“This is why the Confucian Sage sealed away the Transcendents, and it’s the source of our greatest conflict with them.”

The Supervisor showed a rare expression of seriousness—very, very serious. Xu Qi An had never seen the Supervisor this solemn before.

Just as he had never seen Yang Qian Huan without his pretentiousness.

“Do you think the Heavenly Dao should be without emotion, or with emotion?”

Xu Qi An and the Nine-Tailed Fox exchanged glances, each staying silent for a few seconds before the former said:

“Heaven’s ultimate selfishness manifests as ultimate fairness.

“The Heavenly Dao being without emotion is the greatest fairness to all living beings.”

The silver-haired enchantress nodded: “I think so too.”

*You should have said ‘Same here!’* Xu Qi An grumbled internally.

The Supervisor said: “But whether Divine Demons or Transcendents, they’re all beings with consciousness.”

He didn’t continue, but Xu Qi An and the Nine-Tailed Fox understood.

If a Transcendent replaced the Heavenly Dao, then the Heavenly Dao would possess consciousness and desires.

This made sense—if replacing the Heavenly Dao meant merging with the rules and losing consciousness like the Dao Ancestor’s Heavenly Sect avatar, then Transcendents wouldn’t scheme and plot so desperately to become the Heavenly Dao.

“The beings of this realm, generation after generation, would all be enslaved by the Transcendent—no, by the Heavenly Dao!” The Nine-Tailed Fox’s expression turned ugly.

Rules without emotion are good rules. If the Heavenly Dao gained self-awareness, thoughts, and desires, it would be terrifying.

Though absolute freedom had never existed in the world, at least now one could still cry out “How are nobles and officials born different from us?” If the Heavenly Dao gained consciousness, all beings would become mere puppets… Xu Qi An’s mood grew heavy as he said:

“It’s not just enslavement.

“The progress of each race’s civilization would end here, and the evolution of Heaven and Earth would halt, or move in an extreme direction.”

From a broader perspective, human civilization could no longer grow freely, and future generations would live forever under the shadow of the Heavenly Dao.

The Supervisor smiled: “The Confucian Sage also thought this wasn’t good. The future should be decided by future generations. The Heavenly Dao being without emotion is the greatest form of emotion—it doesn’t need desires or consciousness. So the Confucian Sage sealed all Transcendents, buying over twelve hundred years of breathing room for the beings of the Nine Provinces.

“Winning time for the Gatekeeper’s appearance.”

After speaking, he looked at Xu Qi An and said: “Your sea voyage was to seek an opportunity to advance to Half-Step Martial God, right?”

Xu Qi An grunted in acknowledgment.

He hadn’t managed to kill the Garuda Tree and steal its divine essence. His only path forward was to seek Divine Demon descendants at sea.

He certainly couldn’t devour Master Kou and Asura.

The Supervisor nodded, “Actually, in my calculations, reclaiming Shen Shu’s head while devouring the Garuda Tree would have been the best outcome. Too bad you wasted the opportunity I gave you.”

*In his plans, I should have already advanced to Half-Step Martial God. No, that’s wrong—if so, I wouldn’t have gone to sea at all, and today’s interception wouldn’t exist. Without the interception, I couldn’t have qualified to become the Gatekeeper…*

*Is the old schemer deceiving me, or did he originally have other plans? Did my appearance change his initial plans…*

Xu Qi An couldn’t tell if the Supervisor was maliciously mocking him or truly had other schemes.

*I hate old schemers…* With a resigned expression, he asked: “So what should we do now?”

The best way to deal with old schemers was to take advantage of them.

The Supervisor looked northeast and said: “Sail in that direction for three days, and you’ll reach an ancient battlefield. What you seek is there. Hmm, that unruly disciple Song has crafted arrays for collecting essence blood, right?”

Though he asked this, his tone and expression were full of certainty as if he had complete confidence in his unruly disciple.

Xu Qi An followed his gaze, his mind stirring as he recalled the information from Zhenzhu, the Merfolk Queen.

“The Merfolk Queen told me there’s an ancient battlefield to the northeast, where a terrifying monster lives.”

The Merfolk Queen had pointed southeast at the time, but from their current position, that ancient battlefield would be northeast—exactly the direction the Supervisor indicated.

It wasn’t hard to deduce they were likely the same place.

The Supervisor said: “That monster is the merged Spirit Essence and will of a Transcendent-level Divine Demon who died in battle in ancient times, becoming a soulless monster. Compared to the Garuda Tree, it’s more suitable for you.

“Because that Divine Demon’s Spirit Essence symbolizes ‘force.’ In terms of pure strength, even ten Huangs couldn’t match them.”

Xu Qi An’s eyes lit up.

For a warrior, the temptation of strength was even greater than that of a beautiful woman.

If you put an opportunity to double one’s strength and great beauty in front of a warrior, they would choose the former without hesitation.

