Chapter 674
Statements from All Parties
With all the key personnel present, a beam of celestial light descended upon the Hall of Dust, and Zhuang Yan appeared above the hall atop auspicious clouds.
Everyone in the hall immediately stood up and bowed to the heavens, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Divine Firmament Emperor."
"Fellow Daoists, please rise," Zhuang Yan said with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The crowd bowed in thanks and rose. Zhuang Yan then gestured and said, "Fellow Daoists, please sit down."
After everyone bowed in gratitude once more, and once everyone was seated, Zhuang Yan's gaze first fell upon Brahma.
"Fellow Daoist Brahma, it was my mistake to suppress you for several decades this time. I am truly sorry," Zhuang Yan said to Brahma with a sincere expression.
Seeing Zhuang Yan apologize so sincerely, Fan Tian's displeasure vanished instantly. He hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "What are you saying, Great Emperor Shenxiao? A few decades is just a blink of an eye for us. It's nothing."
“Hey,” Zhuang Yan said, “Wrong is wrong, and right is right. We said we would suppress you for a hundred years, but you’ve been suppressed for several decades longer. You still need to receive the compensation you deserve.”
At this point, Zhuang Yan raised his hand and pointed, and a golden light flew out from his sleeve, then transformed into a purple-gold gourd that landed in front of Brahma.
Zhuang Yan said, "There are thirty-six 'Great Rejuvenation Pills' here, which were refined by Laozi. Immortal cultivators can gain three thousand years of life by taking one of these pills and will not be restricted by calamities. I will use these pills to compensate you."
Upon hearing this, Brahma's eyes lit up. That meant that if any immortal in the Brahma sect was facing a great calamity and their lifespan was about to end, they could live for another three thousand years by taking this pill.
This is a elixir that can defy fate. Brahma quickly reached out to catch it, then bowed and said, "Brahma thanks His Majesty Shenxiao for his generous gift."
Zhuang Yan smiled slightly and gestured for him to sit down, saying, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat."
Brahma put away the elixir and slowly sat back down. At this time, the expressions of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma on the Brahma side had returned to normal, no longer showing their previous gloomy demeanor.
At this moment, Zhuang Yan finally spoke, saying, "You are all powerful figures who dominate one region or sect in the Three Realms. I have summoned you all to the Jade Palace of the Mortal World today because there is a very important matter I want to inform you of."
Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately became serious.
Zhuang Yan continued, "However, many fellow Daoists have already received news of this matter in advance, while some are still unaware. Therefore, I must now explain the whole story to you all."
After saying that, Zhuang Yan immediately raised his hand and waved it. A beam of mysterious light evolved into myriad phenomena and covered everything in an instant. Everyone present was immediately pulled into a scene of memories.
This memory scene is the memory scene of Hongjun Daoren, which he specially gave to Zhuang Yan. Now Zhuang Yan is showing this memory scene to everyone so that they can understand the root of all this and the cruelty of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao.
Looking at the familiar Xuanfa Heavenly Dao world in the scene of his memory, Tongtian Daojun's gaze immediately became deep and sorrowful.
Every scene that flashed through his memory was as vivid as yesterday, especially the countless lives lost in those earth-shattering battles, which were all extremely familiar to him.
Tongtian Daojun was present at the scene, while the others were completely shocked.
"There's something wrong with the laws of nature here. I feel my power is sluggish." This is what the Great Emperor Suiren of the Western Mountain discovered.
The others then noticed this as well, and Zhuang Yan began to explain it to them.
When they heard about the 'Mysterious Heavenly Dao', the Great Emperor of the Northern Mountain exclaimed in surprise, "There are actually other Heavenly Dao worlds?"
But soon the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak pointed to a Golden Immortal flying past and said, "Isn't that Fellow Daoist Tongtian?"
Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that the Great Enlightened Golden Immortal who had flown past in the memory was none other than Tongtian Daojun.
