Chapter 349: Chapter 21: I Set New Rules for This World, Intervening in the Dao Fruit Game

"Let’s start with these three articles. Everyone, do you agree, or not?"

The calm voice stirred a tempest in the ears of the three Immortals. The pact seemed simple, but it contained a crucial clause: any who did not sign would be attacked by all other Immortals.

This meant that any new Immortals born in the future must also abide by this pact...

Qing Lianzi’s pupils suddenly contracted. Seeing the greater picture from this small detail, he seemed to glimpse Saint Lu’s towering ambition. His voice was strained as he said,

"Saint Lu, you have existed since Ancient Times and should know more than we do... Under this pact, you are destined to stand in opposition to the Immortals and Buddhas who will one day return!"

"So what?" Lu Xuan asked faintly.

Qing Lianzi fell silent.

After a long moment, he sighed softly and nodded.

"’It seems you won’t let me leave if I don’t sign... I’ll sign.’"

"As will I," Ming Xiangjun also sighed. The Old Celestial Master, of course, was already in agreement, as this was what he had wanted all along.

Lu Xuan nodded. He held up the Cyan Lamp and the Gloomy Lamp, and where their flames met, they burned away a large patch of reality, leaving absolute blankness.

Then, he carefully peeled this patch of absolute blankness from the void.

Using the God-Beating Whip as a brush, he wrote the three articles upon it. Then he pricked his finger and signed his name with a drop of his blood.

Seeing this, the Old Celestial Master and the other two followed his lead, signing their names on the blank patch with their own Immortal Golden Blood.

The patch of absolute blankness glowed faintly as a trace of the Profound Mysteries of the Human Lamp and the Celestial Lamp adhered to it. Lu Xuan carefully put away this patch, now inscribed with the Immortal Covenant.

A smile then spread across his face.

"So, it is settled. For any who violate this pact, the flames of these two lamps will burn forth from the void and scorch the transgressor until they are dead."

After a pause, Lu Xuan added nonchalantly,

"I am not yet certain of the Nether Fire’s power. But the fire of this Cyan Lamp burns concepts and Cause and Effect as fuel. An Immortal Level being cannot withstand it."

Qing Lianzi’s face twitched. He gave a strained laugh.

"We have already witnessed it..."

After a pause, he added,

"Since this is done, may the two of us leave?"

"You may," Lu Xuan nodded. "But before you go, you must first decide which of you will go to the Great Wall to stand watch for a time."

Qing Lianzi and Ming Xiangjun exchanged a look and nodded, not daring to object.

Lu Xuan smiled. Just as he was about to say something more, the void trembled slightly, and a second pure white chess piece materialized beside him.

He paused, stunned. Then it dawned on him. ’Could it be that establishing this pact has also been acknowledged by the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, creating a new piece?’

Lu Xuan gazed at the two glowing chess pieces, pondered for a moment, then picked them up between two fingers.

The expressions of the three Immortals changed at once.

Before their eyes, the figure of the young man holding the chess pieces suddenly became immense, filling their entire field of vision.

The young man was clearly looking down at the chessboard, yet it was as if he were looking down upon all living things, upon the river of Years and history itself. Only after he placed the two pure white pieces on the board did his presence return to normal.

"What’s wrong?" Lu Xuan asked, glancing curiously at the three somewhat dazed Immortals. They snapped back to reality, a look of terror in their eyes, but said nothing.

After a long while, Qing Lianzi and Ming Xiangjun looked at each other and bowed in unison.

"In that case, we shall take our leave. We will decide which of us will go to the Great Wall shortly."

"Good."

With that, Qing Lianzi walked into the Divine Palace, and Ming Xiangjun stepped into the Ancient Tower. Accompanied by a blinding radiance, both the tower and the palace vanished from Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Only then did the Old Celestial Master speak.

"Saint Lu, this matter is now concluded. What are your plans now?"

After a pause, he glanced toward the Celestial Master’s Mansion and added,

"That young lady is trapped within her own Spiritual Barrier. I’m afraid she won’t be waking up anytime soon..."

"I can see that Xiaoyan has a great bond of Cause and Effect with Dragon Tiger Mountain."

Fine, star-like lines appeared in Lu Xuan’s eyes as he peered into the web of Cause and Effect, but everything was hazy. He could only see the general outline.

He continued,

"Besides, Xiaoyan fell unconscious after entering Dragon Tiger Mountain, so it must be related to it somehow..."

After a pause, a profound look appeared in Lu Xuan’s eyes.

"I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing yet. But I must ask the Old Celestial Master to look after her for a while. For the next three months, I will travel the Human World to see if the new rules I’ve established are effective. I will return after that."

The Old Celestial Master nodded.

"Of course. Rest assured, Saint Lu."

Lu Xuan nodded, but just as he was about to say more, his expression suddenly changed.

"Hm?"

