Chapter 731: Lao Jun Points with One Finger, Dao Ancestor Supports the Stone Fetus

"Shifu, Dashi Zu has come to help us!"

"Don't shout nonsense!

Laojun is Laojun, and Dashi Bo is Dashi Bo. Although Laojun is an incarnation of Dashi Bo, the two are distinct, as Dashi Zu declared long ago.

You should address him as Laojun too."

In the earthen cave, near the area where Xu Bodhi was located, the master and disciple pair halted once more.

They exchanged glances, and Duobao's eyes showed a hint of hesitation as he signaled Huoling Shengmu to retreat with him.

However, as Duobao and Huoling had only backed away a few dozen zhang, the green ox appeared to stroll forward slowly but quickly reached the forest edge and headed straight toward where they stood.

The old Daoist on the ox's back slowly opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of any fluctuation. He didn't even glance at Xu Bodhi, merely pointing a finger gently ahead.

"Reveal yourselves."

A faint ripple stirred in the universe, like a thin sheet of paper burning away, exposing the two figures within.

Duobao: ...

It was so sudden.

At that moment, Li Changshou realized what was about to happen. He rose from his seated position, furrowing his brow as he watched the situation unfold, adopting a guarded stance without speaking first.

"Lao-Laojun," Duobao squeezed out an awkward smile, "what brings you here?"

Laojun said, "Come with me. I have an important task for you."

Duobao's body trembled involuntarily, and he straightened up, chuckling at Laojun, "Thank you for your trust, Laojun. May I ask what the task is?"

Huoling Shengmu asked from the side, "Laojun, are you here to help us seek revenge for Jie Jiao?"

A muffled thunderclap boomed, and the forest filled with the pressure of Tiandao.

Laojun frowned at Huoling Shengmu and said calmly, "Say no more. Just come with me."

"Laojun," Duobao said, his sleeves billowing as he dispersed the gray clouds gathering in the air, "I'm not disrespecting you, but you know the state of Jie Jiao right now.

In this world, there's no force left to defy the heavens.

I want to know, whose side are you on? Why was Dashi Bo sealed by Tiandao, yet you remain unharmed?"

The nearby 'Xu Bodhi' stepped back slightly, poised as if ready to flee at any moment.

Li Changshou sighed inwardly.

Duobao Shixiong has truly lost his composure, pressing Laojun for a stance right here.

Can Laojun just state his position casually?

Daozu doesn't dare touch Laojun because he's wary of Taiqing Shifu and fears any hidden moves.

And why has Laojun come here now? Daozu surely knows—it's to capture Duobao and proceed with the scheme to transform the barbarians into Buddhists.

For Daozu, it doesn't matter who leads Buddhism; what's important is its doctrines.

Transforming the barbarians into Buddhists can reduce resistance to spreading Buddhist teachings across the three realms and strengthen Buddhism's forces, so Daozu will secretly facilitate it.

But...

Li Changshou could basically deduce that Daozu would bind Duobao Shixiong, turning him into a tool of Tiandao with no autonomy, much like the treatment of Yu Emperor.

What can I do right now?

Nothing much, really. Just serve as a witness.

Sure enough, Laojun explained,

"The struggles among the beings of heaven and earth have nothing to do with me. The paths chosen by fellow Daoists are their own calculations.

I exist to safeguard the transformation of Daoism, and now I need to borrow your help for a matter concerning Daoism's fate."

Duobao frowned deeply, "May I ask, Laojun, what is it?"

Laojun said, "I will grant you the destiny of a sect leader and have you establish a new teaching."

"This?"

Duobao laughed bitterly, "If Laojun wants to found a new teaching, a single proclamation would suffice. Why must I go?"

"You have high cultivation."

Laojun said slowly, "In these times when saints are not apparent, only someone of your level can stabilize a major teaching."

Cultivation...

Duobao was clearly taken aback; he hadn't expected this to be his advantage. He then laughed bitterly again.

In this world, experts have either died or fled, and as someone with the origins of a treasure-seeking rat, he finally qualified to lead a great teaching.

But...

"Laojun, I still wish to remain a Jie Jiao immortal," Duobao sighed slowly, bowing to Laojun, "Please forgive me, Laojun; I must disobey your order."

Huoling Shengmu also bowed and said softly, "Laojun, many of our Jie Jiao fellow disciples are watching over our master. We ask for your mercy to let him go."

Laojun sat silently on the ox's back for a while, then turned to look toward where Li Changshou, or 'Xu Bodhi', was.

Li Changshou gave a slight dry laugh and said, "Greetings, Laojun. I was merely passing through; I'll take my leave now."

Laojun nodded slowly without speaking.

As Li Changshou's figure turned into a wisp of green smoke and started to drift away, Duobao raised his palm and pressed it down from afar toward Li Changshou.

Thunder rumbled as the wisp of smoke was suppressed by the Great Dao, transforming back into 'Xu Bodhi's form and stumbling awkwardly into the forest, staggering back several steps.

