Chapter 643 - 64: Lord of Heaven and Earth, Punching Bodhi, Striking the Demon Ancestor

Chapter 643: Chapter 64: Lord of Heaven and Earth, Punching Bodhi, Striking the Demon Ancestor

"The fundamental destiny of the Great Heaven and Earth has been set in motion."

The Demon Ancestor stared at the scene unfolding within the River of Time, watching the monkey break free from the stone as if hatching from a shell. He spoke lightly:

"It seems Lu Xuan and the others did not replace the person central to this tribulation..."

Beside him, the Buddha Mother mused:

"Is the great tide of destiny still centered on the monkey this time? But I see the other secondary roles have been replaced. Could a Dao Fruit incarnation have slipped past our notice among them?"

"Don’t worry,"

The Ancient Bodhi Buddha replied with a smile:

"I have perceived the entire sequence of events. Golden Cicada, Tianpeng, Rolling Curtain, and White Dragon are merely retracing the Journey to the West; they haven’t been replaced by incarnations of Lu Xuan, The Three Pristine Ones, or the others."

The Buddha Mother narrowed her eyes:

"Then should we..."

"Let’s not consider that for now. They are merely supporting characters, after all. Everything still depends on the monkey. If he ultimately becomes the Fighting Celestial Venerable, we lose. If he becomes the Victorious Fighting Buddha, *they* lose."

The tribulation of the Journey to the West was a struggle between the Daoist Sect and the Buddhist Sect, and the turning point of destiny hinged on the Stone Monkey left behind by Wa Huang.

If the Stone Monkey leaned toward the Daoist Sect, great fortune would fall upon them. If he leaned toward the Buddhist Sect, then the Buddhist Sect would prosper greatly...

As for the others, like Tang Monk, they were merely secondary characters whose only role was to ’guide’.

During the initial, the very first Great Tribulation of the Journey to the West,

The Celestial Court had not yet declined and was also among the contenders. Tang Monk guided the monkey toward the Buddhist Path, Zhu Bajie guided him toward the Daoist Sect, and Sha Wujing guided him toward the Celestial Court...

The result, of course, was that Sun Monkey attained Buddhahood, the Buddhist Path flourished, and the Daoist Sect fell into a great decline.

In the countless iterations of Ancient History, the countless previous Journeys to the West, only those at the Daluo level descended to interfere. This time, however, was the final contest before the ultimate calamity. The stakes were too high—the Dao Fruit themselves had entered the game!

They had to take it seriously.

At this moment, the Buddha Mother also looked toward the Great Heaven and Earth:

"Now that you mention it, since all of us have entered the fray this time, the secondary characters aren’t as important... Oh? Fellow Daoist Lu has shown himself. It’s his first time attending the court assembly. Could this cause a complication?"

"We need only watch quietly," the Demon Ancestor said calmly, taking a sip of tea. "Lu Xuan’s rise was too swift; he is ultimately too young. There’s no need to pay him too much mind. Just let Taiyi deal with him. Our focus must remain on The Three Pristine Ones!"

"But..."

The Buddha Mother wanted to speak but stopped herself, ultimately saying nothing.

’She was thinking, the recent grand scheme of things, Houtu’s fall from grace, Amitabha’s failure on the very cusp of success... Wasn’t it all because of that Fellow Daoist Lu?’

’Does he really not warrant our attention?’

.........

Chu Tiancheng had ascended from a Great Realm. Before arriving, he had been the strongest expert in his Great Realm’s long history.

At five, he possessed the strength of one hundred thousand jin. At fourteen, he single-handedly carved a bloody path through an entire Royal City. All his contemporaries could only watch his retreating back in awe.

At twenty-three, he suppressed an ancient Holy Land all by himself, sweeping aside all foes and gazing down upon the world with disdain.

By the age of thirty-seven, he had purged all the Forbidden Lands and restricted zones in the world, earning him the title ’First Person in Ancient History’.

By his hundredth birthday, he had truly become the [First Person]. Throughout the entire Ancient History of that Great Realm, none could stand as his equal.

Then, at one hundred thousand years of age, he was struck by a sudden insight and underwent Ascension to a supreme world. Relying on his heaven-defying talent that dwarfed all other beings and his genius that transcended eras,

he toiled in this supreme world for another twenty thousand years, and finally...

...he became a minor official of the Ninth Grade in the Dao Dynasty.

’Even though it was only the Ninth Grade, at least he was an official. He looked at the other chosen prodigies and Saintesses who had ascended around the same time; many of them were still serving as mere grunts...’

’Indeed, his talent was unmatched across the ages. It was just that this supreme world...’

’...had countless ’ages,’ and countless ’unmatched people.’ ’

Chu Tiancheng clicked his tongue, reined in his thoughts, and looked at the colleague beside him. She was a woman who had also ascended, originating from another Ancient Realm,

and was apparently the Supreme Empress of that realm. She was exceptionally skilled at slaughter. Rumor had it she had instilled such terror in her Ancient Realm that she could crush an entire Divine Dynasty with a single hand.

Even after her Ascension, she remained quite remarkable, now holding a position of the Ninth Grade—a truly prominent status!

Chu Tiancheng asked in a low voice:

"Old Yu, why did the higher-ups summon us to the Emperor Capital today?"

Yu Qiushui gave an aloof shake of her head and lifted her eyelids slightly:

"How would I know? Matters like this aren’t for people like you and me to ask about. Just watch and listen quietly."

Chu Tiancheng shrugged and followed the stream of people toward the center of the Emperor Capital. Utterly bored, he glanced aside and remarked with a sigh:

"Are all the officials from every region here? I took a quick look, and there must be more than ten billion of them. What a massive crowd..."

He paused, as if recalling his past years of glory, and sighed again.

"Back in the day, I was the master of an entire realm, with talent unmatched through the ages. Who would’ve thought I’d end up as a complete nobody, just one face in an endless crowd..."

Yu Qiushui curled her lip and spoke lazily:

"Oh, give me a break. If that person hadn’t taken a liking to you, do you think you’d be in a Ninth Grade position? You wouldn’t even be qualified to be one of the countless faces here!"

Chu Tiancheng laughed happily:

"It was fate. I was assigned to feed Mansion Master Chen’s horses, and I happened to do a decent job. He praised me a couple of times, and that was my stroke of luck!"

While speaking, his sharp eyes spotted a familiar figure. He was somewhat stunned and hurriedly walked forward:

"Mansion... Mansion Master Chen? Why are you here as well?"

Yu Qiushui glanced over as well, her expression shifting slightly. It was the immensely powerful and high-ranking Mansion Master Chen, yet he too was walking among the crowd, one step at a time!

The dignified old man known as Mansion Master Chen glanced aside. He stared at Chu Tiancheng for a long moment before finally recalling who he was and giving a slight nod.

"You’re... Xiaochu, aren’t you? Hmm, I suppose this is fate. Come, join me in paying homage."

"Pay homage?"

Chu Tiancheng was bewildered. ’Pay homage... to whom?’

’He could understand it for himself, but Mansion Master Chen was a truly great personage who governed an entire prefecture. His status was terrifyingly high, yet he also had to go... pay homage?’