Chapter 222

Western Heaven and Earth!

At the foot of Mount Sumeru!

The immortal music rolled and resonated.

Between heaven and earth, the reactions of countless beings were all taken in by Jieyin and Zhunti.

They naturally also heard the Great Dao transmission of the Three Pure Ones.

"Hehe, it seems the Three Pure Ones sages are also in a hurry."

Chen Ku gave a strange smile and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear.

Everyone knows that this move by the Three Pure Ones undoubtedly carries the meaning of challenging the West and competing for disciples.

However, Chen Ku showed no sign of worry.

The kind of disciples the Human, Chan, and Jie sects will take has long been predetermined by fate.

Chen Ku believes that, given the nature of the Three Pure Ones, they would certainly not now commit such an act that defies fate.

In other words, even if the Three Pure Ones had not transmitted the Great Dao now, the disciples destined to join them would still not change.

Thus, the Three Pure Ones' move naturally has no effect on the West.

Beside them, Jieyin and Zhunti, as well as Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, and others, also didn't pay much attention.

After all, the Three Pure Ones have indeed long established their Dao lineage and widely accepted disciples, which is only natural.

"Hehe, the exposition of the Dao is still a thousand years away."

"At this moment, countless beings are already rushing toward my West."

"We will take this time to carefully ponder, sort out our own Great Dao, so that when we expound the Dao in a thousand years, we can be orderly."

Jieyin said thus.

Upon hearing this, Zhenyuanzi and others nodded in agreement.

A thousand years is both the time allotted for beings to hurry on their way.

At the same time, it allows them to calmly sort out their own Great Dao, so as to determine what profound principles of the Dao to expound in a thousand years, to transmit the Dharma to beings, etc.

Afterward, the several people said no more.

Jieyin and Zhunti, Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun each went their separate ways to prepare early.

Only Chen Ku remained in place, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

He had nothing particular to prepare.

On the contrary, at this moment Chen Ku's mind held another thought.

"After that period of secluded cultivation, I ultimately failed to achieve the union of the three Buddha bodies."

"For me, having already broken this shackle and broken through to the peak of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal is still the most important right now."

Not bad!

What he cares about even more is his own realm breakthrough.

Having long been unable to take that step, Chen Ku also clearly felt it.

The union of the three Buddha bodies is not that easy.

One could even say it is a difficulty greater than he anticipated.

If relying solely on his own strength, it would probably be impossible to achieve.

Upon this thought, another idea naturally arose in Chen Ku's mind.

"If so, then only relying on external force will do......"

He continued to delve deeper into his thoughts.

At a certain moment, his expression suddenly shifted, as if he had thought of something.

At the same time, his divine sense sank and fell upon the twelfth-grade Annihilation Black Lotus and the ninth-grade Merit Golden Lotus in his sea of consciousness.

Using the power of the innate lotus platform to aid his own breakthrough is not a bad choice.

Chen Ku recalled that in the primordial chaos, there once grew a thirty-sixth-grade Primordial Creation Azure Lotus.

And Pangu the Great God was gestated within it.

Moreover, the Primordial Creation Azure Lotus contains infinite profundity, able to return the source of all things to its most fundamental form and state.

To speak without exaggeration, if used to aid cultivation, it could surpass all spirit treasures of the present age, being a supreme treasure.

Of course, the Primordial Creation Azure Lotus had already shattered in accordance with the heavenly will when the heavens were opened.

Furthermore, its various parts respectively transformed into the Innate Five Direction Banners, the Heaven-Earth-Human Three Scriptures, the River Chart and Luo Book, the Mountains and Rivers Altar Map, and other innate spirit treasures.

However, the seeds of the primordial creation azure lotus that fell into the primordial wilderness heaven and earth became the innate lotus platforms.

The Annihilation Black Lotus and the Merit Golden Lotus are precisely two of them.

"The lotus seed inherently means the source of the Primordial Creation Azure Lotus."

"If I could gather the four great lotus platforms, I wonder whether I could fuse their source and thus transform into a higher-grade innate lotus platform?"

Such an idea arose in Chen Ku's mind.

If such a thought were known to other mighty powerhouses, they would surely be stunned speechless.

Nothing else!

This is absolutely explosive!

