The streak of light tore through the sky, as if washing the heavens clean, until Tan Ping could no longer sense the presence of the person behind him or hear those curse-like words. Only then did he rein in his divine abilities and land atop a nearby mountain peak, still trembling with fear as he glanced back in the direction he had come from.
He had actually traveled back to the ancient era of the Investiture of the Gods—but that wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was that he had run directly into Shen Gongbao and experienced the infamous “Friend, please stay a moment!” treatment firsthand.
“Thankfully, I reacted quickly and had unlocked my second secret vault, carrying numerous treasures with me. That’s the only reason I managed to shake off that harbinger of doom,” Tan Ping muttered under his breath.
As the reincarnation of the Primordial Water God, who had witnessed the Investiture firsthand, Tan Ping was no stranger to Shen Gongbao. The moment he heard those familiar words, he recognized the aura immediately. Back when the Heavenly Court was flourishing, the Water God had interacted with many of the figures listed on the Investiture Scroll. To his shock, he realized that every single one who had actually stopped after hearing Shen Gongbao’s “Friend, please stay a moment!” had met their demise, their true spirits absorbed into the scroll—as if some Other Shore-level curse had taken effect.
With those cautionary tales fresh in his mind, Tan Ping felt no shame in his frantic escape. In fact, he was downright proud of it!
Soon, he calmed himself and began to ponder: “Which stage of the Investiture is this? Aside from meeting my original self and ‘awakening’ him, can I secure any other benefits?”
For a Dharmakaya-level expert, this wasn’t a difficult question. Tan Ping withdrew his gaze from the distance and prepared to observe the celestial phenomena through the daytime clouds and brilliant sunlight, deducing the workings of fate.
Just then, he noticed a sprawling military camp in the distance. The soldiers’ vital energies were formidable, their discipline strict, subtly aligning with the natural order. A dark crimson cloud loomed over the camp, and further beyond stood a towering, majestic mountain. At its peak was a platform, upon which hung a scroll shimmering with faint golden light.
Tan Ping focused his gaze and saw inscribed on the scroll in arcane script:
“The Investiture Scroll!”
The Investiture Scroll? Tan Ping sucked in a sharp breath, his heart suddenly gripped with unease.
In his panicked flight, had he truly stumbled near Mount Qi, where the Investiture Scroll was kept?
This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence!
Some unseen, unfelt force must have silently guided his actions!
Memories and knowledge churned in his mind, thoughts swirling, colliding, sparking like flint. After what felt like an eternity, his expression grew solemn, and a certain realization dawned upon him:
The Daoist who had lent him the Yellow Millet Pillow had his sights set on the Investiture Scroll!
The earlier favors were just bait—now it was time to pay the necessary “price.”
After reincarnating as Tan Ping, he was no longer a Primordial God and had to evade certain rivals. As a result, his current strength was lacking, and his information network was insufficient. He had no way of knowing the details of the Other Shore clashes during Maitreya’s attempt to attain the Dao, nor did he even remember Maitreya—only the White Lotus Holy Mother, Gu Xiaosang.
“But at this juncture, the Investiture Scroll is in the hands of the one from the Vacuum Hometown—a supreme being of the Other Shore. How could I possibly covet it?” Tan Ping’s gaze toward the distance was heavy with apprehension.
In the struggles of the Other Shore, what couldn’t be seized now couldn’t be seized by traveling to the past either—unless one’s antiquity surpassed all rivals by a qualitative degree. But clearly, those who attained the Dao in this era could at least trace back to the dawn of the Celestial Realm and the Netherworld, which undoubtedly included the Investiture.
At this thought, Tan Ping—the Water God—felt a chill run down his spine. He mused darkly: “The one from the Vacuum Hometown replaced the ‘Ghost and God True Spirit Diagram’ with the ‘Investiture Scroll’ as the foundation of the Netherworld, completely erasing the influence of the one from the Bodhi Pure Land. If there’s a struggle over the Investiture Scroll, the latter would undoubtedly oppose the former. The one from the Jade Void Palace has close ties to the current Human Emperor and would likely assist, while the stances of other major figures remain unpredictable.”
“In such circumstances, recklessly involving myself in the open and covert battles of the Other Shore would only lead to a death without a burial site!”
Tan Ping’s brow furrowed deeply, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Suddenly, he made up his mind and turned to leave!
“Since there’s no explicit order or direct decree, I’ll just pretend I didn’t grasp the intention and focus on my own affairs!” At this moment, he gritted his teeth slightly, resolved to play dumb and delay as long as possible.
If an explicit command eventually came, he’d have no choice but to brace himself and comply—could he even resist? He could only hope for some protection and not to be discarded as a pawn!
With another streak of light, Tan Ping fled once more, heedless of direction, only desperate to put distance between himself and Mount Qi.
