'This isn't normal. Those ants could actually stop my attacks. There's someone with great power among them,' the Immortal Willow Tree thought to itself as it continued looking towards the distance.

It had to admit that it had greatly underestimated them.

As far as it knew, the people in the World Of Terra could only reach the Sacred King Realm that was why it wasn't particularly worried about them.

Now, it was starting to regard them with more caution after one of those supposedly ants took down hundreds of its leaves in an instant.

It let out a frown.

The treasure in the Thousand Mountain Valley was going to awaken soon within the next few days. It couldn't afford to let itself engage in a fight at that time and risk having others steal the treasure while it was being embroiled by the fight between him and those ants.

Thousands of seeds suddenly fell down from its branches and landed on the ground below it.

When those seeds hit the ground, small, human-sized Willow Sapling grew from the spot where the seeds fell on.

Through a mental link, it ordered, "Go and kill them for me. Stop any intruders from getting into this place."

The thousands of small Willow Saplings moved towards the direction they felt where most of the humans were to intercept and stop them from entering the Thousand Mountain Valley.

...

Everyone inside the flying ships heading towards the Thousand Mountain Valley was solemn as they gradually approached their intended destination.

They were still dozens of kilometers away from their destination but from how high up they were in the sky, they could finally see the huge mountain ranges spanning towards the horizon as far as their eye could see yet there was still no end to it.

That was just how big the Thousand Mountain Valley was.

"Get into position!" the Law God Sect's Sect Master strictly said.

His words were passed on towards the other ship in an instant through the use of some communication formations that were connected to all ships.

Right after saying that, the Law God Sect's sect master looked to his right and said, "I leave everything to you."

He handed in the reigns towards his supreme commander, someone from the War Deity race— the race that was the most talented among other races when it comes to war. That was the reason why they were called War Deity in the first place.

"I won't let you down, Sect Master," the War Deity said.

The sect master nodded. With his supreme commander now taking command, he could rest assured of leaving the war in his hands.

...

New Dawn Country

World of Terra

The formations preventing the people from getting in and out of the New Dawn Country had suddenly vanished, making many residents in the place cry out.

"The formations!"

"They are gone!"

"No!"

"He's been defeated!"

The fact that the formations had vanished meant that their leader had been defeated by the people from the other worlds.

While they were despairing, some were rejoicing.

"Hahaha finally! We can leave this damned place!"

"That guy's probably already dead, right? Serves him right for locking us in this place!"

"Hey, now that the formation is gone... these guys' protection is gone too. That means we can finally harm these bastards!"

When the New Dawn Country residents heard that, they grew terrified.

The reason why these people hadn't touched them yet and tried taking them as hostages to make their leader surrender was because the formation that was locking them up also served as their protection. As long as the formation exists, no one could harm each other inside the place.

It was a very special formation connected to their leader using numerous amounts of rare materials to make. It was a one-of-a-kind formation. Now that their leader had been defeated and the formation was gone, they were no different from sheep waiting for the slaughter.

One of the people from the other world cracked their knuckles with a bloodthirsty grin on their faces.

"Prepare for death... your leader can no longer protect you."

"Please, don't!"

Before they could harm the New Dawn Country's people, their superior called out.

"Stop!"

They looked at their superior in dissatisfaction but obeyed nonetheless.

"Master... why are you stopping us?"

"We have no time to spare for these pointless acts. We must go now and get that treasure as soon as possible. Look, the others are already leaving," the master said, pointing at their rivals who were now flying to the sky with their respective treasures as they headed towards the Thousand Mountain Valley.

Those who got told by their master scoffed.

"Consider it your luck that we are in a hurry!"

They threatened the residence once more before leaving in a hurry along with their master since they couldn't afford to let the others get a head start on them.

However, although most of the people from other worlds left right away, there were still some who took their time to torment the people of the New Dawn Country, killing a lot of them in the process.

...

Great Buddhist Monastery

World of Terra

Yun Ling let out a sigh in admiration as he looked at the carvings in the wall of the Great Hall.

The life of Buddha was engraved on the walls.

Buddha was originally the crown prince of a kingdom in the World of Terra millions of years ago.

As the future king of that kingdom, he had everything on him. However, he abandoned all of it when he saw the suffering of his people. He saw poverty, sickness, and death outside the paradise that was his palace. He realized that one day, old age, sickness, and death would come to everyone including the people he loved even if they were excellent cultivators. He had no refuge to offer to them when they met their end.

In the first picture engraved in the walls, Yun Ling saw an image of Buddha meeting a person who was in deep meditation. When his eyes and that person's eyes met, their minds linked with each other, mesmerizing Buddha. Buddha then realized that there was something more to the mind.

Through that experience, Buddha got a first and enticing taste of mind, a true and lasting refuge that he knew he had to experience for the good of all.

In the second picture, Buddha left everything behind in search of full enlightenment. Over the years, Buddha met many meditation experts and mastered their techniques. Through them, he saw the mind's potential but not the mind itself.

In the third picture, Buddha sat under a Bodhi tree and decided to remain in meditation until he knew the mind's true nature and have all beings benefit from it.

There were many large pictures inside the Great Hall showing Buddha's experiences until he became the Buddha, the Awakened One.

There was a picture of him, finally reaching enlightenment; another one, showing his battle against the demons; one picture was about him, traveling into the various worlds in the universe, teaching the people of everything that he knew was useful and good for the people.

Then in the final picture, it showed Buddha leaving his body in the Ethereal Realm, finally achieving Nirvana in the end.

After looking through all of the pictures, Yun Ling felt an indescribable feeling and mysterious force from deep within him.

He had a faint idea of what was happening to his body.

Yun Ling closed his eyes and let himself be guided by the mysterious force inside him.

Suddenly, Yun Ling's body glowed in a faint, golden light.

Outside the Great Hall, the monk who Yun Ling had been talking to earlier, looked at the Great Hall in shock when he felt something from inside.

"That guy... he actually managed to gain enlightenment!"