Chapter 42

As the petals of the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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While the Supreme Daoist Patriarch and the Jade Purity Sage discussed the great calamity of heaven and earth, they mentioned that Xuan Kong, who was born in this calamity, was the one destined to respond to it.

Xuan Kong himself was not present and did not have the good fortune to hear these words. However, the four great celestial masters and the Eight Immortals of the Upper Grotto could not help but be greatly alarmed upon hearing them. Xu Jingyang, the Celestial Master, was the first to speak, pleading, "Master, could it be that the four disciples under my tutelage are the first to be listed in this calamity?"

He was referring to the Immortals Shen Hui, Qian Hui, Hong Shi, and Wei Dao, who were killed by Ci Hang Pudu.

The Great Grotto True Lord's face turned ashen. In the past, even if his junior brothers had died, it would not have been a major issue. He could have gone to the underworld to retrieve their souls and asked the Grand Patriarch to grant a few Ninefold Soul-Returning Golden Pills, which would naturally bring the four immortals back to life.

Or, he could have abandoned their mortal bodies and crossed the Bridge of Netherworld without drinking the River of Forgetfulness, reincarnating through the six paths of samsara with the help of the positive and negative whirlwinds, and naturally, the brothers of the Pure Brightness Dao would have come to guide them, allowing them to return to their immortal bodies after a hundred years of cultivation.

However, if what the Supreme Daoist Patriarch said was true, the great calamity would cause all heavenly secrets to be inverted and chaotic.

At this moment, the souls of his junior brothers were already lost, and they would have to wait until the calamity ended and the destined person received the imperial decree. Among the Three Pure Ones, the Supreme Daoist Patriarch was the most profound and mysterious, ranking first among the sages, but even he shook his head in helplessness when faced with the great calamity of the Pangu world.

The Jade Purity Sage pondered for a moment and said, "Since the Great Master has already foreseen the destined person, why not bring him to our sect early so that we can personally teach him?"

In the previous calamity of the Sealing of the Gods, it was the Jade Purity Sage who, during the chaos in the heavens, saw a glimmer of clarity and quickly brought the destined person, Jiang Ziya, under his tutelage. He taught him the Dao and military strategy, ultimately helping the kings of Western Zhou establish an eight-hundred-year dynasty.

The Supreme Daoist Patriarch, sitting on a mat, said, "The destined person has already entered the three sects, but we are powerless to teach him. It is easy to forcibly resolve this calamity, but to completely end the countless calamities that follow, it must be through this person."

He continued, "Everything has a beginning and an end. The great calamity of heaven and earth begins with karma and ends with Xuan Kong. This 'Xuan Kong' represents the numbers one through nine, from beginning to end, not a fixed number, but a complex interplay, hence the name 'Xuan Kong.'"

The Supreme Daoist Patriarch's words were profound, meaning that the two characters 'Xuan Kong' represent the numbers one through nine. Everything starts with one and ends with nine, but the changes from beginning to end are not fixed, thus creating countless possibilities.

Even the Supreme Daoist Patriarch could only foresee that Xuan Kong was the destined person to end the calamity of heaven and earth, but he could not predict how Xuan Kong would end the great calamity caused by the boundless karma of all living beings.

Fate is predetermined.

Only the sages, who have experienced countless eons, can see through the illusions of the world and transcend fate to enjoy eternal freedom. All others, no matter how profound their cultivation, are still bound by fate and cannot escape it. The Jade Purity Sage, upon hearing this, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

He was using his great supernatural powers to trace the root of the matter and deduce the changes in the three realms.

The great power of the sages is indeed like seeing through fire, allowing them to see the cause and effect of Xuan Kong's birth in this world. He saw the countless thunderbolts that struck Laoshan Mountain twenty years ago, from which Xuan Kong descended, and he also saw that in the distant future, Xuan Kong would indeed achieve supreme cultivation and spread his Daoist tradition.

He saw the beginning and the end, but the changes in between were shrouded in a thick fog, making it difficult to see clearly, even with the Jade Purity Sage's repeated use of his true essence.