At this moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox, who had been quiet, suddenly frowned and asked: “How can Transcendents use destiny to replace the Heavenly Dao?”

“Gather all the destiny of the Nine Provinces into one body, and they become the Nine Provinces, become the Heavenly Dao.” The Supervisor’s answer was concise.

The Nine-Tailed Fox considered carefully: “So whether it’s the Shamanic Gods or Buddhas, they all want to spread their teachings in the Central Plains, gathering faith. As long as all beings in the Nine Provinces believe in Buddhism or the Shamanic Gods, they can replace the Heavenly Dao?”

The Supervisor sighed: “Theoretically possible, but practically impossible. Reality is more cruel than you imagine.

“Great Feng dominates the Central Plains, gathering immense destiny, but this doesn’t mean all human destiny in the Central Plains belongs to Great Feng. From small martial arts sects to huge organizations like the Martial Arts Alliance, as long as they reach a certain scale, they all represent part of human destiny.

“Moreover, heroes emerge constantly in both the jianghu and imperial court, and they symbolize certain destiny.

“Great Feng has merely gathered the most human destiny, that’s all.

“Similarly, even if all beings in the Nine Provinces believed in Buddha or Shamanic Gods, they couldn’t possess all the Nine Provinces’ destiny. How could they replace the Heavenly Dao?”

The Nine-Tailed Fox seemed to grasp something but wasn’t quite sure, probing: “Then how?”

The Supervisor looked at Xu Qi An and said: “You once obtained an imperial seal in the great tomb, storing destiny within it.”

Xu Qi An nodded.

The Supervisor said: “But that dynasty has long since vanished into history.”

“What does this prove?” The Nine-Tailed Fox didn’t understand.

Xu Qi An pondered: “Destiny is formed by the common people, or rather by living beings, but it doesn’t disappear with their extinction. If preserved through special means, it can be viewed as a force…”

At this point, his expression suddenly changed.

The Nine-Tailed Fox’s eyes widened.

…

In the Western Regions.

Nine great Buddhist manifestations gathered at Mount Arantha, like deities descending from the nine heavens to receive their believers’ worship.

But on the dark side, unseen by anyone, a huge pair of eyes without lashes or emotion opened.

The massive eyeballs in those giant sockets rolled with a “gurgle,” both turning sideways as if examining the devotees behind them.

At that moment, on Mount Arantha’s slope, the outer rock split open, revealing dark red flesh and two rows of terrifying white teeth. Each tooth was as large as an adult human.

The corners of the mouth slowly curled upward, as if grinning.

Soon after, it closed again, covered by the outer rock, returning to its mountain form.

The Sanskrit chanting continued; no one noticed the holy mountain had come alive.

On the plains at the foot of the mountain, a young girl in noble clothing was “awakened” by an urgent need to urinate, breaking free from her devout prayer state.

She felt as if she had been sleeping, her mind foggy, unsure of where she was.

“Mother, I need to—”

Her voice was cut short. Her parents, clan brothers, and servants who had been sitting beside her were gone. Around her was emptiness, a silence that bred fear.

The little girl stood up in terror, looking around, calling out her parents and brother’s names.

Her voice echoed in the dim world, with no response. The distant devotees maintained their meditation postures, hands clasped, immersed in their worlds, faces bearing blessed smiles.

For some reason, this made her hair stand on end.

She cried in fear, crouching with her knees held to her chest, staring at the ground below, afraid to move.

She noticed two bumps rising beneath the thin soil. She froze, then carefully reached out to brush away the dirt.

Before her fingers could touch the raised portions, the soil suddenly parted, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes without eyelashes.

The eyes stared at her silently for a moment, then rolled with a “gurgle.”

The girl’s face was visibly contorted, her skin twitching. She slowly opened her mouth to release a high-pitched scream, but suddenly, the ground beneath her feet split open and swallowed her.

Bodhisattva Guangxian opened his eyes, looking down from high above. The devotees on the plain were rapidly diminishing in number.

These believers in Buddhism, representing Buddhist destiny, were finally becoming one with the Buddha they worshipped.

“Merging with the Great Way achieves immortality.”

Guangxian’s face was full of compassion as he clasped his hands: “May all beings attain enlightenment, and may the Nine Provinces become Buddha’s land everywhere.”

Beside him, Bodhisattva Liuli lowered her head, gazing at the ground below. Her gaze penetrated the earth and stone, seeing the meditating devotees within the mountain, merging into Buddha’s body as if ascending to paradise.

Liuli withdrew her gaze, looking toward the plains below. Buddha’s will continued to extend—the plains became Him, the rivers became Him…

…

“Devouring all the destiny of the Nine Provinces, then it won’t matter even if all beings perish. Because destiny won’t dissipate, just like the destiny stored in the imperial seal.”

