The realm where the Fusang ancient tree stood seemed shrouded in illusions, isolated from the Yunhai Feixiang Realm, like a mirage—visible but unreachable. It remained so until a powerful Luo Sect expert, having received guidance, used a treasure capable of subduing it, forcibly breaking through the barrier and allowing it to “return” to the real world. Through the breach, one could vaguely glimpse vast oceans and fairy islands within.
Yet ultimately, this was a domain connected to an ancient imperial sovereign. Even with the breach, it remained a world unto itself, lofty and transcendent, where all seven seas could be seen, much like the Jade Void Palace, the Nine Heavens, or the realm derived from the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl. Thus, as the legendary figures Shaoxuan and Xi’e entered, the Eight-Treasure Merit Pool in the Eastern Lapis Lazuli Pure Land suddenly rippled, becoming turbulent. The view within became unclear, as if a live broadcast signal had been interfered and distorted.
Moonlight Bodhisattva, holding the Fearless Gesture with countless hands in all directions, smiled gently and said, “Lay devotee, please observe—what difference is there between coming and not coming, watching and not watching?”
Although the omnipresence of a Reward Body and the omnipresence of a Legend may appear similar, they are fundamentally distinct. A Legend represents a state of self-transcendence to a higher plane, comparable to celestial realms such as the Nine Nether, existing above the real world and other cosmic paradises. Legends possess omnipresence in slightly lower dimensions but lack this quality within their own tier. For instance, when Gourdo and others once conspired to eliminate Su Wuming, they deliberately lured him to the Jade Pool to neutralize this “attribute.”
In contrast, the Reward Body increasingly aligns with corresponding Dharma principles and the Dao, gradually assimilating and ultimately replacing them. Wherever a certain Dharma principle is cultivated, the Reward Body manifests—hence its omnipresence, where distinctions of near and far dissolve. At the level of Amitabha Buddha’s perfection, the Dao itself is present wherever the Buddha is. Unless one deliberately suppresses similar Dharma principles or the Dao by substituting them with their own essence or array formations, even realms such as the Nine Netherworlds cannot evade the omnipresence of the Reward Body.
The domain surrounding the Fusang tree clearly replaced universal principles with its own. Even Moonlight Bodhisattva, both a Reward Body and a Legend, could not clearly perceive its interior. Therefore, whether one came or not, watched or not, made no difference.
With the ability of the Absolute Blade awakened to the level of Legend, Meng Qi, while still aboard the tower ship, could lend his power to Shaoxuan.
Meng Qi smiled but said nothing. Suddenly, the ripples in the Eight-Treasure Merit Pool calmed. Purple light surged forth, crackling sounds echoed, and lightning danced wildly. Soon, a clear scene emerged: ancient trees towering in the distance, fairy islands scattered nearby, golden waves beneath their feet, and divine mountains rising all around—an air of ancient celestial abodes.
This was the view from the Absolute Blade’s perspective!
It had transmitted this vision through its special connection with Meng Qi.
“Purity is clean, Lapis reflects the heart. Observing is with a Buddha pool, conversing is with a Bodhisattva. Why not come?” Meng Qi said cheerfully, his expression calm and composed like a refined Taoist scholar leisurely reading the Huang Ting Scripture, showing no anxiety, restlessness, or urgency.
It wasn’t that he felt nothing. Meng Qi could clearly sense those emotions, even coldly examining them—tracing their origins, analyzing which memories, experiences, habits, or indescribable impulses they stemmed from…
This was a unique experience. Without the change in thinking patterns brought by martial cultivation strength, he could not actively “isolate” certain memories, experiences, and instincts, reconstruct new cognition and perspectives, and examine himself from different angles, seeing the different aspects of his “true self.”
As soon as they entered the domain of the Fusang tree, Shaoxuan and Xi’e suddenly shattered like bubbles, leaving no trace. Had it not been for the Absolute Blade’s vision, Meng Qi would not have noticed their movements at all.
Their mission was to seize the relics left behind by the previous Great Luo Holy Maiden. Stealthily approaching and suddenly attacking was an excellent choice to avoid a fierce battle between Legends. Naturally, Shaoxuan and Xi’e, who had no close relationship with Meng Qi, wanted to minimize their involvement.
The speed of a Legend’s movement was so great that even the images transmitted back by the Absolute Blade had delays to allow Meng Qi to see clearly. As they advanced, those fairy islands and divine mountains fully emerged in the pool’s waters, adorned with pavilions and towers—some ancient, others elegant—enough to evoke the grandeur of ancient times. However, these celestial structures were covered in dust, many having naturally decayed and collapsed, as if having lost all glory, returned to mundanity, overtaken by time.
