The darkness and profundity seemed endless, with time and space as thick as amber. When Meng Qi felt he had nearly lost all sense of direction and time, a glimmer of light finally appeared before him. Within an almost pure and boundless chaos, the main hall he had previously seen re-emerged, eternally existing in this realm unchanged.
Before the grand hall stood the ancient Zhongyuan Bell, while behind it lay unfathomable depths shrouded in obscurity. Unlike before, a newly hung plaque now adorned the entrance, bearing three archaic characters: “Yuqing Palace.” It emanated solemnity, majesty, and an aura of timeless vicissitude.
The last time Meng Qi encountered the True Lord Yang Jian, the Clear Source and Mysterious Path, it had been at this Yuqing Palace, which was actually one of the “faces” of the main hall.
Leaping out of the ancient well and landing before the hall, Meng Qi was now enveloped in a “Chaos Water Film,” concealing causality and hiding heavenly secrets, as if he no longer existed in heaven and earth.
Since he had escaped the ancient well universe, he must continue with his previous plan: turning overt into covert, evading the legendary masters and Zhao Qian, and secretly searching for the Chaos Green Lotus Seed.
As his figure just vanished, another figure leaped out of the well—the restored Han Guang in wide robes. His face was unnaturally pale and gray. Even though he had only reversed time by two fleeting moments, and even though it was merely one of the special multiversal universes, and even though he mainly relied on the inherent properties of the Donghuang Bell fragment and the catalytic power of the Heavenly Emperor’s aura, such a heaven-defying technique was still not something a Tianxian-level cultivator could fully endure. Thus, he paid the price of his Heavenly Emperor avatar’s destruction and severe injuries to his true body, leaving him with only about sixty percent of his former strength. Moreover, the Time Arts were wondrous, and in terms of combat effectiveness, it might be reduced by another one or two tenths.
The Demon Sage smiled, carefree and unrestrained, seemingly unconcerned about his condition. To gain great rewards, one must be prepared to pay a great price. Not to mention that this time he had benefited from Su Meng’s momentum; otherwise, alone, he would have died in battle against that Primordial Projection.
In a certain sense, within that universe, It was even more terrifying than legends, of course, with greater restrictions, more obvious and fatal weaknesses that were easier to exploit.
He spread his divine consciousness and found that the Yuqing Palace gates were already open, deep and vast within, yet Meng Qi was nowhere to be seen, not even a trace left, his heavenly fate now blurred.
Han Guang nodded thoughtfully but did not search, proceeding forward on his own into Yuqing Palace.
Meng Qi, hiding nearby, waited until Han Guang passed before silently trailing him, using him as a mine detector.
Even without other opportunities, even if the Donghuang Bell fragment had not been damaged, and even if the Heavenly Emperor’s aura had not been excessively consumed, and even with prior experience, it would still not be an obstacle. For Han Guang to once again sever his Heavenly Emperor avatar using these items, he would at least need two more years of cultivation… Meng Qi made his judgment, watching Han Guang’s weakened back.
The “Primordial Lord” who had appeared like Brahma was truly terrifying. If he had not yet escaped the constraints of that universe, retaining a fatal vulnerability like the “foundation of existence”—a weak point that could be struck down in one blow—and if Meng Qi hadn’t possessed the Divine Striking Whip, even with their combined efforts, finding an opportunity to escape would have been a great fortune amidst misfortune.
After all, the leap from Tianxian to Legend was like the transformation from Outer View to Dharma Body—it was an elevation of life’s hierarchy, an essential evolution. In a sense, they were no longer of the same species, with a massive gap in power. For example, Tianxian’s terrifying might is often likened to stars (a collective term, with vast differences between stars, just as Tianxian like the Tyrant and ordinary Tianxian), and upon reaching Legend, following normal logic, in an intuitive yet imprecise description, one might progress from stellar-level to galactic-level.
However, the Legendary Masters had already connected with numerous projections, and each “self” within every universe could enhance their power to galactic levels. When these projections reinforced the main body, upon reaching the peak of Legend, with projections spread across countless worlds, they could transition from quantitative to qualitative change, no longer describable by galaxies or even galactic clusters, nearly possessing the power of an entire vast universe. Though their combat power would be weakened and restricted in the real world, within the multiverse, their might was beyond terrifying—it dwarfed Tianxian like the difference between fireflies and the moon.
The “Primordial Projection,” aside from still being bound and unable to rapidly gather and deploy power, was essentially equal to such a Legendary Master, even involving the Time River beyond the perception of Legends, possessing many characteristics of the Transcendent. In direct confrontation, a hundred Meng Qis and a hundred Han Guangs combined would not be his match. They might withstand the initial assault, but once the Four-Armed Divine Being gathered its strength, they would be swept away like dry leaves.
Yet, Its luck had been so poor—just encountering Meng Qi, who possessed Transcendent traits and could adapt instantly without needing to gather much power, rendering the “Turning Cause to Effect” and “The Weight of the Universe” useless. Then, just encountering Han Guang, who could reverse time by two fleeting moments, creating an opportunity to strike the sleeping divine corpse—the “seven-inch” weak point of It. And even more fortuitously, Meng Qi had the Divine Striking Whip, sufficient to destroy the divine corpse in one blow.
These three coincidences led to the “Primordial Projection,” who never imagined defeat at the hands of two insignificant beings, being struck down permanently, dying in extreme frustration.
