Journey to the West: Starting with the True Lord of the Pure Land

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell and a faint acrid smell of thunder and fire, brushed against my face.

Xuan Gu silently lowered his hands, slowly suppressing the turbulent thoughts churning in his heart.

He gazed at the head of the Star Lord impaled by the Thunder Halberd, and at the dying Star Lords Jidu and Ziqi in the sea.

The lingering sadness on his face gradually transformed into a deeper sense of bewilderment.

He shook his head, his voice low and confused:

"Brother Dao, your knowledge is vast; could you please clear up a doubt in my mind?"

He raised his finger and pointed to the two star lords, Ketu and Ziqi, and then to the four water constellations that were surrounded and looked ashen-faced.

"These star lords and constellations reside high in the heavens, possessing immortality; how carefree and at ease they are!"

Why would anyone go to such lengths to stir up such a catastrophic disaster, harming hundreds of millions of lives?

Now they have ended up either dead or imprisoned.

What... exactly is the point of this?

Upon hearing this, Ao Ying and Princess Wansheng, who were standing to the side, also had a change of expression and quietly turned their gazes over.

They, too, harbored this unsolvable question in their hearts.

Why would the high and mighty gods of Heaven meddle in the conflicts of the mortal realm, creating unnecessary bloodshed?

Ao Ying, in particular, as the water goddess of the sea, felt the consequences of this calamity even more deeply.

I'm afraid I'll end up getting caught up in the mess myself.

He harbored deep hatred for these behind-the-scenes manipulators and star lords.

Their motives are even more perplexing.

Chen Jiao stood still on the crest of the wave, the sea breeze ruffling his dark robes.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, his voice calm:

"Even at the highest heavens, there may still be wind and rain."

He extended a finger, pointing it towards the vast sea:

"Look at this sea. Its surface is calm, but beneath it, currents crisscross, each with its own path and its own desires."

"The Heavenly Court may be an even larger sea."

It's nothing more than insatiable desires and the allure of power.

Chen Jiao withdrew his finger and continued:

"In their eyes, the living beings in this world are no different from the grass and trees in the mountains and the pebbles in the river."

He paused, his tone still calm, yet it sent a chill down the listener's spine:

"Some of them have existed for a long time and were originally formed from innate essence."

To them, living beings are nothing more than a few chess pieces on a chessboard, or a few resources needed for cultivation.

Their pursuit of enlightenment through the slaughter of living beings is no different in essence from humans cutting down trees to make fire or slaughtering cattle and sheep for food.

Their view of living beings as worthless is not due to inherent evil, but rather because they stand on a different level, exhibiting indifference towards the level of life itself.

Master Xuan Gu's pupils contracted slightly, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he found his throat was a little dry.

Chen Jiao continued, his gaze sweeping over Jidu and Ziqi Xingjun:

"Or perhaps, the divine duties they perform are themselves related to evil, malevolence, and chaos."

For example, Narahu and Ketu are inherently associated with eclipses and obscurity.

For them, fulfilling their divine duties and initiating calamities is both their duty and the source of their spiritual practice and power.

To go further and consolidate even stronger Star Lord authority, it is necessary to draw upon an even greater amount of Calamity Qi.

Chen Jiao's voice lowered, and there seemed to be disdain in his words at the end:

"To this end, a calamity sweeping across the world is unleashed, using the resentment and calamity of living beings as fuel to help him temper his natal star and reach a higher realm..."

In their view, such behavior might simply be a proper way of spiritual practice.

However, they dared not defy the Heavenly Palace and follow its ways, thus bringing calamity upon the human world.

"As for the consequences..."

Chen Jiao's eyes were cold and deep as he continued:

"If we succeed, we will go further; if we fail, we will end up like we are now."

If you win the bet, no one will know. If you lose, you'll become a criminal under the law.

It's nothing more than... a gamble.

Chen Jiao finally turned his gaze to Xuan Gu, Ao Ying, and Wan Sheng, his eyes regaining their usual calm:

"The real reason is perhaps only known to them."

Even if we outsiders have a thousand guesses, we can hardly see the whole picture.

Xuan Gu listened, then stared blankly into thought.

After a long silence, he let out a bitter sigh:

"View all living beings as straw dogs, and take calamities as provisions."

So that's how it is...

He felt a chill rise from the bottom of his heart, more piercing than the cold air of the Weak Water.

Ao Ying's face was also pale, and she unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

As a dragon goddess and water deity, she never imagined that in the eyes of some higher beings, all of this could be so easily weighed and exploited.

Princess Wansheng blinked her bright eyes, a complex and unfathomable light flashing within them, and murmured softly:

"So, in their eyes, are the joys and sorrows, life and death of us lower-level beings really so... insignificant?"

Chen Jiao did not reply.

He simply gazed silently at the devastated sea.

The answer already lies in the fallen star lord, the captured constellation, and this shattered land.

