Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 646: Chapter 369: Captured_2

It’s not that the major sects lacked the financial strength, but rather that a major sect would not invest all the resources capable of cultivating numerous Golden Core cultivators into a single disciple.

If they truly did that, I’m afraid the major sect would not be able to sustain its legacy for many years.

This also indirectly confirmed that Li Yuan Ba was indeed the reincarnation of a Buddhist power, for only the reincarnated could possess such an abundance of Third Grade cultivation resources at this level—a legacy from a former life.

This is not to say that Li Yuan Ba had recovered the memories of his past life, but rather that the reincarnations of powers would seal some resource memories according to the realms they reached, unlocking certain memories once they attained a particular realm to retrieve the legacies from their past lives and restore their strength.

He also discovered a piece of a Golden Corpse core fragment, a Spiritual Object that only a Nascent Soul Ancestor would be qualified to handle, appearing in Li Yuan Ba’s Space Ring—this too, was an incident that should not have occurred.

Venerable Huike also found General Jiang Chen, but he did not interfere with the Corpse Refining General.

While examining Li Yuan Ba’s body, from his Golden Core he sensed the Xingyi Sword—a Lifebound Flying Sword that might not be considered much, but one that had been nourished for at least four hundred years.

This Lifebound Flying Sword should belong to a seasoned Sword Cultivator, yet it was recognized by Li Yuan Ba as its master, becoming Li Yuan Ba’s Lifebound Flying Sword.

Venerable Huike did not believe it was a Lifebound Flying Sword nurtured by the Buddhist power himself, yet it could be confirmed that it was prepared by the Buddhist power for the reincarnated body.

Otherwise, how could such a Lifebound Flying Sword, nurtured and refined for four hundred years, have been acknowledged by Li Yuan Ba as its master?

If it were true that Li Yuan Ba was usurped by a Sword Cultivator who had cultivated for four hundred years, Venerable Huike would have detected it.

It was precisely because there were no traces of body seizing on Li Yuan Ba that it aligned more with the possibility of a Buddhist power’s reincarnation.

Reincarnation of a power and seizing a body are two different things; seizing a body implies forcefully taking over a cultivator’s body for one’s own use, and no matter how perfect the seizure, it can never achieve a true fit. The flaws left behind would present problems at deeper levels of cultivation.

Whereas the reincarnation of a power is a gentler method that uses special techniques to let one’s soul enter the cycle of reincarnation, where it would slowly awaken along with the gradual growth of the body after reincarnation.

The reincarnated body would eventually merge completely with the memories from the previous life, making this method of reincarnation indistinguishable from the original body, with an extremely perfect fit between the soul and the body.

Of course, the risks involved in the reincarnation of a power are immense. Although the body chosen for reincarnation is meticulously selected, it can still prematurely perish during its growth due to insufficient strength.

Reincarnation often brings with it tremendous wealth, and once one’s identity is exposed, it could draw the attention of other cultivators.

A power capable of reincarnation, even if a tiny benefit is revealed from its legacy, would be enough to fill any cultivator to the brim.

“Where did you put the Divine Foot Skill Inheritance Relics and the Telepathy Inheritance Relics?” Venerable Huike had searched around but did not find the two Inheritance Relics, so he asked aloud.

He lifted the control over Li Yuan Ba’s voice, allowing him to speak but preventing him from doing anything else.

Li Yuan Ba did not pay attention to Venerable Huike, nor did he even consider the relevant matters in his mind. Falling into the hands of Qianye Temple, as long as there was a chance, he would immediately commit suicide if he could not break free.

Li Yuan Ba was a clone; Li Shiming was the most important.

He wasn’t sure that he could keep his secrets under the Divine Skills of Qianye Temple, and if pushed too hard, he would find a way to take his own life.

Right now, he wanted to see how Qianye Temple planned to deal with him; if possible, he did not wish to die.

