Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

Lin Daochen's eyes suddenly lit up, and ancient and strange spiral patterns appeared deep in his pupils, spinning rapidly as if they could shatter time. When the light subsided, the world settled down again—he was now inside the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda, but the overwhelming power of the past had completely dissipated, leaving only his heart, which was heavier, more stable, and clearer than before.

The fat man slowly woke up, his eyelids half-open, his eyes unfocused, as if he had just been dragged out of a scalding nightmare, his soul not yet fully returned to its place.

Suddenly, the exquisite pagoda burst forth with light, as intense as the sun falling to earth, violently ejecting the two from the tower. The plaza in front of the hall returned to deathly silence, with two rows of stone sculptures standing majestically, their forms as if carved by a knife and axe, solemn and awe-inspiring.

But those statues now seem to have had their souls ripped out, standing stiff as dead wood, not even blinking an eye, showing no reaction even when Lin Daochen and Wang Sanpang are standing right in front of them.

As Lin Daochen was frowning in thought, a faint sound suddenly came from the high platform of the main hall.

His gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto the Jade Emperor's throne—the stone statue leaned slightly forward, resting its chin on its hand, its lips slightly upturned, its eyes seemingly containing three parts amusement and seven parts scrutiny, staring straight at him.

"It seems you are the one chosen this time. However... the way you entered was rather unorthodox." The Jade Emperor's voice was deep and unhurried. "There are still ten years until the official opening, yet you managed to barge in. Having passed the test, to leave empty-handed would be disheartening. How about this—"

He raised his hand and pointed to the two rows of stone statues of deities on the left and right.

"You may take any of the weapons they hold. Choose whichever you desire. As for whether you can actually seize them... that depends on your skill."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Jade Emperor remained silent, and the stone statue returned to silence.

Lin Daochen's heart skipped a beat. He walked straight to the Erlang Shen statue and reached out to grab the three-pointed, double-edged sword. The moment his fingertips touched the cold stone surface, the statue suddenly opened its eyes! Stone chips flakeed off, and the joints creaked—it turned out that the so-called "taking" meant snatching it alive from the hands of the living god!

This was not surprising. Lin Daochen's six golden cores surged like a river, and when activated at full power, they were enough to contend with a Nascent Soul stage expert. The outcome was uncertain, but he knew very well that he was no match for these divine generals. Sure enough, after only three moves, a kick wrapped in wind and thunder sent him flying, crashing into a stone pillar with a muffled groan.

Wang Sanpang remained standing there, unresponsive and unaffected. The stone statues focused solely on Lin Daochen, completely ignoring him. Lin Daochen grew increasingly aggrieved—they clearly had eyes, specifically targeting him while letting that fat man roam free!

The most important thing right now is not to gain any benefits, but to escape!

He had a vague intuition: he would have to come back to this place sooner or later. And that would be the real beginning.

A moment later, Wang Sanpang finally shook his head and woke up. Lin Daochen tentatively pulled him closer to a stone statue, and sure enough—as long as the fat man didn't make a move, the statue didn't budge. The pressure immediately eased considerably, and the two began to ransack the Lingxiao Palace, tearing apart everything, even the cracks in the floor tiles, all in an effort to find a way to survive.

After working hard for half a day, I ended up empty-handed.

Finally, the two slumped to the ground back to back, neither uttering a sound. This was no ordinary place; the air was thick with chaotic energy, so dense that even a single breath would choke an ordinary cultivator, let alone refine it—it could only be forced out little by little over many years.

Lin Daochen can hold on, but Wang Sanpang can't. He won't last seven days; the chaos will consume all his life force, leaving him emaciated.

They searched every possible place, leaving no stone unturned. Lin Daochen had been hoping the Jade Emperor would speak, but no matter how much he shouted, knocked, prayed, or cursed, the stone statue remained silent, its eyes closed and head bowed.

"Brother! Are we really going to die here?!"

"I haven't even held a girl's hand yet! I'm completely innocent, I haven't even touched a girl's sleeve! I don't want to die like this, boss! Please save me—!"

The fat man wailed heart-wrenchingly. Lin Daochen took a deep breath, shook his head with a wry smile, and said:

"What's meant to be will be. What can I do now?"

"Don't worry, you'll definitely die before me."

