https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-238-Let-the-Elder-Witness-the-True-Great-Sage-Understanding-Divine-Intent-After-Two-Cycles/12949051/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-239-The-Divine-Talisman-Half-Saint-and-the-Dragon-Princess/12949060/
Chapter 238: Let the Elder Witness the True Great Sage, Understanding Divine Intent After Two Cycles
Chapter 238: Let the Elder Witness the True Great Sage, Understanding Divine Intent After Two Cycles (Part 2)
If given time to mature, who knows what heights they could reach?"
"In the future, this child might even be able to challenge the level of the Four Emperors' Divine Carving Sage!"
Envy shone in Yun Haiyang's eyes.
Only after becoming a Divine Carving Master would one truly understand the importance of talent...
Talent is what determines the ceiling of a Divine Carving Master.
Efforts may change the current situation to some extent, but... No matter how hard one tries, it can never raise your upper limit; it can only help you reach your limit sooner.
Elder Sun sat stiffly in his chair, his withered gaze opening and closing.
"Good!"
He burst into a hearty laugh.
Such a young man, inheriting the position of Elder, was something he was willing to accept.
"Let this old man see... just how high your Demon Ape Divine Carving has reached!"
Elder Sun stood up from his chair.
Gongshu Jingjun was startled and stared at him.
"Elder Sun..."
However, Elder Sun merely waved his hand.
"Ridge Lord, I've dedicated my entire life to Divine Carving Ridge, and I've spent my life carving wooden sculptures. Alas... my talent is limited, and I've never been able to take that final step. But I am, after all, a Fifth Rank Divine Carving Master."
"I can sense the fervent Divine Will of this Divine Carving. Before I retire, I've finally witnessed the true talent of a Divine Carving!"
"My heart is filled with joy... yet it also itches!"
Elder Sun's hunched figure slowly straightened up.
Looking at the Divine Fog, as terrifying as a collapsing mountain, a Demon Ape holding a golden coiled dragon staff stepped forward, inch by inch, towards the Divine Carving he had carved.
In Elder Sun's eyes, a rare glimmer of fervor appeared.
"Ridge Lord, let this old man see..."
"Can I, before I die, catch a glimpse of the path of the Divine Carving's art?"
Boom!
Elder Sun tapped his forehead, and in the next moment, a mighty Divine Energy burst forth from his frail, candle-like body.
It poured into the carved Two-Hearted Great Sage Divine Carving.
As the Divine Carving Elder of Divine Carving Ridge, Elder Sun had often observed the Temple Deity of the Six-Ear Strange Temple, the Six-Eared Hell Lotus Sacred Monkey, the Two-Hearted Great Sage.
Therefore, compared to Su Huaiming, Zhou Tian Shui, and Yun Haiyang, Elder Sun's foundation was the most profound.
His observation of the Divine Will...
Was the most intense.
It was as if he was pouring all the Divine Will he had observed from the Temple Deity over the past two years into the Divine Carving.
The lifelike Divine Carving seemed to come to life at this moment.
"Great Sage... descend!"
Elder Sun chanted softly.
Boom!
Within the Divine Fog, it was as if two ancient giant beasts were awakening from their slumber, unleashing a terrifying aura that caused the Divine Fog to boil and churn.
The entire reception hall seemed enveloped in a stifling atmosphere.
The terrifying pressure of rank seemed to crush down like a collapsing mountain, rolling out from the illusory Divine Fog.
"This..."
"What's happening?"
"How can Elder Sun's Divine Carving be so powerful?"
"So, this is Elder Sun's true strength? Three years ago, Su Master's Divine Will narrowly lost, but it turns out Elder Sun was holding back against Su Master?"
The surrounding Divine Carving Masters were stunned.
Each of them was horrified, their scalps tingling, and they were on the verge of fainting.
Yun Haiyang from the Yun family and Zhou Tian Shui from the Zhou family were slumped in their grandmaster chairs.
They stared in shock.
...
...
The snowstorm raged, with snowflakes as large as hands swirling in the sky.
Inside the reception hall of Divine Carving Ridge, however, it was quiet.
Two Divine Carvings sat on meditation cushions, trembling slightly, as if thousands of rays of light were bursting forth from them.
Within the Divine Fog.
Boom!
A terrifying blast echoed, and Elder Sun's Divine Carving suddenly swelled, tearing apart the Buddha's robe, causing it to rupture.
It also transformed into a ferocious Demon Ape!
Similarly, its body grew taller, and beneath its torso, monkey fur flew, and layer upon layer of muscles piled together, filled with explosive strength...
Grasping the golden staff, it was almost identical to Li Cheng's carved Divine Carving.
