Under One Person: I Opened the Age of Mythology

Chapter 581

Silent annihilation.

Wherever the staff passed, the giant lava shield crumbled and dissipated like fragile glass. The destructive energy that was enough to incinerate a Golden Immortal was forcibly restrained and soothed by the Daoist charm of sorting out the earth's veins and the Zen wisdom of purifying the soul contained in the staff!
The Blade of Creation cleaved through the colossus's chest without any resistance, striking with perfect precision the Seed of Chaos, which was deeply embedded within the Ember's body and coexisted with the earth's lava veins!

"Ugh—!" Jhin let out a heart-wrenching scream.

The raging torrent of subterranean fire surrounding him momentarily halted.

However, the expected seed bursting did not occur!

The moment the staff touched the seed of chaos, it burst forth with an unprecedented dark light, and countless roots instantly expanded, plunging even deeper into the earth's ley lines!

The entire land of Beiju Luzhou trembled violently, countless cracks burst forth, and the subterranean fire was about to erupt completely out of control!
Sun Wukong clearly sensed that if the seed were forcibly destroyed at this moment, the entire earth veins of Luzhou would completely collapse in a chain reaction!
The Buddhist and Taoist power contained within the staff transformed into a vast yet flexible net of light, tightly enveloping the violently pulsating, near-explosive seed of chaos, as if sealing a star about to explode.

The golden light chanting and the bluish-gray Dao patterns flowed and suppressed the seed, but could not completely eradicate it, nor dared to add any more force.

They cannot kill! They cannot destroy! The only option is to seal them in a stalemate!
Jin struggled frantically within the net of light, his chaotic, vortex-like eyes fixed on Sun Wukong, silently protesting this unsolvable deadlock.

Sun Wukong stood in the void, with the nearly shattered land of Luzhou beneath his feet. To his left was the Vajra Dharma Image, radiating Buddhist light, and to his right was the power of the Kunlun earth veins surging like a river. His golden cudgel became a bridge connecting Buddhism and Taoism, piercing through heaven and earth.

On the staff, the Buddhist swastika and the Daoist yin-yang symbol began to show strange signs of merging under the intense energy surge.

The strength of Tao and the compassion of Buddha, under the will of his "heart's blood" that was hanging in the air, were forcibly forged on the ashes of this world-ending catastrophe!
He looked down at the embers struggling within the net of light, at the boiling yet stagnant earth beneath his staff, and a near-mad laugh spread across his lips, his voice shaking the three realms:

"Good! What a wonderful karmic tribulation! Old Buddha, do you see? The bridge of the heart has been built. I, Old Sun, will personally lead this tribulation! Let's see if the beings of the Three Realms can bear it!"

Sun Wukong stood on the nearly shattered land of Beiju Luzhou.

Before he finished speaking, the molten gold flames in his eyes suddenly extinguished, transforming into a bottomless, clear aura. The Buddha's verse that had pierced his very soul—"Use the mind as a guide"—was like the silence after a thunderclap, completely dispelling his final illusions.

Suppression is merely a stopgap measure!

The root of this calamity that has spread throughout the three realms is not in the chaotic demonic embryo, but in the "cause" transformed from the deep-seated karmic afflictions of sentient beings!
To cleanse this calamity, one must bear this cause!
"Use your body as a raft, embrace all endeavors with your heart!"

Sun Wukong let out a sharp shout, utterly resolute.

Enchanting!

His left arm suddenly trembled! The left arm, which had been suppressed by Buddhist power and still bore the marks of amethyst, suddenly burst forth with an eerie purple light!

The cracks are no longer scars, but have transformed into twisted bridges that connect the void!

Above the Rejuvenating Forest in Jambudvipa, the invisible karmic force, temporarily purified by the Vajra Dharma Image and the Buddha's voice but rooted in the soil of sentient beings' "attachment," was instantly drawn to this amethyst bridge, like a venomous snake smelling its ultimate host!
Billions of invisible and intangible thoughts of greed, anger, and madness surged into Sun Wukong's body through the amethyst veins, ignoring spatial barriers!
A burst of purple light erupted from his left arm, and it felt as if millions of transparent leeches were wriggling and hissing under his skin, instantly spreading to his shoulder and neck, heading straight for his heart!
Nanocrystals!

At the same time, the golden cudgel he plunged into the earth emitted a deafening hum!
The cracks in the rod were no longer gaps where energy could escape; instead, they transformed into countless tiny vortexes that sucked everything in their path!

Deep within the Kunlun mine, the Dark Star Crystal Origin, which was frantically eroding the Eight Trigrams Furnace, assimilating the Spirit Jade, and freezing the Heavenly Soldiers, sensed this attraction that originated from the same source but was even more powerful and domineering, and emitted a sharp, piercing resonance!
The dense purple rhombuses covering the mine walls seemed to come alive, transforming into a viscous, cold, and resentful torrent of purplish-black water, which surged upwards along the connection between the Golden Cudgel and the Kunlun earth veins!

The golden cudgel was instantly covered by purplish-black ice crystals, and a terrifying corrosive power spread rapidly along the cudgel, reaching Sun Wukong's hands that were holding it!

