In the Buddhist Pure Land spanning countless kalpas, the Ancient Buddha of Dipamkara had been waiting for an opportunity, itching to intervene personally. However, the aftershocks of the other shore were truly terrifying, and the Nine Netherworlds greatly weakened Him, forcing Him to patiently observe and watch the unfolding events.
At this very moment, as the black Profound Water surged like a flood, “submerging” heaven and earth, His heart suddenly skipped a beat, filled with a foreboding sense of unease.
“If the Fellow Daoist does not act now, regret will come too late,” the phantom of A-nan beside Him said with a smile.
Dipamkara’s gaze snapped toward Him: “What do you mean by that?”
“Did the Fellow Daoist not see the Demon Lord and the Slaughter Star fail to stop the Chaos Lord, allowing Him to seize the Demon Emperor’s Claw? With just a little more time to master it, regardless of realm or strength, He will gain a significant boost. Meanwhile, the will of the Nine Netherworlds rejects the Old Mother of No Birth. By then, affected by this, He will surely intervene. Add in the Monkey and the Peerless Blade, and the Golden Emperor will undoubtedly be unable to enter the Nine Netherworlds.” A-nan spoke as if discussing something trivial.
Dipamkara’s expression remained unchanged, still filled with compassion and pity: “Before the Chaos Lord fully controls the Demon Emperor’s Claw, the Old Mother of No Birth—who has already drawn the Heaven-Slaying Axe—will have ample time to defeat the Victorious Fighting Buddha, preventing Him from protecting Su Meng.”
A-nan chuckled: “Zhenwu was once the Daoist Venerable’s attendant, knowing and mastering far too much. No one on the other shore wishes for Him to ascend, soaring into the heavens and disrupting the balance. At this moment, do you think the Old Mother of No Birth will prioritize eliminating Her own hidden danger or stopping Zhenwu?”
“Isn’t there still the Green Emperor?” Dipamkara slightly closed His eyes.
“The Green Emperor has always favored Su Meng. Were it not for unresolved karma with the Golden Emperor, He would have intervened by now. Given His constraints, standing by and allowing Zhenwu to prove the Dao is a sound strategy—after all, Zhenwu also shares a deep connection with Su Meng. I know this, the Golden Emperor knows this, and Zhenwu Himself knows it too. The timing is impeccable.” A-nan spoke eloquently, his words flowing like a lotus in bloom. “With the Green Emperor standing aside, would those at the Perfected Creation Realm dare to interfere?”
Their exchange was a communion of wills, thoughts reverberating through the void, the entire conversation taking but a fleeting moment.
Dipamkara fell into contemplation before murmuring: “What should I do?”
At that moment, a figure emerged from the black Profound Water that had “submerged” heaven and earth—a lean-faced man in ancient Daoist robes and a crown. It was none other than Zhenwu, the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable. As soon as He appeared, the Profound Water on either side transformed—one half clear and tranquil, nurturing all life, the other dark and silent, drowning everything in death. The two rapidly swirled and intertwined, absorbing all things between heaven and earth in an instant, condensing into the forms of the Black Tortoise and the Flying Serpent. They coiled inward, merging into the semblance of a fruit. Meanwhile, the Fusang Ancient Tree Domain and the Eastern Pure Glass World remained utterly silent—the Green Emperor had indeed chosen to stand aside!
Faced with Dipamkara’s question, A-nan smiled:
“Go to the Spirit Mountain and help me break free!”
“Once I am free, joining forces with the Old Mother, capturing Su Meng will be effortless.”
Dipamkara shuddered, blurting out: “The Green Emperor won’t just watch idly. What is your plan?”
He was already tempted!
*Boom!*
At that very moment, an eerie sound echoed through heaven and earth. Countless ghosts roamed the night, and the lifespans of all living beings lengthened. The abstract concepts of life and death seemed to descend upon the real world.
Zhenwu, drawing upon His near-assimilation by the Dao in the past, had stirred the Origin of Life and Death at this critical juncture!
Black and white intertwined, life and death flowed. The Black Tortoise and the Flying Serpent, pulled by this force, coalesced above the churning black waters into a half-formed illusory fruit—crystalline in appearance yet brimming with the essence of water, life, death, and destruction.
A-nan observed this scene, about to answer Dipamkara’s question, when suddenly the Golden Emperor’s previously motionless hand—gripping the colossal axe—swung decisively and without hesitation toward the Nine Netherworlds, toward the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!
She had completely ignored Zhenwu’s Dao-proving, utterly indifferent!
Nine Dao patterns flew forth—”Burn,” “Devour,” “Slay,” “Annihilate,” and others—perfectly complementing the intent of No Birth and the Final End.
“This…” The sudden turn of events left Dipamkara stunned.
Yet A-nan remained unperturbed, sighing: “The Old Mother of No Birth’s resolve to kill Su Meng and Gu Xiaosang is truly unshakable.”
“Didn’t you say She would stop Zhenwu from proving the Dao?” Rare confusion flickered in Dipamkara’s eyes.
