On the Dragon-Slaying Platform, I was executed and became Yang Jian's brother-in-law.

The Western Paradise, Mount Ling.

With the Golden Spirit Mother severing the bond between master and disciple with a desperate and resolute sword strike and leaving in anger, the entire high-ranking officials of the Great Thunderclap Temple and even the entire Western Sect finally felt completely at ease.

You could even say they believed it.

I firmly believe it!

"That's good, that's good."

The Buddha sat on his lotus throne, looking at the Bodhi Hermitage gate that had been shattered by the Golden Spirit Mother. Instead of being angry, he revealed a meaningful smile: "Even the most protective Golden Spirit Mother has given up. It seems that Su Bai, this stubborn rock, has been completely reformed by our Buddhist sect."

If Su Bai were to act with them, perhaps he could fool others. But who is the Golden Spirit Mother? She is the eldest disciple of the Jie Sect, a woman with a fiery temper who cannot tolerate any injustice. Her heartbroken tears, the sword she swung down, the pain of being betrayed by her loved ones—these are absolutely impossible to fake.

What does it mean that they don't even want their master anymore?

This shows that Su Bai has truly severed his ties with the world and devoted himself to Buddhism!

Guanyin Bodhisattva also sighed with emotion: "This move has been a successful one. Without the shackles of the Jie Sect, Su Bai is truly all alone. Apart from my Mount Ling, he has nowhere else to go."

For a time, the entire Ling Mountain was filled with joy. Even the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, which Su Bai had secretly replaced with ordinary spring water, appeared exceptionally clear and sacred in the eyes of all the Buddhas.

……

However, in contrast to the jubilation in the West, Jin'ao Island in the East China Sea was shrouded in gloom and despair.

"I don't believe it! I'm going to find my senior brother!"

Outside Biyou Palace, Fairy Bixiao wept bitterly, clutching the Golden Dragon Scissors, ready to rush westward. "That bald monk must have bewitched my senior brother! He loves me the most, how could he abandon us?"

"Third Sister! Don't be impulsive!" Qiongxiao held her tightly.

"Let her go! Let her go to her death!"

A cold, angry voice rang out.

The Holy Mother of Golden Spirit descended from the clouds with a menacing expression. Her golden palace robes were still stained with the frost of her journey, but the redness and swelling in her phoenix eyes could not be concealed.

"Senior Sister..." The Holy Mother of Wudang came forward, and seeing Jin Ling's appearance, her heart sank. "Su Bai... really?"

"Don't mention that wretched child to me!"

Golden Spirit Mother gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently, clearly enraged and in excruciating pain. "He's no longer your senior brother! He's the 'Venerable Su Bai' of Mount Ling! He personally called me 'benefactor'! He personally said he wanted to sever our master-disciple relationship!"

"From this day forward, no one is allowed to go to Mount Ling to look for him! Anyone who does will face my ruthlessness and be expelled from the Jie Sect!"

After uttering her harsh words, the Golden Spirit Mother turned and left, locking herself in her secluded cave. But everyone could see that the eldest sister was truly heartbroken this time. The feeling of being abandoned by her most trusted disciple was even more painful than walking the path of the Investiture of the Gods.

Bixiao was so frightened by the shout that she dared not move, and could only cover her mouth and sob.

"Big sister..." Qiongxiao looked at Yunxiao, who had been silent all along.

Fairy Yunxiao stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing westward with a furrowed brow and deep, thoughtful eyes. Compared to the impulsiveness and emotions of others, she, as the leader of the Three Immortals, maintained a rare sense of rationality.

"Big sister, do you also think that senior brother has really changed?" Qiongxiao asked softly.

Yunxiao remained silent for a long time, then suddenly shook his head.

Something's not right.

"Something's not right?"

Yunxiao turned around, looked at his crying sisters, and calmly analyzed, "Think carefully, what kind of person is your senior brother?"

"He's...he's..." Bixiao sobbed, "a big bad guy, someone who likes to take advantage and never suffers a loss."

"That's right."

