As the reincarnation of the Eternal Mother, that is, the “Golden Emperor” Queen Mother of Heaven’s reincarnation, Gu Xiaosang, whether willing or not, inherited most of the memories. Finding another safe entrance to the Jade Pond and stepping into the Queen Mother’s residence was not too difficult to understand, as long as she did not lose her mind and came out from the palace, attempting to subdue the fragments of divine weapons within the Jade Pond, the danger was not too great.
But why were there still lingering shadows, as if statues?
Meng Qi’s Light Escape suddenly accelerated, closely following the core fragment of the Heaven Mirror as it flew toward this palace belonging to the Golden Emperor!
…
The statue of the Heavenly Emperor solemnly overlooked everything, while the Jade Box of the Immortal Spirit on its throne emitted a gentle glow. Inside, the ancient Time Blade showed no signs of disturbance, remaining in deep slumber.
Han Guang, hands empty, was trapped in a deadly formation, his gaze frozen, seemingly not expecting such an outcome.
Whether following or refusing, shouldn’t there be some reaction!
This explanation was a secret he had painstakingly obtained, undoubtedly ranking among the top news across all worlds, and it concerned the Time Blade itself; why did it show no reaction at all?
Xu Daoren, sitting cross-legged in front of the altar, suddenly stretched his right hand backward; his previously tranquil and gentle demeanor abruptly became majestic and lofty. As soon as the motion began, his hand tightly grasped the long blade seemingly formed from time itself.
The Time Blade willingly placed its hilt into his palm!
Xu Daoren’s eyes contained a faint mockery as he drew the blade from behind and slashed forward.
“Master of Darkness” Han Guang, the mythological “Heavenly Emperor,” Xuantian Sect has been waiting for you for more than a decade!
Having wielded the Time Blade for countless generations, there should at least be some connection through worship!
Time flows like water, silently moving through heaven and earth, extinguishing Buddhas, aging immortals and deities, quenching stars, bidding farewell to universes. Many powerful figures, many seemingly eternal things, eventually succumb to time, dissipating into the illusory river of time.
Rippling light entered Han Guang’s eyes. He barely managed to thrust out a palm, a palm sharing many similarities with the blade strike, a phantom-like palm enveloping everything.
All things in heaven and earth, stars and universes, Dao techniques and martial arts, all worldly matters and artificial methods arise due to causes and conditions, change due to causes and conditions, cannot remain eternal, and will eventually perish. This is the impermanence of the world; the only truly unchanging “state” is that stars become black holes, black holes dissolve with the universe’s destruction. The universe is vast and boundless; without mastering the mysteries of higher-level voids, relying solely on speed, even gods, Buddhas, immortals, and sages cannot cross it in their entire lifetimes. Yet even such a universe cannot escape impermanence.
And all impermanence begins with time!
This palm was the Heavenly Emperor version of the Tathagata Palm’s eighth movement:
“All conditioned things are impermanent!”
Silently, time passed and impermanence met, the surroundings nearly froze. Han Guang could only see a series of strange images appearing and disappearing, then his senses seemed to vanish.
Inside a city, a middle-aged scholar led a handsome and adorable little boy, strolling toward the secret underground passage of his own residence.
The little boy was only about six or seven years old, of average height among children his age, but with rosy lips and white teeth, a jade-like face, and a demeanor of commanding presence and natural majesty while walking, seemingly well-educated and of high status.
The middle-aged scholar walked leisurely and gracefully, suddenly pausing at the secret passage door, smiling as he looked at the little boy:
“Inside are your senior and junior apprentices, sisters and brothers. Communicate with them well, and I hope you can still be alive after seven days. I have high hopes for you.”
“Still alive after seven days?” Though young, the little boy was exceptionally intelligent. Upon hearing this, he sensed something amiss and looked at the middle-aged scholar in shock:
“Master, what do you mean?”