Unsatisfied, he began to deduce the fate from the side, starting with the one-eyebrowed Taoist of the Laoshan Sect.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, a smile of satisfaction on his face, and slowly nodded, saying, "The great calamity of heaven and earth, caused by the karma of the Pangu world, is predetermined. However, the heavens have a benevolent nature and do not wish for the beings of the three realms to be trapped in the cycle of calamity forever. Therefore, twenty years ago, Xuan Kong was born, a being nurtured by heaven and earth, free from karma, and destined to end the countless calamities."

The disciples of the Great Purity Sect, who were listening, found this novel. Except for the Great Dharma Master Xuandu, who had studied under the Supreme Daoist Patriarch in ancient times, the others had been warned from the day they began their cultivation to avoid entanglement in karma.

The lowest-level cultivators, cultivating their primordial spirits in hopes of ascending to immortality, feared the ninefold heavenly thunder that would strike when they shed their mortal bodies.

At a higher level, the famous immortal sects, inheriting the ancient divine traditions, focused on cultivating the Purple Mansion Golden Elixir, and when their powers accumulated for five hundred years, they had to guard against the three calamities.

The ancient gods, renowned in the three realms, knew to stay away from the mundane world and to sever karma with the wisdom sword. Therefore, cultivators in the mundane world were the most common, while disciples of the immortal sects were rare, and the great sages and buddhas of ancient times were almost never seen unless a great calamity occurred.

The Jade Purity Sage, with his eyes closed, had already perceived the three realms. Some secrets, though unknown to mortals, could not escape his wisdom. Opening his eyes, he sneered, "The one in the Dark Abyss also understands the fate of the world. With two years left before he rules the three realms, he cannot bear the loneliness?"

Others could not subdue the great sage of the Dark Abyss, but in the eyes of the sages, he was merely a pawn. They tolerated him when he was useful, but it did not mean that these pawns dared to disrespect the sages.

He waved his hand and summoned the Great Dharma Master Xuandu, saying, "Take my Jade Purity talisman and go to the Dark Abyss. There is a price to pay for what you do." He looked at the Supreme Daoist Patriarch, knowing that his junior brother's intention was to enhance the reputation of the Three Pure Ones.

The great calamity had not yet arrived, and the sages had not yet appeared, but this did not mean that the people of the three realms could ignore their existence.

The Supreme Daoist Patriarch looked at the two disciples kneeling below and pointed to Celestial Master Xu Xun, saying, "You shall go with Xuandu!" Xu Jingyang, who had once slain a dragon in Lujiang with great satisfaction, was now restrained by the sages' command and dared not seek revenge privately.

Now, with the personal words of the Supreme Daoist Patriarch, he was overjoyed and quickly bowed to accept the mission. The Supreme Daoist Patriarch sighed lightly and took out the Taiji diagram from his sleeve, handing it to Celestial Master Xu Xun, sending him off with the Great Dharma Master Xuandu to the Dark Abyss.

The two, having received the sages' talisman, rose and left the Palace of Alchemy. Celestial Master Xu Xun invited the Great Dharma Master Xuandu to go first. The Great Dharma Master Xuandu understood Xu Xun's thoughts, chuckled, and waved his拂尘, causing a seven-colored auspicious cloud to rise beneath their feet, carrying them toward the Dark Abyss.

On the cloud path, they saw a city ahead bathed in the light of the Buddha. Xu Xun opened his eyes and smiled at the Great Dharma Master Xuandu, saying, "The Dark Abyss has great skill, even able to transform demons into the Bodhisattvas of the Buddha realm. Let me capture these two beasts and take them to the Dark Abyss to see what that person has to say."

The Great Dharma Master Xuandu stopped the cloud, not preventing him, but watching as Celestial Master Xu Xun threw the Taiji diagram and then retracted it, already capturing the Great Vulture Bodhisattva and Ci Hang Pudu within. Celestial Master Xu Xun sneered, "I am compassionate. You two demons killed four of my disciples, but I will not take your lives. I will only remove the three flowers on your heads and send you back to your master!"

Still unsatisfied, he shook the Taiji diagram again, extinguishing the five qi in the chests of the two demons, and then bowed to the Great Dharma Master Xuandu. Together, they used their spells and rode the auspicious cloud directly to the Dark Abyss.