Meng Qi felt a jolt of surprise in his heart and turned his head. On the deck of the opposite ship stood a figure clad in white, bathed in moonlight, spotless and untainted, with a face as fair as jade, exuding an aura both divine and ethereal. It was none other than Liuluo, the disciple of Xuan Nu, formerly known as Liu Shuyu.
Meng Qi slightly pressed down with his feet, and the ship suddenly sank and stilled upon the river surface. Despite the flowing water and blowing winds, it remained unmoved. Meng Qi composed himself and, feigning indifference, asked, “I would like to know how Lady Liuluo could pinpoint my whereabouts.”
Liuluo smiled faintly, her demeanor elegant and otherworldly. “I just happen to have a few minor techniques.”
The current Xuan Nu cannot track my movements—could your minor techniques really work? Meng Qi remained expressionless but felt puzzled. Seeing that Liuluo was unwilling to elaborate and that she posed no threat to him at present, he asked, “Do you know about the origins of Wu Sheng Laomu?”
Since she dared to approach him directly, she must have some confidence, at least the ability to escape quickly and without fear of him turning violent.
“Don’t you remember that I was once captured by Gu Xiaosang for some time? From certain subtle clues, I uncovered some issues,” Liuluo replied, her movements as graceful as a celestial being, poised and composed.
“What do you want in exchange?” Meng Qi asked cautiously.
Liuluo smiled. “I suffered much humiliation at Gu Xiaosang’s hands. If I have the chance for revenge, how could I possibly pass it up? There’s no need for any exchange.”
What a kind-hearted person… Meng Qi’s thoughts raced as he clasped his hands together. “I would be honored to hear the details.”
The ship opposite also hovered still on the river. As the wind blew, her robes and sashes fluttered, as if she might ascend at any moment. She smiled faintly and said, “Wu Sheng Laomu is no ordinary figure. She was a renowned figure in ancient times, who later inexplicably transformed into Wu Sheng Laomu.”
“She is?” Meng Qi asked as if surprised, while mentally reviewing the names of powerful ancient figures.
Liuluo’s clear and beautiful eyes gazed at Meng Qi as she uttered four words: “Queen Mother of the Jade Pond!”
Queen Mother of the Jade Pond? The “Golden Emperor,” one of the Five Emperors of antiquity—Xi Wangmu! Though Meng Qi had braced himself, he still couldn’t help but feel a tremor upon hearing her name.
In an era when great primordial figures like Yuanshi and Daode rarely appeared, the ancient world revered the Five Emperors. Among them, the Celestial Emperor was the strongest, surpassing the other four and dominating his age. Besides him, the Green Emperor, Black Emperor, Fire Emperor, and Golden Emperor were also highly esteemed. Their reputations even surpassed those of figures like the Demon Lord, who never managed to break through to Jiuyou, or the Heaven-Slaughtering Daoist, and even eclipsed several of the later six revered Daoist figures who merely read the Huangting Sutra leisurely. They commanded universal respect from all races.
Among them, the Green Emperor Dongwanggong held the title of “Taiyi Heavenly Venerable,” one of the Nine Venerables of the Daoist school, and also the title of “Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha,” one of the Buddhas of the Three Periods. He was extremely mysterious and formidable, second only to those who had crossed the Threshold. The Black Emperor, Zhenwu Dadi, was also known as the “Heaven-Sweeping Venerable” among the Daoist Nine Venerables. With an ancient lineage and origins as a child of the Dao Venerable, his combat prowess rivaled even the Demon Lord, who wielded the peerless divine weapon “Demon Emperor’s Claw,” and he was not far from crossing the Threshold himself, standing among the most outstanding of his era. The Fire Emperor Feng Xi was the first Fenghuang phoenix since the creation of the world, embodying the Five Virtues and commanding the fire that burned entire worlds. He had survived numerous epochs until antiquity and eventually crossed the Threshold, becoming the foremost saint of the beast race, rivaling even the ancient Celestial Emperor.
The “Golden Emperor” Xi Wangmu, who could stand alongside them, must naturally be extremely powerful!
If the Threshold before crossing is likened to a vast sea of suffering, then she was one of the rare few who had already glimpsed the distant shore!
The Golden Emperor was one of the ancient deities who emerged at the dawn of antiquity when the Nine Heavens were reborn. The others included the Celestial Emperor, Green Emperor, Hou Tu, Water Ancestor, and Fire God. However, due to the existence of Zhenwu Dadi and the Fire Emperor Feng Xi, the latter two gradually fell behind and could no longer rival the first four. Hou Tu mysteriously perished not long after the Celestial Emperor attained enlightenment, transforming into a peerless divine weapon. Thus, the Celestial Emperor became the supreme sovereign of the Ten Thousand Worlds, the Green Emperor was hailed as the foremost male deity, and the Golden Emperor was revered as the supreme female immortal.
Since the end of antiquity, her legends had grown sparse, and she seemed to vanish mysteriously overnight, with no incarnations appearing in the world. She was believed to have passed away peacefully due to old age, making her the most low-key figure among the Five Emperors of antiquity. Who would have guessed that she had completely abandoned her identity as one of the Five Emperors of antiquity, renounced the title of “Golden Emperor,” and for ten or twenty thousand years had taken on the identity of “Wu Sheng Laomu.”
As his thoughts churned, Meng Qi recalled Gu Xiaosang’s behavior within the Nine Heavens. At that time, she had been like a seasoned guide, intimately familiar with all the hidden corners and secret passages—Peach Garden, Celestial Punishment Gate, Samsara Hall, the secret paths within, the Jian Mu Pillars, the “Three Lives Fruits,” and even the uppermost levels where the Jade Pond lay.
