After citing the example of the Buddha of Zongjing Di, Fende Jing stated, "Although you killed my son, I have achieved the final breakthrough and become a Level Four entity. With your help included, I can answer five of your questions; consider that the first one just now."

Yang Ying thought this was not bad, so he asked, "You've mentioned two examples of attaining the Dao after death, plus yourself makes three... Does achieving godhood necessitate dying once?"

Hadake let out a cold laugh, "If you are willing to try dying once, you will naturally know the result. A person who has never died cannot possibly comprehend the World of Death."

"This doesn't count as an answer, certainly not the answer to the second question," Yang Ying was extremely dissatisfied with Hadake’s reply. However, remembering that Hadake had just mentioned the term "World of Death," a surge of curiosity arose in his mind, and he asked his third question: "What is the World of Death?"

Hadake replied, "As Master Shufeng, you should understand and be able to utilize the Spiritual World. All phenomena of the Material World are reflected in your Spiritual World. The Spiritual World is the dwelling place of the soul. The Buddha said all things possess a spirit, and all sentient beings can enter the Spiritual World; it is just that mortals are confused by the Material World and cannot open up their Spiritual World. Those called the Awakened are precisely those who have opened their Spiritual World. Once the Spiritual World is opened, powers such as psychic force and memory capacity emerge, along with a series of divine abilities."

Yang Ying said, "I know that."

Hadake continued, "However, the Spiritual World is divided into two sides. The side you are familiar with belongs to the living—the Yang side. There is also the Yin side, belonging to the dead. The World of Death refers to this Yin side."

"Under normal circumstances, once a soul falls into the Yin side, it loses its consciousness until it dissipates, without generating any thought whatsoever."

Yang Ying then asked, "If that is the case, how were you able to return to the Yang side after falling into the Yin side?"

This was the fourth question. Hadake answered, "I already explained this point just now. It is because death could not obstruct my will! For a Level Four entity, one can already touch the Yin side of the Spiritual World, allowing the soul to travel freely between the Yin and Yang sides!"

A thought flickered in Yang Ying's mind. He mused inwardly, "Hadake means that he was only able to return from the World of Death because he became Level Four, not that he became Level Four because he relied on his will to return from the World of Death."

This way, Yang Ying understood: merely dying could not bring one closer to Level Four. On the contrary, death might prevent one from returning from the Yin side of the Spiritual World. If one's will could not surpass the World of Death, then consciousness would be swallowed, and the soul would wander in a daze until annihilation—a fate ten times more perilous than remaining on the Yang side. Therefore, only Hadake had conquered death thus far, while the deceased Masters like Agen, Heras, and Balomon, who were peak experts of Hengfeng, had not overcome death. Perhaps their consciousnesses had already been engulfed on the Yin side of the Spiritual World, or they might have already dissipated. The difference between life and death proved that they were inferior to Hadake!

Suddenly recalling Hadake’s mention of a Level Four soul being able to travel freely between the Yin and Yang sides, Yang Ying's heart trembled. Did that mean—

Hadake seemed to perceive what Yang Ying was thinking. "It seems you have understood. To grasp the Yin side of the Spiritual World from that passage I just spoke of is quite remarkable. A Level Four entity can travel freely between the Yin and Yang sides. In other words, a Level Four entity is unkillable."

Yang Ying fell silent. He could not believe that a Level Four entity was truly unkillable. There must be a method to kill a Level Four being; it was just that he hadn't discovered it yet.

The reality was indeed so. Although Level Four entities could traverse Yin and Yang, they were still not immortal. After all, there was a concept called 'Annihilation of Form and Spirit'; if the soul was gone, how could one traverse Yin and Yang?

However, only the power of another Level Four entity could directly inflict harm upon a Level Four soul. Therefore, Hadake was not worried about Yang Ying, who was only at the peak of Level Three. Level Four was not something that Level Threes could overcome through sheer numbers.

Yang Ying carefully scrutinized Hadake’s virtual body of the Giant Ape of Light, analyzing Hadake Wu's strength in his mind. His true body had been cut into fragments and was certainly unusable. But seeing how massive Hadake's current form was and how freely it moved, it was clear the old body no longer mattered; he could exist entirely in the form of the Giant Ape of Light.

At this moment, out in deep space, one of Yang Ying's avatars was aboard the Jushou Hao watching the massive screen, where analysis data displayed various metrics of the Giant Ape of Light. The avatar spotted an issue from the data: although Hadake had advanced to Level Four, the inherent psychic strength of the Giant Ape of Light itself was only around three million—not much of an increase compared to before his death.

Yet, the Yang Ying present on the ground could feel that the pressure emanating from Hadake far surpassed what it was before; it was incomparable to him before he died.

"Your psychic force hasn't increased, so why has your strength grown so much?" Yang Ying asked his final question.

"You even noticed that? Could it be that those ten battleships in space possess technology to measure psychic force? I thought that with your Level Three insight, you wouldn't be able to see through a Level Four cultivation," Hadake glanced toward the star field.

