Chapter 494: Chapter Five Hundred and Seven: Returning Straight to Heaven, the Five Saints Attain Truth

Blue Star (March 8, 6000 words, Journey to the West arc ends) Blue Star (March 8, 6000 words, Journey to the West arc ends)

Light surged like tidal waves, endless and unceasing, rising and falling in relentless succession.

The Land of the Dead symbolized the end of all things; the River of Souls embodied eternal stillness—but beneath that light, they were like black fireflies.

Encompassed within the cycle known as nature.

Containing all ultimate principles, the mysteries of the multiverse, like a shattered kaleidoscope, displaying symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns of beauty.

A lavender-hued purple haze undulated across Shenzhou, hazy and illusory; immortals and gods gripped their weapons tightly, and for the first time, they felt an emotion called "fear," even though they had long forgotten death.

The massive, writhing bronze eyeball floated like a jellyfish in the ocean of light.

Suddenly, a giant hand seized it—a towering black shadow giant who placed the eyeball in his mouth and chewed.

The eyeball burst like a bubble, spilling forth countless sacred crystalline objects.

But before the shadow giant could swallow it, countless feathered, sacred tentacles surged from the ocean of light, wrapping around it and dragging it into unfathomable laws.

On the surface, writhing swastikas and Dao scriptures brimming with all colors drifted like plankton, flowing with the tide, sometimes coalescing, sometimes scattering—each collision—

As if a world were being born, or as if more worlds were meeting their end.

Uncomprehensible.

Unthinkable.

Impossible to record these images.

What remained in the mind and deep within the heart was only a warmth, like spring sunlight—embracing—all inner wounds became fleeting mist.

Contradiction.

Uncomprehensible.

They yearned inwardly to drift in that ocean, yet were barred by violet qi and the Nine Tripods like an impassable heavenly chasm—especially the Nine Tripods, whose Dao-chants pierced the ears like never before, as if trying to awaken every being lost in reverie.

Luxi stood on Michael's shoulders, the stolen sword resting against his neck; he turned to gaze up at the peak of Lingshan, his breath halting.

"Luxifer!!!" Michael struggled, summoning the Spear of Heaven, thrusting it toward Luxi.

Blood sprayed; the phantom of the Gate of Heaven and countless angels dissolved into particles of light.

"If this is heaven, I'd rather have hell," Luxi shook his head, his brow utterly relaxed, his form gradually crumbling into wisps of ash.

As he dissolved, he knelt on one knee toward the peak of Lingshan.

"The rebel Michael has been cast out of heaven."

"The brat uses love as a pretext!"

The Confucian Saint, belly swollen, collapsed on the ground, face flushed and drenched in sweat.

"Your actions defy antiquity! This is heresy and demonic path!!!"

They were debating who was noble and who was base, whether the deeds of this world aligned with the Way of the Noble—yet the Confucian Saint felt as if he had returned to his lifetime of debates.

The clash of righteous qi flooded his mind with inspiration; it was utterly exhilarating—after all, Confucians argue above all over name, substance, character, virtue, and conduct!

But when he summoned the River of Literary Qi and the Army of True Words to argue that Confucians embody benevolence, that the benevolent love others, and the courteous respect others, the other asked:

"That broken shell, stealing a soul to cling to life—how can it speak of love?"

"Know this: a three-inch infant requires eighteen years of labor; your soul and spirit are another's child—how can you claim universal love as benevolence?"

Just as he felt guilt, the other abruptly shifted topic—"What is filial piety?"

"You do not discuss filial piety—you are a Confucian demon."

The Confucian scholar felt his lower body tearing apart; righteous qi offered no defense.

The thought of possibly giving birth terrified him—he summoned the ruler, trembling, and placed it shakily against his chest.

The white-robed Confucian shook his head and sighed: "You are a vulgar Confucian, unaware of changing times."

Hearing this, the Confucian's breathing surged violently—he was being called a narrow-minded Confucian, ignorant of the age's transformation.

What era of

Confucianism lets men get pregnant!?

Shameless old demon!

"Morality has collapsed! Morality has collapsed!"

