"Luo Shizong is dead?"
Xu Ying was both shocked and delighted. The Ancestral God descended from the sky as well, transforming into a muscular youth as he landed beside the two, asking in astonishment, "How did Luo Shizong die?"
"I killed him."
Dao Master Taiyi smiled faintly. He did not put on airs, yet a flicker of excitement and pride still shone in his eyes.
Xu Ying laughed heartily, but then thought of Ancient God Luo Taizong. Back then, outside the Pantheon, he had arranged for the Ancestral God to study under Ancient God Luo Taizong. When Luo Taizong imparted everything he knew, he had pleaded with Xu Ying to leave Dao Master Luo a glimmer of hope for survival.
Xu Ying had nodded in agreement at the time.
Seeing that his laughter had ceased and given way to a look of melancholy, Dao Master Taiyi inquired about it. Xu Ying recounted the story, and Taiyi asked, "If I hadn't killed Dao Master Luo, would you have killed him?"
"Yes,"
Xu Ying replied resolutely. "Dao Master Luo had to die. If he did not die, it would be the two of us who perished, and the Three Realms might even be destroyed because of him in the future!" He shook his head and added, "Regardless, I was bound to fail Ancient God Luo Taizong."
Taiyi smiled. "Ancient God Luo Taizong pleaded with you, but he never pleaded with me. Luo Shizong died by my hand, not yours. You have never failed Ancient God Luo Taizong. There is no need to keep it in your heart."
Hearing this, Xu Ying felt somewhat relieved. He then asked about the battle between Taiyi and Dao Master Luo. Taiyi said, "Dao Master Luo's prowess was indeed formidable. If he hadn't tried to be clever and pursued me through my spatiotemporal divine arts back to this era, I wouldn't have possessed the strength to kill him. Here, he could only sense the two hundred and fifty-seven discovered universes and could not reach those that had yet to be discovered."
Xu Ying realized what had happened.
With Taiyi's strength, pulling Dao Master Luo at the height of his power back into the past would have been utterly impossible. He could only lure Dao Master Luo into following him back on his own.
And the moment Dao Master Luo came back, he fell into the trap.
In the Chaos Sea at this time, though the myriad universes all existed, most remained in an undiscovered, chaotic state and could not be sensed. If they could be sensed, it meant they had established a connection with the other shore and were no longer in a state of chaos.
"Although I could match him, killing him was by no means easy. I had overestimated my own strength, so I dragged him even further into the past."
Taiyi and Dao Master Luo had clashed as they fought their way into ever more ancient eras. Yet the older the era, the fewer universes Dao Master Luo could sense, and the closer his strength fell to his true baseline.
"Where did you kill him?" Xu Ying asked.
Taiyi said, "Before the first batch of scouts from the other shore returned from the Chaos Sea."
Xu Ying glanced at him. Taiyi felt a slight twinge of embarrassment and said, "It wasn't that I was no match for him, but after all, he was one of the Three Great Dao Masters. Even after being stripped of the Dao power of other universes, he was still at the peak of the Dao Master realm. Defeating him was not hard, but killing him was no easy feat."
Xu Ying looked down at Dao Master Luo in Anyou Palace below and said with a smile, "With Dao Master Luo dead, a massive portion of the other shore's calamitous destiny has vanished. As calamitous destiny disperses and cause and effect clear, the killing calamity will naturally fade as well. The other shore certainly won't plunge into the Nirvanic Extinction Tribulation. Congratulations, Master! We only need to eliminate Dao Master Lin, and we can save the other shore from disaster!"
Hearing this, Dao Master Taiyi could not help but smile warmly. "Rest assured, once the Three Realms run aground upon the other shore, I will surely restrain our people and ensure they do not provoke the Three Realms!"
