A few breaths ago, the heavens had not yet collapsed. The nine layers of the celestial realm were filled with flames, thunderbolts, rifts, and chaotic voids, especially the uppermost layer, which had almost entirely dissolved into nothingness, leaving only a few scattered remnants.
Meng Qi appeared here, the Supreme Ultimate Primordial Auspicious Cloud suspended above his head, resembling both dots and mist, both stillness and motion, cascading with watery, ethereal light and floating golden lamps and tassels. With a single step, he arrived near the towering and majestic Jianmu Tree.
Although the Primordial Heavenly Lord had once left the words, “The Dao Fruit is not dependent on external things,” in later eras, when he himself entered this place, he found no trace of the Jianmu Fruit. This time, he came to see which Other Shore existence had taken it, as it might lead to future changes.
The Jianmu Tree stretched into the heavens, piercing through the chaos and into realms beyond reach. Originally, its branches were invisible, but now a faint, clear light shimmered from them, and a fruit descended—one that seemed to contain all colors, all rules, all principles, all possibilities, and all Dao patterns. Every contradictory concept and description was perfectly unified here at a higher level.
Holding this fruit was a pale golden hand. Following its trail, Meng Qi saw a monk standing sixteen feet tall, with a sallow and emaciated face, yet eyes brimming with compassion.
The Buddha!
The Buddha without any prefix—the former master of the Saha World, one of only two beings who had transcended!
It was He who had ultimately obtained the Jianmu Fruit!
At this moment, the overwhelming wills of the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi, Amitabha Buddha, the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure, the Heavenly Lord of Virtue, and the Primordial Heavenly Lord vanished in an instant, receding faster than a tide, none contending with the Buddha of Lingshan.
Witnessing this, Meng Qi suddenly understood why, not long after the fall of the Heavenly Court, the Buddha had entered Nirvana on Lingshan and attained the Dao Fruit.
Though the Buddha’s method of transcendence had some refinements, it largely followed the path of the ancient Dao Lord. Thus, while the Primordial Heavenly Lord declared the Dao Fruit independent of external things and refrained from contention, the Buddha sought the Jianmu Fruit. This fruit indeed played a role in achieving the Dao Fruit—if it were not truly so, how could it have tempted the Heavenly Emperor to attempt concealment?
Holding the Jianmu Fruit, the Buddha suddenly turned His gaze toward Meng Qi. His eyes, layered like glazed glass, contained the myriad realms, the Nine Nether Hells, and all places near the Dao.
Facing His gaze, Meng Qi chuckled lightly and met it without hesitation or fear.
*Boom!*
Infinite light erupted, so pure it tolerated no impurities. Yet on the other side, the void plunged into utter darkness, revealing true chaos that encompassed past and future, assimilating all things. Where the two met, half light and half dark, they annihilated each other, as if nothing remained.
If the Buddha had already attained the Dao Fruit, who else could this lingering figure be?
The Supreme True Buddha!
Just as the Supreme True Buddha bared its forty Buddha teeth, something on Meng Qi trembled, emitting an inexplicable aura that struck fear into it.
It was the shed carapace left behind after Meng Qi’s own golden cicada molt—the very thing that could suppress it!
The Supreme True Buddha dared not linger. It immediately formed a mudra, unleashed a divine palm strike, dissolved its own earth, fire, wind, and water—emptying the four elements—and fled into concealment.
Meng Qi made no attempt to pursue. Instead, he took out the golden cicada carapace and slowly rubbed it.
This object had no other use, yet it could suppress and weaken the Supreme True Buddha. If used well, it could rival an Other Shore divine weapon.
Having clarified the final fate of the Jianmu Fruit, his figure vanished, leaving only traces as he returned to the current node—the Jade Void Palace in the Kunlun Realm.
…
On Changmen Island, near a spirit spring.
Xia Xiu, as usual, came to check if the lotus seed she had planted had bloomed. Over the years, it seemed long dead, showing no signs of life. Yet the more it remained unchanged, the more she believed it was no ordinary seed.
