Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 661 - 655: Who is more monstrous?【Seeking Subscriptions】_1

Tathagata's gaze was grim, his eyes filled with a dark shadow.

He simply could not accept this reality: despite his own strength, he was no match for Sha Chen.

He considered himself unparalleled in strength, his talent unique in all the world. Yet, even someone as exceptional as him was not Sha Chen's opponent.

It wasn't just him; Yang Jian and the others inside the cave were equally shocked and incredulous.

It seemed inconceivable that Sha Chen could be so powerful, able to dominate a fight against both Tathagata and Ran Deng Buddha simultaneously.

The spider spirit stared dumbfounded. "Is this really Eldest Brother? Even the grand Lingjiu Mountain, Tathagata Buddha, and Ran Deng Buddha are no match for him. His strength and ability are too terrifying!"

The Three Holy Mother nodded, her expression somewhat solemn. "Tathagata Buddha gives me the same feeling as facing my master, and yet Big Brother is able to suppress him in a fight."

"Could it be that Big Brother has become even stronger than my master? This seems somewhat unlikely; after all, he hasn't become a Saint."

The Six-Eared Macaque said, "Tathagata hasn't become a Saint either, but his strength is already comparable to a Saint's—virtually unbeatable at the same level."

Yang Jian said, "From my observations, Tathagata's strength should have already reached the Saint level. It's just that he hasn't been granted the fruit position of a Saint, but his true combat prowess is certainly not below that of a Saint."

Everyone who heard this was incredibly shaken and found it hard to believe.

Tathagata could actually fight across cultivation levels, standing shoulder to shoulder with Saints. But what shocked them even more was Sha Chen, who was clearly stronger than Tathagata.

Doesn't this mean Sha Chen's strength has already surpassed that of ordinary Saints?

Yang Jian continued, "What you're all thinking is the same as what I'm thinking. His strength is probably truly beyond that of a normal Saint—something no Quasi-Saint seems capable of achieving."

No one doubted it, because Yang Jian's strength was clear for all to see. Even he felt that Sha Chen's realm had transcended the scope of Quasi-Saints, so Sha Chen's true combat power was definitely not that simple.

At that moment, Yang Jian's eyes showed a mix of confusion and excitement as he mused to himself, Does this world really have a way to possess strength surpassing that of a Saint without the approval of the Heavenly Dao? How did he accomplish this? Clearly, his cultivation realm is still at the Quasi-Saint level, but the combat power he can exert is so terrifying.

Yang Jian's heart grew heavy, filled with doubt.

Currently, the positions of Saints were unshakeable, impossible to overturn. It was impossible for those of later generations to surpass them, let alone reach the level of a Saint.

Therefore, countless individuals sought different paths, hoping to find a way to transcend the Heavenly Dao's limitations and directly reach the Saint Realm.

But no matter how hard they tried or how diligently they cultivated, they were still unable to break through this invisible barrier.

As a result, countless ambitious experts, one after another, eventually abandoned these impractical notions. Instead, they focused on improving their own cultivation, establishing their own factions, vying for territory, seizing populations, gathering faith, and accumulating merit.

Everyone strived to gain the approval of the Heavenly Dao. As soon as their cultivation reached the Quasi-Saint Realm, they would try by all means to accrue merit and establish themselves.

This was because to advance one's cultivation from the Quasi-Saint Realm to the Saint Realm, one only needed the recognition of the Heavenly Dao. It was not necessary to raise one's Quasi-Saint cultivation from the initial stage to its peak.

A Quasi-Saint at any stage could directly receive the Heavenly Dao's recognition and step into the Saint Realm.

However, the lower a Quasi-Saint's stage upon entering the Saint Realm, the lower their subsequent standing would be.

For example, Saint Nuwa stepped into the Saint Realm at the Intitial Quasi-sage Level. Her current strength was envied by countless Peak Quasi-Saints and even Sub-Sages, all because she received the recognition of the Heavenly Dao.

Countless individuals tried every possible method to gain the approval of the Heavenly Dao, but it only recognized six individuals. People of later generations, no matter how much effort they exerted, how many merits they established, or how much belief they acquired, could not gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition.

For instance, Empress Hou Tu established the Samsara Platform. This gave countless wandering spirits a place to go and provided countless mighty figures and ordinary people the chance for reincarnation.

This ensured that desolate lands were not overrun with wandering spirits, and consequently, the Three Realms weren't filled with baleful auras and sinister energies.

The importance of reincarnation was self-evident, and thus, so too was the immensity of Empress Hou Tu's merit.

Yet even such vast merit could not enable her to step into the Saint Realm. Thus, the Heavenly Dao's recognition was clearly limited.

Those who came after all sought alternative paths, desperately searching for a true method to gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition.

Even a prodigy like Tathagata could not become a Saint and instead settled for becoming a Sub-Sage.

No wonder Yang Jian felt such despair, and why he was so captivated by, and yearned for, the Saint-level combat power Sha Chen possessed.

But he also knew that he probably could not achieve Sha Chen's realm in this lifetime; because if even a prodigy as formidable as Tathagata could not achieve it, he, Yang Jian, was acutely aware of his own limitations.

Moreover, he could see that Sha Chen's true combat prowess was comparable to, and even surpassed, that of ordinary Saints. This was because Sha Chen excelled in all aspects, having reached the peak in each.

Firstly, his cultivation. Secondly, his integration of Divine Powers with Magical Tools, his mental strength, his formidable physique, and his mastery of various elemental powers—all had reached their peak.

Any single one of these elements, if cultivated to its peak, would allow someone to look down upon their peers, becoming invincible within the same realm. How much more so for Sha Chen, who possessed so many such factors, all at their peak?

It could be said he had perfected all skills within his realm. This naturally allowed him to contend with Saints a realm above him, because Saints themselves are not perfect.

Saints were primarily powerful due to their immense Mana; when they unleashed Divine Powers, they could amplify them with the power of the Heavenly Dao.

A Saint's physique was not necessarily their strongest attribute. Indeed, among the six Saints of the Heavens, not one possessed a physique comparable to Sha Chen's current body.

Then there were his Great Divine Powers. Sha Chen wielded the elemental forces of fire, thunder, water, sand, strength, space, and fierce winds. Apart from strength and space, he had mastered all others to the Great Perfection.

A single Saint might not even possess such comprehensive mastery. Take Saint Nuwa, for instance: she lacks mastery over space, fierce winds, strength, thunder, and sand. While she can perform Divine Powers of these types, none have reached their peak.

Mostly, she relies on the power of the Heavenly Dao to execute those Divine Powers, not even qualifying as an initiate.

Regarding Magical Tools, very few Saints actually possessed a large number of them. And as for high-grade Magical Tools, they possessed only a select few.

Compare this to Sha Chen, who possessed the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow, Sky Shaking Bow, Mountain Splitting Axe, Plantain Fan, Heavenly Measure, Dragon God Sword, Chaos Bell, and the River Diagram and Luo Chart—all of which were exceedingly rare Innate Spirit Treasures.

A cultivator would typically need an entire lifetime to truly harmonize with even one such Magical Tool, to achieve that perfect synergy.

Yet Sha Chen had cultivated all of them to that state of perfect synergy. This realization plunged Yang Jian into despair.

He could not achieve it!!