Free Web NovelChapter 495: Chapter 110: Tomb-Sweeping, the Last Afterglow of the Era (Part 2)
"I saw that being once, over one hundred thousand years in the future. The Demon Ancestor clashed with the Goddess born from Wa Huang’s remains. A great chaos erupted, fought until the Years themselves fractured, forming a celestial chasm. The battle raged until the Dharma-Ending Age descended..."
Liu Bang, standing to the side, prudently sealed his six senses, while Lu Xuan’s expression grew solemn.
"The Demon Ancestor..."
He recalled the scene from that day: a jet-black long spear descending from the sky, piercing the Lady’s chest. His two masters, enraged, had ascended to the heavens to confront the foe.
Elder Haotian’s expression had changed drastically as he supported the Lady and made a hasty retreat...
Lu Xuan remembered with perfect clarity that not even a Dao Fruit could harm the Lady’s body. And yet, that Demon Ancestor...
His heart tightened. After a moment of silence, he continued his questions:
"By the way, what happened during the fifteen thousand years I was dead? Why did Zheng’Er, Yan Huang, and Little Peach Spirit all disappear?"
Kunpeng’s expression grew even more somber.
"I don’t know the specifics. I only saw the Maitreya Buddha Mother appear, intending to capture them all. At the critical moment, Shakyamuni Buddha intervened and battled the Buddha Mother."
"And then?"
"After that, a great tide of the Years, seemingly sweeping in from twenty-five thousand years in the future, swept them all away. The strange thing is..."
An expression of utter disbelief appeared on Kunpeng’s face.
"That great tide clearly came from twenty-five thousand years in the future, yet when I looked at that point in time, I couldn’t find the slightest trace of it. I peered across many different Years and spacetimes, and in the end, all I saw was a hazy shadow, a layer of mist!"
He did his best to describe it:
"The mist was very indistinct, and it felt like... another, completely new Ancient History! One that is currently happening, is about to happen, and has already happened, all at once!"
Lu Xuan’s pupils contracted slightly. He fell into thought, a rough idea beginning to form in his mind.
He asked again,
"Besides the great tide, did you see anything else, Fellow Daoist?"
"Well..."
Kunpeng said, uncertain,
"I think I saw seven great lamps... and a courtyard full of peach blossoms!"
Lu Xuan nodded lightly. ’Another Ancient History... Could it be the timeline woven by my Second and Third Masters?’
’From what I know, the history my two masters wove is ultimately illusory. It’s anchored to me, but it has not yet become real.’
’A Daluo is eternal and unified; they experience only the original history, so naturally, they cannot perceive that illusory layer...’
’Twenty-five thousand years from now.’
Lu Xuan silently calculated, thinking,
’The destiny of the Han Dynasty lasts forty thousand years. It has now been fifteen thousand years. So, twenty-five thousand years from now will be the exact moment the Han Dynasty comes to an end?’
’If I recall correctly, that period of history is...’
Kunpeng, at his side, interjected,
"Speaking of the Human World, that would be the time of the Late Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Wei. I have some recollection of that period; it produced many Immortal Gods."
"Oh? Such as?" Lu Xuan asked with curiosity.
"For example, there was a man named Guan Yu, who later became an Emperor of the Celestial Court, titled Lord Guan. There was also a man named Cao Cao, who entered the Netherworld and became the Grand Tutor of Fengdu, known as the Grand Tutor of Northern Yin."
Kunpeng said with a smile,
"Though they’re just little guys, they were quite remarkable, which is why I remember them. But now, with the fall of the Four Directions Celestial Court, the Celestial Court itself is gone. It’s hard to say if these little guys will rise to prominence as they did in the original history..."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and said,
"By the way, Profound Yellow, the Celestial Realm, the Human World, and the Netherworld are all interconnected. The Human World has its Human King, the Netherworld has its Yin Celestial Son. If the Celestial Court remains without a Celestial Emperor for too long, the Great Heaven and Earth might run into problems. Do you want to become the Celestial Emperor? This is an opportunity!"
"Me?"
Lu Xuan smiled, waved his hand dismissively, and sighed softly.