The pain intensified; the Confucian Saint committed suicide, his body reverting to a painting—yet within it, the Confucian scholar bore a belly like a watermelon.

The Confucian Sage sighed; it seemed he had ultimately failed to help this scholar understand the greatness of maternal love.

He looked toward Lingshan; the light faded, revealing a man hanging on another man.

"The world declines."

His form dissolved; Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang picked up the fallen "Yesterday Reappears" talisman, bewildered, marveling at how comfortable it was to have a proxy.

"Looted gear! Wuhu!" He snatched the painting, stuffing it into his robes like a thief.

Nearby, Venerable Henghuo, who had ascended to White Zunzhe through repeated opportunities, blankly slapped himself and muttered as if to himself: "Everything in the simulated universe is fake—definitely fake."

Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang didn't know that even in the real world, Confucians had people watching him twenty-four hours a day, scheming to find trivial excuses to drag him onto Confucian territory.

Even though White Zunzhe Venerable Henghuo was a staunch believer that the simulated universe was false, some still held different views.

Whether toward Senior Su Lin, or this "simulated universe."

Is it truly a false simulation?

Not necessarily.

Then why can Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang repeatedly use "Yesterday Reappears" in the simulated universe to become a Confucian Sage?

"It's just game data," White Zunzhe Venerable Henghuo blankly slapped himself again.

"Sun Wukong, you may get down from my back."

"F***"

Meng Qi trembled as he released his grip on Su Lin's shoulder, nearly collapsing when his legs gave out upon landing.

"Dirty monk! You're trying to kill me too?!"

Su Lin touched the hair on his head and replied, "Aren't you still alive and well?"

"I nearly wasn't!" Meng Qi pointed at the surrounding scene of cosmic destruction. "I'm still on Lingshan! Couldn't you at least let me get out of the attack range?!"

"Relax, I've deliberately maintained the influence—within three meters, these laws can be absorbed by me without affecting you," Su Lin smiled.

Meng Qi no longer cared whether his previous position had been within three meters.

He only knew he had witnessed a bizarre, surreal vision—his mind and body had suffered severe trauma, and he needed to return home and hug his wife to soothe the psychological shadow of having narrowly escaped death.

"What did you do?" Meng Qi's eyebrows twitched. The sea of light around him grew hazy and illusory; the sense of impending disaster gradually faded.

Su Lin chanted something about "Aligning Heaven and Earth, Sealing All Souls," a technique steeped in Daoist style—but it still just glowed, as always.

A group of undead creatures, assaulting the eyes and minds of all who saw them, appeared around them, shambling in discordant, twisted motions toward self-destruction.

"I made an attempt—a long-awaited one."

Su Lin pulled a version of himself out from history, his true body slipping into a rift in time to control his past self and speak:

"I cannot yet create a complete, stable multiverse, but I do know many secrets of creation."

He copied and split off portions of chaos, order, and creation secrets, like transmitting a doctrine.

At the cost of self-destruction, he forced the clone carrying the secrets of creation to initiate creation, then fused and detonated the copied laws, producing an effect similar to a cosmic Big Bang.

In that instant, countless laws and multiple distinct creation inscriptions appeared, fused, and were released, turning all his flesh and blood into vessels of law.

Like Pangu splitting the heavens.

Though small, it contained all five viscera—this was no alien dimension or planet.

Though this temporary universe

lasted only one minute, and would collapse due to incomplete creation laws, it succeeded because his body contained multiple creation laws.

"By dragging all the Death Kings into this new world and purifying them with the Great Dao of True Form, I achieved the effect of subduing souls and sealing demons—hence, this technique is called 'Aligning Heaven and Earth.'"

Isn't that just chemistry?!

Meng Qi's lips twitched, about to speak but holding back.

Su Lin was weary, yet he nodded in satisfaction at the sight:

"It seems these beings without the concept of death have accepted the gift of the Three Thousand Great Dao, becoming true living entities. It's a pity—this tiny universe is destined to perish."

"I failed to revive each of the Death Kings. My apologies."

With Su Lin's deliberate maintenance gone, the entities already transformed into the "Su-01 Universe's" first primordial lifeforms began to perish along with the world.

