Chapter 616 - 52: Purple Cloud Palace Master, Help Me Slay Lu Xuan

Chapter 616: Chapter 52: Purple Cloud Palace Master, Help Me Slay Lu Xuan

The vast sky suddenly darkened. Countless gazes from across all of history focused on this very moment, this very place.

Clad in a jet-black robe, Nine Nether was a being of pure Chaos;

The Profound Yellow Emperor Venerable rode his Emperor Chariot, led by a True Phoenix, possessing three heads, six faces, and nine arms, shouldering the Six Paths Plate;

Hongjun Daoist walked within the seams of countless possible futures, taking one leisurely step after another;

Supreme Profound Clarity was draped in a Chaos Daoist Robe. Behind him, a seventy-two-colored radiance shone brilliantly. Above his head were the Yin Yang, Four Symbols, and Eight Trigrams, and beneath his feet, the Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, and Nine Journeys.

With every breath, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water surged from his nostrils. Just by standing there quietly, he already reigned supreme over all of Heaven and Earth.

"My name is..."

The four bodies walked together and slowly merged, accompanied by the great tides of time and the magnificent scenes of three ages: the Spring and Autumn Period, the Great Qin, and the Late Han Dynasty.

A Daoist slowly emerged.

The Daoist wore the Azure Heaven Crown and the Supreme Daoist Robe. An Infinite Innate Blood Sea rose and fell around him, and on his back, he carried the Six Paths Plate.

Beneath his feet, he tread upon the Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, and Nine Journeys, and the infinitely deep Nine Nether. Within his eyes swirled all causes, all effects, and all possible futures.

He looked down upon the heavens and the world below, his gaze fixed on Amitabha, who was currently resisting the sins of Heaven. He spoke gently, each word a pearl of wisdom:

"My name is Lu Xuan."

All living beings fell silent.

The Jade Pool Immortal Mother stared at that infinitely vast and terrifying figure, horror flooding her heart, her expression stunned.

’So that’s how it is...’

she whispered to herself. A look of sudden realization appeared on her face, immediately followed by a complex mix of indescribable emotions.

Supreme Profound Clarity, the Profound Yellow Emperor Venerable, Hongjun Daoist, Nine Nether...

They were all the same person.

They were all the same person!

It wasn’t just her. The many Ancient Immortals and Ancient Gods who had witnessed the ages of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Qin and Han dynasties all fell silent.

The hair on their bodies stood on end, their scalps tingling with shock!

Even Amitabha Buddha, who stood upon the shattered Nine Nether with the collapsing Celestial Vault above his head, paled!

An extremely ominous premonition erupted within him.

Supreme Profound Clarity, the Innate Uncertain Number, Haotian...

Everything, absolutely everything, was connected. Like individual chess pieces, they had finally formed a grand strategy!

’And I am the one trapped in it.’

Amitabha Buddha roared in fury:

"Good, good, good! So that’s how it is... Do you truly believe you can win by doing this? Absurd!"

After a pause, he stomped heavily. The Great Heaven and Earth rumbled, on the verge of collapse.

Amitabha Buddha bellowed:

"The momentum of heaven, earth, and humanity is still entirely mine! I am but one step away from the Perfect Dao Fruit!"

He actually shouldered the sins of heaven and earth and held the collapsing, shattering Western Pure Land, his power surging even greater than before!

"Be careful!"

Yu Yu Daoist arrived, treading on the Six Paths of Reincarnation and wielding the Qing Ping Sword. As an avatar, he only possessed the combat power of an Ancient One,

but in these years approaching the final calamity, the Lame Daoist had grown stronger and stronger. With the enhancement of the Qing Ping Sword, Yu Yu could now contend with an ordinary Enlightened One!

High in the Celestial Vault, Celestial Lord Haotian also descended. Having now returned to the rank of an Enlightened One, he held a Copper Mirror in one hand and a longsword in the other, striking out at Amitabha Buddha!