The middle-aged scholar chuckled:
“We are one of the nine heretical sects, believing only in power and wisdom. Killing among peers is inevitable; only the victor can go further in the future.”
“I don’t know if other Demon Lords do this, but I think there’s no better way. Killing among peers can fully unleash potential, making one truly renewed.”
The little boy understood clearly, his face full of fear and anger:
“You, you deserve to die! I am the sect leader’s personal disciple; don’t think you can treat me like this! I am a prince!”
“Heh, what status can a prince from a long-destroyed country have? Why would the sect leader favor you specially? Since he entrusted you to me, he obviously allowed me to deal with you as I pleased.” The middle-aged scholar’s eyes glimmered with pleasure and cruelty.
“You, you’re lying!” The little boy’s gaze was filled with fear and hatred, seemingly wishing to flay the man alive, but his body was bound by an invisible force, unable to move.
The middle-aged scholar squatted down, smiling:
“That won’t do; you must learn to control and hide your emotions. True demons are not those who intimidate others by glaring, getting angry, or making threats. These emotions will betray you, exposing your mind nakedly to enemies, leading to defeat, even death.”
“True demons kill with a smile, calm and graceful; any displayed emotion is bait to lure opponents. If you want to kill me for revenge, you must remember this, just like the Heart Sage of old, who was so composed and graceful in every move.”
“Close your eyes, suppress your emotions, and hide them deep, or I’ll gouge out these eyes right now.”
The little boy shuddered, tightly closing his eyes, afraid to open them, fearing his eyes would betray him and lead to being blinded.
Seeing him trembling all over, the middle-aged scholar smiled, pushed with his left hand, opened the secret passage door, and shoved the little boy into this underground palace with many rooms and corridors.
Bang!
The secret door closed, and the little boy, startled, opened his eyes. In the distance, several candles flickered with dim yellow light. A boy older than him was lying under the candlelight, a dagger embedded in his back, blood gushing out, on the brink of death.
Perhaps the sound of the door startled the severely wounded boy, who suddenly seemed to revive slightly, struggling to lift his head, seeing the little boy by the door, his breath faint and confused:
“Who… are… you?”
Who are you? The little boy was suddenly shocked, his mind hit like by a hammer, stars flashing in his eyes, filled with astonishment, confusion, and bewilderment:
“Who am I?”
“Where am I?”
…
The core fragment of the Heaven Mirror drew a dark trail, falling into the Queen Mother’s Hall.
Meng Qi followed closely, his light steps descending at the hall’s entrance.
He did not rush in immediately but turned his head toward the elf-like white-robed figure hiding at the end of the corridor.
Her eyebrows and eyes were like painted, her features delicate, charmingly expressive, unmistakably the familiar Gu Xiaosang!
But this “Gu Xiaosang” was icy cold, without any aura, seeming like just a statue.
Meng Qi’s spirit instantly extended, touching “Gu Xiaosang.” Hidden golden energy, icy jade-like bones, it turned out to be a naturally born immortal body. Yet as soon as Meng Qi’s spirit made contact, the body collapsed, like a sand sculpture weathered for years, scattering into a pile of ice shards and water droplets.
Startled, Meng Qi suddenly realized; this must be another body prepared by Gu Xiaosang for herself, a body meant to sever her past and escape the Eternal Mother, just like his Earth body!
However, the Earth body was originally himself, subtly connected, allowing simultaneous cultivation, while Gu Xiaosang’s body was purely crafted from treasures.
Metal generates water, water nurturing vitality; did Gu Xiaosang use the Jade Pond’s most refined “Taiyi Golden Water” to forge this naturally born immortal body?
Yet, as time passed, she ultimately couldn’t use this backup, failing to successfully transfer her “self” into this body.
And the body’s destruction was a collateral effect of the Eternal Mother’s fury?
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Meng Qi’s gaze darkened as he charged into the Queen Mother’s Hall with the Overlord’s Invincible Blade, just in time to witness the core fragment of the Heavenly Mirror withdrawing its dark radiance. The multiple layers of heaven and earth at the edge of the Jade Pool gradually returned to normal, and the fragment then hovered above a pool of golden water.
