A young man strode out from the darkness, looking only in his thirties, dressed in capable, dark teal robes. Behind his head hovered an elliptical cave abyss.
The power of that cave abyss was astonishing, permeated with unfathomably profound Dao power, while several distinct Dao scenes drifted within it.
Two or three of these Dao scenes were similar to those of the Realm of the Great Void, but the rest were entirely different from the Ten Scenes of the Great Void, presumably belonging to another Supreme cultivation method.
Xu Ying sized up this youthful Supreme from head to toe, thinking, "Is he the master of the Returning Dao Jade Platter?"
The Returning Dao Jade Platter was the first Supreme treasure he had ever encountered, containing within it a strand of the Qi of Creation capable of creating all things.
In recent times, this treasure's first appearance had been in the Yuanshou World, where Perfected Thousand Illusions, under orders from the Eastern King, intended to revive the ancient Demon Clan within the sun to destroy the Yuanshou World and fabricate the illusion of a Demon Realm invasion.
Even prior to that, the Eastern King had been fanning flames far and wide, using the Returning Dao Jade Platter to awaken the Heaven and Earth Great Daos of the ancient era everywhere, and even reviving the Four Saints of the Northern Pole from antiquity, thereby fabricating public outcry about the Immortal Emperor's loss of virtue while throwing the lower realms into turmoil and stirring up incidents.
The Eastern King's goal was to use the Tide of the Three Realms to force his father to abdicate and yield the throne to the worthy—truly filial piety at its finest.
Xu Ying smiled and asked, "How should I address Brother Dao?"
Over this period, his progress had been remarkable; he was already able to open his mouth and speak human speech like a normal person.
Naturally, he could also unleash Dao weeping if he wished, and with even greater ferocity than before.
The young man hastened to smile. "I wouldn't dare. This humble hermit's worldly name is inconvenient to share; because I am quite versed in the arts of creation, others honor me as the Creation Supreme."
Xu Ying gestured for him to be seated, took a seat himself, and had Ming Wangsun and Old Zang Jingming stand behind him for protection. He remarked, "Creation Supreme? Anyone entitled to be called a Supreme must be a being of the Supreme Realm."
Creation Supreme chuckled. "Merely a modest attainment, hardly worth mentioning."
Xu Ying looked deeply at him. Creation Supreme's method of utilizing his cave abyss differed from his own: Creation Supreme concealed his scenes of the Great Dao inside the cave abyss, whereas Xu Ying harbored his within his bodhimanda.
"Perhaps I have been using my scenes of the Great Dao incorrectly. Concealing the Dao scenes within a cave abyss is the proper approach."
This thought flickered through Xu Ying's mind, and he immediately smiled. "Brother Dao's voice sounds rather familiar; I believe I've heard it before."
Creation Supreme was surprised. "For the past several hundred thousand years, I have been trapped within the Mortal Realm and have never left. How could Fellow Daoist have heard my voice?"
Xu Ying pondered briefly. He had likely heard Creation Supreme's voice in the memories of Little Martial Uncle Yunhai of the Shangqing Ancestral Court.
Among the figures standing alongside Qingxuan in Yunhai's memories, Creation Supreme must have been one of them.
"I must have remembered wrong," Xu Ying smiled. "Just now, Brother Dao mentioned being an old acquaintance of mine, which reminded me of an incident. Back then in Weixu, I used your Returning Dao Jade Platter to evade the Eastern King's divine calculation, only to have my physical body and treasures dissolved by the Qi of Creation, though I also relied on that Qi of Creation to restore them."
Hearing him bring up this matter, Creation Supreme chuckled. "It was precisely then that you and I formed our karmic bond of goodwill."
Back then, all of Xu Ying's treasures had been assimilated by the Qi of Creation inside the Returning Dao Jade Platter. Once Xu Ying reconstructed his physical body, he reached into the jade platter and visualized his treasures, pulling out one treasure after another as if from a cornucopia.
He had grown greedy at the time, visualizing the Diamond Snare in hopes of creating another one with the jade platter, only to be rejected. Only then did he realize that the master of the Returning Dao Jade Platter was still alive, and he did not dare harbor greedy designs upon the treasure.
Later, the platter had fallen into the hands of Ning Qing, the son of Heavenly Venerable Ning Zhong.
