Chapter 430: Chapter 67: Lu Xuan: Crap, I’ve Become an Outsider

A booming "BANG! BANG!" echoed throughout the Ancestor Star.

Cui Yin stood trembling on a Starship, gazing at the distant scene. The Divine Mountain above Dragon Tiger Mountain was swaying.

A giant, tens of thousands of feet tall, was mounted on a Giant Bull. He held a simple, ancient Great Seal, which he smashed down mercilessly again and again.

Each time the ancient Great Seal fell, it carried the momentum of collapsing heavens and earth. In a daze, she felt she was witnessing a magnificent spectacle.

The celestial pillars collapsed, the heavens tilted to the northwest, and the earth sank in the southeast. A sky spanning countless miles shattered and fell, and the Human World was thrown into a barbaric wilderness!

Beside her, a prodigy of the Cui Family said with a quavering voice:

"Sister, even the great Immortal Gods of Ancient Times... were probably only this powerful, right?"

On the Cui Family’s Starship, many of its members cast their gazes over. By now, they all knew Cui Yin was extraordinary. She had once traveled through time to the Qin Dynasty, where she presided over a Great Emperor Palace, conversed and laughed with Immortals, and drank with Divine Officials!

Startled from her daze, Cui Yin stammered for a long moment before saying uncertainly:

’He should... he should be comparable to a Celestial Venerable!’

She had never witnessed a true battle between Immortal Gods, but as she stared at the giant bringing down the Great Seal, listening to the deafening roar and feeling the shockwaves that swept out and rocked the Starship...

Cui Yin’s heart pounded with fear.

Elsewhere, Chong Shanhu was also gazing at the magnificent spectacle. The more he watched, the more immersed he became, and his own comprehension of the Dharma, Heaven-Breaking Pillar, skyrocketed.

One moment he’d look as if he’d had an epiphany, the next he’d clap his hands and laugh heartily, which made Zhou Xiaotong a little frantic:

"Brother Shan Hu..."

The Old Black Dog quickly interrupted:

"Shh, the kid is having an enlightenment. This is a huge blessing, no need to panic."

Zhou Xiaotong seemed to only half-understand. He stared blankly at the giant on the bull bringing down the Great Seal, his thoughts drifting who-knows-where. Suddenly, he asked:

"Xiaotian, Xiaotian, when do you think my master will come back?"

The Old Black Dog was silent for a moment, a hint of melancholy in his voice:

"That’s hard to say."

Zhou Xiaotong propped up his head, his eyes hazy.

"I miss Master... Xiaotian, Xiaotian, what exactly is your relationship with my master?"

The Old Black Dog let out a breath and grinned broadly.

"He is my master."

As he said this, the Old Black Dog sighed again. His master was left behind in the past. Who knew how many years it would be before they could meet again...

A sense of loss washed over him as he recalled the moments he shared with Yang Erlang, from the time he was born all the way until they rampaged across the Celestial Vault together...

As the child and the dog spoke, the scene in the sky changed once more.

BANG!!

The giant, tens of thousands of feet tall, put all his strength into it. The entire Heaven-Flipping Seal was completely activated by a surge of Innate Material, manifesting the grand spectacle of a collapsing sky. With a resounding CRACK, it snapped off the Giant Bull’s remaining horn.

The Giant Bull cried out in pain but dared not resist, its heart filled with growing terror.

Others might not feel it, but being ridden, it could sense with perfect clarity that this enraged Lu Zi on its back...

’This whole damn person is made of Innate Material!’

’A complete and utter Innate being! The toughness of his Physique might even be close to the level of the legendary Innate Divine Demons!’

At this point, Lu Xuan seemed to have vented his anger. He waved his hand, signaling for the True Phoenix and the thirty-four Demon Saints who were surrounding the Giant Bull to stand down.

He reverted to his original form. Without a glance at the Giant Bull, he put away the Heaven-Flipping Seal and the two lamps and walked toward Li Changgeng, the Big Black Bull, and the Old Celestial Master.

As he approached, Lu Xuan asked with a solemn expression:

"What exactly happened? What went wrong?"

Li Changgeng briefly explained the course of events. When he heard that the Giant Bull had indeed piloted the Divine Mountain to crush Xiaoyan to death, Lu Xuan’s fury flared anew.

He turned, took up the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword and the Heaven-Flipping Seal, and gave the Giant Bull a few more vicious blows. The latter hugged its head, silently enduring the beating and grimacing in pain.

The damage wasn’t actually that great. After all, the Giant Bull was a Great Saint of the Celestial Realms Level. Even if this physical shell died, it wouldn’t matter.

As long as its reflections throughout the Celestial Myriad Realms remained, it would never truly die...

But damn, it really hurt!

After smacking the Giant Bull a few more times, Lu Xuan patiently listened to the rest of Li Changgeng’s account. He seemed to have an epiphany. ’So His Majesty dragged the cliff and walked out from under the Stone Stele?’