What kind of flower is this? Fatty Wang froze, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. His skin was being gnawed away inch by inch by a sinister force, as if countless fine needles were piercing his flesh.

The power of chaos was tearing wildly through his body, and it felt as if a dull knife was repeatedly scraping his ribs inside his chest. If this dragged on any longer, he probably wouldn't last even half an incense stick's time—if he really died here, he wouldn't even be able to leave a single, coherent word.

"Boss! Make a decision quickly!" His throat tightened, his voice cracking. "If I'd known I should have carried that woman back home before leaving today, it would have been better than this... not even being able to find a whole corpse!"

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Sanpang deflated, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and veins throbbing on his forehead. Lin Daochen suddenly squatted down, tapping the ground three times with his knuckles, his face turning ashen.

"Didn't your grandfather say that the exit is right beneath my Lingxiao Palace?"

With a flick of his wrist, the drill bit flashed with a cold light. Just as he was about to drill down, the Jade Emperor statue sitting motionless above them slowly turned its neck, opened its eyelids, and stared intently at the two of them.

"Stop your hands! Who gave you permission to poke around my main hall like a beehive? If people outside hear this, they'll think I'm keeping a nest of rats in my Lingxiao Palace!"

Lin Daochen looked up and saw that the stone sculpture had every detail of its beard and hair, and even the veins on its neck and the beads of sweat on its forehead were vividly sculpted. It was not like stone at all, but like a real person who had just been peeled out of the womb.

"But we're really going to die here. Please, have mercy and let us live."

The Jade Emperor slowly tapped his fingertips on the table, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the two faces several times. His brow furrowed, and after a long silence, he finally spoke:

"You two cut in line—this is a problem. You passed the trial, but you broke the rules."

He paused, then flicked his sleeve: "Why not stay? Ten years. I'll provide all the spiritual herbs, alchemy furnaces, and attack techniques. When the time comes, you can don your armor and go into battle to fight the war against the heavens!"

A war against the heavens?

Lin Daochen's mind went blank, and he froze on the spot. So this was the entrance to the War Against Heaven? All those perilous trials before were just a warm-up in front of it?

"Strange?" The Jade Emperor scoffed. "The war against Heaven is a war to dominate Heaven. Once the path to Heaven opens, this is the first hurdle. Without overcoming this hurdle, you won't even touch the edge of the subspace, let alone fight to the death with those there. Do you think this war is something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can sneak in and steal the credit?"

"If we really send a bunch of useless fools to their deaths, what will be left in this world?"

His sneer intensified, his eyes devoid of any warmth, only radiating a madness suppressed for millennia.

"We are the primordial gods who have guarded this place since the beginning of time. We neither ascend to immortality nor enter the Dao, but have waited for this battle!"

Lin Daochen's lips moved, but he ultimately remained silent. He suddenly understood that any words at this moment would be like throwing a stone into a deep pool—it would not create any ripples, only an empty echo.

"You must all have a lot of questions in your minds," the Jade Emperor's voice lowered, yet each word struck like a hammer blow. "But in the face of the war against Heaven, all beings are equal. We will only choose the strongest blade, because only it can sever the Heavenly Dao!"

Lin Daochen suddenly looked up: "Then... we absolutely have to kill it? Can't we go around it? Negotiate? Or just turn around and leave?"

The Jade Emperor threw his head back and laughed loudly, causing dust to fall from the beams.

"You're so naive it makes me want to slap you." He stopped laughing, his eyes sharp as knives. "What do ascendants want? They want to seize the power of creation from an entire world and smash open the gates to the upper realm! But how can this world withstand such exploitation? For every one who ascends, a stream of spiritual energy is drained; for every ten who ascend, the mountains and rivers lose their color, and all vegetation withers—the Heavenly Dao is stopping us not out of cruelty, but to protect this land, to protect those mortals who don't cultivate the Dao and don't fight for their lives!"

"You consider it an enemy? You're wrong. It's the most clear-headed one."

A chilling smirk appeared on his lips:

"From the day you embarked on the path of cultivation, you stood opposite all living beings. Every breath of spiritual energy we inhale, every pill we swallow, is accompanied by the withering of living things and the loss of color in mountains and rivers. You didn't kill anyone with your own hands? Yet, after three years of seclusion, the villages at the foot of the mountain were filled with starving corpses—none of us cultivators are clean."

