Chapter 730: First Meet Duobao, Then Meet Laojun

"Junior brother, take care. As your senior brother, I'm off to wander the four directions."

"Mm, take care."

Dizang smiled subtly and watched as Xu Bodhi drifted away gracefully.

For some reason, Dizang suddenly felt that this fellow disciple, who had schemed against him several times before, wasn't all that detestable after all.

It was probably due to the other's Dao realm having advanced, bringing him closer to the essence of 'emptiness,' which reduced the barriers between them.

Dizang murmured to himself:

"If all is empty, is this world not an illusion?

This path is the most illusory, merely a phantom in the hearts of living beings.

Emptiness is illusion, the Dao is illusion; spirits exist between the Dao and truth—why must one leap beyond the realm of form to seek that utter emptiness?

All phenomena have laws, and all laws have ends.

All Dharmas bear the marks of arising and ceasing; all calamities stem from the mind.

Rather than seeking emptiness in the heavens and earth, it's better to pursue that true intent within one's own heart. This senior brother's great Dao is ultimately just a dream."

Diting chuckled. "Master, are you jealous that this guy's Dao realm has improved?"

Three black lines appeared on Dizang's forehead. He huffed first, then said:

"The Dao is not for comparison, nor are methods for rivalry.

In this world, there are few gaps between living beings anymore. This poor Daoist only wishes to do more for the living creatures.

It's also..."

To carry on that fellow's will.

"Ah, the Western Teachings are starting to flourish," Diting said lazily, yawning. "Now, no one's around to hold them back."

"No, the Heavenly Court is still there. No one can bypass the Heavenly Court now."

Dizang smiled and replied, sitting back beside Diting, leaning comfortably against him. He summoned a Dao scripture with a wave of his hand and began to read it carefully, murmuring softly:

"It's just that it still feels a bit lonely in the end."

Diting chuckled and turned his head toward the direction where 'Xu Bodhi' had left, his six ears twitching instinctively.

Almost instantly, his fur stood on end, and his eyes were full of astonishment.

Dizang asked curiously, "What is it?"

"The Great Dao of Emptiness Resolution is this strong? Truly impressive."

Diting bit his tongue and whispered, "He's really something."

With that, he quickly averted his gaze, his six delicate ears instantly transforming into two dog ears, and he lay there as if asleep.

'Diting, from now on, stay quietly by your master's side. If at some point you hear something you shouldn't...'

Diting swallowed hard and silently lowered his head to look at the floor in front of him.

When the Dao Ancestor modified the memories of all beings, why did his master use the power of the Heavenly Way to protect him?

He knew nothing, heard nothing.

That Xu Bodhi was completely fine! His Dao heart had absolutely no vague shadows!

Ah, this...

Diting glanced at his master and pondered in his heart, 'Was my master really just narrowly defeated back then?' He fell into deep thought on this question.

Just, incredibly strong.

The gradually departing 'Xu Bodhi' slightly turned his head for a glance, a faint smile crossing his lips. He rode the clouds past Fengdu City and headed west.

There were old acquaintances at the eastern passes, but it was best not to meet them this time.

After all, those two wouldn't possibly remember him, so going would just be lonely, and he'd likely be mocked by those yin yang guai qi ones.

The underworld now had few symbols of the Wu clan left.

The six paths of reincarnation disk operated steadily, and most living beings in the world were closely connected to the Netherworld, though the Heavenly Way's power here wasn't particularly dense.

Li Changshou rode the clouds away without doing much else. He only left two wisps of profound aura downstream of the Three Paths River.

Like two nearly invisible nails, they were driven into the most accessible traces of the reincarnation great Dao and the path of departed souls here.

Before the Heavenly Way could detect it, he had already reached the edge of the heavenly pillar and flew along it toward the edge of the West Sea.

Everything seemed as if nothing had happened, yet something had indeed changed.

Once he left the Five Divisions Continent, Li Changshou could feel that the monitoring power of the heavens had clearly dropped several levels.

He wasn't surprised by this at all; it was simply a drawback after the Dao Ancestor's union with the Dao.

When the Heavenly Way developed private desires, it inevitably led to 'discriminatory treatment,' and with resources tilted toward the Five Divisions Continent, attention to the three thousand worlds naturally decreased.

This also restricted the Heavenly Way to a certain extent.

Li Changshou didn't let his guard down and continued to maintain Xu Bodhi's various habits without revealing any flaws, beginning his pursuit of the path of emptiness.

In reality, he was searching everywhere for places where Dao principles converged, embedding wisps of profound aura.

This was actually the implementation phase of the counter-heaven strategy.

Although the 'three thousand great Daos' that constitute the Heavenly Way are everywhere, formless and traceless, they can be understood as the natural laws of the primordial world; however, in some special areas, traces of specific Daos are easier to find.

For example, just now in the underworld, traces of the reincarnation great Dao and the path of departed souls were everywhere.

The more effortlessly he embedded the 'illusory spirit nails' into these Daos, the less likely the Heavenly Way was to notice.

