Calamity Dream, Enlightenment to the Way of Profound Purity

Half of Kunpeng's wings had been severed, blood scattering through the chaos. His face was dark and overcast, yet he did not dare take another step forward.

Di Jun, Taiyi, and Minghe all wore grave expressions. In perfect tacit understanding, none of them spoke.

Receiving Guide and Zhunti stood on the other side. Now that Red Cloud had met his calamity, the two of them had regained their clarity.

Xuan Heng held Red Cloud's Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd, its surface still retaining a trace of warmth.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Kunpeng.

"Kunpeng, the enemy who stole your seat that day is standing right beside you. Yet you do not seek revenge—instead, you come after Fellow Daoist Red Cloud. You truly only squeeze the soft persimmons!"

A flash of viciousness passed through Kunpeng's eyes. He glanced at Tongtian but did not dare retort.

"Zhunti, Receiving Guide—you two are even more heartless than wolves. Fellow Daoist Red Cloud kindly gave up his seat, yet not only did you fail to show gratitude, you even joined the encirclement to kill him. Truly, you are white-eyed wolves that cannot be raised!"

Zhunti's expression darkened at Xuan Heng's words. In truth, until they had been controlled by the Heavenly Dao, the two had never genuinely intended to strike Red Cloud down.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Heng, this was the heavenly decree, not our—"

"Heh, the heavenly decree? For Fellow Daoist Red Cloud's death today, I fear human calamity played the greater part. Did you not covet Fellow Daoist Red Cloud's Primordial Violet Qi? Are you satisfied now? The seventh strand of Primordial Violet Qi has vanished into chaos. No one will ever obtain it."

Tongtian gave a cold snort from the side and spoke.

Just as Xuan Heng was about to say more, a sharp pain suddenly ripped through his chest. Earlier, he had forcibly driven the Taiji Diagram to block the Chaos Bell head-on, used the Calamity-Suppressing Gourd to suppress Red Cloud's killing calamity, and wielded the Calamity Severing Sword to forcibly cleave apart the Heavenly Dao's black qi.

Now, the backlash he had forcibly endured erupted completely. Sweetness flooded Xuan Heng's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of heart's blood as his consciousness gradually blurred.

"Little Brother!" Tongtian flashed forward and caught Xuan Heng's body before it could fall into chaos.

Yuanshi also stepped out, Jade Pure Immortal Light descending onto Xuan Heng as he tried to stabilize Xuan Heng's Dao body, which was already beginning to break apart.

Taiqing raised a hand and pressed it against Xuan Heng's brow, his eyebrows knitting slightly.

"This is bad. Xuan Heng's Primordial Spirit has suffered a backlash from the calamity qi."

Darkness fell over Xuan Heng's vision. He only had time to glimpse that final wisp of Red Cloud's true spirit deep within the Taiji Diagram before losing consciousness entirely.

"You lot! Deserve death! Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, rise!" Seeing Xuan Heng's condition, veins bulged across Tongtian's forehead. The Immortal-Slaying Four Swords behind him shot into the air, and an unsurpassable killing intent swept through chaos.

Yuanshi rose as well. The Pangu Banner erupted with boundless killing intent and flew directly into Tongtian's Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

A gleam of spiritual light flashed between Taiqing's brows. The Wind-Fire Cushion appeared, and after gently placing Xuan Heng upon it and protecting him with the Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Pagoda, Taiqing too rose and entered the formation.

"Since you desire Primordial Violet Qi, we have three strands here as well. Come and take them if you want them. If you lack the strength, then all of you can stay here today."

Profound Pure Immortal Light burst forth around Taiqing. The Taiji Diagram behind him unfolded completely, its yin and yang qi merging with the supreme killing aura within the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation!

Xuan Heng had a very long dream.

Within that dream, Xuan Heng arrived at the place where Red Cloud met his calamity time and again. Yet no matter how hard he tried, Red Cloud still met his calamity in the end, and that strand of Primordial Violet Qi still fled into the void, with no one obtaining it.

Time advanced once more in the dream. The Demon Court was established upon the Sun Star. Di Jun held the River Map and Luo Script, Taiyi wielded the Chaos Bell, and ten thousand demons bowed in worship. Starlight carpeted the heavens, and Kunpeng became the Demon Teacher. Xuan Heng tried to suppress the Demon Race's fortune in advance, but the vast tide of the Demon Race gathering beneath the heavens still rolled onward unstoppably.

Afterward, Nuwa traveled across the prehistoric world. Seeing weak creatures with no one to rely on, her heart of creation gradually ripened. She created humanity and became a saint, while Xuan Heng gained a portion of the merit from humanity's creation because he had lent out the Innate Gourd Vine.

