Chapter 743: Tibu Xu

Within the Secret Realm of the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk.

Great Virtue Houtu sat quietly on the riverbank. She no longer looked towards the monkey’s location, her expression quite calm, as if nothing had happened.

She was, in fact, somewhat startled.

She knew that Li Changshou, the Saint Slayer, had been banished from the Primordial World by the Dao Ancestor; she also sensed the great battle between the Dao Ancestor and Saint Taiqing in Zixiao Palace. Houtu knew everything that transpired on the day Jie School was destroyed. Furthermore, through the eyes of her Seven Emotions incarnation, she witnessed the greatest game of chess in the Primordial World since ancient times.

Similarly, Houtu was perfectly clear about the final outcome of that game. Saint Taiqing was sealed, Li Changshou was expelled, Jie School was annihilated, and the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court was bound by the Heavenly Dao.

But why did she see Changshou's mark on this envoy chosen by the Dao Ancestor for the flourishing of Buddhism...? Houtu had never told anyone about the Undying Golden Soul. If only Li Changshou knew, and the cultivation method was already mature, and this monkey successfully cultivated it... What was happening here was truly intriguing.

Houtu suddenly let out a laugh, her expression quite complex. Had the Dao Ancestor intercepted the cultivation method she gave to Changshou? Or had Changshou accurately predicted the monkey's arrival in the Underworld and used this method to send her a hint? Or was she overthinking it, and this was simply a coincidence? If it wasn't a coincidence, was Changshou asking for her help? But how could he make the monkey cultivate the Undying Golden Soul...?

Houtu pondered quietly, unknowingly falling into deep thought. So much so that when the monkey swaggered out of Fengdu City and returned to the mortal realm, Empress Houtu had no reaction. When she came back to her senses, she found that various parts of Reincarnation Immortal Island had become quiet, and the Ten Yama Kings were discussing going to the Heavenly Court to file a complaint.

This... Even though Houtu had witnessed many storms and seen all sorts of schemes, she was still somewhat bewildered at this moment. She couldn't confirm if Li Changshou was asking for help, nor could she confirm if the Undying Golden Soul method was still exclusive to her and Li Changshou. Moreover, if she acted rashly now and exposed something, it could easily ruin Li Changshou's potential plan.

"Alas..." Empress Houtu sighed softly and continued to sit by the small river, combing her long hair.

She could only assume that Sun Wukong was related to Li Changshou, a pawn arranged by him. Thus, she prepared herself to act in advance, contemplating what she could do. If the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk were to suddenly shake, the Heavenly Dao could be 'paralyzed' for an instant. Was this what Changshou wanted? Battling wits with the Dao Ancestor was certainly exhausting, and probing the minds of the Dao Ancestor's opponents was equally taxing. She would just prepare and wait for what happened next. How did that saying go? Right, to be safe.

In a minor chiliocosm, Li Changshou sat before a water-attribute spiritual root shaped like an orchid, secretly calculating in his mind. At his last stop, he had buried fifteen more Illusion Spirit Nails. The progress made over these thirteen years was quite gratifying. He still had to thank Wukong for diverting the Dao Ancestor's attention. After years of traveling back and forth, from the western part of the Three Thousand Worlds all the way to the east, and now looping towards the north, he had found over 9,200 places where the Grand Dao manifested. He had taken action to utilize over 3,600 of these manifestation points. Eighty percent of the foundational Grand Daos that form the underlying structure of the Heavenly Dao had been embedded with Illusion Spirit Nails.

In fact, this level was already sufficient. But Li Changshou possessed a very particular sentiment; caution was ingrained in his bones. At this moment, he was still not satisfied, wanting to do whatever he could before officially challenging the Dao Ancestor. Even if it only increased his chances of victory by one part in 120,000, it was enough for him to busy himself for a while. The leader of the Prudent Sect, embodying prudence himself.

