Chapter 715 - 27: Eve of Enlightenment, Houtu Bows, Buddha Mother Kowtows, Haotian is Reverent

Little Lu Nian threw herself into the Daoist's arms. Behind her, Yan Jiangxue, chasing with a stick in hand, was huffing and puffing, grinding her teeth.

"You little brat, get over here and take your punishment! Running into your Daoist Qing Xuan's arms again?"

"I won't!" Little Lu Nian shrank into Qing Xuan's embrace and made a face at her mom.

However...

"You should listen to your mother."

Qing Xuan smiled. With a magnanimous gesture, he handed Little Lu Nian over, placing her right in front of Yan Jiangxue.

Yan Jiangxue was delighted. She gave a quick bow of thanks, then grabbed the stick and swung it viciously at Little Lu Nian. Wails and screeches echoed throughout Ancient Kongtong Mountain.

「Another year passed, and Lu Nian snuck out of the Kongtong Immortal Realm.」

「Several more years passed. A Supreme being arrived from the outside, descending upon Kongtong and bearing down on the Guangcheng Daoist Palace.」

'Interesting...'

Fu Xi smiled. Seeing Yan Jiangxue, a thought occurred to him: to replace and usurp this woman's existence. Henceforth, there would be no Yan Jiangxue, only Yan Xi.

"Fu Xi, you've crossed the line!"

From within Guangcheng Palace, Qing Xuan Daoist, enduring four great wounds, wearily berated him. With a stooped back, he slowly walked out.

Fu Xi was startled, retreating three steps. He stared intently at the Daoist shrouded in mists of Chaos and spoke in astonishment.

"It's you?!"

A look of confusion appeared on the Mist Daoist's face as he spoke lightly.

"You know me? Regardless, Fu Xi, you have truly gone too far."

Fu Xi's face paled, his heart pounding. The being before him was impossibly mysterious. His origins were indiscernible, and if one tried to gauge his vastness, one would see no end!

He chose to retreat, backing away step by step. The Mist Daoist did not stop him, but merely placed a Great Restriction within Xiaoyan's body to ensure she would not be "usurped" by Fu Xi in the future.

After so many years together, Qing Xuan had grown quite fond of her, treating her as one of his own juniors.

「Half a year later, the Kongtong Immortal Realm underwent its Ascension, arriving in the era of the Dao Dynasty.」

At that very same instant,

The Mist Daoist left Kongtong for the first time. In complete silence, he arrived at a hidden Celestial Palace.

'Fu Xi again...'

He stared at the "Houtu" within the Celestial Palace and frowned slightly. He had originally intended to take her Dao Fruit to gain enlightenment, only to discover that Houtu no longer existed.

'Where did she go?'

The Mist Daoist muttered to himself, his perception piercing through the past and future, observing all that was. With power comparable to a [Perfection] Dao Fruit, he was the strongest in this era, the absolute First under Heaven!

He scanned the mountains and rivers, looked down upon the Celestial Myriad Realms, and sorted through the past of the Years. Finally, as if sensing something, his gaze turned toward the abyssal Nine Nether, and he stared into its depths.

'I see.'

The Daoist smiled, having understood the whole story. He murmured to himself.

"So she has achieved Integration Dao? That's fine, too. That's fine..."

He gazed at the faint, indistinct figure within the origin of the abyssal Nine Nether. His expression solemn, he trod upon Chaos, walked past the sun and moon, stepped on Qingyun, and was accompanied by auspicious omens.

The tolling of a Golden Bell surrounded him, the future of All Realms rising and falling at his side. Unhurriedly, he walked into the Nine Nether, ascended to a higher level, and dissolved into the ineffable, indescribable place of its origin!

"Who are you?"

The true Houtu, having merged her body with the Nine Nether and now in a constant state of [Supreme Forgetting Emotions], raised her head. She stared at the newcomer without a trace of emotion and spoke coldly.

"Trespassing into the depths of the Nine Nether is a crime. You shall be punished."

As her words fell, Houtu, the Great Celestial Venerable, showed no hesitation, no pause. She executed a Slaughter Technique. At the movement of her slender, fair hands, the entire Nine Nether trembled as if a sleeping dragon, a slumbering lion, had awoken. The Great Dao converged, surging toward the Mist Daoist in a powerful assault!

Although Houtu had abandoned her true body and even her Dao Fruit, having achieved Integration Dao with the Nine Nether, she was—at least within the Nine Nether itself—no weaker than a top-tier being of [Enlightenment].

Facing Houtu's nearly earth-shattering strike, the Mist Daoist did not dodge or evade. He allowed her slender, fair hand, wielding the infinite power of the Nine Nether, to strike him.

The hand struck the Daoist's chest squarely, and a clang of metal on metal rang out. The Daoist stood unshaken, while the Nine Nether retreated three steps.

The Great Heaven and Earth was a single, complete entity. As the Nine Nether retreated, it naturally dragged the entire Great Heaven and Earth back with it.

The world trembled, mountains tore asunder, and the Earth hummed. The Underworld teetered on the brink of collapse. Emperor Fengdu was horrified beyond belief, looking around in a daze. Numerous Supreme Beings were alerted and tried to investigate, but aside from the Supreme, all of them found nothing!

The Mist Daoist was not an existence that could be spied upon by ordinary Dao Fruits.

"You are strong."

Houtu—who had severed all emotion, retained absolute reason, and regarded all of creation as straw dogs—stood with her hands behind her back. Her Ni Chang robes fluttered in the great storm of the Nine Nether, her jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall.

