Chapter 3106 - Foreshadowed Danger, the Root of All Disasters

Outside the palace, calamitous power fell like a waterfall, pouring down from the dome of heaven in a boundless, rumbling, booming flood.

Inside the lamplit palace interior, the atmosphere was strange and suffocated.

A strange standoff was taking shape between the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Threelives Buddha.

Hong Ling guarded the palace entrance, ready to strike at any moment.

Su Yi stood in the corner at distance from the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Threelives Buddha in a three-legged formation.

From the moment the death trap began, Su Yi fell silent. Even after the Threelives Buddha and Hong Ling appeared, or when the Buddha of Non-Existence unexpectedly shielded him with his body, he remained silent. Even now, he said nothing.

This unusual behavior had long since drawn the others’ attention.

“Fellow Daoist Su, I’ve got to say, you’ve really surprised me. To think my master’s clone would die to save you!” The Threelives Buddha sighed. “Meanwhile, I’m his disciple, but despite my earnest attempts to save him, he treats me with nothing but scorn.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations said gravely, “Fellow Daoist Su, the Buddha of Non-Existence isn’t fully dead. This master and apprentice duo are just putting on an act. Don’t let them fool you.”

The Threelives Buddha chuckled. “Ludicrous. Who’d destroy their clone just to put on an act? Endless Tribulations, no matter what you say, Fellow Daoist Su will never trust you again!”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations frowned, then looked at Su Yi. He’d realized that even now, Su Yi had yet to express an opinion.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine, silently took a sip, then finally addressed the Threelives Buddha.

He’d broken his silence, but his words seemed inexplicable. “Is River Ancestor Lu Shu still alive?”

Hong Ling blinked. River Ancestor Lu Shu? Who’s that?

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ pupils constricted, his expression shifting.

The Threelives Buddha looked surprised, too. He stared at Su Yi in disbelief.

After a while, he sighed with admiration. “Impressive! Even under these circumstances, you pieced together the clues to find the source of the problem. Su Yi, time and time again, you force me to revise my opinion of you!”

Su Yi put away his jug of wine, his gaze utterly cold and indifferent, without so much as the slightest ripple of emotion. “Answer the question or attack me already!”

The Threelives Buddha smiled. “River Ancestor Lu Shu isn’t dead, and it’s just as you suspect. He’s done me an enormous favor.”

Su Yi then turned his attention to the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “Do you plan to keep helping the Threelives Buddha with his act?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations sighed, his expression shifting and uncertain. “The Threelives Buddha is right. Our performance was ultimately flawed. It was inevitable that you’d piece things together if you examined it closely.

Hong Ling’s mind practically went blank. What’s going on here? The Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Threelives Buddha have been at odds this entire time... now it seems they were actually working together right from the start?

Hong Ling thought herself experienced with the ups, downs, and perils of worldly affairs, but the reality of the situation nonetheless seemed astonishing and incomprehensible. If all of this is true, doesn’t that mean that the Threelives Buddha wasn’t here to save his master at all?

Another critical detail suddenly occurred to her. Even if the Buddha of Non-Existence hadn’t shielded Su Yi, he could never have made it out alive. With the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Threelives Buddha joining forces against him, he was doomed right from the start!

Had Su Yi assumed that the Threelives Buddha and Monarch of Endless Tribulations were hostile, then stood with the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, he’d have been stabbed in the back!

The most wondrous part of the whole trap was the way they used the master-apprentice relationship between the Threelives Buddha and the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. Most people would never have guessed that the Threelives Buddha had actually sided with his master’s greatest foe!

As she thought through all of these secrets, a chill coursed through Hong Ling’s heart. She’d long since realized that the Threelives Buddha was hiding things from her, but she hadn’t anticipated just how insidious and terrifying his schemes really were!

There’s no doubt about it. Even in death, the Buddha of Non-Existence’s clone never realized that his apprentice was a “double agent” colluding with his enemy all along.

Su Yi surely didn’t expect it either. At least, not at first. Otherwise, he’d have allied himself with the Buddha of Non-Existence earlier. Then, the two of them could have faced this together.

As Hong Ling’s thoughts raced, Su Yi continued, “Does that mean that River Ancestor Lu Shu was a pawn you placed by my side all along?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations shook his head. “No. You might not believe me if I say this now, but when I agreed to that senior’s conditions back in the Cave of Obsession, I had no other intentions. The Buddha of Non-Existence’s clone knew it, too. Otherwise, given his character, he would never have tolerated what I’ve done here.”

Su Yi instantly fell silent.

Trust was a strange thing. Before the Buddha of Non-Existence shielded him with his body, Su Yi had no way of trusting him.

This was for the simple reason that his enmity with the Threelives Buddha had given him a strong distaste for the entire Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court. He was on guard against the Buddha of Non-Existence all along.