Moreover, the place was eerily silent, devoid of any sound, with no birds flying or fish swimming—utterly lifeless.
“Celestial palaces, even after eons, even if their power has faded and their barriers decayed, should not have rotted so badly, covered in so much dust…” Meng Qi said, puzzled.
Moonlight Bodhisattva’s voice seemed to come from different universes, converging into one: “When the demon plague ravaged the land, several Legends near the Fusang tree suddenly migrated away without revealing why. Not long after, this fairy realm became isolated from the outside, with no living beings able to exit, and even Legends unable to enter. Now, it appears something abnormal must have occurred back then.”
“What kind of anomaly could it have been?” Meng Qi slightly furrowed his brows. Matters concerning Donghuang Taiyi always carried an air of mystery, instinctively making him wary and cautious.
The monster sealed beneath the nine Celestial Sage tombs was calling out “Taiyi,” the Yellow Turban Dao could borrow the protection of a great figure said to have perished an aeon ago, and the Fusang tree was born from the blood of His demise…
At Xiao Sang’s cultivation level back then, she could not have entered the Fusang tree’s domain on her own. Then, had she found the legacy of one of those Legends who had migrated away? Meng Qi calmly pondered while examining his own thoughts, tracing their origins.
The dust-covered immortal islands and divine mountains also made Shaoxuan and Xi’e cautious. Their fleeing light slowed slightly as they circled around, wary of encountering something unknown and terrifying.
At this moment, as if answering Meng Qi’s question, Moonlight Bodhisattva said, “The Golden Emperor sent people into the Fusang tree’s domain—not merely to search for the previous Holy Maiden’s relics, but likely also to uncover the cause of this anomaly, seeking certain objects or clues.”
Meng Qi pondered for a moment, his mind swirling with thoughts and memories. He sifted out those heavily tainted by emotions and shook his head with a smile, “Sometimes, I wonder if the Golden Emperor is merely using the excuse of eliminating Xiao Sang’s hidden dangers to conveniently pursue other important matters.”
“It’s very possible. But more likely, both intentions coexist.” Moonlight Bodhisattva’s tone remained calm, seemingly indifferent to the affairs within the Fusang tree domain. Then he continued, “Su Lay-devotee, in fact, to realize that all appearances are not real, thus seeing the Tathagata—why seek far away? You possess the Eight-Nine Metamorphic Art, excelling in transformations. Each transformation leaves only the true spirit unchanged, allowing you to experience the senses of various beings, their differing perceptions of the same thing—like the ‘true self’…”
Meng Qi suddenly froze. He had once emphasized the path of the Eight-Nine Metamorphic Art to explore the unreality of appearances, yet at that moment, he hadn’t thought of it at all!
“Was it because I’ve recently relied too much on the Primordial Nine Seals, letting it cloud my vision?” he mused aloud.
Moonlight Bodhisattva smiled, “No. It was your eagerness to attain Legendhood that clouded you. A simple thought—if what you currently possess could help you quickly achieve Legendhood, you should already have made progress. Since you haven’t, it means your pursuit lies outside yourself. And if your pursuit lies outside, naturally you neglect what you already possess.”
“I see,” Meng Qi murmured, as if gaining insight. Then he suddenly smiled, “But it’s not too late now. Please, Bodhisattva, help me recover my fragmented memories.”
Though martial cultivation strength was lost and memory weakened, it didn’t mean memories were gone—just inaccessible, hidden deep within his mind like scattered fragments.
If even memories from past lives could be deeply buried within the mind, how much more so those of this life?
And could this be considered a form of “unchanging”—independent of the body, independent of the unity of the three souls?
At this moment, Shaoxuan and Xi’e had already reached near the Fusang tree, transitioning from distant viewing to close observation.
This ancient tree towered skyward, its roots plunging deep into the ocean, its trunk forming a massive island, shaping valleys. It split into two trunks—one reaching supreme heights, yet burdened with heaviness; the other plunging into profound depths, yet appearing ethereal. Leaning on each other, they climbed upward, sprouting numerous branches. Each branch gave a near-real-world sensation. On these branches grew mulberry leaves, bathed in solar radiance, like flames—externally scorching, internally hazy and misty, as if each were a universe.
Meng Qi had seen similar things before—his own Dao tree!
Was someone deliberately cultivating this object with Taiyi’s blood to replace the Dao tree? As this thought arose, Moonlight Bodhisattva pointed a finger, awakening Meng Qi’s memories of transforming into a mouse, into an eagle.
Before the “valley” where the Fusang tree stood, a figure sat cross-legged, holding a lapis lazuli lamp—the Luo Sect’s Lampbearer Divine Envoy. He made no other move, as if waiting for something. On the tree above, Sha Wujing slowly climbed upward.
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