that would end up either dead or seriously wounded. Even the Timekeeper Divine Lord would suffer grievous injuries.
The two half-immortals battled amidst the clouds, their figures flickering in and out of sight. Past and present blurred together, as if the mythical age of antiquity had returned.
“It seems like his Incipient Dao Fruit is close to perfect completion,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy remarked after observing for a while.
“Close to perfect completion?” Lu Yang was shocked. Doesn’t this mean that the Timekeeper Divine Lord is qualified to become an immortal?
“But judging by how clumsily he uses it, it doesn’t seem like something he condensed himself. Could he have forcibly condensed it through faith and incense offerings?”
1. This is a Buddhist mantra. ☜