Too many coincidences… Following Han Guang forward, Meng Qi passed through the empty front hall.
His ability to counteract was natural—the Divine Striking Whip came from Master Shao Bai, originally used against Luo Sect’s half-spiritual, half-martial Legendary Masters. Its effectiveness against the Primordial Projection was merely a coincidence. Han Guang, on the other hand, had some preparation, knowing what he would encounter and obtain, but it had nothing to do with Meng Qi—it could only be attributed to the guidance of some great figure or powerful cultivator. This lingering sense of strangeness came from where?
Meng Qi shifted his thoughts, first reflecting on his gains and changes after the “Primordial Projection Incident.” Undoubtedly, he had become closer to the “Cause of All Fruits” and the “Primordial Golden Scripture,” as well as the “Eight-Nine Mystical Art.” His “self-projections” now had more choices, increasingly deviating from the Demon Buddha A-nan.
“If I continued down my previous path, leaving legendary imprints in each universe first, then gradually adjusting them into the Demon Buddha’s corresponding image to complete the imprint—equivalent to becoming closer to A-nan and forming a relationship of mutual consumption for perfection—then with these changes, I can now lean toward the ‘Primordial Lord’ image…” Thinking thus, Meng Qi’s heart stirred. “Could this be the vague intention of the Yu Xu sect?”
With developments aligning with expectations, Meng Qi suddenly felt as though he had been designed.
But how could he have been designed? He had only returned to Yu Xu Palace because of Xiao Sang’s death and the existence of the Chaos Green Lotus Seed, which led him to enter the ancient well in the first place. Otherwise, with no other matters attracting him here, he could have waited until he had created enough “self-projections” and ascended to Legend before coming. By then, it would have been too late—even if the Primordial Projection had been slain and absorbed, it would have been meaningless.
It was Wang, the great fortune-teller, who reminded Meng Qi about Xiao Sang’s contingency plan and the Chaos Green Lotus Seed. But given the situation at the time, even if Wang had remained silent, Meng Qi would soon have realized it himself. Observing him reforming his Dharma Body, and recalling how the mansion of the Taiyi Immortal had been completely looted, thinking of Nezha, even if Meng Qi was slow-witted, he would have drawn connections.
It could only be said that Wang’s timing for ascending to the Dharma Body was just right. And his timing for ascending was mysteriously determined roughly by Meng Qi’s severing of his past and future selves—Wang Siyuan’s prerequisite for attaining the Dharma Body was escaping the Demon Buddha’s control. Ultimately, when Meng Qi entered the Dharma Body realm, it was already destined that he would realize this matter at the Earth Immortal or Tianxian stage and come to Yu Xu Palace to seek Xiao Sang’s contingency plan.
Thinking thus, Meng Qi suddenly furrowed his brow, silently exclaiming, “Wait… This seems like a plan laid out only after Xiao Sang’s death. But if she hadn’t chosen to die back then, what had the planner originally intended? How would they have ensured my arrival at Yu Xu Palace?”
The rear hall of Yuqing Palace remained empty. Following Han Guang toward the side door, Meng Qi’s thoughts surged, vaguely grasping something.
Unable to resolve the previous question, he had already shifted his perspective, leaning toward the “Primordial image.” Could it be Yang Jian’s plan? Or perhaps the Primordial Lord who left behind the “Cause of All Fruits”?
Primordial Lord?
Boom!
As soon as this name surfaced in his mind, Meng Qi’s heart suddenly exploded with realization, his mind ablaze with insight, connecting a series of thoughts—the many previous questions now linked into a single thread!
Only after obtaining the “Infinite Seal” in Yu Xu Palace did the Golden Emperor truly have hope of reaching the Transcendent, qualifying to escape the Time River and sleep in the Chaos, needing a beacon…
As the Luo Sect’s Holy Maiden, cultivated from childhood, she had become the beacon early on, carrying the Golden Emperor’s will, unlike Meng Qi, whose connection with A-nan had been severed, allowing him to evade detection by other great figures—why had Yu Longzi been able to develop her own self-awareness, forming the personality of Gu Xiaosang? How could such a mistake occur under the eyes of the Transcendent greats!
After the Investiture of the Gods, although the Fengshen Bang (Register of Deities) nominally belonged to the Zhou Dynasty, it was in fact under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court. However, the Divine Striking Whip remained with Jiang Ziya and was not reclaimed, allowing Meng Qi to borrow it. This enabled him to counteract certain divine embodiments that were constrained by celestial regulations with numerous restrictions…
Everything had been prepared, so Meng Qi “naturally” arrived at Yu Xu Palace as expected.
It turned out everything had a reason…
All because of the Primordial Lord!
What a grand hand, what a profound scheme—only upon success could one glimpse the faintest traces! Meng Qi’s heart trembled abnormally. Just a glimpse of this power revealed how the most ancient Transcendent had outshone even juniors like the Golden Emperor and the Demon Buddha.
At that moment, Han Guang opened the rear hall’s great door, revealing a pond filled with blooming lotuses. At the pond’s edge stood a woman in a plain white robe, her graceful and ethereal back exuding an aura of refined elegance.
Meng Qi’s heart jolted. Focusing his gaze, he realized it was “Primordial Immortaless” Bi Jingxuan.
Disappointment welled up, uncontrollable.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage