Chapter 714 - 27: The Eve of Enlightenment, Houtu Bows, Buddha Mother Kowtows, Haotian is Reverent

On the eve of the grand wedding.

Guangcheng Palace, in a quiet chamber.

Pangu Daoist wore a complicated expression as he sat across from the Mist Daoist, letting out a soft sigh.

After a long while, a mix of joy and sorrow on his face, he asked:

"What in the world... happened?"

He had seen some things from the Mist Daoist, but not the full picture. He knew who Qing Xuan was, where he came from, and even the loneliness and torment Qing Xuan had endured for over a hundred thousand years.

But he didn't know the specific events that had led to the current situation.

Qing Xuan smiled, the Great Sun and Taiyin faintly glowing within his eyes.

"S-Second... Second Master."

As he spoke the words, his lips trembled slightly. His mind flooded with memories, recalling the phrase, 'See you in the future.'

The future had not yet arrived, but he had met him in the past.

Pangu Daoist sighed deeply again and asked softly:

"Do you need your master's help?"

"There is no need. Everything is developing in a positive direction. I don't know if I will win or lose this final battle, but I have already done my best."

Qing Xuan lowered his head slightly.

"I think I'll be going back soon."

Pangu Daoist felt a sting in his nose, yet he was also gratified. 'This brat... he actually made it this far...'

After a long silence, he spoke softly:

"Before this final battle you speak of, let me, your master, stay by your side. How does that sound?"

"Master, there's no need. Doing so might attract unwanted attention..."

Qing Xuan looked up and bowed solemnly.

"Your disciple is confident."

Hearing this, Pangu Daoist said no more and simply nodded in silence. Master and disciple sat across from each other for a long, long time.

And so the night passed.

When dawn broke the next day, the grand wedding was about to begin. Pangu Daoist rose slowly, but then, as if remembering something, he asked tactfully:

"Later on, did that old coot find out?"

"He did."

Pangu Daoist's expression changed. He grew uneasy, his heart pounding with fear.

"Who got it the worst?"

Qing Xuan thought for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You and Three Masters... were both... about equally miserable."

The Daoist grimaced, scowled, and paced back and forth, restless with anxiety.

After a long while, he spoke resentfully:

"Supreme really is a nasty piece of work... Did he completely drop the charade? How ruthless was he?"

Qing Xuan hesitated for a moment. After sensing his surroundings and confirming that he wouldn't trigger the Era's backlash, he finally said:

"Master specially forged a Dao Fruit Great Artifact and named it..."

"The Dog-Beating Stick."

Pangu Daoist's eye twitched. He seemed to foresee the scene, and his expression turned somber as a chill ran down his spine.

After a long pause, he heaved a long sigh.

"Forget it. After all, we were the ones in the wrong first. I won't bicker with that old coot..."

Finally, Pangu Daoist added one more thing to Qing Xuan:

"It's not that I'm afraid of him or that I'm inferior to him! Among The Three Pristine Ones, I, your master, am the most honored. If I hadn't performed the Creation of Heaven and Earth, when would that Supreme ever have had the chance to act so fierce?"

Qing Xuan facepalmed in exasperation. 'Second Master is really something else...'

'He has to compete over everything?'

The master and disciple reminisced for a long time more, only leaving the quiet chamber together when the guests were about to arrive.

'Once a person in the scenery, now a spectator outside the painting...'

Gazing at the wedding affairs, Qing Xuan was a little dazed, but he accepted it calmly.

During the grand wedding,

he inevitably encountered Old Yan and Xiaoyan. The father and daughter were visibly stunned, having recognized Qing Xuan Daoist, but Old Yan quickly came to terms with it.

"So, you are the lord of the Guangcheng Daoist Palace..."

The Mist Daoist just gave a gentle smile.

"A turn of fate, that is all."

As the grand wedding concluded, Pangu Daoist helped him one last time before leaving.

"Do you really have to do this?"

"There is no creation without destruction. My Dao heart is still just a prototype; it must experience a 'great shattering' before it can be completed."

Qing Xuan said softly:

"So, Second Master, I'm counting on you."

Pangu Daoist nodded silently. He used the Beginning of All Things and the Cause of All Fruits to completely sever all of Qing Xuan's past.

The past was scattered.

The connection to Lu Xuan was severed.

From then on, he no longer recognized Lu Xuan, only knowing him as a fellow disciple of the Jade Void. He had also completely forgotten who he himself had been in the past.

He even forgot his three masters. In his eyes, The Three Pristine Ones were The Three Pristine Ones, but as for his own master...

'Where did I get a master?'

'Never had one, never had one.'

He knew what he had to do, but he no longer knew who he was.

When Qing Xuan Daoist opened his eyes again, he was bewildered yet free-spirited. Having severed all of his past, wisps of the true meaning of Transcendence actually began to appear on his body!

In the void, a door seemed to flicker in and out of existence, but it never fully solidified.

It was still missing something.

"Fellow Daoist Pangu, remember to give my regards to Fellow Daoist Supreme and Fellow Daoist Spirit Treasure."

Qing Xuan Daoist said faintly.

"Of course." Pangu Daoist bowed his head, his eyes slightly red. He exchanged a bow with Qing Xuan and departed in silence.

The Mist Daoist gazed at Pangu Daoist's retreating figure, slightly puzzled, and muttered to himself:

"That Fellow Daoist Pangu... feels very familiar."

This time, it wasn't that old friends didn't recognize him, but that he no longer recognized his old friends.

Qing Xuan walked back to Guangcheng Palace and sat down peacefully, contemplating the new wisps of the true meaning of Transcendence inside him.

"Interesting, interesting."

"This door... when can I push it open?"

The Daoist reached out, trying to touch the faint Door of Transcendence above his head, but he grasped at empty air. His palm passed right through it.

"Still not enough, still not enough."

Time flew by.

Ten years passed. The Great Heaven and Earth revived, and the Kongtong Immortal Realm went into seclusion.

"Grandpa Qing Xuan!" Two-year-old Lu Nian liked Grandpa Qing Xuan the most, because unlike her mean mommy, Grandpa Qing Xuan would never punish her.

The little girl came running and hopping, wailing dramatically:

"Grandpa Qing Xuan, Mommy's going to spank me again! She's a big meanie!"