'Xu Bodhi' stared at Duobao and said coldly, "What do you mean by this, Daoist friend?"

"It's nothing," Duobao said, with a faint treasure light flickering in his sleeve, "I just don't like the look of you. Leaving so easily seems too convenient."

"How so," 'Xu Bodhi' replied indifferently, "do you expect me to beg for mercy, say something submissive, or leave behind a few treasures, as if I've been robbed by bandits?"

"Not bad for someone who's argued with Changgeng Shidi," Duobao laughed, "you're quite sharp-tongued.

Daoist friend, the enmity between Xifang Jiao and Jie Jiao runs deep. Your master went back on his word and harmed Jie Jiao, so today we'll settle some scores with you!"

"Hmph!"

'Xu Bodhi' snorted, a blood light surging around him, as if a blood lotus bloomed beneath his feet.

Duobao shouted lowly, sending streaks of flowing light from his sleeve that instantly sealed off the areas around 'Xu Bodhi' and suppressed him.

But 'Xu Bodhi's figure flickered strangely, turning from solid to ethereal, rippling like water, and in an instant, he was riddled with holes by the incoming treasures.

"Hahaha!"

'Xu Bodhi's laughter echoed through the forest, "I congratulate you in advance on becoming the leader of a great teaching, Duobao Daoist friend. I'll surely bring a gift another day!"

His true form had already escaped to an unknown place.

This was Xu Bodhi's innate escape technique, which he had demonstrated many times in front of Li Changshou before, and in the end, he had escaped directly.

Now, having taken over Xu Bodhi's body, Li Changshou had quickly mastered this technique and even improved it slightly, so it no longer harmed his own vital energy during escape.

However...

Laojun raised his hand and pointed a finger in the direction 'Xu Bodhi' had fled. As soon as Li Changshou's figure appeared thousands of miles away, his eyelids twitched wildly, and a large hole opened in his chest, blood splattering everywhere.

He grunted stifledly and quickly fled from that great world.

Oh no!

Everyone, come see—Laojun is attacking!

Is this not an unwarranted disaster? I got a beating from Duobao Shixiong and Laojun together.

Well, at least this shows I haven't been exposed, and this injury can count as a 'perfectly timed' self-inflicted ploy, boosting my credibility with Daozu by several levels.

Just like Maitreya.

Why did Maitreya gain Daozu's favor and get assigned various tasks?

It was because he became my adversary as an anti-heaven vanguard.

Today, I've 'benefited greatly' from this.

"Cough, cough!"

Li Changshou swallowed a mouthful of blood, his face dark, and swiftly headed toward a great world he had scouted earlier, moving stealthily without revealing any trace of his aura.

Tiandao watched this and, while he was recovering, even provided some benefits.

—Several postheaven spiritual root herbs sprouted where he was healing, and passing spirit beasts and immortal birds collided and died at his cave entrance, each carrying fruits of tens of thousands of years.

Going with the flow of heaven brings prosperous fortune.

Later, Li Changshou learned that Duobao had indeed been taken away by Laojun that day.

Laojun must have suppressed him, and with the green ox's vajra bracelet, Duobao could only rely on his Dao realm cultivation to put up a fight in front of Laojun.

Yet Laojun, as an incarnation of Taiqing Saint, had severed ties with his original self, but his strength was still not to be underestimated.

In short, that great world suffered no damage, and Duobao was captured by Laojun.

Laojun did not trouble Huoling Shengmu and let her go free.

Otherwise, such news couldn't have spread and quickly circulated throughout the three realms.

Many cultivators were puzzled as to why Laojun targeted Duobao, but most viewed it as Daoism abandoning Jie Jiao and fully supporting the Heavenly Court.

Laojun's combat prowess was also confirmed for the first time.

Truly the top expert below the saints.

As for which is the greatest teaching in the world, there's no need to elaborate.

Why did Laojun capture Duobao?

Opinions varied, but remnants of Jie Jiao spread the word that it was to have Duobao establish a new Daoist teaching to enhance Daoism's fortune, which made some sense.

Only Daozu and Li Changshou knew that the struggle for great teachings hadn't ended, and the heavenly order would soon face upheaval again.

Li Changshou spent over two hundred years recovering.

For more than a hundred years, he stayed in a great world, ostensibly comprehending the Dao of Emptiness while recovering, but actually delving into the three thousand great Daos of heaven and earth.

He wasn't trying to understand and master each one individually; he didn't have that much time to waste.

Li Changshou was simply getting a broad sense of them, allowing himself to blend better into the Daos.

In the following century, he continued wandering through the three thousand worlds, covering only a small expanse of space, but secretly planting over a thousand illusion spirit nails.

Tiandao's surveillance of him had become quite weak, and his movements lacked any clear purpose. He often fell into the Dao of Emptiness, nearly merging with it.

