Chapter 699 - 15: Assimilating the Three Realms, Qing Xuan Makes His Move

'Houtu' strolled into Purple Cloud Palace, looking down upon the unconscious Purple Cloud Palace Master and muttering to herself.

"Interesting. To fall unconscious here for no apparent reason... at this level of existence..."

She paused, yawned, and gave a charming smile.

"Well, well, perhaps this is..."

"...my chance."

As she spoke, 'Houtu' slowly concealed herself within the void, wary of the Purple Cloud Palace Master suddenly waking up. She reached out, using her Transcendent Trait of Body Transformation and her Path-Obtaining Skill.

One after another, avatars walked out from the void, each carrying a wisp of the Great Dao Origin. And then...

...they forced their way into the body of the Purple Cloud Palace Master.

"If you suddenly awaken, I will simply be fulfilling our agreement, gifting you eighty-four thousand Daos to help you with Integration Dao. But if you slumber until the integration is complete..."

'Houtu' licked her lips and stretched languidly, her eyes hazy.

"...then I will have gained another avatar..."

"Taiyi, how can you possibly fight me now?"

Years flowed by.

「Dao Calendar 30,000 Years: The demon monkey Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Celestial Realm. An enraged Supreme Laojun slammed down his palm, suppressing the demon monkey beneath a mountain.」

「Times changed. Three thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.」

"Sun Wukong."

"Who's there?"

The monkey pinned beneath Five Elements Mountain listlessly raised its head. It squinted and saw a Buddha slowly walking toward it.

"Who are you?"

it asked.

"My name is Merciful Ancient Buddha, and I come from Great Spirit Mountain," the visitor said.

"Great Spirit Mountain? Never heard of it!"

The Monkey spoke lazily.

"Spit it out. What do you want with me? What's this all about? Do I know you?"

Merciful Ancient Buddha chuckled and calmly explained,

"After Spirit Mountain's Buddhas turned to the Dao, Great Spirit Mountain became the new Buddhist Sect. The Venerable Lord is the Yuqing Fusheng Buddha Lord, and I am one of the twelve disciples under the Buddha Lord."

She paused, then continued,

"I have come to ask you: do you wish to be free of this colossal mountain?"

"Oh?"

Sun Monkey looked up, intrigued.

"Of course, I do... So tell me, what do you need Old Sun to do?"

Merciful Ancient Buddha recounted the tale of a journey to the West. She explained that Sun Wukong was to assist a scripture seeker on a pilgrimage to the depths of Chaos to retrieve the Celestial Scripture. If they succeeded, the merit would be immeasurable, and the blessings, infinite.

"Retrieve scriptures? In Chaos?"

Sun Monkey frowned, seeming a little dazed. He immediately shot back,

"Instead of going to your... what was it, Great Spirit Mountain... to get scriptures, you want me to run off to some damn Chaos? Are you nuts?"

Merciful Ancient Buddha raised her eyelids slightly and asked placidly,

"So, will you go or not?"

After a moment of thought, Sun Wukong nodded readily.

"I'll go. Why wouldn't I? You're Merciful Ancient Buddha, right? Just let Old Sun out of here first, and I'll be on my way..."

"The time is not right. Wait for the scripture seeker to release you."

After her airy remark, Merciful Ancient Buddha turned and left, leaving the Monkey trapped beneath Five Finger Mountain.

At the same time, Fu Xi frowned, confused.

'A journey to the depths of Chaos for scriptures? What are they up to?' But he couldn't be bothered to think too deeply about it. He silently activated his Transcendent Trait, and his form became illusory.

In the next instant, the departing Merciful Ancient Buddha froze in place. Her expression flickered uncertainly before returning to normal after a long moment.

Fu Xi Ancient Buddha muttered to himself.

'A little interesting. Was this the Goddess's order? A journey to the depths of Chaos for scriptures... Is this Lu Xuan's scheme? What is he planning?'

He paused, yawned, and continued his thoughts.