A glint of light flashed in Yunxiao's eyes. "Senior Brother never acts without self-interest. Back in the Heavenly Court, he could make the Jade Emperor furious; on the battlefield of the Investiture of the Gods, he could scheme against the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect and leave them humiliated. He has never been friendly to the Western Sect, and you could even say he loathes them."

"Would such a proud, shrewd, and calculating person be so easily swayed by a few Buddhist scriptures because of a mere 'heartbreak'?"

"and……"

Yunxiao recalled the scene described by the Golden Spirit Mother, a slight, suspicious smile curving his lips:

"Knowing full well that going to Mount Ling was like a lamb entering a tiger's den, why did he insist on going? And after going, why did he have to create such a huge commotion within just over a decade, making it known to everyone?"

"This doesn't make sense. Unless..."

The Holy Mother of Wudang seemed thoughtful: "Unless he's plotting something?"

"Very likely."

Yunxiao took a deep breath, suppressing his worries. "Senior Brother holds the Great Dao of Time, allowing him to glimpse a corner of the future. Perhaps he's playing a much bigger game. Even... Senior Sister's reaction was part of his calculations."

Although this speculation is bold, even somewhat "rebellious," it is the explanation that best fits Su Bai's character.

"Then what should we do?" Bixiao wiped away her tears.

"wait."

Yunxiao's gaze was firm. "Since Senior Brother wants to put on an act, then we'll play along. Senior Sister is in a bad mood right now, so let's not provoke her or cause trouble at Mount Ling."

"I believe that before long, the real Su Bai will return."

"And when they come back... they'll probably tear the sky apart of Mount Ling."

……

If the reaction of the Jie Sect was still within reason, then the game between the saints outside the Thirty-Three Heavens seemed even more subtle and profound.

Deep within the chaos lies the Palace of Nuwa.

Today, the Nuwa Palace welcomed a rare guest.

Yuanshi Tianzun.

This leader of the Chan Sect, nominally the head of the Three Pure Ones, was usually extremely aloof and rarely visited others. Today, however, he came alone, riding the chaotic currents of air, without any attendants.

"Junior Sister Nuwa, how have you been?"

Yuanshi Tianzun held the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi in his hand, his body exuding Daoist charm. Even in the Nuwa Palace, which was filled with the laws of creation, he still appeared detached from worldly affairs.

"Brother Yuanshi is a rare guest."

Nuwa sat high on her cloud bed, her expression aloof. She waved her hand, signaling the Cloud Boy to serve her spiritual tea. "I wonder what brings you here today, Senior Brother? If it's about the mess left after the Investiture of the Gods, Senior Brother, please leave. I don't want to get involved in karma."

"Junior sister is joking."

Yuanshi Tianzun smiled slightly, picked up the spiritual tea and took a sip, but his eyes seemed to casually sweep over the place in the center of the hall where the seven-colored stone had once been placed—now it was empty.

"The Investiture of the Gods has ended, and the dust has settled. I've come today simply because I have nothing better to do than to discuss the Dao with my junior sister, and also... chat about an interesting recent event in this primordial world."

Nuwa's heart stirred slightly, but her face remained impassive: "Oh? Senior brother, you're so arrogant, what could possibly be worthy of your attention?"

Yuanshi Tianzun put down his teacup, his tone calm, yet every word was profound:

"Naturally, it is the Great Emperor Gouchen, Su Bai."

Upon hearing this name, Nuwa's hand, holding the teacup, paused almost imperceptibly for a moment before returning to normal.

"Him?" Nuwa said indifferently, "Just a junior, nothing to mention."

"Originally, it was not worth mentioning."

Yuanshi Tianzun looked into Nuwa's eyes, as if trying to see through the heart of this sage of creation. "But what he's been doing lately is quite interesting. I've heard that he's joined the Western Religion and is currently meditating by the Eight Treasures Merit Pool on Mount Ling, and has even vowed to attain the Arhatship."

"Those two in the West are overjoyed. In the past few days, the Buddha's light from the Pure Land has been rushing to my Jade Void Palace."