Li Changshou understood Daozu well and had prior experience working for Tiandao, so he handled this with ease.

In these two hundred-plus years, several major events occurred in the three realms.

The biggest was that four of the twelve golden immortals of Chan Jiao defected to the West.

The term "defected" was used by onlooker cultivators.

In the Western Teachings' view, these were disciples originally lent to Chan Jiao and now returning.

In Chan Jiao's view, they were simply disciples who had completed their studies and gone to manage the Western Teachings, like graduating from a school to a workplace.

In any case, the previous alliance between the two teachings had substantively collapsed, though they still maintained appearances on the surface.

Disciples from both sides engaged in various underhanded competitions, but no conflicts erupted.

Juzi Liu, Wenshu, Puxian, and Cihang returned to the Western Teachings and were immediately given important positions, enjoying great prestige.

Li Changshou, as Xu Bodhi, wandered outside and didn't return to the Western Teachings because of this, maintaining an air of being devoted to the Dao and uninterested in teaching authority.

He had no desire to fight for it.

After all, he was someone planning to restructure the Honghuang Tiandao system; he didn't need to care about his status in the Western Teachings.

But after Wenshu and the others returned, they quickly formed a new faction, uniting the disciples of the Western Teachings around them.

If not for the lingering aura of the saints, they might have directly overshadowed the saintly leader.

The reputation Xu Bodhi had built in Ling Mountain was swiftly overshadowed.

Li Changshou went with the flow, deliberately exposing his traces and continuing to wander and comprehend the Dao in the three thousand worlds, showing complete indifference to the Western Teachings' power.

Wenshu then built up Xu Bodhi's image, praising his profound Dao realm and noble character, elevating Xu Bodhi to the level of a highly virtuous great power in Honghuang.

Their tactics were quite impressive.

Li Changshou just smiled and kept wandering through the three thousand worlds, rushing secretly to Dongsheng Shenzhou before the deadline set by Daozu.

In these two hundred years, Li Changshou hadn't devoted all his time to the "anti-heaven cause."

Life in the Kunpeng secret realm had stabilized; those who couldn't cultivate still had plenty of entertainment from the dozens or hundreds of games from Xiaoqiong Peak.

Moreover, experts could lose track of time for years or decades, and if they occasionally fished up some fragments of Dao principles from the Chaos Sea related to their own Daos, they could gain new insights.

Though breakthroughs were unlikely.

This was also the basis of Daozu's current composure.

By expelling Li Changshou from Honghuang, Daozu not only removed the variables from the world but also prevented Li Changshou from advancing his Dao realm further as heaven and earth merged with the Dao.

In the Chaos Sea, the Daos were disordered; even solving the problem of converting Chaos energy to spiritual energy wouldn't allow piecing together complete Daos for cultivation.

Let alone a perfected Dao.

In Daozu's eyes, Li Changshou and the remaining Jie Jiao immortals were still a force to be reckoned with in opposing heaven.

But that was all.

However, what Daozu hadn't anticipated, nor had the saints, and even Laojun hadn't recognized, was that Li Changshou had already returned to Honghuang, quietly planting a massive array of hidden explosives.

To be fair, this move of retreating to advance, exploiting Tiandao's loopholes, and creating a backdoor was extremely "cunning."

You needed a dark enough Dao heart to think of such a level.

In these two hundred years, Li Changshou's bond with his wife E and Yun had grown even stronger, their interactions becoming quite intimate.

Cough, anyway, the appointed time with Daozu had arrived. Li Changshou, controlling his 'collector's edition second primordial spirit, Xu Bodhi', appeared on the shores of the East Sea, atop Huaguo Mountain.

It's worth noting that after the Fengshen calamity, the demon clan's influence had shown signs of resurgence.

The demon clan was like that—gathering all spirits with deep foundations, and even now, a group of ancient demons hadn't been wiped out, so it's no wonder Daozu wanted to suppress them early.

Huaguo Mountain was no longer just a single peak; it referred to a stretch of continuous mountain ranges.

It remained a demon gathering place and the most famous one in Dongsheng Shenzhou, known as one of the seven great demon sacred lands of the three realms.

In an unremarkable cliff on Huaguo Mountain, perpetually shrouded in mist with a natural formation, thunder often rumbled.

'Xu Bodhi' quietly appeared there, glanced into the mist a few times, and furrowed his brow as he walked through the formation.

"You're here."

A voice suddenly came from behind, just a few feet away. Li Changshou tensed up, nearly striking out.

"This disciple dares not defy the command of Tiandao."

"Hmm, you're doing well," a gray-robed old Daoist emerged from behind Li Changshou, nodded at him, and said, "Follow me."

"Yes."

Li Changshou responded and followed the old Daoist deeper into the mist.

There, the familiar stone shimmered with colorful rays, emanating lively Dao rhymes, as if a spirit was quietly gestating within, a fetal spirit having wandered into the spirit stone.

The stone that mended the heavens.

(End of chapter)