You should know that, in the present beings' cognition, the many spirit treasures formed from the shattered Primordial Creation Azure Lotus are already different, and it is fundamentally impossible to re-fuse them to raise their grade.

But beings think this way because, since time immemorial, the Heavenly Dao has imposed cognitive constraints on them, causing this.

Chen Ku, however, does not have such worries.

He has no doubt that if he could truly gather the four great lotus platforms, fusing them would raise their grade.

By then, with the aid of such treasures, my Three-Life Buddha Body will unite as one, and I will surely break through to the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm in one go — there's no doubt about it.

Ah... suffering, suffering......

Wanting to accomplish this, how could it be settled by just a single 'difficult'?

Chen Ku, while thinking, couldn't help but sigh sorrowfully, repeatedly uttering 'suffering'.

As for the other two great lotus platforms, one is the Twelve‑Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus, now in the hands of Minghe Lao Zu.

And the other is the Twelve‑Grade Pure World White Lotus.

This treasure originally belonged to Dong Wanggong; after the fall of Xiating, it naturally ended up in Di Jun's hands.

Let alone obtaining these two lotus platforms, just how difficult is it?

Even if one truly managed to gather them, attempting to perfectly fuse them would be unprecedented in history.

The difficulty can be imagined; it must be unimaginable.

That said, the gleam in Chen Ku's eyes grew ever more resolute, unshakable.

No matter how difficult, he must do it.

After all, cultivation is fundamentally a road of crossing thorns and leveling all tribulations.

If he succeeds, Chen Ku's strength will thereafter become vastly superior and unfathomable.

After a moment's contemplation, Chen Ku had already made his decision.

His gaze shifted, and he began to survey the Heavenly Court and the Boundless Sea of Blood.

Since he has decided to act, which side should he strike first?

As for Di Jun, the Demon Race has suffered heavy losses, its vitality greatly wounded, its state enfeebled; it can be said to be at its weakest.

However, as the saying goes, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.

Nevertheless, the might of the Demon Court should not be underestimated.

In contrast, Minghe Lao Zu is alone, without even any strong allies on good terms.

This is undoubtedly a soft persimmon.

Moreover......

"Hehe, back when I fought the Demon Court,"

"That Minghe Lao Zu seems restless as well, hiding in the dark, waiting for a chance to act."

"If so, then it's only reasonable for me to reciprocate."

Chen Ku muttered softly.

Exactly!

In the previous battle, Chen Ku expended greatly.

But he also hadn't forgotten to monitor other changes in the world.

At that time, Minghe Lao Zu also deliberately concealed his whereabouts, hiding in the shadows, always ready to 'pick up scraps'.

This old silver coin!

Chen Ku had no doubt that, had he previously been defeated, Minghe Lao Zu would surely have acted without hesitation to seize his fortunes and accumulations.

Since that's the case, going to provoke Minghe Lao Zu now is quite reasonable!

But if Minghe Lao Zu were to learn of this thought, he would surely be so angry as to vomit blood and loudly curse Chen Ku for being shameless.

He may have had the thought of secretly picking up scraps, but he ultimately didn't act, right?

This could also serve as a reason for Chen Ku to provoke him?!

Anyone hearing this would surely exclaim, 'How unjust!'

And Chen Ku hesitated no longer.

"Gate of All Mysteries!"

With a thought, he directly deployed this divine ability, opening a Gate of All Mysteries leading straight to the Boundless Sea of Blood.

Taking a step forward, Chen Ku's surroundings underwent a dramatic change.

In merely an instant, he found himself within the Boundless Sea of Blood.

The moment he appeared, waves of indescribable ferocious and evil qi surged forth, vast as an abyss.

Whoosh......

Whoosh......

Around Chen Ku, mournful winds blew and dreary mist spread.

In his sight, a crimson hue filled the void, rising and falling, misty and eternal.

And if one listened closely, within the mournful wind could be heard endless howls and wails.

Grieving souls!

Endless grieving souls!

This Boundless Sea of Blood was originally a clot of impure blood that fell from Pangu's body and evolved.

Such power is the favorite of those resentful spirits and evil thoughts.

Therefore, since time immemorial, the resentful spirits of countless beings that have fallen between heaven and earth have also been drawn to the endless Sea of Blood, gathering here in droves.

