Shen Gongbao was still rambling on, boasting about how he had deceived the heavens and crossed the seas, diverting attention to steal the “Fengshen Bang” from Mount Qi. His brows and eyes were filled with pride and arrogance, exuding a sense of achievement as if he alone could alter the course of the world.
Suppressing the storm of shock in his heart, Tan Ping faintly sensed the roar of the river of time and the impending surge of history’s furious rejection. With a face full of astonishment, he said, “Fellow Daoist, you actually obtained this object! It is the key to this tribulation!”
“This matter is of utmost importance. I shall immediately escort you to the Ancestral Water Mansion!”
Shen Gongbao’s vanity was fully satisfied. Turning to gaze into the depths of the vast, shimmering starry sea, he pointed with his hand and laughed heartily, “Fellow Daoist, after you!”
Before his words faded, he suddenly heard a clear, melodious chime of a bell. His thoughts instantly grew hazy, followed by a sharp pain at the back of his head. Darkness enveloped his vision.
“You…” Shen Gongbao struggled to turn around, his eyes dull as he glared at Tan Ping. His body quickly went limp, collapsing into unconsciousness, floating amidst the illusory waves.
“Apologies, Fellow Daoist!” Tan Ping gritted his teeth, one hand gripping a purple-gold bell and the other holding an eight-edged mace that seemed to hover between sinking and floating. His gaze was filled with ruthless ferocity.
He absolutely could not allow the history of the Fengshen to undergo drastic changes. Otherwise, the beings from the other shore would at most suffer some backlash—hardly enough to cripple them—while he and other great powers would have to relive countless events just to survive to this point, with no guarantee of making it through unscathed as before!
The purple-gold bell spun as Tan Ping snatched the “Fengshen Bang” from Shen Gongbao’s embrace. Turning, he fled beyond this realm, determined to return this peerless artifact to Mount Qi before history could be altered.
If not for the urgency, he would have loved to kick Shen Gongbao twice:
To hell with your “Fellow Daoist, after you!” Believe it or not, I’ll drag you to fill the sea’s abyss right now!
Just then, his vision blurred, and two figures—both familiar and unfamiliar—appeared before him.
One was a deep blue, nearly black figure, ancient and majestic, exuding a vast, primordial aura. He stood atop two black dragons, with terrifying water snakes coiled around his ears, wielding an eight-edged mace identical to Tan Ping’s. This was his true self—the Primordial Water God. The other wore dark imperial robes, his presence towering and majestic, with a blurred Daoist mark interwoven on his forehead, resembling a ghost, a god, an immortal, and a demon all at once. Just the sight of him made Tan Ping feel the weight of destiny and virtue pressing upon him, rendering him unable to look directly. This was none other than the final obstacle to the Heavenly Emperor’s reign—Cheng Tang of the Shang Dynasty!
One was near the level of Creation, the other a top-tier figure among the great powers. How could an attack of such magnitude outside the Ancestral Water Mansion escape their notice?
“Who are you?” As the host, the ancient Water God glanced at the unconscious Shen Gongbao before fixing his full attention on Tan Ping. He felt an inexplicable connection and eerie resonance with the man, even their auras vaguely similar.
Facing Cheng Tang, Tan Ping’s heart pounded like a drum. But now that he had finally met his true self, he couldn’t let this opportunity slip. Moreover, to deceive Cheng Tang and return the Fengshen Bang, relying solely on his newly attained Dharmakaya form was impossible.
Staring into the Water God’s eyes, Tan Ping smiled mysteriously and delivered a sharp rebuke: “Do you still not understand?”
The Water God froze, his expression shifting from shock to contemplation. “Are you a descendant of mine with someone? The Water Nymph of Qingyue River? Or perhaps that female flood dragon from Daming Lake?”
His lustful nature had once spawned hundreds of offspring!
Tan Ping’s next words stuck in his throat, feeling as though he’d winked at a blind man. His past self, his original form, was truly this obtuse!
No wonder it wasn’t until the fall of the Heavenly Court and the chaos of demons that he had awakened, no longer viewing the myriad realms solely from the perspective of a Primordial God, leading to his later breakthroughs and survival to this point.
Cheng Tang, standing nearby, glanced at the eight-edged mace in Tan Ping’s hand and turned to the Water God with slight confusion. “These two divine weapons are identical, differing only in their aura of time.”
At this moment, Tan Ping was immensely grateful he had immediately stored the Fengshen Bang in his dimensional ring upon obtaining it. Otherwise, how could he have deceived the infamous Ghost Emperor Cheng Tang?
“Identical…” The Water God grew even more puzzled, ripples of light swirling in his eyes like stones dropped into a still lake, penetrating to the very core.
Wait—he suddenly felt as though he were looking into a mirror, seeing himself!
This was peculiar. He couldn’t delve deeper in Cheng Tang’s presence, lest the emperor seize upon the truth… Masking his shock, the Water God said calmly, “Ah, it seems this is the product of a past mortal entanglement. Family shame should not be aired in public. I won’t escort Your Majesty beyond the Ninth Heaven.”
Cheng Tang nodded slightly, dismissing the matter, and turned his gaze to Shen Gongbao floating beside Tan Ping. “This friend is a disciple of the Heavenly Venerable from the Jade Void Palace. He once visited me. Why is he here, and why has he fallen to your hands, young one?”
Hearing this, the Water God was startled and blurted out:
“What is going on?”
Even he wouldn’t dare openly attack a disciple of the Jade Void Palace. That Heavenly Venerable was the most ancient of the Other Shore, and notoriously protective!
Tan Ping broke into a cold sweat, momentarily at a loss for words. If Cheng Tang woke Shen Gongbao, the Fengshen Bang would be exposed.
At a time when the great figures of the Other Shore remained eerily silent, seemingly locked in a stalemate, Cheng Tang—a Ghost Emperor at the pinnacle of Creation—could tip the scales!
Fortunately, as a visitor from the future, Tan Ping knew the events of the Fengshen inside out, surpassing all but the Other Shore’s mightiest. In a flash, he found his excuse and replied respectfully, “Your Majesty, this Fellow Daoist resents Jiang Ziya for receiving the Heavenly Venerable’s favor and wielding the key to this tribulation, despite being far superior in both cultivation and strength. In his rage, he left Kunlun Mountain, seeking to meddle in the affairs of Shang and Western Qi.”
Hearing this, Cheng Tang grasped the gist. Shen Gongbao had defected from the Jade Void Palace and come to the Ninth Heaven to seek his allegiance. Nodding, he said, “I see. Why not entrust this Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao to me?”
He harbored no suspicion and thus didn’t probe Tan Ping with his powers. The faint causal connection was further diluted by the presence of the Water God’s true form.
“Your Majesty, please understand. Fellow Daoist Shen Gongbao has left the Jade Void Palace without permission. This junior must return him to Kunlun Mountain to avoid the Heavenly Venerable’s wrath. Your Majesty may fear nothing, but this junior and the Water God cannot bear the Heavenly Venerable’s fury.” Tan Ping replied calmly, feeling his resolve strengthen in an instant, surpassing years of arduous cultivation.
No wonder the Primordial God’s form had shackled his progress…
“Exactly so,” the Water God chimed in.
Cheng Tang pondered and said, “When this Fellow Daoist awakens, please inform him that the doors of Shang are always open to him.”
With that, he transformed into a wisp of smoke and vanished from this layer of the celestial realm, not daring to linger—after all, he and the Heavenly Emperor were sworn rivals.
Watching Cheng Tang depart completely, Tan Ping finally exhaled in relief, feeling as weak as Shen Gongbao. The slightest misstep earlier would have spelled disaster. Now, there was still a chance to mend history!
Wasting no time, he urgently transmitted his thoughts to the bewildered Water God:
“Do you still not understand? I am you—your reincarnation, born to break free from the limitations of a Primordial God!”
“Using a treasure, I’ve traveled back from the future to awaken you and lay the foundation for the Other Shore!”
“No time to explain! Quickly, escort me to Mount Qi, or history will change drastically, and we may not survive the corrections and backlash!”
The Water God’s face twisted in disbelief. You expect me to buy this?
Seeing the Water God’s hesitation, Tan Ping couldn’t afford to wait. Summoning his escape light, he prepared to flee this realm alone for Mount Qi.
Suddenly, the shimmering waves around them turned illusory. Space twisted, the scene collapsing layer by layer before reforming into the depths of a dark hall.
A lofty, indifferent emperor stood atop the dais, hands behind his back, silently observing the Water God and Tan Ping.
The Heavenly Emperor! Despair gripped Tan Ping’s heart. The Fengshen Bang had finally drawn the attention of an Other Shore powerhouse!
Though in history—and in the Water God’s memory—the Heavenly Emperor was still one step away from the Other Shore, not yet having fully unlocked the highest layer of the Ninth Heaven, he would ascend after the Fengshen, defeating Cheng Tang to become the true ruler of heaven and earth. But once one reached the Other Shore, past, present, and future became one. The Heavenly Emperor in history was no different from the future Heavenly Emperor—an Other Shore being in every sense!
Damn that “Fellow Daoist, after you!”
…
At the current node, atop the ancient Fusang Tree, Meng Qi—clad in deep robes and an ancient crown—played a game of Go with the Green Emperor, his halo of light illuminating past, present, and future.
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