“If I were Her, I would do the same. Zhenwu proving the Dao is everyone’s headache, but failing to eliminate Gu Xiaosang is Her own hidden danger. Why sacrifice Herself for the sake of others?” A-nan replied with a smile. “More importantly, even without obstruction, ascending to the other shore is extraordinarily difficult. Whether Zhenwu succeeds remains uncertain.”
Dipamkara fixed A-nan with a deep gaze: “That’s not what you told me earlier.”
“Of course, I chose the argument most beneficial to myself,” A-nan said matter-of-factly.
*Boom!*
Axe clashed with blade, triggering a cataclysmic explosion and collapse in the uppermost layer of the Nine Netherworlds. Purple lightning and crimson flames intertwined, darkness and transparency merged. The earth split into countless fragments, drifting like islands in a sea of dark nothingness. Even the crimson mountain range was severed in two. Were it not for the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon, the Twelve Demon Saints, and the long-prepared restrictions, everything would have been reduced to dust—and this was without the battle extending into the past.
The Dark Ape of Havoc sank into the temporal mist separating the two layers, its golden armor—now tainted—shattering into fragments. Its body was riddled with wounds, flesh rapidly regenerating, yet it was clearly at an absolute disadvantage. A few more strikes, and it would barely be able to protect itself, let alone shield Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang!
The Golden Emperor’s killing intent was harder than stone.
Her pristine, slender hand reached out again, still gripping the disproportionately massive Heaven-Slaying Axe. Meanwhile, the Chaos Lord, holding the Demon Emperor’s Claw, poured His will into it, forcibly breaking through layer after layer of resistance to seize control. The Demon Lord and the Slaughter Star Daoist pressed their attacks relentlessly, yet they could not harm Him while He remained temporarily anchored in the past. Seeing their efforts futile, they began to retreat—for once the Chaos Lord mastered the Claw, escape would be impossible!
Simultaneously, as the half-formed illusory Dao Fruit manifested, a simple yet majestic purple jade ruler flew from Zhenwu’s Niwan Palace—impervious to evil, indestructible by all laws, embodying the virtue of the Primordial.
The Primordial Yang Ruler had barely emerged when its Dao patterns shimmered, its form growing slightly transparent and illusory, as if sinking into the River of Time.
Then it wrapped around Zhenwu, carrying Him upstream—from the present to His secluded retreat, from there to His departure from the Origin of Life and Death, and further back to His years of solitary meditation within, awakening His past selves, merging them into one.
Another axe descended. Sun Wukong roared in defiance, refusing to retreat despite his dire disadvantage. Swinging the Peerless Blade, he charged forward—just as he had once stormed the Heavenly Palace without hope!
The Dark Ape of Havoc leaped into the air, bathed in purple radiance, hurtling toward that pristine, delicate hand. Strangely, its massive form seemed to shrink as it advanced.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiaosang had been whispering the Green Emperor’s eight-word mantra:
“No way out, ten deaths with no life… No way out, ten deaths with no life… ‘No way out’ implies no path but a door—entering the earth, entering the Nine Netherworlds. But what does ‘ten deaths with no life’ mean? ‘No life’ refers to… And what of ‘ten deaths’?”
Suddenly, she looked up at Meng Qi before her, as if realizing something, and murmured:
“Does ‘ten deaths’ mean complete death? Right now, it’s just the two of us—he is near death, while I still live… So this is what the Green Emperor meant…”
A glimmer of starlight flickered deep in Gu Xiaosang’s eyes as she recalled Meng Qi’s resolute act of devouring Donghuang’s flesh:
*”If I die, protect Xiaosang… If I become a monster, wake me once you reach the other shore…”*
After a brief pause, she suddenly struck, pressing a finger to Meng Qi’s brow!
Meng Qi roared, his dark red, chaotic eyes flashing with disbelief and sorrow. His frenzied aura threatened to erupt.
“Trust me,” Gu Xiaosang said softly, her lips curving into a faint smile, her eyes shimmering with amusement. “Must I save you a hundred, a thousand times before you believe my heart?”
Meng Qi instantly stilled, his dark red gaze fixed on her. Donghuang’s flesh resisted the pull of her No-Birth Finger, yet Gu Xiaosang had already infused her fingertip with a trace of the eerie blood peach’s essence.
The flesh surged toward her, and the chaotic intent of the Primordial Unity transformed into an undercurrent, rushing into Gu Xiaosang.
Her aura skyrocketed, her eyes now flecked with dark red—both enchanting and terrifying. Her entire being seemed to swell like an overfilled balloon, on the verge of explosion.
At that moment, the flawless divine moon suspended beyond the Nine Netherworlds trembled, shifting from full to waning, flickering unstably. The descending Heaven-Slaying Axe inevitably slowed and weakened!
*The stronger Gu Xiaosang became, the weaker the Golden Emperor grew!*
Even with her current strength, she could not significantly diminish the Golden Emperor—even if she attained the other shore, she might not surpass Her. But at this critical moment, the slightest influence could turn the tide!
Gu Xiaosang’s black hair billowed as she gazed upward, as if piercing through the aftershocks of the other shore to meet the eyes she had feared for so long.
Against a being of the other shore, no amount of preparation might suffice. Strategy sounded wise, but often proved futile.
At this moment, there was no choice but to stake everything on this desperate gamble!
*This was the “ten deaths with no life”!*
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