Lin Daochen felt a tightness in his chest, and then his vision suddenly cleared, as if the thick fog had dissipated, revealing the rugged mountain bones beneath.

"So... there really is no other way?"

The Jade Emperor statue curled its lips into a silent, cold laugh.

"What are you thinking? What other way is there? We're fighting against the heavens and defying fate! Unless you're willing to squander your entire life's cultivation, what else can you do but tough it out? Cultivators have always been destined to defy the heavens. Do you think this is child's play?"

"Is there really no other way to replenish the vital energy in this world? Surely the spiritual energy in this world isn't monolithic, never increasing or decreasing?"

Lin Daochen frowned slightly, his fingertips unconsciously tapping his sleeve as he asked the question. He knew very well that the chaos beyond the realm was vast and boundless, containing inexhaustible power. The difficulty lay in how to refine that violent and disordered chaotic energy into pure spiritual energy that could be accepted by the physical body—this might be troublesome in the outer realms, but in this world, it shouldn't be a helpless situation.

"This realm can indeed absorb chaos and transform it for its own use, thereby expanding its territory and nourishing its laws. But since the Heavenly Dao is the will of the world, why should it engage in such a thankless task?"

"If you were the Heavenly Dao, would you pave the way for all living beings and lay the foundation for future generations year after year without reservation?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Daochen's pupils contracted, and his mind suddenly became clear.

But then he thought about it again, and realized that none of this had anything to do with him.

His only priority right now was to escape—if he dragged it out any longer, the little fat boy next to him would begin to fester and turn black in large patches, with grayish-white flocculent material appearing at the edges, and the chaotic power was slowly eroding his bones and muscles.

Once completely assimilated, even a celestial being couldn't save an empty shell.

"Do you have a way to get out of here?"

Lin Daochen sighed and finally blurted out the words he had been holding back for so long. He should have asked earlier, but the Jade Emperor in front of him was talking faster than the wind, rambling on and on about some mysterious and absurd nonsense.

Though his words were rough, they hit the nail on the head. It's just a pity I don't have time to listen to his rambling right now.

The Jade Emperor's expression also darkened, but a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"This fat man can stay and cultivate in seclusion for ten years before emerging. However... the human realm is likely to face a calamity, with life withering away. If the two of you stay together, it might be possible to survive this great calamity."

"I'll give you two choices: leave or stay. If you choose to stay, you can use all the spiritual veins, alchemy furnaces, array diagrams, and secret manuals here at your disposal; within ten years, you'll steadily enter the Tribulation Transcending stage."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of hesitation crossed Lin Daochen's eyes. The chubby boy beside him blurted out:

"I'll stay! I'll stay even if it kills me!"

Lin Daochen ignored him, only raising his eyes to look directly at the Jade Emperor, his tone calm yet sharp:

"I don't understand—what are you after? Going to all this trouble to set this up, it benefits us, but what good does it do you?"

"Who says there are no benefits?" The Jade Emperor's gaze sharpened. "To tell you the truth, what I'm planning is the battle ten years from now. In these past years, the top cultivators outside have been almost entirely wiped out; those capable of leading the charge can be counted on one hand. If we don't gather our strength now, what will we use to tear open the heavens?"

This is absolutely true. After several great calamities, the cultivation world is already in a state of flux, with only a handful truly capable of competing on the stage. For those who are determined to overthrow the Heavenly Dao, this is tantamount to cutting off their lifeline.

Lin Daochen was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low but firm voice:

"I'm leaving. No matter how abundant the resources are here, they can't outpace my own journey."

After a moment's thought, the Jade Emperor nodded in agreement—he knew that an anomaly like Lin Daochen could neither be confined nor kept.

"Little fatty, are you really planning to stay?"

The chubby boy nodded vigorously, a vein throbbing on his forehead: "Stay! We must stay!"

Having spent these past few days together, he had long since realized: though they were both Nascent Soul cultivators, the other could crush his three protective qi rings with a mere wave of his hand. It wasn't a difference in cultivation level; it was a difference that permeated to the very core of their being.

This fire burned within him—if others could do it, why couldn't he? Was it because his natural talent was inferior? He didn't believe it. The old man before him was ridiculously strong, but Lin Daochen… he was a monster among monsters.