Bearing the Wheel of Reincarnation, Confronting the Northern Emperor!
(My damn update time, there's another chapter coming soon)
Li Xiuyuan frowned deeply, pulled Cui Linglong to a corner of Chang'an City, and whispered:
Things have taken a bit beyond expectations.
Cui Linglong nodded silently, a look of fear appearing on her face.
Looking around at this moment,
The lifelike bronze figures that were originally on the long street and in the houses have now come to life!
The peddler picked up his load again, the vendors were still calling out in their old-fashioned dialect, smoke curled from the chimneys of the houses, and children chased and played in the streets, singing nursery rhymes.
It seems that everything remains unchanged compared to countless years ago.
The people of Chang'an were unaware that the world had changed so drastically—not even the moment the bronze figures came to life.
The collapsed rock layers above, somehow transformed into the shape of blue sky and white clouds under the influence of a mysterious magic array.
The sun blazes high in the sky, and a spring breeze, carrying the fragrance of earth and the vibrant life of spring, blows by!
Cui Linglong unconsciously wiped away her sweat, noticing that passersby were giving her and her companion strange looks—their clothes seemed mismatched.
No, it's not just them.
Hundreds of Celestial Person scattered throughout Chang'an were being scrutinized with strange and peculiar gazes.
Some ordinary citizens even reported it to the authorities.
From afar, Li Xiuyuan and Cui Linglong saw armored soldiers questioning a Heavenly Human Level cultivator.
The latter raised his hand to turn the soldiers to ashes, however...
Under the watchful eyes of several powerful cultivators at the Heavenly Human Level, the leading squad leader retreated, his eyes wide with anger, drew his sword to the sky, and roared:
"How dare we cause trouble in Chang'an! We beg Your Majesty to bestow your authority!"
He was clearly just a minor martial artist at the fourth or fifth level of cultivation.
But as he shouted, purple qi swept across Chang'an City and crashed down!
The Celestial Person's expression changed drastically, his spiritual senses frantically issuing warnings. He wanted to escape, but was shocked to find that he had lost all his power, as if he had turned back into a completely ordinary person!
He looked up in horror and saw the purple qi transform into chains that fiercely pierced through him!
"Roar!!"
The Celestial Person roared and howled in pain, struggling desperately, yet they did not cause the slightest ripple, under the astonished gazes of many.
A Celestial Person cultivator was taken away by a dozen or so patrolling soldiers.
The many Celestial Person in the city immediately became obedient.
In the corner.
Cui Linglong swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she spoke:
"What kind of method is that?"
"The power of humanity," Li Xiuyuan a deep voice, "Is that the ruler of humanity, in name and in status, is equal to the ruler of heaven and the ruler of earth."
"Such a person, even with just his own power, can make immortals and Buddhas retreat; even Heavenly Venerables and Buddhas would find it difficult to deal with him."
Cui Linglong was bewildered:
"Momentum"
Taking a deep breath, she continued to ask:
"What should we do now?"
Li Xiuyuan's face remained ashen.
"My lady, do not be anxious. This place is beyond my expectations. It may be the work of an ancient being called the Great Emperor Ziwei."
"But the World-Honored Tathagata and Empress Nüwa will not stand idly by."
Cui Linglong seemed to understand but not quite, and asked again:
Did the World-Honored Tathagata have any enmity with that Great Emperor Ziwei in the previous world?
"There is no direct enmity, but it involves a conflict of principles, which I cannot explain in a short time."
Li Xiuyuan exhaled a soft breath, his gaze sweeping across half of Chang'an City before landing on the Taiji Hall of the Imperial Palace.
He swept his gaze across the pulsating Divine Cocoon, staring at the stewed meat in the eighteen food boxes, a deep-seated hatred flashing in his eyes.
"The Northern Emperor!"
Li Xiuyuan, holding Cui Linglong's hand, carefully protected her as they retreated towards the outskirts of Chang'an City.
"Let's go. This is no longer something we can interfere with or meddle in."
"The Northern Emperor —also known as the Great Emperor Ziwei— may soon return. At that time, he will surely contend with the Buddha of the World to seize control of the major events of the Journey to the West."
