Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 947 The Great Sage Equal to Heaven Fruit

Chu Tai fell silent, but Taiyi Zhenjun was not going to give him time to think.

"Now, what do you plan to do? Is it to save this world, prevent the return of Taiyi Zhenjun's Dao Qi, and trigger the possible breaking of the seal by the Heavenly Demons? Or is it to let this world sink and welcome a more stable future?"

Taiyi Zhenjun stepped forward, his divine light surging and his Dao Qi churning, suppressing Chu Tai's changes. He looked at Chu Tai in front of him and saw Chu Tai's true form beside the Heavenly Emperor through the person in front of him.

Chu Tai opened his mouth as if to say something, but Taiyi Zhenjun interrupted him directly: "Don't tell me you just want to save people and don't want to interfere with their choices."

"Redemption is never simply about bestowing favors, nor is it about giving a casual helping hand; it is about breaking down the past and rebuilding anew."

“Look at those countless fallen beings, which one of them hasn’t had their essence distorted and their mind destroyed?”

"How did you deal with them?"

Taiyi Zhenjun seemed to be asking Chu Tai a question, but after speaking, he answered it himself.

"You broke their healed bones, crushed their broken flesh, let the light into their hearts, ignited the light within them, and then allowed them to break free from the cocoon woven by their depravity from the inside out, thus gaining a new life."

"If you can do this with them, why can't you do it with ordinary people below?"

"Is it because they have their own thoughts, or because they curse your behavior, or because they have the ability to repel your power?"

"neither!"

"Chu Tai, admit it. At our level, every move we make has a powerful impact on all things in heaven and earth. Whether you like it or not, your existence has already affected the fate of countless living beings. What's more, you have been interfering with the changes in heaven and earth recently, which has had an even greater impact on the fate of all living beings."

Taiyi Zhenjun pressed on: "I have observed you for a long time. You always seem to like to think about the balance between heaven and man, and whether you should belong to heaven or to man. But where are you? Do you want to stand in heaven or return to the human world?"

“You clearly have a choice, but you are still hesitating. You are worried that if you go to heaven, you will gradually forget people, and you are also worried that if you return to earth, you will lose the opportunity to reach the top.”

"You choose to balance humanity and nature and pursue harmony between humanity and nature. It seems that you have found a balance point, but in essence, you have only solved the surface problem. Your existence and your influence on others are still not solved. And you are not the type of person who doesn't care about others."

Watching the swirling Dao Qi around Chu Tai, his thoughts surged, giving rise to countless mottled rays of light. His power and strength allowed him to feel the prayers of countless living beings in the world. He could hear the suppressed sobs of all living beings, the withered and helpless whimpers of the old, the uncontrollable cries of children, and soft words of comfort.

This was a manifestation of the previous disorder of time and the misplacement of birth, aging, sickness and death of all living beings. Chu Tai looked at the child holding the old man and saw many similar situations in the world. He wanted to raise his hand, but in the end he only stabilized the glow around himself.

Seeing this, Taiyi Zhenjun sighed and spoke in a gentle tone, "I know your cultivation speed is too fast and too smooth. There may have been some suppression along the way, but with the protection of the Eastern Emperor Bell, you will always be able to overcome it, but..."

Taiyi Zhenjun suddenly raised his voice: "The Eastern Emperor Bell can't help you now. Now, you must make a choice: do you choose the present people, or do you choose a stable future? You have no third choice."

As the True Lord finished speaking, many divine artifacts in the Heavenly Court dimmed, the gods fell into slumber, and the immortals had already fallen into a coma when he asked Chu Tai for his choice.

Without the divine artifact and the guidance of the gods, the order of time, space, and constellations changed, and the human world teetered on the brink of collapse. An even louder sound echoed around Chu Tai, disturbing his mind and causing the rosy light supporting the sky to become chaotic. The nine-headed green lion could no longer maintain order.

The nine heads cried out in unison, looked at Chu Tai, and then rushed into the mortal realm, transforming into a sky full of blue clouds to temporarily support the heavens.

Chu Tai looked down at the human world and saw that divine light was rising from the temples of city gods, mountain gods, water gods, and earth gods in various places, providing Qingxia with a little bit of power.

Suddenly, a golden light rose from the east, went straight into the South Heavenly Gate, and appeared abruptly above the Lingxiao Palace.