At this moment...
Zhou Tian Shui and Yun Haiyang were truly terrified.
Turns out...
The Temple Deity they had carved only revealed the surface.
Elder Sun and Li Cheng... saw the inner essence of this Temple Deity!
They... didn't lose unfairly.
At this moment, the two of them finally understood.
After all, they hadn't even seen through the Temple Deity's second form, let alone talk about winning this clash of Divine Wills.
Within the Divine Fog...
Two enormous giant apes wielded their golden staffs, standing as if on the earth, with mountains as small as mounds, gazing at each other from afar.
One pair of eyes blazed with golden fire, while the other pair shone with golden light!
Roar!
The two world-shaking giant apes roared, dragging their staffs, their battle intent palpable, as they clashed violently!
A terrifying clash of Divine Wills!
Boom!
It was as if a falling star had slammed into the ground.
Brilliant light exploded, and all the Divine Carving Masters' gazes were uncontrollably drawn to the terrifying shockwave, spreading out like concentric circles.
The surging sea of energy swept around like a howling hurricane.
It was a scene of apocalyptic proportions, as if the two Divine Carving Masters had replicated the simple and unadorned battle of two world-shaking giant apes from ancient times.
Staffs collided, fists clashed!
The heavens and earth were destroyed, and dust and smoke rose like earth dragons, rolling into the sky.
The scene was awe-inspiring, as if the Temple Deity's past experiences were being thoroughly depicted and replayed through the Divine Carving's Divine Will.
It allowed the numerous Divine Carving Masters, separated by space and time, to witness this earth-shattering battle of the Demon Apes.
The destruction was terrifying!
The original Two-Hearted Great Sage Divine Will, wrapped in a Buddha's robe, seemed like child's play.
Turns out... this was the truth!
It was the illusion in the Demon Ape's roar that Li Cheng had carved.
The Divine Carving Masters felt that this trip was truly worthwhile.
Compared to the clash of Divine Wills between Su Huaiming and Elder Sun three years ago... that was like child's play.
It was as if Elder Sun was playing with a child.
If Elder Sun had also summoned the second form of the Two-Hearted Great Sage's Divine Will at that time, Su Huaiming wouldn't have narrowly lost.
He would have been utterly defeated!
"Good, good, good!"
Elder Sun's entire body trembled, his eyes wide, as he stared intently at the scene of the Divine Will clash reflected in the Divine Fog.
At this moment, he seemed to feel the excitement, joy, and... happiness of the Two-Hearted Great Sage Temple Deity.
Perhaps...
This was what the Two-Hearted Great Sage Temple Deity had always sought.
And this emotion was the true feeling contained within the Temple Deity's statue.
Elder Sun's body trembled uncontrollably.
But...
There was still something missing.
Bloodshot eyes appeared in Elder Sun's gaze, and his unsteady body couldn't hide the ferocity in his eyes.
His nearly depleted energy burst forth, and he clenched his teeth, struggling to support his body.
"Just a little more..."
"Just a little more, and I could have felt it."
Elder Sun was panting heavily.
Gongshu Jingjun sat upright in his armchair, his fingers flicking, and divine essence surged, maintaining the dense mist.
He glanced at Elder Sun, whose face was flushed red, as if he had regained a brief moment of vitality. Looking at the bloodshot eyes and trembling body, Gongshu sighed deeply.
Elder Sun had spent two full cycles, sixty years, observing the temple deity, striving to carve the most perfect statue.
But even now, after two cycles, Elder Sun still felt a great sense of inadequacy, always feeling that something was missing...
Gongshu's gaze shifted to Li Che.
He thought of that strand of divine essence drawn from the witty fog.
Then, he transmitted a message to Li Che, "Can you let this old man... leave without regret?"
Li Che sat upright in his armchair, and upon hearing Gongshu's inquiry, he was startled for a moment.
He, too, looked at Elder Sun, whose body trembled, face flushed, as if all his remaining vitality was being burned away.
Li Che exhaled.
Then, he nodded.
He didn't continue to look at Elder Sun...
The next moment, Li Che raised his hand and touched his forehead.
In the inner scene of the navel dantian space.
The divine essence surged like a vast ocean, constantly rising and falling in waves.
Within the divine essence waves, the Spirit Enlightened Ape sat cross-legged on the divine foundation.
Suddenly, the Spirit Enlightened Ape slowly opened its eyes...
Clear and deep, as if filled with wisdom! Li Che opened his eyes, and his divine essence instantly connected with the divine carving.
Qitian...
Descends!
Let this old man see...
The true Great Sage!
Within the dense divine essence mist.
The intense clash between the two chaotic Demon Apes suddenly intensified.