'I wonder if Empress Houtu received the signal I sent.' As long as the monkey went to the Underworld, Empress Houtu should be able to see him; and since the monkey had the unique 'Undying Golden Soul' that he taught, he wondered if Empress Houtu would recognize it. Although Li Changshou didn't wish for Empress Houtu to act, for prudence's sake, if she, as a pseudo-Dao-integrator, could intervene at a critical moment, it would definitely provide a significant boost to his chances of victory.

How was this concealed from the Dao Ancestor? Very simple: the Undying Golden Soul method was deduced and comprehended step-by-step by 'Xu Bodhi'. Li Changshou simulated the entire comprehension process and, under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao, wrote down the cultivation incantations for the Undying Golden Soul method. These incantations bore no resemblance to the incomplete cultivation method Empress Houtu had given him back then. Only then could he send a message using Sun Wukong's primordial spirit, right under the Heavenly Dao's nose. Of course, the greatest significance of this method was to strengthen Sun Wukong's primordial spirit, making up for his biggest weakness during combat, and also allowing him to easily and directly improve his Dao realm. The only drawback was that it was quite taxing on one's hair when devising such methods.

Let's assume the worst. Afterward, he would simply act as if Empress Houtu hadn't received this 'signal'. If Empress Houtu could act, that would certainly be a good thing; if she couldn't act in time, it wouldn't affect the overall situation.

A gentle breeze blew, and the spiritual root before him swayed lightly, as if begging for mercy. Two layers of ripening formations had already been set up around it, and it would still be several months before this spiritual plant could be harvested. He had been pondering how to unlock the Heavenly Dao's shackles on the Dao realm. Having cultivated to Xu Bodhi's level, the Grand Dao was everything to him, the foundation of his existence. If his Grand Dao were sealed and he didn't try to unlock it, *that* would be problematic. And now, the more frustrated, helpless, and unwilling to give up he appeared, the more at ease the Dao Ancestor would be concerning 'Xu Bodhi'.

To accurately portray a character, one must understand their true state of mind, allow the performance to emerge from within, respect the original deceased individual, and fully express the character's true nature.—"Random Notes on Primordial Film and Television."

Seriously speaking, Xu Bodhi's identity truly helped him a great deal. From hunting down Xu Bodhi to plant a demonic seed in his Dao heart, to burying the Heavenly Demon Venerable's spiritual core beneath the Reincarnation Pagoda, and then to the immediate counter-attack when he was forced to leave the Primordial World. The entire scheme was now nearing its end. From him being in the open and the Dao Ancestor in the shadows, to him being in the shadows and the Dao Ancestor in the open, and then step-by-step gaining the initiative and comprehending this world more profoundly, he had already laid the foundation for subsequent victory.

In truth, from the moment the Dao Ancestor impatiently intervened, allowing Taiyi to kill Shi Ji and sparking the first large-scale conflict between the Chan and Jie Schools, the Dao Ancestor had already begun to lose. He lost because of his lack of confidence in the script of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation. He lost because his combat power could not surpass Saint Taiqing. All subsequent efforts by Li Changshou could be seen as his search for the minimum cost to erase the Dao Ancestor. Pangu indeed left a contingency plan, but it was somewhat convoluted, and few could understand it. Why did the Sky-Opening Axe split into three parts? Heavenly Dao Saints could already reforge wind, fire, water, and earth, meaning they could destroy heaven and earth and then reopen them.

The three Sky-Opening Artifacts could actually be interpreted in another way. A Saint wielding the Taiji Diagram could destroy Yin and Yang, reversing clarity and turbidity, returning them to chaos; a Saint wielding the Pangu Banner could cleave chaos, creating another layer and opening a new heaven and earth; the Chaos Bell could contain a minor chiliocosm. If its inherent abilities to accelerate and slow down time were used, countless beings could be crammed into this minor chiliocosm, and with a brief acceleration of time, they could endure until the new heaven and earth stabilized. In this process, the Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor would naturally all shatter. But the problem was that there were too many beings in the Primordial World, and the Chaos Bell couldn't collect them all. Casualties would be extremely heavy; if three-tenths of the Primordial beings survived, that would be considered good.

