HBWnovel Chapter 274 Changing Consciousness, Heavenly Demon State
Chapter 274 Changing Consciousness, Heavenly Demon State
Su Heng had heard from many people that before the establishment of the Great Unified Dynasty, humans on this land had gone through a fairly dark time. Humans were kept like livestock by powerful demons and barely survived under the protection of divine beasts, gradually passing down civilization.
But why would these divine beasts, born with incredible abilities, protect humans?
And how did martial arts develop during those dark years?
If an anomaly was detected,
then there must be some secrets unknown to others within this matter.
However, at the moment, Su Heng was merely curious, and the true nature of past events had little impact on the current situation. What was urgent was to find ways to enhance his strength as soon as possible, to cover any deficiencies. This would be crucial in facing the challenges brought by the Mythical Battlefield.
"Ah!" Su Heng took a deep breath as his thoughts gradually calmed down.
He glanced at a collapsed, broken statue in front of him, recalling the records provided by Ke Yulan. This ancient Buddha named Bodoro was a Cultivator from three thousand years ago. That meant during that era, people had already reached the lifelong realm of an Earth Immortal.
Where did their Cultivation Techniques come from?
Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.
"Let's go, to the next location," Su Heng said to Ke Yulan.
"Okay," Ke Yulan nodded and continued to lead the way silently. This time the distance was a bit farther, but still within the boundaries of Jiangbei State. With their speed in the Heavenly Deceit Realm, it didn't take much time.
Jiangbei State was larger in area than Jiang State, yet the population was about the same, with seven counties in total.
The second Buddha statue was located to the southwest of Chi Jin County, on an unremarkable barren mountain where there was a cave, secluded. The environment inside the cave was spacious, over thirty meters high, large enough to fit an entire earthen building.
And many clusters of crystals grew on the surrounding walls.
A dim green light emanated from the crystals, rippling like water waves over the faces of Su Heng and Ke Yulan.
In the depths of the cave,
a huge Buddha statue occupied the entire wall.
This statue depicted a compassionate Bodhisattva, holding a treasure vase in its left hand with three willow branches inside, while the right hand formed the Three Realms Seal. Clothed in precious Buddha robes, the Bodhisattva sat cross-legged on a lotus pedestal. The clusters of crystals emitted a light that cast a misty green Buddha light on the statue, filling the air with a harmonious and peaceful essence.
"This is the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata," Su Heng paused briefly in his gaze upon the statue, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "I remember when Xie Xianyu wanted to kill me, it was the Divine Skills of this Tathagata that caused me a lot of trouble, leaving a deep impression."
"Yes," Ke Yulan bowed her head deeply beside Su Heng, sweat beading on her forehead.
Times had changed, and she feared that Su Heng would bring up past matters to settle accounts using this as an excuse. The disparity was too great; now she and even the entire Demonic Phantom Sect were entirely at the mercy of Su Heng's thoughts, with no room for resistance whatsoever.
Fortunately, Su Heng did not delve deeper into the matter.
His gaze slightly hardened, and then he opened the attribute panel.
At present, Su Heng stood nearly nine meters tall at his normal state, and his weight had reached an astonishing forty-five tons. During his time at the Dharma King Temple, before leaving, Su Heng slaughtered a massive number of Deceit Beasts. After over a month of digestion and absorption, he gained over thirty thousand attribute points.
Those attribute points now lay quietly on Su Heng's panel, ready to be used at any time.
Su Heng could read others' memories through eye contact and during battle, he could increase his own cognitive response speed. But now, having reached the seventh stage, the legendary realm of "momentariness," Ke Yulan's consciousness appeared in his eyes like an unguarded book.
He not only could flip through it at will, but even modify memories and distort thoughts, playing with it however he liked without consequence.
It was then that he suddenly realized.
No wonder some Buddhist practices traditionally included converting demons; the roots lay here.
For a powerful being, having one's thoughts twisted to serve one's enemies was the ultimate insult, even immediate death would be much preferable to such a fate.
Of course, the fact that Su Heng could so easily pry into Ke Yulan's thoughts was not only due to the profoundness of the Tathagata Hidden Scripture and his strong spiritual field but also because Ke Yulan harbored fear towards him. After all, Ke Yulan was among the best in Heavenly Deceit. If they were truly in a hostile state, it wouldn't be so easy for Su Heng to manipulate her consciousness.
"Tathagata Hidden Scripture changes consciousness, Seed of Destruction changes life forms, tsk tsk..." Su Heng mused internally.
It was only because his moral bottom line was high and he had little interest in exploiting the weak.
Otherwise,
he would truly be an indescribable evil deity.
Su Heng didn't do anything to Ke Yulan, just restrained and withdrew the naturally spreading spiritual field.
Almost at the same time, Ke Yulan noticed that the glow emanating from Su Heng had disappeared. She suddenly came to her senses and recalled the various thoughts that had flashed through her mind just moments ago, a flush of red spreading from her ears to her pale neck.
She felt both embarrassed and scared.
Since beginning her cultivation, this was the first time she had felt so bewildered.
As for Su Heng, Ke Yulan was nothing more than a tool. As long as the tool was handy, what it thought hardly mattered to him. The disparity was too great, even if Ke Yulan harbored thoughts of betrayal, she could not harm him in any way.
He again activated the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique, drawing spiritual power from the statue.
This time, the speed was much faster; in less than an hour, the spiritual power in the statue was completely drained by Su Heng.
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A crisp sound echoed.
Accompanied by a slight tremor of the cave, large cracks spread across the statue.
The statue completely disintegrated, its magic lost. A faint sigh echoed in the void, seemingly from the being who left behind the legacy years ago. He was aware that someone had removed an "anchor" he had left in earlier years but said nothing, simply abandoning it.
"For safety's sake, some powerful cultivators leave multiple statues as anchors in the mortal world before their journey to the Realm of Immortality," Ke Yulan quietly added from the side.
"I see," Su Heng nodded.
Creating a statue involves splitting off part of one's spiritual field.
Those who could leave behind multiple statues were undoubtedly rich in heritage and top figures within their realms.
Su Heng exercised the authority of the Seed of Destruction, refining and devouring this part of the spiritual power of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata. His mind stirred and he opened the attribute panel to see that the displayed content had changed. On one hand, there was an increase in the extent of brain development, while on the other, a new state was added—
[Heavenly Demon State (to be unlocked): Current progress 2.3%]