The Buddhist light was extremely pure, devoid of any impurities. Under its radiant white illumination, before the gaping maw lined with forty Buddha teeth, even though Maitreya had initially touched the Other Shore, he still felt his entire body stiffen, as if frozen, as though encountering a natural nemesis—an existence he could not defy no matter what. His strength, which should have been at full capacity, was reduced to less than a tenth.
And even if he could muster all his power, before that vast and supreme will, he would still be as insignificant as an ant!
This was truly the Other Shore… Maitreya, who had cultivated for countless ages with an unshakable Buddha heart, could not help but feel ripples of despair at this moment. Even his courage to fight seemed devoured by that colossal maw.
The Supreme True Buddha—worthy of the name!
Just then, he noticed the frozen stiffness in his body easing. A tranquil, tinkling melody of a zither echoed in his ears, while countless black and white specks of light danced before his eyes, weaving the interplay of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams, enveloping both the pure white Buddha light and the eerie maw.
High above the earthly Buddha realm, before the radiant white Buddha whose brilliance was unbearable for mortals to behold, a tall and majestic figure appeared. Clad in an imperial black robe that covered his entire body, his face obscured by a beaded crown, his features remained hidden. Golden boots crafted from dragon scales adorned his feet, while immortal clouds and zither music swirled around him, balancing life and death in perfect harmony, endlessly flowing.
The Emperor Fu!
Maitreya naturally recognized this ruler who had dominated the early ancient times. For a moment, his mind wavered, unsure why this figure would come to his aid. Yet, there was an inexplicable familiarity about him. Regardless, this was no place to linger—either he mustered the courage to seize this moment to attain the Dao or fled to the Western Paradise!
The Emperor Fu’s hidden eyes beneath the beaded crown gazed solemnly at the Supreme True Buddha. The two transformed into immortal clouds and a sea of light, locked in fierce combat.
Sensing the events unfolding in the earthly Buddha realm, even if only vaguely, Gu Xiaosang’s smile deepened slightly.
She had been waiting for the Emperor Fu to make his move!
After the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi lost one of his Three Corpses, Amitabha and the Heavenly Lord of Virtue remained the two strongest among the ancient ones, locked in a stalemate, neither able to act freely. Thus, when Maitreya—Amitabha’s product of “emptying the self”—faced the overwhelming danger of the Supreme True Buddha, and when the earthly Buddha realm risked purification, Amitabha had no choice but to deploy his final and strongest trump card: summoning the Emperor Fu from the depths of the Origin of Life and Death to intervene and rescue Maitreya!
But while those at the Creation level might not discern the truth, how could the Other Shore beings fail to notice? How could they miss that the Emperor Fu had long been under Amitabha’s control?
What would the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi—who had lost one of his Three Corpses, the Emperor of Fengdu—think of this?
This was a hidden flaw in their alliance, and today, it would be fully exposed, altering the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi’s stance!
Gu Xiaosang closed her eyes, masking the concern and worry she could not suppress, whispering softly, “This is the second preparation.”
The Seven Treasures Tree, which had brushed aside the Primordial Yang Ruler, paused briefly before resuming its suppression of the purple qi and green wood, showing no signs of rebellion.
It seemed Amitabha had also foreseen this flaw and the possibility of this “future,” having already negotiated with the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi and reached some compromise. Truly, the ancient ones… Gu Xiaosang sighed inwardly. Still, it was not entirely without effect!
As an ancient being, even with his Three Corpses incomplete and his power diminished, the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi could still overpower the Green Emperor. While killing him would be difficult, maintaining balance while interfering in Meng Qi’s Dao attainment should have been effortless. Yet now, it seemed as though he was exerting his full strength just to suppress the Green Emperor!
At this moment, the figures of Meng Qi returning from the future merged one after another, ultimately converging into his true self at the present node.
The world suddenly turned illusory. Upstream in the river of time, Meng Qi’s imprints—planting a heart demon in the leader of the Unrivaled Pavilion in the recent past, during the era of the Overlord in the middle ancient times, and at the fall of the Heavenly Court in the ancient times—all blazed with light, like lighthouses piercing through the fog of time, illuminating the “path” leading back to the present node!
Within the Nine Nethers, the “past” Meng Qi had transferred there now surged forth: the one howling in anguish, tears of blood streaking his face; the one tempering his heart, reclaiming his former sharpness to storm the highest layers of the Nine Heavens; the one refining part of the Origin of Life and Death; the one attaining the Legendary realm; the one severing all ties, neither seeking the past nor the future; the one who once dominated an era, only to cradle Gu Xiaosang’s corpse in despair; the one who dazzled three thousand guests with his brilliance; the one watching Jiang Zhiwei’s back fade into a sea of blooming mountain flowers; the one clad in fine robes, reveling in vengeance and justice; the one trudging through endless yellow sands, tearfully thanking his master; the one enduring countless trials in the cycle of reincarnation; the one leading a monotonous yet simple life in Shaolin Temple; and all his past lives on Earth. These figures flew into the river of time, forming a line that stretched across the myriad realms of the universe!
Yet the Golden Empress’s attack had already arrived, seemingly unstoppable.
The radiant moon shimmered with pure light as a slender, flawless finger—like a mother’s call or the summons of home—touched the Banner of the Yellow Loong with a darkness that seemed both a point and an entire world.