Xu Bodhi's Great Dao of Emptiness Resolution required comprehending the ultimate end of the heavens and exploring their mysteries to reach its deepest realm, which became the perfect cover for his actions.

Thus, compared to the identity of 'Bodhi Ancestor,' the Great Dao of Emptiness Resolution was the most important 'tool.'

Traveling westward, Li Changshou first entered the mundane world, staying for a few years in a great thousand world where immortals and mortals coexisted. He found several places where Dao traces manifested, planted a few nails, and then began to browse the nearby small thousand worlds.

He journeyed with stops along the way, gaining insights from time to time. Not only was his Dao realm slowly advancing, but his own demeanor was also gradually changing.

Inevitably, he still attracted the Heavenly Way's attention.

There was no way around it; 'Xu Bodhi' was originally a disciple of a saint and one of the notable disciples of the Western Teachings. If his Dao realm advanced two major realms further, he wouldn't be far from the original Maitreya.

At this point, Li Changshou played a little trick.

He didn't pretend to be completely unaware of the Heavenly Way's scrutiny. Instead, he showed a bit of caution and tension, pausing his pursuit of the path of emptiness, and even deliberately recited phrases like 'following the heavens is the true essence.'

Xu Bodhi's reactions when discovering the Heavenly Way's monitoring—Li Changshou didn't miss any details.

Even so, the Heavenly Way silently observed 'Xu Bodhi' for a long time.

In fact, during Li Changshou's enlightenment, a wisp of profound Dao rhyme had once probed his Dao heart.

Li Changshou furrowed his brows slightly, putting on an air of 'having discovered the Heavenly Way's probing but facing it calmly,' while keeping a sliver of hidden secrecy in the corner of his Dao heart.

This situation persisted for several years.

In the bamboo grove of Zixiao Palace, the burly old Dao finally withdrew his gaze, and the wisps of Heavenly Way power were completely retracted.

Before Li Changshou could even relax, a call rang in his ear.

Three hundred years later, seek me at Huaguo Shan in Dongsheng Divine Continent.

'Xu Bodhi' trembled slightly and immediately knelt down, whispering, "This disciple obeys."

In that bamboo grove, the burly old Dao showed a knowing smile and gently pointed his finger, causing waves of insights related to the Great Dao of Emptiness Resolution to arise in 'Xu Bodhi's' Dao heart.

Li Changshou was all too familiar with this feeling.

It was just the perks of being a Heavenly Way tool.

After kneeling for a while, 'Xu Bodhi' stood up, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth before he quickly suppressed it. He bowed to the air and turned to leave this great thousand world.

Three hundred years later? Huaguo Shan?

It was probably to have him enlighten that stone monkey, mark it, and make it easier for future recruitment.

The Journey to the West minor calamity was finally coming, and the Dao Ancestor's next scheme had already begun.

What was the Dao Ancestor's small goal?

Li Changshou knew it clearly: the main aim was to spread the doctrines of Buddhism throughout the world, wiping out the anti-heaven forces and extinguishing the last flames of the demon clan.

The stone monkey's origins were quite special, like Lingzhuzi, existing between innate and acquired beings, with a somewhat ambiguous position.

—The mending stone was originally an innate treasure material, but it gained spiritual intelligence after the Heavenly Way took control of the world, lacking the 'beyond-heavenly-limits' characteristics of innate beings.

The Dao Ancestor's plan was to arrange for the stone monkey to become a demon, gather those demon kings who defied the heavens, and through the great battle between Huaguo Shan and the Heavenly Court, exhaust the demon clan's strength.

Li Changshou didn't feel much about this.

The demon clan and the human clan were mortal enemies, and the Dao Ancestor was an enemy of all beings.

Relatively speaking, Li Changshou was more worried that, because the Dao Ancestor had erased his existence, whether the Heavenly Court still had the immortal bean soldier tactic, and if there would be massive casualties among the heavenly soldiers and generals in the upcoming minor calamity.

He hoped the immortal bean soldier tactic still existed; it was beneficial to the Heavenly Court, after all.

Ao Yi, Jin Peng, Long Ji, Bian Zhuang... Your Majesty the Jade Emperor...

Li Changshou sighed lightly and pondered for a while in his main body's Dao heart before returning to the primordial world to continue his three-hundred-year journey.

Time is a fascinating concept.

To mortals, time is their brief yet lengthy life.

To ordinary cultivators, time is the force driving their cultivation, pushing them up the ladder to immortality.

To some ancient immortals of long life, time changes meaning.

Time is like a great river, carrying the past, present, and future, with all beings floating and sinking within it, seeing different scenery as they gaze toward the banks.

Immortals of long life have stepped out of this river, standing on its shore.

When the river flows quietly, it holds little significance for them, just adding more 'as always' memories and a bit more understanding of the Dao.

Of course, this understanding often gets stuck at bottlenecks, showing no change.

But when the river stirs up waves—that is, when events occur—memories gain a few 'exciting' fragments, which then become meaningful to immortals of long life.

