As soon as the Heavenly Venerable Duobao entered the gate of the Immortal-Slaying Formation, sword beams rained down from above, obliterating everything in their path, leaving no room for evasion in any direction.
“Even a grain of rice dares to shine!” He snorted coldly, and five white waves surged above his head, illuminating the five illusory blue lotuses that surrounded him. Each lotus embodied an intent—slaughter, destruction, or dissolution—all representing the end of all things. The surroundings were enveloped in a deathly, misty light, neutralizing the annihilating sword beams while he remained utterly unmoved.
Passing through the formation gate, he arrived at the Immortal-Slaying Pavilion, where he saw Guangchengzi hovering high in the air, a cyan immortal sword suspended above him.
“Why must you go this far, fellow Daoist?” Guangchengzi clasped his hands in greeting. With a tremor of the Immortal-Slaying Sword, sparse cyan sword light scattered, and the surroundings grew heavy, all colors fading away, leaving only a hazy gray as if time itself had ceased to flow.
This stagnation of time made the sword light appear incomparably swift, as if it approached from all directions—ethereal and dreamlike, like a wind in a dream. Yet, if struck, even an immortal would turn to dust.
The Heavenly Venerable Duobao sensed his own movements slowing and dared not delay. Four divine swords of different colors—red, cyan, black, and white—flew out from behind him, resembling the reemergence of the swords of slaughter, annihilation, entrapment, and execution.
“Guangchengzi, this is the true Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation!” His voice boomed like thunder, rolling outward. The four divine swords merged with three illusory blue lotuses, each symbolizing a different path of destruction, forming a sword formation around him that shattered earth, fire, water, and wind.
But that was not all. From the Heavenly Venerable Duobao’s Niwan Palace, another radiance burst forth, transforming into an ancient and terrifying four-colored formation diagram that flew into the sword formation.
Boom!
Guangchengzi felt his vision darken as the void vanished, time fractured, and all matter disintegrated into pure energy. The fundamental forces and laws of existence were utterly erased.
What a complete Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation! He silently praised, manifesting his own Three Flowers atop his head. Drawing upon the light from the sword gates where Chijingzi, Yuding Zhenren, and Daoxing Xianzun stood, he countered destruction with destruction, end with end, firmly suppressing the Heavenly Venerable Duobao.
Meanwhile, within the pavilions of the Entrapping, Annihilating, and Executing Sword Formations, the Ancient Buddha Dipankara stood upon a golden lotus, surrounded by a sea of suffering. Layers of perfect Buddha light radiated from behind his head, illuminating a boundless Pure Land spanning countless kalpas and the ancient glazed lamp of Mount Sumeru. He concealed all karmic ties within the interplay of black and white light, allowing the destruction of the void to bypass him. The chaotic currents of time, whether fast or slow, brushed past his golden body, and the annihilating sword beams missed him by a hair’s breadth. Yet, he was not at ease—his progress was slow, merely holding the upper hand without securing victory.
The Buddha of Immeasurable Ease appeared even more composed than him and the Heavenly Venerable Duobao. The character “Buddha” on his forehead shimmered with golden swastikas resembling relics, weaving together to stir illusory time. Embracing the emptiness of the four elements, he traversed the red, cyan, black, and white sword beams as if wandering through a dream.
The sword beams slashed down, reducing all to ashes, yet the Buddha of Immeasurable Ease swayed like a phantom, as if existing in a past beyond the formation’s reach. The chaotic currents of time forced him to evade occasionally, or he withstood them by chanting “Om,” “Ma,” “Ni,” “Pei,” “Mei,” “Hum.”
The “Past Daoist Incarnation” manifested by the Ancient Buddha Dipankara was far from the perfection of a great divine being. His exquisite golden pagoda, hanging above his head, was battered by the red, cyan, black, and white sword beams, its fragments scattering and its surface riddled with cracks, as if it would soon collapse. Moreover, the frozen or annihilated void and the terrifying currents of time left him no choice but to dodge, unable to advance.
Fortunately, “Dipankara the Daoist” knew full well that his role was merely to divert attention, allowing the Heavenly Venerable Duobao, the Buddha of Immeasurable Ease, and his true self to break the formation. Unhurried and unperturbed, he wielded the Ruler of Heaven and Earth, casting the Jade Void Yin-Yang Seal to borrow illusion for reality and transform death into life, barely managing to hold on.
Outside the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, the Three Xiao Goddesses had already summoned the Primordial Golden Dipper and jointly deployed the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation. Manjusri, the Venerable of Universal Dharma, floated gracefully, the five wisdom flowers atop his head gradually fading, leaving only a central hub resembling a round mirror. With a mind of unmoving emptiness, he reflected all things in heaven and earth, all principles of virtue and law, and all variations of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation.
“Only when all past ties are severed does one know emptiness; neither defiled nor pure, forging the Dao body!” she murmured softly, stepping slowly into the formation.
