Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 663 - 657: Doing what you know you can’t do [Seeking subscription]_1

Despite Tathagata's disbelief ten thousand times over, he could truly sense that Sha Chen's strength was making leaps and bounds.

Sha Chen's power was increasing, and his comprehension and understanding of space were now superior to Tathagata's.

In a furious rage, Tathagata continued to unleash his immensely powerful Tathagata's Palms.

Yet they were easily countered by Sha Chen, who did not even use the Heavenly Splitting Palm, but directly broke them with the Mountain Splitting Axe.

In doing so, Sha Chen conserved a great deal of mana and energy, expending only some physical strength.

But his physical strength was continuously enhancing his power, ceaselessly growing.

Tathagata, on the other hand, was exhausting his mana due to his frenzied attacks. As one's power waxed and the other's waned, his momentum naturally weakened.

Seeing this, Ran Deng Buddha realized that the battle could no longer continue.

He hurriedly conveyed through telepathy, "Buddha, the strength of the thief Sha Chen is immense; even with our combined forces, we are no match for him. It is wise for us to retreat first."

"Continuing to fight offers us no advantage. Let us leave for now. When the Saint emerges from seclusion, we can return with him and surely capture Sha Chen."

Ran Deng's words were akin to admitting that Sha Chen's strength surpassed theirs. How could Tathagata accept this reality?

In the midst of battle, he pressed on with fierce attacks, preferring death to retreat.

His Dao heart was shaken, his pride severely wounded; convincing him to leave easily was unlikely.

Sha Chen, however, laughed coldly. He possessed the Six Ears of All Heavens divine power. Had the Ancient Buddha been transmitting his voice from an extremely great distance to Tathagata, Sha Chen genuinely might not have heard it. But they were practically face to face, yet Ran Deng Buddha still dared to secretly transmit his voice to Tathagata Buddha; that conversation was as loud as thunder to Sha Chen.

Thus, Sha Chen was completely assured that the two Saints of the Western Sect had not arrived, and that Ran Deng Buddha had already contemplated retreat, lacking the momentum of a peak fighter.

With no concerns behind him, while Tathagata and his companion weakened as the battle progressed, Sha Chen's momentum only soared.

Wielding the Mountain Splitting Axe, the Dragon God Sword, the Chaos Bell, and a series of magical tools, he gradually gained the upper hand, forcing Tathagata and his ally into a retreat.

Furthermore, Sha Chen's comprehension of space was gradually reaching profound intricacies. Seeing Tathagata's eyes grow wild, as if he was contemplating a desperate, last-ditch struggle, Sha Chen showed no mercy.

Spotting an opening, his palm struck, seriously injuring Ran Deng Buddha, who spat blood from the impact.

Then the Chaos Bell crashed down, cutting off Tathagata's escape route, while the Dragon God Sword feinted a thrust.

Tathagata hastily defended. At that moment, Sha Chen stepped into the void and reappeared directly above Tathagata's head.

The Mountain Splitting Axe cleaved down instantly. Tathagata felt his scalp tingle with dread, unable to believe it.

Such divine control over space is beyond my understanding—has Sha Chen mastered the pinnacle of spatial power?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Yet, Sha Chen's sudden disappearance and reappearance were beyond his imagination. Even though he vanished and reappeared within arm's reach, Tathagata captured no trace of him.

The disparity between them was all too clear. Tathagata had to suspect that the gap in their abilities had widened significantly.

The very thought of this chasm caused him distress.

However, the pressing difficulty was Sha Chen's immediate assault, and he had to choose whether to defend or dodge.

But in that critical moment, Tathagata realized he had no room to dodge. The space surrounding his body had suddenly become indestructible, making it difficult for him even to move.

In a battle between masters, victory or death can be decided in an instant.

And so, in that moment, Tathagata made his decision—not to dodge, but to withstand the blow.

From his glabella, a golden lotus platform flew out, positioning itself three feet above his head, instantly blocking the descending strike of Sha Chen's Mountain Splitting Axe.

CRACK.

CRACK-CRACK.

However, after the Mountain Splitting Axe came down, his golden lotus platform was instantly cleaved in two.

Nevertheless, Tathagata now had the time to move away.

But after moving aside, his complexion grew even uglier, and his gaze became incomparably grim—he could not accept what had just transpired.

The Golden Lotus Before the Buddha was his magical tool, refined for tens of thousands of years, infinitely powerful, and at the level of an Innate Spirit Treasure.

If used for defense, even a few frenzied strikes with his Tathagata's Palm could not shake it in the slightest.

Yet it was bisected by a single axe strike from Sha Chen—an intolerable shock for Tathagata.

Tathagata understood that while the Golden Lotus Before the Buddha could withstand bludgeoning attacks, it could not stop sharp weapons from breaking through its defense.

The Mountain Splitting Axe was both a bludgeoning and a sharp weapon, heavy and powerful enough to cleave through all things in the world.

Unless what Tathagata had before him was not the Golden Lotus Before the Buddha but the Chaos Bell, then it might have been able to block the attack, for the two were not of the same caliber.

Tathagata's eyes darkened. Having entered the void the instant the Golden Lotus Before the Buddha shattered, he increased the distance between them.

At the same time, he retreated to the side of Ran Deng Buddha, who had been seriously injured, and tossed him an elixir.

"Quickly recover from your injury. Under these circumstances, if you are wounded, we stand no chance of victory."

Ran Deng Buddha said, "Buddha, even at my peak, I am not his match. Even if the two of us, at our peak, were to join forces against him, we would still have no chance of winning. Now I am injured, and you have lost a magical tool, likely damaging your spirit even more. You are even less of a match for him now."

Tathagata glared at him. "If we're no match, does that mean we should just stop fighting? We did not come here to play house."

Ran Deng Buddha argued again, "But to willingly engage in a fight we know we cannot win is foolish. Since we stand no chance of victory, why bother continuing?"

Tathagata squinted. He had not yet made a decision when Sha Chen attacked again.

Sha Chen's comprehension of space had indeed reached an extremely profound realm, and it seemed he was reinforcing this minor world.

Tathagata understood that if the minor world they were currently fighting in was completely fortified and strengthened by Sha Chen, escaping would become much harder.

However, he was extremely unwilling to leave now, and found the situation even more unacceptable.

Suddenly, Tathagata said, "His mastery over spatial powers has not yet reached Great Perfection. We still have a chance. If we leave now, the shadow of inferiority to him will be planted in our Dao hearts. From then on, upon seeing him, we might only be able to take detours, with absolutely no chance of victory."

Ran Deng Buddha's expression was bitter—he wanted to tell Tathagata to face reality. Continuing to fight without a chance of winning meant they might even lose their lives.

Being defeated by Sha Chen was not a disgrace. It is through acknowledging shame that one can strive to become stronger. They still had the chance to become Saints, while Sha Chen had no such hope.

Once they became Saints, they could possibly claim a resounding victory.

However, Ran Deng Buddha did not realize—they could never become Saints, and even now, Sha Chen's power surpassed that of an ordinary Saint.