Xu Qi An stared intently at the Supervisor, hoping to get a different answer, expecting him to disprove his speculation.

Disappointingly, the Supervisor slowly nodded:

“This is the Great Tribulation!

“Merely competing for faith and spreading teachings across the Nine Provinces—how could that be called a Great Tribulation?

“Of course, the more believers, the more territory occupied, the greater the enhancement for Transcendents. If the Shamanic Gods had succeeded at the founding of the dynasty, there would be no place for Buddha and the Poison God.

“And if Confucianism hadn’t destroyed Buddhism three hundred years ago, Buddha might have already transformed into Heaven and Earth, replacing the Heavenly Dao.”

A shadow seemed to loom in Xu Qi An’s heart.

Replacing the Heavenly Dao was already intolerable, but the situation was even more cruel and terrible than he had imagined.

The Nine-Tailed Fox said softly: “By year’s end at the latest, the Poison God and Shamanic Gods will break free from their seals…”

Anxiety and crisis awareness instantly exploded.

Xu Qi An opened his mouth to say something when suddenly he saw the Supervisor’s figure slowly dissipating.

The Supervisor looked at him, showing a slight smile: “Do you know why the Confucian Sage’s blade spirit was close to you, chose you?”

He couldn’t finish his words before his figure vanished like a dream bubble.

…

Pingkang City, thirty li from Mount Arantha.

As a city-state near the holy Mount Arantha, this place was prosperous and densely populated.

The city’s economy relied on taverns and inns, being a necessary stop for pilgrims heading to Arantha.

The large population flow also brought trade prosperity.

On the city wall, a guard gazed into the distance, where barren land stretched to the horizon.

Suddenly, he saw the distant ground undulate like a wave as if coming alive.

Doubting his eyes, he rubbed them hard and looked again, but saw nothing unusual.

Suddenly, the ground moved again, this time very close to the city wall, making it unmistakably clear.

“Hey, there’s something under the ground.”

He instinctively gripped his spear, turning to tell his colleague.

His colleague looked into the distance but saw nothing, complaining: “Not even a ghost’s shadow. Stop being jumpy.”

The guard persisted, focusing intently on the view ahead. After a long while, he gave up reluctantly and turned to his colleague: “Strange, I clearly…”

His voice was cut short. Beside him was emptiness; his colleague had vanished.

Not just him—all the guards on Pingkang City’s walls had disappeared.

The whole world was silent.

The guard looked around in confusion, unable to comprehend the situation. When he ran to the other side of the wall to check the city, he truly felt fear.

The entire city was empty.

Then, an eye split open in the parapet a few feet in front of him—an eye without eyelashes or emotion.

Following it, eyes split open in all the parapets, row after row. Their eyeballs turned simultaneously to look at the guard.

…

In the capital.

Huai Qing, wearing smooth silk undergarments, suddenly awoke.

The gossamer-thin silk clung to her voluptuous body, already soaked with sweat.

She threw off her thin blanket, and the robe hanging on the screen flew up by itself, draping over her shoulders.

Huai Qing, her snow-white feet bare, strode across the mirror-bright floor toward the outer chamber of her palace, calling out:

“Someone come!”

The palace maids waiting outside hurried in with small steps, heads lowered, bowing: “Your Majesty, we are here.”

“Immediately summon Scholar Zhao and Lord Wei. I want to see them in a quarter hour,” Huai Qing said rapidly, then looking at herself, added: “Help me change first.”

…

With Mount Arantha as the epicenter, flesh-like substance rapidly spread. The earth came alive, the rivers came alive, and distant city-states came alive.

Liuli’s beautiful face was like a sculpture, lacking emotional changes. Her voice was soft but without fluctuation:

“If we could gather all Western Region believers here, Buddha could refine the Western Region within three days.”

“Buddha is the Western Region—what refinement is there to speak of?”

Garuda Tree’s voice came from behind her.

Buddha was becoming one with the Western Region. Buddhism had operated here for thousands of years, with faith everywhere; its destiny had long merged with Buddhism.

Thus, Buddha’s steps toward becoming the Western Region met no obstacles, proceeding naturally.

Bodhisattva Guangxian smiled: “Once Buddha completes this great achievement, we can go east to devour the Central Plains’ destiny. By then, the Poison God and Shamanic Gods will still be sealed.”

The two Bodhisattvas smiled slightly at these words.

Guangxian looked at Garuda Tree and said: “Xu Qi An’s journey overseas is doomed to be futile. Divine Demon descendants above Third Rank were all slaughtered by that ancient Divine Demon.

“He might stake everything on targeting you. We can set a trap to kill him.”

Garuda Tree’s expression was serious, his tone flat: “He may not dare come to the Western Region.”

After speaking, he heard Bodhisattva Liuli beside him frown and ask: “Where is Du’e?”