Continuous collapse, total disintegration, advancing toward eternal darkness.

Creation and destruction lie within a single thought—that is the prerogative of a Creator God.

"Promise me this is the only favor I'll ever ask of you," Meng Qi said, cleaning his eyes with a vial of spirit spring water, his voice almost pleading: "Using it as an attack is fine, but if you ever create a world again, never create one like this."

Su Lin took a deep breath, retracted all remaining laws, and controlled the Heaven River Battle Robe to return to his body: "Don't judge their current ugliness—according to evolution, given time, they'll naturally develop dragons, elves, cultivators, angels, and humans."

"No!!!" Meng Qi shouted, eyes wide.

Su Lin could now sustain creation for less than a minute—barely enough to post a short video. If this universe were to persist…

It was hard to imagine what meaning such a universe could hold for the myriad realms.

"Fine."

After all, this is just the basic version—there's still plenty of room for upgrades.

Moreover, the cost of this technique is truly enormous—it requires control not only over creation, but also over the aftershocks of destruction.

Su Lin pulled out a red, berry-shaped holy herb and placed it in his mouth; the icy juice spread through his mouth, but the relief from fatigue was only faint.

"Thus, it is finished."

The primordial mythic creatures—full of contradiction and distortion, yet profoundly sacred—faded away, collapsing into a single point in Su Lin's palm.

He clenched his fist tightly; the spectral forms of the Twelve Sacred Beasts dragged the remnants into the battle robe, eternally recording them within.

Brilliant light continuously rose from the Brocade Sutra Robe, including the Ruyi Jingu Bang in Meng Qi's hand, the Nine-Toothed Rake in Shi Hao's hand, the Dragon Scale Sword in Lu Mingfei's hand, and the authentic Bao Yue Staff in Han Li's hand.

Streams of true spirits flew out, drawn by some mysterious rule toward distant realms.

With the threat of Hei Erba and the Death Kings gone, the authority once offered by the gods of the Underworld, now freed from the Nine Tripods, broke free first and opened the gates of the Underworld, surging inside.

Moments later.

On the earth, beneath Lingshan.

Freed from the constraints of the River of Souls, countless spirits began to cry out in clamor, their eyes confused yet filled with longing and reluctance for the mortal world.

"The Cycle of Rebirth is reopened! For seven days, only the Human Realm will be open!"

A black archway, wreathed in eerie mist, appeared in the sky of Tianzhu Kingdom; its gates stood wide open, and the River of Yellow Springs flowed gently.

Looking up from below, one could faintly see a withered sea of flowers slowly turning red, speaking of the solitude and suffering of reincarnation.

"The Cycle of Rebirth has restarted. We have won," Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing murmured.

Many immortals and demons only now realized everything had settled.

They gazed toward the peak of Lingshan, where beneath the ruined Lei Yinsi, the "Hun Tian Di" clad in battle armor and the "Three Pure Ones" stood beside the shattered throne of the Soul Demon.

"We won!!!"

"We cleared it!!!"

"I just got here…"

The immortals and gods wept with joy; all participants cheered—even former enemies among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals embraced the demons, celebrating the end of the calamity that had shaken the Three Realms and stirred the Six Paths.

Yet, some peculiar situations remained.

"Why are you a girl?" Nezha stared at the girl who was healing his wounds, standing on her Wind-Fire Wheels, unable to hold back the question he'd wanted to ask since earlier.

He had simply been too busy fighting to pay attention then.

But back then, I was still fighting and had no time to deal with this matter.

"Taiyi Zhenren isn't—" Nezha raised her head, leaning close to the other's face: "Why are you a man?"

Nezha's eyelid twitched twice: "You're too close."

"Haha, thanks to the Great Heavenly Honored One's leadership, the battle has finally been won." Tai Gongwang squinted and nodded kindly: "Then I'll return first."

He was searching for the gate back, but hadn't taken two steps before he was blocked by a crowd of immortals and gods.

"Wait—you were called Tai Gongwang by the Heavenly Emperor? You're Jiang Shang?!"

"No way? Where did that old bastard we knew before go?"

"Master Tai, feel this old guy's face—it's so soft!"