"My grandson is here too!"

Before the golden light had even faded, a monkey had already somersaulted and landed on its feet.

He was once the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, now the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

Sun Wukong steadied himself, looked around, and cursed at Taiyi Zhenjun: "So that's why the Three Realms and Four Continents are in chaos. It turns out that the people in charge are all sleeping. What's going on? The lesser gods in the lower realms are all holding their posts, while the leaders are neglecting their duties?"

Taiyi Zhenjun turned around and looked at Sun Wukong, saying, "It is not their fault. It is I who have bound all the immortals and gods to the Heavenly Realm. Now that the Yuanhui is coming to an end and the world is about to close, I need to prepare for the next Yuanhui."

"Good heavens, so the source of this dereliction of duty is you? Speaking of the Heavenly Emperor, even in the mortal world there's a saying of 'do your job and get it done,' how come you're already thinking about going on strike before the Yuanhui (a solar term) is even over? It's one thing if you don't care, but why are you interfering with other immortals and gods?"

"I'm leaving."

The Heavenly Emperor's words left Sun Wukong stunned.

"What, you're leaving?"

"He's gone."

Taiyi Zhenjun looked at Chu Tai beside him and said softly, "No matter what choice you make, the next Heavenly Emperor will no longer be me. I need to leave enough people for the new world. Otherwise, when the world is reopened, the laws and principles between the world will be unrestrained, and there will inevitably be chaos for a while."

Hearing this, Chu Tai didn't answer, but Sun Wukong sensed something was wrong. He looked at Chu Tai, then at the Heavenly Emperor, and said angrily, "This is so annoying! When I went to Mount Ling, all Buddha did was chant sutras with all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. When I went to see the Patriarch, he refused to see me. When I came to the Heavenly Court, you two were arguing about this and that. I have no idea what you're thinking! Do you two even realize that the world is in such a state of chaos right now..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Heavenly Court shook, Qingxia collapsed, and transformed into a ray of light that fell into Chu Tai's sleeve. The mortal realm, having lost Qingxia's protection, gradually crumbled.

Chu Tai paused for a moment, then whispered, "So fast? Wait, something's not right!"

Chu Tai looked beyond the heavens and earth. Under his observation, many branches of the Taiqing Heaven and Earth were also in turmoil, and many independent heavens and earths were showing signs of closure.

Suddenly, Chu Tai thought of something and looked at Taiyi Zhenjun, who said, "The cosmic light has become disordered, the time sequence is no longer stable, and with all the gods and immortals asleep, the closing speed will naturally increase. In addition, I intentionally divided my own Dao Qi, and the world lost its support, so the speed increased again."

"As for other worlds, you don't think that the Dao Qi of a True Monarch only supports the stable operation of one world, do you? The operation of countless worlds in the entire Taiqing World is assisted by this Dao Qi. I am just the core of it."

As he spoke, a faint glow appeared in the palm of Taiyi Zhenjun's hand, and a Taiyi Dao Qi different from before emerged.

The True Lord looked at Chu Tai, silently telling him that he had to make a choice.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, he said to Chu Tai, "I don't know what you're hesitating about, but I know that heaven and earth can be reborn, and all living beings can be reborn, but we can't go back to this moment. Some things are not about what the results will be after you do them, but about whether you do them or not at this moment!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Sun Wukong had vanished.

Suddenly, a golden light descended upon the mortal realm, which had been plunged into complete darkness. A divine iron rod stood in the center of heaven and earth, reaching up to the nine heavens, supporting the thirty-three heavens palace, and down to the nine earths, stabilizing the eighteen levels of hell.

A stream of primordial energy circulated on the divine iron, just like the breath of heaven and earth, continuing for a moment.

However, relying solely on this newly forged Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) can only protect one place for a short time. The collapse of other worlds continues, and the collapse of those worlds will also cause turmoil in the current world.

"Get it for Old Sun!"

Sun Wukong used his magic to transform heaven and earth in the mortal realm. His body emitted golden light, grew to tens of thousands of feet tall, his head was like Mount Tai, his waist was like a towering mountain range, his eyes were like lightning, his teeth were like swords and halberds, his hands held up the shattered sky, and his feet trod on the earth veins of the four continents.