She looked down, coldly gazing at the Daoist in the mist. And then...

...she bowed her head and prostrated herself.

"I was unaware of Senior's arrival in the Nine Nether. What are your instructions?"

The perfectly rational Houtu knelt without hesitation, feeling no psychological burden whatsoever. She viewed dignity as worthless. After her Integration Dao, though she was called Houtu, she was more like the consciousness of the Nine Nether itself.

And the Nine Nether knew that the person before it could obliterate the entire, vast Nine Nether from its very source with a single slap, wiping it from existence. Thus, it rationally chose the optimal response.

The Mist Daoist looked at the cold woman kneeling before him, speechless for a long moment. He shook his head with a wry smile.

"So this is... Integration Dao?"

He sighed and calmly walked closer. Mists of Chaos flowed slowly around him, while the past, present, and future of all worlds rose and fell at his side, manifesting and reflecting countless realities.

The Mist Daoist spoke lightly.

"Houtu, I have not come to strike down the Nine Nether. I am merely here to ask for your teachings."

Houtu, now the will of the Nine Nether's origin, raised her head. Her pale face was devoid of expression as she spoke in the coldest possible tone.

"Whatever Senior instructs, I shall obey without fail."

"I wish to discuss the Dao with you."

"May I ask, Senior, which Dao shall we discuss?"

"The Dao Fruit Dao that you once cultivated."

As he spoke, Qing Xuan casually manifested two meditation cushions with his power of Creation. He took one and sat down, motioning for Houtu to take the other, but she refused.

The closer she got to the Mist Daoist, the more Houtu—or rather, the Great Dao of the Nine Nether—understood how terrifying he was. She could sense the immense power within Qing Xuan, a power capable of destroying everything.

Therefore, guided by absolute reason, she once again made the most correct choice.

"My status is lowly. How could I dare to sit and discuss the Dao with Senior? You may sit; I will kneel."

After speaking coldly, she remained in a kneeling bow, causing the entire Great Dao of the Nine Nether to kowtow with her. Then, with that same utter indifference, she began to fluently recount the Great Dao she had once cultivated.

Qing Xuan discussed it with her. This discussion lasted for three thousand years.

'I see, I see...'

The Mist Daoist turned to leave, a fifth great wound now apparent on his body. His steps were a little unsteady, and he coughed violently, yet his face was beaming with a smile.

His understanding of the [Dao] had become three-tenths more complete.

'Three more times,' he thought, 'and it should be complete.'

With a brilliant smile, Qing Xuan departed from the Nine Nether. Houtu kowtowed to see him off. After the Daoist had completely disappeared, Houtu, acting out of absolute reason and for the sake of her future safety...

...created a memorial tablet within the origin of the Great Dao of the Nine Nether. On it, she cast the Form of the Mist Daoist, and she kowtowed to it once every day.

"If I do this, he will surely not destroy me," Houtu said coldly, kowtowing deeply.

.........

"Three more to go, three more to go..."

The Mist Daoist gazed at the burst of light from Huaguo Mountain, watching the scene of the Stone Monkey's birth, and waited quietly.

「Many years passed.」

The Daoist watched Lin Lingsu enter Spirit Mountain, watched him change Buddhism into Daoism, and watched him suppress the Buddha Mother with a single slap. He seemed to sense something.

"It's time, it's time."

He smiled and walked into the origin of the Great Dao of Time. There, another figure had appeared.

"Who goes there?"

The Buddha Mother, now the will of Time itself, spoke flatly, her tone without inflection or fluctuation. With the point of a finger, a torrent of Time surged forward.

The Mist Daoist gave a light wave of his hand. With no other visible action, the torrent of Time collapsed, and cracks appeared on the Great Dao of Time itself.

The Buddha Mother looked up, then bowed her head and prostrated herself.

"I was unaware of Senior's grand arrival. What are your instructions?"

The Mist Daoist was silent. After a long while, he murmured with a sigh...

"This is... actually quite convenient."

After another three thousand years of discussing the Dao, he left, satisfied.

"Two more to go, two more..."

Muttering to himself, Qing Xuan walked into the fundamental place of Heaven, into the source of the [Celestial Dao]'s very existence. With the experience of the previous two encounters, he decisively threw out a slap.

HUMMM!

The [Heavenly Dao Origin] trembled violently. A certain Haotian, who had achieved Integration Dao with Heaven, decisively prostrated himself.

"I was unaware of Senior's arrival. What are your instructions?"

"Nothing much. Let's just discuss the Dao."

Another three thousand years passed. As Qing Xuan left the Heavenly Dao Origin, he hesitated for a moment before leaving behind a final sentence.

"Haotian, this is not how you are meant to perform Integration Dao."

The expressionless Haotian tilted his head and replied without a second thought.

"Everything you say is correct."

He did not question any of Qing Xuan's words. This was not cowardice, nor was it fear—Haotian had no such emotions. It was simply the most correct choice made from a state of absolute reason.

Qing Xuan sighed and departed.

"Now..."

"Only the last one remains."

He looked up, gazing above the Years. The Supreme was unleashing his might, striking down all the Supreme Beings. Bodhi, feigning death and fleeing in disarray, ran into Fu Xi.

The Mist Daoist simply watched as Bodhi, too, achieved Integration Dao.

"I shall..."

Bearing seven great wounds, Qing Xuan Daoist spoke lightly, muttering to himself.

"I shall achieve Enlightenment."

Saying this, he did not rush to find the Bodhi who had achieved Integration Dao. He merely tilted his head.

"Before Enlightenment, I must first comprehend my true Self."