The Two-Hearted Great Sage Demon Ape was suddenly grabbed by the fist and thrown, flying out with a bang.
The Demon Ape, carved by Li Che, opened and closed its eyes, and its gaze became incredibly clear.
It was as if the true divine will had descended.
"Six-Eared."
A deep voice thundered within the divine essence waves.
The Demon Ape, thrown and slammed to the ground, knelt on one knee, raising its head. The madness in its eyes seemed to gradually subside upon hearing the word "Six-Eared."
"Six-Eared... regrets!"
"Regrets becoming a Buddha."
The Spirit Enlightened Ape slowly raised its head, its beard flying, and let out a leisurely sigh.
The next moment, its five fingers clenched!
Boom!!!
Terrifying divine will continued to expand, and the dense divine essence mist churned endlessly, as if it couldn't bear the weight.
Boom!
The Spirit Enlightened Ape took a step and slammed its palm-like foot onto the ground!
Instantly, it was as if countless Bodhimanda Lotus shells exploded simultaneously, and the entire illusory land seemed to have countless earth dragons rising at the same time!
Infinite sand, soil, and stones surged like a tide, rising like a curtain a hundred feet high!
The Demon Ape, transformed by the Two-Hearted Great Sage, regained its crazed and violent gaze.
It let out a long howl!
However, the robust and massive Spirit Enlightened Ape had already appeared before the Demon Ape transformed by the Two-Hearted Great Sage!
A punch slammed down!
Countless exploding lights, dazzling to the extreme, obscured the entire divine essence mist, making it impossible to see even a glimmer of light.
In the end, everyone...
Through the dense divine essence mist, they could vaguely see a terrifying Demon Ape dragging the corpse of another Demon Ape, slowly disappearing into the light of the explosion.
Crack!
A sound like rolling thunder in the sky echoed.
The divine carving masters, immersed in the divine essence mist, were startled back to their senses. They saw Elder Sun's divine carving suddenly explode, shattering into countless pieces, and the spirit wood debris scattered all over the ground.
Li Che's carved divine carving was already sitting upright on the meditation cushion.
It was over.
At this moment, every divine carving master knew in their hearts that the final elder position in the Divine Carving Ridge assessment had fallen to someone else.
"Pfft!!!
As Elder Sun's divine carving shattered, blood gushed from his mouth and nose, and he spat out a thick mist of blood.
"Hahaha!"
"I understand, I understand!"
Elder Sun's face turned pale, but he laughed heartily.
As he laughed, tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
"Observing the temple deity, the Two-Hearted Great Sage, for two cycles, one hundred and twenty years... only now do I know... the Great Sage regrets becoming a Buddha!"
Elder Sun panted heavily, and his divine essence began to dissipate rapidly between heaven and earth.
His breath weakened rapidly, like a mountain landslide.
He slumped back into the armchair, his entire body hunched and withered, like a tree that had been drained of all moisture.
His life force was so weak that a gust of cold wind could extinguish it!
Li Che stood up from the armchair, his gaze complex as he looked at the elderly divine carving master.
"Thank you, young friend."
Elder Sun fell silent, and as he looked at Li Che, he smiled gratefully.
The old man coughed incessantly.
He took out a piece of wood, ordinary and devoid of spiritual energy.
Then, he took out a carving knife and began carving on the ordinary wood.
Scratch, scratch, scratch—
The reception hall was quiet.
All the woodcarving masters watched in silence, hearing only the sound of the old man's knife tearing through the wood and his incessant coughing.
His trembling hands held a steady knife.
On the wood, a statue of the Two-Hearted Great Sage temple deity slowly emerged.
The old man leaned back in his chair, panting heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows.
Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Li Che.
"To hear the Dao in the morning, one can die content in the evening."
"I have observed the temple deity for one hundred and twenty years, and only today do I understand the divine will of the temple deity."
"Today, this old man finally has a glimpse of a chance to enter the realm of the Four Emperors Divine Carving Sage."
A hint of regret appeared in the old man's eyes.
"Li Che, thank you for fulfilling this old man's wish..."
"I give you this statue... unfortunately... I couldn't finish carving it..."
"Can you finish carving it for me?"
Upon hearing this, Li Che was startled.
"Okay."
Li Che didn't hesitate and immediately nodded.
However.
The old man didn't respond to Li Che.
Holding the statue of the Two-Hearted Great Sage temple deity, he had already passed away.
At the same time.
Between heaven and earth...
The divine essence from the broken temple deity statues carved by Su Huaiming, Zhou Tian Shui, and Yun Haiyang poured into...
The divine carving made from the most ordinary wood.
(End of Chapter)
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