The Buddha’s light transformed into countless swastikas, linking together like shackles and forming a barrier that tightly bound the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar possessed by the Demon Buddha. Meanwhile, the phantom of the Three Treasures Ruyi exuded the auras of merit, virtue, and blessings, suppressing all qi fluctuations within that body. No matter how profound or subtle, they could hardly penetrate or seep into the outside world.
“Thunder God has indeed betrayed the Heavenly Emperor…” Witnessing this scene, Liu Luo, the Mystic Maiden of the Nine Heavens, couldn’t help but sigh.
As they journeyed, the various arrangements along the way told another story, yet it still led to the same conclusion.
But if not for this, she and Su Meng would now be facing the awakened avatar of the Heavenly Emperor. Even if it didn’t possess the Nirvana Realm, it would still be extremely dangerous, possibly even triggering a chain reaction that could resurrect the fallen Heavenly Emperor—after the Demon Buddha usurped the body, the seals and suppressions of the Buddha and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable would naturally affect this vessel.
Of course, as a great deity of the ancient Heavenly Court, Liu Luo secretly hoped for such a scenario. As long as the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar retained its intelligence, it could coexist harmoniously upon awakening. Yet she never expected Thunder God to act so ruthlessly, as if determined to sever all of the Heavenly Emperor’s contingencies, dashing her hopes and leaving her sighing in disappointment.
Su Meng quietly locked eyes with the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar before suddenly chuckling. “Thunder God, that thick-browed fellow, is truly a born traitor. I think I understand now why he retreated in fear after seeing the Northern Dipper Imperial Chariot.”
Hearing this, Liu Luo’s heart stirred. “The Demon Buddha took over this Demon Emperor’s body to cut off all of the Heavenly Emperor’s contingencies, ensuring his permanent demise with no chance of resurrection. But after doing so, he discovered the Heavenly Emperor had more than one arrangement—like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, there was another opportunity. That’s why, after my intimidation and witnessing the Northern Dipper Imperial Chariot, he feared the real Heavenly Emperor might return through other means and retreated in guilt.”
Su Meng clapped his hands and laughed. “Your words are most insightful, Madam. Do you have any clues about the Heavenly Emperor’s other contingencies?”
A faint, bitter smile appeared on Liu Luo’s elegant face. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have been so shocked along the way. When the Heavenly Emperor protected us from the fall of the Heavenly Court, he only entrusted me with one task.”
“What task?” Su Meng turned his gaze to her.
Liu Luo pressed her lips together. “If a Human Emperor emerges, we must support him with all our might!”
A Human Emperor couldn’t possibly be the Heavenly Emperor’s reincarnation. At that time, the Moral Heavenly Venerable could still directly interfere with the Real World—he would have noticed… Su Meng’s thoughts raced, colliding and sparking inspiration, yet he still couldn’t make sense of it. His eyes returned to the massive millstone grinding and shattering illusory authority, and the unfathomable abyss at its core.
Then, he extended his right hand. His palm was like a mirror, absorbing all light, dark and profound, reflecting the specific spatial structure of this arrangement.
Colors surged, disrupted by the illusory Dao. The spatial seal derived from the Haotian Mirror could only vaguely glimpse layers of death and subtle cycles of reincarnation.
At that moment, Su Meng turned to Liu Luo with a smile. “As long as we don’t touch the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar or try to break the seals around it, no changes here will affect the barrier and the suppressed entity on Vulture Peak.”
With her vast experience, Liu Luo immediately countered, “What do you intend to do?”
Su Meng replied leisurely, “To absorb these shattered authorities with the Primordial Chaos, dismantle the reincarnation arrangement here, and uncover the secrets hidden deep within.”
As he spoke, the dark mirror of his right palm rippled like water, collapsing layer by layer until it formed a shadowy point resembling a cloud, containing all things.
His palm pressed down. The remaining lights, as if veiled in a gauze of chaos, trembled and gradually broke free from the millstone vortex’s pull, scattering and rushing toward the point of Primordial Chaos, vanishing within as if assimilated.
Beams of light rose—some embodying the authority of the Ancestral Dragon, capable of overturning seas and drowning the world in floods; others representing the authority of the sun, with nine flames scorching the heavens and light illuminating all. They surged forward, each disintegrating and returning to their origins.
Boom!
The massive millstone trembled violently, cracks appearing all over its surface.
Bang!
The illusory millstone shattered, transforming into countless beams of light that returned to the Primordial Chaos, to Su Meng’s right palm, refining his comprehension of various Daos.
Boom!
The vortex completely collapsed and vanished. Layers of mist surged wildly, but under the illumination of the Primordial Chaos, all was enveloped without a single ripple.
Su Meng’s left hand now held a branch emitting a faint, clear light. The excess shattered authorities and illusory Daos flowed toward it like a celestial river, absorbed entirely as the branch sprouted leaves.
The Tree of the Great Dao, also known as the “Epoch,” naturally deserved to be “fed” at every opportunity!
