As soon as she caught sight of this figure, the expression of “Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden” Liu Luo changed. Unlike a great divine being capable of examining her own thoughts, she instead resembled an ordinary person gossiping in the alleys, her voice faint and wavering, as if squeezed through clenched teeth:
“Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning!”
Tongtian Jiaozhu! At the same time, Meng Qi nearly blurted out the name. Having attained the Legendary realm and gained the ability to introspect every thought, his memories of books he had read and poems he had recited were as vivid as if he had just recited them multiple times.
And Tongtian Jiaozhu and Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning were merely different titles for the same great figure!
To encounter one of the ancient beings of the Other Shore, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning—one of the Three Pure Ones, symbolizing “from existence to nothingness”—directly!
No, wait! Could this be something akin to the remnants of the Heavenly Emperor within the Northern Dipper’s Imperial Chariot? Not the true Tongtian Jiaozhu?
No, that couldn’t be! The Heavenly Emperor had already perished, leaving only faint traces without corresponding power. But if this were the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, the remnants would equate to the true form—the phantom could manifest as the real body, with time and space as one!
Just as their thoughts grew chaotic, nearly prompting them to follow the examples of the Ancient Buddha Dipankara and the Celestial Worthy of Duobao by retreating first, the figure shrouded in auspicious light and indistinct to the eye suddenly stirred with surging ripples. Behind its head, the pure, flawless, and utterly complete halo of light—seemingly containing all possibilities and truths—expanded at a deceptively slow yet swift pace, enveloping heaven and earth in a hazy radiance.
Meng Qi and Liu Luo had no time to evade. Their vision blurred, and their bodies felt as if they were being washed away, sinking from the Northern Dipper’s Imperial Chariot into the river of time.
Wasn’t it said that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning had been missing for a long time? As this thought arose, Meng Qi shuddered, his vision clearing to reveal shimmering ripples flowing slowly around him, carrying the melancholy of time’s irreversible passage, eternally saturating his being.
Meanwhile, the ancient being of the Other Shore, riding the Kui Ox, moved upstream along the river without sparing them a glance.
The surrounding ripples suddenly shifted, reflecting an island, a world, and a palace familiar to Meng Qi—the Golden Ao Island derived from fragments of the Primordial Era, the Shangqing Realm once renowned alongside the Qingwei Realm and the Dachi Heaven, the ethereal and immortal Jade Void Palace that had left deep marks on his life!
Inside the Jade Void Palace, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, who had just been riding the Kui Ox, now sat atop rolling five-colored qi, expounding the profound dharma. The pure light behind his head illuminated every corner with flawless brilliance, though the once-glorious assembly of ten thousand immortals had dwindled to a mere dozen or so listeners.
His voice faintly reached Meng Qi and Liu Luo’s ears—not the ancient and weathered tone one might expect, but clear and vigorous, each word provoking deep contemplation, as if revealing the mysteries of the Great Dao and the secrets of the epochs. Even Liu Luo, a goddess of ancient times with vast knowledge, listened raptly, fearing to miss a single word.
Since the Human Emperor’s nirvana, the exposition of dharma by beings of the Other Shore had become a rare treasure in the world!
At that moment, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning slightly raised his head, his eyes suddenly sharpening as they met Meng Qi and Liu Luo’s gazes directly!
Bang!
Meng Qi and Liu Luo felt as if struck by lightning, their bodies numb. The Supreme Primordial Chaos Cloud and the Nine Heavens Mystic Qi Cloud above them rippled simultaneously. Those eyes—lofty, profound, and inscrutable—were unmistakably scrutinizing them across countless ages and histories!
The Other Shore cannot be spied upon!
The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning withdrew his gaze, and the ripples abruptly churned, shattering the Jade Void Palace into fragments.
When clarity returned, he was once more astride the Kui Ox, continuing his journey upstream along the river of time. A terrifying azure light surged from the depths of the river, landing in his palm and transforming into an ancient sword—its blade inscribed with intertwined Daoist patterns forming the characters “Qingping.” From where the Qingping Sword had risen, Meng Qi faintly glimpsed Golden Ao Island and the eerie, writhing mass of dark blood.
Regretting the interruption of the Other Shore’s dharma exposition, the two exchanged glances, each seeing the other’s confusion. Suppressing their emotions and thoughts, they silently observed.
Time flowed ceaselessly. Unable to ascend against the current, Meng Qi and Liu Luo could only watch as the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, wielding the Qingping Sword and bathed in flawless light, rode the Kui Ox backward through the ages.
Suddenly, the ripples surged violently, the scene shifting to reveal a serene mountain peak and overwhelming, distorted auras that obscured Meng Qi’s vision. He could barely discern the intertwining of the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Pagoda and the Taiji Diagram of Virtue, forming the pattern of a five-virtue phoenix.
