Facing the Apocalypse with My Other Selves-Chapter 449 - 261: The Truth of the Primordial Apocalypse
"The way of the Immortals truly makes people yearn infinitely." Living Buddha Jigong watched the scene before him and, after a long while, let out a deep breath.
"If you are willing to accept the identity of Venerable Dragon Subduer, everything here can be yours in an instant." Shen Yu looked at him with great interest.
In just that short time, Shen Yu had actually already gained some understanding of the situation in this world.
Although the Immortals and Buddhas had vanished, fate had not undergone any major changes.
After all, the story of Living Buddha Jigong never involved much interference from Immortals and Buddhas.
If there was any, it was determined from the start.
So, the self-awareness and thoughts of the person in front of him were not much different from those of the orthodox Venerable Dragon Subduer.
Merging with Venerable Dragon Subduer, or becoming one incarnation, was not something difficult to accept.
However, the Living Buddha before him shook his head slightly.
"Not so, how can you know what I truly think?" He still maintained that enigmatic, indifferent demeanor.
Shen Yu nodded slightly, not really caring.
Perhaps this was a choice to face a disaster.
After all, this current disaster is obviously different from the so-called great calamities of the past, where even the so-called Immortals and Buddhas risk complete demise.
If merged completely, once the original body of Venerable Dragon Subduer falls, like King Kṣitigarbha, the Living Buddha Jigong before him would also turn into a remnant thought.
If it were Shen Yu, he would probably choose to separate out a part that retains independence, so that the identity of "Dragon Subduer" does not completely vanish.
But at this moment, Shen Yu was not here to ask about these things.
"The Living Buddha should have guessed my intention for coming." Shen Yu said straightforwardly, "I have traveled the vast world, seen its dire state; where do these monsters come from, and what lies behind that meteorite?"
He believed that the Living Buddha Jigong, who had acquired some memories of Venerable Dragon Subduer, must know something.
At this moment, the Living Buddha Jigong paused, then gave Shen Yu another look, lamenting, "The merit behind you is already enough to craft a golden wheel and earn the Arhat Fruit Position."
"Just an Arhat?" Shen Yu’s eyebrows raised.
He had saved more than two trillion people.
And rescued countless civilizations, countless worlds.
Which is actually one of the things Shen Yu didn’t quite understand after knowing this world had Primordial myths.
Given his actions, one would think he should have received heavenly merit.
But in reality, he hadn’t.
As for whether it’s because of the Gray Mist Space, that could be ruled out.
The Gray Mist, in a certain sense, is indeed like merit, but it ultimately isn’t merit. The Gray Mist only comes from Gray Mist, unrelated to any other world.
It’s calculated entirely separately.
So, logically, Shen Yu, having saved so many lives and done so much, should indeed have accumulated merit.
"In the past, there would indeed have been merit added to oneself." Living Buddha Jigong shook his head slightly, a half-smile, half-bitter expression on his face.
This expression, this sentiment, is roughly the hallmark of Living Buddha Jigong and the essence of his Zen.
But at the moment, it only made Shen Yu frown.
"Is it another issue with the Heavenly Dao?" he asked.
If it’s like the Immortal Cultivation World, that could explain it.
After all, no matter how strong the level of the Primordial might be, it seems it’s still confined within this world.
If it’s a problem with the Heavenly Dao that leads to the destruction of the entire world, that is possible too.
However, unexpectedly, Living Buddha Jigong shook his head again.
"Not so."
"Living Buddha, don’t keep me in suspense." Shen Yu sighed lightly, speaking earnestly, "I may not be able to save the vast world, but at least I want to save everyone I can see, until the end."
"..." Living Buddha Jigong remained silent for a moment, then clasped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Shen Yu, "Blessed One, my heart pales in comparison to yours."
In truth, if it were the real Venerable Dragon Subduer, even knowing the whole truth wouldn’t result in such an indescribable situation.
But, Living Buddha Jigong ultimately isn’t Venerable Dragon Subduer.
His entry into Buddhism, from a worldly family, is but recent.
At this moment, he no longer hid anything, slowly saying, "Do you know of the Heaven and Earth Catastrophe?"
Shen Yu nodded slightly.
This, in Primordial myths, is a very classic "setup."
Not only in Primordial myths.
In Western myths, there’s a similar concept.
Simply put, between heaven and earth, there is both positive and negative, and where there is order, there must be chaos.
In other words, there will be tribulations, accumulated continuously within order, eventually erupting.
And at such times, various methods are needed to cope with the calamity.
Sometimes, the elevated Saints would even actively trigger it.
Such as the initial great war between the Wu Tribe and the Demon Tribe.
The battles and slaughter between the Great Witches and Great Demons.
Are also considered a kind of great calamity.
For instance, the later Investiture of the Gods.
The war between the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which even involved Saints.
There’s even a saying that the Journey to the West was also a calamity response.
However, in terms of scale, these catastrophes have been getting progressively smaller.
Even after the Journey to the West, the world seemed to be approaching the absence of magic.
This could be seen from the distribution of the Extraordinary Level to the world.