The latter let out a deafening roar. The sound waves spread out, transforming into an unprecedentedly massive tide. As it surged, layer upon layer of the Celestial Myriad Realms were overturned and submerged by its spray!

Countless living beings and innumerable Ancient Realms faced their apocalypse!

An avatar comparable to an Enlightened One and a true Enlightened One joined forces against Amitabha Buddha. As the three magnificent beings battled, Chaos itself was torn asunder!

At this very moment, the Great Heaven and Earth had already fallen into Nirvana. All living beings were dead. Zhuge Kongming, Lu Xiuyuan, Lin Xi... had long been annihilated by a mere aftershock of the battle for the Dao Fruit!

The heavens were still collapsing, the earth still crumbling!

"The Perfect Dao Fruit is within my grasp!"

Amitabha Buddha roared. He struck Yu Yu with one palm and suppressed Haotian with one fist. He fought with increasing ferocity as boundless Buddha light gathered, the momentum of heaven, earth, and humanity empowering his body!

"All schemes, all tricks, are nothing but illusions in the face of an absolute gap in power!"

As he spoke, Amitabha Buddha threw another heavy punch that pierced through the past and future, nearly severing the River of Time itself. Yu Yu was sent flying back as if struck by lightning, coughing up blood.

Haotian fared no better. His spirit was listless, and his physical body was covered in cracks!

Lu Xuan’s expression grew solemn. ’Amitabha is only approaching the Perfect Dao Fruit, he hasn’t truly reached it, yet he possesses such immense power...’

’This is somewhat beyond my expectations. However, it doesn’t matter.’

Immediately, Lu Xuan held the Heaven-Opening Banner in one hand and cradled the Biyou Palace in the other. His Supreme Daoist Robe fluttered in the wind, and the Azure Heaven Crown on his head continuously communed with Heaven, steadily eroding its authority.

Relying on the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, he barely maintained his footing amid the tempests of the Dao Fruit conflict, his eyes flashing as he worked to usurp the grand momentum!

Soon, Amitabha Buddha seemed to notice. He shot a fierce glance to the side and issued a command:

"Kill him!"

As his voice fell, he pointed a finger. A beam of Chaos light shot out, striking the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and causing it to teeter precariously!

Amitabha Buddha, being close to the Perfect Dao Fruit, already possessed abilities beyond imagination. Even the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, said to possess Innate Invincibility, could be shaken!

The Buddha Mother, the Great Sun Buddha, the Immortal Mother, and the others all snapped back to their senses. They leaped forward in unison, moving to surround and hunt down Lu Xuan.

"Slay!"

The Buddha Mother spat out the Great Belly Buddha, which erupted with Infinite might to hold the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda in a stalemate. He forcefully pulled at the already teetering great pagoda.

At the same time, nine Daluo also closed in for the kill.

Lu Xuan’s expression was solemn, but he was neither surprised nor panicked. The Cyan Lamp, the Gloomy Lamp, and the Azure Lamp flew toward him, and the Four Immortal Slaying Swords circled around him.

The Ancient Tree Branch stained with Emperor’s Blood, the Biyou Palace, the Heaven-Opening Banner, and others all unleashed their power in unison!

Several Dao Fruit Great Artifacts and even Dao Fruit Supreme Treasures simultaneously burst with brilliant light.

The Four Immortal Slaying Swords surrounded and tore at the Great Sun Buddha, bringing him to the brink of death in an instant;

The Biyou Palace, the Ancient Tree Branch, the Three Lamps, and others struck at the Immortal Mother and the other Daluo. Daluo blood stained the fractured Celestial Vault red!

The Buddha Mother ordered the Great Belly Buddha to embrace and shackle the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda while he himself advanced, unleashing the great might of a Dao Fruit, his palm pressing down on the heavens.

"Suppress!" the Buddha Mother bellowed.