The Ancestral God breathed a sigh of relief as well, saying with a laugh, "And what's more, let the Gong clan girl lead Dong Xuan and the others back to Tianjing so they can resume being Dao Masters. The other shore will have Taiyi, the Three Realms will have Xu Ying, and Tianjing, the other shore, and the Three Realms will all have me, the Ancestral God! It will truly be an age of peace and prosperity!"
Dao Master Taiyi laughed aloud.
Xu Ying reminded him, "Master, there is still Dao Master Lin. Dao Master Lin has always kept a low profile, but his strength is at least on par with Dao Master Luo and Dao Master Hua."
Taiyi smiled. "Dao Master Lin is certainly powerful, but killing him will not be difficult. Though we haven't achieved the mutual corroboration of the Nine Daos, there are many Dao Masters among us who have mastered one of the nine. If we join forces, achieving the mutual corroboration of three or four Daos is entirely within our reach!"
Xu Ying frowned slightly.
Taiyi's heart skipped a beat, and he ventured, "Is that not possible?"
Xu Ying smiled. "It's not that it's impossible, but why can't we achieve the mutual corroboration of all Nine Daos?"
Taiyi said, "Jiangningzi and Wu Xizi have already met their demise."
The cyclic corroboration of the Nine Daos had come to an abrupt halt at Wu Xizi's Samsara.
"Where is Dao Master Luo's corpse?" Xu Ying asked, his eyes gleaming. "And his Great Dao—even if shattered, it must be completely dispersed, leaving nothing behind."
The death of a Dao Master was not true death in the absolute sense. As long as their Great Dao remained, they could be reborn from the Dao the moment it revived!
Dao Master Taiyi replied, "I have already buried him properly."
Xu Ying gave him a deep look. "Buried?"
"Yes," Dao Master Taiyi said. "Rest assured, I have already dispersed his Great Dao. He will not revive."
Xu Ying nodded and smiled. "Master has always been more prudent than I am. I trust you handled it thoroughly. Master, take the Ancestral God and return first."
Although the worldly Great Daos mastered by the Ancestral God included the two Daos of Spacetime, his practical application of them was still rudimentary. Someone had to guide him back to the present age.
Taiyi's brow twitched slightly, but he did not ask what Xu Ying intended to do. "Ancestral God, after you."
The Ancestral God followed him into spacetime and vanished without a trace. Spacetime was like a long river; those in the Supreme realm could step beyond the river, but entering its flow required mastery over the Great Daos of Spacetime.
Xu Ying watched them leave. After a moment, he stepped out of the void and arrived before the shattered Anyou Palace.
Dao Master Luo sat upon the green lotus. Seeing him arrive, he was startled and hurriedly hoisted a Mystic Heaven Dao Suppressing Seal above his head, secretly on guard.
*Though I am no match for him, if he attacks me, I will risk my life to fight him to the bitter end!* he thought.
Xu Ying paid him no heed, walking over to the fragments of the avatar bodies and divine forms. He mobilized his magic power, wiping away the residual Great Dao power from the fragments piece by piece.
Xu Ying refined them with meticulous care and searched thoroughly, scouring a ten-thousand-li radius so that not even the tiniest shard was missed.
He sorted these avatar bodies and divine forms into categories, dividing them into nine piles of fragments, and reassembled them one by one into nine avatar bodies to check if any piece was missing.
After a moment, Xu Ying turned around sharply, glaring at Dao Master Luo with a grim expression, and said coldly, "Cripple, hand over the fragments you hid!"
Dao Master Luo shuddered and hastily brought out the few fragments he had stashed away.
Xu Ying erased every last imprint from these fragments and pieced them together. Dao Master Luo's nine avatar bodies were finally made whole.
He checked them several more times to confirm there were no lingering Great Dao fragments of Dao Master Luo before finally putting his mind at ease. With a wave of his hand, nine mounds rose from the earth. Within each mound was a tomb, constructed according to the feng shui principles of the Three Realms to fix the orientation of the burial chambers.