Everyone turned to look at Tongtian Daojun, who was also filled with emotion. Facing everyone's gaze, he slowly said, "That's right, I am a being of the Xuanfa Heavenly Dao."
Thus, the scenes unfolding in this memory landscape are not only explained by Zhuang Yan, but also feature the appearance of Tongtian Daojun.
This memory spans from the invasion of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao to the defeat of the three Great Luo Golden Immortals of the Profound Law Heavenly Dao, the destruction of the Profound Law Heavenly Dao world, and the escape of Hongjun Daoist with the survivors to the Pangu Heavenly Dao.
After everyone in the hall saw these memories, they all fell silent. Even the Old Mother of Lishan and the Buddha of the East, who already knew the secrets of heaven, were extremely shocked at this moment.
Within the chaos, there are other Heavenly Realms, and these Heavenly Realms will invade and destroy each other.
The defeat of the Xuanfa Heavenly Dao led to the destruction of the entire Xuanfa Heavenly Dao world. The river of time belonging to the Xuanfa Heavenly Dao collapsed, and countless beings within the Xuanfa Heavenly Dao were completely annihilated in the chaos, leaving not even a true spirit behind.
The few remaining Xuanfa Tiandao cultivators were led by Hongjun Daoren to escape to Pangu Tiandao, where they established the Xuanjiao.
Furthermore, the battles between those Great Luo Golden Immortals were far beyond the comprehension of everyone present, making it difficult for them to see clearly. As a result, they felt that the three Great Luo Immortals of Xuanfa Tiandao had inexplicably failed.
But perhaps the reason why the Five Elements Heavenly Dao has five Great Luo Immortals while the Profound Law Heavenly Dao only has three is because it is outnumbered? That's what everyone thought.
After an unknown amount of time, the Buddha of the East was the first to regain his senses. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of spiritual tea, and then asked, "Your Majesty, is all the change that has occurred in the Heavenly Court over the years due to this matter?"
Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "That's right. All the changes that have taken place in the Heavenly Court over the years have been in preparation for this."
"Prepare?" Old Mother Lishan grasped this key word and said with a solemn expression, "Could it be that the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is coming for our Pangu Heavenly Dao?"
Everyone present was shocked by these words, but Zhuang Yan shook his head and said, "No, the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is currently unaware of the existence of my Pangu Heavenly Dao."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but then Zhuang Yan changed the subject, saying, "But we have already begun searching for the existence of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao."
In an instant, everyone tensed up again. This time, the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak asked, "Since the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is unaware of our existence, why should we actively seek them out? Wouldn't that be inviting trouble?"
"This isn't inviting trouble," Zhuang Yan said. "It's taking the initiative." He then recounted the experiences of the Twelve Beauties in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, concluding, "This was also the Jade Emperor's decision. Chaos is vast; we cannot allow the Five Elements Heavenly Dao to expand without limit. We must proactively confront it. Otherwise, if we allow the Five Elements Heavenly Dao to devour other Heavenly Daos, in the end, my Pangu Heavenly Dao will only be able to sit and wait for its demise."
"Just imagine this, everyone," Zhuang Yan said, looking at the crowd. "When the Five Elements Heavenly Dao devours all the Heavenly Daos in the Chaos, what terrifying power will it possess? Where can my Pangu Heavenly Dao escape to then? At that time, even if we wanted to resist, there would be no possibility."
The crowd below fell silent. Seeing this, Zhuang Yan continued, "Let's put it this way. For example, if Fellow Daoist Bo Xun can continuously devour other Great Awakening Golden Immortals to infinitely increase his power, what will happen after he devours all the Great Awakening Golden Immortals in the Three Realms?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, including the three founders of the Brahma sect, whose eyes showed deep apprehension.
Clearly, even his allies were terrified by the analogy of Mara, the demon.
Everyone immediately understood the concept, and their worries vanished instantly, replaced by anxiety.
“In that case, we should find the Five Elements Heavenly Dao as soon as possible,” Zhenyuan Daxian said. “Otherwise, during this period, it will devour countless more Heavenly Daos.”
