Chapter 553 - 16: All Arrive, Provoking the Buddha Mother, Confronting the Dao Fruit

SMACK!

The crisp, loud sound left Taiyi utterly stunned.

It caused no harm, but the insult was absolute.

’He hit me?’

’He actually hit me!!’

The Little Daoist Child clapped his hands in delight, but Taiyi didn’t notice. He just stared at Lu Xuan in horror.

The gap between a Dao Fruit Cultivator and a Daluo wasn’t just a world of difference in raw power. More importantly, they were beings on completely different levels of existence.

A Dao Fruit Cultivator exists beyond the Years. As long as they don’t wish it, a Daluo can stand right in front of them and never, ever be able to touch them!

But now...

Lu Xuan shook his hand and chuckled.

"So you’re not completely untouchable after all... An Ancient One, a Dao Fruit Cultivator? Heh..."

He leaned in, staring into Taiyi’s gloomy eyes.

"Are you going to devour me, just like you devoured Emperor Jun and the Ten Golden Crows? I look forward to that day. I just hope you don’t break a tooth."

The Little Daoist Child, who had been clapping enthusiastically, now looked completely bewildered. ’Devour who?’

’Devour Emperor Jun?’

’How can there be another being in this world with the same name as me?’

Meanwhile, Taiyi stared at Lu Xuan, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What happened to you? You’ve actually acquired a trace of the ability to transcend the Years, even if it’s just a tiny bit..."

An expression of utter disbelief appeared on his face. A Dao Fruit Cultivator had many characteristics, but transcending the Years was unique.

Logically, it should be absolutely impossible for any being below the Dao Fruit realm to attain it prematurely!

Taiyi’s face twitched. With a soft grunt and a mere thought, he manipulated Time and Years, rewinding and reversing everything!

Time rewound to the moment before Lu Xuan’s palm swung. This time, he tried to dodge, refusing to allow such a humiliating event to occur, vetoing the established fact. However...

Deep within Lu Xuan’s mind, the prototype Creation Jade Disc trembled slightly, and the part representing Cause and Effect began to glow.

In the next instant, Taiyi, who had already fled far into the Chaos, reappeared right in front of Lu Xuan.

SMACK!

He took the slap full on. He felt no pain, and only then did his body leave the world and reappear in the Great Chaos.

Taiyi was completely dumbfounded.

He returned, staring at Lu Xuan with astonishment in his eyes.

"This is... a fixed outcome determined by Cause and Effect??"

A fixed outcome determined by Cause and Effect meant that an event that had already occurred could not be overturned; it was fated to happen again. This trait wasn’t particularly profound, just a superficial application of the Path of Cause and Effect.

The problem was...

This Path had affected a Dao Fruit Cultivator.

"What in the world have you been through?" Taiyi’s expression became completely solemn, no longer caring about the insult of being slapped.

He stared intently at Lu Xuan and asked in a low voice:

"I seem to see the very foundation of Cause and Effect rising and falling within you. Did Primordial transfer his incarnation of Cause and Effect to you? No, that can’t be right. The Cause of All Fruits is still Primordial... Is it the artifact you wield?"

Taiyi ventured a guess.

"The Three Pristine Ones cast an artifact in the Hongmeng... was it for you? That’s not right either. A Dao Artifact must be completed by oneself..."

Lu Xuan didn’t answer, only offering a slight smile and a deep look at Taiyi.

"I look forward to the day I attain my Dao Fruit."

With that, he turned and left with the Little Daoist Child.

Taiyi stared at Lu Xuan’s retreating back, his expression shifting uncertainly as he muttered to himself:

"Interesting. This is getting more and more interesting. Did The Three Pristine Ones cast a Dao Artifact for this child?"

"And what kind of Dao Artifact could it be, to allow a non-Dao Fruit Cultivator to slightly jump out of Time and Years, and even interfere with a Dao Fruit Cultivator using their own Path?"

"Cause and Effect... is the Path Lu Xuan represents Cause and Effect? But the Cause of All Fruits is Primordial, and the fruit of all causes is Spirit Treasure..."

He seemed lost in thought, then suddenly laughed.

"Not bad at all. The stronger you become, the better it is for me..."

"Supreme Profound Clarity, I shall await the day you attain your Dao Fruit."

「...」

「Above Dragon Tiger Mountain.」

The three-headed, six-faced, nine-armed Profound Yellow Emperor’s gaze hardened. He muttered to himself:

"It’s about time."

He raised his six faces, all eighteen of his pupils fixing on Chu Tai, and smiled.

"Grandpa Chu, this is as far as it goes."

Chu Tai frowned.

"It’s not enough. The power you’ve shown so far shouldn’t be enough to break my seal. You ought to be stronger..."

Before he could finish, he saw a vast light emerge from Profound Yellow, who stood before him in his True Fighting Form, carrying the Six Paths Plate on his back.

Shadows piled up behind Profound Yellow, collapsing and crushing down like a mountain of lacquered iron, accompanied by the celestial sound of the Great Dao!

"This is..."

Chu Tai’s expression changed slightly. Staring at the punch flying toward him from Profound Yellow, he—a Taiyi Avatar, a Supreme Daluo—actually felt a sense of crisis!

He shot to his feet, pulling upon the Years to aid him. Countless versions of Chu Tai stepped out from innumerable moments in time.

But Profound Yellow merely smiled, and silently activated the prototype Creation Jade Disc deep within his True Spirit.

Instantly, the six Great Daos of Cause and Effect, Birth and Death, Myriad Things, Nature, the Human Race, and Emperor converged within his palm, erupting with a truly majestic and inconceivable power.

With a single strike, the countless Chu Tais that had walked out from the past and future popped like bubbles. Chu Tai’s true body was also pierced, and he coughed up blood as he retreated!

"A Vajra?"

Chu Tai exclaimed in amazement,

"What kind of Dao Artifact is this? I think I saw all things in existence, saw Birth and Death, and Nature..."

The Profound Yellow Emperor smiled without answering, merely cupping his hands in a salute.

"Farewell."

With that, he turned and stepped across the mountains and rivers, walking in the direction of Hulao Pass. Each step was like the beat of a heavy drum, shaking the heavens.

「...」

「Above the Years, within the Great Chaos.」

"What in the world just happened?"

The Demon Ancestor sat quietly cross-legged. Chaos Qi flowed around her like silk, covering every inch of her skin.

Beside her, the two majestic Buddha Lords both shook their heads without answering, but the confusion on the Demon Ancestor’s face only deepened.

"The Three Pristine Ones seemed to have cast an artifact, causing a tremor in the Hongmeng that predates the Creation of Heaven and Earth. That’s one thing..."