Infinite rays of light shattered, billions of golden lotuses withered. The supreme defensive treasure of the Jade Void nearly collapsed under a single strike!
Even so, it could withstand at most one more blow.
A flash of crimson light appeared in the sky as another banner descended—this one fiery red, yet unfurling to reveal the interplay of the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, the very foundation of the material world.
The Banner of the Flaming Fire!
Another symbol of the Heavenly Lord of Virtue’s foundation, the supreme defensive treasure of the Tushita Palace!
Yet the radiant moon remained unshaken. That slender yet powerful finger struck again, shaking the Five Elements’ treasures and causing the heavens and earth to tremble and crack.
Had the Heavenly Lord of Virtue wielded this banner himself, the Mother of No Birth would have been cautious. But with only the Golden Horned and Silver Horned Boys channeling its power, she paid it no heed.
In the briefest moment, before Meng Qi could even begin his journey through the past, the Banner of the Yellow Loong and the Banner of the Flaming Fire teetered on the verge of collapse, about to be shattered!
Maitreya, too, now held a banner—one radiating golden light, suspended in white qi, with sacred relics floating around it—using it to withstand the aftershocks of the Other Shore battle.
This was the supreme treasure of Buddhism: the Banner of the Green Lotus!
Should he seize this moment to attempt the Other Shore? He had not yet felt the surge of opportunity, the stirring of his heart. Failure would mean eternal damnation, with no chance of return.
Atop the summit of Mount Ling, beside the Three Jewels Scepter, Ananda sat in full lotus position, the mysterious and sinister Seal of Samsara churning above his head. His body was fully material, with no trace of illusion.
Unnoticed, he had already broken free!
Yet in the skies above Mount Ling, the Black Phoenix Wing Spear shone with an eerie light, manifesting the Pagoda of Heaven and Earth, the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, the Book of Sage Virtue, the Ancient Cauldron of Blessings, and the Banner of Hidden Virtues, firmly suppressing the Seal of Samsara’s sinister power.
The Demon Emperor’s Palace hovered amidst the strange radiance, silently “watching” Ananda.
Under the Demon Emperor’s direct scrutiny, no matter how mysterious or cunning Ananda’s methods were, he could not escape unnoticed!
The Demon Buddha, while suppressing the Three Jewels Scepter and resisting the Demon Emperor’s terrifying will, gazed into the real world with a leisurely smile. “It seems Su Meng is about to be ended by the Golden Empress…”
BOOM!
The real world trembled as heaven and earth seemed to collapse. The Banner of the Flaming Fire was flicked aside by the Mother of No Birth’s finger, its glow dimming as it temporarily lost its spirituality. The Golden Horned and Silver Horned Boys beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens slumped weakly to the ground, while the Banner of the Yellow Loong was on the verge of breaking!
The might of the Other Shore was unstoppable!
Gu Xiaosang’s eyes snapped open, her pupils as beautiful as the night sky. In her hands appeared the eerie blood peach and the aura of the Eastern Emperor, drawn forth by reversing the Finger of No Birth.
Through this aura, she sensed the presence hidden in the darkness—a creature of madness and chaos, neither fully the Eastern Emperor nor the Heavenly Dao.
Her gaze calm as still water, Gu Xiaosang reversed her own energy, preparing to merge with this monstrous entity of the Heavenly Dao!
Even if she lost her spirit, her everything, becoming part of this monstrosity, in the brief moment before her dissolution, she could slightly influence its will, forcing it to attack the Golden Empress and buy time for her husband to attain the Other Shore—to seize that sliver of hope!
To oppose an Other Shore being, one must be willing to sacrifice everything. Otherwise, there is no chance.
“Husband, when you ascend to the Other Shore, let it begin with my sacrifice!”
“This is the third preparation!”
“Husband, once you attain the Other Shore, reverse time and revive me…” Gu Xiaosang’s lips curled into a breathtaking yet proud smile.
This was her first grand scheme against the Golden Empress. She hoped it would not fail.
What effect would her fusion with the Heavenly Dao monster have on the Mother of No Birth?
Just then, a familiar figure appeared before her—Wang Siyuan, pale-faced and delicate as a woman. Their eyes met through the “tendrils” of the Heavenly Dao monster.
Hidden within the nine ancient tombs of the Immortal Venerables, Wang Siyuan’s eyes burned with madness as he laughed wildly. “Leave such madness to a madman like me!”
“I’ve plotted for so long, all for this moment—to overturn their chessboard!”
Dark red vortices swirled in his eyes as his aura suddenly matched that of the Heavenly Dao monster. His figure plunged into the darkness, stirring a storm of insanity, while his own existence gradually dissolved into the monstrosity.
To defy an Other Shore being, death was inevitable.
Gu Xiaosang had no choice but to withdraw, shaking her head with a wry smile.
“So he was already half a Heavenly Dao monster… No wonder he could evade the notice of the Other Shore beings.”
Dark red suddenly filled the sky as chaotic, irregular vortices emerged, dragging the radiant full moon into a world of madness!
Seizing this opportunity, Meng Qi strode forward, “running” upstream through the river of time, awakening and linking his past selves one by one!
Atop Mount Ling, the Demon Buddha Ananda watched the tide turn without alarm or anger, his lips curling into an amused smile instead.
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