Chapter 289: The Final Cycle of Buddha and Qin Shi Huang!
Those who noticed the crack in Buddha's jackal mask weren't limited to just Serafall and Rossweisse.
Others who noticed—whether human or god—saw their nearly rigid, mask-like expressions begin to soften.
It seemed that this endless cycle of battle, this locked time, was finally about to be released.
For a moment, excitement surged among them, and they cast gazes filled with both anticipation and unease.
Eagerly awaiting the end, wondering whose victory it will be?
If there's unease, it's the worry that when reading the save file again next time, the crack will have repaired itself, and the unease will become an endless cycle of regression, until the soul truly falls silent.
About to become a living corpse.
"Is it finally ending?"
Ares, the God of War from Greek mythology, grew excited as well.
He appeared to be in better condition than the other conscious gods, far more spirited than Hermes, who seemed utterly listless and sickly.
Thus, this time, Ares felt a hint of smugness when facing Hermes—finally, he had surpassed this guy for once.
Look, even Lord Poseidon wasn't as sharp as he was.
Hmph, he truly lived up to being the God of War, the God of War with an iron will, remaining unfazed through so many regressions.
Looking around, the other gods of war had all fallen silent.
So, he was the God of War among gods of war.
The god among gods!!!
Therefore, he could be proud! He could hold his head high!
"Hermes, did you see the crack in Buddha's mask?"
He said this to Hermes in a slightly boastful tone.
"Really? Yeah, I saw it."
Hermes didn't really want to respond to this guy, but felt that if he didn't, Ares would become particularly annoying, so he replied with a hint of impatience.
Of course, he could tell from Ares's expression what was going through his mind and couldn't be bothered to argue with such a fool.
But then again, under these extraordinary circumstances, a simple-minded idiot like Ares was actually the easiest to keep clear-headed.
Returning to the issue, the crack in Buddha's jackal mask—did it mean the scales were beginning to tilt?
Was the situation starting to turn against Buddha?
Was the Emperor unaffected?
Hermes tried desperately to observe this Qin Shi Huang but couldn't detect any issues.
Seriously, could Ares just shut up and stop babbling incessantly in his ear?
Meanwhile, on the field, Buddha also realized he was in trouble.
"This is a bit problematic~"
Though he said so, his face showed no trace of what one would call a troubled expression.
This time, the crack in the jackal mask appeared because, during this consciousness leap, Buddha was nearly severed by Qin Shi Huang.
To be precise, he was slightly grazed, leading to this situation.
The crack meant that the time Buddha could maintain this Six Paths Guanyin form had shortened.
From now on, the duration of each new regression cycle would also decrease.
Since Qin Shi Huang had managed to graze him once, he might do it again, indicating that Buddha's time was running out, and his chances for regression were limited.
He had to find Qin Shi Huang's weakness before being completely cut off from regression and trapped in the current timeline.
Hmm?
Upon closer inspection of Qin Shi Huang's massive Mechanical Body, Buddha noticed something: the mechanical body's temperature was somewhat high.
He also sensed that something operating inside seemed to have slowed down.
It appeared that this Qin Shi Huang was also under some strain.
Take a deep breath, then exhale!!!
[Alaya-vijñāna of Perfect Enlightenment]
The ability activated once more, going all out!
In an instant, many among the gods and humans witnessing his transformation became even more alert with a jolt.
Because the Buddha before them had undergone some changes.
All the eyes on the palms of his Thousand Hands had transformed—their pupils now resembled lotus flowers.
No, no—it wasn't that the pupils merely looked like lotuses; rather, lotuses had actually sprouted from the eyeballs themselves.
At the same time, the eyes were bleeding, seemingly because the emerging lotuses had pierced the blood vessels in the eyeballs, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Of course, what evoked an indescribable terror in their hearts was the way those eyeballs kept rolling uncontrollably. It wasn't the erratic movement that frightened them, but the eerie sensation that once those bizarre eyes fixed on them, their very existence felt as though it had been completely dissected—not just physically, but spiritually as well.
It was this very feeling that jolted the gods and humans into heightened awareness.
In the next instant, all the eyeballs ceased their movement, locking onto a single target—the First Emperor.
"I see it!"
The Buddha grinned brightly, raising a finger and pointing directly at Qin Shi Huang.
"See what?"
The projection of Qin Shi Shi Huang asked with interest.
"I see the future of your defeat!"
"Oh? I lose?"
"Correct. This victory belongs to me! I, the Buddha, am the strongest in the entire universe!"
As he spoke these words, the Buddha retracted his hand and gave himself a thumbs-up.
He seemed utterly confident of his impending victory.
His declaration left the gods and humans stunned.
They didn't believe the Buddha was spouting nonsense—he must have discovered some method to break the deadlock.
It appeared that this endless cycle of battle was truly about to reach its conclusion.
"Is that so? I, however, believe you might simply be dreaming~"
Qin Shi Huang's words were neither a joke nor mockery, but carried a profound undertone.
"Still, it is indeed time to end this endless cycle."
As he spoke, his Mechanical Divine Body emitted a faint glow, giving the impression of a machine operating beyond its normal capacity.
"It is time to end this!"
Thus, the Buddha initiated another consciousness leap!
Was he abandoning this round? Avoiding confrontation to reset directly?
Because the earlier all-out future vision had placed a tremendous strain on his body—resetting was the right move.
And this time, it was the final reset.
This was the last cycle!