'Alas...' Sighing softly in his heart, Li Changshou gazed at the spiritual plant before him, as several profound questions crossed his mind. The ultimate destination of the Primordial World, the return of heaven and earth, the evolution of the Sea of Chaos, the annihilation of the tangible realm. These were the unavoidable questions he would have to discuss when he next faced the Dao Ancestor. Only by surpassing the Dao Ancestor in the answers to these questions would he have the confidence to point at the Dao Ancestor's nose and curse him: 'You hypocrite, Hong Buqun, all you want is to dominate the tangible realm!' Just thinking about it felt especially satisfying.

There was no point in idly waiting. Li Changshou proactively invoked the power of the Heavenly Dao, opened a cloud mirror, and checked on Sun Wukong's current situation. Heh, the entire monkey population was in an uproar. All over Flower-Fruit Mountain, a group of monkeys entangled by karmic entanglement were jumping and frolicking, enjoying the supposed joy of infinite lifespans, still unaware that a great catastrophe was about to befall them. Sun Wukong's trip to the Underworld, destroying the Flower-Fruit Mountain sub-register of the Book of Life and Death, made all the monkey-kind of Flower-Fruit Mountain 'immortal'. This was actually a misunderstanding on Sun Wukong's part. Being struck off the Book of Life and Death didn't mean these monkeys wouldn't die. It merely meant that after growing old and frail, they would cling to their last breath until their bodies couldn't sustain them, then turn into lonely spirits. The Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush were auxiliary artifacts of the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, primarily used to determine a soul's lifespan and blessings in the current life based on its merits and karmic sins from previous lives. If merely being unnamed in the Book of Life and Death granted immortality, then heaven and earth would have been overwhelmed by living beings long ago, in the early and middle ancient periods before the reincarnation system was established. It was purely an over-interpretation. Still, it was also his fault as their teacher for not explaining it more clearly. The fate of these monkeys was already destined to be quite grim. Thinking of this, Li Changshou felt a touch of pity. After all, the monkey had done a bad deed with good intentions, and all of it had been orchestrated by the Dao Ancestor behind the scenes. The last one to be schemed against like this by the Dao Ancestor was actually Li Changshou himself. Watching more was useless. He would prepare a bit more, and in a few years, he would go to Zixiao Palace for the showdown.

Li Changshou raised his finger, about to dismiss the screen before him, when his eyelids suddenly twitched. The image in the cloud mirror shifted, locking onto the East Heavenly Gate. There, an old man in white, with kind eyes and benevolent brows, holding a whisk and stroking his beard, left the East Heavenly Gate and headed towards Flower-Fruit Mountain. Taibai Jinxing, the fake one.

Li Changshou's true body's mouth twitched, but his 'Xu Bodhi' false body dared not show such a reaction. Instead, he slightly furrowed his brow and performed a quick divination. The Heavenly Dao had no defenses against Xu Bodhi, so he easily deduced what had happened. Li Changshou was not originally skilled in divination methods; he excelled at the 'exhaustive' method. But after occupying Xu Bodhi's Dao body and primordial spirit, he naturally absorbed Xu Bodhi's primordial spirit and mastered divination.

As expected, divination revealed that the Four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas Dragon Palace, in conjunction with several Yama Kings from the Ten Yama Kings of the Underworld, had jointly gone to the High Heavens Palace to file a complaint. The Dragon Palace accused the Monkey King of Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain of plundering and causing trouble in their palace, and even stealing the Dinghai God Needle, which was a grave transgression. The Underworld was even more severe; the Yama Kings directly accused Sun Wukong of destroying the Mortal Book of Life and Death, causing turmoil in the Underworld, which was a capital offense. The Jade Emperor immediately expressed some appropriate anger and was about to order the capture of the demon monkey, but 'Heavenly Court Messenger Taibai Gu' next to the Jade Emperor stepped forward. This impostor's angle for defending the monkey was unique. He didn't mention the monkey's initial wrongdoing, nor did he talk about how many beings would be affected by the destruction of the Book of Life and Death sub-register. Instead, he said that since the Monkey King could defeat Dragon Kings and restrain Yama Kings, he clearly possessed true ability.