'Come to think of it, there's been no news of Lu Xuan for a long time. The final calamity is just around the corner. It's just a scripture retrieval. No matter the outcome, it won't make any big waves. Still, I should be careful...'

As he muttered to himself,

Fu Xi Ancient Buddha transformed back into Merciful Ancient Buddha and slowly walked toward Great Spirit Mountain, where he stayed for a night.

After that night, the former Twelve Immortals of Jade Void Palace, now the Twelve Ancient Buddhas of Great Spirit Mountain, gathered together. All wore expressions of mercy, their palms pressed together as they chanted Buddhist Scriptures.

The Twelve Buddhas sat facing one another, raised their eyes, and said in unison with a smile,

"And so, we wait."

Twelve Daluo Ancient Buddhas. Twelve Daluo Fu Xis.

'It's not enough.'

High above the Nine Skies, Fu Xi stretched.

'Caution must come first in all things. Even if victory is in my grasp, I must stop at nothing and allow for no mistakes...'

'Continue. Continue.'

He went to the Celestial Realm and, in the body of Haotian, preached the Dao for three days.

Three days later, peace reigned in the Celestial Realm. Immortals and gods alike moved with perfect accord, as if their minds were linked, as if they were all one person.

Another three days passed, and Fu Xi entered the Human World to meet with Xuandu.

Three days after that, all the Great Cultivators of the Human World's Dao Dynasty had become Fu Xi.

In the span of twelve days, from the heavens above to the earth below, every living being one could see was now 'Fu Xi'.

The Human World and the Celestial Realm continued to operate naturally. One being after another acted out their part in a grand play, weaving a tapestry of prosperity that resembled a flourishing golden age.

On the eighteenth day, Fu Xi entered the Underworld.

'Strange, Lu Xuan still hasn't appeared to stop me? Has he not noticed?'

Fu Xi yawned, his expression growing much more listless.

'It seems I overestimated Lu Xuan and Taiyi. They haven't seen through my ability of Body Transformation...'

His previous tension visibly eased.

In the past, Fu Xi had wondered if his Transcendent Trait had been discovered by the Goddess, Lu Xuan, or Taiyi. Now, it seemed that was not the case.

Across the entire Celestial Realm and the whole Human World, aside from those beings who might interact with the Goddess or play a key role in the journey to the West,

everyone had been 'replaced'.

Only the Underworld remained.

'Soon.'

Fu Xi silently crossed the Ghost Gate, passed through the City of Unjust Death, and arrived at Fengdu Hall.

"Who goes there?"

Sensing something, Earth Duke Fengdu abruptly looked up. The next moment, his head swam, and his consciousness grew faint, slowly fading away...

When he opened his eyes again, 'Emperor Fengdu' wore a smile. He casually strode out, stepping into the Main Hall of the Underworld, and in front of a confused Little Peach Spirit, he loudly proclaimed an edict:

"Relay my command! Summon the Five Ghost Emperors, the Ten Halls Yama, all the Judges, and the various divisions of the Ghost Department. Have them gather here. I shall preach the Dao."

Little Peach Spirit, who was now the noble Yin Celestial Son, nodded lightly, but was still somewhat puzzled.

"Grandpa Fengdu, why the sudden urge to preach the myriad Daos?"

"I had a sudden enlightenment and was overcome with joy. I wish to share it with all the beings of the Nine Nether."

"Okay!"

The edict was passed down. Soon, everyone from the Five Ghost Emperors and the Ten Halls Yama to the Grand Tutor of Northern Yin, Cao Cao, had gathered.

'Emperor Fengdu' sat cross-legged on the high seat and preached the wondrous Dao. When the sermon was over and the wondrous sounds faded, all the beings of the Nine Nether pressed their palms together, identical smiles appearing on their faces.

Little Peach Spirit was the exception.

"You..."

'Emperor Fengdu' glanced sideways, his gaze profound.

'Interesting...'

He struck with his palm. Caught completely off guard, Little Peach Spirit couldn't dodge in time and was slapped down into the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

'A Great Ban inside her body blocked my Body Transformation. Whose work is this? It seems there's another Fellow Daoist hidden quite deeply...'