"It shouldn't be that fast, right?" Fire Spirit Immortal said. "Didn't Laozi, Buddha, and Hongjun Sect Master all take hundreds of years to find the Dao mechanism of a Heavenly Dao?"
Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Indeed, it's not that fast, but it's hard to say whether the Five Elements Heavenly Dao has mastered a way to quickly find other Heavenly Daos, just like the Five Elements Qi that appear in the Six Paths of Reincarnation."
The faces of everyone were solemn, but the Great Emperor of the Central Peak glanced at Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, and Mara, and slowly said, "No one is thinking of surrendering, is there?"
These words immediately angered the four people. Vishnu retorted, "Lord of the Central Peak, your words are too biased. What do you take my Brahma religion for?"
Even Shiva said angrily, "We, the Brahma people, are also beings of the Pangu Heavenly Way, and the methods we cultivate follow the laws of the Pangu Heavenly Way. We would never do anything like kneeling down and surrendering to the enemy!"
Brahma said, "We don't understand why the Emperor of Zhongyue has such a great prejudice against our Buddhist religion. This is truly puzzling to us."
At this moment, Buddha Donglai laughed and said, “Fellow Daoists, there is no need to be angry. Emperor Zhongyue has a son who used to cultivate in Lingshan. Later, he was driven out of the Lingshan Daoist temple by the Buddhist Daoists.”
Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu: "."
Indeed, there is no love or hate without a reason in this world. From the very beginning, Emperor Zhongyue kept mocking the three members of the Buddhist sect, and there was indeed a reason for it.
After being exposed, the Great Emperor of Zhongyue was not embarrassed and said directly, "That's right, it's because of this matter that my son was about to become an immortal, but he was suddenly driven out of the Lingshan Dojo by you, which has caused his cultivation to not advance even a little bit. It is truly hateful."
Vishnu then said, “Emperor Zhongyue, this is a small matter. Why didn’t you tell us? Now our sect has received the decree of Emperor Shenxiao and will no longer drive away the cultivators on Mount Ling. We can just let your son move back.”
"What's so good about it?" Emperor Zhongyue said with a dark face, "Those temples have already been taken over, and those that weren't taken over have been occupied by your Brahma sect. Where is there any room left?"
"This was indeed quite awkward. Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva exchanged glances, all feeling a little embarrassed."
Zhuang Yan was equally embarrassed. This Emperor Zhongyue had no sense at all. The discussion was about resisting foreign enemies, so why was he stirring up internal conflicts?
The Fire Spirit Immortal below immediately noticed Zhuang Yan's displeasure and said to the Central Mountain Emperor, "Central Mountain Emperor, let your son go to the Thunder Swamp at the foot of Buzhou Mountain to cultivate after some time. The Thunder Swamp is not only rich in spiritual energy, but you can also use thunder power to temper your body, which is much better than cultivating on Mount Ling."
The Central Peak Emperor was about to decline, wanting to argue with the three Buddhist monks, but the Eastern Peak Emperor gently patted him on the back, causing the Central Peak Emperor to freeze instantly.
A moment later, the Great Emperor of Zhongyue suddenly looked up at Zhuang Yan, only to see Zhuang Yan's gaze fixed on him, his eyes filled with displeasure.
Emperor Zhongyue's mind raced, and he realized what was happening in a moment. He chuckled and then said to the three members of the Brahma Sect, "Hahaha, I was just joking with you three. It's just a Daoist temple. Where in the world can't you find one? Don't forget that Zhongyue is also a blessed land."
Upon hearing what the Great Emperor of the Central Peak said, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma also laughed, and then the matter was dropped, and no one mentioned it again.
Zhuang Yan withdrew his gaze and looked at the people in the hall, saying, "You are all rulers of your respective regions and leaders of your respective sects. You share weal and woe with the Pangu Heavenly Dao. No matter what the future holds, whether it is the Five Elements Heavenly Dao or other Heavenly Daos, I hope that you will all prioritize the overall situation of the Pangu Heavenly Dao."