The Jade Emperor's face hardened, and the immortals and gods in the High Heavens Palace fell silent. Although Taibai Jinxing's words made sense, they had heard, from who knows where, opposing arguments: The Heavenly Court, when seeking immortals and gods, should not only value ability but prioritize character. These were words written by 'His Majesty the Jade Emperor' in the Heavenly Rules. But in the end, the Jade Emperor said little, adopted 'Taibai Jinxing''s suggestion, and decreed that Taibai Jinxing should offer amnesty to the Monkey King and have him serve in the Heavenly Court. Thus, came the situation Li Changshou now observed through the cloud mirror.

After thinking for a moment, Li Changshou continued to watch for a while, until he saw the impostor arrive at Flower-Fruit Mountain on a cloud, reveal a bit of immortal power, put on an air of mystery, and cleverly persuade Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong, upon hearing that the Heavenly Court wanted him for a high official position, was naturally overjoyed. He summoned his monkey descendants and the various demon kings of Flower-Fruit Mountain, telling them he would go to the Heavenly Court to have some fun and scout it out. If the Heavenly Court was a good place, he would just move Flower-Fruit Mountain directly up there.

Li Changshou: "..." This was probably arrogance personified. Even he, a former influential Heavenly Court official, wouldn't dare utter such a boast!

Closing the cloud mirror, Li Changshou didn't watch the subsequent events. It was nothing more than the 'Bima Wen fights the wicked Heavenly Generals' drama. Based on his understanding of Sun Wukong, Sun Wukong was bound to make many friends in the Heavenly Court, and the situation would surely be very lively. Unfortunately, his cloud mirror couldn't scout the Heavenly Court. If he forced himself to watch the show, he would easily be noticed by the Dao Ancestor. Once he harvested this spiritual plant, he would continue burying nails.

Li Changshou sat quietly, gazing at the spiritual plant before him, trying to empty his mind of thoughts. In a blink, three months had passed. The orchid-shaped spiritual plant before him now shimmered with a delicate light, and wisps of fragrance slowly emanated from it, indicating it was ready for harvest. Li Changshou released his aura, causing all beings attracted by the spiritual plant to retreat. This kind of spiritual plant was actually of little use to him; he was merely putting on a show, creating a smokescreen. Even if he harvested it, Xu Bodhi didn't possess such alchemy skills. With his Dao realm and cultivation, in this secluded place, if this acquired spiritual root could still be stolen from him, then Li Changshou... would write Xu Bodhi's name backward. He might as well harvest it; he didn't care about the last bit of medicinal power.

No, that's not right. 'Xu Bodhi' should be extremely focused on this herb, as it carried Xu Bodhi's hope of unlocking the shackles on his Dao realm. Impatience in small matters can ruin great plans. Be patient, be patient. So, another seven or eight hours passed, and it was the early morning of the next day. A realization came to Li Changshou. He took out a jade box and slowly approached the spiritual plant, a faint smile on his face, enjoying the subtle sense of satisfaction.

Just then... A wisp of Dao aura suddenly manifested nearby, and the lowing of an ox entered his ears, making Li Changshou's movements instantly freeze. He turned his head with some effort, only to see mist rising in the nearby forest, and a green ox slowly emerging from it, with an old man whose eyes were half-closed sitting on its back.

Laozi? The Green Ox? Li Changshou's Dao heart trembled, and he almost bit his tongue. He had just thought he had revealed himself when Laozi spoke: "This humble Daoist wonders if he might exchange some pills for your precious herb?"

Laozi often traveled when he had nothing else to do; so, was he merely out gathering herbs all along? Li Changshou's heart stirred, and a not-so-daring idea suddenly came to him. Should he connect with Laozi in advance? Inform the organization that he was back? If Laozi were to act and add some 'ingredients' to the Golden Pills in the Tushita Palace, it might truly grant Wukong the power to overturn the Heavenly Court, making it impossible for the Dao Ancestor to conclude matters, thereby creating the optimal timing for his own entry. This could be a viable move.