The chill was biting, and the resentment was soul-consuming. The right half of his body quickly showed the same dark star rhombus pattern as when the divine stake was defiled!

Fertilization!

Finally, the towering Vajra statue behind him erupted with unprecedented light!

It was no longer a simple suppression, but transformed into the grandest embrace and acceptance! The enormous Buddha's palm opened, no longer resisting, but instead carrying a compassionate resolve, enveloping the colossal statue of Jin, made of lava and obsidian, along with the chaotic seed that throbbed violently at the core of its chest and was closely connected to the earth veins of Luzhou!
The boundless Buddha light was no longer a sharp knife, but a warm furnace, forcibly compressing and collapsing the raging fire and earth colossus!
Jin let out a resentful roar, and the entire land of Beiju Luzhou convulsed and bulged violently!
In the end, the giant earth fire statue, along with the chaotic seed at its core, was forcibly "stripped" from the earth's veins, transforming into a "earth fire core" the size of a human head, with dark red and blazing gold wildly intertwined and pulsating. With a whoosh, it sank into the palm of the Vajra Dharma Image, and then, following the connection between the Dharma Image and the main body, it fiercely rushed into Sun Wukong's heart meridian!
"Well--!!!"

A convergence of three forces! Karma burns the heart!
Sun Wukong's body trembled violently, as if he had been struck by ten thousand stars at once!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of scalding golden-red divine blood. The moment the blood left his body, it transformed into a strange flame in mid-air, interwoven with purple-black, transparent, and dark red colors, sizzling and burning the void!

On his left arm, countless greedy, angry, and deluded thoughts, fueled by karmic obstacles, pierced every nerve like countless red-hot steel needles, amplifying the deepest fears, anger, and obsessions in his heart—dissatisfaction with the old system of Heaven, a thirst for his own power, and the hidden pain of the destruction of Flower Fruit Mountain… Countless demonic thoughts roared: “Hypocrisy! Plunder! Destruction is the only destiny!”

On his right arm, the extreme cold and venomous curse of the Dark Star Crystal, like billions of poisonous snakes gnawing at his marrow, viciously drove the desperate cries of the Kunlun miners being exploited, the boundless hatred of Xu You being betrayed by the Heavenly Court, and the icy will of the Crystal's origin to destroy all order into his soul: "Order is a shackle! Betrayal is destiny! Let's perish together!"

The heart meridian, the "Earth Fire Core" that fused the will of the ashes and the wrath of the Luzhou earth veins, throbbed violently!
Each throbbing was like an explosion of the earth's lungs, releasing chaotic flames that burned everything, and bringing with it the soul-stirring accusations and illusions of the embers!
No longer a bystander, Sun Wukong seemed to transform into a member of the mortal village whose spiritual springs had been drained due to the Heavenly Court's repair of the earth's veins.

The scorching sun beat down on the cracked fields, turning the rice seedlings yellow and scorched. The wells had long since dried up, leaving behind dark brown mud stains. My throat felt like it was filled with scalding sand, each swallow bringing a knife-like pain.

He saw a gaunt old woman scraping the last bit of wet mud from the well wall with a chipped earthenware bowl, trembling as she handed it to the baby in her arms who was crying silently. The baby's little mouth sucked at the mud in vain, and finally its head tilted to the side, and it fell silent.

The old woman's cloudy eyes held no tears, only a deathly gray. At the village entrance, several young men, like wild beasts, tore at each other over half a bucket of muddy water fetched from a distant swamp. Their fingernails dug into their flesh, their teeth tore through their throats, and blood mixed with mud seeped into the cracked yellow earth... In the end, the entire village was reduced to a graveyard piled high with bones, the weathered skeletons emitting hollow wails under the scorching sun.

Jin's voice echoed in his ears and in his own heart: "Do you see that? This is 'purification'! To repair one wound, another lifeline is drained! In the eyes of the Heavenly Court, mortal beings are nothing more than firewood to be sacrificed at any time!"

The scene changes instantly.

He became that cultivator in the Southern Continent who had gone mad in his struggle for soil containing pure spiritual energy. It was no longer the distorted light and shadow observed through Yang Jian's Heavenly Eye, but a firsthand experience.

Greed for "merit" gnawed at his conscience like a leech, burning away his reason. Looking at the larger, more radiant piece of spiritual soil in his companion's hand, an uncontrollable killing intent coiled around his heart like a poisonous vine!
"Kill him! Kill him and the credit will be mine! Elixir of immortality! Magical treasures! Hope for eternal life!"

This idea grew wildly, overriding all camaraderie, morality, and sense of shame.

The flying sword in his hand shot out uncontrollably, piercing through his companion's astonished chest. Warm blood splattered on his face, bringing a twisted sense of pleasure.

At the same time, he also "saw" that the local earth god, in order to cover up the mistake of being too eager for quick success and misdirecting the spiritual energy, causing a small-scale backlash of earth energy, did not hesitate to tamper with the records and push the responsibility onto a few unlucky rogue cultivators.