"Answer my question," Yang Ying interrupted, not wanting Hadake to focus his attention on the Jushou Hao and the battleships.

Hadake snorted and replied, "The soul entering Level Four brings a qualitative improvement, not a quantitative one. Deeper mysteries of the universe have opened to me, allowing me to see the fundamental rules of the cosmos and utilize psychic force to manipulate these rules for better effects. It’s like I used brute force before, but now I have a lever; one unit of force can become ten, so naturally, I appear much stronger."

"I see," Yang Ying thought inwardly.

"That's it. You have asked your five questions, and settling the matter of my breakthrough is considered settled." The giant ape suddenly stepped forward, its oppressive aura intensifying. A surging wave of energy, strong enough to make it difficult to stand, radiated outwards. The ash on the Gray Prairie was swept up by the blast, forming a ring-shaped shockwave that rushed toward Yang Ying.

Hadake roared with a thunderous voice, "Now we must settle the score for the crime of annihilating the millions of my people in the Pluto stronghold!" With that, he stomped a foot down toward Yang Ying!

Yang Ying, struck by the ash-laden air current, saw a massive foot descending through the swirling dust. He instantly flashed backward to retreat.

Simultaneously, all six of Yang Ying’s forms thrust a hand toward Hadake and roared, "Mind Storm!"

Instantly, a six-fold Mind Storm enveloped Hadake entirely. Lightning danced across the body of the giant ape, hitting almost every point!

However, Yang Ying showed no sign of elation. Such intense lightning striking Hadake caused no significant damage. The giant ape even seemed relaxed under the barrage of lightning, as if enjoying a shower in the rain.

"Come! Come! Unleash your strongest moves! Let me see the strength of you six!" Hadake's voice sounded somewhat (frenzied/wild). Under the thunder and lightning, he exhibited a wild and unrestrained posture. Combined with his immense size, he resembled a demon king wreaking havoc, sending chills down the spine.

Yang Ying shifted his attack, unleashing six Feedback Arts onto Hadake. Six dazzling sparks instantly erupted on the giant ape’s body. However, the sparks vanished almost instantly, extinguished without a trace.

"Good! This move is decent. I felt a warm sensation, but if it were more condensed, it could have had an even better effect!" Hadake extinguished the Feedback Arts with a casual move. Compared to before, when a single Feedback Art caused him to burst into flames, this was far superior.

"I will also return a move! Prepare to receive it!" Hadake roared, slamming both hands heavily onto the ground.

Boom!

A section of ground spanning over a dozen soccer fields immediately fractured violently. Hundreds of massive stones rose abnormally into the air. The smallest among them were seven or eight meters wide and long, while the largest resembled seven-story buildings!

Hadake waved his hand, and these stones, which could nearly form a small mountain, shot out like cannonballs, heavily bombarding the six forms of Yang Ying!

What would it feel like to see a building rush toward you at cannonball speed? What about a cluster of buildings?

The six Yang Ying forms immediately darted around to evade, but the entire ground seemed to be under Hadake’s control, constantly rising and falling. Yang Ying felt as if his footing wasn't solid ground but the surface of the sea, a sea caught in the grip of a tsunami!

Sometimes a section of ground would suddenly lift dozens of meters, or abruptly drop into a pit. Cracks opened and closed on the earth ceaselessly, leaving absolutely no safe footing.

The six Yang Ying forms flashed rapidly, dodging the momentum-filled cluster of massive stones. Hadake’s voice reached them: "Commander Yang Ying, before today, I never imagined that so many Masters of Shufeng would suddenly emerge among humanity. There are six here... and it seems there are more in space. Although you don't look entirely human to me, it doesn't matter. Since you stand with humanity, I shall regard you as human."

The one who responded among the six Yang Ying forms was always Yang Ying. The six Yang Yings understood each other's thoughts without needing verbal communication, and Yang Ying alone was sufficient to converse with Hadake. The other five avatars remained silent, so Hadake paid little attention to them, addressing Yang Ying directly.

However, Yang Ying had no time to reply now. One avatar, after narrowly dodging a series of three smashing giant stones, was suddenly struck by a fourth, twenty-meter-tall boulder, sending it flying. Coincidentally, the ground behind it suddenly rose, forming a cliff. The avatar crashed into the cliff face, only to be violently struck again by the following giant stone. The boulder slammed against the cliff, and the entire cliff face collapsed from the impact!

While evading the barrage of stones himself, Yang Ying felt that one of his avatars had sustained some injury, filling him with rage. He ordered one of his avatars in space to Howard: "Act now! Bombard him with the Yamato Cannons!"

Howard nodded and commanded, "Yamato Cannons charging, fire!"

In front of the ten battleships, crimson light converged into a ball and suddenly blasted down toward the ground. It landed on the battlefield, exploding violently around Hadake. There were continuous roars of sound, the destructive power equivalent to the detonation of ten nuclear bombs!