"This is an event that could shake the very foundation of everything. The Buddha Ancestor himself attained supreme power through this very event, and the Northern Emperor will never let it go."
Cui Linglong listened to her husband's string of incomprehensible words without asking any questions. She simply nodded silently and followed Li Xiuyuan out of Chang'an City.
Looking at this city again now,
The purple qi above it was as thick as a rushing river.
'Boom!'
It sounded like thunder.
Li Xiuyuan changed, and he looked up, speaking in a low voice:
"You're here."
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace.
The Yellow-toothed Old Man, along with Jiang Feinao, attempted to sneak into the palace—but failed.
It wasn't because of the Heavenly Stele in front of the Taiji Hall, but because as they approached the palace, all Technique Method and mysteries simultaneously failed!
He pulled Jiang Feinao to a stop outside the palace and spoke in a low voice:
"As expected, something great has happened here. Girl, begin the ritual."
Jiang Feinao's expression hardened:
"Teacher, which deity are we inviting?"
The Yellow-toothed Old Man shook his head, and said meaningfully:
"Invite not a god, but that person from the Research Institute to descend."
Jiang Feinao's expression changed drastically.
The General Hospital can receive Great Limit allocation of Federation resources, with its priority even surpassing that of the Nine Departments, including the War Department, the Heavenly Calculation Department, and the Investigation Department.
Its accumulated foundation over so many years is frighteningly profound.
Same.
The main hall also suppresses a relatively unique true spirit that has resurrected from the old world.
Jiang Feinao spoke with a trembling voice:
"Teacher, are you sure? If that guy is released, the entire Mother Star could be destroyed in an instant!"
The Yellow-toothed Old Man remained calm and composed, saying:
"Go ahead and do it. I've already reached an agreement with that guy."
Jiang Feinao nodded heavily, pursed his lips, and an unprecedentedly solemn expression appeared on his face.
No one knew the terror of those beings from the old world better than her!
"I'm setting up the formation now!"
She spoke in a low voice, squatted down, and traced crooked lines on the sandy ground, connecting them into a mysterious magic array.
As the magic array nears completion, a hazy light appears, indicating the construction of a special passage leading directly to the main hospital.
"A supreme powerhouse from the old world, a being of earth-shattering power," Jiang Feinao murmured, his expression growing increasingly somber.
Finally, with unwavering resolve, she bit her finger and let her blood fall into the sacrificial array.
Fresh blood flowed along the crooked lines.
The light gradually intensified.
At that very moment, the thunder that reverberated in all directions grew even louder.
The Yellow-toothed Old Man squinted and could see figures standing before the shattered main hall in the palace.
The Buddha statues, from which many Soul Spirit rushed forth, were swaying.
The old man sitting at the front of the Buddha statue had an expression of extreme pain on his face; the louder the thunder, the more intense his pain became.
And in the sky, between the split rock layers, there were twenty-four ordinary-looking civilians being lifted down by the clouds.
In a corner of Chang'an, Nezha, in his transformed form, glanced up and a ferocious look flashed across his face.
"I knew you old codger would come along!"
He recognized all twenty-four figures; they came from the glorious Tang Dynasty of yesteryear, from the Lingyan Pavilion established by the Tang emperors of yesteryear—the twenty-four people of the Lingyan Pavilion.
However, at this moment, all twenty-four people were just empty shells; their Soul Spirit had not yet returned to their places.
Nezha, in his transformed form, stared intently at the middle-aged man who was the leader among the twenty-four people.
A famous general of the Tang Dynasty—or rather, the reincarnation of a famous general from Heavenly Court.
Li Jing.
Nezha's incarnation instinctively clenched his fists, all three heads displaying an angry expression, and each of his six arms wielding an illusory weapon, almost ready to attack immediately!
"The time is not right, the time is not right."
He reminded himself of this, and continued to gaze at the palace and the cracked Maitreya Buddha Statue.
The Buddha statue trembled more and more violently.
"Really!"