The false report on achievements was submitted, which resulted in a reward, while the falsely accused rogue cultivator was thrown into the Heavenly Prison in despair.

A chilling laugh echoed deep within the soul: "Merit? Glory? Nothing but poison wrapped in endless desires and lies! All beings are like this, why be the only one awake? Sink into it! Enjoy this unrestrained pleasure!"

In the frigid mine shafts, he became an exhausted miner deep within the Kunlun mine.

Each time the heavy chisel fell, it cracked the tiger's mouth, and sweat mixed with blood soaked through the tattered clothes.

The celestial official's cold rebuke echoed in his ears:

"Hurry! Hurry! This top-grade chalcedony must be presented before the celebration!"

A suppressed cough came from beside him. It was Wang Kui, the Heavenly Soldier Captain who was later corrupted by the Dark Star Crystal. At this moment, he was still a silent miner. His eyes were bloodshot, from exhaustion to despair. His sick mother at home was waiting for spirit stones to buy medicine, but ninety percent of the spirit jade he mined was confiscated, and the meager reward he received was not even enough to buy the lowest quality herbs.

A faint sobbing came from deep within the mine. Was it the soul of those companions who died from exhaustion or illness?
Xu You's accusations, filled with resentment and bitterness before being distorted by chaos, were like a cold wind penetrating to the bone: "I forged the foundation of Kunlun for the Heavenly Court, exhausting my life force and lifespan! Yet those in high positions reap the rewards without lifting a finger, regarding my achievements as mere dust! Why?! I am not reconciled! This cold order, this hypocritical justice, deserves only to be completely buried!"

The chill emanating from the crystal not only froze the body, but also extinguished all hope, leaving only boundless resentment and a mad urge to perish together:

"Let us perish together! Let us slumber in eternal chaos!"

The three forces of karma and the three illusions collided and tore through Sun Wukong's body like three destructive torrents!
Amethyst corrodes flesh and blood, rhombus crystal freezes the soul, and the chaotic core scorches the heart meridians! Every moment is like enduring the agony of being torn apart by a thousand cuts and tormented by ice and fire in an infernal hell!
However, amidst this extreme pain and chaos, that drop of "heart's blood" hanging on the edge of destruction acted like a stabilizing force, radiating an unprecedentedly clear light!
Sun Wukong was no longer just a recipient; he became the infant who died of thirst, the cultivator who killed his fellow disciples for merit, the miner who was exploited to the point of despair, and even more so, the Xu You filled with resentment! All the pain, greed, anger, despair, betrayal, and sacrifice... were no longer illusions he "saw," but rather he "was" them, a part of them!

"what--!!!"

The sound was not one of pain, but a roar containing great compassion and enlightenment, bursting forth from the deepest part of Sun Wukong's soul!

Karma! Not an extraterrestrial demon! Not a chaotic evil!

The root of this raging, soul-consuming karmic fire lies in the immeasurable collective karma accumulated by all beings in the three realms—immortals, gods, humans, demons, and monsters—through greed, anger, and ignorance in this vast universe!
The spirits of Nanzhan are manifestations of the greed and attachment of all beings to fame and fortune!
Kunlun Diamond is the crystallization of the oppression and betrayal of the inferiors by those in power!
The fire in Luzhou was ignited by the indifference and sacrifice of powerful forces towards the weak!
The restoration of Heavenly Court is indeed due to the extraction of spiritual spring water!

The cultivators' greed has indeed led them to harm their fellow disciples!

The land was used to deceive people and cover up the true extent of the disaster!

Xu You's resentment stems from the truth of injustice!
The miners' lament stems from the fact that exploitation is real!

All these "effects," when traced back to their source, are the "causes" created by all living beings!
This so-called "chaotic demonic fetus" is nothing more than a manifestation of calamity brought about by the collective karma of all beings reaching its extreme, through the vessel of the Chaotic Pearl Mother Core!
"I see…"

The blood trickling from Sun Wukong's seven orifices now had a touch of golden luster, like glass.

The shattered Vajra form did not dissipate; instead, it reformed in the karmic fire, its radiance becoming more subdued, yet its compassion surpassing that of the past.

The great power of the fusion of Buddhism and Taoism no longer forcibly suppressed the rampant torrent of karma from the three directions within his body, but instead transformed into an invisible furnace, a furnace with his heart as its base and his will as its fuel.

Purification is not about suppressing with force or sweeping away karmic obstacles into a corner!

It's not about turning a blind eye or burying your head in the sand!
It is certainly not about claiming one's own innocence while blaming others for their sins!
True purification is about confronting cause and effect!

It means I, Old Sun, am partly responsible for this karma!
It is about enduring the suffering brought about by this shared karma!
It is with the purest of intentions that this boundless afflictions and sins are burned, forged, and tempered in the furnace of the heart!

"Come!" Sun Wukong's voice was terrifyingly calm, as if it resounded above the endless sea of ​​karma and echoed in his own heart. "The sins of all beings in the Three Realms, the karmic debts of ten thousand years of suffering, today, I, Old Sun, will shoulder them all! With my heart as the guide and my body as the furnace, I will refine you all back to your origin!"

(End of this chapter)