Upon hearing this, the Old Mother of Lishan was the first to stand up and say, "Our Daoist sect will certainly obey His Majesty Shenxiao's decree."
The Buddha from the East also stood up and said, "Our Buddhist sect swears to live and die with Pangu and the Heavenly Dao."
Zhen Yuanzi stood up and said, "I am a rogue immortal. Although I am the greatest rogue immortal, I can't control other rogue cultivators. I can only control myself. I have only one sentence: as long as the Jade Emperor and the Divine Firmament Emperor issue an order, my Wuzhuang Temple will do whatever it takes to the death."
Needless to say, the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors had no choice; the Jade Emperor's decision was their final choice.
Tongtian Daojun of the Xuan Sect spoke slowly but firmly: "Your Majesty Shenxiao, fellow Daoists, our Xuanfa Heavenly Dao was destroyed by the Five Elements Heavenly Dao. It was thanks to the Pangu Heavenly Dao that we were accepted and prevented from being lost in chaos. My sect leader has long said that the entire Xuan Sect will protect the Pangu Heavenly Dao with our lives, and will never allow the tragedy of the Xuanfa Heavenly Dao to be repeated in the Pangu Heavenly Dao. Our Xuan Sect is willing to join all fellow Daoists in resisting anyone who dares to violate the Pangu Heavenly Dao; this will is unwavering even unto death!"
At this moment, Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma of the Brahma sect stood up, cupped their hands, and said, "We of the Brahma sect will stop here today. As long as it is for the sake of Pangu's Heavenly Way, as long as it is to resist other Heavenly Ways, Your Majesty Shenxiao only needs to give an order, and our Brahma sect will be the vanguard, vowing to protect Pangu's Heavenly Way to the death."
Upon hearing the words of Tongtian Daojun and the three founders of the Brahma Sect, Zhuang Yan solemnly nodded to them. At this moment, the Daoist sect, the Buddhist sect, Zhenyuan Daxian, the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors, and others also put aside their past grievances and gave Tongtian Daojun and the three founders of the Brahma Sect an affirmative smile.
Finally, everyone's gaze fell upon Mara. Mara looked up at him, then stood up and said, "The Buddhist community knows my origins better than anyone else."
The Buddha of the East immediately understood Mara's meaning and said, "The Buddha Mara was born in the Western Continent of the Three Realms. He was later expelled from the heavens by Shakyamuni Buddha, and then entered the Three Realms to establish a demonic sect by taking advantage of the great calamity of heaven and earth."
“That’s right,” said Mara. “Although I entered from beyond the heavens, I am originally a being of the Pangu Heavenly Dao. Moreover, I belong to the Demonic Sect, and other Heavenly Daos may not tolerate my existence.”
"But no matter what," Bo Xun said calmly, "as long as Pangu and you all do not betray me, Bo Xun, I will not do anything to betray Pangu and you fellow Daoists in the matter of uniting against external enemies! If I break this promise, may I be punished by heaven and earth!"
"Good." Zhuang Yan laughed, "Fellow Daoist Bo Xun is straightforward."
The others also smiled and nodded. As long as the Pangu Heavenly Dao was united, they were not afraid of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao's attack!
At this moment, Zhuang Yan ordered the celestial attendant to serve wine, and then raised the wine cup to the crowd and said: "I would like to borrow a word from the Great Heavenly Venerable to give to you all: If you are willing to unite and support Pangu's Heavenly Dao in opening up chaos and attend this unprecedented gathering, drink this cup to the brim."
Holding their wine cups, the crowd chanted in unison, "We are willing to obey the command of the Great Heavenly Venerable! We are willing to obey the command of the Divine Firmament Emperor!"
After speaking, everyone joined Zhuang Yan in drinking the immortal wine in their cups. From that moment on, all the major sects and forces in the Three Realms officially united under the banner of the Dust World Jade Palace, headed by Zhuang Yan, actively obeying its laws and preparing for the impending clash. (End of Chapter)