The light of the soul illuminated Su Lin's pupils; the souls surging into the Ghost Gate resembled a meteor shower flying backward.

"I always feared that when a person dies, everything ends—human life is too brief, just a few decades, ending as a handful of yellow earth," Su Lin said slowly.

Some see reincarnation as suffering; others see it as fortune.

Some scorn the reincarnated form; others see reincarnation as hope.

"In my view, having it is better than having nothing." Su Lin's lips curled slightly as he spoke to the nine-ringed staff in his hand: "It's time for you to enter reincarnation."

Seeing the nine-ringed staff remain still, Su Lin scratched his head.

"I always feel reincarnation is the cheapest way to complete the soul."

"Go catch the first reincarnation shuttle now—maybe in five years you can become a little monk. I'll help you awaken your past-life wisdom then."

Su Lin urged.

If all are reborn as humans, this world will face a population explosion.

"Then come back with me to the Eastern Land Paradise." Su Lin gripped the nine-ringed staff: "After your soul is complete, join me at my Great Lei Yinsi and keep company with the Five Wisdom Tathagatas."

Meng Qi waved his hand, activating the Sleeve of Heaven and Earth, releasing Wei Wu and the others: "Their bodies still contain unrefined souls."

Following the connection of the Cause of All Results, Meng Qi struck several palms; the reincarnators' qi immediately withered, and a flood of soul fragments—mostly of Immortal rank—flew out.

Though now pure soul fragments, since they originated from this world, they belong to this world.

As his words ended, Yi Donglai and others, along with Ye Fan and Song Shuhang, arrived; Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing stood over thirty meters away, giving everyone space.

"What's going on?!" Ye Fan demanded immediately: "How did you become Lord Haotian?!"

Good question.

I want to know too.

Su Lin shrugged, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly: "It was arranged by the Fate Death Marker."

Everyone fell silent. For the first time, even those who didn't believe in fate felt a sudden urge to stay far away from Kleine.

The Fool isn't terrifying—it's a talking Fool that's terrifying.

"Did you complete your mission?" Ye Fan asked again.

"Looks like we have to return to Tang Dynasty once more." Su Lin's expression was odd—he'd assumed the pilgrimage task set by the Reincarnation Space ended at Lingshan.

"Points are points—don't let them go to waste. I'll just go over there later."

"By the way."

Su Lin placed a purple-gold alms bowl on the ground and gave Meng Qi a look.

The other understood at once—but surprisingly, the remaining reincarnators of the Soul-Shaking Squad had little of value.

"How do we handle these reincarnators?" Meng Qi asked.

Su Lin thought for a moment and said: "Extract some information, then hand the rest over to the Heavenly Court—or if you want to kill them, don't let blood splatter on my new clothes."

A grudge has been formed.

Our two teams have too.

We're rivals—when they joined the Reincarnation Space, they should've already prepared for this.

Meng Qi knew this well—he'd once participated in team-vs-team missions under the Six Paths' Lord; such killing among strangers for personal gain was the norm.

Had they not devoured so many innocent souls, perhaps we could've talked.

Power surged through the Ruyi Jingu Bang, wrapped in true flame.

"Hold your strike!"

From deep within Lingshan, a stupa flew out, shattering continuously.

As a grand, solemn voice rang out, waves of white light surged—and the future's radiance blazed!

"Namo Amitabha Buddha!"

Boundless Buddhist light suddenly appeared, thousands of voices overlapping.

As the stupa shattered completely, one golden Buddha after another stood in rows, each radiating a sense of the future, transcending time.

"Is there still a master here at Lingshan?!"

Su Lin suddenly stared at a golden-bearded giant among the Buddhas—the reincarnator he'd seen before in the Jin Luandian.

He was now fused with an infinite Pure Land, his radiant halos radiating meanings of reincarnation, redemption, universal salvation, the future, and purity.

On his skin, boundless Buddhist light blazed, filled with countless unreadable Sanskrit characters.

On closer look, time lines—constantly breaking and reborn—emerged from his body, revealing simultaneously his infant, youth, adult, middle-aged, and elderly forms.

This!?