So she had returned to her own home!
At this moment, Meng Qi also recalled what he had heard in the Wuji Hall:
“All that was yesterday perished with yesterday; all that is today is born anew today.”
“From this day forward, I am Wu Sheng Laomu!”
After obtaining the “Wuji Seal,” which contained the deepest mysteries of Yuanshi, she had achieved profound enlightenment, truly abandoning her innate divine body, severing all attachments and past ties, and reborn on the spot?
The current Wu Sheng Laomu appeared like a deity sustained by worship, yet she was entirely different from ordinary deities of this kind, as if she had combined the paths of martial cultivation and divine ascension.
Viewed thus, after such an awakening and rebirth, had she broken through again?
Already among the most supreme figures below the Threshold, could she now have crossed the Threshold and attained the status of a Semi-Enlightened Dao Fruit, like the Fire Emperor Feng Xi?
If that were truly the case, the Five Emperors of antiquity were indeed extraordinary, living up to their reputations. Three of them might have reached the Threshold, comparable to Amitabha Buddha and others. As for the remaining Green Emperor and Zhenwu, their whereabouts remained a mystery—perhaps they were not truly dead, and maybe they had also touched this realm.
Indeed, none among the Five Emperors of antiquity were simple!
While immersed in these thoughts, Meng Qi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Gu Xiaosang. The chances of successfully opposing such a mighty figure seemed so slim, and the same could be said for himself, who didn’t even know yet who his true enemy was.
In that moment, he felt a sense of shared hardship with Gu Xiaosang.
Instinctively, he blurted out, “Do you know whether the Golden Emperor has broken through?”
“She has not appeared publicly for a long time; how would I know?” Liuluo’s eyes flickered slightly. “However, it seems she is treading the path combining Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun—creation from nothingness, from beginning to end. Her ambitions are vast.”
Meng Qi slowly exhaled, his voice filled with genuine emotion. “Even if she hasn’t crossed the Threshold, these great figures who have reached the pinnacle of their realms must have already touched the mysteries of time, able to return to the past and glimpse the future. Why must they resort to body-snatching?”
Especially those at the Threshold, according to what the Great Freedom Prince said, were omnipresent across past, present, and future, so they should no longer be bound by lifespan!
Liuluo’s gaze shifted to the river, where the waters flowed endlessly, carrying away countless heroes and extraordinary figures.
Her voice, slightly ethereal, drifted through the air. “As long as one remains immersed in the River of Time, one will be eroded by it, inevitably declining. But if one steps outside the River of Time, one falls into true chaos—a state without thought, without change, without the passage of time, a deep sleep akin to death, never to awaken until the end of all universes, perishing together with heaven and earth.”
“Therefore, those who truly touch the mysteries of time, in order to wait for the right opportunity and preserve themselves, choose to step beyond the river into chaos. Before doing so, they leave behind reincarnated fragments or spiritual echoes as ‘Dao markers,’ ensuring their return from chaos rather than falling into eternal slumber.”
“Perhaps the Golden Emperor has reached this stage, or perhaps not. That’s why I don’t know what method she used.”
Her voice carried a touch of world-weariness, yet also a hint of yearning.
It sounded like the words of an ancient being who had lived through countless eons… Meng Qi’s heart trembled. He couldn’t help but reevaluate Liuluo, but she remained ethereal and graceful, as pure and ageless as ever.
“If someone has truly touched the mysteries of time, wouldn’t it be utterly impossible to resist them?” Meng Qi suppressed his curiosity and refrained from prying into Liuluo’s secrets.
Liuluo chuckled softly, her voice like the most enchanting celestial music. “The past is easy to trace, but the future branches endlessly, countless possibilities. Without attaining the Dao Fruit, who dares claim to know and control all?”
“It’s true that those at the Threshold exist in all times—past, present, and future—but this is not the complete picture. As long as one unifies and traces back a portion of the past, glimpses and claims a certain portion of the future, and connects these into a line within the River of Time, one can be said to have crossed the sea of suffering and reached the other shore.”
“After that, they continue cultivating, striving to surpass their past selves, tracing back to the very beginning of creation, seeking to claim more of the uncertain and unpredictable future, expanding from dominating the River of Time in a single universe to encompassing the Rivers of Time in infinite universes and the realm of true reality, ultimately unifying them with the source of the Dao. This is the difference between the Celestial Emperor and ancient figures like Yuanshi, Daode, and Lingbao.”
“Therefore, before they achieve this goal—before they even possess the rudiments of the Dao Fruit—the future remains uncertain, still presenting opportunities. It all depends on whether you can seize them.”
Meng Qi listened in stunned silence at first, deeply awed by the profound mysteries and immense power of these great beings. But as he listened further, he felt a surge of inspiration. The heavens still left a glimmer of hope, and though slim, it was not hopeless!
The river rippled, and Liuluo’s ship began to drift away. A thin layer of mist suddenly dissipated, something Meng Qi hadn’t even noticed before!
“Why did you tell me all this?” Watching Liuluo recede into the distance, Meng Qi couldn’t help but call out loudly.
Liuluo turned her head. Suddenly, her ethereal demeanor faded slightly, her cheeks puffing out as she glared. “I’ve always been narrow-minded, and I never forget a slight, no matter how small.”
As the two ships drifted in opposite directions, Meng Qi’s mood suddenly brightened, though he still felt a lingering concern about the matter of Wu Sheng Laomu.
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