“Ling Mountain! The Fall of Ling Mountain!” Meng Qi said gravely.
That mountain bore too many memories for him—a place he dared not forget, ever vigilant. How could he not recognize it?
It was the former Buddha’s sacred ground, the heart of the Saha Pure Land—the spiritual mountain in his heart!
And the Holy Maiden of the Demons had only descended upon Ling Mountain once—during the battle that saw the fall of ten thousand Buddhas!
By then, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning astride the Kui Ox had already entered Ling Mountain, vanishing from Meng Qi and Liu Luo’s sight. Only a majestic and solemn voice echoed forth:
“In the Final Calamity, I shall reign supreme!”
Crackling lights erupted, obscuring the scene entirely.
Liu Luo fell silent for a moment before sighing deeply. “I never imagined he intervened in the Battle of Ling Mountain as well…”
During the Battle of Ling Mountain, ten thousand Buddhas fell together, and the demon race suffered heavy losses, with few survivors. More importantly, the true clash of the Other Shore began only after Sun Wukong breached Ling Mountain and sealed away the Bull Demon King and other great sages. Unless the Amitabha Buddha or the Ancient Bodhi Buddha spoke, or unless the Holy Maiden of the Demons revived and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven broke his silence, no one could know what truly transpired afterward.
“No wonder the Holy Maiden of the Demons couldn’t save her subordinates in time,” Meng Qi remarked with equal solemnity.
As the light and shadows faded, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning reappeared astride the Kui Ox, still moving backward through time.
Another surge of ripples revealed a new scene—a nine-layered celestial realm towering above all, shaken by auras spanning past and future. Once more, everything blurred, distorting Meng Qi and Liu Luo’s senses.
“The Fall of the Heavenly Court…” Liu Luo murmured, her voice tinged with melancholy.
She never thought she would witness that nightmare again.
As the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning rode the Kui Ox through the mist, ascending to the highest layer of the Nine Heavens, Meng Qi faintly glimpsed a cloud—a vast, all-encompassing cloud of profound darkness and chaos!
The Supreme Primordial Chaos Cloud!
The Primordial Heavenly Venerable!
This was the first time Meng Qi had truly seen the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, even if only through a historical reflection. His heart surged as he strained to see more, but only the cloud remained visible.
The auras intertwined, warping perception once more. Yet, in that fleeting moment, Meng Qi heard a voice—ancient, familiar yet strange, carrying the essence of the primordial beginning. It echoed distantly, as if sighing:
“The matter of the Dao Fruit… truly cannot rely on external things…”
The words lingered, leaving Meng Qi and Liu Luo dazed for a long while before they recovered. By then, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning had long departed the era of the Heavenly Court’s fall, continuing his journey upstream.
Scenes from the Journey to the West flickered past, but the Celestial Worthy remained seated in the Jade Void Palace, rarely intervening.
Then, he mounted the Kui Ox once more, traveling further back through time.
Yet, just as Meng Qi thought they were nearing the era of the Investiture of the Gods, the Celestial Worthy vanished entirely—the river of time itself seemed to break, severing the past from the present!
“The river of time… is broken?” Meng Qi and Liu Luo exclaimed simultaneously.
The shimmering ripples solidified, immutable. Their vision blurred slightly before they found themselves back aboard the Northern Dipper’s Imperial Chariot, adrift in the void. The past events seemed but a fleeting dream.
Liu Luo’s eyes flickered with wisdom as she pondered before suddenly speaking. “Now I understand why the Primordial Heavenly Venerable extracted the Investiture of the Gods and the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable intercepted the Journey to the West—to conceal something.”
Hearing this, Meng Qi also realized. “The Primordial Heavenly Venerable opened the source of time, extracted the Investiture of the Gods, and created a realm of truth to conceal the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning’s whereabouts. The Virtuous Heavenly Venerable intercepted the Journey to the West to obscure the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s traces. To uncover their final destinations, we must reunite the Three Realms and restore the river of time!”
A truly daunting task!
Pausing, Meng Qi added gravely, “But the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s words carried profound meaning.”
“‘The matter of the Dao Fruit… truly cannot rely on external things’?” Liu Luo frowned slightly.
“Exactly. On the surface, it seems a lament on the elusive nature of the Dao Fruit. But from another angle, it suggests that the joint assault on the Heavenly Court by the great beings of the Other Shore was likely for an object that could lead to the Dao Fruit. And that must have been the Heavenly Emperor’s trump card in attempting to break free from the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and the Virtuous Heavenly Venerable to establish his own dominion.” Meng Qi’s gaze grew distant as he looked into the void.
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