Xu Ying seemed slightly disgruntled and feigned annoyance. "Hardly a bond of goodwill. When I retrieved my treasures from the Returning Dao Jade Platter back then, I ended up short by one—a jade flask containing a miniature heaven and earth within, capable of taking in all things."
Hearing this, Creation Supreme smiled. "What is so difficult about that?" With that, he grasped at thin air, and a jade flask appeared in his hand, virtually identical to the one Xu Ying had lost back then!
Jingming and Ming Wangsun exchanged glances, their expressions solemn. Even they in their former days could not have accomplished such a feat of creating matter from nothingness!
This person's mastery of creation was unfathomable—truly extraordinary!
Setting the jade flask before Xu Ying, Creation Supreme smiled. "Can it count as a bond of goodwill now?"
Xu Ying's expression softened slightly. "It can pass as one, barely. For what purpose has Brother Dao sought me out?"
Creation Supreme turned solemn. "I have come to save your life!"
Xu Ying remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Creation Supreme continued, "Through the Returning Dao Jade Platter serving as my eyes and ears, I have heard a little of Fellow Daoist Xu's deeds. You cultivated ten cave heavens and astonished the world, but in truth, you have already fallen under the Immortal Emperor's control, your life hanging by a thread! The current Immortal Emperor is thoroughly unpardonable and evil, ready to harvest your life at any moment!"
Xu Ying's expression did not change; he remained as still as a stone.
Creation Supreme tilted his head in thought, testing the waters: "Does Fellow Daoist already know the Immortal Emperor intends to harvest you?"
Xu Ying gave a slight nod. "Tell me something I don't know, Brother Dao."
Creation Supreme's face turned serious. "I have come with a request. Over these years in the darkened Mortal Realm, though I have preserved myself, I could not avoid the intrusion of the Dao weeping and contamination by the Heaven and Earth Great Dao here. Having heard that Fellow Daoist has set up an altar to lecture on the Dao and teach the Zang here, I presumed you possess divine abilities capable of expelling the influence of the Dao weeping and alien Dao from me."
Xu Ying was surprised. "You want me to refine away the effects of the Dao weeping and alien Dao for you? Aren't you afraid I might tamper with you during the process?"
He remarked indifferently, "Back then, when I fell into the Returning Dao Jade Platter and my physical body was dissolved by your Qi of Creation, hands were laid upon me when that Qi reconstructed my flesh. An eye for an eye—that would only be natural, wouldn't it?"
He had never believed the Creation Supreme sitting across from him was any kind of benevolent soul.
After learning the Flawless Golden Body from Daoist Wukong, Xu Ying had discovered that when the Qi of Creation remade a body, a backdoor was almost certainly left behind—an extraordinarily treacherous trap where one's very life might be held in someone else's palm!
However, he lacked deep study in the Dao of Creation and did not know whether his suspicion was true. Only by using the Flawless Golden Body to refine away that Qi of Creation within him had he escaped any possibility of control.
Now that he had met Creation Supreme in person, he naturally wanted to test and bluff him.
Creation Supreme looked unperturbed and chuckled, "So Fellow Daoist blames me for that! Allow me to apologize!"
Xu Ying felt a chill in his heart: *There really was a backdoor!*
Creation Supreme rose to his feet and bowed deeply toward Xu Ying, saying, "Back then, I was far away in the darkened Mortal Realm, powerless to control the situation. Sensing that your aptitude and comprehension were extraordinary, far surpassing the Eastern King's, I had the thought to nurture you. Yet fearing you might spiral beyond control, I left behind a backdoor. Fortunately, no grave catastrophe came of it. I beseech Fellow Daoist to forgive me!"
Xu Ying's expression softened slightly, and he stood up. "Brother Dao, there is no need for this. Please rise."
Creation Supreme smoothly stood up, and the two took their seats once more. Creation Supreme sighed, "Though I saw back then that you were bound for greatness, even with my discerning eye, how could I have predicted today? That day, I sought to manipulate your life, yet today, I come begging a favor of you. I am truly mortified."
His words were earnest and brimming with sincerity.
Yet Xu Ying merely listened and let it pass.
Creation Supreme was a being of the Supreme Realm—such figures were rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns, and his strength far exceeded Xu Ying's own.
