Chapter 146: Chapter 143: Saint’s Divine Skills are Unfathomably Deep Chapter 146: Chapter 143: Saint’s Divine Skills are Unfathomably Deep The tale tells of an arm severed by Hongjun Daozu since ancient times and sealed within Mount Shu. Utilizing the projections of the various heavens, it had nearly escaped—despite the Three Pure Ones’ calculations, they were still a step too late.

Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch had long predicted the existence of the projections of the heavens, and this very arm was the key to drawing him out. Indeed, the assembly at Mount Shu held true to expectations, managing to detain the arm and almost resealing it, which in turn triggered the arrival of the heavenly projections.

Upon the appearance of this projection, it startled the Black Coffin resting within the Dragon Eye of Mount Shu, where a person quickly emerged, reaching the Three Pure Ones in an instant.

“It’s you!” The cold eyes of the heavenly projection shone with an unusual light.

The onlookers, all Daoists, looked up to see this being enveloped in a strange radiance, obscuring their face and making it unclear whether they were human or demon, mortal or immortal—seemingly just chaos and nothingness.

The newcomer did not speak but said, “This projection of yours is just the tonic I need! Recovering with the dragon vein is too slow!”

The Three Pure Ones, upon seeing this person, remained silent; even the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch sheathed the Four Swords of Celestial Slaying and said indifferently, “Come forth!”

The crowd heard only a thunderous breath, then saw an arm stretch out from the radiance. This arm, withered and frail, looked like that of a hundred-year-old elder, as if all its flesh had been drained!

They watched as this dry arm pressed down fiercely upon the black hole, causing a loud rumble; the earth shook truly from the Thirty-Three Heavens down to the Eighteen Layers of Hell, as countless Law Divine Chains descended like divine dragons or thunder, swiftly mobilizing millions of Heavenly Dao Laws Divine Chains.

The heavenly projection snorted coldly and extended a hand, forming a spell. A minute speck of cold light was released, tiny as a particle of dust, yet the brilliance was striking, causing one’s whole body to tremble!

“Divine Retribution!” A voice cold to the bone sounded, issued by the person who emerged from the coffin. Their hand pressed on the black hole, and the law chains immediately threaded through.

The speck released by the heavenly projection crushed numerous law chains under the immense pressure of the Heavenly Dao Laws Divine Chains, bursting into shards of cold light and indeed severing many chains, yet it was still ground into dust.

The protruding, dry arm formed a spell and flicked lightly, chanting, “Absorb!”

Suddenly, a million law chains lit up, turning into hollow tubes like reeds, gulping down the painful screams from within the black hole. The strange light was sucked back by the law chains and then transferred into the halo. The withered arm gradually began to rejuvenate, its dry skin swelling, visible blood vessels forming, and the limb grew robust and powerful; a deeply satisfying roar echoed from within the halo.

Those present shuddered at the sight, the method mirroring a demonic cultivation technique specialized in draining others’ cultivation strength.

The presence of this heavenly projection in the Four Great Continents had cost immense power. Originally quite formidable, weakened considerably over countless light years, and having just suffered a heavy blow from Daoist Equal to Heaven using the Magical Treasure of the Ancient Hate Heaven Clan, it was left with little strength to resist in the hands of this mysterious figure from the coffin.

“Boom!”

Having absorbed the heavenly projection, the figure revealed a stele in their hand, which they hurled forcefully, smashing it into the black hole—immediately reducing it to chaos and then swiftly restored by the laws of Heavenly Dao.

Daoist Equal to Heaven and Green Duckweed Daoist’s eyelids twitched, muttering in secret, “It’s the Swallowing Dragon Stele again!”

When Daoist Equal to Heaven used the three Swallowing Dragon Steles, he did not reveal their true forms—sometimes a divine dragon, sometimes the Dragon Head Daoist—letting people assume they were just his Magical Treasures. Daoist Equal to Heaven knew the crucial role of the Swallowing Dragon Stele; otherwise, these coffins wouldn’t have handed them over to him. Although the material of the Swallowing Dragon Stele was precious, it was insignificant to those on the Immortal Path; its true power lay in the sacred inscriptions, with each one understood equating the cultivation of a highly potent Divine Skill.

“Swoosh!”

After the Swallowing Dragon Stele collapsed the black hole, it transformed into an invisible beam of light, instantly entering Daoist Equal to Heaven’s body. Upon introspecting, he saw four Swallowing Dragon Steles suppressing his Spiritual Platform, with his Primordial Spirit seated at their center.

The person within the halo seemed to glance at Daoist Equal to Heaven and then swiftly jumped back into the coffin, shooting into the sky.

The Three Pure Ones did not follow but instead retrieved the Magical Treasures that stabilized the quadrants, then slowly descended onto Mount Shu.

“Greetings to the Ancestor Master of the Three Pure Ones!” All the Daoists present bowed and saluted.

While daoist Equal to Heaven saluted, he made faces at the Supreme Grand Lord, quite comically, earning a silent shake of the head from the grand elder – typical of Macaca, utterly ungrateful!

“This evil entity, sealed since ancient times, has emerged. You all truly are the elite of the Daoist Sect, having almost subdued it again. Although it ultimately escaped, your contributions are undeniable!” Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch stated.

“Thank you for your high praise, Ancestral Master Yuan Shi,” responded the crowd.

Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch nodded and suddenly formed a spell, slowly bringing together the Sword Mountain that had been cleaved in two by the projections of the heavens. The ground beneath the crowd shook continually; cleaving such a colossal mountain spanning thousands of peaks was easier, but reconstructing it once divided was no small feat. Those present were dumbstruck, marveling at the Saint’s profound and unfathomable methods; not only was Sword Mountain restored, but even the broken formations were revived and appeared even more potent than before.

“Thank you, Ancestor Master Yuan Shi!” the disciples of Mount Shu immediately bowed in gratitude.

The Three Pure Ones are the ancestral masters of the Daoist Sect, and though Hongjun founded the Mystic Sect, it was the Three Pure Ones who truly spread the Taoist Teachings. Therefore, those of the Daoist Sect pay respect to the Three Pure Ones. Hongjun is like a divine dragon whose head and tail cannot be seen; even if one wishes to venerate him, one cannot. Moreover, at his terrifying level, he probably does not need the power of incense and wishes anymore.

The Heaven-Penetrating Hierarch then slightly raised his hand, and the broken sword artifacts immediately rose into the air. The Four Swords of Celestial Slaying emitted streaks of sword qi, infusing into the damaged sword artifacts. In just an instant, all the swords were completely repaired.

“Thank you, Ancestor Master Spiritual Treasure!” The disciples from Mount Shu, seeing those broken and shattered sword artifacts being repaired, were instantly overjoyed and bowed again to the Heaven-Penetrating Hierarch.

The Patriarch revered by Mount Shu is the Grand Supreme Lord, but since they are also part of the Taoist community, they also show reverence to Spiritual Treasure and Yuan Shi, thus addressing them as Patriarch is indeed appropriate.

Laojun then said, “These matters were handled by my two junior brothers for me; indeed, I didn’t have much to offer. I shall gift you a divine sword to suppress Mount Shu and command all swords!”

From Laojun’s sleeve flew out a sword artifact, which emitted a dragon’s cry, its blade flashing with seven cold stars, and landed atop Sword Mountain. Immediately, all swords bowed in veneration, with streaks of sword qi swirling around it.

The Green Duckweed Daoist exclaimed in surprise, “It is the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss! Ancestor, I wonder how our Ancestral Master Taqing He…”

Laojun nodded and said, “Song Lun met his fate in the War God Secret Realm during the battles of the Middle Ancient Times, and this sword also drifted into the endless void. It took me a long time to retrieve it, so this can be considered returning it to its rightful owner.”

The Green Duckweed Daoist, with tears, said, “Thank you, Ancestor Master Laojun!”

Although it was already suspected that the Patriarch of the Shu Mountain Sect, Song Lun, had likely met his fate, hearing it now still inevitably brought grief.

The Three Pure Ones, as if enlightened, glanced at the Seven Stars Sword behind the scene of enlightenment and their fingers in the sleeves subtly began to move, while the Daoist Equal to Heaven pondered whether to bring out the Swallowing Dragon Stele to sweep it across the three, trying to determine if any of them was Subhuti. But then he remembered that even when he used the Stele to observe Siddhartha Gautama Buddha in the South Sea, Tathagata detected it, and to use it against the Three Pure Ones would be like a fool attempting to instruct a scholar, and would only bring him disgrace.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven then suppressed his thoughts.

Seeing the Seven Stars Sword, the Three Pure Ones grew suspicious and began to calculate finely.

“Is this Macaca’s third Primordial Spirit?” the Heaven-Penetrating Hierarch asked, puzzled.

“I was already surprised that Macaca had cultivated two Primordial Spirits; who would have thought there was a third one?” Laojun also expressed his astonishment.

The Three Pure Ones were not certain, after all, the fate of someone on the path of enlightenment was hard to calculate clearly. There are many individuals with unique destinies in the world, hard to predict, and even a Saint would need to exert great effort to divine it.

Probably only Emperor Fuxi, who created the Bagua and wrote ‘The Book of Changes,’ could know the past and the future by snapping his fingers.

The Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch then said, “It really might be… Don’t you all find it strange? This Daoist Equal to Heaven cultivated the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations, and the original held the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations; logically, only the Heavenly Gang transformations should have been transmitted. So where did those Earthly Fiend transformations come from?”

The three Saints merely communicated secretly without disclosing their thoughts to outsiders.

Upon realizing this, the one under scrutiny felt as if his body was on edge, like his secrets had been seen through, yet he had to maintain his composure.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven’s eyes whirled about. This was the first time he had seen the Three Pure Ones gathered in their true forms. He had seen them in the Heavenly Court before, but at that time, they had transformed into the Daoists Xuan Du, Yuqing, and Green Wander. It was only later that he realized those who had come to enlighten him were none other than the Three Pure Ones!

It seemed the Three Pure Ones also had no intention of explaining the origin of that arm, the projections just seen, nor the mysterious person in the coffin.

The individuals present also dared not inquire further; although the Daoist Equal to Heaven was old acquaintances with Laojun, he did not dare act recklessly in front of this elder, for he was an Ancestor of the Daoist path, and committing a taboo might lead everyone present to end his life.

The Ancestors of the Three Pure Ones then slightly reassured the people present before mounting the clouds to return to the Thirty-Three Heavens.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven muttered secretly, “This Laojun, adept at scheming, didn’t even give me a chance to speak; how cunning!”

He could only feign propriety alongside everyone, bow low, and respectfully see off the Three Pure Ones.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the next episode.