Meng Qi assumed a stance; even Shi Hao, who had just arrived, dropped the Golden-winged Great Peng and stepped before everyone. An indescribable feeling emanated from the golden-bearded giant—his eerie aura

was even more unsettling than Haelbak's had been before using the Abyss Crystal!

Everyone braced for battle—but the Buddhas, including the golden-bearded giant, all bowed in unison toward Su Lin:

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Master. Kai'en has waited for you long. Forgive my incompetence—I was one step away from spreading your grace across all of Lingshan."

Kai'en bowed his head in shame.

"I received the Great Dao's grace, yet failed to convert the false Buddha, and instead became trapped within the Pure Land Buddha Realm—just one step short."

"I confess to you: it was out of compassion for our shared hardships that I gave them a chance to breathe."

"It was my negligence, my failure to align first with the Buddhas, that allowed the false Buddha to run rampant."

"Forgive my audacity, but please allow me to bestow your grace upon my teammates! At least three of them truly harbor the wish to save their homeland."

Amitabha, Great Lord of the Dao

Such words, in this style.

"When did you act?" Meng Qi was greatly surprised.

This ability to scheme unseen and unheard far surpasses that of Su Lin, whom he knew.

Did you ever act?

Su Lin stared at Cain, recalling how, in the Golden Hall of Chang'an, he had indeed let the other gaze directly upon his true form.

Dude, are you cheating?

From your tone, you nearly took down Lingshan and Po Xun?!

"Grace, hmm." Su Lin fell silent for several seconds, his expression blank, and spoke calmly to the other: "Go ahead."

Although he didn't even know what kind of grace it was.

Granted Su Lin's permission, Cain's face lit up with joy, tears welling in his eyes: "Your mercy is so—"

He clutched his chest, ignoring everyone else hiding behind Su Lin, and walked toward his few teammates.

"Namo Maitreya Bodhisattva, the Future Buddha, Namo all Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Three Times."

On each falling phantom feather, the ten-thousand-character seal radiated boundless Buddha-light.

When those light-feathers merged into the bodies of the dazed Reincarnators, their lethargy vanished, their aura surged upward relentlessly!

Wei Wu was the first to open his eyes, then transformed into countless writhing ten-thousand-character seals that flew into the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; when they reassembled, his eyes held compassion, his hands still in mudra.

Then came the other Reincarnators—they seized the discarded remains of this world's great Buddhist figures to fuse with—

And at this moment, truly became Buddhist practitioners!

Their aura was complete, their inner essence full.

"Thus, our Buddhist sect ought to flourish!" Cain exclaimed happily.

"Take them away," came the voice of Po Xun from deep within Lingshan, faintly tinged with pleading: "The Buddhist path cannot accommodate them."

Aren't you the Sixth Heaven Demon King?

Su Lin came back to himself and looked at those behind him: "This isn't bad—my true form's Three Thousand Dao Paths do indeed strengthen others. Why did you all hide behind Tai Bai?"

Ye Fan shuddered and shook his head violently: "I just miss the old you—I prefer relying on my own cultivation!"

Su Lin: ""

I didn't say I'd strengthen you.

"Your Majesty, where are your eyes looking?" Tang Xuanzang gripped his staff, gazing at Li Shimin before him: "Your humble monk has returned with the sutras."

Li Shimin nodded, shifting his gaze from Tang Sanzang's chest to his face.

Earrings adorned his ears, his black hair flowed freely, his face was breathtakingly beautiful, his snow-white skin seemed to break at a touch, and several large Buddhist prayer beads circled his neck.

Li Shimin rubbed his temples, unable to fathom why that monk had become a nun.

After all, the Tang Sanzang brought back by Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing and the other immortals was precisely this one—they claimed the vow to return the "Imperial Brother" had been fulfilled.

Is this truly the Tang Sanzang?

"Your Majesty."

"Mm."

Li Shimin once again moved his gaze away from the other's chest.

"Imperial Brother, I have one more request for you to consider."

The next day, during the morning court.

They discovered a massive palm print on the Golden Hall's floor; the Emperor, clutching his cheek, slumped on the Dragon Throne, frozen in posture.

His cheek, however, seemed slightly red.