High above, the Primordial Golden Dipper trembled, and a beam of light shot down, aiming straight for Manjusri’s Niwan Palace, seeking to seal the flowers atop her head and the five energies in her chest.
Clang!
A clear, melodious sound rang out. The mirror formed of wisdom, embodying the wondrous function of true emptiness and encompassing all forms, displayed a misty, chaotic hue, deflecting the Golden Dipper’s grasp to the side, leaving only a trace within the mirror.
Her unique path of infinite chaos differed from Meng Qi’s. Had she manifested the true Supreme Infinite Primordial Auspicious Cloud, the chaotic light from the Golden Dipper would have silently merged into it, dissolving without a trace, assimilated and returned to the origin without any effect. However, her “Primordial Wisdom Mirror,” achieved through the Buddhist concept of emptiness and the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, remained untouched by external forces, though traces lingered in the void.
Seeing this, the Three Xiao Goddesses grew solemn and dared not delay. The Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation activated, merging with the light of the Primordial Golden Dipper to form rolling waves of turbid energy, surging relentlessly toward Manjusri. For most beings of creation, contamination by these waves would mean one cycle per rotation, one flower extinguished per turn, one energy lost per fall—soon, their immortal bodies would fade, returning them to mortal flesh, undoing years of cultivation in an instant.
“With the Heavenly Venerable Duobao, the Ancient Buddha Dipankara, and others breaking in, the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation is likely at its limit. If we add fuel to the fire, it will collapse momentarily, allowing us to profit from the chaos,” a divine envoy of the Luo Sect transmitted to his peers, the Great Sages of the demon race, and the remnants of the Heavenly Court.
The Bull Demon King, more eager than ever to reach the pinnacle of creation, nodded his massive head and said, “I agree!”
“Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden” Liu Luo caressed the illusory seal of authority in her palm, sighed, and turned to leave, refusing to involve herself further in these affairs.
…
“Which great figure are you referring to?” Meng Qi was deeply intrigued by the Green Emperor’s mention.
Though the distant ancient epochs had long since perished, remnants remained, intertwined with many mysterious events. Gaining more knowledge would be beneficial.
The Green Emperor stood with his back to Meng Qi, gazing at the World Tree, his tone indifferent. “The Heavenly Emperor Haotian.”
“The Heavenly Emperor Haotian?” Meng Qi was slightly taken aback. Wasn’t it the Fusang Ancient Tree planted with the blood of Donghuang Taiyi and the Heavenly Emperor Haotian?
The Green Emperor spoke slowly, “In the last epoch of antiquity, the Tree of the Great Dao emerged and fell into the hands of the Heavenly Emperor Haotian. After slaying Donghuang Taiyi, He mixed the remnants of Taiyi’s blood with His own and planted the Fusang Ancient Tree in a hidden place, seemingly intending to use it as a substitute for His own demise to survive the epoch’s end.”
“The specifics remain unclear to me, as I have yet to trace back to antiquity. All I know is that the Fusang Ancient Tree survived, while the Heavenly Emperor Haotian perished. Several ancient beings, recognizing the Tree of the Great Dao as a key to the final calamity, refrained from destroying it, choosing instead to observe its changes and prepare accordingly. Thus, I came into being.”
“After my divine form took shape, I coincidentally obtained the shattered Haotian Mirror and reforged it into a peerless treasure. This led many who knew the truth to suspect that the Heavenly Emperor Haotian had not truly perished but had reincarnated as the Green Emperor Taihao through the Fusang Ancient Tree.”
Hearing this, even I suspect you’re the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor Haotian… Meng Qi couldn’t help but muse inwardly. Born from the Fusang Ancient Tree planted by the Heavenly Emperor Haotian and possessing His treasure—who would believe there was no connection?
Of course, it might not be reincarnation. Perhaps you’re His descendant?
The Green Emperor’s voice carried a rare hint of amusement. “In ancient times, I myself suspected I was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor Haotian, fearing that He might seize my body and erase my consciousness at any moment. But upon attaining the Other Shore and retracing the past, I realized I am who I am—the Green Emperor Taihao, not the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor Haotian. He had indeed made such arrangements, but they were disrupted by an ancient being, severing all ties at the epoch’s end.”
Who would have thought the Green Emperor was once so naive and fearful… Meng Qi recalled his own dread of the Devil Buddha and felt a pang of sympathy. Fortunately, though his own past was real, he had found a way to sever it from the future.
“But the mysteries of the Fusang Ancient Tree do not end there,” the Green Emperor shifted the topic.
“Even you, born from the Fusang Ancient Tree, do not know?” Meng Qi asked, puzzled.
The Green Emperor nodded slightly.
“Of course. Otherwise, why would the ancient beings observe it? However, I faintly sense that one of the two foundations of the Fusang Ancient Tree—Donghuang Taiyi, slain by the Heavenly Emperor Haotian—may not have truly perished.”
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