'Emperor Fengdu' said, the smile on his face not diminishing in the slightest.

He raised his head, staring in the direction of Purple Cloud Palace, and calmly mused to himself.

'Of the eighty-four thousand Daos, seventeen thousand have been assimilated, yet Purple Cloud has not awakened... It seems he's in serious trouble. Is Taiyi in serious trouble as well?'

'It's getting more and more interesting. However...'

'Earth Duke Fengdu' standing in the Nine Nether, 'Human Lord Xuandu' standing in the Human World, and 'Celestial Lord Haotian' standing in the Celestial Realm,

suddenly all muttered the exact same words at the same time:

"Within this Great Heaven and Earth, who is not me?"

"Oh, Taiyi, Taiyi, you said everything was within your grasp... But now, at this very moment, how is everything not within mine?"

"Everything is within our grasp."

「Guangcheng Palace.」

Qing Xuan Daoist spoke softly.

"This is the only way to break the stalemate. The journey to the West to retrieve the scriptures can secure the Mandate of Heaven."

The Goddess sitting across from him said quietly,

"I still don't understand. Why send Sun Wukong to the depths of Chaos, to Purple Cloud Palace, to retrieve the scriptures?"

"I have already interfered more than enough. If I say or do any more, this only path to breaking the stalemate might be ruined."

As he spoke, Qing Xuan Daoist sighed, seeming very sad.

"You don't need to keep watching me. You cannot see... Rest assured, I am harmless."

"I know. And I believe you."

The Goddess nodded wearily, then suddenly asked,

"By the way, what exactly happened to Xiaoxuan?"

"Him..." Qing Xuan Daoist replied calmly. "Right now, Lu Xuan is caught between fortune and disaster. But whether it ends in fortune or disaster will depend on whether this 'scripture retrieval' can succeed."

"And if it succeeds?"

"If it succeeds, Lu Xuan may be able to achieve Integration Dao."

"And if it fails?"

"If it fails, then the whole game is lost."

Hearing this, the Goddess fell silent for a long time before finally asking,

"If Xiaoxuan achieves Integration Dao, can he break the stalemate?"

"Not necessarily. But if we are to break the stalemate, he *must* achieve Integration Dao."

The Goddess said no more. She gave Qing Xuan Daoist a deep look and turned to leave.

Before she left, her steps faltered slightly, and she spoke the exact same words the Blind Daoist had once said:

"All these years... it must have been hard on you."

"Me?"

Qing Xuan Daoist laughed freely.

"I'm fine."

With that, he closed his eyes and silently entered a state of meditative cultivation.

「Two thousand years later.」

"Just as you said, I've set up the Eighty-one Arrays around this Five Finger Mountain, shattering its Yuanrong. Is it enough?"

Tang Monk, the transformation of Sandalwood Merit Buddha, asked softly. His Taiyi Realm cultivation, equivalent to the Celestial Realms' level, was completely withdrawn, making him look as weak as an ordinary person.

The Monkey pinned under Five Finger Mountain looked up. Its eyes were brilliant, peering with divine splendor, as if two blazing suns were contained within.

It grinned, a smile on its lips.

"It is... Hey, Monk, you'd better back away a bit."

"Not far enough! Get further back, even further!"

"Alright, that's about right... Now!"

Sun Wukong roared, heaving his shoulders and shaking his body upward. The divine mountain collapsed.

「Dao Calendar 35,000 Years: The world went dark, the sun and moon dimmed, the earth cracked, and the divine mountain crumbled. The Great Saint was born into the world.」

「In the same year, the Saint Monk Xuanzang, accompanied by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, boarded a Treasure Raft. They sought the Six Paths, intending to travel to the Chaos Purple Cloud Palace in the heavens to obtain the True Scripture.」

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of Chaos, two beings still floated silently, deep in a coma. They had long since drifted away from that single candlelight, approaching the Celestial Myriad Realms in their slumber.

Lu Xuan was fast asleep, showing no signs of waking. As for Taiyi...

His eyelids trembled.