In the boundless darkness, a phantom river stretched through past and future, surging ceaselessly forward, unchanged since ancient times. At its branching nodes, the currents shifted slowly but steadily. Meng Qi, wrapped in the radiance of the Qisha Tablet, instinctively activated the “Fruit of All Causes” and the “Transcendent Characteristics,” keenly sensing his position within this river of time and destiny, precisely at one of its nodes.
Gazing into the future, countless indistinct tributaries blurred into obscurity, revealing only vague glimpses. Looking back into the past, vivid scenes unfolded—his own life, the lives of others, and the deeds of ancient sages, as numerous as stars in the sky. If all these memories were to flood Meng Qi’s mind at once, they would shatter his consciousness entirely, something even the most powerful cultivators could not withstand.
Having used this ability more than once before, Meng Qi was well-practiced. He focused his thoughts and expanded his consciousness:
“Six hundred and eighty-nine years ago, on the second day of the second lunar month, at the second quarter of noon…”
The overwhelming flood of images receded, leaving only relevant scenes, though most were blurred, like distorted television signals disrupted by intense magnetic interference, filled with static or even total chaos.
The Qisha Tablet’s retrocognitive ability would be severely disrupted by the presence of beings at the Legendary level or higher. At that time, not only were there Legendary and Creation-stage experts, but even multiple Transcendent-level figures had appeared. Meng Qi had anticipated this and remained calm. A new thought arose in his mind:
“The Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea!”
Even now, the Old Dragon King was not yet a Legendary being, let alone back then. Moreover, the only notable treasure, the “Pillar Stabilizing the Sea,” had already been taken by Sun Wukong. There would be no treasures within the Dragon Palace strong enough to interfere!
The chaotic and static-filled scenes vanished, leaving a series of rippling water vistas, shimmering waves revealing the Old Dragon King’s instinctive reaction to an apocalyptic disaster.
Meng Qi extended his right hand, touching the moment the Dragon King shifted from calm composure to shock and fear.
It was the exact moment he sensed the collapse of his divine position as the Four Seas Emperor and his connection to the Celestial Court.
Suddenly, the rushing waves vanished. Meng Qi felt himself hurled out of the river of time, propelled backward through the chaos, riding against the current toward its source.
He wasn’t sure how long had passed when a brilliant light appeared before him. He found himself surrounded by rippling waters, shimmering with light. Before him stood shrimp soldiers, crab generals, dragon princes, turtle chancellors, and fish commanders. The Old Dragon King sat high upon his throne, holding a cup of wine, his face unable to conceal his shock, confusion, and fear.
“The Dragon King still possesses the vigor of youth,” Meng Qi remarked with a smile, seeing that the Dragon King looked exactly the same as he had been over six hundred years later, unaffected by Meng Qi’s journey into the past.
The Old Dragon King stared blankly, suddenly noticing a mysterious young Daoist in his palace where there had been no one moments ago. He blurted out, “Who are you?”
Appearing out of nowhere in the Dragon Palace and calling him “still vigorous in old age”!
The turtle chancellor and other aquatic beings were equally stunned. They clearly remembered that the Daoist had not been there a moment ago—how had he entered?
The Dragon Palace was heavily guarded, its protective enchantments formidable. It was no place one could simply walk into.
Just then, the Old Dragon King’s expression changed again. He suddenly felt his connection to the Celestial Court completely severed.
Immediately afterward, the Dragon Palace trembled violently. Pillars swayed as if about to snap. Coral ornaments toppled, and cracks spread across the floor tiles, extending deep into the ocean bed—an apocalyptic scene unfolding.
At that moment, Meng Qi pushed his fan-shaped cloud cap with his right hand. From his Niwan Palace surged a chaotic, auspicious cloud, emitting dark rays that formed a curtain of water before the palace eaves.
With a leap, he darted out of the Dragon Palace, immediately facing a rain of five-colored immortal thunderbolts and brilliantly vivid purple flames.
Heavy rain poured down, drenching the Dragon Palace, but Meng Qi did not evade. He charged straight into the storm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lightning and fire struck his body, impacting the dark rays and causing ripples, only to vanish instantly.
Breaking through the storm of thunder and fire, Meng Qi emerged into a vast open sea. Above, chaotic, apocalyptic lightning loomed, alongside black-and-white intertwined thunderbolts of long-lasting energy. There was also the collapsing Four Symbols’ thunder, and flames of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet, each with unique threats. They entwined like a meteor shower of fire, a magnificent spectacle.
Judging by their power, if all of them fell, every living being across the Four Great Continents and all the oceans would perish. Mountains would crumble, and seas would dry up.
Fortunately, they did not fall like rain. A thin, ethereal mist hovered in the air, forming the silhouette of a woman with a human head and a serpent’s body. Her arms spread wide, as if embracing the heavens, her back facing Meng Qi.
The thunder and fire struck her embrace, dissolving into the mist. Only a few barely pierced through, weakened and diminished, targeting the lands, river deities, and Four Seas Emperors connected to the Celestial Court.
“Nuwa’s lingering technique?” Meng Qi hesitated, then heard a sound from above—an indescribable shattering noise.
If one had to describe it, it was the helpless struggle of a universe reaching its end, the desperate wail of despair in the face of annihilation, a cataclysmic collapse of heaven and earth!
In an instant, a blinding light erupted—pure white, dazzling beyond comprehension—washing away all colors of the heavenly thunder and worldly flames. It seemed as though this single beam was the only light in existence.
Meng Qi’s eyes felt seared, blinded to the outside world. Yet his heart remained calm, undisturbed. Deep within his dark, unreflective pupils, an ancient glazed lamp emerged, radiating alternating black-and-white illusory light.
His vision changed. The blinding whiteness faded, revealing scattered star-like lines, but they were chaotic, as if randomly twisted into tangled knots, making it impossible to discern the detailed causal relationships.
Boom!
The white brilliance faded, leaving the sky dark and the illusory causal world dim and shadowy.
Raindrops fell, their color dark red like blood, a few piercing through the ethereal mist, striking the ground, instantly causing massive floods that swallowed cities and turned mountains into isolated islands.
Boom!
The sky suddenly sank downward, followed by a series of radiant beams shooting into the sky—exactly twenty-four in number—scattering in all directions.
The myriad worlds began to collapse!
Meng Qi had been waiting for this moment. Within the illusory causal realm, tangled threads of karma divided into twenty-four portions, each rushing in a different direction, shining brilliantly.
The “Fruit of All Causes” spun into motion. Meng Qi made no attempt to seize any treasures. Once he passed through the ethereal mist’s barrier, he would certainly perish under the onslaught of thunder and fire. Thus, he memorized the causal characteristics and connections related to the twenty-four “Pillars Stabilizing the Sea,” making it easier to trace and locate them upon returning to the future.
The liuli lamp shone quietly, and each thread of karma was etched into Meng Qi’s vision.
As he was about to finish memorizing everything, a sudden impulse surged in his heart. He involuntarily looked up toward the horizon.
Causal threads faded, and chaos surged. High above, a deep red vortex formed, directionless, swirling without pattern, coalescing into a pair of cold, terrifying eyes.
He was staring at the mysterious height where the myriad worlds were collapsing!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage