Under the formidable medical skills of Medicine Tathāgata and with the aid of the Seven Divine Needles, the injuries of Po Xia Qiu Chan and Jiuzhou Yijian Zhi had stabilized. Ye Xiao Chai was also out of danger, though he remained unconscious. Monks had already escorted the three back to their meditation quarters to rest.
Now, only Liu Zhu Yi and Su Huanzhen remained in the Medicine Hall.
Thanks to Yin Shiren sacrificing seventy percent of his Buddha energy and Medicine Tathāgata's treatment, Liu Zhu Yi's cultivation foundation had been preserved at forty percent.
As for Su Huanzhen, aside from his internal injuries, exhaustion from days of relentless travel weighed on him. While the Seven Divine Needles continued healing his wounds, he also needed proper rest.
Meanwhile, Yin Shiren and the Buddha Emperor of the Nine Realms had already left the Medicine Hall—and they had taken the Heavenly Sword with them.
The Buddha Emperor intended to restore the divine power of Huang Shen within the blade.
It turned out that Liu Zhu Yi had exhausted his cultivation entirely to preserve Huang Shen's vitality. The Buddha Emperor, fully aware of Huang Shen's significance—and its crucial role in slaying the God of Death—had resolved to revive its divine energy.
In the original timeline, the Buddha Emperor had used his own sacred blood, along with the combined power of one hundred and eight high monks—sacrificing all their cultivation—to restore Huang Shen's might.
But now, how many monks would be required remained unknown.
The Buddha Emperor had brought Yin Shiren along because he had noticed the severe depletion in Yin Shiren's strength. Guiding him to the Deer Garden Unity, they entered its most Buddha-energy-saturated location—the Deer Garden Mandala, the very place where the Buddha Emperor had once secluded himself in arduous cultivation.
Here, Yin Shiren could replenish his lost power.
At this moment, Yin Shiren had no idea what the Buddha Emperor was planning. He was wholly focused on absorbing the dense Buddha energy around him, restoring the seventy percent of his internal energy he had expended.
Having lost so much of his cultivation, Yin Shiren felt weak all over—limp, powerless, incapable of mustering any firmness.
He had never imagined that such severe energy depletion would feel like this.
So hollow. So feeble. No man should have to endure this.
A disturbing thought crossed his mind: if Ai Huo Nü Rong were to subject him to the same… methods she had once used on the Buddha Emperor, he wasn't sure he could even rise to the occasion.
And there was another problem—when it came to matters of firmness, Yin Shiren had no way to treat himself.
Though he now possessed all of Medicine Tathāgata's medical knowledge, Medicine Tathāgata was a devout Buddhist monk. He had no experience or research in that area.
As a monastic, he never needed it.
Which meant Yin Shiren, too, lacked the know-how.
I must never do this again, Yin Shiren swore inwardly as he continued his recovery.
From the Buddha Emperor's words, Yin Shiren had gained deeper insight into the Bodhisattva Seal.
The tenth form of the Bodhisattva Seal was said to be excessively fierce, causing the practitioner's meridians to reverse and leading to death within seven days. The reason was that mastering the tenth form generated Buddha energy within the body—something only those with an immensely powerful foundation could withstand.
Even after mastering it, one only possessed a trace of Buddha energy. The rest required continuous conversion of one's original internal energy into Buddha energy.
If one survived, they would grow stronger and stronger.
However, aside from Yin Shiren and Yi Ye Shu, very few who mastered the Bodhisattva Seal's tenth form had lived.
Setting aside his wandering thoughts, Yin Shiren fully activated the tenth form's cultivation method to restore his depleted Buddha energy.
Yet as he channeled the technique, he could feel it—the surrounding Buddha power surged into his body like a tidal wave, as if he had merged with the very earth beneath Deer Garden Unity, with the hidden veins of Buddha energy running beneath it.
Under these circumstances, his lost Buddha energy recovered at an unthinkable speed.
Yin Shiren couldn't comprehend this sudden change, but he knew it was beneficial. It meant he would fully restore his energy in far less time than expected.
What he didn't know was that the phenomenon he was causing had drawn the attention of everyone in Deer Garden Unity.
However, since the disturbance originated in the Deer Garden Mandala, none of the monks dared enter without permission—except the Buddha Emperor.
Even from a distance, the high monks were awestruck by the vast concentration of Buddha energy gathering at the Mandala.
Had they not seen the Buddha Emperor enter earlier, they would have assumed he was the source—that his power had ascended to new heights.
But knowing he had only just gone in left them baffled. What, then, was happening inside?
When the Buddha Emperor stepped into the Mandala, even he was stunned by what he witnessed.
The Deer Garden Mandala was overflowing with Buddha energy—so much that it swirled like flocks of birds returning to their nests, madly pouring into Yin Shiren's body.
And yet, though Yin Shiren stood right before him, the Buddha Emperor's senses could not detect his presence.
Only the Buddha energy. Nothing but pure, overwhelming Buddha energy.
It was as if Yin Shiren had become one with heaven, earth, and the sacred power around him.
Though deeply curious, the Buddha Emperor did not interrupt. He did not approach.
He merely observed from afar.
Four hours passed like this.
Gradually, the rate at which Yin Shiren absorbed the energy slowed. The density of the Buddha energy around him thinned.
And at last, the Buddha Emperor could sense Yin Shiren's presence again.
He knew Yin Shiren was about to cease his absorption.
Sure enough, half an hour later, the flow of energy stopped entirely.
Yin Shiren opened his eyes—only to see a golden radiance before him.
The Buddha Emperor.
Having noticed Yin Shiren's awakening, the Buddha Emperor had immediately approached.
And in the next moment, he confirmed Yin Shiren's condition.
What he discovered left him speechless.
"You've… already recovered your lost Buddha energy?" the Buddha Emperor said.
"Huh?" Yin Shiren said.
Hearing this, Yin Shiren immediately checked his own cultivation.
And what he found astounded him.
"How… How long has it been?" Yin Shiren said.
"Six hours," the Buddha Emperor said.
"Six hours?! It only took me six hours to restore seventy percent of my energy?!" Yin Shiren said.
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