Before the Buddha statue, Yuan Tiandao leaned on a cane with one hand and held a corner of Heavenly Book in the other, muttering to himself:
"Before coming here, I consulted the Heavenly Book and calculated that the Emperor was already in the Nine Netherworlds—and indeed he is!"
Wei Busǐ nodded, gazing into the depths of the Buddha statue's belly, where he could vaguely make out a towering figure standing on the Helplessness Bridge.
He spoke softly:
"Is it you or Yuan Feidao who is about to awaken the true spirit of the Emperor?"
Yuan Tiandao's empty eyes looked at Yuan Feidao, who was sitting cross-legged with a pained expression, and he sighed softly:
"He has made the choice for me. The Emperor cannot leave the Nine Netherworlds and can only descend in the body of one person. It seems that the path of flight is the way."
A look of dejection appeared on his face. The two brothers had never actually had any conflicts; what they were arguing about was who would be the 'container' for this arrival.
My younger brother is one step ahead of me.
Therefore, it was the younger brother who died.
Yuan Tiandao sighed heavily.
In the span of this single sigh.
Inside Maitreya's belly, within the Nine Netherworlds.
Standing on the Helplessness Bridge, Emperor Tang, who had been waiting for Zhang Fusheng to come and take him away, suddenly looked dejected and sighed softly.
"Is it ultimately inescapable?"
He calmly muttered to himself, his hands resting on his long sword, standing upright on the Ancient Bridge, gazing at the collapsed sacred mountain from which countless Soul Spirit had escaped.
Beneath the sacred mountain lies a Great Tomb.
The Thousand Mile Zhaoling.
But it wasn't his own tomb; it belonged to the Lord of the Stars, to the Northern Emperor.
Daling was imprisoned in the Nine Netherworlds, and so was the Northern Emperor.
The Emperor Tang understood everything that had happened.
It turns out that from beginning to end, the Northern Emperor was suppressed to death and was unable to leave the Great Mausoleum or the Nine Netherworlds.
Then.
The Northern Emperor needed two intermediaries, one of whom was himself, to allow His true spirit to descend from the tomb into the Nine Netherworlds.
That is myself standing in the Nine Netherworlds.
Then, using himself as a medium, a wisp of his will descended upon the container outside the Nine Netherworlds.
"I will always be alone."
The Emperor Tang spoke coldly, raised his long sword, and held it to his neck, ready to commit suicide!
But no matter what he did, the sword could not cut through.
First, my hands became uncontrollable, then my legs, and then my body.
The six senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought—are being taken over one by one by an inexplicable and terrifying will.
"You've always been me."
A calm voice echoed in the Emperor Tang's mind, and he gave a final, bitter laugh.
Then, the Soul Spirit's will within the body was squeezed into a cramped corner by an overwhelmingly terrifying will.
A new true spirit has taken control of this body, and this remnant soul.
The Emperor Tang's eyes were tightly closed.
When I opened my eyes again.
He was already the [Northern Emperor].
That is -- the Supreme Emperor of the North Pole of the Central Heaven.
The Northern Emperor Northern Emperor, above, governs the Dipper, examining the records of calamities and fortunes; below, he rules Fengdu, controlling the hordes of ghosts and demons.
The Nine Netherworlds were originally His domain.
The emperor raised his head, holding the Human Emperor Sword, and slashed upwards.
The magnificent purple qi swept out, but was instantly suppressed by an unknown giant formation.
The Northern Emperor smiled, looked at the giant array rotating above his tomb, and muttered to himself:
"How can that possibly restrain me?"
"Even if we construct a colossal array and place the Nine Netherworlds ten thousand years into the future, within Maitreya's belly, what difference will it make?"
"I was the first to wake up; it was always me."
The Northern Emperor calmly stretched out his hand and pointed a finger towards the Nine Netherworlds.
Thunder rumbled, and the souls of the twenty-four people from the Lingyan Pavilion surged from His sleeves, breaking free from the Netherworld and descending outside!
The twenty-four figures standing in front of the Taiji Hall looked around blankly.
Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Yuchi Jingde.
Until [Li Jing].
The twenty-four people suddenly opened their eyes. The weaker ones exuded the aura of a Venerable, while Li Jing, who was in charge, burst out with an aura comparable to that of a Great Power!