Before she could approach, her expression froze. The pond where she had planted the seed had dried up, and even the nearby spirit spring had temporarily ceased its bubbling flow.
Panicked, Xia Xiu rushed to inspect it. The pond’s mud had turned to stone, and the lotus seed had mysteriously vanished, leaving only three fresh, dewy petals behind.
“Did the lotus seed bloom and fly away on its own?” Xia Xiu quickly gathered the three white petals.
The moment they touched her hand, they transformed into energy, merging into her body and enhancing her innate talent.
Within moments, Xia Xiu felt as if she had shed her mortal form, her body light as a swallow, surpassing the gains of a decade of arduous cultivation!
Steadying herself, she took out her Myriad World Talisman and contacted Tan Ping, recounting the incident in detail to seek the opinion of her increasingly knowledgeable elder brother.
Tan Ping had already retrieved the first treasure left by the Water Ancestor and returned to Changmen Island. Now a grandmaster, he was only a step away from the Dharmakaya. Once he overcame this hurdle, the path to Legend would be smooth.
“Could this be related to the ‘White Lotus Holy Mother’ in the Central Plains attempting to prove the Dao?” Tan Ping naturally understood the significance of the history Xia Xiu had witnessed—that the corpse was the former body of the current “White Lotus Holy Mother.”
Hearing this, Xia Xiu was half-convinced. “Forget it. The matter is resolved, and I’ve gained the benefit of rebirth.”
“Indeed, such matters should never be probed too deeply,” Tan Ping agreed.
Yet, in his heart, something felt amiss—as if history should not have unfolded this way.
Even as the reincarnation of the Water Ancestor, without reaching Legend or proving Creation, it was difficult to perceive changes to the past.
…
After over a decade of recovery, the Myriad World Communication Network had regained the prosperity of a century ago. Virtual martial arts tournaments, cross-world arena battles, martial arts discussion groups, teaching websites, live video streams, and forum debates had all returned!
In the “Jianghu Teahouse,” someone posted a yellowed and mottled scroll depicting a young Daoist standing atop a mountain, clad in dark robes and an ancient crown, his face handsome and his aura profound, gazing at the collapsing heavens and falling fireballs.
The poster wrote: “This scroll was recently excavated from an ancient ruin, depicting the fall of the Heavenly Court. Who does He resemble?”
Soon, replies came from users like “Tianshui Fox”: “He looks very much like the Jade Void Palace’s master before his enlightenment!”
“Could it be that He was not a powerhouse born in the Final Tribulation, but an ancient Qi Refiner who reincarnated through calamities? No wonder his rise was so swift!”
“Exactly! Similar records and paintings have appeared in ancient, medieval, and even recent millennia!”
…
Amidst the shocked and confused debate, the original poster finally clarified: “No, that’s not it. Haven’t you heard that Other Shore existences can trace back through time and appear in the past? The stronger they are, the further back they can go!”
The debate abruptly ceased. After a long silence, “Tianshui Fox” replied: “I’ve heard rumors, but it’s hard to connect them to reality… If, if the Jade Void Palace’s master is powerful enough to exist at the very beginning, could He be the true Primordial Heavenly Lord, with no other before Him?”
“Theoretically, yes…” The original poster sounded uncertain.
…
As they discussed the terrifying capabilities of Other Shore existences, He Mu, deep in meditation, was suddenly roused by Da Qing Gen.
“The Sect Master summons you,” Da Qing Gen said, radiant and energetic.
With Xiao Tianquan temporarily afraid to return to the Jade Void Palace, Da Qing Gen was living its best life—finally achieving its lifelong dream of becoming the Jade Void Palace’s official gatekeeper.
Puzzled, He Mu entered the Jade Pure Hall and bowed to Meng Qi, whose divine aura was restrained but still shrouded in an enigmatic darkness. “Teacher, what are your instructions?”
Meng Qi flicked a finger, sending forth a bamboo slip:
“Deliver this to the Demon Emperor’s Hall in the Demon Race Star Domain.”
The Demon Race Star Domain… He Mu suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, as if lost in time.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage