The Lapis Lazuli Buddha was transparent inside and out, his body like glazed glass, giving an impression of indestructibility through countless kalpas. His face bore an eternal, unchanging smile, as if he had foreseen all changes and was merely waiting for this very moment.
Meng Qi sat cross-legged on a cloud bed, a pure and luminous halo behind his head encompassing the myriad Great Daos and infinite possibilities. He gazed calmly at the golden body of the Sacred Buddha, reminiscing about the most ancient and powerful Heavenly Venerate. Suddenly, he smiled, and from the top of his head, the dark and profound Primordial Chaos Primordial Beginning Auspicious Cloud, resembling a single point, surged forth, enveloping the perfected “Bodhi Golden Body.” Through chaos and dissolution, through the infinite and assimilation, the scattered fragments of the *Seventy-Two Transformations*’ other aspect merged into his illusory Dao Fruit.
At this moment, “Zhen Ding Tathagata” condensed into a wisp of clear qi and entered his Niwan Palace, causing his body to seemingly collapse, as if transforming into the most primordial, indescribable point. This allowed the Supreme True Buddha to seize the opportunity to repel Zhunti Daoist, who, filled with resentment and envy, retracted his pure and radiant white light and vanished into nothingness. Meanwhile, the Demon Buddha’s expression darkened, as if he had anticipated this outcome but still found it difficult to accept.
Silently, that primordial singularity split apart—the clear rose while the turbid descended, surrounding an ancient Daoist. His features were handsome, unmistakably Meng Qi. A surge of clear qi erupted from his crown, illuminating all realms and past epochs, extending his presence from the final era of antiquity through the Primordial Chaos period, all the way to the time of the Central Heavenly Emperor Huanglaojun, where he beheld the first Great Dao Tree.
It resembled a peach tree, lush with branches and leaves, interwoven with countless Great Daos. Beneath it stood a terrifying and majestic Emperor.
The clear qi split into three—two mighty and one weak. The two mighty strands surged forth first, manifesting as two figures: one, a serene and youthful novice monk with rosy lips and white teeth; the other, a refined Daoist wearing a cloud-patterned crown, a water-stitched robe, straw sandals, and a silk sash around his waist. His skin was like glazed glass, impervious to kalpas, and between his brows opened a faint golden Wisdom Eye, distinct from Yang Jian’s, closer to Bodhi, capable of piercing all illusions and uncovering all mysteries. This was Meng Qi’s perfected *Seventy-Two Transformations* incarnation, “Qingyuan Daojun,” born from assimilating the Sacred Buddha’s golden body—another terrifying existence at the Quasi-Other Shore!
**Boom!**
The newly formed Nine Netherworlds, just spat out by the Demon Buddha, collapsed inch by inch. The newly shaped demons and malevolent spirits exploded one after another, causing his aura to plummet uncontrollably and his expression to darken further. The ancient, primordial sense of his birth at the dawn of creation also faded slightly, leaving him just a step short.
Meng Qi pointed a finger, and the “Cause of All Effects,” condensed into an illusory Dao Fruit, flew out, transforming into an ancient and profound Dao Yi Glazed Lamp. It illuminated all realms, revealing the myriad karmic threads of the world, filling heaven and earth with dazzling stellar lines.
As the “Cause of All Effects” rotated, several sturdy, arcane, and elusive karmic threads binding the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, snapped and were deftly transferred to “Qingyuan Daojun.” Wukong felt an instant lightness, as if freed from invisible shackles, his body and spirit lively, free and joyful.
**Boom!**
With the completion of Qingyuan Daojun, the terror exuded by the Demon Buddha diminished further, no longer carrying the imminent sense of epochal annihilation.
He snorted, his dark expression transforming into smoldering flames in his eyes. He spat out another celestial river, reweaving the Nine Netherworlds, linking the Abyssal Sea, the southernmost reaches of the Eastern Sea, and more, tainting and corrupting a portion of the Real World. Demons and evil gods writhed into existence—as long as the Nine Netherworlds endured, they would be endless!
Immediately after, the Demon Buddha transformed into a streak of black light, vanishing into his own domain—the newborn Nine Netherworlds!
Meanwhile, Meng Qi’s efforts to leave imprints by traversing time halted at the birth of Huanglaojun. Burdened by overwhelming karma, responsibilities, and backlash, each step into the past was excruciatingly difficult.
In terms of pure combat power, he could now surpass the Golden Emperor, bereft of the Numinous Treasure Sword Formation. Yet, his actual realm still fell short of a Dao Fruit Embryo, preventing him from becoming an Ancient. To achieve that, he would likely need to sever his third incarnation—”Heavenly Venerate Su Meng.”
The choices one makes and the paths one treads determine the price one must pay!
The Heavenly Emperor departed the Demon Emperor’s Palace, the Green Emperor returned to the Fusang Ancient Tree Domain, and Amitabha and the Daoist Deity each left the Real World for their own domains. The Ancient Bodhi Buddha glanced at the Profound Abyss Ghost Emperor, nodded in satisfaction, and vanished outside the Jade Void Palace.
The Other Shore mighty ones tacitly ended their contention, while the pseudo-Other Shore figures expelled from the Nine Netherworlds shed their temporal hues, revealing their true realms—Perfection of Creation.
In this situation, Yang Jian wasted no words. Holding the Central Heaven and Earth Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner in one hand and the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade in the other, he transformed into a streak of clear light, taking the uneasy Howling Celestial Dog with him as he retreated to the Jade Void Palace. With his strength and backing, even without the Nine Netherworlds, he still had his Little Martial Uncle!
The Demon Lord, bearing the Samsara Seal, stepped into the newborn Nine Netherworlds, becoming the Demon Buddha’s foremost subordinate. The Black Heavenly Emperor and the Profound Abyss Ghost Emperor naturally returned to the Bodhi Wisdom Pure Land, assured of sanctuary. Seizing the moment when the Demon Buddha was affected by Meng Qi’s ascension and the Heavenly Dao Monster slightly lost control, the Nine Chaos Heavenly Venerate used the Demon Sovereign’s Claw to transform into a speck of nothingness, vanishing from the world, hiding so thoroughly that even the Other Shore mighty ones struggled to detect him.
—The Demon Sovereign’s Claw, infamous for its corruption and mystery, excelled in deception, tarnishing spiritual light, and concealment, much like how the Demon Lord once relied on it to contend with the Human Emperor and the Demon Sage. Now, the Nine Chaos Heavenly Venerate used it to escape and preserve himself.
In an instant, the once-glorious pseudo-Other Shore figures of the Nine Netherworlds found their own paths—all except the Seven Slaughter Daoist, who stood sword in hand, lost and uncertain. But he swiftly suppressed these emotions, merging with his sword into a lightless blade radiance, fleeing the Real World in an attempt to hide within the chaos.
Just then, a brilliant lapis lazuli golden light erupted before him. Blue lotuses and sala blossoms bloomed around him, framing a Pure Land spanning infinite kalpas, radiant with boundless light. At its center sat a golden Buddha, six zhang tall, seemingly ordinary yet exuding grandeur. He spoke solemnly:
“Past glories are but delusions. Yesterday’s killer is today’s victim. Fellow Daoist, expelled from the Nine Netherworlds, have you yet to awaken?”
“Lay down your blade, and attain Buddhahood in this very moment!”
The thunderous rebuke shook the Seven Slaughter Daoist’s soul. He felt surrounded by a faint golden Buddha palm—no matter how he struggled, he could not escape.
A Perfection of Creation great supernatural being wielding an Other Shore-level divine artifact was a force to be reckoned with in any faction, capable of shifting the balance. Such figures warranted personal recruitment or subjugation by the Other Shore mighty ones!
**Hmph!** Unwilling to submit, he fully activated his Dao body and unleashed the Nethersea Sword, slashing out a pitch-black sword radiance capable of extinguishing all life.
The sword light, serpentine and fierce, severed a golden sala blossom, which withered and fell to dust. Yet, instead of advancing, the Seven Slaughter Daoist seized the chance to leap out of the Buddha palm’s grasp, darting toward the chaos.
Suddenly, rippling waves appeared—a long river materialized, yet eerily frozen, trapping the Seven Slaughter Daoist like a mosquito in amber.
Beyond the river, in the depths of a shadowy palace, an unfathomable Heavenly Emperor sat upon a lofty throne, gazing at the Seven Slaughter Daoist with calm authority:
“Cornered and desperate—where else can you flee?”
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