The countless hairs on his body danced and spread in all directions, each one radiating golden light and containing vitality, carrying the principles of change and spirit, restoring the heavens to their original state and reconnecting the earth's veins.

In that instant, Sun Wukong's heart was connected with all living beings, and even with himself in other worlds and all living beings through the gaps in heaven and earth.

In an instant, the whole world was in an uproar, and aquatic creatures emerged one after another to worship the Great Sage.

The underworld was in turmoil, and the ghosts and gods all felt it, proclaiming to the heavens.

Even many of the gods who were sleeping in the Heavenly Court seemed to be about to awaken.

This is the manifestation of Sun Wukong's Dao fruition, expanding from the finite to the infinite, and it is also the foundation for Sun Wukong's repair of all things at this moment.

"Hehe, I never thought that I, Old Sun, would end up on this path."

Sun Wukong sensed the will of all living beings in the four continents, and also sensed his own thoughts in many other worlds, and those Sun Wukongs made similar choices.

As the wills of countless Sun Wukongs merged together, an illusory ancient Buddha, seated on a lotus throne and draped in a kasaya, gradually took shape.

Sun Wukong looked up at the sky, gazing at the ancient Buddha that was gradually taking shape.

"But never mind, it's all my own business, so what does it matter? I'll leave the rest to you."

Chu Tai looked down at Sun Wukong, who was gradually turning to stone, and then glanced at the manifested ancient Buddha.

The ancient Buddha also looked back at Chu Tai, passing on his own Dao fruit and insights to him. His corresponding first-grade Dao fruit, [Victorious Fighting Buddha], then manifested.

It contains the concepts of [mind], [change], [flow], [perception], and [freedom], and possesses the ability to eliminate the obsession with "self": to break through the self-centered thinking patterns such as "I want, I think, I hate", and to be of one mind with all things and all beings, leading all beings to achieve the state of "no-self".

Therefore, the Dao fruit of the Victorious Fighting Buddha can achieve conceptual "infinity," and can construct a future unique to him above all concepts of time and the universe.

At this moment, Sun Wukong in the mortal realm relied on this ability to hold up the Three Realms and Four Continents, using it as the center to support countless heavens and earths in the Taiqing World.

"Even if this future does not conform to all logic and the trajectory of the universe, as long as the Victorious Fighting Buddha is willing, and as long as all beings are of one mind, the originally illusory future can be turned into reality."

Chu Tai muttered to himself, naturally able to see that behind such power lay a terrifying backlash.

The price of turning this illusory future into a tangible one will inevitably be borne by the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

However, the Victorious Fighting Buddha is an indestructible being. Only external objects that can perceive or recognize his existence can affect him.

However, as long as he completely integrates his perception and understanding of himself into the universe, he can construct a cycle to almost eliminate external perception and influence on himself, thereby gaining near-invincible protection and ultimately achieving a reversal of destiny and the future.

Therefore, what supports heaven and earth cannot be Sun Wukong, much less the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

The ancient Buddha spoke softly, merging into Sun Wukong's body. His feet merged with the earth's veins, and his hands gradually came together, transforming him into a celestial stone that was 36 feet 5 inches tall, 24 feet in circumference, engraved with the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and containing the constellations of the heavens.

Then, the immortal stone merged into the golden cudgel, making it the source of the earth veins of the four continents and the root of the pure energy of the nine heavens, becoming the pillar supporting heaven and earth.

Seeing this, Chu Tai's eyes flickered, but Taiyi Zhenjun beside him said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Are you relieved? Do you feel that someone else has made the choice for you again?"

"But do you remember what I said before? Do you intend to save this world, prevent the Dao Qi of Taiyi Zhenjun from returning, and trigger the possible breaking of the seal by the Heavenly Demon? Or do you intend to let this world sink and welcome a more stable future?"

"Now that Sun Wukong has made his choice, preventing the heavens and earth from closing and the Dao Qi from returning, what do you plan to do? Are you going to watch Sun Wukong hold on and gamble that the heavens and the demons won't break the seal before his Dao fruit collapses, or are you going to take action to accelerate the closing of the heavens and earth?"

The Dao Qi in Taiyi Zhenjun's palm surged without increasing or decreasing, but his aura underwent a subtle change, taking on the traces of heaven.

"you!"