It is precisely because of this that the already sinister and treacherous endless Sea of Blood becomes even more gloomy and terrifying.

For ordinary cultivators, this is fundamentally a forbidden zone that must not be stepped into.

Of course, the power of these resentful spirits is not enough to affect Chen Ku's mind; it merely makes him feel a little discomfort.

Chen Ku furrowed his brows.

"Buddha has mercy!"

"Today, I will ferry you across, so you won't have to suffer endless torment here."

Chen Ku muttered to himself.

As his words fell, the law followed his speech.

Only to see his body radiate light, his qi and blood surging.

Vast sheets of golden light burst forth.

Nothing else!

At this moment, Chen Ku employed the Buddha's Golden Body Great Divine Ability.

This time, he did not exert his full strength, so the golden manifestation appeared thousands of zhang in size.

However, as Chen Ku looked around, the Buddha-Dao golden light spread, covering the heavens and earth.

Under this golden light's illumination and agitation, the blood qi filling the sky weakened somewhat.

Divine radiance surged forth, emanating an incomparably compassionate power.

Strands of grieving souls were swept up within it, and their original violence, ferocity, resentment, unwillingness, and other negative emotions were gradually resolved.

Chen Ku clearly saw that those grieving souls originally had ferocious, twisted faces.

And as they were each ferried across, they gradually showed delighted smiles—an expression of having attained liberation, no longer bound by this place's blood qi.

"We thank our senior!"

"We thank our senior!"

In the vast emptiness, such a celestial melody seemed to sound, ethereal and boundless, yet clear to the ear.

Even though these grieving souls did not know who Chen Ku was, they also knew this act benefited them.

Therefore, with their last lingering thoughts, they expressed gratitude toward Chen Ku.

It was precisely as the voices of these grieving souls' thanks spread out.

Suddenly, above Chen Ku's head, heavenly thunder rumbled, deep and vast.

Heaven sent down auspicious colors, earth surged with auspicious light!

Chen Ku fixed his gaze and saw, to his astonishment, several hundred mu of merit once again descending in grand fashion.

The Heavenly Dao is impartial; it will not miss any move of all beings in the world.

And today, Chen Ku's ferrying of the grieving souls here is also a great act of kindness.

Therefore, the Heavenly Dao sensed it and once again lowered merit.

Several hundred mu of merit is not considered much.

Chen Ku merely twitched his expression slightly, without much reaction.

With a thought, he absorbed all the merit into his Sea of Consciousness.

All this was merely Chen Ku's casual effort, and he showed no overly excited expression.

However, the countless grieving souls ferried by Chen Ku, although happy to have attained liberation,

But at this moment, the center of the Endless Blood Sea,

Minghe Lao Zu sat in meditation, originally with his eyes half-closed, quietly comprehending the Dao and cultivating.

But at a certain moment, Minghe clearly sensed that the qi mechanism circulating around his body suddenly stagnated.

Moreover, the extremely rich, vast and boundless blood-evil qi also weakened somewhat at this moment.

In an instant, Minghe Lao Zu's brows knit tightly, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Damn... who is it......"

Minghe Lao Zu instinctively bellowed in anger.

In an instant, he also noticed a strange figure appearing within the Endless Blood Sea.

But before he could finish speaking, Minghe Lao Zu also saw clearly that the comer was Chen Ku.

Instantly, Minghe Lao Zu's face filled with astonishment, and his remaining words cut off.

After reacting, his face grew even darker, and deep anger welled in his eyes.

You should know, Minghe Lao Zu's path of cultivation differs greatly from that of ordinary beings.

His source of power is precisely the boundless blood-evil qi filling the Endless Blood Sea.

In other words, the denser the blood-evil qi, the more grieving souls accumulate; for Minghe Lao Zu, this is actually more effective, his progress rapid.

The Blood Sea does not dry up, Minghe does not die!

These words embody exactly this principle!

And today, Chen Ku actually ferried away the countless grieving souls here; in a sense, this amounts to obstructing Minghe Lao Zu's cultivation.

How could he not be angry?!

"Chen Ku, you are a Western disciple!"

"Why have you intruded into my Endless Blood Sea for no reason, and even acted recklessly?!"

Without hesitation, Minghe Lao Zu immediately rose and stepped down before Chen Ku.

At the same time, he raised his voice and asked in this manner.