The hair on Lu Xuan’s back stood on end, and his expression turned grave, but he showed no panic. He took a step and entered the state of Supreme Forgetting Emotions. When he opened his eyes again, he was like Heaven itself.

He mobilized the Azure Heaven Crown to steal the momentum of Heaven, brandished the Heaven-Opening Banner, and fully revealed his Primordial True Form!

In all these years, Lu Xuan had not neglected his cultivation while staying in the Profound Purity Realm. Relying on the great Wisdom Light of the Bodhi Tree Branch, he had frantically worked on deducing the Primordial Body.

Now, his Primordial Body was another step closer to Perfection. As he revealed his Primordial True Form, in addition to the Yin Yang, Four Symbols, and Eight Trigrams above his head, the Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water in his chest, and the Three Calamities, Six Tribulations, and Nine Journeys beneath his feet,

scenes of Chaos before it opened and Yin Yang before it was judged appeared to his left and right. Secretly activating the Eye of the Primordial and Shangqing’s Leg, he actually managed to clash head-on with the Buddha Mother!

THUD!

The colossal sound was boundless.

Lu Xuan was in a miserable state. His body was shattered, like fragile porcelain covered in cracks.

Although the Buddha Mother had only been forced back nine steps, he was still appalled!

The person before him was merely a Daluo!

How immense was the gap between a Daluo and a Dao Fruit being?

A Daluo shaking a Dao Fruit being was no less astounding than a Grandmaster at the Jade Tower level clashing head-on with a Daluo, not only surviving but even forcing the Daluo back nine steps!

The Great Sun Buddha, the Immortal Mother, and the others were all dumbfounded. They felt it was utterly absurd, as if they had each fallen into a dream!

"Not bad..." the Buddha Mother said coldly.

"You blocked one strike, but what about the second?"

This time, he used his full power. Transforming into a Heaven-Supporting Buddha, he attacked without mercy, his voice booming:

"Everyone, hold back The Three Pristine Ones!"

Above the River of Time, Fu Xi’s gaze flickered with uncertainty, but in the end, he and the Demon Ancestor unleashed their full power, erupting with incredible abilities.

Bodhi also shook the Bodhi Miaoshu with all his might, pouring everything he had into forcefully tying down The Three Pristine Ones!

This battle would determine if Amitabha Buddha could achieve the Perfect Dao Fruit. If he succeeded, the entire situation would change, and the tables would be turned.

After all, Amitabha Buddha was not the Supreme; he was not bound by the restriction of Non-action!

And so... all pretenses were dropped.

With killing intent, the Buddha Mother unleashed a palm strike, attacking every version of Lu Xuan across all of spacetime.

The great palm pressed down into the Qin Dynasty, targeting the Profound Yellow Emperor Venerable atop Taishan. The Old Nong looked up, but was immediately intercepted by hands reaching from an unknown place—the hands of the Demon Ancestor and Fu Xi. The Profound Yellow Emperor Venerable was obliterated into ash.

The Buddha’s Palm continued onward, striking toward the Spring and Autumn Period and cleaving down upon Luoyang. The Old Master stepped out, but the hands of the Demon Ancestor and Fu Xi reached out once more.

This time, the Old Master’s expression darkened, and he seemed to be growing angry. Above the River of Time, the Supreme Moral Heavenly Venerate decisively lifted the lid of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and an ancient hand was about to reach out!

The Demon Ancestor’s face changed. Bodhi’s scalp tingled. They both felt a threat of ultimate terror, and the hair on their bodies stood up one by one.

Fu Xi’s face also showed horror. He suddenly understood how one of his bodies had been completely annihilated by the Supreme!

"Teacher!"

Standing in the Great Heaven and Earth, Lu Xuan’s Primordial True Form glowed. His two eyes pierced through the River of Time, staring directly into Chaos as he shouted:

"You don’t have to risk everything!"

Lu Xuan knew that inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace was his teacher’s true body, a true and genuine Perfect Dao Fruit.