The Primordial Celestial Venerable spoke with a hint of mockery, "Junior Sister, you've always had some... connection with that Su Bai. I've even heard that the 'love body' within your Heaven-Mending Stone was severed because of him. Now that he's abandoned Taoism for Buddhism, don't you have any thoughts about that, Junior Sister?"

Nuwa fell silent.

Of course she knew that Su Bai was in the West.

Since her body shattered the seven-colored stone and she escaped to the mortal realm, she has remained outwardly calm and even claimed to be in seclusion. However, in reality, her divine sense has been constantly monitoring the movements in the mortal realm.

When she learned that Su Bai had gone to Mount Ling, and even donned a monk's robe to chant "Amitabha" before the Queen Mother of the West, her first reaction was not anger, nor disappointment, but rather...

Panic.

Yes, panic.

The feeling is like your own little cabbage, which you've raised for years, suddenly being eaten by the neighbor's pig, and the little cabbage even seems quite happy about it.

"What thoughts could I possibly have?"

Nuwa took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tremor in her heart, her tone still cold and hard, "Since he has made his choice, that is his fate. Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, what does it have to do with me?"

Furthermore…

Nuwa snorted coldly, "I have already severed my three corpses and separated my physical body from my emotions. Now I am a saint, devoid of emotion and desire. Let that ill-fated relationship go."

These words were spoken to Yuanshi Tianzun, but even more so to himself.

however.

However, her heart was not as calm as she claimed.

It could even be described as a cataclysmic upheaval.

"What is that brat up to?!"

Nuwa cursed her escaped lover in her heart, "She used to boast about loving him to death, turning the Nuwa Palace upside down. Now that she's finally escaped, what's the result? Right under her nose, she's been tricked by the Western Sect?!"

"How far is Mount Liangjie from Mount Ling? You should have reached it by now, shouldn't you?!"

"They actually just stood by and watched him wear monk's robes? They actually let him get brainwashed? Useless! Utterly useless!"

Nuwa grew angrier and angrier, and felt increasingly choked up.

That feeling made him wish he could personally descend to the mortal realm, smash the gates of Mount Ling to pieces, drag that good-for-nothing Su Bai back, and stuff that useless love body back into the stone to be remade.

But the moment that thought popped into my head...

Nuwa was startled.

and many more.

What am I thinking?

I've already let go of my physical body! Logically speaking, all the emotions, obsessions, love, and hate related to "Su Bai" should have been stripped away with the departure of my physical body.

I should now be that aloof, sage of creation who regards all things as straw dogs.

Why?

Why do I get so angry when I hear that he is suffering in the West and that he has been brainwashed?

Why do I feel...heartache?

Could it be that the three corpses weren't completely severed?

Or is it... that this isn't a problem with the physical body at all, but rather a problem with... my true self?!

The moment this thought crossed Nuwa's mind, she felt a chill run down her spine and her sacred heart trembled violently.

"What's wrong? Junior Sister seems a little distracted?"

Just then, the all-seeing voice of the Primordial Celestial Venerable rang out at the opportune moment.

He had been observing Nuwa all along.

No matter how well Nuwa concealed it, the connection between sages cannot be faked. Just now, the moment Su Bai was mentioned, the laws of creation in the entire Nuwa Palace experienced a momentary disruption.

That's not the kind of emotion a saint should have.

That is worldly desire.

"Senior brother, you are overthinking it." Nuwa's expression changed slightly, but she quickly steadied herself. "I was merely deducing the secrets of heaven."

"Yeah?"

Yuanshi Tianzun stood up, but did not expose her. He merely glanced meaningfully at Nuwa's slightly trembling fingertips.

He waved his whisk and turned to walk out of the palace.

As he reached the door, he paused, without turning back, but uttered a sentence that instantly plunged Nuwa into an icy abyss:

"Junior sister, in the cultivation of the Great Dao, the most taboo thing is to deceive yourself."

"The word 'love' (情) can be severed if it can be cut off, then it's just a fleeting cloud; if it can't be cut off..."

The voice of Yuanshi Tianzun gradually faded into the distance:

That is the inner demon.

"Fellow Daoist, your mind is in turmoil!"