A sudden surge of insights arose in his heart, and Li Changshou suppressed them, letting his main body digest them slowly.

Sudden enlightenment was troublesome; Xu Bodhi's Dao realm couldn't advance too quickly, or it would arouse the Dao Ancestor's suspicion.

Stuck at a bottleneck for three hundred years?

Once he broke through the current major realm, he'd get stuck at the bottleneck for three hundred years. That would also better explain his wandering through the three thousand worlds.

Where the great Dao manifests, the illusory spirit nails are embedded.

Although he could choose to scatter the three thousand illusory spirit nails in one go during the decisive battle with the Dao Ancestor, it was still safer to prepare in advance.

This endgame was about to deliver 'checkmate.'

Thus, decades later.

At the edge of the world, in a great thousand world that was somewhat desolate with many spirit beasts and demons.

"Master, is that really Xu Bodhi?"

"This guy is stuck at a bottleneck? His Dao realm is quite good, just a couple of steps behind where I was ten yuan meetings ago."

In a void earth cave, two pairs of eyes were fixed on the figure sitting in meditation in the distant forest, whispering through voice transmission.

This earth cave was now like a cave dwelling, furnished with various items and cushions, with pieces of spiritual treasures emitting hazy light, making the place resemble a warehouse.

The earth cave hung between this world and beyond it, and only one Daoist in the primordial world could achieve this.

The eldest senior brother of Jie Jiao, the earth cave digger, the void-wandering treasure-seeking rat—Duobao Daoist.

Ever since the battle outside Chaoge City, where Duobao angrily shouted the anti-heaven slogan and subsequently invited heavenly punishment, the massive Jie Jiao had suffered: some died, some were converted, and others scattered.

If he said he didn't regret it, that would be a lie.

After all, if he hadn't shouted that phrase back then, the Heavenly Way wouldn't have had reason to directly bring down punishment.

But in the primordial world, there was no regret medicine.

If he could do it over, seeing his master schemed against by the Dao Ancestor to such an extent, as the eldest disciple and senior brother, he would still stand up and reason with the Dao Ancestor.

Though he couldn't win a fight—he wasn't like that Changgeng guy.

Fortunately, half of his master's direct disciples had followed Changgeng, and a small half went to the Heavenly Court. The losses were heavy, but it wasn't total annihilation.

Ah, the Heavenly Way had wanted to destroy Jie Jiao from the very beginning.

"Master," Huoling Shengmu whispered, making a throat-slitting gesture.

Duobao thought carefully and shook his head slightly:

"There's no need; this guy is just a disciple of the Western Teachings. Why kill him?

I've finally set up this most hidden residence here, evading the Heavenly Way's detection. If we expose it directly, it's not worth it."

"Master, think about it!"

Huoling Shengmu transmitted: "The Western Teachings are about to rise greatly. This Xu Bodhi's Dao realm has improved so much; it's definitely the Heavenly Way directly giving him benefits to elevate him.

What does that mean?"

Duobao patted his round belly, his eyes lighting up: "He's the Heavenly Way's next pawn?"

"Most likely! Otherwise, where would such a Dao realm come from?"

Huoling Shengmu gritted her teeth and scolded:

"The Dao Ancestor controls the Heavenly Way, destroying our Jie Jiao and modifying the memories of all beings—truly excessive!

If not for you blocking that blue wave for me, Master, I might still think our Jie Jiao had some unpardonable flaws that made the Heavenly Way target us like this.

Hmph, since we're exiles of the Heavenly Way, we should act when it's time—give the Dao Ancestor some trouble and vent for those who perished in the heavenly punishment and are trapped on Ling Mountain!"

"This..."

Duobao hesitated visibly but soon nodded slowly. "Killing a Xu Bodhi isn't a big deal."

"Master, you've agreed?"

"Agreed! Let's vent, kill him, and run!"

Duobao gritted his teeth and cursed, waving his hand as the treasures in the earth cave flew into his sleeve.

Then, this master and disciple whispered for a while, finalizing their combat strategy for ambushing Xu Bodhi.

Roughly, it involved digging a hole through Qiankun and launching a surprise attack from below, targeting Xu Bodhi's Dao body weaknesses to severely injure him in an instant!

At that moment, the two began to get busy. Duobao chuckled and dug the void earth cave toward where 'Xu Bodhi' was located.

"Hmm?"

Subtle ripples stirred in Qiankun...

Li Changshou keenly detected the changes in Qiankun, sending out a wisp of immortal sense along the ripples' source, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.

Would escaping directly make his perception seem too sharp? How did Duobao senior brother end up hiding here? Or should he deliberately get injured by Duobao senior brother?

But if Duobao senior brother went all out, unleashing a thousand or eight hundred spiritual treasures in a explosive array, this 'collector's edition false body' of his would instantly turn to ash, right?

In any case, it was a huge headache.

Forget it, just escape...

Moo—

A cow's bellow suddenly came from the horizon as an old Dao sat on that familiar green ox, slowly approaching.

It was none other than Laojun!

(The end of this chapter)