The mysterious woman's Creation Body presided over all things between heaven and earth like an ancient goddess awakening.
Black water boiled. Black fire blazed.
Like Yin and Yang in flux, it contained infinite profundity.
The black water sought to corrode that Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation.
The black fire sought to incinerate the Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation.
At this moment.
The Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation summoned by Da Xing the Mad Monk sat cross-legged, standing firm at the very center, its four faces glaring wrathfully in all directions, its eight arms sweeping across the eight wildernesses.
Suddenly.
The Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation's eight arms pressed together in prayer. Buddha light shone universally. With a deafening explosion, the four directions crumbled, the eight wildernesses shattered!
Boom! Rumble rumble—
Accompanied by the thunderous roars, it was as if the world was collapsing, laws were thrown into chaos, the Great Dao was perishing, and the apocalypse of heaven and earth had arrived. Terrifying undulations, like primordial savage beasts, devoured the surrounding chaotic currents.
An unknown amount of time passed.
When the great roars gradually ceased, when the powerful forces no longer exploded, when the undulations slowly dissipated, and when the chaotic currents surged forth once more, the ancient, vast black water and fire had long vanished. The ancient goddess who seemed to preside over heaven and earth had also disappeared. And the four-faced, eight-armed Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation also seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Everything, everything had returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever changed.
Within the chaotic currents.
The figure of Da Xing the Mad Monk gradually materialized.
He still wore a tattered monk's robe, still had that running cap on his head, and the Great Compassion and Mercy Fan still hung at his waist. He looked no different from before.
However.
That was only in appearance.
The Da Xing the Mad Monk here now had a face deathly pale, utterly bloodless. He gasped for breath, his expression as grave as could be. His wise eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he was three times more shocked than if he had seen ghosts or gods.
Although he did not know exactly what kind of existence his opponent was, he knew she was unfathomable.
Yes.
He knew.
He had known from the very beginning of their clash.
Precisely because he knew, Da Xing the Mad Monk had not dared to be the slightest bit negligent when he made his move. Although he had not used his full power, he had not held back or concealed anything either.
It was only when the mysterious woman summoned her Creation Body that he realized her existence was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
What was called a Creation Body was, in fact, a spiritual incarnation of a Great Dao.
Only when one's comprehension of a Great Dao reached a certain realm could one cultivate a Creation Body.
For example, the Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation Da Xing the Mad Monk had just summoned was what he had cultivated from his comprehension of the Buddha Dao.
Throughout the ages, some of the more famous Great Dao Creation Bodies included the Five Great Wisdom Kings of the Buddha Dao, the Three Pure Ones and Four Sovereigns of the Immortal Dao, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of the Human Dao, and so on. Additionally, the Demonic Dao, Monster Dao, and Ghost Dao all had their own representative Great Dao incarnations.
Great Dao incarnations within heaven and earth, while not numerous, were certainly not few. Da Xing the Mad Monk did not dare claim to know them all, but he was more or less aware of the representative Creation Bodies of the various Great Daos. Even if he hadn't seen them, he had heard of them.
However.
The Creation Body the mysterious woman had just summoned was utterly unfamiliar to Da Xing the Mad Monk. He ran through all the Great Dao incarnations he knew, and not a single one matched.
Could it be a Great Dao incarnation outside of Immortals, Buddhas, Humans, Monsters, Demons, and Ghosts?
Hard to say.
After all, there were three thousand Great Daos between heaven and earth, and three thousand meant infinite. With such an infinite multitude of Great Daos, even though Da Xing the Mad Monk's previous life was from the Primordial Era and he had lived from the Ancient Era to the present in this life, he still could not recognize all three thousand Great Daos, let alone their incarnations.
What most astonished Da Xing the Mad Monk was that the mysterious woman's Creation Body gave him a feeling as if it encompassed all things, as if it stood above the three thousand Great Daos. Especially the imposing might it contained; even his Great Sun Tathagata Wrath Incarnation had somewhat struggled to withstand it.
Thinking of this, Da Xing the Mad Monk's heart couldn't help but jolt as he thought of one possibility: the Great Natural Order.
Legend said the Great Natural Order gave birth to the three thousand Great Daos. Da Xing the Mad Monk knew this was not legend but fact. Therefore, the Great Natural Order was also called the Lesser Chaos, containing not only Immortals, Buddhas, Humans, Witches, Monsters, Demons, and Ghosts, but also the Heavenly Dao and the Earthly Dao.
In Da Xing the Mad Monk's view, if the Creation Body the mysterious woman had just summoned truly belonged to the Great Natural Order, then that would be far too terrifying.
Others might not know, but he knew perfectly clearly: the Creation Bodies of the Great Natural Order were all legendary existences that had opened the heavens and split the earth. The most famous were Pangu, Nüwa, Donghuang Taiyi, and so on...
Buddha Lord!
Could that woman's Creation Body just now truly belong to the Great Natural Order?
Unknown.
Da Xing the Mad Monk took a deep breath and shouted, "Just who are you?!"
No one responded.
The mysterious woman remained as invisible and traceless as before.
Da Xing the Mad Monk once again released his divine sense to probe, but alas, he still could not detect her. He knew she was definitely still there.
"Are you from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens, or the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands?!
Are you from the Eighteen Sacred Domains, or the Nine Great Forbidden Zones?!
Are you from above the Nine Heavens, or below the Nine Netherworlds?! Are you a Lady of the Three Thousand Great Daos, or an Old Mother of the Great Natural Order?! State your honorable title to This Old Monk!"
Suddenly.
The mysterious woman's disdainful laughter came.
"What are you laughing at!"
"What am I laughing at?
I'm laughing that even a Living Buddha of the world like you can have moments of fear."
"Me, afraid?
What a joke!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk sneered and shouted, "This Old Monk has lived this long and still doesn't know how to write the words 'fear'! Don't think summoning some damn Creation Body can scare This Old Monk! I wasn't raised on scares! Even if your Creation Body doesn't belong to the Great Natural Order, even if it did belong to the Great Natural Order, This Old Monk wouldn't be afraid!"
"Oh?
In that case, today I will properly teach you just how to write the words 'fear'."
"Hahahaha!"
Though inwardly panicked, Da Xing the Mad Monk put on a facade of utter fearlessness, throwing his head back with a great laugh. "You?
Why don't you take a piss and look at your own reflection!
Hmph!
Let me tell you!
Just now, This Old Monk was merely playing with you! Did you really think This Old Monk only has this much skill?!
This Old Monk's true abilities haven't even been summoned yet! If I summoned them, they'd scare you to death!"
"Hehehe..." The mysterious woman's laughter came again, still brimming with mockery. "Da Xing, ah Da Xing, after all these years, not only has your cultivation and strength grown considerably, but even your skill at boasting has improved greatly."
"You know This Old Monk?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was on the verge of collapse. Her words clearly indicated she knew him, and seemed quite familiar at that. Yet, he filtered through all the people he knew and still couldn't figure out the mysterious woman's identity. He shouted, "Just who the hell are you?!
Dare you show yourself!"
"Want me to show myself? That's possible. Call me 'Auntie' three times, and I'll come out."
"What?!
You!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was furious. "You little wench, do you really think you've got This Old Monk pinned down?!
It seems if I don't show you some real skill, you'll really think This Old Monk is just blowing hot air for you!"