He was only offering pleasing words because he needed a favor. If Xu Ying let himself be swept away by flattery, that would be sheer stupidity.
Xu Ying asked, puzzled, "Brother Dao is a Supreme Realm existence. Why have you ended up in the darkened Mortal Realm?"
Seeing that Xu Ying did not pursue the previous topic, Creation Supreme could only let it drop and said, "Back then, after Brother Dao Qingxuan passed away, the Immortal Court was still rife with slaughter, intrigue, and power struggles. We could share hardships, but we could not share prosperity—everything devolved into utter chaos."
Xu Ying smiled. "I heard that when you rebelled back then, you held lofty ideals and ambitions to overthrow the Last Lord and bring well-being to all living souls, not to seek wealth and glory. Why then did you fight to the death over spoils and status? Isn't that laughable?"
Creation Supreme said solemnly, "Fellow Daoist speaks the truth. I could not bear to watch it either, and so I was ostracized. Fellow Daoists who once thought as one and pulled their strength in the same direction suddenly turned into strangers, even launching bloody slaughters against us. Forced into a corner, I had no choice but to feign death to escape, losing my treasure, the Returning Dao Jade Platter, in the process."
He sighed, "I wished only to stay far from the strife and find a quiet haven, but vast as the world was, there was no place left for me. After long deliberation, I resolved to exile myself, and thus I arrived in the darkened Mortal Realm."
Xu Ying nodded gently.
Behind him, Ming Wangsun could not help chuckling. "Teacher, what he means is that he fought for power and profit with his former comrades, lost, and had to fake his death. But after faking his death, he discovered his rivals were determined to seize the chance to send him to his actual grave. With nowhere to hide, he fled to the darkened Mortal Realm."
Creation Supreme's face shifted slightly.
Xu Ying coughed. "Silence. Brother Dao Creation, please take no offense. This is my unworthy disciple, rather blunt and outspoken."
Creation Supreme's composure returned, and he smiled. "Though your esteemed disciple didn't guess entirely correctly, he is eighty or ninety percent right."
Xu Ying laughed heartily. "Brother Dao is a frank and straightforward person; that suits my tastes well. May I ask Brother Dao, how did Qingxuan die back then?"
Creation Supreme's gaze flickered, and he smiled. "Are you of Qingxuan's lineage, looking to avenge him?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "I am not of Qingxuan's lineage, but rather of the Yuxu lineage. I am merely curious about his death; please don't misunderstand."
Creation Supreme fell silent for a moment before speaking: "Brother Dao Qingxuan was a figure of extraordinary charisma. He was one of the rebel leaders, and many followed him because of that. Aside from him, there were other rebel leaders, and I was one of them. We all addressed each other as Fellow Daoists."
He spoke unhurriedly, recounting that piece of history.
After the Emerald Rock flew away, the Dao weeping erupted from within the cave abysses, sweeping across the cosmos. The Heaven and Earth Great Daos of the ancient Earth Immortal Realm were destroyed. Year after year of natural disasters and human atrocities followed; the people had no means of livelihood, starved corpses filled the wilderness, and dead bodies lay scattered across the land.
The Netherworld became packed to bursting with ghostly spirits, yet even the Ten Yama Kings of the Netherworld were affected by the Dao weeping and could barely fend for themselves—how could they spare the mind to manage the mortal realm of the living? Consequently, the Yang realm swarmed with wandering spirits and wild ghosts; the Yin and Yang realms blended into one chaotic mess.
Under the impact of the Dao weeping, the various major Dao sects and ancestral courts retreated into isolation, each sweeping only the snow from their own doorstep while paying no heed to the affairs of the world.
The one presiding over the Immortal Court was Emperor Haocang—later known as the Last Lord, Emperor Ai. To secure his own rule, Emperor Haocang seized the opportunity to purge the court, eliminating anyone capable of threatening him.
The Immortal Court was rotten, locked in perpetual factional infighting and power struggles.
As for the livelihood of the common folk, the immortal officials could barely protect themselves—how could they spare a glance for the realm below?
Daoist Qingxuan emerged from seclusion, seeking to deliver the common people and awaken more cultivators to aid the world. Yet he could neither make the ancient Dao sects and ancestral courts relinquish their vested interests, nor make the Immortal Court give up the benefits already in their grasp.