After a moment of contemplation,

Lu Xuan gave an order:

"That’s Ming Xiangjun, an Immortal who defected after violating the covenant. I’ll trouble you to escort her to the Great Wall. Behead her, extinguish her soul, and sever her spirit, as a sacrifice to the soldiers who died in battle."

They all looked over and only then recognized the bloody figure pinned to the edge of the Demon Tomb.

The Old Celestial Master nodded.

"No problem. I will carry out the execution myself."

He paused, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

"Lu Zi, these demons..."

"Pay them no mind. Some of them are spirits I enlightened while Preaching during the Spring and Autumn Years. The rest are now my subordinates. In total, there are thirty-four Demon Saints of the Immortal Level. I’ll have them sign the Immortal Covenant later."

Lu Xuan continued his brief explanation:

"The True Phoenix is a Great Saint of the Celestial Realms Level. Even after the world’s first ascension in the future, it won’t be able to leave the Demon Tomb. For now, let it serve as part of our foundation. As for this bull..."

He frowned, contemplating how to deal with it.

The Giant Bull seemed to sense this. It shivered and shouted in a muffled voice:

"I surrender! I surrender! I killed all the other invading Grand Grade Demons! My loyalty is as true as can be!"

Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. Instead, he sought the opinions of Old Li and the Big Black Bull.

"This fellow is of my clan, one of the former Seven Great Saints... Of course, though they were called the Seven Great Saints, only three of those demons actually became Great Saints."

The Big Black Bull explained:

"One of them was Old Zhu’s senior brother, Sun Wukong."

Lu Xuan let out a soft sound of surprise. ’Sun Wukong... the one who attained the Upper Grade Immortal Golden Form?’

Li Changgeng considered for a moment before also speaking up:

"This bull has had its spirit broken by His Majesty the Celestial Emperor. Truthfully, it hasn’t committed any real evil or caused any terrible consequences. It was merely answering the call of its bloodline’s decree. It can be killed, or it can be spared."

Lu Xuan pondered for a long while, glancing at the fawning, grinning Giant Bull. In the end, he sighed.

"The return of the Immortals and Buddhas is imminent, and the world is about to fall into chaos. This is, after all, a Great Saint of the Celestial Realms Level. It would be a pity to kill it."

With that, he strode forward and stared at the Giant Bull.

"I know that beings of the Celestial Realms Level are extremely difficult to kill completely. But you should also know my background. If I were truly determined to kill you, I doubt you could escape."

The Giant Bull immediately kowtowed, speaking cautiously:

"Spare me, Lu Zi! Speaking of which, I have a fateful connection with the Supreme..."

"Oh?"

"My Flame Mountain was formed from a few of the Supreme’s fire bricks that fell from the heavens!"

Lu Xuan was taken aback for a second, then nodded.

"In that case, you will protect the Human Race for three thousand years and guard this region. After three thousand years, we’ll be even. As long as you don’t cause trouble or chaos, I won’t bother you. How about it?"

"I couldn’t ask for more! I couldn’t ask for more!!" The Giant Bull kowtowed again.

Seeing this, Lu Xuan said no more. He nodded to the True Phoenix, gave some instructions, and then his figure flickered and vanished into the void.

He hurried off to see Xiaoyan and the Lady.

...

「Above the Chaos.」

Supreme’s brows furrowed.

"Primordial, I understand. But what is there that cannot be said?"

Surrounded by All Daoist Fruits, the Blind Daoist faintly lifted his eyelids.

"I don’t wish to say, and that’s that."

The Great Buddha holding up the Western Pure Land had a grim face and seemed ready to make a move.

"Supreme, just leave it to us..."

Supreme struck out coldly, launching a palm strike. This time, he was serious. That Great Buddha’s expression changed, and he lifted the Western Pure Land to block.

But the old, Dao Rhyme-filled palm pulsed with immense power, effortlessly piercing through the Western Pure Land. The countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas seated within all perished.

The ancient palm landed on the Great Buddha’s chest. He was blasted back thirty million miles, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. His chest had caved in violently, and his cultivation was beaten back by tens of millions of years from that single strike!

The Great Buddha was both shocked and enraged.

"Supreme!!"

But the old man simply said nonchalantly:

"What do you mean, ’leave it to you’? Know your place."

The expressions of the two Buddhas and Houtu flickered uncertainly, their eyes filled with deep apprehension.

’As the Current World gradually recovers, this old bastard is getting stronger and stronger. His injuries are healing...’

The Blind Daoist watched this with a smile. After a moment’s thought, he said leisurely:

"Actually, you all needn’t press me. Even if I told you, what could you do?"

"Suppress it! Strangle it!" Houtu said decisively. "An unknown being has broken a great taboo, attempting to merge with that ultimate land and become a Daoist Ancestor. This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen!"

