In the sky above.
A Solar Tyrant Sun and a Radiant Sun hung high.
The Solar Tyrant Sun, its sunlight shining brightly, illuminated the world.
The Radiant Sun, with its rolling Immortal might, purified the mortal realm.
Besides the Solar Tyrant Sun and the Radiant Sun, a dim, dark moon and a sinister, bloody moon also hung in the sky.
The difference was that the dim, dark moon was dull and lusterless, while the sinister, bloody moon was silent and still.
In the void.
Nearly a hundred Immortal Dao and World envoys, led by Wu Yuan, Xuan Kong, and Lie Shan, all held command tokens and banners, presenting an air of lofty superiority as they stood looking down from on high.
Beside them.
Po Yun and the other two Heavenly Dao envoys also stood holding command tokens. Unlike the haughty Immortal Dao envoys, these three Heavenly Dao envoys gave off a more sacred and transcendent feeling, standing in the sky as if they were deities presiding over Heaven and Earth.
In comparison, White-Browed Holy Monk, Pu Du, and over a dozen other Western Heaven Buddhas were neither haughty and arrogant like the Immortal Dao envoys, nor sacred and transcendent like the Heavenly Dao envoys, who seemed to dominate everything. They embodied more of the great compassion of Buddhism, their hearts concerned with all living beings and the world.
They represented the Immortal Dao, the Heavenly Dao, and the Buddha Dao respectively.
The Immortal Dao claimed to be the most powerful Great Dao between Heaven and Earth, and had been so since ancient times.
The Heavenly Dao was widely known as the leader of all Daos.
The Buddha Dao was hailed as the spiritual leader of the Great Daos.
Without a doubt.
The Immortal Dao, Heavenly Dao, and Buddha Dao were absolute overlords between Heaven and Earth.
If the rulers of this world's Cloud End were considered deities of this realm, then in the hearts of many cultivators, these envoys of the Heavenly Dao, Immortal Dao, and Buddha Dao were the deities presiding over Heaven and Earth.
Set against their backdrop, Su Hua, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, appeared much smaller and insignificant. She stood there alone, like a lost believer at the feet of deities, her eyes filled with worry and fear. She couldn't help but move closer to the man in white.
Here.
That man in white still held Xiao Jinr.
He had never let go from beginning to end.
He stood.
His snow-white robes fluttered slightly in the fierce wind.
His ink-black hair danced gently in the void.
His cold, stern face showed no emotional color, just like his dark, deep eyes—empty, containing only silence.
Even though he now stood right in the middle of these Great Dao envoys from the Heavenly Dao, Immortal Dao, and Buddha Dao, even though countless divine senses and killing intent enveloped him, even though he was shrouded by the Judgment Eyes from the world and the Judgment Eyes from the Heavenly Dao, Immortal Dao, and Buddha Dao in the firmament above...
He still stood there quietly and peacefully.
He stood like a war god who shook Heaven and Earth.
He stood like a monarch who looked down upon Heaven and Earth.
He stood like an overlord who dominated Heaven and Earth.
He was not a god.
Neither an Immortal, nor a demon, nor a Buddha.
He was just a man.
A man who stood firm between Heaven and Earth.
Here.
Those who should have come, and those who shouldn't have, had all arrived.
The negotiations thus officially began.
"Amitabha."
White-Browed Holy Monk clasped his hands together and said calmly, "The Calamity Star of the Lawless Era descending in the Present-Ancient Era—what this means, this old monk does not know. Whether it will bring disaster, this old monk also does not know. All of this is unknown. However, at the end of the Ancient Era, Heaven and Earth were reborn, the Great Daos were re-derived, and the Present-Ancient Era began. Now, with the Lawless Mountain appearing, both the Great Daos and Heaven and Earth are particularly weak and cannot withstand any unknown calamity. As people of the Great Dao, we have the duty and responsibility to protect this Heaven and Earth, these Great Daos, and all living beings."
"Yet, our Buddha is compassionate, and Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. As the saying goes, all living beings are equal. 'Rather kill by mistake than let go' is not acceptable. Blind slaughter is also not acceptable. Extermination is even more unacceptable. Since the Calamity Star of the Lawless Era is an unknown, we absolutely cannot kill it. But because it is an unknown, we also cannot ignore it, nor can we neglect to take precautions."
"Therefore, I hope you all will allow this old monk to take the Calamity Star of the Lawless Era back to the Western Heaven to be temporarily suppressed and sealed away."
White-Brows was indeed a Holy Monk of the Western Heaven Buddha Dao. This speech was truly moving with emotion and reasoning, fair and just, leaving no one able to refute it.
"I wonder what Gu Fellow Daoist thinks?"
Gu Qingfeng nodded, indicating his agreement, and said, "It's not that I can't hand over Xiao Jinr, but I have one condition."
"Please speak, Gu Fellow Daoist."
"I must go to the Western Heaven together."
Faced with Xiao Jinr's current situation, Gu Qingfeng had thought it over and could not come up with any solution. At his wit's end, he could only hand Xiao Jinr over for now. The reason he proposed following Xiao Jinr to the Western Heaven was twofold: first, he didn't trust those people from the Western Heaven; second, he truly couldn't set his mind at ease.
"That is only reasonable."
White-Browed Holy Monk did not object.
At this moment, Su Hua also spoke up: "I want to go to the Western Heaven too."
If Gu Qingfeng couldn't set his mind at ease, neither could Su Hua.
Like Gu Qingfeng, she also somewhat distrusted the Western Heaven Buddha Dao.
With the Buddha Lord in slumber and Guanyin vanished, the Western Heaven was no longer the pure land it once was. In today's Western Heaven, the eight Buddhist sects fought openly and covertly, creating a foul atmosphere. Among them, the Zen Sect to which White-Brows and Da Xing belonged was still alright, but unfortunately, the Zen Sect had long since gone into seclusion. The other major Buddhist sects, in their struggle for power, not only excluded each other, but some colluded with the Immortal Dao, while others colluded with the Heavenly Dao.
Therefore, she had to go to the Western Heaven together to feel at ease.
Not only did she distrust them, even Da Xing the Mad Monk, a Zen Sect elder, distrusted the Western Heaven. Because he knew better than anyone how chaotic and disgusting the Western Heaven was now. The major Buddhist sects would stop at nothing to compete for the Buddha Seat, which was precisely why their Zen Sect had chosen seclusion.
To be honest.
If possible, he would also like to advise Gu Qingfeng to try not to hand Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven.
But the problem was.
If Xiao Jinr wasn't handed over now, the consequences might be even worse. Not only might Xiao Jinr not be saved, but whether Gu Qingfeng himself could survive was also unknown. From the current situation, they could only hand Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven. If handed over to the Western Heaven, Xiao Jinr still had a sliver of hope. But if not handed over, Xiao Jinr would undoubtedly die. This was the only option when there were no other options.
Moreover, Da Xing the Mad Monk also knew that today's matter was absolutely not this simple.
Even if Gu Qingfeng agreed to hand Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven, the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao might not agree. Even if they agreed, they would surely seize this opportunity to make exorbitant demands, using Xiao Jinr's life to threaten Gu Qingfeng.
"If Immortal Lady Hua wishes to go, she may also come along."
White-Browed Holy Monk similarly did not refuse Su Hua. Then he asked, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Wu Yuan agrees to this old monk's proposal?"
Wu Yuan first glanced at the Heavenly Dao ruler Po Yun beside him, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "Since White-Browed Holy Monk has already said so, how could our Immortal Dao disagree? However..." He changed his tone and said, "This seat also has a small request!"
As he spoke, he looked at Gu Qingfeng present here.