When the Primordial Chaos receded and the disturbances at the vortex’s core subsided, the scene there became vaguely visible to Su Meng and Liu Luo.
It was a desolate land howling with sinister winds, stretching endlessly through countless kalpas. At its center stood a pitch-black mountain, as if formed from solidified illusory death and ghostly intent—the origin of all spirits and specters.
The mountain had six layers, each steeped in turbid energy, with natural barriers forming an impregnable ghostly domain, stern and terrifying.
When Su Meng’s gaze fell upon the black mountain, a pair of indescribable eyes suddenly appeared in his mind—cold, sinister, and petrifying, with layers of death and corruption eroding his being.
Clang! Clang!
His saber and sword resonated simultaneously, their brilliance erupting. The Primordial Chaos around Su Meng slowly rotated, dissolving the terrifying will projected toward him, while the flames of the Daoist artifacts severed the connection.
Their eyes met, and Su Meng and Liu Luo spoke in unison:
“Xuanming Ghost Emperor!”
“Black Prison of Luofeng!”
The formidable will behind those eyes belonged to none other than the Xuanming Ghost Emperor, a pseudo-Nirvana being of the Nine Nether Abyss!
—The realms of Luofeng and Black Prison, along with the Yellow Springs, were the origins of death, slumber, gloom, and ghosts in the Nine Nether Abyss. The first two were now the domains of the Xuanming Ghost Emperor.
The reincarnation arrangement at the bottom of the Heavenly Prison secretly connected to Luofeng and Black Prison!
Recalling that the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar was crafted from the Ghost Emperor’s body, the truth seemed on the verge of revelation.
“Back then, the Heavenly Emperor arranged this place with the Wheel of Reincarnation as the core, supplementing it with the ancient deities and ghosts suppressed over the years. He likely sought to bypass the ancient underworld, deeply influenced by Buddhist and Daoist forces, and unify Luofeng and Black Prison with the Ghost Emperor’s body. By secretly establishing a true afterlife under his sole dominion, he could have achieved the embryonic form of the Dao Fruit. Unfortunately, the Demon Buddha later took the Wheel of Reincarnation and seized the Ghost Emperor’s body, ruining the plan midway.” As a deity of that era, Liu Luo quickly pieced together the truth, feeling an inexplicable melancholy.
As the Heavenly Court’s marshal, she had been unaware of all this!
Su Meng nodded slightly. “The so-called contingency for the avatar’s resurrection seems incidental. Of course, the Ghost Emperor’s body might have been a decoy. The Heavenly Emperor’s remnant spirit could have already reincarnated elsewhere through the connection between the Wheel of Reincarnation and Luofeng and Black Prison. Who knows what secrets the Heavenly Empress and he discussed?”
With that, he flicked his left sleeve, reestablishing the cosmos and sealing away the suppressed Heavenly Emperor’s avatar before turning to leave without hesitation.
“You…?” Liu Luo was momentarily stunned by Su Meng’s decisiveness.
Su Meng chuckled. “This is essentially the Demon Buddha’s avatar now. Encountering it would alert A’nan. If we don’t leave now, do you want to stay and fight?”
At the same time, he flicked his right finger, sending a small illusory seal toward Liu Luo. It bore faint Daoist patterns, shimmering between gold and crimson, brimming with the essence of battle and conquest.
“This is…?” Liu Luo caught the seal, her expression flickering.
Su Meng flew upward, leaving the pit behind, and said casually, “Among the shattered authorities, I assimilated some related to battle and conquest. The rest condensed into this seal, which I believe will serve as a whetstone for your own insights. Since we explored this place together, how could I keep all the benefits for myself?”
Without false modesty, Liu Luo stored the seal and smiled radiantly. “No wonder the jianghu of old often spoke of the Mad Blade Su Meng’s chivalry and righteousness. I shall remember this favor.”
Then, glancing at Su Meng’s left sleeve, she asked, “Are you taking the Heavenly Emperor’s avatar to prevent the Demon Buddha A’nan from using it to bypass the Vulture Peak’s seal and escape?”
“However slim the chance, we must guard against it,” Su Meng replied solemnly.
Of course, this meant that even with the “Cause of All Effects” isolating this realm, the Demon Buddha could still vaguely sense his whereabouts through the connection between the avatar and its true form.
Now, it was a race to see who could move faster!
Moreover, once he reunited with Guangchengzi and the other disciples of Jade Void, things would become much simpler.
He and Liu Luo swiftly left the Heavenly Prison, heading back to the Northern Dipper Chariot.
…
In the Real World, amid the Great Snowy Mountains, beside the nine ancient tombs of the Immortal Lords, Wang Siyuan met with the current sect master of the Snowy Mountain Sect.
“To what do we owe the sudden visit of Young Master Wang?” the sect master asked courteously.
Wang Siyuan coughed lightly, his smile faint. “I’ve come for the one suppressed within these ancient tombs.”
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