A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 743 The Scent of Meat Inside the Tushita Palace

【Nine Heaven Realm】.

Bathed in the sunlight, a king awoke from meditation, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Without the slightest hesitation, He immediately cast His gaze upon all the heavens and myriad realms, scanning every brilliant thread of cause and effect, and looking toward the special point in time at the beginning of this era.

The Daoist Master's figure, holding the Pangu Banner, remained unchanged, unlike the three otherworldly beings who left without a word and vanished without a trace.

However, the causal thread connecting this figure that sustains history has thinned by about one-fifth and is still decreasing.

This makes the figure of the Daoist Master, who remains at this historical juncture to maintain time and destiny, increasingly elusive and difficult to describe.

The emperor frowned slightly.

He understood some of it, but not completely.

"The Daoist Master is researching the realms beyond the other shore, and is currently attempting to reduce his causal and destiny ties with all the heavens and myriad worlds."

"The cause and effect between oneself and all the heavens and myriad realms is the direct and indirect proof of the meaning of one's own existence. How does the Dao Venerable transfer such cause and effect to others?"

"To completely transfer one's own karma is tantamount to actively erasing one's own existence in all the heavens and myriad worlds, and erasing the meaning of one's own existence?"

Every existence has a cause and effect, and the mainstream direction woven from countless causes and effects is destiny. This is the connection between things and events in all the heavens and myriad realms.

If cause and effect completely disappear, the connection between things and events in the myriad realms will be severed. For the general public, this is "non-existence," and this is the most profound "death."

Within the structure of the myriad worlds, when most of one's traces on the river of time and destiny are erased, even those who have reached the other shore must fall into slumber, waiting for the legend that serves as their anchor to be regenerated within the fragments of cosmic light and the [real world], transforming into corresponding projections of others, re-overwriting past history, and occupying a portion of the future.

In a sense, for those on the other shore, this period is not much different from complete annihilation. For them, reducing their causal ties with the myriad realms is, in a sense, actively "seeking death."

Conversely, the deeper and more extensive the karmic connection with all the heavens and myriad realms, the more it can enhance one's understanding of the "Tao," thus accelerating the efficiency of comprehension.

After Amitabha Buddha became a heretic, he gathered a large group of people with great supernatural powers to establish Buddhism, all in order to strengthen his connection with all the heavens and myriad worlds, thereby improving the efficiency of comprehending many great principles. The so-called fortune, destiny, and the great trend he led are, in essence, all kinds of connections that resonate with all the heavens and myriad worlds.

Moreover, once this special connection becomes strong enough, it will bring unique blessings, which will also benefit the person on the other side to a certain extent, and even provide extremely special assistance.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable, who resides at the beginning of creation, the Moral Celestial Venerable, who resides at the height of an era, and the Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable, who resides at the time when all the heavens and myriad realms faced their final catastrophe, all possess these special connections that bring them blessings and assistance.

"Does the fact that the Dao Venerable has reduced his karmic ties with all the heavens and myriad worlds mean that he no longer needs to comprehend the 'Dao' of all the heavens and myriad worlds?"

"The most powerful being in the Other Shore Realm, the oldest being who has reached the very root of time."

The emperor wanted to sense the state of the Venerable One indirectly in order to deduce certain things, but he could only sense a hazy mist-like atmosphere.

No matter what method He used or what magic He employed, He could not calculate any useful information.

As one brilliant thread of cause and effect after another broke on its own, even the figure of the Daoist Master in my memory became somewhat blurred.

The myriad realms remained unchanged, and history continued as before. The river of time and destiny did not ripple, but a peculiar distortion had occurred in the subtle details, causing the destined events to intertwine and overlap with some insignificant ones.

The emperor abandoned his deductions and sighed, "After the rudimentary form of the Dao Fruit comes the Dao Fruit itself. The closer one gets to the Dao Fruit, the more difficult it becomes to describe."

"The three innate beings of the other shore were like this in the past, and so is the Daoist Venerable of today."

"The most powerful one in the other world is disappearing, and all the heavens and myriad realms will surely change."

Countless illusory futures flashed in the eyes of this emperor, before he took in the general temperaments and future aspirations of each fellow cultivator on the other side.

He saw future great supernatural beings attempting to reach the other shore under the influence of certain forces, and also saw those who had achieved perfect enlightenment fail to reach the other shore, turning into handfuls of ashes in the clash of divine will on the other shore.

In some fierce battles, a certain law of the myriad realms completely collapsed, and the Realm of Truth was split into pieces and some of its dimensions fell away as the other shores fought one after another.