"Heh!"

The Blind Daoist sneered and said slowly:

"Since you’d find out eventually with enough investigation, I might as well just tell you. The one who preached in Ancient Times was named Xuan Sheng, which means... ’The Dao is born from the Profound.’"

The Lame Daoist’s expression shifted, while the other four Enlightened Ones, including Supreme, all frowned. ’The Dao is born from the Profound??’

The Great Buddha who had been slapped away by Supreme flew back, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and asked as if nothing had happened:

"Xuan Sheng... which Fellow Daoist is that, specifically?"

"None of them."

The Blind Daoist said flatly:

"I won’t say more. It involves some great secrets. And don’t even think about personally investigating at the Beginning of Ancient Times. There, all of you combined couldn’t withstand a single palm strike from me."

Hearing this, All Daoist Fruits wore different expressions. Supreme’s brow was deeply furrowed. He gave the Blind Daoist a profound look, but ultimately said nothing and turned to leave.

Seeing Supreme depart, the Blind Daoist grinned, exchanged a look with the Lame Daoist, and they too left side by side.

After they were gone, the remaining three Enlightened Ones looked at each other.

After a long moment, the Great Buddha surrounded by Infinite Pure Light asked:

"Do you think Supreme truly doesn’t know, or is he feigning ignorance?"

"He truly doesn’t know," Houtu stated with certainty. "So we can be sure that the events at the Beginning of Ancient Times were a joint effort by The Three Pristine Ones. But who was it specifically? And who else could bear the station of a Daoist Ancestor? I have no idea."

The other Great Buddha silently manipulated Time, restoring the shattered Western Pure Land. The Buddhas who had died and the Bodhisattvas who had perished were all seated once more.

Then, he said coldly:

"Let’s ignore this so-called ’Xuan Sheng’ from the Beginning of Ancient Times for now. The Three Pristine Ones... have gone too far."

"There’s nothing to be done. The Three Pristine Ones occupy three segments of time. One is invincible at the Beginning of Ancient Times, one dominates the Current World, and one encompasses everything in the Final Year..."

Houtu sighed and continued:

"I plan to unite with a few more Fellow Daoists, make some plans, and set some schemes to see if we can shake The Three Pristine Ones."

"For example?"

"The Buddha Mother. He was ganged up on by The Three Pristine Ones and nearly died. Shakyamuni is about to secure his Dao Fruit, so he can be won over."

"We can also support the Immortal Mother and others. An Ancient One could emerge from their ranks... And there’s that Demon Ancestor. I can’t see through him at all."

"Let’s give it a try."

"Also, I heard those few are plotting to kill Supreme’s disciple. I think... this might be an opportunity."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Supreme treasures that Profound Clarity. We could secretly push things along and have Profound Clarity die in the Immortal Mother’s plot... Supreme reveres Non-action. If he abandons Non-action for Action, his own state might decline somewhat."

As they discussed, the three Enlightened Ones slowly walked deeper into the Chaos.

...

「Beneath the Stone Stele.」

Lu Xuan moved quickly, walking into a raging inferno and then emerging from the flames, only to pause in surprise.

This desolate world was completely different from before, now filled with constant laughter and cheerful voices.

"Come, come, this is a Peach of Immortality. Haotian just picked it from the past. Have a taste."

The stunningly beautiful woman handed a plump, juicy Peach of Immortality to the stunningly beautiful young lady. Xiaoyan beamed with joy, nodding vigorously as she gave her thanks.

With a SLURP, she swallowed the peach. Her entire body began to glow, and immortal rhyme poured from every pore.

"And this one, you try it too. I had Lamp specially pick it from the past. It’s a Bodhi Fruit from their Buddhist Sect. The flavor is quite good."

"Here, this one’s not bad either. It’s a Ginseng Fruit..."

"This is a Great Peng that Haotian killed. I roasted it for you. The taste is decent. Try some, try some..."

The beautiful woman stuffed pile after pile of top-tier Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures into Xiaoyan’s hands. Under the sour, jealous gazes of the Emperor Corpse and the Dying Buddha, Xiaoyan struggled to devour it all, her cheeks puffed out high.

"Thank you, Mother!" she said indistinctly.

"Of course!" The beautiful woman’s smile grew even wider. Then, as if sensing something, she saw Lu Xuan and called out:

"Xiaoxuan, you’re here? My daughter-in-law said she wants to eat roasted sweet potatoes. Hurry up and go buy some."

Xiaoyan looked over in pleasant surprise, then waved and called out: 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Xiaolu, Xiaolu, remember to buy extra so Mother can try some too!"

"Ah, ah, oh..." Lu Xuan nodded dumbfoundedly, walked out from behind the Stone Stele dumbfoundedly, and even when he returned with the sweet potatoes, the word ’bewildered’ was still written all over his face.

Huh??

(Another Chapter after 10-ish)