Chu Tai was shocked, and at the same time, his true self also noticed a subtle change in the aura of the Heavenly Emperor beside him, revealing an expression of "I knew it."

"Why, are you surprised?"

Taiyi Zhenjun looked at Chu Tai and said in a low voice, "Do you still remember what you did when you cooperated with the Heavenly Emperor to seal the Heaven? You made the Heaven completely return to its original state, but its will has not been erased by you. Do you think I, as the Heavenly Emperor of the Journey to the West, will be affected by the Heaven?"

"Furthermore, in order to seal away Heaven and the Heavenly Demon, we exhausted all means of transformation to confine them within the Three Pure Ones realm. Now that this situation is about to break, do you think the Heavenly Demon can adapt to the new changes and break free from its constraints?"

Chu Tai didn't know how to answer, but Taiyi Zhenjun continued to press: "Time is running out. You must make a choice."

With a single strike, the True Lord knocked Chu Tai, who was powerless to fight back, off the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Its body continued to fall, first to the human world, where it saw the collapsing sky, the torn earth, and the mournful sound of bells. It felt the power of the Heavenly Emperor and the True Lord protecting all living beings, and felt the lives that were constantly disappearing.

Then, penetrating the earth's crust and crossing hell, he saw countless restless souls, and the gods and spirits of the underworld had lost most of their power and were powerless to suppress the changes.

Finally, Chu Tai landed beside his original form and returned to his original body.

The intense impact forced Chu Tai to take several steps back. He then looked up at Taiyi Zhenjun, whose aura of heaven was becoming increasingly pronounced, and whispered, "As expected, you and the Heavenly Emperor have encountered problems."

"Oh, it sounds like you anticipated my change."

Hearing Taiyi Zhenjun's question, Chu Tai nodded and said, "There is a bit. When I communicated with the Heavenly Demon, I learned about some of the characteristics of the First Grade True Dao. Later, after carefully recalling the previous war, I guessed some of the questions."

"Whether in battle or after being sealed, it is not hard to see that Heaven is much less active than Heavenly Demon. At first, I thought it was because of the difference in their Dao attainment, but after thinking about it, it should be because the Heavenly Emperor, you, and the Three Pure Ones Heaven itself are constantly fighting against Heaven."

Chu Tai gently shook the Eastern Emperor Bell, and visible ripples spread outwards. The eightfold Dao Fruits appeared one by one, continuously enhancing Chu Tai's power. He walked step by step from the Netherworld into the Journey to the West world, where the central Taiyi True Lord of the Taiqing World resided.

Chu Tai walked step by step to the pillar of heaven that Sun Wukong had transformed into, carefully sensing the incomplete Dao Fruit of the Victorious Fighting Buddha within it, and sighed, "Ancestor, you are right. I was hesitant. The past was too smooth, so I always hoped to find an ending where everyone could have a bright future. I instinctively rejected those futures that might provoke anger and rejection."

"And I have always been very clear that at this point, any changes I want to make will inevitably bring about radical changes, and there is no option to satisfy everyone's wishes. Inevitably, some people will be dissatisfied with this process, and what I need to do is accept this imperfection and keep moving towards a more perfect direction."

"So you plan to keep watching now?"

The aura of Taiyi Zhenjun surged, and the celestial phenomena became increasingly evident. At the same time, demonic energy and turbid energy in many parts of the world began to churn once again.

"No, just as Wukong said before, many things are not about what the results will be after doing them, but about whether to do them or not! Ancestor, I know you have awakened, please protect me."

Taiyi Zhenjun was taken aback. The Dao Qi in his palm surged and covered him, transforming into a form closer to Cang Qingshi. He looked at Chu Tai and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

“A first-grade true path needs an anchor point. The current Three Pure Realms cannot bear the birth of a brand new first-grade one, and I cannot entrust my own Dao fruit to the Eastern Emperor Bell. Therefore, I have chosen another path and seek it inward.”

As Chu Tai spoke, he raised the Eastern Emperor Bell, gently stroking its surface to feel the many Dao fruits within and the power he himself had integrated into it.

Then, he took out a golden bell hammer shaped like a ruyi and gently struck it. The ancient bell sound spread in all directions, and all the demonic energy and turbid energy dissipated. The will of heaven also returned to the heavens and could not move.