"Throughout all of history, there have been four Celestial Emperors, haven’t there? The first was devoured by Taiyi. The ones who followed—Taiyi, Elder Haotian, and Lu Ya—all fell from that throne. I feel the position of Celestial Emperor is cursed. I’ll pass."
Kunpeng was taken aback for a moment, then his expression shifted.
"Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case... The Immortal Mother and the Four Extremes have also vanished. This means the new emperor of the Celestial Court will most likely be a puppet..."
"The Immortal Mother and the others have vanished as well?"
Lu Xuan’s brow furrowed.
"Were they also swept away by that great tide of the Years from twenty-five thousand years in the future?"
He was puzzled. ’No wonder I couldn’t sense their auras after I emerged from the Immortal Slaying Sword Array...’
"No." Kunpeng shook his head, a look of fear on his face. "They were taken away by the Maitreya Buddha Mother. The Maitreya Buddha Mother serves the Demon Ancestor..."
Lu Xuan’s expression darkened, and he immediately asked,
"The Buddha Mother serves the Demon Ancestor?"
"Yes. The Maitreya Buddha Mother is not the original Maitreya, but an Innate Divine Demon, one who belongs to the Demon race. After the Journey to the West, she swallowed Maitreya whole."
"Then, during the great calamity that erupted when Haotian fell, she seized half a Dao Fruit."
Hearing this, Lu Xuan’s brows knitted together tightly. ’The Demon Ancestor again...’
’Who in the world is this Demon Ancestor?’
’Why would she fight the Lady?’
’There’s no record of her in the Dao Fruit, so how was she able to injure the Lady?’
’It just doesn’t make any sense!’
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Kunpeng and asking many questions, Lu Xuan bid him farewell. With Liu Bang in tow, he traveled first to the East Sea and then to the Netherworld to question the Ancestral Dragon and Fengdu.
The answers he received were identical to Kunpeng’s.
Finally, he journeyed to Taishan. The thatched cottage was empty; Old Nong was nowhere to be found.
"Come on, let’s tidy the place up."
Lu Xuan had Liu Bang help him repair the thatched cottage and till the overgrown fields. The two of them settled there, living day after day.
「In the 3,700th year after the fall of the Celestial Court.」
The Thirty-Three Celestial Realms began to glow brightly. It seemed a new emperor was about to ascend the throne.
’Is... a mortal?’
Inside the thatched cottage, Lu Xuan looked toward the Celestial Realm, somewhat astonished. The new Celestial Emperor was actually a mortal?
’After the fall of the Four Extremes Celestial Court, the Central Celestial Court is incomplete. Even if a new Celestial Emperor takes the throne, they can no longer obtain an Illusory Dao Fruit from the position. Naturally, no powerful beings would bother fighting for it anymore.’
’But for a mortal to serve as Celestial Emperor is still rather absurd. It seems it’s just as Kunpeng predicted: the Immortals and Buddhas have propped up a puppet Celestial Emperor.’
’Observing his Cause and Effect, this emperor-to-be has the surname Zhang and the given name Bairen.’
’Zhang Bairen, is it?’
’My Dao is about to fully form in the next few days, and Houtu’s method for tearing through the Years has become mostly clear to me...’
Muttering to himself, Lu Xuan set down his hoe and turned to the side.
"I will likely only remain in this era for two or three more days. I’m preparing to take care of a few last loose ends. You are free to leave, or you can remain here in seclusion."
Liu Bang bowed deeply.
"I bid you a safe journey, Emperor Venerable."
"Mm." Lu Xuan sighed softly. "If I do return, it will likely be at the end of the Han Dynasty. If we are fated to, we shall meet again then."
With that, he put on the Bronze Mask and sighed once more.
’I wonder what my [Dao] will turn out to be. The answer will be revealed in the next two days.’
’Ah, Senior Brother Zhang...’
Lu Xuan thought of Senior Brother Zhang’s small burial mound, his gaze turning profound.
’Time to settle the score with some of the Little Immortal Gods. Cui Yin also seems to be in the Celestial Court... the last [Future Person] stranded in this era...’
With that, he took a light step and ascended toward the heavens.
"A Celestial Emperor is ascending the throne. I suppose I should at least go and watch. I just wonder... do all the Immortals and Buddhas in the heavens still fear me?"
*(I’ll finish this volume today and start a new one tomorrow.)*