Time passed indistinctly until the sky darkened, stars scattering across the heavens. He finally halted, gazing upward to deduce his current location.
“Whew…” Seeing that he hadn’t been circling Mount Qi inexplicably but had genuinely approached the North Sea, he exhaled in relief, shaking off his earlier terror. He resolved to head straight for the Seventh Heaven of the Celestial Realm to find his original self. There was no time to waste—no more delays!
With a leap, his radiance shot skyward. Tan Ping, familiar with the path, soon arrived outside the Southern Heavenly Gate and produced the Water God’s token from his secret vault.
At the sight of the jade pendant—seemingly condensed from endless layers of azure collapse—the celestial guards at the gate asked no questions, simply waving him through.
Passing through two layers of heaven, Tan Ping’s vision suddenly brightened as he beheld a familiar scene.
This realm shimmered with rippling light, its dark waters concealing countless universes and rivers of stars—a dazzling, boundless ocean stretching endlessly in all directions. Many races dwelled here, having established numerous immortal abodes. It was here that the Water God had been born.
“At this point in time, Ghost Emperor Cheng Tang is lobbying relatively independent deities for the Yin Shang cause and reaching out to the Buddhist sects… Right now, he’s likely just left the Jade Pool, coming to win over my original self…” Tan Ping mused, deciding to wait a while to avoid an awkward encounter with Cheng Tang.
When the Investiture War began, Ghost Emperor Cheng Tang—who had carved out his own Netherworld—wouldn’t sit idly by, watching the Lingbao Heavenly Venerate face the Moral Heavenly Venerate and the most ancient Yuanshi Heavenly Venerate alone. He shuttled between the Demon Emperor’s Palace, the Western Paradise, and the Bodhi Pure Land, seeking the Nuwa’s renewed support while attempting to draw in the Two Sages of the West.
Meanwhile, the current Heavenly Emperor hadn’t yet achieved dominance. A few deities, like the Golden Emperor, revered the Three Pure Ones while slighting Him, leaving room for persuasion. Thus, Cheng Tang entered the Nine Heavens, aiming to stir up celestial turmoil and shift the focus.
Having settled his thoughts, Tan Ping slowed his flight, meandering leisurely through the sea of stars.
Just as he rounded a star, he suddenly collided with a Daoist wearing a blue headscarf, straw sandals, and riding a black tiger. The moment he saw the man, Tan Ping’s scalp prickled, and he nearly bolted from the realm without a second thought.
The Daoist blinked in surprise, then broke into a radiant smile: “Friend, your ‘stay a moment’ has brought you quite far!”
At this point, Tan Ping’s panic gave way to calm. He smirked. “Ah, so it’s you, Friend Shen Gongbao.”
As long as he didn’t believe Shen Gongbao’s next words or let himself be swayed into defending Shang against Zhou, what danger could there be? No matter how silver-tongued the man was, Tan Ping would remain unmoved.
He refused to believe that the mere phrase “Friend, please stay a moment!” could be so sinister!
Shen Gongbao chuckled. “When I first saw you, Friend, you seemed familiar. That’s why I dared to speak. Now I understand—you must be a doppelgänger or something similar of the Water God?”
“Call it what you will,” Tan Ping replied dismissively, not wanting to engage. “What brings you here, Friend?”
His memories contained no record of Shen Gongbao visiting. Had history begun to shift subtly?
Shen Gongbao grinned. “This humble Daoist has obtained an item to present to Ghost Emperor Cheng Tang. Earlier, I learned of his plans to visit the Water God. Given the gravity of the matter, I decided to come directly.”
Tan Ping’s heart suddenly lurched with foreboding.
He had resolved not to respond to anything Shen Gongbao said, so why was he still trembling with fear? Could it really be that sinister?
Suppressing the urge to flee, Tan Ping asked cautiously, “What item?”
With a smile, Shen Gongbao drew something from his robes—a faint golden glow, inscribed with three characters: “Investiture Scroll.”
The Investiture Scroll! A thunderous roar filled Tan Ping’s mind, blanking it instantly.
How was it in Shen Gongbao’s hands?
How had he obtained it?
Where was the wrath of the one from the Vacuum Hometown?
What were the Other Shore overlords thinking?
“This humble Daoist made a surprise return to Mount Qi and seized the Investiture Scroll…” Shen Gongbao’s voice echoed in Tan Ping’s ears, but he no longer heard the rest. Instead, he felt countless gazes upon him—from the highest reaches of the Nine Heavens, the Jade Pool, the Western Paradise—drenching him in cold sweat, nearly shattering his soul.
With the Investiture Scroll changing hands now, history would be drastically altered. The fates of countless deities and immortals would be rewritten, and he himself might not survive until the Cataclysm to reincarnate!
No—he had to return the Investiture Scroll!
It really was that sinister after all…
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