Many bright clouds gradually appeared around Taiyi Zhenjun, resounding with boundless wonderful sounds, and looked more like the image of the East Sea.

Such immense power comes at the cost of the Buddhahood of the Three Worlds fading once again.

He sensed something was wrong and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

"It's nothing. I was just wondering if my Taiyi Dao could recreate me?"

Chu Tai looked back at Taiyi Zhenjun, shattering the power of many Dao fruits. A series of bell tolls echoed, and many wonderful sounds resounded through the void.

At the same time, endless melodious sounds fell upon the Heavenly Pillar, continuously forging the immortal stones within, gradually giving rise to another first-grade path of Sun Wukong's Dao Fruit: the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Unlike the Victorious Fighting Buddha who eliminates the barriers between all things and beings, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, while also based on the concepts of mind, change, flow, and freedom, has its core principle as "the only constant in the world is change itself."

Its abilities are threefold, which can be described in a more mystical way: transcending the Three Realms, being outside the Five Elements, and being as high as the heavens.

The so-called transcendence of the three realms is the highest manifestation of freedom and spirituality. It breaks through some of the limitations imposed on oneself, freeing oneself from the influence of cosmic light, emptiness, and destiny. Wherever the heart is, the body is, unrestrained, and even to a certain extent, one can achieve one's wishes.

Being outside the Five Elements is the highest manifestation of "change" and "flow". It means mastering the laws of change of all things, knowing the flow trajectory of all things, both tangible and intangible, and changing one's own form in the midst of endless changes. It means being able to manifest in a form that restrains the opponent, without being restrained by acquired factors.

The final "reaching the heavens" is the highest manifestation of the interaction between the mind, change, flow, and freedom. The four directions and up and down are called the universe, and the past and present are called the cosmos. The heavens that are as high as the heavens refer to the universe, and the mind that is as high as the heavens is the mind. The mind encompasses the universe, flow brings change, and change covers everything. The final freedom is the ability to break free from the constraints of the universe itself.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, a Dao Fruit encompassing all miracles and changes, though unable to take form, caused Sun Wukong within the immortal stone to open his eyes once more the moment it appeared. He looked at Chu Tai, seemingly sensing something, and sighed, saying, "Don't worry, as long as I, Old Sun, am still here, I won't let anyone interfere with your choices."

"In that case, thank you very much, Great Sage."

Chu Tai bowed respectfully, then smashed the nascent [Victorious Fighting Buddha (Great Sage Equal to Heaven)], and the ancient bell tolled once again throughout the many realms of the Three Pure Ones. Many Sun Wukongs sensed this and gathered their power together to support their respective realms and stabilize the changes within them.

The Three Pure Ones manifested one after another, looking at the monkeys in their respective realms with a hint of surprise. They sensed that under the monkeys' power, the interference from Heaven and the Heavenly Demons had become much weaker.

The Three Pure Ones couldn't help but look towards the source of all the changes. At this moment, Chu Tai sat upright under the Heavenly Pillar, with the Eastern Emperor Bell standing above his head.

The Way of Taiyi gradually manifested, resonating with the Way of Taiyi in the myriad worlds around it. As a result, many living beings were enlightened, and corresponding spiritual light emerged from things such as rotten wood, bluestone, and ink.

Sensing this change, Taiyi Zhenjun seemed to realize something and looked at Chu Tai in a low voice, "You want to reconstruct your innate spiritual light?"

"It's not a restructuring, but a reconstruction. You previously said that you had exhausted all possibilities of change in order to seal Heaven and the Heavenly Demon, thus confining them to the Three Pure Realms. Can I understand that you have already exhausted the possibilities of the Heavenly Demon to a certain extent? If a new change were to emerge at this point, and it were not under the Heavenly Demon's control, do you think he would still be able to wield the power of change?"

Chu Tai's answer made Taiyi Zhenjun hesitate. He probably guessed what Chu Tai was thinking, but he still couldn't help but say, "But the Heavenly Emperor and I have exhausted all the possibilities of the two Great Heavens. There are no new variables."

"some."

Chu Tai looked at Zhenjun and said, "As you know, I am the biggest variable. I cannot sacrifice myself for all living beings, but if I fail to attain enlightenment, I am willing to help all living beings. Therefore, Ancestor Taiyi, I once again beg you to protect me."

(End of this chapter)