He was alarmed and uncertain, sensing a strange transformation occurring within the sea of his mind. He immediately submerged his consciousness into it, entering his Spiritual World.

At this moment, the entire sea of his mind was shrouded in haze, blocking all sight, senses, and everything else. Everything within it had been frozen in place!

Then, he saw it.

A blurry figure was standing in the center of the sea of his mind. He couldn’t make out a face, but it was smiling, and the voice was extremely familiar:

"Lu Xuan. We meet for the first time."

"You are..."

"You can call me Taiyi."

The moment the words fell, the Qing Ping Sword, which hung at the very top of his mental sea, frozen and obscured, began to tremble. As if in response, it sent down a sliver of sword light that landed right on the figure’s head.

The Fishing Drum, Cyan Lamp, Gloomy Lamp, and his other treasures also trembled slightly. Though they were cut off from the outside world and obscured, they all reacted at the same time, releasing a trace of their immense power.

Under the spontaneous reactions of the Qing Ping Sword, Fishing Drum, Daoist Robe and Hat, and the others, the blurry figure began to fragment, on the verge of shattering!

He became hurried and spoke directly, not waiting for Lu Xuan’s reply:

"These four Donghuang Bell fragments were a gift from me to you, but now I must borrow half of one."

As he spoke, the fragmenting figure beckoned. To Lu Xuan’s shocked and suspicious gaze, the Bronze Fragment related to Time flew into his hand and was instantly split in two!

"I’m leaving."

"We will meet again."

The fragmenting, blurry figure vanished abruptly, leaving only a pool of crystal-clear blood.

The blood was glowing. Within it floated images of all the worlds and Celestial Realms, containing remnants of the splendors of Ancient Times. Lu Xuan saw a Divine Court within it, looming over All Realms.

A supreme being sat enthroned within the Divine Court, meting out rewards and punishments to the Celestial Myriad Realms, bringing Dharma to all and order to everything.

He stared dumbfounded at the magnificent scene within the drop of blood for a long time. It was only when the Old Celestial Master called out to him in confusion from the outside world that he came back to his senses. He glanced at the Bronze Fragment related to Years and Time, now only half its original size, and silently withdrew his consciousness from his Spiritual World.

At that moment, the Old Celestial Master was a bit puzzled.

"Saint Lu, just now you were..."

"I’m fine." Lu Xuan’s expression was grave as he waved his hand dismissively. "I suddenly remembered a small matter and got a little lost in thought. Celestial Master, don’t..."

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

A light appeared on the horizon.

Lu Xuan and the Celestial Master looked over and saw a great Bronze Mountain falling from the sky, trailing fire as it crashed onto a plain.

Instantly, the entire plain was torn asunder, and the earth shook and the heavens trembled!

"That is..." Lu Xuan’s expression grew profound as he looked at the somewhat familiar bronze hue and sensed the aura of Years and Time emanating from the Bronze Divine Mountain.

’Taiyi... what are you trying to do?’

.........

「Above the river of Years, within the Great Void.」

Several figures were playing a game of chess.

"Hm?" The Lame Daoist’s eyes shifted. His Spiritual Sense seemed to have detected something just now.

He secretly made a mental note of it, then turned his attention back to the chessboard. He picked up a large piece and smiled.

"Where would be a good place to put this piece?"

The Buddha Lord, who was holding up the Western Pure Land, glanced at the piece in the Lame Daoist’s hand—the piece formed from the entire God-Sealing Years—and smiled.

"That is a piece of Primordial’s."

"And mine is Spirit Treasure’s," the Blind Daoist said faintly.

"Oh? It seems the relationship between you two has been thawing recently." The Buddha Lord smiled, glancing at the calmly seated Supreme.

Supreme also looked over, eyeing the two Daoists with suspicion. He then saw the Blind Daoist state, his expression unchanged:

"The Three Pristine Ones are fundamentally one body. All that is mine is also that of Supreme and Spirit Treasure."

Hearing this, Supreme finally looked away.

A woman sitting opposite the three Daoists smiled. She, too, picked up a large piece, one formed from the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and asked,

"Shangqing, are you going to play or not? If you don’t place your piece, I’ll go first."

"What’s the rush?" The Lame Daoist pursed his lips. "Hurry me again and we can have another go. We’ll see if my sword is still sharp!"

"Is that so?" The peerlessly elegant woman’s gaze was profound. "The Qing Ping Sword isn’t on your person anymore, is it?"

The Lame Daoist’s expression froze. He gave a couple of forced laughs and was just about to place his piece when, suddenly—

CLICK!

A pure white chess piece appeared on the board.

Followed by a second.

Compared to the other pieces, these two were so small, so insignificant... but they had truly and tangibly appeared on the board, emitting a faint glow.

The six Enlightened Ones, each possessing a Complete Dao Fruit, were all stunned.