Xu Ying interred the nine avatar bodies inside these nine mounds, closed the hills, and turned to look at Dao Master Luo paralyzed upon the green lotus. "Though you will forget everything that happened here after I leave, my presence has occurred, and having been here creates cause and effect. Dao Master, do not resist me."
Dao Master Luo suppressed the terror in his heart and did not move.
Xu Ying severed the karmic ties between them and implanted a thread of cause and effect into Dao Master Luo's consciousness.
He then activated the All-Knowing Eye to inspect the trajectory of his karma, plucking out any threads tied to himself, before wiping away the karma connecting anyone within ten thousand li to his presence.
*Dao Master Hua and Dao Master Lin must have sensed the tremors caused by this great battle. Right now, they should both be on their way here.*
Xu Ying channeled the All-Knowing Eye, tracing the karmic threads stirred by both men because of this event, and erased the two lines of cause and effect.
Midway through his journey, Dao Master Hua suddenly froze and halted in his tracks. In bewilderment, Dao Master Hua muttered, "What am I doing here?"
He looked around blankly, having lost all recollection of what had brought him there.
On the other side, Dao Master Lin had set out from Hushan Pavilion, but he too came to a stop, having no idea where he was going after leaving the pavilion.
Having done all this, Xu Ying finally stood up and departed.
After he left, all changes caused to the original spacetime by his arrival reverted completely to their original state. The dead were revived, and the shattered Anyou Palace was restored as before.
The only difference was the appearance of nine mounds outside Anyou Palace.
Several hundred years later, Dao Master Hua and Dao Master Lin arrived at Anyou Palace to discuss opening Daoji Heaven. Looking at the nine mounds outside the palace, the two Dao Masters scrutinized them closely. Dao Master Lin said with a smile, "I never saw these nine hills before."
Paralyzed in his chariot, Dao Master Luo chuckled. "I am a bit sentimental. Back then, I made my start at the Nine Mounds, so wherever I move, I bring these nine hills with me."
Dao Master Hua laughed. "Once Daoji Heaven is opened, you can move these nine hills there as well! Hahahaha!"
Dao Master Luo inquired, "Who is in charge of opening Daoji Heaven?"
"True King Taiyi," Dao Master Lin said.
Dao Master Luo nodded repeatedly. "That man is seasoned and mature; he never cuts corners. Entrusting the opening of Daoji Heaven to him guarantees it will be built splendidly!"
The three Dao Masters were brimming with ambition and riding high on their success.
***
Xu Ying returned to the present age and stood outside Mount Jiuqiu. Looking at the rolling terrain of Mount Jiuqiu, he found that the tombs he had built for Dao Master Luo's nine avatar bodies and divine forms—fashioned using the techniques of Mojin, Faqiu, Banshan, and Xieling—were still there.
He stepped forward and waved his hand gently. The nine mounds split open one by one.
Xu Ying inspected the nine avatar bodies and found not the slightest ripple of a Great Dao.
Still uneasy, he channeled the Dao of Cause and Effect to search for any karma connected to Dao Master Luo. When a person dies, their karma is extinguished; Dao Master Luo's karma had completely vanished!
Xu Ying then mobilized the Calamitous Destiny Great Dao and saw that the thick calamitous destiny wrought by Dao Master Luo had dispersed with his death as well.
With the deaths of Dao Master Hua and Dao Master Luo, the calamitous destiny of the entire other shore had lightened considerably, no longer possessing the terrifying murderous aura of the past.
Xu Ying channeled the Reincarnation Great Dao to check the Samsara of the other shore, seeing if there was any reincarnation of Dao Master Luo.
After a moment, he finally let out a long breath.
"Dao Master Luo is truly dead."
He bowed toward the nine mounds. "Dao brother, safe travels on your final journey."
Straightening his back, his eyes glinted. "Of the Three Great Dao Masters, only Lin Chuanting remains! Now that we have numbers on our side, eliminating him won't require traveling back to the past. A frontal confrontation is entirely possible!"