The Three Pure Ones and the West successively established their sects and attained sainthood.

Then came the great calamity of the witches and demons. The Demon Race slaughtered humanity on a massive scale, and Xuan Heng stepped in to protect humanity, the future protagonists of heaven and earth.

Yet whenever he saved one human tribe, hundreds and thousands of tribes still fell amid blood and flame in the distance. Whenever he saved one region, cries still soared into the skies tens of thousands of miles away.

In the end, though Xuan Heng protected a portion of humanity, the vast majority were still slaughtered by the Demon Race and refined into the Witch-Slaying Sword.

The ten Golden Crows were beguiled by the West and left Tang Valley. Kuafu chased the sun, and Hou Yi shot the sun. Xuan Heng did not interfere in this matter. It would not affect the interests of the Three Pure Ones or himself; he merely sheltered the few remaining human tribes.

In the war between witches and demons, dead souls carpeted the land. Houtu stood amid the corpses and bones, seeing that countless beings had nowhere to return after death.

Xuan Heng wanted to directly tell her the words "reincarnation," but thunderous sound descended from the heavens and forced his voice back down his throat. Again and again, he tried to tell Houtu the answer in advance, but each time he was blocked by the great tide of heaven and earth.

In the end, Houtu walked into the underworld herself and became Pingxin.

Xuan Heng's dream lasted a long, long time—so long that Xuan Heng himself could no longer tell whether it was a dream or reality.

Until the Investiture of the Gods Calamity. Tongtian brought forth the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, while Taiqing and Yuanshi entered the formation one after another, brothers turning their blades upon one another.

Again and again, Xuan Heng rushed into the formation, wanting to stand between his three elder brothers. Yet with every step he took, chains of karma wound around his feet.

In the end, the Myriad Immortals Formation was broken, and the Interception Sect withered away.

Tongtian was taken away by the Dao Ancestor and confined in Purple Cloud Palace.

More than half of the Exposition Sect's Twelve Golden Immortals were converted by the West. Yuanshi sat upon the clouds above Kunlun, his face cold and hard, though weariness lay hidden in his eyes.

Taiqing sat alone in Eight Views Palace, its serenity so deep it was nearly desolate.

Later still, the Journey to the West calamity arose. Buddhist light came eastward, and the West flourished greatly.

Xuan Heng walked through this dream for a very, very long time. He knew everything, and again and again he tried to alter the great tide, but in the end he was always one move short. This also made Xuan Heng understand that if he only rushed to save wherever disaster struck, sooner or later he would be dragged along by the great calamities.

At the end of the dream lay boundless darkness. Calamity qi, karmic force, demonic thoughts, obsessions, and the cries of dead souls all pressed down upon Xuan Heng.

All of Xuan Heng's Dharma treasures had vanished. The only thing remaining was that wisp of profound blue immortal light within the darkness.

Xuan Heng sat cross-legged in the dark. He no longer interfered with the ever-flowing dream, which had already reached the later stages of the Journey to the West, but allowed the calamity qi to scour his body.

Profound Pure Immortal Light suddenly rose from Xuan Heng's body, illuminating the surging calamity qi—and also illuminating the obsession in Xuan Heng's heart that sought to change the great tide.

Xuan Heng understood now. He could not think of saving all living beings—there were too many, and far too many would be swept into the calamity. What he needed most was to remain unruffled at the sight of tribulation, and not lose himself upon entering the game.

Red Cloud's death had indeed struck Xuan Heng's obsession-bound heart. When he saw that all his efforts had ultimately come to nothing, that Red Cloud had still entered the slaughter tribulation, and that the great tide of Heaven and Earth had not changed in the slightest, his faith in eventually saving his three elder brothers had nearly collapsed.

Yet this dream of tribulation also made him see everything through completely. He should not be controlled by obsession. It was enough to do his utmost. If he could not alter the great tide of Heaven and Earth, then strengthening himself was still the kingly path.

As Xuan Heng's thoughts flowed freely and he came to understand all this, a mysterious blue Dao pattern appeared before him. At first, it was merely a wisp of faint light, then it slowly unfurled bit by bit.

Tribulation aura still churned around Xuan Heng. Karma, demonic thoughts, obsessions, and the cries of dead souls had not dispersed either.

But this time, Xuan Heng no longer thought of suppressing them all. He merely watched in silence—watching where the tribulation aura came from, watching how obsession took root in his heart, watching why, time and again, he knowingly charged headlong into what could not be done.

The mysterious blue Dao pattern slowly revolved before his eyes, ultimately transforming into a scroll of scripture.

Upon the scripture, four Dao characters naturally emerged.

Profound Pure Immortal Scripture.