This clone, Li Yuan Ba, was of great importance to Li Shiming, as it provided him with another identity. Especially with Li Yuan Ba’s Sword Cultivator strength, it was as if Li Shiming had taken up an additional cultivation path.

Li Shiming’s current strength in sword-flying, while not as strong as the true Sword Cultivator Li Yuan Ba, was significantly better than that of other cultivators.

Seeing that Li Yuan Ba had no intention of responding, Venerable Huike did not press him. Li Yuan Ba was already in his grasp, and those two Inheritance Relics would return sooner or later.

He was extremely fast and returned to the gates of Qianye Temple in just a few hours.

Li Yuanba had no time to observe his surroundings before Venerable Huike used “Inch Away, Miles Apart” to bring him into a great hall.

The walls of the hall were covered with countless Buddha images, each with a different posture, yet all revealed an enigmatic charm.

Li Yuanba had a feeling that these Buddha images were not randomly painted; among them, he saw a familiar one—it was the image of the Angry-eyed Vajra.

The Angry-eyed Vajra image was the embodiment of the true intent behind the “Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill” cultivated by the original body, Li Shiming. It was not exactly the same, but the artistic conception was wholly identical.

The moment he saw the Angry-eyed Vajra image, he immediately knew it was the true representation of the Angry-eyed Vajra.

Looking at the other Buddha images on the walls, if all of them were drawn based on the true form of divine Buddhas, then it would be truly terrifying.

If the images here were indeed created following the true intent, the implications for Qianye Temple’s heritage would be profoundly alarming to Li Yuanba.

“Young benefactor, you rest here for a few days!” Venerable Huike said with a smile, performing a Buddhist salute.

He did not seal away Li Yuanba’s strength, seemingly considering it unnecessary to bind such meager power.

Li Yuanba did not speak. He quietly sat on the cushion, watching Venerable Huike leave.

After Venerable Huike had left, he waited for some time. When he sensed no presence around him, he stood up to inspect his environment.

This great hall was not only protected by formations but also guarded by some special power encompassing the area.

He tried to attack the wall, but he couldn’t get closer than a few inches to it.

Even with the Third Grade Sword Base and putting forth his full Body Refinement capabilities, the effect was the same.

With his understanding of formations, the formation here seemed to be part of the Sect Protection Array, which was vast in area and consumed a tremendous amount of Spiritual Energy.

Aside from safeguarding the sect, the Sect Protection Array could also concentrate resources in one or two places within the array, creating the most tightly protected areas.

Such formations were the hardest to break because a cultivator inside the formation faced the collective power of the Sect Protection Array, and the source was not in this location, which exponentially increased the difficulty of breaking it.

Of course, if it were entirely due to formations, Li Yuanba, with the support from the original body Li Shiming, could spend some time to break the formation.

What was more troublesome was the unknown special power, which was far superior to the defensive effect of formations.

It was precisely because of the presence of this special power that Li Yuanba, despite the strength of a Golden Core Body Refining Late Stage, was unable to cause any damage here.

Li Yuanba studied for a period of two hours, but eventually, he helplessly sat back down on the cushion.

He observed the Buddha images on the walls, while the original body, Li Shiming, recorded the images he observed through their soul link in the lifebound treasure, IBMz15.

Although he did not know the purpose of these Buddha images, they were undoubtedly extremely important knowledge.

Just when he thought he would stay like this for a few days, waiting for Qianye Temple to initiate contact, he heard the sound of Buddhist chanting in his ears.

The chanting came from four directions, each with a strong Buddhist intent. One could tell at once that these were high monks deeply versed in Buddhism, expounding on its true meaning.

For Buddhist disciples, this was a rare opportunity to hear four high monks expound on Buddhist intent, which could enhance their own Buddhist cultivation techniques.

However, for non-Buddhist disciples, the intent imparted by the four high monks carried a significant effect of bewitching one’s mind.

Being in an environment where the four high monks expound on Buddhist intent over a long period, one would gradually lose oneself.