The path to immortality, the path to eternal life, is perhaps far more... beyond their control than they imagined.

…………

The Star Lord fell into the sea, and the True Lord descended only moments later.

Above the blazing white lightning halberd, the head of the Moon Goddess drooped, the remaining starlight flickering like a candle in the wind.

The True Lord stood holding a halberd, his gaze sweeping lightly over the four constellations.

Ultimately, the light fell upon the Bi Shui Yu constellation, which exuded a subtle yet resilient aura.

Between heaven and earth, only the sobbing of the sea breeze across the waves and the low echo of lingering thunder rolling faintly in the clouds could be heard.

The True Lord looked at the Water Jade, his eyes as calm as unyielding ice.

His words were devoid of any warmth or human touch, yet colder than the depths of winter:

"Is it you who wants to see me?"

These six short words, like ice beads falling to the ground, struck the lifeless air.

There was no anger whatsoever, nor any deliberate exertion of pressure; it was merely a calm inquiry.

However, this occurred right after the scene of the Star Lord's fall and his head hanging from a halberd.

This ordinariness itself is a divine power that can make one's soul fly away!

"Gulp..."

The unruly water ape let out an extremely faint swallowing sound.

Her body trembled almost imperceptibly, and she instinctively lowered her head even further.

The Bi Shui Yu constellation, which was directly questioned, was struck dumb.

She instinctively took a half-step back, her lips moving, but no sound came out.

At this moment, with the True Lord in front of him, the intense resentment that had lingered before had long since vanished.

All the prepared arguments vanished into boundless fear and emptiness.

He feared he would suffer the same fate as the Moon Goddess, impaled on the halberd.

Seeing that no one answered, Zhenjun turned his gaze slightly to the generals standing solemnly beside him.

No words are needed, just a glance.

"Take it down!"

Fei Peng shouted in a deep voice, his voice like the clash of metal.

The palpable killing intent surrounding them suddenly tightened.

A dozen or so jet-black chains, crackling with lightning, roared out of the void and headed toward the Four Constellations.

At this critical moment—

The central immortal lord, also known as the Zhenshui Earthworm Star Lord, suddenly raised his head, enduring the oppressive aura that made his soul tremble, and shouted urgently in a hoarse voice:

"True Lord! Wait!"

The water worm dared not pause for even a moment, continuing to speak rapidly, its voice trembling noticeably:

"True Lord! Do you still remember that battle to vanquish demons in the Eastern Celestial Realm not long ago?"

He stared intently at Zhenjun's unchanging face, as if grasping at the last straw.

"At that time... my Twenty-Eight Constellations and their respective divisions fought side by side with the elite Thunder Division led by you, True Lord, to jointly quell the demonic forces."

Horn constellation charged ahead, Kui constellation covered the rear and blocked the enemy, and we four stars were also in the formation, doing our best to use our star power to provide support!

The camaraderie and shared purpose of those days are still vivid in my mind!

His words were impassioned, filled with a poignant sense of despair!

They tried to use the not-so-distant battlefield camaraderie to awaken perhaps a sliver of old friendship in the heart of this now high-ranking and decisive ruler.

Among the standing generals, a few cold snorts could be heard, seemingly expressing their disdain for such attempts to curry favor.

In the air, only the sea breeze howled.

The True Lord listened quietly, his face still showing no emotional fluctuation.

None of the generals behind him spoke again.

His cold gaze was fixed on the four constellations, ready to strike with lightning speed at any moment!

The True Lord remained silent for a moment, then said calmly:

"I naturally remember the old stories of Dongji."

A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in the eyes of the water worm.

The other three constellations also involuntarily raised their heads slightly, looking nervously at the True Lord.

However, the True Lord's next words shattered their newly glimmer of hope, sending them plummeting into an abyss of ice!

"only……"

Before the True Lord could finish speaking...

Everyone felt a blur before their eyes.

Before they could even see how Zhenjun moved, in the next instant, Zhenjun's figure had already appeared in front of Zhenshui Yinxingxiu.

A hand covered with a black arm guard had already gripped the throat of the water worm.

"Well……!"

The water worm's eyes bulged out, it struggled but could not break free, and the halo around its body flickered violently, almost dissipating!

The True Lord's gaze was icy as he stared at the struggling star in his hand. His voice remained calm, yet it was more chilling than ten thousand years of icy ice.

"I naturally remember the old stories of Dongji."

He slowly repeated those words, his tone completely devoid of emotion.

"But do you all still remember!"

His gaze was chilling as he slowly swept over the pale faces of the four star lords:

"How are you any different from demons now?"

The four words, "How is he different from a demon?" resounded like thunder from the heavens in my mind.

The shock made their souls tremble and their foundations of cultivation unstable.

Yes... how is that any different from a demon?

They kept calculating the gains and losses, weighing the pros and cons, and even tried to excuse themselves by invoking past relationships...

But they forgot that their current actions were essentially no different from those of the demons of the Eastern Celestial Realm!