"Your subject Li Jing!"
"Welcome, Your Majesty!"
A great sound reverberated, and purple qi surged throughout Chang'an City. One by one, the Celestial Person who had come seeking their fortuitous opportunity wept and died!
"Complete the sacrificial array!" the Yellow-toothed Old Man shouted at Jiang Feinao, then, amidst the surging purple qi energy, he too turned into scrap metal.
He was merely a Heavenly Human Level puppet, devoid of flesh and blood.
However, the remains of the other Celestial Person were condensed into streaks of blood glowing with Immortal Light, intertwining in front of the Taiji Hall.
Therefore, the sacrificial array was formed—
Become.
More than a hundred Celestial Person sacrifices, with Yuan Feidao, who had been worshipping the Maitreya Buddha Statue for forty years, serving as the guide.
Yuan Feidao opened his eyes.
His aura surged, no longer suppressing himself, and Ascension to Divinity in one step!
At the moment of Ascension to Divinity, he retrieved the celestial position of the [Envoy of the Archangel] that he had prepared beforehand, but it did not align with his own.
Instead, it is used as a basis to further ensnare the Heavenly Position of [Nine Non-Images]!
He was granted a heavenly position and, with supernatural Divine Ability Nine Non-Images, prostrated himself on the ground, listening with his ears.
Nine Non-Images, also known as [Diting].
The sacrificial array rotated, and the Dao Sound echoed. Yuan Feidao actually heard the Dao Sound from the Nine Netherworlds ten thousand years in the future.
I heard the Emperor's heartbeat.
Since we have heard it, we have already established cause and effect.
Through this understanding of cause and effect, a terrifying will descends.
Chang'an City suddenly froze.
Officials, soldiers, Aristocratic Clan, and commoners.
Everyone fell silent at this very moment.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Under the tense gazes of many.
Yuan Feidao, who had been crawling on the ground, stood up, his aged face gradually becoming younger.
What was ultimately presented was not Yuan Feidao's appearance in his youth, but a handsome and refined middle-aged man.
It is the Northern Emperor.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The twenty-four men, Yuan Tiandao, Wei Busǐ, and others all prostrated themselves in worship, and the palace maids, ministers, and guards in the palace also knelt down one after another.
The Northern Emperor exhaled a breath of stale air:
"Where is the Hall of Yama I left behind, now that I am in such a frail state? Where is the Wu Family?"
No one answered.
The Northern Emperor frowned; he was merely a wisp of his will residing in this body.
Furthermore, having broken through the suppression of the giant array, the passage of ten thousand years, and the belly of Maitreya, His will has been weakened countless times, rendering Him fundamentally devoid of the Great Divine Ability of His true self.
Naturally, one cannot achieve near-omniscience and omnipotence.
"Did something happen?"
The Northern Emperor, with his hands behind his back, calmly spoke:
"Back then, I deliberately arranged for Consort Wu to ascend the throne and become empress, so that her lineage could suppress the Hall of Yama and continue to this day."
Where is the Hall of Yama, the Hall of Yama, at this moment?
A majestic voice echoed through the palace, and Yuan Tiandao, prostrate on the ground, spoke in a hoarse voice:
"The upheaval at the Martial Arts Manor is suspected to be related to a man named Zhang Fusheng."
"Zhang Fusheng?"
The Northern Emperor spoke indifferently:
Where is this person?
No one answered, but Li Yiyi and Luo Cheng, who were prostrate on the ground, subconsciously glanced at the Taiji Hall in the distance.
The Northern Emperor keenly noticed this and turned to look.
Then I saw the shattered Taiji Hall, the scattered Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array, and that single Divine Cocoon.
And six empty food boxes.
The Northern Emperor's expression darkened.
The twenty-four food boxes were what He had prepared for His return; He ate them all, even though His will was weakened to the point of being like that of an ordinary person.
It can also instantly manifest the body of Innate Being and immediately step into the [True Saint] level of the fourth realm of the Divine Path.