But now that the Buddha of Non-Existence had sacrificed his clone for him, Su Yi realized that the old monk of the Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court had been the most trustworthy person here right from the start.

It was for this reason that he believed the Monarch of Non-Existence this time. The two of them had been enemies for so long that they deeply understood each other.

Much like how he understood the Threelives Buddha.

Had the Monarch of Endless Tribulations harbored malicious intentions when they first made this agreement, the Buddha of Non-Existence would have noticed. He certainly wouldn’t have waited until now, then sacrificed his clone.

“You needn’t bear a grudge against Lu Shu,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “He never betrayed you.”

The Threelives Buddha smiled. “Coming from you, there’s no way Fellow Daoist Su will believe it. Allow me.

“It was I who found Lu Shu and deceived him. I told him that something had happened to the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and my master’s true bodies, but that I couldn’t make contact with them. I asked him to try to contact the Monarch of Endless Tribulations instead.

“Lu Shu had misgivings, but the Monarch of Endless Tribulations saved his life. Besides, all I asked was that he make contact with him. It seemed like a small request. In the end, he agreed.”

The Threelives Buddha glanced at the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “I wanted to work with the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, so I naturally did nothing to harm Lu Shu. On that, you can rest assured. He’s still alive, and he never betrayed you. He was just... used, that’s all.”

He spoke lightly and airily even as he described the moment he first planted the seeds of this disaster!

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations had an unreadable look on his face. “The Threelives Buddha told my true body of his plans to set a trap, one that would resolve my conflict with his master and let us seize the Book of Destiny. He said that so long as my true body assisted him, we’d both get what we wanted.”

He gazed at the center of the room, where their true bodies were still frozen mid-combat.

“Thus, I did what he asked, sacrificing some of my vital source energy to arrange the scene before you.

“Both of our clones sensed the chance immediately and realized that something had happened to our true bodies in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations shifted his gaze back to Su Yi. “That’s what led up to the current situation, Fellow Daoist.”

The Threelives Buddha sighed. “It’s a pity that we still let a few things slip. In order to convince Fellow Daoist Su to bring me and Hong Ling into the Abyss of Endless Tribulations, I had to tell him what had happened here. In doing so, I left behind subtle hints. Ultimately, he managed to determine the true source of the problem.”

Su Yi didn’t deny it. Back when he first agreed to help the Threelives Buddha, he was surprised that the Threelives Buddha knew what had happened in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. He couldn’t even imagine how he’d gotten that information.

Still, Su Yi didn’t give the matter much thought. He just figured the Threelives Buddha had figured out a way to make contact with his master’s true body.

It was only after the Buddha of Non-Existence’s clone was destroyed that Su Yi realized that he’d been wrong about the nature of this death trap right from the start!

Even if the Threelives Buddha had been able to make contact with the Buddha of Non-Existence, given the Buddha of Non-Existence’s personality, there was no way he’d have told his unfilial disciple anything useful.

Therein lay the problem. How did the Threelives Buddha find out what had happened in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations?

Even if someone managed to find the entrance to the abyss, without the Key to Endless Tribulations, there was no way to enter.

The Threelives Buddha had never been to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. If he had, he wouldn’t have chosen to work with Su Yi.

Given the circumstances, Su Yi instantly thought of River Ancestor Lu Shu. In this world, only he, a former Harbinger of Tribulations, had means of making contact with the Monarch of Endless Tribulations.

That was what had led to their earlier conversation. Now, all was clear.

Simply put, all of this was part of the Threelives Buddha’s plan. He and the Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ true body had worked together to set a trap!

Moreover, the trap was carefully plotted at every turn and secretive to the extreme.

Su Yi questioned whether he’d have managed to figure it out if not for the Buddha of Non-Existence shielding him earlier.

From this, it was clear just how capable the Threelives Buddha was.

Hong Ling found it difficult to stay calm. Now that the truth had come to light, it seemed simple, but in truth, every detail of this trap was full of hidden perils!

Hong Ling was certain that, had she been on the receiving end of the Threelives Buddha’s schemes, she’d have died without ever knowing why, just like the Buddha of Non-Existence’s clone.

“But even though you saw through us, it won’t change the big picture,” the Threelives Buddha said with a faint smile. “Don’t you think, Fellow Daoist Su?”

Su Yi disregarded him and just looked at the Monarch of Endless Tribulations. “Does that mean you sensed your true body and learned of all his arrangements the moment we entered the Realm of Endless Tribulations?”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations nodded, a complicated look on his face. “That’s right. Fellow Daoist, do you think my behavior low and despicable?”

Su Yi said calmly. “No. In my eyes, the moment you agreed to assist the Threelives Buddha in his schemes, you lost your ancient clash of the Grand Dao with the Buddha of Non-Existence. Whether it was ‘low and despicable’ or not is none of my business.”

These calm words left the Monarch of Endless Tribulations stunned, his expression shifting and uncertain.