At the same time, this emperor clearly observed that the traces of the Dao Venerable in the myriad realms of the future were becoming increasingly faint and shallow. They were drawing ever closer to the three innate beings of the other shore who had vanished without a trace, showing a tendency to exist only within the memories of these ancient beings.

"The Dao fruit that is unknowable, unnameable, and whose very existence is erroneous to speak of or to contemplate?"

The emperor's gaze held a mixture of confusion and a curious longing.

This being is like a collection of all stars, flames, high temperatures, hope, and passion; from the various futures it occupies, it sees the ever-shifting trend.

This is yet another momentous event that will shake the era and sweep across all other shores.

After a long silence, He realized that these futures were merely futures He Himself occupied, thus deducing them as illusions and bubbles.

There are other beings on the other side of the universe who share the same path. In the future, it is impossible for everything to happen according to His predictions, and some outcomes may even undergo earth-shattering changes.

The Other Shore that exists now is a variable, the great creators who will become the Other Shore in the future are also variables, and the three vanished innate Other Shores, as well as the Dao Venerable who is disappearing, will become variables among variables if they do not move.

"Not counting the three born to the other shore, there are now fourteen other shore beings in all the heavens and myriad realms. Among them, the Dao Venerable, the oldest one, is diminishing himself. So the most powerful being is Amitabha Buddha, and the most powerful force will also be Buddhism."

"The future Buddhist community has already laid the foundation for the birth of more other shores, and the rise of Buddhism and Taoism is unstoppable. This is not conducive to my cultivation. There are already many other shores in the two Buddhist communities. If there are more, my influence on the myriad worlds will decrease, and my efficiency in comprehending the 'Tao' will also decline significantly."

"I need to unite with some like-minded people from the other side to resist the influence of Buddhism, and at least maintain our current interests from being affected."

A wisp of special time-based radiance spread from this emperor's body, permeating all the heavens and myriad realms, merging into the long river of time and destiny.
-
In a past era, within a fragment of cosmic light that interacted with a nearby place.

In a battlefield of immortals and demons, the eyes of a dynasty ruler flashed with the brilliance of time. While maintaining the historical trajectory, his consciousness rose to infinite heights and initiated an extremely secret communication with a "mother nest" that was surrounded by terrifying demonic energy and whose entire body was twisted and hideous.

The wisp of consciousness spoke softly, "Queen Mother of the Jade Pool, what are your thoughts on the future of Buddhism?"

The "nest," exuding a chilling maternal aura, remained unmoved, continuously producing one instinct-driven demonic beast after another. These ferocious beasts, still attached to their umbilical cords, would unleash their claws and fangs, tearing apart the flesh and souls of all living beings. High above, a peculiar demonic shadow silently shone, looking upon the ruler of the dynasty: "The initial Golden Crow, no matter how you look at it, represents the unshakeable, dominant force that Amitabha Buddha will hold in the future."

The Dao of Time coiled up, revealing the form of an emperor. The Golden Crow's tone was indifferent at first, "It is not to shake the great trend set by Amitabha Buddha, but to build a force like the Buddhist sect, maintain its influence in all the heavens and myriad worlds, and prevent its own interests from being eroded."

A thoughtful look flashed in the eyes of the Queen Mother of the West, and she said, "Amitabha Buddha is the best among the ancients. What He wants to do only needs to be accomplished in the very beginning of the era. With the passage of time and the continuation of destiny, it will surely become a major historical trend."

At first, Jinwu remained unchanged, his expression showing no alteration. "In our ancient era, we can reduce most of the chess pieces that Amitabha Buddha has placed, so that these traces of the past cannot affect the timeline of this era. This requires the combined efforts of many from the other shore."

The Queen Mother of the West nodded. “Amitabha Buddha is a nascent Dao Fruit. One illusory Dao Fruit cannot stop Him. With His current strength, He needs at least three illusory Dao Fruit warriors to keep Him occupied and prevent Him from having time to spare.”

Initially, the Golden Crow projected a wisp of its own calculations about the future, saying, "Both you and I possess divine weapons from the other shore. With our combined strength, even if there are still some deficiencies, it should not be a problem to entangle Amitabha Buddha."

"As for the Tathagata of Mount Ling, any fellow practitioner who possesses a divine weapon from the other shore will suffice. When the Buddhist other shore cannot stand in the present world, the other shores will naturally take action as well. There are a total of fourteen fellow practitioners from the other shores in all the heavens and myriad realms, of whom at least eight can be of assistance to us in future matters."

The Queen Mother of the West remained expressionless. She looked at the first golden crow and after a long while continued, "Fellow Daoist, do you wish to prevent Buddhism from producing another person of the Other Shore?"

Jinwu nodded at first, "Yes."

“In the future, Buddhism can flourish in all the heavens and myriad worlds, but we cannot add another person to the other shore, as this would affect my interests.”

“Once Buddhism gains another person on the other shore, it will reduce the benefits of the other shore for all non-Buddhist practitioners. Their efficiency in comprehending the other aspects of the ‘Tao’ will be weakened, and their speed in attaining the rudimentary form of the Tao will be delayed by more than one epoch.”

The Queen Mother of the West nodded, "Alright, we can form a force to ensure that Buddhism will not threaten our interests."

Then, seemingly with a deeper meaning, He asked, "So, where will this power be established, and what will it be called?"

At first, the Golden Crow looked at the Golden Mother and didn't notice anything amiss.

With a wave of his hand, the radiance of time flickered at his fingertips, pointing towards the [Nine Heavens Realm] at the current point in time, and outlining two Dao patterns.

[Heavenly Court] —
In a certain ancient era, in the Great Crimson Heaven.

Countless Daoist sounds echoed, wisps of elixir fragrance lingered, and countless principles of law vibrated incessantly with a special rhythm, transforming into words of morality.

On a flat meadow blooming with celestial flowers and exotic blossoms, a powerful being of immense creative power, his body wreathed in flames, awoke from the lingering sounds of the Dao. He held no attachment to these moral pronouncements, as if such otherworldly principles held no further effect upon him.

When He stood up, He walked to the gate of the Tushita Palace, looked at the two dozing Taoist boys, and gently touched their foreheads.

"Golden Horn and Silver Horn, please go and inform the Heavenly Venerable."

"The Golden Crow requests an audience."

One heavy Daoist chant after another, accompanied by wisps of time's radiance, resounded through the multifaceted embryonic forms of the two legendary Daoist disciples, instantly waking them up.

Golden Horn and Silver Horn exchanged a surprised glance. They recognized this as something similar to their master's otherworldly law and immediately bowed to the figure in front of them that seemed to have traveled back from the future to the present.

"Please wait a moment, esteemed master, the master is currently refining pills."

Before they could finish speaking, Golden Horn and Silver Horn exchanged another glance, their surprise turning into astonishment.

The master actually sent a telepathic message to them while refining elixirs, allowing outsiders to enter the Tushita Palace—something that had never happened before.

Golden Horned Bird respectfully approached the first Golden Crow and led this great deity to the entrance of the main hall of the Tushita Palace.

Golden Horn bowed again to the other side, "Please come in, great god. I have not received permission from you, sir, and will wait in front of the hall."

At first, the golden crow nodded, looked at the familiar hall, and stepped inside.

A delicate fragrance wafted from within, and waves of pure energy spread from the blazing [Eight Trigrams Furnace], causing the myriad realms within the other shore's body to grow slightly stronger, equivalent to tens of thousands of years of focused meditation on magical power.

However, Jinwu suddenly sensed something was amiss. He discovered that a wisp of blood energy was emanating from the [Eight Trigrams Furnace], and it also exuded a distinct aroma, seemingly of meat being stewed, which was slowly arousing even the desires of those on the other shore.

This person, who had traveled back from the present moment to this particular historical juncture, had a chilling gaze, staring intently at the Taoist priest seated before the [Eight Trigrams Furnace].

"You are neither the Dao Venerable nor the Moral Celestial Venerable!"

The Taoist priest sitting in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace slowly stood up, turned around and looked at the original Golden Crow, revealing a face that shocked the emperor.

"Your Majesty, it's been a long time."

"Well, for someone as naturally gifted as His Majesty, and for us at our current level of transcendence, it shouldn't have been too long."

The Taoist priest smiled and addressed the first golden crow.

"Jian Keng, it's you!"

The Golden Crow, or rather the Fire Emperor, was filled with increasingly surging, incredulous emotions.

Strands of the Dao of Time spread from within him, silently connecting him to the long river of time and destiny, confirming the identity of the person before him again and again.

The result was unchanged; standing before Him was the familiar human Kitchen God.

"According to the altered history, isn't the current 'Celestial Venerable of Morality' actually the Venerable of the Dao?!"

"How could you possibly become a 'Moral God'!"

(End of this chapter)