Chapter 542: Chapter 8: Year 12 of the Late Han, Uprising of the Three Sects, Dong Zhuo Enters the Capital
"Your reason?"
Haotian’s gaze was profound as he spoke with great solemnity:
"For me, the Transcendent Traits are nothing but a liability. I was confused before, but thinking it over now, it’s highly likely that those traits were a factor in Taiyi and the Demon Ancestor instigating the rebellion of the Four Extremes Emperor."
After a pause, he continued:
"But you are different. You are a disciple of The Three Pristine Ones, which means you have the greatest backing in this world. You can bear the Transcendent Traits; you have more than enough support..."
"Of course, I won’t help you for free. I want you to help me return to the throne of the Celestial Emperor. What do you say?"
Lu Xuan’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head slightly.
"Elder, everything else is negotiable, but the throne of the Celestial Emperor..."
He paused, then said softly:
"The Four Extremes Celestial Court must not be restored. I won’t hide it from you—I intend to establish the Human Dao Dominating Celestial Realm in this era. After that, there will be no more Celestial Emperor."
Haotian was silent for a moment before replying:
"Then let’s change the terms. I must regain my status as an Enlightened One. Forget the Celestial Emperor’s throne. How about the Six Paths of Reincarnation?"
Lu Xuan was taken aback and fell into deep thought.
’The Six Paths of Reincarnation...’
After some thought, he offered a reminder:
"Elder, have you thought this through? According to the Lady, the Six Paths of Reincarnation are constantly processing the thoughts of countless living beings. Houtu bore this burden, and her very nature was altered..."
"It’s of no concern."
Haotian shook his head, his tone calm.
"Houtu was affected because she kept the Reincarnation in her grasp at all times. I certainly won’t make the same mistake."
As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face.
"Then it’s settled. I will help you accomplish your goal and give you the Transcendent Traits. In return, you will help me take hold of the Six Paths and control Reincarnation. How does that sound?"
Lu Xuan pondered for a long while before nodding and replying solemnly:
"It shall be as you say."
Satisfied, Haotian began to analyze the situation softly:
"Currently, the scattered Transcendent Traits are as follows: I have one portion, the Demon Ancestor has one, Wa Huang has one, and Sun Monkey and Fu Xi also share one."
"According to that Wa Huang of questionable authenticity, you and Taiyi each hold half of the Innate Uncertain Number. Houtu’s Transcendent Trait was contained within the position of Emperor Earth Deity, which has already been given to you..."
Lu Xuan listened quietly before asking a question:
"Elder, how did you know that Wa Huang told this to everyone?"
Haotian recounted what had happened that day beneath the Stone Stele, a smile reappearing on his majestic face.
"The Goddess’s naive nature allowed me to see through it all. The motives of that Wa Huang of questionable authenticity are unclear, but since she acted this way, there is definitely a major problem..."
Lu Xuan had a moment of realization and clicked his tongue in amazement. He clearly hadn’t expected that to be the reason the Lady had shattered the Wa Huang Nian in her mind with three slaps... However, a new thought occurred to him based on Elder Haotian’s words. ’It seems I’m the only one who encountered the Sea of Transcendence and received Wa Huang’s gift?’
The Transcendence Light Spots that had fused with him were wondrous, making some of Lu Xuan’s Divine Techniques even more profound and mysterious.
For example, grasping heaven and earth was something that should only be possible for those with a Dao Fruit or a Fake Dao Fruit.
But thanks to the Transcendence Light Spots, when Lu Xuan used this Great Divine Technique, it possessed a hint of profound mystery that defied common sense and logic.
While he was lost in thought, Haotian continued speaking:
"Right now, the Transcendent Traits you can scheme for belong only to Fu Xi and that Sun Monkey. My own Transcendent Trait is currently unclear; I will give it to you directly once I’ve figured it out. Also..."
His tone shifted:
"Su Daji... you’re the one who captured her, correct?"
Lu Xuan was taken aback.
"That did happen. Why would you be concerned about a Great Saint from the Demon Race?"
Haotian shrugged and said with a smile:
"She was a nail I planted by the Demon Ancestor’s side, one of my hidden cards. After I was thrown from the throne of the Celestial Emperor, I was dead for many years, but I wasn’t idle all that time."
"I took Emperor Xin—that is, King Zhou of the Late Shang Dynasty—under my command. Daji is deeply in love with him."
Realization dawned on Lu Xuan. He summoned the Heaven-Opening Banner and gave it a slight shake. The Nine-tailed Demonic Fox and Lamp Buddha, the [True Node], both emerged.
The former looked around in a daze, her expression wary, while the latter let out a cheerful laugh.
"Your Majesty, it seems you couldn’t hold back any longer either..."
Haotian took Daji into his palm, then cursed with a laugh:
"You old bald donkey, what did you come out for? Get back in!"
With that, he kicked Lamp Buddha back into the Heaven-Opening Banner and said to Lu Xuan with a laugh:
"It’s useless for that old bald donkey to be out here. Just let him stay inside."
Lu Xuan chuckled. On second thought, it made sense. Elder Lamp was a Daluo, his thoughts free to roam across the past and future of the Years.
There was no difference between the Lamp Buddha currently sitting on Spirit Mountain and the Lamp Buddha inside the Heaven-Opening Banner; their minds and thoughts were one and the same.
He discussed matters further with the Haotian Daoist, solidifying their plans.
"I will go find that Fu Xi for you. There’s no rush with Sun Monkey; you can wait until the Journey to the West and find a way to take his Transcendent Trait then."
Lu Xuan nodded. As he watched the Haotian Daoist depart, a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Just now, he had tried to activate the [Path of Great Balance], hoping to equalize and obtain the currently unknown Transcendent Trait from Haotian.
However, he had failed...
The Path of Great Balance was still not perfect, and the gap between himself and Elder Haotian was simply too vast. They were not on equal footing at all, making it difficult to affect him with the [Path of Great Balance].
’The three steps of Daluo... I need to approach the [Artifact Holder] and even the [Supreme] levels as quickly as possible. As it stands, the Path of Great Balance is ineffective against beings on the level of the Ancient Ones.’
’I just don’t know if it will have any effect once I step into the [Supreme] level...’
As he pondered, Lu Xuan glanced over the vast Human World. With a thought, he severed his Supreme Profound Pure Form and sent it toward Zhang Jiao’s location.
He then severed his Profound Yellow Body and sent it to find Zhang Daoling.
’Besides my true self, I now have the Profound Clarity, Xuan Sheng, Profound Yellow, and Nine Nether Child Forms. My One Qi Transforms into the Three Pristine Ones has temporarily hit a bottleneck...’
Comments