Just then, a familiar voice called out, "Dao Ancestor Xu, long time no see."
Xu Ying turned around in surprise and delight, smiling warmly. "Brother Lu! You are still alive!"
Lu Yiren walked over with a smile. "You are still alive; how could I pass away?"
Lu Yiren was tall and burly, having long attained immortality, far stronger than he had been back in the Three Realms. He had remained under Dao Master Lin's tutelage, serving as both Dao Master Lin's attendant and his disciple.
He had been the enlightener of the contemporary path of cultivation in the Three Realms, enlightening Hao Yi, which paved the way for the subsequent advancement of the Three Realms' Dao methods.
Although Xu Ying had met him a few times after arriving at the other shore, they had not crossed paths during the centuries since the outbreak of calamitous destiny.
After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Ying smiled. "Brother Lu, did you come here looking for Dao Master Luo?"
Lu Yiren shook his head. "My master knows Dao Master Luo is dead. Feeling that a single tree cannot support a forest, he sent me to find you, Fellow Daoist Xu, so that you might introduce him to Dao Master Taiyi."
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow, wearing a faint smile. "Does Lin Chuanting want to kill Taiyi, or make peace with him?"
Lu Yiren smiled. "My master told me he has thought it through. Evading calamities and deflecting calamitous destiny are not sustainable solutions, so he wishes to join hands with Dao Master Taiyi to weather the other shore's calamitous destiny."
Xu Ying frowned slightly. "What trick does Dao Master Lin have up his sleeve? I have a feeling he isn't genuinely planning to join forces to cross the tribulation. Brother Lu, what scheme is Dao Master Lin plotting?"
Lu Yiren laughed. "Even if he had a scheme, he wouldn't tell me. The only reason he sent me is because of our past acquaintance, knowing I have your ear. I have delivered the message; whether you listen is up to you."
Xu Ying's eyes shifted. Hands behind his back, he said leisurely, "How could Dao Master Lin have known I would appear here at this very moment? He might know the place, but he shouldn't know the time. Knowing the time means he is a divine diviner. And a divine diviner must cultivate cause and effect..."
He glanced at Lu Yiren and praised, "Dao Master Lin is unfathomable. Brother, it would be best for you to leave him as soon as possible."
Lu Yiren shook his head. "I want to change the other shore so it no longer harvests the myriad universes or inflicts disaster on unfamiliar realms. I want to make the other shore into the paradise that everyone in the Chaos Sea dreams of. But to accomplish this, my personal strength is not enough. I must align myself with an absolute power. Dao Master Lin is precisely that kind of power!"
Xu Ying's expression grew complex. "Brother Lu, why must you attach yourself to an absolute power? You and I can become that power! Tear those old relics down from their seats and wipe out the rot, and we will be the power!"
Lu Yiren chuckled. "You are a person of the Three Realms. No matter how you tear up the other shore, your heart won't ache. But I am different. I am an other shore person..."
"Wrong! You are a person of the Three Realms!"
Xu Ying cut him off. "You grew up in the Three Realms, the people who raised you were of the Three Realms, the language you learned was the Dao language of the Three Realms, and the culture you embraced was that of the Three Realms! On the surface, you look like a person of the other shore, but in your bones, you belong to the Three Realms!"
Lu Yiren shook his head. "Bloodline is something that cannot be changed. You want the Three Realms to thrive and be free of enslavement, so you braved the journey to the other shore to carve out living space for the Three Realms. I want the other shore to become better. You have your convictions, and I have mine. There is no need to persuade me."
Xu Ying looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Very well. I will relay this matter to Taiyi."
Lu Yiren cupped his hands in gratitude and took his leave.
Bidding him farewell, Xu Ying called out with a smile, "Even your etiquette belongs to my Three Realms! You claim to be a person of the other shore, but I fear the people of the other shore won't claim you!"
Chapter 878