Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

It was a minor matter for a Celestial Emperor to be changed, but a Realmwar would have a major impact on karmic luck! The two sides were currently engaged in a war for karmic luck, with the Endwar only coming once both sides were convinced that no further gains could be made. That was when all of the major Buddhist powers would have to go all out as well.

“I wonder how many of us shall be at Mount Ling, after the great storm passes.” Lord Tathagata stared downwards, sighing to himself. He could never forget how much blood had been shed when the Primordial Era was brought to an end. Even he had very nearly perished before the might of the Lord of All Things. Fortunately, by relying on his [Golden Nirmana Body], he was able to survive and keep the Lord of All Things tied down.

That had been a calamitous war.

The majority of the Buddhas of the Buddhist Sangha had died in battle. Fortunately, Mother Nuwa had made a breakthrough in the end, allowing for a reversal in the war!

……

The Celestial Realm.

The Dao Palace, in the eastern regions.

Daoist Three Purities was seated high up upon his throne. Unlike Lord Buddha, Daoist Three Purities had a much more reserved aura. And yet, when one looked at Daoist Three Purities…one would occasionally feel as though one was seeing a terrifying illusion of the destruction of the entire Three Realms.

Beneath him were seated the major powers of the Daoist Path.

“We are about to see a result to this Realmwar,” Daoist Three Purities said softly. “Zixiu, who do you think will win?”

An old man with a long beard who was dressed in loose robes said softly, “Fifty-fifty.”

This old man was Daofather Carefree. He was also known as Zhuang Zhou…Zhuang Zixiu! [4. Zhuang Zhou is an actual historical figure from the 4th century BC who wrote one of the most important philosophical Daoist books, the ‘Zhuangzi’.]

Long ago, two True Gods were born from the primordial chaos and became extremely good friends.

One was Yuanshi Tianzun, the Exalted Celestial of Genesis. The second was Xiaoyao Tianzun, the Carefree Exalted Celestial.

The two had trained painstakingly, with Yuanshi Tianzun having mastered the Heavenly Dao of Yang and the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. Of the ten Heavenly Daos, however, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was the most exalted of Daos. The Heavenly Dao of Life was mated with the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, while the Heavenly Dao of Yin was mated with the Heavenly Dao of Yang. Last came the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. If one wanted to make a qualitative breakthrough, one would have to gain insights into matching sets of Heavenly Daos…which was incredibly hard. For example, if you gained insights into the Heavenly Dao of Life, then the Heavenly Dao of Life itself would interfere with your efforts to gain insights into the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, preventing you from calmly training in it.

Or, for example, the Five Elements.

If one managed to master metal, wood, water, and fire…then when one began to work on water, one would suffer many interferences. Thus, it was incredibly difficult to master the full set of Five Elements, the duality of Life and Destruction, or the duality of Yin and Yang.

Lord Tathagata had managed to master the entire Five Elements of the Heavenly Daos, which was why he was able to become the leader of the Buddhist Sangha!

Yuanshi Tianzun had tremendous willpower and determination. During the Primordial Era, he placed a seal on his own truesoul, one which locked away his memories and prevented him from reawakening them unless he fully mastered the Heavenly Dao of Yin. He then sent himself into the Six Paths of Reincarnation and committed suicide, sending his truesoul into the cycle of reincarnation.

He was reborn multiple times. On his ninth life, he was reborn as Laozi [5. Also known as Lao-Tzu, Laozi is the historical author of Tao Te Ching and the historical founder of Daoism, much like how Shakyamuni/Siddartha is credited as the founder of Buddhism.]! In this life, he finally embarked on a path of nonstop breakthroughs, culminating in him mastering the Heavenly Dao of Yin and becoming a Daofather. At this moment, his memories were completely reawakened…and with Yin and Yang joined together, his power instantly skyrocketed, resulting in him standing at the very pinnacle of the Three Realms! Back then, of course, Mother Nuwa hadn’t reached the Pangu level yet.

He devised a technique which allowed him to transform in the Three Pure Ones; Shangqing the Supreme Pure One, Yuqing the Jade Pure One, and Taiqing the Grand Pure One. His three incarnations all had their separate strengths, and they were each very suited to their respective Heavenly Daos.

Daoist Yuqing was his former, true body; known as Yuanshi Tianzun, it controlled the Heavenly Dao of Yang.

Daoist Shangqing was known as Lingbao Tianzun, the Exalted Celestial of the Holy Treasure. He controlled the Heavenly Dao of Destruction.

Daoist Taiqing was the reincarnated Laozi, the master of the Heavenly Dao of Yin.

When Daoist Three Purities had devised this technique to create the Three Pure Ones, his three incarnations were capable of joining together to reach an unfathomable level of power. He had even been able to battle the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate for a long period of time.

Committing suicide and sending the truesoul to be reincarnated was incredibly dangerous. For example, if in a reincarnated life he had become a Celestial Immortal, then suddenly was killed and had his soul shattered, his truesoul would’ve been sent into the River of Destiny. He would’ve truly been dead, then! What he did was a dangerous gamble…but Yuanshi Tianzun possessed astonishing willpower and determination, which was why he dared to act in such a way.

The Carefree Exalted Celestial, however, didn’t possess that sort of determination. He did, however, create an incarnation which he sent to be reborn and experience new lives. In these new lives, however, he was naturally unable to gain any insights into the corresponding Heavenly Dao. Still, he didn’t care about this at all, because his power was still considered one of the top five of the Daoist Path.

Lu Dongbin had taken on two true teachers. One was Daoist Three Purities, while the other was the Carefree Exalted Celestial.

……

The imperial palace of the Primordial Imperial Clan, and other regions within the primordial chaos, such as Shennong’s residence or the residence of the ancient Suiren.

These ancient figures, some of whom were legendary recluses of the Three Realms, were all watching this battle. Perhaps they might’ve been reclusive in the past, but now that the storm had come, there was no way for them to avoid it. They would have to fight as well.

Similarly…

Some of the ancient, major powers of the Seamless Alliance, scattered throughout the Three Realms, were watching as well. This was the time for the war for karmic luck, which was why they permitted the Godking to be in charge of the Seamless Gate! When the end came, however…these ancient figures would emerge. Long ago, they had followed behind their king…and compared to them, this ‘Godking’ was actually one of their juniors.

“This battle hinges on the performance of those three.” All the major powers understood this.

……

On the battlefield.

The Daofather golem was the fastest on its side, while the Seven Planets God and perfect Heaven Punisher were the fastest on the Crimsonbright Realm’s side.

The three of them were like the tips of the spear for their respective armies, and they headed straight towards each other.

Whoosh!

As the titanic spider flew forward, it suddenly lashed out with two of its slender, knife-legs, sending two blurry streaks of light flying towards the Crimsonbright Realm’s army.

“Block it! Careful!”

The distant units immediately pooled its power to defend against the strike.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Although three Heaven Punishers and a Raindragon joined forces to block the strike, one of the Heaven Punishers was completely shattered. Fortunately, the Daofather golem had launched an attack from very far away, and so very few Immortals within the Heaven Punisher were slain.

“What incredible power. Ji Ning, let me test him first,” Empyrean God Redsnow sent mentally.