"For those who have already secured their interests, ceding even a portion of those gains for the sake of the world is more agonizing than killing them."
Recalling the past, Creation Supreme shook his head. "Qingxuan realized that it was not only the Immortal Court that was corrupt; even the Dao sects and ancestral courts were rotten to the core. Rebellion was the only path left. It was under these circumstances that he betrayed and left the Shangqing Ancestral Court. Among those who rose in revolt with him at that time was myself. He came from the Shangqing Dao Sect, while I came from Xuandu Yujing, studying under Great Dao Lord Xuhuang."
This cohort of hot-blooded youths had gathered together to overthrow the decay and forge a way out for the common people.
"Qingxuan was too idealistic," Creation Supreme said. "His heart was devoted entirely to the world; he possessed almost no selfish motives. But not everyone was as selfless as he. When we achieved success and renown, everyone unanimously supported him as the new dynasty's Immortal Emperor. He truly possessed the right qualifications: after all, he fought the hardest to overthrow the old dynasty, rendering the greatest and most numerous contributions. The Supreme Realm was also pioneered by him; only by learning from him could the rest of us achieve the Supreme Realm. His faction was the largest and had the most followers; though we too commanded considerable factions, none could match his. His strength was also the greatest among us. Everyone was convinced by his ascension to Immortal Emperor."
Xu Ying's throat felt dry; he coughed to moisten it.
Creation Supreme continued, "Yet, he was too idealistic."
He shook his head and said, "After Qingxuan became the Immortal Emperor, he demanded that all cave abysses be made public property, calling on everyone to surrender the Supreme cave abysses and Heavenly Monarch cave abysses that we had risked life and limb to seize. His intention was noble: he thought that once the cave abysses became public property, they could be used to foster more powerhouses. Once newcomers broke through to the Supreme Realm, the cave abysses would be returned. He even wanted to gather the might of these cave abysses to explore whether there were realms beyond the Supreme Realm. He also wanted to assemble more Supreme Realm powerhouses to probe the truth behind the cave abysses and solve the conundrum of the Dao weeping that was destroying the world."
At this point, he fell silent for a moment.
"If it could truly have been done that way, then in less than tens of thousands of years, he would have gathered a vast host of Supreme Realm beings to explore the cosmic black realms and restore the Mortal Realm and Heavenly Immortal Realm. But Qingxuan was too idealistic."
Creation Supreme paused and said, "He could be selfless, but not everyone was as selfless as he. Everyone followed him, risking their lives, braving death through thick and thin, toiling so hard for so long—wasn't it all so that we could climb to the top and enjoy the rewards? Yet you still wanted us to fight, still wanted us to battle, still wanted us to risk our lives. It was simply too exhausting."
He shook his head. "And you wanted us to surrender our cave abysses—how could that ever be possible? If we handed them over, those brash young whelps of the younger generation could use our cave abysses to climb up! Those upstarts would become Supremes, sitting as equals with us, calling us brothers—who could endure that? We fought tooth and nail back then, bathing in blood against the Last Lord's Immortal Court, clashing desperately against the senior and junior brothers and elders of our own sects—was all of that just to let those little runts sit on equal footing with us? Utterly absurd!"
Old Zang Jingming's gaze was profound and eerie. "He was too idealistic. In the past, the cave abysses were controlled by the Dao sects, the ancestral courts, and the Immortal Court. You followed him in rebellion, overthrowing them to seize control of the cave abysses. Now that he wanted to take back the cave abysses from your hands, you became the Dao sects, the ancestral courts, and the Immortal Court, while he became the enemy."
Having lived through ages and witnessed far too much, he pierced straight to the truth with a single sentence.
Creation Supreme glanced at him and sighed, "Qingxuan was our Brother Dao, but he had to die."
Having experienced countless struggles for power and profit, Old Zang Jingming nodded. "He had to die. But did you ever consider: while Qingxuan was alive, his contributions, strength, and faction could keep all of you in check. Once he died, you were a dragon without a head, and chaos was bound to erupt."
Creation Supreme remained silent for a moment, then said, "We didn't think about it back then. We only realized it later."
Chapter 579