But the problem was, by refining artifacts for him and interfering with the natural order on several occasions, his teacher had already betrayed his own path and the principle of ’All Things Follow Nature’. He was on the verge of falling from his realm!

Now, with the final calamity approaching, the Supreme’s time was ending. He was already gradually declining toward the level of an ordinary Complete Dao Fruit. If he acted again, he would likely fall from his realm ahead of time!

The Supreme frowned but ultimately suppressed his anger, withdrawing his ancient hand back into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

At the same time, the Buddha Mother’s great hand shattered the Luoyang of the Spring and Autumn Years, slapping that version of Lu Xuan to death.

He continued to trace back through time, killing one version after another: through the Great Zhou, the Shang, the age of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the time when the Celestial Realm fell...

...all the way back to the most ancient of years. Buddha light shimmered as the great hand swept across the sky and crushed God Lu Xuan to death!

"All pasts have been extinguished."

The Buddha Mother opened his eyes and stared at Lu Xuan.

"Supreme Profound Clarity... No, I should call you Lu Xuan. Everything ends here."

The Buddha Mother used his full strength. Though he was covered in wounds from the Heaven-Opening Banner and the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, he had finally broken through the layers of Dao Fruit Great Artifacts and was about to annihilate Lu Xuan!

"Almost," Lu Xuan said faintly.

Then, with a single step, he walked into the future.

The Buddha Mother’s strike hit nothing but air.

Amitabha Buddha, who was in the middle of viciously beating down Yu Yu and Haotian, shot a fierce glance to the side. He could feel the momentum of heaven, earth, and humanity being continuously stolen by Lu Xuan.

Although the process was slow, the loss was real and tangible!

His heart sank, and he cried out:

"Fellow Daoist, help me! Help me!"

The call rose from below, pierced through the Years, and echoed throughout Chaos.

Beside the Dao Fruit Chessboard, the Purple Cloud Buddha Lord opened his eyes. He seemed to hesitate before finally making his decision:

"So be it."

As his voice fell, he reached his palm down. It drifted lightly into the River of Time and then, in the next moment, struck toward the future!

Lu Xuan’s face changed. Shaking the Heaven-Opening Banner, he hissed:

"You and I are both of the Sanqing Lineage! Why are you doing this?"

"Buddha and Dao must be balanced," the Purple Cloud Buddha Lord said indifferently. "Besides, I owe Fellow Daoist Amitabha a favor."

As his voice fell, the Purple Cloud Palace Master’s palm seized the future. While Haotian’s eyes widened in fury and Yu Yu watched with a strange gaze,

he simply crushed the very Lu Xuan that the Buddha Mother had been unable to defeat.

Lu Xuan’s true body exploded. His Soul and True Spirit were suppressed in the future. His head flew to the shattered Celestial Vault, his torso fell to the Earth, his four limbs plunged into the Nine Nether, and his life force drained away.

"Traitor!"

Haotian roared in fury, his heart turning cold. He wanted to strike at the Purple Cloud Palace Master, but he himself was slapped out of the sky by Amitabha Buddha’s palm!

"In the end..."

Amitabha Buddha let out a soft breath.

"I have won this round... You were all one step short. So close, yet so far."

He sent Yu Yu flying, knocked aside the Qing Ping Sword, and grabbed the Six Paths of Reincarnation!

His smile froze.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation, like a dream or an illusory bubble, slowly dissipated.

"It’s fake?"

Amitabha Buddha’s expression froze. He instinctively looked down toward the Nine Nether.

Lu Xuan’s four limbs had transformed into Nine Nether, who was clinging tightly to the real Six Paths of Reincarnation.

"This is where it ends."

Lu Xuan’s head, lying on the Celestial Vault, spoke calmly as it too transformed, becoming Supreme Profound Clarity.

He let out a breath and said faintly:

"Amitabha, do you know the meaning of... ’so close, yet so far’?"