At that time, with his True Saint cultivation and the techniques and methods he had mastered, he could easily sweep across the world and suppress even the Heavenly Venerables and Buddhas who were at the fifth level of the Divine Path.
But with six boxes empty, he can only recover to the level of Great Divine Ability User at best.
With the body of Great Divine Ability User, how could he possibly defy the Heavenly Venerable and the Buddha?
It's difficult.
And that Divine Cocoon.
"An Innate Being?"
The Northern Emperor squinted. At this moment, he was only equivalent to a Venerable One, having inherited only Yuan Feidao's Essence, Qi, and Spirit, energy, and spirit, and could not see any further.
However, the techniques and methods He possessed were far beyond what the Venerable One could compare to.
The Northern Emperor closed his eyes, then opened them again. In his eyes floated the illusory image of the stars in the heavens. Under the starlight, everything inside the Divine Cocoon was clearly visible.
A moment of silence.
"Now that the gestation is complete, why not emerge?" The Northern Emperor looked at the creature within the Divine Cocoon and spoke calmly.
Silence, and more silence.
After a while.
'Click!'
With a crisp cracking sound, a fissure appeared on the enormous Divine Cocoon. The fissure gradually widened, and the cocoon silk peeled away layer by layer.
When the Divine Cocoon splits in two, all the silk threads fall away.
A handsome young man stood in the Taiji Hall.
Who are you?
Li Jing stood up, stood behind the Northern Emperor, and asked in a stern voice.
Although He was merely a wisp of the true spirit of the [Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King] incarnate,
However, unlike the Northern Emperor, it has not been weakened or restricted. Now, it has begun to awaken and has already reached the level of a great being!
A single question unleashed a torrent of Thunder Tide.
The Thunder Tide, capable of annihilating even a Venerable One, surged forward, spreading into the Taiji Hall and rolling towards the handsome young man from all directions.
But this happened when he was nearing youth.
'Buzz!'
A huge, ancient, and weathered Wheel of Reincarnation suddenly appeared, hovering behind the young man.
The Wheel of Reincarnation was engraved with countless mystical runes, each emitting Immortal Light accompanied by intense chaotic colors.
When the Wheel of Reincarnation rotates...
The Thunder Tide suddenly ceased, and in the blink of an eye, they were completely swallowed up by the Wheel of Reincarnation.
The young man smiled, extended a finger, and lightning burst forth from the fingertip—the lightning that had just been swallowed up by the Wheel of Reincarnation.
"The Dao of Reincarnation, the cycle of Yin and Yang, the balance of all things, repeating endlessly, is merely a lower level of the Way of Yin and Yang; it has no power to devour or transform."
The Northern Emperor spoke indifferently:
"Just now, there was a hint of the Taotie."
"Northern Emperor, you have insightful views."
Zhang Fusheng smiled and spoke:
"My Wheel of Reincarnation does indeed contain the Taotie's Ability to Devour and Transform All Things."
The Wheel of Reincarnation is one of the innate supernatural Divine Ability he acquired after transforming into Innate Being; he can entrust all his learning and knowledge to it.
Beneath the spinning wheel, the cycle repeats endlessly, and all that has been learned is perfectly integrated within the Wheel of Reincarnation, unleashing abilities far surpassing those of the past.
"Insolence!" Li Jing shouted, "How dare you presume to address His Majesty as a fellow Daoist? This is a crime of usurpation!"
The shouts echoed throughout the vast city of Chang'an.
Zhang Fusheng remained calm, blocking the entrance to the Taiji Hall and preventing the Northern Emperor from obtaining the food box, the purple robe, and the suspended sword.
He flicked his sleeve and spoke calmly:
"What, Northern Emperor Beidi also think so?"
As he finished speaking, the Wheel of Reincarnation slowly began to turn, and a Nine-Zhang Bodhi shone forth, bathed in Buddha Light, surrounded by Brahma Chant, and a golden spring emerged.
"World-Honored Tathagata"
The indifferent expression on the Northern Emperor's face vanished completely, and Li Jing suddenly gasped.
The two sides faced off at the Taiji Hall.
In the sky, a magnificent purple qi gradually gathered, resembling an immeasurable sea.