This golden water pool was only about a foot in diameter, giving a crystalline yet hazy feeling, as if something lay deep within.
Crack! The Hegemon’s Ultimate Blade suddenly shot out purple lightning, illuminating the dark hall, piercing through the golden water, allowing Meng Qi to clearly see the object.
It was a skull, a skull with tightly closed eyes. It belonged to a thin old man, his hair white, but his long beard pitch black, forming a sharp and eerie contrast, exuding a strong and familiar evil aura.
Meng Qi’s heart sank, two words popping into his mind:
“Devil King!”
This was the skull of the supreme Devil King!
Since he could sever his own demonic heart and refine it into the “Great Freedom Prince True Body,” naturally he could also sever his head to cultivate it into other demonic forms!
And where his skull was, perhaps lay his true soul!
He slept here, leveraging the unique properties of the Jade Pond in the top three layers of the Ninth Heaven, and relying on the nourishment of “Taiyi Golden Water” to resist the erosion of time?
Suddenly, Meng Qi understood. Indeed, Luyan’s true intention was not the core fragment of the Heaven Mirror, but to have Meng Qi enter the Jade Pond, disturb the Devil King, causing him to awaken prematurely, unable to recover to his best condition, thus creating an advantage for his return in peak condition!
Whether Meng Qi lived or died was not something he considered.
The struggle between great beings has always been thus, leaving no trace!
As for the core fragment of the Heaven Mirror, under the premise that the Devil King discovered the secret entrance to the Jade Pond and slept here, there was no doubt he had already subdued it!
However, such fragmented objects required power accumulation after one use, unable to be continuously employed.
Just then, the skull suddenly opened its eyes, two black holes, the original evil, the first evil!
…
By the Jade Pool, the boundary between heaven and earth disappeared. Gourdo narrowly avoided the shattered branches and bracelet fragments in a riot of colors, catching sight of Master Lu, Su Wuming, and the Demon Master Han Guang.
And Han Guang also saw Su Wuming and others desperately avoiding.
…
The Devil King’s eyes opened, and Meng Qi immediately summoned his protective cloud, not daring to flee rashly.
“Daoist Lu Yan’s plan is indeed well-calculated, but this seat has always had multiple hideouts.” The Devil King smiled without attacking, “A pity, you will all perish here.”
As the words fell, his skull dove downward, a bronze ancient coffin emerged from the void, the heart flew out from it, landing in his mouth.
Immediately, the Devil King, head and heart together, pierced through the Taiyi Golden Water Pool, disappearing without a trace, unknown where he fled.
He had no time to retrieve the core fragment of the Heavenly Mirror, for the Jade Pond suddenly underwent a transformation. Innumerable cosmic laws manifested as indescribably bizarre patterns, emerging in full force—like countless illusory yet terrifying chains or seals—completely enveloping the Jade Pond.
Meng Qi’s mind stirred, looking upward, his senses seemingly rising, seeing the entire Jade Pond situation.
A phantom-like, pure white hand was supporting the entire Jade Pond, lifting it from the second layer of the Ninth Heaven.
The Jade Pond, which seemed tiny compared to him, quietly lay in this hand. Following the hand upward, a majestic and sacred statue could be seen.
This was the statue of the Eternal Mother!
Dushi Dharma King stood on the statue’s shoulder, overlooking below, solemnly declaring: “The Eternal Mother will use the Jade Pond, the fragments, and you all to forge an unparalleled divine weapon!”
The Jade Pond was grasped firmly, its inner ferocity and Dharma body unable to breach the barrier. All beings and objects were ensnared within the Jade Pond!
Faced with this, Meng Qi suddenly sighed, always forced to use his final backup.
He took out the Tree of the Great Dao and extended it into the Taiyi Golden Water Pool.
It had been yearning for this for a long time!
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